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

[bajaden]

St. Mary's/Gonzaga-

Mills is quick, but man, he's short. Listed at 5'11", and I'd say it's more like 5'10". Pargo posted him up and made him look puny. He really seemed to be bothered early by Gonzaga's length and athleticism. Solution: start bombing threes like a madman. Which worked. But everything else was ugly and had quite a few shots blocked, then jammed his hand toward the end of half and that was that. He was done. After only watching him one half of basketball.... with the caveat that I only watched him play one half, long term I worry a bit about him as a prospect. He's not really able to score inside because he's short and not an explosive leaper, so his game is going to need to be outside shooting and penetration/dishing. But tonight's longbombing notwithstanding, he's not really that consistent a shooter, and he didn't seem to be a particularly creative passer. His future is going to depend his ability to become a consistent outside shooter. Certainly tonight he looks like he has that ability, but I think it's a bit of a risk. I like him as a late first rounder simply because of his quickness and potential, but don't like him more than Collison or Jonny Flynn.

Austin Daye - nice blocks early, but he's a very weak man defender. Shows some really good ballhandling for a 6'10" SF. I never really got the sense that Gonzaga is utilizing him properly. He makes things happen when he gets the ball, but Bouldin and Pargo pound the ball and Daye is kind of an afterthought. Wish he were a little quicker and had more consistent skills to play the SF, but he's an intriguing player.

Pargo - really quick, and bigger than Mills. If only he could shoot.

Its a shame that he was injured, because you didn't get to see the whole package. He's very good at penetrating and scoring, or dishing. You really have to see him play a few times to get a read on him. He's one of those pt guards that does whatevers necessary to get the win. One of his blocks last night came when the ball came back to him with only a few seconds left on the shot clock and he didn't have much choice but to force the issue and try to draw a foul.

His height is his only drawback. Pargo couldn't guard Mills on his best day. You'll notice that Pargo didn't do much when Mills was guarding him. You'll also notice how valuable Mills is to his team, which looked completely lost without him. He's a lot smarter and tougher player than Flynn and a better scorer than Collison. I don't think there's anyone quicker than Mills. He also has another intangible. He's a winner. He's one of those players that refuses to lose. I wish he was 6'2".

 

[nbrans]

Its a shame that he was injured, because you didn't get to see the whole package. He's very good at penetrating and scoring, or dishing. You really have to see him play a few times to get a read on him. He's one of those pt guards that does whatevers necessary to get the win. One of his blocks last night came when the ball came back to him with only a few seconds left on the shot clock and he didn't have much choice but to force the issue and try to draw a foul.

His height is his only drawback. Pargo couldn't guard Mills on his best day. You'll notice that Pargo didn't do much when Mills was guarding him. You'll also notice how valuable Mills is to his team, which looked completely lost without him. He's a lot smarter and tougher player than Flynn and a better scorer than Collison. I don't think there's anyone quicker than Mills. He also has another intangible. He's a winner. He's one of those players that refuses to lose. I wish he was 6'2".

I definitely hope to watch him again and am not drawing too many definitive conclusions. And yeah, Pargo definitely couldn't stay in front of him and Mills held his own defensively.

I do think, though, that he truly was bothered by Gonzaga's size and athleticism. Gonzaga is actually a pretty unique team in that they can put five guys on the floor who have NBA size and athleticism (if not NBA level skills). Mills didn't have trouble getting past Pargo, but when he got into the lane Daye and Heytvelt were there waiting for him and they easily swatted away or altered whatever shots Mills put up. The only shots Mills hit were 3s. I think it was somewhat revealing of how his height is going to be a problem in the NBA.

I like all the qualities you mention and he was able to put 22 up against Team USA so he definitely can explode for points, but there's a reason there are so few 5'10" point guards in the NBA. You have to be an insane athlete if you're not 6'0". Mills has elite quickness. I just don't know if he has the elite explosiveness to score much in the NBA. Then it comes down to his shooting, which is streaky, and his passing.

Still want to watch him more though.

