Kings 2009-2010 NBA Draft:

bajaden · Dec 30, 2009

I've seen him play probably 7 or 8 times now. I'm losing track with Kentucky being on just about every third day. I keep watching just to see Wall. He's too much fun. However, back to Cousins. I kind of like him. I think I've stated that I'm having a hard time getting a read on him. At first glance sometimes he doesn't appear very athletic, and then he'll surprise by exploding after a loose ball, or making a quick recovery and block a shot. Right now, I would call him a decent defender and a pretty good rebounder at the college level. He's certainly a physical specimen. He appears to be all of 6'10" and has very long arms, so I'll accept the 7'6" wingspan. He's not bad offensively. He has some decent post moves and a face up game as well.

I'm still not sure why he's staying down so low in the polls, but its fine with me. I'd be more than willing to take a flyer on him if he continues to play and improve. As far as charactor issues, I haven't heard much since he joined the team. I know he had some coming out of highschool, but from what I know he's doing fine so far at Kentucky. Maybe you've heard something that I haven't.

bajaden · Dec 30, 2009

NME said:

Well, first off, Anthony Parker isn't, or wasn't that bad a player. But I think when they update the site they'll have a better opinion. Its a damm shame that he had to get hurt, because he was having a terrific year. Hopefully he'll be back soon. I would put his handles right up there with Tyreke. Maybe better. He's also a terrific defender. And like Johnson, he rebounds out of his mind for a SF.

NME · Dec 30, 2009

bajaden said:

He's not, but for Turner's "best case" comparison to be a guy who was near 30 when he found a role in the league and then became a 12/4 player seems to be undershooting his potential a bit.

bajaden · Dec 31, 2009

NME said:

Yeah, you get no argument from me. I think Turner can be an impact player in the NBA, which Parker wasn't. I've always hated those comparisons anyway. Turner is going to be Turner, just like Evans is going to Be Evans. Simplistic, but true.

netseee · Dec 31, 2009

Cole Aldrich, DeMarcus Cousins, and Greg Monroe are my choices

bajaden · Dec 31, 2009

netseee said:

All depends on where were picking. All three are entirely different types of players. Aldrich is slowing working his way back into my good graces. Not that he cares. His offensive game has a lot of work in front of it. But I like his aggression on the court. He's a better shotblocker and athlete than one would think just by looking at him. I'll probably catch a lot of flack over this, but I have Aldrich as my number one ranked center right now. That doesn't mean he's my number one ranked big man though.

I've already discussed Cousins. Monroe still bothers me. He may well go on to be a very good NBA player. But I still think he's a risky pick. He's very talented, but there's just something missing there. Hey! He could fool me and be better than I think. I just hate it when I can't get a good read on a player.

I'm not sure how you can leave Derrick Favors out of the equation. And a guy I watched last night Ekpe Udoh out of Baylor. This is a talented kid. He runs the floor extremely well and is a very good athlete. He blocks shots and man's up very well. He has a very good right handed hook shot that virtualy unblockable. He's extremely long. So far I've only seen him in a game and half, so I'm not going to do flip flops just yet. But what I've seen so far has impressed me.

apollo916 · Dec 31, 2009

All we need to do is draft the 2nd or 3rd leading rebounding center like we did with JT. Yes I know JT is PF but you know what I'm saying. This is my projection. What names does that give us?

netseee · Jan 1, 2010

bajaden said:

All depends on where were picking. All three are entirely different types of players. Aldrich is slowing working his way back into my good graces. Not that he cares. His offensive game has a lot of work in front of it. But I like his aggression on the court. He's a better shotblocker and athlete than one would think just by looking at him. I'll probably catch a lot of flack over this, but I have Aldrich as my number one ranked center right now. That doesn't mean he's my number one ranked big man though.

I've already discussed Cousins. Monroe still bothers me. He may well go on to be a very good NBA player. But I still think he's a risky pick. He's very talented, but there's just something missing there. Hey! He could fool me and be better than I think. I just hate it when I can't get a good read on a player.

