5:30 pm PDT. TEAM RECORD LOTTERY CHANCES (out of 100) Minnesota 17-65 250 Cleveland 19-63 199 Toronto 22-60 156 Washington 23-59 119 Sacramento 24-58 76 New Jersey (To Utah) 24-58 75 Detroit 30-52 43 LA Clippers (To Cleveland) 32-50 28 Charlotte 34-48 17 Milwaukee 35-47 11 Golden State 36-46 8 Utah 39-43 7 http://sports.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979336154
Yup. It's that time of year again . Draft results: http://www.nba.com/2011/news/05/17/draft-lottery-results/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1 Kawhi Leonard, SF: http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2011/ Let the videos begin!
Didn't get a chance to watch almost any college bball all year so I'm not as knowledgable as I'd like to be. Who do you guys like at 11? I gotta say this Chris Singleton guy sounds very intriguing. 6'8-6'9 athletic SF and apparently a shut down defender. He's no offensive star but I read that hes committed to defense and really locks people down. Sounds perfect. ESPN guys think hes a top 5 pick (they're always super biased toward college junior/seniors and hate guys who leave college early though) but DX and nbadraft have him going late teens/early 20s. May not be a sexy pick taking a guy who projects as a role player but this draft blows and I'd love to get a lock down perimeter defender out of it. Could be like another Udoh pick. Which isn't popular around here but its undeniable how much better the team was with him on the floor. Lets get a culture of defense going and acquire some defensive players instead of hoping Curry/Monta/Lee figure it out on the defensive end. Watched a few SD State games and was never that impressed with Kawhi Leonard. Looks like a Gerald Wallace at best, which I'd love to pick up, but I don't think his man defense is actually that good. Wouldn't complain about this pick but I just wasn't that blown away by him. And for the record I've seen some highlights of Kanter and I don't really get the hype. Hes pretty unathletic and had absolutely zero left hand. Maybe hes improved his left hand since the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit but man he made some awkward plays just to avoid using the left hand. I'd absolutely take him at 11 and, again, I'm basing this purely on highlights, I just don't think he looks very good. Also I'm a bit surprised to see the Morris twins projected to be available at 11. Marcus Morris is listed at 225 lbs. but he looked at least 235 to me maybe even more. Perhaps they're shorter than we're lead to believe though. Marcus was a pretty versatile and go-to scorer. Markieff was the better rebounder/defender, hes listed as 10 lbs. bigger and apparently has a good jump shot. If they measure out 6'9-6'10 and 240ish I wouldn't be upset with that pick. Never seen Tristian Thompson play but he could be the high risk/high reward guy who is available at 11 (assuming none of the Euro guys or Biyombo drop). I'm a bit skeptical of a 6'8 skinny-ish freshman PF but that might be the swing-for-the-fences pick. Alec Burks is another name being thrown around at 11. Sounds too good to be true for a guy as good as he is described to be falling to 11. A 6'6 SG/SF who can penetrate at will, finish, decent shooter, good athlete, good handle, gets FTs can rebound and pass, and hes actually younger than Tristian Thompson. How the hell is this guy going to be taken outside the top 5? Anyway, sounds like a great pick at 11 if hes as good as advertised. Lacob apparently loves guys who rebound their position well. Doesn't look to be much star talent at 11 and this draft looks pretty talent-less in general. Say what you will about the Udoh pick, I liked that we got a guy who was already an impact defensive player even as a rookie big man. There doesn't seem to be any C's available in this draft (Lucas Nogueira should be available but hes a big, big gamble), I'd be perfectly happy drafting another defensive minded player. Singleton seems to be unanimously considered the best defender in the draft. Leonard is considered to be a solid defender as well plus a good rebounder. Markieff Morris is a defensive minded big man. Most guys probably won't be as good defensively as Udoh as a rookie but we saw how much impact adding just one defensive player can make. BPA is always a good philosophy but I'd love to get another defensive minded, well sized, athletic player to continue to create a culture of defense on this team.
So far, I like Kawhi Leonard, who can also play the 2 at the next level, better than Alec Burks. The problem with Burks is he has got poor shooting mechanics. His strengths are handling the rock, penetrating and dishing. He's a bigger Monta Ellis without the shot. Leonard can shoot better, is bigger and stronger, can rebound, very good perimeter defender and can play low post. Chauncey Billups has helped him work on his shooting and handling the rock. Originally predicted to be low to mid-round, Leonard could move up, so he may gone before #11. That's his problem. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Kawhi-Leonard-5821/ [video=youtube;BA1GYjD1yHo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA1GYjD1yHo&feature=player_embedded[/video] [video]http://bcove.me/f1xd3urg[/video]
