Draft prospects @ 10

[jhern87]

Gobert is not on the same planet as McGee athletically. He's good for his size but not great. You don't need to jump out of the gym though with a 9'7 standing reach. I'd almost prefer he never jumps on defense. He doesn't need to leave his feet to contest shots and it keeps him from getting pump faked

Adams is actually the one that tested similar to McGee in athletic ability.

Really? seems like the results Wiz posted are fairly close..

Since it appears less of a possibility to trade the pick for a impact center, I hope we chose Steven Adam @ 10 and sign JO in the offseason and fill out our bench.

I'd much rather have Gobert than Adams.. Hibbert size and length but more like McGee athleticism. And he likes to protect the rim and patterns his game after Tyson Chandler. Give me Gobert.

what?

Gobert is just long, he'll be worse than Thabeet

That's your prediction I guess.. Though I feel comfortable saying that Gobert will be better than 2 points and 3 rebounds per game for his career. Call me an optimistic.

[jeffhardyfan52]

If we make the pick it will be for someone else
My money's on trading it away

[Wickzki]

Millions of dollars, millions of dollars.

[Jsun947]

I could have sworn McGee's Max vert was 36". Guess I'm wrong.

Thabeet doesn't know how to play basketball. He's slow and lethargic. He couldn't catch a basketball if his hands were covered in glue.

Other than them both being big Thabeet and Gobert have absolutely nothing in common. It only take 2 minutes of watching them both play basketball to see that.

[Jsun947]

Every rookie is a project to a degree. Gobert will definately be a project offensively but I can't imagine he won't be able to immediately contribute at rebounding and defense.

Is he suddenly going to forget how to block shots? We aren't asking him to post up Dwight Howard, we're asking him to stand straight up and swat Zach Randolph.

[DaVoiceMaster]

I am going to merge this with the other draft thread.

[Wizenheimer]

I went to draft express to see if I could compare Gobert and Hibbert in their pre-draft measurements buy apparently, Hibbert didn't participate

McGee did though and so did Deandre Jordan, so did Meyers Leonard

mind adding zeller to the comparison? I know his game doesn't necessarily translate (although you could point out flaws with mcgee/jordan/leonard as well), but what I saw makes me from the combine on espn has me confident zeller will find a place in this league (even if at power forward than center), and as such, I am more inclined to gamble the pick on a player like him than gobert, given the team's win sooner than later goal.

sure:

Ht with shoes: Gobert 7' 2"....McGee 7' 0"....Jordan 6' 11"....Leonard 7' 1.25"....Zeller 7' 0.25"
weight: Gobert 238....McGee 241....Jordan 250....Leonard 250....Zeller 230
Wingspan: Gobert 7 '8.5"....McGee 7' 6"....Jordan 7' 6"....Leonard 7' 3"....Zeller 6' 10.75"
Standing Reach: Gobert 9' 7"....McGee 9' 6.5"....Jordan 9' 5.5"....Leonard 9' 0"....Zeller 8' 10"
No Step Vert: Gobert 25.0....McGee 27.0....Jordan 26.0....Leonard 30.0....Zeller 35.5
Max Vert: Gobert 29.0....McGee 32.5....Jordan 30.5....Leonard 32.5....Zeller 37.5
Bench Press: Gobert 7....McGee 7....Jordan 8....Leonard 19....Zeller 17
Lane Agility: Gobert 12.85....McGee 12.75....Jordan 12.30....Leonard 11.34....Zeller 10.82
3/4 court Sprint: Gobert 3.57....McGee 3.25....Jordan 3.27....Leonard 3.41....Zeller 3.15

Zeller was obviously a surprise at the athletic testing. Great verticals and good mobility times. He doesn't have nearly the length as the others, but he's also being projected as a PF. Of course, the way the NBA is evolving, a PF with Zeller's athleticism might fit into a lot of situational lineups as the C.

from all the 'reports' and rumors it seems to be that Olshey wants to use the 10th pick in a trade. Hopefully, that will only happen if a good deal is available, not just in any deal. If Portland keeps the pick and Zeller is available, he might be a decent option. He certainly seems to have a fairly high ceiling. Of course, the same thing was said about Keith Van Horn

[JasonStern]

so what are everyone's thoughts on pierre jackson? personally, I am concerned about his ability to defend at the nba level.

looking at his competition, the fact that there are six (burke, larken, jackson, canaan, pressey, silva) point guards under 6' projected to be picked partially shows how weak this draft is.

Zeller was obviously a surprise at the athletic testing. Great verticals and good mobility times. He doesn't have nearly the length as the others, but he's also being projected as a PF. Of course, the way the NBA is evolving, a PF with Zeller's athleticism might fit into a lot of situational lineups as the C.

and presuming the blazers don't retain hickson, the blazers need a backup 4/5. zeller seems like a safe pick, which if the blazers keep the pick and want to win now, might be a better use than taking on another project center like gobert or wasting the pick entirely on olynyk.

If Portland keeps the pick and Zeller is available, he might be a decent option. He certainly seems to have a fairly high ceiling. Of course, the same thing was said about Keith Van Horn

van horn averaged 16ppg and 7rpg over ten seasons. I wouldn't consider that a bust, and would actually be very pleased if portland uses the #10 pick and it yields a player with that level of productivity.

