alright boys, draft time....whats your poison this year?

Obviously I'd like to go big and once and for all end this Foyle, Murphy disaster but best available player may come in another form.

likes
aldridge: pretty athletic, good shooting touch, legit 6'11, has some moves downlow, he should average around a double double. He's drawn comparisons to Bosh and I don't see that but if he just gets close to a double double and plays SOME D we have a success. A bit mentally weak and a lot of people see Joe Smith in him.

Tyrus Thomas: Don't know a lot about him, saw him in 2 games and he played with tons of intensity. I think he should be a good pro. I didn't see the same skills in him like in Aldridge but he definitley plays with passion.

Gay: Nice kid, very athletic and can run the court like no other. He didn't really excel at anything but with Davis running the show, he would FLY up and down the court. Plays D and can rebound.

Carney: More polished than Gay. Don't know how his shooting stroke will translate in the pro's but was pretty consistent in college. Runs like a track star and put up good numbers. I think he'd make more of an immediate impact than Gay but I really like Gay's upside.

Bargnani: Saw some clips of him and for 6'11 the kid has great feet. Very good shooter and can beat his man off the dribble very easily. He can jump. His low post moves aren't very good, needs to gain 10 lbs of muscle. He's a gamble but could be a HUGE homerun.

Splitter: Most of us pimped him last year but his buyout concerns everyone.

Noah: he's not coming out so forget about him

Dislikes:
Reddick: No need for him.

Morrisonlaying next to Foyle and Murphy would be disastrous. Combine the fact he's 6'8, plays no defense and is diabetic, just say no.

Brandon Roy: He is actually a very good player but where would he play? Keeping him, Montay, Richardson and Pietrus is absolutely retarded.

 

I really don't know much about these guys. But if Gay can play defense, rebound, be athletic running the court beating players up and down the court, and has some good skills, then I believe he'd be a good fit. The Warriors don't really need superb scorers. The Warriors need a SF either to start or back up Dunleavy and move Pietrus back to a guard. Also this player should be good at defense and rebounding, two areas where the Warriors lack the most. Talking about comparing Gay to Ebi, I would really like to pick up Ebi right now, if he's still in the D league. I guess it's extremely late now, but he's a good athlete too, who can at least block lots of shots, I don't know about perimeter defense though. He also gets lots of boards. It also seems as if Ebi could be a kind of "head case" too.

Anyway I like how draftexpress.com tells how Gay is a player that could excel playing the Shawn Marion type role on a team. That is the exact player the Warriors could use. We don't really need a Tracy McGrady wannabe right now with the current roster, the Marion type player should fit perfectly. I like the rumors of how he is a hard worker too, kind of like Jason Richardson, maybe. He and Jason could get along real well. http://draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=34#

 

I'm still wondering about the future myself. I think our future lineup still looks funky even if Foyle or Murphy are taken away and put on the bench.

C: Biedrins (can really clean up, good hands, lacks strength, doesn't eat up space, has good rebounding skills but can't stay out of foul trouble, a liability at the foul line in fourth quarter foul situations which makes Murphy an asset IMO...)
PF: Ike (Size? So far he shows signs of doing the things we want a power forward to do in the paint and shotblocks, will be important in getting foul shots)
SF: Dunleavy Jr. (Inconsistent, can offer a variety of skills in a mismatch situation, nice passer, can run plays like a point guard, an okay defender, his shot really defines how he plays each game, crummy foul shooter for a pure shooter, good rebounder, a little bit soft still, not very quick, has no way to take advantage of his size including posting up or shooting over smaller players)
SG: J-Rich (foul shooting can be a problem in 4th quarter situations, ballhandling and passing is average for shooting guard position, nice post up game, nice off the ball movement, lateral movement isn't too hot, nice rebounder, has a little bit of Rip Hamilton in his game from midrange but can finish at the rim like Vince Carter or Richard Jefferson)
PG: Baron Davis/Monta Ellis (One is puffy the other is skinny, both are tremendous athletes that can get to the rim. There's probably no point in comparing an all-star player to a rookie, especially because the rookie is still learning the point guard spot, but you definitely see upsides in both their games. I see two guys who can create for players using quickness. Shooting is a little suspect, though, especially Baron... Monta Ellis is weaker than Baron, but is more laterally quick. It's like comparing Mickael Pietrus's lateral quickness to Jason Richardson)

Backcourt still looks shaky in terms of shooting at the line or shooting off the catch and shoot (We have a bunch of Steve Francises). We don't know if Mike Dunleavy Jr is ever going to step up and get a better shot. Guards will have to find some way to limit their shot attempts and find a way to get Ike and Biedrins involved in the offense. Guards/wings have to stay in front so there's less pressure for the big men to stop the smaller guys from getting layups or dunks.

