Not So Fast MJfan02!
editor's note: After seeing my original big board, HeBeatsMe decided that he needed to to break his silence and post his rebuttal in the form of his initial entry to the HoopsFanCentral blog. Below are his thoughts, so take a moment and help me welcome HeBeatsMe as Editor #2 for HoopsFanCentral.
OK, so a few of these guys I am unsure whether they are still in the draft … I don’t have ESPN Insider, so I can only see Ford’s top 20: and BTW, my board looks pretty different from Ford's… which bodes well for me ;)
Wolves Board:
1. Blake Griffin- The one position the Wolves don't need, but too good to pass up
2. Ricky Rubio- Fills a huge need, as well as compliments Randy Foye in terms of size and skill set, big time play making ability, cat like reflexes, shifty fast, and plays with a passion
3. Hasheem Thabeet- Fills a need of being a defensive, legit center despite being a project; compliments Jefferson nicely
4. Stephen Curry- shifty quick, and an incredible scorer with unbelievable competitiveness. More of a scorer than floor general, but could become Tony Parker like
5. Brandon Jennings- Maybe the most upside potential outside of Rubio in this class of point guards, however if he can not develop his jump shot, could become Sebastian Telfair part deux
6. DeMar DeRozan- Doesn't fill the biggest need with Foye, Miller, Brewer, and possibly Carney all playing minutes at this spot, but Miller won't be here for long, Foye could be better suited to a Ben Gordon/Jason Terry 6th man role, and DeRozan could be that excellent scoring playmaker that Wolves fans coveted in OJ Mayo
7. James Harden- Ditto on Harden... Harden may actually be the smarter/safer pick, but DeRozan, if he pans out, is more of the Home Run swing. Both are intruiging even if they don't fill a need. Harden might make more sense if you think Foye should still be a starter, he can set guys up as well as take over offensively, so not having a true point guard on the floor may not hurt you when you have two guards like Harden and Foye on the floor
8. Jordan Hill- Again plays the one position that the Wolves are stacked in, power forward. Hill does do some things well that neither Big Al, Kevin Love or Craig Smith does... still I would be disappointed if the Wolves took Hill without having a plan to move someone else.
9. Earl Clark- Small Forward is an interesting position for the Wolves. On the one hand, they drafted their small forward of the future in Corey Brewer, but Brewer doesn't have the girth to play big minutes at the 3, and will likely play both wing positions, and that's if he even becomes a competent starter. Mike Miller plays a lot of the 2, but I like him better at the 3, still not a long term fit, and then you have Ryan Gomes. Gomes is a very good bench player. He can be a spark, rarely hurts you, but really isn't an ideal starting small forward. Earl Clark could become that Danny Granger like player the Wolves should have nabbed instead of Rashad McCants. He's unselfish, smart, athletic, and he makes other guys better.
10. Ty Lawson- Small, but very strong point guard with very good speed, a solid shooting touch, and improved his game a ton this year. He is the prototypical floor general, he looks to get his teammates going first, but won't hesitate to pull up and start hitting jumpers when the team needs him to. Defense could be a struggle at the NBA level, especially with his lack of ideal size.
11. Nick Calathes- Everything I read about this kid, I love. Big point guard, devastating playmaker, cool and calm under pressure, guy who is motivated by making his teammates better. Its my ideal mindset for a NBA point guard.
12. Eric Maynor- Another smart, playmaking point guard, with great size, a nice mid range game, and is fearless at attacking the basket.
13. Tyreke Evans- Impressive scorer with a great understanding of the offensive game. Good shooting distance, just a silky smooth beast on offense. Maturity could be the issue, and he could be one of those guys that lives off his athleticism and God given ability and fails to add fundamentals to the overall game. See Green, Gerald.
14. James Johnson- A very solid small forward who I actually think has a better shot as a starter on the Wolves roster than Ellington within 2 years. I see him as a slightly better version of Ryan Gomes (which is nothing to sneeze at)
15. Jrue Holliday- More of a combo guard than a point guard, but has an excellent all around game. Can he be a better starting point guard than what the Wolves have in Randy Foye if they switched him back yet again? That's the question, and the reason why value combo guards far less.
16. Jeff Teague- If Curry doesn't look like Tony Parker (and I am in the minority in thinking so) Teague certainly could. An explosive, quick, aggressive minded point guard who loves to pepper defenses with his tenacity on the offensive end. Again, not the playmaker who gets his teammates involved, but you do have to love his aggressiveness on offense.
17. Derrick Brown- Another 3 with great size, and a solid all around package to offer. Very similar to where I project James Johnson to be, but I see him more as a solid contributor off the bench than an every night starter.
18. Gerald Henderson- If Henderson was 3 inches taller, I would have him in the top 10 for sure. At maybe 6' 4", he is sort of Randy Foye's clone, maybe could become a better defensive player than Foye, but tough to assume he will do anything else better at the NBA level. Will make some other team really happy, probably several picks higher.
19. Wayne Ellington- An excellent scorer, with a deadly jumper. His lack of size, and the fact he sort of replicates what other Wolves players can do make him less than ideal, but at 19, you have to consider him as a long term replacement to Mike Miller. I just wouldn't be confident that I upgraded my starting roster at any time in the future on this pick alone.
20. Chase Budinger- A tremendous athlete that can play both the 2 and 3. Good shooting ability, tough rebounder, can take over offensively. Will struggle on defense at the NBA level, but could be the yin to Brewer's yang.
21. Jonny Flynn- What Calathes is, Flynn is not. Flynn is small, explosive, and a dynamite scorer. He gets rattled under pressure, over dribbles, makes silly turnovers trying to do too much. But he can score in bunches, and is lightning quick.
