Official Draft Prospects Thread (names pouring in)

[senrad]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

Calathes is in (without an agent). Could be a nice piece backing up deng/salmons/rose. Im a UF guy so I have seen him alot.

Positives: A complete player, avg. 15ppg, 5+ assists, and 5+ rpg. ++ size for a PG. Off the charts court vision, set UF record for assists his freshman year then broke it his soph year with basically nobody to pass to. He was the whole team. Solid on the boards for his size and exceptional for a point guard. A very good spot up shooter with NBA range. Gets into the lane and creates for his teammates or gets to the line.

Negatives: Athleticism is the major concern. Can he hold up defensively in the NBA? He isn't a great finisher; I can't remember him ever dunking. He does manage to put the ball in or draw the foul most of the time. His jumper is solid as a catch and shoot but off the dribble he might be a little slow on the release at the next level.

 

[ryguy24]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

Blair is IN, according to the bottom line and CBS Sports!

 

[Manic Devourer]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

ryguy24 wrote:

Blair is IN, according to the bottom line and CBS Sports!

I want him to be our new generation Charles Oakley to be Rose's body guard!!

GET IT DONE PAXSON.

 

[ryguy24]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

Right or wrong, you got to think someone takes Lawson in the top 10 after his tourney.

 

[Manic Devourer]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

ryguy24 wrote:

Right or wrong, you got to think someone takes Lawson in the top 10 after his tourney.

Well I think he is definitely a starting point guard calibre type of player in the NBA. I just think the way he has tweaked and developed his game over each season with the Heels has shown that he'll continue to improve.

He has a toughness that you want in a point guard.

I tell you one thing though, the NBA has a a great influx of really good point guards now, Rose can never let up or he'll fall behind in the pack.

 

[JimmyBulls]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

I think the Bulls need this draft to properly fill out their roster. They won't be able to draft a sure fire star, but they should definitely be able to get two good rotation players.

Right now, i'm torn between Evans and Williams for the 15th or 16th pick, and i'm wondering who will drop to us for our second first round pick. Evans and Williams have pro style games, both guys have the ballhandling skills to get their own shot (even though Evans is superior), and they both will have to work on their range on the NBA level. Both guys have good size for the shooting guard position, but Williams have the athleticism that Evans can only dream about. Yet Evans was more productive as a freshman than Williams was as a senior. I think the Bulls should draft Williams because of I think he can be a Iguodala like slasher in the NBA, but Evans might be too good to pass up if he's still on the board at the 15th or 16th pick.

I think our second first round pick should simply be used on the best big available. There is a small chance that Brackins,Blair,Lawal,Ogilvy and Jordan could all be there for the taking. At this point, i'm leaning towards Brackins or Blair. But the smart money have to be on both guys being gone by the 24th or 25th selection. The you have to look at lesser, but interesting prospects like Lawal or Ogilvy.

 

[ryguy24]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

I've probably said it before sometime in this thread, but i'm really torn on Blair. On one hand, I love the guy and think he will definitely be a very solid player. But I keep telling myself that we should be adding guys who compliment Rose well, and i'm just having a hard time finding any qualities that Blair has that really compliment Rose. Ideally, you like a pick and roll, good shooting, athletic kind of guy to pair up with Rose, and Blair really doesn't fall into any of those categories. That said, I still just love the way he plays the game and boards, so i'd likely take him without hesitation provided nobody else is there that I like.

 

[Manic Devourer]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

JimmyBulls wrote:

I think the Bulls need this draft to properly fill out their roster. They won't be able to draft a sure fire star, but they should definitely be able to get two good rotation players.

Right now, i'm torn between Evans and Williams for the 15th or 16th pick, and i'm wondering who will drop to us for our second first round pick. Evans and Williams have pro style games, both guys have the ballhandling skills to get their own shot (even though Evans is superior), and they both will have to work on their range on the NBA level. Both guys have good size for the shooting guard position, but Williams have the athleticism that Evans can only dream about. Yet Evans was more productive as a freshman than Williams was as a senior. I think the Bulls should draft Williams because of I think he can be a Iguodala like slasher in the NBA, but Evans might be too good to pass up if he's still on the board at the 15th or 16th pick.

I think our second first round pick should simply be used on the best big available. There is a small chance that Brackins,Blair,Lawal,Ogilvy and Jordan could all be there for the taking. At this point, i'm leaning towards Brackins or Blair. But the smart money have to be on both guys being gone by the 24th or 25th selection. The you have to look at lesser, but interesting prospects like Lawal or Ogilvy.

