ESPN'S First Mock draft... sorta

[Gary]

personally what i've seen from Cole hasn't been super impressive... im kinda feeling that Solomon Alabi guy.... or anyone else thats more athletic

It's funny you say that

I don't think of it being racist. I have the same issues with it so I hope people don't take what I say as being racist either, but there are not many successful white centers coming out of college in recent years.

But on the flip side You mention Alabi.... I have about as big of an issue with big athletic centers who have little to no basketball experience that some scout plucked from a foreign country based solely on his size They don't seem to work out very well either. But idiot GMs still seem to take chances on them hehe.

 

[matthew76]

i've done it like ten times. In three of those the New Orleans Hornets won. And the had like a 0.6% chance winning, what the heck? Overall, Sacramento usually got Cole Aldrich between the 6-8 spots

 

[=LarryLegend=]

I like Cole Aldrich.

 

[sactownfan]

I like Cole Aldrich.

shocking....

 

[allrightythen]

I think Aldrich compares favorably to Emeka Okafor, similar type of athlete, maybe a little bigger. I think he might actually be a better post defender while Emeka might have a slight edge at help defense. I'm surprised at any comparisons to Hawes, they aren't similar at all other than skin color and position. He would definitely fill some needs with his size, rebounding, physical defense, and shotblocking.

 

[=LarryLegend=]

I think Aldrich compares favorably to Emeka Okafor, similar type of athlete, maybe a little bigger. I think he might actually be a better post defender while Emeka might have a slight edge at help defense. I'm surprised at any comparisons to Hawes, they aren't similar at all other than skin color and position. He would definitely fill some needs with his size, rebounding, physical defense, and shotblocking.

Skin color clouds people's judgment on white bigs. its sad. Hawes 2.0....Brad Miller 2.0....Ostertag....


I think Cole Aldrich will be a good STARTING center.

 

[BMiller52]

Skin color clouds people's judgment on white bigs. its sad. Hawes 2.0....Brad Miller 2.0....Ostertag....


I think Cole Aldrich will be a good STARTING center.

Agreed. And even though spencer has had his fair share of bad games he's only 21, just because the light is flickering for us doesn't mean it won't come on consistently at some point in his career.

 

[Chupacabra]

The only thing i really like about Aldrich is that hes a center. Favors and Cousins are my guys.

 

[DoDiGaG0]

The only thing i really like about Aldrich is that hes a center. Favors and Cousins are my guys.

no love for Solomon Alabi?

I know hes not polished..but he's extremely athletic, has size, defends, rebounds, and block shots
just like the the guy we need...the only people is that he's like 2 years away from contributing

 

[DoDiGaG0]

Cousin's def has A LOT of talent..but I don't want a guy who has a questionable work ethic COMING INTO the NBA...

if history says something, its that : Lots of talent - (Questionable Work Ethic + Million's of Dollars ) = BUST

 

[=LarryLegend=]

We droped 2% with the win! lol

 

[gunks]

I think Aldrich compares favorably to Emeka Okafor, similar type of athlete, maybe a little bigger. I think he might actually be a better post defender while Emeka might have a slight edge at help defense. I'm surprised at any comparisons to Hawes, they aren't similar at all other than skin color and position. He would definitely fill some needs with his size, rebounding, physical defense, and shotblocking.

I'm on the Aldrich bandwagon myself.

Seems like he'll be at least a 14/11/1.5 type of guy with good to great interior D. Just what our young team needs.

Cousins would be nice as well. Dude is a beast.

If we do luck out and get Wall, I think we'd end up having to trade him or Evans, as two ball dominant guys in the backcourt probably wouldnt work out chemistry wise.

Basically, I want a big this draft.

 

[BMiller52]

I'm on the Aldrich bandwagon myself.

Seems like he'll be at least a 14/11/1.5 type of guy with good to great interior D. Just what our young team needs.

Cousins would be nice as well. Dude is a beast.

If we do luck out and get Wall, I think we'd end up having to trade him or Evans, as two ball dominant guys in the backcourt probably wouldnt work out chemistry wise.

Basically, I want a big this draft.

cosigned.

 

[Aenadin]

Mission Aldrich.... we need this big. would you pair him up with hawes or JT? if you can move JT which in return gives us a mid 15-20s pick you can get another quality player.

