My draft board would go as such: 1. Wall 2. Turner 3. Cousins 4. Favors 5. Johnson 6. Monroe 7. Aminu 8. Aldrich 9. Davis 10. Udoh 11. Patterson 12. Vesely 13. George 14. Motiejuanas
I will say Alabi too because i don't think any of the other legit 5's will get past 10-12. Besides, my 1st choice was Olajuwan.....i mean Alabi anyway.
I think he will return to Europe next season. He still has one more year on his contract. For that reason only, i say pass. We don't have time for waiting anymore.
Motiejunas has much better handles, and is a lot more agile ... however Motiejunas is a lot more raw than Bargnani was when he came out to the draft... But in Motiejunas defense, Bargnani was 21yrs old when he was drafted compared to Motiejunas who's only 19yrs old ... --RB
I have read Moneyball, although quite a while ago. Not sure what you mean here though. For one thing, the moneyball concept isn't about getting upperclassmen over underclassmen(or in baseball case, college players over high schoolers). It's about identifying characteristics that others undervalue. If every team value upperclassmen in the NBA for 2nd round picks, then technically, the "moneyball" play would be drafting underclassmen. I'm sure Morey has identified numerous aspects of basketball players that other teams have not caught on. Hence why we can get such good role players late in the draft. But it's definitely not as simple as just "being a senior".
Morey has said that he wanted to improve this team's inside presence through defense. I'm pretty sure just about every weakness of Motiejunas has the word 'defense' in it. Not happening.
For ANY 19 year old, how well they play defense will be determined by how they develop. There's nothing to suggest Motiejunas can't develop into a great defender. He certainly has the body and athleticism to do so. Whether he can play defense right now is immaterial.
I hope we somehow get high enough for Cousins, though unlikely. He might be a decent player in a good situation, like Houston or Utah. http://dimemag.com/2010/03/dime-nba-draft-profile-demarcus-cousins/ Though, Whiteside would be a good option, too. We are going to need bigs who can play defense (be tough in the paint) to put icing on the cake and get this team back to the Finals. Which is why the Lakers (with Kobe) are running shot gun over most of these teams. Literally, they can play the worst defense, have very little production from the bench, and Kobe struggling, yet as long as the guys down in the paint overmatching the smaller teams (like the Thunder, Jazz, and the Suns). There's really no team in the West right now that could really given them any serious competition, outside of teams with really good bigs or large lineup, like the Mavs, Rockets, and Trailblazers. Though, those three are filled with problems, Rockets and Trailblazers cannot stay healthy, as the Mavs seem to have choking problems.
