It doesn't matter who we all want to draft...Carrol Dawson and JVG will probably just bring another bonehead in here that can't live up to JVG's standards.
Out of boredom I came up with a list of the 15 worst teams and took their remaining schedule and based my predictions on current winning percentages (I picked the team with the higher winning percentage to win each game). I know things like injuries can affect these #'s, but I just wanted to put together a rough estimate real quick. It looks we'd have #11 if everyone beats who they should beat. Charlotte 1 New York 2 Portland 3 Atlanta 4 Toronto 5 Seattle 6 Orlando 7 Golden State 8 Boston 9 Minnesota 10 Houston 11 Chicago 12 Utah 13 Philadelphia 14 New Orleans 15 Yes I know in the lottery the positions can change, but, keeping things simple, right now we'd be picking around 11. If we were to lose to Minnesota that may vault us past them to 10. Pugs
I agree completely...except we would be chocking on his new contract; around $45 mill dedicated to 3 guys...I wish we could pull it off though. It may be best for us to go after a Raja Bell type - someone we can afford but fills our hole with shooting at the 2. Evan
Redick. This team is desperate for shooting and a shooting guard in particular. If we pass on him and bring back Wesley as our starter, anyone who wants to start a fire JVG/Dawson bandwagon, I'll jump right on that sucker. David Wesley is not good enough to start on a contender. Guys of his age and ability only start for expansion teams.
Yeah, Rashard would be the perfect 3rd banana on a championship team. And you know he'll leave the Sonics, which is turning into a bad situation up there for all. I don't know how you get him here though. I'm sure the Sonics could get lots of great offers. And you know he won't opt out from a fat deal to take the MLE from us (no one is that homesick).
One caveat in all of this is the potential or possible addition Malick Badiane and the prolific Vassilis Spanoulis. These two could easily be first round picks in this up coming draft (value wise based on the little we know of them so far).
Malick Badiane can hardly be a first round pick in this draft, let alone a second round pick. This guy is a major scrub who will never amount to anything in the NBA or even make it.
bwa ha ha ha....oh wait you were serious. Sorry, I see Badiane's neame and I assume he's being mentioned for entertainment purposes only.
You're not set on MoPete but you would be willing to give up 2 First Rounders, a 2nd Rounder, and expiring contracts for him? I like MoPete and I think he would be perfect for us at SG. SS/2nd should be enough to get him, but I don't see Toronto needing another PF. The 2nd deal is a pipe dream. Like I said, the 3rd deal sure is a lot to give up for 1 player.
Yeah, it's a lot to give up. But if we are going to build a championship you gotta give up something. Remember, our window is opening NOW. We cannot wait 2 or 3 years for rookies to develop enough to be able to contribute. Otherwise, we have to endure more seasons like the one the are now closing out. Yeah, it was great to give Luther loads of minutes and get him floor experience. At what cost? I'd rather make the playoffs. McGrady is at his prime now. Yao is coming into his prime NOW. We have to put other players that can contribute around them now. If we are gonna get contributors out of the draft, it would be best to get that big banging power forward that can be our defensive strength and offensive garbage man. And then go after a perimeter scorer that has already established themselves in this league. There are no Lebron James, Anthonys, or Wades in this draft, none. There are SOME talented perimeter players which will have to come into the league and at the very least take 2 years to develop enough to be contributors. A player like Gay or Morrison may be able to go to some place like Atlanta, Portland, or Toronto and put up some nice numbers, but the bottom line is they are getting minutes from a lottery team to develop their games, not to contribute towards any playoff run. We need guys that can contribute towards a playoff run, guys with developed bodies and developed offensive reportoires that we KNOW will give us 20 whenever we need it..........efficiently. And if you are wanting a big to bang, crash the glass and defend, and you aren't relying on his offensive skills, then why pay prime for that player. Go get the quality PF that has proven himself over and over at the top of the collegiate level with the top program in the country and let him be your poor man's Carlos Boozer. He may just turn into something better than Boozer. But the bottom line is, there is no need to tie up $10 million + in a position that is the last option on offense. Trade the underperforming overtalented power forward along with some picks to get rid of the dead weight in salary, bring in an athletic scoring 2 guard (I don't care where he comes from, just get one that fits in) and draft Shelden and let's go to war. There are several things we KNOW for sure about this team that have to be changed for us to go anywhere laying aside the injuries to TMac and Yao. 1. More defensive quickness from the 2 guard slot. 2. More length from the 2 guard spot. 3. A third offensive option from the 2 guard spot. 4. A shooter with range and accuracy from the 2 guard spot to spread the floor for the big two, create space, and can the 3 ball. 5. More effective offensive and defensive rebounding from the 4 spot. 6. More smart, solid defense from the 4 spot. 7. See 3 above. A third offensive option from the 2 guard spot to spread the floor and allow the 4 man to roam the baseline in search of the garbage not have to use the 4 man to spread the floor and leave us with one man to offensive rebound. The synergy of a shooter at the 2 spot, combined with being able to then put the 4 down low to clean up the garbage means more second chance points and better balance in transition defense. Instead of our PG and PF running down the floor to stop the break, we can have our PG, SG, and SF running back to stop the break, a much better setup. Followed by a young, energetic PF to once again, fill the lane and intimidate. Our greatest needs is for the 3rd second tier star to give us offensive punch and better perimeter defense. Why would we trust that a player like Reddick (dynamite shooter but totally unathletic) is going to be able to knock Van Gundy's socks off and be that guy next year? At best, Van Gundy may have come off the bench as the 6th or 7th man. We don't need another 6th or 7th man. We need a starter. Van Gundy ain't going to let Reddick start. By the same token, Van Gundy probably won't let Shelden start either. But Shelden has a better chance of contributing and starting earlier than Reddick because of his role on the team. Van Gundy isn't going to trust the 3rd offensive option to any rookie. He may trust Shelden to take out the trash. It's a better bet. You've got to consider who the coach is and what system we are running. If this was Rudy running the Hakeem, throw it in the post and back around the horn offense, uptempo style basketball with less overemphasis on defense, then Reddick is probably your man. Rudy wouldn't have a bit of trouble plugging him in at the starting SG position. You know Van Gundy ain't wired that way. Once again, Jordan, Magic, Bird.........they ain't in this draft. There is NO player in this draft that is going to make their team a contender, none. Just look at last year's draft. Remember all the hype about Bogut, Paul, Marvin Williams, McCants, Deron Williams, etc.? None of those guys have made their teams contenders. Hey, it looked good for Paul for a while. But his team is slowly fading out of the picture. Bogut????? Average at best. Get the third scorer from within the league, a player that has already established himself and is south of 30 by a little bit.
Just draft anyone who can shoot the ball from outside. JJ Redick Mike Gansey Quincy Douby Steve Novak
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;...cB?slug=dw-morrison032106&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Basically this article says Adam Morrison > J.J. Redick. Interesting read with a lot of good arguements, I guess.
aldridge would be better served to stay at texas for another year....besides he has said that he wants to stay...but UT wins it all he may bail for the NBA like Vince did for the NFL
I'm not that high on either one of these guys but I'd take JJ over Morrison. JJ is more of a catch and shoot pure shooter which is exactly what we need. Morrison is a ball hog IMO. Gansey could be a steal in the 2nd Round.
Oh really? From what I've read/heard/saw he seems to be very NBA-ready. Whether he wants to or not is different, but I was under the impression that he was relatively NBA-ready, am I mistaken?
