2011 DRAFT blather goes here. Part 3...

[TGW]

Brooks' length is incredible. He has the wingspan of a power forward. He's definitely intriguing but do we use a pick on another guard when we have a gaping hole at small forward?

[verbal8]

Rico, there are 96 big man minutes available per night; I'd have no problem drafting Kanter if he turns out to be more of a C/PF than a PF/C.

If we draft Enes, there will be nights where he and McGee coexist just fine and nights when we'd want to have one of the court with Blatche or Booker.

If by some chance both McGee and Kanter develop and we end up with two productive promising pure centers, we'll be in great position to improve the team and deal from a position of strength. Everyone always needs a center.

Last season, Cousins and Monroe were the only rookie bigs that played over 2000 minutes for the season(there were no bigs in 2009). If Kanter is that good as a rookie Center, he probably is doing things well enough to play some out of position. Heck I think you could get away with 5 minutes a game of McGee at PF. The opposing PF may get open jumpers, but he is likely to have issues stopping McGee on defense.

I think McGee and Kanter playing well would mean that Blatche or Seraphin would need to be dealt.

[Induveca]

Blatche has 4-5 years left on his deal, and has shown no real signs of improvement. He'll be tough to trade, McGee is the vastly easier piece to deal unfortunately.

That being said I think they're both mental lightweights and I'd be happy to trade either if we could get any combo of Kanter/Biyombo/Faried and a solid vet in trade(s).

[closg00]

Scott (Arizona)


Are the Wizards considering moving up to potentially draft Kanter or even Derrick Williams?

Chad Ford (1:28 PM)


Not out of the question. They also have pick 18 that could help them move up. Williams would be a very good fit for them. I suppose Kanter would too. The other guy I hear they're high on is Jan Vesely.

This cannot be true could it? Ford has very good sources. I think the board would be in full meltdown mode if Vesely's name is called on draft night.

[dobrojim]

[snip]

I doubt Ernie will even consider any of the white Euro big men as he has already been burned twice with the Wizards by drafting Pesh and the other Euro he took in the second round a few years back.

You do realize that VV was the player we gave up for Kip and Seraphin.

[popper]

[snip]

I doubt Ernie will even consider any of the white Euro big men as he has already been burned twice with the Wizards by drafting Pesh and the other Euro he took in the second round a few years back.

You do realize that VV was the player we gave up for Kip and Seraphin.

I didn't remember that but thanks for reminding me. He was just filler though. If he was not available to trade we would have come up with some other pseudo-asset.

[Ruzious]

[snip]

I doubt Ernie will even consider any of the white Euro big men as he has already been burned twice with the Wizards by drafting Pesh and the other Euro he took in the second round a few years back.

You do realize that VV was the player we gave up for Kip and Seraphin.

I didn't remember that but thanks for reminding me. He was just filler though. If he was not available to trade we would have come up with some other pseudo-asset.

Please stop. Your logic makes my head hurt.

Hey, and don't forget no Puerto Ricans cuz we got burned on PJ Ramos. And no Asians because Yi flopped. Maybe he should look at states, as well. Pick nobody who grew up in Maryland, because the Juan Dixon pick was an epic fail. brain hemorage

[verbal8]

This may be wishful, thinking but I wonder if the "Vesley interest" from the Wizards is a smokescreen.

I think the purpose of feigning interest in Vesley would be to increase the trade value of the pick. There is a significant chance that the Wizards could have Knight and Walker as the BPA. Having "interest" in Vesely means there is a chance the Wizards would use the pick. So teams who want a PG need to jump in front of Kings, Bobcats and maybe Pistons - would need to provide more for the pick.

If the Wizards said that Kanter, Williams or Jonas V was their guy, that raises the price to move up and lowers the price of moving out of a "PG pick" in the draft. If the "interest" was in Singleton or Faried, it would be obvious they were looking to trade down and would lower the return on the 6th pick.

[doclinkin]

JV has grown and will continue to. If my recollection is right, JV is bigger now than Tim Duncan was at Wake Forest at the same age. I think they have basically the same frame.

Huh. Now Ruzious says Valanciunas is evidently the same as Tim Duncan. I have to scoff...

I think he's got the same body as Wilt Chamberlain !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!1!1!!!

-doc.

[Ruzious]

Dayam, no fair using invisible ink.

