i like gordan

On NBA team changing talent I would always go with either a great PG or a great Center. Derrick Rose would be my top choice. Beasley may be all that, but I think there will less of an impact at the next level in terms of making a team a winner. I have a fondness for Thabeet for being able to change a teams fortunes defensively. If you surround him with other quick and long atheletes you can put together a pretty serious defensive squad. If i'm Isiah I go for Thabeet, cuz I haven't seen anyone with his size and natural ability to block shots. He's not an oversized SF type who can jump and get some blocked shots, he's an true Defensive Center and an anchor to a teams defense. I think getting him could totally change the teams fortunes. We don't lose cuz we can't score, tho we could improve on that.

We lose cuz we can't stop anyone and haven't been able to for a long time. The only chance we had this year was to hope to outscore half the teams we played. I was hoping we'd make some slight improvements on D and a big improvement offensively, but with the offense broken and no D, we didn't have a chance. So I say we should go after Thabeet if we can't get Derrick Rose.

Some have said we need improvement at a lot of places and this is true, so you hope that Isiah can at least try to make a deal to bring in another decent 1st rounder. If we could solve both the PG and C position in this draft that would be a MAJOR accomplishment. I could see a draft where we took Thabeet and then DJ Augustin to run the point. A solid defensive C and a solid passing point.

Deandre Jordan----when you get to evaluate guys over a period of time[unless they knock your socks off] you see defecincy/weakness that can change opinion. He is close or at the top of the list in terms of potential but as the season has drageed on it has become obvious that

a. he needs to stay in school
b. he needs to work on fundamentals and awarenesson the court
C. he picked a BAD school because they already have good big men and the coach quite frankly has sat deandre a LOT he wouldve been much better off where he was *da man* like OJ mayo did. Can he come out and if he does will he go high? he might he will go top 18 or so for sure


stephen curry--i think we cant invest in a small man when we have one and if we did i think going after a guy like bigsmooth saidtyrse rice--a guy who can play some PG as well as the off G and plays big for his size.

Here's few lesser known guys i like.

Joe Alexander from West Virginia.
Mike Green from Butler.
Sam Young from Pittsburgh.
J.J Hickson from NC State.
Jason Thompson from Rider.
Trent Plaisted from BYU.

Good Lord... maybe you don't like Derrick Rose, but a combo guard? Really?

Dude, he's a freshman that is a 6'4" and a pure point. He has the skills to be a pure point. This is considered common knowledge. Yes, he's 6'4" and isn't getting the gaudy assist numbers, but he is RUNNING the offense of the nation's BEST--and undefeated--team and that should definitely count for something.

Read his high school bio:

Overview
Rated the nation's top high school point guard entering college in 2007-08 ... Has a great feel for the game ... Can score the ball, but sets up his teammates well ... Looks to get his teammates involved ... Can take over a basketball game in other ways than scoring ... Has great court vision ... Game should flourish in the Memphis offensive system.

High School
Ranked the nation's top point guard in 2006-07 ... A consensus top-five recruit ... Ranked among the top-five by Rivals.com (3), Rob Harrington (5), RiseMag.com (5), Scout.com (5), ESPN150 (5), SI.com (5) and Sporting News High School Hoops (5) ... Named to the USA Today 2007 All-USA Team (first team) ... Rob Harrington/USA Today rated him the country's top point guard ... Selected to the 2007 Parade Magazine All-America Team ... It was the third-straight year he was named to one of Parade's All-America squads (2005 third team; 2006 fourth team) ... Also selected to 2007 SLAM magazine and MaxPreps.com All-America first teams ... Was a 2007 EA Sports All-America first team pick and a 2006 EA Sports All-America second team selection ... Named 2007 Illinois Mr. Basketball by the Chicago Tribune ... Two-time Illinois All-State selection (2006 and 2007) ... Averaged 25.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 3.4 steals, while shooting 59 percent from the floor ... Led Simeon Career Academy to a 33-2 overall record and the Illinois Class AA championship in 2006-07 ... Scored only two points in the title game, but had eight assists and seven rebounds in the 77-54 win over O'Fallon ... The state title was Simeon's second-straight state crown ... Simeon became the first Chicago Public League team to win consecutive state titles ... Simeon finished the year ranked No. 6 in the USA Today High School Boys Basketball national poll ... Finished the year ranked as the nation's No. 1 team by SI.com/RiseMag.com ... Led Simeon to a 78-75 win over Oak Hill Academy during the regular season ... Had 28 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in the victory over the nation's No. 1 high school team ... The loss was Oak Hill Academy's only setback of the season (40-1 record) ... Named USA Today's national high school Player of the Week for his performance vs. Oak Hill Academy ... Played in the Jordan Brand and McDonald's All-America games ... Also participated for Team USA in the Nike Hoops Summit Game, which was played in Memphis ... Had five points, six boards and five assists in helping lead the West squad to a 114-112 win in the McDonald's All-America Game ... In the Nike Hoops Summit, scored eight points, grabbed five boards and dished out three assists as the USA Junior National Select Team defeated the World Select Team 100-80 ... Posted 12 points, 10 boards and five assists in the Jordan Brand All-America Classic ... Helped lead the Yellow squad to a 127-119 win at Madison Square Garden ... As a junior in 2005-06, averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.6 steals ... Shot 57 percent from the field ... Helped lead the Wolverines to a 33-4 record and the Illinois Class AA championship ... Simeon also won the Chicago city crown ... As a sophomore in 2004-05, averaged 19.8 points, 5.1 boards, 8.3 assists and 2.4 steals, while shooting 50 percent from the floor ... Simeon finished the 2004-05 campaign with a 30-5 record ... As freshman in 2003-04, averaged 18.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.1 steals ... Simeon finished the 2003-04 season with a 24-1 record.

