"The Houston Rockets have traded for the Central Florida's Jermaine Taylor, the 32nd pick whom the Washington Wizards just selected." http://twitter.com/YahooSportsNBA
This is one player I know literally nothing about. I trust Morey and our scouting team, though. Sounds like a typical Morey move: low risk, potentially high reward.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/29YWyZ1rZoo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/29YWyZ1rZoo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/29YWyZ1rZoo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/29YWyZ1rZoo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RaKb6jLE-WQ&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RaKb6jLE-WQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
http://dimemag.com/2009/05/pick-me-jermaine-taylor-nba-draft-blog/ Von Wafer insurance at a nice price. Well done Morey.
ha i knew it....he was mentioned back in the offseason thread, or one of those....i really liked him and thought he'd be a great addition..he's very athletic, overall seems like a solid player, doesn't do anything great, but is solid overall.....
Little surprised that it's a shooting guard, but whatever. He's a second round pick, so he's no-guranteed and it's not a big deal. Morey knows what he's doing, after all. That said, what did we give up to begin with?
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/14871938/15719698 Jermaine Taylor: 6-4, 207, SG, Sr. (University of Central Florida) Draft rank: #40 SG rank: #8 Strengths: Was one of the top scorers in college basketball this past year. Has a great wing span. Likes to get into the teeth of the defense where he can rise up and make mid-range jumpers. Does a great job of helping on the boards. Is very strong for a shooting guard. Has great explosiveness and hang time in the air. Does a good job of curling to the hoop so that he can attack the basket. Is not afraid to go into the post and exploit a mismatch. Has a 1 handed floater that he uses very well to get his shot over bigger players. Has a very nice shooting stroke. Is constantly moving on offense. Has very soft hands which enable him to catch passes that may be low or high. Doesn’t just settle for the outside shot and knows how to attack a defense. Is very good in transition where he can get his speed and strength to really attack the basket. Doesn’t give up and goes after loose balls. Weaknesses: Not a very good passer. Really struggles when he is trapped or contested outside of catch and shoot opportunities. Often decides to score before he is in a position to do so which leads to some bad decisions. Is not a great ball handler. Doesn’t do a great job of crossing over or hesitating to beat his man. Struggles on defense as he often doesn’t do a good job of keeping guards in front of him. Defensively he has some work to do on his footwork and ability to slide. Mental: Nobody had the green light in college basketball more than Taylor did. While his teammates weren’t very good and as a result his team wasn’t very good, he often kept his team in games with his ability to score. Despite Taylor’s star status at UCF he still fought for re-bounds and loose balls which speaks to his ability to find a role in the NBA. Extra info: --Scored over 30 points 10 times last year --Only scored in single digits once last year --Third in the nation in scoring Comparison: Kirk Snyder, 6-6, 228, SG/SF Would be a good fit for: Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, or LA Clippers Conclusion: Other than Curry, Taylor was probably the second best pure scorer in college basketball this year. He only played 32 minutes per game and averaged an astonishing 26 PPG. The amazing part is that he shot for a solid percentage and didn’t just rely on his perimeter game to fill the stat sheet. A knock against him is that he really doesn’t break down the defense for his teammates. But, in his defense he was almost always their best option to score and if he did pass it to teammates they often couldn’t score like he could. The guy knows how to put the ball in the hoop and that can go along way when you are trying to make an NBA roster. I can see him battling for a roster spot and becoming a better player due to his surroundings. He has very good athleticism that he was rarely able to show at UCF because of the players around him. In the NBA he should be able to help a team with transition scoring and provide a spark off the bench. Look for someone to give him a serious look at the end of the 1st round, but he is most likely to be snatched up in the 2nd round.
