Who's in & who's out?

wow, I'm surprised that Budinger pulled out. He was a guaranteed 1st rounder with lottery potential. Also, UNC is going to be sick next year with Hansborough, Lawson, Ellington, and Green all back plus another solid recruiting class led by Ed Davis.

 

thats the usual reason for pulling out. however, budinger was definitely a first round pick... probably mid first round.

that's very surprising.

and yes, those two names pulling out hurts the depth of the draft and thus hurts the rockets chances of having a decent player fall to them.

 

Lawson probably didn't get an indication that he would be a guaranteed 1st rounder. Budinger probably did get a 1st round indication but he probably was falling and knew he wasn't likely to be a lottery pick.

 

Looks as though after workouts guys like Rush, Hibbert and Ajinca are starting to move up. Budinger could easily have been a late 1st to early second rounder which probably scared him and his camp, or it was either lottery or bust for him. Who knows. This draft is really deep which could have made him think twice about rolling the dice. Next years draft won't be as strong which might give him a better shot at being picked in the area he thinks he should be picked.

 

Budinger probably dropped out because he was never too sure about what he was doing, and plus he's guaranteed a top 15 pick next year, and what with Lute Olson back, look out for Arizona to rise once again to prominence and Chase flyin' and dunkin' in a fast paced system.

GO UofA!!

 

Bundinger made a bad decision. His weakness's are ones that won't be fixed by another year of school. Lawson had some injury issues and wasn't 100% in his workouts. He stands a lot to gain by returning to school.

 

NO WAY!!

He made THE smart decision. With Lute Olson's Suns-esque (Dantoni era) system (which was bred for guys like Chase Budinger in the first place), he's guaranteed to have a top 15 spot next year, not to mention top 10 if he plays up to his potential.

 

It won't change the fact that he can't create his own shot and can't handle the ball.

 

IMHO, he can improve on those. What, you think that its impossible to improve on your shot-creating ability and ball handling ability?
Plus, playing for Lute Olson again will only increase his stock, much like how he was regarded a top 10 pick last year.

 

i am not sure why but Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is staying in the draft which i think is a bad move because he has a lot to gain from his senior year of school. His best chances was after his freshman year, but due to knee injuries he hasnt really improved too much since freshman year. The guy has talent to become a great defender in the NBA but is too much of a liability on offense. It boggles me especially when better players than him in Shipp and Collison are returning back for their senior year at UCLA.

man I wish he came back just for the tshirts and all. Moute kicks Boute and The Prince (he is an actual prince in his village in cameroon)

I am not sure if its a money issue but so far everyone have told him he may not even be a guaranteed second round pick so i dont know. I wish he would come back because then UCLA would be the favorite along with UNC (with all their guys returning) to make it to the championship game.

 

Terrence Morris went from being one of the top 3 picks in the draft to a second round pick. That has no relevance. I don't think it's impossible but those areas are both extremely weak for Budinger (as is his defense). He's also not known as an extremely hard worker and he was sliding on draft boards for these reasons. These same teams will be in the league next year. Plus, he doesn't even use his athleticism effectively. We can agree to disagree though

 

he definitely can improve on those weaknesses, but his college system won't matter quite as much.

Last season he was a "hot" prospect but would have dropped similarly post workouts, etc.

 

Moute is a dumbbutt for staying in the draft. Shipp and Collision are returning because they will have a better chance of going higher in next year's draft.

Oh, and don't forget Arizona in that list of NC contenders next year

 

His defense will never be godly, but it certainly isn't a liability-you can quote me and the Suns' David Griffin on that. Yes, his ball handling isn't the greatest, but he has tight handles in transition, he just needs to work on more advanced moves. I also disagree with you saying that isn't known as a hard worker. Just because he plays in a "soft" and smooth style doesn't mean that he isn't a hard worker. Tmac gets the same bum rep for that too. How do you think someone like him got a sweet shooting stroke like that without atleast working extra hard on it?

But what I can agree with you on is that he doesn't use his athleticism effectively enough.

 

The scouting report on him was that his mind doesn't seem to be completely on basketball. As in it's more of a job then something he loves. That's just what i've been told though. It could be different. I think he's really naturally gifted as an athlete and a shooter and should be a much better player then he is. He should be a lottery guy but instead he was sliding into the 20's. He was almost for sure staying in the draft a few days ago and now he is pulling out. He felt he was going to Phoenix (whom you referenced) and he wasn't going to get that promise with Brandon Rush shooting up the boards.

I just don't see him being a good NBA player. I was really high on him coming out of high school but not right now.

 

Maybe the media had to do with it. All I've been reading were unnamed executives more or less calling him a stiff.

 

Not a stiff but there's a concern with the JJ Redick types now. Budinger is a much better athlete, JJ is a better shooter and neither can get their own shot.