Overall, I'm not even sure our defense is sound or if we fix our foul shooting problem. Also on offense, it could be another case of everyone wanting to be scoring, but not really setting each other up or moving the ball around. But I think we improve our inside game slightly. It would be nice to have a center that can come out and hit midrange shots so the paint doesn't become so crowded or if somebody isn't winning inside position in the paint.

If we can't package the pick to drop some deadweight contracts, I'd like to draft a ballhandling/passing/defending small forward that can shoot from at least 20 feet out. Or a big, bulky center like the one the Lakers drafted last year. I like the classic big men who are bulky, strong, have good hands, but are by no means stiffs. I like the big men who are going to "own the paint" and try hard every trip down. I think our guards are capable enough to recognize inside presence if it's there. If Ike is supposed to be that guy instead of the center, it makes me think if we're better off with a Raef La Frentz, Brad Miller, PJ Brown or Curtis Borchardt that can block shots, pass, and shoot from midrange/outside. The blocking shots and not being a stiff part is important, though.

 

The Warriors #1 priority as soon as their season is over (I know, it was over two months ago) is to find a taker for that pick. More specifically, a taker for either Foyle or Fisher and that pick. Someone wants that pick. Will someone swallow Foyle or Fisher in a deal to get that pick? This needs to happen.

If David Stern comes out at the draft this year and says "With the number ~ pick in the NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors select..." then either

a)Mullin did everything he could but Foyle and/or Fish is just that bad

b)Mullin drafts a pick in order to drade him in a pre-arranged move later that day

c)Mullin needs to be fired

 

Alley Oop

I am with ya. Although i dont see Foyle as the biggest problem he actually has productive minutes occasionally. But there is not question we need to get rid of fisher at all costs. If we have to package MP the draft pick.Whatever it takes.

I remember prior to last season people calling for fisher to be given his walking papers and allan houston ruled his ass out of the bay area. It would have been the greatest thing we could have done this season. YEah, we would still be paying his contract, but he no longer would be a hinderance taking up minutes, costing us games with his horrible D and O. I would rather see the team pay for him to play elsewhere, preferrably on Toronto, a team that has no shot of him backdooring another Championship ring ala John Salley.

As for this draft it looks pretty weak to me and there is no immediate help there for us. BEtter to add by subtraction i think.

 

i think the warriors have too much you as it is and I don't even know if they should draft to position since we have a young player under each position. the warriors should probably just stick to drafting the best overall player regardless of position. good luck to mully finding steals like monta again too!

 

Haven't watched much college ball the last two years, so don't know who to pick. Don't want BAP cause we'll likely end up with someone who plays backcourt. Your picks sound good. Rather get a 1) talented, young big man who has the potential to score inside, rebound and play D or 2) a shooter .

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting upsidedownside7:</div><div class="quote_post">Obviously I'd like to go big and once and for all end this Foyle, Murphy disaster but best available player may come in another form.

likes
aldridge: pretty athletic, good shooting touch, legit 6'11, has some moves downlow, he should average around a double double. He's drawn comparisons to Bosh and I don't see that but if he just gets close to a double double and plays SOME D we have a success. A bit mentally weak and a lot of people see Joe Smith in him.

Tyrus Thomas: Don't know a lot about him, saw him in 2 games and he played with tons of intensity. I think he should be a good pro. I didn't see the same skills in him like in Aldridge but he definitley plays with passion.

Gay: Nice kid, very athletic and can run the court like no other. He didn't really excel at anything but with Davis running the show, he would FLY up and down the court. Plays D and can rebound.

Carney: More polished than Gay. Don't know how his shooting stroke will translate in the pro's but was pretty consistent in college. Runs like a track star and put up good numbers. I think he'd make more of an immediate impact than Gay but I really like Gay's upside.

Bargnani: Saw some clips of him and for 6'11 the kid has great feet. Very good shooter and can beat his man off the dribble very easily. He can jump. His low post moves aren't very good, needs to gain 10 lbs of muscle. He's a gamble but could be a HUGE homerun.

Splitter: Most of us pimped him last year but his buyout concerns everyone.

Noah: he's not coming out so forget about him

Dislikes:
Reddick: No need for him.

Morrisonlaying next to Foyle and Murphy would be disastrous. Combine the fact he's 6'8, plays no defense and is diabetic, just say no.

