Draft Thread Continued. 2011 part two...

[BruceO]

perry jones is vastly underrated as a sf prospect because of his pg situation. true freshman with decent numbers despite the light supposedly not coming on. harrison barnes was in the same situation. brandon knight is underrated but his emergence will make people with multiple picks pass on irving. harrison barnes is overrated cause is smart. enes kanter is underrated.

[sashae]

Yep, if Sullinger really does stay in school, I'd favor Derrick Williams or Barnes with the first pick, and Tyler Honeycutt or Nolan Smith with the ATL pick.

[Dark Faze]

perry jones is vastly underrated as a sf prospect because of his pg situation. true freshman with decent numbers despite the light supposedly not coming on. harrison barnes was in the same situation. brandon knight is underrated but his emergence will make people with multiple picks pass on irving. harrison barnes is overrated cause is smart. enes kanter is underrated.

Jones is bust city. You don't have the type of talent that he has and never win at ANY level if you have any drive at all. The kid lost in high school and underachieved like crazy at Baylor. Unlike Derrick Williams, he has not shown any ability to handle the basketball outside of transition. Besides that though he has shown zero emotion on the court this year and has shown zero drive offensively despite having such a high FG percentage. He's passive and has no voice. There were so many times where he was soft and kept his mouth shut as LaceDarius Dunn jacked up bad shot after bad shot despite the fact that Perry frequently had decent post position inside.

He's got a ton of upside but I don't think the kid knows what he is. He played like a center and not like the face up, quick step PF that he should be. As for SF? Lol...he demonstrated nothing there at all, and while fast, his footing looks too awkward to play the position. His best case scenario is bulking up, shedding the passive mentality he's had and beasting as a face up 6'10 PF like Amare.

But it won't happen. He'll take as long to develop as McGee has.

As for this draft: Things are starting to look extremely dire for the Wiz. I don't think Barnes will come out. Sullinger and Barnes are college kids through and through with neither the talent or drive to be big time NBA players. I guarantee both of them will be back in college this summer. There is a connection between all of those guys at the next level as well, especially between Kyrie and Harrison...so I wouldn't be surprised if Kyrie wants to play another year at Duke as well.

I think the conversation should go from Derrick Williams as the clear choice (it's beyond obvious now, no need to even argue the fact) to discussions about the ATL pick or....*gulp*...a trade down scenario.

Honestly...if we have to trade down then I'd prefer if we just didn't get ANY first rounders from this draft at all. If we lose the lottery and get the 3rd overall or 4th (guaranteed no D. Williams) then we should trade the ATL pick and our lottery pick for (hopefully) an unprotected top 5 2013 lottery pick.

Then we just pray for a lockout that fixes a broken NBA financial system that keeps teams like Washington down.

The Morale hit would be terrible for this team though...we might win 7 or 8 games next year if we don't bring in a great player from this draft.

[Dark Faze]

Oh and I forgot to mention that there's a chance that they'll change NBA eligibility for college students so they can't join the NBA until AFTER their sophmore season.

So we could basically see the same scrubs as the top 3 picks next year: Kyrie, Jared and Harrison.

I want to cry.

[doclinkin]

Sum up. Top of the draft:

I liked Derrick Williams since early, just love the way he plays. I understand any questions about his defense, but I think he'll be adequate. I don't see any comparsion to Jamison because he is never shy of contact and seems to play best defensively when the stakes are highest. He has the aptitude to improve and may even get stronger. Also he's tough minded, clutch, his balls so big he's bowlegged. And we all know the WizNasty maxim: bowleggedry is the mark of quality defense, if not to say BigManFluid PumpFakeReal UpDown BallControl!!!11!!!.

I suspect he's played himself into #1 overall contention, thus may be moot. My #1 for the Wiz just because it would make me happy to watch him play. He'll never cheat the fans for effort and attitude. I think he'd ignite excitement on the squad as well, and his skillset is a good fit next to Johnny Ballgame, stretch shooting also allows McGee a little elbow room on offensive interior.

But I have no illusion that his addition equals championship. He'd improve us quickly into the realm of mediocre to pretty good. Fun to watch though. Upgrade in the locker room, igniting fire in our other young talents, pizazz jazz and excitement. Thus more national interest, more positive stories of a young team on the rise etc, improving the PR as a potential destination for free agents etc.

