Espns first mock draft: Kings taking Julian Wright

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SacTownKid said:
Well Duncan has said himself that length effects him the most, Julian Wright has plenty of that! I am guessing he has a 9' + standing reach, easy.

I think his length and athletic skill is going to make him very interesting at the 4. Same goes for Jeff Green.
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There are exactly zero 210lb impact PFs in the NBA. At that size you cannot hold your position in the post. When Duncan is talking about length he's not talking about guys he can walk right under the hoop and who can count the whiskers on his chin.

Wright's chance at stardom, the reason people are interested, is the possibiity he might be able to be Gerald Wallace 2. But as a PF, he's a midget. Short, weak, midget. If he had a big strong body ala Brand than the reach would maybe matter. But he's got a pure SF build. Just like Gerald played out of positon in college because...well, college basically sucks and and they never have enough true bigs to go around.

As an aside, I am nto amaxing down onhim, just know that we do not need a player at that position (althoguh a Cisco/Wright SF combo could cause some havoc if Ron is moved). If we were remotely in the market for a SF I would gamble on him 2nd, after Brewer but ahead of Green, Thornton, Young. But it would be a major long term project. He was just barely an impact guy in college, and is way too raw to be able to do anything immediately in the NBA.

And as a PF?? Only if you are Don Nelson. Who got punked by a real PF in Carlos Boozer in the end of course.
 
Bricklayer said:
I think that's true, and that possibility terrifies me as more or less a confirmation of everything Geoff's detractors have been saying about him.
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I don't see why a Green pick would be worse than a Wright pick. It's apples to apples. They're extremely similar players. Wright is maybe slightly more athletic, Green has a slightly better jump shot. Neither one can drive to the hoop, create his own shot (without traveling) or consistently shoot from outside. I'm not particularly excited about either of them.
 
nbrans said:
I don't see why a Green pick would be worse than a Wright pick. It's apples to apples. They're extremely similar players. Wright is maybe slightly more athletic, Green has a slightly better jump shot. Neither one can drive to the hoop, create his own shot (without traveling) or consistently shoot from outside. I'm not particularly excited about either of them.
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Green is the smart guy who will be a good passer etc.

Wright is the freak athlete -- the entire reason for his buzz -- lacking polish. Green will have to spend up all of his saavy points to ever be effective going to the hoop in the NBA, or posting up or whatever. Wright has all the physical attributes to do it all, and just needs to learn how.

The potential for failure is there in different ways -- Wright as Darius Miles. Green as...well can't say Luke Waltoin anymore since he blossomed. So..., whatever. The sluggish SF, the too small/weak PF. The classic tweener who "knows how to play the game" and unfortunately is in a league full of bigger, faster, stronger guys.
 
If Gerald Wallace can become a successful player then so can Wright IMO. He's got all that Wallace has and more, better size, better handles and passing.
 
Bricklayer said:
Green is the smart guy who will be a good passer etc.

Wright is the freak athlete -- the entire reason for his buzz -- lacking polish. Green will have to spend up all of his saavy points to ever be effective going to the hoop in the NBA, or posting up or whatever. Wright has all the physical attributes to do it all, and just needs to learn how.

The potential for failure is there in different ways -- Wright as Darius Miles. Green as...well can't say Luke Waltoin anymore since he blossomed. So..., whatever. The sluggish SF, the too small/weak PF. The classic tweener who "knows how to play the game" and unfortunately is in a league full of bigger, faster, stronger guys.
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I don't know, Green isn't that much less athletic than Wright. He can really jump. He's not Wright, no doubt, but he's also way way way more athletic than Walton.

Also, they're both known for their passing and ability to dribble (at least when they're not trying to take the ball to the basket). They both struggle in the same ways and bring mainly the same things. Green's a slightly better scorer, Wright's a slightly better rebounder, they both blocked the same number of shots. They're both 20.

