NBA Draft thread

[1908]

Ben Gordon was listed in the 7-10 range heading into the draft. His workouts blow Paxson and Skiles away and the Bulls took him at 3. Like I said, long way to go and there haven't been any workouts yet.

That draft wasn't near as good as this on, nor is Conley, Jr. as talented as Gordon. He's great at running a team and is ultra quick, but he can't do the things Gordon can offensively. Also, if they had that draft again, Gordon wouldn't go #3. He'd go high, but not that high.

 

All that said, I was praying the rumored Al Harrington for a draft pick (to take Gordon) was true at the time. I loved Gordon.

My point wasn't to compare Gordon to Conley. It was to illustrate that the buzz around a player heading into the draft in May can change rapidly. I think we'll see a similar rise by Conley in June.

[1908]

If Conley, Jr. is at #11 now (I think that's where ESPN has him)

He's at 8 on ESPN, and I bet we see Conley going to the Hawks at number 3 in Ford's first mock later this week, for whatever that's worth.

[Exile on Waveland]

Ben Gordon was listed in the 7-10 range heading into the draft. His workouts blow Paxson and Skiles away and the Bulls took him at 3. Like I said, long way to go and there haven't been any workouts yet.

That draft wasn't near as good as this on, nor is Conley, Jr. as talented as Gordon. He's great at running a team and is ultra quick, but he can't do the things Gordon can offensively. Also, if they had that draft again, Gordon wouldn't go #3. He'd go high, but not that high.

 

All that said, I was praying the rumored Al Harrington for a draft pick (to take Gordon) was true at the time. I loved Gordon.

My point wasn't to compare Gordon to Conley. It was to illustrate that the buzz around a player heading into the draft in May can change rapidly. I think we'll see a similar rise by Conley in June.

 

I know, I just meant I'm not sure Conley Jr.'s basketball skills will necessarily translate to individual workouts. Meaning, his greatest asset is his ability to lead a team. However, I think his athleticism will surprise.

[1908]

He's at 8 on ESPN, and I bet we see Conley going to the Hawks at number 3 in Ford's first mock later this week, for whatever that's worth.

Scratch that, it's already up. Ford's first crack at predicting the lottery:

Oden

Durant

Conley

Brewer

Yi

Horford

B. Wright

J. Wright

Hawes

Hibbert

Noah

Green

Thorton

Law

Edited May 23, 2007 by 1908

[Exile on Waveland]

He's at 8 on ESPN, and I bet we see Conley going to the Hawks at number 3 in Ford's first mock later this week, for whatever that's worth.

Scratch that, it's already up. Ford's first crack at predicting the lottery:

Oden

Durant

Conley

Brewer

Yi

Horford

B. Wright

J. Wright

Hawes

Hibbert

Noah

Green

Thorton

Law

 

If Atlanta stays at #3, I'm sure this is correct and they'll take Conley, Jr. I know nothing about Yi, he may be great, but that has to be disheartening for Celtics fans going from the Oden/Durant debate to an unknown quantity.

[1908]

Ford's first crack at predicting the lottery:

Oden

Durant

Conley

Brewer

Yi

Horford

B. Wright

J. Wright

Hawes

Hibbert

Noah

Green

Thorton

Law

He's already changed it:

 

Oden

Durant

Conley

Brewer

Yi

Horford

B. Wright

Noah

Hawes

J. Wright

Hibbert

Green

Thorton

Law

[Mark_R]

It's great for Non Boston fans who enjoy seeing Bill Simmons be a miserable little girl.

[da bears]

It's great for Non Boston fans who enjoy seeing Bill Simmons be a miserable little girl.

 

I second this. I cant wait to read his article crying about this.

[Guest]

Ford's first crack at predicting the lottery:

Oden

Durant

Conley

Brewer

Yi

Horford

B. Wright

J. Wright

Hawes

Hibbert

Noah

Green

Thorton

Law

He's already changed it:

 

Oden

Durant

Conley

Brewer

Yi

Horford

B. Wright

Noah

Hawes

J. Wright

Hibbert

Green

Thorton

Law

 

Hawes at 9 would be just dandy.

