Draft Prospects thread

[Russ Smith]

Josh's NBA career will be as fruitful as Don's NBA career....

Don couldn't guard his own shadow, I figure Josh will stick around longer
but as others said he has to get stronger and tougher, he's too willing to
defer to teammates. Not like they had great players around him this year, he had talented players but all were young. They really needed him to carry them this year and he didn't.

 

[F-Dog]

Big Baby Davis is in.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/news/story?id=2805642

I cant think of a player that I could not want any less on my team.

I think he'll be one of the steals of this draft.


The only thing standing in the way of Davis becoming a quality NBA player is that last 30 pounds of lard. If you're looking for another Carlos Boozer, Davis is the closest thing you'll find IMO.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

see thats what I thought. evry media about the nbs draft compares him to a less athletic chris webber. R u serious.

outside from Grant Hill- duke players hardly become impact players.

brand, boozer, maggette, battier, laettner (love him or hate him, he was productive) - they've had more than they're given credit for. early on it was an accurate assessment (ferry, parks, and hurley - though mainly injury reason), but that has gone by the wayside more recently.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think he'll be one of the steals of this draft.


The only thing standing in the way of Davis becoming a quality NBA player is that last 30 pounds of lard. If you're looking for another Carlos Boozer, Davis is the closest thing you'll find IMO.

dude has amazing feet. he's like an overweight dancing bear. very nimble. no explosiveness though. and that might be his downfall at the next level.

 

[F-Dog]

dude has amazing feet. he's like an overweight dancing bear. very nimble. no explosiveness though. and that might be his downfall at the next level.

Boozer wasn't explosive in college either.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Boozer wasn't explosive in college either.

Boozer isn't explosive NOW. He is effective though.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Boozer wasn't explosive in college either.

compared to davis, boozer is superman. though the nimble feet help him get to where he wants to go he cannot get off the ground. he gets a lot of his points through sheer bulk right now and that won't cut it at the next level. i always thought boozer was more athletic and a better player than he was given credit for at duke.

 

[ma_falaa_50]

I think Big Baby is an interesting pick. I think he would be a steal. He is nimble and big. I think he can be an affective rebounder and a good scorer. I think he will loose much of his weight when he begins his Nba career. The problem he may face is how an 82 game schedule affects him.

 

[FArting]

I was watching the UNC USC game last night and one of the announcers said that Brendan Wright is around a 54% free throw shooter.

 

[ma_falaa_50]

He sux at free throws. I think it will be a bad idea for him if he declares, he is not ready.

 

[ma_falaa_50]

He is horrible when he is on the free throw line. He plays purely based on his ahtleticism. he wont be able to contribute this yr. He needs like at least 1 yr more in college.

 

[slinslin]

Yeah like he shot 6-6 last night, not being good at the line doesn't make or break a freshman big man and it doesn't mean he can't contribute in his rookie season.

 

[The Commish]

Wright has a good stroke, so I wouldn't say that his FT% is indicative of his potential. I think he stays another year though if Hansborough declares.

Jeff Green has been an animal this tournament and I think he solidified a spot in the Top 10.

Tywon Lawson of UNC looks like a solid player and though I think he stays one more year, I would love the Suns to get him if he did declare.

There are a bunch of underrated 2-guards that could potentially be in this draft: Brandon Rush, Nick Young, Derrick Byars, Aaron Aflalo, Daquan Cook and Ron Lewis. I suspect Young and Cook will stay another season, but the ones that don't can be had from the Mid-Teen down through the 20's. Depending on what picks we have/hold on to/acquire, I would like one of them to spell Raja and perhaps move Barbosa over to the backup PG spot permanently.

 

[ma_falaa_50]

jeff green looks good. Tyler hansborough would prolly be like a poor man's nick collison.

I wonder though if dantoni will do a colangelo and draft a more unknown prospect or player (like shawn marion instead of maggette)

 

[The Commish]

jeff green looks good. Tyler hansborough would prolly be like a poor man's nick collison.

I wonder though if dantoni will do a colangelo and draft a more unknown prospect or player (like shawn marion instead of maggette)

Hansborough seems a little tougher and bigger than Collison but its a fair comparison.

I have a feeling that Noah is a smokescreen. I think we've been throwing his name out there to distract other teams from who we really like. Noah reminds me too much of Varajeo which by no means is a bad thing, but with a high pick I'd rather use it on someone else.

 

[Russ Smith]

Wright has a good stroke, so I wouldn't say that his FT% is indicative of his potential. I think he stays another year though if Hansborough declares.

Jeff Green has been an animal this tournament and I think he solidified a spot in the Top 10.

Tywon Lawson of UNC looks like a solid player and though I think he stays one more year, I would love the Suns to get him if he did declare.

There are a bunch of underrated 2-guards that could potentially be in this draft: Brandon Rush, Nick Young, Derrick Byars, Aaron Aflalo, Daquan Cook and Ron Lewis. I suspect Young and Cook will stay another season, but the ones that don't can be had from the Mid-Teen down through the 20's. Depending on what picks we have/hold on to/acquire, I would like one of them to spell Raja and perhaps move Barbosa over to the backup PG spot permanently.

Pretty much everyone assumes Young and Afflalo are gone. Ben Bolch covers USC for the LA Times and he says Young is leaning hard to leaving. Both he and Pruitt have said they will play in the pre draft camp in May and then decide, his guess is Young leaves, Pruitt stays.

There's some rumor Pruitt may leave because he thinks his NBA spot is PG and if Mayo gets in next year, he might move Pruitt off PG. Gabe had a great tourney run and improved his stock, and he's not a good student, but the guess is he stays.

