Bobcats Draft Grades

[dmutombo321]

B-

Judging by the elation I’m certainly in the minority here, but I was just luke warm on how this draft played out, perhaps even slightly disappointed.


Kemba Walker may or may not end up being a better player than DJ. He’s certainly a better offensive talent but a lesser playmaker. And DJ’s not exactly John Stockton himself. I don’t see either of them being anything more than solid, middle of the road PGs.

I’m very skeptical of Biyombo. His whole vibe harkens the 1986 remake of The Fly when Jeff Goldbloom steps in his prototype teleportation machine and accidently exits the other pod with his DNA having been fused with a fly that was, unbeknownst to him, inside the machine with him. - If Tyrus Thomas were to step in such a machine and Gana Diop was hiding in the fetal position on the floor when it was activated, the resultant abomination to exit the other end would resemble Bismack Biyombo.

He is obviously an athletic freak with monkey arms who can defend and rebound but by all counts he is a horrible offensive player. This seems to be supported by the videos of his workouts where on more than one occasion, he misses uncontested layups. If they want to take a flyer on a raw, high risk prospect like that at #19 like they did with Ajinca, then fine. But don’t use a top 7 selection on him.

If theyre very lucky, Biyombo becomes Serge Ibaka. And while I love Ibaka, he’s not a center and its debatable whether he would warrant a top 7 pick if the draft was redone today.

As posted repeatedly earlier today, I was in favor of obliging Houston by accepting their offer of the 14 and 23 for our #9.

Had we done so, we could have been sitting with Vukevic, Hamilton and Brooks or Leonard, Dontas and Brooks. There was also a very real possibility Kemba might have lasted until #14 as well.

While Vucevik is unlikely to ever be an allstar, I think he’ll have a lengthy and successful career. Biyombo on the other hand has a very high probability of being a bust.

But, whats done is done.

Its obvious we intend to tank like hell, win 25 games and try to grab a top 3 pick. I’m fine with that but there is a lot of work to do in the mean time.

[Diop]

Kemba and Biyombo were not high on my list either.

I'm just going to have faith in our front office, ignore previous drafts and hope they got this one right.

[Stun704]

i'd give the bobcats draft an A
two top 5 prospects with the 7 & 9th pick is very good value IMO. I see Kemba as aggressive DJ constantly which is a good thing. and I see Biyombos upside being dwight howard. as Anemic to offense you all think he is, hes actually not that bad for an 18 year old defensive specialist. Hakeem Oljauwon was the same way, but developed his offensive game. I hope every summer Biyombo works with Hakeem, and maybe even Kareem to develop a skyhook. Biyombo also has a more NBA ready body then Dwight Howard had at 18. Also Biyombo grew .75 of an inches between the months of april and June which means hes still growing. I'd say Biyombo easily has the highest ceiling in the draft, DPOY potential. his floor being Theo Ratliff(and thats only if he never gains an offensive game) and his ceiling being Dwight Howard.

[Eoghan]

I think Vucevic is more likely to be a bust, I just don't see it. Anywho.

My grade is A-

I think Biyombo will very much be more Ben Wallace than Gana Diop. Bobcats knew what they were getting, they still wanted him and took him. Good sign.

Kemba's floor is DJ, with the possibility of being better because he doesn't recede into a shell whenever something doesn't go his way. He's a better distributor than you give him credit, easily able to adapt to whatever UCONN needed him during a game. Scorer, he'll do that. Defer and play decoy to hit open teammates, can do. Penetrate and dish to a big, check.

I'm disappointed in selling Tyler for $$$ unless this $$$ goes straight into FA wheeling and dealing. I expect the Cats to swoop in and acquire a young, possibly ready to shine SG that's stuck in a logjam, via a sign-and-trade using Diaw or somebody.

[dmutombo321]

Judging by the Hornets return for their #45, I wouldnt be at all surprised if they got $2.5-$3 million for Tylers rights.

[Diop]

Don't GSW have a filthy rich owner now?

[lukekarts]

A

Got a bit lucky but the trade was a really smart move which played into their hands.

Kemba is a proven winner, and whilst that doesn't always translate, you know he will be aggressive and fearless. There is a big misconception about his 'point guard' skills too - he's a very good passer/playmaker, certainly better than he gets credit for.

Bismack is potentially a defensive beast. I don't think his ceiling is any higher than say Ben Wallace, because his offensive game requires so, but then not many teams would pass up on a prime Ben Wallace talent at C with much more length.

