Draft Prospects thread

sunsfn · May 10, 2007

azirish said:
I agree about Horford and Wright, but if the Suns drop to 6, I'd look for them to trade down rather than reach for Noah. I expect him to go in the late lottery.

I'm not 100% sold on Brandan Wright, but the consensus of the writers I seen consider him a solid impact guy with enormous potential. For lottery teams, Wright is obviously the pick. For the Suns, Horford makes more sense because he's more NBA ready although his upside is not as great.

There is a chance that someone like Yi or Hibbert might get taken ahead of Horford, depending on how they test out. I don't particularly like them for the Suns. Yi is considered "soft" and Hibbert slow; but they are a very good prospects and might get taken higher than Horford.

Unless the suns make a trade I agree with the thought that Horford is right for them with the ready to play in the NBA ability he has. D'Antoni has a team that is going to compete for a title for the next couple years and he does not like rookies.

The suns may trade down if they are at #6, but I can tell you that Noah is not a reach at 6-8 at all. I firmly believe that he will go in that area. Some of the writers are dropping him and saying that they are hearing this, but the guy really can play.

And, I think Noah is made for the suns way of playing. He can run the floor better than any big in the draft, and is very aggresive on defense and rebounding, and he can make his free throws when he is fouled in the paint. His offense has to improve and will.

Divide Et Impera · May 10, 2007

Noah could become an athletic Collison, so I would not object to picking him even if we had #4. However, my preferrence is Horford first. Actually, my preferrence is Marion/#4 for Durant, but you know what I mean....

F-Dog · May 10, 2007

If the Suns take Horford, then they really are looking to get rid of Amare.

Mulli · May 10, 2007

F-Dog said:
If the Suns take Horford, then they really are looking to get rid of Amare.

I would hope they wouldn't mind getting Sir Horford as depth without having to get rid of Amare.

Cheesebeef · May 10, 2007

azirish said:
I agree about Horford and Wright, but if the Suns drop to 6, I'd look for them to trade down rather than reach for Noah. I expect him to go in the late lottery.

I'm not 100% sold on Brandan Wright, but the consensus of the writers I seen consider him a solid impact guy with enormous potential. For lottery teams, Wright is obviously the pick. For the Suns, Horford makes more sense because he's more NBA ready although his upside is not as great.

There is a chance that someone like Yi or Hibbert might get taken ahead of Horford, depending on how they test out. I don't particularly like them for the Suns. Yi is considered "soft" and Hibbert slow; but they are a very good prospects and might get taken higher than Horford.

one more time - do you actually watch college basketball? To think that Hibbert would possibly go above Horford for any reason is pure stupidity for anyone that's watched the last couple years.

Divide Et Impera · May 10, 2007

F-Dog said:
If the Suns take Horford, then they really are looking to get rid of Amare.

How the hell do you figure that?!?!?

Man, we could run Nash-Bell-*-Horford-Stoudemire

(I am SOOOOO ready for Marion to be gone for like the 3rd year now!)

F-Dog · May 10, 2007

Divide Et Impera said:
How the hell do you figure that?!?!?

Man, we could run Nash-Bell-*-Horford-Stoudemire

(I am SOOOOO ready for Marion to be gone for like the 3rd year now!)

Horford doesn't give the Suns anything they need next to Amare--he's not a good defender, he's not versatile, he can't shoot from the perimeter. What he should be able to do is shoot from midrange, score close to the basket, and be a physical presence in the lane...the things Amare already does.

So, if the Suns get Horford, it stands to reason they'll look to move Amare for a complementary piece. Either that or the team's GM will start looking for a new coach.

hafey · May 10, 2007

How about this scenario:

The suns, picking at say 4/5, trade down with chicago for thabo and the 9th pick where they could take Noah if he drops.

tobiazz · May 10, 2007

hafey said:
How about this scenario:

The suns, picking at say 4/5, trade down with chicago for thabo and the 9th pick where they could take Noah if he drops.

I wouldn't have a problem with something like that, if the Suns are intent on taking Noah. It would be like trading a 16th pick (or whatever Thabo was) and a ~9th for a 4th. Maybe a tad pricy on the Bulls side, but who would they want that high? I suppose Horford/Wright for an inside scoring presence, since that's the only thing they seem to be missing. I think they would be looking for a more immediate impact player though. Or maybe they would really like Brewer over Sefalosha and don't want what they could find around 9. If I were Paxson, I would probably be happy with a guy like Yi to add some versatility to the bench.

