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Piston draft prospects
I thought I'd get a thread going. Looks like we'll be late lottery. Who do you guys like there? Some players of interest
Sullinger - likely gone, but I see him as a better passing Paul Milsap. He will struggle defensively, but I think he'd be a great 25-30 minute PF off the bench if Monroe is the starter at PF(but moving to C often).
Kanter - Again, likely gone, but he's my #1 or 2 target(Irving). Great basketball IQ, smooth offensive game and not afraid to get tough and physical. ESPN called him a taller Al Horford.
John Henson - has the length, athleticism and defensive accumen we need at Pf next to Monroe. Not very strong,but similar to Ed Davis last year, though Davis is better probably.
Markieff Morris - A tough, athletic big man. Very good rebounder and defender, won't ever have much polish offensively.
Darrius Morris - I threw him on here partially because he's a local guy, but I love him for the Pistons personally. I do NOT think he leaves this year at all, don't get me wrong. I definitely don't want him to leave either. However, he has the size/length Joe likes in his guards and he is a pass first PG, or at least turning into one. He is also developing as a shooter and it appears he will only get better. I tihnk he's everything we are missing at the point. Not ready yet, but if he comes out I'd rather snag him now and wait a yaer for him to develop. Who else is a better prospect at the point this year besides Irving?
Who else you guys like?
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Re: Piston draft prospects
This year, I think any position is a possibility for us. Stuckey/Prince might both be S+T bait, and we only have developing young players at the 3(Daye) and then Monroe, who can start at the 4 or 5.
John Henson would be an interesting fit next to Monroe. He is super freaky long, and doesn't follow that often. Down the stretch he showed more intensity going for rebounds. Our front court would be rail thing, but it might be a fit.
Terrence Jones might be available for us. To me, he is a poor man's Josh Smith/Lamar Odom merged together. He'd be a combo forward. Might make a decent forward rotation if we're stuck with Charlie V forever. Daye could play the 3, Terrence the 4. Then Charlie the first forward off the bench, with either Daye/Jones staying at the 3. I wouldn't mind this pick, I like Jones a lot more than Aminu from last year, but I hated Aminu (there were rumors he was our target).
I think Kemba Walker is a possibility if we're giving up on Rodney or find a good trade partner (Stuckey + Prince for Jeff Green?). I don't like Kemba Walker as a pro player. I think he could be good, but I don't think he's a guy that'll be a championship type player. He could be exciting though, but our backcourt would be very short with Walker / Gordon. I guess I wouldn't be overly upset with Kemba, as even though he picked up his scoring volume this year, he showed (some) signs of improving efficiency as well.
Kawhi Leonard I think is an interesting prospect too. Reminds of Paul George in that he came slightly out of no where to a near lock for a top 12 pick. He'd play the 4 with Daye at the three. I'd be okay with us going with Leonard. We won't have any intimidators inside with Leonard/Monroe starting, but Leonard is an energy guy. Him and Jerebko could be very annoying to play against. If he could learn to shoot decently, he could be a real weapon for some team.
Just some thoughts...
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kawai Leanord is not a pf in the nba- barely big enough to play the 3, and you would hope Terrance Jones would play the 3 as well.
Daye will eventually play pf
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Leonard is just fine as a SF, he has very good length and athleticism to make up for the inch he lacks(6'7) for the 3 spot.
Jones is a PF most likely. Like the above poster said, he's a Josh Smith/Lamar Odom hybrid, maybe Anthony Randolph if he doesn't do well. He's a very good shotblocker with good size and athleticism. He could play some 3, but eventually will settle in as a 4 most likely.
I can't see Daye ever playing PF
I think I want the Pistons to take Kenneth Faried.
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While I will probably be fascinated with the idea of Faried right up until draft time, as he has potential to be Ben v.2.0, damn it would be nice to get a top 3 pick and land Derrick Williams some how.
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The Derrick Williams hype is flying now. I'm glad, he was my favorite prospect all year. He'd be a great fit in NJ or Washington.
I think the first 4 picks right now look like Kyrie, Sullinger, Williams and Jones.
A guy that has really helped his stock this tournament in Brandon Knight. He had that great game, and then a terrible game but came up big in crunch time. If he can have another good game tonight his stock will be very high, with some favoring him over Kemba due to size.
