Who are the Mocks picking for Phoenix?

[Russ Smith]

At best, Love reminds me of Collison - a good backup but no upside. He also reminds me of Sean May, which is not a good thing.

Love's a better shooter than either of them(better range than Nick) but those are both fair comparisons otherwise. Kevin is a much better passer too but I'm not sure yet how that translates in the NBA. I don't think NBA teams will be doubling Kevin the way college teams did so his passing might not be as big a factor?

Collison averaged 9 RPG this year and made nearly 6 million but obviously on a horrible team someone has to put up numbers.

I think Kevin could improve a lot with one more year and better conditioning but he's pretty securely in the lottery by most accounts so I'd be stunned if he didn't go.

It'll be interesting what NBA teams think about his knees there have been so many stories about how many surgeries he's actually had. his dad claims he had procedures not surgeries related to relieving pressure on the knee joint because of growth spurts when he was younger. I've never heard of it before or since Kevin but it's something that's been said so many times I took it to be true. I'm not sure NBA teams will accept that though when they do their homework on him?

 

[JCSunsfan]

I could see packaging the Atlanta pick and a player to move up in this draft. We do not draft for need because we have needs at every position for the future and for depth. BPA available is the way to go.

Players available to package.
1. Barbosa. Lots of value right now. Lots of teams want LB and see him as a starter.
2. Tucker. There is a lot of interest here as well, but its more of the "if we can get him cheap it could be a steal that would pay off big time" interest. Until he starts putting up numbers in the big leagues, his value will not be what it should.
3. Strawberry. Some value, but probably more for us than for anyone else.
4. Diaw. I think Diaw has some trade value, especially to a team with cap room. If he were on a team where he started and the team depended on him, he would have significant impact. It would be STUPID to give up anything to move his contract.

Potential targets
1. Rose
2. Mayo
3. Jordan

 

[Irish]

Collison was terrific in college, but did not shoot like he does now.

In any case, the issues will be whether Love is long enough and strong enough to play inside in the NBA or quick enough to defend the more athletic bigs. He looked overwhelmed by Dorsy who was in turn crushed by the Jayhawks more athletic bigs.

Love's draft position will likely depend on his pre-draft conditioning, but I'm skeptical he will completely rebuild his body.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

he's more athletic than tim duncan, that's for sure.

anyway one analyst compared him to battier. battier was a PF in college who worked mainly on the block and he had the same build as hansbrough does. battier came to the nba and turned into a lockdown perimeter defender and a good 3-point shooter. i would love to have a guy like that as well.

someone compared hansbrough to battier? they couldn't be further apart in body type and game. even dating back to college. that's no "analyst" . . . that's a blind man.

hansbrough is not very athletic. and he's measuring out at 6'8" from what i've seen lately. he gets his based on hustle. he'll NEVER be a center. i'd take him in the 20s but not at 15.

 

[Russ Smith]

Collison was terrific in college, but did not shoot like he does now.

In any case, the issues will be whether Love is long enough and strong enough to play inside in the NBA or quick enough to defend the more athletic bigs. He looked overwhelmed by Dorsy who was in turn crushed by the Jayhawks more athletic bigs.

Love's draft position will likely depend on his pre-draft conditioning, but I'm skeptical he will completely rebuild his body.

He had some issues with Dorsey's strength but really the problem was pretty obvious, Memphis didn't guard Luc they had his man(Dozier) just double Love. He got 10 in the first half in spite of it(While Luc missed one open jumper after another) but in the 2nd half Love wore down from the pace and battling 2 guys for position and he only scored 2 points. I would assume you mean overwhelmed defensively since Dorsey didn't score a single point, but had 15 boards and played excellent defense in the 2nd half.

Given nobody is going to guard Kevin with 2 players in the NBA that doesn't worry me. Love is very strong but conditioning was an issue all year. He needs to get more definition to his body too, he's very strong but not exactly "cut".

My main issue with Kevin is who's he going to guard in the NBA, probably too short to guard C's and not athletic enough to guard 4's, his defense got better all year at UCLA and playing man to man all year will help him but he's in for a huge adjustment. People say he's going to get his shot blocked a lot in the NBA because of the lack of hops, but they forget, he got his shot blocked a lot in college too and still he was the only freshman in the country to score in double figures every game, he found a way in college. I think he'll struggle early on in his NBA career as he adjusts to the speed of the game but I think he'll eventually be a pretty good player.

One point he's in much better shape now than he was when he arrived at UCLA he's much slimmer and more defined, but he needs a lot more of that.

He has a lower ceiling than guys like Jordan and Randolph for sure but he's also a lot less likely to be a complete bust because of his work ethic and what a smart player he is. Jordan in particular is an athletic freak but had a reputation for not playing hard.