I'm not sure how you can leave Derrick Favors out of the equation. And a guy I watched last night Ekpe Udoh out of Baylor. This is a talented kid. He runs the floor extremely well and is a very good athlete. He blocks shots and man's up very well. He has a very good right handed hook shot that virtualy unblockable. He's extremely long. So far I've only seen him in a game and half, so I'm not going to do flip flops just yet. But what I've seen so far has impressed me.

Derrick Favors is ranking second pick overall in mock draft so far, I dont think we can have a chance to pick him, as for Ekpe Udoh, yes, he is talented, but I still want to watch more his games first.

Vlade4GM · Jan 1, 2010

bajaden said:

All depends on where were picking. All three are entirely different types of players. Aldrich is slowing working his way back into my good graces. Not that he cares. His offensive game has a lot of work in front of it. But I like his aggression on the court. He's a better shotblocker and athlete than one would think just by looking at him. I'll probably catch a lot of flack over this, but I have Aldrich as my number one ranked center right now. That doesn't mean he's my number one ranked big man though.

I've already discussed Cousins. Monroe still bothers me. He may well go on to be a very good NBA player. But I still think he's a risky pick. He's very talented, but there's just something missing there. Hey! He could fool me and be better than I think. I just hate it when I can't get a good read on a player.

I'm not sure how you can leave Derrick Favors out of the equation. And a guy I watched last night Ekpe Udoh out of Baylor. This is a talented kid. He runs the floor extremely well and is a very good athlete. He blocks shots and man's up very well. He has a very good right handed hook shot that virtualy unblockable. He's extremely long. So far I've only seen him in a game and half, so I'm not going to do flip flops just yet. But what I've seen so far has impressed me.

I haven't seen Udoh play, but I liked what I read about him on DX.

bajaden · Jan 1, 2010

Vlade4GM said:

They have Udoh listed at 255 on his college site. There's no way in hell he's that heavy. He definitely needs to put on some muscle. But I like the way he plays so far. Unlike some of the other projects out there, he seems to have a pretty good grasp on the game. He appears to be at least a decent passer, and knows how to post up. He has a good demeanor on the court. I really have to see him a lot more, but as I said, he looks pretty good so far.

Vlade4GM · Jan 1, 2010

bajaden said:

Yeah, he sounds like a guy with all around potential, as opposed to a guy like Larry Sanders. He is kind of old though for a junior.

bajaden · Jan 2, 2010

Vlade4GM said:

To be honest, I haven't seen Sanders play yet this year, so I can't comment on him. For the most part, there are a lot of young bigs with potential, but not much beyond that. Almost every big out there has some sort of flaw. If they're freshmen, that helps to overlook some of their deficencies. And even if not, such as the case with Alabi, you can point to his, only having played organized basketball for five years. I guess my point is, at least at this point, there are no sure things that I see.

However when you move away from the centers and power forwards, there are a lot of players that I know will be good players in the NBA. The risk becomes smaller. Which is why I'm leaning toward aquiring a big man through a trade, and then just taking the best player available in the draft.

=LarryLegend= · Jan 2, 2010

crazy that the Timberwolves have 6 picks in this draft!! somewhere in between 2,13,20,32,56,58. they are turning into portland of years past.

grizzlies have 3 first round picks also.

bajaden · Jan 2, 2010

=LarryLegend= said:

I read in the Minny newspaper that they might be willing to sell, or perhaps include picks in a trade. Aquiring another first would be nice. Even a second is a good idea when you want to draft a european player and leave him in europe for another year or two.

SacTownKid · Jan 2, 2010

I don't think this is the greatest of years to have that many draft picks, especially when you already have your two franchise bigs in Love and Jefferson. They'll give some of those picks away just to get out of the salary due.

bajaden · Jan 2, 2010

SacTownKid said:

Well they're commited to seven players for next year. Eight if they allow one of their non-guaranteed contracts to become guaranteed in a couple of days. Their payroll commitment is only 36 mil, so they will have some money to spend, and one can assume that they will sign at least one freeagent, if not bring back some of their players from this year. Point being, that your right. I'm sure they'll move some of those picks.

bajaden · Jan 2, 2010

I watched the Oakland/IUPUI game. Please don't ask me what IUPUI stands for. I don't have a clue. It was my first extensive look at Keith Benson. He's listed at 6'11" and 225 lb's. I believe he ended up with 23 points and 13 or 14 rebounds, plus 2 blocks. He's leading his conference in blocked shots averaging around 3.6 blocks a game.

