Post by kobe24 on Nov 1, 2009 19:31:03 GMT -5
Grading the Top 10 Picks
1. Yao Ming - Los Angeles Clippers
Yao has stood out all his life and it should be no different once he gets to UOSLR. He should come in and be one of the better big men in the league in his rookie season. I see Yao winning the ROY award going away as he will be the Clippers only player unless they get him some help in FA. The best big men in the league right now are Shaq, Webber and Duncan, I see Yao's name on that list within the next few seasons. Yao might be the most dominant rookie ever, certainly in recent memory. I see him putting up 20 points and 10 rebounds per game with 2 blocks per game to go along with that. The Clippers need to get Yao some help within the next few seasons or they could very easily lose their franchise player to FA if he wants to go elsewhere to win.
Draft Grade: A+
2. Amare Stoudemire - New York Knicks
The Knicks got the Celtics pick in an earlier trade and it payed off big time for them. They got a little lotto luck and moved up to the #2 spot to continue stacking their already good young team. Amare goes into a situation where he might not play much at first due to the talent on the Knicks, but I dont see the Knicks using him as a trading piece to get stronger, I see them keeping him and grooming him into a future star. The Knicks do have to worry about resigning Marion and Zhi Zhi this next off-season and if they cant, Stoudemire might immediately become their franchise player. But if all goes well for Amare and the Knicks, the duo of Marion and Amare will make the Knicks a title contender for years. Some might have went with Pau here, since he is the more established player, but I like the pick of Amare since the Knicks can afford to not play him for his first few seasons.
Draft Grade: A
3. Pau Gasol - Los Angeles Lakers
Pau might have hurt his draft stock a bit my not coming out in last year's draft, as he had a very good chance of being the #1 pick last year, but it only cost him a few hundred thousand. The Lakers also had a bit of lotto luck, as they moved up a few spots to obtain the skillful 7 footer out of Spain. Pau will be the center piece for the Lakers turn around as GM DBW tries to turn around the troubled LA franchise. In my opinion it would have been better if the Lakers could have obtained Amare as I believe Amare would have been the better fit. He is 3 years younger and has a lot more room to grow and is already almost as good as Gasol. But the Lakers got a huge break when their pick moved up, and Gasol should compete for ROY but he will ultimately come in second to Yao Ming.
Draft Grade: A-
4. Andrei Kirilenko - Vancouver Grizzlies
Not a big fan of Kirilenko so I dont really like this pick for the Grizzlies. They trade away the best big man in the league in a deal centered around this pick and since they dont really get a franchise player here I think they lose the deal. I think Jay Williams would have been the better choice. He is a PG, which is much more important than a SF. Jay is also a year younger and better in my opinion. Saying all of that, what Kirilenko will bring is great defense. I can see him winning multiple defensive player of the year awards in his career. He doesnt bring much else besides that though which is why I think this is a risky pick here. Jay Williams would have been the much better choice.
Draft Grade: B-
5. Nene Hilario - Toronto Raptors
With Nene rounding out the top 5, this is the first time in draft history that four of the first five players in the draft were foreign. Which I really didnt expect as I had Jay Williams in my top 5. So again I dont really like this pick since I think Jay is the 4th best player in this draft. While you could use the argument that the Raptors already have a PG, Francis is a turnover machine and I can't see him being the future PG of a championship team averaging 4 turnovers per game. Nene does have a ton of potential though which the Raptors will need to tap into. If Nene and Boozer both play up to what they should then that team will be a force to reckon win. I just dont like taking a chance when you have a player like Jay Williams on the board.
Draft Grade: B
6. Tayshaun Prince - Denver Nuggets
This is a really bad move for the Nuggets IMO, they already have their SF of the future in Stevenson so why draft another SF? Especially since there were better players on the board. Like JAY WILLIAMS. I know the Nuggets have Watson and they think he could be their PG of the future, but I still think Jay would have been the correct choice here. Even one of the young bigs still left on the board would have been a better pick then Prince here in my opinion. Prince doesnt have a ton of upside to him, he should be a nice defender and give you about 10 points as a starter. If Prince can prove me wrong then the Nuggets look extremely bright here, but I dont see that happening.
