I'm guessing he is between 6'8" and 6'9" in shoes, but he's not a small forward. He's not that quick and he has no semblence of that kind of a game. He's pure PF, and unless he's bigger than I think he is, his best case is Amare (assuming he develops more skills and gets stronger) and his worst case is David Lee.
and with the #1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft the Kings select...
- Thread starter RiffRaff
- Start date
Earlier in this thread I had my list of best picks as 1) Harden 2) Thabeet 3) Griffin (assuming Rubio isn't declaring since he'd be in my top 3). I said Harden was probably most NBA ready right now, but that I wanted to see how all of them did in NCAA tournament. I'm quite sure Harden and Griffin are equal best equipped for next level so I could have Griffin ahead of Thabeet if not edging out Harden. Bottom line for me is, Griffin or Harden are both bust free locks and I can't say that about so many potential lottery picks in this draft. Kings could do no wrong in taking either one - though it may not be perfect roster fit for their in disarray, weak line-up. It will be interesting to see if Thabeet is dominate in the tourney and UConn gets to final four. Then I might shift back in his favor.
First off, there's no such thing as a bust-free lock.
Second, if you're going to choose a bust-free lock, you don't choose the guys who are either undersized or unathletic for their position, as they are the most likely to bust. Griffin and Harden are by no means assured of not busting.
In this draft, there is definitely no relatively bust free lock on the order of Rose, Durant, etc., but if I had to choose one guy for non-busting, I'd have to go with Thabeet simply because there is a place in the NBA for any 7'3" guy with a pulse, let alone someone who is as athletic as he is.
I'm not saying Thabeet is the best player in the draft, but he has the least amount of bust potential.
And all that said, I still want Teague because I think he's both one of the safer choices and because of his insane quickness, ballhandling and shooting, I think he has the most potential for stardom.
Second, if you're going to choose a bust-free lock, you don't choose the guys who are either undersized or unathletic for their position, as they are the most likely to bust. Griffin and Harden are by no means assured of not busting.
In this draft, there is definitely no relatively bust free lock on the order of Rose, Durant, etc., but if I had to choose one guy for non-busting, I'd have to go with Thabeet simply because there is a place in the NBA for any 7'3" guy with a pulse, let alone someone who is as athletic as he is.
I'm not saying Thabeet is the best player in the draft, but he has the least amount of bust potential.
And all that said, I still want Teague because I think he's both one of the safer choices and because of his insane quickness, ballhandling and shooting, I think he has the most potential for stardom.
Thank god you are not a GM. I mean this with no disrespect, but this kind of short sighted scouting is what ruins teams. Any player can get on a hot streak. This is especially easy if you are by far and away the longest / tallest player in college basketball that is playing on a national stage. Thabeet benefits from playing on a marketable, good team. He has skills, but not Top Draft pick skills. He is being talked about because of the glaring defensive deficiencies on this team. Time and time again, it has been proven that if an offensive player goes AT HIM, he will wilt. For the love of life, a 6'9" "center" absolutely destroyed him. In all fairness, everybody has a bad game once in a while, and he did average 18, 18 and 8 in the 4 games before the Pitt game, but he is far from a SURE thing. His best case is a slightly better version of Chandler, which I do not see since Chandler is much more athletic, even with the foot / back problems that have hindered him much of his career. ALso keep in mind that Chandler came out of high school, so their odomoter is not as far apart as it seems.
Jeez, how did this turn into a rant? Anyway, we got screwed by sucking in a sucky draft. Just draft Griffin, send JT plus some filler (KT expring anybody?) and get a good PG via trade. [/FONT]
Jeez, how did this turn into a rant? Anyway, we got screwed by sucking in a sucky draft. Just draft Griffin, send JT plus some filler (KT expring anybody?) and get a good PG via trade. [/FONT]
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If the Kings get the #1 pick we will be drafting Griffin plain and simple (if the college BBall year keeps going the way it is now, and no major injuries).
Now if the Kings finish with the worst record and have the 2nd/3rd/4th pick I can see something else happening. Thabeet (which I don't approve of
), Jennings, and maybe even Hill.
Now if the Kings finish with the worst record and have the 2nd/3rd/4th pick I can see something else happening. Thabeet (which I don't approve of
), Jennings, and maybe even Hill.
If the Kings get the #1 pick we will be drafting Griffin plain and simple (if the college BBall year keeps going the way it is now, and no major injuries).
Now if the Kings finish with the worst record and have the 2nd/3rd/4th pick I can see something else happening. Thabeet (which I don't approve of ), Jennings, and maybe even Hill.
Now if the Kings finish with the worst record and have the 2nd/3rd/4th pick I can see something else happening. Thabeet (which I don't approve of
), Jennings, and maybe even Hill.
