2011 NBA Draft Early Bird View
It's a long ways off, but the staff here at The 'Pent felt like taking a look at the major prospects for this summer's NBA draft. Everyone here is excited about the upcoming Big Dance (even the chicks and Brazilian futbal fans) but we wanted to give our three loyal readers our views on the big names. We haven't seen any of the Euros and enough of some of the intriguing guys like Leonard of San Diego State and Kenneth Faried or Derrick Williams, for example. We'll just stick to the dudes that get plenty of airtime.
Top Level Talent
Jared Sullinger PF Ohio State Freshman -- This is one bad mutherfucker. We luuuuuuv his game and attitude. Reportedly way overweight as a young kid, this guy has worked himself into a great prospect. Certainly will go in the top 3, and deservedly so. The only real question about him is how his game will translate against guys just as big and strong as him. We think he'll be really good.
Kyrie Irving PG Duke Freshman -- The next Chris Paul in our eyes, and that's plenty good for a top 3 pick. Was by far Duke's best player prior to injury, and that's a team with two other potential first rounders in Singler and Smith. Not as good an athlete as Derrick Rose, but who is? Will have to prove his health, but with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake you can be sure he and his handlers will be taking care of the bum foot. We love his game in every facet. A worker, good body, can shoot with great range, seems unselfish. A future All Star in all likelihood.
Second Level Talent
Jimmer Fredette PG BYU Senior -- Everyone knows he's good, but is he worth a lottery pick? We've heard people compare his game to Mark Price's, and Price was a really good player for a long time. We think that, with his ability to get to the line he plays more physically than Price and is more of a penetrator than the mostly jump shooting dude from Georgia Tech was back in the 80s. Fredette in our eyes IS a lottery pick, but it shows you how weak this draft is when he is going to go top ten.
Terrance Jones SF UK Freshman -- Love his game and intensity. Not really big for the 3, but should be a solid player at the next level. Can get his shot off easily and plays an NBA style already at Kentucky. A sure bet for top ten and should be a Caron Butler type of career.
Marcus Morris 3/4 combo Kansas Junior -- Where does he play? Only about 6 foot 8 so defending 4s could be a problem. Terrific offensively: can score in any number of ways from 17 feet in. Has a chance to be pretty good and Kansas is known for producing quality NBA players. His brother Markieff is also a first round talent, albeit later and probably in the late teens.
Guys With Big Reps We'd Want No Part Of And Wouldn't Draft No Matter What
Perry Jones PF Baylor Freshman-- Note to media: Don't ever compare softies to Kevin Garnett. Garnett is not a Hall of Famer because he's seven feet and agile; it's because he's a bad ass competitor who never lets his team down in addition to being physically gifted. Jones, with the KG body and build, from what we've read about him online, has never been a big winner in high school, AAU, or now in college. He clearly is a runner and jumper, but needs to get bigger and wider to be what he can be. Will he put the work in to gain 25 pounds of muscle? We'd bet against him. Beautiful athlete, though.
Josh Selby Combo Guard Kansas Freshman -- Looks like Ray Lewis as a basketball player physically, and that ain't a good thing. Carrying too much weight and he really has no excuse this late in the season to be out of shape. Five years from now no one will remember who Josh Selby was except for his Momma and basketball get a lifers like me. For shame: this was the top ranked high school baller last year. A bust. Kansas plays better without his ball stopping.
John Henson PF UNC Sophomore -- Listed at 6 f 10 but we think he plays smaller defensively. Makes moves offensively that can be timed with a sundial. Double teams and off ball helps should eat him up at the next level. Can score and reminds us physically of Cornbread Maxwell, who was a good player for about five years for Boston way back when. But Max could handle: Henson is a pure 4. Will be a non factor in The Association. (Or he could be really good and we'd look like assholes when he does.... Whatever.)
Guys We'd Draft But Don't Really Want
Harrison Barnes SF UNC Freshman -- The T Rex of college: short arms and long legs. Has basically been a jump shooter all season and he doesn't hit nearly enough of them to be a shooting guard. Good runner and jumper but his number one flaw is that he settles. He settles for jumpers when physically he is very good. Carolina always plays with pace despite their point guard woes and Barnes shouldn't complain about lack of opportunity. He will likely be a below average player in the league, if that. Oh for the days when Carolina produced NBA star after star.
