Originally posted by koolruningz
Hey Myth have you heard the rumour about the Blazers giving up their #3 pick to Utah for #6 and some more first round picks?
I read it on a Lakers forum and wondered what you thought about it if its true.
Yeah, I heard about it last night and it already came true. Blazers were involved with the only 2 trades that happened, and it was all picks. Kind of odd, usually players are swapped around too. Anyway, Blazers really filled a need with Webster because he is a really good shooter, which are hard to come by these days. Hopefully all the guys we passed up on don't become too great (like Deron Williams and Chris Paul). At least if Gerald Green becomes great, a lot of teams will look foolish and not just the Blazers. He was expected around pick 5 but slipped to 18th (Boston) because he refused to try out for teams against competition. That scared a bunch of teams off. Thats also why Paul slipped a bit, because he refused to play against Deron Williams. I predict Marvin Williams to be the best player, but who doesn't? However, just because of team set ups and how ready Bogut seems now, I believe he will earn ROY.
Oh I know.
But one thing, he's bloody huge and if everything goes well, he would definitly help Bosh out. They always needed a big guy (failed numerous times) and especially since Bosh is more of a finese player than a physical one, he would definitly take on the bigger players. I hope everything turns out. The second pick of the first hopefully turns out good.
One thing I hate is the Toronto fans. They always wanted the popular player, and when they dont get him, they cry for GM's head on a platter, every single time. For example, when they drafted this Villanueva guy, the boards for TSN erupted with people commenting on how Babcock (or Babsucks, according to them) should be fire and this guy will never be good at all. Atleast wait until you see him in action before you say that. (The best comment was some dude saying because they drafted this guy inside of some other guy, the Raptors will be relocated, and then goes on to say, that he is boycotting the team from the pick Babcock made)
****, it drives me mad. They needed guys who are willing to rebound and play defense and be more athletic and active in play. They didnt need another playmaker. Bosh and Rose are certainly capable of scoring points.
Raptors have no defense at all, so hopefully this corrects it. And sometimes, those surpraise picks work out all right. Im going to give it time before I say anything. People dont understand that in team sports, its not always good to have 5 superstar youngsters that only care about points, sometimes you need those blue collar guys.
about babcock, i feel any gm needs several years to build a team up, say 5 at least. i love the raptors and i'm more than willing to give him time to develop a promising and young team.
a defender and hustkle player is wht the raps need, and i'd love them to have a couple. rose and bosh are the scorers, mo pete can compliment them, bonner will do also. i'd love to see a big physical defender in the middle, someone whos gonna tear rebounds away from the other teams.
apparantly, Villanueva is a good rebounder, so i'm hoping he'll develop into a great rebounder. i hagvent heaqrd much about what his defence will be like, probably not good to start with as he adapts to the nba. but fingers crossed...... fingers crossed
He's huge, so he will definitly fill the need for the shotblocker, boxing poeple out and rebounds. Perfect fit for the Raptors. They need to make a team and not get the next Vince Carter, because look what happened to that.
Babcock is hopefully making the team better. The VC trade, while looking horrible, will eventually work out. First, they have 2 more draft picks next year and two guys who seem to be able to play good with the player Raptors have now.
Last years pick Aarjuro ( dont know spelling) didnt play well, but alot of guys dont play well thier first year. If he doesnt perform as expected this year then maybe it was a bad move. Look at McGrady and Camby from before, they didnt perform as expected, but one turned a superstar and the other played at that level when he wasnt injured all the time. Give him a chance.
Originally posted by Smasandian
Oh I know.
One thing I hate is the Toronto fans. They always wanted the popular player, and when they dont get him, they cry for GM's head on a platter, every single time. For example, when they drafted this Villanueva guy, the boards for TSN erupted with people commenting on how Babcock (or Babsucks, according to them) should be fire and this guy will never be good at all. Atleast wait until you see him in action before you say that. (The best comment was some dude saying because they drafted this guy inside of some other guy, the Raptors will be relocated, and then goes on to say, that he is boycotting the team from the pick Babcock made)
****, it drives me mad. They needed guys who are willing to rebound and play defense and be more athletic and active in play. They didnt need another playmaker. Bosh and Rose are certainly capable of scoring points.
Raptors have no defense at all, so hopefully this corrects it. And sometimes, those surpraise picks work out all right. Im going to give it time before I say anything. People dont understand that in team sports, its not always good to have 5 superstar youngsters that only care about points, sometimes you need those blue collar guys.
I totally agree with you, the problem is most people think you need a team full of scorers who are in the top ten plays every week. If you look at the last couple of champions you can see the way the league is heading. You need a team not 5 individuals on the court, the Lakers proved that a year ago. While these blue collar workers are essential to a teams success alot of people are to dumb to realise this. How can you compete for a title if you cant rebound and play defense?
The Bobcats did really good i think in the draft, getting Raymond Felton and Shaun May. I like what the Hawks did too, Marvin Williams and the fantastic shooter in Salim Stoudimire(the best shooter in the draft). I have to say though, what the hell were the Raptors thinking? Villeneuva at pick 7? horrible move.. no wy he should be gone at 7, they should've traded down and got him, i expected him to go like 13 or 14th... but Joey Grahm was a good choice. And the guys on ESPN said that they Drafted the same position 3 years in a row. Bosh last year. Villanauva this year. And i dont know who they picked two years ago but that seems kinda stupid to me.
I predict Chris Paul to be the best player of the bunch, and win rookie of the Year.
