Bulls Bear #117 - Big men at #16

[Morten Jensen]

We all know ths draft isn't going to be filled with difference makers, if you by difference maker mean star or borderline star. These are viewed as decent role players, and I believe that to be true. In no way would we be 'set', but we'd be a step closer, IMO. Two decent role players on rookie deals are also good trade chips if a deadline deal presents itself.

 

[dougthonus]

Morten Jensen wrote:

We all know ths draft isn't going to be filled with difference makers, if you by difference maker mean star or borderline star. These are viewed as decent role players, and I believe that to be true. In no way would we be 'set', but we'd be a step closer, IMO. Two decent role players on rookie deals are also good trade chips if a deadline deal presents itself.

Well you used the term "gold" to describe getting 2 of them. I'm just saying I don't think we'll miss not having any of these guys.

 

[Ralphb07]

Morten Jensen wrote:

DeJuan Blair is hands down my favorite, but James Johnson is an intriguing prospect. From a forward perspective, I consider it a two-man race, if you count Terrence Williams as a guard. It's definitely one of those three. A shame we have the 26th and not another top 15. Getting two of Blair, Johnson and Williams would be gold.

My three favorites are the same and I think one of them will be there. My bet would be Blair falling. Someone will fall in love and take Johnson and Williams early.

Williams would bring excitement to the team. Dunks usually get the crowd going and the team can feed off of that and to add him with Rose would be a very scary fast break

 

[Morten Jensen]

dougthonus wrote:

Well you used the term "gold" to describe getting 2 of them. I'm just saying I don't think we'll miss not having any of these guys.

Gold = Best we can get

Given our draft positions, it'd be gold to get that kind of talent. Most likey, all three of them are taken before 16. Blair is too good of a rebounder and space filler not to be taken, IMO. Williams.. Well, everyone is basically high on him and his athleticism. And as for Johnson, teams can use a combo forward who can put the ball on the floor. I'd be surprised if even one drops to us. Hence the word 'gold' if we actually got one

 

[Morten Jensen]

Ralphb07 wrote:

My three favorites are the same and I think one of them will be there. My bet would be Blair falling. Someone will fall in love and take Johnson and Williams early.

Williams would bring excitement to the team. Dunks usually get the crowd going and the team can feed off of that and to add him with Rose would be a very scary fast break

Of the three, my preference is;

- Blair
- Williams
- Johnson

If Blair was to fall to us, it'd be terrific. He would instantly be our first big off the bench if we succeed in acquiring a big man using Tyrus and possibly Brad Miller. Otherwise, he may have to use his first year as buffer between Tyrus, Noah and Miller.

As stated previously, I don't think this draft is necessarily deep. But the amount of potential role players in it, is actually high. I'm guessing we can find someone at #26 who would also be good enough to play rotation minutes for us in the long run.

This is a good draft to have mid to late picks, IMO.

 

[dougthonus]

Well if you're just giving us picks, I'd rather move up and take DeRozan though I suppose with him you're really hoping he can develop a shot which might be an iffy proposition given that Rose also needs to develop a jumper.

 

[Morten Jensen]

DeRozan is a guy I was high on prior to this season, but he really disappointed me at USC. I thought he would have a much bigger impact on them. His shooting woes also surprised me, as the word was he was a decent shooter in high school.

I don't know. He's worth a gamble I suppose. How's his attitude?

 

[dougthonus]

Morten Jensen wrote:

DeRozan is a guy I was high on prior to this season, but he really disappointed me at USC. I thought he would have a much bigger impact on them. His shooting woes also surprised me, as the word was he was a decent shooter in high school.

I don't know. He's worth a gamble I suppose. How's his attitude?

Mayo was also viewed as somewhat of a disappointment at USC, but he went on to be really impressive in the NBA after just one season. I agree about his shooting though, that's a pretty big concern. I may be overrating him because of what he was supposed to be coming out of high school.

 

[Morten Jensen]

I liked Mayo coming out. I never got the criticts after his freshmen year. Who did he have alongside him? Tim Floyd also didn't have him play the kind of ball that suited him the best. He often made him an isolation player, which is an area where he can play well, but not great. He can and should create, but he's also lethal in catch and shoot situations.

Back to DeRozan. I agree his shooting presents a major concern. Maybe too big of a concern in my eyes. If he was an elite slasher/penetrator, things would be different. But he can't even crack 65% from the line.

I'd be lying if I said I felt comfortable with him right now. Pre-draft camp and work-outs might change that, though.

 

[Ralphb07]

Morten Jensen wrote:

Ralphb07 wrote:

My three favorites are the same and I think one of them will be there. My bet would be Blair falling. Someone will fall in love and take Johnson and Williams early.

Williams would bring excitement to the team. Dunks usually get the crowd going and the team can feed off of that and to add him with Rose would be a very scary fast break

Of the three, my preference is;

- Blair
- Williams
- Johnson

If Blair was to fall to us, it'd be terrific. He would instantly be our first big off the bench if we succeed in acquiring a big man using Tyrus and possibly Brad Miller. Otherwise, he may have to use his first year as buffer between Tyrus, Noah and Miller.

As stated previously, I don't think this draft is necessarily deep. But the amount of potential role players in it, is actually high. I'm guessing we can find someone at #26 who would also be good enough to play rotation minutes for us in the long run.

This is a good draft to have mid to late picks, IMO.

My main concern with Blair is his height. I really wanna see where he measures. Johnson really interests me because if he can play the PF spot he'll fills two needs. He can play the Four but also slide over to the three for Deng as well.

