The RealGM Wizards Board Draft Thread 2008/2009

[closg00]

Bump for this link, if you want an alternative to DX or nbadraft.net.
http://collegehoopsupdate.com/html/mock ... t_2009.php

[nate33]

Bump for this link, if you want an alternative to DX or nbadraft.net.
http://collegehoopsupdate.com/html/mock ... t_2009.php

Thanks for the link closg00.

The list is a bit suspect though. Draft Express says that sources close to Kansas say Cole Aldrich is staying in school. Latest hints from Georgetown (per Andy Katz) is that Greg Monroe is also staying. Willie Warren is supposedly returning to school as well.

While we're on the subject, can somebody explain to me all the hype around Willie Warren? He's a 6-3 SG whose game isn't fully developed. At best, he's a raw version of Ben Gordon. Why would a team draft him as a freshman only to spend a few years grooming him to become a 6th man; just in time for his rookie contract to expire?

There's no way I'd draft him anywhere in the top 15.

[Rafael122]

Bump for this link, if you want an alternative to DX or nbadraft.net.
http://collegehoopsupdate.com/html/mock ... t_2009.php

Interesting, this site has Summers going at 30, and DX has him falling to us in the 2nd round. Very interesting.

[Dat2U]

I gotta admit, I really love the way Ruzious' boy Danny Green plays. He's a fabulous role player. He does everything right with no mistakes and no wasted motion. He kinda reminds me of Rick Fox or Shane Battier (minus an inch).

You always have to wonder whether a college role player has the talent to make it in the pros, but if anybody can do it, Danny Green can. He's plays great D, rebounds well, and shoots well with a very quick release. If he's still on the board at #32, I'd definitely like to pick him up.

I'm still not sold on Green. The more I watch him the more I have doubts. I honestly wonder if he's worth a high 2nd rounder. As Sev pointed out previously, great role players in college typically don't become good role players in the pros. Even Shane Battier, the perfect NBA role player, was a consensus National Player of the Year in college in 2001.

Green also looks like a bit of tweener to me. He's a smallish SF IMO. He's not much of a ballhandler, can't create his own shot and can't get to the FT line. There's no explosiveness to his game. He doesn't appear to be much of an athlete. I'll give it to you that he's smart, heady, gives it 100% and can hit the open shot. I just see someone who has maximized the most of his abilities as a college role player. I think he might be overmatched at the NBA level with the speed of the game.

I'd much rather draft an NBA talent in the 2nd round and hope he develops into a role player rather than draft a role player and hopes he has enough NBA talent to stick.

[nate33]

I gotta admit, I really love the way Ruzious' boy Danny Green plays. He's a fabulous role player. He does everything right with no mistakes and no wasted motion. He kinda reminds me of Rick Fox or Shane Battier (minus an inch).

You always have to wonder whether a college role player has the talent to make it in the pros, but if anybody can do it, Danny Green can. He's plays great D, rebounds well, and shoots well with a very quick release. If he's still on the board at #32, I'd definitely like to pick him up.

I'm still not sold on Green. The more I watch him the more I have doubts. I honestly wonder if he's worth a high 2nd rounder. As Sev pointed out previously, great role players in college typically don't become good role players in the pros. Even Shane Battier, the perfect NBA role player, was a consensus National Player of the Year in college in 2001.

Green also looks like a bit of tweener to me. He's a smallish SF IMO. He's not much of a ballhandler, can't create his own shot and can't get to the FT line. There's no explosiveness to his game. He doesn't appear to be much of an athlete. I'll give it to you that he's smart, heady, gives it 100% and can hit the open shot. I just see someone who has maximized the most of his abilities as a college role player. I think he might be overmatched at the NBA level with the speed of the game.

I'd much rather draft an NBA talent in the 2nd round and hope he develops into a role player rather than draft a role player and hopes he has enough NBA talent to stick.

I agree that he'd be a much better prospect if he was 2-inches taller. You can get away with your SF having little offensive skill other than catch-and-shooting, but it's much harder to get away with your SG lacking offensive skills.

That said, the Wizards are unique in that they have a pair of SF's with excellent offensive talent. They can get away with a catch-and-shoot SG who does little else. I can see Danny Green having a career like Anthony Parker or Michael Pietrus. (Pietrus is more athletic, but what exactly does that do for him? He can't dribble so he doesn't take advantage of his athleticism.) For a 2nd round pick, that's not bad.

[Dat2U]

BTW, Dat - I don't think I'd even trade Griffin for Durant. It's not to take anything away from Durant, who is an amazing scorer, but a) Griffin pulls down crazy boards, and b) Post scoring is inherently more valuable than perimeter scoring, IMO. And contrary to many posters' opinions, I think Griffin has the raw tools (strength) to be a solid positional defender. I'd have to say the list of current players I'd trade Griffin for is very short - probably single digits.

