So, #21 WILL be Petro?

[Yuma]

Petro just makes more sense. A young player they can develop and be the insurance for the possible loss of Hunter. At pick No. 21, it's not that big of a gamble. He certainly fits a need. - Joe Gambadoro

I also saw on NBA.COM's site, our team needs video for the draft has the NBA guru's saying we will pick Petro.

These are the first two places I have looked today, other than this board, in preparation for tomorrow's draft, and Petro is the pick so far. The video of Petro on NBA.COM is impressive, if all you want to see is put back dunks. The guy looks like Amare-lite body-wise. He is definatly athletic. I would have liked to see him in play in a game to see how he plays overall. Anyone seen this guy play in a game?

 

[JCSunsfan]

Anyone know his measurements, ht, wingspan etc.

 

[asudevil83]

i think Diogu is first on the list.....if he's gone then Petro......if Petro is gone, then it will be one of the SF/SG that people have been talking about.

 

[Yuma]

Anyone know his measurements, ht, wingspan etc.

Johan Petro - A true 7-footer with length. Petro has an amazing wingspan of 7 feet 3 5/8 inches and a standing reach of 9 feet 4 inches. He is young, just 19, with a good NBA body. He did not have much success playing in Europe in a league that wasn't very good . He is athletic and projects as a starter in the NBA down the road. He is not better than Steven Hunter right now but projects to become a better player. The Lakers and Clippers have shown interest in him after he had good workouts for those teams.

this is from Gambo's new article!

 

[scotsman13]

9'4" that is only 1" short of yoa mings reach.

 

[hcsilla]

Diogu is not the most athletic bigman of the world bit he is more athletic than Petro.
Considering the fact that Petro is MUCH more raw than Diogu I would be extremely disappointed if the Suns would take Petro over Diogu.

 

[Yuma]

Diogu is not the most athletic bigman of the world bit he is more athletic than Petro.
Considering the fact that Petro is MUCH more raw than Diogu I would be extremely disappointed if the Suns would take Petro over Diogu.

Wow, what I saw of Petro was he IS athletic! Putting back offensive rebounds with Amare ferocity in the video I saw. If Diogu is more athletic than this, yeah I would be disappointed if we didn't get him either!

 

[hcsilla]

Wow, what I saw of Petro was he IS athletic! Putting back offensive rebounds with Amare ferocity in the video I saw.

In which video have you seen that?

 

[Biclops]

i just saw the video of Petro (from nba.com) and i must say that he impressed me

he is really athletic and I could see him playing a good role off the bench and scoring just by outrunning the other teams big men

the play that impressed me the most on the video was the where he drove to the basket from the 3pt area and went all the way to dunk the ball (wow!!)


Here is the link for those who are interested...

http://www.nba.com/draft2005/team_video_features.html

 

[jbeecham]

Other write-up of Petro:

http://probasketball.about.com/od/nbadraftplayerprofiles/a/playerranking05_5.htm
Close your eyes and envision the perfect physical package for a center ... obviously, about 7-feet tall, lean but well-muscled and quick, coordinated feet. That's Petro in a nutshell. So while he's sorely in need of some skill development and even more in need of a having a fire lit under him, he's got everything you could want physically and is just 19. Projects as another Sam Dalembert, with the potential to be miles better.

 

[Chaplin]

That nba.com video of him looked pretty good. I'll add him to my short list.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Sounds like someone that you could justify using the 21 on. It really depends on who is on the board for me to say if I would like him.

 

[Gaddabout]

It's too bad Petro didn't participate in the Chicago workouts. I would've liked to have seen how he compares to Bogut and some of the other slothful centers. Petro is not my choice, but I wouldn't be disappointed if that's who the Suns end up with. At least he's not a 7-foot slug. There's some potential there if he has any interest in developing his talent.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

9'4" that is only 1" short of yoa mings reach.

Yeaj, but Ming is built like a t-rex....

 

[Griffin]

If we do select Petro, how likely is it we leave him in Europe for a year or two?

 

[scotsman13]

on everything i have read about him i havent seen anything about his contract. in most cases if there is a problem getting them over there then we would have seen it someplace. i think we would have him here next season.

if we lose hunter and if jake leaves or some traded we would have a hard time finding someone else to give us some shot blocking or defense in the post a center. so i think that the suns will (if they draft him) bring him over,14 man roster and all that.

 

[jbeecham]

If we do select Petro, how likely is it we leave him in Europe for a year or two?

I would guess not likely at all. Obviously this guy needs better coaching to develop his skills and he's not getting it in France otherwise he'd be a top 5 pick. Plus it's looking more and more likely that we're going to lose Hunter so we'll need a backup center. Petro may be as good as Hunter right now and we have to have at least 13 guys on the roster so there's no point in keeping him in Europe.

 

[Yuma]

If we do select Petro, how likely is it we leave him in Europe for a year or two?

I bet that would depend on how he looked in the summer leagues here. If he tore it up here in the summer, no way they would send him back to Europe. Also, if they could let Jake and Shirley rot on the pine, and this kid could actually get some minutes, he would be a lock to play with us with his athleticism. At worst, if he stayed in Europe, he wouldn't count on the cap.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I bet that would depend on how he looked in the summer leagues here. If he tore it up here in the summer, no way they would send him back to Europe. Also, if they could let Jake and Shirley rot on the pine, and this kid could actually get some minutes, he would be a lock to play with us with his athleticism. At worst, if he stayed in Europe, he wouldn't count on the cap.

He can't play in the summer leagues without signing a contract. The only contract he would be able to sign is his first round guaranteed salary.

So in other words, if he were to play in the summer leagues - he is here next season. The Suns have to make that decision without seeing him play competitively anymore.

 

[Yuma]

He can't play in the summer leagues without signing a contract. The only contract he would be able to sign is his first round guaranteed salary.

So in other words, if he were to play in the summer leagues - he is here next season. The Suns have to make that decision without seeing him play competitively anymore.

Heck, they let all kinds of stiffs play in the summer leagues without being in the NBA. That rule hardly seems fair. I have noticed not many Euros play in the summer leagues unless I have seen them signed already.

I'm good with us signing AND playing him. He can take Jake's mop up minutes at worst. Also, our practices and training here would probably benefit him more than another year in Europe.

 

[myrondizzo]

we can put him in the nbdl right?

 

[asudevil83]

god i hope its possible to trade Barbosa, our second rounder, and some cash for Memphis' first rounder #19. it kinda makes a little sense, as Memphis is trying to ditch Jason Williams. Barbosa would be a cheap alternative in a way.

taking Diogu with the #19 and Petro with the #21 would be heavenly in my books.

 

[sunsfn]

If the suns are thinking of moving up in the draft, they may be after Joey Graham. They bought him in for a workout.

Here is a video on him, he is "very" impressive.
Click on the small camera to the left of his name.



http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/prospects


-

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I have thought the same thing, although they would have to move up 10 spots most likely to get him.

If they are moving into the teens, it is probably for Garcia.

 

[sunsfn]

I have thought the same thing, although they would have to move up 10 spots most likely to get him.

If they are moving into the teens, it is probably for Garcia.

Yeah I know.
NBAdraft net has him at #13
Draftespress has him at #9
ESPN has him at #18

I was hoping that he would fall because of the need for the big guys being drafted ahead of him.

Talk about able to run skill ball, man this guy can do that with the suns!