Athleticism can sometimes be a little overrated when it comes to talking about transitioning to the NBA. Boozer is hardly an elite athlete, hell Zach Randolf has manage to be a very good low post threat while being a very poor athlete. When you look at the skills Love has on the offensive end i find it hard to believe hes gonna be a bust. Love can score in the low post not because he pushes around little guys but because he use his frame and foot work to get excellent position and creates space for himself. Thats not gonna change in the NBA, he's not gonna be doing it at the same level he is now but like Randolf its gonna be hard to keep a player with his strength and skill from be effective in the low post. I have never doubted Loves abilities on the offensive end. My concern comes on the defensive end where he is a poor defender and his lack of athleticism is just going to exacerbate the weaknesses he already has.
Kings Select in the 2008 NBA DRAFT??
- Thread starter =LarryLegend=
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Last season i can see why people questioned Thabeet's desire but he has taken huge strides in that respect over the past year. He's become much more aggressive on both sides of the ball which has been the biggest factor in his improvement. Thabbeet is what he is, a defender and rebounder who happens to be 7'3. If you expect him to be a low post player or do much on the offensive end you are gonna be disappointed. I think Thabeet is gonna be a good player but he is still raw. If he's smart he stays another year at Connecticut and learn all he can from Jim Calhoun.
First off Madsen was in college for four years, and only reached his peak in his junior year if I remember correctly. Stanford had a great team if I am remembering correctly. Love has done more in his freshman year than Madsen all four years at Stanford.
Morrison played well his rookie year, and was set to start this season. He's not a bust by any means yet..
Trajon Langdon is an undersized 2 guard which was his first flaw, and never quite made it.
Michael Bradley is a good reference to your argument. He did well after transferring to Villanova, and was considered a good post player coming out of college, with a lack of defensive skills. Can it happen to Love? Definitely.
Dunno man.. You say there will always be a place for a 7'3 athlete. I wouldn't want one on my team if all he gave me was size. It's just not going to help any. I wouldn't want Love either if all he gave me was a big unathletic body either.
But lets say for a minute that this years college stats translated into the NBA for both players, and we were addressing a need for the Kings I would have to take Love.
Brook is playing PF when his brother is on the floor right now. Can Brook do it in the NBA? Not sure.. I think Hawes would be better apt to play PF because Hawes is smaller, and lighter. Hawes has a better inside out game than Brook. From what I have seen of Brook he generally plays inside a lot more than Hawes did in college. Hawes, and Lopez both can handle the ball well.
I guess my answer would be I don't know.. whatever the matchup brings if who Brook/Hawes defend. It does not matter which starts where. Brook could be listed at starting center, but if the opposing PF is stronger than the opposing center than you will see Brook guard the PF.
Brook is expected to go top 5 though so i don't think we have a chance of getting him unless we sign and trade Artest and out pick. Even that probably wouldn't net us a top pick.
I guess my answer would be I don't know.. whatever the matchup brings if who Brook/Hawes defend. It does not matter which starts where. Brook could be listed at starting center, but if the opposing PF is stronger than the opposing center than you will see Brook guard the PF.
Brook is expected to go top 5 though so i don't think we have a chance of getting him unless we sign and trade Artest and out pick. Even that probably wouldn't net us a top pick.
I think the PF-C thing is moot if you had Brook and Hawes. I would love to draft Lopez. He's a very good post player and a very good shot blocker. His passing out of the low post is still a work in progress, but better this year than last. I think Brook will be a very good NBA player, and maybe a great one. He's a hard worker with a lot of desire. Unfortunately, he won't be there when we pick, unless we find a way to trade up or aquire another higher pick. One can always dream.
looks like we'll have the 12th pick! YESSSS!!!! if we keep up with this pace
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/lottery2008/mockdraft
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/lottery2008/mockdraft
I would like your definition of soft. To me, soft is not wanting to get in and mix it up. To avoid contact. It has nothing to do with a players limitations. People throw that word around and they don't know what the hell their talking about.
People call Miller soft. I don't think Brad is soft, I just don't think he has the capability to do the things we would like him to do, but its not for lack of trying. If you have watched Brook Lopez play and you think he's soft, then we have nothing to talk about, because were watching different things.
I have watched every televised game that Stanford has played this year, and there are reasons to be critical of Brooks game, but being soft is not one of them. He's one of the best shot blockers in the pac-10, and seldom are shot blockers called soft.
People call Miller soft. I don't think Brad is soft, I just don't think he has the capability to do the things we would like him to do, but its not for lack of trying. If you have watched Brook Lopez play and you think he's soft, then we have nothing to talk about, because were watching different things.
I have watched every televised game that Stanford has played this year, and there are reasons to be critical of Brooks game, but being soft is not one of them. He's one of the best shot blockers in the pac-10, and seldom are shot blockers called soft.
