Monroe, Aldrich, or Johnson?
- Thread starter KingGiant49erFan
- Start date
Well, since he's only talked about the guys likeliest to go by #4, anybody who we could get at #5 would be a "surprise." But I think the FO is planning on a surprise anyway, i.e., is unlikely to tell us anything very useful before the draft. With the obvious guys likely to be off the boards, the FO needs to do its best to find a guy farther down the list who is undervalued. They may not have any idea who that guy is yet, and when/if they think they've found one, they'd be morons to talk about it.
So I'm expecting nothing more than unreliable and conflicting rumors from this point forward.
Now it's just a matter of whether or not the surprise pans out. There WILL be good players going after #4, hopefully the FO can figure out who those are.
So I'm expecting nothing more than unreliable and conflicting rumors from this point forward.
Now it's just a matter of whether or not the surprise pans out. There WILL be good players going after #4, hopefully the FO can figure out who those are.
I don't see why anyone would take Johnson over Aminu after looking at this past year's numbers and considering that Johnson is 3 years older than Aminu.
Aminu
19 So.
18.9 PPG 44%FG
12.8 RPG
1.6 APG
1.7 SPG
1.7 BPG
3.8 TPG
Johnson
22 RS Jr.
17.8 PPG 50%FG
9.2 RPG
2.4 APG
1.8 SPG
2.0 BPG
2.5 TPG
Johnson shoots better and is less turnover prone, but he averages about 4 rebounds less per game than Aminu, who, as far as I can tell, is one of the best rebounding SF prospects in at least the last decade.
Honestly, I think Aminu has every bit the upside that the consensus top 4 guys have, if not more.
Aminu
19 So.
18.9 PPG 44%FG
12.8 RPG
1.6 APG
1.7 SPG
1.7 BPG
3.8 TPG
Johnson
22 RS Jr.
17.8 PPG 50%FG
9.2 RPG
2.4 APG
1.8 SPG
2.0 BPG
2.5 TPG
Johnson shoots better and is less turnover prone, but he averages about 4 rebounds less per game than Aminu, who, as far as I can tell, is one of the best rebounding SF prospects in at least the last decade.
Honestly, I think Aminu has every bit the upside that the consensus top 4 guys have, if not more.
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Why in god's name would you trade down to get Bledsoe. We need a big man. The draft is loaded with big men, and you want to trade down to draft and undersized guard. Bledsoe has no pt guard skills. ZERO!!!! He's a shooting guard, with and inconsistant outside shot, thats probably around 6'1". I wouldn't draft him with our second round pick at this point.
While I agree it would be silly to trade down for Bledsoe, I don't agree with your take on Bledsoe.
I think he has untapped PG skills that were hidden at Kentucky because he was forced to play out of position and wasn't given enough consistent run at the pt. For whatever it's worth, his PG skills were much more lauded coming out of HS. His shot is streaky, but there's no reason to think he can't improve on that eventually. He's Mario Chalmers like IMO, and Chalmers would be a great fit next to Evans.
I think he has untapped PG skills that were hidden at Kentucky because he was forced to play out of position and wasn't given enough consistent run at the pt. For whatever it's worth, his PG skills were much more lauded coming out of HS. His shot is streaky, but there's no reason to think he can't improve on that eventually. He's Mario Chalmers like IMO, and Chalmers would be a great fit next to Evans.
Fair enough, and my opinion is that he will be a better shot blocker than Johnson at the pro level. Also he's just got a big body to keep between himself and his defender, so really it's more than just shot blocking I'm thinking of with him. It great that he provides that at the SF position, and since we can't get that out of our bigs I'll take it any way I can.
Despite that though I still am leaning toward Johnson- he's just so much more polished. Also I think he has an exciting looking game, it's only when I think of him guarding the Carmello Anthonys and the bigger SFs that I start to have second thoughts.
And sorry for getting defensive earlier.
Despite that though I still am leaning toward Johnson- he's just so much more polished. Also I think he has an exciting looking game, it's only when I think of him guarding the Carmello Anthonys and the bigger SFs that I start to have second thoughts.
And sorry for getting defensive earlier.
Right it's not just the stats but where and how they come. Upside? Sure Aminu probably has more but that's when I think of that bird in the hand is worth two in the bush saying.
It's tempting to suggest trading up or down in this draft and I've suggested it myself but I don't think it's a good idea anymore and here is why- we really don't know who will fall from what we view as the top 4, and if none do then we control our own destiny from what's left rather than hope the pick we want falls to us. If it's true like many have said that the talent level from 5 to 10 or more is around the same then wouldn't it be better to have more to choose from than less? There is no consensus on draft order of the first 4 picks, so who knows how it's going to go after those. Trading down in the draft to go for a certain player is not advisable since that player may well be gone by then.
I see some saying that drafting Aldrich before the 20 spot is a waste, yet some mock drafts have him as high as 6 or maybe higher. Trading down is a genuine gamble, and trading up may not do us any good since the player we want just may be available at that spot anyway.
