2009-10 Kings draft position thread
- Thread starter fnordius
- Start date
If the big 4 are off the board (wall, turner, favors, cousins) I will jump on the Johnson Bandwagon. Yes I know we have 2 promising sfs but I feel Johnson is an impact player starting day one. He scores, rebounds and defends well and has been an impact player in some big games this year. I kinda feel he has that "it" factor just like Evans. I think if we went this route we would want to trade Greene or Casspi and get back in the first round for a defensive big.
I like Wesley Johnson a lot. But I would be torn between him and Aldrich. Aldrich is the defensive center your looking for. As I said, I would be torn. I don't think the decision is that clear cut. But, I think I would lean toward Johnson. I'm still a big fan of Udoh by the way. So if were unlucky enough to drop all the way to the 10th spot, I think Udoh might still be available and I would certainly take him before trading down.
That's a harsher assessment than I would have expected. I'll admit I've only seen a very little of Whiteside, but what I've seen looks like another Marcus Camby (even if you have to wait a few years) and I don't think I see 14 guys I'd take in front of that. But maybe you've seen motivational issues in Whiteside that knock him down in your eyes?
Its just my opinion. That doesn't make it fact. I've seen Whiteside play less than most of the top prospects. Mostly because Marshall just wasn't on that many times. But I've seen him at least six times including his conference tourney. He got outplayed by Jerome Jordan in his final game. At least in my opinion. Since I didn't have a very high opinion of Jordan at the time, that didn't bode well for me.
Its not that I don't think he has long range potential. He does. But as Vince Lombardi said, Potential means you haven't done anything yet. Its possible that someone will take a flyer on him in the lottery. Just like Memphis did last year with Thabeet. But your not going to get any immediate help from him in the way of serious minutes.
I just think that there are players that are more skilled and more NBA ready that I would take ahead of him. If I had the 10th choice in the draft and I had to choose between him and Udoh, I would take Udoh. Whiteside may have more upside because of his athleticism. But so did Gerold Green, and Tyrus Thomas. If I had to choose between Whiteside and Aldrich, once again I would take Aldrich. Both Aldrich and Udoh are more NBA ready. I think both can step in and contribute now.
When you throw in the fact that Whiteside has had problems with immaturity and is also having problems accademicly, I think you have to raise a red flag. Unlike Cousins, who is much more skilled, and has similar things said about him, but has so far proven the critic's wrong, Whiteside's problems have gotten worse. I'm williing to overlook some of these things in a player of Cousins caliber, but not on a player whose a risk on both the immaturity and the skill level front.
I'm sure there are a lot of people that would disagree with me and thats fine. I've been wrong before. I just don't think the Kings are in a position to take to many risks right now. A team like the Spurs or the Mav's would be a perfect fit for him. Yeah, I know, the vision of him playing in an all star game in a few years dances through your head while you kick yourself. Always a possibility. Now if we could get the Timberwolves to cough up one of their three first round picks for a reasonable price, then I'd be willing to take the gamble.
Its not that I don't think he has long range potential. He does. But as Vince Lombardi said, Potential means you haven't done anything yet. Its possible that someone will take a flyer on him in the lottery. Just like Memphis did last year with Thabeet. But your not going to get any immediate help from him in the way of serious minutes.
I just think that there are players that are more skilled and more NBA ready that I would take ahead of him. If I had the 10th choice in the draft and I had to choose between him and Udoh, I would take Udoh. Whiteside may have more upside because of his athleticism. But so did Gerold Green, and Tyrus Thomas. If I had to choose between Whiteside and Aldrich, once again I would take Aldrich. Both Aldrich and Udoh are more NBA ready. I think both can step in and contribute now.
When you throw in the fact that Whiteside has had problems with immaturity and is also having problems accademicly, I think you have to raise a red flag. Unlike Cousins, who is much more skilled, and has similar things said about him, but has so far proven the critic's wrong, Whiteside's problems have gotten worse. I'm williing to overlook some of these things in a player of Cousins caliber, but not on a player whose a risk on both the immaturity and the skill level front.
I'm sure there are a lot of people that would disagree with me and thats fine. I've been wrong before. I just don't think the Kings are in a position to take to many risks right now. A team like the Spurs or the Mav's would be a perfect fit for him. Yeah, I know, the vision of him playing in an all star game in a few years dances through your head while you kick yourself. Always a possibility. Now if we could get the Timberwolves to cough up one of their three first round picks for a reasonable price, then I'd be willing to take the gamble.
Forecast for today, gloomy with a 90% chance of woss.
GSW, Minny, Philly and the astounding Nets are all pretty sure to get lins tonight. Indiana and Washington are playing each other, so the one bit of good news is that they can't both lose.
Likely rankings tonight:
1. NJN 7-64
2. MIN 14-58
3. GSW 19-52
4. WAS 21-49
5. DET 23-48
6. PHI 24-48
7. SAC 25-47
8. IND 26-46
9-10. LAC/NYK 26-45
GSW, Minny, Philly and the astounding Nets are all pretty sure to get lins tonight. Indiana and Washington are playing each other, so the one bit of good news is that they can't both lose.
Likely rankings tonight:
1. NJN 7-64
2. MIN 14-58
3. GSW 19-52
4. WAS 21-49
5. DET 23-48
6. PHI 24-48
7. SAC 25-47
8. IND 26-46
9-10. LAC/NYK 26-45
I appreciate the info, but as of now, NJN/MIN have no bearing on us. We actually want them to lose to everyone in spots 3-10. They are too far gone to catch. In the case of Phi/Det vs Was/GSW, we want the former to win. The worst thing is to split hairs here and have everyone go ahead of us with a half game. The goal isn't last, it's probably getting to 5th.
Because he's that defensive big we've all been yammering on about wanting. Dude can board and block shots, has length and athleticism, and apparently has a jumper..So he wouldnt be a liability on offense. As far as upside he's been compared to Emeka, or Pryzbilla (with offense).
I know everyone here wants a future star, but as we slip further and further out of the top 5 I dont think thats going to happen. Aldrich is never going to be a 20ppg player, he may never even be a 15ppg player. But the dude can very likely be a 11rpg, 2 blk player. Someone like that would be HUGE for us going foward.
I know everyone here wants a future star, but as we slip further and further out of the top 5 I dont think thats going to happen. Aldrich is never going to be a 20ppg player, he may never even be a 15ppg player. But the dude can very likely be a 11rpg, 2 blk player. Someone like that would be HUGE for us going foward.
So do the substitution game. Aldrich gets all of Hawes's minutes. So if Hawes gets 8 rebs and 1.5 blocks and Aldrich gets 11 rebs and 2 blocks, then you get a whopping 3 rebs and .5 blocks increase. But then you lose how many points in the process? Easily 5. Probably closer to 10. Net-net, what's the diff?
Hawes is only averaging 10 points this year and he doesn't even do it efficiently. He takes low percentage shots and never gets to the foul line. The only thing he's been good at as a pro is passing. Other than that he doesn't score, defend or rebound well. Due to youth and marginal improvement, let's not give up hope, but can we please stop calling Hawes a good offensive player? He's terrible right now. He's been terrible for three years.
Doing a little math here, you think in 27 mpg next year Aldrich will average close to 0 ppg and tops 5. Meaning his best case scenario on offense next year is Jon Brockman.
Doing a little math here, you think in 27 mpg next year Aldrich will average close to 0 ppg and tops 5. Meaning his best case scenario on offense next year is Jon Brockman.