Has FaDi ever updated his pick? I went to update the spreadsheet and the main draft thread is all out of order.

yeah he took Norman something or other.

Paging Franchise, Please report to the thread Franchise

I hope my facemelter doesnt get taken before I pick again, because it will MELT YOUR FACE.

D

wee i found who i wont now i hope hes there in 40 picks

yeah, my pick will be ready, i decided between my two guys
(unless franchise takes my top choice, then i'll take the other guy and scramble to write a wrapup)

Sorry guys, didn't realize it was my pick. It'll be up within 30.

I'm picking Keith Van Horn, write up coming.

KVH was my second choice behind Donyell.

Round 8 Pick 280

Keith Van Horn



I was hoping that I'd be able to get KVH, but didn't like my prospects considering I didn't have a pick for a while due to trading up earlier in the draft. Frankly, I think he is a huge steal here and a candidate for most overlooked player in the draft. The fact he has been close to a joke recently is to blame for this. But I get him coming off of two very solid 1st and 2nd seasons in the NBA.

As a rookie he averaged 19.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg with a steal and a 3 a game. His DRT was 103 and his FT% was 86%. His biggest knock, along with injuries is his very bad FG% which was 43% his rookie year. In his sophmore season he put up 21.8 and 8.5 with a steal and over a block and 3 a game. His FG% and TS% were very similar to his rookie season.

Considering all of the players who have been drafted based completely on potential, it is surprising to see a guy like this fall this far considering the numbers he put up before his 24 yr old season. At age 24 he scored 19ppg+, grabbed 8.5 rebounds and had just under a steal and a block a game. His shooting %'s improved a lot, he shot 44.5% from the field, 37% from 3, and 85% from the line for a TS% of 53.7 over the course of 80 games.

Obviously after this the wheels fell off (he still had a couple of productive seasons but didn't fulfill the promise he previously showed). There are a multitude of reasons as to why his career went downhill, some can be attributed to him, some to the situations he was in. The Nets became a trainwreck, and as they blew up his numbers declined. He then jumped from team to team and that was pretty much it.

I think he is the type of player that will benefit from a league like this, and I think he will be a very valuable player off of the bench who can play the forward spot. I think his %'s will be better as his usage lowers during his prime years. He is an underrated defender and rebounder (not good, but underrated still).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing he will put up his 22-24 #'s for many years. But I do think that the decline doesn't have to be as drastic as it was during his career. He comes with issues and is far from a sure thing, but is he less likely to be a very solid contributor than a guy who was picked completely on potential? Going into his 24 yr old season he looked like a guy who would have a very solid career in the NBA. It didn't pan out that way, he was a guy who had some solid seasons and then pretty much went away. I do think he is great value here, a great fit coming off the bench, and has the ability to have a more prolonged and successful career in this format. Plus Marbury isn't on my team!

Now let me get to how he fits on my team, and my team in general. First let me start by saying I like my team a lot and think it will be able to compete now, in 5 years, and in 10 years in this league. I think all of my picks were solid values, and most were very solid picks. I think the team works well together, and gives me a lot of options. KVH adds a lot of flexibility for me when I want to go small as I can push Oakley to center at times and play a lineup of Stockton, Malone/Sprewell, Mullin/Sprewell, KVH, and Oakley or Z. I can play him at the 3 with a Stockton, Sprewell/Mullin, KVH, Oakley, Z lineup that is bigger, or I can just bring him off the bench at the 3 or 4 spot. He adds some needed ability to shoot the 3, and he is a decent rebounder. I also think playing with a guy like Stockton and other players with offensive credibility will help to deter his bad %'s of his early years. Basically what I like about him is that I think in the right fit he can be a huge boost as a second guy off the bench, and even jump into the starting lineup if need be. And I think my team is one of those teams that would be a very good fit for him and increase his chances of having a very productive career.

My Team:

PG: John Stockton
SG: Latrell Sprewell
SF: Chris Mullin
PF: Charles Oakley
C: Z

SG: Jeff Malone
SF/PF: Keith Van Horn

KVH is pretty good value here - I like your team overall Franchise...looks like you picked up the scraps that others (foolishly) overlooked. Mullin and Malone come to mind...and now Keith. Well done.

Im stuck between two totally different type of players for my next pick...I hope one of them gets picked before its my turn to make it easier on me. And yes - I would classify one of them as a FACE MELTER!

I think we can get a good amount of picks done today (this part of the picking order usually goes quick)

Sorry I made you guys wait, Fadi's pick not going in the draft thread threw me off.

KVG is a fine pick at this point of the draft. He was one of those players that could have been taken about a round ago, imo, and still been decent value. I'm not as worried about his shooting numbers, because he was a player that played further from the basket than his size would suggest.

Overall I like F60's team, but am a bit worried about not utilizing the best PnR PG (and best PG) in the draft to the best of his abilities. No biggie, because we've got 2 more rounds left.

If you play KVH at PF and pick up a SG in the next round, you could throw out a full whitewash if you wanted, so you have that going for you.

i'll just need a few minutes

The PnR stuff is a valid concern, I also thinks its a bit overblown though and my Z pick covers up for it a bit since he is a very good pick and pop player. I think some may overestimate the amount of solid PnR big men that were available after the second round. Boozer was even picked right before I took Mullin, and after that would my team be better if I reached for Chandler or Biedrins instead of taking Mullin?

I had a difficult decision, and the conclusion I came to was that it was more important to get a great player than pick someone just so I can run the pick and roll. The value hasn't been there for me to pick a PnR guy, and I think I made the correct decision. I also don't think Stockton's value is diminished much at all by not having a great PnR big man to work with. And as I said, Z does give me part of that value back that is lost with the Pick and Pop.

Sweet!

gogogo

Yeah it wasn't meant to be a knock on your drafting, which has been one of the better ones. Most of your picks have been steals imo, who sort of needed to be drafted just based on value.

I think after Nene was drafted (I know how you feel about him ), there just aren't a lot those guys that come to mind.. perhaps one or two, but there were probably a few from the 80s that I'm forgetting.

Your team is very well organized. Props

Yea I know, I don't really have any problems with your concerns about the lack of PnR. Some people on the other hand think that Stockton isn't a great PG if he can't run the PnR, and I think that is pretty insane.

I agree that it may look like I just drafted on value a bit to much, but I do think my team would mesh very well together and is built in the way that a successful team would be. The problem with my team is that it isn't sexy, so it seems to get overlooked a bit. It has two NBA top 50 players (Stockton Mullin), two guys who made multiple all star teams (Spree, Z), and Oakley who is one of the best rebounders/post defenders/badasses alive. And I'm bringing a career 20ppg scorer off the bench (Malone), and KVH. I think one of the strengths of my team is that it is built like a team and I think it will play very well together with players who compliment eachother.

Franchise def. has the best whiteboy team

I can't wait until my team plays some summer league games, I am pretty sure I'd have a double digit +PD.

Where are you horizon?