Draft Thread Continued. 2011 part two...

[SUPERBALLMAN]

DWill says he is better sf than pf.

Also, AZ getting knocked out & him being in foul trouble was good for us to help keep is stock lower.

[dobrojim]

Word for word I agree on that one, nate.

+2

[Geaux Wiz]

I'm not an expert on how the lottery works, so what is the latest pick we can get if we have 3rd worst record by the end of the season?

[Ruzious]

I'm not an expert on how the lottery works, so what is the latest pick we can get if we have 3rd worst record by the end of the season?

6th. It's just the 1st 3 picks that are selected by ping pong balls. After that, you just go in order.

[Dark Faze]

I'm surprised to hear that Derrick would prefer to play the 3 in the NBA.

He would get plenty of opportunities to try both positions with the Wizards. Especially with the versatility we have between Shard, Booker and Dray.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm not surprised to hear him say he's a SF. Like he said in the wiretap, at 6'8" and 230 he's better considered a 3-4 than a 4-3 in the NBA. We've been comparing him to Melo for weeks.

I think he's such a superior shooter/scorer, that in addition to playing SF or PF, Derrick will find himself occasionally playing a bit as a small ball C in the NBA. Remember Ruffin and Songaila playing C? I cringed when I saw it misused in the playoffs, but a lot of the times in the regular season EJ used them or even Jamison as a small ball C with success. I can see Derrick Williams being that versatile where he can do that. JJ Hickson's a better rebounder, but he comes to mind when I think of Derrick Williams' skill set.

Dark Faze, regarding his comments, I believe Derrick Williams might WANT to play for the Wizards. The salute on his dunks has to be inspired by Javale. Hm saying he wants to play SF is music to the Wizards ears, because that's exactly where they need a young talent the most. I think having John Wall on the team, another North Carolinian, might be appealing to Derrick.

Man, I hope the Wizards are lucky and can draft that kid!

[hands11]

I'm going to have a really hard time of things is frkn Cleveland takes the player we want.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2011mock_draft

What is this crap.

Wizards to get Kyle Irving? lol

Might not be all bad? That's a prime trade scenario. What would Sacto, or Cleveland, or Toronto, or somebody else give up for Irving?

I have read a few things about this and they seem to suggest teams in the past have made the mistake of drafting position over best available player. If you have a top pick, you draft what has the most value first. Then you do something with it if you need to. I think there is lot of validity to that approach.

If someone offers you a 300,000 house in the city but you want a house in the country that is only worth 200,000, you take the 300,000 house than work out a plan to turn it into the other house. I know this can get tricky sometimes. Point is, don't draft the 4th player with the 2nd pick. Either get the 2nd player regardless of position or trade the pick. You have to maximize your value.

More will be revealed. For one, we need to know what pick we get. Second, we don't even know who will be on the board yet.

I'll watch and enjoy the rest of the tournament and the rest of the Washington games and enjoy both as a fan. That's all there is anyway. Not like any of us get to choose who the Wizards are going to pick anyway. The discussion about what to do is fun and interesting but without all the facts, you can't figure out the puzzle.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Man the draft still like 3 months away! We got the lottery to look forward to, then the combine & workouts.

If we can add Derrick Williams, maybe Markieff Morris with the ATL pick, or Faried, and add a G to the mix in the 2nd round!

We'd have McGee continue at center, hopefully after a good offseason, Seraphin with a year of experience, as well as N'diaye. Maybe keep Yi as a C/PF who can shoot off the bench. Blatche can also be used here.

PF we have Blatche, challenged by Morris, as well as Booker. Yi, Seraphin, Williams, Lewis can all see action here as well.

SF we have DWilliams, and Lewis. We can also add depth with Howard, Evans or Martin. Young can also slide up here.

G we got Young, Crawford, Wall as a foundation. We can add a backup pg or combo G in the 2nd round. Possibly keep Shakur. Howard/Martin can play some 2. Maybe the 2nd rounder can yield a N.Smith, Hansbrough, Holiday, or Buford.

This draft is crucial. We actually have a decent young foundation in place if we can add a couple right pieces to the mix.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Maybe another tweak or 2 via trade or FA. But this draft is the key and crucial to any hopes this team has to turn things around.

[closg00]

Philly and Sixers nip-and-tuck late in the 4th quarter.

Edit. OT

[Ruzious]

:gossip: Philly and Sixers nip-and-tuck late in the 4th quarter.

Edit. OT

Yeah, Sweet Lou Williams, who was 0-8 at the time, hit a buzzer beating 32 footer to tie it - almost ruining Marcus Thornton's heroics.

[tontoz]

Cousins...