I like our (Lakers) picks. Its a huge gamble to pick a high school center (Bynum) but sometimes you have to take chances in this league. The guy is a monster (7-0 280lbs) and even though he is raw he seems to have good fundamentals which is essential to grasp the NBA game when coming from high school. From what I've seen he has a few moves on the block and he has unusual quickness for someone his size. He is also a capable rebounder (which we really need) and with a 7-3 wingspan he should be able to block and alter some shots. Hopefully he will learn the harsh lessons the NBA has to offer and develop into a great center.
After reading about or 2nd pick all morning (Turiaf) i have to say I'm looking forward to seeing this kid in a Laker uniform. He sounds like exactly the player the Lakers need at the 4 spot. He is a banger who loves the dirty work and is really aggressive. He is a great offensive rebounder and has a nice post game, the Lakers got creamed on the boards last year and could really use some toughness inside. He is also a big body (6-10 250lbs) and if Phil allows him to play he could develop into the tough PF we desperately need.
Our last pick Wafer i haven't been able to find much about. What i do know is that he is a 6-5 guard that shoots the 3 pretty well, so i see him as a backup to Kobe (which we didn't have) or a big PG because we know Phil doest like small PG (see ya Chucky).
All in all i think we did OK with our picks, we got one potential beast, a solid PF who rebounds like a mad man and a backup for our best player - not bad at all. How are you guys feeling about your picks?
I like the Lakers pick too. A little too much actually. I am affraid Bynum will really develop. He is the youngest player ever drafted and will hold that record possibly forever now with the new rules. All I can hope for is him to be the next Bryant Reeves because I enjoy seeing the Lakers do bad. Although I did get even more enjoyment out of the Lakers thinking they were going to win it all but failing. Anyway, I was (along with the Blazers GM and Pres.) hoping he would slip down to about the 19th where the Blazers were going to try to trade for his rights with Memphis. What the biggest surprise to me was, was not Green, but the Lithuanian trained by Sabonis who was early on predicted in the 3-5 pick range. He dropped to like pick 44 or something like that.
Originally posted by DanZeke25
The Bobcats did really good i think in the draft, getting Raymond Felton and Shaun May. I like what the Hawks did too, Marvin Williams and the fantastic shooter in Salim Stoudimire(the best shooter in the draft). I have to say though, what the hell were the Raptors thinking? Villeneuva at pick 7? horrible move.. no wy he should be gone at 7, they should've traded down and got him, i expected him to go like 13 or 14th... but Joey Grahm was a good choice. And the guys on ESPN said that they Drafted the same position 3 years in a row. Bosh last year. Villanauva this year. And i dont know who they picked two years ago but that seems kinda stupid to me.I predict Chris Paul to be the best player of the bunch, and win rookie of the Year.
Have you watched many Raptors games? They have no defense and the rebound the worst in the league. They need big guys and PG. But always needed big guys. Bosh isnt a big physical guy and you can tell he was losing it because he was soo bloody beat up from all the other bigger players. They need somebody like Villeneuva to protect him. He's a good rebounder and can play tough. They didnt need another flashy shooting guard or small foward because they already have that. They needed a big centre or a big PF. And who says you cant play two PF's together.
They might of taken him earlier than what was expected, but if it was the guy they wanted, why not take him? Who says other teams wouldnt of picked him up before pick 16. Maybe thats the reason, he was taken early. The rankings in drafts are stupid sometimes, who cares if number 5th is still there when you chose the number 10th.
Originally posted by darth_royke
whats everyones thoughts on the kurt thomas for Q-rich deal apparantly being talked about? i think it'll benefit both teams. marbury, whhile a good player has only been on one good team... the wolves. the knicks need more players like richardson to help him get the team on track. thomas in pheonix on the other hand, will help amare back into his natural position, alowing him to match up against other pfs and poosibly become a dominant force.
Good pick up mate. That deal has gone through now with the inclusion of a couple of draft picks swapping. This is a great deal for the Suns, Amare has more help in the paint defensively and Thomas is a good outside shooter which will space the floor nicely for Amare to go to work.
I cant see any upside for the Knicks on this deal, Crawford is already the SG there and in my opinion a better all round player than Q. Maybe Q will play SF but that will be a disadvantage to the Knicks because of his lack of defensive skills. Isiah was one of my all time favourite players but he has made some questionable decisions as a GM. The Knicks fans will be demanding his head on a plate soon.
Originally posted by Smasandian
Have you watched many Raptors games? They have no defense and the rebound the worst in the league. They need big guys and PG. But always needed big guys. Bosh isnt a big physical guy and you can tell he was losing it because he was soo bloody beat up from all the other bigger players. They need somebody like Villeneuva to protect him. He's a good rebounder and can play tough. They didnt need another flashy shooting guard or small foward because they already have that. They needed a big centre or a big PF. And who says you cant play two PF's together.
They might of taken him earlier than what was expected, but if it was the guy they wanted, why not take him? Who says other teams wouldnt of picked him up before pick 16. Maybe thats the reason, he was taken early. The rankings in drafts are stupid sometimes, who cares if number 5th is still there when you chose the number 10th.
No, i havnt watched many raptors games, but i have watched Charlie Villaneuva in the NCAA. And i think i have watched the most NCAA out of the people talking here. No way should Charlie Villaneuva go 7. But im not the Raptors fan here, so i dont really care. If you like the pick, then thats fine. I just dont think its gonna work out.
well as a raptors fan you get uised to picks not working, at least not straight away. but i'm hoping aroujo will develop more this year, give him a couple of years and i think he'll be a half decent player. bosh certainly isnt a pyhsical player, hes finesse. Villeneuva will be an enormous help to him if he can develop too. i'm not looking for the raps to be successful for another year or two, but if they keep this core of young players maybe they can do a chicago and surprise people.