Derrick Caracter, 22, 6'9" 280lbs, Power Forward, University of Texas El Paso His talent is pretty outstanding. I'll let Nbadraft.net sum it up: NBA body and strength, very skilled for his size, has a nice game facing the basket with range to the college 3-point line, good rebounder in and out of area ... Shows soft hands and can make catches in traffic ... Has good athleticism for a man his size and will surprise you with his bounce ... Can establish great position down low do to his brute strength and shows a mean streak at times and scores at will when motivated ... Skill level and feel for the game are actually at a high level. A solid passer and understands how to use pump fakes and his strength to score on longer opponents ... Huge body, with incredible strength. Long armed shotblocker and active rebounder on both ends. ... Above-average shooter from middle and long range. ... Similar to Walker with his array of skills, as he can shoot it from outside, dribble the ball in, and has excellent passing ability. Can grab a rebound, take the ball the length of the court, dribbling through defenders, and pull up on a dime and hit a three-pointer. Excels using his strength backing defenders in, as he did to Greg Oden at the 2004 ABCD camp. And then there's CBS Sports: Caracter shows very good touch and is quite nimble for a player his size … Fluid and well-coordinated and can simply dominate the action around the basket, when he is motivated to use his outstanding strength (23 reps in the bench press was one of the best marks at the Chicago pre-draft camp) … Has a 7-foot wingspan, 8-foot-11 standing reach, and the leaping ability to dominate the glass … Has large, natural hands and is able to create his own shot with either hand … More comfortable playing with his back to the basket … His size indicates he would be a better fit at power forward, but when he plays with intensity, he has solid shot-blocking skills and can use his length to be a better force in the post … Has the ability to finish well in transition and gets good elevation to finish with force … Seems more comfortable working under the hoop than firing from long range … Is effective dunking from the weak side and has the speed to separate from the defender when working in the low post … Has developed an effective turnaround shot with his back to the basket … Has the natural power to mix it up with a bigger opponent when going for the ball … His wingspan is good enough to alter shots in the lane, but he must remain focused on the court … Improved his free throw shooting as a junior, but still shows a bit of a hitch in his release. And how about Draft Express? In the post, Caracter has an extremely high skill level, excellent footwork and touch, and an incredibly high level of functional strength, making him a dominant force at this level. He can finish off either shoulder with ease, boasting effective hook shots with both hands, and he does an excellent job of establishing position without the ball and then backing his man down some more once he gets the ball. He reads his opponent very well when isolated, recognizing where the opening is and quickly and compactly going to whatever move and direction gives him the highest percentage opportunity. Undeniable talent. Understand this: he's considered to have an excellent post game, has a body perfect (if 2 inches short) for a low post beast, and has plenty of skills in the post, yet simultaneously "Can grab a rebound, take the ball the length of the court, dribbling through defenders, and pull up on a dime and hit a three-pointer"? Excuse me, but that's fucking ridiculous. Why was this guy not a lottery pick? Oh, wait... he thinks he's even better than he really is. He stopped trying. His weight ballooned, he weighed 315 when he came to Louisville and then clashed with Coach Rick Pitino when told he wouldn't be allowed to practise until he got back down to at least 265. I think the worst of it was summed up by High School Coach Bill Barton: "He really wanted the N.B.A. lifestyle for the lifestyle and not the game itself" He accepted 'gifts' from boosters and refused to try in class. He had been featured as a star since the 8th grade, he "was once hyped up to be the next great talent. At 15 years of age he had hype surrounding him similar to a young OJ Mayo or LeBron James.Unfortunately by the time he reached college, he had stopped working hard and his skills/game had suffered considerably." A perfect quote from his sophomore year of high school: "I don’t understand why I have to be here in math class. I don’t need this. I’m just going to go to the N.B.A." That's his goddamned sophomore year. If that doesn't show this kid's arrogance, I don't know what would. As Lakers Of Fire's Garrett Wilson said, "You have to be bad dude to get expelled by a coach that cheated on his