Posted by TMS:

welcome to the forums... just to address your point about Demar, no offense to you but i'm sick & tired of people saying we can't draft so & so because "he's got no place on an MDA team", that's just silly talk... is Josh Smith an MDA style player that launches 3's like there's no tomorrow from the perimeter? no... do u think we could use a guy like Josh Smith right now on this team? i sure as hell do... let's just say for argument's sake that even if Derozan doesn't develop a consistent outside J, he's still every bit as athletically gifted as Josh Smith is, & he's still gonna bulk up & get bigger u have to assume... Josh Smith was like 215 lbs. in HS, look at him now... he's as big as Lebron James dude & still jumps outta the gym! Derozan's already a solid 225 at 19 years old, my guess is he'll be at least 240 by the time he's 23... i don't wanna hear this talk about how we don't need an athletic freak at the 2G spot who can't shoot 3's when u don't even know how his shot will progress once he hits the NBA... plenty of NBA stars have shot for low percentage from 3 their freshman year in college to go on to big success in the pros... i don't believe that will be the case anyway cuz he's already got nice form on his shot & he did shoot for a good % from beyond 3 a year before in HS.

IMO Demar's skills are every bit as impressive as Josh Smith demonstrated at the same age.

Of course Smith would help us, he's a good basketball player and we're terrible, doesn't mean I want him on the team. Everyone keeps saying we need more physical defensive players but I really don't think that's our biggest need right now. Like MDA said we need more makers and less takers, guys that don't just hit shots when they're 'feeling it' but whenever someone leaves them open. If we had more pure shooters we would have won more games this year guaranteed, sure we could have won with better defense but that's not the way to go with MDA at the helm imo.

[Edited by - masud on 05-19-2009 05:06 AM]

Posted by nixluva:

I think it's very hard in the draft to get players that are defensive stoppers by nature or that is their biggest strength. That's not what the draft usually is about. The draft is about offensive studs mostly. All you can hope for is to get a guy that plays great both ways.

Most PG's aren't going to be strong defenders. You have a few every year, but overall you're most important goal when getting a PG is how he runs the team offensively. If he happens to be a strong defender that's an added plus.
...

Whoever we end up with has to be able to help get this team to play exactly the way MDA wants. Not sort of the way, but exactly. That to me says that we'll be looking for a PG.

Posted by masud:

Posted by TMS:

welcome to the forums... just to address your point about Demar, no offense to you but i'm sick & tired of people saying we can't draft so & so because "he's got no place on an MDA team", that's just silly talk... is Josh Smith an MDA style player that launches 3's like there's no tomorrow from the perimeter? no... do u think we could use a guy like Josh Smith right now on this team? i sure as hell do... let's just say for argument's sake that even if Derozan doesn't develop a consistent outside J, he's still every bit as athletically gifted as Josh Smith is, & he's still gonna bulk up & get bigger u have to assume... Josh Smith was like 215 lbs. in HS, look at him now... he's as big as Lebron James dude & still jumps outta the gym! Derozan's already a solid 225 at 19 years old, my guess is he'll be at least 240 by the time he's 23... i don't wanna hear this talk about how we don't need an athletic freak at the 2G spot who can't shoot 3's when u don't even know how his shot will progress once he hits the NBA... plenty of NBA stars have shot for low percentage from 3 their freshman year in college to go on to big success in the pros... i don't believe that will be the case anyway cuz he's already got nice form on his shot & he did shoot for a good % from beyond 3 a year before in HS.

IMO Demar's skills are every bit as impressive as Josh Smith demonstrated at the same age.

Of course Smith would help us, he's a good basketball player and we're terrible, doesn't mean I want him on the team. Everyone keeps saying we need more physical defensive players but I really don't think that's our biggest need right now. Like MDA said we need more makers and less takers, guys that don't just hit shots when they're 'feeling it' but whenever someone leaves them open. If we had more pure shooters we would have won more games this year guaranteed, sure we could have won with better defense but that's not the way to go with MDA at the helm imo.

[Edited by - masud on 05-19-2009 05:06 AM]

Josh Smith, as he presently plays the game, would not be someone I'd want on the team. I love his shot blocking ability, but he sometimes looks clueless on offense and has bad judgment when he has the ball. He is a player who does not know his limitations.

I like DeRozan and would have no problem with him being taken by the Knicks, although it is obvious that we want a PG. He showed he can play under control on USC, but it is obvious that he has more to offer as a player.

TMS- Is he really 225lbs at this point in time? Looks lighter than that. I would not want him at 240lbs- he would lose too much quickness. I think his jumper is good enough for us, and he probably can work on his dribbling enough to fit into a system which does not really call for too much dribbling anyway. What I really like about DeRozan is his potential to be a "go to" player with superb athleticism. You need at least one player like this on your team.

Posted by Ira:

Posted by TMS:

to anyone who thinks Demar is only a dunking machine:

You can show all of the highlight videos you want, but the fact remains that DeRozan shot 17% from behind the college arc and 65% from the three throw line. There are a lot of positives in his game , but shooting isn't one of them.

Posted by Paladin55:

TMS- Is he really 225lbs at this point in time? Looks lighter than that. I would not want him at 240lbs- he would lose too much quickness. I think his jumper is good enough for us, and he probably can work on his dribbling enough to fit into a system which does not really call for too much dribbling anyway. What I really like about DeRozan is his potential to be a "go to" player with superb athleticism. You need at least one player like this on your team.