Reviewing recent draft picks (split)
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It is water under the bridge at this point. Vlade shipped him to Philly in the cap space deal. Vivek was right about one thing, The Kings needed outside shooting, hell still need outside shooting. What is it with shooters coming to Sacto and then they can't shoot? Jimmer, Stauskas and Belinelli all were good shooters at their previous stops, but not for the Kings
Reviewing the draft picks we've made (unfiltered thoughts from the time of draft and retrospect), below.
- Hawes: hated it, albeit looking back, not a bad pick. We had a rebounding/athleticism problem back then, and he just piled on more of the same and was a year away from contributing. He proved to be a smart player, albeit wildly inconsistent and a defensive minus (albeit blocking the occasional shot). I liked the roleplayer he developed into at Philly (stretch 5), but his whole Seattle Kings thing made me hate him eternally.
- Thompson: loved it. It was a total reach (he was projected in the late teens/early 20s) but he was my sleeper pick. Sadly, he never really developed past his second year, although I'm sure our tumultuous org is partially to blame. Good guy til the end, put up with a lot.
- Evans: hated it, and still wish we got Rubio when he fell to us. We had a passing problem, to go along with just about everything else. Shock & Hawes was our future, but with Beno slumping and isolation ball becoming the norm, I really wanted Rubio. And then he fell...and we passed! Was so upset. Ultimately Reke proved me ridiculously wrong his freshman year by looking like a stronger/less athletic D-Wade. And then he regressed year over year, killing the offense with his overdribbling, poor court vision/bball IQ, and lazy defense.
- DMC: loved it. Loved it. Still love it. Great pick. And I heard that Petrie wanted Monroe? Yikes.
- Jimmer: nearly broke my TV. And then reading Twitter on how awful that trade was...it was such a bad trade it sounded like a sick joke. But it was real, and we paid for it, dearly. God curse that trade.
- T-Rob: loved it, and wow was I wrong. Couldn't believe what was thought to be the second best player in the draft fell to us. This guy was a near-flawless pick, and one of those guys that for some reason, did not translate at all to the NBA. Bad luck.
- McLemore: meh. It was a bad draft, and everyone knew it. I thought at the least he could be a Brandon Rush 3-and-D type, but I don't think he'll ever reach that level.
- Stauskas: I boo'd this pick mercilessly. It was my first draft in attendance in Brooklyn, and I'm pretty sure Nik heard me. I thought - at worst - Ben would be a 12pt 3 reb 3 ast guy and a traffic cone on defense...think Daniel Gibson at his peak. There wasn't much at 8, but I thought we could've done better than what looked to be a career roleplayer. It's pretty clear he won't be in the league in two years, so again, bad luck.
- WCS: I didn't like the pick because I firmly believe you shouldn't draft a roleplayer in the top 10...but he's grown on me a bit. Willie impressed me in his rookie season, but I still doubt he'll be a full-time starter on a playoff team. He is, however, proving to be a valuable off-the-bench defensive sparkplug, ala Biyombo in Toronto. But at 6, I think we'll look back on this draft and wish we'd drafted someone else or traded down to get him in the lower lottery. I'd love to proven wrong, however.
- Hawes: hated it, albeit looking back, not a bad pick. We had a rebounding/athleticism problem back then, and he just piled on more of the same and was a year away from contributing. He proved to be a smart player, albeit wildly inconsistent and a defensive minus (albeit blocking the occasional shot). I liked the roleplayer he developed into at Philly (stretch 5), but his whole Seattle Kings thing made me hate him eternally.
- Thompson: loved it. It was a total reach (he was projected in the late teens/early 20s) but he was my sleeper pick. Sadly, he never really developed past his second year, although I'm sure our tumultuous org is partially to blame. Good guy til the end, put up with a lot.
- Evans: hated it, and still wish we got Rubio when he fell to us. We had a passing problem, to go along with just about everything else. Shock & Hawes was our future, but with Beno slumping and isolation ball becoming the norm, I really wanted Rubio. And then he fell...and we passed! Was so upset. Ultimately Reke proved me ridiculously wrong his freshman year by looking like a stronger/less athletic D-Wade. And then he regressed year over year, killing the offense with his overdribbling, poor court vision/bball IQ, and lazy defense.
