It seemed like in the past (Patrick E.,Hakeem,Shaq, Robinson etc.) if there is a potential star big man he locked up #1. Seems like a Kwame Brown or Diop only come along once in a rocket moon. Why not try to move up to 1 or 2 and grab the potential Shaq-answer. 2-3years from now when Shaq is older we could be the heir apparent for the ring if we give Stevie someone in the middle who can dominate. ------------------
And how do you propose we move up to get this Shaq stopper? How do we get the #1 or #2? Who by the way, doesn't exist as of yet... ------------------ "I had mine chewed off by a boss one time." -- Behad leaves us wondering if he gets hazard pay...
I don't see it happening with our 3 picks or Cato or Williams and a combination of picks, but I would try my best. I would even try for the #4 pick from Chicago and try to land Diop there. He WILL NOT be the next Shaq (1 of a kind) But he could be one of the next dominating centers in the league. Also if griffen and curry go high battier or brown will push to #4- So maybe the target pick is #4. ------------------
I agree with everthing you wrote about Diop... except for the "Shaq-answer" part (and the "once in a moon" part). I'd like for Diop to be a Rocket, but not because he "could" neutralize Shaq. I just happen to think that with his defensive abilities, rebounding potential, size, and athleticism Diop would be an ideal C for the Rocks. ------------------
I think the only thing Diop is gonna dominate is a lunch buffet. Brown would be the obvious choice here. Diop has only been playing high school kids. ------------------
So Brown looked great playing in the NCAA Final Four this past spring? Mango ------------------ Get it right or just don't do it! Resistance is futile....you will be assimilated. Start more Webber threads!
When did Yinka Dare, change his name and go back to High School Diop (jop) will FLOP ------------------ "The things I enjoy most, I suck at: 1) Sex: everything's fine until she makes noises." - Achebe Smegs Mock Draft [This message has been edited by SmeggySmeg (edited June 20, 2001).]
Smegma brings up a good point guys. Just because you have a hefty 300 pound 7 footer does not mean you have a Shaq-neutralizer or anything close to it. Also, just because you have an athletic 7-footer who tore up high school leagues doesn't mean you have the next Shaq. Keep in mind there are a lot of big 6'10" - 7' + guys in this league that cannot contain Shaq. There are a lot of 7' college and high school stars that turned out to be stiffs in the NBA, too. My belief is you don't try to neutralize Shaq. You try to contain everyone else. Shaq never won anything scoring a ton of points and rebounding like a mad man by himself. It took a supporting cast including Kobe to win it for him. Slow down Kobe and shut down that supporting cast and you will beat the Lakers no matter what Shaq has done. Jordan never won scoring in bunches until he had a supporting cast as well. ... of course that's easier said that done, but we can do it. ------------------ "I had mine chewed off by a boss one time." -- Behad leaves us wondering if he gets hazard pay... [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited June 20, 2001).]
Thoughts on a big, big man. Some new guy, especially one of the babies, will not take on Shaq. Hopefully, he will ascend over the next five-seven years to replace Shaq as the most dominant force in the post. Agreed that you cannot stop Shaq. Best way to defend him may be to let him score like a mad man, deny Kobe the ball, hack Shaq, and hope that by the fourth quarter Kobe is desperately jacking up bad shots and the Big Free Thrower is missing every shot from the line. One of the strategies that worked well against Dream was to play him one on one and let him rack up 40 points. How many times did he score 40 and we lost? ------------------ Some days you eat the bear. Some days the bear eats you.
just commenting about the diss on high school players. "just because he tore up some high school players...and was a great high school player" i dunno i hear that and i think of putting it into these terms..."just because kobe, kevin garnett, shaq, michael jordan, tracy mcgrady, magic johnson, vince carter, ETC were good high school players..." i mean where do you think the stars are coming from? almost everyone good now was a hs star, mcdonalds all american, or stuff like that. true they all might not pan out, but all those guys were pretty much the cream of their high school crop and tore up the summer leagues. although it seems that more big men flop than the guards and wings but still...yeah and i know about taj mcdavid and korleone young...young came from a top level hs academy that spins out talent but i mean he was a second round pick...i still say go for the young players i mean they may not get the "education" and "fundamentals" that college provides but i think that between the two, tracy mcgrady is hands down better than shane battier, and i remind you that shane battier was the parade player of the year, the number 1 high school player coming out, NOT mcgrady. if mcgrady had gone all four years like battier, do you think he would come in and average close to 30 points like he will next year? no. he would be "fundamentally sound", a true "sure-fire pick that although lacking the potential of the hs players such as curry, and brown, will play in the nba for a long time" hahaha i dunno whatever works for you but i like young players and i think why couldn't diop or curry be the next shaq...i use the term "next" loosely but i mean was shaq any better than they are as h.s. seniors? honestly i don't know b/c i'm just a teenager lol and i know nothing about shaq in h.s. but you think the great players of tomorrow have to come from somewhere...like memphis where dajuan wagner will play next year...what a dominator hahaha we will see all the "yeah but can he do that against non hs players" questions answered ------------------
If I recall corectly, Shaq played with another center at LSU, who was 7' and wide, who had soft hands, who had a nice touch out to 15', who had good footwork, and finally who went on to have an undistguished NBA career. Damn, sounds a lot like Curry to me. ------------------
I would take Diop or Brown or Woods or ????? over Cato. I just wish we would try to get the best 5 we could in this draft. If Dream returns he will be injured 50% of the time. If cato is our 5 he will give an effort 50% of the time. If we sign Webber he will hate the 5 spot in the west and would be much more valuable along side a Diop or Woods that give a 100% effort. Draft a big man when you can in the NBA. ------------------
I don't know if I would call Eddy Curry the next Stanley Roberts, but I am not that enamored with him. I think that the Rockets should look at Diop. I have seen him slipping in a lot of mock drafts. That may not mean anything, but it seems like every year, someone slips in the draft over the last week. Maybe the Rockets can steal him at #13. Probably just a pipe dream. ------------------ - Beck Dream...bring back the goggles
Vince carter did not come outta high school he came outta North Carolina same with MJ and Shaq came outta LSU ------------------ ***FRANCHISE***
one big difference between the two is that Curry is loaded with athleticism, from his gymnastics days. Most likely, neither Curry nor Diop are going to single handedly stop Shaq. But, their combination of size and skills gives them the best potential to somewhat neutralize him on both ends of the floor, and make him work just a tad harder. I agree with Pinetree, in that we're at least 3 years away, barring something crazy (like Shaq and Duncan going down with injuries while Hakeem and Webber both are Houston Rockets). For those who doubt Curry, how many of you have seen him in game action, like the McD's game, or the EA Roundball Classic? One interesting fact about Diop that was in ESPN the magazine. It said he averaged 8 assists per game? Insane. Diop still scares me, because he's had a lot of injuries in a very short time. ------------------ "I think alot of people find Cato's game to be very offensive." -aelliott, comparing the offensive skills of Kelvin Cato and Michael Olowokandi