Next: Championships are won with two-way superior interior Bigs. Enes Kanter looks like a solid two way big. Not dominant, but he has back-to-basket skills, face-up skills, is not scared of contact and has been that size since he was 15, has been playing professionally since early, thus has had time to develop ease and comfort with his biggery. He's got eurofundamentals, and the Turkish league is known for nasty play so I suspect he knows how to foul and cheat if needed. Athletically? He's groundbound and will have to use his off-glass skills etc to make some close in shots when crowded. He's a fundamentally sound rebounder with good size, but will not snatch it out the air nor dive out of area. Health will be a concern, but if he were on the squad this year he would have already taken JaVale's job as a starter. He's defensively decent, if not dominant. My #2. He's a good fit next to Johnny Ballgame, renders Dray BALtche superfluous maybe, but has face-up skills and passing so he'll help McGee.

Others: Seems to me Perry Jones has KFB syndrome: In the chest of the lion beats the heart of a pu55y ...cat. Doesn't seem to love to compete. Is way too big and athletic to rebound so poorly. Needs to dribble to create offense unless it's an alley oop. High center of gravity and I think his arms will measure short so I don't think the rebounding thing will even out. Not a good fit.

Jared Sullinger is moot. As suspected. He loves school and is smart enough to know his game needs work before he can do more than rebound at the next level. He will get better, he will be a good pick for the team that eventually takes him, but he'll slide down a few notches in another draft year to become a solid pick-up for a better team. Defense will still be an issue though.

Harrison Barnes can shoot pretty good. He's got a bit of size. Not sure he's all that much better right now than Justin Harper (with the Atlanta pick for instance) but being young has good upside and after a slow start has come on strong, which shows he adjusts and learns quickly. He burns cool, but seems to have good attitude, good self-assessment skills, and should improve. (His response to that question 'why the slow start?' was instructive: said he had never had any competition up to this point, it all came easily, so it took him a little bit to figure out what he could and couldn't do. Until he started hitting clutch 3pt shots). An alright consolation prize. Not tops on my chart since, other than shooting and smarts and upside, he doesn't seem to add much synergy. Harper adds a 6'10" guy who can rebound a little bit. Though the upside is lower. How much of an upgrade is HarBar over Nick? For instance.

Jonas Valanciunas [sp] is a long and active big who loves to compete and is as quick on the second bounce as the first. He'll be a positive annoyance to the opponent on defense. On offense, he's way raw. Not sure he'll be all that much better than John Henson. Both are skinny, both have wiry strength. He'll need to learn to flop to effectively defend Dwight Howard. But I like his fire and attitude. Hustle. Seems undaunted. You could bloody his nose and he wouldn't really notice or take offense, just keep doing what he do. Still, again, this year anyway he would have taken minutes from McGee.

Kyrie and Kemba as trade bait may net us an unprotected pick in future drafts as well as allowing a trade-down for a useful player today. Either will make the team that gets them very very happy and we'll hear a few on these boards complain we should have taken them as a back-up.

Mostly, towards the top, I want DWillzilla or Kanter.
======================

Lower picks (ignoring the late lotto and mid-first, where there are some nice players, but we won't qualify unless we trade up or down):

Bigs & Forwards:
KTime Faried will be a defensive difference maker, but needs to be surrounded with offense or bigs that can shoot. I'd take him. Don't know what I'd do with him, but I like him. He can initiate and finish the up court break: force the miss, snatch the rebound, then run the floor. At least that. Like a mini Bill Russell, doesn't have to score much to make a difference. Not the best fit next to John Wall except in attitude and finishing the alley oop.

Keith Benson can play in this league even if he lacks the fire of a Tristan Thompson. I'd take him.

Ditto Thompson who, while shorter has Big Fight in him. Ditto Los Bros Morris.

Nobody looking at Papa Dia. Skilled hustle big with range from a small conference. Senior, took every year to improve. Turns the ball over too much because his squad needed him to do too much, can he adjust to play a role? I think so. My sleeper pick, though I think he'll play at the PIT for seniors thus may attract more notice. [Edit-- Now i see DX finally has a profile on him. Took a while.]

Other sleepers: Arsalan Kazemi could play for the Spurs. Unexciting, no mistake, role player. No upside, no problem. He'll stay in school though and work on adding range to make the transition to SF.

Wings:

Alec Burks is destroying the NIT. Slasher, good boardwork for a 6'6" cat. Nice defense. If he develops that (improving) outside shot then he was a steal at your pick. Won't fall to the ATL pick though.

Klay Thompson will play at the next level. Smooth. Will rebound a bit. Iffy defense, but does what he can.

