Draft Buzz

[Portmanteau]

Getting into the home stretch the NBA season, thought I'd start a discussion thread about this year's upcoming draft.

For mine, Dwight Howard will be going to Atlanta, Emeka Okafor to Chicago... whichever combination of picks these teams get in the top 2. It makes sense for Atlanta due to marketablility, Howard is from Georgia, and it will buy the GM a little time. Okafor would allow either Chandler or Curry to be traded (if deemed necessary), and instantly provide a league top 5 interior defensive presence.

The following picks will see the likes of Josh Smith, Jameer Nelson, Pavel Podkolzine, Sebastian Telfair and Shaun Livingston get taken. As good as Raymond Felton is, Charlotte should go for Jameer Nelson. The perfect young floor general for an expansion franchise. Add a decent veteran or two (even if they have a horrendous contract) and you have a playoffs darkhorse... this is the East after all.

My first round sleeper is Josh Childress out of Stanford. He's led the Cardinal to an undefeated season thus far. I'd compare him to the Matrix, he's capable of giving you 18/10/5/2/2, obviously in a few years. Excellent athleticism, the prototype small forward. Could go as high as mid-lottery, if he can impress in the remainder of the NCAA season (and/or tournament).

EDIT: Forgot to mention Randolph Morris. Had a game against Dwight Howard just recently, and apparently looked quite the goods. Lots of noise circulating about that guy too.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

Is Telfair skipping College? I thought he'd play a year there first, but when your stock is high I guess that's the way to go.

What about Duke's Luol Deng? I've seen him linked to Charlotte at 4.

 

[Portmanteau]

Telfair's stock has skyrocketed over the past fortnight or so. He'd be a lottery-lock, if he enters the draft, which makes me think he'll put his name in. Will probably do what Villenueva did last year, test the waters.

Deng has stated that he will not be one and done at Duke, actually I'm pretty sure he's getting his degree. If you've seen him play, he's not NBA ready. Will be a contender for Player of the Year as a junior, if not earlier, and then should put his name in.

 

[Portmanteau]

This year's Carlos Boozer: Chris Duhon.

 

[no1bankteller]

Originally posted by Bresh
This year's Carlos Boozer: Chris Duhon.

Agreed!

I cannot believe how far his stock has fallen...

Infact I think that Charlotte should try and grab him with second round pick, being from Duke it makes sense too, and try and use the first pick on Kosta Perovic or Pavel Podkolzine.

Jameer Nelson is a solid player and potentially a very good point gurad, however taking him at 4 is risky as IMO there are many other better players. I would prefer to see Charlotte build around a quality big man. As it has become in last few years there are more and more quality big men coming out of Europe and the liklyhood is that one of these two, if not both, will be damn good.

Note: These two are very underated European/Brazillian big men.

Anderson Varejao


Damir Omerhodzic

Damir plays for my first ever basketball club, and the one still most dearest to me, Cibona. He will be a superstar. Note - from what I have heard he is the most promising player since Drazen Petrovic at the club. Considering that a Arajan Komacez used to play at Cibona that is a big wrap.

 

[Portmanteau]

Saw this guy Rafael Araujo play for BYU versus Syracuse, and despite being on the losing team... I couldn't be but impressed by the big guy. Araujo is a '6"11, 280 pound centre out of Sao Paulo, and is very mobile, at least to the naked eye. Had a sweet tip dunk, and the guy can handle.

Would love to the Sonics nab him, would fit in quite well as a run and gun centre, but could also play a half-court style quite well.

 

[Stiffy_18]

Originally posted by no1bankteller
Infact I think that Charlotte should try and grab him with second round pick, being from Duke it makes sense too, and try and use the first pick on Kosta Perovic or Pavel Podkolzine.

I don't think Divac will let Kosta enter the draft since Krstic is certainty to play in the NBA next year. Letting Kosta go would leave Partizan very thin at center. We have a young centre who has potential (I think he is Macedonian) and the line of thinking from Partizan is to keep Kosta for a couple of year and develop the other kid along. The same sort of format they used with Varda/Krstic and more recently Krstic/Perovic.

Damir plays for my first ever basketball club, and the one still most dearest to me, Cibona. He will be a superstar. Note - from what I have heard he is the most promising player since Drazen Petrovic at the club. Considering that a Arajan Komacez used to play at Cibona that is a big wrap.

That is a pretty big wrap.

 

[Adrian Shelton]

Any other do-it-all Euro smokeys the outside world doesn't know much about yet?

 

[Carmelo Anthony]

Iguodala from Arizona is going to be an awesome player, whoever picks him up gets a mad steal..

Other steals in the draft will be Luke Jackson...Christian Drejer (when he eventually plays).