I'm disappointed by Kawhi Leonard. I don't know what I was expecting. He didn't have a terrible tournament, but he didn't do anything special either. I hope he goes back to school as he needs to learn how to shoot. That way he can play for a run and gun team and be a poor man's Marion. I think I had some blinders on.
I think you're right about Faried. I love Faried, to be honest I had never seen him play before this tournament. I think I like all players that remind me of Predator when they play... He could be rising too, especially if more players decide to go back to school (like Hamilton and Thompson from UT).
I think people will be disappointed if they pass on him. It seems too obvious he'll be a productive player. No reason he can't have at least Dejuan Blair's impact in this league with more defense.
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well it sounds like Sullinger is going back for sure, but I agree on the rest of your post, especially on Leonard. Good player, but needs more work. Could be a Gerald Wallace with a little bit of a shot
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I'm watching the NIT Final Four and they commentators say the Pistons are scouting Klay Thompson from Washington St and Alec Burk from Colorado. Both are SGs who can light it up.
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[QUOTE=idizzle]I'm watching the NIT Final Four and they commentators say the Pistons are scouting Klay Thompson from Washington St and Alec Burk from Colorado. Both are SGs who can light it up.[/QUOTE]
Pretty interesting they'd take special note of that, seems like there would be a lot of scouts there. NBADraft.net has Alec Burks going 5th overall nowadays.
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We need to take the best player available regardless of position. We have guys who can play multiple positions right now so moving someone from PG to SG or from C to PF isn't a big deal. We need the best available player.
The Morris brothers should not be lottery picks. I'd be very upset if we took either of them.
I'm not sold on Kanter. Even Calipari said he wasn't as good as what Cousins was when he went there. It's so hard to judge him based on the fact that he didn't play in college this year too. I have to believe a guy that would've coached him.
With that said, I'm not really sold on any of these European big men that are all supposed to be lottery picks. At least one of them is going to be the next Darko, if not two of them. In Darko's defense, he has gotten better but with a fairly high lottery pick like Detroit will have this year I'm not looking for a guy who can only start on a handfull of teams. I want a solid starter that has the potential to be a star.
Sullinger we can quit talking about because he's not even in the draft and if he was he'd be too high of a pick for us.
I think there's a couple of guys who could go anywhere from 3-8 and could potentially fall to where the Pistons will be selecting.... Perry Jones and Harrison Barnes. I think these two guys (besides Irving) have the most star potential in the draft. They also could end up being mediocre. They are a gamble that will either end up really good or just role players. With as weak as this years draft is I think that's a gamble that needs to be taken. I don't like the way Barnes was used at UNC and actually think he'll fit much better into the NBA game. He started out the season slow but actually conformed to the system there where he was mainly used as just an outside shooter and started to do well with it. That tells me he's smart enough to fit in anywhere. I think Jones is a freakish athlete that will probably be more of a SF in the NBA. He could be a McGrady like scorer (pre-injury) if he works hard enough.
I'd also be fine with drafting Kemba Walker. He's probably the best player I've seen at UCONN and they've put plenty of guys in the NBA. He's not a pure PG but he is a scorer that can create his own shot and doesn't back down from a challenge. Detroit doesn't have anybody besides Stuckey who can create for himself. They really need another explosive scorer. I'd be fine with Stuckey moving to SG for a guy like Walker to start at PG. Maybe we could even trade BG at that point. If we could bring in another 1st round draft pick it would help out Detroit tremendously.
I'd also be happy with Jimmer (even though people don't think he's worth a pick that high). Again, he's an explosive scorer and a great shooter. I think he has the size and toughness to excel in the NBA at PG. The thing with him is not only did he score well but he made the people around him better. He still dished out a fair amount of assists too. I think his game is going to translate to the NBA better than most do. He's kind of like what Steph Curry was his last season in college. Most didn't think he'd be that good in the leauge.... I think he's proved them wrong.
John Henson is an interesting pick. He kind of reminds me of Austin Daye though. Daye is actually bigger. Henson will definitely need to put on a lot of size. He's a huge project. He showed signs of being a decent rebounder but I'm not sold yet. I'd say pass on him for what our team needs. Daye is further along than he is and is a better scorer.
Some think we might end up with Brandon Knight too. Again he's not a pure PG either. He was more of a scorer. I like his size and like I did mention above we do need another scorer. I wouldn't be upset if we ended up with him.
