With the 58th pick of the draft, the Lakers decided that they didn't want the leftovers of the draft pool, so instead, the Lakers invested the pick on a referee. Hopefully he will help us win a game or two next season
I didn't think Crawford would get drafted and I doubt he will be with the lakers very long. Hopefully he gets a shot somewhere he reminds me of azubukie.
Don't know much about this guy, but from what I read: He's a very explosive player, and pretty athletic. Kind of like a poor man's Keith Bogans. He has the potential of being a solid role player in this league, but if we get Sun Yue on this team this year, I think it is going to be very difficult for Crawford to make the team.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>It was the Lakers' turn, finally, 4 hours and 20 minutes into the NBA draft. It took a while to get there, the Lakers sitting out the first round because they sent the 28th pick to Memphis as part of the Pau Gasol trade, but they eventually selected Kentucky guard Joe Crawford with the 58th pick Thursday. Crawford, 6 feet 4, averaged 17.9 points a game and shot 36.4% from three-point range in his senior season at Kentucky. Like every second-round pick, he does not get a guaranteed contract. "We had him projected to be drafted a lot higher than 58," Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. "He comes from a top-rate basketball program, used to playing in big games. He had a great career." Kupchak wouldn't specify where Crawford sat on the Lakers' draft board, but he indicated it was around No. 35 in the 60-player draft. If Crawford made the roster next season, he would be a shooting guard who could also handle the ball. Late second-round picks rarely make an impact in the NBA, though there are some exceptions: San Antonio forward Manu Ginobili was the 57th pick in 1999 and Houston forward Luis Scola was 56th in 2002. "It goes without saying statistically that once three-quarters of the draft goes by, when you get to be about 45 or so, those players struggle to make a roster," Kupchak said. "If they make a roster, it's likely that they won't contribute much, at least not initially." Crawford had memorable moments at Kentucky, including a 35-point outburst in March in a first-round NCAA tournament loss against Marquette, though he didn't show great speed and had only 17 steals in 30 games last season. Memphis, for the record, took freshman forward Donte Green from Syracuse with the pick they received from the Lakers. The Lakers have had some relative success in the second round, taking Luke Walton with the 32nd pick in 2003 and Ronny Turiaf with the 37th pick in 2005. They are also keeping tabs on 6-foot-8 Chinese guard Sun Yue, whom they took last year with the 40th pick. "We're very optimistic that we can get him on the roster next year," Kupchak said. "I'll contact his agent this week and have some initial discussions." The Lakers now move forward to free agency, which begins Monday at 9 p.m.</div> http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/n...0,5994985.story From what I've read, he seems like a pretty tough nosed player. I'm pretty happy with the pick, given it was the third to last pick of the draft. It's interesting that Mitch thought he would go much higher. Mitch has made some pretty good picks in the draft recently, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. In all likely hood, Crawford will be competing with Sun Yue for the last spot on the roster. I don't think Coby Karl's coming back But man, the Spurs took George Hill. That was our guy
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DynastYWarrioR6 @ Jun 27 2008, 04:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Centerpiece to our offense right there. I guess Spurs aren't beating us this year.</div> Ha, epic avy.
It's kind of sad know one recognizes this guy, I guess Kentucky has fallen pretty far. Crawford was a highly touted recruit, (rondo,Morris,Crawford) were all top recruits so Kentucky expected a lot. Freshman year he wasn't getting playing time because Azubukie was starting and he wanted to transfer to michigan but he ended up staying. His Sophomore year he was inconsistent and was benched at times because of it. His junior year was when he became a leader of the team, and earned his starting role. Senior year he came off the bench at the beginning of the year, because Gillispie felt they needed scoring off the bench. Crawford single handedly led the team to the ncaa tournament once patterson went down. He has great ball handling skills and has a great outside shot. He isn't quite as explosive as Azubukie but he has a lot better ball handling skills. He is very hard nosed around the paint and seems to get to the paint effortlessly if needed. His only downside is his size but he makes up for it with strength and plays bigger than he is, he also is a great defender like most players who played under tubby smith are. If you guys want to know more just ask, I live in Kentucky so I've seen him his whole career.