Brandon Roy: He is actually a very good player but where would he play? Keeping him, Montay, Richardson and Pietrus is absolutely retarded.</div>

There is NO WAY I would gamble on Splitter after what he did to the Magic last year. That was just wrong. How are you going to declare for the draft, get drafted, then not report to the team to play in Europe? That was shady. What if he did that to us? Screw that! My 1st choices are to get a good big man, then either a stud SF or PG. I would rather have a SF because I like Monta and I think he will be just fine as a back up PG/SG.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">That wasn't Splitter, that was Fran Vasquez. Splitter took his name out of the draft shortly before it happened.</div>

Oh ok. Thanks for the correction. That was shady. I guess Splitter is ok by me then. I have never seen him play, but his name has come up numerous times over the last few years...

 

Run BJM, even if we're winning with the young guys now these games don't mean anything. Like Tom Tolbert said, teams show who they really are in the first and middle parts of the season.

I guess what we could look at as a success is that we have some inside/outside game with a power forward that can shoot from outside and also pound it in. Then we have a set of guards that can outquick most other guards and shoot some. Plus, these guys actually play better defense than our slow dudes.

I think a lot of guys are playing so they get more playing time. Guys like Zarko, Ellis, Ike want a roster spot. This is why I hate guaranteed contracts. Guys just aren't worth that much the minute they touch a Golden State Warrior contract. What happened to these guys when they signed that big money? It's like they all got soft.

 

I don't know who we should pick this season, because I think these upcoming draft prospects are all mostly role players or border line stars rather than franchise guys... All I know is the small forward spot is weakest for our team (probably by design because of Pietrus/Dunleavy). Is that need to fill that swing position a priority compared to the more important center spot? Could we swing a trade to land us a James Posey or a small forward on the down and out (Rashard Lewis?). I wouldn't know what to do except what everyone else does. Research carefully and gamble with your best hunch.

Here's my draft history (nothing prior to 2002 since I didn't really care about the draft process and I'm really a streaky follower of college basketball).

2002: Anything but Dunleavy! Trade down! Get any one of Tskitishvilli, Chris Wilcox, Maybner "Nene" Hilario, Caron Butler, or Amare Stoudamire. Drafting Dunleavy was supposedly the B.A.P., but to me at the time it meant Jamison was out and we're getting a soft, Duke flopper that will be a marginal role playing jump shooter to replace him. Damn...

2003: Luke Ridnour (drew comparrisons to Pistol Pete Maravich and some of John Stockton) instead of Pietrus. Pure point guard. Good quickness and passing/shooting ability. Nice game in the Pac-10.

2004: Got persuaded by friends to get Biedrins rather than the original pick of Jameer Nelson, Josh Smith (draft stock fell due to poor game performances) and Childress (was out of reach) This was the time I totally bagged on Dunleavy's game and pushed the panic button with him. In a team with many problems though, he's not the biggest one. I would have liked an athletic guard/forward that can play above the rim, handle, shoot and pass a little. I thought some of the things that we needed was a good pure point guard. We kept avoiding picking a point guard in the first round. That's like the 2nd most important franchise position on the team besides either the power forward or center (tied for 1rst IMO).

2005: Three guys: Ike Diogu/Danny Granger/Gerald Green (missing finger and all). Was down on Charlie V. and Channing Frye, thinking they'd be busts and they ended up pretty good in terms of finesse big men. Before Baron I was all over Raymond Felton and other Speedy Claxton type players that could actually shoot the ball. I still think Ike in the long run will be better than Sean May. Vasquez and Andrew Bynum were never really part of my "must draft" wish list, but I thought Tiago Splitter would have been the right pick for us. But keep in mind, it's a stupid hunch that I have and I hardly got a chance to see the guy except for maybe like one or two full games where he came in as a role player blocking shots, finishing at the rim. He bled Andris Biedrins' game, but is more in control and can do things like Emeka Okafor can do like score with either hand, use footwork in the post, use good positioning and block shots. Still, it's the Euroleague! They play better with the sum of their parts rather than strong individual play. Still, there's always a good chance to land another Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Andrei Kirilenko or Peja if we get lucky. Some good all around guys that can shoot and are decently athletic, big and could be star players.

Old REM pretty much was the influence behind Ike. Looked pretty solid for ASU.

2006: To be continued for this summer.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree, the games are totally meaningless and we're blowing our very good draft pick with winning these worthless games but the games are at least enjoyable to watch with the young guys getting big minutes and producing very well. I'd be really pissed off if we were wining games with Fisher and Foyle getting big minutes. Just our luck though, one of the most dissapointing seasons that I can remember as a Warrior fan and we had a chance to get one of the elite players in the draft but we win just enough to lose even that.