Draft Grade: B-
7. Jay Williams - Atlanta Hawks
Finally this guy comes off the board here, three picks to late in my opinion. Jay basically fell into the lap of the Hawks, who have done a nice job drafting these past few seasons. The Hawks are coming up on their contract year though so they are going to need these young guys to step up soon or GM chipper could find himself in a deep hole come his contract year. They get a break here with Jay falling to them and a lineup of Jay-Wagner-Johnson-Jamison-Kandi should win them a few games, but definitely not 40 games unless all of their guys have great TCs. I think the Hawks will have to end up trading a few of these guys to win next year.
Draft Grade: A
8. Caron Butler - Denver Nuggets
Another questionable pick here for the Nuggets, not sure what they are going to do with three SFs. I guess they could slide one of them to SG and trade the other, but definitely not the greatest two picks for the Nuggets at 6 and 8. Caron was probably the best player available here though so I can't criticize them to much, but just imagine if they had gotten Jay and Caron with 6 and 8 that would have been so much better. Caron should compliment Stevenson and Watson nicely, but the Nuggets will be back in the lotto next year hoping to add another great player. Could have done better with the 6th pick but I guess picking Caron here at 8 was the best move.
Draft Grade: B+
9. Drew Gooden - Indiana Pacers
Not really a player left who stands out above the rest so I guess Gooden is a decent selection since he is young and doesnt really have any weaknesses in his game. The Pacers need youth at basically every position so they couldn't really go wrong with who they picked. They just better hope Gooden develops nicely, which I think he will eventually. Gooden looks like he could be a late bloomer to me, and he could start at some point in his career and put up 15 and 11 with some good defense, which Im sure the Pacers would be happy with out of him. No one is expecting much out of Gooden so any improvement will be a bonus for the Pacers.
Draft Grade: B
10. John Salmons - Golden State Warriors
I like this pick for the Warriors, they are building a pretty nice young team and Salmons should help with that. He was a dynamic scorer at Miami and should bring that scoring ability to this league. Salmons is also a good passer from the shooting guard position. He also bring solid defense and size, but he may have to play SF for them if the Warriors plan on keeping Arenas at shooting guard. Salmons is one of the older plays in the draft, which is why I believe he slipped a bit, but when we look back on this draft in a few years I think Salmons could be one of the better players from this draft. So I think the Warriors get a nice steal here in Salmons.
Draft Grade: A-
1. Yao Ming - Los Angeles Clippers
Yao has stood out all his life and it should be no different once he gets to UOSLR. He should come in and be one of the better big men in the league in his rookie season. I see Yao winning the ROY award going away as he will be the Clippers only player unless they get him some help in FA. The best big men in the league right now are Shaq, Webber and Duncan, I see Yao's name on that list within the next few seasons. Yao might be the most dominant rookie ever, certainly in recent memory. I see him putting up 20 points and 10 rebounds per game with 2 blocks per game to go along with that. The Clippers need to get Yao some help within the next few seasons or they could very easily lose their franchise player to FA if he wants to go elsewhere to win.
Draft Grade: A+
2. Amare Stoudemire - New York Knicks
The Knicks got the Celtics pick in an earlier trade and it payed off big time for them. They got a little lotto luck and moved up to the #2 spot to continue stacking their already good young team. Amare goes into a situation where he might not play much at first due to the talent on the Knicks, but I dont see the Knicks using him as a trading piece to get stronger, I see them keeping him and grooming him into a future star. The Knicks do have to worry about resigning Marion and Zhi Zhi this next off-season and if they cant, Stoudemire might immediately become their franchise player. But if all goes well for Amare and the Knicks, the duo of Marion and Amare will make the Knicks a title contender for years. Some might have went with Pau here, since he is the more established player, but I like the pick of Amare since the Knicks can afford to not play him for his first few seasons.
Draft Grade: A
3. Pau Gasol - Los Angeles Lakers
Pau might have hurt his draft stock a bit my not coming out in last year's draft, as he had a very good chance of being the #1 pick last year, but it only cost him a few hundred thousand. The Lakers also had a bit of lotto luck, as they moved up a few spots to obtain the skillful 7 footer out of Spain. Pau will be the center piece for the Lakers turn around as GM DBW tries to turn around the troubled LA franchise. In my opinion it would have been better if the Lakers could have obtained Amare as I believe Amare would have been the better fit. He is 3 years younger and has a lot more room to grow and is already almost as good as Gasol. But the Lakers got a huge break when their pick moved up, and Gasol should compete for ROY but he will ultimately come in second to Yao Ming.
