<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Warriors get their first private look at draft prospects today, bringing in a quartet of college seniors including Providence small forward Ryan Gomes, and guards Keith Langford of Kansas and Darren Brooks of Southern Illinois. None of the players are considered first-round picks, but because the Warriors have two second-round selections this year, the early workouts take on added significance. If form holds in the draft lottery May 24, the Warriors will have the ninth overall pick and Nos. 40 and 42 in the latter round, with the extra second-round pick coming from February's trade of Clifford Robinson to New Jersey. Those who want a preview of the Warriors' potential lottery pick, however, will have to wait. The top college prospects will not pass through Golden State's practice facility for at least another week. Early-entry candidates must wait until after the NBA releases its full list of draft entrants May 19 to schedule official workouts. And as usual, the greatest stock belongs to underclassmen, from front- running Utah center Andrew Bogut, Wake Forest point guard Chris Paul and North Carolina forward Marvin Williams -- who are possible top-three picks -- to second-tier players such as Williams' Tar Heels teammate Raymond Felton and Pittsburg forward Chris Taft, who are more likely to be available when the Warriors make their first selection. Players have until Saturday to declare and can pull out as late as one week before the June 28 draft if they have not signed with an agent. </div> Source
Thanks for the link shape, was just about to post it up myself. Hopefully their draft workouts went well. Gomes is pretty well known, but Langford and Brooks are pretty fringe players who need to play well in workouts for a team to give them a chance. Of the two, I'd pick Brooks to break out and get a shot at being drafted or at least being invited to a summer league team and making it on as a IR guy. Both are undersized shooting guards who lack point guard skills. Brooks worked hard on it last season, but he's still more of a scorer than anything, a short hustle player who's got a knack for steals. Langford is also a scorer but not a great shooter, though he manages to get around the rim. We already have a questionable point guard who's better as a shooting guard in Fisher, but I guess we are looking for insurance. One thing not related to the draft workouts was the fact that "the regulars this summer have so far been Warriors forwards Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy." It's really early in the offseason, and the Euros have gone back to Europe, and J-Rich decided to take a bit off, and Baron needs to rest a bit before going back to practice, which are all valid reasons not to be practicing. It's good to see Murphy and Dun working as early as they can on their skills. I'd like to see Gomes match up with Dun or Murphy to gauge his skill on a big forward and a small forward, personally, though that's not likely to happen, since they'll be doing drills probably.
Thanks for the news shape. Also its nice to hear that Dun and Murphy are already working on their weaknesses.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Zhone:</div><div class="quote_post">One thing not related to the draft workouts was the fact that "the regulars this summer have so far been Warriors forwards Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy." It's really early in the offseason, and the Euros have gone back to Europe, and J-Rich decided to take a bit off, and Baron needs to rest a bit before going back to practice, which are all valid reasons not to be practicing. It's good to see Murphy and Dun working as early as they can on their skills. I'd like to see Gomes match up with Dun or Murphy to gauge his skill on a big forward and a small forward, personally, though that's not likely to happen, since they'll be doing drills probably.</div> It's good too see Murphy and Dunleavy practicing. Hopefully Dunleavy puts on some muscle here. I want too see both of them work on their defense. That would be real nice if we could have them both get some help there. Dunleavy is always getting blown by his guys and is just letting them do whatever they want. However near the end of the year he started to be a bit more aggresive on D. Dunleavy is also just so weak when he drives. He needs to go to the hoop more.Murphy, ehh.... he needs to work on sucessfully driving to the hoop. I can't count how many times he got stuffed by guys 6'6. Also Murphy needs to be more aggresive on defense as well. There are times that the ball goes up after a miss and Murphy just stands there waiting for the ball to magically drop in his hands. Same goes for whenever he has a gy on him that goes up. He usually doesn't do anything and just waits for Foyle to get the block or at least try to stop him. Either that or he uselessly hacks at him and gets the foul called.
Dunleavy's Prob. trying to prove to everyone he's worth a #3 I guess and earn that money. Troy Murphy's probably trying to prove he's worth his near max contract. Troy Murphy gets stuffed often by 6'3 guards, not 6'6. Plus, he keeps his hands down on defense a lot and I wish the guy would take more fouls to save a layup. But I like Murphy's ability to put the ball in the basket with the elbow jumper and rebound like a madman. He's one tough hombre.