Yeah, more info would be appreciated. I don't follow college basketball that much, so I really don't know anything about him. I just usually base my thoughts off of mock drafts and stuff, and I don't believe I've seen his name anywhere. Do you think he has what it takes to make the roster? And what type of player do you envision him becoming?
I haven't seen a ton of him but I agree with Fitch here hes a good pick that late in the draft. Very solid SG. Someone mentioned Azuubuike which isn't a great comparison but I can see why it would be made; hes good at everything but not really great at anything (his handles is better than Azu's was in college though). Hes definitely got a shot to stick somewhere in the league.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 27 2008, 05:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Yeah, more info would be appreciated. I don't follow college basketball that much, so I really don't know anything about him. I just usually base my thoughts off of mock drafts and stuff, and I don't believe I've seen his name anywhere. Do you think he has what it takes to make the roster? And what type of player do you envision him becoming?</div> He may he may not it depends who shows up. He has the potential to light it up every night but at times he can be very passive. Other times he tends to dominate the ball and makes silly turnovers. I believe him and Sasha could make a great 1 2 coming off the bench together, because he has the ability to find the open man while he is driving and can force a double team. Of course this is all college but I think his game can make the jump to nba level. The only thing I can see stopping him from making the team is the Lakers lack of need for him or he just doesn't show up. I can see him becoming a number 2 or 3 scorer on a team. he will never be a superstar but he will be a great role player who can get his own shot without the help of another player, which is what the Lakers don't posses on their bench. If he does make the team I believe Kobe will benefit the most because he will be able to rest for longer periods of time.
Here's some quotes from Kentucky fans on Crawford... Since I’m a UK fan, Crawford has been one of the most frustrating players in recent memory, almost as frustrating as watching Rondo mature into everything that we thought we should’ve had at UK, now only see him win a title w/ the Celtics compounds the frustration tenfold. Crawford is a Tubby Smith guy. He came to UK w/ Rondo and Randolph Morris (and Ramel Bradley) w/ the hopes that this was going to be the recruiting class that got UK back to the Final Four. 3 McDonalds All-Americans, you had to like your chances. Well, to say the least it didn’t work out as planned. Defense is probably what he’ll need to do to be able to make the team….I don’t think his stroke is anything special…but he is a “scorer”, not a spot up shooter by any means. Offensively he’s a scorer, gets in the lane, could hit the college 3 well enough for defenses to have to cover it, because he can drive to the rack, now with the bigger bodies he’s going to face, he’s going to have to become a better shooter. Did I trust him to hit a big jumper when need be? I wanted him to shoot it because that’s all UK had, but was I confident…eh…not so much. I would trust him to make a move and get a shot though, which is a plus. Prince, Bogans, Rondo, Azubuike, Hayes - all Tubby guys, all guys that have their knocks, but have lasted in the pros. Whether it’s the toughness that Smith instilled, or the defensive work ethic, not sure, but they’ve all seem to have made some sort of impact in the league. Crawford didn’t flourish under Smith, he really picked it up under Gillespie, who’s a defense first coach, and who made Joe play defense. There are no doubts about his offensive capabilities, the only doubts I have is whether or not he’s good enough. He played thru injuries, and I think he’s been mentally toughened by Gillespie, but there are still doubts to whether or not he could play, and whether or not the Lakers could’ve waited and invited him to a tryout, instead of wasting a draft pick on him. Crawford really came on in the last 2/3 of this season after a slow recovery from minor knee surgery last year and a bit of a rocky start with Kentucky’s new coach, Billy Gillispie. As the year progressed, Crawford and teammate Ramel Bradley developed into a dynamic duo and became the backbone of a Kentucky team that reinvented itself after a rocky non-conference season to finish second in the SEC East. What I will always remember is the sudden appearance of noticeable heart and passion in Crawford, who for three years at Kentucky played with a kind of disinterested and even surly demeanor. Later in his senior year, it became obvious that he was leaving it on the floor every single game, and Crawford became an unmistakable leader for the Wildcats. Those were a collection of opinions from ForumBlueandGold.com After reading those comments he sounds like Odom 2.0
