Wright Declares, Gangs All In I Think?

[Bricklayer]

So, Brandon Wright has apparently thrown his hat into the draft ring as well.

Does that mean that all of the top prospects have made their decision to come out? Or is Hibbert still wavering?

Oden -- IN
Durant -- IN
B. Wright -- IN
Horford -- IN
Noah -- IN
Brewer -- IN
J. Wright -- IN
Jianlian -- IN
Hibbert -- ?
Conley -- IN
Hawes -- IN

With or without Hibbert that's mroe than 10, so pretty much one of those names should be ours in a couple of months.

 

[BMiller52]

I think Hibbert might still be wavering. BTW I also read on DraftExpress that Javaris Crittenton is entering, he'd be a good PG to get if we can manage to find a pick in the 16-24ish range.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I think Hibbert might still be wavering. BTW I also read on DraftExpress that Javaris Crittenton is entering, he'd be a good PG to get if we can manage to find a pick in the 16-24ish range.

I'd take a shot on him with a late first, but he really needs to stay in school.

 

[LPKingsFan]

I bet we draft a PG.

 

[SacTownKid]

So, Brandon Wright has apparently thrown his hat into the draft ring as well.

Does that mean that all of the top prospects have made their decision to come out? Or is Hibbert still wavering?

Oden -- IN
Durant -- IN
B. Wright -- IN
Horford -- IN
Noah -- IN
Brewer -- IN
J. Wright -- IN
Jianlian -- IN
Hibbert -- ?
Conley -- IN
Hawes -- IN

With or without Hibbert that's mroe than 10, so pretty much one of those names should be ours in a couple of months.

Wow. We should realistically land one of these guys. Pretty cool.

 

[jimbodan]

Don't forget about Batum and Splitter, both of them should be around when we pick too.

 

[ParniValjak]

I bet we draft a PG.

Nothing wrong with that if he is the BPA. Its not like Mike Bibby will be around for ever.

We will need a new PG eventually and if the good one is there, then why not pick one?!

 

[Gary]

Yah I agree.

The PG is the second hardest spot to fill with a good player behind C so I say go for it if all the big guys are gone, and we have Conley or Law avail.

I for one would draft Acie Law over a couple big men that are being mentioned. AHEM THABEET, AHEM HIBBERT. Law is a PG that comes around every couple years, but not one that is available this late in drafts. Last year Law would be a top 5 easy.

 

[fnordius]

The only problem I have with picking a PG this year is that next year's draft is expected to be crammed with them -- depending on which mock draft you prefer (all of which I consider to be very dubious still, granted), at least 5 of the top 10 are guards, and in some it is 6 or 7. Kind of the opposite of this year.

 

[Heuge]

Wow. We should realistically land one of these guys. Pretty cool.

Please not Hawes...

 

[ParniValjak]

The only problem I have with picking a PG this year is that next year's draft is expected to be crammed with them -- depending on which mock draft you prefer (all of which I consider to be very dubious still, granted), at least 5 of the top 10 are guards, and in some it is 6 or 7. Kind of the opposite of this year.

Better a bird in hand than 2 in the tree

Lets worry about next year, next year and worry about selecting the BEST player we can this year and if it happens to be a PG, so be it.

When you are in our position, I am not sure you can afford to be too picky.

 

[VF21]

When you are in our position, I am not sure you can afford to be too picky.

When you are in our position, you have to make sure you don't just grab someone who won't fit your vision of the future.

This team is looking at a couple of years to rebuild at the least. We need to address our needs. If there is a big with potential left at the #10 and we don't draft him, I'll probably break my foot kicking the tree outside.

 

[ParniValjak]

When you are in our position, you have to make sure you don't just grab someone who won't fit your vision of the future.

This team is looking at a couple of years to rebuild at the least. We need to address our needs. If there is a big with potential left at the #10 and we don't draft him, I'll probably break my foot kicking the tree outside.

ANd if we select a big for the sake of it, while overlooking a potential perenial All-Star PG, I would be pretty pissed off.

You are right, this team will take at least couple of years to rebuild and there needs to be the plan going forward that fits the big picture. PG will be a neccessity in rebuilding process just as much as a big man. If there is a big man with a lot of potential, then sure, pick him up. But I don't want to pick up a role playing big man at the expense of an All Star PG regardless of where our biggest needs are.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

If there is a big with potential left at the #10 and we don't draft him, I'll probably break my foot kicking the tree outside.

If all that's left at #10 is Hawes and Thabeet, I'll take a pass.

 

[VF21]

ANd if we select a big for the sake of it, while overlooking a potential perenial All-Star PG, I would be pretty pissed off.

Why is it people who talk about this always want to reduce it to absolutes? There aren't any absolutes. I never said, nor did I intend to imply, that we would take a big simply because of his height.

Looking at the prospects I suspect there is a good chance we'll get someone we can actually use. As long as that happens, I'll be happy. We have a plethora of guards right now. If we grab a decent big I think it's heading us back in the right direction.

 

[Bricklayer]

PGs are a) easier to acquire than bigs, and b) not as important as bigs. Big statement, but I can name a number of teams that have won titles with great bigs and middling PGs, MAYBE one that went the other way (and that's if you consider the Bad Boys Laimbeer/Rodman/Salley/Mahorn/Buddha etc. collection of bigs anything but outstanding itself.

If you have a chance to nab a young big in the draft, you have to take it. This is their draft. As we have seen for years now, getting them is extraordinarily difficult, and there are never enough to go around. You never know when you will have another chance at one at less than the $10mil going price any halfway decent one seems to cost anymore.

