The BigFooty NBA Mock Draft

[hamG]

Guards
Andre Miller
Louis Williams
Kevin Ollie
Willie Green
Andre Iguodala

Forwards
Rodney Carney
Thaddeus Young
Reggie Evans
Jason Smith
Louis Amundson
Herbert Hill

Centers
Samuel Dalembert
Calvin Booth
Shavlik Randolph

Free Agents
Restricted: Louis Amundson, Herbert Hill, Andre Iguodala, Shavlik Randolph, Louis Williams
Unrestricted, Calvin Booth, Kevin Ollie

Philly have holes all over their roster. They need another SG and their big man depth is woeful, they don't have a big man who can score, period. They have huge salary cap space and expect them to make a big play for Elton Brand or another big name big price player. Until word one way or the other on who they splash their cash for, their biggest need is a PF who can play offense to make a lethal D&O pairing with Dalembert.

And with pick 16, the Philladelphia 76ers select Darrel Arthur

6-9, 215lbs, PF

Strengths:

• Athleticism
• Scoring mentality
• Hands
• Ability to score in the paint
• Transition play/Running the floor
• Turnaround jumper
• Budding skills facing the basket
• Excellent lateral quickness
• Solid all-around defender
• Upside

Weaknesses:

• Toughness/Intensity
• Basketball IQ/Experience
• Consistent focus
• Passing ability
• Ability to finish with left hand
• Shot-selection
• Ball-handling/Perimeter shooting polish
• Finishing strong/Not fading away
• Strength
• Consistency

Essentially what we are looking at is an unpredictable athletic PF with a scorers touch. Needs development time, but it's not like Philly are going anywhere anytime soon. Unless they crap out and get top 3 picks in the next few years they have to take a gamble on upside.

Footage from 2 years ago vs Noah/Horford's Florida.

[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ODKbu0fcys&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ODKbu0fcys&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Look2Me4Guidance]

My thoughts on the GSW and PHX picks (since they asked ):

GSW: Personally, I can't see Chalmers ever being better than, say, a Derek Fisher type player, so 14 seems high. I also have questions about his ability to play in Nelson's system where everyone has to handle the ball and create. But having said that, if he shows the mental toughness of a Fisher, he could be a good NBA player for a long time.

PHX: Not a big DeAndre Jordan fan. I said elsewhere that if he falls to the perfect team, he might have a chance of making it, but I'm not sure that Shaq and Amare are the best guys to learn from, in terms of giving 100% effort all the time. Also, as far as project big men go, I like Javale McGee better - but if I had to bet, I'd say neither of them makes it. Interestingly, McGee and Jordan would be the two longest players in the NBA (bar Yao) once they're drafted, with standing reaches of 9"6.5 and 9"5.5 respectively. Then again, the 3 next highest are Haywood, Patrick O'Bryant and Saer Sene, so take that with a grain of salt.

Nice comments. As I stated I really wanted Rush or Budinger but they weren't available. It was a tough selection seeing what changes Porter will make to the system but I felt Jordan has the biggest potential of the remaining players and a decent 7 footer doesn't come along this late in the draft. I think Shaq would be a great player to learn from as he always has ridden young players to ensure they get the best out of themselves, Wade was a great example in Miami.

Batum was also an attractive go to man at this pick, but I guess being an overseas player sometimes it can be hard to compare with the home boys.

 

[mdc]

Batum was also an attractive go to man at this pick, but I guess being an overseas player sometimes it can be hard to compare with the home boys.

If you were going to take a wing, you needed a shooter I reckon. Batum struggles in that regard, and he's still a couple of years away from contributing.

Donte Greene would have been an interesting choice, he's a D'Antoni special for sure, but obviously Porter might have a different emphasis.

 

[Look2Me4Guidance]

If you were going to take a wing, you needed a shooter I reckon. Batum struggles in that regard, and he's still a couple of years away from contributing.

Donte Greene would have been an interesting choice, he's a D'Antoni special for sure, but obviously Porter might have a different emphasis.

Yeah if D'Antoni was coach Donte would have been selected for sure.

Scary that he attempted more 3's than FT's towards the end of the season in college. Dirk Nowitzki syndrome?

 

[Hodges]

Give me a sec guys, ill try to have this up tonight. Need to do some more research.

 

[PHX]

Raps are a very interesting pick but I can see where its heading too . ... ..

 

[peternorth]

Raps are a very interesting pick but I can see where its heading too . ... ..

me too

 

[peternorth]

well navarro has apparently left the grizz to head back to spain.

makes my next choice a hard one

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

cmon hodges!

 

[AsianWithAFro]

Man this is slow people should research the players before hand and constantly have back-ups this some time consuming especially if your the last pick of each round

 

[mdc]

Man this is slow people should research the players before hand and constantly have back-ups this some time consuming especially if your the last pick of each round

We're only doing 1 round mate.

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

mdc, we have just over 6 and a half days to complete this.

14 picks in ~6.5 days??

the way some people are taking we aint gona finish.

 

[mdc]

mdc, we have just over 6 and a half days to complete this.

14 picks in ~6.5 days??

the way some people are taking we aint gona finish.

Pick 20-30 are all regulars basically, so we should be ok.

I will ask that if you're coming up in 2-3 picks and don't think you'll be on the next day, PM me your preferences, that way it can go a bit quicker.

 

[hamG]

It's not that hard to choose a player in a mock draft. Depending on your pick you should already know whether you are choosing the best available, or the best available for a specific role. I mean i had 3 names on my list, Randolph was off the board so it was Arthur or Speights and the moment the pick before mine was done i was ready to go.