[Black Eyed Sooz]

The names I have heard bandied about as being on the Wizards wish list are

Kanter (Chad Ford's "source" claimed we might consider him had we won the lottery)
Williams (Sam Amick claiming another source)
Valanciunas (Frank Hanrahan claiming a league source)
Vesely (multiple people citing multiple sources)

I have not heard anyone mention whether the Wiz like or dislike anyone else, including Biyombo, Leonard, etc, etc.

The other thing that Amick mentioned was that if we were going to take Kanter we would in all likelihood trade either McGee or Blatche... I am hoping they view that as an incentive and not a deterrent to a deal, personally I think that keeping Blatche as our starting PF would basically eliminate any chance of us becoming a playoff team during Wall's rookie contract and possibly guarantee that he goes elsewhere when the contract is up.

Which is the main reason I would not like to see us draft Leonard or Vesely.

[rockymac52]

At what point will we realize that Kevin Seraphin would have gone top ten in this year's draft and stop overrating the remaining talent in this pool?

[AnotherFinn]

At what point will we realize that Kevin Seraphin would have gone top ten in this year's draft and stop overrating the remaining talent in this pool?

About this time next year?

[theboomking]

Interesting post at Bullets Forever:

So with that in mind, let's take a quick look at these four:

Kawhi Leonard

Two-point percentage: 47.8%. That's just dreadful. Some of it can be explained by increased usage (Leonard's rate went from 25.6% to 27.5% from his first to his second year), but no lottery pick should ever be that low without a good reason.
Wingspan/Reach: This is Leonard's biggest asset. His 7'3'' wingspan is freakish and his 8'10'' standing reach is very good too. He also has insanely big hands.
TS%: 51.2%. Again, that's dreadful for a top prospect. It was only 51.5% the year before, so this isn't simply a function of increased usage.
Defensive Rebound Rate: 26.6%, 13th in the country. That's phenomenal, but...
3PT%: 29.1%.
Conclusion: And therein lies the problem. Leonard will have to become a passable three-point shooter, because he is so dreadfully inefficient as a two-point shooter. To do that, he will have to play further away from the basket, which negates his rebounding advantage. This is why I'm down on Leonard as a prospect. He's a great workout guy and has great measurables, but he doesn't have enough scoring ability to be anything more than a self-check as a 4, and even if he develops a three-point shot and becomes a 3/D type, it takes away his biggest on-court asset (rebounding). There are a lot of interesting things to the Leonard package, but they just don't add up to me.
Chris Singleton

Two-point percentage: 46.6%, which is dreadful. However, at least it was a little better the year before (49.4%). Still, red flag.
Wingspan/Reach: 7'1'', which isn't Leonard-good, but is still excellent for a guy who may project as a 3 on the next level. (He's a 3/4 type). His standing reach is 8'7.5'', which is strangely low -- not sure how to explain a long wingspan with a shortish reach. But I don't think it's that big of a deal.
TS%: 53%. Which is still pretty bad, but is at least better than Leonard. Also worth noting: Florida State had much less talent around Singleton than San Diego State had around Leonard. I feel better about Singleton's low scoring efficiency number than Leonard's for that reason.
Defensive Rebound Rate: 17.1%, which is OK. Not great, but not a red flag.
3PT%: 36.8%.
Conclusion: The latter figure is what gives Singleton some hope for me. I think he will much more easily transition into a 3/D role than Leonard. He improved his three-point shot from last year to this year, and I think he could develop into a three-point shooter in the pros. That allows me to excuse his similarly dreadful 2PT%, because if he's a 3/D guy, he's not taking a ton of 2s anyway. Leonard is younger, but I'd rather take Singleton than him.
Tristan Thompson

Two-point percentage: 54.6%, which is somewhat encouraging for someone without much offensive skills.
Wingspan/Reach: 7'1.25'' for the wingspan, which is very solid for someone who might be a bit undersized height-wise as a 4. That tells me he can play the position. So to does the stand-and-reach of 9'0.5''. Dude's a 4 in this league.
TS%: 54%. For someone who uses so few possessions, that's not particularly great. He'll need to diversify his offensive game in the pros.
Defensive Rebound Rate: 13.7%. Big red flag. He sort of makes up for it by having one of the best block rates in the country, but that's not a good sign.
FT%: 48.7%. Another red flag because it shows he may not have the stroke to develop a jumper.
Conclusion: In the end, I see flaws with Thompson, but I love his defensive potential and think his offensive game can grow a bit. He's still so young and Texas had two guards who kept wanting to shoot. I think he immediately becomes the Wizards' best one-on-one defender (he shut down Derrick Williams in the NCAA Tournament), and he's a great weakside shot-blocker. His offensive and rebounding limitations make him a reserve, but you could say the same for lots of guys in this draft.
Markieff Morris

