One of the best players in college is Grizzard out of Alabama. We do not need a small forward so I would probably package the pick for a big man. We have room for two power forwards. Willis should be gone, Griffin stays. That means either KT must be traded or MoT. Every year there is at least one disgruntled star. I would put together a package to get that star. The package would be as follows: 1) Anybody except Franchise and Griffin for Elite player. (I might be willing to overpay, short-term) 2) 1st round pick, KT, Collier to move up in the draft. 3) 1st round pick, KT, Moochie ... Basically, we have a bunch of average players but we need one more elite player. Francis and Griffin should be untouchable. Anybody else can be had for the right price. I just don't know how Francis would react if we were to trade Cat. (Before anybody gets offended, I do not want to trade Cat and I am not calling him average. I am calling the rest of the team average. I would listen though.)
I like Dunleavy a great deal as well, and he's a more realistic catch than Williams or Yao. He's the real deal, imo. He can shoot, dribble, pass, and finish. How is he different from Langhi? Well, he's 1. bigger, 2. more athletic, 3. can shoot as well or better, 4. has better ball skills, and 5. has better defensive instincts.
Langhi is 6'11 220 and Dunleavy is 6'9 220... if theres any size advantage, Langhi has it. Who says Dunleavy is more athletic than Langhi also... one of the positive things about Langhi is that he <i>is</i> very athletic.
alaskansnowman: Have you seen Dunleavy lately? Those measurements are no longer accurate. He was 6'9 his freshman year and has grown and bulked up.
call me crazy but i love the idea of going after mike dunleavy, you dont need athletes at every position, we need a guy who can nail the 3 on a steve/cuttino drive, dunleavy can do that and much more, without mike dunleavy arizona wins the national title over duke, and knowing his dad he is more than just a pure shooter and i would agree. Dunleavy in the draft=great fit
I was looking over the draft selections... and now i think "IF" by some weird chance we get a high draft selection, we should just go straight after Yao Ming. the guy's parents were tall bball players he's agile and fast. his range is 20 ft. he passes well and handles the ball surprisingly well. hits 80+% free throws all the time. he's 260 lbs at 7'6... which is better than manute bol by 30 lbs. super aggressive on the shot blocking end. but there are also a few other special things i remember reading about Yao Ming when i watched the CBA play. he doesn't have injury problems. it might be due to the fact his genetics are naturally tall... but so far he rarely has had any problems usually associated with tall men (usually feet *cough* clevela... because of cross-sectional area weight related issues) secondly, the guy dreams about coming to the nba. he talks about improving his game every second of his life. i read somewhere before sleeping each night, he takes a while to run plays, passes, jump shots and defensive moves over his head. the sheer want of improvement is impeccably high in this guy and it's not something to overlook. (anti-thesis = cato) if kenny keeps getting more lean on his richard simmons plan, he might move to SF leaving our center still the only true place we need real talent.
Haven: True I have not seen Dunleavy lately... but do u really think that he's taller than 6'11? regardless, I'm not sayin Langhi is better than Dunleavy... obviously there's a reason why Dunleavy is a lottery pick and Langhi went to the 2nd round...
If there is not a center in the draft that could contribute immediately, I think Dunleavy would be a good choice. But man do I wish the Rockets would have had one extra draft pick last season so they could have picked Brendan Haywood! What a steal for the Wizards.
Dunleavy is NOT 6'11"! He was 6'7" as a freshman and now is 6'9". Does anyone buy press guides anymore? Or listen to announcers? The big story about Dun was that he's grown two inches to go from being a guard to a forward. He won't be coming out this season anyway, I don't think.
I don't buy this anymore. Raw ability to jump is not as important as coordination to glyde everywhere. Langhi can probably jump better than Shane Battier, for instance, but that doesn't make him a better "athlete." You can call people faster than Battier, better jumpers, etc, but "very athletic" is more than that; it requires excellent coordination, too. Langhi is an uncoordinated dork, by comparison to other NBA small forwards.
While I can't profess any knowledge of Dunleavy's actual height, I CAN say that, after having seen a Duke game recently, Dunleavy is no less of a beanpole than Dan Langhi. Remeber, Langhi was a hell of a college player in his own right. Just because they have good college tools doesn't mean it will translate to the NBA.
