I don't think Rockets will be willing to move up to the #2 unless they truly feel Beal or MKG will be studs. I think it's more likely they go for Portland's pick to draft Drummond.
That seems like a lot to me, assuming you were looking to also include picks 14 and 16...Lowry alone should get you a pick just iniside 10. We'd be selling really low on Morris. He may not become a star, but he's certainly better than where his stock is right now.
Jordan would absolutely expect Maggette or Diop to go any deal for the pick as a salary dump. This franchise is drowning in red ink and might have the worst revenue in the league. They definitely don't have the cash to pay someone $10M to go away. Dalembert's partially guaranteed deal would look good to them.
From David Aldridge, a Q&A with Andre Drummond: Source: http://www.nba.com/2012/news/featur...ith-oklahoma-city-finals-run/?ls=iref:nbahpt1 Not overly impressed with his answers, but if we're going to utilize Kevin McHale as a big man coach, this would be a great candidate to do it on. Spoiler This week, we begin a series leading up to the June 28 Draft with some of the players expected to go high in the Lottery. Connecticut's freshman center Andre Drummond may be the most question-raising prospect in the bunch. The 6-foot-11, 278-pound 18-year-old has the kind of size and quickness -- along with a 7-foot, six and a quarter inch wingspan, the longest among the prospects at the Chicago Pre-Draft camp last week -- that makes NBA types drool. But his one season in Storrs featured only flashes of a consistent post presence, with Drummond seemingly disappearing for long stretches on the court. There were occasional flashes of dominance, like a 20-point, 11-rebound performance against West Virginia in January, but Drummond only averaged 10 points and 7.6 rebounds for the Huskies, who were bounced from the Big East Tournament in the quarterfinals and got smoked by Iowa State in ther opening game in the NCAA Tournament -- a game in which Drummond only had two points and three rebounds before fouling out. Still, with his size and potential, there's no way he gets out of the top 10 of the first round. Me: Teams have a lot of questions about you. What is the one question that keeps coming up in your interviews? Andre Drummond: Am I a hard worker? I definitely am a hard worker. I give my all anywhere I go. Some people don't understand that, because I smile a lot when I play the game. It doesn't look like I'm serious, because I'm smiling. But I definitely love the game of basketball, and I always have a smile on my face. Me: Where does the smiling come from? AD: That's just me as a person. I'm always happy. I smile all the time. And I just love playing the game. Me: So if this persona is out there about you, how do you convince people that that's not who you are? AD: Definitely, they'd have to trust in me as a player and see that I can play the game and I know what I'm doing, but that I enjoy the game as well. Me: UConn didn't have as good as season as you would have liked. How do you separate your play individually from what happened to the team? AD: I'm working a lot harder. I'm working harder than I've ever worked before to build myself an offensive game and a good back to the basket game, to show the folks that I can play this game, that I definitely have an offensive skill set. Me: Where are you working out now? AD: I work out of New York with Idan (Ravin, the celebrated "Hoops Whisperer"). Me: What does he have you doing? AD: It's a whole lot of things. He's having me work on the perimeter, take catch and shoot shots, a lot of back to the basket things, a lot of footwork things. Like earlier today, I was doing the jump rope, and people were like, wow, you can skip rope a little bit. That's a lot of things we do, and footwork is one of the key things we do. Me: When you get on the floor in the NBA next season, what will you be able to do right away? AD: I can definitely come in and run the floor, and help get fast break points, rebound the ball, block a lot of shots, definitely get my team going. Me: Have you heard from some of the past Connecticut players who are playing in the NBA? AD: Yeah, like Rudy Gay used to come back all the time, Hasheem (Thabeet) used to come back, Ray Allen, Donny Marshall, I mean, you go down the list of guys that came back, and they all just tell me, it's no joke out there. You need to give it your all every single game, play hard. This is a job, and everybody is out there for the same reason. Me: How good can you be? AD: I feel like I can be a great player in this league. I can be an All-Star, Rookie of the Year, if I work hard. Me: What do you want to get across in the interviews? AD: Just clear the air about the whole 'not playing seriously' thing, and that I'm a hard worker. If I get chose by any team, I'm going to go out there and play my hardest, give it my all, listen to the coaching staff and do anything that they tell me to do. Me: What is the craziest question you've been asked so far? AD: I haven't really heard any crazy questions. Everything's just been real basic, asking me who I am as a person, where I lived, how I grew up, what high school I went to, how successful I've been through my years. Nothing really crazy. Me: Does it surprise you that that kind of basic stuff that people can Google about you would be what they ask you? AD: Sometimes, Google doesn't really tell the truth about a lot of things. It's better to hear it from the person than to read it somewhere.
