Draft Thread Continued. 2011 part two...

[Ruzious]

Thompson is a great defender, a decent rebounder, and a terrible offensive player. He has no post game and no shot. Basically, he's Kenneth Faried minus the rebounding. The only difference is that Faried has proven in four years that he's never really going to develop an offensive game. Thompson at least has the "upside potential" of being a freshman.

A 48% FT%. Eww.

He may be a quality defender in college, but he'll be an under-sized PF in height and weight in the NBA. Even with a 7'2 wingspan, he's going to have trouble defending big PFs. I think he's a JJ Hickson level prospect - better than his overrated teammate - Jordan Hamilton.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Update: Tristan Thompson is entering the draft. INTERESTING.

Thompson is a great defender, a decent rebounder, and a terrible offensive player. He has no post game and no shot. Basically, he's Kenneth Faried minus the rebounding. The only difference is that Faried has proven in four years that he's never really going to develop an offensive game. Thompson at least has the "upside potential" of being a freshman.

A 48% FT%. Eww.

I like Thompson and will be happy if he, Faried, or Chris Singleton are the pick at #18.

The first couple times I saw Tristan Thompson I was blown away by his competitiveness and his defensive prowess. If he can defend both threes and fours he can be a very valuable addition to the team. I think Tristan Thompson's a better prospect not only than Jordan Hamilton, but I like him way more than Perry Jones, and also more than Terrance Jones.

This kid was a 5-star recruit out of a couple strong HS programs before he got to Texas. I think he'll trend upward on GM's lists prior to the NBA draft.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

how come we dont want Donatas Motiejunas? i think he would be great for this team and he would pair real nice with john wall.

I like him. Don't care if he's weak and has no ups, he seems like a very good shooter and a deft and willing passer. He is legitimately 7' tall.

One caveat: I hope he slips to #18. That's where he could be a good pick. I doubt he's another Pecherov because at 20 Motiejunas is excelling with Benetton Treviso. He's the same age as Wall and playing in a tough league that's not far off the NBA. He's got serious upside. I think he's a nice player, potentially.

[Induveca]

Meh. I'd take Dirk, the Gasols and Tony Parker on my team any day -- not to mention the "less innovative" Sabonis, Vlade Divac, Kukoc, Dragic, Drazen Petrovic, etc.

The Spaniards seemed pretty damned competitive in the gold medal game in Beijing, even though they had half the talent of the Americans.

Let me guess. Joakim Noah's fierce competitiveness comes from his upbringing in America, not his world champion French father??

These strike me as the frustrated ramblings of someone who has admittedly had a few too many. Moving on....

Move on happily, understand your perspective. But there are 12 flops for each guy you name......the ratio is quite poor for the supposed cream of the basketball crop from an entire continent.

I've lived in 8 countries in my life, always around business......I have a solid perspective on this. The work ethic in the EU lacks passion and excitement. Live over here for a while, and you'll see what I mean if you've ever worked in a dynamic US tech company.

[Rafael122]

David Thorpe write up on what the Wizards should do in the draft, part of a longer article:

If Toronto is sick about Barnes, the Wizards are in intensive care. They have a franchise talent in Wall and must take care to surround him with skilled shooters with athleticism and great character. Barnes would have been heaven sent because players with those three traits are rare indeed.



JaVale McGee had a breakthrough season and is the league's best shot-blocker, so drafting anyone who could take away his minutes would be a problem. But in Enes Kanter, the Wiz can get someone who can play alongside McGee and be a backup center, while giving them more scoring punch inside. McGee is not a great first option inside, and Kanter has a chance to be just that. His feel and poise inside are impressive. Because Kanter hasn't played in a real game in a year, it may take him a while to recover, but he's been working every day on his game. And compared to the other top Euros the Wiz can consider drafting, Kanter is already comfortable playing in and being in this country, an advantage when we think of how many other young players the Wizards have, plus they have three of the top 35 picks in this draft. Think of Kanter/McGee as a clone to the Boozer/Noah tandem in Chicago, with Wall playing the Derrick Rose role

Also write up on Tristan Thompson, just highlighting the positives and negatives:

Positives:
•Long, athletic forward
•Huge 7-foot-2 wingspan
•Excellent motor
•Versatile scorer
•Awesome on the offensive boards
•Has a good handle for a big man
•Good shot blocker

Negatives
•Not dominant at any one thing
•A bit undersized
•Still developing his perimeter game

I mean, he's already got a solid foundation, so if he can improving on his scoring, that'd be great, but again, I don't think we're gonna ask him to carry us to 25 points per game, rather another piece to the puzzle.

[closg00]

how come we dont want Donatas Motiejunas? i think he would be great for this team and he would pair real nice with john wall.

I like him. Don't care if he's weak and has no ups, he seems like a very good shooter and a deft and willing passer. He is legitimately 7' tall.

