The thunder still need shooting guard because thabo isn't that good he is too inconsistent and he doesn't have a jumpshoot. The thunder also could get power foward with there 2 first round pick like gani lawal type.

all OKL needs to do is trade up to #1 & take B Diddy's contract off their hands & they'll end up w/this:

C - Krstic
PF - Griffin
SF - Durant
SG - Davis
PG - Westbrook
6 - Green

that's a damn good team right there w/room to grow & improve for several more years... LAC want Rubio anyway & MEM won't take Rubio at #2 cuz he's refusing to play there... if OKL offers up the #3, #25 & next year's #1 unprotected, they can easily get that deal done.

Posted by purple012870:

Briggs: Thabeet or Mullens: who do you like better long term & why?

Take Mullens at 8--good coach should find a place for him to help us big time

Posted by TMS:

Posted by nyk4ever:

Posted by purple012870:

What pro PG would you liken Holiday to? A young Billups?

I would like(n) Holliday to the guy he took over the PG duties from at UCLA - Russell Westbrook.

Holiday is not nearly as explosive at Westbrook... i liken Holiday to Smush Parker right now... he's got long arms & pretty nice hops & athletic ability & uses his tools well to defend guys, but he's not especially explosive going to the rack & his J is inconsistent.

I still lean toward Curry over Holiday, but when you look at "polish," you also have to remember that Holiday is over two years (2y-3m) younger than Curry, who chose to stay in college for 3 years. You have a maturing body as well as a maturing game with Holiday, who is only going to turn 19 in a few weeks. He will get stronger and become more polished as he gains experience- it is only natural.

The top freshman in this draft- Evans, DeRozan, Holiday, and Mullens are all raw in some aspects of the game- either in the skills category or the "IQ" aspect of the game- give them 2+ extra years playing the college game and you wonder how good they might have become and how we might be talking about them.

Posted by Paladin55:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by nyk4ever:

Posted by purple012870:

What pro PG would you liken Holiday to? A young Billups?

I would like(n) Holliday to the guy he took over the PG duties from at UCLA - Russell Westbrook.

Holiday is not nearly as explosive at Westbrook... i liken Holiday to Smush Parker right now... he's got long arms & pretty nice hops & athletic ability & uses his tools well to defend guys, but he's not especially explosive going to the rack & his J is inconsistent.

I still lean toward Curry over Holiday, but when you look at "polish," you also have to remember that Holiday is over two years (2y-3m) younger than Curry, who chose to stay in college for 3 years. You have a maturing body as well as a maturing game with Holiday, who is only going to turn 19 in a few weeks. He will get stronger and become more polished as he gains experience- it is only natural.

The top freshman in this draft- Evans, DeRozan, Holiday, and Mullens are all raw in some aspects of the game- either in the skills category or the "IQ" aspect of the game- give them 2+ extra years playing the college game and you wonder how good they might have become and how we might be talking about them.

I had 3 of those guys in my top 5. I think that good drafting teams can project better than others.
I would easily give up a lot to get two of the 4 but ultimately I dont see any of them dropping out of the lottery--not a chance or maybe very little chance.


To me taking the 7-1 260 pound athletic C who can run and shoot for a team with no size is as a no brainer move as I can think of. We have a great chance to get him--guards can be had 7-1 260 guys cant.

[Edited by - BRIGGS on 05-29-2009 4:40 PM]

I just have a funny feeling Curry will be gone by 8. If Walsh/MDA really want him, they'll need to try and work out something with either Sac. (4), Washington (5) or Minny (6) to move up - provided none of those guys like Curry themselves, which they may. No way Don Nelson leaves Curry on the board at 7 - Nelson would love this kid and you know he'll be making the pick now that Chris Mullin is out. No way Golden State takes Brandon Jennings ahead of Curry (I could see Jennings slipping in this draft to be honest - smallish, too young, not ready, not a great perimeter shooter, poor performance last year overall in Europe, etc. Some questionable signs here...). Also, rumor has it that Larry Brown loves Curry and wants to move up from 12 to get him. You know he'd love nothing better than to swoop in a grab Curry right out from under us.

Unlike in prior years, we now have some decent assets to package with the 8th pick to possibly move up. Maybe something like this:

#8, Chris Duhon, a 2010 2nd + cash to Washington for Brendan Haywood and #5.

Washington gets Duhon (about 7 years younger than a washed up Mike James, Duhon's a steady enough PG that would come in and free up Agent Zero to play more off the ball and concentrate on what he does well which is score, plus Duhon's deal expires if he didn't work out or the Wizards decided to go in another direction), they jettison Brandan Haywood which frees up time down low for Blatche, McGee, etc.., plus at 8 they could get a very good player to help them. OR we could expand this by including Nate Robinson - maybe instead go Duhon, #8, 2010 2nd rounder, cash, for Mike James & #5 then eventually agree to trade a resigned Nate for Haywood's expiring and a 2010 1st rounder (top 12 protected say) or at the very least their 2009 2nd rounder at #33.

[Edited by - finestrg on 05-29-2009 5:12 PM]

I see no indication that Hill is anything but JJ Hickson or Kris Humpheries....a 6'9 guy w/o much skills. Whereas Mullens is similar to Bynum at draft time. I'd rather Bynum.

Posted by TMS:

i wouldn't be overly upset if we ended up taking either Curry or Holiday as long as we're not passing up Derozan to do it.