Kemba Walker PG UConn Junior -- He was a below average pg for Coach Calhoun his first two years, then discovered a jump shot and has played well. He can run a team at the next level if Raymond Felton can. Walker is only about 5 11, but quick and can get his shot off. We're not as down on Kemba as Barnes. Walker could be an impact player, but if he gets taken in the first half of the lottery this will officially be the worst draft since Steve Stipanovich went second.
Good Role Players / Potential Starters
Nolan Smith PG Duke Senior -- His Dad Derek was a hell of a player for Denny Crum in the early 80s and briefly for the Celtics, among other teams in the league. Nolan seems to be tough, aggressive, can shoot but maybe not with three point range. A nice player to have on a team in our opinion because he apparently was raised right, with respect for game. Could be a starter. Hell, if Chris Duhon can start for someone briefly, then Nolan Smith can surely do it. A good bet for a lot of reasons in the teens.
Brandon Knight PG UK Freshman -- We really like this kid. Supposedly really bright (bright enough to play for Coach Calipari, the master of future lottery pick points) and a worker. Kentucky has been good this year despite a huge dropoff in talent from last year's monster squad largely because of Knight and Jones. We like him but strangely he doesn't seem to be a great athlete. Gets by on skill. But talent wins in the NBA. We love the kid and will root for him, but hard to see him being a quality 1 at the next level.
Kyle Singler SF Duke Senior -- Shane Battier Redux? Battier was known for defense a decade ago, but it looks like their games are similar otherwise. Battier and Singler are both stand still jump shooters who have few dribble moves. Singler is fairly skinny (and, by the way, needs a real haircut) but a good athlete in terms of getting up and down the court. Could be a three point specialist at some point in his career, but you want more out of that. Hard to see him being a starter. Duke's history of white guys in The Association is not a good one: Danny Ferry, Bobby Hurley, JJ Redick and others were considered disappointments after being drafted high.
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This looks like a terrible draft, with, in our opinion, only Jones, Sullinger, and Irving looking like stars. It remains to be seen how good the Euros are, since often times they play so few minutes in their leagues due to being physically weaker and younger than their teammates. Their workouts and interviews are always important.
---------------
There's a number of pretty good sites/stories available for draft enthusiasts:
Draft Express.com
recent Seth Davis SI article
Have at it and prove us wrong!
Top Level Talent
Jared Sullinger PF Ohio State Freshman -- This is one bad mutherfucker. We luuuuuuv his game and attitude. Reportedly way overweight as a young kid, this guy has worked himself into a great prospect. Certainly will go in the top 3, and deservedly so. The only real question about him is how his game will translate against guys just as big and strong as him. We think he'll be really good.
Kyrie Irving PG Duke Freshman -- The next Chris Paul in our eyes, and that's plenty good for a top 3 pick. Was by far Duke's best player prior to injury, and that's a team with two other potential first rounders in Singler and Smith. Not as good an athlete as Derrick Rose, but who is? Will have to prove his health, but with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake you can be sure he and his handlers will be taking care of the bum foot. We love his game in every facet. A worker, good body, can shoot with great range, seems unselfish. A future All Star in all likelihood.
Second Level Talent
Jimmer Fredette PG BYU Senior -- Everyone knows he's good, but is he worth a lottery pick? We've heard people compare his game to Mark Price's, and Price was a really good player for a long time. We think that, with his ability to get to the line he plays more physically than Price and is more of a penetrator than the mostly jump shooting dude from Georgia Tech was back in the 80s. Fredette in our eyes IS a lottery pick, but it shows you how weak this draft is when he is going to go top ten.
Terrance Jones SF UK Freshman -- Love his game and intensity. Not really big for the 3, but should be a solid player at the next level. Can get his shot off easily and plays an NBA style already at Kentucky. A sure bet for top ten and should be a Caron Butler type of career.
Marcus Morris 3/4 combo Kansas Junior -- Where does he play? Only about 6 foot 8 so defending 4s could be a problem. Terrific offensively: can score in any number of ways from 17 feet in. Has a chance to be pretty good and Kansas is known for producing quality NBA players. His brother Markieff is also a first round talent, albeit later and probably in the late teens.
