Who do we draft?

[CaminoChaos]

Here is a poll to see what Kingsfans wants for the Kings.


Sorry I can only put 10 options. Also I didn't list the obvious players that will be long gone by time we pick. Oden, Durant, Etc.

 

[nbrans]

It's too early to know. But right now, here's my top 10 for the Kings:

1. Oden
2. Durant
3. Horford
4. B. Wright
5. Jianlian
6. Hibbert
7. Noah
8. Thabeet
9. Brewer
10. Splitter

JUST SAY NO TO SPENCER HAWES. Also no to Josh McRoberts, Fazekas and Aaron Gray. I'm not excited about Julian Wright and Jeff Green because small forwards that can't shoot and can't take the ball to the hoop don't have a good track record (Darius Miles syndrome).

 

[fnordius]

I voted "other" because I think that at least half the list won't be available, and I don't feel sure about who the exceptions will be. I just want a big or PG, and I don't care whether their skills still need work. I want a naturally gifted athlete with a lot of long-term potential. And if they get a guy in the 6'5"-6'8" range, I am definitely going to hang the GM and owners in effigy from the golden 6.

 

[Dime Dropper]

I voted Brewer because he has great talent and excellent potential (imagine him and Martin in their prime paired with a good big man). But I still wouldn't be disappointed if we got a good big man instead.

If we get 10th pick, one of these players will be available:

Joakim Noah
Julian Wright
Jeff Green
Ji Yianlian
Corey Brewer
Mike Conley
Roy Hibbert
Spencer Hawes


I's not possible that they will be all gone if we get tenth (obviously enough ). I think that's a very nice group of players to choose from. Chances are that one or two of them will turn out to be a superstar. Personally, I don't like Yi very much but that's just my opinion. Players I like very much are:

Noah (to a certain degree, depending on where we pick.)
Brewer
Conley
Hibbert
Wright

They would be my top 5 but I wouldn't be upset if we got someone else.


IMO this rebuilding thing is not going to happen overnight, we need to take the BPA. I don't think Bibby and Ron will be in the Kings plans for much longer so we might as well draft on who we think will be the best in the long run.
There's nothing more frustrating as a fan to think back and say "Wow, I wish we hadn't drafted on needs and just drafted on talent, X sure is looking good right now!"

 

[John Galt]

I voted Noah, combining realistic possibilities with my desires. All things considered I think he would be a bargain - hopefully he works out as a poor man's Verejao (or maybe a just right priced man's Verejao I guess).

If he drops down to us around 10, I take him.

 

[Rockmeister]

I voted Noah

I'm with you on this one.

 

[fnordius]

There's nothing more frustrating as a fan to think back and say "Wow, I wish we hadn't drafted on needs and just drafted on talent, X sure is looking good right now!"

No, there's something more frustrating. It's when you are in major need of a big or a PG, and instead of picking someone like Rondo, your GM gets an undersized OG because he's a shooter. I seriously wish we had drafted on talent and need, and not on skills. It doesn't matter how good a players skills are if they aren't needed on the court, nobody is ever "looking really good" when they get no PT. We learned that with Gerald Wallace.

We aren't getting a guy with much immediate impact at #10-11 anyway, we might as well get someone with potential, even if we have to send him to the DL for a while to refine his skills.

 

[BMiller52]

I voted for Julian Wright. ESPN has him at 6'9'' BTW: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/index . But he is kinda like a poor man's Kevin Durant IMO. About the same height, long arms, good rebounders, potential to play PF, star potential(in KD's case it's superstar potential), good defender, good passer, insanely athletic. He has STAR potential. And yeah I know we need a big, but I have seen a lot of people say that they actually don't like him as much at SF because he has the potential to play PF. He'd be great on a run and gun team like PHX or maybe us if we hire Mark Iavaroni the Suns assistant. But I mean we need a star and IMO, this guy has the most potential. He's a SF/PF and we need a Star on this team.

Would also like to see Bibby/Artest dealt for a mid first round pick so we can hopefully grab Acie Law.

 

[Dime Dropper]

No, there's something more frustrating. It's when you are in major need of a big or a PG, and instead of picking someone like Rondo, your GM gets an undersized OG because he's a shooter. I seriously wish we had drafted on talent and need, and not on skills. It doesn't matter how good a players skills are if they aren't needed on the court, nobody is ever "looking really good" when they get no PT. We learned that with Gerald Wallace.

We aren't getting a guy with much immediate impact at #10-11 anyway, we might as well get someone with potential, even if we have to send him to the DL for a while to refine his skills.

