average to above average skill in rebouding, passing, dribbling, defending.

I havnt specifed in this post what I was classifying as average and above average FWIW...

Alex, you're on the clock.

Pick #1:9 - Seadood228

KEVIN GARNETT



I was half hoping Hakeem and DR would be taken, because I wanted to take this guy but couldn't justify it with those two on the board. Like the last three picks, I'm sticking with a defensive anchor as my main focus. It took KG a little while to mature on the defensive end of the ball, but it's hard to argue with 9 straight defensive All NBA teams (7 1st team if you include this year) and one defensive player of the year. While not a prototypical shot blocker, he's one of the best on-ball defenders for a big man and a great help defender as well. More importantly, he's proven this year that he has the ability to lead a very stellar defense. Rebounding-wise, he's consistently lead or been at the top of the league in defensive rebounding % throughout his career.

Offensively, he's been at a level just below his defense. He's a capable scorer, but more importantly he's one of the best passers at his position, averaging 4.4 assists throughout his career, more than 5 for half his career. He has a great back to the basket finesse game, and can hit the wide open jumper when called upon.

The only two negatives I have are a) his relative lack of wins, particularly in big games and b) his relative "softness" on the inside. I'm willing to dismiss the first as bad luck and bad coaching (hopefully when this is all over this argument will be moot :). As far as his offensive playing style, he makes up for this with his high FT% and passing ability, which imo will be more important given the teams we are building.

Awards -

2003-4 MVP
2007-8 Defensive Player of the Year
2002-3 All Star Game MVP (whoopty-do)
7 All Defensive 1st teams
2 All Defensive 2nd teams

I guess "above average" does encompass elite.

for everyone else, yes

Nice pick seafood, I was hoping he'd fall to me at 13. Can't go wrong with an athletic freak of a big man like KG who's still an elite player at 32.

not necessarily

KG is a interesting pick, should be some good discussion about this one.

yeah even though I was chatting up Duncan I had narrowed it down to Bird or KG.

It started as Bird, KG, Duncan, Hakeem, and Robinson.

It couldn't be Robinson because whenever the Hakeem/Robinson debate comes up, I side with Hakeem.

It couldn't be Hakeem because I naturally distrust anyone who doesn't eat pork. Plus, in today's social and political climate, selecting a Muslim as the face of my franchise is a legitimate business risk. (saftey one too omg racist ban)

Couldn't take Duncan cuz he's a twat.

So it was KG or Bird. My mind said KG. My heart said Bird.

If you want your statement to be correct, it should.

I think that because of the snake-style draft, teams 1-5 are going to have a hole on their team at PG. I think its the position where you to from elite to inadequate the quickest.

D

If I want my statement to be correct or not is not the issue here - its a simple idea of elite and above average not equating to the same thing, thats all.

So elite players are below average?

KG > Bird

Yeah, but the hole at center for everyone else is going to be huge as well. I mean, Shaq, Duncan, Hakeem, Robinson, KG, we're almost already out of elite centers already and we're only 9 picks into the draft. There still is a nice glut of point guards left, but I can see most of those going soon, and it could be slim pickings comparatively speaking for the guys drafting in the bottom of the first round.

Venn diagram time?

I'll just spit it out then. Bird was not merely an above average passer, he was an elite passer. Classifying him as merely above average is wrong, IMO.

D

fyp

the lack of big men matters significantly more than the lack of PGs, because a scrub at center contributes so much less than a scrub at PG. that said, there are still a decent amount left that should get picked in the first round

Agreed, but I think at least the late teams can find a competent big man, or at least have an interesting "small" team, whereas one of the 1-5 teams is probably going to have Rod Strickland running the show.

D

PS. I may be underrating Rod, but I don't remember him as being very good.
PPS. I am very interested in Team 1's 2nd pick. It would be awesome if Pippen were still available, but I doubt it.

there are still a few elite centers left, and a whole slew of very good ones.

wat. people always overrate the present. look at some of the teams the bulls played in the finals/playoffs and reconsider what you just said.

edit: i think the only case for lbj over jordan is saying you don't know that jordan is going to grow 2-3 inches and even then i think you're "reaching" for lbj

I'm saying that if you transported 1987 Michael Jordan to today and knew absolutely nothing about what Jordan did from 88 to 98, picking him over LBJ
or 1996 Shaq isn't a given. Wasn't his reputation back then: "doesn't make his teammates better."?

jordan's #'s > either of those. i can see taking shaq over him just b/c of the desire to have a true center and post presence but not lbj. lbj is a better playmaker than jordan was at this point in his career but jordan was a better player overall

I am beating myself up thinking about my pick...11th overall after Alex (who is next up).

Im weighing in between 3 main guys - and one of them Im surprised hasnt even been picked yet. 2 of them are still playng and the other works around the NBA. I think Im content with settling on a second round pick for a centre...just tryin to pick the best player available. This is tough.

I gotta leave now - be back later on tonite..hopefully by then Alex has made his selection.

it's because he's been overrated his entire career

Ok I'm in. Varejao at #35 plz.