Chris Singleton is the swing defender that any team needs to advance deep in the playoffs. If he even adds adequate offense then your team is all the better.

[mhd]

Chris Singleton is a clear NBA player. He looks easily to be 6'10 with long arms, built, and a great defender. He's the type of role player winning teams have.

[closg00]

Yup & apparently Sullinger stayin in school anyway. Hope it's not a trend.

Seriously, that would really muck-up the works, isn't Barnes hinting at returning also? Irving isn't a sure-bet to come-out also. We would end-up with 3 Euro's in the Top-10.

[mhd]

Ideal draft day scenerio: Wiz win the lotto, Minny gets the 2nd pick, Utah gets the 3rd via NJ's pick.

Wiz trade Lewis+#1 for Okur (expiring)+Harris (expiring when team option is exercised)+Raja Bell (2012 expiring)+#3.

Jazz take Irving, Minny takes Barnes, and we take Derrick Williams. Lewis would actually fill a need for Utah as a replacement for AK47 and outside shooter. They can also shop Devin Harris to fill other needs like a 2g. They will have cap space when Lewis, Jefferson, and Milsapp expire at the same time.

Wiz save a ton of money on the deal as Bell makes 6.5 million less than the reported 10 million buy out of Lewis. They get more cap space for 2012.

NEW LINEUP for the Wiz:
PG: Wall/Crawford/Shakur
SG: Young/Crawford/Bell
SF: Williams/Miles/Bell
PF: Blatche/Booker
C: Okur/McGee/Seraphin

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Chris Singleton is a clear NBA player. He looks easily to be 6'10 with long arms, built, and a great defender. He's the type of role player winning teams have.

I like Singleton too. I really just want SF and PF/C with our 1st 2 picks. My preference given that scenario is D.Williams and Markieff Morris. But Kanter and Singleton could be a great scenario as well.

[nate33]

I don't think the Sullinger decision to stay in school affects things that much. I really didn't think Sullinger had any chance of going in the top 4 picks anyhow.

I think it's a mistake for him to stay in school though. My guess is that he'll show little improvement next year (he's already so polished) and he'll end up dropping some in the next draft.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

perry jones is vastly underrated as a sf prospect because of his pg situation. true freshman with decent numbers despite the light supposedly not coming on. harrison barnes was in the same situation. brandon knight is underrated but his emergence will make people with multiple picks pass on irving. harrison barnes is overrated cause is smart. enes kanter is underrated.

Jones is bust city. You don't have the type of talent that he has and never win at ANY level if you have any drive at all. The kid lost in high school and underachieved like crazy at Baylor. Unlike Derrick Williams, he has not shown any ability to handle the basketball outside of transition. Besides that though he has shown zero emotion on the court this year and has shown zero drive offensively despite having such a high FG percentage. He's passive and has no voice. There were so many times where he was soft and kept his mouth shut as LaceDarius Dunn jacked up bad shot after bad shot despite the fact that Perry frequently had decent post position inside.

He's got a ton of upside but I don't think the kid knows what he is. He played like a center and not like the face up, quick step PF that he should be. As for SF? Lol...he demonstrated nothing there at all, and while fast, his footing looks too awkward to play the position. His best case scenario is bulking up, shedding the passive mentality he's had and beasting as a face up 6'10 PF like Amare.

But it won't happen. He'll take as long to develop as McGee has.

As for this draft: Things are starting to look extremely dire for the Wiz. I don't think Barnes will come out. Sullinger and Barnes are college kids through and through with neither the talent or drive to be big time NBA players. I guarantee both of them will be back in college this summer. There is a connection between all of those guys at the next level as well, especially between Kyrie and Harrison...so I wouldn't be surprised if Kyrie wants to play another year at Duke as well.

I think the conversation should go from Derrick Williams as the clear choice (it's beyond obvious now, no need to even argue the fact) to discussions about the ATL pick or....*gulp*...a trade down scenario.

Honestly...if we have to trade down then I'd prefer if we just didn't get ANY first rounders from this draft at all. If we lose the lottery and get the 3rd overall or 4th (guaranteed no D. Williams) then we should trade the ATL pick and our lottery pick for (hopefully) an unprotected top 5 2013 lottery pick.

Then we just pray for a lockout that fixes a broken NBA financial system that keeps teams like Washington down.

The Morale hit would be terrible for this team though...we might win 7 or 8 games next year if we don't bring in a great player from this draft.

I agree with you (and truly appreciate your posts, BTW. Welcome aboard!, Dark Faze). Perry Jones scares me because he hasn't won at all with that talent.

