More Hollinger: One guy I can tell you about is Nicolas Batum. Teams are apparently worried about drafting Batum because of a possible heart ailment. I'd recommend avoiding him for other reasons -- like the fact that he can't play, for instance. His numbers project to 9.6 points per 40 minutes, 39.8 percent shooting and an 8.89 PER. It's not like this was an off-year either -- his 2007 numbers are nearly identical. I understand that he's only 19, so perhaps there's some value in using a late second-round pick on him and stashing him in Europe to see if he grows, but that's about as strong a recommendation as I can muster. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3460365&name=hollinger_john
Criticized for soft play and lack of aggressiveness? Sounds like the same kind of criticism Yao was getting a couple years ago. Hopefully we'll be able to teach this guy to play angry
He will be fine if he puts some meat on those bones, damn he's skinny. He's looked pretty solid on the video I've seen on him, though.
The guy hasn't even reported to camp yet and people are already labeling him a disappointment and a bust.
Rudy Gay was the 8th pick in the draft. He had more value so we could trade for a "win now" player in Battier. We had the 25th pick this year. You're not going to get a player with the skills of a superstar at that level. You can pick a player with high upside like batum or pick someone ready to contribute but has a big hole in their game. I like batum and he now has a chance to model his game after t-mac. We've bought the first pick in the second round for 2 years in a row now, so don't be surprised if we pick up an extra second.
I'll admit I don't like this pick, but Morey has proved us wrong many times so let's see if this pans out. The thing with Batum is we need help now and I don't think he'll provide it.
Not a great pick. We need a player that is ready to play in NBA. Batum will be great in 3-4 years, but in 3-4 years, Yao and T-Mac will get old.
draft express has him being traded to portland http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Blogging--live--through-the-NBA-Draft--2952/
We will see how or whether he will develop into TMac type. To me, his build is just like Durant. Hopefully he could play here soon!
