F-Dog said:
...which is why a swingman like Iguodala qualifies as a need pick for Phoenix.
The only reason I'm not higher on Iggy is that he is not a good outside shooter and he is a bit small for SF.
The Suns have nine players under contract for next year (not counting Eisley). They probably need to add two more guards and another big. That leaves two IR spots, one of which could be used for the draft pick until the inevitable injury occurs.
The Suns currently have four inside guys (I do not think Carbakapa will be strong enough to play inside for several years): Stoudemire, Voskuhl, Lampe, and White. The Suns could easily lose White even if they don't bribe the Bobcats and he is the guy to move if they want cap space without giving up their lottery pick. That leaves the Suns with only three inside guys.
It is not a sure thing that Dice will be resigned although I think he makes sense. Even with Dice, this is not much depth.
I really doubt the Suns will find themselves in a roster-space crunch next year, regardless of what happens with the draft.
Typically the Suns would go with 5-2-5 configuration: 5 bigs - 2 SF - 5 guards with at least one guard capable of playing SF. At this point the Suns have four guards and are likely to add another when they sign Vujanic. Adding Iggy would put them at 6 guards, which probably means one of them would end up on IR.
Quote:
Originally Posted by George O'Brien
"I don't think any of this year's Euros have the upside that Lampe has. "
That seems like an unsupportable statement, considering you don't have the resources to scout these guys. Actually, it would look unsupportable even if you did have the resources.
How would you (or I or anybody else here, for that matter) know which Euro is the best out of the players who've declared, much less how that player stacks up against Lampe?
Obviously things will change when and if I get new and better information. But unless the same scouts are being inconsistent about their write ups, I think reasonable comparisons suggest that this year's group is less promising.
Most of the current batch are either a lot lighter or a lot slower.
Realistically, even if I saw these guys play it wouldn't mean much. Too often I've been overwhelmed watching guys in college only to see them flop in the bigs. I'm more inclined to review a large number of reports than to rely on who I've seen play.
About the only exception I give is about Araujo who I think is too slow to be much in the NBA. "Ostertag without the fancy footwork".
I think Biedrins sounds like he'd be another PF trying to play center (if the Suns take him), and I don't see why you'd expect an 18-year-old PF to play meaningful minutes when the Suns will already have Amare, Zarko, Lampe, and presumably McDyess at PF, along with Voskuhl and Jahidi at center.
If the Suns take Biedrins, I'll like him, of course. But I'll be assuming that he's the BPA because the Suns chose him, not that he'll contribute next year in any way.
Biedrins is a center like Camby is center - he has really long arms. He blocks shots and rebounds well. He plays with his back to basket and relies on hooks and short jumpers.
His precociousness is unbelievable, he's playing 30 year old pros every day and dominates them. Unlike most European sevenfooters, Biedrins is more of a back-to-basket player. He works strong in the paint and scores mostly from the lowpost. A strong rebounder, too. But the brightest aspect of his game is his natural shot blocking ability. He wants to block virtually every shot. Last year he finished second in the Latvian League in block shots. While his defense was already great last year, his improvement on the offensive end this season shows his great work ethic. He was working on his offensive skills every day in the off season. That's why his scoring average increased from 3.3 last year to 19.5 this year.
draft city
The mock drafts vary, but most have him gone by the time the Suns draft (the Wizzards being the most likely team to take him). So maybe he won't make it, but scouting reports that describe Ramos as having no defensive skills or Euros who rely totally on size for their defense leave me cold. If Biedrins can play defense, he will play.
