Posted by bigbeast:

Crzy...I agree with you about Isiahs draft history. Theres not debate. The only debate is, could he have taken Williams at 20 and still got Balkman at 29? Probably so. I know he was concerend about the Suns taking him, think about it.....the future core of this team would have been, Frye, Lee, Curry and Williams (a pass first pg.)

Like I said earlier in this thread - if the draft was Marcus at 20 and Balkman at 29, I don't think a single person would complain. But, if he thought that someone else was going to nab Balkman (and it's not unusual for the star of the pre-draft camp to get nabbed in the mid to late 20s), even if he was wrong, I have no problem with him targeting the guy he wanted - especially when he fills such a glaring need on our squad.

Yes, sometimes you have to adjust your draft strategy when a talent suddenly falls in your lap, but we have Marbury, Crawford, Francis and Nate and Marcus would have likely been buried here. We needed roster balance, we needed defenders, we needed a small forward. Would people have been happy if we drafted Shawne Williams over Marcus Williams? No, Briggs would have exploded that Shawne Williams was a headcase, too slight for his position, a nothing player. But Indiana takes him and no one says a peep. Indiana had a greater need for Marcus and passed, too. That has to tell you there were some redflags about Marcus. This is a kid who finished 73rd in the draft combine - a point guard who is slower than most centers, he's fat, he's been suspended for theft. He's good, but please let's not act like he was a lottery talent. He wasn't the first PG taken. I like Bill Simmons' nickname for him - Six Flags (as in six red flags).

And, to top it off, I honestly think Isiah looks at Craw as the future PG of this team.

Posted by nyballer:

he has drafted one all-star to date (Tracy), granted frye may be one down the road, he had a couple of nice pickups but right now he drafts rotation players.....

exactly - look at the 96 draft. camby is a nice player to have, but he passed over guys like kobe, nash, jermaine o'neal, marbury, ray allen, etc- most people agree that balkman could be a nice JYD type player, but isiah passed on much more talented players with higher ceilings.

[Edited by - nyballer on 07-11-2006 11:59 AM]

Posted by crzymdups:

Posted by nyballer:

he has drafted one all-star to date (Tracy), granted frye may be one down the road, he had a couple of nice pickups but right now he drafts rotation players.....

exactly - look at the 96 draft. camby is a nice player to have, but he passed over guys like kobe, nash, jermaine o'neal, marbury, ray allen, etc- most people agree that balkman could be a nice JYD type player, but isiah passed on much more talented players with higher ceilings.

[Edited by - nyballer on 07-11-2006 11:59 AM]

Nash and JO both took four years to develop into starters. I'd like to see the person on this board who wouldn't trade Marbury to get Camby in a HEARTBEAT. If you think Camby wasn't a great pick for a young team like that, you are insane. I'm sorry, Camby was the most NBA ready player in the draft behind Iverson, filled a glaring defensive need and turned into one of the best defenders and shotblockers and rebounders in the game. They already had a PG in Damon. Camby was a great pick. I won't have his name disparaged here. How'd you like Camby when he was a Knick?

Posted by Anji:

No matter how you shave it Isiah thinks nate and crawford >>>>> Marcus williams. How about that?!?!?!?

Posted by martin:

Posted by OngBok:

Please shut up about this crap !!! Maciej Lampe was tearing up summer league last year and where is he now ??? Please !!!

Ong, instead of telling people to shut up why don't you tell us you watch Lampe in the summer league last year and how he got his number and what they really meant. Tell us that you also watched the Marcus and how it went in your eyes.

Telling people to shup up here is not really adding anything to the site.