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Finestrg
Posts: 27296
Alba Posts: 1
Joined: 1/1/2006
Member: #1069
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Yeah, I'm with you Red. My guys are (in this order):
(1) Morris Almond - the closest thing to Allan Houston that I've ever seen. Just look at his Yahoo prospect video and tell me that's not Allan out there. Has got the size, shooting, and rebounding ability to fill in at the 3 in case Q can't go or breaks down. Not the quickest or the best defender on the block, but neither was Allan. I also like how, although he isn't that quick, he gets to the line a lot and makes his FTs at a high clip. How many close games did we lose last year on the damn foul line alone? Very strong too, has a body that's compared favorably to Corey Maggette. If he's there at #23 it's an absolute steal.
(2) Rudy Fernandez - Now just going by youtube and the reports I really like his overall game. He's looks a little thin, true, but the bottom line is he's tall (at least 6'6" in shoes, so ditto above with regard to Q not being ready and playing the 3 in the NBA), can stroke it, plays at a high level in Europe, and just can do a lot of things for you out there. Also he looks really good taking the ball to the rim. Just needs to put on some muscle, but that'll come. Has a ton of skills.
(3) Marco Belinelli - I think he's a little smaller than Almond and Fernandez but is supposed to be a deadeye shooter. Think he's supposed to be a solid enough ballhandler to play some point which is always a plus. Only thing I'm not too crazy about is that he looks like he can play out of control at times with the 360 degree dunks, etc... With Jamal and Nate, we really don't need another guy who plays out of control, but damn, a guy that's being billed as a more consistent/more skilled version of Brent Barry - I'll take that in a heartbeat on this team. Combo/hybrid guards are the new thing now and this kids got a chance to be the best European one to come around in a longtime. Has a chance to be better than Rodney Stuckey who might go 10-15 spots ahead of him.
(4) Sean Williams - I don't care what Zeke says, shotblocking IS NOT repeat IS NOT overrated. It's like the biggest luxuary in the NBA. If your perimeter defense breaks down (and ours, especially when Balkman's on the bench, is just terrible), then it's like a second line of defense back there to cover. I also like hearing stuff like he's a capable rebounder (not as good as some might like just looking at the numbers but some attribute that to the fact that he just trys to block everything in sight which leaves him out of position sometimes - not due to the fact that he doesn't work hard enough or something), has an emerging offensive game and toward the end at BC he made himself into a reliable enough FT shooter to warrant staying on the court in tight games down the stretch where he may have been a liability in that area before. Supposedly flying to NY (along with Charlotte) for a private workout so we'll see. I also like the fact that if he ever came here and played well that could open up the possiblity of trading Lee. Now Lee's my boy, we all love him, but unlike Frye, Nate, Jamal, etc., you can actually get something good in return for Lee in a deal. Or it opens up the opportunity to trade Frye and a package for something. A bigman rotation of Curry/Lee/Williams rotating mins. at the 4/5 spots would be awesome.
(5) Arron Afflalo/Daequan Cook - Unlike any of these other guys, I've actually seen this kid Afflalo play a lot over the past few seasons and I think he's bigtime. I've seen him hit a ton of big shots down the stretch of games. He's got to be ahead of a guy like Daequan Cook on the pecking order. Cook's nice, but he's was just a freshman and played poorly down the stretch for Ohio State. Zeke did say recently that Cook's "a good scorer" so take that for what it's worth. Cook's just not as big, as strong, as experienced or as clutch as Afflalo bottom line. Afflalo over Cook if it come down to that, but Cook would be a nice, safe pick I guess.
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Well those are my top picks. I still say a guy like Wilson Chandler would be a waste. I will boo that pick loudly on draft night if it happens. You don't take a guy like that when you just took two raw wing prospects with potential last year with Balkman and Collins. We may not have a lottery pick but we have the #23 pick in one of the deepest drafts that I can remember. Don't screw this up Isiah. If it came down to a gamble-type/sleeper selection with our pick (which is nuts, we have too high a selection in a talented draft for nonsense like this), I'd go with the following 3 off the top of my head over Wilson Chandler:
*Nick Fazekas - stayed up late to watch this kid a few times and I love his offensive game. Like Frye, I don't think you can play him with Curry for long stretches but he's better that Frye IMO. He'd provide a nice, different option as say a backup 5 for Curry. And guys like Fazekas or Rudy Fernandez not being that strong entering the league never really would scare me off - as long as you have the skills, anyone can hit the weight room to bulk up and get stronger - and Fazekas has plenty of skills. Would clear the way for us to unload Frye in a package.
*Avis Wyatt (impressive overall skillset, indeed very similar to Tim Thomas as some say - youtube him and you'll see).
*Stephane Lasme (a little small but a very good hustler and shotblocker - similar situation to drafting Sean Williams - would drafting Lasme open up the possiblity of dealing Balkman? You can get something for Balkman. Instead of just being interested in shockvalue and raising eyebrows all over the damn league, this is the type of stuff Isiah should be thinking about if he feels compelled to make a nutty selection with the pick.
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6/24/2007 1:57 PM