I honestly don't know that there are two players more similar in the entire draft. Yeah, Wright's the better athlete, so maybe you put your chips on him, but Green seems more coordinated and can shoot, so maybe you figure he can actually score. Mock drafts differ on which guy will go higher. I still say it's pretty much the same difference.
 
seems like everyone has different opinions on who goes where from 1-10 check out the link i found on nbadraft.net, if we get noah i would be happy not overwhelmed but happy he's ok! btw anyone think we can mold j. wright to a dominate pf?, im wishing against hope and crossing my fingers and toes we get YI!!!!



http://nbadraft.net/index.asp
 
uptempo-kings said:
seems like everyone has different opinions on who goes where from 1-10 check out the link i found on nbadraft.net, if we get noah i would be happy not overwhelmed but happy he's ok! btw anyone think we can mold j. wright to a dominate pf?, im wishing against hope and crossing my fingers and toes we get YI!!!!



http://nbadraft.net/index.asp
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I find it very hard to believe that Yi will last until pick 10. Boston will pick him up unless they trade that pick.

Anyway, I agree with Bricklayer on this one. Wright is a Darius Miles. Not someone you would really want. All the athletic ability but not much else.

The more I think about it, the more I realise that this #10 pick is pretty much in no man's land. You are missing out on the best talent (top 5-6) and there is no one that could REALLY help up out when it time to pick. I am hoping now more than ever that we can trade up into top 5 or 6.
 
Wright's worst case scenario is Darius Miles. Best case/realistic is probably Josh Smith with less range right now. But Darius was a decent player with just his athleticism, it was his attitude problems and horrible work ethic that wrecked his career. He didn't work hard enough to come back after microfracture surgery and he pissed off all his teammates. He's not basically out of the league because he can't play, he's basically out of the league because of injuries, a bad attitude, and 0 work ethic. You can go ask the Blazer fans on RGM that also and they'll confirm what I said.

J. Wright has a good work ethic. I've listened to some of his interviews, read about him, etc. He is a good lockerroom guy/good character guy, he has a good work ethic, he wants to be succesful in the NBA. He's not one of those morons that waste their potential.
 
Yi will not fall to tenth unless he has terrible workouts. Conley is most likely going to be gone before tenth too because he's the best PG in the draft and several teams are looking for a PG. Hibbert (who I really like) is no longer in the draft. Noah, Horford, and B. Wright are highly regarded PF prospects. No way they're falling to tenth either. And we know who 1 and 2 are. That takes care of 7 picks. We're all but guaranteed a wing player again unless we reach and draft for need. Brewer is probably gone. Julian Wright is a huge gamble. I think Jeff Green is probably best case scenario for us at this point. Falling to tenth pretty much took us out of the running for a can't miss prospect. We really should look into getting more picks in this draft though because there are a lot of bargains to be had in the late first round and in the second round for GMs who know what to look for. Getting two or three young players who can contribute would lesson the blow of just barely missing out on all the lotto goodies.
 
BMiller52 said:
Wright's worst case scenario is Darius Miles. Best case/realistic is probably Josh Smith with less range right now. But Darius was a decent player with just his athleticism, it was his attitude problems and horrible work ethic that wrecked his career. He didn't work hard enough to come back after microfracture surgery and he pissed off all his teammates. He's not basically out of the league because he can't play, he's basically out of the league because of injuries, a bad attitude, and 0 work ethic. You can go ask the Blazer fans on RGM that also and they'll confirm what I said.

J. Wright has a good work ethic. I've listened to some of his interviews, read about him, etc. He is a good lockerroom guy/good character guy, he has a good work ethic, he wants to be succesful in the NBA. He's not one of those morons that waste their potential.
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Also, Miles never had Wright's ball handling and court vision.
 
BMiller52 said:
Exactly. It's like people turn a blind eye to his skills just because they hear "6'9'' athletic PF/SF". He is the most talented guy we can get IMO.
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Honestly I think he's our best bet to fall to us if there isn't an extraordinary amount of change in the lottery order (trades), I don't see any team above us taking him.
 
Vlade4GM said:
Honestly I think he's our best bet to fall to us if there isn't an extraordinary amount of change in the lottery order (trades), I don't see any team above us taking him.
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Draftexpress actually has an almost-plausible situation right now where Yi falls to us.

Portland - Durant (figuring Portland wants a Jack/Roy/Durant/Randolph/LMA lineup)
Seattle - Oden (duh)
Atlanta - B. Wright (Atlanta's defensive big)
Memphis - Horford (PF next to Pau)
Boston - Noah (Boston goes for most NBA-ready)
Milwaukee - Conley (insurance if Mo Williams bolts)
Timberwolves - Brewer (defensive 3, upgrade over Hassell)
Charlotte - J. Wright (athletic swing man - plus Jordan is supposedly suspicious of foreign players)
Chicago - Hawes (inside scoring)
Sacramento - Yi Jianlian

If you figure that Durant, Oden, Horford, B. Wright and Brewer are guaranteed to go before 10, all it takes is three out of Conley, J. Wright, Hawes or Green to go before 10 for the Kings to have a shot at Noah or Jianlian.