I completely agree with you in one sense. But I wasn't talking about last years draft. I'm talking about this years one, a lottery pick. I was quite frustrated last year too, I was probably the only one here high on taking Rodriguez and it's clear now that he has alot of upside.

I think if we had the choice between Collison (if he enters) and Hawes, I would take Collison. But, take my opinion with a huge grain of salt because I don't get to see the players much.

Btw, as a note to your piece about BPA etc., I know I was kinda annoyed when I found out that we told Gilbert we would draft him and then drafted Wallace. Imagine how that could have turned out. We would now have a superstar with a better supporting cast than the Wiz' got.

 

[Rain man]

Hibbert if we end up in the 8-11 range...

 

[VF21]

It sure would have been nice to have this a public poll...

I picked Joakim Noah, for pretty much the same reasons as Francisco D'Anconia.

 

[Gary]

I voted Noah, combining realistic possibilities with my desires. All things considered I think he would be a bargain - hopefully he works out as a poor man's Verejao (or maybe a just right priced man's Verejao I guess).

If he drops down to us around 10, I take him.

The same... If Noah drops it would be stupid not to take him.

 

[BMiller52]

Julian Wright>>>>>>>>>>>>>Noah

 

[fnordius]

Btw, as a note to your piece about BPA etc., I know I was kinda annoyed when I found out that we told Gilbert we would draft him and then drafted Wallace. Imagine how that could have turned out. We would now have a superstar with a better supporting cast than the Wiz' got.

Yep! I don't think that was drafting for need, though, we had an abundance of SF/SG types (as always, during the Petrie era). Probably more that Arenas had a lot of upside, but his skills were a bit raw. He was kind of Douby's twin, in a way: an undersized OG who hadn't established his ability to make assists. But he was also the opposite of Douby, in that he was super athletic and oozing with potential.

I think Petrie just guessed wrong that time. He got someone who wasn't the best available, who we also didn't need.

 

[VF21]

Julian Wright>>>>>>>>>>>>>Noah

So? The poll asks who people would pick. Apparently several people like the idea of getting a decent 6'11" player. Julian Wright is a small forward. We HAVE - and might well keep - a pretty decent small forward, along with a fair backup in Garcia, who can play the 2/3 pretty well. Why not go for the gusto? Take the big guy...

 

[Bricklayer]

Of the choices above I would go Jianlin, Hibbert, Noah in that order (MAYBE switch Noah/Hibbert, not sure) as the top three + could live with any of those. Gets sketchier thereafter. Under no circumstances do I want a SF, if we had to take one of the three, Brewer I think is the best idea.

 

[BMiller52]

So? The poll asks who people would pick. Apparently several people like the idea of getting a decent 6'11" player. Julian Wright is a small forward. We HAVE - and might well keep - a pretty decent small forward, along with a fair backup in Garcia, who can play the 2/3 pretty well. Why not go for the gusto? Take the big guy...

Julian has so much more potential to be a star than Noah. I just don't see Noah getting that much better, I see him becoming a rich man's Anderson Varejao. He has no mid range J and his free throw stroke is ugly. Too skinny to play in the post so I don't even see him becoming a 14-15 PPG guy. I think he might end up getting like 8/10/3/2 in the NBA but that is a rich man's Anderson Varejao...

Julian knows he needs to work on a lot of stuff but he has a lot more potential. He is insanely athletic and he has a huge wingspan. He's a pretty good passer, a good ball handler for a forward, a good rebounder(as many RPG as Noah), a good defender, a decent mid range J, etc. Their stats are about the same despite Noah being older and having 1 more year in college than Julian. If anyone wants to see some of Julian's dunks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNMLE97h1zs&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3cQYEA57dk&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuYayTfTy_c&mode=related&search=

also Julian outplayed the Florida bigguys in their head to head match up:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=263290057

 

[Vlade4GM]

I voted for Julian Wright. ESPN has him at 6'9'' BTW: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/index . But he is kinda like a poor man's Kevin Durant IMO. About the same height, long arms, good rebounders, potential to play PF, star potential(in KD's case it's superstar potential), good defender, good passer, insanely athletic. He has STAR potential. And yeah I know we need a big, but I have seen a lot of people say that they actually don't like him as much at SF because he has the potential to play PF. He'd be great on a run and gun team like PHX or maybe us if we hire Mark Iavaroni the Suns assistant. But I mean we need a star and IMO, this guy has the most potential. He's a SF/PF and we need a Star on this team.

