16th Pick: Nick Young, Guard/Forward, Southern California 47th Pick: Dominic McGuire, Forward, Fresno State Ernie Grunfeld didn't rule out the possibility of moving the draft picks, so that may raise our eyebrow the entire night. We'll probably pick a talent from a pool of: Julian Wright, Thaddeus Young, Derrick Byars, Jason Smith, Rudy Fernandez, and Nick Young. Let's check out the previous 16th picks in Draft History: 2006: Philadelphia - Rodney Carney 2005: Toronto - Joey Graham 2004: Houston - Kirk Snyder 2003: Boston - Troy Bell 2002: Philadelphia - Jiri Welsch
Very nice pick with Nick Young. It was going to go down to either him or Jason Smith and I wouldn't mind picking Jason Smith either. With Haywood going soon, we're going to need a backup center to rely on. Ruffin and Booth aren't capable of taking that role, so I was hoping we would get Jason Smith with his game revolving around the perimeter. I'll have a review of the Wizards pick as my next piece for the writing team, so look out for that.
Nick Young was a great selection. Aggressive scorer like Arenas wanted and has a 7 foot wingspan. I was surprised when he fell but i'm very happy.
I already talked about this when the mock draft had the Wizards taking Jason Smith with Nick Young still available, so is there really anything else for me to say? I love this pick, Nick Young is a very good selection, and I feel Jason Smith would've been a bad one for this team. Jason Smith adds another PF to a team full of PF's, and yea Haywood wants to go, but we haven't traded him yet, and a team with a thin backcourt would just be adding more big men, and not even the right kind of big. Also Smith doesn't help in bringing Arenas back because he's more of a project guy, he isn't producing significantly for at least another few seasons. This pick also gives the team a lot of flexibility in free agency. With Nick Young 1) We can let Jarvis Hayes go without any bad feeling of not having a backup SF. 2) This makes the team not have to overpay to get Deshawn Stevenson back because there's a backup plan. If we get Stevenson back, the team looks like this: PG: Arenas / Daniels SG: Stevenson / Young SF: Butler / Young / Blatche PF: Jamison / Songaila / Blatche / Pecherov C: Haywood / Etan / Blatche
Oh man, Portland got Rudy Fernandez for cash! The Wizards could've made that trade, CASH!!! Phoenix is annoying man.
Here's what Nick Young had to say in Friday's press conference: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">On his arrival in Washington: “I am very happy to be here. This is a good opportunity for me. Mr. Grunfeld and the coaching staff are just unbelievable. I am very excited to be here and I want to thank everyone for welcoming me here to Washington. This is a great situation for me, and I’m looking forward to getting on the court with my new team and contributing however I can.” On being drafted: “The support of my family and my surroundings helped me get to this point. I had a dream and goals and everyone kept pushing me. I never gave up, and I’m never going to give up. This is the start of a lot of things for me. I reached a goal to get here, but I have new goals now, and I’m just happy and ready to give it my all here.” </div> Here's Ernie's comments: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">On Young’s experience: “Nick is more mature than a lot of the players in the draft. He has had three years of college experience in one of the top conferences in the country. He is probably a little more prepared to come in and play right away than some of the guys, and that was a big factor for us to consider. There are very few players in this league that can get their own shot and create for not only themselves but for their teammates as well, and Nick has the potential to do that.” On Young’s ability: “He is a good catch-and-shoot player. He can spot up and make a shot and he has good range on his jump shot, and his athleticism is off the charts. He has long arms, a 7-foot wingspan, and a 39-inch vertical. That is substantial. He brings a lot of things to the table, and he has a good attitude and a very good work ethic.” </div>
