hindsight prospect thread 20/20

Devilzsidewalk · Post #1 » by **Devilzsidewalk** » Mon May 25, 2009 2:04 pm

thought it'd be fun to have a thread where people can layout some of their bolder opinions about prospects, then we can bump it once or twice in the future and see how ridiculous or wise we were at the time

1. Tyler Hansbrough: going to end up starting a lot of games in his career
2. Lawson: top 15 PG in the NBA
3. Evans: at least a 2 time all star
4. Derozan: not worth it
5. Rodrigue Beaubois: (fans from 29 other teams) "man, I can't believe we passed on Beaubois"
6. Demarre Carroll: same thing, people will think he should've gone 20 picks higher

El_Lobo_3 · Post #2 » by **El_Lobo_3** » Mon May 25, 2009 2:26 pm

haha okay okay...this will be funny down the road...

Tyler Hansborough: This guy is Mark Madsen WITH basketball talent, what a beast...I can't believe we passed on him.
James Harden: Man this guy is sluggish and not very athletic, he can't get open on his own and seems to be getting fatter.
DeMar DeRozan: Man if I would have known he would develop his outside shot like this before, he would have been an option for the Grizzlies and Thunder. Vince Carter 2.0
Ty Lawson: Beast. Agreed. Will have everyone wondering why they didn't rank him higher.
Stephen Curry: Should have stayed in school, not tough enough or developed enough as a PG to be effective and too short to play 2. Tons of talent but no means of displaying it against this level of physicality.
Tyreke Evans: Why did we make such a big deal about his iffy outside shooting, he is a stud now!
Jordan Hill: Who is Jordan Hill? He was a top 10 pick?
Gerald Henderson: That guy is a freak, I don't know why so many teams past him up either.
Brandon Jennings: Not worth it
Blake Griffin: Damit if the lottery didn't bend us over AGAIN and give us the 6th pick, we could have had the guy starting for the western conference allstars on our team!!

go wolves.

jade_hippo · Post #3 » by **jade_hippo** » Mon May 25, 2009 8:08 pm

Stephen Curry: oh man, when are we going to get it through our heads that ideal size doesn't seem to matter with players with heart and talent How many all-star games was he in? 4 you say?

Hansborough: oh man, when are we going to get it through our heads that ideal size doesn't seem to matter with players with heart and talent. How many championships did he win? 3 you say?

Tyreke Evans: yeah, 6'6" PGs never really pan out do they. Apparently you need to be able to shoot well to play in the NBA if you can't read a defense and run an offense. This guy probably should have gone in the second round.

Ben Woodside: how did this guy not get drafted, he can score like no one's business. You can't teach grit and swagger, there is a reason Sam Cassel played so long in the NBA and this kid has it.

Post #4 » by **Calinks** » Mon May 25, 2009 8:35 pm

DeMar DeRozan is a beast. Like I always says, in the NBA when all else is equal, go with the more unique name. 60% of NBA stars have a somewhat uncommon or standout name.

big3_8_19_21 · Post #5 » by **big3_8_19_21** » Mon May 25, 2009 8:37 pm

I like the Woodside call out.

If I get just one prediction right...I will be shocked. Unless it's one of the busts. Some players just bust. If I get one of the "boom" predictions right, I will be shocked.

I'm going to go as bold/extreme as possible, so here goes...
5 years from now I'll be saying:

Evans: Just watching him play it looks like he should be on the Knicks...and I don't mean that in any positive sort of way.

DeRozan: Did Harold Miner just pull the wool over our eyes and get a second shot in the NBA? Ugh...

DaJuan Summers: How did he last until 28? He's the best player on the defending champ Wolves.

Ben Woodside: How did he go undrafted? He's a stud starting PG for the Wolves, which is good because...

Ty Lawson: Was picked by the Wolves at 18, but it became pretty clear that he was a product of the system at UNC.

Tyler Hansbrough: Is the best power forward from the 2009 draft class.

Blake Griffin: Has had a disappointing career full of injuries.

Ricky Rubio: Can't keep up with the NBA athletes on a nightly basis.

James Harden: Of course guys that unathletic don't pan out.

Brandon Jennings: 37% FG? check. Bad assist/TO ratio? check. Chronic loser? check.

Aaron Jackson: another undrafted PG that is now starting for the Mavs...and not because his only competition is Jose Juan Barea.