 

[=LarryLegend=]

I'm on the Aldrich bandwagon myself.

Seems like he'll be at least a 14/11/1.5 type of guy with good to great interior D. Just what our young team needs.

Cousins would be nice as well. Dude is a beast.

If we do luck out and get Wall, I think we'd end up having to trade him or Evans, as two ball dominant guys in the backcourt probably wouldnt work out chemistry wise.

Basically, I want a big this draft.

Thank you! if we cant get Wall, Aldrich looks like a safe Petrie pick.

 

[DocHolliday]

I went to youtube to pull up some video on Cole Aldrich. The first videos on the list were specifically about Aldrich getting dunked on. Not a good first impression here.

 

[swisshh]

Cole's shotblocks are both good and bad. Many are flat footed, which means he is using positioning and not putting himself in a spot to get called for the foul, but it's bad in that NBA big men will just rise up over that. There is a big question of whether or not his style can compete with NBA size and athleticism.

 

[gunks]

He has good length.


This whole debate is going to be moot when Petrie makes a reach and drafts Monroe way ahead of where he should be picked.

 

[hammystyle]

Cole's shotblocks are both good and bad. Many are flat footed, which means he is using positioning and not putting himself in a spot to get called for the foul, but it's bad in that NBA big men will just rise up over that. There is a big question of whether or not his style can compete with NBA size and athleticism.

You just described what Tim Duncan has been doing in the NBA for 13 years. Its a style that is very effective because using your vertical to block shots leads to shot fakes and losing defensive positioning.

 

[Vlade4GM]

You just described what Tim Duncan has been doing in the NBA for 13 years. Its a style that is very effective because using your vertical to block shots leads to shot fakes and losing defensive positioning.

Does Aldrich have the same reach as Duncan though? If you're going to play that card then reach becomes all the more important.

 

[bajaden]

I'm on the Aldrich bandwagon myself.

Seems like he'll be at least a 14/11/1.5 type of guy with good to great interior D. Just what our young team needs.

Cousins would be nice as well. Dude is a beast.

If we do luck out and get Wall, I think we'd end up having to trade him or Evans, as two ball dominant guys in the backcourt probably wouldnt work out chemistry wise.

Basically, I want a big this draft.

Trust me, Evans is going nowhere. Also, if you watch Wall play a lot you'll notice that he really doesn't dominate the ball that much. He brings it up the court and then gives it up. He picks his spots to try and score. I think the and Evans could play together just fine. Although I would rather have Evan Turner or Wesley Johnson, who reminds me a little bit of Scotty Pippen in his style of play.

 

[bajaden]

Mission Aldrich.... we need this big. would you pair him up with hawes or JT? if you can move JT which in return gives us a mid 15-20s pick you can get another quality player.

JT is worth more than a draft pick. Why do we undervalue every player we have.

 

[bajaden]

Does Aldrich have the same reach as Duncan though? If you're going to play that card than reach becomes all the more important.

Aldrich has pretty good reach. Obviously we can't verify that until we get the actual measurements from the combine. I like Aldrich, but I'm not willing to commit to anyone this early in the season. And by the way, he's a pretty good athlete. He just doesn't look like it. My problem is that I saw Parakhouski dominate him in his game with Radford. Just one game, and he could have been surprised by Parakhouski. But you do have to take notice.

 

[bajaden]

I like Mr. Favors. He seems like he plays with some anger.

Sorry, late to the party, because all the phones went down here in Ensenada. However, I'm far from sold on Mr. Favors. And I'm not sure I see the anger you see. He came with great press clippings, but so far he's done nothing to impress me. That doesn't mean he won't be a good player.

Let me put it this way. When I watch Ohio St. Its hard not to notice Evan Turner. When I watch Kentucky, its hard not to notice John Wall, or even Cousins for that matter. When I watch Texas, its hard not to notice Dexter Pittman or Damion Jamison. Its The same with Syracuse and Wesley Johnson. But when I watch Georgia Tech, Derrick Favors doesn't stand out. As I said, that doesn't mean he won't be a good player, but when your looking at players, you want them to make you take notice.

