Wall and Turner are gone. Who do you draft? A) Derrick Favors B) DeMarcus Cousins C) Al-Farouq Aminu D) Wesley Johnson E) Cole Aldrich F) Ekpe Udoh G) Greg Monroe H) Other (explain)
I voted for Cousins. From everything I've read, he's the only player who has a decent chance to be a star/superstar at the NBA level, outside of Wall and perhaps Turner. His attitude is obviously a concern, but I'd rather gamble on a boom/bust prospect when the payoff for a boom could be an NBA title, rather than take a safer prospect with a lower ceiling.
I just voted Johnson because I don't see anybody trading out of the top 3...it just doesn't make sense. Minnesota could definitely trade their pick for a few reasons....They have cap room but not enough to get a guy like Joe Johnson in free agency. They have 3 picks in the 1st round if I'm not wrong and that is taking up cap space that they could be using on a FA...in their situation they need a guy to come in and be a consistent scoring threat night in and night out and I don't see anybody doing that for them at #4....IF we move into the lottery I see us getting rid of a guy/s like Bayless/Rudy with a future draft pick or one of our Euros included. Minnesota could use the cap room and a couple million on top of what they already have could mean the difference between picking a guy in the lottery who MAY come in and make an immediate impact or getting a top tier FA. Obviously this is all speculation but we'll see how things go.
I'm torn between Cousins and Favors. Derrick Favors 6'10.25" (w/shoes) at 18 years old 245 LBS. 7'4" wingspan 9'2" reach (same as LMA's)
Cousins. I can't see us drafting a scoring wing in Wesley---my mancrush on Turner is that we could play Batum/Roy/Turner at the same time and the bad guys wouldn't know who to leave open, all can shoot the 3, and all can handle and dish the ball. I don't know that Batum can set up the offense yet, but he should get some work on that in France this summer. Anyway, if Turner and Wall are gone, it's probably Cousins--though the complication comes since we probably had to trade LMA to get the 3. I wouldn't throw up on Favors. I probably would on the rest. But if we get to 3, we can probably get to two and Turner. Or just go straight to 2 by doing LMA and Przy for Brand and the 2. Batum/Roy/Turner/Brand/Oden starting. Then we could look at Miller+Rudy (or Webster) for other stuff.
If Favors or Cousins are viewed as perennial All-Stars, then LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez, and the #22 pick are not going to be enough. Start thinking about adding Batum, at minimum, to fetch the #3 pick if the player picked there is valued that high.
Why even add Aldridge? Throw in Camby instead, or maybe even Pendergraph. Maybe just Przybilla for the #2 straight up?
DIdn't know that i had to explain PHI's insistence to get rid of Brand's contract to you. It's a bit like how WAS would've given an unprotected lotto pick in 2009 to get rid of Arenas. And they did give up the #5 for expiring contracts in Miller and Foye...unless you think that those two, talent-wise, make up the difference b/w Oleksey Pecherov and the #5 pick.
I don't think it's enough from Portland to get the #2 pick. A bench player with only a $7 million expiring contract, a PF who isn't an All-Star, and a pick in the 20s for the #2 pick? Why even have a team in Philly if they're going to make that deal? Plus, while Brand's contract is bad, it only has 3 years left, so taking on LA's 5-year extension actually means they have more money remaining to pay their PF than if they keep Brand.
They need to have someone at the position. And I'm assuming that they'd rather have your 25 y/o guy that plays 35mpg at an 18/8 level making 10M than Brand making 16M, since one puts them into the lux tax and one doesn't. Combine that with the fact that Brand's slow-it-down game doesn't work with Jrue Holiday and AI2 (while LMA would, and Turner isn't a burner) and you get far more from the trade than you're thinking. Yes, they'd have to pay LMA 65M through 2015. They'd have to pay Brand 51M for the next 3 years, and someone else for 2013-2015. So they're spending at least 65M on PFs in the next 5 years...they can have Brand + ?? in 2013-15, or they can have LMA now. And Pryz's insurance contract. And not having to pay 4M for the #2 pick.
My vote: Derrick Favors When you factor in his elite (or near) athletic ability, his ceiling is only second to Wall, IMO. His measurements also helped his stock a lot.
Cousins. He's got red flags (which is why he'd be available at number 3 and not the first overall pick) but talent wins and aside from Wall I think Cousins has the most upside based on his talent and physical profile. Most of you are right though, that there's not much chance the Blazers can get up that high, even with LMA, Rudy, a 22nd and future first round pick.
What's funny is what a lot of folks are describing as Red Flags for Cousins, are the exact reasons I want him here. I want a player with nasty attitude here. I want a player with confidence here. And those are the exact reason he is obtainable, because those things might make him slide a bit. The reason that a multiple player deal might get him, is because teams picking at the #3 and #4 position, almost need a whole new team in order to get their franchise going. A muliple for one deal would be just fine, because many of those teams don't like their draft possibilities with what they currently have on board.
I voted for Ekpe Udoh he has tremendous upside potential. I think he'd fit the best with the Blazers current roster.
