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24th June, 2008 - 6:51 pm
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| Current Features |
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SCOOP DU JOUR: Richardson, Arenas, Beasley, And Team USA!
Jason Richardson accused of DUI, Arenas is on the mend, Krstic is back, Beasley is working for every minute, Bynum is lacking energy, and Olympians are scoring fewer points...
TEAM RANKINGS: The RealGM.com NBA Rankings For The Week Of December 22nd
Some people believe the Knicks are a lock to make the playoffs if their key core stays healthy, but how are they ranked in relation to the rest of the Eastern Conference according to our objective system?
STANDING 10: Top-10 Careers Of Players Picked 2nd
This edition is busting at the seams with Hall of Famers, future Hall of Famers, former MVP's, title winners and members of the NBA's 50 Greatest Team.
PLAYER RANKINGS: The RealGM.com Player Rankings For The Week Of December 16th
With a fair amount of the season already completed, it is an opportune time to examine which players have significantly improved or have declined. The players on the list may surprise you.
LOCKER TALK: Monta: I Was Racing Baron And Elton
Monta Ellis is still at least a full month away from his return to the court for the Warriors, but he recently called RealGM with the full story behind his ankle injury.
CLASSICS: Hakeem Vs. Ewing: Who Was The Better Center?
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
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By Christopher Reina
As the draft gets even closer, the consensus is there is no consensus. Teams have very different opinions of the first round, and there are more players who have up to a 10-slot draft range than ever before.
Point Guard. Memphis
Rose is as locked up to Chicago as humanly possible without the leak of an unofficial declaration.
For a team predicated on shooting so many jumpshots, Rose will get the Bulls far more open looks than they ever saw with Hinrich, Gordon or Duhon distributing the ball.
His personality suits what Chicago desires from their players far more than Beasley and it is far easier to win with an All-Star point guard than an All-Star power forward.
Power Forward. Kansas State
If Miami does trade out of this slot, they better get a whole lot back in return and a whole lot means a horse in the bed/offer you can't refuse whole lot. Memphis has the best shot to get something done if they are prepared to include Mike Conley instead of Kyle Lowry.
Keeping Beasley would be the best decision for Miami though, as I believe he is a better fit for Miami than Rose because his presence allows Wade to be a creator and distributor while carrying a huge workload as a scorer. Beasley should eventually outscore Wade on a nightly basis.
Shooting Guard. USC
Mayo won’t fill a position of dire need for Minnesota, but he is far too talented to pass up. I think his highest potential in the NBA is as a shooting guard because of how well he can create his own shot, but he is plenty skilled enough to play the point guard position on a regular basis.
The talent gap following Mayo and Bayless is very wide and any selection at three other than the former is a huge reach.
Combo Guard. Arizona
There have been rumblings that Seattle isn't locked in on Bayless, but picking the Arizona guard here should be every bit as much of a no-brainer as Beasley is for Miami.
What has and will be the most immediately impressive aspect of his game is his extreme elevation on jumpers. It really is extraordinary and makes it possible for the 6-3 guard to be a shooting guard. He is a remarkable shooter off the dribble, but his play without the ball has been an unexpected bonus.
And since Kevin Durant commands the ball in his hands with such frequency, Bayless is an ideal point guard to match with him.
Power Forward. UCLA
I don't believe Love is in the top-10 in potential talent, but a lot of the more talented players still available would duplicate what they already have on their roster and Love would undoubtedly enhance those athletic Memphis players. He is, however, a top-5 pick in terms of being low risk and the Grizzlies need surefire talent to prop up around Rudy Gay.
They will continue to attempt to trade up to the two slot and have enough resources and desire to get it done; if a trade doesn't happen it will be more about Miami feeling really good about Beasley, than the Grizzlies not offering enough.
Combo Guard. UCLA
The Knicks don't look sold on staying in the sixth slot and if there was ever a draft where the quality of talent between selecting sixth and say, 13th, was fairly even, it would be this year. The Knicks need talented bodies and if they trade down and acquire an additional player without sacrificing future cap room, then it would be a sound move.
But if they stand put, Westbrook is the ideal player to begin the D'Antoni era.
Westbrook is still raw offensively, but far more skilled with the handle and as a passer than people give him credit for. He played significant minutes for UCLA at the point guard position when Darren Collison was hurt and it is a more natural position for him.
His play on the defensive end of the floor is simply suffocating. Westbrook can shadow just about any wing 6-7 or under and should be a top-three perimeter defender in the entire NBA almost immediately. He is superbly quick with his lateral movement and is intimidating in the air on-ball and off-ball as a shotblocker.
Small Forward. Italy
The more people I talk to, the more likely it appears that the Clippers will be extremely active in the trade market and will look to those trades to upgrade the point position.
