22 days until draft night. who is ready?

lol, maybe it's an idea to do one of them countdown scripts on this site for when the draft starts.

22 days and counting.

Here's a guy that will be a second round sleeper. John Salmons out of Miami U. Most mock drafts don't even have him being drafted, but he's a 6-7 natural point guard who is capable of playing three positions on the floor. He's a good slasher, passer, ball handler, and excellent defender. He averaged 13 pts, 6 rbs, 6 asts, and 2 stls as starting point guard for Miami this year. ESPN profiled him as one of the top five players to watch as they say he could climb up to the late first round with a good showing in Chicago. I think he will be available for us at the 36th pick however. He's the type of guy who could really make a nice impact right away.

Posted by Fordy74:

Ive followed Salmons during his career at Miami. He is very versatile. Only weakness is that he isnt a pure shooter. But he is a slasher/scorer who can rebound and handle the point. Could be a very nice NBA player. Id be thrilled for us to grab in round 2.

Yeah i was going to mention too that his one real weakness is his shooting. Still thats one thing he can work on and i don't think new york needs another pure shooter, but it would help when he improves that aspect of his game. I too would be thrilled to pick him up in the second round as i made that clear in my last post.

ESPN profile of Salmons

Notes: John Salmons is widely regarded as one of the most versatile players to ever play at Miami. A four-year starter, Salmons started 107 consecutive games -- the second-longest streak in school history. He leaves as UM's 13th-leading scorer with 1,287 points and third on both the all-time assists (433) and steals (192) lists. Salmons in the only Miami player to ever record 50 or more steals in three straight seasons and is the first player in UM history to surpass 1,000 career points, 600 rebounds (687), 400 assists and 150 steals (192).
Salmons led Miami to an 86-39 record during his four seasons, establishing a school record for wins in a four-year period. He was named second-team All-Big East in 2002 after starting all 32 games at point guard, but playing every position on the floor except center.

Positives: Scouts love Salmon's size for his position. He's a scorer and a slasher. He played the point and off guard and can play small forward, too. Salmon is one of the most versatile seniors in the draft. He didn't star at Portsmouth, but he was good enough to get noticed once again.

Negatives: Salmons is not a pure shooter nor is he a pure point. While the combo guard can be attractive to some teams, others want a pure position player. He's the type of player who could go in the second round or undrafted and end up lasting a long time in the league.

Summary: Salmons is likely in the second round with an outside shot at the first round if he is impressive in workouts. He has a chance to move up through a stellar Chicago camp.


Also from an ESPN article

Simply put, Chicago is where players create a buzz. And, like Crawford and Sasser, Miami's John Salmons could be the latest point guard to make a name for himself in Chicago with a buzz.

Salmons didn't wow the teams at Portsmouth, but he has the overall skills to get into the first round. One scout thinks he's the best pure point guard in the draft. That's high praise considering this draft includes Duke's Jay Williams, Czech's Jiri Welsch, Gonzaga's Dan Dickau and Illinois' Frank Williams. The 6-7 Salmons could be the player coaches fall in love with because he can see over his defender, post up a point guard and make perimeter shots. He doesn't tend to make costly mistakes and posesses "point-guard plays,'' like looking to pass ahead, rebound and get the ball into the post.