Kings Select in the 2008 NBA DRAFT??

[=LarryLegend=]

Other Players Staying in the Draft: Mario Chalmers (Kansas), J.J. Hickson (N.C. State), Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis), Trent Plastied (BYU), Devon Jefferson (USC), George Hill (IUPUI), Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Derrick Rose (Memphis), Jerryd Bayless (Arizona), Brook Lopez (Stanford), Robin Lopez (Stanford), O.J. Mayo (USC), Russell Westbrook (UCLA), Anthony Randolph (LSU), Eric Gordon (Indiana), Kevin Love (UCLA), Darrell Arthur (Kansas), Donte Green (Syracuse), DeAndre Jordan (Texas), JaVale McGee (Nevada), Marreese Speights (Florida), Kosta Koufos (Ohio State), Brandon Rush (Kansas), Bill Walker (Kansas State), D.J. Augustin (Texas)

Other Players Going Back to School: Robert Vaden (UAB), Antonio Anderson (Memphis), Josh Carter (Texas A&M), Alonzo Gee (Alabama), Danny Green (North Carolina), Stefon Jackson (UTEP), Leo Lyons (Missouri), Jerel McNeal (Marquette), Josh Shipp (UCLA), Lee Cummard (BYU), Lorenzo Wade (San Diego State)

 

[hrdboild]

No one is talking about Speights in the lottery anymore (well, except realgm.com) but I think if we miss out on Randolph and Westbrook, I'd rather have Speights than DeAndre Jordan, Darell Arthur, or Joe Alexander. Joe Alexander is athletic, but he looks like more of a scorer than the versatile two-way player you want at SF. Not to mention SF is what we need the least. I think Speights has more talent than Arthur and a better body. He's already a much better rebounder and outside shooter with Arthur's only real advantage being the added exposure of being on a championship team. I don't see Petrie picking Jordan anyway. He doesn't usually take chances like that with the draft. Which is also why he'll probably go with Arthur instead of Speights. I'm just praying that Westbrook is still available because he would be a steal at #12 and Petrie probably wouldn't pass on him.

 

[nbrans]

Looks like Gallinari is in according to DraftExpress, quoting his website. Very good news.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

No one is talking about Speights in the lottery anymore (well, except realgm.com) but I think if we miss out on Randolph and Westbrook, I'd rather have Speights than DeAndre Jordan, Darell Arthur, or Joe Alexander. Joe Alexander is athletic, but he looks like more of a scorer than the versatile two-way player you want at SF. Not to mention SF is what we need the least. I think Speights has more talent than Arthur and a better body. He's already a much better rebounder and outside shooter with Arthur's only real advantage being the added exposure of being on a championship team. I don't see Petrie picking Jordan anyway. He doesn't usually take chances like that with the draft. Which is also why he'll probably go with Arthur instead of Speights. I'm just praying that Westbrook is still available because he would be a steal at #12 and Petrie probably wouldn't pass on him.

i agree with you when it comes to westbrook but if you think about it a SF ( if it is the BPA ) wouldnt be a horrible idea .. i'd take alexander/arthur over speights in a second .. what it comes down to is that if ron is here this year he probly wont be next year and we'll need a new SF (alexander?) .. some may say what about garcia? well i think hes best off the bench .. a player every team needs (see james posey) he can knock down the three, play good defense, bring a ton of energy and handle the ball well being able to back up sf and sg .. i seriously believe salmons will be out of the picture soon ... to basically sum up this post as far as who the kings have a shot at i like westbrook,augustin,randolph,arthur,alexander in that order

 

[bajaden]

Part of an article from draftexpress:

-Two players we haven’t heard great things about from their workouts so far as DeAndre Jordan and JaVale McGee. Both have reportedly been outplayed by lower rated prospects such as Alexis Ajinca (in Charlotte) and Roy Hibbert. Jordan has not impressed anyone by showing up for his job interview (what this is essentially) in a t-shirt and shorts while players such as Hibbert and Courtney Lee arrived prepared to get down to business in a suit and tie. Jordan, in the words of one scout "could drop right out of the lottery" if he isn't careful, based off the way he's been working out. Hibbert on the other hand has gotten some strong reviews from teams who have seen him so far, as he appears to be in excellent shape and is reminding people why he was considered a lock for the lottery just a year ago, running the floor well (better than his peers), finishing with either hand around the basket, and shooting the ball better than expected from outside. Not surprisingly, the 21-year old Georgetown product has been extremely impressive off the court as well—which is an underrated element in this process

 