[vorbis]

i give it a B+. moving what would now be roster dead weight like diaw or even DJ for a mid-1st round pick for another future piece of the puzzle would make it one of the great risky drafts of all time. as it is, both picks are very easy to get behind for me upon reflection. i also think the two prospects complement each other nicely. walker who i think everyone feels will be a useful player in the NBA, and biyombo, who could blossom into a real force if he can refine his game enough. biyombo, as much as i love him after listening to him talk and getting a feel for his personality, has far enough to go to be a complete player that i can't give the draft an A for 2011. but it gets an A+ for cojones, that's for damn sure.

[freakon0mics]

Grade: B

I'm still not sold on Biyombo. I had him going in the teens to the late first round. I have not seen him play as much. The only thing encouraging was an interview with Paul Silas where he said that he was a quick learner and a good listener during draft tryouts. Other than that, there's little to go by off of him.

Kemba was by far the best player available. I've watched a lot of what he has done in college. Not just a solid pick but one with the potential of being an all-star. When he has the ball in his hands, there is a lot of Allen Iverson I see in him. Very quick. He can score in a variety of ways. His toughness is what sticks out on the court for me. When he drives to the hoop, he's not afraid to use his body to make the shot and also uses it to shield defenders from blocking it.

[daidalos]

Grade: A-

Positive:

Finally our management has a concept. And they follow through their concept. The trade for #7 was a really good job. We basically gave up nothing, since we want to tank next year, so losing Jax is not an issue. Upgrading #19 to #7 is huge.

The two pick follows the concept of building from the draft since both players has very high reward factor. If everything pans out both of them could be dominant players. Of course Biyombo has a big bust factor, but I am happy that they followed through their plan and took the risk.

Negative:

I think they really done dealing after managed to pull through their primary goals. They should have shopped DJ and Diaw aggresively for Leonard, Singleton, Brooks, Hamilton. I think getting one of those players would have been our dream draft scenario.

But I am happy with how it went.

[Diop]

Why rush to deal Dj and Diaw, they could have some value this year

[Bizz]

A+++

My draft board looked something like this 1. Walker, 2. Biyombo,..............3. Jordan Hamilton, 4. Cris Singelton,...

So you can see why I am so excited about our draft. Walker is the face of our franchise. 3-4 years down the road people will be laghuing how was it possible for him to fall to 9. He is an all star material and has all the tools to achive it. (talent, work ethic, athleticism) All people have on him is his size, but he has the quickness and leaping ability to compensate. He is going to be a part of the new breed of Pgs, that score alot. He will do it as soon as he steps on the court, if we trade DJ before the season he is my frontrunner for ROY. A hard worker, a leader, a proven winner and good character guy what more can you ask of the 9th pick in a weak draft.

As for Biyombo sure he could be a bust, but here is why I believe he won't be. He has some age issues. If he is 24+ than he is more than likely a bust. But in my opinion he is no more than 21. If he trully is 18 he is a super extra good pick. For the sake of this post I will act like he is around 20. So this 20 year old kid comes to Spain and plays on some minor teams in 2, 3rd division. Than in January he gets called up to the 1st division. In one of his first games he goes against Real Madrid (top notch team in Europe, F4 in Euroleague). And he plays like this

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhjnHRcsulA[/youtube]
At 2.46 he blocks Felipe Reyes(#9). Felipe Reyes for those who don't know is a European version of Luis Scola. A tough, physical PF/C with tons of expirience and a long time spanish international. He blocks him like Reyes was a rookie. If a guy can come to a team with no prior expirience on a simmilar level and impacts the game like he did I have no fear he won't be able to adjust to whatever life throws his way. And reading about him he is supposed to have a great personality and high motor everything he needs to succeed in the NBA.

Sure he doesn't have offensive game yet. But watching the finals and seeing how the addition of Chandler made Dallas a legit championship team, I think we made the right choice. Chandler to this day doesn't have an offensive game he got blocked by Wade at least 3 times during the finals, but that didn't stop him from helping the Mavs to win it all.

Great draft for MJ and the gang. It's nice to be the one convincing others we made the right picks rather than the otherway around.

[daidalos]

Why rush to deal Dj and Diaw, they could have some value this year

I would rush to deal DJ. If Kemba outpreforms him right away, then DJ's stock will free fall. Nobody would give us a good value on a young pg who gets outpreformed by a rookie and has an expiring contract.

