Draft Shots...
by mutleyil on Mar 14, 2009 12:42 AM CDT
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PrintOK. It's midnight on Friday, and I have been overdosing on conference tournaments for the last two days. I probably reek of BO, my wife hates me, and I think I might have wizzed myself at some point during last night's 6 OT UCONN-Syracuse game. All that being said, I am convinced that I've had a basketball epiphany, and can see a path forward for our beloved Pups. Here it is for beter or worse...
Every good NBA team needs to have 6-7 well-rounded players that can score, play some D, and have a specific specialty (low post scoring, man to man D, 3 point shooting, etc...). Good teams start these players, then bring in specialists to give them a rest and impact the particular game based on what's going on. We basically have a team of one-dimensional specialist players, which is why we stink and have no ability to absorb injuries. For your consideration, here are the people in our rotation. I'm not even going to bother discussing throwaways like Mark Madsen, Bobby Brown, Shelden Williams, Jason Collins, and Kevin Ollie.
Bassy - Pace-pushing PG. Plays no D, no outside shot, and not a particularly effective executor of a half court offense
Corey Brewer - Plays D. Can't shoot, can't create, and general basketball IQ is questionable.
Brian Cardinal - The fact he's not in the "throwaway" section is amazing. Love the effort and energy, but he's in there to goon it up. There's value in that, but again, a 1 dimensional player.
Rodney Carney - Great fast breaker. Not much else. Gets hot from 3 occasionally. Very good at pressuring his man, very bad at letting said man blow by him and score.
Randy Foye - A scorer...nothing more. And a passive one at best. Ben Gordon type, except less explosive. Nothing more than a good 6th man that could bring scoring off the bench. Poor defender.
Al Jefferson - Great low post scorer. Doesn't play D, block out, or provide much help D. Love him, but way too 1 dimensional.
Craig Smith - Poor man's Corliss Williamson. Good choice in limited matchups, but an erratic that's a complete defensive liability.
Well Rounded Players
Ryan Gomes - A perfect 6th man on a good team. Good inside or outside. Can go left or right. Plays a little D.
Kevin Love - Great rebounder, good passer, great help defender, big inside & outside offensive upside.
Mike Miller - It pains me to say this, but Mike Miller is a hell of a player. That's why I'm so pissed that he self-limits his game. If he just shot more, he could be one of the best swing men in the league. Unfortunately, he is hell-bent on being the next Magic Johnson when the the next Ray Allen would be more appropriate.
Long story short, we have way too many 1 dimensional players on this team. There's only 1 position where it's OK to be that way - Center. A true defensive Center would be welcome, and allow Al and Kevin to play in their natural position. We need a better PG, SG, and C if we are ever going to move forward. That's why this is my dream draft:
1st pick (top 4) - Hasheem Thabeet - I have been a huge Thabeet detractor for a long time, but after seeing him lately, I'm willing to go with him. He should get better and better, and we desperately need someone to protect the paint.
Next pick (mid first round) - Ty Lawson - Great floor general that we need, excellent defender to help shore up our laughable perimeter D, and his outside shot has noticeably improved this year. I feel very strongly that he is this year's Deron Williams.
We take the other 2 1st round picks (and an expiring contract) and get Caron Butler from Washington to be our 2 guard. Not only do we get a great player, but his nickname is TUFF JUICE...I love it.
So we start next year with this lineup:
PG: Ty Lawson, SG: Tuff Juice, SF: MIke Miller, PF: Big Al, C: Thabeet
Now that's a lineup that can score, and actually stop people. Then, here is our bench:
PG: Bassy, SG: Foye, SF: Gomes, PF: Love, C: Collins / Random Free Agent
Then we have our specialists:
Corey Brewer is our D specialist, Rhino as the new Gary Trent.
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I know we are losing but I think you are a little harsh..
Bassy – an undersized PG with just a little outside shot —quick and plays good D until opposing PGs body him and force him to try to strip the ball back up PG on a playoff team at this point
Corey Brewer – worst draft pick in a while for MN….this is a huge statement!!!…I like the kid but until he shows a skill on O = big bust for a #7 pick
Brian Cardinal – I agree…Madsen with a jumper and knee pads. bench player/Purdue player is the same thing just typed twice
Rodney Carney – great runner who jumps like Luigi and gets hot every now and again…at least he shows effort on D and will block shots because he gets off the ground faster than I can throw a bounce pass
Randy Foye – scorer without confidence …great with a motivator coach in his corner…I am not ready to give up on him and since we keep Shady until the last possible moment – get used to seeing him….best case = short Wade with a J <15 pg 6 a 1 st>
Al Jefferson – Hey now, this is where we split…we are not getting KG player again in life…Big Al is our only hope…plays decent D but will outscore his man 8/10 times and keeps 6 eyes on him on the O end…he is a beast with Bassy feet <if I was a ref, I would call traveling every away game but his post moves are picture perfect>….DO NOT GIVE McHellno the credit for Al…he has always had nice feet but never really a chance in Boston….my biggest problem with him is his court vison but like I said KG comes once a life and we blew that boat a while ago
Craig Smith – Poor man’s Corliss Williamson.—-I agree ….just can’t have those 6 4 SF/PF tweeners on a good team
Gomes…perfect
Love…perfect and he can’t even drink yet!!!
