Man you are so on point about Robinson. He is a major reason why I don't like Sully. He just embarrassed him. The second best PF in the draft behind Davis. By far. And who are we kidding. Davis is going to be an all star at center.
Looking back at nbadraft you have a solid point. Strengths: Super-intriguing prospect with lottery-level tools and talent ... Thick, powerful and intimidating frame ... Aggressive athlete that likes to attack the rim ... Possesses great speed for someone his size ... Runs the court extremely well, especially with the ball in his hands ... Doesn't have a problem with pulling down a defensive rebound and then leading the fast-break himself ... Remarkable ball-handler ... Doesn't have the loose dribble that a lot of other taller players have ... Sharp crossover that becomes deadly when he picks up some speed ... Passing ability rivals a lot of point guard prospects ... Good awareness of where his teammates are on the court and skilled at delivering the ball to them in a position to score ... Strong area rebounder ... Boxes out well ... Respectable mid-range shooter ... Has the strength and quickness to be an excellent scorer in the post ... Should be an incredibly difficult player to matchup against ... Won't be a great shot-blocker, but has all the tools to defend power forwards well in the NBA ... Led his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks during his freshman season ... Weaknesses: Overall scoring ability is very unrefined, though he's technically still a freshman so you have to allow him some leeway there ... Is not a good long-range shooter ... Shot under 50% from the stripe, which is a major problem considering he spends so much time in control of the ball ... When he picks up a lot of momentum (either in transition or in isolation) he can become very turnover prone ... Conditioning has been a concern ... Is not a true freshman; will be 21 years old by the 2012 draft ... Has had a number of off-court problems in the past, but reports indicate that his attitude has improved greatly ... Was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in high school, which could lead to any number of problems at the next level and has been mentioned as a major cause for concern by a number of scouts. He has had trouble flying and a report su
Draymond Green. I see him as a key contributor off the bench on a contending team. Fills many different roles, great basketball iq, and undervalued skills. Not a superstar player, but one that helps a good team wear some jewelry.
I'm a french fan of the Rockets and i agree with you. Evan Fournier will surprise a lot of people. He plays with the pro, at the top level in France, and he averages about 14 points. Versatile, he does (good) lots of things.
Bordel! on commence à etre une sacrée communauté ici! Va falloir que les Rockets songent serieusement à recruter du Frenchie.
I think you're confusing steal with risk. Steals refer to players who are undervalued and generally come out of the blue (like Parsons), these players on your list (apart from Lamb) are pretty much high risk high reward picks, for example with Quincy Miller people know that he could be a top 10 pick, but there's a high chance that he won't come back 100% AND if you get injuries like these in college its not a good sign of your =durability in the NBA. So he's not a steal just because he gets drafted out of the top 10, people know he might be good but they weigh the risk he has versus his potential. I'm not really gonna comment on your other players because I'm not an NCAA junkie and don't possess enough knowledge to refute your arguments, but this part IMHO is just ridiculous: Better prospect? Why is he a better prospect than someone like Davis who led his team to the NCAA championship? Drummond couldn't even get out of the first round, and you think he's better than Davis? What is this even based on, Drummond hasn't shown any skills that will translate in the NBA, he has no go-to killer move, no post moves, no understanding of defense, has only average bball IQ, and most importanly seems to lack heart/killer instinct, something that Davis and Howard possessed in spades. The only thing he has going for him is his physical attributes, but the fact is all the athleticism in the world won't help you if you don't work on your game and possess no desire to bang inside with the big boys. People here are saying he won't be ready for 3-4 years, but is that a good pick for a top 3 lottery selection? Someone who'll be useless until 3-4 years down the road when he'll start to make contract money? That's good value for your top 5 pick? And that's even assuming Drummond won't lose heart and focus from getting clowned for 3 years and up not caring. IMHO Drummond is the token bust dude in this draft, and you can lump him in with dudes like Thabeet, Tyrus Thomas, Darko and Adam Morrison. IMHO some potential steals in this draft will be Ross, Fab Melo, Fournier. Those guys are extremely undervalued right now.