James Johnson: Even his face has started to look more and more like Ryan Gomes now making the two players indistinguishable.

Nick Calathes: Wrongfully imprisoned in Greece for a crime he didn't commit. Dominating the prison basketball leagues, scouts impressed.

Harrison Ford: Still trying to get his family back from any number of villians.

PeeDee · Post #6 » by **PeeDee** » Mon May 25, 2009 8:46 pm

Eric Maynor: It's funny that everyone was making a big fuss over Rubio and they could've gotten Maynor, who is just as good, 15 picks later.

James Harden: I can't believe everyone was so iffy on this guy, he's the Kevin Love of guards.

Ty Lawson: It's funny that this guy goes in the first round and Mario Chalmers goes in the second round, should've been the other way around.

Demar DeRozan: Should've been a top 3 pick.

BJ Mullens: Should've gone before Thabeet.

Hasheem Thabeet: Should not have been a lottery pick.

Jrue Holiday: The anti-Foye. Ultra consistent.

Jordan Hill: Who?

GopherIt! · Post #7 » by **GopherIt!** » Mon May 25, 2009 9:34 pm

Holliday > Rondo

I think Jrue could be kinda like Gary Payton defensively, so The Glove lite,
as in SmartOnes or Healthy Choice. I'm not saying he's the next Marie Callender
but we are going to regret it if we pass on him (her?)

Tyreke Evans - will be a 18-20ppg scorer but his talent will be somewhat under minded by his tendency towards selfish play.

DeMar DeRozan - after fumbling with him at the SG position two years the Timberwolves finally allow him to play full time at his more natural SF position and his scoring and rebounding take off. After making the all star squad his fourth year, DeChosen One decides he needs to play on a bigger stage in a warmer climate. He leaves the Wolves via free agency and goes back to Cali and play for the Lakers. Ugggh.

Stephen Curry - NY fans will bitch and moan a year into Curry's massive extension after realizing they overpaid for yet another Curry.

Terrence Williams - will win a couple of sixth man of the year awards and help his
team win a title. After DeRozan leaves via free agency many tears are shed about not drafting him instead.

dunkonu21 · Post #8 » by **dunkonu21** » Mon May 25, 2009 11:54 pm

Griffin: Great talent. Will be a considered on the same level as K Durant (big compliment)

BJ Mullens: Gonna go a lot higher than people think and be totally worth it. I'm thinking a top 10 lock.

Jeff Teague: Will be the third best PG in this draft behind Rubio and Jennings.

Tyreke Evans: Randy Foye, has the talent...doesn't put it together like he should...no one knows why.

Jeff Adrian: Super strong, will be a starting calibur PF.

Lawal/Blair/Hansbrough: All suck at life. I'd take Hans first out of those three and I think he's gonna be a barely rotation player.

Jonny Flynn: Wasted draft pick...can't finish in the NBA and that makes him lose the best part of his game.

Jermaine Taylor: Little shorter J.R. Smith-type player without the shaky younger years.

AQuintus · Post #9 » by **AQuintus** » Tue May 26, 2009 12:39 am

From Draftexpress's top 10:

1. Griffin - Dominant Offensive player, more athletic Carlos Boozer, clear-cut best player from his class

2. Thabeet - Big and a great shot-blocker, but everyone will be wondering how he got picked in the top 5

3. Harden - Too slow and unexplosive to ever be more than a third option. A better passing Michael Redd.

4. Rubio - Great passer, but lack of jumper and slow foot speed means he'll never break into the Paul, Williams, Rose level of Points

5. Jordan Hill - Solid defender, good athlete, great hustle, but like Thabeet, everyone will wonder how he got picked top 5.

6. Tyreke Evans - Super talented, but will never get "it." He'll be a guy who puts up huge stats on perennial lottery teams. Jamal Crawford jr.

7. Brandon Jennings - Super Athlete with great vision. If Europe helped him gain maturity, he'll be a stud, if not, he a more explosive Telfair.

8. Stephen Curry - This years JJ Redick/ Randy Foye. Whichever team drafts him will play him at Point until they realize he can't play Point, then he'll spend the rest of his career as a 6th man and the butt of bad jokes.

9. DeMar DeRozan - If he's willing to work his butt off, Vince Carter jr. If not, Rodney Carney jr. I think he'll be great.

