Another one goes pro Could this be one of the deepest drafts ever? So many good players declaring early. DD
The many players declaring early is in part because many of them would have declared last year if they were still allowed to declare for the draft straight out of highschool. As for the question "could this be one of the deepest drafts ever?", I don't think so. I don't think most of these guys will be all that good in the NBA. Beasley's character is questionable, so prolonged success in the NBA is not a sure thing for him at all. OJ Mayo has proven to be completely over-rated and is yet another guy of questionable character. Guys like Kevin Love and Tyler Hansborough aren't athletic enough to be all that good at the NBA level. I'm not sure there are more than 3 or 4 guys in the entire draft who have All-Star potential and we all know not every player with All-Star potential becomes an All-Star. I'm not high on this draft class at all. Of the projected top 5 picks, I really only like Derrick Rose and Jerryd Bayliss. Beasley could be amazing, but I just kind of doubt it. Something doesn't smell right about that guy. Though I'll be the first to admit he's incredibly gifted and certainly has the talent to make me eat my words in a big way. I don't like OJ Mayo at all. I think he's a poor man's JR Rider. And finally there is Brook Lopez. I think he'll be a pretty solid player, but I don't see All-Star potential in the guy. All of that said, years ago I thought Marcus Fizer and Danny Fortson were going to dominate the league. So what the hell do I know?
I'm not big on this draft. No superstars I see here. But there's a lot of guys that can be a solid #2 or #3 contributor. OJ Mayo isn't a guy I would declare "the savior of a franchise". He's good, but nowhere near the hype I had been hearing about him for about 5 years now.
Mayo could still end up the best player in the draft. Media started getting off his bandwagon early, casual fans followed suit, and now he is under the radar.
Mayo has the distinct possibility of suffering a Marcus Williams/Gerald Green fall to the bottom teens on draft day.
I never understood the hate behind this guy. He scored a lot, shot well, played smart and looked to get others involved everytime I watched him. Pretty good stuff for a freshman, don't ya think?
He's not a bad player, but he's been getting Lebron level hype since he was in diapers. People sour on it after a while. I don't hate the kid...I'm just tired of him.
That's understandable I just don't get all the people saying they were unimpressed with him. What more could he have done at USC? His numbers and wins were outstanding for a freshman. I think people are so eager to write him off that they act like he's the next Sebastian Telfair or something.
Agreed. He had a solid freshman campaign. Switch him and Derrick Rose and I think Rose / USC would have lost in the first round while Mayo / Memphis went all the way. Not really sold on his PG skills, but he has the height and skills to be a solid SG...maybe in the Brandon Roy type mold.
Agreed too. Not so much on the Brandon Roy comparison though. The way I see it is his worst case scenario is not being able to play the point and essentially becoming the next Rashad McCants. A solid shooter, decent athlete and overall quality player. Not a star but definitely a guy that can help you. I'd say his best case scenario is becoming a player in the Arenas mold. Basically, your typical combo guard.
He was overhyped at the start of the season... but midway through something seemed to "click" for the guy and he totally changed his way of playing bball and his attitude towards bball... he's so underrated now IMO that its not even funny... someone is gonna get a helluva steal in this guy...