Curtis Borchardt. Chris Mihm. Steven Hunter. Darco Milicek. Rafael Araujo. Kendrell Perkins. Kwame Brown.

These are examples of picks that resulted in ZERO production in year 1 and beyond. I think that this trend will continue with young, raw centers like Petro, Bynum, Akindale etc. You want to say I'm impatient. Fine. Let other teams have growing pains.

I would much prefer the 22, 23, 24 year old version of guys like Steven Hunter, Kwame Brown though risky, Jerome James (now). Maybe even Eddy Curry comes at an extreme discount. Obviously medical factors play into that equation. Use any combination of Kurt Thomas and/or the expiring contracts to try to get a center who won't be useless for 2-3 years & is a hope & a prayer beyond that.

This allows us to pick up an NBA ready guy like Granger with the #8. Turn around & and get an experienced (and competitive) backcourt player Gilchrist/Ewing at the # 30 spot.

I agree with everyone you listed except Bynum. He's got the size unlike most centers who need to bulk up and most importantly he is skilled. With his skills and his size he can become a dominant Center.

elite bigmen arent available. Thats the bottom line. You either settle for trading for guys like Nazr or Hunter or you draft and wait. Some are faster than others. Its a young mans league and you wont see Dale Davis for Jermaine Oneil type trades anymore. Its just not happening. So you either have a pipeline with bigmen in it, or your talking about what middle of the road cast off bigman you have a chance at every year.

We have a chance to get a young guy to develop and we should do just that. Don't let someone else take Taft or whomever and they turn into the next big thing. We can draft and still make moves for Jerome James of Hunter if Isiah thinks they can help us. There really is no need to let a big man pass us by at the #8 or #30 pick. Big men are hard to come by, thats why we don't have any, and thats why mediocre guys like Dalembert, Hunter, James and Gadzuric are high on many GM's lists.

Posted by diderotn:

I really don't understand the way some Newyorkers think...They always want what other teams have. what about developing your own...especially if you have the chance at drafting a younger inexpensive big man??? We have 3 picks and possibly a couple more, it is imperative for Isiah to come out of this draft with 2 to 3 big men. Again, we can find smaller player much easier in this league....

Ditto

Posted by Killa4luv:

We have a chance to get a young guy to develop and we should do just that. Don't let someone else take Taft or whomever and they turn into the next big thing. We can draft and still make moves for Jerome James of Hunter if Isiah thinks they can help us. There really is no need to let a big man pass us by at the #8 or #30 pick. Big men are hard to come by, thats why we don't have any, and thats why mediocre guys like Dalembert, Hunter, James and Gadzuric are high on many GM's lists.

Finally someone who agrees with me. We are in the minority, but so what? This is a chance to build your frontline of the future. Take advantage of the opportunity.

So....what if Deron Williams falls. Wouldn't you prefer him over a 7 foot hope?

Its not like there's a Zo, Shaq no brainer big man. These center prospects (other than Bogut) are all raw as can be. I'd rather have Steven Hunter & spend the #8 pick on an actual player like Granger/Williams/Warrick etc.

Posted by purple012870:

I have not seen Bynum, but what did he average 17/13 in high school ? That's not overly impressive for a guy that may be a top 10 pick. I went to high school nearby to Alonzo Mourning. He'd have those numbers by halftime most games.

in his defense, he lacked minutes and games due to injury i believe. also bear in mind that the people that have seen him are the ones that are ranking him this high. what does that tell you?