and with the #1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft the Kings select...

[nbrans]

I think Hansbrough will be better than Madsen. He is stronger than people give him credit for. NBA strong? Not yet, but he will be.

A lot of people said the same thing about Love, and he's doing REAL well for being a rookie off the bench. In two years I wouldn't be surprised if Love, and Jefferson were tearing it up in Minny. Have watched a lot of Minnesota BBALL this year, and he's doing a lot of things good.

I don't think people were saying Love wasn't strong, they were saying he's just not that athletic. And really, look at Love's shooting percentage. Yes, he's rebounding the ball extremely well because of his strength, but 42% is pretty horrendous for a power forward, and that has a lot to do with him not being able to get good shots because he's not that tall and athletic.

Hansbrough is not built like Love, Haslem, Boozer all those other strong dudes. He's wiry and not that wide. Without hops (which he doesn't have) I really don't think he's going to do much. He's got a good motor and some decent skills, but that's about it.

 

[beb0p]

It's easy to forget that Hansbrough is older than than the average senior. He'll be turning 24 when he starts his first NBA season, he's almost two years older than Darren Collison, another senior. It usually takes the big guys more time to soak in the experience, and by the time Hansbrough has a few seasons under his belt he'll be nearing the magic age 29, when most players start to decline. If he doesn't land on a team that plays him right-away, he may run out of time before he establishes himself.

As for Thabeet, he too is another player who's older than you think. A junior, but older than many seniors, he'll be turning 23 mid-way through his first NBA season (assuming he declares this year). I think he's someone who you need to be patient with. Imo, it'll take 3 to 4 years for him to finally figure it out. So basically he'll be 26/27 by the time he fulfills his potential. And then you have maybe a 3-4 years of peak performance before the inevitable decline.

I think Thabeet has enormous upside. The question is: is it worth it to wait that long for him to develop? I'm not against drafting Thabeet, but his development may not fit our timeframe. And second, how do we develop three young bigs at the same time? Just off the top of my head, I don't recall any team had done this with success.

 

[Spike]

It's easy to forget that Hansbrough is older than than the average senior. He'll be turning 24 when he starts his first NBA season, he's almost two years older than Darren Collison, another senior. It usually takes the big guys more time to soak in the experience, and by the time Hansbrough has a few seasons under his belt he'll be nearing the magic age 29, when most players start to decline. If he doesn't land on a team that plays him right-away, he may run out of time before he establishes himself.

As for Thabeet, he too is another player who's older than you think. A junior, but older than many seniors, he'll be turning 23 mid-way through his first NBA season (assuming he declares this year). I think he's someone who you need to be patient with. Imo, it'll take 3 to 4 years for him to finally figure it out. So basically he'll be 26/27 by the time he fulfills his potential. And then you have maybe a 3-4 years of peak performance before the inevitable decline.

I think Thabeet has enormous upside. The question is: is it worth it to wait that long for him to develop? I'm not against drafting Thabeet, but his development may not fit our timeframe. And second, how do we develop three young bigs at the same time? Just off the top of my head, I don't recall any team had done this with success.

If you take the other side of the coin, their age also implies that they are more ready to make a contribution to their team than someone who is younger.

 

[asakkings]

After thinking about it I would be so down for getting thabeet, because there are couple teams with real big centers that we will have to deal with in the future. It would be nice to have a defensive jaggurnaut in the middle, hoping that he can become that beast. Plus it would be beneficial for Hawes to deal with a big center in practice so he wont get owned everytime in a real game.

 

[bajaden]

UConn/Villanova -

Villanova is a small team, and their strategy seemed to be "Foul Thabeet on every rebound." Which worked!! The refs didn't call anything, but meanwhile he got into foul trouble on some ticky tack stuff, only played 17 minutes, then looked like he banged his knee. Sometimes it sucks to be the big man.

He hit his free throws and hit a really tough alley-oop for the and-one, drew a tough charge using some quick footwork, hit a solid jump hook, even dove on the floor to save a loose ball, had a great block in crunch time to secure the win.

Didn't think he looked aniemic at all, Entity.

Here's what I don't understand, so maybe you can explain it to me. You'll pick out two or three good things the Thabeet does to nuture your love of him and ignore the things he doesn't do or the things he does wrong. The things that he does do on occasion, Griffin does all the time every night, night in and night out, and yet you like Thabeet more than Griffin.

Mullen's has had maybe two good games all year, and I using the word Good, liberally. This kid is 3 or 4 years away from being ready to play in the NBA and have any kind of an impact. I like Teague, but you said it yourself. He's not a point guard and probably never will be. I guess we just see things differently and I happen to like skilled players as opposed to players that I hope will become skilled.