Two-point percentage: 62.5%, which is obviously phenomenal and blows everyone else away on this list.
Wingspan/Reach: 6'10.75''/8'10.5''. The stand and reach is fine, but the wingspan is a bit short for my liking for an inside player. It's not horrible -- that's essentially what Darrell Arthur was, and he's a rotation player -- but I'm a little skeptical of his ability to guard NBA power forwards. I'd be very curious when DX posts their Synergy numbers to see how he fares in isolation situations.
TS%: 64.2%. Again, phenomenal.
Defensive Rebound Rate: 25%. Phenomenal.
FT%/3PT%: 62.5%/42.4%. I'm a little concerned about his defense, but his offensive measurables are off the charts. I feel like he might be one of the steals of the draft, and I definitely like him more than his brother.
Mostly, I'm doing this to illustrate that taking Kawhi Leonard at 6 is a bad idea. The other three guys, right now, are projected behind him, and all are comparable or better than him in several key measurables. I'd consider putting all three ahead of Leonard on my draft board, to be honest. There's nothing wrong with trading back and nabbing one of these three guys instead if Ernie Grunfeld decides he wants a guy like Leonard.

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2011/5/24 ... eff-morris

[REDardWIZskin]

Mike is my dude but im gonna have to disagree with him about Leonard at 6...We tend to underrate west coast players...especially when they don't go to UCLA, Arizona, or USC etc. We don't get to watch a lot of games from smaller schools on the west coast. KL wasn't the no 1 option in the SDSU offense and still found a away to contribute in a huge way. IMO that is just what we need, Wall will be dominating the ball and Leonard will be able to run the floor play passing lanes and rebound. He actually is a capable ball handler and knows how to get to his spots on offense. The only problem is that he has a limited number of spots on the floor due to his lack of range. Consider other defensive specialists who have come into the league and none of them operate with the fluidity that KL does. They were often mechanical and used they superior size bang with smaller players on offense in college which KL did not do.
That being said I think we can still trade back a few spots and get him. If not him then Marcus Morris who could end up being as good a DWill. I also wouldn't mind singleton around 9.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

For the people who are not fans of Leonard is it just that you think 6 is too high or do you just not want him at all?

That strikes me as being the more lucid position. I just don't want to be the team that commences plucking from amongst the nebulous miscellany of equivalency before anyone else.

Of who I'd expect to be there, the talent that stands out at 6 is Biyombo and Walker, so if we don't want them (understandable) I'd just as soon try and get multiple swings at the pinata.

I don't think 6 is too high for Faried. I don't think 18 is too high for Brooks. Heck, Brooks could turn out to be a better player than Leonard--and well worth the 6th pick.

Every once in a while a guy will slip to round two, like Gilbert did. This year I look at the accomplishments of guys like Charles Jenkins, Norris Cole, Marshon Brooks, Matt Howard, Shelden Mack, Jordan Williams--and think I don't really care what the scouts say all that much; every one of those guys can play a role at the next level.

The thing about the pre-draft rankings is there's always a way to trade down to where that player is projected without drafting him too high. Maybe use the #6 to get Faried or Brooks or whomever, PLUS get another pick. Get the better player and an incentive for letting some other team draft the player they want at #6.

That's my real interest pre-draft.

[Illuminaire]

If by some chance both McGee and Kanter develop and we end up with two productive promising pure centers, we'll be in great position to improve the team and deal from a position of strength. Everyone always needs a center.

If McGee had more than one year left on his rookie deal, I would wholeheartedly agree with you. But if we end up at the end of next season and we still don't know what Kanter is, you're saying you'd still pay (and possibly overpay) to keep McGee becasue you can trade one of them down the road?

If so, I disagree with that in this particular instance because they team has so many other holes. Again, if this were another situation (where the team was solid everwhere else and was looking to fill their last hole at C) I'd agree with your strategy. But IMO this team can't afford to spend time and money figuring out which guy they want at one position when they have so many other needs.

Young, mobile, athletic centers can always be moved, Rico.