 

[bajaden]

I definitely hope to watch him again and am not drawing too many definitive conclusions. And yeah, Pargo definitely couldn't stay in front of him and Mills held his own defensively.

I do think, though, that he truly was bothered by Gonzaga's size and athleticism. Gonzaga is actually a pretty unique team in that they can put five guys on the floor who have NBA size and athleticism (if not NBA level skills). Mills didn't have trouble getting past Pargo, but when he got into the lane Daye and Heytvelt were there waiting for him and they easily swatted away or altered whatever shots Mills put up. The only shots Mills hit were 3s. I think it was somewhat revealing of how his height is going to be a problem in the NBA.

I like all the qualities you mention and he was able to put 22 up against Team USA so he definitely can explode for points, but there's a reason there are so few 5'10" point guards in the NBA. You have to be an insane athlete if you're not 6'0". Mills has elite quickness. I just don't know if he has the elite explosiveness to score much in the NBA. Then it comes down to his shooting, which is streaky, and his passing.

Still want to watch him more though.

You briefly mentioned another player that I like a lot. Austin Daye. I've seen him play quite a bit and I think he has all the tools to be a star in the NBA. He surely needs to put on more weight and muscle, but he's a unique athlete that can do a lot of different things on the court. he didn't show much in last nights game, and your right about his team not utililizing him properly. Afterthought is a good way of putting it. But if you watch him enough, his talent starts to shine through.

 

[Kingster]

Its a shame that he was injured, because you didn't get to see the whole package. He's very good at penetrating and scoring, or dishing. You really have to see him play a few times to get a read on him. He's one of those pt guards that does whatevers necessary to get the win. One of his blocks last night came when the ball came back to him with only a few seconds left on the shot clock and he didn't have much choice but to force the issue and try to draw a foul.

His height is his only drawback. Pargo couldn't guard Mills on his best day. You'll notice that Pargo didn't do much when Mills was guarding him. You'll also notice how valuable Mills is to his team, which looked completely lost without him. He's a lot smarter and tougher player than Flynn and a better scorer than Collison. I don't think there's anyone quicker than Mills. He also has another intangible. He's a winner. He's one of those players that refuses to lose. I wish he was 6'2".

Agreed. Mills > Collison.

 

[KingsInBrazil]

I dont know about everyone else but I'm VERY EXCITED about Ricky Rubio. Id love if he declares and we end up drafting him and let him develop behind Udrih and ENTERTAIN us like J-Dub did... we're not contending anytime soon anyway... maybe in 2010 when we'll have great CAP space to sign a great Free Agent and then we'll have a lot more mature, stronger and experienced and best of all a FAN FAVORITE in Rubio... who will certainly bring more fans to our arena... thats what I think of him... hes a younger Steve Nash IMHO... the kid is flashy, talented and amazing...

think of a team like this in 2010:

Rubio
Martin
Top Free Agent
Thompson
Hawes

very talented and skilled, high bastketball IQ... thats my vision of Kings future and I personally like it a lot!

Rubio throwing ally oops for JT all night long!

 

[nbrans]

Watching the first half of Wake/GT online -- another game where Teague's shot wasn't falling early and Tech was really keying on him, but he played the point for much of the first half and made a lot happen with his passing. The thing I like about his passing is that he makes the right pass. If he sees a guy posting up with good position he'll swing it to the wing to make the entry pass. He doesn't get an assist for that, but it shows his vision. Whenever Teague had the ball Wake looked good. When their other guys tried to make things happen they were sloppy.

I'm increasingly feeling like Teague is the best player in this draft class.

 

[bajaden]

Watching the first half of Wake/GT online -- another game where Teague's shot wasn't falling early and Tech was really keying on him, but he played the point for much of the first half and made a lot happen with his passing. The thing I like about his passing is that he makes the right pass. If he sees a guy posting up with good position he'll swing it to the wing to make the entry pass. He doesn't get an assist for that, but it shows his vision. Whenever Teague had the ball Wake looked good. When their other guys tried to make things happen they were sloppy.

I'm increasingly feeling like Teague is the best player in this draft class.