SCOTT MACHADO Hey, coachbadlee has his guy in Jeff Taylor. I have mine in Scott Machado. Best floor vision of anyone in this Draft. Yes, EVEN better than the great Kendall Marshall.
Marshall could not stay in front of a concrete pillar much less Parker or Rondo. He should not be a lotto pick for that reason. Otherwise he is a great passer.
We have a different opinion about what a steal is. I view a steal as anyone who drops more than 4 or more slots behind a player of like or lesser talent. The Lamb - Beal draft positions is a classic example. Lamb is (IMHO) the #1 SG in the draft. Beal because of hype will get drafted above Lamb. Possibly by 5 or more slots. Drummond. We will have to agree to disagree. Team success is way overvalued in the NBA draft. Just because Davis won a NCAA championship only says he played with much better team mates than Drummond. Drummond has the defensive potential to completely alter NBA offenses he plays against next year. Davis is certainly no offensive powerhouse. In the finals against Kansas he went 0 -10 shooting. Miller, without that freak injury in high school would be a top 5 pick. He is still on the route to recovery, and probably will get all the back before the start of the next NBA season. He will drop out of the lotto.
He is not the 1 on 1 Ginobili type player. I think the Kevin Martin comparison gives you an idea on his game. He wants to attack the basket and try and draw fouls. He is not a good 3 point shooter now but I think he will get better with time. Once he learns to shoot 3's, he will become a much better pick and roll player.
Lamb is a gamble because he weighs 185 lbs and is essentially a jump shooter that has to dribble around with the ball to get off his shot. Do you know how many guys there are out there like that? Yeah, real athletic guys. Athleticism, while somewhat important, is way overrated for basketball players. It's bball iq and skillsets that make the difference. Lamb, Miller, and Drummond.....all of them apparently sensational athletes. That doesn't equate to great basketball players. In Drummond's case, the question marks are obvious. And in my opinion, in Drummond's case, they are too staggering to overcome. 30% from the FT line?? He's got to increase his FT shooting by a whopping 67% just to move up to 1 for 2 from the line. That's a strong signal that he has a skills/mental problem on the court when he is actually playing the game. Not to mention getting dominated in scrimmage by ............................... Thabeet?? You got to be kidding me man. Drummond is gonna bust as big as a watermelon dropped off the top of the Chase Tower. Miller does have somewhat of an intriguing skill set. When you watch his moves for the first time you see a mixture of Kobe and McGrady. Very, very good handle and the ability to throw a plethora of moves on a smaller defender. However, he did have major ACL injury. And he is not a crazy good athlete. He's basically a 6'9" 200 lb shooting guard and the reason I say that is he's not going to be able to kick off those moves and post up against NBA sfs. Because he is not strong enough nor quick enough at the SF position to do those things in the NBA. However, he could take a 6'5" SG in the block and post him up a bit, if that NBA SG isn't very strong. He looks interesting at the college level, but in my opinion it's fool's gold. He would be worth taking a shot on in the early second round. But for my money, I'd rather draft Will Barton in the second round than burn a first rounder on Quincy Miller. He is very high risk. Same goes for Lamb. I'd rather have Will Barton in the second round than burn a first rounder on Lamb. Lamb does not have superstar potential. He may have a career in the NBA but he's not going to be a superstar. He's not going to magically warp himself into 225 lbs. He's not going to be a superstar. Just another guy is the best case scenario. I'd much rather have Brandon Rush (same height but much better size) or somebody like that. First round draft picks should be reserved for guys that will make a difference to your team AND have upside that could take them to elite player status. And if we're sitting there drafting and there is not that kind of guy there, we should either trade the pick.