A lot of people think we might end up with Jujuan Johnson out of Purdue in the 2nd round too. I'd be elated if that happened. I think for a 2nd rounder he has a good chance of making it in the NBA. I thought he did a spectacular job for Purdue this year. He could still add another 10-15 pounds and probably will. The thing I like about him is he rebounds well and blocks shots. Those are numbers that always translate from the college game to the NBA. He's not limited offensively either. It kind of makes me wonder why he's not projected as a late 1st rounder....
We never know..... Joe D could be looking to move up in this draft too. We need to see exactly where everyone will be picking. This year it might be easier to move up since right now people are saying this isn't a good draft. While overall it is somewhat weak there still are some really good players to be had in the lottery. Detroit isn't going to land FA's. I know we all think of it as a great destination but the fact of the matter is they will need to hire a new head coach, haven't won in a couple years, and the city has really got a bad reputation in the press. I can't remember the last time a star FA signed in Detroit. BG and Charlie don't count, Webber was at the end of his career, Sheed was traded for..... I think the only way we're going to get better is through a trade and/or the draft. Besides we won't really have much money this year anyhow. I think if we can resign Stuckey (and maybe T-Mac) and make a good move in the draft it will greatly help things out. Prince could be on his way out still. I know Joe D said he wanted to keep him but I'm not sold on the fact that Prince wants to stay yet. Let's try to get as high of a pick as we can and get the best player available regardless of position.
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I agree that we need to kind of ignore position. I probably wouldn't take the Morris twins in the lottery either, though I'd start thinking about Markieff at the end of the lottery. I just don't know Marcus' position.
I'd take the chance on Kanter probably. No, he's not as good as Cousins, but he's better at certain things and a better fit. He's not a headcase and he's physical and a good defender, which Cousins is not. While Kanter is skilled, he'll never be the elite scoring big Cousins will be if he lasts in the league. He'd be a great pair with Monroe up front and there just aren't enough good bigs in this draft to pass on one of his talent, considering our position.
Draft Kemba and trade him to Philly for Jrue Holliday(we'll include more probably)? I've always coveted Holliday and I don't think he fits in Philly's future plans. Put Kemba with a guy like Turner who can run the piont and I think you have something really dangerous.
I'd rather not tough Henson or Knight. I'm not big on combo guards and I don't know what Henson can play at this level. He's a backup big, energy off the bench I think. He can't start for the type of team I'd like to build.
Screwy as he is, it'd be too hard to pass on Perry Jones. he and Daye would be an interesting combo at the F spots and occasionally the 2/3
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If I knew for sure Kanter would be a great defender and rebounder I'd draft him ahead of any of the other players I talked about. I don't need my C to be a great scorer, especially when you have a guy like Monroe who will probably end up getting about 20ppg. I need my C to be a guy to lock down the middle. I'm not certain Kanter is that guy yet. Maybe there will be some footage between now and draft time that can persuade me. The Europeans are so hard to judge because we never see them....
If we could get a guy like Jrue Holliday I'd do that too. I'm not sure Philly wants to trade him though. I really like his game though he hasn't progressed as much as I thought he would this year.
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This is looking like a very weak draft. No one really stands out that I'd like, regardless of need or potential.
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[QUOTE=DetroitPiston]This is looking like a very weak draft. No one really stands out that I'd like, regardless of need or potential.[/QUOTE]
There's always going to be some difference makers though. At the bottom of the 1st round and through the 2nd round it is weak. I think when people are saying it's weak they mean in depth. People also said the 2009 draft class was weak (outside of Griffin). Then we saw what guys like Evans, Curry, DeRozan, Jennings, Daye, Holiday, Lawson, Collison, Beubois, Jerebko, etc, etc, etc did for their teams. I think it's all about being smart and trying to get the best guy. There's a few people in this draft that will be stars. We just have to do our homework and try to nab one of them.
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[QUOTE=dd24]If I knew for sure Kanter would be a great defender and rebounder I'd draft him ahead of any of the other players I talked about. I don't need my C to be a great scorer, especially when you have a guy like Monroe who will probably end up getting about 20ppg. I need my C to be a guy to lock down the middle. I'm not certain Kanter is that guy yet. Maybe there will be some footage between now and draft time that can persuade me. The Europeans are so hard to judge because we never see them....