[mhuber92211]

All i can say is that coming home after the crappy game tonight and seeing my trailblazers with the 1st pick lifted my spirits!

 

I will offer a strange thought but with this draft being so deep, I think that the team should trade down and collect a huge player. I could see the team trading the #1 overall for Paul Pierce and send Darius Miles to Boston. And also get next year's 1st rounder.

 

Then ship Pierce to NJ for Carter.

[Guest]

All i can say is that coming home after the crappy game tonight and seeing my trailblazers with the 1st pick lifted my spirits!

 

I will offer a strange thought but with this draft being so deep, I think that the team should trade down and collect a huge player. I could see the team trading the #1 overall for Paul Pierce and send Darius Miles to Boston. And also get next year's 1st rounder.

 

Then ship Pierce to NJ for Carter.

 

I'd draft Oden and enjoy my NBA titles in about 3-4 years if I were the Trail Blazers.

[seanimal]

All i can say is that coming home after the crappy game tonight and seeing my trailblazers with the 1st pick lifted my spirits!

 

I will offer a strange thought but with this draft being so deep, I think that the team should trade down and collect a huge player. I could see the team trading the #1 overall for Paul Pierce and send Darius Miles to Boston. And also get next year's 1st rounder.

 

Then ship Pierce to NJ for Carter.

 

I'd draft Oden and enjoy my NBA titles in about 3-4 years if I were the Trail Blazers.

 

Ditto, it seems that their best bet is to just stick with the young guys.

[RynoRules]

I'd draft Oden and trade Randolph for a PG. Who might be available? Then you have:

 

(New PG - How about Kirk Hinrich? I know, he's Pax's guy, but Hinrich for Randolph makes some sense, IMO)

Roy

Webster

Aldridge

Oden

 

Bench: The Pryz, Jack, Magloire, etc.

 

Very nice.

 

Of course, if you draft Durant and trade no one other than Miles (little value, IMO) and maybe Webster you have:

 

Jack

Roy

Durant

Randolph

The Pryz / Aldridge

 

The second scenario might actually be better.

[Exile on Waveland]

All i can say is that coming home after the crappy game tonight and seeing my trailblazers with the 1st pick lifted my spirits!

 

I will offer a strange thought but with this draft being so deep, I think that the team should trade down and collect a huge player. I could see the team trading the #1 overall for Paul Pierce and send Darius Miles to Boston. And also get next year's 1st rounder.

 

Then ship Pierce to NJ for Carter.

 

So instead of a franchise center you end up with marshmallow-soft Vince Carter (and a #1 next year)? Wow, that's a terrible, terrible idea. They should sprint to the podium to take Oden, then look to move Randolph (and Miles).

 

Adding Oden to their young core sets up multiple 60-win season and NBA championships. That's what franchise big men do. Adding Vince Carter makes them a borderline playoff team in the west.

[USSoccer]

I'd draft Oden and trade Randolph for a PG. Who might be available? Then you have:

 

(New PG - How about Kirk Hinrich? I know, he's Pax's guy, but Hinrich for Randolph makes some sense, IMO)

 

Kirk is worth more than Randolph. He didn't have a great postseason, but he's one of the best defensive guards in the league and improved in every offensive category. The team would be much worse overall if you traded Kirk for Randolph.

 

I'd rather not give up a guard other than like Duhon, but if you're going to give up a guard, I'd give up Gordon. Yes, he can score, but his scoring output would be replaced by the player you would be aquiring. He's a defensive liability and doesn't handle the ball well. Hinrich is the better overall player.

[killthegoat06]

yay Bulls

[soccer10k]

Portland will win the NBA title in 2 years!

 

hahaha yeah right

 

Why not? People act like Portland has been a dormat forever.

 

Well since about 1992 they got out of the 1st round of the playoffs once and haven't been there for the last couple years at all so ya they suck.

They almost won it all when the Lakers got there first one.

