Will the Warriors draft a high schooler in June?

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> It has been a year of enlightenment for the Golden State Warriors.

After all, they used their mid-level exception in the free-agent market for the first time ever last summer. Now they like the results (Speedy Claxton) so much, they just might do it again this off-season.

And speaking of new experiences, is it possible the Warriors could draft a high-schooler with their first-round pick in June? It's worth considering, several players agreed.

"There's usually a lot of pressure on a high school kid to perform right away. Expectations are very high," said Calbert Cheaney, who played with one such guy -- former Fresno prep sensation DeShawn Stevenson -- last year in Utah. "It's best when you bring him along slowly." </div>

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As long as its not a power forward or a center high schooler. Those guys take forever to develop and then there is no guarantee a club can keep them happy after they spent all that time developing him. I think that's the reason why teams didn't draft Stoudamire right away, because of the fear of him being the next Kwame Brown. I would go with a young athletic small forward though or a shooting guard.

 

is dwight howard projected to be in the top 4 of the draft?

 

last i saw he was in nbadraft.net.

 

I would like to see Dwight Howard play, but how NBA ready is he? It says he is also an honor student at his academy. That's a good sign. Comparrisons to Amare Stoudamire but with an outside shot? Sounds good in terms of potential.

If all the good point guards go by the time we get to select Jameer Nelson or Raymond Felton. I say we get this guy.



Josh Childress 6'8" Small Forward.

He's the quick forward/guard we can use instead of relying on Calbert at the 2/3 spot. And also would probably have more upside than Dunleavy. That's just my opinion. If he can be aggressive he's very dangerous. But he's a great team player. So Jrich/Claxton/Murphy will still be the go to guys.

If you like Shane Battier's unselfish team play and defense and ability to score when needed to. He'll do it all. Steals, assists, rebounds. He leaps and dunks great. He's better than Battier though. He's the all around player we should have had instead of Dunleavy because he's a hell of a lot quicker and can handle the ball better.

 

Draft pick

My hatred of Stanfurd players aside, I don't see any reason for drafting Childress. The last thing the Warriors need is another 2/3.

As for drafting a high schooler goes, not only do I think its possible, I'd say its probable. Besides the American high schoolers that are expected to be available (Livingston, Telfair, etc.) most of the euro big men are also 18-19 years old. All of those guys play positions of need for the Warriors, pg and pf/c.

Although its likely that none of them will be ready to contribute right away, Musselman doesn't play rookies anyway, so its pretty much a moot point.

Just looking at nbadraft.net, here's what my draft board would be if I were Saint (excluding who will most likely be off the board when the Warriors pick and assuming NVE and Damp are still on the team):

1. Nelson (but he's probably not going to be around)
2. Podkolzine
3. Gordon
4. Perovic
5. Felton
6. Lamarcus Aldridge

If the Warriors go big with their first pick, I'd like to see them get a late first rounder/early second rounder (perhaps from Boston) and go after Duhon. I think he was way overrated two years ago when he was supposed to be a top ten pick if he opted for the '02 draft, but I think he's pretty underrated right now. I can see him having an impact somewhere between Carlos Boozer and Steve Blake.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting wtwalker77:</div><div class="quote_post">
If the Warriors go big with their first pick, I'd like to see them get a late first rounder/early second rounder (perhaps from Boston) and go after Duhon. I think he was way overrated two years ago when he was supposed to be a top ten pick if he opted for the '02 draft, but I think he's pretty underrated right now. I can see him having an impact somewhere between Carlos Boozer and Steve Blake.</div>I would love to have Duhon. I have always loved watching him play and I agree that he was overrated a few years back but has come along. You really can't lose when you get a kid from Duke, you always know what kind of kid you are getting.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">
Josh Childress 6'8" Small Forward.

He's the quick forward/guard we can use instead of relying on Calbert at the 2/3 spot. And also would probably have more upside than Dunleavy. That's just my opinion. If he can be aggressive he's very dangerous. But he's a great team player. So Jrich/Claxton/Murphy will still be the go to guys.

If you like Shane Battier's unselfish team play and defense and ability to score when needed to. He'll do it all. Steals, assists, rebounds. He leaps and dunks great. He's better than Battier though. He's the all around player we should have had instead of Dunleavy because he's a hell of a lot quicker and can handle the ball better.</div>

Nah man, Childress isn't better than Battier...Childress reminds me of a smaller version of Jared Jefferires. He's going to be a mid-to-late first round pick mostly because of his length (he has some long ass arms). Right now, IMO he has medicore-to-average NBA skills and I would take Dunleavy over him anyday.

Like a few people already touched on, the warriors should concentrate on either a center (assuming they don't re-sign Dampier) or a point guard...with Claxton playing well, the Warriors have the luxury of drafting a guy like Telfair and slowly developing him....or, they can go out and get an immediate impact player in Raymond Felton...

I'm not feelin any of the big men in this draft (except of Okafor and Howard obviously)...I don't even think Pavel Podkolzine is going to be an option for the Warriors if they get 8-13th pick....I'm not really high on him anyways...