If we could get a guy like Jrue Holliday I'd do that too. I'm not sure Philly wants to trade him though. I really like his game though he hasn't progressed as much as I thought he would this year.[/QUOTE]
i think its been hard on Jrue because they take the ball out of his hands a lot. He has the size, shooting, defense and ability to run an offense that we want in our PGs though. He could be another Chauncey type IMO. i don't know what we could give for him though.
Nobody knows for sure if Kanter can be a great defender/rebounder, but I think we are in position to take that gamble. We don't need perimeter guys and there are no other defensive Centers in the draft. Kanter has size,physicality,skill and great BB IQ. Not much tape,but he's practiced against Kentucky's talented team and has always done well when he's played over in Euorpe, at the Nike thing etc. It depends on the situation, but I think we would be hard pressed to pass and that's not because I think Kanter is a sure thing or anything like that.
I could see a scenario where he falls to 7 too, especially if Kemba moves up, which I can see at this point honestly. Irving,Williams,Valanciunas,Vessely,Walker,Burks,Jones and Montejunias and maybe another guy or 2 like Jimmer,Knight or T.Jones all have potential to go ahead of us. odds are it doesn't play out that way, but who knows.
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[QUOTE=dd24]There's always going to be some difference makers though. At the bottom of the 1st round and through the 2nd round it is weak. I think when people are saying it's weak they mean in depth. People also said the 2009 draft class was weak (outside of Griffin). Then we saw what guys like Evans, Curry, DeRozan, Jennings, Daye, Holiday, Lawson, Collison, Beubois, Jerebko, etc, etc, etc did for their teams. I think it's all about being smart and trying to get the best guy. There's a few people in this draft that will be stars. We just have to do our homework and try to nab one of them.[/QUOTE]
its rare in the NBA, but I'd love to trade down for 2 guys. Gimme Faried and Darius Morris or something like that. Probably not those 2, but I'd love for Faried to be one of them.
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[QUOTE=Nastradamus]its rare in the NBA, but I'd love to trade down for 2 guys. Gimme Faried and Darius Morris or something like that. Probably not those 2, but I'd love for Faried to be one of them.[/QUOTE]
I think in a draft like this you have to trade up. This draft isn't deep enough to trade down. I like Faried, but not enough to trade down for him. We need a potential superstar player. We have none on this team right now. If we were able to move up into the top 3 we'd have a much better chance. Honestly, I like what the Cavs did by getting another lottery pick this year. If they end up getting the top pick and say something like #10 they'll have some nice pieces to build around. They might even be ahead of us at that point. They realize nobody wants to play in Cleveland so they're going to have to draft them :). I think it's the smart thing for teams who aren't Miami, NY, or LA to do.... In order for us to get better we really need to grab one of the stars of this draft, regardless of position. Then hopefully we could trade off what we don't need for players we could use (or expirers) and hopefully more picks down the road.
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Well i think trading up might be tough. What do we give? I also think there wont' be a potential superstar available at the 7 area. If someone grades out well, then things change. I'm not saying trading down is my #1 choice, but I could see it being a good idea depending on the situation.
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[QUOTE=Nastradamus]Well i think trading up might be tough. What do we give? I also think there wont' be a potential superstar available at the 7 area. If someone grades out well, then things change. I'm not saying trading down is my #1 choice, but I could see it being a good idea depending on the situation.[/QUOTE]
First we have to hope there's a new CBA reached otherwise the NBA draft will be like the NFL draft where we won't see players getting traded. The Pistons have assets they are willing to move. I could see a Prince sign and trade happening. If he's going to walk they're going to try to get something for him. I think Joe D will also do his best to move Rip. If Ben Wallace decides to retire they could also move his expiring contract. We could all cross our fingers that BG was moved :lol
It will be tough to get another high level player at 7 again. First we need to see where the balls end up. Maybe we luck out and end up with a really high pick anyway. More than likely that won't happen but we can only hope. It's not like the team with the worst record typically gets the #1 pick. That's how the Wizards got Wall last year.... I don't think the Cavs are a lock for the #1 pick. They're the most likely but that doesn't mean it will happen. If we did somehow end up at #7 (again), there are a few guys that I think might fall and and end up like Monroe for us. I see Perry Jones and Harrison Barnes as guys that might be like that. They have really high ceilings, but people might shy away because they have the potential to be mediocre too. I'd be willing to take the risk.
