Chad Ford, ESPN Insider GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Round 1: Ike Diogu, PF, Arizona State (No. 9) Round 2: Monta Ellis, PG, Lainier HS (No. 40) Round 2: Chris Taft, PF, Pittsburgh (No. 42 from LA Clippers via New Jersey) Analysis: I must be getting a warm place in my heart for the Warriors. First it was Andris Biedrins. Then the Baron Davis trade. And now they've put together a very solid draft that gets them some serious help on the boards from Diogu and Taft and a young prospect who could eventually back up Davis and Jason Richardson in the backcourt. Some will say the Warriors took Diogu too high. I don't think so. I think the Elton Brand comparisons could be dead on. He'll add much needed toughness and rebounding up front and he's more skilled than teams give him credit for. We've been tough on Taft most of the year, but in the second round he's a steal. If he plays with a chip on his shoulder, he could end up being the best pick the Warriors made on Tuesday. Grade: A- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marty Blake, Nba.com Golden State -- The Warriors changed the draft somewhat. They took Ike Diogu, who was the top player in the Pac-10, player three years at Arizona State. He?s a rough and tumble guy. I think this was a good pick for them. In the second round, they took Monta Ellis, one of the top high school scorers, a guy some felt would make it into the first round. Later in the second round, they grabbed Chris Taft, a 6-10 athletic forward. He needs to polish his game a bit, but he has some great athletic skills for a player his size. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marty Burns, SI.com Golden State Warriors Picks: Ike Diogu (9), Monta Ellis (40), Chris Taft (42) They got three athletic specimens in Ike Diogu, Monta Ellis and Chris Taft. Unfortunately, Ellis is a high school kid who's going to need a lot of time to develop, and Taft is known for a poor work ethic and a lack of conditioning. But if Diogu lives up to billing and turns out to be even a poor man's Elton Brand, and one of the other two pans out, team president Chris Mullin will be happy. Other than maybe going the international route in the second round with an Andriuskevicius or Mile Ilic, it's hard to argue with these picks. B -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Kahn, Foxsports.com Golden State Warriors Picks: 1) Ike Diogu, 6-8, 250, F, Arizona State; 2a) Monta Ellis, 6-3, 175, PG, Lanier High School (Miss.); 2b) Chris Taft, 6-10, 260, PF, Pitt. Needs: More power players and depth in the backcourt. Summary: All of a sudden, Chris Mullin's fingerprints are all over this roster, and that's a good thing. He can only hope Mike Montgomery has a handle on how to take these youngsters to the next level. Grade: A -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tony Mejia, Sportsline.com Golden State Executive VP Chris Mullin added another strong piece to his rebuilding project in Ike Diogu, a smallish power forward with a gigantic wing span that helps him make up for the lack of size. Diogu is one of my favorite players, but a bit of a reach at No. 9 considering the Warriors indicated they would take the best available talent on the board. At that stage of the draft, that should have been Granger. In the second round, the Warriors went for low-risk, high-reward picks in Mississippi prep guard Monta Ellis and Pittsburgh big man Chris Taft. Both were considered first-rounders by many; now that their egos were checked, we'll see whether they have the fortitude to respond. This is the franchise that once took a flier on Gilbert Arenas, and might have similar success with at least one of these guys. Grade: B. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roscoe Nance, USA Today Ike Diogu, 6-8, Arizona State Has strength to power through big men and will draw fouls but can play transition game. Ike Diogu ? A surprise pick, who's just what the Warriors need. He can get the ball off the boards and fill the lane on the fast break. Steals in second-round picks Chris Taft and Monta Ellis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonathan Givony, Draftexpress.com #9: Golden State: B Ike Diogu, PF, Arizona State (#9) Monta Ellis, PG, Lainier HS (#40) Chris Taft, PF, Pitt (#42) Although he probably won?t be an allstar, Diogu is an excellent pick for the Warriors for where they were drafting. He will bring them a lot of things that they are sorely missing right now, including scoring inside the post, toughness, work ethic, rebounding and a high character. We?ve been telling you for months and months about how underrated Diogu is, and the truth finally came out on draft night. Diogu was promised by the Warriors that he would not slip past them after he worked out for them a few days before the draft (DraftExpress were the only ones to report about this workout), but only if Channing Frye was not on the board. He was there, and unlike a few other promises we heard about, this one was actually kept. In the 2nd round the Warriors took Monta Ellis, a player who was ridiculously overhyped by most scouting services all year, but was destined for the 2nd round since the day he declared because of his attitude and lack of PG skills. Ellis reportedly refused to work out for a couple of teams drafting in the late first round, citing that he had a promise already from another team. He then allegedly came in hung over to the combines at the pre-draft camp and narrowly edged out Luke Schenscher to save himself from ending up as the worst athlete in Chicago. At the end of the day he saw his stock fall to the mid 2nd round, where the Warriors got great value for a guy they can stash in the D-League for the next year or two until he?s maybe ready to back up Baron Davis or take his game to Europe. Chris Taft is a guy who was projected as a lottery pick for most of the year, but absolutely killed his stock with his poor work ethic and by coming in out of shape and working out poorly for every single NBA team we spoke with. Maybe he?ll come in with some type of chip on his shoulder next season, but that?s pretty doubtful unless the NBDL can somehow wake him up from his coma. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aran Smith, Nbadraft.net Ike Diogu should turn into a quality pick at 9, even though he's seen as a bit of a reach. Coach Monty is very familiar with him after coaching against him for two seasons at Stanford, (prior to last season) so he likely played a part in this pick. The Warriors really made some noise in the second round. Taft was one of the big losers on draft night slipping out of the first round and all the way to the 42nd pick. Hopefully this will provide a wake up call for the talented bigman. Monta Ellis also had first round aspirations, but after signing an agent very early in the process was stuck in the draft with no options after struggling to perform in the athleticism tests in Chicago. The Warriors will hope his knee injury was a short term problem which scared teams off and allowed them to nab a player destined to be a lottery pick after a couple years in college. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dime Magazine Warriors Golden State was clearly looking for front line rebounding help and they got it in Ike Diogu. Diogu is a monster in the paint, attacking the glass like his life depends on it. Couple that with his improving offensive game and the Warriors have themselves a solid post player to go to work with Troy Murphy under the hoop. High schooler Monta Ellis is an intriguing talent and could be molded into an NBA point guard in time. Golden State's third pick, Chris Taft at No. 42, is well worth the gamble. If he ever figures it out, he could be a steal. Grade: B
It seems like everyone is optimisic about Diogu, there's not one big negative comment in there except that he was drafted early. According to the news leaking out after the draft, though, Toronto was trying to trade down but failed. And since no one wanted Green or Granger until the Indy/Celtics took them at 17 or 18, it didn't seem like we could have moved down to draft him, so Mullin just did what he could. Oh, the JBB guys gave the Warriors picks a B+. http://www.justbball.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39450