 

[Vlade4GM]

When you are in our position, you have to make sure you don't just grab someone who won't fit your vision of the future.

This team is looking at a couple of years to rebuild at the least. We need to address our needs. If there is a big with potential left at the #10 and we don't draft him, I'll probably break my foot kicking the tree outside.

What are our needs? The only position we know we have a future at is SG. Other than that it's open for biz.

 

[fnordius]

I'm not sure what we'd do with a PG given our draft position anyway. The only one who is looking to be a sure thing at #10 would be Law, and he shares a lot of the shortcomings that people have complained about in Bibby.

Huge shooter, but do the 26 points he scored against Louisville make up for the fact that he only got 1 assist? I love how he's clutch and all, but we still have a major stylistic decision to make, because our current PG/C, #52, is getting a little creaky to be putting in big minutes, and might be gone in the next trade anyway.

Conley is both an athletic freak and a pass-first PG, and might be better suited to a traditionally-constructed team, but there's a good chance he won't be around at #10.

So we may be faced with a choice like Splitter, Hawes or Law. Any of those could be the beginning of a new direction for the team, but what direction are we going in? Do we have good reason to deviate from conventional wisdom about drafting big and trading for guards?

In the short term, we have to think about who may go undrafted, too. Just as Ronnie and Justin have saved our sorry butts by filling our worst gaps, we may be wondering whether fate will throw a Stephane Lasme or Sun Yue our way. With no second round pick, all we can do is to hope that things work out.

There's really a lot to think about this year.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Splitter is a complimentary player at best, think Varejao. While it's nice to have players like that, we need a higher ceiling out of this pick.

 

[thatguy]

I posted this in another thread a month or two ago, but I think it could be interesting for those who didn't read it now because it fits what is being said above. These guys did analysis of the draft from 81-01 and the first five years of a player's career and ranked them by 'star power.' Anyway, to speak to what is being discussed above, PGs are a far 'safer' bet than big guys.

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1362

I'm not saying it is perfect, but it is interesting.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Thanks for posting that, really interesting. I think the findings echo an obvious truth that once you get in the 2nd and third quarters of the draft it's more and more likley that the big men will bust. We need someone with starter/star potential I say go for Julian Wright or Mike Conley. Those are our best bets unless for some reason Jianlian is available to us. I'm kinda holding out hope that Jianlian's suspected age is going to scare some GM's off (except for Petrie of course). I think Conley, Wright, Jianlian, and Batum will have the best star potential around our spot. Law I wouldn't mind, but I'd prefer him to be part of a couple of firsts than just by himself. I see a lot of billups in him, 2 way shoot first pg.

 

[nbrans]

I like the way Law plays, I'm just not sure he's athletic enough. I agree with you, Vlade4GM - if we have multiple firsts then maybe late in the first round, but otherwise I'd want to go for someone more athletic.

 

[Wuster]

When you look at that list... man, there is a lot of talent there. Kings will nab one of them likely; hoping for the best big available assuming we get 10th. Just dunno who will fall that far.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I like the way Law plays, I'm just not sure he's athletic enough. I agree with you, Vlade4GM - if we have multiple firsts then maybe late in the first round, but otherwise I'd want to go for someone more athletic.

I don't think there is a great chance he ends up an all-star, but more like a Marginal all-star type like Cassell. Very good leadership potential, clutch, good shot, can fit in either a half court and up tempo offense, good defensive tools. He's a good all around player, he just doesn't have one stand out aspects other than maybe his intangibles.

 

['89 Kings Fan]

With or without Hibbert that's mroe than 10, so pretty much one of those names should be ours in a couple of months.

As far I know Hibbert has already declared:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/news/story?id=2836799

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

As far I know Hibbert has already declared:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/news/story?id=2836799

Yeah, I saw this, too. They just have no agents as of yet, but will soon, I'm sure...Hibbert should be gone at least by pick #10, if not sooner.

 

[Vlade4GM]

This is how I rank the current top 14 prospects in terms of our needs.

Greg Oden
Kevin Durant
Brandan Wright
Al Horford
Yi Jianlian
Roy Hibbert
Julian Wright
Mike Conley Jr.
Corey Brewer
Spencer Hawes
Joakim Noah
Nicolas Batum
Acie Law
Tiago Splitter

 

[SacTownKid]

This is how I rank the current top 14 prospects in terms of our needs.

Greg Oden
Kevin Durant
Brandan Wright
Al Horford
Yi Jianlian
Roy Hibbert
Julian Wright
Mike Conley Jr.
Corey Brewer
Spencer Hawes
Joakim Noah
Nicolas Batum
Acie Law
Tiago Splitter

If we are talking needs as far as what we lack right now. I'd leave everybody on that list but Conley Jr., Batum, Law, and Corey Brewer. Our most pressing needs are obviously in the front court. Of course I think Petrie does as he should, he'll take the most talented player regardless of position.

 

[Vlade4GM]

If we are talking needs as far as what we lack right now. I'd leave everybody on that list but Conley Jr., Batum, Law, and Corey Brewer. Our most pressing needs are obviously in the front court. Of course I think Petrie does as he should, he'll take the most talented player regardless of position.

Our pressing need is a difference maker.

 

[fnordius]

Yeah, I saw this, too. They just have no agents as of yet, but will soon, I'm sure...Hibbert should be gone at least by pick #10, if not sooner.

Maybe not, if they don't get an agent they keep their college eligibility, meaning that they can change their mind and drop out of the draft at any point up to June 18th and have no consequences. So the guys that have no agents can be viewed as undecided.