per yahoo Denver traded the rights to the 34th pick, Sergio Lull, to the Houston Rockets, a league executive said.
SCOUTING REPORT: JERMAINE TAYLOR lol ... someone posted this report at the same time ... here's some more ... JERMAINE TAYLOR Shooting Guard University of Central Florida Golden Knights #1 6:03.4-208 Tavares, Florida Tavares High School OVERVIEW One of the nation's premier shooters, Taylor enjoyed one of the best individual campaigns in UCF history as a senior. He averaged 26.2 points per game and finished third nationally in scoring. In Conference USA play, he averaged 29.1 points, earning league Player of the Year honors in addition to receiving NABC and USBWA All-District accolades. Taylor ranks third in school history in scoring with 1,979 points, the fourth-best total in Conference USA annals. His 251 3-point field goals set the school career-record, while his 710 total field goals made placed third and his 308 successful free throws rank fourth on Central Florida's all-time record books. He set the school annual record for scoring, with 812 points as a senior. His 26.2-point average put him fourth on the UCF annual record list while his 138 free throws made ending up finishing third on the single-season chart. His 291 total field goals and 92 3-pointers made were both good for fourth on the Golden Knights' annual record book. Taylor attended Tavares High School, where the three-sport standout earned Florida Class 3A All-State first-team honors in basketball as a senior. He finished second in the Florida Class 3A Player of the Year voting and was named Class 3A-District VIII Player of the Year, along with garnering Leesburg Daily Commercial Boys Basketball Player of the Year accolades. The Orlando Sentinel Lake/Sumter Player of the Year and All-Central Florida first-team selection was also named the Sentinel's Athlete of the Year, as he averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists per game as a senior. Taylor excelled as a wide receiver on the Tavares football team, finishing his senior season with 481 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He was selected to the Leesburg Daily Commercial 2004 All-Area football team. He finished second in the Florida Class 2A Track and Field Championships in both the triple jump and high jump. The Leesburg Daily Commercial Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year still owns the school high, long and triple jump records. As a true freshman, Taylor was named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and was one of six Central Florida players to appear in all 29 games. In his first collegiate season, the reserve combo guard averaged 4.3 points in 11.7 minutes per game, hitting on 17 three-pointers. He also averaged 2.2 boards and 5.1 points per game in league play. Taylor continued to see action coming off the bench in 2006-07. Still, he ranked second on the team and 16th in Conference USA, averaging 12.7 points per game while appearing in all 31 contests (averaged 25.2 minutes). He recorded double-figures in points 19 times and had six 20-point games while leading UCF in scoring 12 times. He ranked fourth in C-USA, shooting 41.4 percent from 3-point range (made 63 treys) and shot 47.4 percent to go with a 3.2 average for rebounds. Taylor was named to the All-Conference USA second-team as a junior. He made 29 starts and appeared in all 31 games, leading UCF in scoring at 20.8 points per game, which ranked fourth in C-USA and 23rd nationally. He totaled 646 points, which ranks sixth on the school's single-season register and were the most scored by a UCF player at the Division I level until 2008-09. Taylor paced the Knights in scoring in 23 of the team's 31 games and registered 20-point performances on 20 occasions while averaging 21.4 points in C-USA play. He connected on 79 3-pointers, good for eighth on the school's single-season list and shot 36.7 percent from deep, which ranked 15th in the league and 94th nationally. In 2008-09, Taylor was an All-American third-team, All-Conference USA first-team pick and added NABC All-District XI and USBWA All-District IV accolades. The conference's Player of the Year set a C-USA single-season record by scoring 466 points and averaging 29.1 points vs. conference opponents. He scored a school-record 812 points during the campaign, as he shot 48.0 percent overall, connecting on 92 three-pointers (37.6 percent) while shooting 81.2 percent at the free-throw line. He also led the team by averaging 5.2 rebounds per game and blocking 24 shots.