Count me as terribly disappointed if this draft order holds true and we end up drafting Zeller and another PF (WTF?!). We already have a jam at PF with Scola, Patterson and DMO, you're gonna add another PF? If this draft is true I'd rather get Terrence Ross, Royce White, Rivers or Jeff Taylor with the 14th. In fact, I think we can trade Lowry for a higher pick, draft Leonard with that pick, and then use the 14th and 16th for either of the above wing players.
I don't care about log jams, we need to roll the dice on a couple of high ceiling players, Drummond, Perry Jones, Meyers, guys who have the potential to be special.
Which part didn't you like? Sounded fine to me. Definitely concerned about production, but the guy is a physical beast. Demarcus Cousins type size but much leaner, faster and a better athlete.
IMO, none of those PF you named are the starting PF of a contender (in a few years). I'd gladly take another PF if they're an upgrade. That being said, lets trade up and get Barnes!
Don't get me wrong, I'm in the "trade for the #5 pick and grab him there" boat, but after watching a few of the other interviews I feel like a came away more impressed with someone like Barnes or even Austin Rivers. Albeit, it's a lot different hearing someone speak than it is to read what someone said. I know CF is pretty divided on the kid, either you think he'll be the next Dwight Howard or he'll be a huge bust, but I think going with a safe pick would be a bad move this year. Swing for the fences! Also, we're a team who is at our best when we are running and in transition. Drummond plus DMo (plus Dragic and Lee, guards who can push the ball) would be a great combination IMO.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Indications are that Sacramento wants to add a player at 5, who is a winner & mature.Locker room concerns seem factor into Kings decision.</p>— Probasketballdraft (@Probballdraft) <a href="https://twitter.com/Probballdraft/status/212300113996038144" data-datetime="2012-06-11T21:47:46+00:00">June 11, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Kyle is a winner and PPat is mature.
Given that Motiejunas is considered to be worth a pick higher than 14 in this draft, any reason to believe a PF at 14 would have more potential than him?
How do you guys view Quincy Miller atm? Before his injury the guy was considered to have stud potential. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3ZXmq1xRa4M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tHZpl1XGYos" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> According to him he's over his injury and is moving well.
He could become a good defender against similar sized Western Conference SF, i.e. Kevin Durant. Durant's biggest strengths are his ability to shoot over people and his long strides. Someone of Miller's size could contest that quite well.
Moultrie, Harkless, Henson, Leonard, Sullinger all have a good chance to be there at #14. I would probably be happy with any of these players. Sullinger does have potential to be a franchise 4. Leonard has potential to develop into a top center. Henson has potential to be defensive player of the year. And I think both Moutrie (Aldridge-esq) and Harkless (McGrady-esq) have Allstar potential. I think all of these players have excellent value for late-lotto/mid-round picks.
Leonard would be a good compliment to our guys at the four- he plays defense and gets boards, the perfect compliment to a guy like Motiejuanas, Patterson, or Scola.
I don't quite get the fascination with Leonard. Yes, he's 7-1 and possesses some nice tools, but he's just so raw. I don't think he'll be a positive for at least the first two years. Who know if he ever develops at all. Will he ever be more than just an energy big? To me, taking him in the lottery would be a reach. He's a guy you take a flyer on in the 20s IMO. I don't know. Maybe I'm way off here. I haven't watched him all that often, but from what I have seen I wasn't that impressed.
That's all true, but you can say the exact same things about Drummond and I think you'd be ecstatic if he dropped to us at 14. What makes Drummond a lottery lock and Leonard a reach?
