I'm not saying he won't be a nice player, what I'm saying is he's not anywhere close to being a lotto pick in my mind. I want a sure fire starter with a lotto pick...if you swing for the fences in the lotto you'll either hit a home-run or strike out....there's no way Yi is a home run and has way too many question marks...Earliest I'd look at him is in the 14-18 range.
That's my point, you want to hit a home run, go with Thad Young or something...Yi is NOT a home run, not in the slightest...I'd rather take a stab at someone else, but my philosophy is go for the sure-fire double/triple when you're in the lottery...that's the best way to get out...swingin for the fences and missing leaves you looking a lot like the W's the past decade and a half.
Peja had a wingspan of a 6'7" guy; Julian has a wingspan of 7'2". Julian can jump; Peja couldn't. Julian probably plays 6 inches taller than Peja. But I agree with you that you need strength/bulk to guard the big PFs in this league. The only one I know of in this draft that has the bulk, other than Oden, is Hawes.
well its a good thing you're not the kings gm. dont you think its odd that not only most mock drafts have him as a lotto pick (prob top 5) and most gms prob think the same way. Hell prob more than half of this forum think Yi is a lottery pick. there has to be a reason why. he has the potential to be a good player. if Yi is still around, you'd really want us to use our highest draft pick in years in a guy that most mock draft dont even have in the top ten just cuz you think he "might" be a home run?
true, but yao was also predicted top 5 in that draft and he turned out to be a pretty good draft choice. there will always be a few top 5 picks that dont pan out. but in most cases those are the exceptions to the rule. i would assume there are plenty of players taken 10-20 (which is where thad young is projected) that arent even in the league anymore and if they are, prob on the bench or a mediocre player. my point is if we have a chance at a top 5 prospect at our pick i say take him. chances are he will be a good player and help our team as opposed to reaching for a slight chance we discover the next tony parker or something by picking a player that is iffy. especially when it is our highest pick in the lottery in years.
what type of question marks?
If Yi was available at #10, I think we should get him.
If Yi was available at #10, I think we should get him.
You're just nutty on this subject.
If you watch Yi play and can't see the potential for a home run..frankly you just don't know what a home run constitutes.
That does not mean he WILL be a home run. But it certainly means that the ONLY thing holdng him back from being a lock at #3 is that he's Chinese. If a player with that talent was doing that stuff stateside last season there would be a healthy Yi or Durant? debate at #2. You find skilled 7 footers with that kind of speed and agility roughly every so...never actually.
P.S. Amare entered the league right out of high school and had an inside game that Wright does not. He could rebound and score in the post against NBA bigs. Neither seems likely with Wright.
Wright just doesn't have Amare's strength. Even if they weigh the same amount, Amare is just a freak of nature. I was listening to Bill Simmons' podcast, and Paul Shirley was talking about how they don't let Amare lift weights because if he did he would just explode in size and his chest would be too big for him to do anything.
Wright got a lot of hustle points in college, and he's a great athlete, but he's not a freakish athlete like Amare or Wallace. I just don't see the comparison. He projects out to a SF or at best a tweener SF/PF in every scouting report I've read. And to me, it's not so much about size as it is about strength. I know you can improve strength, but still -- his game just, to me, doesn't translate to the PF spot.
Wright got a lot of hustle points in college, and he's a great athlete, but he's not a freakish athlete like Amare or Wallace. I just don't see the comparison. He projects out to a SF or at best a tweener SF/PF in every scouting report I've read. And to me, it's not so much about size as it is about strength. I know you can improve strength, but still -- his game just, to me, doesn't translate to the PF spot.
Well then who do you guys propose we pick at 10?
Barring that, I still would rather have Thad Young. At least he has a definable NBA SF ability (scoring), he's a tremendous athlete, and he has a lot of potential. He has his share of question marks, but with him you don't have to hope he learns to shoot or learns moves to the hoop, etc. He has the raw abilities, it's just a matter of learning to harness them (as well as figuring out whether he has a killer instinct).
I also find it kind of weird that all of the players in the Top 10, except for Jianlian, played for big programs in the NCAA tournament. I know the best players tend to play there, but a part of me wonders if we're just seeing the familiarity effect in action. Everyone saw Wright and Green play several times, so maybe people rate them higher than others like Young and Jason Smith?
I've watched full games of him, not just selective videos. While his ball handling is good FOR a 7 footer, it isn't exactly good for a supposed PF who needs it to score. He's not a back to the basket player who scores in the low post, he's a guy who has to break stronger bigs off the dribble and take pull up fadeaways and whatnot. He finishes well against smaller and weaker opponents and in transition but against bigger tougher competition he doesn't finish strong consistently and he backs away. I don't get why people are trying to make him out as he's some invincible blue chip prospect who has no flaws. I've already stated I'd be happy with him at the 10th pick, I just think people are getting way too carried away with his hype and should know that he has his fair share of downsides as well as upsides and he's a high risk high reward player. People seem to just want to see the positives apparently.
All it takes is for three out of Conley, J. Wright, Hawes and Green to be taken before 10 and one of Noah/Jianlian/B. Wright/Jianlian/Brewer will fall to us. It may be a stretch, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. Hawes could go to the Bulls at 9 since they need interior scoring, the TWolves and Bucks need help on the perimeter. There could be at least one unforeseen reach like when the Raptors took Villanueva. It could happen.