 

[bajaden]

DeMarcus Cousins will be a King.. Mark this post

The only thing that will keep Cousins from being a very good player is whats between his ears. He has the body. The athleticism, and enough talent to play in the league. But he's a very emotional player that lets his emotions affect him in a negative way. But he has become better at controling his emotions.

This is a kid thats 6'10"/6'11" and weighs 270/280 and still looks like he could hold more weight. Its rare to find someone like that who can play as well as he can. He has some flaws. He doesn't run the floor like he should every time. He seems to float at times. Almost as though he loses focus when he's not part of a play. He would be hard to pass up if he's sitting there when we pick.

 

[bajaden]

It's funny you say that

I don't think of it being racist. I have the same issues with it so I hope people don't take what I say as being racist either, but there are not many successful white centers coming out of college in recent years.

But on the flip side You mention Alabi.... I have about as big of an issue with big athletic centers who have little to no basketball experience that some scout plucked from a foreign country based solely on his size They don't seem to work out very well either. But idiot GMs still seem to take chances on them hehe.

I think Alabi can be a player in the NBA, but he's a long way from being able to play extended minutes in the NBA. He's way too weak in his lower body to hold position, and he still needs a lot of experience as far as basketball IQ goes. He's not at the top of my list. You would get everything he brings to the table from Udoh and he's far more experienced as far as IQ goes. An although Udoh may look skinny, he's far stronger in his lower body and upper body.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Aldrich has pretty good reach. Obviously we can't verify that until we get the actual measurements from the combine. I like Aldrich, but I'm not willing to commit to anyone this early in the season. And by the way, he's a pretty good athlete. He just doesn't look like it. My problem is that I saw Parakhouski dominate him in his game with Radford. Just one game, and he could have been surprised by Parakhouski. But you do have to take notice.

Good reach, but good enough reach? That's yet to be determined.

 

[bajaden]

I think Aldrich compares favorably to Emeka Okafor, similar type of athlete, maybe a little bigger. I think he might actually be a better post defender while Emeka might have a slight edge at help defense. I'm surprised at any comparisons to Hawes, they aren't similar at all other than skin color and position. He would definitely fill some needs with his size, rebounding, physical defense, and shotblocking.

Its really hard to compare a college player to an established player in the NBA. Personally Aldrich reminds me of a more athletic Chris Kaman. He's not nearly as athletic as Okafor. He's not nearly as offensively skilled as Hawes and plays nothing like him. Aldrich has size and athleticism. He's fairly long. His offensive game is a little rough, but thats to be expected. Defensively he's pretty good at his current level.

 

[bajaden]

Cousin's def has A LOT of talent..but I don't want a guy who has a questionable work ethic COMING INTO the NBA...

if history says something, its that : Lots of talent - (Questionable Work Ethic + Million's of Dollars ) = BUST

This is the last thing I'll say about Cousins for a while. Remember, Cousins dominated every player he came up against in highschool. It was easy for him. He didn't even have to try sometimes. I mean there were times he was being guarded by someone that was 6'4". Thats how it is in highschool. And so he took off games at times. Frankly I think he got bored with the comptetion. So it wasn't as much about work ethic as it was incentive.

So far he's risen to the challenge from Calipari. And to his credit, he seems to have his best games when he's up against the best competition. So don't be so quick to judge an 18 year old kid. What was you mental make up when you were that age. If this was a guy that was a senior with the same rep then I would agree with you. But he's not, so you have to cut him some slack.

 

[Vlade4GM]

This is the last thing I'll say about Cousins for a while. Remember, Cousins dominated every player he came up against in highschool. It was easy for him. He didn't even have to try sometimes. I mean there were times he was being guarded by someone that was 6'4". Thats how it is in highschool. And so he took off games at times. Frankly I think he got bored with the comptetion. So it wasn't as much about work ethic as it was incentive.

So far he's risen to the challenge from Calipari. And to his credit, he seems to have his best games when he's up against the best competition. So don't be so quick to judge an 18 year old kid. What was you mental make up when you were that age. If this was a guy that was a senior with the same rep then I would agree with you. But he's not, so you have to cut him some slack.

While I agree with the rest of what you said, that's not really a relevant question considering it takes above average maturity to excel in the NBA, especially when it requires for you to be in your prime by your mid to late 20's.