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Certainly a lot depends on the CBA and who we are able to trade. If Prince,Rip and TMac are all gone, we may end up needing another SG/SF or 2. If we trade Rip for a PG or PF it will change our plans and so on.
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[QUOTE=Nastradamus]Certainly a lot depends on the CBA and who we are able to trade. If Prince,Rip and TMac are all gone, we may end up needing another SG/SF or 2. If we trade Rip for a PG or PF it will change our plans and so on.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, right now we really don't have a huge need but that might change with a trade or free agency. Though I still think this draft is more about getting the best available guy.
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I would have never guessed so many people would make the decision to stay in college another year. This is officially a really bad draft. I can see a lot of lottery teams trying to trade down now. Perry Jones just announced he was returning to Baylor.... It doesn't make much sense because he would have likely been a top 5 pick and Baylor's top recruit coming in plays a similiar game to his. With Barnes seeming like he won't be entering the draft either and Sullinger officially staying it makes drafting 7th look pretty bad this year. Kanter will likely be a top 5 pick now, which he probably shouldn't be. I think it means we'll probably end up with Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker now. I wasn't for trading down when I originally thought all of these players would have been smart enough to come out rather than wait until next year where they probably won't get drafted as high because it's a deeper draft. Now I'm thinking the best option might not just be to move down but maybe totally out of the first round. I guess nobody likes the thought of potentially getting drafted by Cleveland or Minnesota :lol
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So many people staying, probably the smart move for the kids, not knowing what will happen next year with a lock out.
I'm drinking the Kool Aid at this point, I've fallen in love with a guy I hadn't heard of several days ago. I think most of it comes from me wanting to shout his name.... BIYOMBOOOOOOOOOO
The novelty will probably wear off by the end of the week though...
There is a nice highlight video here from the nike hoops summit: [URL="http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/04/bismack_biyombo_sets_records_w.html"]http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/04/bismack_biyombo_sets_records_w.html[/URL]
Kemba or Knight would be alright, just a little disappointing because hopefully we won't be picking in the top 10 for much longer. Maybe Kahn will trade us 'sota's 2012 pick so they can pick both of them :)
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Well I think Kemba and Knight are probalby the 2 least likely guys we would draft but that's just me. I think I want Vessely or Biyombo(sleeper). That Biyombo kid is blowing me away lately. He's from the Congo if you haven't heard of him. He just dominated the Nike Hoops summit. About 6'9, NBA body, about 5' more of a wingspan than Monroe though. Extremely intense and athletic on defense. Lots of Ben Wallace comparisons, more than Faried even as he is more athletic and more of a shot blocker. Huge gamble, but aren't we in position to do something like that at 7 rather than take some safe combo guard who won't help us win?
Vessely is like another AK 47 and he and Daye would make for an interesting forward combo. 2 6'11 guys at F would help you cover a lot of ground
Perry Jones wasn't ready. Smart move. He needs to learn what position he'll play and generally how to use that talent
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I think there's a chance that Vesely could fall to us, but I actually think his stock is going up and he could get drafted before we have a chance to pick him. With that said, I'm not completely sold on him yet either. Although, I think he does have the best highlight films of all the European prospects including Kanter. I think there's more "upside and potential" with Vesely than the other Europeans. Some people have him projected as high as #3 now.... (which really shows how bad this draft has become over the last few weeks).
The person I really don't want is Donatas Motiejunas. I've been doing some searching around on all the European guys and he is the one that really looks like he could be a bust. There was one of his highlight films that really didn't even show him playing basketball.... That tells me he doesn't have the experience or a good enough game. If you can't even put together a good highlight film there's a problem. Even high schoolers can do that.
We need to think about this... Williams and Irving are obviously going 1 and 2. There's nothing really left after that. So you know Kanter will end up getting drafted, probably Jan Vesely, and someone will more than likely be dumb enough to grab Donatas Motiejunas. That's still only 5 picks (and I'm not saying that's 1-5 in any order). So that really only leaves guys like Walker, Knight, and Jonas Valanciunas. One of the Morris twins will probably sneak up a little higher too (of which I hope we don't draft either).