I like Thompson but I think he doesn't have as high of a ceiling as some people think he has. It's not just because of his age either. Griffin on the other hand is lacking in the height dept (6'9 with shoes probably at the most) but his explosiveness is one of those things you cannot pass up.
A deal I could see Petrie doing is Drafting Griffin with the #1 and trading him to OKC for their #2-#5 and one of their #20 picks. It's a better way for Petrie to shed money and at the same time fill the roster with >$1,000,000 players ala Donte Greene. We are at 8 players at the end of the year so bringing in 4 picks and signing a camp player might happen.
A deal I could see Petrie doing is Drafting Griffin with the #1 and trading him to OKC for their #2-#5 and one of their #20 picks. It's a better way for Petrie to shed money and at the same time fill the roster with >$1,000,000 players ala Donte Greene. We are at 8 players at the end of the year so bringing in 4 picks and signing a camp player might happen.
It's a sticky situation. Not often does a team find itself with a chance for a #1, and I don't want to be like the Bulls where they waste their crappy years and end up being mediocre for a long time. Right now we have to do the right thing, and our decision will be magnified. If you are going to keep your #1 draft pick, he better not be a rotation platoon with Jt / Hawes / whoever else we pick up on the street. If Griffin is your PF/SF of the future, chances are JT has to go.
I'm not sold on Hawes as the C either, but that's another conversation. Conversely, if you will trade Griffin, then you better get something that will set you up in the future, whether it be cash related, or talent related. Players drafted this high have to be a sure thing. If the front office thinks they're not, abandon the ****ing ship. You do NOT draft someone #1 and platoon them. If they draft thabeet, you better be saying that Hawes will have to learn to accept a back up role, or be traded.
I'm not sold on Hawes as the C either, but that's another conversation. Conversely, if you will trade Griffin, then you better get something that will set you up in the future, whether it be cash related, or talent related. Players drafted this high have to be a sure thing. If the front office thinks they're not, abandon the ****ing ship. You do NOT draft someone #1 and platoon them. If they draft thabeet, you better be saying that Hawes will have to learn to accept a back up role, or be traded.
I think Lopez is a pretty cluth player, last year in the pac 10 tournament and ncaa tournament he had some pretty cluth shots. But i still wouldnt trade griffin/hawes for lopez and pick. If we get #1 i say we trade to OKC and get their pick along with one of their 20s. With their pick we can probably get thabeet and than with we trade two of those twenty picks for another top 10 or late lottery pick and get brandon jennings.
Yeah, but personally I don't think Spencer Hawes will turn out to be great or very good and Brook Lopez and JT would be a great frontcourt.
If we could then get Ramon Sessions and get a decent SF either through next year's draft or trade/FA then we could be back in business. Or we could then try and get Rubio in next year's draft and pick up a decent SF through trade/FA. What do you guys think about that?
If we could then get Ramon Sessions and get a decent SF either through next year's draft or trade/FA then we could be back in business. Or we could then try and get Rubio in next year's draft and pick up a decent SF through trade/FA. What do you guys think about that?
Disappointing game by Jennings. I'd say he played about 18 minutes. He was 11 pts 4/9 fg, 1/5 3fg, 2/2 ft, 4 fouls.
In the first half of this game it was pretty close but lotomatica was behind for the most part. Jennings played most of the 2nd quarter. He was mostly off-guard, he was largely staying out on the perimeter, never had the ball for that long. He played with a lot of energy, was getting his hand in on a lot of loose ball plays, made a nice dive and attempted save of the ball, got a nice steal (on sarunas jasikevicius) that almost led to a good transition play but his pass was a little off being off-balanced but led to a foul in their favor. Made a solid defensive play on sarunas jasikevicius, stayed in front of him and forced a throw away.
He did not force much in the first half offensively: He launched a deep 3 and missed but it was given to him late in the shot clock and there was about 2 seconds left. He made an easy finish in transition off a pass. Shot and made 2 technical free throws. Missed wide open catch and shoot 3.
Came in about half way in the 3rd quarter (Lotomatica is down by at least 10 at this point), he missed another set open 3. He makes a dumb defensive play where he gets caught up in a screen, gets out of it and fouls the 3pt shooter. Came out shortly after that.
