Personal Draft Chart

[slinslin]

Suns pick
1. Dwight Howard - good kid, tall, young
2. Emeka Okafor - good person, intelligent, good college player
3. Chris Paul - The next great PG if he is in the draft
4. Shaun Livingston - Seems to be a very smart type of player and unselfish

Cavs pick
1. Sebastian Telfair - star aura, Marbury's cousin, young, gifted
2. Ben Gordon - even if not a real PG definately better than Barbosa I would say.
3. Al Jefferson - maybe short, but physical, young and nasty
4. LaMarcus Aldridge - long, athletic and young

I kinda like Josh Smith as well but more between #7-#12.

 

[George O'Brien]

Suns pick
1. Dwight Howard - good kid, tall, young
2. Emeka Okafor - good person, intelligent, good college player
3. Chris Paul - The next great PG if he is in the draft
4. Shaun Livingston - Seems to be a very smart type of player and unselfish

Cavs pick
1. Sebastian Telfair - star aura, Marbury's cousin, young, gifted
2. Ben Gordon - even if not a real PG definately better than Barbosa I would say.
3. Al Jefferson - maybe short, but physical, young and nasty
4. LaMarcus Aldridge - long, athletic and young

I kinda like Josh Smith as well but more between #7-#12.

Smith had a poor game in one of those recent all star games and got some bad reviews.

Livingston has been getting a lot of buzz and played well in that all star game. Like with Telfair, I wonder if he is physically strong enough to play in the NBA right away.

Latest word on Paul is that he is returning to school. He had a very bad game against St. Josephs which would hurt his stock.

I can't see Gordon dropping that far based on his play recently. I project him mid to late lottery.

I would be surprised if Jefferson and Aldridge come out. They are not projected to go high enough to make it worth the risk of falling out of the first round..

 

[Joe Mama]

Latest word on Paul is that he is returning to school. He had a very bad game against St. Josephs which would hurt his stock.

I can't see Gordon dropping that far based on his play recently. I project him mid to late lottery.

I would be surprised if Jefferson and Aldridge come out. They are not projected to go high enough to make it worth the risk of falling out of the first round..

One bad game against St. Joseph's is not going to hurt Chris Paul's stock. If he returns to school it will not be for a lack of interest by NBA teams. The general consensus is that he's the best point guard not playing in the NBA today.

There is speculation that there will be a flood of young players this year because David Stern is pushing hard for an age limit. At least that was the story in ESPN Insider the other day. They were saying that there are going to be good, young players to be had later in the draft because of this. Of course they will be projects.

I don't think Cleveland is going to make the playoffs. They are deadlocked with Boston, and they just put Jeff McInnis on the IL. They also have Philadelphia and Toronto nipping at their heels.

Joe Mama

 

[PhxGametime]

What's your opinion on Jarrett Jack G - Georgia Tech? I'm just getting into watching some games and he impressed me against Chris Paul the few minutes watched.

 

[elindholm]

The general consensus is that he's the best point guard not playing in the NBA today.

Even better than Milos Vujanic?

 

[George O'Brien]

What's your opinion on Jarrett Jack G - Georgia Tech? I'm just getting into watching some games and he impressed me against Chris Paul the few minutes watched.

I only listened to the game, but he certainly was impressive. Here is the profile from Draft City:

Strength:

Excellent passer and distributor; stronger than he looks or is listed at; very fast and athletic; good instincts on offense; quick hands on defense; solid mid-range and long distance shooter; quite the rebounder for a point guard (averaging 5 per); young, meaning that he is this good without peaking yet.

Weakness:

Very turnover-prone against equally quick guards (7 against Felton and UNC); gets beat on defense easily despite quickness; ball handling techniques are a bit awkward (dribbles the ball rather high at times); seems a bit nonchalant sometimes on both ends of the court.

 

[Joe Mama]

The general consensus is that he's the best point guard not playing in the NBA today.

Even better than Milos Vujanic?

I'm sure they were referring to undrafted players. Besides it is sounding more and more like Milos Vujanic is a combo guard.

Joe Mama

 

[PhxGametime]

The game was an earlier game this year - I missed Jack scoring 29 PTS, I believe yesterday. He has good size for a PG, although if Suns were to draft a PG - Andre Iguodala would be my 1st choice. On the 31st is McDonalds game, so hopefully I get to see Shaun Livingston.

Sebastian Telfair had a good game earlier this year against Darius Washington on Tv but he is short and if Suns had Barbosa, Vujanic, and Drafted PG - I'd prefer a PG in the 6'3+ range to rotate the 3 at both guard positions and would be available for switches on defense.

 

[George O'Brien]

if Suns were to draft a PG - Andre Iguodala would be my 1st choice.

I'm not even sure Iguodala is a guard let alone a PG. He looked like an undersized SF in the games I saw him play. This is not to say I think he would be a bad choice, but more for his defense than his ability to play point.

 

[slinslin]

Livingston would be the logical choice if you want a big PG.

If the Suns draft at #3, Livingston looks like the obvious choice since Chris Paul for some reason says he won't be in the draft.

