http://www.nba.com/media/raptors/May31Taft.mp3 I hope he has a good workout. He's a very talented kid and it would be a shame if he doesn't play like the beast he's capable of being.
Yeah, I heard. I think he's trying to steer his draft stock toward his "work ethic", his problems on earlier conditioning, and deferring to his teammates a lot at Pitt because they're talented options on offense. His body language on the court reads otherwise because it looked like he wasn't trying hard or wasn't aggressive. It's like he was trying to avoid injury by not laying it all on the line. It could be scouts are like a huge sewing circle and painting a bad picture of the guy, but fans saw what they saw too, a guy who underachieved and showed lack of hustle. Maybe the guy is tanking so he can be a Brooklyn Net, rather than a New York Knick who has Marbury, Crawford, and Mike Sweetney at pf Nets need a replacement for Kmart badly if they want to contend again . If Jkidd can make offense easier for a guy like Taft, it might be fun for him to roll with a lineup of Jkidd, Vinsanity, R.J., and Krstic. Looks great on paper. First three are all-stars, and Krstic could be an allstar. Taft has great potential to be anything he wants.
Its very possible that recent reports of his poor workouts are smokescreens. None of the quotes were cited and sounded very unprofessional for GMs/scouts to say. The whole thing seems a little iffy, even when he wasn't giving a great effort in the season he was still pretty good. I hope he does well but i dont want another Dampiertype of guy who only produces when there is cash on the line.
I dont buy the whole slacking for position. If you get drafted at 4 instead of 14 there is a huge difference. He needs to bring it. If he does then I would love to see him here, but he needs to really bring it and talk to our personnel while he is here...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Warriorfansnc93:</div><div class="quote_post">I dont buy the whole slacking for position. If you get drafted at 4 instead of 14 there is a huge difference. He needs to bring it. If he does then I would love to see him here, but he needs to really bring it and talk to our personnel while he is here...</div> Hey Amare didn't want to be #3 in 2002 so it might be possible he wants a certain team or else.
On another thread it was mentioned that Big East coaches did not put taft on the All-Big East first team...or second,or third,he was Hon. Mention. I also saw on another thread Gerald Green's HS stats. 60% from 3pt....7 assists per...12 boards....oh,yeah,and 33 pt. I'd be saying trade up,but I'm thinking he's going to go higher than a lot of folks expect,second,behind Bogut. Taft is going to find it hard to create a hustle-work ethic image in a workout situation. What can he do,dive into the seats for a loose ball in a one-man drill?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">Its very possible that recent reports of his poor workouts are smokescreens. None of the quotes were cited and sounded very unprofessional for GMs/scouts to say. The whole thing seems a little iffy, even when he wasn't giving a great effort in the season he was still pretty good. I hope he does well but i dont want another Dampiertype of guy who only produces when there is cash on the line.</div> Draft coverage in the news is hard to trust because it's mainly all rumors/opinions and basically each team wants to keep the other guessing. I just can't stand chronically unreliable news writers or news figures. Like on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith has got to be the biggest blowhard. Everytime he blares away on how a team WILL or WILL NOT do something, the opposite usually happens. The Magic with Tracy McGrady will make the playoffs. Baron Davis will not be traded at the deadline... Man one of these days he will be right because as the old saying goes, a broken clock is right two times a day. We'll see how this draft thing unfolds and how many people had faith in so and so in the draft and who ends up succeeding. I remembered last year some guy on the board wanted Rafael Araujo at #11. I was saying last year how Jameer Nelson, Sebastian Telfair were good prospects only because we didn't have any real playmaking options that could find people and nobody awesome was going to fall in our lap at #11. Turns out Josh Smith fell and showed that he wasn't a bust. Jameer Nelson fell way down because of his size. Pavel Podkolzine was high on some lists, but wasn't sure if he was a basketball player or some big guy pretending to be one. Wasn't convinced Al Jefferson was the guy that should be drafted at #11 since he had weight issues and didn't have enough skills to stretch defenses at power forward and his defense was pretty bad at the high school level. Biedrins slipping to #11 was a blessing because he was projected anywhere from 5 to 10. I've got my favorites: Splitter (is buyout possible or impossible, who holds the cards? can't find reliable info) Antoine Wright, Danny Granger or Joey Graham (use as last resort