Draft '06

[panfolk]

How many players would you like for us to come out of the draft with?

My First round preferences are in my signature. I also want us to pick up Matt Haryasz, Kevin Pittsnogle, or Steve Novak in the second round as insurance since they are cheap, could pan out, would add size, could add offense, and would likely be better than the undrafted or NBADL players we'd fill out our roster with anyways.

Ideally I'd see us next year with Farmar and Sene (though it's unlikely) as I've stated in other threads.

As usual, please tell me what I left out. Also, mention who you'd like (marginally realistic).

 

[Yuma]

You left out 0. Trading picks for veteran(s) player(s).

 

[panfolk]

You left out 0. Trading picks for veteran(s) player(s).

I thought you couldn't do that 2 years in a row anymore.

 

[Yuma]

I thought you couldn't do that 2 years in a row anymore.

You can't. I'm not keeping close attention to our picks. I thought they were from other teams, which gives us an out on trading them if they are.

 

[panfolk]

One is from the Lakers the other is ours so the least we could come out with is 1, or so I figure.

 

[Folster]

We didn't trade our pick last year. We drafted Nate Robinson first then traded him. That move circumvents the 2 year in a row rule.

Wait... That was Chicago's pick. I'm confused.

 

[Yuma]

One is from the Lakers the other is ours so the least we could come out with is 1, or so I figure.

Yeah, I think you are right, because we traded our first last year in a trade didn't we? Or was that the year before? Dijon was a second rounder wasn't he?

 

[Yuma]

We didn't trade our pick last year. We drafted Nate Robinson first then traded him. That move circumvents the 2 year in a row rule.

OK, then, I guess we could trade both this year.

 

[panfolk]

Just looked it up. 21 was from the Bulls and was Nate Robinson whom we traded to the Knicks. The Suns 30 pick was traded (before the draft) to the Knicks and was David Lee. So we cannot trade out of this draft.

 

[Goldfield]

Just looked it up. 21 was from the Bulls and was Nate Robinson whom we traded to the Knicks. The Suns 30 pick was traded (before the draft) to the Knicks and was David Lee. So we cannot trade out of this draft.

But can we trade up?

 

[elindholm]

The prohibition is against trading first-round picks in consecutive future years. The Suns can do anything they want with this year's picks.

 

[Folster]

The prohibition is against trading first-round picks in consecutive future years. The Suns can do anything they want with this year's picks.

Hey E, could you explain the rule a little more and how it corresponds to our picks versus acquired picks? They traded last years pick, #30, to New York. How does that work with the future stipulation? Thank.

 

[elindholm]

The rule is that you cannot leave yourself without a first-round pick in two consecutive future drafts. Once a draft is over, that pick is no longer a future pick. So the Suns would not be allowed now to trade away all of their first-round picks in the drafts of 2006 and 2007. (There are no trades allowed right now anyway, but you know what I mean.) The rule has no "memory," so once a draft is in the past, it has no bearing on what a team can do with any of its picks in the next draft.

See http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#71, the second half of the section.

 

[panfolk]

The rule is that you cannot leave yourself without a first-round pick in two consecutive future drafts. Once a draft is over, that pick is no longer a future pick. So the Suns would not be allowed now to trade away all of their first-round picks in the drafts of 2006 and 2007. (There are no trades allowed right now anyway, but you know what I mean.) The rule has no "memory," so once a draft is in the past, it has no bearing on what a team can do with any of its picks in the next draft.

See http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#71, the second half of the section.

Aha, that's settled. The poll should have had a zero option. Anyways who would you people realistically like to draft at what position and whatnot.

 

[devilalum]

You really need a lot more options.

What if we can trade the 2 picks for a higher pick or for a good young player? Maybe the Suns can trade one of the picks for a pick next year when the draft will probably be deeper. What if we package picks and young players for a REALLY good player?

There are lots of possibilities.