I may be a bit biased, I've had a man crush on Durant since he was at Texas. I think Durant will be eventually a top 5 player in the league. He'll lead the league in scoring, He'll get about 7-8 rebs per night, he'll be a rock solid defender too. The skills, desire & talent are all there. I think he's a total package. Plus it doesn't hurt he's a DMV cat too. What's better than having a superstar and future HOF'er playing for his hometown team, not that OKC would ever do it.

But with Griffin so dominate in college it makes me wonder? Could OKC's ownership potentially find more value in having Griffin in front of their home base than Durant? Naw, I don't see GM Sam Presti ever going for that one.

[closg00]

I like Tyreke Evans and honestly, as of now, I think he's the 3rd best prospect in the draft. But there's no way in hell I'd draft him over Griffin or Rubio. Griffin is on a tier by himself. Rubio is on the 2nd tier by himself. Tyreke Evans is the best of the rest on the 3rd tier IMO. His weaknesses have been pointed out. He's a questionable decision maker, a bit of a volume scorer and is not a consistent shooter. In many other years he'd be a top 10 choice, not a top five.

He's got great handles, excellent athleticism (although not elite) and a real developed skillset. I think the Larry Hughes comparisons are good although Evans has the frame to withstand the contact of attacking the rim the way Hughes couldn't. Evans could very well put up the type of numbers for us that Hughes did alongside Gil but that doesn't make him a better prospect then Griffin or Rubio.

Fox Sports has Evans stock up after the tournee. Sounds like a great trade-down pick if that's the scenario we find ourselves in.
Btw, Blair is on the stock down list for the reasons that have been discussed here already.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/9410 ... AA-tourney

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

From that link, about Blair:

Blair has a habit of making dumb fouls and getting into foul trouble, and while this didn't derail his team ultimately, it has to be noted.

We have chronicled that the small but effective power forward (a la Big Baby Davis, Leon Powe, Paul Millsap, Jason Maxiell) is in vogue. Blair is seen as a guy who can be every bit as effective as these players and possibly more so. He is one of the best passing post players on the college level and has a tremendous feel for the half-court game.

Concern remains about his body and willingness to shed 20-25 pounds and add mobility. Will he have the dedication to trim the fat and keep it off? This is the main concern teams have, as he could easily turn into a Robert "Tractor" Traylor or John "Hot Plate" Williams, with all the moves on the court, but missing the important "push away move" (from the table) off the court.

Though he was rated a late lotto pick after his regular-season success, Pitt's failure to reach the Final Four has dropped him into the mid-to-late first round. Look for Blair to end up in the 18-25 range come draft night.

I STILL SAY Blair's going to end up the steal of the draft, along with Steph Curry.

One tournament or a few games shouldn't negate the total body of work. Pittsburg would have been nothing without Blair. The guy's work on the boards was simply incredible.

In those games where he got the best of Thabeet, he also made Robinson and Adrien (NBA talents themselves) non factors.

Where everybody says Blair will suffer against lengthy opponents, I say he'll beat 9 out of 10 on a routine basis if he plays them straight up. Teams loaded up on Blair and tried to get him in foul trouble.

I don't see him being foul prone with the NBA style of play.

Mark my words: Blair will end up first team all rookie, even if he drops completely out of the lottery. Why? Because he's the best rebounder around, even better than Millsap or Kevin Love.

I'm not as sure about Stephen Curry, but I think he'll be a solid rotation player right away.

THE ONLY THING that could stop Blair would be if he were to gain signifcant weight.

[miller31time]

Blake Griffin to have a press-conference today to either declare for the draft or stay at Oklahoma another year.

[closg00]

Blake Griffin to have a press-conference today to either declare for the draft or stay at Oklahoma another year.

Can't wait to see him at a future press-conference where he is holding -up a Wiz jersey

[miller31time]

Blake Griffin to have a press-conference today to either declare for the draft or stay at Oklahoma another year.

Can't wait to see him at a future press-conference where he is holding -up a Wiz jersey

I just keep reminding myself that, at best, we'll have a 1/5 shot in landing him. It brings me back down to earth.

That way, if we don't get him, it won't be a shock, surprise or disappointment. And if we do get him, we'll all lose our collective shyt.

[Rafael122]

If we get the top pick, I'll go streaking in my home. But its the curse that keeps telling me "we're not going to get him."

[Pollinator]

Still waiting to see what Greg Monroe is going to do- according to what's out there (Chad Ford's latest chat, etc) it's about a 50-50 proposition, and he himself may not even know at this point. Obviously he's not the kind of physical player that we'd want ideally but if we're picking at 3-5 who would we want over him? Thabeet? Jordan Hill? Jennings? Blair? Lawson? ...

The other thing that Chad mentioned was that a lot of scouts are really high on Ed Davis from UNC, that he could be in the mix for the #1 pick next year if he stays, and that if he came out this year he could be top 5 even though he's really not physically ready for the NBA. I would assume that we would definitely pass on him.

