Who do you think is the "surprise player"?

As far as the "surprise" pick goes, it looks like nobody has mentioned Xavier Henry. He's currently slated to go in the mid-teens, but looks to me to have a lot of potential - long enough to play good defense, great shooter, can get to the basket, and seems to be an outstanding kid. Still, being picked as high as 5...that would definitely be a surprise.

My current best guess is Monroe, but that just wouldn't surprise me, or probably too many other folks, at least not around here. So if I'm looking for a surprise, I'm looking a little bit past a guy like Davis or Udoh and going down to Henry. I don't think it will happen, but that's my surprise pick.
 
Maybe he is talking about Mr.Indiana Gordon Hayward.....I know he isnt from Frenchlick...but Brownsburg. we know Jerry loves him some Indiana!
 
I don't consider Donatas Motiejunas as a surprise player for the Kings. He can shoot the threes, is a decent passer, can handle the ball pretty well at 7-ft tall, bad defensively, poor rebounder, and most of all has all the markings of a softie BIG.

Will that even surprise you if Petrie picks him?

I would even be more surprise if Petrie picks that skinny dude Hassan Whiteside.
 
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Most of the surprise players have already been mentioned, but I'm thinking maybe a guy like Paul George, Udoh, Davis, Motiejunas (I don't think GP will take him) etc.


I don't think you could count guys like Aldrich, Johnson, Monroe etc surprise picks. Even some of the first guys mentioned wouldn't be a surprise.
 
He did give Rubio trouble in that game, that is true. However, ignoring what Rubio accomplished this year based solely on one game, is very stupid. I watched many of his games and this kid is a 19 year old that stepped onto one of the highest profile teams in all of Europe and was a very integral player in their championship run. If he seriously can't give credit to what Rubio accomplished this year, then I would guess he was speaking out of bitterness towards the initial fan reaction to the Kings not taking Rubio.

Naw, I didn't detect any bitterness. I think it was just Jerry being Jerry.
 
As far as the "surprise" pick goes, it looks like nobody has mentioned Xavier Henry. He's currently slated to go in the mid-teens, but looks to me to have a lot of potential - long enough to play good defense, great shooter, can get to the basket, and seems to be an outstanding kid. Still, being picked as high as 5...that would definitely be a surprise.

My current best guess is Monroe, but that just wouldn't surprise me, or probably too many other folks, at least not around here. So if I'm looking for a surprise, I'm looking a little bit past a guy like Davis or Udoh and going down to Henry. I don't think it will happen, but that's my surprise pick.

Henry's not a bad choice. He wasn't spectualar this year, but he was a solid player. Good shooter and decent to good ballhandler. The Kings do need help at the SG position and he's one of the younger players in the draft. I don't know that he would be as big a surprise as George, but he hasn't been talked about very much.
 
I don't see Henry going before 12, and he might even be a stretch there. I'd bet on him being a solid player, but I think he'd be a much bigger surprise at 5 than George would. George could very well fly up into the top 10 by the time of the draft.
 
As far as the "surprise" pick goes, it looks like nobody has mentioned Xavier Henry. He's currently slated to go in the mid-teens, but looks to me to have a lot of potential - long enough to play good defense, great shooter, can get to the basket, and seems to be an outstanding kid. Still, being picked as high as 5...that would definitely be a surprise.

My current best guess is Monroe, but that just wouldn't surprise me, or probably too many other folks, at least not around here. So if I'm looking for a surprise, I'm looking a little bit past a guy like Davis or Udoh and going down to Henry. I don't think it will happen, but that's my surprise pick.

Yeah, Monroe wouldn't fit because Reynolds was talking about him in the same conversation he talked about a surprise. I've heard a lot of good things about Henry. Maybe others can weigh in on him as well.
 
Henry's not a bad choice. He wasn't spectualar this year, but he was a solid player. Good shooter and decent to good ballhandler. The Kings do need help at the SG position and he's one of the younger players in the draft. I don't know that he would be as big a surprise as George, but he hasn't been talked about very much.

Isn't Henry a guy who is supposed to be a stellar defender?
 
I don't know how many people listened to the podcast. But Jerry couldn't resist getting in his shots at Rubio. When Whitey brought up that Rubio had improved his shot and was playing at a higher level. Jerry said he watched the championship game and suddenly the other team put the great, world renown defender, Patrick Beverly on Rubio. And he quickly stole the ball and smothered Rubio defensively so bad that they took him out of the game.

Don't know if there's any truth in that. But Jerry was funny while telling the story.

Oh, you like to stir up the pot, don't you....:D
 
This is what NBADraft.net had to say about George:

His greatest strength may be his ability to play the game with maturity and understanding of someone well beyond his years ... Allows the game come to him, does not force plays and rarely takes bad shots ... He's a good rebounder because of his length and timing, and should be even better as he adds weight to his frame ... Led Fresno State as a freshman with six double-doubles ... His wingspan and basketball IQ allow him to disrupt the game on the defensive end of the court ... Has a tremendous basketball frame with huge wingspan and the ability to put a lot of weight on his wide shoulders ... He averaged 1.7 steals and 1.0 block per game last season in the Western Athletic Conference.