I'm not entirely sure, but last time I heard is that Evan Turner is returning to college. So he obviously isn't an option. My ideal draft would have been Blair and Turner, but that doesn't seem like it will be possible.

So I'll settle with Blair with our pick, and someone like Ellington with the second pick.

We need to get a big and shooting guard. Blair is a big body that we'll lose once Miller starts to break down, and he'll hopefully be the body guard for Rose that he'll need once opposing teams start becoming more physical with him as he progressively becomes a better player. Ellington really showed that he has an NBA skill with his shooting throughout the tournament. He may be a little under-sized, but as a bench player that all we need to do is shoot and score in about 10-15 minutes a game to give Salmons a rest, I think he'll do just fine.

Or if we go with a guard with our best, then I'd be more than happy with Tyler with our second pick later on in the draft.

 

[Manic Devourer]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

ryguy24 wrote:

I've probably said it before sometime in this thread, but i'm really torn on Blair. On one hand, I love the guy and think he will definitely be a very solid player. But I keep telling myself that we should be adding guys who compliment Rose well, and i'm just having a hard time finding any qualities that Blair has that really compliment Rose. Ideally, you like a pick and roll, good shooting, athletic kind of guy to pair up with Rose, and Blair really doesn't fall into any of those categories. That said, I still just love the way he plays the game and boards, so i'd likely take him without hesitation provided nobody else is there that I like.

I totally understand, I only recently started to watch him play and I thought being a big under-sized forward wouldn't really be a fit with Rose, but after watching him a little more and thinking about the prospect of them playing alongside each other I think it could work.

- An ideal fast break involves 3 players, and at most 4 players running the break not 5. With Blair's rebounding ability, and good hands there is no reason why he can't initiate breaks by dishing it off to Rose to finish them.

- He'll be able to set some mean screens for Rose long into their careers.

- Defensive rebounding. We have good offensive rebounders, but we need a rebounder that can board on both ends and Blair can do just that. Again, with his defensive rebounding he'll be able to initiate fast breaks.

- His rebounding fundamentals are great, he uses his body, he always has his hands up, and he is wide. He actually knows how to put a body on a man and box out, unlike Tyrus and Noah most of the time, and guess what, just having someone like him taking up space and fending off a defender will allow Noah and Tyrus, or even a guard like Rose to come in and snag rebounds that he won't get a hand to.

- I've said it multiple times already, but Rose will need someone to protect his ass as he continues to become a better player. Players are going to get more physical with him as he continues to get better, having someone like Blair as an intimidator would make people second guess attacking our star. Jordan had Oakley. Our baby Bulls of 04-05 had Antonio Davis to protect our then twin towers and our young guards.

- I can imagine him developing an offensive game molded like Elton Brands. Both are big bodies, aren't that tall, but they have long arms. If he can develop a hook shot with both hands, as well as a mid-range jump shot, his lack of height shouldn't be a deterrent for him to develop an offensive game.

- He is a proven winner, and Paxson loves those types of guys. And we just need some more toughness on this team, we're pretty much a finesses team, and it wouldn't hurt to have someone that can dish out a little hurt on our teams behalf for once.

 

[ryguy24]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

Ed Davis coming back :angry: But definitely the right move.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4048617


Meeks will test the waters:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=jn-meeksdraft040609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


Edit: I also remember hearing James Johnson will test the waters. DX has us taking him in their mock (though I doubt team needs are taken into consideration yet).

 

[Morten Jensen]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

This is a draft where having late picks will be perfect. The difference in overall talent and skil isn't going to separate much from the top 15 to the top 25. If by some chance, Blair slips though... Well, you take him instantly and you don't think twice.

But since that's probably not going to happen, it might be okay to take on a project with our lowest 1st rounder. We can afford a project, as long as it's not a lottery pick.

 

[Rose1]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

I would take my dude BJ with the first pick. You always take upside over flawed players like Blair. I would never draft a 6'6'' PF to play a major role in the NBA. Yeah Barkley was successful but in this case I wouldn't. BJ is what we need. He can score on the post and he's in a class of his own with his athletic ability. The game shouldn't be hard for him to learn. I saw some of his skills on display on Big Ten Network and he can play. He's definitely a steal. Now in the case of the other pick, I think you have to go with Nick from UF. Nick is the draft because of his ability to play the Guard and Forward position with high IQ. He passes like Nash and he shoots like Eric Piatkowski. Now if that don't complement Rose then I don't know what do. Another guy that may change my mind is Craig Brackins with the first pick. He's what we need on the post but BJ size is too intriguing. Can you imagine two skilled players on the post in regards to Miller and Brackins? One word, damn!