- DMC: loved it. Loved it. Still love it. Great pick. And I heard that Petrie wanted Monroe? Yikes.
- Jimmer: nearly broke my TV. And then reading Twitter on how awful that trade was...it was such a bad trade it sounded like a sick joke. But it was real, and we paid for it, dearly. God curse that trade.
- T-Rob: loved it, and wow was I wrong. Couldn't believe what was thought to be the second best player in the draft fell to us. This guy was a near-flawless pick, and one of those guys that for some reason, did not translate at all to the NBA. Bad luck.
- McLemore: meh. It was a bad draft, and everyone knew it. I thought at the least he could be a Brandon Rush 3-and-D type, but I don't think he'll ever reach that level.
- Stauskas: I boo'd this pick mercilessly. It was my first draft in attendance in Brooklyn, and I'm pretty sure Nik heard me. I thought - at worst - Ben would be a 12pt 3 reb 3 ast guy and a traffic cone on defense...think Daniel Gibson at his peak. There wasn't much at 8, but I thought we could've done better than what looked to be a career roleplayer. It's pretty clear he won't be in the league in two years, so again, bad luck.
- WCS: I didn't like the pick because I firmly believe you shouldn't draft a roleplayer in the top 10...but he's grown on me a bit. Willie impressed me in his rookie season, but I still doubt he'll be a full-time starter on a playoff team. He is, however, proving to be a valuable off-the-bench defensive sparkplug, ala Biyombo in Toronto. But at 6, I think we'll look back on this draft and wish we'd drafted someone else or traded down to get him in the lower lottery. I'd love to proven wrong, however.
It is water under the bridge at this point. Vlade shipped him to Philly in the cap space deal. Vivek was right about one thing, The Kings needed outside shooting, hell still need outside shooting. What is it with shooters coming to Sacto and then they can't shoot? Jimmer, Stauskas and Belinelli all were good shooters at their previous stops, but not for the Kings
As much as we (I assume ALL of us) hate the Stauskas pick, nobody really thought he was gonna be that bad. He was described by many as a safe pick, smth like that - "will never be a star due to his average athletic abilities but he should be a very useful guy at least off the bench for 20 mins and a clutch shooter", other mentioned that he was a very confident young man, no moment was too big for him. Oh, Well .....
What is it with shooters coming to Sacto and then they can't shoot? Jimmer, Stauskas and Belinelli all were good shooters at their previous stops, but not for the Kings
It is water under the bridge at this point. Vlade shipped him to Philly in the cap space deal. Vivek was right about one thing, The Kings needed outside shooting, hell still need outside shooting. What is it with shooters coming to Sacto and then they can't shoot? Jimmer, Stauskas and Belinelli all were good shooters at their previous stops, but not for the Kings
I have to say, I didn't like the Stauskas pick. I was hoping for Payton. But when I saw Stauskas in Summer League I started feeling like maybe the Kings had gotten a player. He was like the anti-Ben. Not un-athletic, but not on Ben's level as an athlete but a better ball handler, better passer and definitely seemed to have a great feel for the game. I was really surprised by how bad he's been.
You do realize that Rubio didn't come over to the NBA for two years after he was drafted don't you? So while Tyreke was winning rookie of the year, Rubio was playing in Europe. Not to mention that since Rubio has been in the league he's played in a total of 278 games out of a possible 410 due to injuries. Also, if you didn't like Tyreke dribbling around with the ball, you then shouldn't like Rubio dominating the ball. By the way, talked to Petrie at summer league that year and Cousins was his guy. Don't believe everything you hear. Especially at draft time. GM's put out a lot of smoke screens. Petrie got screwed by Jerry West once when he traded to get one spot ahead of the kings and draft the player Petrie wanted, Kobe Bryant.
