NBA draft....who would you pick?

[tkim]

Jordan is his prime was strong but not strong or tall enough to be able to be a successful small forward. Jordan would be decent at point, but in his prime he was too tall

jordan was not to tall to play point... look at magic.


if melo was good enough, he would have gone last year.

companies would not give up multi million $$ contracts on people who dont deserve it. yes there have been some failures... but almost EVERY scout out there has said that lebron is like NO OTHER high schooler.. and probable better than some of the bench warmers in the nba now... he will go first.

 

[NeoV]

boy oh boy...

Jordan practically did play point half of the time...


James greatest asset is his court vision and passing..and if any of you could watch the McD's all-star game and not even mention that in your thread, then you are a sportscenter-show-me-the-dunks fan. I am in Cleveland, so I have been hearing and seeing James for three years now, and there is so much to like about his game. He didn't defend a 3 on 1 fast break in a High School all-star game? Who gives a rat's ass? If Andrew Lavender, the 5"7 point guard from Columbus, OH, who is going to Oklahoma, was more impressive to you that James was, your opinion is worthless in a basketball discussion.

Anthony is a nice, nice player, but consider this: Athletically he is not close to James in speed, quickness, or leaping ability, and he has already had back problems. I see quite a bit of Billy Owens in Carmelo Anthony - very good all-around skills, not the greatest athletic ability in the world though. Lets get past calling it "hype" when talking about Melo though...he was the MVP of the NCAA tournament, and had an impact on this season like few freshman have ever had, give him a break!

You can pick on James for what you saw in an all-star game or two, but he can do everything, and do it all very well, to go with an NBA-ready body and McGrady-esque athletic ability. Keep in mind that in the summer after his SOPHMORE year in HS, he was invited to the Jordan-comeback workouts in Chicago, where he played head-to-head with Jordan, Jamal Crawford, Antoine Walker, Derek Anderson, and 4-6 other NBA players - all of whom had nothing but glowing praise for him, and that was two years ago - he is much stronger now as well as 2 years more experience under his belt. He also dominated the Nike summer camp that year, lighting up Lenny Cooke (at the time the #1 player in the country as a sr, and a sad story in his own right) in the final game. Rick Pitino said after that camp that he would be the #1 pick in the draft if he had been eligible then..two years ago!

James will clearly go #1 - the #2 pick depends on who gets it...Denver has already said they would take Darko - I think calling him the next Dirk Novitzki is a stretch though, he plays inside more than DN and isn't quite the outside shooter DN is..he is stronger though, and a better/quicker leaper than DN.

TJ Ford is not going to be as effective as a pro as he was in college, unless his outside shooting greatly improves.

Nick Collison? Please. He is about as fluid as a toy robot - he does have good size and good hands, but he has ZERO post game. Kirk Heinrich? He may not even get drafted.

I do like Bosh's ability, though he should have stayed one more year to hit the weights more. I also like Reece Gaines from Louisville, and the guard from Georgia is a big-time prospect though for the life of me I can't think of his name right now.

Any other HS player you hear about this year should not come out, there simply isn't anyone else in this class that is NBA material right now. Villanueva, the kid from NJ who was going to go to Illinois before Self left, isn't NBA material at all, and is miles away from Amare Stoudamire, who he compared himself too. Lang and Perkins, the two big centers from the south (Alabama and Texas I think) are way too heavy and not in anything close to NBA shape...they are big and long-armed though, and could easily be lottery material with at least two good years of college ball/training/conditioning.

 

[human2k]

Originally posted by: NeoV

Any other HS player you hear about this year should not come out, there simply isn't anyone else in this class that is NBA material right now. Villanueva, the kid from NJ who was going to go to Illinois before Self left, isn't NBA material at all, and is miles away from Amare Stoudamire, who he compared himself too. Lang and Perkins, the two big centers from the south (Alabama and Texas I think) are way too heavy and not in anything close to NBA shape...they are big and long-armed though, and could easily be lottery material with at least two good years of college ball/training/conditioning.

Agreed.

 

[Soccer55]

Originally posted by: roncarter

Originally posted by: Soccer55
After a year's worth of hype and television coverage, there is no doubt that whoever has the #1 pick will have to pick LeBron. Why? If the team with the #1 pick passes on LeBron and he turns out to be the next Kobe or MJ, the GM of that team would get crucified for passing on him.