[bajaden]

i agree with you when it comes to westbrook but if you think about it a SF ( if it is the BPA ) wouldnt be a horrible idea .. i'd take alexander/arthur over speights in a second .. what it comes down to is that if ron is here this year he probly wont be next year and we'll need a new SF (alexander?) .. some may say what about garcia? well i think hes best off the bench .. a player every team needs (see james posey) he can knock down the three, play good defense, bring a ton of energy and handle the ball well being able to back up sf and sg .. i seriously believe salmons will be out of the picture soon ... to basically sum up this post as far as who the kings have a shot at i like westbrook,augustin,randolph,arthur,alexander in that order

My gut tells me that Alexander is playing well enough in the workouts that he'll be taken before we pick. I happen to like him. He's raw for sure, but has just as much upside as any of the other raw talents out there. Maybe more. He's a good rebounder for a so called SF, and I think could play a little PF with the right match up. He's very strong and has a good cross over dribble. He is turnover prone, but not because he can't handle the ball as some have said, but because he plays out of control too much. He's a decent to good passer, but forces the ball sometimes when he shouldn't. Contray to what someone else said, he is very quick to the basket. Thats where he scores most of his points. He's a good finisher and a good garbage player. Other than that, he stinks.

 

[hrdboild]

i agree with you when it comes to westbrook but if you think about it a SF ( if it is the BPA ) wouldnt be a horrible idea .. i'd take alexander/arthur over speights in a second .. what it comes down to is that if ron is here this year he probly wont be next year and we'll need a new SF (alexander?) .. some may say what about garcia? well i think hes best off the bench .. a player every team needs (see james posey) he can knock down the three, play good defense, bring a ton of energy and handle the ball well being able to back up sf and sg .. i seriously believe salmons will be out of the picture soon ... to basically sum up this post as far as who the kings have a shot at i like westbrook,augustin,randolph,arthur,alexander in that order

I'm not necessarily against us drafting a SF if it's BPA. If Anthony Randolph is available (and he's definitely a SF) I would jump at the chance to draft him because he's got top 10 talent. But I think Joe Alexander is a mid-first round player who's getting hyped up mostly because he's got a 40" vertical and he looks good in workouts shooting the ball. Even if Artest is gone in a year and SF becomes a problem again, I don't think Alexander is a safe bet to secure a starting spot.

I'm curious though why you'd take Arthur over Speights in a second. Is that based on the scouting reports or do you have some firsthand knowledge? I saw Speights play a couple times and I only say Arthur play once and on the basis of that and everything I've read, I've got Speights in my top 10 overall and Arthur somewhere around 15. I don't see anything that Arthur does better than Speights. They're both the same age, Speights had better stats in the same number of minutes, and Speights is at least an inch taller and weighs 30 pounds more (which matters a lot at PF). Like I said before, the only advantage Arthur has over Speights is the name recognition and national exposure that comes from playing on a better team.

 

[beb0p]

Part of an article from draftexpress:

-Two players we haven’t heard great things about from their workouts so far as DeAndre Jordan and JaVale McGee. Both have reportedly been outplayed by lower rated prospects such as Alexis Ajinca (in Charlotte) and Roy Hibbert.

I read that article too but I'm curious, I know at least Larry Brown gave a semi-thumb up on Jordan, the folowing is from Brown:

(On DeAndre Jordan)
I speak to his coach (Mark Turgeon) almost daily. I was really encouraged. I had no idea he was this explosive. He’s very coachable and wants to get better. We can’t lose sight that a lot of these kids are barely 20. Young big kids take a little longer to develop. When they are barely 20 and that explosive and athletic and conscientious, you have a pretty good situation.

I know Mark (Turgeon) thought the world of him and Mark wants what’s best for him. Mark thought if he was going to come out and be an early pick that was something that he should do. Mark said he’s a young kid that wants to get better. It was new to him and the Big 12 is pretty competitive. I remember watching Tim Duncan as a freshman. He wasn’t the finished product we saw after being with Dave (Odom) for four years. He got better and better and better. This kid (Jordan) is so athletic and so quick. I think he’s a good guy. He’s working out in Philly with a terrific teacher in John Hardnett. John’s real excited about his progress. If it was me, I wish they would all, like Roy, go to school for four years and have great coaching. Then when they got to this level, it would be a lot easier. If you draft any of these young kids, it might take time. I’m okay with that.


http://www.nba.com/bobcats/2008_draft_workouts_day3.html

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I'm not necessarily against us drafting a SF if it's BPA. If Anthony Randolph is available (and he's definitely a SF) I would jump at the chance to draft him because he's got top 10 talent. But I think Joe Alexander is a mid-first round player who's getting hyped up mostly because he's got a 40" vertical and he looks good in workouts shooting the ball. Even if Artest is gone in a year and SF becomes a problem again, I don't think Alexander is a safe bet to secure a starting spot.