Don't understand being proud of booing a young player, while noting he heard you. Really? Just don't understand that mentality. I certainly wouldn't have it on my list of things to be proud of. Nik had a very good sophmore season, and was considered one of the best shooters in college that year. He also had a very nice feel of the game and led his team in assists. His bread and butter was pick and rolls and pick and pops. So what did the Kings do? They had him go stand in the corner and wait for the pass that seldom came. And if it did come, and he missed the shot, it never came again. I won't defend the McLemore pick. He came with some red flags that you hope will disappear, and in his case, they haven't.
Lastly, comparing Willie to Biyombo is about as insulting as you can get. I never liked Biyombo, and I still don't. I remember watching him at summer league, and wondering if he would ever figure out how to play in the NBA. On offense, he had no clue, and on defense, other than blocking some shots, he got lost on the floor. He had no feel for the game, and his performance in the playoffs isn't enough to convince me that he's finally arrived. Maybe, we'll see.
Willie on the other hand, has a great feel for the game both on the offensive side and defensive side. All you've see from him is the tip of the iceberg. I think a few years from not, when people look back, they'll wonder why Willie slid to six.
Don't understand being proud of booing a young player, while noting he heard you. Really? Just don't understand that mentality. I certainly wouldn't have it on my list of things to be proud of. Nik had a very good sophmore season, and was considered one of the best shooters in college that year. He also had a very nice feel of the game and led his team in assists. His bread and butter was pick and rolls and pick and pops. So what did the Kings do? They had him go stand in the corner and wait for the pass that seldom came. And if it did come, and he missed the shot, it never came again. I won't defend the McLemore pick. He came with some red flags that you hope will disappear, and in his case, they haven't.
Lastly, comparing Willie to Biyombo is about as insulting as you can get. I never liked Biyombo, and I still don't. I remember watching him at summer league, and wondering if he would ever figure out how to play in the NBA. On offense, he had no clue, and on defense, other than blocking some shots, he got lost on the floor. He had no feel for the game, and his performance in the playoffs isn't enough to convince me that he's finally arrived. Maybe, we'll see.
Willie on the other hand, has a great feel for the game both on the offensive side and defensive side. All you've see from him is the tip of the iceberg. I think a few years from not, when people look back, they'll wonder why Willie slid to six.
Remember when the Kings offered Andre Iguodala a 4 year deal worth 56 million? Link--> http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/07/03/report-kings-offer-iguodala-56-million/
Who knew he was destined to become The Finals MVP?
Who knew he was destined to become The Finals MVP?
There will be a fun moment around early-mid August, when all the decent FAs are gone, and there would still be 3-4 max slots and another 3-4 15-million spaces available. Everyone, who is not under contract anymore, is smelling "moneeeey". Courtney Lee's agent already talked about $11-14 million for his 31 y.o. client. Best bet would be to identify really underrated targets and offer them couple of million over "the absolute maximum, you are willing to pay", cause that would still be a good contract by this year's standard.
Like I wrote earlier, B needs certain team qualities to not hurt his team on O, and actually one of the better fits would be Mavs, especially if they can bring back Deron as their starting PG. Good shooting from other 4 positions, and Carlisle would put Biyombo in the same spots as Brandon Wright 2 years ago, where basically all Wright did was dunking off of screen action. Given, that Dwight will demand close to $30M per and still has the illusions of grandeur, looking to produce a lot of offense in the post with 0.7-0.75 PPP instead of just being P&R weapon at 1.2 PPP, Biyombo is just absolutely better fit, for what Mavs looking for in their starting C.
More annoying for me than Vivek is Pete pretending to look smart. And what is embarrassing is telling who is command of the room and it was NOT the guy who was suppose to be in charge of making the pick. Our former GM was just happy to be collecting a paycheck and not make waves. Say what you want about Vlade but at least the guy knows how to lead.
He is a liability offensively and nothing special on the defensive end. I'd take Collison over Payton all day and dc was the backup on a thirty win team last year. I'd go a step further even and take Seth over Payton.
If you think he's still got a lot of improvement to come then great. That's subjective though and can be said of any young player, Stauskas included.
If you think he's still got a lot of improvement to come then great. That's subjective though and can be said of any young player, Stauskas included.