Jive, you make a good argument that you can’t build a championship around a team whose two best players are the SG & PG. While I’m solidly in the Beal camp, I don’t disagree with that. So that leaves us with MKG, Robinson and Barnes, who is starting to get more and more love on this board.
Just as you can’t build a championship team around two guards, you also can’t build a championship around a lineup where your two best players are also your two worst shooters. So, imo, that eliminates matching MKG with Wall. There’s a lot to like about MKG, just ask Dat, but his poor shooting is real a problem if he’s expected to play SF. And Some of what he gives the Zards they already have in Ves.
I’ve said all along that TRob is the safest pick in this draft. His rebounding, toughness, leadership and effort will easily transfer over to the NBA, imo. And I think Robinson will be a good enough offensive player to average 14-16 pts. But TRob also has the lowest ceiling. I think what you see is what you’ll get with him and, while he’ll be a very good NBA player, I don’t think he’ll ever be a great player.
Barnes is more and more intriguing. We saw how he struggled during the tournament, especially when Marshall got hurt. But UNC had to go with what was essentially their third string guards after Marshall got hurt (its two other top guards were already out) so some of Barnes’ issues may have had to do with the fact that he had little or no perimeter help. Barnes also seems to struggle taking people of the draft and getting to the rim. But his strengths are also pretty good obvious—he’s a very good shooter, has good size for a SF as well as a strong body, and is apparently an exceptional athlete, though you can’t always tell that. He’s also a decent defender. The question with Harrison is how badly does he want to be an NBA star. If he wants it bad enough, I think he’ll improve on his weaknesses and some team is going to be very, very happy that they drafted him.
Then, of course, there is Andre Drummond. Drafting him may be a scary idea but his potential is even more scary.
Right now, I’m still taking Beal over the whole bunch. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