 

[overseascardfan]

With our core pretty muuch in place we cannot take on high priced veterans with our cap situation. I say keep the picks and select younger, cheaper talent that can contribute in a couple of years ie Devin Harris, Josh Howard. We can get veterans for veterans if we trade someone on our current roster.

#21 Jordan Farmar - Heir apparent to Nash
#27 Josh Boone - Athletic, big man who blocks shots, provide rebounding, and can run.

or #27 Nick Fazeckas - Could be the next Dirk Nowitzki.

 

[jbeecham]

Farmar sounds pretty good on NBADraft.net and so does Sergio Rodriguez.

Farmar:

NBA Comparison: Luke Ridnour

Strengths: True point guard with excellent vision and passing ability ... Has a great feel for the game, with the ability to elevate the level of play of his teammates ... Amazing creativity and anticipation ... Sees plays before they develop, finds teammates the instant they become open, the mark of a great passer ... Ball handling ability is superb ... Very good shooter with range ... Uses change of speeds well ... Good quickness, gets into the lane and by defenders well ... Has a bag of tricks offensively with a nasty crossover and good ability to pull up for shots when open ... Plays solid team defense, reads passing lanes for steals ...

Weaknesses: Athleticism and strength could be an issue for him in the NBA ... Lacks great body strength, not a physical specimen type but has some leaping ability and quickness ... A big or real physical guard can push him around ... Turnover prone, can get caught up trying to be too fancy ... Makes a lot of spectacular passes, but in trying to do so makes a lot of turnovers ... Small hands seem to make him more prone to turnovers ... Lacks explosiveness and finishing ability around the basket ... Not especially long or tall, cant see over defenses and must make ball fakes to get passes over or around bigger defenders ...

-Aran Smith 12/30/05

Sergio Rodriguez:
NBA Comparison: Jason Williams

For Sergio Rodriquez, the nickname "Spanish Magician" wasn't given, it was earned ... His imaginitive, charismatic, off the wall playing style combined with innate leadership abilities, has earned him not only respect, but the interest of many NBA scouts ... Owns a variety of offense weapons, but is at his best when breaking down defenders with his lethal crossover, or feeding a teammate for an easy basket ... Incredible quickness and ball handling ability make taking any defender 1-1 appear effortless ... Most impressive is his ability to find the open teammate in traffic ... He has the uncanny ability to see passing lanes before they open up, thus enabling him to nearly always make the right decision with the ball. While not incredibly gifted athletically, Sergio always finds a way to get the shot up, or draw the foul when around the basket ... Hits open shots, especially in the clutch, and shoots the three ball well enough to keep any defender honest ... Absolutely loves to run the fast break, using his extreme quickness and good finishing ability to convert most of the time ... Quickness and anticipation make him a capable ball hawk, as well as a solid off the ball defender ... His nickname (The Spanish Magician) fits him well, sometimes it appears the moves he makes, and the passes he fires, aren't real ... This kid has a world of talent, and just must continue to develop.

Weaknesses: Not really a physical marvel (6'3, 170 lbs.) as his explosiveness is just average ... Not very strong and can still be pushed around by the bigger guards ... Still prone to being careless with the ball, and can get carried away trying to entertain, making impossible passes, or trying to force a three when a smart play is needed ... Often goes for the flashy play instead of the simple, smart, play Also could use some work on defense, mostly staying fundamental and exerting the same intensity and effort ... Outside jump shot also needs some fine tuning, it is very formidable now, but shot selection and shooting percentage both need improvement.

Notes: Many Spanish scouts compare him to Jason Williams because of his flare for crowd pleasing plays. However, unlike Williams, Sergio has leadership abilities that can allow him to be a better pro. Needs more experience, but has already had a two breakout games with 18 and 14 points.

By Rob Salvador and Aran Smith 10/18/04

Notice Sergio's review is from 2004 so who knows how much he's improved over the last 2 yrs, but he sounds like a young Steve Nash. We might have to trade up to the mid-teens to get him though.