 

[Suns_fan69]

4. Diaw. I think Diaw has some trade value, especially to a team with cap room. If he were on a team where he started and the team depended on him, he would have significant impact. It would be STUPID to give up anything to move his contract.

This may have been true after 2005-2006 when Amare was down but after the last couple seasons Boris has negative trade value. It would be near impossible to get rid of his contract without either packaging an attractive one (Barbosa) or taking back an equally bad one.

 

[Covert Rain]

Shaq (although Shaq hasn't really worked out very well yet),

First off welcome. Second huh?!?!? I am also with Chap, don't understand he is not working out very well statement.

Defense has improved. Rebounding is up. Points allowed in the paint is down. Blocks are up. Fast Break is up. Free Throw Attempts are up.

Sounds like he is working to me.

When the trade was first announced there were questions about Shaq "keeping up" with the rest of the Suns. The part about not working out very well is the keeping up with the rest of the team issue, and the injury bug that seems to plague him for about 30 games if not more every season.

That was already proven to be a non-issue. Shaq is needed to rebound and spark the break. Fast break attempts is up. Like I said not a problem.
Also, what difference does it make how injured he was with other teams. He has been fine here. So again, how has that not worked out for the Suns exactly?

If Shaq is committed to losing some weight, and hitting the elliptical then I will see it different. I think I will need a full season to convince myself that he is a good fit with the rest of the Suns.

He has lost weight. He is in the best shape he has been in a long time. His body isn't an issue. Again, look at all the areas the Suns are up. what more proof is needed? Shaq wasn't brought here for the long term. He was brought here for a couple shots at the title.

Honestly I don't think were watching the same team.

 

[Irish]

This may have been true after 2005-2006 when Amare was down but after the last couple seasons Boris has negative trade value. It would be near impossible to get rid of his contract without either packaging an attractive one (Barbosa) or taking back an equally bad one.

The Suns paniced on the Diaw deal as the aftermath of the JJ fiasco (BTW egged on by much of this board). I'll admit that at the time, I was prepared to give him more than he was worth; but felt the Suns were making a huge mistake in extending him before he proved himself.

Now that they are locked into his contract, they are going to have to live with it. He's like Marion in that he's likely to be worth more to keep than in trade value until he's nearer the end of his contract.

The frustrating thing about Diaw is that he shows signs of being able to play better, but he doesn't sustain it. This year he had six double digit rebounding games and some good scoring games, yet somehow he continually reverts to the passive style that draws so much criticism.

One interesting fact is that Diaw won't be playing for France this summer since they failed to get into this summer's 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Hopefully, this will give the Sun's coaching staff a chance to work with him in the off season on conditioning, long range shooting, defense, and most of all on becoming more aggressive.

 

[nbamock]

At best, Love reminds me of Collison - a good backup but no upside. He also reminds me of Sean May, which is not a good thing.

I think all four of those guys might be available when Phoenix turn comes, but I really and truly hope Suns will pass on all 4 of them !

Rush, Hansbrough, and Budinger SHOULD be available when the Suns pick. I don't even have Rush, or Hansbrough going until the 20s. Love I have in the top ten. Love (based on the tournament alone) probably moved up 5-7 spaces. All year he was hovering about the 15-18 range but during the tournament he was just unbelievable putting up some great numbers, and blocks that are not consistent with his usual game. Love has the hands of Chris Webber, the passing ability of a point guard, excellent rebounding and boxout ability. He lacks athleticism, but bottom line is that D1 success stories like Love succeed at least 5 to 1 over those "raw-potential-freak athletes" who don't have the fundamentals down.

McGee (as I saw in another post quoting DX) is just not ready. He's declared, and will be drafted in the first round though. As a fellow UNR alumni I still keep up with a lot of UNR ball, and get the privilege of bouncing off of my buddies slingbox for their local cable games. McGee is just as bad of a defender as DX had said. Definitely not NBA ready.

Anyhow I think I wasn't really clear on the whole Shaq issue. When he was first traded to the Suns I thought he could solve some of the defensive issues, but I wasn't sure if he would disrupt the offense. He had some issues running up and down the court, so I was afraid there would be a lot of 4 on 5 offensive sets while waiting for Shaq to get to the other end.

I know he is healthier than he was at the start of the season, but I felt there might be motivation issue with Shaq because he has done it all in the NBA. He has nothing more to prove. He makes 20mil/yr, and he does not fit with the run and gun style of play so there might be an adjustment period which might last into the playoffs. Let's hope not because I am not a Spurs fan at all, and what they pulled last year really upset me.

