BF Draft Board: Pick #9

by Mike Prada on Jun 16, 2008 8:04 PM EDT in Draft Comment 10 comments

Russell Westbrook secured the eighth spot on our draft board, leaving us with this list.

Derrick Rose
Michael Beasley
O.J. Mayo
Jerryd Bayless
Kevin Love
Brook Lopez
Eric Gordon
Russell Westbrook

If Westbrook is as good a defender as his reputation indicates, he'd fit in really well here, in the rare instance that we might move up in the draft. His supposed weakness is his inability to play point guard, but in the Princeton, that's not as big of a deal, since the primary role of the point guard is simply to bring the ball up the court and initiate the offense. Unfortunately, it appears his stock is rising, so we can kiss the dream goodbye. Posting and Toasting has more on Westbrook here.

Below is the vote for the ninth spot. On another note, as mentioned earlier today, the SB Nation mock draft is underway at Ridiculous Upside. The first five picks were Rose (Chicago), Beasley (Miami), Mayo (Minnesota), Gordon (Seattle) and Love (Memphis). We have to have our pick in by 9:30 on Wednesday night (there are no trades this year), so use this space to also advocate for who we should take when our pick comes.

Poll

Who gets the ninth spot on the Bullets Forever draft board?

Joe Alexander

15 votes

Dorrell Arthur

0 votes

D.J. Augustin

7 votes

Danillo Gallinari

1 votes

Donte Greene

0 votes

DeAndre Jordan

1 votes

Anthony Randolph

6 votes

Other (specify in comments)

0 votes

30 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 10 comments

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Comments

Chris Douglas-Roberts

Looks like he’ll be available at 18. I Don’t know why this guy isn’t a lottery pick. He looked like he wanted a championship way more than Derrick Rose did.

Dear Diary, JACKPOT!!!!!!!!!!

by Evander holyfield on Jun 16, 2008 11:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I like CDR

Don’t love him, because he’s not the best shooter in the world and is a bit small, but he was quite productive in college, and I felt he was more important to Memphis than Rose.

He just wouldn’t fit in here. We have too many shooting guards as it is.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jun 16, 2008 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Joe Alexander

Dude’s stock got real high, mostly because of his great Tourney play. He looked awesome. So did Christian Laettner, though.

by se7en on Jun 17, 2008 12:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

His motion without the ball would fit great in the Princeton

I like CDR most for two reasons: he is an aggressive, creative scorer with a nice pull up mid range jumper. The second is he moves great without the ball (and likes to).

The first reason leads me to believe he will improve his jumper/range with hard work in the NBA. This guy strikes me as someone who knows the game and really wants to get better – and doesn’t want to waste his talent, which is something that really hurts me to see in the NBA. If he can add some muscle he’d be a 3 in the league, a different type of small forward that would come into the game for Caron.

Actually wanting and trying to move without the ball is such a great quality to have in a player because it wears defenders out, creates more motion in the offense, and ends up getting you much easier buckets/open looks while adding energy to the game. I think this aspect of Rip Hamilton’s game is so underrated for all of these reasons.

I keep thinking about watching Tayshaun Prince do nothing but win at Kentucky, and fall all the way down to the bottom of the first round. CDR is a sleeper in this draft.

Dear Diary, JACKPOT!!!!!!!!!!

by Evander holyfield on Jun 17, 2008 12:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't get the Prince comparison

Prince had nobody else on his team, unless you count the wildly overrated Keith Bogans. CDR has Rose, Dorsey and several other really solid players. He was good, but Prince carried his team, while CDR merely was the best player on his.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jun 17, 2008 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's what I don't understand

Why CDR is often regarded as the best player on his team, but the drop from the first pick of Derrick Rose all the way down to #20-25 where CDR is projected to be drafted. He seems pretty underrated to me.

Dear Diary, JACKPOT!!!!!!!!!!

by Evander holyfield on Jun 17, 2008 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like CDR, but...

I’d take Brandon Rush over him…..he’s got a sweet stroke.

by Truth About It on Jun 17, 2008 1:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My biggest worry about Rush

Is that he seems allergic to driving to the basket. He shot six and a half threes/40 this year and only 3 FT/40. He can shoot it, and he’s a very good defender, but that screams “Trajan Langdon” to me.

I was once in the Rush camp, but I think I’d rather have CDR, now that I think about it. I didn’t realize CDR was 6’7’’. He probably could play the three in a small-ball setting.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jun 17, 2008 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

my worry about cdr

i thought about him too. according to the writeups though, he’s as skinny as rip hamilton, but not as athletic. i don’t think he’s as long as prince either. so i think he’d have a really tough time playing the 3.

and yes, rush just about never drove the lane at kansas. that is a concern. i still see him as a solid nba player though, one who doesn’t need to command the ball to produce. cdr on the other hand dribbled around quite a bit when i watched him.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Jun 18, 2008 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We can't go wrong with Rush either

Great big game/championship experience, defensive mentality, and a great outside jumper. I love that aggressive first step of CDR though. I saw a shade of an Antawn Jamison flip shot in his game too, and you gotta love that flip shot.

Dear Diary, JACKPOT!!!!!!!!!!

by Evander holyfield on Jun 17, 2008 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs