OT: NBA Draft Open Thread
is that Bilas is one of the instructors at one of the camps that all of the best NCAA players go to over the summer (I'm pretty sure it's the LBJ camp, but can't remember which one for sure). He's had personal experience coaching a lot of these kids, including Cousins, over the past couple of summers.
Actually a NBA fan and was being rather silly when I posted my earlier comments. I am offended that the NBA changed the game when Detroit was good, thus making the comment/ comparison to the WWE.
hope udoh goes to GS and take Monroe...i'd be ok with that
May be used for trade bait. As we currently stand we have at least four power forwards. Ben Wallace PF/C Jason Maxiel PF, Jonas Jerebko PF/SF, Charlie Villanueva PF, Chris Wilcox PF/C, and now Monroe PF/C. I gotta believe that their is a trade in the works and it is going to happen soon.
is a failure for the Pistons if Joe D doesn't come out with Demarcus. He needs to pull off a trade.
Seriously. How many times can ESPN play that trailer for that movie? I refuse to see it just based on that.
Oh, and nice pick by the Pistons.
I like the Greg Monroe pick too. I see everyone obsessed with Cousins and act like moving up is an automatic. Cousins is a potential head case.
I was just thinking the same thing. Unreal. Is their goal to piss people off? What guy watching the draft would want to see that anyway? Tom Cruise is junk.
Oh...there it is again. haha
I'm pretty sure that they've been playing 2 each and every commercial break. It's really ridiculous.
As a person who watches primarily Big East basketball and watched many Georgetown games this past season I can say that Monroe is solid. He has a very diverse game that, I predict, will ensure a long and solid professional career. He is an above average shooter and passer for a big man, he is also a very good rebounder. He is a very smart player and, most importantly for the Pistons, can score the ball efficiently from with his back to the basket. He is a threat to shoot, drive, or pass from the key or post and that will add a dimension that the Pistons have not had in a while. He can also block shots and is more physical than is given credit for and this facet of his game will only get better as he puts on more muscle in an NBA weight room. I believe he will prove to be a better pick than Cousins.
Monroe's passing will help Rip get open shots off screens and Tayshaun some open shots on the wing. Also, if they can make them, some open jump shots for Rodney up top and three's for Ben. Like I said, with Monroe's ability to score from different areas, unlike Ben or Maxiell, I think the offense could really open up. As far as stars are concerned, the Pistons drafted off need for a big man and the only, in my opinion, fairly sure fire star at the the C/PF position in this draft is Favors, and we weren't going to get him. As far as Monroe's physicality is concerned, it is something that we will see in time.
So anyone who can't block 5.5 shots a game in college is a poor shot blocker? Blocking shots is Whiteside's only skill - that's why he's a 2nd rounder.
Takes a passive approach to the game ... Rarely looks to dominate, choosing rather to take what comes to him and often defers to others. Lacks the killer instinct to bury his opponent ... Often times look disinterested in playing and appears he would rather be some place else ... Does not possess explosive athletic ability ... His quickness and leaping ability are ordinary by NBA standards ... Despite putting on weight, still has difficulty absorbing contact and finishing in traffic ... Adding bulk in the past has slowed him down and it's apparent he's not a player that can carry any additional weight comforably ... No true post game repertoire ... His footwork has improved but still needs significant advancements ... Very awkward and deliberate in the post ... Needs to improve his handle with his off (right) hand ... His face up game can be very predictable and he's prone to turnovers (2.6 per game) when shut off from his original move ... Jump shot consistency is a concern ... Has an extremely high arch on his shot ... Incorporation of a mid-range jumper would be beneficial to his growth ... Regression in free throw accuracy is alarming- dropping from 70% to 63% ... Does not display his passion for defense on a play in play out basis ... Could use an edginess to his game and get his hands dirty more often ...That's just one, in depth example, of what's echoed quite a bit. In harsh contrast what was written here. But it's not universal. There are some who like him. Michael Rosenberg was one, so that side has that going for it. I hope he's an All-Star. But I doubt it. And I see the team right back in the same spot next year...hoping for good ping pong balls.
Above average shooter and good rebounder? You are literally the first person I have heard say that. In fact I have heard him described by some as having a poor jumper and being a poor rebounder, even going so far to say as his rebounding numbers are awful for a projected center. He's unathletic, he takes plays off, and for being such a great passer with high basketball IQ, he turns the ball over A LOT.