Let me get the qualifier out of the way first. He plays in a second tier conference, very similar to Jason Thompson. In fairness to Oakland, they did play a pretty tough pre-conference schedule. They went up against the likes of Kansas, Memphis, and Syracuse. Two of which are ranked in the top 10. However, all three of those were some of Benson's worst of the year. He did play Cole Aldrich to a standoff and did block 4 shots in that game. What suffered most was his scoring and to some degree, his rebounding.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me say that I'm very impressed with this guy. He needs to put on some muscle. His arms almost rail thin. Despite that, he bangs with the best of them and is stronger than you would think. On one occasion today he went to go up for a rebound and one of players on the opposition held on to his right arm. He actually got off the floor at a weird angle and managed to grab the ball with one hand in a crowd and bring it down.

He's a terrific athlete with good hops for a big man. Defensively he relies on his athleticism a little too much. He has good feet and moves lateraly very well. I wouldn't call him as intinctive a shotblocker as Alabi or Varnado, but you can see the potential there. Offensively he scores almost all of his points under the basket. He relies mostly on dropsteps or quickness, and he's very effective. He does have a 15 foot jumper that he's pretty consistant with. He just doesn't take it that often.

Unfortunately he's surrounded by a bunch of guard and small forwards that have never looked up the word pass. They think it means dribble the ball. They are in fact, horrible. They seldom get the ball inside to him and considering he's shooting around 60% from the floor, one might think it would be a good idea. In the Kansas game which I saw the last half of, he seldom touched the ball. kansas perimiter defense just wouldn't allow the ball inside. Thus the reduced scoring on his part. I like him. I think he's going to be a player.

dbfish · Jan 2, 2010

bajaden said:

I watched the Oakland/IUPUI game. Please don't ask me what IUPUI stands for. I don't have a clue. It was my first extensive look at Keith Benson. He's listed at 6'11" and 225 lb's. I believe he ended up with 23 points and 13 or 14 rebounds, plus 2 blocks. He's leading his conference in blocked shots averaging around 3.6 blocks a game.

Let me get the qualifier out of the way first. He plays in a second tier conference, very similar to Jason Thompson. In fairness to Oakland, they did play a pretty tough pre-conference schedule. They went up against the likes of Kansas, Memphis, and Syracuse. Two of which are ranked in the top 10. However, all three of those were some of Benson's worst of the year. He did play Cole Aldrich to a standoff and did block 4 shots in that game. What suffered most was his scoring and to some degree, his rebounding.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me say that I'm very impressed with this guy. He needs to put on some muscle. His arms almost rail thin. Despite that, he bangs with the best of them and is stronger than you would think. On one occasion today he went to go up for a rebound and one of players on the opposition held on to his right arm. He actually got off the floor at a weird angle and managed to grab the ball with one hand in a crowd and bring it down.

He's a terrific athlete with good hops for a big man. Defensively he relies on his athleticism a little too much. He has good feet and moves lateraly very well. I wouldn't call him as intinctive a shotblocker as Alabi or Varnado, but you can see the potential there. Offensively he scores almost all of his points under the basket. He relies mostly on dropsteps or quickness, and he's very effective. He does have a 15 foot jumper that he's pretty consistant with. He just doesn't take it that often.

Unfortunately he's surrounded by a bunch of guard and small forwards that have never looked up the word pass. They think it means dribble the ball. They are in fact, horrible. They seldom get the ball inside to him and considering he's shooting around 60% from the floor, one might think it would be a good idea. In the Kansas game which I saw the last half of, he seldom touched the ball. kansas perimiter defense just wouldn't allow the ball inside. Thus the reduced scoring on his part. I like him. I think he's going to be a player.