10. Johnny Flynn - Good backup or solid short minute start. Think TJ Ford.

Edit: I will also say that after 3 years one of Jennings, DeRozan, or Griffin will be considered the best player from this class, one will be considered a bust, and the other will either be a solid started or a star.

Krapinsky · Post #10 » by **Krapinsky** » Tue May 26, 2009 12:55 am

DeRozan: a 25 ppg go to scorer
Jennings: Blows up in second year. Averages 9 + assists per game.
Curry: Becomes the next college shooter to struggle at the pro level. See Morrison, Reddick.
Lawson: Becomes Marc Jackson 2.0
Blair: Challenges for rookie of the year, putting up Kevin Love like numbers.
Mullens: Finally develops in the last year of his rookie deal, earns big contract, later becomes known as BJ Mullens' expiring contract.
Thabeet: He sucks

skorff26 · Post #11 » by **skorff26** » Tue May 26, 2009 1:35 am

Blake Griffin will be a 15-9 guy for his career, and he will be remembered as a solid PF, but nothing more.

Hasheem Thabeet will be remembered as one of the best defensive bigmen of his era; but a poor offensive one.

James Harden will win a few 6th man of the year awards.

Ricky Rubio will be remembered as arguably the best PG of all time.

Jordan Hill will be a 14-9 guys, about the same as Griffin, a solid PF and that's it.

Tyreke Evans will show some flashes of greatness but he will never put it all together consistently

Brandon Jennings will be out of the league in 6 years

Stephen Curry will be a solid 3rd guy... off of the bench averaging 7 points a night in about 14 minutes a night

Demar DeRozan will be considered the 2nd best guy in this draft behind Rubio and will be an all star about 3 or 4 times in his career.

Flynn will be a solid backup PG; I think he will have a role like Duhon, either a solid backup or a below average starter.

Blair will be a bruiser in the league getting about 15 minutes a game.

Henderson will be a shot down perimeter guy, and he will be an underrated pivotal piece for a couple of championships.

Jrue Holiday will be the 2nd best PG, make a few all-star games, and will be remembered as a solid offensive PG and a very good defensive PG

Earl Clark will have a solid career as a 6th man

Austin Daye will only play for the league minimum after his rookie deal.

Terrence Williams will be a role player on a playoff team.

Ty Lawson will be a big bust.

James Johnson will be a 4th starter on a decent team.

Eric Maynor will be the 3rd best PG and the 2nd best offensive PG, he will lead his team to the playoffs on multiple occasions and make a couple of all star games.

Jeff Teague will be a bigger bust than Lawson.

BJ Mullens....ummm.... will be a fairly solid C in the league

Hansbrough will play about 12 years in the league... and will never be a consistent starter.

Lawal will be a solid front court player and will go to a couple of all star games.

Budinger, Thorton, sam young, ellington, calathes will be role players at best

Collision will be a very solid backup (think earl watson)

Patrick Mills will be one of the surprises of the draft and be a solid starter for whoever picks him.

-I won't lie, I know very little about most of the foreign guys going in the 2nd round.

-draftexpress.com 2nd rounders that will be decent
DaJuan Summers will play in the league for a dozen years and be fairly solid.
Danny Green, Damion James, Jodie Meeks, Taj Gibson, and Dionte Christmas will find roles in the league.

Jonathan Watters · Post #12 » by **Jonathan Watters** » Tue May 26, 2009 3:30 am

Jeff Teague: 20 ppg scorer. Wolves will pass on him 14 or so times.

In 5 years, 90% of Wolves fans will claim they called it.

john2jer · Post #13 » by **john2jer** » Tue May 26, 2009 2:18 pm

Oh this will be fun.

Here's my bold predictions.

Wait, I have to roll up the sleeves first...

Tyreke Evans is going to blow-up. He'll be a 2nd tier star player along the lines of Joe Johnson and Brandon Roy. He'll make 5+ all-star games in his career.

Demar DeRozan will bomb, hard. He'll be a Rodney Carney type that fans get excited about because of his athleticism, and defensive potential, but he never develops the mindset to be a go-to guy.

Brandon Jennings ends up in the Seabass Telfair catagory of point guards that should have spent a couple years in college learning how to run a team.

Gerald Henderson ends up being a Shane Battier level star. Doesn't make any all-star games, but teams see him as a missing piece and someone who just knows how to win.

Austin Daye eats a cheeseburger, doubles his weight, and becomes the second coming of AK47.