[closg00]

Sweet!!! SAC pulls out the W in OT gaining one-game in the tank-race

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Barnes vs T.Jones should be a good one to watch!

[Dat2U]

I like hearing that Williams thinks of himself as a 3/4. You are what you think you are, not who someone else thinks you are. I like him much better as a 3 but he can certainly match up as a 4 in long stretches when teams go small.

If Perry Jones sees himself as a SF, then that's what he should play as long as he's got the ability to do so. I know many on here don't like Perry but remember the jump that Williams made from his freshman to sophomore season? Williams averaged nearly 16 & 7. Would anyone have taken Williams with a top 5 pick last year? Jones averaged nearly 14 & 7 with an absolutely terrible back court playing in a system that didn't utilize any of his talents. Another comparison would be Favors who was in a similar scenario to Jones. Favors played with a terrible backcourt and suffered from poor coaching. He averaged 12 & 8. Many people here would gladly trade the 1st pick this year for Favors who was the 3rd pick last year. So when people say how can you draft a player so high who played so poorly and couldn't do anything at the college level, I kind of thinking they are letting they're hate of potential cloud their judgement. Drafting in the NBA is a tricky and imperfect process. This is not like football where you are looking for the most ready made prospect. Or trying to draft the safest player available. If it was all about who scored the most or who got the most rebounds, Nick Fazekas would have been an all-star and we'd be extolling the virtues of Andrew Goudelock right now.

Going back to the general hate of potential. I think the board is collectively suffering from Kwamblajavitis. I guess were tired of waiting for potential to develop after watching Kwame for 4 years, Blatche for 6 and McGee for 3 with very mixed results at best. But not all propsects are created equal. I don't think you can let a previous bad experience influence your decisions in the future. Every prospect is different. I don't like the Blatche/Jones comparisons at all because I don't think they are nothing alike. Jones has a different makeup. Jones seems like a more cerebral cat. He's definitely 2 or 3 steps quicker and probably doesn't have an equal athletically in his 6-10 frame. He's explosive and cat quick, everything Blatche is not. And I don't see the selfishness or immaturity that has plagued Blatche into his 20s.

Personally I'd take Williams with my pick and be okay with it. But if we don't end up with the #1 pick and Jones is one the board and were picking at 3 or 4, I grab him and don't look back. There probably will be players drafted after him who will come in and make a quicker impact but it isn't about who's the best player next season. No one would take Landry Fields over Derrick Favors except for mentally warped Knicks fans. It's about which player gives you the best opportunity for long term success when its time to start winning games. Jones IMO is that guy.

[mhd]

I like hearing that Williams thinks of himself as a 3/4. You are what you think you are, not who someone else thinks you are. I like him much better as a 3 but he can certainly match up as a 4 in long stretches when teams go small.

If Perry Jones sees himself as a SF, then that's what he should play as long as he's got the ability to do so. I know many on here don't like Perry but remember the jump that Williams made from his freshman to sophomore season? Williams averaged nearly 16 & 7. Would anyone have taken Williams with a top 5 pick last year? Jones averaged nearly 14 & 7 with an absolutely terrible back court playing in a system that didn't utilize any of his talents. Another comparison would be Favors who was in a similar scenario to Jones. Favors played with a terrible backcourt and suffered from poor coaching. He averaged 12 & 8. Many people here would gladly trade the 1st pick this year for Favors who was the 3rd pick last year. So when people say how can you draft a player so high who played so poorly and couldn't do anything at the college level, I kind of thinking they are letting they're hate of potential cloud their judgement. Drafting in the NBA is a tricky and imperfect process. This is not like football where you are looking for the most ready made prospect. Or trying to draft the safest player available. If it was all about who scored the most or who got the most rebounds, Nick Fazekas would have been an all-star and we'd be extolling the virtues of Andrew Goudelock right now.

Going back to the general hate of potential. I think the board is collectively suffering from Kwamblajavitis. I guess were tired of waiting for potential to develop after watching Kwame for 4 years, Blatche for 6 and McGee for 3 with very mixed results at best. But not all propsects are created equal. I don't think you can let a previous bad experience influence your decisions in the future. Every prospect is different. I don't like the Blatche/Jones comparisons at all because I don't think they are nothing alike. Jones has a different makeup. Jones seems like a more cerebral cat. He's definitely 2 or 3 steps quicker and probably doesn't have an equal athletically in his 6-10 frame. He's explosive and cat quick, everything Blatche is not. And I don't see the selfishness or immaturity that has plagued Blatche into his 20s.

