Draft Sleepers

#31
If we were to get a 2nd rounder this year here are a few names of project PFs we can get.

Nick Fazekas - 6'11 240lbs - Excellent rebounder, FT%, jumpshot but a bit slow, and unathletic.
http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/nickfazekas.html

Herbert Hill - 6'10 240lbs - Blocks shots, good rebounder, good passer, and blocks shots. not a good FT%, needs to add strength.
http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/herberthill.html

Sean Williams - 6'10 235lbs - Monster shot blocker, athletic. Poor attitude, lacks intensity.
http://nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/seanwilliams.html

Jermareo Davidson - 6'10 220lbs
http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/jermareodavidson.html

(I will add more later. Gettin back to work)
 
#32
Here's an interesting tidbit on Kryrolo Fesenko from Henry Abbott's blog:

Ukrainian Kyrlo Fesenko. I watched a DVD of one of his recent games. He's enormously tall and long -- his reported seven feet is believable -- but he looks and moves like an athlete, unlike a lot of players that tall. And he absolutely dominated play at both ends in a league that I'm told is pretty solid. I left the game with no idea if he could shoot from the outside, because he got layups, dunks, rebounds, and blocks all night and never had to venture beyond the paint. He's slated to work with David Thorpe before the draft, so I'll hit David up for more details when he has seen Fesenko up close.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-24-116/Friday-Bullets.html
Here's what DE had to say about him.

The Pistons were reportedly initially hoping to draft Ukrainian big man Kyrylo Fesenko late in the 2nd round, and asked his agent to “hide” him overseas with a 2nd round promise so no one else catches wind of him. Fesenko smartened up, though, and decided to make his way over to the States to work out for NBA teams, which likely nullifies his promise by Detroit. He reportedly measured out as a legit 7-footer in one private workout, but still looks like he has a long ways to go skill wise. He has an NBA body with long arms and great raw core strength.

From the tapes we’ve acquired, it’s quite obvious that he is very athletic for a player his size, European or not. His quickness is especially impressive, as he's both nimble with his feet but also runs the floor extremely well. His leaping ability is just average, though. The impressive numbers he put up early on in the season in the Ukrainian first division before moving to a new team seem to be in spite of the little coaching he’s received, not because of it. His footwork, post moves, and go-to moves around the basket all need serious work, as does his overall feel for the game. He's also not a great rebounder, and his defense is terrible any way you slice it.

Fesenko’s really getting by solely on the fact that he's very athletic, plays hard, and is that much bigger than anyone else. He doesn't shy away from contact and definitely has some fight in him.

The best NBA comparison for him would be Mehmet Okur, but he is very far from making a similar impact. His best bet would be to pull out of the draft, go to a better league, and enter the draft again either next year or the year after, as he’s only a 1986 born prospect.

Should he stay in, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him drafted somewhere in the 2nd round, as his buyout is reportedly affordable. He wanted to play at the Eurocamp in Treviso, but requested to be added to the camp roster too late and was turned down.
 
#33
Fesenko is not that young to be a surprise. Players like him should prove their skills in serious leagues like Italian, Spanish or Russian. He was pretty good (not a monster) in (terrible) the Ukrainian league. I do not think it is a good sign. Bargniani was a star in Italy, Kirilenko was a star in Russia, Dirk did not play in a big league but he was a very famous young prospect. Yes, he has nice size but if he is really good why CSKA Moscow or Maccabi did not paid any attention to him??
 

Entity

Hall of Famer
#34
Just an Avis Wyatt update. On nbadraft.net he went from the time this thread opened being the very last pick in the second round mock draft he is now moving closer to the middle of the second round at #48
 
#35
One other one that might fall that I could see Geoff having an interest in is Ante Tomic, C from Croatia. Young, raw, and would likely stay abroad for a couple years, but has good tools and upside. At the moment, he seems to project to late-first to mid-second round...
 

Entity

Hall of Famer
#36
Yeah i dicounted him because he looks so stupid. I don't think I could watch a game with him playing just because he is so ugly and looks to be stupid.
 
#37
Fazekas in the second round? I thought late first.

Anyway, Dominic McGuire of Fresno State is my sleeper. Great hops, blocks shots, drives to the cup, rebounds well, and plays with a mean streak. I LOVE that. Owns the Bulldogs single season blocked shots record. Set it this past season. Stands at 6-8. Needs work on his jumper and free throws. I would love the Kings to get this guy. I wanted them to get my sleeper from last year, Paul Millsap. He turned out pretty good for the Jazz.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#38
Fazekas in the second round? I thought late first.

Anyway, Dominic McGuire of Fresno State is my sleeper. Great hops, blocks shots, drives to the cup, rebounds well, and plays with a mean streak. I LOVE that. Owns the Bulldogs single season blocked shots record. Set it this past season. Stands at 6-8. Needs work on his jumper and free throws. I would love the Kings to get this guy. I wanted them to get my sleeper from last year, Paul Millsap. He turned out pretty good for the Jazz.
If you wanted Millsap last year, I think you better give Petrie a ring on this guy.:)
 
#39
I think if you can pickup someone named Stanko, you have to do it.