 

[bajaden]

If you take the other side of the coin, their age also implies that they are more ready to make a contribution to their team than someone who is younger.

They're age also says that if they haven't figured it out by now, they might never figure it out.

 

[nbrans]

Here's what I don't understand, so maybe you can explain it to me. You'll pick out two or three good things the Thabeet does to nuture your love of him and ignore the things he doesn't do or the things he does wrong. The things that he does do on occasion, Griffin does all the time every night, night in and night out, and yet you like Thabeet more than Griffin.

Mullen's has had maybe two good games all year, and I using the word Good, liberally. This kid is 3 or 4 years away from being ready to play in the NBA and have any kind of an impact. I like Teague, but you said it yourself. He's not a point guard and probably never will be. I guess we just see things differently and I happen to like skilled players as opposed to players that I hope will become skilled.

Eh? Did you watch the game last night? I thought Thabeet played pretty well, other than the foul trouble. The other night when he played terribly and looked awkward in the first half I said he played terribly and looked awkward.

I like most of what Griffin does on the court, other than his defense. I just worry that the things he does aren't necessarily going to translate to the NBA. Most games Griffin is the biggest, strongest, most athletic guy on the court, and that's just not going to be the case in the NBA. A lot of this will depend on his measurements, but still, he's going to have an adjustment period in the NBA.

On the other hand, put Thabeet in the NBA and he's still going to be the tallest guy on the court against 29 teams. He's going to have to adjust to the quickness of the NBA, but what he does in college he'll mostly be able to do in the NBA.

But hey, I still have Griffin ranked ahead because of his athleticism and nascent skills. If he measures out at 6'9" or 6'10" he should be the #1 pick. If he's 6'8", I really worry about his star potential.

 

[beb0p]

If you take the other side of the coin, their age also implies that they are more ready to make a contribution to their team than someone who is younger.

Hansbrough for sure. Thabeet probably not.

 

[bajaden]

Eh? Did you watch the game last night? I thought Thabeet played pretty well, other than the foul trouble. The other night when he played terribly and looked awkward in the first half I said he played terribly and looked awkward.

I like most of what Griffin does on the court, other than his defense. I just worry that the things he does aren't necessarily going to translate to the NBA. Most games Griffin is the biggest, strongest, most athletic guy on the court, and that's just not going to be the case in the NBA. A lot of this will depend on his measurements, but still, he's going to have an adjustment period in the NBA.

On the other hand, put Thabeet in the NBA and he's still going to be the tallest guy on the court against 29 teams. He's going to have to adjust to the quickness of the NBA, but what he does in college he'll mostly be able to do in the NBA.

But hey, I still have Griffin ranked ahead because of his athleticism and nascent skills. If he measures out at 6'9" or 6'10" he should be the #1 pick. If he's 6'8", I really worry about his star potential.

Fair enough. I watched the game today against Wake Forrest. Not sure if it was live or a repeat on the college channel. He played pretty well, especially at the end. I really want to believe in this guy. There's still time left with the tournament and all. Who knows? I may yet worship at the altar of Thabeet.

 

[nbrans]

^Do you mean Villanova? Have they played Wake?

 

[nbrans]

Georgetown/West Virginia-

Monroe had a really sweet and very quick spin move and blew the layup. Played some soft help D though and picked up a bad and-one. Had two seriously sweet backdoor passes that Divac would have been proud of, then came back on D and showed some decent hops on a good helpside block! Some bad bad defensive rebounding led to three chances and a putback for WVU (and no one's that big on their team). Showed some great anticipation and stole a pass under the hoop from WVU and made a nice layup. Had an ugly driving layup blocked by a small guy, got fouled on the putback. Drove from the top of the key for a tough and-one. Stole the ball at halfcourt, drove down the floor, went up over a guard for an and-one. If this guy would just grab some freaking rebounds I might could get excited. It's absolutely ridiculous that WVU outrebounded Georgetown considering how much smaller they are, but Monroe was never in position and never grabbed anything but gimmes.

DeJuan Summers: My kingdom for a midrange game!! My kingdom for a midrange game!!

 

[Kingster]

Here's what I don't understand, so maybe you can explain it to me. You'll pick out two or three good things the Thabeet does to nuture your love of him and ignore the things he doesn't do or the things he does wrong. The things that he does do on occasion, Griffin does all the time every night, night in and night out, and yet you like Thabeet more than Griffin.