Saying it hasn't worked out very well was the wrong thing to say, because it wasn't true. At least until you see him play a full season, with the Suns style offense. Anyhow, here's to the Suns kicking the crap out of those Spurs!

How do you all feel about Speights, or Greene? Speights had some great per40min stats behind Noah, and Horford the year before last, and I had wondered how he would do with starting type minutes.. Sure enough he matched those per40 stats from the year before.. Speights will be a damn fine player int he NBA. I have him going to the Kings though. they are just woeful at the PF spot. Mikki Moore, and Shelden Williams are kind of... meh.

 

[JoRain]

How do you all feel about Speights, or Greene? Speights had some great per40min stats behind Noah, and Horford the year before last, and I had wondered how he would do with starting type minutes.. Sure enough he matched those per40 stats from the year before.. Speights will be a damn fine player int he NBA. I have him going to the Kings though. they are just woeful at the PF spot. Mikki Moore, and Shelden Williams are kind of... meh.

Speights also have problems on defence. I don't think he would be the best choice for Suns as well. Of course it depends on who is on the board at 15 but I don't think a project PF would be a good choice for Suns. Green I like a lot better because of his combination of size and skills. He coul become another Tim Thomas for us
at this point Robin Lopez would be my choice though

 

[jlove]

Updated Mocks (52 mock drafts as of 7 May 08) have us taking:


7 x McGee
5 x Batum
5 x Hibbert
4 x Budinger
3 x Greene
3 x Arthur
2 x Love
2 x Rush
2 x Koufos
2 x Collison
2 x Randolph
2 x Ibaka
1 x Douglas-Roberts
1 x Spieghts
1 x Gallinari
1 x Augustin
1 x Westbrook
1 x Gist
1 x Mays
1 x Hudson, Lester
1 x Lopez, Robin
1 x Lopez, Brook
1 x Jordan
1 x Thabeet
1 x Hansbrough

 

[nowagimp]

give me hansbrough every day of the week if he's on the board. kid is the definition of toughness and persistence. he won't wow you with his athletic ability, but he can get a team fired up like nobody else and he has great game on top of it. it sucks that he's a little undersized though, so there isn't much of a future for him at center.

he does not have much potential for defense in the NBA, putting him next to amare could create a defensive sieve int he frontcourt.

 

[mojorizen7]

The Suns are taking Budinger if he is there. No way does UofA Sarver/Kerr pass on him.

 

[tobiazz]

hansbrough is not very athletic. and he's measuring out at 6'8" from what i've seen lately. he gets his based on hustle. he'll NEVER be a center. i'd take him in the 20s but not at 15.

Actually, in watching Hansbrough, he is much more athletic than I expected. He's pretty fast with so-so explosiveness, certainly more than Love. Tom Gugliotta would be a far better comparison than Battier. Both are not to tall for a PF, strong, have decent mobility, mediocre low post games, good rebounding, and some range on their shot. I'm talking the mid-career Googs and the current Hansbrough.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

Does it really matter? I think there is a good chance we sell this pick for big bucks especially if "our player" isn't on the board.

 

[tobiazz]

Does it really matter? I think there is a good chance we sell this pick for big bucks especially if "our player" isn't on the board.

They can only sell it for $3 million, the same as a late first round pick, so if they sold it, it would probably be combined with another money saving move. This happened last offseason when James Jones's contract was sent to Portland with a pick.

I don't think they will sell this pick. That just can't keep happening, can it?

 

[cly2tw]

Does it really matter? I think there is a good chance we sell this pick for big bucks especially if "our player" isn't on the board.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Moving Diaw now that Dantoni is gone might be the top thing on Kerr's to-do list.

The pick might help do that.

 

[Louis]

Moving Diaw now that Dantoni is gone might be the top thing on Kerr's to-do list.

The pick might help do that.

Diaw and the Atl 1st to whoever wants to give the Suns $3 million in exchange?

 

[Louis]

he does not have much potential for defense in the NBA, putting him next to amare could create a defensive sieve int he frontcourt.

Doesn't matter anyway. He won't be getting drafted this year.

 

[Joe Mama]

If I remember correctly $3 million is the maximum amount of money that is allowed to be included in any trade. There are ways to save much more money than $3 million using a good draft pick. A few years ago they traded Brian Grant and Rondo for the next year's first-round draft pick. Brian Grant saved them $1.9 million before you consider the luxury tax hit. On top of that they were able to sell the draft pick they received the following year. That's $5 million.

I don't think they will sell this year's draft pick, but at the very least they could get a couple future first. If they sold each of those for $3 million... well you get the picture.

Joe

 

[Mainstreet]

Somewhere I read or heard Kerr make reference he was going to use their two picks in the draft. I sure hope so as the NBA Draft used to be one of my favorite things.