Anytime I read about a high BB IQ with high athletic ability, I think the guy has got to be on Petrie's radar screen.
 
This is what NBADraft.net had to say about George:

His greatest strength may be his ability to play the game with maturity and understanding of someone well beyond his years ... Allows the game come to him, does not force plays and rarely takes bad shots ... He's a good rebounder because of his length and timing, and should be even better as he adds weight to his frame ... Led Fresno State as a freshman with six double-doubles ... His wingspan and basketball IQ allow him to disrupt the game on the defensive end of the court ... Has a tremendous basketball frame with huge wingspan and the ability to put a lot of weight on his wide shoulders ... He averaged 1.7 steals and 1.0 block per game last season in the Western Athletic Conference.

Anytime I read about a high BB IQ with high athletic ability, I think the guy has got to be on Petrie's radar screen.

I think George actually has one of the highest ceilings in the whole draft. He needs to improve his off the dribble game, decision making, and fundamentals.
 
So, to anyone who has seen this kid Paul George a substantial amount -- what are his prospects of becoming that stud wing complement to Reke that we've been looking for? We all know the short list of qualities: good shooter, good defender, good ball bandler and passer, smart enough to run an offense with Reke off the ball occasionally.

I tried to find some good clips of him on YouTube, and the ones that I saw impressed, but they were all of him and his crazy windmill dunks, a little bit of a dribble drive game, some good weakside blocks, and clips of a pretty solid J. But no clips of him being a creator for others -- hell, no clips of him passing to anyone at all.

I ask because I think the Kings should only be interested in him if he can play the 2 and fill that complementary role. His upside just based on what I've seen already is tremendous, but we really should not be picking up any more 3s in this draft.
 
So, to anyone who has seen this kid Paul George a substantial amount -- what are his prospects of becoming that stud wing complement to Reke that we've been looking for? We all know the short list of qualities: good shooter, good defender, good ball bandler and passer, smart enough to run an offense with Reke off the ball occasionally.

I tried to find some good clips of him on YouTube, and the ones that I saw impressed, but they were all of him and his crazy windmill dunks, a little bit of a dribble drive game, some good weakside blocks, and clips of a pretty solid J. But no clips of him being a creator for others -- hell, no clips of him passing to anyone at all.

I ask because I think the Kings should only be interested in him if he can play the 2 and fill that complementary role. His upside just based on what I've seen already is tremendous, but we really should not be picking up any more 3s in this draft.

Personally I think George is a SF. I saw him play quite a bit, and he was one of my favorite players. I don't know whats with me this season. Most of my favorite players were all SF's. Paul George, Damion James, Stanley Robinson, Gordon Haywood, Wesley Johnson, Luke Babbitt, and Quincy Pondexter. They were all glue guys on their teams. When I say favorite, I mean my favorites to watch. Luke Babbitt is another guy thats going to really help some team.. I almost didn't recognize him with out his hair..
 
We aren't taking Paul George at #5 unless we are complete idiots. Recent events suggest that s a real possibility again, but still, you can have him at #10. You might even be able to have him at #15. So if he is the guy then we are either trading down or wildly overpaying.
 
We aren't taking Paul George at #5 unless we are complete idiots. Recent events suggest that s a real possibility again, but still, you can have him at #10. You might even be able to have him at #15. So if he is the guy then we are either trading down or wildly overpaying.

Yeah, I wouldn't suggest taking him at 5. Much better idea to trade down for him. You never know how much he'll rise over the next month though.
 
I thought one of George's strengths was that he very rarely takes bad shots. He would definitely be an upgrade from Donte in shot selection. How far do you trade down if your going for George? 10? 15?
 
We aren't taking Paul George at #5 unless we are complete idiots. Recent events suggest that s a real possibility again, but still, you can have him at #10. You might even be able to have him at #15. So if he is the guy then we are either trading down or wildly overpaying.

No, I agree. If were targeting George, then we would likely make a deal to move down in the draft and possibly aquire another pick in the lower first or possibly high second round.
 
I think a surprise player would be Jordan Crawford. Great shooter decent defense and can handle the ball next to tyreke at the 2. The only question is if he can play off ball better at the next level. He clearly was more effective with the ball in his hands much like tyreke is. He looks like a interesting prospect with his athletic ability and limitless shooting range. I would not mind getting him the second round. This obviously is based upon us addressing are front court needs in the first round because that is are biggest priority.
 
No, I agree. If were targeting George, then we would likely make a deal to move down in the draft and possibly aquire another pick in the lower first or possibly high second round.

I would have to say that George is quite interesting. His combine shooting results were pretty good for an athletic 6-9 guy that can play the 2 or 3. It depends on how he does in the workouts. But he could be one of those guys that skyrockets up. How much different in potential and current skill level is he from Wes Johnson? After the first 4, It's kind of an eye of the beholder thing.

It wouldn't surprise me if he goes much higher than anyone expects because I think the talent difference between 5 or 6 and 12 to 14 is small.
 
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