2011 DRAFT blather goes here. Part 3...

[Ruzious]

Right Ill. You can't be completely uni dimentional, and we're not going to fix the entire roster with the 18th pick. I also don't think that Harper is 1 dimentional. The videos show he was a better than advertised athlete last season, and he's gotten in ridiculously good shape since then.

I'd hope he's in great shape, he's a senior after all.

I have no problems taking him at 18. That's a fair place to snag someone with his combination of talent and holes.

Looking at DX's measurements database since they've been doing combines, there have been 3 players his weight or higher who measured with a lower body fat percentage. The #1 guy makes it look a bad stat - our very own Yi. 3.4% - that's amazing. Jeff Green was 3rd. Somebody I never heard of was 2nd.

[Illuminaire]

Very interesting - I suppose that shows he works pretty darned hard off the court. I can respect that.

You know Flip would love a good jump shooting big too. Dustin might win rookie of the year with us by averaging 18 points a game right off the bat. Sure, that would probably be his ceiling too, but Saunders would be in pick-n-pop heaven.

[closg00]

FWIW, the Pacers are also considering Harper, he's part of their workout today.

BTW - I don't think we have any workouts scheduled until 6/8?

[Benjammin]

The uber athletic Faried beat Harper by only .04 in the sprint. I see Harper as a big 3 more than a small 4 given his skills.

This team needs scoring in the worst way. Not only were they at the bottom in offense last year but some of their best scorers (Gil, Thornton, Hinrich, even (gulp) Yi) are gone. Rashard is just a 1 yr rental. I think the lack of scoring around him is really hindering Wall's game.

Agreed, I'm thinking Harper as a 3rd forward - playing 25-30 minutes a game playing mostly the 3 and some 4 - depending on matchups - can be a tremendous weapon for the Wiz. He'd be really hard to match up with. And having multiple 3 point shooters isn't a luxury anymore; it's a necessity, imo.

A rookie taken 18th in a weak draft is going to average 25-30 minutes a game? I find that terribly hard to believe. In fact, I think the odds are better that Harper will never average 30 minutes a game in any season of his career. I do like that he brings other skills to the table than the current big guys on the Wizards, though. At 18 I'm fine with him, but I wouldn't think of him as a steal there by any means. He's likely a spot player his career whose claim to fame is his shooting ability and that he doesn't absolutely kill you in the other areas of the game.

[Ruzious]

Yes, I know for a fact that he'll average 31 minutes a game in the year 2018. C'mon Ben, I just threw that out there as a possibility. I'm not doing a study of how many minutes a game Justin Harper is going to average throughout his career. When you're scouting, you project how a player might fit in and what he might do in the future - realizing that each player is unique with dozens of strengths and weaknesses. As much as numbers are involved, scouting ain't a science, and mistakes are made. Sometimes a Karl Malone or a Steve Nash go 15th. That's why I'm here.

[popper]

Yes, I know for a fact that he'll average 31 minutes a game in the year 2018. C'mon Ben, I just threw that out there as a possibility. I'm not doing a study of how many minutes a game Justin Harper is going to average throughout his career. When you're scouting, you project how a player might fit in and what he might do in the future - realizing that each player is unique with dozens of strengths and weaknesses. As much as numbers are involved, scouting ain't a science, and mistakes are made. Sometimes a Karl Malone or a Steve Nash go 15th. That's why I'm here.

Please stop. Your convoluted logic is making my head hurt.

[doclinkin]

A rookie taken 18th in a weak draft is going to average 25-30 minutes a game?

On this team? I don't know why not.

Larry Owens averaged 22 minutes per game for us. Othyus Jeffers played 19 minutes a game. We've got Shard but he missed what, close to 30 games last year all told?

With only 7 players under contract, any player we draft better be ready to play heavy minutes. Because there's no alternative, they're gonna play.

Also: the lottery is weak, I don't think it will pan out that the rest of the draft is weak. There are fewer all-star possibilities, no clear cut consensus standouts, but looks to me like there are solid and serviceable rotation players who will show up even in the 2nd round. And a sizeable proportion of upperclassmen who will come in better prepared to play than the youthful hypertalents we see in many other draft years.

[verbal8]

In 2001 Zach Randolph was the 19th pick and Haywood was the 20th pick. In 2000 Mo Pete was the 21st pick.

A rookie taken 18th in a weak draft is going to average 25-30 minutes a game?

On this team? I don't know why not.

Larry Owens averaged 22 minutes per game for us. Othyus Jeffers played 19 minutes a game. We've got Shard but he missed what, close to 30 games last year all told?

With only 7 players under contract, any player we draft better be ready to play heavy minutes. Because there's no alternative, they're gonna play.

Also: the lottery is weak, I don't think it will pan out that the rest of the draft is weak. There are fewer all-star possibilities, no clear cut consensus standouts, but looks to me like there are solid and serviceable rotation players who will show up even in the 2nd round. And a sizeable proportion of upperclassmen who will come in better prepared to play than the youthful hypertalents we see in many other draft years.

[tontoz]

Shard was actually a pretty good rebounder and defender when healthy. Putting him at the 4 and Harper at the 3 ( and hopefully Nick at the 2) would definitely space out the floor a lot better.

[Jay81]

Looks like we are taking singleton at 6

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wiz ... _blog.html

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

^ You can't tell me you're really taking a Post blog by Michael Lee of all people as the final say a full month before the draft, are you?

Because by golly I'd bet we've got at least another 100 pages of "blather" to go and we can't be stopped!

(not to mention the teams got a handfull of player workouts. jus sayin)

[Jay81]

If kanter is gone...this has to be our pick

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Bis ... ombo-5902/

[J-Blaze]

yea and and he actually has a lil shot or offensive game that we thought he didnt have look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4hBmPNb944

[tontoz]

Looks like we are taking singleton at 6

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wiz ... _blog.html

That would be nuts. He would be a good role player on a team that has plenty of scoring. That isn't the Wizards.

[Jay81]

yea and and he actually has a lil shot or offensive game that we thought he didnt have look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4hBmPNb944

with the potential for Bismark, and the hole we have with our defense, there is no way you can legitimately take someone like Leonard over him.

Only player at 6 i might consider over him is Kanter and even thats iffy

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Hey CCJ and Dat2U -- what is your opinion on Marcus Morris?

Marcus Morris is IMO a sure bet to be a solid scorer in the pros. He's a small PF of a big SF.

I think he's perhaps capable of expanding his offense quite a bit at the next level.

The Morris twins remind me of Horace and Harvey Grant from way back. I think Marcus will be more of an offensive player, like Harvey. I don't think he's a bad pick for the Wizards at 18, but I doubt he lasts that long.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Hey CCJ and Dat2U -- what is your opinion on Marcus Morris?

The measurements were a killer. He looked good as a highly skilled face up 4 but he's got terrible length for a PF. It looks like he has to make to transition to full time SF. Can he defend on the perimeter? I don't know. There's more questions now than answers since the measurements came out. I had him top 12 earlier, now I'm not certain I'd draft him with the Atlanta pick.

I still like him better than his brother though. He's the more natural baller.

Funny, but I like the brother better.

I think Marcus might be really good at SF, offensively.

I like Markieff's rebounding and defense.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Double post.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I don't think I could stomach using up our token white guy slot on this guy.

Also, the spelled Latvia wrong.

That kid needs a meal.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Double double post--sorry.