Mullen's has had maybe two good games all year, and I using the word Good, liberally. This kid is 3 or 4 years away from being ready to play in the NBA and have any kind of an impact. I like Teague, but you said it yourself. He's not a point guard and probably never will be. I guess we just see things differently and I happen to like skilled players as opposed to players that I hope will become skilled.

Well, to be fair to nbrans, he has posted about Thabeet's highly inconsistent play. Personally, I don't like Griffin or Thabeet. So there!

 

[Kingster]

The more I see, the more I read, these name players like Griffin and Harden and Monroe are not where the strength of this draft is going to be. It's in the middle of the draft where there will be players with NBA potential because of their athleticism, but don't grab you now because they are still raw - Aminu, T. Williams, Blair, Clark, Singleton, etc., etc. Relatively, speaking, I get the distinct sense that this is a draft where you really want to have more picks in the first round rather than a very high pick in the first round (Rubio might be the exception). If we end up in the top 3, and some team falls in love with say, Monroe, maybe we can trade down for more picks. Then you end up with three or four picks and you can take guys with a high potential ceiling, knowing that one or two might not pan out.

 

[nbrans]

The more I see, the more I read, these name players like Griffin and Harden and Monroe are not where the strength of this draft is going to be. It's in the middle of the draft where there will be players with NBA potential because of their athleticism, but don't grab you now because they are still raw - Aminu, T. Williams, Blair, Clark, Singleton, etc., etc. Relatively, speaking, I get the distinct sense that this is a draft where you really want to have more picks in the first round rather than a very high pick in the first round (Rubio might be the exception). If we end up in the top 3, and some team falls in love with say, Monroe, maybe we can trade down for more picks. Then you end up with three or four picks and you can take guys with a high potential ceiling, knowing that one or two might not pan out.

I agree with you on the premise (that the players at the top might not end up being the best) not necessarily with the players you choose, although who knows. But there are going to be guys lower down who wind up better or as good the guys at the top, IMO, just like 2000, when the guys who went 16-20 were better than the guys who went 1-6.

 

[Gary]

Sure enough conference play has dropped Thabeet's averages even with the two monster games he had =/

If I were a GM I would be deathly afraid of drafting this guy.

 

[nbrans]

^Honestly though, last night he had a poor game statistically because of foul trouble but he looked good. We'll see how he finishes the season, but I don't think he's fading.

 

[wonjaeyou]

This year's draft is ridiculous!!

There is no lock down #1 pick!

I don't want Griffin, Hills, Monroe, nor Thabeet to be Kings!

And Curry, Teague, Holiday, and Clark have many question marks around them!!

I think Harden is the only player who are ready for NBA that I want in Kings uniform.

But then, I don't think he is worth #1 pick!!!

This is just ridiculous!!

Why did we pick this year to suck!!!

 

[bajaden]

This year's draft is ridiculous!!

There is no lock down #1 pick!

I don't want Griffin, Hills, Monroe, nor Thabeet to be Kings!

And Curry, Teague, Holiday, and Clark have many question marks around them!!

I think Harden is the only player who are ready for NBA that I want in Kings uniform.

But then, I don't think he is worth #1 pick!!!

This is just ridiculous!!

Why did we pick this year to suck!!!

Calm thyself. Its still early. Last year, except for the top two spots, players continued to switch places right up till the end of the season. The tournament is where you can begin to place players in the proper order. Its not that there aren't any good players, its just that the difference between them isn't as great as in other seasons.

Hey, we'll probably such next year too. Something to look forward to.

 

[bajaden]

^Do you mean Villanova? Have they played Wake?

My bad. Yeah I meant Villanova. I thought he played pretty well in the second half.

 

[Kingster]

I agree with you on the premise (that the players at the top might not end up being the best) not necessarily with the players you choose, although who knows. But there are going to be guys lower down who wind up better or as good the guys at the top, IMO, just like 2000, when the guys who went 16-20 were better than the guys who went 1-6.

My feeling exactly. And that's why we need more picks. That's another reason to trade Salmons and Miller - to get more picks.

 

[nbrans]

UCLA/WSU-

Jrue Holiday - Good D against WSU's slowpokes. Nice pull up 3 on a break and a crazy turnaround jump hook from 10 feet. Drove wildly into the lane for an offensive foul, another time drove in for what should have been an offensive foul, but got bailed out. Had a good steal and fast break for a drunk. Looked a little more lively out there and had some really good passes, but, as usual, the results driving and creating offense just weren't really there. More or less invisible in the second half.