Its just nice to see that our young guys are showing that they can produce at the NBA level if given minutes and opportunities. Monta and Ike are easily better than Fisher or Troy/Foyle from what I've seen, hopefully Monty and Mullin will see it too.

As for what position we should draft. SF and C are the most obvious choices, the problem is theres probably not going to be any good center prospects available at our pick. MAybe if Mullin likes O'Bryant but will he be better than Biedrins immediately or in the future? Will he just take development time from Biedrins? We've also got Taft as our end of the bench center. Pietrus is probably gone after next season whether it be by trade or let him walk, might as well draft his replacement.

Just a side note, if we get lower than the 8th pick we lose our second rounder.</div>
If this draft is weak, losing our 2nd rounder wouldn't be that bad, I guess. We got too many role players or projects to focus on as it is.

Taft also makes some sense at center considering he's big/long enough, but like Ike he's kind of short. Hopefully that won't be a problem if he's owning guys with athleticism and strength like Amare Stoudamire or Nene did at those positions. Even Marcus Camby and Theo Ratliff could hang underweight and undersized at those positions so why not? If the dude got the bulk, skills, and the wingspan and isn't a stiff like Foyle, go with it Mullin! The real question is Taft going to be good when healthy and is he motivated enough? The other thing is we need a good contingency plan just in case guys aren't developing the way we weant. There was no contingency plan for guys like Dunleavy or Pietrus or Foyle sucking this bad.

Also, I just thought of some draft ideas, but it would only make sense if we trade down. What about Rudy Fernandez? He's not that great defensively because of his strength and might struggle fighting over screens, but the guy has some quicks to stay in front. He plays against tough competition in Europe, has all the shooting, dribbling, passing skills you would want in a guard including at the free throw line and from beyond the arc. Can do pull up jumpers, finish in a variety of ways at the rim. His game is compared to Manu Ginobili, so we can expect a energetic guard that will pull up and shoot quite a bit, crossover or fake people out and take it to the hole. Good passer too. If anybody was high on Shaun Livingston, Fernandez could a nice addition at a later pick.

Also, I like Patrick O'Bryant as a role player center. But we'd need to trade down as well. I bet a lot of teams will think the same way, though, if their need is a true center. I'm not sure what O'Bryant's game is like because he's a big man and you know how big men are when it comes to their slow development. I think O'Bryant, if the team who drafts him is lucky, could get a Jamaal Magloire or some kind of center that is good in terms of centers, but not a real star.

The rest I'm still researching when I have time. But the lotto guys right now don't seem like lotto guys...

 

Seriously....we might not even be able to keep the pick.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">So onto the solutions, of which Mullin refused to give any insight to, and are convoluted at best. The Warriors are already pushing the luxury tax this season, and according to team president Robert Rowell, could go over the top simply with the addition of draft picks.

Six players are signed to long-term contracts: Baron Davis, Richardson, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Adonal Foyle and Derek Fisher, with Mullin responsible for the big paydays of the last five.</div>
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...&type=printable

 

A few years ago the Euro talent pool had guys who had put something togather. Parker,Pao,Kirilenko,Ginobli were guys who were the standouts on a national or olympic team,as opposaed to a project with a 7 ppg average off the bench vs some questionable talent

Carney is risky,a guy who likes to score but is not a "shot selection" guy or a smart team player. He's athletic but moody,erratic and not much help on D. Gay tries on D,gets lured by every juke or fake however. On offense he's okay with taking the open shot but won't attack or create. You see tools scattered about but he's not usually using them well. Bargnani sounds like Zarko,a 6-11 SF not quite finesse enough for sf or tough enough for pf.

The Stud SF just ain't there,niether is the multi-talent "true center" There ARE tall guys with some abilities,and there are those with skills,those with athletic upside...just nobody with both. The big man bargain- Nick Fazekas. Forget him being a Tim Duncan,won't happen,but he CAN be a better rebounding Brad Miller. Fazekas was a 20/10 guy who can pass,can make a 3. Not bad for a late first rd. Sheldon Williams might go a slot ahead of our choice since we failed to tank and lost 2-3 spots . He was the best center not in the NBA. I'm not saying he'd be the best C of the crop in 5 yrs,he's apt to be a PF,but he's one guy who delivered at a high level all the time in every category. Inside scoring,rebounds,defense, his FG% was nice,he got to the line and made his FT's

So..can he play C? would he get minutes at PF? Good questions,but in this draft superscorers Morrison + Reddick have questions. What I don't question is that the guy is a player,cause I've seen him at least 15 times the last 2 years and he's damn good. For us,adding toughness,rbds,D,and a smart player who's no headcase or flake ought to be a good move. It's not like there's great alternatives (aside from a trade down)