Guys you hope fall to 28 in the 1st round:
* BJ Mullens- A big bodied center, with a very solid all-around game built on fundamentals. Slightly better on offense than defense, but still could compliment Al Jefferson well.
OK, so a few of these guys I am unsure whether they are still in the draft … I don’t have ESPN Insider, so I can only see Ford’s top 20: and BTW, my board looks pretty different from Ford's… which bodes well for me ;)
Wolves Board:
1. Blake Griffin- The one position the Wolves don't need, but too good to pass up
2. Ricky Rubio- Fills a huge need, as well as compliments Randy Foye in terms of size and skill set, big time play making ability, cat like reflexes, shifty fast, and plays with a passion
3. Hasheem Thabeet- Fills a need of being a defensive, legit center despite being a project; compliments Jefferson nicely
4. Stephen Curry- shifty quick, and an incredible scorer with unbelievable competitiveness. More of a scorer than floor general, but could become Tony Parker like
5. Brandon Jennings- Maybe the most upside potential outside of Rubio in this class of point guards, however if he can not develop his jump shot, could become Sebastian Telfair part deux
6. DeMar DeRozan- Doesn't fill the biggest need with Foye, Miller, Brewer, and possibly Carney all playing minutes at this spot, but Miller won't be here for long, Foye could be better suited to a Ben Gordon/Jason Terry 6th man role, and DeRozan could be that excellent scoring playmaker that Wolves fans coveted in OJ Mayo
7. James Harden- Ditto on Harden... Harden may actually be the smarter/safer pick, but DeRozan, if he pans out, is more of the Home Run swing. Both are intruiging even if they don't fill a need. Harden might make more sense if you think Foye should still be a starter, he can set guys up as well as take over offensively, so not having a true point guard on the floor may not hurt you when you have two guards like Harden and Foye on the floor
8. Jordan Hill- Again plays the one position that the Wolves are stacked in, power forward. Hill does do some things well that neither Big Al, Kevin Love or Craig Smith does... still I would be disappointed if the Wolves took Hill without having a plan to move someone else.
9. Earl Clark- Small Forward is an interesting position for the Wolves. On the one hand, they drafted their small forward of the future in Corey Brewer, but Brewer doesn't have the girth to play big minutes at the 3, and will likely play both wing positions, and that's if he even becomes a competent starter. Mike Miller plays a lot of the 2, but I like him better at the 3, still not a long term fit, and then you have Ryan Gomes. Gomes is a very good bench player. He can be a spark, rarely hurts you, but really isn't an ideal starting small forward. Earl Clark could become that Danny Granger like player the Wolves should have nabbed instead of Rashad McCants. He's unselfish, smart, athletic, and he makes other guys better.
10. Ty Lawson- Small, but very strong point guard with very good speed, a solid shooting touch, and improved his game a ton this year. He is the prototypical floor general, he looks to get his teammates going first, but won't hesitate to pull up and start hitting jumpers when the team needs him to. Defense could be a struggle at the NBA level, especially with his lack of ideal size.
11. Nick Calathes- Everything I read about this kid, I love. Big point guard, devastating playmaker, cool and calm under pressure, guy who is motivated by making his teammates better. Its my ideal mindset for a NBA point guard.
12. Eric Maynor- Another smart, playmaking point guard, with great size, a nice mid range game, and is fearless at attacking the basket.
13. Tyreke Evans- Impressive scorer with a great understanding of the offensive game. Good shooting distance, just a silky smooth beast on offense. Maturity could be the issue, and he could be one of those guys that lives off his athleticism and God given ability and fails to add fundamentals to the overall game. See Green, Gerald.
14. James Johnson- A very solid small forward who I actually think has a better shot as a starter on the Wolves roster than Ellington within 2 years. I see him as a slightly better version of Ryan Gomes (which is nothing to sneeze at)
15. Jrue Holliday- More of a combo guard than a point guard, but has an excellent all around game. Can he be a better starting point guard than what the Wolves have in Randy Foye if they switched him back yet again? That's the question, and the reason why value combo guards far less.
16. Jeff Teague- If Curry doesn't look like Tony Parker (and I am in the minority in thinking so) Teague certainly could. An explosive, quick, aggressive minded point guard who loves to pepper defenses with his tenacity on the offensive end. Again, not the playmaker who gets his teammates involved, but you do have to love his aggressiveness on offense.
17. Derrick Brown- Another 3 with great size, and a solid all around package to offer. Very similar to where I project James Johnson to be, but I see him more as a solid contributor off the bench than an every night starter.
18. Gerald Henderson- If Henderson was 3 inches taller, I would have him in the top 10 for sure. At maybe 6' 4", he is sort of Randy Foye's clone, maybe could become a better defensive player than Foye, but tough to assume he will do anything else better at the NBA level. Will make some other team really happy, probably several picks higher.
19. Wayne Ellington- An excellent scorer, with a deadly jumper. His lack of size, and the fact he sort of replicates what other Wolves players can do make him less than ideal, but at 19, you have to consider him as a long term replacement to Mike Miller. I just wouldn't be confident that I upgraded my starting roster at any time in the future on this pick alone.
20. Chase Budinger- A tremendous athlete that can play both the 2 and 3. Good shooting ability, tough rebounder, can take over offensively. Will struggle on defense at the NBA level, but could be the yin to Brewer's yang.
21. Jonny Flynn- What Calathes is, Flynn is not. Flynn is small, explosive, and a dynamite scorer. He gets rattled under pressure, over dribbles, makes silly turnovers trying to do too much. But he can score in bunches, and is lightning quick.
Guys you hope fall to 28 in the 1st round:
* BJ Mullens- A big bodied center, with a very solid all-around game built on fundamentals. Slightly better on offense than defense, but still could compliment Al Jefferson well.
posted by MJfan02 at
7:41 AM
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