I watched the Nike Hoop Summit this past Saturday night. Sure Biyombo had a nice game. I wasn't that impressed with the international team. They actually had a ton more size than the US team. The US team was going to have a tough time inside any way around it. They only had that one guy who was a legit big man. Everybody else was pretty under sized playing out of position. I'm not going to say I'm sold on him because of one game. He did some decent things in Europe. Rebounding is one thing that always translates when heading to the NBA and so is shot blocking. He could be a liablility on offense. He definitely has a lot to learn yet. If Kanter somehow dropped (since some think Valanciunas might go before him) I'd take him first.
Overall I'm still kind of up in the air with who I want with the draft. :confusedshrug: I'm not overly excited with anyone, anymore.
What is everyone's thoughts on the 2nd round? If JuJuan Johnson doesn't get picked up I'd love to take a chance on him. Other than that I was actually thinking about Shelvin Mack or Darius Morris. I like big PG's and I think they have a chance. Plus I kind of like the idea of just stacking up on a whole bunch of the same position in the 2nd round (last year we had White), because we all know most 2nd rounders don't typically make it in the league. At least with drafting 2 or 3 guys at the same position in the 2nd round there's the hope that at least one of them is a guy who will make the rotation. There's also Jeremy Tyler (if anyone has ever heard about him). He's the big kid from San Diego that decided to skip college and go pro overseas. He was projected to be a lottery pick and then had a tough time adjusting as a 17/18 year old over there and just didn't fit in so his stock fell. I actually think he might be worth a gamble. Some mock drafts have him at the end of the 1st round, some have him at the very end of the 2nd round.
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I'm not a fan of Mack at all. I do like Morris as I've mentioned though and I'd love to take the gamble on Tyler and his talent. Why not with 2 2nd rounders and a dearth of talent up front.
Unless the contract situation becomes an issue, Valanciunas is definitely going before Montejunias. You seemed to have it backwards, not sure if it was an accident or not though.
It'll be interesting to see if anyone will move up after workouts and such.
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The other thing we need to keep in mind is there will probably be some trades before July 1st. That's when the players can lock out because of the CBA and owners will be looking to make moves before that date potentially. I think we could see Joe D finally make some moves. He could package our pick with Rip, BG, or Tay (in a sign and trade). If it brings in a really good player I wouldn't be upset with that, since it's going to be much more difficult to find a good player if we end up at #7.... I guess we'll find out May 17th.
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[QUOTE]If the Cavs have interest in Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight (6-foot-3, 170 pounds)
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I don't see us taking a PG any way or any how. Fredette is a Ben Gordon clone more than a Stephen Curry clone and Knight isn't enough value at 7. I think we need a PF too much to avoid one this draft, when a decent PF will be available most likely IMO.
OTOH, it depends on how guys like Knight and Walker test out. How does their athleticism look at the combine, how is their shooting stroke,work ethic, basketball IQ, measurements etc.? Scoring PGs are becoming the way of the league lately, so its possible we may look at one I suppose, if they look like a true All Star caliber player. I highly doubt Kemba or Knight ends up better than Stuckey though. I like Stuckey's size better and they are all similar as scorers really. Stuckey's probably the best defender in the bunch and seems like he may have figured out the PG position finallly, at least a little. It took Chauncey quite a while too.
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Trust me, I agree. I'm not one of the people who wanted to take a PG. If we do take one I hope it's Knight or Fredette. I've been a Stuckey supporter at PG all along. He put up good numbers this year. The only thing I can think is management must think having Jerebko next to Monroe is better than the other big guys they could draft.... Or maybe they don't have any intention of matching an offer for Stuckey???
I've read up quite a bit on Vesely and he seems like he's pretty legit. I think if he's still available wherever we're picking at Joe D will have a hard time not drafting him. The problem is he's more than likely going to be gone at #7. I like Knights size and athleticism. He put together a pretty good tournament too. He seems like he'll be good at the next level. If we ended up with him I wouldn't be totally disappointed. It's tough to figure this draft class out.
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I'm in the boat that DOES want a PG. The problem is, I don't want these PGs. All of these guys (to me) seem like guys who will play the one, just because they're too short to play the two. I'd want a true PG.
It's hard to find quality bigs. While we're picking in the lottery, I'd like to take as many 4's and 5's as possible. As bad as we've been the last two years, we're really not too far away from being at least a low playoff seed. At that point, it's easier to acquire serviceable guards than it is big guys.
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agreed Kombo. I want to stock up on big man talent. However, I would take a PG if there was a good true PG available. I don't see it though. It'd probably have to be a trade for someone like Rubio. Paul is probably a pipedream as we lack ammo.