since Dunleavy, Pietrus, and Zarko are still under contract) Chris Taft (If Mullin feels the bad press about him is false and he shows a good work out he might be our guy, heck with what Foyle showed at his price I wouldn't mind a motivated Dampier being kept happy by a playmaking point guard, we need more intimidation in the paint) Andray Blatche (The healthy Jonathan Bender type player Mullin wanted all along, could be a nice pairing with Biedrins) Johan Petro (guards 3 positions, is a good passer, okay offensive player, has qualities not seen in most big men) Ike Digou sounds okay, but he's not really ideal. Same with Frye. If we want some unique mismatches that could make other players better maybe Rudy Fernandez or Roko-Leni Ukic, 6-4/6-5 point guards that can shoot and show off some flashy playmaking abilities. I think the draft has more to offer than we think. Just nobody immediately projected to contribute right away or be franchise guys. And for all we know Chris Taft might end up being the next Josh Smith.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting REREM:</div><div class="quote_post">Taft is going to find it hard to create a hustle-work ethic image in a workout situation. What can he do,dive into the seats for a loose ball in a one-man drill?</div> Hahaha, maybe he'll grunt really, really loud like the tennis players, or maybe like the Hulk, whenever he takes a shot or grabs a rebound. "GaahhhhhhH!" I agree with your Green assessment, but only if the team picking second thinks outside of the box. I think Portland will grab him if he drops, unless they do a "Carter/Jamison" money swap type trade with one of the teams, at fourth or fifth. News on Taft's workout: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Chris Taft continues to drop like a rock After reportedly stinking up the entire city of New York with the workouts he held over the past two weeks, Chris Taft has decided to take his show on the road. The latest stop was at Golden State yesterday, for an intimate meeting with Ike Diogu. The results, according to a person that was in the gym, were not pretty to watch. Basically Diogu scored on Taft repeatedly...again and again and again, until things started to get embarrassing. On the opposite side of the ball, Diogu stopped Taft in his tracks repeatedly and just thoroughly handed it to him. Things got so bad and Taft got so down on himself (again, in the opinion of this eye witness) that people thought he would just quit the workout. That never happened, but it was supposedly close. Toronto?s general manager Rob Babcock, who got an up close and personal look at Taft, suggested earlier in the week that he ?would certainly be better served by going back to school.? Unfortunately that?s just not really an option for Taft at this point, as he?s already hired an agent, New York City based Billy Ceisler, and forfeited any college eligibility he had remaining. If he had another season playing the way he did this past year, he probably would have zero shot at going in the first round anyway, so as sad as it sounds he appears to have made the right choice. </div> <a href="http://www.draftcity.com/viewarticle.php?mod=print&a=191" target="_blank"> Source: DraftCity</a> Not to derail this thread on Taft, but Diogu is sounding better and better. His measurements for private workouts have placed him at a Elton Brand-like wingspan,("anywhere from 7-3 to 7-5" according to the link above) and everything else has been pretty good so far. I hope that Golden State browses this forum and listens to Rerem.
Draftcity's been the continued source of bad Taft articles. Do any other non-internet sources confirm that Taft is described as being this attrocious? I just think it's kind of funny that's all. I'm kind of with Run BJM that something doesn't sound right, especially if you're trying to fake some other team out into believing you're going to draft Taft to keep the later teams second guessing and maybe get other teams trying to trade up for him. REREM, Zhone, if I was Chris Taft I'd prove the haters wrong by doing whatever it takes. I'd be going Brian Cardinal on their asses. You bet in one-on-one drills, I'd throw the ball to the side right into the announcer's booth on purpose and go sliding on the floor after it. That's a hustle play right there. And then I'd show my willingness to take a charge on every play, even if the other guy didn't touch me. Then if that isn't enough and they say I still lack intensity and passion while on the floor and that I'm not the beast I'm being capable of, I'd make all these snarling noises at every rebound and growl with every layup, perimeter shot, or anytime the ball touches the floor during the dribble. Rawwwwwwr! Snaaarl! Roooaaar! You know, get all animal like? Either the other guy in the drill gets all freaked out so he backs off you so you can score or he doubles over in laughter, while you jump right over him for the dunk. Of course after that, I'd think they'd either want to piss test me for 'roids or kick me out of the gym for being an ass.