Eric Maynor becomes the guy that frustrates everyone because he never quite puts it together.

Greivis Vasquez is the 2nd rounder that blows up Gilbert Arenas style.

Three or four international players come out of the late 1st and 2nd round to end up being solid rotation players, with Omri Casspi being a good starter for a contender.

I want to pick a big bust out of the top ten, and I think DD and Jennings have a chance of being it, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say Rubio ends up being a bigger bust and goes back home after his rookie deal is up.

horaceworthy · Post #14 » by **horaceworthy** » Tue May 26, 2009 5:19 pm

Griffin- That's too bad about his knees.

Thabeet- That's too bad about his feet.

Harden- His numbers look great, but why is he so easy to stop when it counts?

Evans- Fringe All-Star

Curry- Doesn't do much other than knock down open shots his first few years, starts to blossom towards the end of his 3rd, start of his 4th season, fans of the opposing teams get pissed that their guys can't stop the one guy on the floor that could be mistaken for the ballboy.

Flynn- Gets sued by Robert Pack for stealing his routine.

Ty Lawson- So that's what Raymond Felton would look like if he had a consistent jumper.

Danny Green- Ends up being a poor man's Battier, playing good defense and knocking down open looks for teams that always seem to overachieve a bit.

john2jer · Post #15 » by **john2jer** » Tue May 26, 2009 6:18 pm

I'll go on record of saying this draft doesn't end up being as bad as everyone thinks it will be. Now obviously had everyone stayed, it would have been even better, but in 3-4 years it won't be looked at as such a terrible draft.

Devilzsidewalk · Post #16 » by **Devilzsidewalk** » Tue May 26, 2009 11:28 pm

Jonathan Watters wrote:Jeff Teague: 20 ppg scorer. Wolves will pass on him 14 or so times.

In 5 years, 90% of Wolves fans will claim they called it.

that's it? Don't hold back, now is your chance to shine

I'll get you started since I remember a few:

BJ Mullens is a top 5 player from this draft
Darren Collison will make your team worse
Blake Griffin will be a good defender

there, now you got some meat. Those are solid too because they all fly in the face of popular opinion, you will demand people's respect if you nail those

Zeitgeister · Post #17 » by **Zeitgeister** » Wed May 27, 2009 12:30 am

Jrue Holiday will be the second best point guard from this draft.
Blake Griffin will be one of the best power forwards in the league in his prime.
Hasheem Thabeet will be a bust.
James Harden will be a solid player, but some will say that he was drafted too high.

Jonathan Watters · Post #18 » by **Jonathan Watters** » Wed May 27, 2009 4:17 am

Devilzsidewalk wrote:
Jonathan Watters wrote:Jeff Teague: 20 ppg scorer. Wolves will pass on him 14 or so times.

In 5 years, 90% of Wolves fans will claim they called it.

that's it? Don't hold back, now is your chance to shine

I'll get you started since I remember a few:

BJ Mullens is a top 5 player from this draft
Darren Collison will make your team worse
Blake Griffin will be a good defender

there, now you got some meat. Those are solid too because they all fly in the face of popular opinion, you will demand people's respect if you nail those

What is the point of this? Do you keep a file on all the evaluations I've made on this board so you can stick it to me when one turns out wrong?

I guess I just don't feel the need to make 47 predictions so when I get 1 out of 47 I can tell everybody how smart I am. I'll leave that up to you guys...

And if I were to get the Teague thing right, it would just be luck anyways - right?

Esohny · Post #19 » by **Esohny** » Wed May 27, 2009 4:31 am

Magical.

Post #20 » by **C.lupus** » Wed May 27, 2009 3:38 pm

Prediction #1: Every lotto pick outside of Griffin will be called a bust at least once in their first two seasons.

Griffin: Dang! this guy is good.

Rubio: Dang! I wish we had a real PG like that on the Wolves.

Harden: Dang! He doesn't look particularly good but he just seems to find a way to win. Wish we had him on the Wolves.

Thabeet: Dang! We missed out on the perfect compliment to Big Al and Love. Damn you Lottery Gods!!! (I know everyone is predicting bust so I went the other way)

Evans: Dang! Why the @#$% did we pass on him for Curry? He's everything we want in a SG for the Wolves.

Curry: Dang! Why did we draft this Guy? We now have the shortest, worst dfensive backcourt in the history of the NBA.