Was he the best player available? Probably, which shows how god awful this draft is and why they should have lost more games or moved everything they could to trade up. Cousins was the absolute best case they could have ended up with here. Cousins can be a superstar, Monroe can't, and theres no chance cousins becomes mediocre. He either becomes amazing or completely flames out, which either gives the Pistons a superstar or gives them a chance to draft one.
Monroe averaged about 10 boards a game in a tough Big East. Also, his turnovers went up from his Fresh to Soph seasons because he was asked to do everything including being the main scoring and passing threat this last year with the loss of Jeff Green and a mediocre GTOWN team around him. In my opinion, he has the best mid-range jumpshooting game of any big man in the draft. He is not a bruiser and not a great shot blocker but has very refined footwork for such a young player. Cousins has a higher upside but for the first few years of his career he will be a energy guy that will block some shots and get some rebounds but he will have a hard time scoring in the NBA with his very raw offensive game.
even going so far to say as his rebounding numbers are awful for a projected center.
He was the 4th leading rebounder in the Big east, and 0.3 boards away from #2.
Dude is also 6-11 and 250. One of the biggest guys in the draft, and at least he's not Cole Aldrich. We really need some size and his passing will be a great thing to have. Cousins is too much of a risk, and besides, Sac drafted him. I'm happy with this pick given what was available.
You were negged because your post was full of assholery, not because you slagged a Georgetown player. Monroe was the best player available - how can you complain about the pick? You want Cousins? What the fuck was Joe supposed to do to GET Cousins.
Monroe was 1st team all big east (the best conferene in NCAA hoops last year) as a sophomore, and put up a 16/10/4/2 while shooting 52% (thats points/boards/assists/blocks). That's a very productive player. If you think passing from the post is an irrelevent skill in the NBA, you must not have watched any of the hundreds of effective three-point shooting teams in history.
...after having been a part of an orchestrated board meltdown just a couple days ago, I'll take that as a compliment.
And you must not have read the whole thread. Of which the ongoing point was that the Pistons needed star power, and not just the best player available productive piece. What was Joe supposed to do? His job, and quit hoping something falls in his lap miraculously, take some chances, and make something happen. There are only 3 ways to acquire talent in the NBA - you trade for them, which is super rare if it's a star (and usually only as a sign and trade); you sign them as a free agent; or you draft them. Joe's blown all three. The rare Kevin Garnett on the market he did get involved in...the least of his failures to be sure. He then wasted all his free agent money he gathered by dismantling the team on a good bench player, and a guy who shoots, but doesn't rebound or defend from the frontcourt. So he's out of any possibility of getting any of the stars that are available this year. Were they likely to come? Probably not, but since they're so hard to acquire, it would be worth the chance...certainly more valuable than what he overpaid for last year. Or you draft it...and if that's the route you're going to go, it's completely fair...but you have to put yourself in position to draft it. Which means either losing games, so you get the high pick (which they chose not to do, and missed out on the #1 or 2 they would have gotten with a couple more losses), or making a move to get one. What was he supposed to do to get Cousins? Well, being willing to trade Prince, who's past his prime, and was never as great as Joe felt he was IN his prime, would have been a good start. All trades seem to get at a sticking point when his name comes up.
What do I expect him to do? Something, anything, to acquire players to build around, not interchangeable pieces. Because he as a team missing the two most important positions on the floor, and everyone one else plays the other 3. And most of them not extremely well. I want him to have a plan, that follows one of the 3 I laid or, or some combo thereof. But the team doesn't seem to be trying any of the above, and that means continued bad teams, with bad contracts that you can't dig yourself out of; or worse, acquiring just enough talent to be at the end of the lottery or the beginning of the playoffs, and be in that mediocre NBA never-never land, where you're never bad enough to draft a star, but never good enough to attract one. So to to that, you have to take chances. Chances that might go bust. But we're due for some to work, because we're on a long string of bust moves, and the home runs are way in the past.
An orchestrated board meltdown? You think I'm far more Machiavellian then I am. My my.
And look - you weren't whining about Dumars' career track record as GM, you were whining that he didn't trade up to pick Cousins, specifically. I'd be curious to see what your trade package for Cousins would look like. In other words - you were seemingly frothingly mad about the failure to draft Cousins - how could he have plausibly done so? What package gets that pick?
But when someone accuses assholery (whether accurate or not), it's good when it can come from someone who can recognize it.