Whom ever we draft at the pt, or trade for, I'm convinced that number one, he needs to be a good defender, and number two, he needs to be unselfish. The Kings perimeter defense is absolutely horrible, and for the most part, most of our perimeter guys are thinking about getting their own shot.

I noticed that last night the Bulls bigs were pulling one or both of our bigs away from the basket and then running a layup drill on our perimeter guys. If a big does get there, he's usually too late and ends up fouling someone. We need at least two people on the perimeter that can guard someone, because it appears that Martin is going to continue to be a liability.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I dont know about everyone else but I'm VERY EXCITED about Ricky Rubio. Id love if he declares and we end up drafting him and let him develop behind Udrih and ENTERTAIN us like J-Dub did... we're not contending anytime soon anyway... maybe in 2010 when we'll have great CAP space to sign a great Free Agent and then we'll have a lot more mature, stronger and experienced and best of all a FAN FAVORITE in Rubio... who will certainly bring more fans to our arena... thats what I think of him... hes a younger Steve Nash IMHO... the kid is flashy, talented and amazing...

think of a team like this in 2010:

Rubio
Martin
Top Free Agent
Thompson
Hawes

very talented and skilled, high bastketball IQ... thats my vision of Kings future and I personally like it a lot!

Rubio throwing ally oops for JT all night long!

Rubio develop behind Udrih?

 

[nbrans]

Well, Teague had a good second half offensively despite being completely pestered by Georgia Tech. Got burned on the game winner. His defense was good, but it was a better shot.

Also, caught the tail end of the first half of Oklahoma/Iowa St. online. Brackins posted up and shot over Blake Griffin for the and-one like it was absolutely nothing.

 

[fnordius]

The thing I like about his passing is that he makes the right pass...

I'm increasingly feeling like Teague is the best player in this draft class.

Regardless of whether he's the best player or not, something about him bothers me WRT our team needs. I don't think he's a PG.

We complain that Beno's 1.86 assist/TO ratio places his 41st among 44 PGs, and we're right to do that, no PG should be turning it over all the time.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/stati...=48&qual=true&season=2009&seasontype=2&pos=pg

But Teague's assist/TO ratio is much worse than Beno's. Last time I checked it (a week or two ago) it was below 1.1. That's like... forgiveable in a center, but not, by any stretch of the imagination, in a PG.

Maybe he can be turned into a PG over time, and could be regarded as a project, but having already been through that recently (Douby over Rondo), I'm just not in the mood right now.

I hope that someone who, unlike us, needs a SG, gets the guy and frees up a better suited player for us to pick afterwards.

 

[Entity]

but Beno isn't even a scoring option either. thats what makes Beno much worse. I mean he can't pass can't defend and can't score either??? WTF can he do well? I would take Teague in a second.

 

[nbrans]

Regardless of whether he's the best player or not, something about him bothers me WRT our team needs. I don't think he's a PG.

We complain that Beno's 1.86 assist/TO ratio places his 41st among 44 PGs, and we're right to do that, no PG should be turning it over all the time.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/stati...=48&qual=true&season=2009&seasontype=2&pos=pg

But Teague's assist/TO ratio is much worse than Beno's. Last time I checked it (a week or two ago) it was below 1.1. That's like... forgiveable in a center, but not, by any stretch of the imagination, in a PG.

Maybe he can be turned into a PG over time, and could be regarded as a project, but having already been through that recently (Douby over Rondo), I'm just not in the mood right now.

I hope that someone who, unlike us, needs a SG, gets the guy and frees up a better suited player for us to pick afterwards.

Well, that's teh real remaining question with Teague. I will say, haivng now watched him a bit, that he doesn't really play the point for Wake Forest, and he's not really in a position to be getting many assists. He does turn the ball over a little too much, but if he were running the point full time (which he could easily do), I think his numbers might look a little different. But Gaudio has him playin goff the ball.