Rod Grizzard (6-8) , IMO , would be best suited for our team. He's got size, good ball skills, nice shot, and very athletic. I like his ability to score against zones and break down defenders to create his own shot. Our teams biggest need is OFFENSE (incase ya'll haven't noticed) and would help from getting smoked by typical athletic 2/3 players like McGrady, Carter, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kobi, ........ because we have noone that can matchup well against them besides possibly T. Morris. Rod plays very solid and under control and has a 7 FOOT wing span that makes him tough on D. Mike Dunleavy might be a little overrated, Duke has an excellent system, but when taken out of it , the players seem to struggle. He did make some clutch shots in the championship game last year, so the jury is still out on him. Although his game is similar to Langhi. I might take him in the mid to late 1st round. If Grizzard is gone, I'd most likely take Drew Gooden(6-10). He's a top-notch forward from an excellent program, a team leader, averages a double-double , a tough defender in the paint and his game is a few feet from the basket. He reminds me of a smaller Tim Duncan. He splits time between the 3 and 4 and I'm sure Rudy would appreciate that. Chris Marcus also comes to mind, but I really haven't seen him play. He does have good size at 7-1 but that's all I really know about him. If we do take him with our first pick, then Jason Kapano(6-7) and Preston Shumpert(6-6) become a good possibility. They both can hit from anywhere. Chris Owens(6-8) out of Texas is another good prospect. He already has an NBA body and can play the 3 and 4. He will be able to contribute right away. I know we have a glut at the 3, but I don't think that's gonna last. The way we're playing, a trade is inevitable. Most likely to be moved will be Langhi, Walt, Kenny, and possibly Mooch. I think Rudy should start playing with the line-up some, throw out different combinations. I think Eddie, Langhi, and T-mo should all get ALOT more playing time. There is no reason to leave Kenny and Walt in for the entire second half, minus garbage minutes. Give those fresh legs some PT.
You know, there are some good points coming out this year,too. I wouldn't be suprised if we trade Mooch near the end of the season for some frontcourt help and take one in the draft. I know Rudy likes bigmen with NBA experience. Since the point we would draft would be a back up, here's the 3 that caught my eye: 1. Dan Dickau (6-1) Sr.out of Gonzaga. He basically shoots the same % from the 3 as from the field at 43%. 2. Lynn Greer (6-2) Sr.out of Temple. This guy has already scored 47 and they've only played 6 games thus far! He averages 27 ppg. He led his conference in assist to to ratio with 2.62. He is also from Philly. 3. Juan Dixon (6-3) Sr.out of Maryland. The only real reason I like this guy is that he and Steve played together so there might be some close feelings, but there could also be some animosity, too. Who knows.
I've seen very little of him, but he's not the slug that some people have made him out to be. Also, I expected him to be a bit on the tubby side, but at 7'1", 285 lbs. he's actualy not fat at all. He seems to move real well and have a good work attitude. The two things I worry about: 1.) He just broke a bone in his foot(?) and will be out for several weeks. 2.) I wonder in the end how great is passion for basketball will be once he gets a contract. He's stated in the past that he only took up basketball because a coach convinced him it'd help him get a scholarship. He's been dilligant about working at getting better, but all the really good players seem to be gym rats, who practice because they'd rather do that than anything else.
More and more, I am becoming convinced that if we have ANY shot at getting Ming, we take it with both hands, feet, and whatever other appendages come in handy...I realize that he's a big (pun slightly intended) gamble, but it's going to take something out-of-the-ordinary to unseat the Lakers any time soon, and Ming could very well be it... Were he not availble, I would go for Stoudamire, or Gooden...Stoudamire and Francis couldd, I think, give the Rockets what the Sonics had in Kemp and Payton, only for longer, and with better surrounding talent...Gooden and Griffin, while seeminglt redundant, would, I think complement each other very well, as both do enough of so many things that they wouldn't cancel each other out. What is more, Gooden is co-existing very well with Collison right now, and while he's not as tealented as Griffin, he does play a similar role to what Griffin will become.
I'm with you, drpepper. Grizzard and Gooden should be #1 & 1A on the Rocks' wish list. Grizzard is the long, multi-talented, athletic wing player the Rocks have needed since Drexler retired. Yeah, some may say 'what about Shandon?', Grizzard is a definite upgrade over Shandon. And the most impressive things about Gooden are his board work and athleticism. I wouldn't worry about an over-abundance of PFs, it worked out well for Portland.
If he is in the draft, Ming is the #1 pick, no ifs, ands or buts. If a team can't use him, they have to trade the pick or somehow make room for him. Jason Williams is probably just as much of a lock for #2, but that may be a lot more dependant on team needs. After that, it is a crapshoot right now. But, why is this thread over here? Shouldn't it be in the other forum?
