NBA Draft. Afterthoughts?

[namknils]

I think my Bulls did a pretty good job this year. Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Jackson Vroman, and Chris Duhon.

I like the Gordon pick and I really like that they got two top ten picks.

I'm a Duke fan so I like Luol but I do think he needs to get stronger to play in the NBA, he should have stayed at Duke for another year or two.

I'll admit that I don't know anything about Vroman, but who watches Iowa St games?

And Chris Duhon is a winner so he should be alright.


What teams do you guys think got the best of it? What do you think about Orlando's #1?

[Clarkmeister]

Gordon will be a bust.

The ISU kid isn't the Bulls property, he belongs to the Suns.

Duhon won't be on the roster come opening day.

Deng will be a productive NBA player.


The fact is that the Bulls could have made the exact same trade wtih the Clippers as Charlotte did. Then they could have gotten Okafor and Deng. Now that would be nice. Keep Crawford and dump Chandler/Curry/Both. Getting an undersized PG who is really a SG is just retarded.

[Boris]

I watched the draft for about 10 minutes. The Espn comments on one of the Euro guys that went in the first round were that he was 6'9", couldn't handle the ball and needed to work on his rebounding skills.

WTF?!?!?!?! How does this guy get drafted at all?

[scrub]

Some of the ESPN comments were hilarious. They torched the kid that the Hawks picked so badly I was surprised he did an interview with them afterwards.

So were some of Stern's facial expressions during the long run of high school selections in the first round. He just about sneered at one of the picks when he read it.

scrub

[ThaSaltCracka]

I think Orlando had an awesome draft. Jameer Nelson will be very good in the NBA.

Does anyone know about this guy Robert Swift drafted by the sonics? I saw that he was a high school kid, but then I noticed.... he's white!!!

[namknils]

I don't beleive Gordon will be a bust, however I did think it was odd that they picked Gordon and Duhon, very similar players. I didn't know that the ISU guy was going to the Suns, I actually only watched the first 12 or so picks then checked the rest on ESPN.com this morning.

[namknils]

[ QUOTE ]
I watched the draft for about 10 minutes. The Espn comments on one of the Euro guys that went in the first round were that he was 6'9", couldn't handle the ball and needed to work on his rebounding skills.

WTF?!?!?!?! How does this guy get drafted at all?

[/ QUOTE ]

It seemed like about 75% of the picks were made on "potential". I don't like this much because I'd rather see these kids playing in college, but I can't blame them. They could go to college and get their butts kicked and lose millions, or they could go to the NBA right now without having to prove themselves much. I'd chase the money.

[RcrdBoy]

Agreed. Anyone remember Shawn Respert? 6'2" SGs just don't become stars in the NBA.

And Duhon? The guy can't shoot. Nice college player and no chance at pro career.

Bulls won't be any better next year based on the draft.

[RcrdBoy]

I think Utah had a good draft.

Jerry Sloan is the kind of coach that can get both those guys to be less selfish.

The Big 10 wasn't at it's best, but a freshman leads the conference in Pts and Rebs? That's legit.

[RcrdBoy]

Cracka,

the Sonics stink.

Until Howard Schultz becomes more interested in winning games than being a fan, customer friendly and massaging the bottom line they are going to continue to stink. Sorry for the rant, but I had season tickets for 6 years and watched Wally Walker make terrible decision after terrible decision until I just couldn't take it anymore.

Anyway, the best thing I read about Swift is that Tim Grgurich has been working with him for two summers and says the guy is for real.

We'll see, in about 3 years! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ThaSaltCracka]

Yeah they do stink.... to bad their not an eastern conference team though, cuz then they could atleast make the playoffs. I hear there is a chance Swift gets traded to Boston for Jefferson, and I would assume something else. We shall see though.

[Uston]

Gordon will be a bust.

Care to bet on that? Define "bust" and we can negotiate.

The worst lottery pick Jim Calhoun has put in the NBA just finished his tenth season in the NBA and has averaged 12.5/7.4 thus far.

You're right about Duhon. Not exactly the perfect team for a mediocre rookie PG.

[Clarkmeister]

I was wondering how long it would take for you to come in and defend your boy.

Bust = out of the NBA within 5 years.

[Uston]

Wow. For those terms, I'll bet anywhere from $1 to $5,000, and if I didn't consider you a friend, I'd probably go as high as $10,000.

[IrishHand]

Gordon's ceiling is Jason Terry - which isn't a real impressive ceiling. His floor is what Clarkmeister noted - out of the NBA in 5 years. I figure he'll be closer to the latter than the former - 5 years is a real short time - AJ Guyton almost got that.

Regardless, he's a 6'2" shooting guard who will never - never - be an impact player in the NBA, which is a pretty sad thing to be saying about a 3rd overall pick.