One caveat: I hope he slips to #18. That's where he could be a good pick. I doubt he's another Pecherov because at 20 Motiejunas is excelling with Benetton Treviso. He's the same age as Wall and playing in a tough league that's not far off the NBA. He's got serious upside. I think he's a nice player, potentially.

+1 I doubt Donut slips to 18 in this draft, I think he'd provide some depth for the 2nd unit... another stretch-4 option...worth serious consideration.

[GhostsOfGil]

i seriously dont understand the hype surrounding barnes.

[thinker07]

ESPN Lottery Machine has this draft board for the Wiz:

1 - DWill
2 - Kanter
3 - Valanciunas
4 - Vesely
5 - Bismark

[Black Eyed Sooz]

ESPN Lottery Machine has this draft board for the Wiz:

1 - DWill
2 - Kanter
3 - Valanciunas
4 - Vesely
5 - Bismark

That's pretty close to what I would say, except I would put Bismack even with Valanciunas and bump Vesely down. I would love to see Bismack, Kanter, and Valanciunas going head to head in workouts- our three international men of mystery. I suspect that Kanter is less of a mystery than he seems- John Wall probably knows exactly what this guy can and can't do from his Kentucky connections. But anyway I think we need a big man who is a physical presence, who can actually inflict some physical pain on the opposition. And we need to trade Blatche yesterday.

Again, Draftexpress continues to put Valanciunas in the top 5- I'm assuming based on film they have of him and Kanter going head to head.

Re Barnes- I also don't get all the pining over this guy. He's not a great athlete, he doesn't handle the ball tremendously well or have shifty moves to free himself up, he's not a great shooter, he's not a great anything. I still say he smells like another Calbert Cheaney, and that's really not what we need.

[no D in Hibachi]

SI.com has a pretty good, but rather depressing, article about the upcoming draft. In particular the rise of the international players. Here's a nugget from an NBA exec with damning praise for both the American and international prospects:

In fact, the reality that these particular players are on the rise is seen by some as an indictment of the American-born crop as it currently stands.

"I guarantee you, if this was next year's class, with the guys who are going back to school and the incoming freshmen, nobody would feel the need to spend months of time in Kaunas, Lithuania [Motiejunas' hometown]," one general manager said. "But you start staring at Kemba Walker and [Kentucky guard] Brandon Knight and [Kentucky forward] Terrence Jones and Kawhi Leonard in the lottery, and you start going, 'Oh, my God, I'd better get on a plane and go find somebody.' "

To me it sort of sounds like a guy trapped on a deserted island with a girl who might be a 3 on her best day (if your drunk) then deciding to explore the island in hopes of finding someone more attractive even if you already know that you are the only two creatures on the island.

[DaRealHibachi]

Meh. I'd take Dirk, the Gasols and Tony Parker on my team any day -- not to mention the "less innovative" Sabonis, Vlade Divac, Kukoc, Dragic, Drazen Petrovic, etc.

The Spaniards seemed pretty damned competitive in the gold medal game in Beijing, even though they had half the talent of the Americans.

Let me guess. Joakim Noah's fierce competitiveness comes from his upbringing in America, not his world champion French father??

These strike me as the frustrated ramblings of someone who has admittedly had a few too many. Moving on....

Move on happily, understand your perspective. But there are 12 flops for each guy you name......the ratio is quite poor for the supposed cream of the basketball crop from an entire continent.

I've lived in 8 countries in my life, always around business......I have a solid perspective on this. The work ethic in the EU lacks passion and excitement. Live over here for a while, and you'll see what I mean if you've ever worked in a dynamic US tech company.

Meh, it should be looked at on a company to company basis... I live in the Netherlands and worked at my fair share of companies and IMO, there's enough passions and excitement to be found...

[fishercob]

Meh. I'd take Dirk, the Gasols and Tony Parker on my team any day -- not to mention the "less innovative" Sabonis, Vlade Divac, Kukoc, Dragic, Drazen Petrovic, etc.

The Spaniards seemed pretty damned competitive in the gold medal game in Beijing, even though they had half the talent of the Americans.

Let me guess. Joakim Noah's fierce competitiveness comes from his upbringing in America, not his world champion French father??

These strike me as the frustrated ramblings of someone who has admittedly had a few too many. Moving on....

Move on happily, understand your perspective. But there are 12 flops for each guy you name......the ratio is quite poor for the supposed cream of the basketball crop from an entire continent.

I've lived in 8 countries in my life, always around business......I have a solid perspective on this. The work ethic in the EU lacks passion and excitement. Live over here for a while, and you'll see what I mean if you've ever worked in a dynamic US tech company.

12 flops, eh? Since you're an expert on the subject what's the ratio for Americans? Can you break that down by urban/rural upbringing? North-south perhaps?

