Due to some complications, we're going to start this week's contest tomorrow with two topics. So make sure that you're ready to go tomorrow afternoon. :happy0144:
My choice will probably raise some eyebrows. Mainly because the team I chose did not draft any star players. They just had an excellent draft for where they were picking from. My selection is the Spurs. They were picking at 28 and at 33 and they managed to come away with Tiago Splitter and Marcus Williams.Both of these guys are very talented for late 1st/early 2nd....even in this year's draft. Before the college season began, Marcus Williams was slotted as a surefire lottery pick. Well, it is evident that he slipped, but the talent remains. Tiago Splitter has been waiting to come over to the NBA to play ball for a long time, but now his contract with his previous team is finally expired, so he decided to enter this year's draft. Before the draft, he was slotted as an early 20's/mid 20's draft pick. He's got great defensive and rebounding talent. He is a natural star on the defensive end, and he is also very, very quick for a big man. His post game is solid, not great. But I believe he has the talent and skills to improve on that, and become a good offensive player along with a great rebounder and defender. I also forgot to mention that he is decently strong, and he's able to play both PF and Center, although I see him playing Center with the abundance of Center's in SA. He also is a very smart basketball player, so he'll fit in with the Spurs intelligent style of play on offense and defense. His only cons are that he is not a huge scorer, and he doesn't have much of a shot either. But considering the Spurs don't have a Center, he's a great fit for them. I think they brought in another Euro steal to tell you guys the truth. He has great overall skills.Okay, so on to Marcus Williams. I feel that the Spurs really did need a swingman considering that Brent Barry, Bruce Bowen, and Michael Finley are nearing the end of their respected careers. Marcus has great overall offensive skills. The one downside to his offensive game is that he is not very strong. I guess he will have to work out in off-seasons, but I don't feel like strength is even a huge factor when you're talking about perimeter players. Marcus has got a great shot from both mid range and long range. He shot 43% for three last season, so that proves his long range touch considering he was still only a sophomore. He has amazing ball handling skills, and he is pretty athletic as well. Also, his passing skills are great for a Shooting Guard, and he isn't afraid to set others up. So when I look at Marcus Williams, I definitely see first round offensive talent, and I think he can become a good NBA scorer. The only problem is that I don't know if he can be a good defender in the NBA. But the majority of guards are mediocre defenders in today's NBA anyway.So in terms of where they drafted, I think the Spurs picked up two gems. They had the 2nd best draft in my opinion.Some other teams that had good drafts: LA Lakers, Memphis, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Golden State.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Jul 2 2007, 02:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>My choice will probably raise some eyebrows. Mainly because the team I chose did not draft any star players. They just had an excellent draft for where they were picking from. My selection is the Spurs. They were picking at 28 and at 33 and they managed to come away with Tiago Splitter and Marcus Williams.Both of these guys are very talented for late 1st/early 2nd....even in this year's draft. Before the college season began, Marcus Williams was slotted as a surefire lottery pick. Well, it is evident that he slipped, but the talent remains. Tiago Splitter has been waiting to come over to the NBA to play ball for a long time, but now his contract with his previous team is finally expired, so he decided to enter this year's draft. Before the draft, he was slotted as an early 20's/mid 20's draft pick. He's got great defensive and rebounding talent. He is a natural star on the defensive end, and he is also very, very quick for a big man. His post game is solid, not great. But I believe he has the talent and skills to improve on that, and become a good offensive player along with a great rebounder and defender. I also forgot to mention that he is decently strong, and he's able to play both PF and Center, although I see him playing Center with the abundance of Center's in SA. He also is a very smart basketball player, so he'll fit in with the Spurs intelligent style of play on offense and defense. His only cons are that he is not a huge scorer, and he doesn't have much of a shot either. But considering the Spurs don't have a Center, he's a great fit for them. I think they brought in another