[nate33]

If we end up with the #2 pick, I'm hoping for Fishercob's brilliant trade scenario:

Washington trades: #2, Stevenson, Songaila
Portland trades: #23, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriquez.

It solves so many problems at once. First, it gets us under the cap this year and next year in one trade. It'll save Abe something like $20M. Second, it gets us a pure SG who can spread the floor with his catch-and-shoot game but still put the ball on the floor and take it to the rack if the defense gives him an inch. Third, Rudy is fully seasoned after years in the Euro leagues and a season in the NBA. He'll play like a vet rather than a knuckleheaded kid, but will cost next to nothing for the next 3 seasons. Fourth, it gives us a late first round pick. There's a lot of value late in this draft. A guy like Blair, Buddinger, Sam Young or Hansbrough is likely to be available at #23. Finally, the addition of two Spanish-speaking players will open up new marketing opportunities and revenue streams from the sizable Latino population in DC.

[fishercob]

Aw shucks. Well it's nice to see that Blake officially declared. My inner Wiz fan couldn't shake the fear that he'd decide to stay in school only to have us land the #1 pick.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Just watching ESPN's coverage about Griffin, a few factoids:

--30 double-doubles; 1 shy of NCAA single-season record.

--First player to grab 500 rebounds in a season since Akeem Olajuwon in 83-84.

--15 games with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds.

--28.5 PPG, 15.0 RPG in NCAA Tournament

Watching that I'm thinking, barring injury, whoever gets that guy is getting a future HOF player and a guy who DEFINITELY IMO can start right away and be good at PF.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

If we end up with the #2 pick, I'm hoping for Fishercob's brilliant trade scenario:

Washington trades: #2, Stevenson, Songaila
Portland trades: #23, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriquez.

It solves so many problems at once. First, it gets us under the cap this year and next year in one trade. It'll save Abe something like $20M. Second, it gets us a pure SG who can spread the floor with his catch-and-shoot game but still put the ball on the floor and take it to the rack if the defense gives him an inch. Third, Rudy is fully seasoned after years in the Euro leagues and a season in the NBA. He'll play like a vet rather than a knuckleheaded kid, but will cost next to nothing for the next 3 seasons. Fourth, it gives us a late first round pick. There's a lot of value late in this draft. A guy like Blair, Buddinger, Sam Young or Hansbrough is likely to be available at #23. Finally, the addition of two Spanish-speaking players will open up new marketing opportunities and revenue streams from the sizable Latino population in DC.

fisher, I second nate's opinion. That is a brilliant trade scenario.

I'd also more than welcome the addition of Hansbrough if Blair, Budinger, or Young are off the boards.

To digress a bit, I think Hansbrough's this draft's Carlos Boozer. Familiarity has bred too much contempt. I see a parallel between the year Maryland won the NCAAs the draft experts fell in love with Chris Wilcox the same way Chad Ford is on Ed Davis. They forgot Baxter put in all the work and basically carried the Terps. Same with Hansbrough. Dude has put in a lot of work. Unfortunately, for him, he might go round 2.

Years ago I remember thinking Boozer, Baxter, and Songaila all belong in the NBA. I'm sure Hansbrough does, too. He'll be a decent pro.

[AgentOvechkin08]

What about that scenario: #2, stevenson, Songiala FOR Rudy and Sergio

Then draft this kid: Craig Brackens

I was looking at Chad Fords Top 100 and had only heard of him from him dropping 42 and 18 on Kansas.
raft Projection: Lottery to mid first round

Positives:
Craig Brackins has emerged as a potential lottery prospect.
(AP Photo/Steve Pope)


Versatile big man
Excellent offensive player
Can score both inside and outside
Has range out to the college 3-point line
Good motor, runs the floor well
Good athlete and leaper

Negatives:

Streaky jump shooter
Old for his class
Indifferent defender
Still struggles with inconsistency

Seems like everyone on his top 100 struggles with Defense LOL

I think we have to Buyout james if it played out like that.
Arenas/Critt/Sergio
Rudy/Young
Butler/McGuire
Jamison/Blatche/Brackens
Haywood/McGee/Thomas

[fishercob]

CCJ, I'd stop short of projecting Hansbrough to be as good as Boozer. But I certainly think he can step in and provide was Songaila does (tons of minutes at the center spot! JK...) as a backup PF. He's going to be a quality NBA pick and pop guy and will rebound with tenacity.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

CCJ, I'd stop short of projecting Hansbrough to be as good as Boozer. But I certainly think he can step in and provide was Songaila does (tons of minutes at the center spot! JK...) as a backup PF. He's going to be a quality NBA pick and pop guy and will rebound with tenacity.

When I said he'd be this year's Boozer I was only trying to say he's going to fall too far in the draft. That's the only comparion with Boozer I was attempting to make. Never said he'd be as good as Boozer.

If Nocioni can play SF so can Hansbrough. I see him being like Nocioni more so than Songaila. I think Ryan Gomes is another decent comparison. I believe Hansbrough will find a way to score in the NBA.