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Re: Piston draft prospects
I don't see the Pistons being able to get Rubio. If he doesn't want to go to Minnesota why would he go to Detroit? Initially he wanted to get traded to a big market like NY, LA, etc. Now he's said he wants to play in Minnesota. I think that means Flynn will get traded but at this point there's no indication Rubio would be traded. Also there's nothing that says he's going to be great. Didn't he just have a mediocre season this year?
I think we really need to see where we're going to be drafting. I'm having a hard time putting my finger on exactly who we should go for without knowing that. We may be in a spot where we can't go after a decent big man. It might be something where we just have to go after the best player available regardless of position.
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Re: Piston draft prospects
PistonS looking at getting a PG
[url]http://www.freep.com/article/20110510/SPORTS03/105100409/Pistons-draft-pick-trickier-than-usual-after-withdrawals[/url]
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Re: Piston draft prospects
Yup, Knights name seems to be one that keeps coming up with the Pistons and the draft. I just don't think he'll be available at #7 necessarily. I've seen mock drafts where he's still there but it's slim.
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Re: Piston draft prospects
Knight woudl be interesting but its not what I'd really prefer at this point. There are a lot of PFs in this draft that would fit next to Monroe and at least one of them should be there at 7. Especially if Knight and/or Kemba goes top 6. I want one of Biyombo,Vessely,Kanter or Thompson I think. I would have considered Terrence Jones probably too, though he's a huge risk type. Probably a little too high for Markieff Morris or Faried.
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Re: Piston draft prospects
I'd take Kanter of Vessely if they dropped to us. I think they might go earlier too.... Biyombo is a huge risk. There's potential there because he is 18 but he's really only had that one good game that got people excited. I need to see more. Hopefully there will be some predraft workout stuff with him. I feel like there's at least a guy or two in every draft like Thompson. I wouldn't be too excited if we picked him up. I think Joe D is thinking Jerebko is the starter next year at PF. If Kanter or Vessely drops I'm sure he'd take them but other than that I think he's looking at Knight right now. I think he might be a very very good player in this league. Like I said before I wanted to go a different route than this too. Now that we've officially seen so many guys pull out of the draft this might be what we have to do. It makes it really hard for the bottom teams to get better this year.
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Re: Piston draft prospects
If you stay put at 7 I would go after Brandon Knight the PG from Kentucky if he is not available I would reach for Klay Thompson SG Washington St. or Jordan Hamilton, Move Austin Daye to the 3 because he will NEVER be a 4 or a 2 and pray that Rodney Stuckey can finally put the sh*t together !! I would go BUT I don't know if he lasts unless you get one of the Lottery Top 3 picks. If you get Top 3 the obvious choices are PG Kyrie Irving, SF/PF Derrick Williams and PF/C Enes Kanter. PF/C Bismack Biyombo is about as big of a boom or bust prospect there is some say he can become a Serge Ibaka type player or he might just be nothing more than a hustle player
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Re: Piston draft prospects
DD I think you are being a little hard on Thompson first of all. Seems like he has the makings of a top flight starting PF for me.
Jerebko may start at the 4(though start is a term I'd use loosely if that is in fact the case), but ideally he competes with Daye at the 3(and maybe TMac or something) and basically split time at the F spots, providing energy and a matchup edge where its needed.
We need a legit 4 to start next to Monroe. A Monroe/JJ frontcourt isn't going to take you to contention. We need an athletic defender who can not only block shots, but cover ground against the pick and roll and the like. If not a great athlete, he needs to be a strong post presense offensively and defensively.
A guy like Biyombo is a HUGE gamble. No argument here. However, his [I]ceiling[/I], is exactly the player we need. He might not be 100% ideal, but you don't get a chance at a player like him at 7 if he is fully developed, so there is your catch 22.
This is what our board is going to look like to some degree. In some manner, at 7(to 9), we're going to get a solid player. It will depend on not only our preference, but the preference of those in front of us.
Kyrie Irving
Derrick Williams
Enes Kanter
Jan Vessely
Biyombo
Thompson
Knight/Walker
Montejunias/Valanciunas
I believe at least one if not 2 of the last 4 will go in front of us. Burks and/or Thompson also has a shot to jump our pick if someone needs a SG. Burks shows a lot of potential at this level. Someone could even fall in love with Jimmer, as Ben Gordon, the most similar comparison, went top 5 I believe.