Euro steal to tell you guys the truth. He has great overall skills.Okay, so on to Marcus Williams. I feel that the Spurs really did need a swingman considering that Brent Barry, Bruce Bowen, and Michael Finley are nearing the end of their respected careers. Marcus has great overall offensive skills. The one downside to his offensive game is that he is not very strong. I guess he will have to work out in off-seasons, but I don't feel like strength is even a huge factor when you're talking about perimeter players. Marcus has got a great shot from both mid range and long range. He shot 43% for three last season, so that proves his long range touch considering he was still only a sophomore. He has amazing ball handling skills, and he is pretty athletic as well. Also, his passing skills are great for a Shooting Guard, and he isn't afraid to set others up. So when I look at Marcus Williams, I definitely see first round offensive talent, and I think he can become a good NBA scorer. The only problem is that I don't know if he can be a good defender in the NBA. But the majority of guards are mediocre defenders in today's NBA anyway.So in terms of where they drafted, I think the Spurs picked up two gems. They had the 2nd best draft in my opinion.Some other teams that had good drafts: LA Lakers, Memphis, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Golden State.</div>I'll give you points for this tomorrow once I get the topic up... great post!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (808Hornetsfan @ Jul 2 2007, 07:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'll give you points for this tomorrow once I get the topic up... great post!</div>Thankyou. What are the complications?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Jul 2 2007, 02:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Thankyou. What are the complications?</div>I posted this thread too late so mostly everyone is offline. I have to make sure it's posted around noon or so tomorrow.
Sorry I couldn't get on BBW any earlier today, I woke up late and yeah.About tomrrow..im at work so I don't know if im going to be able to get on BBW much, I might be able to, il try.
I say bring back Captain since he was runner up last game and keep the waiting list waiting :biggrin:
It looks like Amare has been banned so I'll try and get a hold of The Captain or the next person up on the waiting list.
If no one on the waiting list wants to do it, I'll do it again. Just let others who haven't had a chance yet do it first.
Okay players, it's time to start off another week of Around The Horn with a new panel of experts!! Today we'll be doing two topics so get ready to earn some points. We are pleased to welcome back our first ever ATH champ as he tries to defend his title one more week..... BluffCityBlue! :worthy: Week 2 PanelBluffCityBlueThe CaptainCB4AllStarRaptorFan#1Topic #1:The draft may have ended five days ago, but we're still talking about some of the controversial moves that a few teams made last Thursday night. One of the things that has not been asked lately is which team had the best draft overall, and of course, Portland re-built their entire roster and experts say they indeed had the best draft. My question to you is, which team had the second best draft night? Don't forget to include trades as well in your explanation. Since CB4 was able to answer yesterday, I'll start him off with 3 points, so the rest of the panel may begin posting. :happy0144:
I think the team who had the 2nd best draft was Seattle. We all knew that Rashard Lewis was going to leave, and Ray Allen is getting older and older. There wasnt any youth on the Seattle team that made the Sonics future look bright, but Sam Presti took what he had and made the best outve it. Not only getting the most talented player in the draft, he also traded an aging Ray Allen for a good lockerroom presence in Delonte West, sharpshooter Wally and top 5 talent Jeff Green. Although Seattle is more than likely not going to be a major factor in the West immediately, this team was steered to a bright future overnight. Now they can begin to build around Kevin Durant and basicly start the new era of basketball in Seattle...which becuase of this makeover, the team might move or end up staying. The state of the Sonics before the draft was going down-hill by the season, and now all they can do is get better with this great duo of young talent in Jeff Green and Kevin Durant.It was very hard for me to pick who had the 2nd best draft night, I can make arguement for the Boston Celtics, Golden St. and even San Antonio(which I was going to do but decided to shake it up since CB4 did SA)