NoelPHX · May 10, 2007

I was reading this guys profile today while roaming and thought he might be good in the D'Antoni system and get to learn from Nash.

http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/petterikoponen.html

DevilsFan · May 10, 2007

azirish said:
Brewer's stock is very high right now because he played so well in the tournament.

You mean like how Noah's stock was so high after last year's tournament? Now everybody talks about him like he's a dog (I personally don't believe that at all).

Everything everyone is saying about Brewer was said about Augmon when he came out, including that they are both streaky scorers. If anything, Augmon was much more highly regarded than Brewer is now.

If the choice is between Noah and Brewer, I'd take Noah every time. He's exactly what the Suns need - a strong defensive player who can guard 4s and 5s, run the floor, pass the ball, and is an excellent ballhandler to boot. So what if he can't shoot? The Suns don't need another scorer. So what if he needs to bulk up? Every big man in the draft except Oden and Horford need to bulk up too. I don't understand why Noah's star has fallen so rapidly. People can't remember anything other than what they just saw.

sunsfn · May 10, 2007

hafey said:
How about this scenario:

The suns, picking at say 4/5, trade down with chicago for thabo and the 9th pick where they could take Noah if he drops.

Thabo was drafted 13th.

That is an interesting propostion! I would like the suns to have Thabo.

The only thing I do not like is giving Chicago an excellent player. They are a good team right now and if they go from 9th to 4th they will get a starter and they will be very good next year and maybe favored to win the East.

I have been trying to figure a way for the Suns to trade down with Charlotte and pick up another pick or player. Lots of scenerios, but I have not come up with anything that works good yet. 4-5, Banks, ?, for #8 (Noah) and ??.

B-Dogg · May 10, 2007

I would like to trade back and actually draft Mike Conley Jr. and then use our additional picks to trade up and take Al Thorton, we get our pg of the future and an athletic three/four to eventually replace Marion.

azirish · May 10, 2007

cheesebeef said:
one more time - do you actually watch college basketball? To think that Hibbert would possibly go above Horford for any reason is pure stupidity for anyone that's watched the last couple years.

Hibbert is the only college player who could defend Odem and score 19 on him to boot. At 7'2" 275, he's big, strong, and moves his feet. On teams that need an interior presence, I can see him going early. Considering how high Sene, O'Bryant, and Armstrong went last summer; it is hardly stupid to think that the second biggest player in the draft might go higher than he should.

F-Dog Horford doesn't give the Suns anything they need next to Amare--he's not a good defender, he's not versatile, he can't shoot from the perimeter. What he should be able to do is shoot from midrange, score close to the basket, and be a physical presence in the lane...the things Amare already does.

So, if the Suns get Horford, it stands to reason they'll look to move Amare for a complementary piece. Either that or the team's GM will start looking for a new coach.

I'm curious why you think Horford is not a good defender. If it is because he struggled with Odom, that's fine but then again no one else could stop Odom either.

Horford averaged 9.5 rpg during the season on a team with some great rebounders. He averaged 13.2 ppg without being a primary offensive player on 60.8% shooting despite taking a lot of mid range jump shots. He also added 2.2 assists, which is very good for a guy who played mostly center.

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=415

While Horford had trouble keeping Oden from scoring in the post, one area where Horford was not intimidated was on the glass. Horford actually went up to pull down multiple rebounds on both ends of the court, some over Oden and others with him in the direct vicinity. Horford came up with some very clutch rebounds down the stretch, where he fully used his length, athleticism, and timing along with a relentless hustle to help secure the game for his team. Horford did a good job boxing out when near the basket, and tracking down rebounds that flew away from the hoop.

... Horford’s normal style of defense in the post is to play with his hands up and by keeping his body in front of his man, forcing them into tough shots. That clearly didn’t work here against Greg Oden, and it’s an adjustment he’s going to have to make at the next level, using more physicality and adding some more strength to his excellent frame to maintain his position down low. There’s a chance this could push him down a few spots in the lottery, but he still has all the defensive tools in the world, excellent basketball IQ, and a great motor, which will allow him to learn to make those adjustments at the next level, should he have the right coaching.

sunsfn · May 10, 2007

Here are 10 players from Chad Ford's top 100 players.

The green and red arrows indicate if they are going up or down in the draft, in the eyes of the GM's that Ford says he talks to.
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NAME HT POS FROM STOCK

1. Greg Oden 7-0 COhio State