Duhon has a shocking junior season....he was good when he was playing in the backcourt with Jay Williams but fell apart when Jay went to the NBA. This year hes playing good but hes still a most likely high 2nd rd pick IMO.

Romain Sato, Rickey Paulding, Darius Rice, Brandon Mouton I think will be 2nd rnders and all have productive careers in the NBA.

The lottery is going to be weaker compared to most previous drafts.. propably will be a bit better than 2000.

My thoughts on the lottery picks...

Dwight Howard - Never seen him play, but I heard hes madly talented and skilled.... ??

Emeka Okafor - Is going to be an all-star in the NBA no doubt. No player in the NBA right now can block a shot like Emeka..He could well go 15/10/3 in his rookie season.

Luol Deng - This guy doesnt have a really good 3 pt shot right now and I think hes too slow to be a good defender at SF but hes a leader, he can be a difference maker..he can do a bit of everything maybe he can have a career like Mashburn..

Ben Gordon - Awesome combo guard, he could have a rookie year similar to Wade's. This guy is electric, hes a 2 in a 1's body but he can play 1 effectively. Hes not a tweener cause hes got good point guard skills.

Andre Iguodala - This guy's greatest qualities are he can pass and defend. Cant shoot well but he can be a triple double threat on any given night. Hes an excellent rebounder for a 6'6 swingman aswell.

Josh Smith - Hes a highschooler than can shoot . I dont know how he will turn out most of his high school games hes forced to play Power forward... Ive only seen glimpses of him but really athetic and a nice shooter... who knows maybe he become T-Mac??? (long shot)

I also like Marcus Moore whos prejected a late 2nd rnder.. he is 6'5 and is an actual point guard. I think a team will take him from 30-35 hes got potential and NBA teams love tall point guards.

Ive heard this 7'1 Chiriev guy is a legit swingman.. jesus imagine having a 7'1 shooting guard. Ive spoken to a few people that have seen him play and they compare him to Dunleavy with better athleticism.

Anderson Varejao who plays for Barcelona is a good player, could go mid first round if he does well at his workouts. Hes a good boarder, blocker and has some nice skills.

 

[Portmanteau]

Originally posted by Carmelo Anthony
Ive heard this 7'1 Chiriev guy is a legit swingman.. jesus imagine having a 7'1 shooting guard. Ive spoken to a few people that have seen him play and they compare him to Dunleavy with better athleticism.

Yeah? I've heard he's an absolute chump, only puts up 12ppg in a Canadian High School league, didn't make the All-League team. I mean, c'mon, guys who are NBA talent put up stats that are greater than the total of all the other All-League players...

 

[Thewlis Dish]

My early stake for rookie of the year is Ben Gordon. I love the Dwyane Wade comparison - this kid is electric, has legit NBA range, can get off and make a shot in just about any situation. He also puts up nice rebounding and assist numbers, and I think guys like Arenas and Wade will make scouts less sceptical about picking combo guards with the thought that they won't be able to play point at the top level.

Jameer Nelson I'm thinking may slip to the late teens, simply due to his size. Deng looks like he's staying, and I really hope Telfair and Livingston play a year at Louisville and Duke respectively. I just don't like seeing a point guard skip college, because it is perhaps the hardest position to play at the top level and having at least a season in college is vital IMO to learn the position.

Than again, a season under Rick Pitino may be detrimental to a player

Iguodala is my fave college player, but I am not sure if he will come out. A gun, no doubt.

 

[Portmanteau]

Read in USA Today, er, today... that Ivan Chiraev has opted for the draft. It will be interesting to see which team is saddled with this poser.

 

[Deegle]

Im really interested in the big C's of this years class, namely Okafor and Podkolzine.

Pavel Podkolzine is a beast, hes about 7'5 and 320 pounds, you would draft just for his size. From scouts it said that he is a massive defensive presence and huge force down low. He draws a lot of fouls when on the offense simply because of his size

Okafor is Big Ben Wallace but with offence, however his recent injuries in the NCAA tourny are a worry, but he did grab 10 rebounds in 21 mins against Alabama yesterday, so its hard to say where he'll stand come draft time.

 

[Deegle]

Originally posted by Adrian Shelton
Any other do-it-all Euro smokeys the outside world doesn't know much about yet?

Tiaggo Splitter

I dont think he's been mentioned in this thread but he is a 6'11 player capable of playing SF or PF. A great shooter (like most europeans) he also has a very nice defensive awareness about him. Im not totally sure if he has nominated for the draft but he is a player to watch, kinda reminds me of a Peja Stojakovic but taller.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

Interesting to read one NBA GM (unnamed) say that Dwight Howard has HOF potential, and could be better than Duncan. certainly seems a bit over the top, but one thing he has going for him is a really good head on his shoulders.