How about Joakim Noah? What a great play, the steal, then the coast to coast and throwdown. And to think the Warriors got POB instead one pick later (or was it Diogu?) What about Glen "Big Baby" Davis? That guy was a 2nd rounder, yet he can play tough inside and hit shots. How is it that Warriors (and everyone else) can whiff on him and Millsap? Amazing. Think the W's could use Davis? I like his game last night.
Back in 2007, we traded J-Rich and the #36 pick to the Bobcats for the #8 pick, and drafted Wright. Noah was drafted with the next pick. In that same draft, we got Belinelli with the 18th pick. Rumors were that the pick was supposed to get traded to Minnesota for picks and Biedrins, or some sort of more complicated combination, to get KG, but then some wires got crossed and Minnesota wanted another player (Thornton?) and not Wright and the trade fell through. Glen Davis was picked before the Warriors second round pick even if we kept #36, and we actually tried to get a rebounding, defensive-big guy in Lasme, who just never panned out. I was disappointed we passed on Dominic McGuire and Marc Gasol with the #46 pick that we had, but I did like Lasme.
As a Bulls fan, I was infuriated by the Noah pick...considering we could have had Spencer Hawes...but that's beyond the point. He's been great in the postseason for us. I love his energy that he comes with every night and he's been good on defense. He still has his fair share of bonehead plays and I'd still redo that draft in a heartbeat, but I've grown tolerable of him and his play has been really, really good against Boston.
Jeez Noah or Wright? Noah looks pretty good right now and would fit Nellie's system as a quick PF but cannot shoot. I still have faith in Wright though.
Think of it this way, if the Kings didn't have Spencer Hawes, they might not have traded you Brad Miller.
Actually I thought the no-brainer was Danny Granger. He was high on almost everyone's draft board, had all the buzz, and everything, and just dropped through our hands. On the old justbb boards, we were just about 100% sold on Granger (although we had a lot of Ike fans, I wasn't one of them). I could totally understand not taking Bynum at the time, but I'm still miffed about Granger.
I, too, wanted Granger but the Warriors ran into some bad luck because when he worked out for us, they found out he had some kind of foot problem that required immediate medical attention. They wanted to bring him back for another workout, but he couldn't make it. However, I didn't expect Granger to blossom into the stud he is now. He's the next Paul Pierce. Andrew Bynum was another on my radar, but he received a promise and only held a workout back East. The picks and trades Mullin made, Ike and Brandan Wright, does go to show that he believes in low post players. Something that Nelson doesn't believe in, and I would guess another bone of contention between the two. As for Noah (instead of Wright), I was reading draftexpress.com and they thought he was a can't miss prospect the first year. However, we're finding out that it's going to take him a while before he's a presence. I, still, would rather have Wright, but I doubt the Warriors will use him correctly and end up trading him where he'll blossom into another stud we missed on.
We totally missed out on Bynum because we drafted Beans, but Bynum was looking like a bust for a while with the way he rebounded. I know it's a rhetorical question, but for the sake of others: NBA scouts seem to be influenced more by athleticism because it's an indication of having that "unlimited potential". NBA scouts should be going for a mix of maturity (physical and mental), current skillset for their intended position, and desire. Big Baby had great skills for a big dude and he seemed pretty mature and passionate about the game. I think he didn't have a lot of wingspan or quickness of foot, so many projected him as a just a role player. I'm more devastated by the fact we missed out on Danny freakin' Granger. A user back in the day persuaded me that Granger was the one because I was a big fan of players like Joe Johnson. Well Granger is like a shotblocking/rebounding version of him. I really wish we had Granger and then we wouldn't have to worry about making Sjax last as long as we can. We need a do everything Sjax/Joe Johnson-like player.
Word! I think I was screaming for him from the rooftops. I thought he was exatly what the Warriors needed. Granger turned out to be even more physical that I imagined.
Hello Warriors from Mickeal Pietrus!!! Saw the 2nd half last night and he was one of the keys for the Magic winning. He had some nice buckets, a pullup, a reverse lay-in, some 3s plus he played some nice D on Allen and Pierce. No knucklehead plays that I saw. Wish he played that under control with the Ws.
Every now and again, he'd have those games here too...give him a few games, he'll mess somethin up. Actually, I'd love to see him buckledown and frustrate the Cavs. I'm a open LeBron hater. Can't stand the WWE antics.
No one is slowing down the Cavs. They're going to cruise to a championship IMO. Once KG was done for the POs that was all she wrote for the rest of the league.
I don't see how the Cavs cruise to a title, the Magic handled them pretty well this season I think that should be a series. I don't know how playing the Hawks and Pistons suddenly makes one a lock, they're contenders but they have real competition now.
Their wins in the playoffs haven't convinced me that they're the best team in the league. They've been excellent all season. I know people bring up that they've had difficulties getting big wins on the road but I don't think it will be too big of a deal for them. Their defense is top notch, they rebound well, they're big, and they have the best (and most unstoppable) player in the world. They're a good 3 pt shooting team to boot. Like I said, if the Celts had KG it'd be a tough series for the Cavs. If the Magic had Jameer they'd be more of a test as well. The Lakers won't be easy but I picked Cleveland to beat LAL in 6 back in the "predict the playoffs thread" and I'm sticking to it. Don't get too upset though, I picked the Lakers to handle the Celts last season and look how that turned out.
Mickael Pietrus is playing really well against the Cavs. The Magic probably messed up by not playing him more in game two. He's been playing the defense he was becoming famous for. If the refs let him be physical with players, he's very good defensively. If the refs don't let him be physical he's on the bench quickly with 4 fouls. But I am happy for Pietrus, that he's doing well with the Magic. I like watching Denver play too. It's amazing what happens when a team has a leader or "boss" on the team, like Billups. I am jealous of the Nuggets. Somehow the Warriors need to find its own "boss" and coach on the floor. We had one with Baron Davis, which Pietrus called "the boss". I'd like to see the Warriors get someone like Billups (but I am sure every other team wants someone like him too). Just not sure who that would be - definitely not anyone we have. Granger would have been nice. I'll admit, I was on the Ike bandwagon. Oops... Another player I am surprised about, though he's seemed to be doing this for most of the season, is Hedo Turkoglu. He's turned into a good player. I was doubtful about him when he was with Sacramento. But he and Pietrus are doing very well for that Orlando team. It's a team of a lot of rejects perhaps. Stan Van Gundy from Miami, Pietrus from Golden State, Hedo from Sacramento, Alston from Toronto/Houston, etc.