Came in about 3 minutes into the 4th quarter (Lotomatica down by around 20 at this point, game is pretty much lost) and played the rest of the way. You can sense more frustration in his game at this point, he is definitely frustrated about his lack of control of the ball. He gets the ball kicked to him and throws up a heavily contested pull up 3 and makes it; it was not a good shot to take. He gets the ball in the corner, tries once to drive baseline, doesn't work, drives again wildlly, gets to the basket but gets blocked. It's getting to garbage time at this point, Jennings gets more freedom and becomes more of the primary ball handler. Makes a strong push with the ball in transition, runs through a guy (he hesitated for a second) and gets and makes a somewhat wild pass (but handled) to a teammate in the post, but couldn't finish. Gets the ball out on the corner, shoots up a contested 3 and misses. Picks up an uncontested putback off a deflected transition layup. Gets in transition and makes a wide open dunk. Loses his man on D, and makes a stupid reach in foul out of frustration. Takes a wild and ugly mid range pull up jumper and misses; no one was even near him.
Once Jennings became the actual PG towards the end, you can just see him bust out wildly like he was a rabid dog breaking out of his chains. He did not take good shots, he didn't look to give the ball up, he just wanted to take guys one on one and kick it into 4th gear. In the first half he was not involved in much, he'd ocassionally get the ball at the top make real quick moves that didn't amount to much and put a little bit of flair on simple passes (like jumping before he passed). Just looking at his demeanor and mannerisms, he doesn't seem to have much of a game in between being the quiet OG, takes open shots, and kicks the ball around and the up tempo wild PG.
He showed decent effort on his on-ball d, but showed poor defensive IQ.
His jump shot has not seemed to improve at all, on both of his open jumpers he did that stupid little unnecessary fadeaway, he really needs to cut that out. He needs to follow through all the way, the gooseneck is broken in half.
Jennings is definitely lost in his team's situation. They're not giving him much responsibility with the ball since they're a pro team trying to compete and win; they obviously don't have time to focus on the development of a kid who is likely to leave them at the end of the season. There's something he can take back from this experience, and it's humility. He has been forced into a position where he can't go crazy with the ball, he's the youngest guy on the court, and he is part of a slow down half court offense focused on playing inside-out. He learns that he'll get benched if he screws up. He may just forget about all that stuff once he leaves there (and I remember one of his blogs a little while back showing a bit of regret and frustration with his decision to play overseas) but it's something he wouldn't be getting in college where he'd be the man and have an unlimited leash. His decision to play overseas wasn't bad in theory, but rather he chose the wrong team.
The negatives out of this situation however is that he is not getting much chance to fail out there and learn from his mistakes.
He really needs to work on his jump shot (he may not ever be a very good shooter with his mechanics and release), and get stronger. He looks physically the same as he did in high school.
I think Jennings has more natural ability than Telfair did, but he has that kind of bust potential. I think he can become a Van Exel/Felton type with some time, but he's a flip of the coin. Still, he has top of the line explosivness, ball handling and passing. He may not always make the most fundamental passes, but he has the potential to make those quick needle threading passes.
I'd base a lot of whether we'd draft him on looking into his character, personality, and work ethic. If we were to draft him, we have to get a personal coach that is going to work with him and really get on him about the weaknesses in his game.
In the first half of this game it was pretty close but lotomatica was behind for the most part. Jennings played most of the 2nd quarter. He was mostly off-guard, he was largely staying out on the perimeter, never had the ball for that long. He played with a lot of energy, was getting his hand in on a lot of loose ball plays, made a nice dive and attempted save of the ball, got a nice steal (on sarunas jasikevicius) that almost led to a good transition play but his pass was a little off being off-balanced but led to a foul in their favor. Made a solid defensive play on sarunas jasikevicius, stayed in front of him and forced a throw away.
He did not force much in the first half offensively: He launched a deep 3 and missed but it was given to him late in the shot clock and there was about 2 seconds left. He made an easy finish in transition off a pass. Shot and made 2 technical free throws. Missed wide open catch and shoot 3.
Came in about half way in the 3rd quarter (Lotomatica is down by at least 10 at this point), he missed another set open 3. He makes a dumb defensive play where he gets caught up in a screen, gets out of it and fouls the 3pt shooter. Came out shortly after that.
Came in about 3 minutes into the 4th quarter (Lotomatica down by around 20 at this point, game is pretty much lost) and played the rest of the way. You can sense more frustration in his game at this point, he is definitely frustrated about his lack of control of the ball. He gets the ball kicked to him and throws up a heavily contested pull up 3 and makes it; it was not a good shot to take. He gets the ball in the corner, tries once to drive baseline, doesn't work, drives again wildlly, gets to the basket but gets blocked. It's getting to garbage time at this point, Jennings gets more freedom and becomes more of the primary ball handler. Makes a strong push with the ball in transition, runs through a guy (he hesitated for a second) and gets and makes a somewhat wild pass (but handled) to a teammate in the post, but couldn't finish. Gets the ball out on the corner, shoots up a contested 3 and misses. Picks up an uncontested putback off a deflected transition layup. Gets in transition and makes a wide open dunk. Loses his man on D, and makes a stupid reach in foul out of frustration. Takes a wild and ugly mid range pull up jumper and misses; no one was even near him.