Draft Grade: A-
4. Andrei Kirilenko - Vancouver Grizzlies
Not a big fan of Kirilenko so I dont really like this pick for the Grizzlies. They trade away the best big man in the league in a deal centered around this pick and since they dont really get a franchise player here I think they lose the deal. I think Jay Williams would have been the better choice. He is a PG, which is much more important than a SF. Jay is also a year younger and better in my opinion. Saying all of that, what Kirilenko will bring is great defense. I can see him winning multiple defensive player of the year awards in his career. He doesnt bring much else besides that though which is why I think this is a risky pick here. Jay Williams would have been the much better choice.
Draft Grade: B-
5. Nene Hilario - Toronto Raptors
With Nene rounding out the top 5, this is the first time in draft history that four of the first five players in the draft were foreign. Which I really didnt expect as I had Jay Williams in my top 5. So again I dont really like this pick since I think Jay is the 4th best player in this draft. While you could use the argument that the Raptors already have a PG, Francis is a turnover machine and I can't see him being the future PG of a championship team averaging 4 turnovers per game. Nene does have a ton of potential though which the Raptors will need to tap into. If Nene and Boozer both play up to what they should then that team will be a force to reckon win. I just dont like taking a chance when you have a player like Jay Williams on the board.
Draft Grade: B
6. Tayshaun Prince - Denver Nuggets
This is a really bad move for the Nuggets IMO, they already have their SF of the future in Stevenson so why draft another SF? Especially since there were better players on the board. Like JAY WILLIAMS. I know the Nuggets have Watson and they think he could be their PG of the future, but I still think Jay would have been the correct choice here. Even one of the young bigs still left on the board would have been a better pick then Prince here in my opinion. Prince doesnt have a ton of upside to him, he should be a nice defender and give you about 10 points as a starter. If Prince can prove me wrong then the Nuggets look extremely bright here, but I dont see that happening.
Draft Grade: B-
7. Jay Williams - Atlanta Hawks
Finally this guy comes off the board here, three picks to late in my opinion. Jay basically fell into the lap of the Hawks, who have done a nice job drafting these past few seasons. The Hawks are coming up on their contract year though so they are going to need these young guys to step up soon or GM chipper could find himself in a deep hole come his contract year. They get a break here with Jay falling to them and a lineup of Jay-Wagner-Johnson-Jamison-Kandi should win them a few games, but definitely not 40 games unless all of their guys have great TCs. I think the Hawks will have to end up trading a few of these guys to win next year.
Draft Grade: A
8. Caron Butler - Denver Nuggets
Another questionable pick here for the Nuggets, not sure what they are going to do with three SFs. I guess they could slide one of them to SG and trade the other, but definitely not the greatest two picks for the Nuggets at 6 and 8. Caron was probably the best player available here though so I can't criticize them to much, but just imagine if they had gotten Jay and Caron with 6 and 8 that would have been so much better. Caron should compliment Stevenson and Watson nicely, but the Nuggets will be back in the lotto next year hoping to add another great player. Could have done better with the 6th pick but I guess picking Caron here at 8 was the best move.
Draft Grade: B+
9. Drew Gooden - Indiana Pacers
Not really a player left who stands out above the rest so I guess Gooden is a decent selection since he is young and doesnt really have any weaknesses in his game. The Pacers need youth at basically every position so they couldn't really go wrong with who they picked. They just better hope Gooden develops nicely, which I think he will eventually. Gooden looks like he could be a late bloomer to me, and he could start at some point in his career and put up 15 and 11 with some good defense, which Im sure the Pacers would be happy with out of him. No one is expecting much out of Gooden so any improvement will be a bonus for the Pacers.
Draft Grade: B
10. John Salmons - Golden State Warriors
I like this pick for the Warriors, they are building a pretty nice young team and Salmons should help with that. He was a dynamic scorer at Miami and should bring that scoring ability to this league. Salmons is also a good passer from the shooting guard position. He also bring solid defense and size, but he may have to play SF for them if the Warriors plan on keeping Arenas at shooting guard. Salmons is one of the older plays in the draft, which is why I believe he slipped a bit, but when we look back on this draft in a few years I think Salmons could be one of the better players from this draft. So I think the Warriors get a nice steal here in Salmons.
Draft Grade: A-
