Just hypothetical, let's say the **** really hits the fan and for whatever reason it's not a good idea to pick Ming. What would you do with the picks w/o trading them? I'd say pick Butler at 1 ... and pick best big man available at 15(Borchardt, Ely, Hilario, Haislip, Amare) to platoon at center behind Cato. If none of those players are available, pick best available(which would probly be serious talent that slipped), but one of those SHOULD be available. 2nd rounder ... pfft best available. Cato/ #15 KT/Griff/Mo Butler/Rice/Tmo Mobes/Oz Francis/Mooch would definitely be better than last year's walking wounded tank squad. Playoffs? Possibly, but I dunno. If healthy, I think that squad would have the talent to make it.
you can't make those reaches though Crisco... not when you can get the same player + goodies just for moving down. You just wanted to start a thread didn't you? Didn't you WiscoCwisco, tell me well me didn't you... didn't you.... Ahhhh, I new you did. You're so cute.
I wanted to start this exact thread-live and learn I guess. The C-BU bandwagon has started to roll- Stoudamire at 15 - Trade with GS for Fortson and #3. I don't think we can safely trade below 3 and get Butler. Nice and simple let the senior members work out the complex ****e.
Jay Williams has the best trade value.I like Butler but you can never predict what the Bulls will do.
I guess if we can't trade out of the #1, which I think is absurd, I would tkae the best available player. J-will comes in on the 18th.
The Rockets need a tough guy with talent- Butler gives us some attitude with skill to back it up. Its hard not to read good things about him-the hype has started. He just seems to be a good fit-
Draft Williams and field offers. I'm not that big of an Odom fan, but if you assume they were after Williams and not Ming then that deal should still be on the table. Although, it may be worth considering sending Jay Williams to the EC as opposed to helping a competitor. This is surely a minority opinion, but if the Rockets management really feels that Yao is the real deal, draft him anyway and wait for the 2003-2004 season.
Then, we're banking on Francis getting healthier and he and Mobley playing smarter. That, and Mo losing weight. Also, the Mo/KT situation may be fuzzy. All I'm saying is that it is certainly no guarantee we make the playoffs next year. And, unless we win the Lebron James sweepstakes, our lotto pick goes to Memphis. I don't know the specifics of that pick? Does it HAVE to be a top 13? Does it have to be our own pick? That is, we get the #3 next year and we trade somone to acquire another lotto pick? Lots of question marks that could be answered by drafting the right guy and making the playoffs.
Mebbe I just want to see some talk other than about the evil Sharks and all the trades we can do where we end up with Brand, Kandi, Curry, Battier, Maggoty, and the #4 and #8 for the #1, Cato, Rice, Motay and Mooch. Or maybe I just like seeing my uid on the screen. imo, this is the worst case scenario on draft day, and it ain't that bad really. BOOOOOOOooooooooo......
Assuming, like Crisco said, there are no trades in our immediate future and we aren't taking Yao I would do one of 2 things... 1) take Jay Williams...you can't go wrong with this guy...Cat becomes a 6th man of the year candidate again and Steve adapts to his new role as the 2 or 2) take Butler...everything I read is telling me that this guy is Paul Pierce waiting to happen As far as the 15 goes (I'm sure I'll get some heat for this but...) take a shot on Lee Benson. Yes he is 29 but in this day and age, you can get a good 7-8 yrs out of him...I dont really see another big man that can make a difference here...according to ESPN Insider, he is playing well in the Chicago camps... All eyes were on two JUCO players, Lee Benson and Kei Madison. Both players were put on the same team and were as good as advertised. Benson continued his miraculous trek to the NBA, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds. Benson was very active around the basket and showed he belonged with the better competition. Madison scored only four points, but showed teams he has the athleticism and ball handling to play on the wing.
more on Benson... JUCO star and ex-convict, Lee Benson had a solid performance Thursday. Benson really hit the boards Thursday and did all of the little things that coaches love. He ended the game with eight points, eight boards and two steals in just 15 minutes. Benson said two years ago, he wouldn't have ever dreamed that he'd be auditioning for the top minds in the NBA. "I"m just trying to fit in. I want to get better. After eight years in prison I still have a fresh body, I hustled and worked hard. I'll give any team that drafts me anything that they ask.. I could play 80 minutes if they wanted me to."
