<u><font size=""4""><div align="center">Philadelphia, 1st Round(Projected Range: 1-3)</div></font></u> <div align="center"></div> <font size=""3""><div align="center">Kevin Durant/Height: 6'10/Weight:220 lbs/Position:SF-PF/School:Texas/Class: Freshman</div></font> <div align="center"> Strengths: Explosive scorer. Durant can score on you in so many different ways as a 6'10 guy; it's almost unthinkable. He has tremendous range on his jumpshot and can hit the three ball with ease(think Tracy McGrady.) Durant also has great athleticism. His athletic ability helps him finish around the basket quite easily. Has the highest ceiling out of all players in the draft, including Oden. Weaknesses: Not an exceptionally strong guy. Really needs to bulk up unless he wants to get bullied by most NBA forwards. Only average on defense. Durant CAN vastly improve his defense with his size and length, he just needs to be motivated enough to do it. Very laid back, which can be a bad thing in some ways. Why Pick Him?: He'd be perfect to put alongside Andre Iguodala as the faces of the franchise. His scoring ability would be more than welcomed and playing with Iguodala and Andre Miller(assuming he's still around) would work wonders for him. He'd definitely bring some excitement back to Philadelphia. Best case scenario: Kevin Garnett(with more range) Worst case scenario: Poor Man's Rashard Lewis <font size=""3"">Greg Oden/Height: 7'0/250/Position: Center/School: Ohio St/ Class: Freshman</font> Strengths: Oden is a tremendous shot blocker inside the post. Each game at least once you can see Oden swatting the ball six ways from Sunday. His shot-blocking prowess would be welcomed on most NBA teams. He's also a good scorer in the paint. The fact that he hasn't even been using his shooting hand this season is proof of that. Oden is just one of those rare quality big men to come across in the draft(see also: Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor) Weaknesses: Lacks a mean streak. VERY, very laid back. Oden really needs to develop that mean streak to raise that ceiling of his. He's already a strong player, but needs to build a bit more strength if he doesn't want to get harassed by other big men like he did by Al Horford and Joakim Noah. Why draft him?: We need another quality big man if we're going to rebuild. Best Case Scenario: David Robinson Worst Case Scenario: Samuel Dalembert(heh) </div> <font size=""3""><div align="center">Brandan Wright/Height: 6-10/Weight:210/PositionF/School:UNC/Class:Freshman</div></font> Strengths:Very impressive athlete for his size. Would no doubt be the consensus #1 pick if Oden and Durant were to not declare. Also suprisingly quick for his size, in which adds another great aspect to his game. Very serviceable defender also. Massive potential. Weaknesses: Needs to build up his strength. Great upside/potential, but still has room for improvement. Jumpshot also needs some polishing. Why draft him?: As with Oden/Durant, Wright would be a good choice to put alongside Iguodala and company. He'd definitely be our Power Forward of the future. <div align="center"> <font size=""4"">Philadelphia 1st Round, from Denver(Projected Range: 15-18)</font> </div> <div align="center"><font size=""3"">Dominic James/Position: PG/Height:5'11"/Weight:175/School: Marquette/Class: Sophomore</font></div> <div align="center"> Strengths: Explosive. Simply explosive. Able to use his ball-handling ability and quickness to slash and attack the basket ala Dwayne Wade. Shows good PG skills that could translate well into the NBA. Has a chance to be a mid round steal for any team he falls to. Weaknesses: Outside shot leaves alot to be desired(shooting under 30% this season) , an aspect of his game that definitely needs to be worked on. Unfortunately, being roughly 5'11" , it hurts his stock a bit in the draft(see Jameer Nelson). Why Draft Him?: Kevin Ollie isn't getting any younger, and we don't even know if Andre Miller will still be a Sixer next season. If we can sign/trade for a servicable vet PG(if Andre Miller isn't around) to help mold him and Louis Williams, we'll have our PG of the future. Best Case Scenario: Dwyane Wade Worst Case Scenario: Keyon Dooling </div> <font size=""3""><div align="center">Acie Law/Height: 6'3"/Weight:195/PositionG/School:Texas A&M/Class:Senior</div></font> <div align="center">Strengths: Very serviceable jump shooter. Law has no problem pulling up and hitting the mid/long range jumper when needed. Law's the type of guy you can have on the floor in crunch time, as he's very capable of coming through. Always looking to set up his teammates whenever he can. Law has a very good basketball IQ, which will translate well into the NBA. Weakness: Can get a bit turnover prone at times. Seems to get a bit more lax on defense than he does on offense. Law needs to vastly build up strength to be able to hang with the other PGs in the NBA. Why Draft Him?: As I said about Dominic