Posted by TrueBlue:

IMO he's the Wild Card of the draft. He's the player I've always wanted sans Beasley. Majerus for the most part has been dead on with analyzing college talent. If he's on the board when we pick assuming we won't get the Top 3 he's the player I want. I think he's going to be a better scorer in the NBA than Wade.

Wade had a stellar tourney before going pro. He looked like a man amongst boys.....Eric Gordon was hurt, but at any point of the year did Eric Gordon look like a bonified pro?

I think Eric Gordon is a worse shooting version of Ben Gordon. Not what we need. We need an intelligent lead guard. Rose if the gods allow. Augustin if not.

Would you do the following, Curry, Lee, and Nate for Speedy Claxton and Al Horford?

-the Big 10 blows
-EG is a shooting guard who isn't that great of a shooter, in a point guard's body

Derrick Rose reminds me of Marbury. It isn't a bad thing in terms of talent. He's a powerful guard at 6'3" who's a scorer first by nature, with tons of athletic ability. I don't want to draft this kind of player to be our franchise player, playing the point guard position. If we have the chance to draft Rose I hope he's developed to be a 2 guard. Now I think it's debatable who truly is the best guard in college right now. CDR reminds me a lot of Allan Houston/Grant Hill, once again not bad in terms of talent.

As far as Gordon goes he set Big Ten records as a Freshman at Indiana and IU has had some great players run through that program. Did Wade do what Gordon did as a Freshaman scoring wise? Yeah Gordon sputtered towards the end along with the whole program in general.

and Rose defends very well, something Towelbury never cared enough to do

Posted by purple012870:

Rose is a pass first PG, not a "gotta get mine" PG. Rose is also a good kid, not a self concerned ***hole.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Devoid of a sure fire big man franchise player who steps right in--Derrick Rose is the next best thing because pressure on the ball is 50% of the game on the D. Not only that but I truly believe and my mind was changed from watching him play that he is a true 1 guard. He has good vision and he wants to pass first--yet has the ability to score and rebound as well with toughness. If we get a top 3 pick I believe there are 3 players that are given--absent of pick 1-2-3 the NY Knicks are going to have to make serious decisons and I for one with go with a plan that swings for the fences.

If you watch some of the vids on YouTube of the guy you sure see his strengths. Of course, we don't see the weaknesses, but I think their team was in turmoil and that really hurt them. Similar to Arizona in that regard. Was Indiana not playing very well before the contraversy? Also he had a wrist injury in February and minor back injury early in the season.

I wonder if we can become too enamored with how teams do in the tourney, when players like Duncan never made it to the Final Four, LSU got blown out in the first round with Chris Bosh while Christian Laettner won two championships and Shane Battier picked over plenty of players I suspect most would probably rather spend the 8th pick in a draft on.

I think this is one factor behind Rose being seen as #1 rather than Beasley, even after some praised him as the only stud in the draft all year, and now Hansborough is somehow a worthwhile high lotto pick, as well as Gordon getting negative feedback.

I know Rose seems like the pick for a team like the Knicks, and heck, I would be very happy to get him, but if you are at #1, is a few games that we watch enough to clearly pass on Beasley for Rose?

Our team needs a star PERIOD. Somewhere, anywhere. I love Rose, but I am not so certain I take him at #1 over Beasley.

Briggs, you know I have a tremendous amount of respect for your draft insights, but I thought you said Beasley would a 25ppg 9rbp guy, maybe even as a rookie? I'm not saying Rose isn't star material, and if we get either, I am happy.

As for Gordon, just from what I've seen, I saw some good signs on D. I see a very keen eye for steals, and I'm not saying that this is best way to measure D, but the fact that he is very strong, and extremely athletic would indicate a good chance at being a decent defender. Crawford shoots a lot and can steal, but he's not anywhere near as strong as Gordon is. His mid range game also seems more finely tuned than Crawford.

As for the poor shooting percentage, poor shot selection, and turnovers that could be an indication of a number of things. It could be poor decision making, but that could also be related to a bad team situation. Maybe it's too much of a risk for us, considering what our problem has been, but it can happen. Of course, we could be concerned about injuries, as we can see Wade's all out style may be hurting him. Interestingly, AI nor even Steph ever dealt with injuries to keep them out most of their career, despite a very aggressive and phyisical game. Maybe that's a testament to their will, but they sure did well most of the time in terms of what we saw physically on the court.

I ain't saying Gordon is the best pick for us, but depending on where we are on the board, he might make some sense, and his end of season dropoff might be over-read into. Crawford, as much as I like parts of his game, is expendible. Maybe Gordon isn't right with someone like Nate, but I wouldn't say no in some situations.

[Edited by - PresIke on 04-04-2008 3:41 PM]

[Edited by - PresIke on 04-04-2008 3:44 PM]

Posted by PresIke:

If you watch some of the vids on YouTube of the guy you sure see his strengths. Of course, we don't see the weaknesses, but I think their team was in turmoil and that really hurt them. Similar to Arizona in that regard. Was Indiana not playing very well before the contraversy? Also he had a wrist injury in February and minor back injury early in the season.

I wonder if we can become too enamored with how teams do in the tourney, when players like Duncan never made it to the Final Four, LSU got blown out in the first round with Chris Bosh while Christian Laettner won two championships and Shane Battier picked over plenty of players I suspect most would probably rather spend the 8th pick in a draft on.

I think this is one factor behind Rose being seen as #1 rather than Beasley, even after some praised him as the only stud in the draft all year, and now Hansborough is somehow a worthwhile high lotto pick, as well as Gordon getting negative feedback.

I know Rose seems like the pick for a team like the Knicks, and heck, I would be very happy to get him, but if you are at #1, is a few games that we watch enough to clearly pass on Beasley for Rose?

Our team needs a star PERIOD. Somewhere, anywhere. I love Rose, but I am not so certain I take him at #1 over Beasley.

Briggs, you know I have a tremendous amount of respect for your draft insights, but I thought you said Beasley would a 25ppg 9rbp guy, maybe even as a rookie? I'm not saying Rose isn't star material, and if we get either, I am happy.

As for Gordon, just from what I've seen, I saw some good signs on D. I see a very keen eye for steals, and I'm not saying that this is best way to measure D, but the fact that he is very strong, and extremely athletic would indicate a good chance at being a decent defender. Crawford shoots a lot and can steal, but he's not anywhere near as strong as Gordon is. His mid range game also seems more finely tuned than Crawford.

As for the poor shooting percentage, poor shot selection, and turnovers that could be an indication of a number of things. It could be poor decision making, but that could also be related to a bad team situation. Maybe it's too much of a risk for us, considering what our problem has been, but it can happen. Of course, we could be concerned about injuries, as we can see Wade's all out style may be hurting him. Interestingly, AI nor even Steph ever dealt with injuries to keep them out most of their career, despite a very aggressive and phyisical game. Maybe that's a testament to their will, but they sure did well most of the time in terms of what we saw physically on the court.

I ain't saying Gordon is the best pick for us, but depending on where we are on the board, he might make some sense, and his end of season dropoff might be over-read into. Crawford, as much as I like parts of his game, is expendible. Maybe Gordon isn't right with someone like Nate, but I wouldn't say no in some situations.

[Edited by - PresIke on 04-04-2008 3:41 PM]

[Edited by - PresIke on 04-04-2008 3:44 PM]

Presike---I think it's about team building. If you build the house starting with the foundation--you take Rose. If you have that foundation--let's say Wade--you take Beasley. If you havent Kevin Durant you take Rose. But I will be happy if we are in position to get either player.