But when do we get some big men?

When there's quality available. The PG talk is draft based, because there's a bunch of talented points available and a bunch of big man garbage available outside the top. The team can't sign any decent big man because any decent big man is going to get paid more that the MLE.

So the common sense answer is the team will get some big men when the option is available or another team gets desperate and trades a big to us for $0.32 on the dollar

Lets reach the bridge before we cross it. We don't know if we will move up or not. The Rubio hype is understandable. At the same time, if we remain 8th, we have various guard options, not just point guards. But if we somehow move up, or even if we don't but rumors of possible trades to move up start floating around, we could be talking about Thabeet and other big options soon.

Still, since this is a work in progress, you have to go one step at a time. If we can come out of this offseason with a good-to-great drafted player, hopefully another good young prospect, and a healthy Eddy Curry ready to be traded in the season, we will be in great shape for 2010. We could even be solid next season.

I dont see anything that I like in regards to big men..........

Any one else's guess is as good as mine unless DW picks up some more picks to take on some bigger projects

the only bigmen i'm interested in for this year's draft are Griffin, Hill & maybe Thabeet.

Posted by Bippity10:

It's a rebuilding process. At some point we will need to get a PG a shotblocker, defenders, big man etc. Unfortunately we can't fill all of these needs in the draft. We are in a position where we really need to draft the best available. If that is a PG, SG, shotblocker it doesn't matter. Worst case scenario you stockpile good young players at a position and then you can make a trade. Not too concerned with getting a big man for the sake of getting a big man at this point. Again, we are rebuilding, as much as we hate to admit it.

what doesn't this team need?

We basically need everything.

But I think our most glaring weakness- and I doubt MDA shares this- was the lack of size up front to deter other teams.

Duhon is a back up- maybe he comes in to next season better able to sustain his play, and maybe MDA doesn't play him into the ground.

But, I think its harder to find a 5 that can impact the game with block shots and boards than it is to find a back up pg that can give Duhon a breather.

So I would say we need someone like Thabeet more than a PG prospect who might have the same question marks in terms of potential and development.

Also, if Walsh is so fixated on LeBron, you can wait to add a PG since LeBron would probably run a lot of the offense.

Bip, if Thabeet were available, and you were Walsh, would you nab him?

People who say he's soft with no offensive game would disagree. I think we need him b/c of the shotblocking and defense. His body can be worked on.

Posted by Allanfan20:

Bip, if Thabeet were available, and you were Walsh, would you nab him?

It's a tough call. If I'm in a position where I udnerstand it's going to take a few years for him to develop then yes I take him. If I have to win now, I avoid him like the plague. I've seen him in person, in practice, in games and I'm amazed at how much he's improved. In 3 more years I can picture him being along the lines of a Dikembe for the rest of his career. That's my gut. I think he will get stronger, I think he will develop one go to move and he will always defend. At number 8 I think that is well worth it. But many GM's have been fired for thinking like me and hopign for improvement that never comes.

So to answer your question(assuming you are saying at pick number 8 with all factors being as they are today, and the players we expect to be available are), Yes, I would take him.

Posted by sebstar:

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by Allanfan20:

Bip, if Thabeet were available, and you were Walsh, would you nab him?

It's a tough call. If I'm in a position where I udnerstand it's going to take a few years for him to develop then yes I take him. If I have to win now, I avoid him like the plague. I've seen him in person, in practice, in games and I'm amazed at how much he's improved. In 3 more years I can picture him being along the lines of a Dikembe for the rest of his career. That's my gut. I think he will get stronger, I think he will develop one go to move and he will always defend. At number 8 I think that is well worth it. But many GM's have been fired for thinking like me and hopign for improvement that never comes.

So to answer your question(assuming you are saying at pick number 8 with all factors being as they are today, and the players we expect to be available are), Yes, I would take him.

I see Mutumbo in his game too.

Actually see a Mutumbo/Ratliff hybrid.

here's a good article on the comparison. imho - i think deke in college took rebounding and (especially) shotblocking more personal then thabeet does - the gtown deke would go after dudes comin through the lane and block their shots like they were trying to rob his house:

http://mvn.com/outsider/2009/03/nba-crystal-ball-hasheem-thabeet-will-be-the-next-dikembe-mutombo.html

NBA Crystal Ball: Hasheem Thabeet Will Be the Next Dikembe Mutombo
By Adam Sweeney


PHILADELPHIA - MARCH 21: Dash Harris #5 of the Texas A&M Aggies shoots against Hasheem Thabeet #34 of the Connecticut Huskies during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Wachovia Center on March 21, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

When you're wrapped up in the brilliance of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament it can be hard focusing your attention on the Association. There just aren't a ton of games in the league with the intensity of the Elite Eight showdown we saw between Pittsburgh and Villanova. But when we look to the future, as the fortune tellers at MVN are prone to do, we find it to our delight that we can have the best of both worlds when we observe the next great NBA players at the top of their collegiate game in the deeper parts of the tournament. Hasheem Thabeet drew our attention today.

