101 Degrees Of Draft Musings

even a 1st round draft pick? I forget his name. I don’t follow college ball much but the guy seems pretty damn good every time I see him. I not good at evaluating NCAA to NBA talent, but, even though he is tough, he seems a tad small and a tad slow. I’ll give him credit for brining it every game though. Probably would have been a Hall of Famer if he played 50 years ago. In 2009, he reaks of Eduardo Najara. Just one man’s opinion.

Any of the above depending who we draft at the #1.

because he’s capable of being a bit of a game changer I think.

But the thing about draft hype is – guys like Collison get no respect because they’ve been aroung so long, talked about soooo much.

Or Houston’s pick, I’m totally up for a project player at the C position. Especially one who could make a long term impact defensively (like Sam Dalembert—drafted the pick after Gerald Wallace—for instance).

Every guy should be looked at by the Kings, and if there is one guy whom I would like to see more than any other, is probably Collison or Lawton because they could play right away and be rotation players potentially. Defensively, they can also bring it as well.

Totally agree about this draft being filled with possible sleepers, even if the guys at the top scare the hell out of me. Particularly in this draft I think people are overlooking the seniors and overrating guys like Aminu and Clark and Damion James, who can’t shoot a lick, don’t have many skills, and aren’t even close to developing anything passable. Better for us that those projects go early.

Player by player, here goes:

Jerome Jordan – He’s not really the physical specimen that Deandre Jordan is: he’s really, really skinny and really, really weak. He runs the floor ok but he’s not a spectacular athlete and not much of a shotblocker. He’s reasonably skilled and has a pretty decent jump hook, only he lacks any and all strength necessary to establish position in the post so…… yeah. He can get stronger, but until he does he’s sort of a string bean without a real purpose.

DeJuan Blair: Just say no to 6’7" power forwards. His upside is Craig Smith, I don’t care how many 7’3" centers he slays.

Craig Brackins – Absolutely the sleeper of the draft, mainly because the team he plays for completely sucks and not many people can probably bear to watch. Brackins is 6’10", very quick and athletic, and incredibly skilled for a big both inside and out. He has a deadly post game including jump hooks with either hand, he can fade away, and hit jumpers in the lane. Or, if that’s not your style, he is an incredible ballhandler and can take bigs off the dribble, including pulling up from midrange. His long range jumper is still a work in progress, but he can hit it when he’s wide open. He’s more Lamar Odom than Channing Frye, or, as I like to compare him, a smaller, faster Jason Thompson.

Tyler Hansbrough – Mark Madsen, meet Tyler Hansbrough. Tyler, Mark. (Ok, Tyler is probably better than Madsen…. by a little bit)

Gani Lawal – Gives DeJuan Blair a run for his money in terms of strength, an inch bigger, and more athletic. This guy can rebound. Unfortunately, that’s basically his entire game. He’s the second coming of Reggie Evans.

Patrick Patterson – Yeah, you called it. Brandon Bass. Nothing to add, except that Kenny Thomas has given me a powerful aversion to any and all undersized power forwards. Pass.

Darren Collison – Sometimes you overlook the player you know. Collison has been overshadowed by so many players now, and yet he is what he is — an incredibly solid floor general, very quick (not blinding), and a terrific shooter. He’s so solid that he lulls you to sleep. I think he’d be a steal after pick 10 in this draft, let alone after pick 20. You just don’t find his combination of passing, defense, quickness and shooting very often. I would take him over Jrue Holiday 20 times out of 10 at this point.

Ty Lawson – And yet…. then there’s Ty Lawson. My problem with Lawson is that he’s somewhat similar to Collison, only he’s an inch shorter, he’s not the shooter, and he’s not the defender….. Lawson’s good at a lot of things, only I wonder if he’s good enough at them to succeed in the NBA.

Eric Maynor – How long has it been since this guy hit that shot against Duke in the tournament? I remember being impressed with him then, haven’t seen him since. VCU needs to get on TV more often.

Patrick Mills – Dude is fast… dude is short. His long range prospects depend entirely on his (currently shaky) jumper, because he really struggles taking it into the lane, so he’s going to live and die on the perimeter. I’d let someone else take that gamble.

A couple I’d add:

Sam Young – Not sure he gets enough credit for Pitt’s success. He’s got prototypical size and athleticism for an NBA wing, he can shoot (even if he has funny form), and can put the ball on the floor, but needs to work on his handle.