Its a plain and simple no lose proposition. If the Kings do well next year, everyone can cheer to put stanko in at the end of blow-outs

"stank-0------STANK-0---- STAAAAAAAANNK-oooOOOOOOHHHH!"

and if the kings suck, then putting Stanko in can be symbolic of the season.... leading to the same cheer.


all together ssssssSSTaaaaAAAANNKOOOOOOOoooohhhh!
 
#40
Let's talk second rounders, because I'm increasingly thinking that we need some... or if we're super lucky, guys who should have been but go undrafted.

Stephane Lasme, who I was hoping for before, has unfortunately moved up in recent mock drafts, but is still mid-late second round:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_ekstrand/05/31/predraft.day.one/index.html

Here's a guy we could get with a late second, or who conceivably might even go undrafted: Ryvon Covile, the #7 rebounder in college ball.
6'7" barefoot, 6'8.5" in shoes, 6'9" in NBA-speak, 250 lbs., 7'1.25" wingspan, 8'11.5" standing reach, 25" no step vertical leap, 30.5" maximum vertical leap. 23 years old. Did so-so at lane agility, well at bench presses, otherwise fairly average at tests of athleticism -- which is fine, most bigs fare poorly at them.

College averages: 13.7 pts, 10.6 reb, 1.4 blk, .564 FG%, .623 FT%, in 33 minutes per game. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=12852

Far below the radar until very recently, he played for a small school (Detroit), but at the camps he outplayed a lot of guys from big schools, so now he's not quite so ignored.
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=1274

Draftexpress has him going at #55, Realgm has him at #49, nobody else seems to have him listed at all yet.

Anyway, I'm thinking that guys like Avis Wyatt, Taurean Green, Lasme and Covile could provide some of what we're not likely to get with our lonely #10 pick. I am really, really hoping that Petrie manages to get some second round picks out of a Miami/Artest deal... or in any other conceivable way.

 
#41
The reports on Wyatt aren't good at all. He's not a bad pick if you have a couple of 2nds and just throw him in the d league and see if he develops.

I'm liking Bobby Brown a lot.
 
#43
The reports on Wyatt aren't good at all. He's not a bad pick if you have a couple of 2nds and just throw him in the d league and see if he develops.

I'm liking Bobby Brown a lot.
I've heard some OK things about Brown, too.

Now I'm not sure what to think about Wyatt. Jason Smith had a bad case of nerves at the public workout, and stunk the place up, but has supposedly done a lot better at team workouts. If Wyatt is like that, it might make him all the more obtainable. If he's bad at private workouts, however, I'd agree that he belongs in the "project" category.
 
#45
Sun Yue is very intriguing.

His bad side is mostly that he's kind of unathletic, not that you'd know it from watching him play in the minors. He has very balanced skills, but only one that is obviously outstanding, and none which have been tested against tough competition.

His ball handling is great, and his play is totally selfless. He played PG before he went on a huge growth spurt, so now he's basically a 6'9" PG. This causes a lot of managers to view him as a white elephant, but we like those in Sac: PF Bonzi and PG Brad, for example. He may go undrafted, in which case I'd consider him to be an extremely low-risk proposition. I doubt that he'll ever start for an NBA team, but he might be good for bringing off the bench to create mismatches and run unexpected plays. Hopefully we'll have a coach who's willing to use his imagination and utilize things like that, because we're sure not going to win many games on the basis of pure athleticism.

Oh, and he really does seem to be 21, which is reassuring.
 
#46
Kyrylo Fesenko - Geoff went to the Ukraine for a reason, right? Chances are it was to check out this seven footer, who, according to Chad Ford, is a "Long, athletic big man with good agility and quickness." Question marks are that he's raw offensively and apparently he has some off-court issues.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?playerId=19003&draftyear=2007
Kyrylo Fesenko measured out to 7'1 1/2 in shoes, wingspan of 7'4" and a standing reach identical to Oden's 9'4".

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_22294.shtml

I could definetly see Petrie picking this kid if he gets a pick in the late 1st round or early 2nd. Sounds like he could be a contributor straight away.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#48
Kyrylo Fesenko measured out to 7'1 1/2 in shoes, wingspan of 7'4" and a standing reach identical to Oden's 9'4".

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_22294.shtml

I could definetly see Petrie picking this kid if he gets a pick in the late 1st round or early 2nd. Sounds like he could be a contributor straight away.

If Chad Ford says a foreing player can play, its pretty much the kiss of doom. Chad is a complete hack once he leaves U.S. shores.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#50
So Jianlian sucks as well?:confused:
You're right of course -- Chad has never met a foreign kid he didn't like, so its more a question of him completely lacking any ability to distinguish good from bad than them all being bad.

So revised: If Chad Ford is the only/primary source saying the kid can play, its the kiss of doom.
 
#51
If Chad Ford says a foreing player can play, its pretty much the kiss of doom. Chad is a complete hack once he leaves U.S. shores.
I provided the link purely for the measurements.

After firing Muss, Petrie went on to Ukraine and then the rest of europe. I very much doubt he went there for a couple of vodkas. He went there to watch prospects and Fesenko is the best prospect out of Ukraine.

What Chad Ford says really makes no difference.