Mock Draft: Washington is on the clock!

[elindholm]

1. Orlando -- Emeka Okafor
2. L. A. Clippers -- Dwight Howard
3. Chicago -- Luol Deng
4. Charlotte -- Shaun Livingston
5. Washington
6. Atlanta
7. Phoenix
8. Toronto
9. Philadelphia
10. Cleveland
11. Golden State
12. Seattle
13. Portland
14. Utah
15. Boston
16. Utah
17. Atlanta
18. New Orleans
19. Miami
20. Denver
21. Utah
22. New Jersey
23. Portland
24. Boston
25. Boston
26. Sacramento
27. L. A. Lakers
28. San Antonio
29. Indiana

 

[elindholm]

Dang, this is a tough one! It seems like the Wizards are in a similar situation to the Suns -- their greatest need is at center, but they probably aren't in the mood to wait on another project.

If they could move out Stackhouse, that would put them into a position to take a SF and leave the center problem for later (as most teams, realistically, are forced to do). But in addition to Stackhouse, they already have Hayes and Jeffries (if you figure, as I do, that his destined position in the league is SF).

Difficult!

 

[George O'Brien]

I'm hoping it's Childress, but I expect it will be Biedrins.

They take Childress if they are convinced Stackhouse will never be heathy. He is long, athletic, and has excellant overall skills. They may be scared off of Biedrins if they think he is another Darko who won't play right away.

Biedrins looks like the next Camby/Ratliff type center - skinny but long. He is tall (pushing 7'0), long, athletic (34" leap), and loves blockig shots and rebounding. He has a short jumper and plays close to the basket (he isn't the typical Euro who wants to shoot 3 pointers all the time).

The Wizzards aren't wildly enthusiastic about their current crew. K Brown is erratic with a history of injuries, Haywood is an underachiever, Etan Thomas is an RFA, and Christian Laettner is slow with minimal defensive skills. They need help, although it is not clear how much help Biedrins would be for them right away.

Biedrins.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I went Childress. I am pretty confident the Wizards will look to shop Stackhouse pretty hard this summer. My 2nd pick is Biedrins, but I don't think the wizards are going to want to wait for him to develop given their past history with projects.

 

[Sunshooter]

should be a SF

Josh Childress is fit for Wizards

 

[fordronken]

should be a SF

Josh Childress is fit for Wizards

Don't they have a lot of small forwards on that team?

 

[elindholm]

Don't they have a lot of small forwards on that team?

I thought I made that point, but I guess I used too many words and punctuation marks.

 

[elindholm]

It would be easier to go with Biedrins if there was any real indication that he's any farther along than any other of the project big men. But there isn't. Draftcity says he got torched by Milicic in a head-to-head matchup, which isn't encouraging at all. They also give his season high as nine rebounds, not exactly a dominating figure in a weak league. Does anyone doubt that Jake Voskuhl could get nine rebounds a game for a team in Latvia?

And really, has any big man in league history been able to play effectively before the age of 20? Garnett put up 10/6 as a 19-year-old, but are there other cases? (Stoudemire turned 20 just after his rookie year started, so he doesn't count.)

 

[elindholm]

Ah screw it, I went with Podkolzine. If they have to wait on someone anyway, it might as well be a player with the potential to be dominant.

 

[Joe Mama]

Ah screw it, I went with Podkolzine. If they have to wait on someone anyway, it might as well be a player with the potential to be dominant.

I was planning on doing the same thing. In the and I suspect that Deng will drop a few spots. If I had to guess right now I would say the draft looks like this.

1. Orlando... Okafor
2. Atlanta (trade)... Howard
3. Chicago... Iguodala
4. Charlotte... Josh Childress
5. Washington... Deng
6. LA Clippers... Gordon
7. Phoenix... God only knows

Joe Mama

 

[elindholm]

I was reading something on a message board for another team (Washington, I think): Whatever the team is, they measured both Iguodala and Childress. They were both 6' 7" and Iguodala was about ten pounds heavier. The conclusion of this particular group of fans was, since their games are similar, Iguodala is probably more attractive at this point.

For whatever that's worth.

 

[hcsilla]

Does anyone doubt that Jake Voskuhl could get nine rebounds a game for a team in Latvia?

I bet that Jake Voskuhl could get nineteen rebounds a game in the Latvian League.

 

[elindholm]

I bet that Jake Voskuhl could get nineteen rebounds a game in the Latvian League.

Exactly. There are some on this board who are so disgusted with Voskuhl that they're sure an 18-year-old project is already a better NBA center. Voskuhl has his weaknesses, to be sure, but these rail-thin kinds have a long way to go before they reach even his level.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I bet that Jake Voskuhl could get nineteen rebounds a game in the Latvian League.

Exactly. There are some on this board who are so disgusted with Voskuhl that they're sure an 18-year-old project is already a better NBA center. Voskuhl has his weaknesses, to be sure, but these rail-thin kinds have a long way to go before they reach even his level.

Jake Voskuhl will soon be synonymous on this board with Mario Mendoza of the Mendoza line in baseball -

 

[F-Dog]

I guess I missed Charlotte. FWIW, I don't think they'll take Livingston; the buzz is because the other teams want Charlotte to take him, because Livingston's the kind of boom/bust pick that can make a GM look bad either way if he's on the board. The Bobcats have their own agenda to take care of, though, which seems to be achieving mediocrity as quickly as possible.


Anyway, I suspect that the Wizards will take another swingman in this draft--either Livingston, Childress or Iguodala. Since Livingston's off the board, Iguodala is probably the best choice--it's starting to sound like Iggy will be off the board by #5 in any case.

 

[Joe Mama]

I bet that Jake Voskuhl could get nineteen rebounds a game in the Latvian League.

Exactly. There are some on this board who are so disgusted with Voskuhl that they're sure an 18-year-old project is already a better NBA center. Voskuhl has his weaknesses, to be sure, but these rail-thin kinds have a long way to go before they reach even his level.

I'm not disgusted with Jake Voskuhl, but I do think that at best he is a second or third string center. Biedrins isn't nearly as skinny as a guy like Martynas or some of the other European big man that have been in the draft the last few years. He is 7-0, 240 pounds at age 18. Jake Voskuhl is listed at 6-11, 245 pounds. We'll see how he measures in Chicago this week though.

I'm not sure if this kid is any better than Jake Voskuhl. It's extremely doubtful he could come right in and replace Voskuhl right away although stranger things have happened. I figure this is just another one of those guys for whom we would have to trust the Phoenix Suns' scouting. If they took him at #7 I would expect that he could provide at least a Voskuhl like contribution by the second half of his rookie season.

One thing I question about Biedrins is his shot blocking ability in the NBA. Most of the great shot blockers in the NBA have deceptively long arms. According to Chad Ford he is 7-0 with a 7-1 wingspan. He is often compared to Darko. Darko's wingspan measured 7-5 last year in the Chicago draft camp.

Joe

 

[fordronken]

I thought I made that point, but I guess I used too many words and punctuation marks.

Keep in mind, I'm barely literate.

 

[George O'Brien]

If Biedrins really is as much a project as some people say, I would guess that none of the Euros will go in the lottery. Nearly every report states that the rest for the Euro big men are much further from being ready than Biedrins. In another thread I noted that I will trust the Colgangelos judgement on this one.

 

[elindholm]

The Wizards select Andris Biedrins.