From past drafts I've seen where a guy like Blair won everywhere. HS, US youth international games where he was MVP, and Final Four with Pitt. Won at every level with him the best player. Derrick Rose got to an NCAA championship game and should it really be a surprise he well Chicago is doing and he's the MVP candidate? Dwayne Wade (with Steve Novak and another good PG who had a cup of coffee in the NBA) made the Final Four. Guys who win a whole lot do so for a reason: They are good.

Perry Jones isn't showing me that. But I'm not sure I'm right ...

Now Perry Jones COULD turn out to be an Amare or a Lamar Odom. Stoudemire went to a bunch of HS programs. Odom transferred after taking payments from a UNLV booster and getting that school on probation, to Rhode Island. He even had a drug suspension as a young NBA player. Yet, both those guys have been very solid to great pros.

[illyasova]

[quote="nate33"]I
That leaves D.Williams, Kanter and Barnes. I like Williams over Barnes. I don't know how to rank Kanter. I'll have to defer to the scouts who get a chance to work him out

I am from Turkey and big fan of Enes Kanter. It is easily to be said that he would be top 3 if he had a chance to show himself for the NCAA season. He is 6'10.5 in shoes and 265 pounds with brute strength and thick body. He won the MVP of U16 and U18 Europeanchampionship. Just a quick note, he destroyed the lithunian guy jonas Valanciunas as some mentions he is next Gasol with 35 points and 25 rebounds. He is the youngest player ever played in Euroleageue match when he was 16. He was back up player of Omer Asik of Bulls and Cavaliers of Semih Erden.

Some mentions him as Al Horford but i do not agree with that. He is for sure better rebounder and post up player, stronger, taller and has better face up game. Also people try to decide about him as slow and unathletic with one game Nike Hoop Summit in 2010 but this approach is not true either. He is less athletic than Al Horford etc but he is gonna be more athletic than most of the centers in NBA and i believe in him that he can play at PF too. He even interviewed for a Turkish Slam magazine and told that he does not wanna play center but PF. For fitting at this position he told how he improved his shot range and he could make 3 point shots from the college line.

About his knees, he got arthroscopy surgery 2 and half years ago. He didnt play 6 months over it but then after the surgery, he played half season in Fenerbahce his european club.

So, according to me, he can be a good fit to Wizards rather playing as a center or as a PF . His flaws are not being a good help defender or pick n roll defender (even though he is solid one and one defense), not chasing the perimiter guy fast enough ( Matt Boner, Okur, Ryan Anderson etc could be problem for him) and believing in himself so much (like trying to go up to the ball directly instead of boxing out).

Sorry so long post but last he is gonna be double double machine for sure. My guess in his rookie year he can produce 15 points 10 rebs easily.

[Black Eyed Sooz]

I think Sullinger staying increases the chances that we end up with Perry Jones. If we draft at 4-6 he almost has too much talent to pass up- and he really seems like a good natured and unselfish kid.

This is a great profile on him from the New York Times here.

I don't think he will be another Kwame or Andray Blatche; but the question is, will he be another Yi. Somehow I feel like he would be a better fit with us than people think, especially with John Wall and also Jordan Crawford who really impresses me with how he looks to pass the ball to the big men.

But we absolutely would have to get rid of Blatche, but hey, we have to do that anyway.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

What about Hansbrough with the 2nd rounder? We can use a backup pg, and I love his effort. Could be a good change of pace coming off the bench for Wall, plays hard and smart, and shoot the 3.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I
That leaves D.Williams, Kanter and Barnes. I like Williams over Barnes. I don't know how to rank Kanter. I'll have to defer to the scouts who get a chance to work him out

I am from Turkey and big fan of Enes Kanter. It is easily to be said that he would be top 3 if he had a chance to show himself for the NCAA season. He is 6'10.5 in shoes and 265 pounds with brute strength and thick body. He won the MVP of U16 and U18 Europeanchampionship. Just a quick note, he destroyed the lithunian guy jonas Valanciunas as some mentions he is next Gasol with 35 points and 25 rebounds. He is the youngest player ever played in Euroleageue match when he was 16. He was back up player of Omer Asik of Bulls and Cavaliers of Semih Erden.