Would also like to see Bibby/Artest dealt for a mid first round pick so we can hopefully grab Acie Law.

Wright's size and athleticism reminds me a lot of James Worthy. I can see him being like him, except with handles and passing.

 

[CaminoChaos]

After doing some research I have come to the conclusion that http://nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/julianwright.htmlhttp://nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/julianwright.htmlYi Jianlian is the B7'PA. I have only seen clips of him but he has shown a better all around game then Noah and Hibbert. He seems to be a good help defender also because of his quickness.

My $0.02.

 

[Wuster]

I have a feeling it will be Noah if we're picking around #10.

 

[VF21]

After doing some research I have come to the conclusion that Yi Jianlian is the B7'PA. I have only seen clips of him but he has shown a better all around game then Noah and Hibbert. He seems to be a good help defender also because of his quickness.

My $0.02.

I don't think he'll be around at #10, though...

 

[CaminoChaos]

I don't think he'll be around at #10, though...

Yeah a 7' who can do the things he can probably will be taken top 5.

 

[nbrans]

Julian has so much more potential to be a star than Noah. I just don't see Noah getting that much better, I see him becoming a rich man's Anderson Varejao. He has no mid range J and his free throw stroke is ugly. Too skinny to play in the post so I don't even see him becoming a 14-15 PPG guy. I think he might end up getting like 8/10/3/2 in the NBA but that is a rich man's Anderson Varejao...

Julian knows he needs to work on a lot of stuff but he has a lot more potential. He is insanely athletic and he has a huge wingspan. He's a pretty good passer, a good ball handler for a forward, a good rebounder(as many RPG as Noah), a good defender, a decent mid range J, etc. Their stats are about the same despite Noah being older and having 1 more year in college than Julian. If anyone wants to see some of Julian's dunks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNMLE97h1zs&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3cQYEA57dk&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuYayTfTy_c&mode=related&search=

also Julian outplayed the Florida bigguys in their head to head match up:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=263290057

How is Julian Wright going to get points in the NBA? He can jump, but he's really not that quick for a 3 (at least in NBA terms), and he's too small to be a 4. With a lottery pick, I don't really want to hope that he all of a sudden learns to shoot a jump shot when it's just as likely he could be another Darius Miles, Kedrik Brown, Hakim Warrick, Joey Graham, and every other super-athletic small forward who couldn't shoot coming out of college.

I'm with Bricklayer -- if we're going to get a small forward, best to go with Brewer, who has the most NBA-ready game. At least you know with Brewer that the worst case scenario is that he's a deadly defender and an at least passable outside shooter. Wright doesn't have any NBA-ready skills, other than his leaping ability, and that's not enough.

 

[hrdboild]

Well it depends a lot on what you're looking for. In this draft I think the top 10 is pretty even after the top 3 so it's going to come down to a subjective evaluation of which player you think has the most upside, which is the best fit, and so on. Looking at what we have right now, I would be building around Artest and Martin. I think the best fit for us would be looking for players that maximize our defensive potential. Martin has blazing speed but I'd say his biggest strength right now is drawing fouls and getting to the line, which actually plays well into a slow tempo strategy. We'd benefit most from Artest with a slow tempo game as well. So I'd rank the players this way:

1 (G. Oden)
2 (K. Durant)
3 (B. Wright)
4 R. Hibbert
5 A. Horford
6 M. Conley Jr.*
7 H. Thabeet*
8 J. Noah
9 Y. Jianlian
10 C. Brewer
11 N. Batum
12 J. Wright
13 T. Splitter
14 J. Green
15. S. Hawes

If we're lucky some of the teams above us like Seattle and Portland will see this as a good opportunity to grab a wing player and Hibbert or Conley will fall to us. These rankings always change after workouts though, so there's a long way to go.

*Have yet to officially declare.

 

[BMiller52]

He doesn't have any other skills? What the heck? What about his ball handling, passing, and rebounding? One of the main things people like about a guy like Noah is he can rebound but Julian gets nearly as many rebounds(he gets 0.6 less) and that doesn't count as a skill for him? You kidding me? Not to mention his 12-15 foot jump shot is underrated. He DOES have a lot of skills. He can probably be a PF in this league especially if he is 6'9''(which I believe he is, some Kansas fans have said that also and he looks about even with Kevin Durant when I watched them play). You put him at the 4 in a run and gun team and not only will he get out on the break a lot, he will either be able to hit that 12-15 foot shot or blow past the guy who is guarding him. He's proven he can grab rebounds against other guys who are going to the NBA. Yeah he will need to put on some muscle but that will happen over time anyway.

