Howard told the Sentinel on Thursday he should be the Magic's choice over Connecticut center Emeka Okafor and that he'd "love" for McGrady to watch him work out in Orlando for the Magic. Howard, speaking by phone from Atlanta, says he believes he's a better player than Okafor, describing himself as a "a young KG [Kevin Garnett] and Tim Duncan mixed together. That's me." Full Story Man that would be awesome if he can get tracy to see his workout and convince him to stay.
He certainly doesn't have a lack of confidence. I think the Magic would be better with Okafor however, because he will definitely be able to step up and produce in his first season whereas Howard may or may not take a few years to develop. I'm pretty sure Okafor is already a lock at #1, but maybe the Magic coaching staff will be impressed.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting B-22:</div><div class="quote_post">Sounds like a future NBA rivalry to me.</div>yep a rivalry in the making alla Carmelo and Lebron. i love the confidence from Howard. I'm ready to see these rookies next year. And what they bring to the floor. Its all about heart and what you bring to the floor io say forget the stats lets see those W's. stats are good too consistency is the key. But I want W's somthing T really wants as well with his consistent 60 point game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Shard:</div><div class="quote_post">He certainly doesn't have a lack of confidence.</div> He couldn't hold a candle to Ivan the Terrible. Hehehhe. If the number 1 pick ain't traded, it's almost 100% certain that Emeka would be chosen first. Except of course if TMac gets traded.
I think he will be better than Emeka, I think Emeka's back will hinder his play throughout his career.
This will hunt us back...see how he described himself??? I posted in like 3 diff places that he was going to be as good or better than KG!! but right now Okafor is going to be better...after let's say 5 years...Okafor is going to be a pretty good player if not an all-star (kinda like Theo Ratliff) and Dwight is going to be a star next to LBJ Melo and other All-Stars............. damn...lol I was hopinh to see Dwight in Atlanta along with Josh Smith heheh but I don't know I'm frying my brain over all these draft stuff...I'll just wait and see.
Screw immediate presence. This guy is going to be a stud. Tmac will likely leave anyway, just draft the guy who has the most upside and that's Dwight. He's got guard skills in a PF body. I want to see a workout with Okafor and Howard going one on one. Let Tmac decide then.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sportsrock37:</div><div class="quote_post">Screw immediate presence. This guy is going to be a stud. Tmac will likely leave anyway, just draft the guy who has the most upside and that's Dwight. He's got guard skills in a PF body. I want to see a workout with Okafor and Howard going one on one. Let Tmac decide then.</div> Amen Brother!!
Basically what it comes down to is 1. Trade the pick to fill Tmac's wants, then get screwed when he leaves. 2. Draft Okafor to impress Tmac right away, then get screwed when he leaves. 3. Draft Dwight Howard and have a stud, when Tmac leaves. That's the way I see it. I'm not too confident of keeping Tmac. Don't get me wrong, I would love Tmac to stay, but right now I really don't feel confident about it. I just feel that we have to draft as Tmac will not stay. If we trade the pick, make sure it's for a franchise player.(like Gasol) If Tmac is stupid enough to want to get traded when we will be able to 1. Max a FA next offseason.(When Hill opts out of his contract) 2. Get the Sidekick that he's asking for at #1 this year. 3. Trade Juwan or Gooden for either another lotto pick or a proven PG. Then let him leave and we will get more depth and balance(from the trade) and be playoff bound again.(regardless of if he stays or gets traded)
I think we should pick howard, regardless of what t-mac thinks.I think once he sees him workout it might change his mind.I wish we could land dampier some how and trade gooden for a true point.It would be nice if we could make deal to get luke jackson he's the kind of guy t-mac wants to open the floor for him.Some scouts say he is a better than mike miller.he is better on d and more athletic they say.Maybe we can deal our 2nd rounders and scrub for him.
"It's a collection of a lot of things that makes him special. He's 6-11, can handle the ball, shoots the midrange shot, runs the floor and really jumps. You see flashes of some of those things from other players (in the draft), but the only player I can think of who has that same overall package is Kevin Garnett. And he's the premier player in the league right now. The comparison is that he has the tools to become him in that vain. It's not comparing him at this point. But the upside is tremendous with this kid." Weisbrod said approximately 15 teams have contacted him about the top overall pick, but he stressed that that number can be misleading because most GMs are just interested to see what it would take in a trade to get the Magic's No. 1 pick. But the majority of the callers are from lottery teams looking to move up. And for the most part, they have their eye on one player. "It would be safe to say that more of the teams that are looking to trade up to No. 1 are doing so to take (Howard) more than they are for Okafor," Weisbrod said. "Obviously, teams don't show you their hand, but I would say the interest is pretty balanced. You hear a lot of people saying, 'Okafor is the clear-cut No. 1.' "That's not the way it feels in my discussions with other teams and <u>I wouldn't even say that's the way it feels to us.</u> We're gonna have both kids in, meet them and work them out. We'll make it a totally objective process. We're not predisposed one way or another."