 

[jbeecham]

Then again, NBADraft.net tries to make everyone sounds good. Here's a PG they have being drafted #44 -

Will Blalock 6'0, 190lbs

Strengths: An exciting floor general who makes those around him better ... A true PG with great handle and passing ability ... Excellent court vision, has a knack for finding the open teammate and makes the difficult pass seem easy ... Extraordinarily long arms make him very effective in a number of areas, (he's around 6 foot and has a 6-5 wingspan, if not more) He'll throw down on the break if given an opening and routinely dunks on ally oops. Rebounds well ... Great defender with quick hands ... Has very good quickness and gets great elevation ... Despite being a bit of a gunslinger passing the ball, he rarely makes many turnovers and has great ball protection ... Free throw shooting is excellent ... Has a great first step and loves to go baseline ... Great body strength ...

Weaknesses: Must gain better consistency and range on his jumpshot ... Not a great finisher around the basket, he is improved but must become better ... Must develop a more consistent 3 point shot, he can shoot it, but if he improved it would make him deadly ... Can be too unselfish at times, must develop the ability to take over offensively in crunch time ...

Aran Smith 11/21/05

 

[panfolk]

You really need a lot more options.

What if we can trade the 2 picks for a higher pick or for a good young player? Maybe the Suns can trade one of the picks for a pick next year when the draft will probably be deeper. What if we package picks and young players for a REALLY good player?

There are lots of possibilities.

I was pretty careful in my wording.

 

[Gaddabout]

It's cheaper to fill out positions 11 and 12 with vets than rookies. First-round picks still make more than the NBA minimum, last I checked. Now, if you want to replace an Eddie House or, possibly, a James Jones with a first-round pick, that makes sense financially. You just better make sure the player you select can contribute now. If that's the case, I would expect some kind of mild trade up into the teens for a versatile swingman. A rook picked in the teens starts out at about 1.3 and escalates to 1.5 in the third year. It allows you to get a signed player at about half of what Jones makes and probably right at what Eddie House will command on the open market.

 

[Russ Smith]

Farmar sounds pretty good on NBADraft.net and so does Sergio Rodriguez.

Farmar:

NBA Comparison: Luke Ridnour

Strengths: True point guard with excellent vision and passing ability ... Has a great feel for the game, with the ability to elevate the level of play of his teammates ... Amazing creativity and anticipation ... Sees plays before they develop, finds teammates the instant they become open, the mark of a great passer ... Ball handling ability is superb ... Very good shooter with range ... Uses change of speeds well ... Good quickness, gets into the lane and by defenders well ... Has a bag of tricks offensively with a nasty crossover and good ability to pull up for shots when open ... Plays solid team defense, reads passing lanes for steals ...

Weaknesses: Athleticism and strength could be an issue for him in the NBA ... Lacks great body strength, not a physical specimen type but has some leaping ability and quickness ... A big or real physical guard can push him around ... Turnover prone, can get caught up trying to be too fancy ... Makes a lot of spectacular passes, but in trying to do so makes a lot of turnovers ... Small hands seem to make him more prone to turnovers ... Lacks explosiveness and finishing ability around the basket ... Not especially long or tall, cant see over defenses and must make ball fakes to get passes over or around bigger defenders ...

-Aran Smith 12/30/05

.

Wow I wonder how many UCLA games Aran Smith has seen? Most of Farmar's turnovers are in the halfcourt and are just careless lazy passes, either post entries or cross court passes where he just doesn't seem to get the ball is in the air too long and gets picked. It's been discussed to death on UCLA boards for 2 years now, when is Jordan going to get you can't throw those passes in college like you could in highschool? I wouldn't call Jordan overly flashy at all, sure he'll make the no look pass now and then but he's really NOT a showboat.

he has a knack and a feel you can't coach. I think his biggest weaknesses are he's not all that strong, is not a very good on ball defender(getting better though), has a tendency to take it personally and try to do too much, and is a very streaky shooter. If you watch him shoot you'd think he's a much better shooter than he actually is, has a textbook shot and release, but his FG% belies that, because he tends to shoot offbalance, drift left, or take shots at the end of the shotclock closely guarded(Because UCLA milks the clock a lot).