Few teams have been as dominant in the Tournament as the Connecticut Huskies and much of their excellence comes from the man in the middle. Thabeet has constantly denied opponents heading to the basket up until Saturday's game against the Missouri Tigers, where he had no blocks against the aggressive Tigers. A game like Thabeet had today has us wondering how good Thabeet really could be.

At this point I wouldn't have taken him over Emeka Okafor, another UConn beast that led his team to the college title. Okafor was taken 2nd in the NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. Thabeet is projected by some as the 2nd pick in the 2009 Draft. Who would you rather have? Okafor is averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds this season and still is seen by some as a disappointment. If Thabeet averaged those numbers with 2 blocks a game, I think a team would be thrilled. This should help us understand the expectations that should be placed on Thabeet.

As much as some would love to project him as the next Hakeem Olajuwon, by the end of Thabeet's career, we will be calling him Dikembe Mutombo 2.0

Thabeet is still a work in progress on both ends of the court. How is this possible on defense when dude averages 4.4 blocks a game? DeJuan Blair could tell you. Thabeet can't handle when players come into him. It is his weakness, something that NBA players will be sure to exploit.

Offensively, Thabeet is a child. He has made great lengths this year but that development will be stymied should he leave early this season. Thabeet's lack of awareness down low and his willingness to let smaller players push him out of the box should be a concern for any team in the lottery that wants to take him.

Everything I see from Thabeet reminds me of Dikembe Mutombo. Thabeet is no round mound of rebound, sitting at 7-3 and 265 lbs. Mutombo is 7-2 and 260 lbs. Mutombo's average stat line was between 11-13 points a season, with about 12 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. Thabeet's numbers right now sit at 13 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4 blocks a game.

Both have African backgrounds, Thabeet hailing from Tanzania and Mutombo from Zaire. The Big East pedigree is easily recognized and it wouldn't shock me if one day Mutombo takes Thabeet on for lessons, maybe even perfecting the finger wag. With all the uncanny similarities, brace yourself for a Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker moment where Dikembe shouts in inaudible English, "You do not come into the house of Mutombo. Oh, and I am your father." Dikembe has always preferred playing the villiain anyway, and Thabeet still is a little timid for our tastes on the offensive end.

How high Thabeet can rise in the rankings of NBA centers is up to him. He's an incredibly athletic and intelligent player and we continue to see progress in his game. That's all more reason for him to stay in college. With another year, he could be a true threat in the NBA, not a project that can block anything that comes his way. Beware the ides of Greg Oden, a player who was hyped far more than Thabeet has been.

In the future we may be placing Thabeet in his own category. Right now, we see no reason to think he won't be a modern day Mutombo, not that that's a bad thing. As we recall, Mutombo has been in the league for 17 years and is regarded as one of the greatest defensive centers of all-time. So Thabeet's got that going for him, which is nice.

Posted by Bippity10:

here's a good article on the comparison. imho - i think deke in college took rebounding and (especially) shotblocking more personal then thabeet does - the gtown deke would go after dudes comin through the lane and block their shots like they were trying to rob his house:

I'm up in the air about that. It's difficult to judge how personal a player takes things. How do you judge this? By them waving their finger? By them growling or talking trash? Judging by how many shots he blocks and how many times he laughs and shakes his head after swatting a shot back, I think he relishes in his shotblocking. I think as he plays more and becomes more confident you may see him being more ****y as he blocks shots. That being said Mutombo did feel he owned the paint and not many could match is defensive intensity. All I know is Thabeet attempts to block everything, has amazing timing and takes pride in scaring teams so bad that they simply won't take a shot within 15 feet. Many people got on him for his lack of offense, but the true reason Uconn made it to the final four was because of his defensive intensity and intididation.

My only worry about Thabeet is the same worry that I always have about guys whose potential is all you have to go by. You never know what those dollar signs will do to someone. Will he work as hard? Will he improve? Will he just stay where he is, which at the moment probably isn't good enough?

If he improves over the next 3 years at the same pace he is improving now, you do however have your center for the next 17 years.

good points bip. by 'personal' i meant that he had this unusual nastiness about him, an intimidation factor that you dont find in many...same one zo had, same one ewing had....it becomes evident even in the way they used to dunk the ball - trying to break the rim off with each dunk...does that make sense? i agree w you its a hard thing to judge, but that's how i see it. to your point, if thabeet continues to develop at this pace, then he will be a beast. if he doesn't, kwame brown comes to mind.