Furthermore, why did you "arbitrarily" pick seven assists? Because anything less weakens your argument substantially! How about we use five assists, as that's half of 10? Doesn't that make more sense? In which case, he's had five assists 11 times.

How about the nbadraft.net bio, which also lauds him as "A point guard in the truest sense of the word." That was written earlier this month.

Draft Express surprisingly does a GREAT job of mentioning why his assist totals are lower than expected:

Marquee Matchup: Derrick Rose vs Jeremy Pargo
January 30, 2008
Derrick Rose came into this season hyped as one of the best freshman in this class, and with that hype, came some very lofty expectations. Rose’s 4.4 assists and 3.0 turnovers per game don’t exactly lend themselves to the Jason Kidd-style pure point guard comparisons that Rose has drawn, and the fact that this was just his second game with more than 6 assists on the season isn’t very encouraging either. But as always in these cases, it’s important to look deeper than the stats when scouting NBA prospects.


As shown in this game, and in flashes throughout the season, Rose does have very good court vision and the ability to create for teammates every way a point guard should be able to. He makes assists by pushing the ball in transition, finding open shots in the half-court, and driving-and-dishing in the lane. His decision-making with the ball has been questionable at times, most notably with him forcing some bad shots in the lane over the course of the season, but there are other reasons he’s averaging just 4.4 assists per game.

First, Memphis’ offense spreads the ball around a lot, taking the ball out of Rose’s hands, and there are also many capable offensive players on the team, ones who don’t need shots to be created for them. They don’t run many pick-and-rolls either, something that is a staple of most NBA offenses, and leads to many assists for point guards. It’s also worth noting that Rose did come onto a Final Four team with all five returning starters and most of its returning depth, so the team clearly has plenty of talent. Also, at 19-0, they’re clearly doing something right, and Rose as the second leading scorer and leading assist man has a lot to do with that.

When looking at Rose’s game, it’s important to note that playing this role for Memphis, which takes away some of his game managing responsibilities, could help make him a more dynamic player in the long run, as it forces him to focus more on his scoring, giving him more confidence in that area. This can already be seen noticeably with his outside shot, something that has improved leaps and bounds from where it was at the beginning of the summer. While he previously had an awkward release where he brought the ball up from his side with a very deliberate hitch, his shot now has a much quicker release that is much closer to textbook form. He’s getting more than decent results with it too, shooting 36% on 44 attempts. He’s clearly showing much more confidence with this area of his game, being able to pull up off the dribble in space without hesitation, and not even thinking before catching and shooting. With a good work ethic, something Rose has, there’s no reason to think he won’t become a solid outside shooter in time.

Rose’s athleticism and size also puts him in an elite class, and his potential on both ends of the court is outstanding. On defense, his combination of size, athleticism, length, and quickness is absolutely ideal for a point guard, as he should be able to defend both larger and quicker point guards at the next level, as long as he shows the dedication on this end of the court. He looked a bit inconsistent with this at times early in the season, but has really brought good performances here against the tougher competition.

In terms of attacking the basket, Rose shows a very good handle with both hands, has a nice array of moves, most notably his crossover, and can finish with a right-handed floater or by drawing contact at the rim. He could still stand to use a bit more strength, but is well built for a freshman already, and appears to have the frame to add more bulk. The biggest thing Rose could add at this stage is a pull-up jumper from the mid-range that he can hit while contested, something he hasn’t shown much of yet, not using his jumper much without ample space.

Rose may not be the next Jason Kidd, as many billed him to be, but he still should be a very dynamic player in the NBA, and there’s little doubt that he’ll be a more proficient distributor from the point guard position in an NBA offense than in Memphis’ offense. With his combination of elite athleticism, already strong skill set, and by all accounts, no character concerns, Rose should be a very low-risk pick in the draft this year. He will certainly be in contention for the #1 spot, and [b]while there’s no guarantee he’ll be a superstar, there’s no reason to think he won’t be at the very least, a good starting point guard for a long time, especially if he’s given ample time to develop his all-around game and garner the experience he needs at the point guard spot.

The guy is a freshman and doing some great things on a great team in under 28 MPG. If everyone on this board can't see that he's a PG, then you clearly are not watching basketball... you are checking the box scores.

Also I don't use websites to form my own opinion of players--I have a pretty good track record over a LONG period of time--probably 5 times better than draftexpress pal.

1) Miami Heat: Michael Beasley (PF 6-9 235 Kansas State)

2) Minnesota Timberwolves: Derrick Rose (PG 6-4 195 Memphis)

3) Seattle Sonics: O.J. Mayo (PG/SG 6-4 195 USC)

4) Memphis Grizzlies: Brook Lopez (C 7-0 245 Stanford)

5) New York Knicks: Jerryd Bayless (PG 6-3 190 Arizona)

6) Los Angeles Clippers: Eric Gordon (SG 6-5 205 Indiana)

7) Charlotte Bobcats: DeAndre Jordan (C 7-0 240 Texas A&M)

8) Milwaukee Bucks: Donte Green (SF 6-8 215 Syracuse)

9) Indiana Pacers: Chase Budinger (SG 6-7 205 Arizona)

10) Chicago Bulls: Kevin Love (PF/C 6-9 255 UCLA)

11) Atlanta Hawks: Roy Hibbert (C 7-2 265 Georgetown)

12) Philadelphia 76ers: Danilo Gallinari (SF 6-9 210 Italy)

13) New Jersey Nets: Tyler Hansbrough (PF 6-9 230 North Carolina)

14) Sacramento Kings: D.J. Augustin (PG 5-11 180 Texas)

15) Washington Wizards: Blake Griffin (PF 6-10 240 Oklahoma)

Zach has never complimented anyone well in his career. Please just waive the guy.