If we decide to bring both Kirk and Gordon back Williams won't be needed and at 16 we need to select a guy that can contribute next year for us. Right now I don't know who I'm leaning towards, I wanna wait to see what Johnson and Blair measure out but our luck all three will be gone

 

[pyobuttah]

Williams is an awesome player to draft at 16 if you plan on keeping Salmons and Gordon/Hinrich, but if you plan to keep Deng, he is a bad fit. Reason being is that he is not a 3 point shooter, but he can do everything else really well. I feel like he can be a Ronnie Brewer type player but better with the ball handling and probably has a little more range.

As for Bigs I really do not care for Blair other than space at #16 and the only one I sort of like is Johnson at Wake; I really liked Patterson cause of his post game and mid-range jumper and rebounding; don't know why he is going back. I know we have Rose, but I really like point guards this year and there are some good ones. Teague is a guy I really like as he has a little Tony Parker in him; although he is a little taller and might have a little more lift in his jump - I think he could come off the bench and run with Rose or play the point - he does have long arms and is very quick so he could pest most of the guards on D! Maynor is another guy I like and is 6'3, but Teague should honestly be a top 10 pick! at 26 I would go for somebody such as Hansbrough that is tough and will not take the crap that the Celts dished out, or someone such as Omir Casspi. If we trade the #16, I'm all about Toney Douglas from FSU (quick scorer that can play point) with back up being Marcus Thornton an offensive guard with his canny jumper!

Either one, I think we should trade if we get value.

 

[Ralphb07]

Doug have you looked at Gani Lawal? Could he be a guy at 16 if Blair and Johnson are taken

 

[dougthonus]

Not yet, he's on my list for a later show.

 

[OnePointSeven]

Doug, I know Sam Young is listed as a SF, but do me a favor and check out a few minutes of film on him and see if he could potentially fill in at SG. He looked like he may be able to play SG (he's very athletic)and has a body of a big SG, but I'm not entirely sure. At 26 he'd be a complete steal IMO.

I'd just be interested in hearing what you think after looking at your scouting tapes. He'd be a great defender to have against LBJ for years to come.

 

[Hendu0520]

Well I think that there is a lot of pontential in this draft at 16 and 26 but I would like to interview these guys personally first because I think it is going to be a crapshoot. Hopefully management talks to these guys and gets a feel for them. It sounds like Mullens is not a good selection if he doesn't work hard, that's more likely why he didn't play. I would go with Blair, he was the most successful in college out of these players. We saw him dominate Thabeet and everyone in the country was scared of him. Remember how well Big Baby did in college and people didn't think he would do well or be able to push people around in the NBA. Well he is turning into a nice player and I think Blair can be that type of player.

 

[pyobuttah]

Sam Young is a freak athlete and could guard the 2, but not really play offense on the 2 unless he posts up others 2's (Does not have the dribbling skills). He would be a steal at number 26. This is a weak draft outside of Griffin and possibly Rubio and Curry in terms of star power (yes I think Curry can be a stud w/ his craftyness at the point and passing ability.

What this draft is however, has solid prospect until early 2nd round. Players such as Toney Douglas and Marcus Thornton have a chance to be good; Thornton has a lil Vernon Maxwell without the crazy. Collison has a chance to be a solid point guard and will get drafted in round 2. Then there are shots such as Jermaine Taylor, Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal, Josh Heytvelt, Micah Downs, Danny Green etc.

 

[dougthonus]

If you look over the DX mock draft, I'm probably going to cover every player between about 12-40. I'm not going to go into quite as much depth on everyone, because I think some players are more likely to be chosen than others.

 

[Rose1]

C: Mullens
PF: Blair
SF: Daye
SG: Henderson
PG: Flynn

C: Mullens give the Bulls two things they lack, high percentage inside scoring in bunches and dominant potential.

PF: Blair is a beast that instantly gives Bulls hunger and non camera shy spirit. He's going to talk and have vendetta with teams that push Bulls over the cliff in the pass. His role will dido Celtics' KG. He has that type of tangibles.

SF: Daye upside at the 3 and 4 is crazy. The guy look like a 15 year old with that stature and boyish look. He can shoot, block shots, take his man off the dribble and display skill on the high post. I'm shock he averages double figures at that size but he gets it done. He'll grow once he starts putting on muscle.

SG: Henderson reminds me of the D-Wade and Brandon Roy sweepstakes. People doubt their abilities because of the style and height. Well, taking from their experiences, I'll be glad to mold him in that category. He's a 6'4'' freak athlete that gets in done from mid-range and in. He'll poster you on someone fridge and Henderson can post up guards. He might end up being a top tier SG one day, of course, averaging 18 ppg. on some team.

PG: Flynn is interesting from the perspective of our team overall. He'll make the PG position on the Bulls number 1 in the league. Similar to Rose, Johnny will beat you with his instincts and strength. He also is very precise in the open court. If you're not careful, he might just do a windmill on you. He'll get to the line a lot at the next level. But, the notion of him and Tyrus on the court together just has me drooling. Imagine them bringing energy to the place. Come to think of it, I kind of want the Bulls to go with him at 16. I doubt he's still there. He'd be a perfect backup for Rose.

 

[Hendu0520]

LOL,yah this year is definately tougher than last year, we have to look at so many possibilities. I still think a trade involving Hinrich or Deng (Deng's contract will be harder to move) and a pic is coming. Next year I don't see the 16 really being a part of the rotation but down the road could be good.