UConn C …I am not sold on so high in the draft…can you imagine big Al getting a triple team <cant see Thabeatme under the rim open for the blown dunk, Miller for the two dribble turnover or assist to the person who can’t shoot, Bassy for the 15 ft set shot – BRICK, Foye holding hands with McBlewKGinMN, Love getting pink still running up the floor>
Sorry for the long post…will comment on the draft another time
I really think that a true
PG with no doubt skills will, could have a greater impact, especially right away, then a true Center with Questionable skills on this team. Thabeet is big, there is no doubt, but he can get manhandled by other smaller bigs, did you see him get fliped over teh back of that PF (was it on perdue, or Penn St?) game? he was just destroyed and compleatelt tacken out of the game.
1st pick should be one of the top three PG available in this draft.
Will the Real Thor Please Stand Up ... ?
Is it insane
to hope that Rubio might miraculously fall to us at six or seven because everybody else overthinks it? Probably not in a year like this, so thin at the top. I have way more faith in Rubio than Brandon Jennings, but most likely so does everybody else.
I think...
…it’s been rumored that his buyout would only be feasible if he’s top 3, but that’s just rumor at this point.
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Lawson looks like Bassy 2.0 to me. He might look better defensively but IMHO that’s only because it’s college ball. Lawson looks like an exact clone.
I’ve seen Rubio once and am gonna check him out again this weekend. Gonna post a little “notepadding” thingy on him.
If he declares, buyout or not, I can’t see him dropping out of the top4, which means we have a chance to get him. Kinda hoping we can move up nr 3. That way we are sure of either Rubio or Harden and that’s best we can have. Either will do.
Still high on Thabeet and I’m still confident he’s gonna drop considerably when the tournament is over and private workouts begin. Remember that DeAndre Jordan was projected as a top 10 pick last year by 4-letter (at a certain time). Not gonna drop out of the lottery but top 10 .. scary.
Beater of the early Thabeet drum
I can't see Rubio falling out of the Top 2 under any circumstances
the Kings would opt for Rubio over Griffin
the Grizz and OKC would go for Griffin
Washingon and the Clippers could go either way
I don’t see any of those teams going for someone like Harden or Thabeet or whoever over either of them two. Who knows though, the draft is a long ways off.
Possible Other Point Guard Prospects besides Rubio and Lawson
Willie Warren – Oklahoma
Brandon Jennings – Italy
Jeff Teague – Wake Forest.
Stephen Curry – Davidson
Tyreke Evans – Memphis.
Eric Maynor – VCU
The Mock Draft I’m Reading here http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2009/
Has us taking DeJuan Blair From Pittsburgh @ # 18 Gerald Henderson from Duke @ #6 and Chase Buddinger @ #28.
I think I would vomit
if that was our draft. Seriously vomit. Also I have not heard of Warren being considered a PG. I don’t believe he has played the position in college. I do like him though. And Evans is intriguing at the point because he is SO different than Bassy. He would be a very good defender with his size, can get into the lane at will, and does finish way better than Bassy. His play making skills look to be pretty darn good too. I would not mind at all if we took him. I’ve made my case for Curry as well. To get the guys that I would want though, we would probably have to move up from 18 to get. That’s the beauty of having additional picks, you can use them to do that.
Also, draftexpress clearly states they aren’t taking team need in consideration, which essentially makes it a top 60 list more than a mock draft.
Only one out of that list I’d consider is Jennings.
Don’t like Warren & Teague, they look like 6th men and we’ve already got those in abundance.
Curry, I like him very much but there’s one red flag … defensive potential. He’s not really a superbad defender but his potential is so little there … and we really wanna stop s*cking so much at perimeter D … even with Thabeet in there being the “backup weak side D shot blocker” … we still need a quick strong perimeter D player … I think it’s time for mentioning Mario Chalmers again.
On the other hand, Rubio has the same weakness so Curry is definitly nr3 on my board. Jennings wild card and the rest .. juck
Beater of the early Thabeet drum
by Wim (Belgium) on Mar 19, 2009 2:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Jennings
Isn’t Brandon Jennings essentially Bassy 2.0? Undersized, great ball handler, fast as hell (qualities that made him a high school superstar), can’t shoot, finish, or defend (qualities that will make him a crappy pro for the first five years of his career, before he winds up a decent backup for the fourth team he’s played for). We already have the original Bassy, I’d be superhesitant to draft another guy with very, very similar attributes.
Maybe I’m underestimated Jennings, I haven’t really seen him play much. But I have looked at his stats and read the scouting reports and I’m not terribly impressed.
he, maynor, and lawson...