I'm curious though why you'd take Arthur over Speights in a second. Is that based on the scouting reports or do you have some firsthand knowledge? I saw Speights play a couple times and I only say Arthur play once and on the basis of that and everything I've read, I've got Speights in my top 10 overall and Arthur somewhere around 15. I don't see anything that Arthur does better than Speights. They're both the same age, Speights had better stats in the same number of minutes, and Speights is at least an inch taller and weighs 30 pounds more (which matters a lot at PF). Like I said before, the only advantage Arthur has over Speights is the name recognition and national exposure that comes from playing on a better team.

speights is a good player, and i probly shouldnt have thrown in that "in a second" comment but none the less i'd rather have arthur and heres why .. although speights is a tad bigger arthurs athletisism makes up for that IMO, another point i'd like to make is that speights really didnt have any other good players on his team, you could make the argument that this made his numbers even more impressive but i feel like this allowed him to be the star of a mediocre team while arthur was the star of a national champion, he got his numbers playing with fellow potential first rounders mario chalmers and brandon rush who all like to score but arthur still did what he did...they are both young, both have potential, both basically play the same position, both play a position of need so i'd take either.. i think arthur has higher potential because of his athleticism .. theres no reason why he cant put on some muscle and he seems like the kind of kid with the work ethic to do it

 

[gunks]

My only beef with Arthur is that he is not that great a rebounder. At all. And considering he'd be playing alongside Hawes this would be troubling. Speights crashes the boards, and honestly we havent really had a player on the Kings that does that since Bonzi. Then again there's been no word of Petrie working out Speights so it may be a moot point. I think GP finds rebounding aesthetically unpleasing or something.


Interesting draft though, there's going to be a few good players available when we pick, all with their pros and cons. I think Arthur is the one I'd want the least, but even with that being said I wouldnt be too butthurt if he ended up our pick.

 

[hrdboild]

Yeah, I wouldn't be crushed if we got Arthur either. The rebounding numbers are troubling, but I didn't watch the games so the players around him could have affected that. He would fill a need for us, even if I'm not in love with his potential. It's all a guessing game anyway. I thought drafting Hawes was worst case scenario last year, and looking back now it looks like it might have been the best pick so I probably shouldn't get carried away with critisizing anybody. We're going to get a good player regardless. I like the group this year.

 

[SacTownKid]

My only beef with Arthur is that he is not that great a rebounder. At all. And considering he'd be playing alongside Hawes this would be troubling. Speights crashes the boards, and honestly we havent really had a player on the Kings that does that since Bonzi. Then again there's been no word of Petrie working out Speights so it may be a moot point. I think GP finds rebounding aesthetically unpleasing or something.


Interesting draft though, there's going to be a few good players available when we pick, all with their pros and cons. I think Arthur is the one I'd want the least, but even with that being said I wouldnt be too butthurt if he ended up our pick.

I think we were one of the teams that went to Golden State for the mass workout and Speights was there.

 

[Packt]

Lawson is going back to UNC.

 

[beb0p]

You're seriously underrating Randolph. I think Geoff likes Arthur a lot also.

Well, the way I see it, it works like this: if Westbrook and Alexander are shooting up the draft then someone has to fall. I agree that if Randolph falls to #12, it'll be a steal. But there is just not enough room for all these guys to go high; I see Gordon, Jordan, Gallinari, and Randolph as the most likely to fall, for different reasons. Though, in Gordon's case, he may "fall" from 6 to 10, but probably not any lower. But Randolph I can see falling, even if I won't bet on it.

Arthur is a guy who is all over the board. He has worked out or had scheduled to work out from #5 to #21. That's a really big gap. I don't think anyone has a grip on where he's going.

 

[gunks]

I think we were one of the teams that went to Golden State for the mass workout and Speights was there.

Ah really?

Thanks for the info

 

[Smills91]

I think we were one of the teams that went to Golden State for the mass workout and Speights was there.

Link? i hadn't heard that.

 

[hrdboild]

Apparently Speights is coming to Sacramento:

Thompson and Speights were both headed to workouts in Sacramento while [D.J.] White was stopping next in Denver.

Draft News from Salt Lake Tribune

 

[CruzDude]

If we look at the Consensus Draft of the 12 Mocks I'm following and factor in three relative new items: Alexander has moved up into the top 12, and Gallinari is an 80% bet to go to play in Italy and DeAndre Jordan's stock has dropped, then Westbrook, Augustin and Alexander are all off the board for the Kings at #12.