Terrence Williams – versatile super-athletic senior 2 guard who is a bit offensively challenged. Could succeed as a glue guy, but kind of a risk because of his disappearing acts on offense.

Taj Gibson – Another guy people are probably overlooking because he’s been around a million years. Very athletic, 6’9", skilled, decent rebounder and shotblocker. Don’t see any reason he couldn’t succeed in the NBA.

Dionte Christmas – can really shoot and really score, pretty good at putting the ball on the floor. Don’t know if he’s quite athletic enough to be a full-time SG, but could be a gunner off the bench a la McCants.

Honorable mention: Jeff Pendergraph, AJ Price, Danny Green, Jack McClinton

I’d like somehow, someway to get Stephen Curry on my Sacramento Kings. There, I said it, now you guys have 10+ years or however short Curry’s NBA career is to make fun of what a terrible draft guru I am; which is in fact true, I am terrible at these reindeer games.

Because he’s a skinny wing, but I think Budinger belongs in that category of guys who are being undervalued because they’re perceived as known commodities. He can score efficiently in a variety of ways, jump out of the gym, and he’s unselfish. He’s not going to carry an NBA franchise, but I think he’ll be a great value if he goes in the mid twenties.

But yeah, I get why he’s not exactly what the Kings need right now.

I go to VCU grad school and see Maynor play all the time in person. He’s good, definitely in crunch time. The guy has won so many close games, I lost count. And VCU doesn’t play many pushover teams. Good perimeter defender too, which the Kings have NONE of. Think Rod Strickland meets Cassell. He may be wiry, but he’s about 200 times tougher than Kevin Martin. Knows how to finish and be a leader.
I would be stoked if they picked him late. Something tells me he’s going to pick it up at the next level. He’s got the right work ethic and natural playmaking skills.

if he comes out this year – he is definately the Joe Klien of the draft

a basketball statue in every respect, dude accomplishes Nothing that doesn’t land in his lap.

and very welcome comments Nbrans. I also like the Seth Davis article that has also been discussed.

I am the typical NBA draft pick follower: I don’t watch many college games during the season, watch as much NCAA tourney as is convenient until the sweet 16 and then Final Four weekend and then I watch everything. I watch a bunch of ESPNews. I have a very limited exposure to the majority of these guys and rely on pundits for my information. I am biased by every good word and every harmful comparison. Yet I love to read and dream of all of that potential. Every year I watch Draft Day, and every year I scratch my head with GP’s picks and murmur – who’s that again (along with the draft day announcers)?

Why am i adding to this post, as I am admittedly both ignorant and naive? Because I want to see this Kings team get better and whoever is the best player available is who this Kings team needs. Too much talent at ANY position is not a concern. ALL picks are gambles. Some more than others, some less. I know enough to know I don’t know.

I am consistently amazed that the high draft picks arrive at various teams and I take one look at the guy and wonder, WTF? Shawn Bradley was picked #1 some years ago – who didn’t take one long look at that guy and say – this guy is slow and unccordinated with mediocre reflexes? Shelden Williams – bad hands, stands on his toes – why is this a surprise? Alex Smith (49ers) has small hands – was he wearing extra large gloves during the combine? This stuff must be harder to figure out than it looks, but some things are self evident.

So, whoever is there, the best guy – at 1,2,3,4 or 18 or 31 – that is who I want. If Mark Madsen is the best guy – I want him (or if you are clever enough to trade him for something else later if you really don’t want him). Petrie & Co. seem to know. I trust them most of all.

In this economy, are the Euros out? Funny, no Chinese nationals being showcased this year.

I’ll admit I haven’t seen Iowa State at all. (Yet I’ve seen Georgetown like seven times, and actually most of the Big East and Pac-10 multiple times.) I need to clue in.

As busybe alludes to, there’s something to watch w/r/t the Kings’ free agent targets. Petrie and Levien obviously lust for Nate Robinson, if they were willing to take Jared F. Jeffries back. He’s an RFA. If the Kings go big or wing with this picks … maybe we should then expect a push for Nate.

Or, in other words: if Griffin comes to Sac with #1, perhaps the team doesn’t focus on PG at 24ish or 31. Best Player Available.

Not one “get well, section” from any of you jerks. I was going to autograph my SpongeBob themometer for one lucky threader, but now you can forget about it. :)