….are the pure points in the draft. they all have a bit of bassy 2.0 to them.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
I completely agree that we have two many 1 dimensional players...
but I don’t agree at all that we can add another one because he happens to be a Center. With our later picks maybe but not with a hopefully top 5 pick. What team has made the leap to being good by adding a defensive specialist C? There isn’t one that didn’t already have a major player at PG/SG/SF.
I think you hit on...
….what will be the big talker if they end up in the 3-7 range….i.e. Thabeet territory. I think the two most interesting dilemmas that could come out of this draft are this: #1 pick and Blake Griffin and #6/7 pick with Thabeet and Aldrich on the board.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Also,
I saw Thabeet get absolutely destroyed by an undersized (even for Puppie standards) PF/C DuJuan Blair! will he be able to hold up against the much tougher compatition in the NBA?
Will the Real Thor Please Stand Up ... ?
by the Real Thor on Mar 20, 2009 11:32 AM CDT up reply actions
Greg Monroe...
..is another guy who took him apart. Blair is a beast though. He also has the wingspan of a 7 footer so he’s not undersized across the board. It will definitely be interesting to see how he plays out. If I had to make the pick and the second scenario is there, I go with Aldrich.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
A few points...
1. As far as Thabeet, well rounded centers are a once every five years proposition, and they go #1. If we wait for this scenario to draft a true presence to defend the basket, we will be waiting forever (since we never get the #1). A guy like this not only improves our size down low, but would also help to improve our pathetic perimeter D. An intimidating presence at the rim would allow us to push out harder on shooters, which we can’t do right now. As much as I love Big Al and Kevin Me Badd, they do not have your back when someone blows by you and takes it to the hole.
I’m well aware what Thabeet is not, and I’m taking him anyway. I completely agree he’s one-dimensional, but we need that dimension SO BAD!!! And from what I’ve seen lately, there is the potential there to eventually be a double-digit scorer on put backs and limited set pieces. A lot of playoff teams play one-dimensional defensive 5’s (Pryzbilla, Chandler, Perkins, Dalembert, Noah, etc…).
2) As far as PG’s, we seem to want to label everyone as Bassy 2.0. I say anyone that can play a lick of defense is at least Bassy 3.0. And if you can also consistently hit an outside shot, well hello Super Mega Bassy. I would think based on SnP’s stats on Bassy’s value, a pimped out version of him would be welcome.
"I'm gonna make you cry...I'm gonna make you cry and dip my cookie in your tears!!!"
On #2
Hasn’t Bassy improved defensively this year? I realize he’s still not great, but to me that’s been one of his biggest improvements. His opposing PG’s PER is down from last season; our team’s FG Against % is down when he’s in the game versus not; we hold the opposition to less points when he’s in the game versus when he’s not. I see him give a nice effort defensively most nights. I don’t necessarily disagree with your conclusion, but I would argue that he’s better defensively this season than you give him credit for. Lawson, Flynn, and some of the other “pimped out” versions of Bassy in this draft have been known to struggle defensively.
by Rascal Flatts on Mar 23, 2009 8:51 PM CDT up reply actions
A lot of playoff teams...
do get away with 1 dim centers because the rest of the team is so good. This is a team that is in bad need of a new starting PG, SG and SF. How do you add a stud to those positions when they are taking players KNOWN to be 1-D in the top 5.
If this team is good enough to win with Pryz at Center I’d bet he can be had cheaper than a top 5 pick.
Brandon Jennings can't shoot.
If somebody plays point like Bassy but can shoot, let’s take him. What I don’t want is another point who can’t shoot AND plays no D.
Perhaps I am just a pessimist, but I am very worried that we draft a young point guard and then Sebastian is still our best point guard for the next several years as the young point struggles and eventually works himself up to a passable, Bassy-like level. People often seem to make the assumption that these high draft picks will be great. Like, “He’s the next Bassy, but better! He’s the next B-Roy, but better! Thabeet’s the next Chandler, but better!” But these players won’t necessarily be better. Bassy was a superhigh draft pick coming off a much-hyped high school career like Jennings, but it took him four years to become a passable point guard. Before that he was TERRIBLE.
Any Freshman point we draft is likely to suffer the same fate. Terribleness for years, followed by competence for another team after his initial contract is up.
Players who could play PG who are NOT in the Bassy mode:
And I’ll include the apects of each that are non-bassy-like… Things that make them unique…
Curry – World class shooting, height, basketball IQ. He is choice #1 for me.
Tyreke Evans – Size, strength, defense, finishing ability. He will probably be the same as far as outside shooting percentage, but all the other things make him better than Bassy. Choice 1A for me.
Jrue Holliday – I wouldn’t touch him with a 10 foot pole but he offers some of the things Evans does but to a much lesser extent.
AJ Price – He’s growing on ya isn’t he? He offers toughness and leadership.
I agree with everyone else, the others share a lot in common with Bassy’s style.
True
Curry’s shooting and Evans’ size make them different enough from Bassy that I can see the appeal. Let’s just stay away from Brandon Jennings, for goodness sake.
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