Does anyone else want Murphy to lose some weight? I liked him when he was younger, he was much quicker and more agile. If he could lose enough to get well above the rim it would prevent him from getting stuffed and maybe improved his shotblocking. I heard somewhere that in his rookie season he often went through the legs in mid-air for the slam during practices. He doesn't have to get that light but now that we are a running team, i think it would help him run the floor and guard quicker opponents.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">Does anyone else want Murphy to lose some weight? I liked him when he was younger, he was much quicker and more agile. If he could lose enough to get well above the rim it would prevent him from getting stuffed and maybe improved his shotblocking. I heard somewhere that in his rookie season he often went through the legs in mid-air for the slam during practices. He doesn't have to get that light but now that we are a running team, i think it would help him run the floor and guard quicker opponents.</div> Yeah, I kinda want him to find an equillibrium between muscle mass and speed. Murphy already runs the floor well for his amount of bulk, but he seems to lack lift maybe due to his injuries? I know that Troy Murphy is a pretty good dunker, but he's only shown the willingness to attack the rim against Milwaukee, where there's little defensive presence inside. Maybe Shawn Bradley made him afraid of going up in the air because of that time he got decked and coughed up blood. It's like it took Zarko almost an entire year to finally get the courage to start dunking again after Fortson broke his wrist. He almost had another accident after he almost got undercut by Richard Jefferson earlier this year but managed to stay on his feet after throwing down a nasty jam. Being 6'11 and being undercut by smaller guys is really dangerous, so that's probably why the big men tend to avoid it unless they can power their way through and it becomes a point blank dunk in the paint. Both Zarko and Murphy tend to throw it down when they're driving toward the basket, since neither have any post up game. Murphy isn't all that athletic in terms of the NBA, but he's no stiff either otherwise he simply could not compete. I think Murph could basically do those 360 and between the leg dunks like incoming Duke Freshman, Josh McRoberts did in the high school dunk contest (he came in second to Gerald Green who could do all the Vince Carter dunks and touch the top of the backboard). If he loses some weight and tries to play at 240 lbs maybe it might be better for him, but if he wants to be a post up player, he'll need the extra bulk so he doesn't get pushed off the block.
Dun apparently needs surgery on his knee, so maybe we'll see a slower or faster Dunleavy depending on how his rehab goes. If he is a true 6'10 now, he might be useable at power forward more frequently and we might see more step back moves or calls for screens. I do hope we get some insurance at small forward for this draft. Too bad we can't do Dun for Danny Granger or Dun for Josh Howard. Heck, I'll just take somebody who can get fouled, play with tenacity, play defense, pass the ball. They just have to be able to at least be a decent shot from certain places as Bruce Bowen and I'll be happy. I guess it's wise just to hold onto Dun to see what he can do his 3rd year. Maybe he'll be like Richardson and come out of nowhere with suprises.
I think as with any player conditioning is most important. If you dont have all quality weight as a player you wont be as explosive. However, if they are bulked up but have hardly any bodyfat, they will keep their athleticism;if anything, they can become more explosive. I have never seen Murphy with his shirt off. If he looks anything like Dunleavy he may want to keep a good balance of bulking up and then conditioning so he is in the best shape possible...
Murphy does look like he has a decent amount of fat if you look at his arms. I haven't heard whether he is working his post game in the offseason but if not then i think getting quicker and more lift would help his game. Maybe it is due to the minor injuries he had this past season as Custodian mentioned. On the bright side, Murphy has worked very hard to improve in his past offseasons. I'd prefer he work more on his D than post game because he already puts up good numbers.
Chad Ford's latest spiel is that the warriors have shown interest in Warrick & Andray Blatche(7ft high school kid) at the ninth slot. I'm too cool to copy the link but I'm sure someone else will post it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">Murphy does look like he has a decent amount of fat if you look at his arms. I haven't heard whether he is working his post game in the offseason but if not then i think getting quicker and more lift would help his game.</div> Yes, murphy has stated that his post game will be something he will work on which along with fully healing could possibly allow us to see a "brand new" Murphy next year. We can hope at least.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, I kinda want him to find an equillibrium between muscle mass and speed. Murphy already runs the floor well for his amount of bulk, but he seems to lack lift maybe due to his injuries? I know that Troy Murphy is a pretty good dunker, but he's only shown the willingness to attack the rim against Milwaukee, where there's little defensive presence inside. Maybe Shawn Bradley made him afraid of going up in the air because of that time he got decked and coughed up blood. It's like it took Zarko almost an entire year to finally get the courage to start dunking again after Fortson broke his wrist. He almost had another accident after he almost got undercut by Richard Jefferson earlier this year but managed to stay on his feet after throwing down a nasty jam. Being 6'11 and being undercut by smaller guys is really dangerous, so that's probably why the big men tend to avoid it unless they can power their way through and it becomes a point blank dunk in the paint. Both Zarko and Murphy tend to throw it down when they're driving toward the basket, since neither have any post up game. Murphy isn't all that athletic in terms of the NBA, but he's no stiff either otherwise he simply could not compete. I think Murph could basically do those 360 and between the leg dunks like incoming Duke Freshman, Josh McRoberts did in the high school dunk contest (he came in second to Gerald Green who could do all the Vince Carter dunks and touch the top of the backboard). If he loses some weight and tries to play at 240 lbs maybe it might be better for him, but if he wants to be a post up player, he'll need the extra bulk so he doesn't get pushed off the block.</div> Well now that you kinda talked about it, I can see why he doesn't drive. But he's big and strong. If he gave them the DD look, they'd bug off. But he needs to drive. He could be so good....
