Well, it shook out the way it was supposed to for the Warriors, #7. Damn Clippers got the #1 but they are pathetic so I guess they deserve it. Grizzlies have the #2. One interesting thing is I could see the Clips possibly taking Rubio at #1 instead of Griffin, though I think it's not likely. Now what are our options for going after Rubio? I think I'd rather see us try that than pursue Bosh or Boozer, who will be too expensive and short-term anyway. This team needs a true PG, and Rubio is that. I'm not really sold on any of the others like Hill, Evans, Jennings.
I'm guessing we'll get Jennings or that one European big guy that can shoot. (forgot his name) I want us to get rid of Maggs/Craw and draft Evans.
I heard Terrance Williams a while back as a guy Nellie targeted and I believe it. 6'6 220 lbs great athlete, good passer, good defender, good shooter, great rebounder. Seems like Josh Howard with more passing ability and he oughta be ready to play from day one. Seems like that's what Nellie wants so its probably what we're gonna end up with. One could argue that Evans is pretty similar but a few years younger so why not take him. I think Williams is a better athlete but Evans has more raw talent. However, I wouldn't be surprised if we picked Jennings, Flynn, or Evans either. Jrue Holiday too.
Saw a mock draft of Stephen Curry and I like it. Saw him in person at the NIT and he's got definite shooting skills and great range. He could probably play PG (Bobby Knight said he was the best passer he had ever seen) but I'm always leery of trying to make a lifelong shooter into a PG (e.g. Monta Ellis).
I think the Warriors have enough scorers and ball pounders on the team. I also like Curry, but he needs a lot of touches to be effective. I can't see him developing in Golden State unless they revamp the roster and ship out the volume shooters. I can't see the Warriors sitting still at #7 though. They either trade up, down or out of this year's draft IMO.
I wouldn't be against taking Curry if you could get something special for a Monta/Magette package. I think Curry would be a slight downgrade to Monta if he was asked to play the same role in Nellie's system (only on a rookie contract)
I was expecting to see the Warriors with the # 2 pick this morning. The Kings are snake bit just like the Warriors. The Clippers suck, but they always seem to end up with great draft picks (position). I'd give up the #1 pick (unprotected) if Cohan would sell the team to Larry Ellison.
I'd give up the pick and everyone on the roster for that. We'd suck for a couple years, but at I'd feel like we had someone who wants to win at any cost at the helm and would have a direction.
How about Ty Lawson of UNC? He looks like he'll be there at #7. From Draft Express: Ty Lawson looks as good as anyone from this perspective, regardless of position. As we put this data together, we weren’t surprised that Ty Lawson excelled from a situational perspective, as he did play for the most potent offense in all of college basketball, but we didn’t expect him to look this good. He ranks first in a number of key categories, including overall FG% (52%), Points Per Possession [PPP](1.13), pull up jump shot FG% (47%), and %shots he was fouled on (16.1%). Though his teammates did a lot of scoring as well, Lawson functioned seamlessly as a complementary scorer. Looking past his efficiency as a shooter off the dribble, he was second in catch and shoot field goal percentage at 48%. From a purely statistical sense, no player on this list scored more efficiently than Lawson. We thought that UNC’s transition offense might have given Lawson a decided advantage over some of his counterparts in terms of efficiency, but that wasn’t entirely true. He did get 10% more offense in transition than any of the other players we looked at (an outrageous 38.6%), but his transition PPP of 1.2 is the same as his PPP in spot up situations and not as far above the average as his PPP in pick and roll situations (1.19 PPP, +.29) or on isolations (1 PPP, +.16). Lawson was an incredibly prolific transition player (which is quite an advantage in itself today’s NBA), but he was comparatively better in other areas as well. When you consider that he only turned the ball over on 13.8% of his half court possessions (5th best) and can drive left and right equally well, it seems like Lawson could be an excellent offensive fit on virtually any team, regardless of tempo. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Ty-Lawson-485//
Lawson is good, the biggest problem is his size at only 6-0. And in today's NBA size is important, especially if you're looking at running him with Monta Ellis. His defense is also mediocre, and while I know it's unrealistic for a Don Nelson team to draft a defender, the Warriors desperately need defense, I don't see how anyone can deny that. Scoring alone does not win!
As a UNC fan that's watched Lawson play, he seems like a good prospect, but not for us. Like Hirez said, he's undersized which won't help Monta at all.