And if you read the whole thread, I even started off by complaining how they biffed getting a top two pick by needless winning meaningless games. And earlier with Sandiegowolverine, was discussing how not being willing to trade Prince was a problem. So there was posted history to the discussion.
But to answer your question fairly, I'd have happily given up a number of combo of players that would do it, because the better players either play the same position and/or have horrid contracts to dump. Even if it's items of value, it's easier to have a star and build around him, than to have a lot of pretty good players and acquire a star. Get a star, stink, then next year get another high draft pick and have a couple of stars.
But realistically, I'm not sure that would go through. What probably would were what some of the rumors were, Prince (expiring contract, still a pretty good player, some value), and the 7 for a higher pick to get him. Or throw in other player of team's choice. As I said previously in another post, ideally they'd give up some player talent for a pick to get Cousins, be able to keep the 7th, so they could still land a Monroe, and have a frontcourt for the next ten years.
Monroe, who's really a PF, next to a center who can score, becomes a lot more valuable. Passing big men are nice....when you can score in the interior, so there's a reason to collapse down, and open shooters outside. If you have more than one 3 point shooter on the team, which is all the Pistons have. And if you have someone else down low to pass to if you draw ball attention. Right now, it's nice that he can pass like a guard, but having limited low post game, he's not drawing a double team, and defenders are going to stay on Gordon, so who's he going to pass to? Monroe isn't bad. I said previously he's the best available at the spot. But what he does doesn't fit the Pistons too well (if you're not a dominate scorer which they need so bad, you at least need to fit the Pistons model of tough defensive-minded player) with their current make-up, and he's not potential star material, which is the teams most desperate need, even more than frontcourt help.
But then, maybe I'd just like to see the Pistons have a TRUE center, who doesn't suck, in my lifetime, because I don't really remember Lanier that well.... It certainly makes basketball life a lot easier. Though the Pistons have managed championship runs twice without a HoF true center (though if Laimbeer was less hated, he would probably be a candidate with his numbers...but a 3 point shooting center is hardly traditional. And the frontcourt of Wallace x2 was still pretty good), you have to have a guy named Jordan on your team to find anyone else but the current Celtics one title to win one. It can be done. And guards/wings are the stars. But man, it's a lot easier with a center.
OK, this went on much longer than I planned...I'm done.
That's all reasonable though I'd disagree with your comment about "winning meaningless games", because it's their job to do their best when they step on the court. Throwing games hurts the franchise's and the players' credibility.
I admit your posts throughout the thread were more reasonable than the one I replied to - you just seemed, in the one thread, to be so upset about the draft of Monroe. Drafting from #7, in my opinion, he's a good pick.
How many lottery picks have the Clippers made? Like 22 of the 25 years it's been around? At what point does the league think about taking the franchise away from Donald Sterling? Winning evidently isn't a great priority for him.
One year at the lottery, the guy introducing the team representatives described Elgin Baylor (long-time Clippers GM until a couple years ago) as "a veteran of the lottery process".
LoL Utah would get Gordan Hayward.
Kind of weird to hear someone say "It was a dream come true to play for Butler."
Maybe he grew up watching "Hoosiers" and loved the arena.
Sounds good anyway.
is from Brownstown which is 35ish minutes from Hinkle and has a fairly solid basketball reputation. I'm sure he is quite familiar with Hoosiers so yeah he's basically a walking Jimmy Chitwood.
Thanks. I was serious - I think it's great. Also think anyone who grew up there would feel the same way, and has probably seen "Hoosiers" 100 times.
Bilas commenting on Manny's elbow if he get's drafted?
The Spurs draft . . . an American? Too bad. I was eagerly anticipating another patented David Stern foreign pronunciation.
Nope, Sacramento takes our wanted player again...
Maybe they are drafting for the pistons for Tay and Rip.
It is not over yet baby!
http://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/16972414708
"despite the drafting of Greg Monroe, the Pistons aren't done trying to pry DeMarcus Cousins out of Sacramento tonight, league sources say."
I'm finding the NBA draft to be better than the NFL draft right now. It's faster, (a LOT faster) and I think that that allows the fans to be more into it. The only bad part about it is no UM players (yet...)
I can't sit through the NFL Draft. I don't know how people do it. 15 minutes between picks is ridiculous. Four picks per hour doesn't make for compelling viewing.
Knick fans might be dumber than JETS fans