He has a superb handle and plays the game like he’s 6-3 instead of his listed 6-9; it is very easy to forget he is so tall. Gallinari is great in the open floor with a quick, confident dribble and excellent floor vision.
Small Forward. West Virginia
Alexander combines elite athleticism and a pure offensive game to emerge as one of the draft’s most versatile scorers.
He is one of the most dangerous players I’ve ever seen in how he flies down the lane; he can pull up at 5-feet and bank a runner or turn the corner and flush it on just about anyone. He also has a large radius of range on a little one-hand scoop shot and, more impressively, on how far he can take off on dunks.
Center. Stanford
The Bobcats are desperate to get into the playoffs and no player beyond the big two would help Larry Brown get them there more than Lopez. He gives them interior scoring from the frontcourt that they have been solely missing and is a nice complement to Okafor. This area of the draft represents his truest value in the NBA. He is unlikely to ever be an All-Star, but he should be a top-five offensive center for a decade.
Power Forward. LSU
Randolph could free fall if he is not selected by the Nets with the 10th pick.
The aspect of Randolph’s game that jumps out at any observer is how skilled he was at triggering the transition game. After collecting a blocked a shot or rebound, Randolph will use his remarkably quick dribble for a player of his height to initiate their early offense. He will look to create his own shot, find an open teammate, or slow it down to setup the halfcourt offense. His decision-making in this area is very mature.
Having a point forward like Randolph really offsets the weaknesses of Devin Harris.
Point Guard. Texas
With this scenario, Indiana will have a combination of a dream and a nightmare as they are forced to choose between Augustin and Eric Gordon.
Passing on the more talented Gordon for the better fit Augustin would be a difficult choice, but the correct one for the team.
Shooting Guard. Indiana
Gordon doesn't have a position and is unlikely to have a sustained level of dominance, so even though he is incredibly talented (top-5 talented), teams are appearing gun shy on selecting him.
Shooting Guard. Kansas
This is very unlikely to be a slot that Portland keeps, but assuming no trade occurs, Rush looks like the pick.
While it is unlikely he falls this far, Gordon would be an ideal pick for Portland because he would be an ideal backcourt mate next to Brandon Roy, who is a terrific ballhandler.
Power Forward. Florida
As I said in the previous mock and what I've been declaring since January; if I were Chris Mullin and had the third overall pick, I would select Marresse Speights; he fits their most glaring needs with that kind of perfection. With that clearly said, I will be terribly shocked and personally disappointed if they leave him on the board all the way down at 14.
With impeccable strength, athleticism and balance, there is not a power forward prospect in college basketball outside of Michael Beasley who is more NBA-ready, yet also shows enough room for improvement to develop into an All-Star than Speights.
His work ethic and motor is constantly cited as the chief reason why he isn’t held in higher esteem, but I respectfully couldn’t disagree more. He has a great motor, especially as a rebounder, and if he falls this low or beyond, he will easily become the draft’s biggest steal.
Small Forward. Syracuse
I've been told that GMs are reconsidering their previous opinions of Greene and are realizing that he has an excellent chance of being the player many teams are afraid of passing on.
A situation like Phoenix where he can be a second option would be ideal for Greene. He is a much more versatile scorer than people give him credit for and would thrive playing alongside the personnel they have there.
Depending on who slips and who doesn't, Sacramento also loves Greene and could grab him at 12.
Power Forward. Kansas
Like Julian Wright last year, another KU player is being unfairly undervalued.
Arthur is a rebounding power forward who should develop a nice game from 15 feet in. He has a remarkable court awareness as he is almost always in an ideal position on both ends of the floor. He posts with purpose; constantly trying to seal his man and can finish well with either hand. Arthur is also a good passer out of the post and pretty much anywhere else on the floor. His ball-handling does need a great deal of more work.
Forward/Center. Stanford
Lopez is the intangibles brother and will do all of the dirty things on the defensive end of the floor for Toronto due to his length, agility and incredible energy.
His offensive game is better than advertised and shows great potential, though it's only good in pieces.
Center. Ohio State
Koufos has the upside of his young age and the distinct possibility his ceiling is still high. He already has an offensive skill set few 7-footers ever achieve, one that meshes with Washington’s style and he should improve physically.
Power Forward. N.C. State
Danny Ferry has the best player in the game under however old Kobe is, so in theory he has time to develop talent, yet the threat of LeBron leaving if they’re not in an absolute win-now mode is a real one and must be taken seriously. But I think Ferry has to go for a home run in this draft with the 19th slot and Hickson could be their guy.
He is a classic power forward and can create high percentage scoring opportunities that came all too difficult to the Cavaliers last season.
