Posted by BasketballJones:

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by PhilinLA:

He blew the doors off that pre-draft events. And it is ironic that this is the kind of player everybody always wines about us not having. Well, now we do.

My main complaint is these guys are NOT Isiah type of players! These guys are Larry Brown type of players! I guess Isiah feels he can just lift notes of the guys that were there befoe him or something...I don't get it..LB would have given this draft an A+, IMO. I don't understand this draft.

Isiah drafted Larry Brown's Picks How ironic is that?

ORLANDO -- A few other players had bigger stats, and many other players have bigger reputations, but South Carolina's Renaldo Balkman generated the most murmurs among NBA player personnel assembled at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp on Thursday.

Where's Balkman? He blocks a drive by elusive UCLA guard Jordan Farmar, throws an outlet pass to a teammate, outruns the pack and ends up finishing the same play with a layup on the other end. Where's Balkman now? He's pushed out-of-bounds by a bigger player, but after the perpetrator snares the ill-gotten rebound, Balkman sneaks back in bounds, snatches the ball out his hands and dunks. Have you seen Balkman? Now he's gotten a long defensive rebound and is dribbling with the dexterity of a point guard, expertly choosing the right wing player for a pass that leads to another basket.

At times during the Thursday-morning game it seemed that a second Renaldo Balkman had checked into the game, since he was involved in twice as many plays as any other player. The mid-sized forward (6-foot-7, 210 pounds) did a little of everything in leading Team Four to a 94-78 victory over Team One. The game was a tight battle in the first half, but when the second half started, so did The Balkman Show.

The man Pre-Draft Camp assistant coach Popeye Jones hilariously dubbed "Humpty" -- for his physical resemblance to a character in the decidedly uncouth 1990 video for the Digital Underground's The Humpty Dance -- took over the game with a torrent of plays at both ends. His numbers (14 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, two steals) don't capture the unique stamp Balkman put on this game. But Balkman consistently makes plays, including those on the offensive end when no play is called for him. His high-energy, game-altering play has been one of the most surprising developments in this year's camp.

Posted by tomverve:

hmm

ORLANDO -- A few other players had bigger stats, and many other players have bigger reputations, but South Carolina's Renaldo Balkman generated the most murmurs among NBA player personnel assembled at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp on Thursday.

Where's Balkman? He blocks a drive by elusive UCLA guard Jordan Farmar, throws an outlet pass to a teammate, outruns the pack and ends up finishing the same play with a layup on the other end. Where's Balkman now? He's pushed out-of-bounds by a bigger player, but after the perpetrator snares the ill-gotten rebound, Balkman sneaks back in bounds, snatches the ball out his hands and dunks. Have you seen Balkman? Now he's gotten a long defensive rebound and is dribbling with the dexterity of a point guard, expertly choosing the right wing player for a pass that leads to another basket.

At times during the Thursday-morning game it seemed that a second Renaldo Balkman had checked into the game, since he was involved in twice as many plays as any other player. The mid-sized forward (6-foot-7, 210 pounds) did a little of everything in leading Team Four to a 94-78 victory over Team One. The game was a tight battle in the first half, but when the second half started, so did The Balkman Show.

The man Pre-Draft Camp assistant coach Popeye Jones hilariously dubbed "Humpty" -- for his physical resemblance to a character in the decidedly uncouth 1990 video for the Digital Underground's The Humpty Dance -- took over the game with a torrent of plays at both ends. His numbers (14 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, two steals) don't capture the unique stamp Balkman put on this game. But Balkman consistently makes plays, including those on the offensive end when no play is called for him. His high-energy, game-altering play has been one of the most surprising developments in this year's camp.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/chris_ekstrand/06/09/orlando/

Posted by nixluva:

Actually you guys don't know what the HELL you're talking about. Last year Isiah showed that he's capable of picking solid character guys who have talent and have played 4 years in college. He then takes 2 SOLID perimeter defenders. A guy in Collins who makes our smaller scoring guards make SENSE. What the heck is wrong with you people? Can't you recognize when a GM is building a team. Isn't that what you all BITCHED about all year?

You guys that don't like tthis draft are just too much. Isiah said that he wanted to have perimeter defenders with the quickness to be able to double and then recover to the 3 pt line. So he got that and all you can complain about is where he took him. WHO CARES. We had 2 picks and he used them to address our weaknesses. That's 2 offseasons where he's done that. That's GOOD GM work.

Posted by nyk4ever:

Posted by tomverve:

hmm

ORLANDO -- A few other players had bigger stats, and many other players have bigger reputations, but South Carolina's Renaldo Balkman generated the most murmurs among NBA player personnel assembled at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp on Thursday.

Where's Balkman? He blocks a drive by elusive UCLA guard Jordan Farmar, throws an outlet pass to a teammate, outruns the pack and ends up finishing the same play with a layup on the other end. Where's Balkman now? He's pushed out-of-bounds by a bigger player, but after the perpetrator snares the ill-gotten rebound, Balkman sneaks back in bounds, snatches the ball out his hands and dunks. Have you seen Balkman? Now he's gotten a long defensive rebound and is dribbling with the dexterity of a point guard, expertly choosing the right wing player for a pass that leads to another basket.

At times during the Thursday-morning game it seemed that a second Renaldo Balkman had checked into the game, since he was involved in twice as many plays as any other player. The mid-sized forward (6-foot-7, 210 pounds) did a little of everything in leading Team Four to a 94-78 victory over Team One. The game was a tight battle in the first half, but when the second half started, so did The Balkman Show.

The man Pre-Draft Camp assistant coach Popeye Jones hilariously dubbed "Humpty" -- for his physical resemblance to a character in the decidedly uncouth 1990 video for the Digital Underground's The Humpty Dance -- took over the game with a torrent of plays at both ends. His numbers (14 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, two steals) don't capture the unique stamp Balkman put on this game. But Balkman consistently makes plays, including those on the offensive end when no play is called for him. His high-energy, game-altering play has been one of the most surprising developments in this year's camp.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/chris_ekstrand/06/09/orlando/

Tom I'm not arguing that he might be good but theres absolutely NO reason to draft him at 20 when you can take a guy like Marcus Williams(someone you can trade if you dont want to keep him.) It would have given the Knicks more options by taking Balkman at 29.

I love the idea that this guy plays defense but Isiah does not know the art of negotiating or the idea of trading down. He just takes guys where he wants and that can hurt you.