Official 2012 NBA Draft thread

[slinslin]

Marshall and Ross would be an excellent backcourt combo I think. If we could make it happen I would be happy.

Would not be happy if we end up with either Marshall or Ross but no other first round pick.

Really liking Fab Melo too. I think he will be a solid center in the league. Probable average starter which makes him a steal anywhere outside of the lottery.

 

[Griffin]

I don't follow much college ball, so this is just from doing a bit of internet scouting.

Among the 4 SG who may be available (Lamb, Rivers, Ross, Waiters)

1. Austin Rivers
2. Terrance Ross
3. Dion Waiters
4. Jeremy Lamb

Honestly, I am not crazy about any of these players. They all have some major flaws, none seem to have a particularly high bb IQ and may have attitude/ego issues.

Rivers - probably most rounded of the four, but known to play selfishly
Ross - good height from the SG spot, will help in rebounding, but low IQ and doesn't get to the rim
Waiters - gets to the rim plenty, but doesn't play smart, poor court vision, doesn't pass
Lamb - good outside shooter but doesn't drive to the hoop, afraid of contact

I think I'll be okay if the Suns get Rivers, Ross or Waiters, but I won't be thrilled. Another first round pick would be huge.

In fact, I might even pass on those four guys and draft Marshall. High IQ, great passer, just doesn't score.

 

[sunsfan88]

I don't follow much college ball, so this is just from doing a bit of internet scouting.

Among the 4 SG who may be available (Lamb, Rivers, Ross, Waiters)

1. Austin Rivers
2. Terrance Ross
3. Dion Waiters
4. Jeremy Lamb

Honestly, I am not crazy about any of these players. They all have some major flaws, none seem to have a particularly high bb IQ and may have attitude/ego issues.

Rivers - probably most rounded of the four, but known to play selfishly
Ross - good height from the SG spot, will help in rebounding, but low IQ and doesn't get to the rim
Waiters - gets to the rim plenty, but doesn't play smart, poor court vision, doesn't pass
Lamb - good outside shooter but doesn't drive to the hoop, afraid of contact

I think I'll be okay if the Suns get Rivers, Ross or Waiters, but I won't be thrilled. Another first round pick would be huge.

In fact, I might even pass on those four guys and draft Marshall. High IQ, great passer, just doesn't score.

Marshall can't score, isn't a good defender and has horrible athleticism....

And I don't think Lamb is "afraid of contact" where did you read that? He's probably the most athletic guard in this draft and sure seemed fine driving to the rim at UConn.

 

[Griffin]

Marshall can't score, isn't a good defender and has horrible athleticism....

But he has great ball-handling skills, court vision and high IQ which is what you need from a PG above all else. If he was also super-athletic, solid defender and decent scorer he would have been a top 3 pick. But if we are going to replace Nash at some point, I would much rather have Marshall in that role than a shoot-first PG.

And I don't think Lamb is "afraid of contact" where did you read that? He's probably the most athletic guard in this draft and sure seemed fine driving to the rim at UConn.

There's a video scouting report on Lamb's page at DraftExpress.com that mentions he doesn't like contact at the rim and prefers to settle for outside shots, where he is inconsistent. It said that 72.7% of his shots last year were jumpers and, of those, 62.9% were 3-pointers.

 

[sunsfan88]

Eh. Marshall strikes me as a poor man's Andre Miller.

I would rather wait til next year to get our future PG. Next year's is deep on PGs.

 

[Phrazbit]

Brooks was coming off a MIP year, so there was a lot more potential there than with sticking with Dragic.

I disagree. A player struggling immensely on the last year of a deal vs a younger player struggling on a cheaper longer contract AND a draft pick. I see more potential letting Dragic potentially work through his struggles and having a pick then renting a pile of trash like Brooks for 2 months.

 

[Chaplin]

I disagree. A player struggling immensely on the last year of a deal vs a younger player struggling on a cheaper longer contract AND a draft pick. I see more potential letting Dragic potentially work through his struggles and having a pick then renting a pile of trash like Brooks for 2 months.

Drastic wasn't just having a few bad games. He had a few good performances here, but his average far outweighed the good, and the last half year he was with us was nothing but below average performances. That's a fact. He was among the worst players in the league. I remember most of us being completely flabbergasted that he was as bad as he was. Brooks wasn't having a great year either, but it was better than dragic's at the time.

 

[Phrazbit]

Drastic wasn't just having a few bad games. He had a few good performances here, but his average far outweighed the good, and the last half year he was with us was nothing but below average performances. That's a fact. He was among the worst players in the league. I remember most of us being completely flabbergasted that he was as bad as he was. Brooks wasn't having a great year either, but it was better than dragic's at the time.

No, it wasnt. He was shooting .34% at the time of the trade, significantly worse than Dragic. Among players with the amount of PT and usage Brooks was getting he was probably the worst shooter in the entire NBA. And considering his only "strength" is supposed to be his scoring it made him among the most useless players in the league.

And he was older than Dragic... and he was going to be a free agent... and we threw in a 1st round pick... it was an awful trade at the time and it turned out to be as bad as possible in retrospect.

 

[sunsfan88]

There's one thing we know for sure: If the Suns don't acquire another 1st rd pick in this draft, it will be because they didn't want to, NOT because they tried and couldn't.

Plenty of teams are shopping their 1st rd pick so if the Suns truly want to improve and get some young players to rebuild, the Suns should easily come out of this draft with AT LEAST TWO 1st rd selections.

I personally would be very disappointed if we don't trade for or buy another 1st rd pick. I would lose all my confidence in Blanks and Babby.

 

[dodie53]

what would you feel if the suns sell their pick?