Indu, I'm not discounting your business experiences. I do, however, take issue with trying to glean anything meaningful from them when it comes to who will succeed in the NBA. Each prospect must be assessed on a case by case basis; that way, you don't miss out on a great player because your memory has generalized assumptions about people from a certain part of the world.

There are or have been excellent NBA players from Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain, Canada, Germany, Congo, Nigeria, Russia, Croatia, Serbia, China, Lithuania, Netherlands, Australia, Turkey, the USVI, etc. As a businessman, do you think it's a good use of resources to understand the financial incentive structures that all of these governments have put in place for the workforces as a means of determining who will be a successful NBA player? I'd stick to scouting and getting to know as much about the individual as possible.

[VictorPage44]

The theory that what makes a good businessman is also makes a good basketball player is preposterous to begin with. The us has better ballers than Europe because the sport has just started to catch on in Europe whereas basketball has been a popular sport in the us for a long time. Soccer works in the opposite direction. Europeans laugh out loud at how soft the game is played in the us-- but the us still has a good amount of international players. The amount of good foreign/euro players in the nba has gone up since dirk and will continue to do so. If ur going to pass on all euros because there hasn't been one as good as dirk the past ten years, you better start ruling out dozens of states too because dirk is a top ten player over that span.

[pancakes3]

the japanese are a clean and industrious people, it's a shame they're so mentally weak and can't produce NBA players.

*(yeah i know, the first asian bball player was a jap guy back in the 50's, but what have they done lately?)

[sfam]

Re: the European mindset, I'm willing to believe that all things being equal, there's a more competitive spirit in a US player, but all things are never equal. Some Euro players have terrific skills and drive. I'm not all all wanting to discount drafting a Euro, my concern is with the stashing strategy. That approach basically says one of two things - 1) that you're already so stocked (like a San Antonio, for instance) that you cannot imagine bringing in another person this year, or 2) that everyone else you look at probably sucks and that you're hoping (often without basis) that this Euro dude might magically get better next year. This is far more likely to be the Wizards' stance. Personally, I'd rather take a chance on someone this year, as the Wizards CLEARLY are not stacked with talent.

[sfam]

The more I spend time looking at things, the more I want Kanter. He, with Blatche and McGee fighting over the PF spot, with Seraphin as a backup C looks like a decent starting lineup to me. My rationale is Blatche and McGee fighting over one spot will make at least one of them come closer to their potential.

Also, this draft is loaded with SFs - we can find one with the 18th pick.

[fishercob]

Re: the European mindset, I'm willing to believe that all things being equal, there's a more competitive spirit in a US player, but all things are never equal. Some Euro players have terrific skills and drive. I'm not all all wanting to discount drafting a Euro, my concern is with the stashing strategy. That approach basically says one of two things - 1) that you're already so stocked (like a San Antonio, for instance) that you cannot imagine bringing in another person this year, or 2) that everyone else you look at probably sucks and that you're hoping (often without basis) that this Euro dude might magically get better next year. This is far more likely to be the Wizards' stance. Personally, I'd rather take a chance on someone this year, as the Wizards CLEARLY are not stacked with talent.

If the Wizards resign Nick, they'll have 8 players under contract -- 7 of them aged 25 or under. We've got three picks in the top 35. I'm just not sure it wise to have 10 of our 12 active players be kids. Maybe I'm wrong in that regard, especially with Wall running the show and leading this group, but that just strikes me as a bit too young.

So to me, there's some benefit in owning a player's rights while letting him develop elsewhere. I wouldn't expect anyone to every "magically" get better. I expect guys to get better as their bodies mature, they gain experience, and they work their asses off. Happens all the time. So if there's an opportunity to draft someone and let him develop on someone else's dime, not take up cap room, I'd certainly look at it. It would *not* be the guiding force behind my drafting someone, but it could be a benefit nonetheless.

Also, the only reason I'd want to stash someone is if their buyout situation made it such that teams were staying away and they were dropping in the draft to the point of them being a great value. And the more I think about it, it would have to be with the 18 or 35, not the lotto pick -- even if it drops to 7. At 18 or 35, you can afford to stash a guy -- if the value is right. I'm not advocating "taking a flier" on a Pecherov type. But if you've got Mirotic or Vanaciunus as 10th on your board or something, and they're their, I'm fine with taking them and waiting a year or two to get them over here.

[LyricalRico]

Guys, FORGET about this year's draft. Or next year's, or the year after that. My new fave Wiz strategy? Tank for as long as it takes to draft THIS kid! He's not only a deadly shooter, but he knows the importance of stopping for snacks.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kx6MjyBE00[/youtube]

[fishercob]

Dat wouldn't touch that kid with a 10-foot pole, and you know why...

[verbal8]

He's not only a deadly shooter, but he knows the importance of stopping for snacks.

I think a taste for the snacks as a toddler might indicate a taste for the night life as an NBA young star