Kanter is fools gold. You do not draft a potential superstar post player as a centerpiece unless he can be elite on the defensive end. NONE of the players in this draft are anywhere close to becoming that type of player. A few (Bebe, Biyombo, etc.) have a slim shot in a dark potential of doing so but are super high risk and not worth giving up all that you propose. Now if the side effect of your ploy is to then have a horrible 2011-12 season and get a super high draft pick in 2012, then maybe...
If his knees hold up, he can be pretty elite. He'll never be DH defensively, but there aren't that many centers that are "elite" on offense AND defense. If that's the case, they would all be superstars. I think in terms of offensive skills, this guy can be a potential combination of Nene and Boozer. In terms of rebounding and post moves, they're pretty comparable to Boozer. His tenacity is similar to Nene's on the offensive end, but he is not as agile as either or them. This is pretty "elite" on offense. As far as defense goes, he has the potential to be an adequate defender, which is not bad since PP is turning "elite" in this department.
Now that Barnes has returned to school, there are only 4 players that I'd trade up for. I don't think we'll get Irving, so he's out of the equation. Bismack and Jonas are two players that I think will fit this team very well, in our current state. However, if we trade scola and resign Hayes, then Canter actually becomes a pretty good option in my book. Canter + whoever at the 5, with PP/Hayes at the 4 is pretty lethal. Canter is not known for blocking too many shots, but he can at least challenge a few more than Hayes, and make people think a little more about bringing it to the paint.
If we come out with one of these guys I'll be happy Biyombo Jan Vesely Donatas Alec Burks Chris Singleton Travis Leslie Lucas Nogueira
If we end up not having to trade that #38 pick, use it to get Jordan Williams if he is still available. Being only a sophmore, i like his upside. Very good rebounder.
Williams is intriguing but I think I would prefer Benson since he is a very good shot blocker, more athletic and has a mid range offensive games.
By rights, Benson should go in the mid to late first round. To get him in the 2nd round, you're going to have to be in the top 2 or 3 picks of the 2nd round. If Benson fell to our pick in the second round it would be a travesty. He won't be around unless we trade up in the second to take him.
We absolutely can NOT get 3 players in this draft, unless 2 of them will play overseas. We can have 1 player maximum from this draft, unless we trade away some of our log jams. At 14, I just don't a player better than Coutney Lee. We need to do everything possible to trade up.
I think that we'll have a much harder time trading out in this year's draft, since everybody will want next year's picks. The smarter thing to do is probably package 14, 23, 38 + Lee/Bud or whoever else and get into the top 5. If they want Scola, I'd much rather put him in the package than Lee, but I don't think any of the lower teams will want Scola. I think right now only Patterson, Lowry, and Martin have a higher value than a top 5 pick in this year's draft (not including Irving).
The lithuanians, to enter the 2011 NBA draft: http://www.lithuaniabasketball.com/news-618-valanciunas-to-enter-nba-draft-as-well.html http://www.lithuaniabasketball.com/news-617-motiejunas-declares-for-nba-draft.html About Jonas's contract. Still unclear, but: http://www.sportando.net/eng/europe...unas_in_borovnjak_out_for_lietuvos_rytas.html This is from June of last summer, anyway interesting. Don't know the details of his current contract, but doesn't sound like an unbreakable contract...
I seriously doubt that a team like Olympiacos ever considered signing him. They are trying to win championships now and Valanciunas is a project that can't defend anyone at the Euroleague level. Sounds like agent BS to me.
I'd like for houston the draft Jordan Hamilton and package picks/players to get Markieff Morris!! I'd think that would make for a great draft day!!
I going to say hell no to Markieff Morris. His twin brother measured with a 6'7 wingspan, and Markief will most likely measure around the same. Having T-Rex arms in the front court is a "red flag" imo.
Well we have been running a 6'6 center for the past few years lol but who would you rather have instead of one of the Morris twins?
I have to agree with The Pharmacist --this will be the easiest draft in which to trade up in quite a while, and, with everyone else wanting to trade out, the Rockets would get relatively little to trade out. However, it is only worth trading up if there is someone worth trading up for -- but I think there is. Jan Vessaly to me looks like something between the young Kirilenko and the young Garnett. He may not pan out of course, and I think he would mainly be a role player next season as he learned the ropes, but he has the potential and mindset of becoming a great player in the NBA. Also, Houston needs to start taking risks on players that might become great -- if they succeed they have their star, and if they fail they end up in the lottery...and will hopefully get their star. Either way, taking calculated risks is the way off the mediocrity treadmill.