"Brackins has his back to the basket and he kicks it out to Miller on the high, he establish deep on the post, he gets it back and he fades, it's nothing but net! Don't do him like that Craig!--- Stacey King"

BJ Mullens: Chris Kaman with athleticism
Craig Brackins: Tim Thomas/Lamarcus Aldridge
Nick Calathes: Taller Kirk Hinrich with more upside

 

[Rose1]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

I think this could be a deep draft but people like Daye, Aldrich, Warren, and Ebanks want to go back.

 

[ryguy24]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

Morten Jensen wrote:

This is a draft where having late picks will be perfect. The difference in overall talent and skil isn't going to separate much from the top 15 to the top 25. If by some chance, Blair slips though... Well, you take him instantly and you don't think twice.

But since that's probably not going to happen, it might be okay to take on a project with our lowest 1st rounder. We can afford a project, as long as it's not a lottery pick.

Surprisingly, DX has Blair in the 20's. I can't see that happening, but jump on him at 16 or whatnot if needed.

Also, I have a feeling we might target someone reasonable (maybe even Blair), and use the second pick to move up a few spots to secure them. Teams will be trading down in a hurry, and I bet you could move up a little bit more than normal with that pick (and maybe some cash)in this draft. If not, the second pick probably goes to a backup PG like Collison or Sherron Collins.

 

[Morten Jensen]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

I keep hearing and reading different reports. How tall is Blair? I've seen 6'6 to 6'8½ - He looks around 6'8 to me, but how can anyone tell on the television?

DX has him at 6'7, 265
NBAdraft.net he's 6'6, 287

I don't remember who had him as 6'8½, but I've seen that too.

 

[dougthonus]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

I was talking to Jonathan Givony (the DX guy), and he said this draft reminds him a lot of last year where you've got a lot of guys with question marks on them and people are dismissing them.

Last year people thought it was a 2 deep draft, but so far Mayo, Love, Lopez, Westbrook, and Gordon have all performed at a level that implies a lot of future success.

He said he's not sure this draft will do as well as last draft, but the set up is similar in that there are a lot of good players with questions who people are presently dismissing and calling it a one deep draft, but that we won't know until they play.

He thinks it's a deep draft though in that there's not clear guys to take after Griffin as everyone has different questions about them.

 

[Morten Jensen]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

ryguy24 wrote:

Surprisingly, DX has Blair in the 20's. I can't see that happening, but jump on him at 16 or whatnot if needed.

Also, I have a feeling we might target someone reasonable (maybe even Blair), and use the second pick to move up a few spots to secure them. Teams will be trading down in a hurry, and I bet you could move up a little bit more than normal with that pick (and maybe some cash)in this draft. If not, the second pick probably goes to a backup PG like Collison or Sherron Collins.

Collison late in the first would be perfect, IMO.

If we came out of the draft with Blair and Collison, the draft would be have a succes in my eyes. Obviously, I hope we deal both (or one of them) in a package for Bosh.

 

[Morten Jensen]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

dougthonus wrote:

I was talking to Jonathan Givony (the DX guy), and he said this draft reminds him a lot of last year where you've got a lot of guys with question marks on them and people are dismissing them.

Last year people thought it was a 2 deep draft, but so far Mayo, Love, Lopez, Westbrook, and Gordon have all performed at a level that implies a lot of future success.

He said he's not sure this draft will do as well as last draft, but the set up is similar in that there are a lot of good players with questions who people are presently dismissing and calling it a one deep draft, but that we won't know until they play.

He thinks it's a deep draft though in that there's not clear guys to take after Griffin as everyone has different questions about them.

I'm going to toot my own horn here.

Last year, there were so few players I was down on. I thought Lopez, Gordon, Mayo, Love and Augustin were all going to be very good players. The one that got away was Westbrook, and even now, I still feel he's so inefficient to play the point in the NBA. Though, his potential is off the chart.

If Jonathan is right about his prediction, this is an even better year to have two picks. After pre-draft try-outs, camp and whatnot, Toronto might think having our two picks would produce two good players... You all see where I'm going with this.

 

[Rose1]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

I would take Sherron over Darren any day. I think he can come off the bench and provide ample scoring and toughness. Oppose to Darren, he will be limited due to his strength. I rather have the guy whom is from Chicago and played against Rose coming out of the Westside of Chicago. Besides, many think he's a Nate Robinson type of player.

 

[ryguy24]

Re:Official Draft Prospects Thread

Budinger IN for good.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=535977

Aminu announcement that he's in should be coming soon--DX

Also, Teague will likely declare but return if he is not a top 10 pick.

Casspi is IN too.

http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Jonathan-Givony/