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Re: Piston draft prospects
Here's also what I'm thinking (in regards to a big man). This year this is who's available (and worth taking a look at potentially):
Glen Davis
Tyson Chandler
Nene Hilario
Yao Ming
Deandre Jordan
David West
Samuel Dalembert
Hopefully nobody mentions Fesenko! I still think that's a bad idea. In a season where Utah needed a C like crazy the guy still couldn't crack the lineup. He doesn't have the heart and is never in shape.
2012:
Javale McGee
Kevin Love
Anthony Randolph
Andrew Bynum
Roy Hibbert
Kevin Garnett
To get a player like Knight and then go after another big man could be worth it too. Or whomever might become available through a trade too. There's a lot of people who think the Kings or Jazz are going to take Knight & Walker. The Jazz don't make sense to me because they have Devin Harris who is a very good PG. The Kings could potentially but there's a few holes they could try to plug too.
As far as my list of guy to go after it's similiar but not the same:
Kyrie Irving
Derrick Williams
Enes Kanter
Jan Vessely
Brandon Knight
Jonas Valanciunas
Kemba Walker
Alec Burks
Bismack Biyombo
Jordan Hamilton
Jimmer Fredette
Kenneth Faried
Tristan Thompson
Here's my thing with Thompson.... some list him at 6'8" and other list him at 6'9". Either way it's a touch short for a PF. 6'9" PF's are available in every draft and every one of those guys has "potential". I do like that he rebounds and plays defense well because those are things that do translate to the NBA. He's just a really bad shooter and doesn't have any offensive game outside the block. What makes it worse is he's such a bad free throw shooter than I don't expect him to ever really have a good midrange game. Right now the Pistons desperately lack a 2nd scoring option behind Stuckey. Stuckey is the only guy who can create his own shot. We'll see more from Monroe as time goes on but he doesn't create at this point. I want a guy with more scoring potential. The only reason he could possibly crack the top 10 is because so many people pulled out of the draft. I think he really could end up being a bust.
The other thing is I really am hoping a guy like Jujuan Johnson or Jeremy Tyler falls to us in the 2nd round. I would rather gamble on the potential there. I really think we need to just try to grab the best player available with this pick since things are so slim this year.
Also, Jerebko really is more of a PF and from everything Joe D has been saying is it sounds like he's going to try to match whatever offer he gets and bring him back to play that specific position. He's 2 inches taller and weighs about 10 pounds more than Thompson. I think Daye will ultimately be the SF, though if we resign T-Mac there's the possibility he could be there too. Of course this is all based on us thinking Tay is going to leave. If Tay stays we know one of the younger pieces will probably be moved with Rip.
I think Burks is a guy who should be top 7 too. He's a guy that can score and it seems like it will translate to the NBA. I would think a team like Utah would really want him in their back court with Harris. If he dropped to us at 7 and the other bigs were taken I wouldn't mind picking him. At that point they could have a fire sale on BG and put him and Stuckey in the back court. At least we'd be set back there. We have to remember, not only do we need another big man..... we also need another guard. Stuckey is the only guard we have on the roster worthy of starting (besides T-Mac but that's not a long term solution and he can only play so many minutes). There's a reason Detroit has been experimenting with Daye at SG.... it's because we really need help in the back court too and his game is the one that's versatile enough to play that many positions.
I've got Biyombo up there on my list. He's the guy I could handle taking a gamble on. If we really needed to that is. Most of those project type guys just don't make it in the league.
I do have a high standard for a top 7 pick. Not all of them are all-stars and I realize this. But looking back on about the last 4 drafts teams have been so much smarter with their scouting. There isn't a top 7 pick who could really be considered a total bust. They're all solid players in the NBA. I think the exception could be 2006 with Adam Morrison but I don't really consider him a bust. He was a solid scorer in the league who ended up with a really bad injury. I think some might argue Evan Turner last year but I think he's still going to end up being a solid player. 2008 everybody was solid. Even 2007 with Greg Oden I don't see him ending up as a bust. Injuries have got the best of him so far but when he was healthy and playing he was pretty good. I think we'll actually see him back healthy next year.
In all I guess there's a lot of questions to be answered, lol. I guess the first one will be answered shortly, May 17th. Once we know where we're picking (and everyone else) it will help clear up some of this.