Point Guard. Kansas
Sources tell me Chalmers really struggled in a recent workout and is beginning to look like a first round pick more because of his infamous shot and decisions from Darren Collison, Ty Lawson and Jonny Flynn to stay in school, which has created a sudden void of true points.
There are too many teams in the late 20's who would love Chalmers, so he is assured of being drafted in the first round, but Denver could just as easily turn elsewhere.
He does have a great perimeter shot and also moves really well without the ball as a pseudo-shooting guard, which will allow him to remain a key component of the offense despite how much Iverson and Anthony command the ball in their hands.
Center. Texas A&M
Jordan began the draft process amidst rumors of a promise in the top-5 and is now officially the 'persona non grata' of the 2008 Draft; both of which are absurd.
Jordan has below average hands, a lackluster motor and human athleticism, but he is still incredibly agile and has the potential to have an incredibly sophisticated interior game.
Passing on Jordan two times would be a huge mistake that I don't expect New Jersey to make.
Shooting Guard. Memphis
Orlando loves long spot-up shooters and Douglas-Roberts is certainly one of those, but he is also very good creating off the dribble and slashing to the bucket, two commodities this club had a dearth of last year. He is the wing that fits their style the best.
Center. Georgetown
Hibbert is ready to play right now and GMs are seeing that his ceiling is not quite as low as widely believed.
He is skilled enough offensively and should develop sufficiently on defense to be a fringe starter. He is an excellent passer, something so valuable to Jerry Sloan’s system.
Center. HTV Hyeres-Toulon
Alexis Ajinca has as good of a chance as any of this year’s centers at being a difference maker because he has the best overall skill set on both sides of the ball.
He is an above-average shooter for his age and height with a good release and nice arc. Ajinca’s release point is an inch or two above his head, and he extends his follow-through cleanly.
So much of what separates an average center from a great one is his drive to improve and a love for the game that comes naturally, and I believe Ajinca has that drive and love.
Center. Nevada
McGee was initially a surprise entry into the draft and then had a ton of buzz, but a questionable workout strategy, a closer look on tape and the rise of players like Ajinca and Hickson have forced out McGee.
Small Forward. France
Batum was initially believed to be a potential top-five pick in this draft, and his talent is as immediately palpable as anyone’s, but he clearly does disappear from time to time.
He is the ideal young player for San Antonio to inject into the wing.
Small Forward. Kansas State
Walker is a tough as anything slasher with great athleticism and an incredible on-floor work ethic. He needs to improve his jumper, but he’s the kind of guy you can go to in order to get an inside shot or get to the line in the fourth quarter, something the Hornets didn't have against the Spurs.
Shooting Guard. New Mexico
Memphis loves Giddens and could grab him here late in the first round depending on who is off the board.
Giddens is one of the best athletes in this draft and uses that athleticism not just on dunks, but to make very pure basketball moves.
He has great confidence with the dribble, and I believe he will be able to create his own shot in the NBA.
Giddens is also a tremendous rebounder and has the potential to be a lockdown defender.
Power Forward. Rider
I expect the Pistons to select Walker if he's still on the board and will also strongly consider Ryan Anderson, but Thompson has the opportunity to be the immediate difference maker in the frontcourt down low that they need.
This is such a difficult pick to project because the Pistons are so likely to make a significant trade this summer.
Shooting Guard. Western Kentucky
Lee is ready to contribute immediately as a scorer off the dribble and Boston was decidedly thin on the wings behind Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Lee is a mid-range specialist with great body control as a jump shooter and has enough athleticism to allow the Celtics’ defensive greatness rub off on him.
- Click here to see our full list of 2008 Draft Reports with new reports added daily
Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM and may be reached at chris.reina@realgm.com
Second Round
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Small Forward. California
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Power Forward. TAU Vitoria
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Center. Croatia
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Combo Guard. Mississippi State
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Center. California
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Combo Guard. Washington State
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Small Forward. KK Split
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Point Guard. IUPUI
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Shooting Guard. Vanderbilt
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Power Forward. Memphis
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Power Forward. Alabama
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Center. Cairns Taipans
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Center. UAB
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Small Forward. UCLA
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Power Forward. Indiana
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Center. Alpella Istanbul
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Combo Forward. USC
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Shooting Guard. Arkansas
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Point Guard. Iowa State/Idaho Stampede
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Power Forward. Maryland
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Point Guard. Union Olimpija
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Point Guard. Ohio State
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Power Forward. Kansas
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Small Forward. UMass
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Combo Forward. Rhode Island
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Power Forward. BYU
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Point Guard. Butler
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Forward/Center. Partizan Belgrade
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Center. Ulker Istanbul
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Power Forward. Ohio State
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