Brick, you get so prissy whenever someone challenges you're ideas. I can't believe you're essentially calling me a xenophobe. That's quite personal. Anyway, in your second paragraph, the only thing that Noah is does not do, consistently, is hit jumpers. And since there was not much hitting of jumpers in that nine minute mix, I compared Jianlin to Noah. Noah would still be bandied about as a Top 5 guy if Oden had not demolished him in the championship, and I am pretty sure there are no Greg Odens in China to provide a similar yardstick to guage Jianlin against. You'll say Oden is one of a kind in college, which is true, but he is not quite so unique in the NBA. Hence, Noah's stock drops.
How is calling him a SF an insult? The guy has amazing quickness, and if he can shoot as advertised it would be retarded to anchor him to the paint. I've said the same thing to people who try to project Durant as a PF instead of a SG/SF. I suppose that makes me prejudiced against Longhorns. Or maybe it means I like to maximize talent. You see Brickie, I like to see people be successful. Just because a guy is 6'11" does not mean I need to shoehorn him into the frontcourt. I am not that shortsighted or narrow-minded. With your attitude, KG would be playing center right now, since he had zero handles/shooting coming out of high school, and he liked to dunk the ball alot.
I like Jianlin, and he is in the Top 5 conversation for a reason. I stated before that these guys are scouted every bit as much as an NCAA athlete, and I stick by that statement. I simply think that Jianlin will have more success at SF than PF. He will murder people at SF if his shot is what you say it is. Step back to guard against the dribble, and he'll bury a jumper. Crowd him, and he'll blow right by you for the monster dunk. Put a quicker, physical player on him (Bowen, Artest) and he'll take them into the paint. Play him at PF and he has to go against the likes of Amare, Duncan, Bosh, Oden, Gasol, and Wallace/Webber. That is no where near the same matchup problem that he would create at SF. Moreover, he has a small frame. Now, unlike Noah, he has a lot of skill to compensate for a small frame, and will not be limited by genetics. But that small frame will take a pounding in the NBA. Defensively, his size and quickness could wreak havoc on weakside block shots and in the passing lanes, but you cannot have him anchored to the key if you want to see that kind of defensive production.
How is calling him a SF an insult? The guy has amazing quickness, and if he can shoot as advertised it would be retarded to anchor him to the paint. I've said the same thing to people who try to project Durant as a PF instead of a SG/SF. I suppose that makes me prejudiced against Longhorns. Or maybe it means I like to maximize talent. You see Brickie, I like to see people be successful. Just because a guy is 6'11" does not mean I need to shoehorn him into the frontcourt. I am not that shortsighted or narrow-minded. With your attitude, KG would be playing center right now, since he had zero handles/shooting coming out of high school, and he liked to dunk the ball alot.
I like Jianlin, and he is in the Top 5 conversation for a reason. I stated before that these guys are scouted every bit as much as an NCAA athlete, and I stick by that statement. I simply think that Jianlin will have more success at SF than PF. He will murder people at SF if his shot is what you say it is. Step back to guard against the dribble, and he'll bury a jumper. Crowd him, and he'll blow right by you for the monster dunk. Put a quicker, physical player on him (Bowen, Artest) and he'll take them into the paint. Play him at PF and he has to go against the likes of Amare, Duncan, Bosh, Oden, Gasol, and Wallace/Webber. That is no where near the same matchup problem that he would create at SF. Moreover, he has a small frame. Now, unlike Noah, he has a lot of skill to compensate for a small frame, and will not be limited by genetics. But that small frame will take a pounding in the NBA. Defensively, his size and quickness could wreak havoc on weakside block shots and in the passing lanes, but you cannot have him anchored to the key if you want to see that kind of defensive production.
Just looked at seven mock drafts (Tue, 5/29, 5:30pm) from DraftExpress, NBAdraft.net, InsideHoops, YahooSports, HoopsWorld, ESPN and HoopsHype who picked for the Kings:
Jianlian
Julian Wright
Acie Law
Tiago Splitter
Mike Conley
Jochim Noah
Jianlian
My favorite this early might be Splitter. He's tough inside, good rebounder-defender down low and can be bought out. Jianlian is a 7-0 ft version of Quincy Douby, Conley is 6-1, Acie is 6-3 and played at least 3 yr I think. Noah a big ?? and J.Wright seems ok but another 6-7 SF just like our last 3 draft choices.
At this point who knows??
Jianlian
Julian Wright
Acie Law
Tiago Splitter
Mike Conley
Jochim Noah
Jianlian
My favorite this early might be Splitter. He's tough inside, good rebounder-defender down low and can be bought out. Jianlian is a 7-0 ft version of Quincy Douby, Conley is 6-1, Acie is 6-3 and played at least 3 yr I think. Noah a big ?? and J.Wright seems ok but another 6-7 SF just like our last 3 draft choices.
At this point who knows??
i think i might be one of the people focusing on more of the pros than cons. but i totally see your point. aside from oden and durant (though some can find flaws in their game too), just about everyone in this draft has potentials and risks we should worry about. i personally just think if for some reason a player thats hyped up enough to be a top 5 player drops to a 10, i think it would be a steal, despite some ? in his game.
I think the model is the KG or Nowitzki inside/out PF rather than a SF. Having watched Jianlian play the US in the worlds, he's fast, but I really can't see him trying to keep up with LeBron or Carmelo or any of those other SFs. It would just be impossible for him to keep up. Put him at PF and he could bother opposing PFs with his length (a 7'0" PF is still pretty imposing), even if they're stronger than him, and meanwhile he's quicker than most PFs and would have an easier time on offense.