Some mentions him as Al Horford but i do not agree with that. He is for sure better rebounder and post up player, stronger, taller and has better face up game. Also people try to decide about him as slow and unathletic with one game Nike Hoop Summit in 2010 but this approach is not true either. He is less athletic than Al Horford etc but he is gonna be more athletic than most of the centers in NBA and i believe in him that he can play at PF too. He even interviewed for a Turkish Slam magazine and told that he does not wanna play center but PF. For fitting at this position he told how he improved his shot range and he could make 3 point shots from the college line.

About his knees, he got arthroscopy surgery 2 and half years ago. He didnt play 6 months over it but then after the surgery, he played half season in Fenerbahce his european club.

So, according to me, he can be a good fit to Wizards rather playing as a center or as a PF . His flaws are not being a good help defender or pick n roll defender (even though he is solid one and one defense), not chasing the perimiter guy fast enough ( Matt Boner, Okur, Ryan Anderson etc could be problem for him) and believing in himself so much (like trying to go up to the ball directly instead of boxing out).

Sorry so long post but last he is gonna be double double machine for sure. My guess in his rookie year he can produce 15 points 10 rebs easily.

This is a very good post. Thank you, ilyasova. We as Wizard fans would like if Kanter was allowed to play for Kentucky, and then we could have seen for ourselves. Your information tells what a lot of us don't know, but you sound true to your words.

I won't be disappointed if the Wizards work Kanter out, have his knees checked and rechecked, and he is the pick. I still prefer Derrick Williams after seeing him many times, but Kanter also who seems to be a good fit.

[FAH1223]

That leaves D.Williams, Kanter and Barnes. I like Williams over Barnes. I don't know how to rank Kanter. I'll have to defer to the scouts who get a chance to work him out.

I am from Turkey and big fan of Enes Kanter. It is easily to be said that he would be top 3 if he had a chance to show himself for the NCAA season. He is 6'10.5 in shoes and 265 pounds with brute strength and thick body. He won the MVP of U16 and U18 Europeanchampionship. Just a quick note, he destroyed the lithunian guy jonas Valanciunas as some mentions he is next Gasol with 35 points and 25 rebounds. He is the youngest player ever played in Euroleageue match when he was 16. He was back up player of Omer Asik of Bulls and Cavaliers of Semih Erden.

Some mentions him as Al Horford but i do not agree with that. He is for sure better rebounder and post up player, stronger, taller and has better face up game. Also people try to decide about him as slow and unathletic with one game Nike Hoop Summit in 2010 but this approach is not true either. He is less athletic than Al Horford etc but he is gonna be more athletic than most of the centers in NBA and i believe in him that he can play at PF too. He even interviewed for a Turkish Slam magazine and told that he does not wanna play center but PF. For fitting at this position he told how he improved his shot range and he could make 3 point shots from the college line.

About his knees, he got arthroscopy surgery 2 and half years ago. He didnt play 6 months over it but then after the surgery, he played half season in Fenerbahce his european club.

So, according to me, he can be a good fit to Wizards rather playing as a center or as a PF . His flaws are not being a good help defender or pick n roll defender (even though he is solid one and one defense), not chasing the perimiter guy fast enough ( Matt Boner, Okur, Ryan Anderson etc could be problem for him) and believing in himself so much (like trying to go up to the ball directly instead of boxing out).

Sorry so long post but last he is gonna be double double machine for sure. My guess in his rookie year he can produce 15 points 10 rebs easily.

Are you saying Kanter doesn't box out? Oh lord, another big man on our roster that doesn't box out

But he does seem to like to play back to the basket and face up from the euro highlights...

[Dark Faze]

Omer and Erden are guys that can board, put a body on a guy, and have great size. Asik has been extremely impressive. If Kanter even turns out to be a better offensive version of Asik then it's worth a look.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Asik is a monster on the boards. He's part of why I think the Bulls could win it all this season. He's like their fourth or fifth big man but he could start on a few teams, the Wizards maybe included.

[illyasova]

This is a very good post. Thank you, ilyasova. We as Wizard fans would like if Kanter was allowed to play for Kentucky, and then we could have seen for ourselves. Your information tells what a lot of us don't know, but you sound true to your words.

I won't be disappointed if the Wizards work Kanter out, have his knees checked and rechecked, and he is the pick. I still prefer Derrick Williams after seeing him many times, but Kanter also who seems to be a good fit.[/quote]

You are welcum, hope to see Wall, Kanter and javale trio next year.

[mhd]

I think Minny can win one more game on their schedule (NJ). They have a ton of hard teams. The tank is strong with them. It looks like we will likely finish 3rd, although we could tank just as hard and lose to the Cavs twice to close the gap on the #1 pick.