My answer would be the Atlanta Hawks. Why? because they filled all of their needs in this draft, villed the voids in their roster and are in the best position to begin free agency. Lets look at where they stood coming into the draft:- The Hawks were in desperate need of two things. A serviceable big man, and a serviceable young pg. - Lets look at their starting lineup.PG: voidSG: Joe JohnsonSF: Josh SmithPF: VoidC: Zaza PachuliaFor the Hawks to be in any kind of contention, they needed to fill those 2 spots more than anything. They did just that, drafting Horford and Acie Law. Lets look at why these choices helped fill those voids more than perfectly:The Atlanta Hawks were missing bangers down low, scoring down low, and rebounding. Al Horford fits that perfectly. His strength, rebounding, and low post defense will be used by the Hawks this season, not to mention he is the best PF in the draft. He is excellent on the fastbreak, which compliments the game of Acie Law as well. Atlanta also picked up a basketball player with a smart IQ, as he understands the game well, and is a mature player.Acie Law is another great pickup by the Hawks, as Law is able to play up tempo and halfcourt offense. Therefore being a perfect pick to fill their point gaurd woes. Once again, atlanta picked one of the best PG's in the draft, who can emerge as the best in the future. Acie Law is also a great team leader, and a great crunch player, a rare thing in point gaurds today as he wont have any problems running the offense. Defensively hes also a good pick because hes quick and a liability in the passing lane.So basically Atlanta picked up additional options to compliment Johnson and Josh Smith, in the front and back court, but what really makes this as the best team in the draft as the position they are in coming in the draft. They are about 10 M under the cap and have the ability to increase their depth by signing a free agent. All this without having to sign any players to huge contracts. Atlanta is now built for the future, as this will be a contender in the East come 2-3 years. No team in the NBA except for Portland has been able to fill each and every void in their starting lineup and come into the free agent market grossly under the cap. With a few trades, and key FA signings, the Hawks could fill up their lineup with depth and some more scoring, they come into training camp one of the most improved teams of this draft.
+4 for RaptorsFan, good posting man.The Captain will make his posts later tonight, so in about an hour we'll have the second topic of the day... Stay tuned!
I'm going with Philadelphia. They picked up 3 strong players in Thad Young, Smith, and Byars. Their wings will be set for a long time with Young, Iggy and Byars, and Smith will definitely help them with inside scoring, and passing out of the post.IMO, Byars was THE steal of the draft, and Philly made a great move buying his rights. Philly also grabbed Herbert Hill, trading the rights to Kyrlyo Fesenko to get him. Hill is a nice, fast PF who can really help Philly's scoring.In conclusion, Philly filled their needs, while also getting great talent and potential at the same time. Those three will for sure play a big part in the Sixers future.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Captain @ Jul 3 2007, 01:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'm going with Philadelphia. They picked up 3 strong players in Thad Young, Smith, and Byars. Their wings will be set for a long time with Young, Iggy and Byars, and Smith will definitely help them with inside scoring, and passing out of the post.IMO, Byars was THE steal of the draft, and Philly made a great move buying his rights. Philly also grabbed Herbert Hill, trading the rights to Kyrlyo Fesenko to get him. Hill is a nice, fast PF who can really help Philly's scoring.In conclusion, Philly filled their needs, while also getting great talent and potential at the same time. Those three will for sure play a big part in the Sixers future.</div>+2 for The Captain. I think by getting Byars as low as they did, that saved their draft and now they do have two wings that will make a big impact. Thad is going to continue to develop and be a key contributor for this team, and Byars will be another bench/role player that will be able to make a lot of shots.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Jul 3 2007, 01:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>So, what happens now?</div>We're moving on to our second topic of the day.Topic #2Reports have been going around that Chauncey Billups has agreed in principle to a new contract with the Detroit Pistons, however, less than an hour ago ESPN NBA writer Chris Boussard has reported that those reports are false and Billups has not yet agreed to a new deal that would be worth around $60 million for five years. We all know a lot of rumors float around during free agency, but seeing that Billups has turned down a pretty big offer, does this mean there is even less of a chance that Chauncey will be in a Pistons uniform next season?