 

[nbrans]

Ok, just finished watching Iowa St./Oklahoma online. I missed a lot because I had a crappy feed and my computer's not great, but I did see some. Griffin and Brackins mostly weren't guarding each other -- Taylor Griffin was guarding Brackins, and Iowa St.'s center was on Blake Griffin (I think neither coach wanted their star ending up in foul trouble). They did get matched up against each other a few times though, and when they did it was eye-opening. Brackins easily scored over Griffin, but on the other end Griffin was really bothered by Brackins' length (he's 6'10" with fairly long arms). Griffin still ended up with his customary 23/15 and he was still able to do his thing against Hamilton, but I think it really raises question marks about how he's going to be bothered by NBA-level size. Iowa St., meanwhile, fell in love with their (not very good) outside shooting late in the 2nd half and Brackins hardly touched the ball.

Brackins, meanwhile, is the real deal. I think he could be equally effective at the 3 or 4. He's quick enough to play the 3, big enough to play the 4. He can score inside and out, put the ball on the floor, and shoot from outside. I think people are seriously sleeping on him, but he's also the kind of guy that could shoot up the draft board come June. If he's there at the Houston pick it would be awesome to draft him.

Warren really lit it up from outside and getting to the basket. He's not a point guard though, and a 6'4" shooting guard, which is problematic in the NBA. Not a guy I think the Kings really need.

 

[bajaden]

I watched the Arizona/Wash ST. game. Hill had a pretty good game. I think he had 16 rebounds or close to it and a couple of blocks. He's starting to recognize the little things in the game. When he senses one of the guards is about to drive to the basket, he pulls his man out to the perimeter to open up space. He's still just a right handed player, but thats correctable.

A player thats finally starting to impress me is Budinger. The main knock I had on him was his lack of aggression. Today he was more aggressive and had a very good game. He's a terrific athlete and a very good shooter. Outside, midrange or driving to the basket. I think he could be a good defender at the next level. I say this only with the idea of, that if he's there when Houston's pick comes up, he should be someone we consider.

 

[est.1999]

craig brackins has more of a pro style body and more of a pro style game than griffin does. Brackins will be the better player at the pro level IMO

 

[nbrans]

craig brackins has more of a pro style body and more of a pro style game than griffin does. Brackins will be the better player at the pro level IMO

I would have to agree. I think my new top 3 is 1) Teague, 2) Brackins, 3) Griffin

 

[nbrans]

I watched the Arizona/Wash ST. game. Hill had a pretty good game. I think he had 16 rebounds or close to it and a couple of blocks. He's starting to recognize the little things in the game. When he senses one of the guards is about to drive to the basket, he pulls his man out to the perimeter to open up space. He's still just a right handed player, but thats correctable.

A player thats finally starting to impress me is Budinger. The main knock I had on him was his lack of aggression. Today he was more aggressive and had a very good game. He's a terrific athlete and a very good shooter. Outside, midrange or driving to the basket. I think he could be a good defender at the next level. I say this only with the idea of, that if he's there when Houston's pick comes up, he should be someone we consider.

For some reason I just can't get excited about Hill. I watched most of this game, and he does continue to improve. He's adding some offensive moves and even he's not very consistent, he at least is getting better.

I think the reason I'm not such a fan is that he's still basically a dirty work player, only he's not so great at the dirty work stuff, other than rebounding. He's not a good shotblocker, has decent but not great hands, and he's big and athletic but not really big or really athletic.

I still think he's going to end up like Etan Thomas -- someone who can be a solid big off the bench, but nothing particularly special.

 

[nbrans]

UCLA/Stanford-

Holiday continues to look more confident, but he still has this habit of hesitating before shooting a three. It's like he has a hitch in his shot as he tries to decide whether to shoot or not. As a result of his newfound confidence he seems more willing to put the ball on the floor and try and make things happen. But I'm still not seeing a really great first step from him. Defenders are able to stay with him. Still showing great passing, but the vast majority of his assists come when he's making entry passes from the perimeter. Granted, they're pretty awesome entry passes, but he's still not showing the ability to break the defense down with his penetration and creative ballhandling. At the very least, the last two games have demonstrated some marked improvement after he looked basically nonassertive and unimpressive in the beginning of the season.