The one thing I really question in that scouting report is the superb ball handling comment, yes he can cross over, use both hands etc, but Jordan is not one of those "Ball on a string" kind of dribblers. Aside from the lazy passes the most common turnover he has is simply losing the dribble, either on his own, or because he gets knocked off the dribble too easily because he's not strong enough. He got the ball stripped on the dribble almost once a game on average, again it's something UCLA fans have been discussing for 2 years, when will he learn to protect that. He's also notorious for going right, if you saw the West Virginia game the key play in that game was Mike Gansey stripping Farmar late in the game, gansey said after the game the coaches told us all week Farmar loves to go right, I guessed, he went right, and I got the steal.

Sure looks like Jordan is going to stay in the draft. Love to have him one more year at UCLA I think healthy he can lead UCLA back to the finals, but it appears he's going to be in the draft. He's an extremely creative player and he sees the floor, special talent in that regard.

 

[tobiazz]

It's cheaper to fill out positions 11 and 12 with vets than rookies. First-round picks still make more than the NBA minimum, last I checked.

I looked it up.

Vet Pay Scale, 1st Round Pick Pay Scale.

This draft, the 21 pick will make about $1 mil and the 27th pick will make about $0.8 mil. That equates them to the league minimum for 4 yr and 7yr vets, respectively. If the Suns moved up to the 1st pick, it would cost $3.8 million. Pricy but probably better than the value you would get for 4 minimum wage vets.

 

[playstation]

i vote for 1: make it NOT count

get rid of the picks, because that's what its going to take to keep the team together

 

[F-Dog]

According to DraftExpress, Sergio Rodriguez has already moved up past #21. I guess the Suns might still get him if they're able to trade up.

Farmar has a special feel for the game, but he has so many weaknesses...I don't know if he can shore them all up enough to be a useful player.



As the draft gets closer, I find myself liking the foreign prospects more and more, which is my usual pattern. I guess I prefer the ones I haven't seen enough of to pick apart.

Anyway, Marcus Vinicius is intriguing: he's another Brazilian athlete and scorer. Rudy Fernandez, Sefolosha, Shawne Williams are the other players who interest me and who might be available when the Suns pick.



The Suns need a shooter, a PG and an athletic perimiter defender--actually, they need at least two of those attributes in the same package. I'm not sure there's anybody they can get who'll fill that bill, though.

 

[Gaddabout]

I looked it up.

Vet Pay Scale, 1st Round Pick Pay Scale.

This draft, the 21 pick will make about $1 mil and the 27th pick will make about $0.8 mil. That equates them to the league minimum for 4 yr and 7yr vets, respectively. If the Suns moved up to the 1st pick, it would cost $3.8 million. Pricy but probably better than the value you would get for 4 minimum wage vets.

You can't trade the bottom four players of the roster for 1 talented rookie, because you still have to fill the remaining three positions. That just costs more money. If the Suns are moving up, expect one of the vets to be moved, as well, which is just one more salary slot that needs to be filled

I seriously doubt the Suns will keep the 27th pick, because they won't want to give guaranteed money to a player very unlikely to make the team. What they *might* do is draft a European who is unlikely to play in the NBA this year.

Either way, I don't think it makes either basketball or financial sense to keep both of those picks. The Suns are all about skill ball at high speeds, and once you get into the 20s you are usually sacrificing either skill or athleticism.

It's hard for me to believe there are many scenarios where they stand to benefit from the 21st pick, either, but at least the Suns aren't as reliant on 7-foot stiffs that they are more likely than most teams to find a player who could be productive. They could pick an athletic wing at that slot and get good value on it -- and someone who would have a legit shot of finding minutes in next year's reg. season rotation.