Guys With Big Reps We'd Want No Part Of And Wouldn't Draft No Matter What
Perry Jones PF Baylor Freshman-- Note to media: Don't ever compare softies to Kevin Garnett. Garnett is not a Hall of Famer because he's seven feet and agile; it's because he's a bad ass competitor who never lets his team down in addition to being physically gifted. Jones, with the KG body and build, from what we've read about him online, has never been a big winner in high school, AAU, or now in college. He clearly is a runner and jumper, but needs to get bigger and wider to be what he can be. Will he put the work in to gain 25 pounds of muscle? We'd bet against him. Beautiful athlete, though.
Josh Selby Combo Guard Kansas Freshman -- Looks like Ray Lewis as a basketball player physically, and that ain't a good thing. Carrying too much weight and he really has no excuse this late in the season to be out of shape. Five years from now no one will remember who Josh Selby was except for his Momma and basketball get a lifers like me. For shame: this was the top ranked high school baller last year. A bust. Kansas plays better without his ball stopping.
John Henson PF UNC Sophomore -- Listed at 6 f 10 but we think he plays smaller defensively. Makes moves offensively that can be timed with a sundial. Double teams and off ball helps should eat him up at the next level. Can score and reminds us physically of Cornbread Maxwell, who was a good player for about five years for Boston way back when. But Max could handle: Henson is a pure 4. Will be a non factor in The Association. (Or he could be really good and we'd look like assholes when he does.... Whatever.)
Guys We'd Draft But Don't Really Want
Harrison Barnes SF UNC Freshman -- The T Rex of college: short arms and long legs. Has basically been a jump shooter all season and he doesn't hit nearly enough of them to be a shooting guard. Good runner and jumper but his number one flaw is that he settles. He settles for jumpers when physically he is very good. Carolina always plays with pace despite their point guard woes and Barnes shouldn't complain about lack of opportunity. He will likely be a below average player in the league, if that. Oh for the days when Carolina produced NBA star after star.
Kemba Walker PG UConn Junior -- He was a below average pg for Coach Calhoun his first two years, then discovered a jump shot and has played well. He can run a team at the next level if Raymond Felton can. Walker is only about 5 11, but quick and can get his shot off. We're not as down on Kemba as Barnes. Walker could be an impact player, but if he gets taken in the first half of the lottery this will officially be the worst draft since Steve Stipanovich went second.
Good Role Players / Potential Starters
Nolan Smith PG Duke Senior -- His Dad Derek was a hell of a player for Denny Crum in the early 80s and briefly for the Celtics, among other teams in the league. Nolan seems to be tough, aggressive, can shoot but maybe not with three point range. A nice player to have on a team in our opinion because he apparently was raised right, with respect for game. Could be a starter. Hell, if Chris Duhon can start for someone briefly, then Nolan Smith can surely do it. A good bet for a lot of reasons in the teens.
Brandon Knight PG UK Freshman -- We really like this kid. Supposedly really bright (bright enough to play for Coach Calipari, the master of future lottery pick points) and a worker. Kentucky has been good this year despite a huge dropoff in talent from last year's monster squad largely because of Knight and Jones. We like him but strangely he doesn't seem to be a great athlete. Gets by on skill. But talent wins in the NBA. We love the kid and will root for him, but hard to see him being a quality 1 at the next level.
Kyle Singler SF Duke Senior -- Shane Battier Redux? Battier was known for defense a decade ago, but it looks like their games are similar otherwise. Battier and Singler are both stand still jump shooters who have few dribble moves. Singler is fairly skinny (and, by the way, needs a real haircut) but a good athlete in terms of getting up and down the court. Could be a three point specialist at some point in his career, but you want more out of that. Hard to see him being a starter. Duke's history of white guys in The Association is not a good one: Danny Ferry, Bobby Hurley, JJ Redick and others were considered disappointments after being drafted high.
---------------
This looks like a terrible draft, with, in our opinion, only Jones, Sullinger, and Irving looking like stars. It remains to be seen how good the Euros are, since often times they play so few minutes in their leagues due to being physically weaker and younger than their teammates. Their workouts and interviews are always important.
---------------
There's a number of pretty good sites/stories available for draft enthusiasts:
Draft Express.com
recent Seth Davis SI article
Have at it and prove us wrong!
posted by joe sweeney at 9:17 PM
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