Bajaden, have you ever contacted the Kings about possibly becoming a scout for them?

You do an awsome job of keeping us informed about possible future draft picks.

You boggle my mind with information..Thanks again.

bajaden · Jan 2, 2010

dbfish said:

Just remember that the info is coming from what I see. Someone else may see it differently..So take it for what its worth..

=LarryLegend= · Jan 4, 2010

What do you guys think about Devin Ebanks? havent seen west virginia play this year. he seems like rudy gay.

beb0p · Jan 4, 2010

=LarryLegend= said:

Saw him played once - an underwhelming game against Purdue (3/7 FG, 11pts 6 rebs 3 assists). He's very long and athletic, but seems to lack a bit of skill and bball IQ. To his credit, plays within himself and shows signs of being an unselfish team player; not that he can be anything but a team player given his general lack of offensive polish. Jump shots and ball handling are shaky, especially if he is forced to dribble with his left hand. Seems to have some problem creating his own shot, perhaps because his dribble drive is very predictable (goes right 99.9% of the time). Defensively, likes to crash the glass and provides good hustle. At this stage in his development, seems more of a role player than a star; and probably not ready for the NBA yet.

Overall, an oversized athletic wing player that lacks some polish. I can see him being a Travis Outlaw/Nicholas Batum type. It seems to me that Rudy Gay has more skill at the same age. But then again, it's just one game. Take it for what it's worth.

bajaden · Jan 4, 2010

beb0p said:

I have to agree with your analysis. I've seen him around three times this year. So far, I'm underwhelmed. Good athlete, with some holes in his game. lacks aggression at times and disappears. I'd much rather go for somebody like Damion James of Texas, who right now is raked lower in most of the polls, but who I think is a better overall player.

bajaden · Jan 4, 2010

I got a look at Al-Farouq Aminu last night. He's improved his outside shot. And his form looks much better. His three point percentage is up from a pitiful .179 last year to .321 so far this year. Still nothing to rave about, but certainly a step in the right direction. He ended up with 19 boards in the game and scored something like 23 points. Most of his points were in the paint, but he did hit a couple of outside shots.

He's still relying too much on his athleticism, but I think the fact that they have him playing out of postion at PF is slowing his progress. He's definitely a SF in the NBA. Most of his boards come from pure athleticism and very little technique. Still, nothing wrong with that from the SF position. AKA Casspi. As I stated on my college thread, he'll either be Gerold Wallace or Gerold Green. I tend to lean toward Wallace. He would be hard to pass on if he's sitting there when we pick. Of course that would depend on who else is sitting there.

fxhsurjono · Jan 4, 2010

two words.

donatas motiejunas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH2ZhphUIiQ

bajaden · Jan 4, 2010

fxhsurjono said:

I hate redunditcy. Or is there two of him?

fxhsurjono · Jan 4, 2010

bajaden said:

sorry didnt realize i posted it twice.

Capt. Factorial · Jan 4, 2010

fxhsurjono said:

You know what's scary? When half of a guy's highlight reel comes from practice. I mean, I have no idea how to evaluate Motiejunas but if two minutes of in-game highlights can't be put together he may not have much of a resumé yet.

Vlade4GM · Jan 4, 2010

Capt. Factorial said:

Lack of youtube videos = bust

bajaden · Jan 4, 2010

Vlade4GM said:

Damm! Does that mean I'm a bust?

Warhawk · Jan 4, 2010

bajaden said:

I don't know, how do you look from mid-chest up?

Ba-dum-pum!

Yeah, I know, it was bad.

Kings 2009-2010 NBA Draft:

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Starter

Hall of Famer

G-League

Hall of Famer

Bench

G-League

All-Star

Hall of Famer

All-Star

Hall of Famer

Starter

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

Bench

Hall of Famer

Starter

Starter

Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer

G-League

Hall of Famer

G-League

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est

All-Star

Hall of Famer

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