 

Yup. They were 15 minutes away in Game 7 in 2000 from going to the NBA finals. I still can't believe the Lakers came back in that game.

[Guest]

Portland will win the NBA title in 2 years!

 

hahaha yeah right

 

Why not? People act like Portland has been a dormat forever.

 

Well since about 1992 they got out of the 1st round of the playoffs once and haven't been there for the last couple years at all so ya they suck.

They almost won it all when the Lakers got there first one.

 

Yup. They were 15 minutes away in Game 7 in 2000 from going to the NBA finals. I still can't believe the Lakers came back in that game.

 

The Blazers were screwed.

[CubColtPacer]

Portland will win the NBA title in 2 years!

 

hahaha yeah right

 

Why not? People act like Portland has been a dormat forever.

 

Well since about 1992 they got out of the 1st round of the playoffs once and haven't been there for the last couple years at all so ya they suck.

They almost won it all when the Lakers got there first one.

 

Yup. They were 15 minutes away in Game 7 in 2000 from going to the NBA finals. I still can't believe the Lakers came back in that game.

 

I can't either-it's really too bad as well, because I think the Pacers beat the Trail Blazers in the finals that year. Instead, they simply didn't have enough big men to stop Shaq, and one OT loss changed the series.

[soccer10k]

Well, this officially sucks. The two best college prospects in the draft are both not only going to the West. Thank goodness for the realignment a couple years ago. That northwest division, wow, with Denver, Utah, Portland and Seattle. Well, the window for another Kobe title just narrowed.

 

EDIT: Fixed the teams.

Edited May 23, 2007 by soccer10k

[bukie]

Well, this officially sucks. The two best college prospects in the draft are both not only going to the West. Thank goodness for the realignment a couple years ago. That northwest division, wow, with San Antonio, Utah, Portland and Seattle. Well, the window for another Kobe title just narrowed.

 

The northwest division has Seattle, Portland, Utah, Minnesota, and Denver.

The southwest division has San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, and New Orleans.

[soccer10k]

Well, this officially sucks. The two best college prospects in the draft are both not only going to the West. Thank goodness for the realignment a couple years ago. That northwest division, wow, with San Antonio, Utah, Portland and Seattle. Well, the window for another Kobe title just narrowed.

 

The northwest division has Seattle, Portland, Utah, Minnesota, and Denver.

The southwest division has San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, and New Orleans.

 

Oops. :oops: I saw Denver in the standings and wrote San Antonio. Not sure why.

[soccer10k]

Ford's first crack at predicting the lottery:

Oden

Durant

Conley

Brewer

Yi

Horford

B. Wright

J. Wright

Hawes

Hibbert

Noah

Green

Thorton

Law

He's already changed it:

 

Oden

Durant

Conley

Brewer

Yi

Horford

B. Wright

Noah

Hawes

J. Wright

Hibbert

Green

Thorton

Law

 

And he's going to have to change it again.

 

Hibbert going back to college while Jeff Green is staying in the draft.

[Guest]

My old college roommate ran into Yi Jianlian at Ralph's in Westwood. Apparently Yi is working out at UCLA.

[mhuber92211]

All i can say is that coming home after the crappy game tonight and seeing my trailblazers with the 1st pick lifted my spirits!

 

I will offer a strange thought but with this draft being so deep, I think that the team should trade down and collect a huge player. I could see the team trading the #1 overall for Paul Pierce and send Darius Miles to Boston. And also get next year's 1st rounder.

 

Then ship Pierce to NJ for Carter.

 

So instead of a franchise center you end up with marshmallow-soft Vince Carter (and a #1 next year)? Wow, that's a terrible, terrible idea. They should sprint to the podium to take Oden, then look to move Randolph (and Miles).

 

Adding Oden to their young core sets up multiple 60-win season and NBA championships. That's what franchise big men do. Adding Vince Carter makes them a borderline playoff team in the west.

 

You forgot that Portland would have Boston's pick and possibly end up with Yi. A team of Yi, Carter, Roy, Aldridge, & Jack is a pretty solid team too.

 

Jarret Jack is VERY underrated.