When I look at the Pacers roster I instantly think they need a good big man. They have a great bunch of shooters, but without that bigman in the middle they will still be in the late lottery. That being said, its DeJuan Blair right here and there isnt a question. He will give them that strength and force they need, and hopefully he also develops well in the NBA and doesnt end up a bust.
Count:
Jrue Holiday- 6
DeJuan Blair- 3
Last edited by Posterize246 : 06-16-2009 at 02:41 PM.
Is nobody going to draft Jrue Holiday because he's the unknown or because his college production was low? In that case we shouldn't have drafted Jennings, Rubio, Derozan (6 threes made as a wing), and soon to be Mullens.
I'm picking Holiday here. I'm sure whoever InspiredLebowski picks is the best pick. But from what I hear it doesn't sound like the Pacers are counting on Ford/Jack being a part of their future as well as Marquis Daniels. I think Travis Diener has a player option for this year, don't know if he's picked it up or not. And everyone knows about the Jamal Tinsley saga.
Terrence Williams is also a guy I like here. I'll pass on DeJuan Blair since what he's going to bring to a team is strong rebounding and Indy was 2nd in the league in rebounding last year.
Jrue Holiday. TJ Ford is going to be traded, I'd bet money on it. Daniels is definitely gone, picking up the team option would put us into the tax (not happening). Diener's Travis Diener. Indy has no capable perimeter defender at all (Jarrett Jack was often defending the best wing if that tells you anything), Blair would be a bad fit on either side of the ball with Hibbert/Murphy (talk about slow footed), a kid with upside as high as most anyone in the draft is too much to pass up at the back end of the lotto in a weak draft.
I like T-Will a lot, if Holiday were off the board I'd love to take him, but for whatever reason (poor shooting I guess) Indy's shown no interest in him. Another guy that makes a lot of sense is James Johnson, but he seems a lot more interested in playing nothing but the wing.
Last edited by InspiredLebowski : 06-16-2009 at 11:49 AM.
Hey Inspired, looks like you could be right about a Donnie Walsh smokescreen. There's an article in the NY Post about just that and the Knicks really in love with Jordan Hill.
Hey Inspired, looks like you could be right about a Donnie Walsh smokescreen. There's an article in the NY Post about just that and the Knicks really in love with Jordan Hill.
Certainly wouldn't surprise me in the least. I've been reading reports that the Warriors are in complete disarray, something about Nellie and their new GM (something Riley) making a trip to MS to talk with Ellis because he's pissed about them potentially taking a 1. Guys all over the board refusing to work out for them.
I'll go with Jrue Holiday, even though I think he is highly overrated. I don't quite understand how a freshman combo guard who is only 6'3, has basically never played PG, and only averaged 8.5 ppg, is now considered a lottery pick. I would need to see at least one season of him as the go-to-guy and point man for UCLA before I would be willing to take him this high.
But Indy fans seem to want him, even though he won't ready to contribute for years, if ever. So I say give him to them. It's not like Dejuan Blair is going to be very valuable to them anyways, he's really just a monster-rebounding 6'6 back-up center when it comes down to it. They have enough solid role-players, they need to start aiming for talent. And I suppose if Jrue really does have all this "upside", this could look like a very good pick in 2 or 3 years, if the kid is in fact capable of learning how to play PG.
ISH Mock Draft - #13 Overall -Indiana Pacers