Fellas, Let's talk oldschool here for a second......Step into my world.........If you're Orlando, you take Okafor no matter what. There is no debate. You take Size over a wing player. If TMac flies, then at least you still have a big man in the paint. An extremely valuable commodity, especially in the East. Even if Orlando doesn't see him as good enough to Anchor the paint, they undoubtedly know that there are other teams out there that disagree with that point of view. Big men are always more tangible commodities when discussing trades and more teams are usually interested when big's hit the market. Back issues or not, you go with Okafor to build around, because that's all that'll be left if TMac bolts. You fortify the harder position to fill. It's just good sense, IMO.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hagrid:</div><div class="quote_post">Fellas, Let's talk oldschool here for a second......Step into my world.........If you're Orlando, you take Okafor no matter what. There is no debate. You take Size over a wing player. If TMac flies, then at least you still have a big man in the paint. An extremely valuable commodity, especially in the East. Even if Orlando doesn't see him as good enough to Anchor the paint, they undoubtedly know that there are other teams out there that disagree with that point of view. Big men are always more tangible commodities when discussing trades and more teams are usually interested when big's hit the market. Back issues or not, you go with Okafor to build around, because that's all that'll be left if TMac bolts. You fortify the harder position to fill. It's just good sense, IMO.</div> Howard is a big man also.he is 2 to 3 inches taller than him okafor.he can also play d I seen him blocking shots all over in the all star games. I'm not saying he is as good okafor on d, but I think he will hold his own.He has an nba body already. Okafor will never match howards all around talent.I will be happy with either one though. I just prefer howard.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sportsrock37:</div><div class="quote_post">Screw immediate presence. This guy is going to be a stud. Tmac will likely leave anyway, just draft the guy who has the most upside and that's Dwight. He's got guard skills in a PF body. I want to see a workout with Okafor and Howard going one on one. Let Tmac decide then.</div> Yea well , that game will probably end 6 - 4 Howard and Okafor will end with 36 blocks lol.... Seriously man...this is a headache I'm glad I'm not Wesbroid lol ..They will talk to each of them..and see them work out(hopefully T-Mac too) I don't know what to think...send Juwan or Gooden and some others to LA for their pick so we can get both hehe T-Mac , Okafor and Dwight??? give me a break. EDIT: BTW , Screw Gasol...he is so soft.......................I just don't like him and IMO there is no way in hell he is a franchise player.
Give the kid credit for saying that he is a mix of "KG And Duncan".. And going one step farther and saying that he is the Number One Pick. The kid has some confidence I guess.. Ive switched the Okafor switch and the Dwight switch back and forth for a long time now.. Do we really want Okafor to help us out now, with virtually the same team as last year? Only adding Okafor? Cause right now it doesnt look like Howard and Lue are going anywhere... The only difference is our favorite Center not starting.. Do we really want Drew Gooden? Cause it looks like the Management wants? Why not dump him while he still his young and we could get something good for him.. These are all tasteless things.. Drew shipped out.. Howard staying.. Drafting Okafor and T-Mac Still leaving.. Or we could draft Dwight Howard... If he doesnt step up right away, T-Mac leaves.. We get rid of Gooden or Howard because of the depth in that postion and the talent... If he steps up, and T-Mac thinks this is a legit team he stays.. If he doesnt produce until two years later until McGrady is gone... Oh well we have a superstar anyway... I am begining to think of the comment sportsrock keeps making.. That if T-Mac Leaves.. And we draft Dwight.. we are looking at one of the next big dominate Power Forwards.. So what if we don't have T-Mac.. Yeah it's a weird thought.. But its part of the Business part I guess.. I am still blank on my thought though..
I think it goes like this, Okafor is probably going to be the best player right out of the box. But 2-3 years down the road, this guy is going to be just like KG. He's got the athleticism, the intensity, and the confidence. Orlando NEEDS confidence. Screw T-Mac, he's not the GM, he's not the one out there scouting all these players. Howard is the best player in this draft, hands down. Okafor is a CLOSE second.
i think its ridiculous to say this guy is the next coming of KG. he hasn't proven anything in the league yet. all he has now is his confidence, but until he actually plays in the nba, he has no idea what he's in for yet. not even lebron said he was gonna be the best thing since sliced bread. im sure he has a HUGE upside, otherwise he wouldn't be predicted a 1 or 2 pick, but comparing him to KG? come on now. how many people in the league play w/ the passion that KG plays with? he might say he's gonna bring it every night, but thats waaaaay easier said than done, especially in this league.
