BF Draft Board: Pick #3

I think it will be Thabeet. Whether its the Former Sonics at 2 or they switch spots with the Grizz, Thabeet has to be the pick here.

I am going against what I saw out of Thabeet throughout his college career, because honestly, I think he is quite soft. But 7’3 shot blockers are too rare to pass up, and we might be able to pick up a serviceable 1, 2, or 3 with our 2nd rounder.

Myself, and others have already begun campaigning for Harden, but a guy who I don’t know too much about, and am not high on at #5 on with what I do know , is Jordan Hill. Can anyone who has watched him play more then a few times make a case for him? Just curious if I’m missing something, he seems like a less athletic Wilcox to me, but like I said, I don’t really know.

They’ve apparently spent more time up at UConn than any other scout and have more inside scoop about the Tanzanian devil than anybody outside of Storrs CT.

http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Jonathan-Givony/#Post-Lottery-Analysis-The-Implications-3220

Plus with Mike Conley on board, and OJ Mayo, I’m not sure that adding a PG is where it’s at for them. They’ve played that game before (with JC Navarro, Kyle Lowry, and our JCritter all waiting for their time with the ball).

Now smart money suggests that the Grizzles ought to try to shop the pick and see who bites. Some suggest Portland lusts after yet another Spanish point guard. Though another rumor says they wouldn’t mind making an offer to reunite Conley and Oden either. They like to spend money, the Grizz like to live cheap. Pretty sure a deal could get done here (rough sketch without checking salary: Pryzbilla plus cash plus picks for Conley; or Grizz selecting Ricky to reunite with his countryman MGasol).

Nevertheless a big defensive center may be in play for the Grizz, which could drop Rubio down to the Thunder, who already have Westbrook, and who also might prefer to land a defensive Big instead. (Though they may be inoculated against big africans by the Saer Sene selection). They’d probably take Rubio and listen to offers for the pick.

Sacto wants Rubio something awful. He won’t fall farther than that. IF they can move up to get him they will.

But either way it all amounts to the same thing: 1, 2, 3. Griffin, Rubio, Thabeet.

Number 4 is the big question mark.

Not Thabeet anyway.

My third best option is to trade down, lose awkward contracts, free up roster space, collect future picks. After Griffin I don’t like anybody at the top of the draft boards, except as trade bait. Even Rubio seemed like he could have earned us better value in trade than here.

I like players who look to be available cheaper, later, lower down. There are a few of those. In that respect, if we can’t trade our spot then hey maybe it’s better that we draft later.

Ty Lawson.
For whatever reason the winning PG on the NCAA champions seem to keep getting overlooked. In this case it makes no sense whatsoever since TLaw has the best stats at the position by far. Best PG in points per possession, among the fewest TO’s per possession, most assists per possession (which can be attributed to the quality of his teammates, but also shows he knows how to play with big time players). He’s short but there’s nobody stronger for his size, can finish in heavy traffic, force fouls on the opponent.

This team has just gone through a couple years of misery because we lack a credible back-up plan as a floor general. Gil is working his way back to health, we hope, but it makes no sense to play him 40 mins per game all year long, better to spell him until he gets his Game back 100%. And Critt’s got potential perhaps, but he can’t shoot, doesn’t have top game management skills. Lawson has both.

James Johnson
My candidate for the Paul Pierce Award of player unfortunately overlooked in the draft. He’s a multi-talented strong 3 or tweener 4. High skill level, he’s got NBA-useable offensive gifts and is big enough/strong enough to hassle a guy like LeBron. His game would fit nicely with Flip’s offense, he’s effective from the mid-range on in, can handle, finish in close. Nice Pick and Roll prospect.

Maybe not a need position for us, but I don’t care about that. I’d happily take him as a ‘best player available’ after a trade-down.

Danny Green
Perimeter defender who can hit an outside shot. Can’t replace Dominic’s rebounding of course, but we’ve seen need for a Bruce Bowen/Tayshuan Prince/Shane Battier type. High IQ, right-place-right-time kind of player. If Dom develops a three point shot from the corner and a finishing move inside, well nevermind then, but until then it’s a team need.

Nick Calathes 6’5" PG
Tall outside-gunning nice passing (& rebounding) PG. A role-player on this team, but picture a Tim Legler with PG skills, a player like that can find a role on any team.

Darren Collison
Will be a solid mistake-free PG off the bench.

There are players with higher upside (I’d call Earl Clark the 3rd most talented player in the draft; and I’m in the tank for Curry to the point of calling my credibility into question) but the ones above have a ready-made role waiting for them and will produce immediately.

There are a ton of other players I like, with mixed expectations, question marks etc. Blair is a boom/bust player. I love Eric Maynor though he’s got the same ‘scrawny’ question marks that dog Stef Curry (and so what, I think they both succeed anyway).

But the guys above I’m sure of. They’ll have NBA careers. No risk.