James, if we can just mold him well enough, he can be our PG of the future. Best Case Scenario: Chauncey Billups Worst Case Scenario: Smush Parker <font size=""3"">Tyler Hansbrough/6-9/245/PF/UNC/Sophmore</font> Strengths: Very strong player, Hansbrough can bang inside the paint with the best of em. Great rebounder, Hansbrough just flat out hustles every game he plays. Has a decent shooting touch also, can pull up and hit the close/mid range jumper. Weaknesses: Needs to develop more post moves to further improve himself as a big man. At 6'9, Hansbrough is considered to be undersized at the Power Forward position, which hurts his stock. Why draft him?: Hansbrough is the type of guy Philly would love with the energy and hustle he brings to the table(ala Shavlik Randolph). He can bang in the paint, pull down boards..do everything he's expected to do. Best Case Scenario: Udonis Haslem Worst Case Scenario: Danny Fortson(without the dirty fouls)</div> <font size=""4""><div align="center">Philadelphia 1st Round, from Dallas(Projected Range: 27-30)</div></font> <div align="center"></div> <font size=""3""><div align="center">Mustafa Shakur/Height:6'3"/Weight:183/PositionG/School:Arizona/Class: Senior</div></font> <div align="center"> Strengths: Has good size, passes the ball well, with great quickness to boot. Weaknesses: His inconsistency has REALLY hurt his stock over the years. You never know when you're going to get a Kidd-esque performance one night, or a Smush-esque performance the next. Lacks motivation. Why draft him?: I think if Shakur were to be placed in a rebuilding situation and brought along slowly..we could see the Mustafa Shakur that was touted as the top tier PG he was expected to be going into college. </div> <font size=""3""><div align="center">Glen Davis/Height:6'8"/Weight:280/PositionF/School:LSU/Class:Junior</div></font> <div align="center"> Strengths: Large, bulky frame allows himself to bang inside quite eaisly, solid all-around big man. Has good post moves along with suprisingly decent ballhandling ability to compliment that. Weaknesses: Tends to rely on his bulky frame a bit too much. Sometimes settles for jumpers instead of playing like a big man should. Undersized at his position measuring roughly 6'7-6'8" tall. Seems to have faded a bit this season. Can start to get lazy if he's out on the floor long enough. Why Draft Him?: You could say he's a bit of a stretch taking him with the 27th-30th pick, but it really wouldn't hurt taking a chance on Davis, we could use another big body to put down in the paint. Best Case Scenario: Rich Man's Rodney Rogers(not as good of a shooter) Worst Case Scenario: Robert Traylor</div> Blur you can merge this with the draft thread n update it if you want. I didn't do the 2nd round cause I figured it'd be fine to just keep the focus on our first rounders for now. Sorry if some aren't as descriptive as others..I'm just a bit tired right now, hope yall will still like it. Coming Soon: 76ers Offseason(Part 2): Let's Play GM a bit..
Nice write-up Smitty. Living in Canada, I don't watch much NCAA and your write has given me a good idea of who these players, that I keep hearing about are and how they play.
Nice write up man a couple guys I'm looking for us to take a look at right now are Thaddeus Young, Splitter, or Tucker with those late first round picks if those guys are still there. Durant, Young, and Tucker would be my dream draft.
Awesome write up Smitty. I agree with pretty much everything, except the Glen Davis pick. I don't really like Glen Davis, and IMO, he really won't amount to much in the NBA. Like you already said, he tends to rely too much on his strength. He can get away with that in college, but in the NBA, he won't be able to, especially considering he's undersized for his position, and extremely slow. I would take him in the second round though, if he's available. But the first round is a reach IMO. He reminds me a lot of Tractor Traylor. I think his best case scenerio would be Mike Sweetney Dominic James: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Best Case Scenario: Dwyane Wade</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Worst Case Scenario: Keyon Dooling</div> Good job D-Mob!
I actually might extend my original post now that I'm not as tired lol. Thanks for the comments fellas.
<div class="quote_poster">Smitty Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Expect another article by the end of the month.</div> Well, if you are going to write another article on the draft, you may want to change it up a bit. Chances are slim that we land Oden or Durant with the way we are currently playing
<div class="quote_poster">Student of The Kool-Aid academy Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Well, if you are going to write another article on the draft, you may want to change it up a bit. Chances are slim that we land Oden or Durant with the way we are currently playing</div> Um, duh. Silly Rabbit.