wife and paid for his mistress to have an abortion". He also has many issues defensively, rooting primarily from his lack of consistent effort. Mitch Kupchak seems impressed with his rebounding, but states his conditioning needs work, and Caracter himself has already lost 15 pounds, and is aiming to lose at least 10 more by the start of training camp. While that may seem positive, unfortunately it seems Caracter still does not see the error of his ways, as highlighted by his response when asked what he would do if he could go back and change things: "If I could do it all over again? Maybe pray that David Stern didn’t change the rule about high school kids entering the draft. Some guys just aren’t built for college." It's quite sad, really, considering his talent. He's said to be able to score at will and simply 'out-will' larger players to rebounds when motivated, but instances of him being motivated are few and far between. Even in his Junior season, at UTEP, considered to be a 'rebound' season from his troubles in high school and at Louisville(from Lakers of Fire): Caracter wasn’t exactly a model citizen at UTEP either, building on his reputation of being an insanely selfish player who cared only about his own numbers and seldom playing defense. With his potential, he could be said to be the second-most talented and effective post player in this draft after Demarcus Cousins, another big man who was picked lower than his talent dictated due to character issues, but he dropped to pick No. 58. That speaks volumes. There is the slight chance that he cleans his act up and manages to make it to the Lakers and play effectively as a role player in years to come, but I just don't see it happening, not with his air of entitlement. He's too undersized to be an effective Center, thus if Los Angeles wanted to sign him they likely would do so at the expense of Josh Powell, and to drop a hard-working, loved player like Josh Powell for a basket-case like Caracter sounds like a bad idea. However, the fact that the Lakers refused all of the Nuggets' efforts to trade for him hints that Caracter may indeed find a spot on the roster, provided he manages to stay quiet and follow team rules. Personally, I'd prefer keeping Powell and signing a veteran big man for the minimum, but Caracter's talent is undeniable. But I'll finish about Caracter with two quotes that best sum up his chance with Los Angeles: "Guy with talent but has some character issues. That won't fly in a veteran Laker locker room. Clean up or find a new place to play fast." - Pro Basketball Talk's Kurt Helin (formerly of Forum Blue and Gold) "The hope has to be that the wisdom of Derek Fisher, the competitive intensity of Kobe Bryant and guidance of Phil Jackson will get Caracter to see the light. In which case, Caracter could become a big part of the Laker rotation in a hurry and possibly even turn Lamar Odom into primo trade bait by this time next season (or sooner). If it becomes clear early on in camp that he is just a flatout stubborn moron who will never see the error of his ways, he’ll be cut and the Lakers will never look back, no skin off their backs." - Lakers of Fire's Garret Wilson Only time will tell if Caracter makes the roster or not. Ebanks, however, seems more sure. The one thing that's still certain is the Lakers still need to address their point guard depth, and now the only methods left of doing that are a trade or free agency, neither of which presents any immediate good ideas. Javaris Crittenton seems like a cheap option who showed plenty of potential when he was in LA, however. Source: SSR
UPDATE: For now, scratch Zoubek for the Nuggets. According to Johnathan Givony of Draft Express, he'll be playing summer league with the Magic. --- According to Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com, the Nuggets, who didn't have a pick heading into Thursday night's draft, were trying to nab a pick in the second round to draft a big, but they weren't able to. "I don't think it's any secret that we would've liked to have found a big somewhere in the second round," Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman told Nuggets.com. "We feel like a few of those guys will make the league. It's hard to see them go to other places and rivals. We'll just have to be that much more diligent with summer league and a few guys that went undrafted that we kind of had our eyes on." One of those guys that went to a rival? Derrick Caracter of UTEP, who went to the Lakers. "[The] Nuggets tried to get big man Derrick Caracter in [the] 2nd round, but he went No. 58 to the Lakers," tweets Chris Tomasson of FanHouse. "That irritated the Nugs, him going to a rival." According to the Nuggets.com report, the team will now look at undrafted free agents. One undrafted big man we'll toss at you as a possible fit? Duke's Brian Zoubek.
