I wouldn't be so sure. Apparently Gary St. Jerk is raving about Tskitishvili. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/06/21/SP78762.DTL Thought this might help some of the Mock Draft Madness crowd, because there have been reports where it almost sound like Dunleavy to the Warriors is a sure thing. Doesn't sound to me like that's true.
Dunleavy will go third according to every body but If I were the Warriors I would pick Tskitishvili before Dunleavy since Dunleavy is going to be a Tragon Langdon of the NBA come out shooting all these three's and have no other inside game and with Tskitishvili he is going to creat a problem for other pf in the league with his height, speed, and jump shot the next Pau Gasol.
I wouldn't take MD third but GS seems dumb enough to. I wouldn't think about taking him if Gooden, Wilcox, Nene, Tskit or Butler are on the board regardless of position need--but that is just me.
If I were the Warriors I would take Tskitishvili. In Chicago Dunleavy was measured at 6'9 1/2 with his shoes on and Tskitishvili is supposedly 7'0" without his shoes on and expected to grow another inch.
Dunleavy has absolutely nothing in common with Langdon, except that they are both from Duke. Langdon was a 6 ft 2 SG with no athleticism, and not much of a handle, which means he can't create space for his shot. Dunleavy, on the other hand, is much more skilled with the ball, and is also 6 ft 9, which will allow him to shoot over 90% of the SFs in the NBA.
True Justin, Danny Ferry should have been your example My personal opinion is the best Dunleavy will be is a poor mans Peja or a poor mans Schrempf--but he isn't the pure shooter Peja is nor the athlete Schrempf is so I doubt he will be the equal of either. Comparisons to Bird are ridiculas. That is like comparing Jalen Rose to Magic or Baby Jordon to Micheal Jordan or Olowakandi to Hakeem. My main problem with Dunleavy is though he may create some offensive mismatches I can't seem him ever being a good defender of NBA SFs/SGs because of quickness nor PFs because of strength and length. Guys like Tskit, Nene, Gooden and Wilcox have much more potential IMO.
Just remember that Tsita is not physically ready to play the NBA power forward position he has not developed yet. He is only 18 but I think that 1 or 2 years from now he will be a phenom.
Like him or not, Dunleavy will be the third player selected at worst....But, I don't think that he finishes the night on Golden State's roster necessarily.... My personal prediction is that the Warriors select him at #3, Memphis takes Drew Gooden at #4, and then they swap with additional compensation... In responding to some of the other crap in this thread, you don't take Hilario or Nikoloz over Mike D. I would listen to either Butler or Gooden being viewed as a better fit however... In criticizing Dunleavy, keep in mind that he played a lot of power forward last season, a position he'll never play in the pros... He immediately makes whatever team he goes to a better shooting/better passing squad... He's also a character guy who's not going to give you any problems off the court. In other words, he's got a lot less question marks with his games as many of his peers, and it shouldn't shock anyone that any number of teams would like to be in the top 4 to have a shot at him.... Also keep in mind that 19 year old Nikoloz probably won't even play a minute in the NBA next year... So the team that takes him is probably more interested in playing out the 2002-3 season with their current roster and adding both Nikoloz and Lebron James to the 2003-4 season.... Which is why I think he'll end up with the Nuggets.... IMO, Butler is the Paul (I can't believe we passed on this guy) Pierce of this year's draft....