[jhern87]

We aren't asking him to post up Dwight Howard, we're asking him to stand straight up and swat Zach Randolph.

Exactly! I think what I like about him is he knows that his job is to protect the rim and (in what little highlights there are of him) it appears that's exactly what he does. He also like to finish strong and is a pretty freak athlete for his measurements. I also heard an interview of his and thought he sounded pretty intelligent which is also a plus (I think I completely lost interest in Jeremy Lamb because of his (Please Use More Appropriate Word) interviews). Wouldn't be mad with Gobert at 10 at all.

[jhern87]

so what are everyone's thoughts on pierre jackson? personally, I am concerned about his ability to defend at the nba level.

He's alright.. I've heard him compared to a Nate Robinson in the energy that he brings on the floor and he could be a scrappy guy to have come off of the bench. He can shoot it fairly well but his TO's concern me as well as his underwhelming wingspan. Meh.

[LOOSH]

Gobert is a stiff. Shades of Alexis Ajinca. I expect him to tumble on draft night.

[Wizenheimer]

Gobert is a stiff. Shades of Alexis Ajinca. I expect him to tumble on draft night.

if he's able to tumble, then he's not so stiff...

[GreenRiddler]

I still have high hopes for Meyers Leonard, he showed a lot of potential, he just has to get better defensive awareness on the court, and develop his body. which is not unheard of for a 20 yr old C. I think saying we don't have a backup center right now is miss guided, now that Hickson is gone, I expect more usage for Meyers and hopefully our 10 th pick (Adams) with JO playing both PF and C. I hope we don't trade Meyers on draft night for any C short of Gasol, Hibbertt.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... 01&y4=2009

Meyers was 20 Hibbert 22 and Marc 24 years old.

[AllMyNeilOlshey]

I still have high hopes for Meyers Leonard, he showed a lot of potential, he just has to get better defensive awareness on the court, and develop his body. I hope we don't trade Meyers on draft night for any C short of Gasol, Hibbertt.

I feel like any ideas of trading Meyers are fabricated by this board because we don't really have any other trade assets besides him. It takes centers a little bit longer to develop usually and I think Meyers has the determination to actually get the most out of his skill set unlike some. I would be interested to see his lower body strength because in my opinion he has pretty good upper body strength which was shown with his 17 reps of 225 at the combine. With the tenth pick I would love to snatch up Steven Adams and like baseball have a platoon of learning centers. Adams has the genetic jackpot. His mother is Tongan and his dad is a New Zealander. There is absolutely no way this guy doesn't become the strongest player in the league unless he completely does not try. I know strength doesn't equate to skill but its not something that is going to hurt his development.

[Wizenheimer]

to me, it looked like Meyers Leonard's biggest problem was slow reaction time. I can't count the number of times I saw him turn his head to a play on defense when the play was just being completed. It's like he was almost always surprised by what the offense did

likewise on rebounds. Most of the times when he was even dialed into the possibility of a rebound, it was way to late to gain any position, and way to late to box out

I'm hoping that's all a function of inexperience rather then either genetically slow reaction time or bad BBIQ...or some combination of the two

[AllMyNeilOlshey]

He was very slow at reacting. I hope that he was just thinking way to much and not just playing. He also seems like the type of person who probably was overwhelmed/intimidated by playing against these star players. I felt like he performed better once he made a good play because it gave him the confidence that he can succeed. I really think he will be better this season. That still doesn't make me not want to draft Steven Adams. He just seems like the personality that the team needs.

[jhern87]

to me, it looked like Meyers Leonard's biggest problem was slow reaction time. I can't count the number of times I saw him turn his head to a play on defense when the play was just being completed. It's like he was almost always surprised by what the offense did

likewise on rebounds. Most of the times when he was even dialed into the possibility of a rebound, it was way to late to gain any position, and way to late to box out

I'm hoping that's all a function of inexperience rather then either genetically slow reaction time or bad BBIQ...or some combination of the two

I agree. It would be nice to look at his rookie year stats and say that he's only going to get better (which he likely will) but some guys are limited by their instincts. Not necessarily saying Meyers is, iI'm probably one of his bigger supporters around here.

[Downtown]

Adams has quite the interesting story. I recall reading that the reason he left college was because he comes from a huge family that is struggling for money and he saw the opportunity to help them out. That should give him motivation.

It's only speculation on my part but I could see him being at least on the level of Enes Kanter early on, meaning that he is going to be strong enough at 255lbs. to overcome some of the more savvy players yet still get burned from time to time because his learning curve is still developing. And Kanter was a #3 or 4 pick I believe.

And as mentioned about his size and strength as he matures, if hand size is like a dogs paw size in puppies( I know, I know ) he is going to a very large man. His sister is an Olympian shotputter and is something like 260lbs.

[jhern87]

His sister is an Olympian shotputter and is something like 260lbs.

Can we draft her instead?

[Gilles]

With some training she might be able to push the ball from her side of the court into the basket consistently. She will travel with her current technique every time though.