Benson sounds interesting NJ, though he is probably a reach at 15. Do you know if he's a real banger? An enforcer perhaps? If we do end up with Ming and a decent sf it would be cool to have someone come off the bench to throw their weight around and provide some defensive toughness ala Willis, even if he is kinda old.
and because i know how much Crisco enjoys reading draft tidbits... Here's an updated list of the top 10 international prospects after talking with several scouts and general managers. 1. Yao Ming, C, China -- Despite all of the trouble, most teams still believe he'll go No. 1 to the Rockets. 2. Nikoloz Tskitishivili, F, Georgia -- It looks like Tskitishivili is a lock for the top 10 right now, meaning he'll be in the draft. He could go as high as No. 4 to Memphis (if Mike Dunleavy isn't available) or as low as No. 9 to Phoenix. Denver at No. 5 and Cleveland at No. 6 are also giving him strong consideration. Several other non-lottery teams like the Bucks, Blazers and Jazz may have interest in moving up in the draft to select him. 3. Maybyner "Nene" Hilario, F/C, Brazil -- He's a lock for the lottery right now. He could move up as high as No. 7 to the Knicks, but won't fall further than No. 13 to the Bucks. 4. Bostjan Nachbar, F, Croatia -- The sharp-shooting small forward could sneak as high as No. 12 to the Clippers and isn't expected to fall any further than No. 19 to the Jazz. 5. Jiri Welsch, G, Czech Republic -- His stock is still rising. Expect him to go anywhere from No. 13 to the Bucks down to No. 19 to the Jazz. 6. Mladen Sekularac, G, Yugoslavia -- The demand to see him work out was so great, his representatives have canceled all of his individual workouts and scheduled two public workouts next week. He could go as high as No. 23 to the Pistons or fall all the way into the early second round. 7. Boris Diaw, G, France -- Tony Parker's former teammate has a nice buzz right now. Expect to see him go anywhere from No. 19 to the Blazers down to No. 26 to the Spurs. 8. Nenad Kristic, C, Yugoslavia -- Vlade Divac's student is expected to hit the U.S. early next week for a series of workouts. He's young and can't play in the U.S. next year, but at 7-foot-1, he'll get a lot of consideration late in the first round. He could go anywhere from No. 19 to the Blazers down to No. 28 to the Kings. His agent will likely pull his name from the draft if he isn't convinced that Kristic will be drafted in the first round. 9. Zaur Pachulia, F, Georgia -- Like Kristic, he's yet to work out in the U.S. When he gets over here, he'll likely just have a handful of workouts with teams late in the first round before determining whether to pull his name out of the draft. At 6-foot-11, 250 pounds he has the size to be an impact player down low, but he's still very raw. Pachulia's range is the same as Kristic's anywhere from No. 19 to the Blazers down to No. 28 to the Kings. 10. David Andersen, F, Australia -- Hasn't generated the buzz that some of the other international prospects have. However, if Pachulia and Kristic pull out of the draft, he'll have a good shot at going anywhere from No. 26 to the Spurs to somewhere in the early first round.
I really haven't seen anything but a few hilights of the guy...what impresses me the most is his attitude towards succeeding in the pros...it seems to me that he is more of an athletic-type rebounder/shot blocker than an enforcer...I just think that aside from Ming, he may turn out to be the best big man of the bunch...who knows?
more on Benson... Lee Benson POWER FORWARD | (6-11, 232) | BROWN MACKIE JC Notes: Averaged 35 points and| 13.6 rebounds a game during 2001-02 season at Brown Mackie Junior College in Salina, Kan. Positives: Benson was the leading scorer in NJCAA Division II after a 10-year layoff. He's 29 years old so he's the most physically mature prospect in the draft. Has great strength, runs the floor well and has superb range on his jumper. Can easily stroke the NBA three. Negatives: Benson spent nearly eight years in prison before being "discovered." Hadn't played organized ball since his junior year of high school so he lacks basic fundamentals and play atrocious defense. Summary: Benson is the feel good story of the draft. He's turned his life around, been on his best behavior and has a game that has scouts salivating. If he didn't have the rap sheet and was eight years younger, we'd be talking lottery. Still, he's got enough juice to land somewhere in the second round.
If he didn't have the rap sheet and was eight years younger, we'd be talking lottery. a "lottery" type player with the body of a 29 year old and the toughness of an ex-con?