And if one of the rising bigs, Hibbert or Ajinca, pops up into the top 11, then the other big or any one of the three above suddenly become available at #12.

All this complicated by the fact that the Kings cannot even talk to much less make an offer to Beno until 5 days AFTER the draft. We HAVE to assume Beno is back with Kings as the starting PG along with RonRon, Kevin, Mikki and Brad. So a good backup PG is not likely to be available at #12 but several bigs should be.

 

[gunks]

Apparently Speights is coming to Sacramento:

Draft News from Salt Lake Tribune

Right on!

I really want us to get him at 12.

 

[KCKingsCountry]

I know you guys are looking at Arthur's rebound numbers remember this, he split time at PF with Darnell Jackson. He got around 6 to 7 a game I believe, havent looked at their stats in awhile. Also Kaun and Aldrich were a pretty good center combo for college that took away some of the numbers. Its just hard to get a read on guys with so much talent on that team. But one game really sticks out for me and it was his freshman year against Florida. Arthur was a man among boys that game, and that was against Horfield and Noah.

 

[bajaden]

I know you guys are looking at Arthur's rebound numbers remember this, he split time at PF with Darnell Jackson. He got around 6 to 7 a game I believe, havent looked at their stats in awhile. Also Kaun and Aldrich were a pretty good center combo for college that took away some of the numbers. Its just hard to get a read on guys with so much talent on that team. But one game really sticks out for me and it was his freshman year against Florida. Arthur was a man among boys that game, and that was against Horfield and Noah.

The thing that bothered me about Arthur was his lack of aggression at going after the ball. At times during games he just seemed passive to me. I've never had a huge problem with his talent, I'm just not sure about his motor. Right now My first choice for a big, and I'm refering to who should be available, is Speights. I wouldn't turn down Randoff if he were available.
The article from draftexpress also said that Arthur didn't show for the workout at the Warriors facility. He didn't call or give any reasons for his absence. Could be he got a promise from a team he recently worked out with. Just a thought, since one of those teams was the Kings.

 

[gunks]

Been a lot of that rumor goin around...I really hope we dont get Arthur if Speights, Alexander, Randolph, or Westbrook are still on the table.

I'm scared that Petrie will 'pull a Douby' this draft (I'm still bitter we didnt get Rondo haha). Here's to hoping Speights hits a lot of jumpers during the workout.

 

[Packt]

I doubt Arthur got a promise from anyone. More than likely he's hurt and doesn't want to hurt his stock any further.

 

[bajaden]

I doubt Arthur got a promise from anyone. More than likely he's hurt and doesn't want to hurt his stock any further.

You could be right, but I'm not sure he's not doing himself a disservice if thats the case. If I were a GM, I'd think more kindly of someone if they had a legit excuse, rather than just not showing up. Hmmm. He did sign with an agent, didn't he? If so, I'm surprised his agent didn't say something.

 

[Smills91]

I doubt Arthur got a promise from anyone. More than likely he's hurt and doesn't want to hurt his stock any further.

It's definitely a possibility, but he's STANDING THEM UP though. He didn't call and tell them. SO that tells me your hypothesis is probably a secondary one. I think Geoff gave him a promise at #12.

 

[dmj]

It's definitely a possibility, but he's STANDING THEM UP though. He didn't call and tell them. SO that tells me your hypothesis is probably a secondary one. I think Geoff gave him a promise at #12.

Why would Arthur cancel workouts for teams in front of us if we gave him a promise?

 

[=LarryLegend=]

I dont know why, but Arthur to me looks like a kings player.

 

[beb0p]

It's unlike Petrie to give a promise when he didn't even see the whole field yet. Remember one day before the draft in 2004, the Kings gave Martin a second workout that sealed the deal. So the Kings didn't make up their minds until the 11th hour. I just don't think Petrie and his coaching staff has reached a consensus when there is still over a week to go.

Or maybe Arthur had an amazing workout. I guess we'll see.

 

[bajaden]

It's unlike Petrie to give a promise when he didn't even see the whole field yet. Remember one day before the draft in 2004, the Kings gave Martin a second workout that sealed the deal. So the Kings didn't make up their minds until the 11th hour. I just don't think Petrie and his coaching staff has reached a consensus when there is still over a week to go.

Or maybe Arthur had an amazing workout. I guess we'll see.

I believe he did work out for a couple of teams that pick before us, so its possible that one of them could have given him a promise. Hey, its just fun speculation.

Also, remember that according to the Arenas Camp, Petrie gave them a promise, that he didn't keep.

 

[Packt]

Arthur hasn't hired an agent. The Bee reported Arthur had some back pain when working out with us.