Some people( some Nets fans, who preferred another PG SMH ), felt he shouldn't of even been selected 10th, now he's the best big man on the team, and possibly in this whole draft class. By far the best 7 footer.
I was one of the people that wasn't happy on draft night with his selection but I'm happy to admit that I was so wrong about him. He's more athletic than I thought he would be. Better defensively than I thought he would be. Showing a better offensive touch than I thought he had. I figured he would struggle with the bigger and stronger players in the NBA from the College ranks. But Lopez is playing up to the challenge and playing like a real BIGMAN.
Whereas Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (love writing the full name) is indeed a steal, he is a 6'7" swingman. The "Pez Point Dispenser" on the other hand is a 7-footer who as a starter in the NBA is averaging 15.7 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks a game. He is not a small forward with a pituitary problem. He is a legitimate NBA center who keeps getting (noticeably) better every game. This may come as a shock (it did to me), but there have only been about 170 seven footers in the history of the NBA and to get the best one in the draft at #10 is a HUGE stroke of good fortune. The reason why he dropped was because he scored so low in the PreDraft Combo on the tests of pure athleticism, a very limited view of basketball athleticism. Pundits like Jonathan Givony of Draft Express thought he was lucky to get picked at #10. LOL.
Omer Asik might be a steal as well. It's still amazing that Lopez fell down to 10th. A big center like Lopez, who showed some nice skills in college, shouldn't fall like that.
Sometimes I feel bad for those gms, the predraft stats is not really that important, you want the height, skills, not the lane agility drills whatever. I was quite satisfied with our no.10 pick, because he was supposed to be the top 3. I was wondering why he falls, I thought it might be his athelism. but Brook Lopez is so athletic than I thought, and he is quick enough, moreover he is a big body. He can catch a alley-oop pass and dunk it home just like Boone usually does. He can shoot, rebound, post-up, dunk, make hook shots, play interior defense, block shots. Damn it, that's why I insist he is the next Tim Duncan. The Nets fans don't need to envy about Lakers and Blazers for Bynum and Oden, we have a strong big man, Brook Lopez. Does anybody still remember DeAndre Jordan? He was considered as another Dwight Howard, LOL, screw it. Go Lopez.
Yeah, I'm sure that's what GM's 1-9 were thinking. "This kid's great but...he just doesn't have the sex appeal. DJ Augustin on the other hand...goddamn I'll have a piece of that, please." Two things define "steal:" the performance of the player, and where that person was drafted. So while Brook has been amazing, and I'll even start to seriously listen to TD-comparisons, I think you've got to look at CDR or Luc Richard. This doesn't mean they'll be better players, but that's not what we're talking about here.
No dumbass by sexy pick he wasn't out of this world athletic, or had a flare to his game. He waz considered a post player with limited post move.
and too slow and dumb. He was also considered a defensive liability... Oh when the draftnicks are wrong, they are really wrong.....
I'm taking another crack at this. You know o.iatl, there's a lot more to being sexy than being athletic. As for not having flair to his game, that's rich. I can really picture GM's at the pre-draft camp going... "Did you see that jumper he made?" "Yeah he can shoot it with range but...Rod I gotta be honest with you, he didn't have any flair with it." "Or his post moves?" "No fair; no flick to his wrist, no twirl, no grace, no bravado. He's just not sexy for me, and I'm building a sexy team in Charlotte." ---1 month later--- BOBCATS PICK DJ AUGUSTIN (and I guess this applies to every one else too )
The Turkish Tornado is an example of a big man with sex appeal. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/giGOCxw1k4I&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/giGOCxw1k4I&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
I'd say Nicolas Batum has been a pleasant surprise as well considering where he was picked and how raw everyone thought he would be
Batum was in the top 10 (Draft Express, nbadraft.net) until news came out about his injured knee, then he dropped.
