An interesting choice if you think about it. The Kings are still looking to get faster and get back to that up tempo game that brought them so much success during the adleman era. Funny that the article calls it the first step in a rebuilding program ... i have been saying for a long time that Webber was the first step in the rebuilding... its just that they are taking a hell of a long time to get done.
Do Kings fans like this pick, or what is the perspective from you guys? I personally don't think it was that great as Hawes will take some time to develop, and isn't much of a rebounder, but it wasn't bad in any way. I just look and see that Julian Wright was still available at #10.
I hate the fact that I pretty much had to take the last season off from pretty much all sports because there was so much that I missed.... that includes looking at any of the college players that were out there... so obviously since i have not seen him play, i cant judge anything based on that alone so i will have to look at the track record and intangibles. first the downsides: early entrance to the draft. Im not a big fan of it. I do understand that in the program he is coming out of, now is the time for him to make his money and he would have slid south next year so he was kind of compelled to go now. Young and inexperienced. not much more to say on that one. Petrie didnt have much to say in the press release... if you pay as much attention to what he says about someone as i have over the past few years, this basicly means "we're taking a chance with him and we know it". now the good stuff his numbers last year were pretty good. in the pac-10 he finished 10th in scoring, 9th in rebounds and 3rd in 3pt% (.532) and blocked shots (54). He also set the Huskies freshman scoring record at 461 and got three double-doubles along the way. he has the tools to be a great center obviously as long as he can adapt to the NBA which not all early entrants do. He was also on the FIBA gold medal under18 team in 06 avaraging 12 pts and 7 rbs. Petrie is one of the best GM's in the game and doesnt make a lot of mistakes come draft time. The kid looks like a solid pick and the kings are in dire need of a big man that can get up the floor and still have enough in the tank to make a difference at the end of the game. I think this guy will be one of the better centers down the road, but I dont think that its really going to happen while he is with the Kings sadly...
I saw most of Spencer's games last year. He's an incredibly skilled big man for his age, and he has a chance to be the best offensive center or power forward in the league in a few years, but he's still growing into his body. He can shoot, but he tends to take too many jump shots. He's an amazing passer, just as good as Vlade Divac and Brad Miller. Spencer's rebounding totals were a bit misleading because he played alongside a power forward in Jon Brockman who pretty much grabbed every rebound in the paint. That's not to say he'll be a great rebounder, but he's probably better than most people think. He's not a great defender because he's not that strong, but that will probably change over time. He tries, at least. It's worth noting that his coach in college, Lorenzo Romar, ran a perimeter-oriented offense and had no idea how to use him besides throwing him the occasional post-up. Once he gets stronger and hopefully loses the awkwardness, he could turn out to be a very good player.