 

[nbrans]

He doesn't have any other skills? What the heck? What about his ball handling, passing, and rebounding? One of the main things people like about a guy like Noah is he can rebound but Julian gets nearly as many rebounds(he gets 0.6 less) and that doesn't count as a skill for him? You kidding me? Not to mention his 12-15 foot jump shot is underrated. He DOES have a lot of skills. He can probably be a PF in this league especially if he is 6'9''(which I believe he is, some Kansas fans have said that also and he looks about even with Kevin Durant when I watched them play). You put him at the 4 in a run and gun team and not only will he get out on the break a lot, he will either be able to hit that 12-15 foot shot or blow past the guy who is guarding him. He's proven he can grab rebounds against other guys who are going to the NBA. Yeah he will need to put on some muscle but that will happen over time anyway.

That's college. A 6'8" guy can be a great rebounder in college, but when he's going up against the trees in the NBA it's a heck of a lot harder to get those rebounds. I'll wait to see his final measurements, but everything I've seen has him listed at 6'8", and anyway, I am really pining for an actual honest-to-god fully sized power forward. No more tweeners.

I like Wright better than Jeff Green, and I think you're right that he could fit well in a run and gun offense, which, btw, is an offense we won't have as long as Bibby's the point guard. Sort of like Tariq Abdul-Wahad with the old Kings (ultimately, looked great on the break but not all that useful). But if a small forward can only hit a 12-15 foot jump shot, and doesn't have great moves to the basket (which is different than being a good dribbler, which he is), I don't really see how he's going to be all that useful. Hakim Warrick was ok this year, but barring some unforeseen developments with Wright's jump shot and moves to the hoops, Warrick is the type of comparison player you're looking at, and with the 9-11 pick I'd hope we could do better.

 

[English]

It sure would have been nice to have this a public poll...

I picked Joakim Noah, for pretty much the same reasons as Francisco D'Anconia.

Thanks Ayn!

 

[BMiller52]

That's college. A 6'8" guy can be a great rebounder in college, but when he's going up against the trees in the NBA it's a heck of a lot harder to get those rebounds. I'll wait to see his final measurements, but everything I've seen has him listed at 6'8", and anyway, I am really pining for an actual honest-to-god fully sized power forward. No more tweeners.

I like Wright better than Jeff Green, and I think you're right that he could fit well in a run and gun offense, which, btw, is an offense we won't have as long as Bibby's the point guard. Sort of like Tariq Abdul-Wahad with the old Kings (ultimately, looked great on the break but not all that useful). But if a small forward can only hit a 12-15 foot jump shot, and doesn't have great moves to the basket (which is different than being a good dribbler, which he is), I don't really see how he's going to be all that useful. Hakim Warrick was ok this year, but barring some unforeseen developments with Wright's jump shot and moves to the hoops, Warrick is the type of comparison player you're looking at, and with the 9-11 pick I'd hope we could do better.

ESPN has him listed at 6'9'' and this is a lot more recent than anything else: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/index

 

[VF21]

ESPN has him listed at 6'9'' and this is a lot more recent than anything else: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/index

I think you're getting bogged down in minutiae. It's not primarily about whether he's 6'8" or 6'9"... It's about whether he's really what the Kings need.

As nbrans said:

But if a small forward can only hit a 12-15 foot jump shot, and doesn't have great moves to the basket (which is different than being a good dribbler, which he is), I don't really see how he's going to be all that useful.

This is the time for the Kings to grab the player they think will best fit their needs, especially if we're drafting at the 10-14 slot. At that level the BPA isn't that much better or worse than the players immediately ahead or behind him.

Remember, you can teach a lot of things, but you can't teach tall.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I think you're getting bogged down in minutiae. It's not primarily about whether he's 6'8" or 6'9"... It's about whether he's really what the Kings need.

As nbrans said:



This is the time for the Kings to grab the player they think will best fit their needs, especially if we're drafting at the 10-14 slot. At that level the BPA isn't that much better or worse than the players immediately ahead or behind him.

Remember, you can teach a lot of things, but you can't teach tall.

You also can't teach athleticism and length which is what Wright has. People here are way too obsessed with our current needs. We need to get the player of the best value out of this draft and then try to get a big man later on. The only position we have a lock at is SG, that's all I'm concerned about not getting. Teams overdrafting to get a big man end up with the Rafael Araujo's, Saer Sene's and Johan Petro's of the world.