It's also not that critical. Both the Lakers and a couple of the Spurs teams were bottom 3 in the league for years and still competed and won titles with Shaq and Duncan at the helm. FT shooting maybe isn't overrated but it isn't as important as other things. Post defender I think is really important for any team. I can't remember a team to win without a good/great one. Even the Bulls scrub group had some great post defenders including Rodman and Grant.

Fair enough.

So you think Howard currently is a better defender than Ewing was? Just curious. Hope I don't sound mean spirited.

Ewing was also a great defender. Just looked up the stats, maybe he is better (Ewing), although Dwight is a better rebounder.

lol.

also looking at the stats, Ewing was an equivalently elite defensive rebounder as Howard, but was never spectacular on the offensive glass

I was thinking Ewing, when I said NBA's ugliest player. But yeah I suppose Cassel surpasses him. Pippen is right up there too.

Can't really fault Cassell, he not from this planet.

Oh, and Muresan FTW.

D

I will prob be looking to trade down asssuming that the 2 guys I want will not be there when I pick (very probable).

If anyone has a pick in the first round and wants to discuss a trade pm me. (I have the 5th pick from now).

quick half round recap:
1 MJ
2 Shaq
3 LBJ
4 Magic
5 Bird
6 Duncan
7 Dream
8 Admiral
9 KG
10 Kobe
11 CP3
12 Mailman
13 Sir Charles
14 Stockton
15 Isiah
16 Dirk
17 Dwight

so is Dwight still a LOL pick at 17 like he was at 13?

This.

Based on the Assani's criteria, I would have thought he'd go right after KG. I was debating picking him up. Of all the "young" players you could pick, this guy has probably shown the greatest improvement from year to year, and still has a ton of room for improvement--which given his current trend its almost a given that he'll continue to improve. The fact that he's a power center and it being taught by one of the great footwork/shooting centers can only be a plus. Honestly, I think it's a complete steal at this spot.

His FT shooting is not good, but his mechanics are decent and he's shown that he can make them in bunches. And inconsistency is something that you tend to improve on with practice.

I'd put him above Ewing because he's already had a season that ranks among Ewings top 3, and his skills have been on the incline pretty much every year.

Biggest problem I have with the DH pick has to due with the he's probably already peaked, and you don't get him until he's 24. So you're already missing out, on, presumably two of his best years.

Of course, he could be Shaq and it won't really matter.

I think you get Howard as he is RIGHT NOW, not when he's 24 or w/e. Should make a pretty big difference..

But if he's peaked, yeah, Ewing's a lot better. But I think it's pretty reasonable to think he hasn't peaked yet.

To avoid confusion, lets just say that you get each player at the age of 24. For current players who are younger than that, you get them at their current age. For players who didn't enter the NBA until later than age 24, you get them at the age in which they entered.

You think he's peaked? I think he gets more skilled every time I see him. From a statistical standpoint, his PER has gone up at ~2 every year. I think we'll see similar increases for the next few years.

I see no reason to believe that Dwight Howard will continue to improve. It really doesn't happen too often in any sport. Players who are great early tend to peak. The only guy I can think of that really took his game to the next level was Jordan.

Oh, OK, I guess I'm ******ed. I still think Howard has a good shot to never be as good as he was last year and given his body type he might not last as long as guys taken earlier in the draft.

He'll probably shoot more, but I can't imagine him getting more rebounds or shooting at a higher percentage.

In other words, your impression of players comes from a completely meaningless and small sample size while you ignore their larger body of work that wasn't in "clutch situations."

I think I disagree with every word you've written in this thread.

Really? I must say I'm a bit shocked you'd say that. If he were a wing player, I could see your point, but I think a center, particularly one of Dwight's build, is much different. There are a ton of attributes he can improve (jump shot, footwork, passing, etc), and from what we've seen he's gotten considerably better at all of them on a yearly basis. He's almost as physically dominant as Shaq, but will most likely develop into a better finesse player based on his good mechanics. The fact that he's yet to miss a game bodes pretty well for his longevity, as well.

Perhaps I'm mancrushing the guy a bit much, but I think he's going to be one of the all-time greats..

I thought Dwight was a very good pick. Dirk too. I think Isiah went about 20 spots too high.

I remember people saying the same thing about STAT when he was so dominant so young, and he's a much better player today than 4 years ago. Many will put this down to the injury forcing him to expand his game, but I bet he would have added outside skills & FT shooting anyway (just as DH is trying to do now). Put me down for "DH gets better".

STAT?

Just consider how high TMac and Wade would've gone if this had been conducted a few years ago.

There is risk in taking young guys. The reason guys like Malone are so exceptional is because it's just so RARE to be that good that long.

Just curious Assani, where would you have taken Duncan?

STAT is Amare Stoudemire. It stands for "Standing Tall and Talented."

I think Amare has improved, but to call him a much better player is a bit of a stretch.