Murphy certainly was a bit more mobile,springy when lighter. Quite possibly he can regain a lot of that while keeping upper body strength,but I hate to speculate too much. He might need to shed a few pounds,but I think being out,injured took the edge off his conditioning and he didn't get it back until pretty late. The new emphasis on uptempo ball may mean Murph and Foyle each show up 10 pounds leaner for next season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting REREM:</div><div class="quote_post">Murphy certainly was a bit more mobile,springy when lighter. Quite possibly he can regain a lot of that while keeping upper body strength,but I hate to speculate too much. He might need to shed a few pounds,but I think being out,injured took the edge off his conditioning and he didn't get it back until pretty late. The new emphasis on uptempo ball may mean Murph and Foyle each show up 10 pounds leaner for next season.</div> Yeah. I agree. Biedrins is gonna be getting a big ole' serving of food and Murphy and Foyle will be on diets from Foyle's chef. Lol. I wanna see how they all look when the year starts....
I think Murphy needs to work out against Foyle down low so both of them can get work in. Foyle and him can switch up a bit. Murphy does not need to work on his jumper at all, just maintain it. I also think he needs to just gain about 10lbs of muscle and take off about 10lbs of body fat and he will be good to go...
If Ryan Gomes dropped to you all in the second round, then you should be very happy. The kid is extremely underrated IMHO. He rebounds great for his 6'7 frame averaging around 8 rebounds for his college career. Has a great mid range jumper and his low-post positioning is excellent. His agressive footwork is what gives him the positioning to box out biggger and stronger players than him. So, I think the only real reason that he is falling to the second round is because of his size. In my mind, he's a late first round pick, but scouts are thinking different.
I hope we get Wayne Simien, but Gomes is the next best thing if we need some form of low post presence. The thing I like about Gomes is he's got more range and okay athleticism to be able to create a mismatch at small forward and get to the foul line. Could be our answer to missing Antwan Jamison.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">I hope we get Wayne Simien, but Gomes is the next best thing if we need some form of low post presence. The thing I like about Gomes is he's got more range and okay athleticism to be able to create a mismatch at small forward and get to the foul line. Could be our answer to missing Antwan Jamison.</div> Yeah, now that is definitely something Gomes can do. His free throw shooting is very solid for a player of his size. He shot in the 80's his sophomore and junior year, but dropped down to 77% his senior year. It could be because he was the go to guy and took close to 500 shots which gave him more oppurtunities to go to the line. Simien should be a for the first round. Simien can flat out do it all all. But durability is a big question with him since he's suffered an injury in each of the last three season's, but when he's in there, he's a force to be reckin with.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting UKOwnstheSEC:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, now that is definitely something Gomes can do. His free throw shooting is very solid for a player of his size. He shot in the 80's his sophomore and junior year, but dropped down to 77% his senior year. It could be because he was the go to guy and took close to 500 shots which gave him more oppurtunities to go to the line. Simien should be a for the first round. Simien can flat out do it all all. But durability is a big question with him since he's suffered an injury in each of the last three season's, but when he's in there, he's a force to be reckin with.</div> Yeah and I bet that's why Higgins, Mully, and Mitch Richmond are looking at Gomes. At 6'7, not many teams are enthused about drafting a post player that could only utilize mismatches in his favor playing at small forward. But if he's got the range, he could convert into something solid as a utility backup. On the W's roster we have nobody that can consistently draw fouls, or shoot a decent percentage from the line, and it's mainly due to the fact nobody can really drive the ball the way Baron Does or get touch fouls in the post like Dampier did with the up and under pump fake and because our guys just can't shoot free throws. Since we have Murphy, Zarko, Jrich, and Baron Davis who can spread the floor at all the other positions besides small forward, this could allow Gomes to bang inside and kick out to the bigs for a 3 point shot or a long two. It will be very unorthodox, but it would allow the bigs to clear out of the way so one of the perimeter guys can drive on a kickout pass pretty easily compard to if there's big shotblockers protecting the rim. Simien's kind of like Curtis Borchardt's circumstance. A lot of skill, but just plain injured a lot. There's really not too many flaws in Simien's game, he's just not very big.