Personally I'd take Williams with my pick and be okay with it. But if we don't end up with the #1 pick and Jones is one the board and were picking at 3 or 4, I grab him and don't look back. There probably will be players drafted after him who will come in and make a quicker impact but it isn't about who's the best player next season. No one would take Landry Fields over Derrick Favors except for mentally warped Knicks fans. It's about which player gives you the best opportunity for long term success when its time to start winning games. Jones IMO is that guy.

There is no doubt Perry Jones passes the eyeball test. I wouldn't have a problem personally of trying to trade up (and taking bad contracts back) to take him as a SF if we drafted Williams or Kanter with our other high lotto pick. I would not have a problem drafting Perry Jones. You can see the Tmac comparisons.

[tontoz]

Like many here the two players i am really interested in are Kanter and DWill. I think i might take Perry over Barnes.

[nate33]

I like hearing that Williams thinks of himself as a 3/4. You are what you think you are, not who someone else thinks you are. I like him much better as a 3 but he can certainly match up as a 4 in long stretches when teams go small.

If Perry Jones sees himself as a SF, then that's what he should play as long as he's got the ability to do so. I know many on here don't like Perry but remember the jump that Williams made from his freshman to sophomore season? Williams averaged nearly 16 & 7. Would anyone have taken Williams with a top 5 pick last year? Jones averaged nearly 14 & 7 with an absolutely terrible back court playing in a system that didn't utilize any of his talents. Another comparison would be Favors who was in a similar scenario to Jones. Favors played with a terrible backcourt and suffered from poor coaching. He averaged 12 & 8. Many people here would gladly trade the 1st pick this year for Favors who was the 3rd pick last year. So when people say how can you draft a player so high who played so poorly and couldn't do anything at the college level, I kind of thinking they are letting they're hate of potential cloud their judgement. Drafting in the NBA is a tricky and imperfect process. This is not like football where you are looking for the most ready made prospect. Or trying to draft the safest player available. If it was all about who scored the most or who got the most rebounds, Nick Fazekas would have been an all-star and we'd be extolling the virtues of Andrew Goudelock right now.

Going back to the general hate of potential. I think the board is collectively suffering from Kwamblajavitis. I guess were tired of waiting for potential to develop after watching Kwame for 4 years, Blatche for 6 and McGee for 3 with very mixed results at best. But not all propsects are created equal. I don't think you can let a previous bad experience influence your decisions in the future. Every prospect is different. I don't like the Blatche/Jones comparisons at all because I don't think they are nothing alike. Jones has a different makeup. Jones seems like a more cerebral cat. He's definitely 2 or 3 steps quicker and probably doesn't have an equal athletically in his 6-10 frame. He's explosive and cat quick, everything Blatche is not. And I don't see the selfishness or immaturity that has plagued Blatche into his 20s.

Personally I'd take Williams with my pick and be okay with it. But if we don't end up with the #1 pick and Jones is one the board and were picking at 3 or 4, I grab him and don't look back. There probably will be players drafted after him who will come in and make a quicker impact but it isn't about who's the best player next season. No one would take Landry Fields over Derrick Favors except for mentally warped Knicks fans. It's about which player gives you the best opportunity for long term success when its time to start winning games. Jones IMO is that guy.

Great post Dat2U. You make a compelling argument.

My biggest concern about Perry is that it doesn't look like he has a motor. He has a Blatche-like tendency to stare at the ball rather than moving instinctively to a position where he can make an impact on the play. I think that's an innate trait, and not one that can be substantially improved upon.

If anything, I think the "he's just a freshman" argument applies more to Harrison Barnes. Barnes at least appears to have the right instincts to be a winning basketball player. I share your concerns that he's little more than a jumpshooter right now, but I think that's something that he CAN improve upon in time. I think Barnes will have a pro experience similar to James Harden. He'll start off as a role player just trying to fit in. But over time, once the opportunity presents itself, he'll step up and become more of a primary threat.

[Illuminaire]

The thought of drafting either Barnes or Jones makes me throw up in my mouth a little. Is it too much to ask for the next Scotty Pippen? I'm tired of being stuck with the Al Harringtons and Kwame Browns of the world. =p

[Inliten1]

Players with the heart to compete. That should be an almost equal factor to the usual basketball skills.
Arizona could have easily lost to Duke if it wasn't for Williams putting the team on his back, giving them a chance to make the second half relevant.

Put one of Henson or Zeller on Arizona's squad and they'll likely still be playing. On the flip-slide, if Barnes not Williams was on Arizona's team, they would have lost in the first or second round. Barnes doesn't have the makeup to will a team to victory.

One thing about Williams' game that should get more mention is the fouls he draws. It seems like one out of every four plays or so ends up being a foul because of the physical nature of his game. Defenders have to match his physicality and the offensive player always gets more leeway.

The Wizards hardly put players in foul trouble and adding this dimension of the game would certainly help.