When you say the word "steal" in the draft, you are talking about drafting a player that way outperforms a lot of guys drafted in front of him, like a player drafted at 20 becoming one of the top 4 or 5 players in his draft class. Possible steals??? Jeffrey Taylor - I'm convinced he's gonna be a baller. He's already very, very good defensively with the size, skillset, attitude and athleticism to be an elite defender on the next level. I know he's gonna be a player in the NBA based on that right there. He's going to be a Sefalosha type defender. Then you look at the other side and see how he has developed his game. Now he's got a very reliable jumper to go along with the athleticism to get out and finish on the break. Put all that together and if he actually stays in the late teens to twenties in the draft, he is going to be a steal. Steals are also guys likely drafted in the second round that perform better than most first rounders and are on a minimum salary contract for multiple years. That is extreme value. Like Carl Landry. That's a steal. Chase Bud has been a steal. Guy has way outperformed the money we've paid him. Will Barton is a possible steal. Looks like he's going second round. Very, very good bball talent. If he gets his attitude right, and works to put on some muscle, he could become very, very good in the NBA. He's basically Jeremy Lamb. Got the same size, same rail-thin frame and same reliance on his jumper but despite that, he still gets to the FT line more often than Jeremy Lamb does. He's been more productive with his jumper and offensive game than Jeremy Lamb has. So, who could possibly be the steal....Jeremy Lamb drafted in the top 10 or Will Barton in the second round on a minimum contract??? Kyle O'Quinn - if he stays in the second round, odds are very good he will be a very productive big man in the NBA. Probably won't be a great player. But he's got the skillset, size and strength combination. He'll be an NBA big and on a minimum contract for a couple seasons, he'll be a steal. Although not exactly the same player as Dejuan Blair, that is the kind of value you get drafting O'Quinn in the second round. He's got the ability to be the first big off the bench for any NBA team today, he's got the maturity and skillset to be able to play immediately, and he's better than most every third big on NBA rosters except just a handful of teams. That's a steal. Because most third bigs on NBA rosters are making substantially more than $5 million per season. Kyle will outperform most all of them for less than $1 million per season. If Andrew Nicholson is still there at #30 (which I doubt), then knowing GS wants to trade some of their first rounders, this pick could possibly be bought for $3 million. He would be a steal there. (But alas he won't make it there because if he is on the board with Miami at 27, they are going to jump all over him.) Doron Lamb will be a steal in the second round. He's a well-rounded baller, great skillset on both ends of the floor and decent size. He should play immediately and be in an NBA rotation. One again if he's the first perimeter player off the bench, he'll be better in that role than most guys in that role currently in the NBA. That would be a steal. Royce White could become a steal if he drops way down to the very end of the first round or even better into the second round. If he's there in the second round, he should be the first player drafted in the second round because he can ball. The problem is can he ride a durn plane? I have a sneaking suspicion he's gonna fall. And I also have a sneaking suspicion he's never going to get his problem resolved and won't make it in the NBA because of it. But he's also got great talent and skillset. I'd make a trade or pay money to draft him in the second round. And I'd have to consider trading for a pick if he was still on the board at 25-30. Lastly....Kevin Jones. Yeah, undersized forward. Tweener. Not fast. Not athletic. Yack. Yack. Heard it a million times. The man is just a basketball player. If he goes in the second round, some team is getting a rotation player, a solid contributor....for a minimum salary. Steal. Oh, just for the record.......last night from 5 pm to midnight I was with my family enjoying their company. And then I went to bed after taking a short gander at the board. Just for the record. So, bring all those super soakers and hunt me down big fella.
Another thing that's going to help these players more so than the middling to high picks - Most of them will end up on contenders or playoff teams who make good progress and usage of talented young players. Gladly, the Lakers and Spurs are not in this year's First Round. Each one would be lucky enough to land a future all-star.
Nicholson could be the next Al Harrington which isn't bad for a playoff contending team. The guys from vandy could be solid as well.
Thanks for the good discussion of these college guys. I don't watch college ball much and appreciate the insight. We need a big, and from what I'm reading, the Drummond risk is worth moving up for if he slips. One observation: jtr, I like your analysis and apparent general basketball knowledge, but a little humility and less condescension could go a long way to elevating your reputation around here.