My Draft Board:
Beasley (never going to happen)
Jerryd Bayless
DJ Augustine
Anthony Randolph
The deal is we need a freakishly athletic forward to play next to Miller/Hawes. We haven't drafted anybody like that since Gerald Wallace. The reason for that is because they are often very raw in terms of basketball. We need a guy who can get up there and rebound and block shots. Anthony Randolph can do that, and he's quick enough to play the 3. He is being compared to a Shawn Marion. Not only that, he is very young and left-handed. Imagine a frontline of Cisco/Salmons, Randolph (19 at this time next year,) and Hawes (20 this time next year.) Wont win you a lot of games, but should compliment each other quite well. Maybe you get a Udrih/Lawson and Kmart/Batum backcourt. Hopefully Lawson/Batum will fall to our 2nd round picks haha.
Beasley (never going to happen)
Jerryd Bayless
DJ Augustine
Anthony Randolph
The deal is we need a freakishly athletic forward to play next to Miller/Hawes. We haven't drafted anybody like that since Gerald Wallace. The reason for that is because they are often very raw in terms of basketball. We need a guy who can get up there and rebound and block shots. Anthony Randolph can do that, and he's quick enough to play the 3. He is being compared to a Shawn Marion. Not only that, he is very young and left-handed. Imagine a frontline of Cisco/Salmons, Randolph (19 at this time next year,) and Hawes (20 this time next year.) Wont win you a lot of games, but should compliment each other quite well. Maybe you get a Udrih/Lawson and Kmart/Batum backcourt. Hopefully Lawson/Batum will fall to our 2nd round picks haha.
What about Conley? 
I don't think they will be looking to draft another PG. It would be a good move on their part to draft a PF or C. DeAndre Jordan/Brook Lopez comes to mind, and they can pick either one of them up with the 4th-6th picks.
I don't think they will be looking to draft another PG. It would be a good move on their part to draft a PF or C. DeAndre Jordan/Brook Lopez comes to mind, and they can pick either one of them up with the 4th-6th picks.
. ThanksAnybody willing to trade Hawes and maybe a future 1st for that pick? Not that I want to trade Hawes, but that's probably the only chance we would have of getting Rose
Completely forgot about Conley . Thanks
Anybody willing to trade Hawes and maybe a future 1st for that pick? Not that I want to trade Hawes, but that's probably the only chance we would have of getting Rose
. ThanksAnybody willing to trade Hawes and maybe a future 1st for that pick? Not that I want to trade Hawes, but that's probably the only chance we would have of getting Rose
I say draft either Randoff or Thompson unless someone unexpected slides to us.
Certainly the need is greatest at the 4, but that's been true for awhile and the draft hasn't worked out in that direction. There's a lot of good PF prospects this year, but it's unknown now which of them will stay in the draft. Unless we get really lucky, the odds are against the best player available being a PF and except for Kevin Martin likely playing SG for the forseeable future, there are question marks about every other position. We've got to go after whichever player is most likely to be an All-Star. That's always the standard. Opinions will differ on who that player is, but that should still be the standard.
unless you want to trade Kevin Martin we don't have the ammo on the team to trade up to get a top 3 pick... I'm skeptical we have the ammo on the roster to trade up even one spot without including Martin.
Frankly Hawes has had a freshman year in which it was revealed he had a longer history of knee problems than previously known, and he really couldn't break into the lineup on a team with one of the worst front lines in the league. I don't think his trade value is worth much at the moment.
(keep in mind im not saying Hawes can't or won't be good, just being realistic about his trade value)
Unless we're able to sign and trade Artest I think we're pretty much stuck with a similar situation to last years. A low lottery pick and hoping someone slips.
Frankly Hawes has had a freshman year in which it was revealed he had a longer history of knee problems than previously known, and he really couldn't break into the lineup on a team with one of the worst front lines in the league. I don't think his trade value is worth much at the moment.
(keep in mind im not saying Hawes can't or won't be good, just being realistic about his trade value)
Unless we're able to sign and trade Artest I think we're pretty much stuck with a similar situation to last years. A low lottery pick and hoping someone slips.
I don't know anything about him aside from what's in the profile on nbadraft.net. Keep in mind that, especially at this point in time several months before the draft, the draft sites are not to be used as ANY sort of prediction - they're basically just ranking the players in the draft as they see them. They have to guess who's going to make themselves available for the draft, any they can't gauge team need at each slot because the picks aren't set.
Since he hasn't been on their board except for the last few days, they must have gotten some impression that he was considering declaring for the draft. How he jumps in at 12th, I don't know, as high-ceiling 7-foot centers who are going to declare for the draft after their sophomore season don't usually go to small schools like Nevada. I'd take it, like anything else on a draft board this time of year, with a grain of salt.
Since he hasn't been on their board except for the last few days, they must have gotten some impression that he was considering declaring for the draft. How he jumps in at 12th, I don't know, as high-ceiling 7-foot centers who are going to declare for the draft after their sophomore season don't usually go to small schools like Nevada. I'd take it, like anything else on a draft board this time of year, with a grain of salt.
^^ I assume you mean Draft Express? Or is there another site that I don't know about?? And yeah, it's waayyy too early to be taking these draft sites seriously. Many of these players may still return to college, and draft positions aren't determined yet, and that could change the way the whole draft turns out