But say we used Lawson like a Speedy Claxton? For a guy 5'11, he sure played bigger. I'm really interested in the point guard's ability to stay in front of the ballhandler and anticipate the passing lanes. If he's got hops and wingspan like Claxton, but with more durability, I'd say give him a look. If Claxton wasn't so delicate, he'd be the ultimate backup / occasional starter for us because he actually ran the point like a floor general should be doing (albeit dribbling with his head down and not quite consistent from at least 20 feet out).
This is an interesting rumor from Draft Express. [-The Warriors are rumored to have strong interest in Brandon Jennings according to several NBA teams drafting in their area, although they may decide to go in another direction if they are able to execute a trade with the Clippers for Baron Davis. ] http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA-Draft-Roundup-May-24-3227/
The Baron thing doesn't make sense to me. Why would we now take Baron back when we denied an extension last year? Mullin (the guy who wanted him back) is gone and Rowell/Cohan (the ones who denied it) are still here. As for Jennings. I have no idea what to make of him. Seems like his stock was sky high last year around this time, then it dipped in Europe, and now its climbing back into top-5 range. I trust Nellie when it comes to drafting, especially PGs.
Chad Ford's latest mock draft has them taking ... Brandon Jennings Analysis: The Warriors need a more traditional point guard, and with Jennings they get to swing for the fences a bit. He wasn't great in Italy this year, but he has all the tools to be a terrific backcourt mate for Monta Ellis for years to come. Holiday and Jonny Flynn are also possibilities here.
I am very interested in Austin Daye. Apparently he's coming to Oakland soon to workout for the team, according to an interview of him posted on draftexpress.com. He's very tall at 6-10/6-11, blocks shots (averaged over 2 a game in college), can shoot (shot 47% from the field in college, about 42 percent from 3s, so he has range), he's got good handles, gets some boards, and really impressed the Suns who apparently threw everything at him, yet he still came out looking really good despite. Daye/Randolph/Biedrins is one tall front court. It's still way early, but at the way things look now, I'm thinking the Warriors trade their pick (Stephen Curry, who the Bobcats seem to like) and a filler, perhaps Brandan Wright to the Bobcats for Felton and the 10th pick, and then take Austin Daye. Felton/Monta/Daye/Randolph/Biedrins. Talk about one super athletic team. I don't know why no one wanted to guard him on these plays [video=youtube;gXd_vHAoXIM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXd_vHAoXIM[/video] His shot looks good, and his shot blocking is nice, especially in the perimeter. There was even a Dirk comment. Nelson's probably got his eyes open on this guy. But he also seems to have a little bit of POB in him too...
Austin Daye would be a great fit in Nellie's system, but he'll have to add some weight and get stronger to compete at PF. If he develops properly the Warriors would have a dynamic frontcourt with Randolph and Daye. The Magic are having success with Turkoglu & Lewis against the top rated defensive team in the league.
I was trying to learn more about Daye, and he seems to have too much POB and Mike Dunleavy Jr. passiveness in him. I think he's a great talent, but I am very concerned about his drive. In an article he was even quoted as saying that he'd be content not being a team's main player, and just being on a playoff team. He seems to shy away from pressure, something I am not a big fan of. He has great talent, but I am not so sure about him. He just seems like another talented, inconsistent bench player, which the Warriors have to much of. Though I don't know many of the players in this draft, I think the Warriors should actually just go for Stephen Curry at number 7 if he is still around. That guy is good. Not only that, he's extremely clutch. He seems to be a player that you can rely on as a first or second scoring option, and he wants to be that. He wants to carry the team on his back, and he's done that for many years in college. He's good at getting deflections and causing turnovers, which goes very well with players like Ellis, Randolph, and Biedrins who do this as well. With his scoring abilities, it will open up the floor for others to excel such as Monta, Biedrins, Randolph, Morrow (basically everyone else). He also seems very solid near the rim, getting the ball to go through the hoop. So I say, go with the best player at 7, which I'd think would be Stephen Curry, if he's not taken before then. Then take this roster with lots of talented pieces that the Warriors have to make the big trades to fill in actual needs with other talented players who can actually be starters.
I don't think it's likely Curry will still be there, but it's hard to see Nelson passing up a prolific scorer like that if he is. Then again, as we've seen from the likes of Crawford, Maggette, Harrington, even Baron, scoring isn't everything. You can be a 20+ ppg scorer and still be a drag on a franchise.
I watched ESPN's clip of the Day 2 combine analysis, they have a list of players whose stock is moving up or down. I love how they have 8 players moving up and only 4 moving down. Uh, don't you need the same number moving down as up? Wow, they're all the best!