I don't think Kanter/McGee is an impossible combo either. Gasol/Randolph worked pretty well this year.

[Illuminaire]

Question about Brooks:

Did anyone watch Marshon play this year, extensively? How was his man-to-man and team defense?

His stats look a lot like Nick Young with extra rebounding and a hint more passing. That's not bad, but I'm only interested if he's bringing the D too.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The closer the draft gets, the more I am getting fixated on two players: Kenneth Faried and Marshon Brooks.

Faried is who I want the Wizards to pick up the most, now that there is no way they can get Williams.

Faried is better than Derrick Williams when it comes to rebounding, defense, running the court (Faried won all the sprints in Chicago according to one scout--see link below) , and playing with energy at both ends of the court. I is without a doubt the best rebounder in this class--even better than elite rebounding Kawhi Leonard, Jordan Williams, and Markieff Morris. I think size irrespective, Faried is an elite competitor. He really is the next Dennis Rodman IMHO.

“Faried caught everybody’s eyes on Day 1. He won every sprint, he banged into the practice coaches in the post and was physical with everybody. You could just see his energy and enthusiasm and zest for the game.’’

Read more: http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/woelfe ... z1NMXpa8wH

If I were GM of the Wizards, I would probably trade down from 6 and get Faried because I think Faried is probably better than Blatche or Booker and those guys are solid pros. I would have liked Willams or Kanter, but I think adding speed and rebounding and defense improves the Wizards a bunch. Booker is kind of fierce with his dunks. Seraphin is an intimidator. I would add Faried as ball hawk and a guys that fits in with them. He's a hard dude. Put him and Booker next to McGee and that's a freakish frontcourt.

I know it's not going to happen, but Faried is the player I want the most.

Second, I think Marshon Brooks is going to be a beast of a pro SG. Bet he's even better than Crawford or Young. Just have that feeling. I thought this way before the predraft workouts, just based on his stats this season. The link above mentions him.

The Wizards could conceivably trade down from 6 and 18 and get Faried and Brooks plus future assets. I think Faried, Brooks, and maybe a defensive PG like Shumpert could be really good on draft day. Iman stands out to me and so do Charles Jenkins, Norris Cole, and Demetri McCamey at PG. I like a lot of players in this draft, but mainly the defenders. Haven't even mentioned Jimmy Butler, but he seems very solid. I would like to see the Wizards add defense, character guys, and shooting to the team.

My overall favorite players, for whatever reason, are Faried and Brooks.

I can certainly understand pushing for Faried and Brooks. Aside from the numbers, Faried has a unique presence on the court - full of energy to go along with athleticism. He makes things happen defensively and on the boards. If there's a loose ball, I'd bet on him to grab it. And dude looks like he lives in the gym. He definitely doesn't fit any mold for a 3 or a 4, but he will help you win games. People will say - he's Booker. If he is, he's a super-charged version of Booker.

Brooks kinda looks like a stretched out plastic-man version of Crawford. Their faces and expressions even look alike. It's obvious they both love to shoot. His length is rediculous. It'll make up for a lot of things.

Charles Jenkins isn't going to make it, imo. His college success is a lot like Freeman's of G-town. He was short and strong and could over-power most college guards. He'd be a short 2 in the NBA, and that over-powering stuff won't work against NBA 2's. And he's going to be a PG in the NBA.

Ruz, I think Jenkins is another Derrick Fisher, possibly better. I totally agree with you that his NBA position is PG. I'm optimistic he can be a good-enough PG because he had a terrific assist/turnover ratio at Hofstra. I think Jenkins is possibly a better player than Jimmer Fredette because he's going to kill teams with his midrange game and his strength.

Actually, I think Fredette is going to be a way better pro than most expect. He's getting stereotyped for being a white baller IMO. He's another Ben Gordon IMO. Jenkins is the same kind of player IMO.

We'll see. I've been wrong on guys like Almond. Jenkins is similarly overpowering smaller, weaker competitors. How will his quicks translate in the NBA? Will he get separation to have that pure shot? I think he will.

Ruz, I think Jenkins is absolutely the type guard to pair with Wall or Crawford. He's a better shooter by far than either of those guys--you can't leave him open. When they slash, like Gordon, he spots up.

[Ruzious]

Sorry about that; I made a typo. I meant Jenkins won't be a PG in the NBA. Of course, I could be wrong.