You may be in luck. Granted, it's from Berman, but...

The Knicks think the world of USC shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, who compared his jumping ability with Vince Carter's, but are unsure he'll drop to 8. Washington is eyeing him at 5. . . . North Carolina stalwart Tyler Hansbrough said he believes he's the next David Lee, who dropped to No. 30 in the 2006 NBA Draft. "That's who I compare myself to, a rebounder, an energy player, a Missouri guy," said Hansbrough, who expects to be picked higher than 30.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05292009/sports/knicks/two_currys_impressing_knicks_walsh_171550.htm

[Edited by - matt4281 on 05-29-2009 4:59 PM]

Posted by Paladin55:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by Allanfan20:

Any chance Jordan Hill drops?

i can see him dropping to us but i think Walsh is taking Curry regardless of who drops unless we're talking Rubio or Griffin.

What if Curry is not there for us and Hill somehow drops?

Hill is a legit 6'9"+ without shoes, and his wingspan and standing reach are similar to Mullens'. If he adds another 15+ lbs, could he be considered for playing center in an MDA system? Good athlete, tough kid, and a guy with a decent midrange shot. My issue with Mullens would be toughness. Who would you want to have in the trenches with you battling for boards and playing D in the post- Hill or Mullens?

I'm not going to say that I'm not intrigued by Mullens- and admit that his potential upside is as great or greater than most players in this draft, but if you showed him clips of former Knicks, and asked him which former Knick he would rather be in terms of the type of player he will eventually become- Charles Smith, or Charles Oakley, he would probably choose to be like Smith, while Hill would say Oakley.

I want an Oakley kind of guy on this team if I take a big man, not a Charles Smith.

[Edited by - Paladin55 on 05-29-2009 4:52 PM]

u don't gotta convince me on Jordan Hill, i've liked him for a long time now & i think he's basically David Lee w/defensive skills & shotblocking... maybe not as much basketball IQ or passing instincts, but i think he's gonna be a nice player... he runs the floor really well for a bigman & has springs built into his legs & is real tenacious going after rebounds... he's not afraid to draw a charge in the paint or challenge shots either.

i just don't think MDA & Walsh are even looking at a player like him at this point, but i could be wrong... i just think they got such a huge hardon for Stephen Curry at this point that i wouldn't even be surprised to see them trade up to #5 to take him much less take him at #8! i would take both Derozan & Hill over Curry personally... the only way i wanna see the Knicks take Curry is if the following players are off the board:

Griffin
Rubio
Derozan
Hill
Thabeet

i'd only want Mullens if we traded down & got more value... he's not going in the top 10 IMO, i don't care how good he's looked in the workouts... if none of the 5 on my list are there i wouldn't mind trading down to nab Mullens & another G like Teague or Christmas.

Posted by Paladin55:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by Allanfan20:

Any chance Jordan Hill drops?

i can see him dropping to us but i think Walsh is taking Curry regardless of who drops unless we're talking Rubio or Griffin.

What if Curry is not there for us and Hill somehow drops?

Hill is a legit 6'9"+ without shoes, and his wingspan and standing reach are similar to Mullens'. If he adds another 15+ lbs, could he be considered for playing center in an MDA system? Good athlete, tough kid, and a guy with a decent midrange shot. My issue with Mullens would be toughness. Who would you want to have in the trenches with you battling for boards and playing D in the post- Hill or Mullens?

I'm not going to say that I'm not intrigued by Mullens- and admit that his potential upside is as great or greater than most players in this draft, but if you showed him clips of former Knicks, and asked him which former Knick he would rather be in terms of the type of player he will eventually become- Charles Smith, or Charles Oakley, he would probably choose to be like Smith, while Hill would say Oakley.

I want an Oakley kind of guy on this team if I take a big man, not a Charles Smith.

[Edited by - Paladin55 on 05-29-2009 4:52 PM]

I wouldnt compare Charles Smith to him Smith was a 230 PF Mullens is a legit 7-1 260 with a big frame--[thats like last year when half of this board was calling Lopez Channing Frye 2]
--- devaluing 7-1 260 and *assuming* he is not tough. I would never compare a 6-10 230 pound F to a legit 7-1 260 C--it's two different frames. The simple math is Mullens will be able to shoot over people with ease from any angle he wants and if you really watched him this year--he does have a mean streak to him. If you watched the Louisville Arizona State game Hill did NOt look very tough against guys who are much smaller than Mullens. Hill is NO C--no way.
My take is people are going to sht their pants in a few years on missing this guy---this is a Pau Gasol type talent--imho with MORE upside than Pau. He's stronger and more athletic.
At his size with his assets he has a legit chance of one day being a teams franchise player--simply because taking shots at point blank range for dunks or easy 5 footers are high % tend to put guys in the 20 points average with highFG% and he is GOING to get 10 rebounds and block 2 shots in his prime years.

speaking for myself, if there's any possible shot that we can get Griffin, Rubio or Derozan by trading up, then i seriously hope the Knicks get 1 of those guys... those are potential franchise changing players right there IMO.

otherwise, if we can't get any of those 3 guys, i can deal w/any of Hill, Thabeet, Curry, Jennings, Evans, Holiday or trading down to nab Mullens & Christmas or Teague & Gibson.

i hope they stay away from anyone else.