I wouldn't rush the Diaw trade, I just mentioned him, because I wouldn't gave up DJ for Jordan Hamilton, but I would have given up Diaw for Jordan Hamilton.

[ohara]

I give them an A-. The only negative I have is this: I just wish they had drafted with the #39 pick a player tha twe could have used to provide some sort of depth. Hate just selling off a player for money.

Really like Kemba. Fire, intensity, talent, speed and leadership. Will be a huge part of this franchise for a decoade.

Biyombo is a terrific risk worth taking. Fantastic defensive presence inside, and a rebounding machine. Will nover quit on you on the floor. And even if he does not score more than 10 pts a game, he will lead to much more. Defenders cannot leave him for a double team or "help" on Defense as he will then be left alone under the basker for either a pass or perfect rebounding position. I heard many of the talking heads over the past week address how that was a huge asset of Biyombo that was not being addressed.

And I like the way we traded. We bought Jax low as his value was down and he was seen as a cancer. We sold high. It was a smart gamble and it pays off.

Overall, very happy with the 1st part of this rebuilding process.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

A-

I'm with Ohara here. This would have been an A+ draft if theyhad kept #39. Selling that pick for cash makes this an A-.

[BigSlam]

A solid B from me.

I would have liked to have hung on to Tyler. If we had done that I might have gone up to a B+.

I love the swag that I think Biz and Kemba are going to bring to the team. They both ooze confidence and I think that's a great thing. The trick will be weather or not that confidence carries over to good play and wins on the court.

If Biz ends up being another Okafor type player (solid double double with some blocks but seriously limited on offense and gets bullied by bigger centres) and Kemba ends up being another TJ Ford (shot happy but poor shooting non-play making PG) then things get a little sticky.

But, if Biz ends up like prime Ben Wallace and Kemba Tim Hardaway - then HELLS YA!!

All in all though I am pretty happy with the draft and excited to see what these two new Bobcats can do for us.

[Bassman]

My grade is a B. The trade was a good one, as clearly they were sold on BB, and recognized that Walker was within reach. I'm not convinced Biyombo will become anything more than a more athletic Diop, which could be servicable, but not 7th pick worthy. Walker has great potential, but he drives the issue at the 1, forcing DJ to deal with a competitor to his spot. DJ doesn't deal well with that. I think Walker is our future there.

If the trade with Houston had still been available I would have preferred to get both those picks, and in theory have Walker, Vucevic and Hamilton (or Brooks).

[ohara]

Overall, seems the concensus by outsiders is we did well. ESPN gave a B+, Hoopsworld and Draft express like the moves and Draft picks, as does BleacherReport. SI was mixed as Mannix hated our night but Amick seemed to have a very positive review. Sporting News loved our draft also. I'm sure there will be a mix omong the analysts out there, but I think the majority liked our night.

That would probably be the same way most bobcat fans here at RGM feel as well - a mixture with the majority really liking it, a good bit feeling "so-so" about it, and a few who did not like it at all. No matter how you feel about it, Biyombo and Kemba are now Bobcats, so we need to give them our full support and cheer for them to reach the potential we all hope they can reach.

[lukekarts]

My grade is a B. The trade was a good one, as clearly they were sold on BB, and recognized that Walker was within reach. I'm not convinced Biyombo will become anything more than a more athletic Diop, which could be servicable, but not 7th pick worthy. Walker has great potential, but he drives the issue at the 1, forcing DJ to deal with a competitor to his spot. DJ doesn't deal well with that. I think Walker is our future there.

If the trade with Houston had still been available I would have preferred to get both those picks, and in theory have Walker, Vucevic and Hamilton (or Brooks).

You have to factor in that if Charlotte drafted either Knight or Kemba at #7, then Detroit may have taken Biyombo at #8, so I get the impression the draft selection was tactical. By selecting Biyombo, it guaranteed at least one of Kemba or Knight would be at #9.

[ohara]

Although I really wanted a SF scorer also (other than Mags) and wanted to see Diaw go for another pick, I think I agree with holding him. We are accumulating the pieces now, and will not be a Playoff contender this season. So come the next Trade Deadline, if Diaw is desired for his skills and expiring contract, there is a reasonable chance a team in the hunt for a playoff birth may trade their 2012 1st for him. Maybe it will not be a a pick before #20, but in the 2012 draft, that will still be very good. And that along with our own 2012 will go a long way towards completing what we started last night.