It's tempting to suggest trading up or down in this draft and I've suggested it myself but I don't think it's a good idea anymore and here is why- we really don't know who will fall from what we view as the top 4, and if none do then we control our own destiny from what's left rather than hope the pick we want falls to us. If it's true like many have said that the talent level from 5 to 10 or more is around the same then wouldn't it be better to have more to choose from than less? There is no consensus on draft order of the first 4 picks, so who knows how it's going to go after those. Trading down in the draft to go for a certain player is not advisable since that player may well be gone by then.
I see some saying that drafting Aldrich before the 20 spot is a waste, yet some mock drafts have him as high as 6 or maybe higher. Trading down is a genuine gamble, and trading up may not do us any good since the player we want just may be available at that spot anyway.
DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!
Play that surprise reach game when you're drafting in the mid-teens, not at number five. I really hope the Kings don't waste this pick. If you want some guy no one is thinking about in the top 10, trade down and pick up something else of value. Now, this is just company guy Jerry talking, but it's been my biggest fear ever since we slipped out of the consensus 4.
Play that surprise reach game when you're drafting in the mid-teens, not at number five. I really hope the Kings don't waste this pick. If you want some guy no one is thinking about in the top 10, trade down and pick up something else of value. Now, this is just company guy Jerry talking, but it's been my biggest fear ever since we slipped out of the consensus 4.
Sportscenter guys seem to think that the sixers may go with Johnson over turner which i find very hard to believe. They seem to think he's a better fit for that team. I partially see their point since turner may not mesh with iggy since he lacks outside shooting(at the moment) and I'd like to think they'd like to unload iggys salary but that won't be easy. At the end of the day though, you just don't pass on a guy like turner for a guy like Johnson. I'm praying they do though
For whatever reason, a lot of mock drafts and writers seems to be very high on Wesley Johnson. While he was around #6-#8 in most initial mock drafts, he has been bumped up to #4 in many mocks. If he works out well with teams, I would not be suprised at all to see him go in the top 3. Remember, guys like Derrick Favors has a lot of potential but is still raw. If GMs don't like his workouts/interviews etc, he can drop a couple spots while more experienced players like Johnson sneaks up.
At this point, I don't even know if Cousins is a sure top 5 pick even if he slips down to us. The comparisons to Eddy Curry is just scary. I mean these writers are wrong a lot of times, but its a fine line between a star and a bust like Curry.
Bledsoe: Great athlete with very few skills. Can handle the ball fairly well but has trouble finishing at the basket. His outside shot is very inconsistant. And he's not a very good passer. He turned the ball over at a 25% rate per possession. He has no point guard skills at present and should have stayed in school.
James Anderson: Very good outside shooter. One of the best scorers in college last year. He's a volume shooter. Not a great ballhandler, or passer, but decent. He would be a great player for a team needing a spot up shooter.
Xavior Henry: I think he will eventually be the better of the three players. Very smooth athlete, but not a great athlete. Good basketball IQ and lets the game come to him. Seldom forces a bad shot. Just a good all around player that will get better and better. He also has an NBA body, and defended well.
Personally I'm not interested in any of these guys at the 5th pick. We need a big man.
Not even close. Johnson is ten times more polished than Greene was coming out of college. He's also a better athlete than Greene is. He's a better rebounder that Greene. Sorry, its not even in the same ball park. He's a better player right now than Greene is.. However, I still don't want him. We Don't Need Another Small Forward!!!!!!!
That could be part of why Johnson's been going up in some mocks, too. He's older than most of the competition, but he's got some skill, and there's basically nothing wrong with him. Once you run out of megatalented freaks who don't have red flags, the players who are pretty good and have nothing wrong with them start looking a lot better.
With later picks, the odds of suffering from the NBA equivalent of beer goggles starts getting very high, and a safe (if somewhat blah) pick may appeal to a lot of GMs.
With later picks, the odds of suffering from the NBA equivalent of beer goggles starts getting very high, and a safe (if somewhat blah) pick may appeal to a lot of GMs.
Epke Udoh! Write down the name... And to be clear. Monroe is not that good a rebounder, although he did improve this year. He's still a solely lefthanded player that goes predominately over his right shoulder.
My problem with Monroe is that he just reminds me too much of what we already have in Hawes. He can play in the post, but he'd rather be out at the top of the key. Like Hawes, he's a good passer and he shoots well from out there. I think he can be a decent post player, but I also think its just not in his makeup to want to be there. I'll take both Aldrich or Udoh over Monroe. Both those guys can play defense and rebound. And with Udoh you get the added bonus of his being a decent offensive player. Plus both Aldrich and Udoh are better athlete's than Monroe.
My problem with Monroe is that he just reminds me too much of what we already have in Hawes. He can play in the post, but he'd rather be out at the top of the key. Like Hawes, he's a good passer and he shoots well from out there. I think he can be a decent post player, but I also think its just not in his makeup to want to be there. I'll take both Aldrich or Udoh over Monroe. Both those guys can play defense and rebound. And with Udoh you get the added bonus of his being a decent offensive player. Plus both Aldrich and Udoh are better athlete's than Monroe.