Collison: typical game: solid. 6/7 from the field and 15 points. Mitch Johnson had fits bringing the ball up against him.

Both sat out the last 7 minutes of the game on account of whooping Stanford's butt.

 

[nbrans]

Thabeet had a triple double today: 15 points, 11 rebounds, 10 blocks. Wish I could have watched that one.

 

[AriesMar27]

i would be cool with mills, collison or lawson with our 2nd pick... the 1st pick is what i'm worried about, we could end up with griffen or thabeet. i doubt rubio will be in this years draft.

we have thompson and hawes already at those positions and both are showing signs that they could become really good players. it sucks that there isnt a sure thing in this draft. if we could trade miller, salmons or thomas we could be in a nice position to rebuild this team.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

would anybody be against using the 1st pick on rubio if he couldn't come over until the following season?

 

[PurpleHaze]

Being that Griffin plays same position as JT, seeing that it's a relatively weak draft, knowing that Kings finally dump up ALL their dead weight in 2010-11, I'd have no problem waiting a year for Rubio to come over. Plus, you could always use the Spaniard in a trade after selecting him you found it really advantageous.

 

[Spike]

I wouldn't be upset. It's like an NBDL type situation if he's not ready to come and play. We're not going to be world-beaters next year anyway. The only drawback is not being able to develop a chemistry with the current squad, well, current in terms of who'll actually be here. He could also be used as trade bait for the right person.
Personally, I don't think we need to take Griffin. Call me crazy, but I would trade down/up (I know, an NFL thing) to see if I can get two picks in the 5-10 range because I'm not entirely enamored with anyone yet.
We'll see how I feel after March.

 

[Emma]

would anybody be against using the 1st pick on rubio if he couldn't come over until the following season?

Heck no, I prefer it. That way we can stack up another draft pick and have a shot at really developing who we have now. But Martin is going to have to step it up and become mitch richmond for the fans to remain interested.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

I wouldn't mind it if we didn't have rubio come over right away either... didn't larry bird or magic johnson come over the yr after they were drafted? it would give us another yr to stink it up to get another high draft pick. who knows, we might end up with two franchise players with this method, a load of capspace to pick up another franchise player after all our expirings cone off the books. that would equal 3 nice players to add to our core group. let's hope maloofs have patience and don't choose the we gotta contend for the 8th seed mentality.

 

[Vlade4GM]

The Spurs waited two years for David Robinson.

 

[PurpleHaze]

The Spurs waited two years for David Robinson.

Exactly. A similar situation involving military commitment and pro sports was NFL HOF QB and Naval Academy Heismen Trophy winner Roger Stauback drafted by Dallas Cowboys in 1964 10th round, but did not play his first professional game until 5 years later in 1969.

 

[Kingster]

Watching the first half of Wake/GT online -- another game where Teague's shot wasn't falling early and Tech was really keying on him, but he played the point for much of the first half and made a lot happen with his passing. The thing I like about his passing is that he makes the right pass. If he sees a guy posting up with good position he'll swing it to the wing to make the entry pass. He doesn't get an assist for that, but it shows his vision. Whenever Teague had the ball Wake looked good. When their other guys tried to make things happen they were sloppy.

I'm increasingly feeling like Teague is the best player in this draft class.

How about a scouting report on Lawal and Aminu. They had some awesome stats in that game. Damn, I missed that game. Was it on national tv?

 

[nbrans]

How about a scouting report on Lawal and Aminu. They had some awesome stats in that game. Damn, I missed that game. Was it on national tv?

I watched the game on espn 360. Aminu wasn't actually as impressive as his stats indicated. Almost all of his points were layups and putbacks that other players created and he still isn't really showing any real small forward skills. Lawal is the ultimate garbage guy. He's a terrific rebounder and I think he will be in the NBA as well because he's so strong. He's still pretty raw and uncoordinated at everything else though.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Going to be watching Terrence Williams closely tomorrow, haven't really watched him yet but he seems intriguing.