Collison - Honestly he looked kind of asleep tonight. Never really pushed things or tried too hard to get his own shot. Just not able to impose himself on the game and not looking very quick. Then he took over in crunch time, had a sweet dribble drive to the hoop, a tough fadeaway, also had a sick pull up that broke the ankles of the defender, but couldn't hit from 3. Overall really not a great game but hit the big shots when it mattered.

Dragovic - unconscious (at least in the first half).

 

[Gary]

^Honestly though, last night he had a poor game statistically because of foul trouble but he looked good. We'll see how he finishes the season, but I don't think he's fading.

He's not really doing anything different either.. He plays well against weak opponents, and has trouble with good opponents. Nothing really has changed, and I am deathly afraid that if he were drafted he would have a lot of those type of games where he scores 7 points and has 3 rebounds with 4 fouls, and a couple blocks.

Thabeet doesn't really have an "in between" game.. It's always real good or real bad.. Nothing in the middle If we have the #1 I am all for drafting Griffin.

 

[Entity]

Teague is the only player I see on the board that deserves to be a top 10 pick. I don't know what the fuss is about Holiday. I guess they are still going by his senior year in High School. I am simply not impressed by him TO ME Bobby Brown > Holiday.

 

[nbrans]

USC/UW-

DerMar DeRozan - Watch out people, starting to come along. Tried to force things too much in the early going and looked like a raw frosh. Bad shot, an offensive foul, got bailed out when he drove and got his shot blocked.. Just not good. Then he started to settle down and had a smooth spin move to the bucket, a high-flying alley-oop... (and I'm sure some other things, but my DVR then went haywire. Ah well.)

 

[Gary]

gotta give Holiday a break because he is out of position. Out of highschool he was supposed to be the future PG of UCLA until Collison decided to stick around. Collison is actually going to hurt Jrue is Jrue decided to come out this year. If not then next year we will see a completely different Holiday.

 

[nbrans]

gotta give Holiday a break because he is out of position. Out of highschool he was supposed to be the future PG of UCLA until Collison decided to stick around. Collison is actually going to hurt Jrue is Jrue decided to come out this year. If not then next year we will see a completely different Holiday.

Honestly, Holiday hasn't lacked for opportunity. Westbrook was in the exact same position last year and he still shined. Holiday just isn't making the most of any opportunity. He's a good passer. He's not a creative ballhandler. Yeah, he's missing out on development and needs to stay in school, but a lot of this is on him.

 

[Gary]

Westbrook started almost half the year at PG when Collison was injured too.. His numbers dropped off once Collison returned. I don't think Holiday has done better than Westbrook, but he's in his first year. I am not even sure if he's coming out. I don't think he should but who knows about the youngans these days.

 

[FakeInjury]

Lets not fool ourselves here by actually thinking about wasting this very imporatante pick on a point guard. I will agree with any selecting any player greater than or equal to Djuan Blair. this collison stuff is funny, but the way people TALK about this kid form UCLA im starting to get worried that we might actually consider picking him. I'm not very satified with teauge either. I don't need to mention holiday b/c its just not ok to pick a point guard. I'm not trying to flip a coin here, this isn't going to be some roll of the dice. As long as he weighs over 230lbs, and is 6'6+ the pick is free from restriction.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Lets not fool ourselves here by actually thinking about wasting this very imporatante pick on a point guard. I will agree with any selecting any player greater than or equal to Djuan Blair. this collison stuff is funny, but the way people TALK about this kid form UCLA im starting to get worried that we might actually consider picking him. I'm not very satified with teauge either. I don't need to mention holiday b/c its just not ok to pick a point guard. I'm not trying to flip a coin here, this isn't going to be some roll of the dice. As long as he weighs over 230lbs, and is 6'6+ the pick is free from restriction.

And FakeInjury contributes with more of his fool-proof logic!

 

[=LarryLegend=]

[QUOTELets not fool ourselves here by actually thinking about wasting this very imporatante pick on a point guard. I will agree with any selecting any player greater than or equal to Djuan Blair. this collison stuff is funny, but the way people TALK about this kid form UCLA im starting to get worried that we might actually consider picking him. I'm not very satified with teauge either. I don't need to mention holiday b/c its just not ok to pick a point guard. I'm not trying to flip a coin here, this isn't going to be some roll of the dice. As long as he weighs over 230lbs, and is 6'6+ the pick is free from restriction.][/QUOTE]



.........huh?......Kings need a point guard. flat out. Beno is not going to cut it. Eric Maynor is looking interesting also.