To address the general topic of the thread...I think drafting high schoolers is career suicide for a GM. No GM ever gets ripped after the fact for not taking Garnett or Kobe. GMs can easily get fired for taking people like Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry - and those guys are somewhat productive. The vast majority of high schoolers drafted in the NBA draft end up being useless.

-I think Charlotte will be thanking Orlando GM Weisbrod for years to come for the gift of Okafor, clearly the best player available by anyone's estimation. I'll take a 4-star player for a career over a 1-star player for a few years with the possibility of a 5-star career.

-I think CHI GM Paxson had better make a ton of crafty moves or his stint will come to a premature end. Based on his history, that's not likely. (Donyell Marshall? One of the most efficient players in the game? Let's trade him and Jalen Rose to the Raptors for aging cap-killer Antonio Davis and hustling cap-killer Jerome Williams.)

-People need to calm down about how Jameer Nelson fell in the draft. He's 5'11". Quick - name an NBA player 5'11" or shorter who's above average. I don't care if he's a "winner". Bobby Hurley was a "winner" and was utterly useless as an NBA PG even before the car wreck. All the heart in the world can't make up the 5 inches you're giving up every single night. Nelson is neither explosively quick nor a decent shooter. He'll stick for a few years and either evolve into the "marginal backup PG" role or be out of the league.

[adios]

[ QUOTE ]
Gordon's ceiling is Jason Terry - which isn't a real impressive ceiling. His floor is what Clarkmeister noted - out of the NBA in 5 years. I figure he'll be closer to the latter than the former - 5 years is a real short time - AJ Guyton almost got that.

Regardless, he's a 6'2" shooting guard who will never - never - be an impact player in the NBA, which is a pretty sad thing to be saying about a 3rd overall pick.

[/ QUOTE ]

Definitely take this for what it's worth. Here's what this clown predicted about LeBron James for his rookie year:

[ QUOTE ]
High schoolers don't score anywhere near double-digits in their NBA rookie seasons. 15.5 is ridiculous - Kobe was more polished and couldn't get anywhere near there. Of course, the media illusion is that James will be the Cavs top offensive option. He won't be - he'll be 3rd or worse after Ricky Davis, DuJuan Wagner and probably Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

[/ QUOTE ]


LeBron James stats:

LeBron James (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3704)

You pass yourself off as some NBA expert and all you've shown is that you know jack. I was kind enough not to dig up your comments about Antwon Jamison and how he would do with the Mavericks before the season started.

[IrishHand]

Oh my gosh - I was actually wrong with a couple of my predictions. I'm sorry...I must have missed the sign on my computer that reads "NBA psychic". Relax dude...sharing opinions is what this forum is about. I figured that James would have a lot more trouble adjusting to the NBA than he actually did, and I wasn't alone in that prediction. His rookie performanced definitely surprised most people, me among them. I still feel he's overrated, but again - that's just my opinion.

As for Jamison...he, too, surprised me with his willingness to accept a bench role given that I know about his personality. Of course, Dallas still fell apart with the horrible mismatch of talent that they assembled which was the more important conclusion I drew from his acquisition to the squad (although Walker's presence was more to blame).

Like I said dude...I'm thinking you need to chill out a little.

Cheers,
Irish

[Uston]

I respect your NBA posts but I have to wonder if you watch college basketball.

Did you know that Gordon averaged over 4.5 assists per game last season playing primarily the two? He has the skill set to be a quality NBA PG. I agree with the Meister that it was a puzzling selection for a team that already has Jamal Crawford and, potentially, Jason Williams. Still, I don't see any reason why Gordon won't be as productive as Terry and Arenas.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
He's 5'11". Quick - name an NBA player 5'11" or shorter who's above average.

[/ QUOTE ]
Iverson is listed as 6'0", but I doubt he is any taller than 5'11''.

[bugstud]

[ QUOTE ]
I respect your NBA posts but I have to wonder if you watch college basketball.

Did you know that Gordon averaged over 4.5 assists per game last season playing primarily the two? He has the skill set to be a quality NBA PG. I agree with the Meister that it was a puzzling selection for a team that already has Jamal Crawford and, potentially, Jason Williams. Still, I don't see any reason why Gordon won't be as productive as Terry and Arenas.

[/ QUOTE ]

And Heinrich...makes me believe that someone is getting shipped out soon in a deal, and remember Crawford is a RFA. So there are a bunch of factors yet to be worked out. I still dislike the Gordon pick, but I can't really say I liked any of the picks other than Pavel past #2.

[Clarkmeister]

I hope you are right. Hey, I thought Heinrich was a terrible pick and he looks like a solid, productive pass-first NBA point guard with a long career.

Basically, I'm pissed the Bulls didn't offer the Clips the same package that Charlotte did to go get Okafur.

[Uston]

I understand. Seeing as Chicago is the only franchise that Elgin Baylor has ever duped in a trade (Elton Brand), it would have been nice to return the favor by plucking Okafor with their pick.