 

[George O'Brien]

Livingston would be the logical choice if you want a big PG.

If the Suns draft at #3, Livingston looks like the obvious choice since Chris Paul for some reason says he won't be in the draft.

Here is the Draft City Profile of Livingston:

Name: Shaun Livingston DOB: 9/11/85
Height: 6'7" Weight: 175 pounds
College: Committed to Duke Year: HS Senior

Strength:

His size is unbelievable when viewed in conjunction with his handling ability. He is a solid 6'7". He also happens to have the point guard abilities usually attributed to someone 6 inches shorter. That size advantage gives him amazing court vision which he accentuates with a point guard savvy of a veteran. His handle is proficient allowing him to beat any press than an opponent would throw at him. Many observers liken him to a Harlem Globetrotter with the way he can weave through traffic with skill and poise, making the game appear scripted to his benefit. He has an uncanny court awareness which allows him to get the ball where it needs to be without hesitation. His size and respectable vertical leap also allows him to literally shoot over shorter opponents.

The key thing that seperates Livingston from the rest of the 6'7"-6'9" PG/SGs coming into the league in the next few years is that Livingston is a point guard. There is no question as to what position he will play in the league, no hesitation if he can handle the 1 spot. There is no controversial period in which he has to learn how to handle the duties of a point guard. He is a point guard first, 6'7" second.


Weakness:

Unlike most high school players coming out today Livingston is not an athletic beast. He's not going to soar over the rim for a highlight reel dunk (let me clarify that his athleticism is much greater than most point guards in the league and he can throw down dunks against smaller opponents, this is simply stating that he is not similar to other high school players over 6'6" who are athletes first and players second). While is very fast for his 6'7" size he is simply average for a point guard (not to say that he is slow, but he is not fast either; he is as I said: average). There is no bulk on his body which effects him a great deal on the defensive end where even smaller point guards can muscle him in the post. His outside jumper still needs consistency. There may even be a chance that his entire shot (which is rather ugly looking) may need reworking if he wants to gain more consistency.

 

[PhxGametime]

Andre Iguodala isn't a traditional PG nor on most teams would play PG but with Joe Johnson a big playmaker, a JJ and AI backcourt could work. I'd prefer Iguodala defending PG's than JJ and I'd prefer a big PG with Barbosa and Vujanic capable Guards. Iguodala avg. around 5 AST and can defend 3 positions.

IMO playmaking is weak area, 3PT could be concern but Marion and Johnson in years past were top 30 - Barbosa, Vujanic, and Jacobsen are solid 3PT shooters. For bigmen Cabarkapa and Lampe can shoot out to the 3PT area. Iguodala improves defense and rebounding as well.

A Free Agent PF or C could improve interior defense. That's if Suns were to draft small...

 

[Chaplin]

Just say no to Igoudala! I like the guy, but he is certainly not a point guard, and certainly not what we need...

 

[hcsilla]

There is no way that Gordon will slip to CLE's pick.

 

[F-Dog]

I would take Iguodala if he was what's left. He's got a similar skill set to Joe Johnson, but youneverknow--maybe that's exactly what the Suns will need in a couple of years. Whenever I see one of those awesome b-ball bodies that doesn't come with a shoot-first mentality, it makes me sit up and take notice.

My current list:

1. Perovic
2. Andriuskevicius
3. Shaun Livingston
4. Biedrins

If we wind up with the Cleveland pick:

1. Josh Childress
2. Rudy Fernandez
3. LaMarcus Aldridge
4. Al Jefferson

 

[PhxGametime]

I go back and forth...


Suns have 7th slot but could slip to 10th (unlikely), my choices:


1. Emeka Okafor F/C
2. Dwight Howard F
3. Andre Iguodala G/F
4. Andris Biedrins PF*
5. Devin Harris PG
6. Ben Gordon PG
7. Luol Deng G/F
8. Josh Smith SF
9. Hakim Warrick F
10. Sergei Monya SF*
10. Tiago Splitter PF

I'm not as high on Shaun Livingston and Josh Childress as maybe I should be. Rashad McCants if he declares could crack top 10 - I'm high on Kirk Synder but don't know if he belongs in Lottery (same happened last year - I was high on Josh Howard last year at #17 but no one else had him slotted there and stuck to Boris Diaw). Herve Lamizana, Christian Drejer, and Romain Sato are 2nd Round prospect's I'm high on.

 

[Chaplin]

The odds of us slipping to 10th are like once in a lifetime, definitely tampering odds--like 1 in 200,000 or something like that--maybe even worse than that. Heck, the odds of us slipping just to 8th are extremely high.

 

[elindholm]

Chances of the Suns landing a particular pick:

#1 -- 6.4%
#2 -- 7.2%
#3 -- 8.3%
#7 -- 44.8%
#8 -- 29.7%
#9 -- 3.6%
#10 -- 0.1%

So they are more likely to move down to #8 than up to anywhere in the top 3. If any of the "lower" seven lottery teams moves up, the Suns move down, and those numbers start to add up.