Trade Jamal Crawford to the Lakers for their #1 pick and a filler if needed. Next, with the Knicks pick and the Lakers Pick draft Acie Law IV and Daquean Cook.
http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/acielaw.html
ACIE LAW IV
Overall
92
NBA Comparison: Daniel Gibson
Strengths: Big time competitor who wants the ball in crunchtime … Has become a great team leader who has learned how to lead by example … Rare point guard who can operate equally well in a half court set or up tempo offense … Defensively Law shows good lateral quickness and reflexes to play passing lanes … Decent court vision, capable of driving and dishing in traffic … Great ball handler who uses his shifty quickness to get past most opposing defenders … Once in the lane, Law effectively uses his body control and ability to finish with both hands … Fundamentally sound player who plays the game with good poise and patience, rarely does Law force the action … Has the ability to hit the pull up J from mid-range off the dribble … Creative slasher who understands how to use the glass or floaters in the lane … Has improved greatly from behind the three point line where he can now convert with regularity … Unselfish player who will often look to get teammates involved first before attempting to shoot the ball … Possesses a great basketball IQ. Law plays the game very efficient and intelligently … Pushes the ball aggressively and effectively up the court …
Weaknesses: Still learning how to play the point guard position from the stand point of improving his teammates and controlling the tempo of games … Could stand to increase his upper body strength and add a few pounds to his frame … Perimeter shooting despite improvement can still go through streakiness … Settles at times for mid-range shots when he could drive to the basket and put pressure on the defense … Lacks the explosive first step to get full separation from his defender … Doesn’t always apply the same intensity on defense that he shows on offense … Can be a little turnover prone as he can telegraph his passes … Still remains to be seen if he is able to make players around him better … The mechanics in his shooting form are flawed and could need to be refined if he struggles in the NBA … Lack of strength prevents him from finishing after contact ... Defensively Law tends to gamble reaching for the ball and picks up quick fouls … While greatly improved, Law can go through periods where his overall play is inconsistent …
DAQUEAN COOK- OHIO STATE
NBA Comparison: Larry Hughes
Strengths: Unlike many young players he possesses an excellent mid-range game … Moves well without the ball, and understands how to fully utilize the entire floor to get his shot off …Has an NBA ready body that has shown development from his senior year of high school … Explosive scorer who can reel off big points in a hurry … Above average upper body strength and body control which enables him to finish after contact … Possesses legit three point range on his jumper … Unselfish and shows solid court vision to get teammates involved in the offense … Is a good athlete who contributes on the boards nightly … Has the ball handling ability and quick first step to break his man down on drives … Excellent finisher in transition and can end plays in dramatic fashion … Has a tremendous amount of confidence in his ability, rarely does he get rattled by the moment … Has all the physical gifts needed to emerge as a defensive presence … Underrated shooter off the dribble as well as catch and shoot …
Weaknesses: Has a tendency to force shots when opposing defenders pressure him on the perimeter … Has tremendous confidence in his offensive ability which can make him a little trigger happy when the ball is in his hands … Defensively Cook has a habit of gambling too much and being impatient … This exposes him to pick up quick fouls by reaching in or defending his man too aggressively … Needs to work on protecting the ball better as he can get careless … Settles too much for the jumper instead of driving to the basket to draw fouls …While he’s an above average mid-range shooter he is a surprisingly below average free throw shooter for his position … His overall game can be disrupted if he struggles offensively …. Can at times go for the spectacular pass or shot which can lead to turnovers …
Matthew Maurer - 12/9/2006
Strengths: A bigtime athlete with polished offensive skills … Smooth operator who can beat you in a number of ways … Adept one on one skills with the ability to handle and pull up off the dribble … Excellent shooter with range out to 3 point. Utilizes the midrange game extremely well with a picture perfect jump shot … Uses his quick first step and proficient ball handling ability to beat defenders … His aggresiveness going to the basket leads to a lot of trips to the FT line, where he's an above average (80%) free throw shooter ... Thrives in the open floor game and loves to convert ally oop dunks ... Has tremendous body control and can go up to grab bad passes and convert … Ball handling ability is excellent for a 2 guard … A solid defender who just needs to add consistency … Confident player. Shows a well developed understanding of the game … Team player with solid vision and passing ability ... Strong level of intensity and motivation … A proven winner on the high school level …
Weaknesses: Lacks tremendous size at the shooting guard position. He’s around 6'4" 1/2 and lacks a huge wingspan … Can be overly aggressive and get out of control at times … Should focus on staying on balance shooting as he can get caught up in fading left or right … Can be too flashy at times especially passing the ball, but shows solid decision making for the most part … Could rush the jump to the NBA. Would like to be a one and done player, but might be best suited for a few years at Ohio State before going pro …
Notes: Got overshadowed for much of his high school career in the State of Ohio by OJ Mayo, but a tremendous talent in his own right ... Helped Indy Speice, along with Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Josh McRoberts (2004) and Eric Gordon (2005) become the first ever repeat champions at the Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas ... Averaged 24.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals as a senior in high school leading Dunbar to their first State Championship in 19 years ...
Aran Smith - 9/28/2006
Starting Lineup
Acie Law
Daquean Cook
Q Rich
Frye/Lee
Curry
Maybe let Law or Cook develop behind steph and francis, but the young guys playing primary minutes. A good all around team that would be unbelievable come cruch time. Law is the pass first PG who CAN score, especially in the clutch, and Cook can stretch the D and plays unbelievable defense, and is a bigtime athelete.
We would be set for another 5 years as a consistently good team, no more crawford 50 pt games then 5 pt games.
2/6/2007 9:48 PM