The Wizards received $2.5 million from Houston in the trade for the 32nd pick Jermaine Taylor, league execs. told Y! Sports. half a minute ago from web
Sergio Llull: 6-3, 176, PG, 21 years old, (Real Madrid) Draft rank: #39 PG rank: #14 Strengths: Has good mechanics on his shot. No wasted motion and does a good job of stepping into his shot. Has good size to play the point. Does a very good job of using his feet to turn the corner and has tremendous balance that allows him to get to the rim. Even when he is at full speed he is able to stay in control. Does a really good job of getting into the lane and getting to the rim. Does a very good job of attacking open space with the ball. Has very good speed. Does a good job of pushing the ball in transition and making the defense pay when they aren’t setup. Does a good job of penetrating and dropping passes off to his bigs. Really knows how to take advantage of the defender if he is off balance. Doesn’t settle for outside shots and is not afraid of attacking bigger players at the rim. Uses his hands to try to create steals and take off the other way in transition. Can shoot the ball even if he is moving to the left or the right because of his ability to square up to the basket. Has good hang time when attacking the basket. Does a good job of shielding his man with his shoulder and attacking in transition with an underhand scoop shot. Does a good job of floating shots over the defender and off the glass so that he can score in the lane. Really good athleticism and solid explosiveness from a point guard. Does a good job of finishing on reverses and knows how to dip his shoulder down so that he can beat his man and get to the other end of the rim. Weaknesses: Is right hand dominant and he often turns the ball over when he is forced to go left. Often loses his balance when someone knocks touches him while driving to the hoop which causes him to shoot bad shots or make bad decisions. Often forces passes and as a result turns the ball over. Struggles shooting the ball when there is a player in his face. Sometimes forces his shot. Doesn’t do a good job fighting thru screens. Struggles to keep quick guards in front of him. Does not do a good job of pulling for mid-range jump shots and often just forces shots around the rim instead. I am not sure he will be able to hit the NBA three consistently. Often pounds the ball. Has still only played limited minutes and has put up limited numbers in those minutes. Mental: When watching Llull I was very surprised at how composed he was for a 21 year old. The guy has no problem with going and getting the ball from his veteran teammates and also doesn’t have a problem with telling those same teammates where to go. I love the fact that Llull isn’t afraid of getting knocked down and how his overall aggressiveness. In the NBA where charges are few and far between a PG that can penetrate and get into the paint with a little bit of recklessness is a good thing. Mentally I really like what I see from Llull as far as confidence is concerned. Comparison: Sergio Rodriguez, 6-3, 170, PG Would be a good fit for: Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards, or Detroit Pistons Conclusion: While he is clearly a point guard, he was used a lot as a secondary point guard overseas. What I mean by that is that they had a different player bring up the ball and then would let Llull run the offense in the half court. I would love to see him have the ability to push the ball from the get go, but that’s the offense they run and Llull seemed very comfortable in the half court as well. He is a very intriguing prospect just based on his size, speed and his ability to handle the ball. I had the fortune of watching a young Sergio Rodriguez when he was starting to make some noise in Madrid and this Spanish Sergio does remind me of Rodriguez. He has a similar flare to his game and he has a similar build. The big difference is that Llull is fearless when taking the ball to the hoop and is a lot more aggressive than Rodriguez was when I saw him play. While they may have their differences both had the ability to change the course of the game with their play making skills and that is ultimately why Llull is an attractive prospect for NBA teams. Llull may get drafted in the 1st round, but if he doesn’t then I could think of numerous teams that should take a flyer on him. At the very least he continues to play at a high level in Spain and they can let them grow into a complete point guard. He still has to show more consistency and work on his game, but Llull is definitely an intriguing prospect that should not be overlooked in this year’s draft.
I don't think this is our pick. He's undersized and not what we're really looking for. I have a feeling we're **** blocking some team.
Taylor is a player with a high ceiling and raw tools, but an uninspiring game up until now. Pretty decent gamble by the Rockets, he is very similar to von wafer besides the explosive first step. Anyone know how much the Rockets paid for the pick? I thought the Knicks paying $3m for #29 was pretty steep.
Don't know anything about him.It can't hurt to have a 2nd rounder. Hope he can help some down the line.
Awesome, sweet! yeeeeeeeeeeeeeehawwww! we got a washup T-mac, broken up Yao ming, 10 undersize PF and what do we do? go out and fight our assss off to get two second rounders. They might as well hand us the 2010 NBA Champ Trophy. We going to win 82-0 next year. Book it!!!
I'm actually pleased with this pick. He is a pretty decent pass first PG with some size who can shoot the mid range jumper fairly nicely.He isn't fast by any means,but he isn't a stiff. He could get more experience in Europe and possibly end up as a 3rd PG someday.