 

[Chaplin]

No, it wasnt. He was shooting .34% at the time of the trade, significantly worse than Dragic. Among players with the amount of PT and usage Brooks was getting he was probably the worst shooter in the entire NBA. And considering his only "strength" is supposed to be his scoring it made him among the most useless players in the league.

And he was older than Dragic... and he was going to be a free agent... and we threw in a 1st round pick... it was an awful trade at the time and it turned out to be as bad as possible in retrospect.

We can argue about the first round pick all day, but that doesn't change the fact that we traded a guy who was absolutely awful for a guy that was playing badly as well, but was coming off an MIP year--and a pretty damn good year as well. He also was injured and missed 21 games that same year, so it's hard to compare the two, when Dragic had a full half-season and stunk up the joint. And Brooks was still young, only a year older than Dragic.

I'm not saying the trade was good, I'm saying that there should be no blame for the Suns trading Dragic in the first place. I can see the reasoning behind it.

 

[Joe Mama]

We can argue about the first round pick all day, but that doesn't change the fact that we traded a guy who was absolutely awful for a guy that was playing badly as well, but was coming off an MIP year--and a pretty damn good year as well. He also was injured and missed 21 games that same year, so it's hard to compare the two, when Dragic had a full half-season and stunk up the joint. And Brooks was still young, only a year older than Dragic.

I'm not saying the trade was good, I'm saying that there should be no blame for the Suns trading Dragic in the first place. I can see the reasoning behind it.

Dragic had also been injured that season. If you remember he cut his foot or something like that. I think that was kind of a strange story about how he did it.

It was a gamble that didn't pay off, but throwing in the draft pick I felt was too much. The front office, like usual, was outdone by another team who knew Phoenix Suns management was desperate to make the playoffs and has always undervalued draft picks.

Joe

 

[sunsfan88]

what would you feel if the suns sell their pick?

They already said their not gonna trade #13.

 

[carey]

We can argue about the first round pick all day, but that doesn't change the fact that we traded a guy who was absolutely awful for a guy that was playing badly as well, but was coming off an MIP year--and a pretty damn good year as well. He also was injured and missed 21 games that same year, so it's hard to compare the two, when Dragic had a full half-season and stunk up the joint. And Brooks was still young, only a year older than Dragic.

I'm not saying the trade was good, I'm saying that there should be no blame for the Suns trading Dragic in the first place. I can see the reasoning behind it.

This is pretty much how it went down. It was clearly a situation where both players needed a change of scenery. It worked for Dragic, and the jury's out on Brooks because he only played 25 games for us (averaging almost 10 points, shooting 43% in 18 minutes) though none last year. There's still a chance he can play for us on a reasonable deal and play well. I'm not sure the Suns are done with Aaron Brooks.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I'm not sure the Suns are done with Aaron Brooks.

I certainly hope they are. He's an injury prone ball hog and isn't getting any younger.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I certainly hope they are. He's an injury prone ball hog and isn't getting any younger.

We only got to see him in a Suns uni for a few months. It took JRich more than that to adjust.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

We only got to see him in a Suns uni for a few months. It took JRich more than that to adjust.

Apples and oranges, totally different players. Aaron Brooks is not a starter on a good NBA team, and would really be best as a combo guard who's only role is to create offense. He sure as hell can't run an offense, and at barely 6 feet tall, is far too short for a 2 guard.

 

[sunsfan88]

JRich never had a bad attitude. Brooks just has the personality of a thug. He was a headcase in Houston and often fought with Adelman.

Then when he came here I remember him getting ejected and laughing it off while walking off the court.

 

[Chaplin]

Apples and oranges, totally different players. Aaron Brooks is not a starter on a good NBA team, and would really be best as a combo guard who's only role is to create offense. He sure as hell can't run an offense, and at barely 6 feet tall, is far too short for a 2 guard.

His pedigree is more starter-quality than Dragic's, that's for sure.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

His pedigree is more starter-quality than Dragic's, that's for sure.

Eh, I'm not so sure of it. Goran is definitely more raw, but his upside is much greater than that of Brooks. I think that Brooks has proven that he will never be a quality starter at PG because he shows no aptitude for running an offense.

While I don't think there is a great chance that Goran will be a good starter, he has shown some signs over the last year that he might. I'd rather take a chance on Dragic reaching his potential than with Brooks continuing to go 1 on 5 and never getting any better.

 

[carey]

His pedigree is more starter-quality than Dragic's, that's for sure.

Agreed. Dragic eviscerated the Spurs in a series, Brooks eviscerated the Lakers. Dragic had a good six weeks with the Rockets, Brooks had a good year. Brooks had problems in Houston, Dragic had problems here (mysteriously cut his foot on some glass and was traded with a pick cause we couldn't get rid of him fast enough?). How everyone is nut hugging one and not the other is just a case of grass is greener I suppose.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

was traded with a pick cause we couldn't get rid of him fast enough?).

Good point, our FO has been beyond reproach as of late. It's impossible that they made a bad decision. I wonder what the answer would be if you asked most FO personnel if they'd prefer Brooks or Dragic.

How everyone is nut hugging one and not the other is just a case of grass is greener I suppose.

Eloquently put, you show a keen understanding of what's being stated by others.

 

[carey]

Good point, our FO has been beyond reproach as of late. [sic] Eloquently put, you show a keen understanding of what's being stated by others.

So funny.

 

[Cheesebeef]

His pedigree is more starter-quality than Dragic's, that's for sure.

i'm guessing no one in the NBA believes that and the proof will be in teams interest/new contracts they both get this off-season.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

i'm guessing no one in the NBA believes that and the proof will be in teams interest/new contracts they both get this off-season.

Couldn't have said it better myself.