Afflalo seems very likely to go, he's struggled recently but really stepped up against Kansas.

Hope he stays but I have to admit I'm drooling about the potential of Russell Westbrook as a SG next year. So far in the tourney he's become known for his dunks and taking the ball to the rim, but all year he's displayed a great knack for pullup jumpers in traffic, his main problem has been trying to learn to play PG, if he moves back to SG he could be really good.

 

[F-Dog]

I have a feeling that Noah is a smokescreen.

That's odd. My feeling is, you're going to be very disappointed on draft day



As things stand, I figure the Suns will narrow themselves down to Noah or Yi with the high pick, then try to package their other picks to trade up for Fernandez or Belinelli. After they fail at that, they'll call around trying to dump both picks, and since they'll be in a bind (because they shirked their job on domestic scouting) they'll wind up selling both picks for 70 cents on the dollar.

 

[The Commish]

That's odd. My feeling is, you're going to be very disappointed on draft day



As things stand, I figure the Suns will narrow themselves down to Noah or Yi with the high pick, then try to package their other picks to trade up for Fernandez or Belinelli. After they fail at that, they'll call around trying to dump both picks, and since they'll be in a bind (because they shirked their job on domestic scouting) they'll wind up selling both picks for 70 cents on the dollar.

Sounds about right.

 

[asudevil83]

That's odd. My feeling is, you're going to be very disappointed on draft day



As things stand, I figure the Suns will narrow themselves down to Noah or Yi with the high pick, then try to package their other picks to trade up for Fernandez or Belinelli. After they fail at that, they'll call around trying to dump both picks, and since they'll be in a bind (because they shirked their job on domestic scouting) they'll wind up selling both picks for 70 cents on the dollar.

if that happens i might have to jump off the suns' bandwagon purely based on the stupidity of the management.

 

[ma_falaa_50]

I think Yi might be a good possibility. I dnt know if dantoni prefers foreign prospects more than he does american prospects. Its hard to find out who they are going to pick because the players that are on the top 3 on mock drafts (durant, oden, brendan wright) havnt declared yet. I think Durant is going to leave but I dnt think Oden and Wright are going to leave.

 

[Diawsome]

As things stand, I figure the Suns will narrow themselves down to Noah or Yi with the high pick

I pray that you are wrong. Maybe if Atlanta finishes with a pick floating around 9-12 that would be acceptable but if it lands 4-8 then anyone involved in that decision should be fired on the spot

 

[ma_falaa_50]

I heard Corey brewer is the best on ball defender that is left in the final four. if the suns has a chance to get him they should. it would help prevent mike bibby, tony parker, jason terry from having a good game againts the suns.

according to analyst the draft is very deep so we prolly have a good shot getting good big guys later on.

 

[Louis]

Traveling the sea to see Yi
03/24/2007 11:41 AM
Suns Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin and Suns Director of Player Personnel Vinny Del Negro were in China recently to scout Yi Jianlian, a 7-foot prospect who likely will be among the lottery draft picks.

He is not projected to be a top-three pick so he seemingly could fall into the range that the Suns will pick, as long as the Atlanta pick is conveyed to them by not falling in the top three.

Suns personnel can't comment on Yi but an Eastern Conference executive recently told me that Yi would be an ideal fit for Phoenix's style of play because his team is a run-and-gun type too. He obviously is not at the level of Dirk Nowitzki but that is the type of player that Yi projects to be at optimum.

Or you could go with this scouting report from Yao Ming in the Houston Chronicle: "He is very close to a player who is in the NBA. I would say Amare Stoudemire."

Um, stick to playing, Yao.

Yi has tremendous ball skills for a 7-footer, court smarts, shooting touch and runs well for his size. And it is often said that he has much more moxie than Yao Ming. He's not a brute of a defensive stalwart by any means but he may not turn out to be as soft as many assume him to be. There is some debate about his age, which the Chinese have at 19 while some believe he is as much as three years older. He looks 19.

His team, Guangdong, is currently down 3-1 to Bayi in the Chinese Basketball Association finals, which is being aired live on NBATV. Guangdong has won three straight national titles.

About eight NBA teams had representatives in China to watch the first couple games of the series. Here is a link to a youtube highlight compilation of Yi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6plJTvMW04

http://www.azcentral.com/blogs/index.php?blog=193&blogtype=Sports

I know nothing of the guy. But the video was interesting.

 

[devilalum]

That's odd. My feeling is, you're going to be very disappointed on draft day



As things stand, I figure the Suns will narrow themselves down to Noah or Yi with the high pick, then try to package their other picks to trade up for Fernandez or Belinelli. After they fail at that, they'll call around trying to dump both picks, and since they'll be in a bind (because they shirked their job on domestic scouting) they'll wind up selling both picks for 70 cents on the dollar.

IMO this is a very likely scenario. It all depends on what happens in the playoffs. If the Suns get knocked out in the first or second round I fully expect the team to trade Marion to save money. If we make it to the finals then I think Sarver will keep it together for at least one more season.

If they dump salary then I think they might draft a couple of rookies. If they're looking to reload then they'll probably only draft one player.

No matter what happens ther is NO way they will draft 3 rookies.

NO WAY!

 

[devilalum]

I heard Corey brewer is the best on ball defender that is left in the final four. if the suns has a chance to get him they should. it would help prevent mike bibby, tony parker, jason terry from having a good game againts the suns.

according to analyst the draft is very deep so we prolly have a good shot getting good big guys later on.

I am dissapointed that LB has not taken on this role for the team. He seems to have all the necessary physical tools.