Posted by TMS:

OK, so given a choice of either trading up to take Derozan (i think WAS may be open to trading w/us), or taking Mullens at #8, which would u rather do?

Posted by PhilinLA:

Choose to the strength of the draft: get a point guard!

Posted by BRIGGS:

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.

Posted by Paladin55:

Posted by BRIGGS:

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.

Not necessarily talking about size, but rather what is inside. Smith was a soft 6'10+" player, Oakley a workhorse 6'9." Smith had more talent and a more rounded game than Oakley. Oakley was a warrior. You tell me which type of player you would rather have on your team. I would also hypothesize that you would have liked the multi-skilled athletic Smith over the unathletic

I am not sold on Hill by any means, by the way- just speculating.

My gut feeling is that Mullens would rather be a perimeter player and not the down and dirty center this team needs. In the interview I saw of him he kept referring to how many things he could do, and I got the feeling that he does not want to be a classic center or power forward.

I understand that he may be the kind of center MDA would want in his system- I just wonder about his D in the block, and whether he will really give us the offense in the paint which we are now missing.

If we can know for sure that he will be Pau Gasol+ performer, I would say take him, but I wonder if he will ever be as intelligent a player as Gasol is, and Gasol has no illusions about being a SF, which I think is something Mullens has bouncing around in his head.

By the way, have the Knicks indicated any interest in Mullens? Are they even working him out?

Posted by nyk4ever:

Posted by King1:

If I wqas Walsh I would have signed Lee to a 5 year 37 million contract before the season which is a steal. Then you could have traded a great contract for a top 7 pick in the draft with a good contract.

Dude honestly, do you need to say this every time you post? No GM would have signed Lee to that deal because before this season he didnt earn jack****. Any player with athleticism and given the minutes Lee was given could have posted what Lee has posted so it's really not that big accomplishment. When Lee starts playing defense, you can start talking.

NCAA Weekly Performers, 3/16/09 (Draft Express)
March 16, 2009
One of the more intriguing prospects in this freshman class, especially from a physical standpoint, B.J. Mullens has had an up and down freshman campaign. Things haven’t changed very much for the young seven footer since we last wrote about him in December, but after a full season in college, including all of conference play, a more complete picture can now be drawn.

From a skills standpoint, there really isn’t much to say about Mullens at this stage, as most of his production in all areas of the game come directly from his excellent physical attributes. The vast majority of his offense comes off of pick-and-rolls, alley-oops, transition lay-ups, and wide open dump offs in the lane -- all catch-and-finish moves. As we previously wrote, Mullens’ size and tremendous mobility make him a huge asset as a finisher, something he’s done a good job taking advantage of throughout the season, usually showing a desire to get open while often calling for the ball.

With his size and athleticism, Mullens isn’t often strongly contested when he gets to the rim at this level, so it’s no surprise he ranks in the 96th percentile of finishers at the basket according to Synergy Sports Technology. At the next level, however, Mullens will need to show a bit more of a mean streak at the rim, making better use of his explosive power, something he doesn’t need to rely on much in college. The fact that his frame can probably support another 10-15 pounds of muscle without much detriment will certainly help him down the line. Playing with a good point guard will be a must regardless of where he ends up, as he really has outstanding potential in this area.

As a back-to-the-basket player, Mullens has looked pretty raw for the most part, not showing much prowess in backing his man down to get superior position, and showing inconsistent results with the hook shots and turnaround jumpers he tries to execute from 5 feet out and beyond. The form on these moves doesn’t look bad, as he has a nice foundation in place, so it’s just a matter of continuing to practice these moves while doing a better job of getting deep position.

On the defensive end, Mullens clearly has a long way to go as a man-to-man defender, leaving a lot to be desired in the area of fundamentals, frequently getting beat despite his towering size. In the post, he gives up position way too easily, showing little grasp of leverage, and he also doesn’t seem to have much concept of angles, getting outsmarted by players a fair share. To his credit, he does seem to put in somewhat of a concentrated effort guarding his man, moving his feet and keeping his hands outstretched, though players are still frequently able to score over him.

We spoke about Mullens’ problems keeping up with Ohio State’s team defensive schemes earlier in the year, and while this isn’t something Mullens has overcome, he’s certainly shown some progress, doing a better job making rotations, being in the right position, and showing better attentiveness and awareness in Thad Matta’s zone. His reaction time in making his rotations is not very good, but it’s clear that he’s put in more effort as the season has gone on. With his size and length, he has a lot of potential as a shot blocker, and he shows flashes of this at times, but he needs to improve his reflexes and timing to realize his potential in this area.

Mullens is still a fairly mistake-prone player, which is likely a product of his average basketball IQ. He often looks somewhat absent-minded boxing out opponents and such, and thus ranks as a pretty average rebounder relative to his physical tools. He’s also an incredibly poor passer, garnering just one assist every four games (8 total in 32 games), and picking up six turnovers for every one assist. He has the second worst assist to turnover ratio in college basketball, and is the second worst passer per possession as well.

Posted by Pharzeone:

Posted by nyk4ever:

Posted by King1:

If I wqas Walsh I would have signed Lee to a 5 year 37 million contract before the season which is a steal. Then you could have traded a great contract for a top 7 pick in the draft with a good contract.

Dude honestly, do you need to say this every time you post? No GM would have signed Lee to that deal because before this season he didnt earn jack****. Any player with athleticism and given the minutes Lee was given could have posted what Lee has posted so it's really not that big accomplishment. When Lee starts playing defense, you can start talking.

You didn't think Lee was worth a MLE type of contract around the start of the season? Hell Nocioni got that type of money and I knew Lee was a better player than him when he signed it. Walsh's phone would have been blowing up throughout the entire season and on draft day if he decided not to deal before the trading deadline.