It's very possible that someone out of the B. Wright/Noah/Jianlian group is going to slip to 10. Crazy things happen in deep drafts.
 
BMiller52 said:
Jianlian won't fall to us. Not after teams look at him in workouts anyway.
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Probably not, but you're starting to see the Darko/Skita buzz around him as well. He's not a sure thing, and there are veteran-ladden teams in the lottery (Boston, Minnesota) who don't need a project. Of course, Boston and Minnesota's front offices are stupid, so who knows.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possiblity.
 
From what I've heard he's been amazing in workouts. After reading Chad Ford's stuff I think if ATL takes Conley then Jianlian goes #4.
 
nbrans said:
Draftexpress actually has an almost-plausible situation right now where Yi falls to us.

Portland - Durant (figuring Portland wants a Jack/Roy/Durant/Randolph/LMA lineup)
Seattle - Oden (duh)
Atlanta - B. Wright (Atlanta's defensive big)
Memphis - Horford (PF next to Pau)
Boston - Noah (Boston goes for most NBA-ready)
Milwaukee - Conley (insurance if Mo Williams bolts)
Timberwolves - Brewer (defensive 3, upgrade over Hassell)
Charlotte - J. Wright (athletic swing man - plus Jordan is supposedly suspicious of foreign players)
Chicago - Hawes (inside scoring)
Sacramento - Yi Jianlian

If you figure that Durant, Oden, Horford, B. Wright and Brewer are guaranteed to go before 10, all it takes is three out of Conley, J. Wright, Hawes or Green to go before 10 for the Kings to have a shot at Noah or Jianlian.

It's very possible that someone out of the B. Wright/Noah/Jianlian group is going to slip to 10. Crazy things happen in deep drafts.
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Supposedly Ainge is very big on Jianlian, you say they need NBA ready but Noah is only ready to be a role player at best. I don't believe he falls, while I'd be thrilled I just don't see it happening.
 
Kevin Durant endorses Julian Wright:
Jon ((Dallas)): Out of all the players you went against last year in the NCAA, who was the best player, other than you?

sn2.gif
Kevin Durant: Oooh. Julian Wright. He would just hit shots over the top of me. I said, I couldn't do anything to stop that.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=15935

GET J. WRIGHT.
 
BMiller52 said:
Kevin Durant endorses Julian Wright:
Jon ((Dallas)): Out of all the players you went against last year in the NCAA, who was the best player, other than you?

sn2.gif
Kevin Durant: Oooh. Julian Wright. He would just hit shots over the top of me. I said, I couldn't do anything to stop that.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=15935

GET J. WRIGHT.
Click to expand...

While those are good props, Kevin Durant played center defensively and pails in comparisons to the C's in the NBA. Still nice to hear though.
 
BMiller52 said:
Kevin Durant endorses Julian Wright:
Jon ((Dallas)): Out of all the players you went against last year in the NCAA, who was the best player, other than you?

sn2.gif
Kevin Durant: Oooh. Julian Wright. He would just hit shots over the top of me. I said, I couldn't do anything to stop that.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=15935

GET J. WRIGHT.
Click to expand...
Wright scored some over Durant but he sure didn't forget to pay back: Durant was lighting him up so Self had to put Rush on Durant.
 
from what ive seen, julian wright could shoot and get to the basket. granted among some of the worst defenders in the world, but whenever i think of him, my immediate thoughts go towards this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA34Y9NVOD4

basically id be happy with anyone in the top 10 of draft express. id hate to have another surprise swingman from nowhere come our way
 
I'd be OK with Julian Wright. He's going to take a while to develop, but could turn out to be a Scottie Pippen type of point-forward/defensive stopper. I think that is the real allure to him. As nbrans points out, do not rely on big scoring from Wright early in his career, or maybe ever.

But again, I don't think Artest will be on the team next year and the value where we pick will be at SF with Wright, Green, and maybe Brewer still hanging around. Even Jianlin will be a SF in the NBA, if we are able to pick him.
 
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