Once Jennings became the actual PG towards the end, you can just see him bust out wildly like he was a rabid dog breaking out of his chains. He did not take good shots, he didn't look to give the ball up, he just wanted to take guys one on one and kick it into 4th gear. In the first half he was not involved in much, he'd ocassionally get the ball at the top make real quick moves that didn't amount to much and put a little bit of flair on simple passes (like jumping before he passed). Just looking at his demeanor and mannerisms, he doesn't seem to have much of a game in between being the quiet OG, takes open shots, and kicks the ball around and the up tempo wild PG.
He showed decent effort on his on-ball d, but showed poor defensive IQ.
His jump shot has not seemed to improve at all, on both of his open jumpers he did that stupid little unnecessary fadeaway, he really needs to cut that out. He needs to follow through all the way, the gooseneck is broken in half.
Jennings is definitely lost in his team's situation. They're not giving him much responsibility with the ball since they're a pro team trying to compete and win; they obviously don't have time to focus on the development of a kid who is likely to leave them at the end of the season. There's something he can take back from this experience, and it's humility. He has been forced into a position where he can't go crazy with the ball, he's the youngest guy on the court, and he is part of a slow down half court offense focused on playing inside-out. He learns that he'll get benched if he screws up. He may just forget about all that stuff once he leaves there (and I remember one of his blogs a little while back showing a bit of regret and frustration with his decision to play overseas) but it's something he wouldn't be getting in college where he'd be the man and have an unlimited leash. His decision to play overseas wasn't bad in theory, but rather he chose the wrong team.
The negatives out of this situation however is that he is not getting much chance to fail out there and learn from his mistakes.
He really needs to work on his jump shot (he may not ever be a very good shooter with his mechanics and release), and get stronger. He looks physically the same as he did in high school.
I think Jennings has more natural ability than Telfair did, but he has that kind of bust potential. I think he can become a Van Exel/Felton type with some time, but he's a flip of the coin. Still, he has top of the line explosivness, ball handling and passing. He may not always make the most fundamental passes, but he has the potential to make those quick needle threading passes.
I'd base a lot of whether we'd draft him on looking into his character, personality, and work ethic. If we were to draft him, we have to get a personal coach that is going to work with him and really get on him about the weaknesses in his game.
Rubio highlights ahoy!
http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1247
http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1447
This one made me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=ES&hl=es&v=6uu9TnUFXMk
He may not be the quickest guy on the floor, but I think that he has the size and ballhandling ability to be successful in the NBA.
http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1247
http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1447
This one made me
: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=ES&hl=es&v=6uu9TnUFXMk He may not be the quickest guy on the floor, but I think that he has the size and ballhandling ability to be successful in the NBA.
I'd more than likely take more then just JT to grab the 5th pick. You'd more than likely have to package our Houston pick (which I'm not against)... You might be able to swing OKC to do that trade because they could probably just repackage both their late 20 picks (Houston and whichever of SA/Denver) is left and jump back into the lottery themselves. Just realize we won't be able to do anything in terms of signing free agents unless we can get their current team to do a Sign and Trade (which is probably our only option anyways).
Conversely we could probably do the same... Trade Griffin to OKC for their pick + their remaining late, or try to bully them out of Westbrook + their late 20's remaining pick
Conversely we could probably do the same... Trade Griffin to OKC for their pick + their remaining late, or try to bully them out of Westbrook + their late 20's remaining pick
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Rubio highlights ahoy!
http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1247
http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1447
This one made me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=ES&hl=es&v=6uu9TnUFXMk
He may not be the quickest guy on the floor, but I think that he has the size and ballhandling ability to be successful in the NBA.
http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1247
http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1447
This one made me
: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=ES&hl=es&v=6uu9TnUFXMk He may not be the quickest guy on the floor, but I think that he has the size and ballhandling ability to be successful in the NBA.
This kid (for how old he is) can definitely ball. I really want him to come out this year so we can pick him.
He is not a speedster by any means, but he is quicker than people think. He'll be fine in the NBA.
Those recent highlights were in singular games. Wasn't like they were from multiple games. I understand what you're saying, though. Anyone can look good in their highlights. You'll just have to take my word for it - Rubio usually makes at least one play that you didn't think was possible per game. He is one of the best passers I've seen, including NBA players.
I doubt he comes out this year, but my, how I would love it if he did. He is the one player I want in a Kings uniform, both from an unbiased view and a biased one. He is my favourite player. There's a reason for that.