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">I would love to have Duhon. I have always loved watching him play and I agree that he was overrated a few years back but has come along. You really can't lose when you get a kid from Duke, you always know what kind of kid you are getting.</div>

Actually, many ppl have lost by drafting Duke players...there was an article about that recently...Danny Ferry, Bobby Hurley, William Avery, Trajon Langdon, the list goes on......but I agree, Duhon is going to be a solid NBA player...I'd draft him with a 2nd round pick anyday....

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">Actually, many ppl have lost by drafting Duke players...there was an article about that recently...Danny Ferry, Bobby Hurley, William Avery, Trajon Langdon, the list goes on......but I agree, Duhon is going to be a solid NBA player...I'd draft him with a 2nd round pick anyday....</div>True, many have lost. What I meant is that you know you are going to get a atleast a decent player coming from Duke. A lot never live up to the hype though.

 

Dude Childress has started off injured this year so he'll probably stay back another year. He's got great fundamentals and is an all around player that is quick. He's got no real weaknesses except he's not that aggressive. He's a real team player that'll do what needs to be done if you give him the ball. If not, he'll just play tough D (unlike Dunleavy) and pass. And for all the Stanford haters out there what can I say. Go Cardinal!


Brian Cardinal!

 

Childress plays D and is pretty clutch. I'd be all for him in the draft. What position are the W's looking at right now. They aren't the worst and they aren't the best obviously, so where should they be picking... once we figure that out then its time to talk picks.

 

I think we're looking at power forwards or centers mostly. But having an allstar point guard that can distribute and make plays happen is always a plus. We haven't had a real point guard like that since Tim Hardaway, the original king of the killer crossover. The guy could drive, dish, and score. Since then we've had a lot of scrubs and combo guards which is what sort of started the curse. Speedy is filling in nicely, but since this draft is projected to be year of the point guard, we should get one since there are 3 guards that could be great prospects. Then we'd have Speedy, and a possible allstar guard. We could always sign some big men that are already developed or wait till there is a draft with some real deal big man prospects.

 

http://nbadraft.net/index.asp

http://nbadraft.net/profiles/andrisbiedrins.asp

If nobody takes this guy, I bet the Warriors would. Anytime there is an athletic power forward that can play tough D you'll take him. He's really young though. And then there's other international players like that 7'5" Russian guy, The 7'3" South Korean guy, and some intriguing 2nd rounders that are internationals that sound kinda good.

 

The Warriors should know better by know than to pass up on high schoolers with a lot of potential... they overlooked KG, Kobe, and TMac three drafts in a row. I think it's time for the team to take a chance on a young prospect and see what they can do with him. However, if we have the chance to draft an Okafor, I'd take it without asking another question.

 

Or we can play it safe and draft a Todd Fuller.

 

While the Warriors did pass on KG, Kobe, T-Mac, Stoudemire and O'neal, they also passed on James Lang, Kendrick Perkins, Deshawn Stevenson, Leeny Cooke, etc. By now the NBA teams have a pretty good handle on where each high schooler had to be drafted.

I think this draft is really unusual just for the amount of high schoolers and international guys that have a chance to go in the lottery. The common fan will hardly know anything about the majority of the guys drafted in the first round, and really, thank god for the internet, because without it no one would know anything about most of the guys.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">Or we can play it safe and draft a Todd Fuller.</div>

lol, y u guys keep knocking him...Fuller was a very good college player...he was 7 foot tall, left-handed, and had three point range...he was also academic all-american...

If Telfair declares, I puttin my money on the Warrirors gettin him. Also, he might be more obliged to listen to advice from Claxton because they share NY roots...

 

Here's a quote from Chad Ford on Jameer Nelson, its a bit of a reality check:

He's having an amazying season at St. Joeseph's and certainly has solidified his stauts as a first-round pick in this year's draft. But recent published assertions that he's a top-ten pick? I haven't heard that from one scout. Not even close. Several scouts who didn't like him at the start of the season now believe he's an NBA player. But no one is saying he'll be a dominant player int he league. His lack of size (he measured 5-10 at the Chicago camp last summer), quickness and a so-so vertical matter to GMs. I'm not knocking Nelson. I could see him rising as high as the mid-first round becasue fo the lack of other qualified college veterans in this draft. But top 10? It just deosn't seem to mesh with the scouting reports I've read.

He also went on to say that Perovic and Tiago Splitter will probably not be in this draft, that especially goes for Perovic.

The good news is that Livingston and Biedrens look like the real deal. In addition, scouts apparently consider Devin Harris the pg for Wisconsin to have late-lottery to mid-first round talent.

A new name is Martynas Andriuskevicius (just rolls off the tongue doesn't it...) is a 7-2, 250 lbs. 18 year old f/c who could be this year's came out of nowhere pick. According to ESPN Insider, some scouts say he could be the best young international player in the draft. They compare him to a young, but healthy, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and has been training under Arvydas Sabonis. He looks like a great replacement for Damp if he were to opt out.

 

Sasha Vujacic

NBA Position: Point Guard
Ht: 6-7
Wt: 193

http://nbadraft.net/profiles/alexandervujacic.asp

This guy sounds interesting. They say he's really quick, he can drive the ball and penetrate. Plus he can play D.

Anyone see any good potential second rounders?

Darius Rice, Mo Ke, Robert Swift, Marcus Moore, Chris Garnett, Christian Drejer seem like interesting names that are projected to be drawn in the second round.

 

A 6'7 pg. Thats a nice asset for any team. =)