Cmon guys, wake up! Hopefully we'll get through at least 3 picks per day over the weekend.
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showpost.php?p=11393133&postcount=133

 

[mdc]

If Hodges hasn't got his pick up by this evening, someone else can take over. We need to get this thing moving.

 

[dmac_55]

i will have wizards pick up tommorow morning.. Already typed out ready to go (y)

 

[Hodges]

Pick coming up now, its been a hectic few days. Sorry for the delay.

 

[Hodges]

Toronto Raptors​

Depth Chart:

PG: Ford, Calderon
SG: Parker, Delfino
SF: Moon, Kapono
PF: Bosh, Humphries
C: Nesterovic, Bargnani

Great PG's, solid front court. Priorities for the team are a good rebounding big and a slasher/shooter wing player. With that in mind, this pick came down to two possible players. And with the 17th pick in the 2008 NBA draft, the Raptorts choose...

Nicholas Batum (SF - France)​

Batum is an exciting young prospect. He has great physical attributes - very quick off the dribble, great athleticism and has length. He is a perfect size for a wing player, and I would expect him to develop into (best case) a Rudy Gay or Tayshaun Prince type player. Has the tools to be a great defender too, something the Raps are currently lacking on the perimeter (Moon excluded).

Offensively he has trouble creating his own shots, and tends to settle for jumpers too much. He has an awkward but effective crossover that is excellent at creating seperation. If he can improve on his jumper, he could potentially become a very damaging scorer.

Has some downsides to his game. Is a poor rebounder, especially considering his athleticism and height. Has a fairly skinny frame at the moment, so will have trouble defending the bigger guards. Has been accussed of playing without aggression at times, though recent work outs suggested otherwise. Needs to work on his ball handling as he tends to dribble too high, and is an easy victim of stripping.

The main reason I went with Batum is his upside. Has the tools and the talent to be a pretty special player, providing he applies himself. Given the age of a lot of the Raptors wingmen, he will be given a lot of opportunities to play, and will need to deliver. There are some worries that he will struggle to play away from Europe, but given the Raptors current European-flavor, he should have no trouble adjusting.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT7SV6qAGGQ[/youtube]​

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Nicolas-Batum-537/​

 

[mdc]

Pick coming up now, its been a hectic few days. Sorry for the delay.

No worries - I assume the other guy you were considering at 17 is Robin Lopez?

 

[Hodges]

Actually it wasnt - I was looking at Roy Hibbert. Hibbert was better off nominating for the draft last year, and his stocks have fallen a bit this year but I still think he will be a decent player in the NBA. The Raps are a fairly week rebounding team, and with Rasho getting on a bit and Bargers apparent phobia of rebounding, Id want someone who has an imposing frame and good height. Hibbert fits that bill better than all the other available C's.

 

[jerry springer]

great thread this,some good analaysis makes good reading.

 

[dmac_55]

WASHINGTON WIZARDS

2007-2008 Finish: 43-39
2008 Draft Picks: 18th, 47th

Pre-Draft 2008-09 Projected Starters:
PG Gilbert Arenas
SG DeShawn Stevenson
SF Caron Butler
PF Antawn Jamison
C Brendan Haywood
Key Reserves:
PG Antonio Daniels
SG Nick Young
PF Andray Blatche
PF Darius Songaila

Current roster overview:
Overall the state of Washingtons roster is pretty good. They have got a scorer (when healthy), a do it all small forward who has developed his scoring this past season, a perennial PF who averaged 20 – 10 last season (only one of 5 players I believe), A veteran centre who brings hustle and a defensive stopper who can knock down the open trey. Then lying on the bench you have a future starter who shows great scoring potential (Young) some servicable bigs in Blatche and Songaila and an average back up PG. So the question beckons; why no playoffs success? The big three must stay on the park for this team to have any success.

Greatest Areas of Improvement:

Beef in the Middle
The Wizards got a solid season out of their starting center Brendan Haywood and a very productive one out of their youthful big Andray Blatche. However, they are lacking in interior toughness and could use a big body to help deter opponents from attacking the rim. Since Jamison loves to shoot from the outside, adding a low post threat couldn’t hurt either.

Depth at the Point
While many argue that Arenas is not a true point guard – which he isn’t – and since the team began to play better in the postseason with Arenas on the bench and Antonio Daniels or Roger Mason running the show, perhaps it is time the Wizards look to get a point guard who is more willing to set up his teammates than himself.

Selection:
I was tossing up between Roy Hibbert and Kosta Koufos but decided with the latter.
KOSTA KOUFOS

• [FONT=&quot]Birthday:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2/24/1989[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]NBA Postion:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Center[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Class:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Freshman[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Ht:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]7-0[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Wt:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]252[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]College Team:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Ohio State[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Hometown:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Canton, OH[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]High School:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]GlenOak[/FONT]

Koufos is very young and the distinct possibility his ceiling is still high. He already has an offensive skill set few 7-footers ever achieve (and one that fits in with Washington's offense), and he should improve physically. He will fit right in at back up C, and learn off Haywood before eventually getting more minutes at C. Koufos is so young though that he can take his time developing and learning of players of the ilk of Jamison. In a couple of years if the team is still intact he could be the inside-outside centre letting Antawn bang and contribute on both ends.

 

[eathb]

after seeing D-Mac pick Kosta Koufus...

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!

i am guaranteed a nice player in the mock regardless.

 

[mdc]

The Norm hasn't logged on for a while, but I'll give him til tomorrow night to get his player up, otherwise I'll do it (I've PM'd him as well).

 

[peternorth]

i was looking at the big greek