Happiest:
Curry - Trade up and go get this kid. He's as round-peg/round-hole a player as there is for the Knicks & their coach in this draft. Best shooter in the draft with legit PG skills and while there's things he may need to work on and develop further, I don't see any glaring weaknesses.
Teague - If all trade-up scenarios fall apart, I'd be more than fine with Teague at 8. Might have to wait a little for this kid's body and game to mature some but to me, he's the 2nd best PG prospect in this draft and probably has the highest upside. Different player entirely than Stephen Curry. I see a guy very close to Steve Francis and I'm talking the Francis from Maryland and early on in Houston - the athletic freak, do-it-all PG Francis once was before he lost his way and eventually broke down. He'll make some mistakes out there initially but I actually think he's good enough to play in the NBA right now (to me he's much better than Chris Duhon, I mean it's not even close skill-wise) and he's only gonna get better. Might have the highest upside of any player in this draft along with DeRozan. I actually think he has the lowest bust potential out of all the PG prospects. Sky's the limit - it's just a question of how good he'll be - Tony Parker, Steve Francis... I just can't believe he's not being talked about more. Crazy..

Satisfied:
Hill - Big and skilled, he softens the blow if we trade Lee. I'm not sure how good he'll be but Channing Frye part II he is not.
DeRozan - He's got the huge upside and we'll need wing replacements by 2010.
Flynn - A little small but I like him a lot. Always have.
Blair - I know, I know, he's a little bit of a reach at 8 but I just have a feeling that he's gonna be a good one. Positive medical reports are now circulating regarding the knees which is good. Great at Pitt. last year and I think he'll be as good a pro., probably better as the offensive game continues to develop. The game where he ate Thabeet for breakfast really showed me something.

Disappointed:
Rubio - Obviously there's a lot to like but there's an equal amount of uncertainty, question marks & red flags as well. Up to now even though he had intention to do so, Walsh never got a chance to work him out privately or even interview him as far as I know and it doesn't look like he'll get a chance now before Thurs. You figure NY's the big market and definitely not Memphis, Rubio and his agent would've made sure a meeting took place with Walsh. Strange. Guess it wasn't high on his to-do list.. I guess 'disappointed' is a little strong, he does have the pure point-type skills and a lot going for him, he's just not my personal preference that's all.
Jennings - The guy did absolutely nothing last year and he's got the balls to talk smack about someone else? He's got more youtube clips that show mistakes rather than highlights. I know there's a lot of upside here but he's not for me. Numbers were unimpressive, makes a ton of mistakes, appears to have an attitude problem and I'd question just how coachable he really is. I'd pass..
Evans - I see holes and I don't love him but it's true that his size, strength, handle and strong take to the basket are real pluses. I just have a hard time picturing MDA liking this guy though.
Harden - He should be decent but I don't see a future all-star here at all. Not all that versatile a player & he seems a little too left-handed to me at times. While DeRozan stepped up his game during the Pac-10 tourney head-to-head, this kid didn't step up to the challenge.
Henderson - He'll be a good player just not the homerun we need to hit in this draft.
Clark - I've heard the Lamar Odom comparisons but I don't see it. He's a very skilled scorer but I don't see the versatility nor the intangibles a guy like Odom brings to the table.
Terrance Williams - I know he's big and strong and he can rebound and play some D but he's a role player in the NBA if I had to bet, maybe a starter with the right club. On a scale of Ron Harper-Gerald Wallace-Gerald Wilkins, he's more Wallace to Wilkins, which isn't terrible, just not what I want at 8. I have a hard time believing MDA would like this guy as his jumper's shaky to say the least.
Hansbrough - Surprisingly just jumped up the board on nbadraft.net - while I admire his hustle, he's not lottery material IMO, not even close.

[Edited by - finestrg on 06-23-2009 1:09 PM]

Any player that understands that defense is just as important as offense. What happen to all the cries for shot blocking and defense. Are any of these offensive guards going to better offensive players than Crawford? I don't need to see poor man versions of Crawford.

Would be not happy with Thabeet or Mullens,

ok (like Henderson) to ecstatic (like Harden) with other players

Very Happy: Rubio
Happy: Curry, Evans
Not sure: Harden, Flynn, DeRozan,
NOT happy: Lawson, Holiday, Hill, Jennings

^^^ V, where are you on thabeet?

Posted by Marv:

^^^ V, where are you on thabeet?

Oh shoot forgot him. I think he'll be a top defensive presence and a potential NBA blocks leader, but will always be somewhat dissapointing on the pro level relative to his raw talent. That said I'd be thrilled to come out of this draft with him.

Jrue Holiday will likely be asked to do some significant ball-handling for a team next fall.

That might be considered a tall order for someone that just turned 19 a few weeks ago, but not Holiday.

"I'm going to make mistakes because I'm so young and because I'm new to this, but everybody fails at times," Holiday said Wednesday. "What matters is how you come back from it."

Holiday left UCLA after just one season, in which he averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 35 games.

He added that no matter where he goes, he'll be looking to take over the job of starting point guard.

"Anywhere I go, I'm going to try to take that starting position," Holiday said. "I'll try to do that in practice or summer league or whenever I get the chance."

conceding/deferring was for college. Go hard at Duhon if Donnie picks you.

[Edited by - McK1 on 06-24-2009 9:58 PM]