With that said, I would take Carmelo over LeBron in a heartbeat. I watched almost every SU game this year (and was at just about all of the home games) and I'll tell ya, this kid is for real. He is a very unselfish player that looks to get his teammates involved, but he can also take over a game if he needs to. He's a big guy that can grab rebounds, post up down low, or step outside and shoot the 3. Hell, he can even bring the ball up the court. But what I think is the best part about Carmelo's game is the fact that he has fun. I can't even count the number of times he drained a 3 in some guys face or drove in for a layup/dunk and then ran down the court smiling and laughing. Something like that seems so insignificant, but once it spreads to his teammates, you're dealing with a completely different basketball team.

As for LeBron.....I watched a few of the televised games and yea, he's a great player, but he was a man amongst boys this season. There is no way that anyone in HS could compete with him in athleticism or talent. I have no doubt in my mind that LeBron will be a great player, but I think it's way too early to tell how good he will be next year. On the other hand, Carmelo has proven himself against the best amateur talent in the nation. I don't think there was one team this year that could really stop him for a whole 40 minutes. Granted, the NBA is a step or 2 up from college, but I would argue that it's about 3 or 4 steps up from HS. No matter what happens, both players will be very exciting to watch next year.

I think my top 5 would be:
1. Carmelo Anthony
2. LeBron James
3. T.J Ford
4. Darko
5. Nick Collison

-Tom

Just the fact that you would take TJ Ford over Darko makes anything you say stupid! TJ ford is good in college, but in the NBA, he willl stink! Look how big he is. Hes the same size as me for god sakes. And I probably have a better jump shot then he does.

Just because Ford is small DOES NOT mean he will stink in the NBA. Case and point: Allen Iverson. Iverson is 6', yet he is easily one of the best guards in the NBA. TJ Ford is 5' 10" (only 2" shorter than AI), handles the ball really well, and is dangerous when he penetrates. I fail to see how you can be so convinced that Ford will stink. The only reason I would pick Darko 4th is because I've never seen him play.....the word is that he's good, but I don't think I'd take the risk unless I absolutely had to draft a big guy.

-Tom

 

[human2k]

Originally posted by: Soccer55

Originally posted by: roncarter

Originally posted by: Soccer55
After a year's worth of hype and television coverage, there is no doubt that whoever has the #1 pick will have to pick LeBron. Why? If the team with the #1 pick passes on LeBron and he turns out to be the next Kobe or MJ, the GM of that team would get crucified for passing on him.

With that said, I would take Carmelo over LeBron in a heartbeat. I watched almost every SU game this year (and was at just about all of the home games) and I'll tell ya, this kid is for real. He is a very unselfish player that looks to get his teammates involved, but he can also take over a game if he needs to. He's a big guy that can grab rebounds, post up down low, or step outside and shoot the 3. Hell, he can even bring the ball up the court. But what I think is the best part about Carmelo's game is the fact that he has fun. I can't even count the number of times he drained a 3 in some guys face or drove in for a layup/dunk and then ran down the court smiling and laughing. Something like that seems so insignificant, but once it spreads to his teammates, you're dealing with a completely different basketball team.

As for LeBron.....I watched a few of the televised games and yea, he's a great player, but he was a man amongst boys this season. There is no way that anyone in HS could compete with him in athleticism or talent. I have no doubt in my mind that LeBron will be a great player, but I think it's way too early to tell how good he will be next year. On the other hand, Carmelo has proven himself against the best amateur talent in the nation. I don't think there was one team this year that could really stop him for a whole 40 minutes. Granted, the NBA is a step or 2 up from college, but I would argue that it's about 3 or 4 steps up from HS. No matter what happens, both players will be very exciting to watch next year.

I think my top 5 would be:
1. Carmelo Anthony
2. LeBron James
3. T.J Ford
4. Darko
5. Nick Collison

-Tom

Just the fact that you would take TJ Ford over Darko makes anything you say stupid! TJ ford is good in college, but in the NBA, he willl stink! Look how big he is. Hes the same size as me for god sakes. And I probably have a better jump shot then he does.

Just because Ford is small DOES NOT mean he will stink in the NBA. Case and point: Allen Iverson. Iverson is 6', yet he is easily one of the best guards in the NBA. TJ Ford is 5' 10" (only 2" shorter than AI), handles the ball really well, and is dangerous when he penetrates. I fail to see how you can be so convinced that Ford will stink. The only reason I would pick Darko 4th is because I've never seen him play.....the word is that he's good, but I don't think I'd take the risk unless I absolutely had to draft a big guy.

-Tom

You got to give Ford credit for what he's done for Texas.

 

[YaKuZa]

Draft LeBron as your #1 pick. If you need a guard, keep him, otherwise, put him on the table and wait for a ton of offers. I probably wouldn't keep him around for any other position than what he's already used to. It would be a waste of a year for him to learn to adjust. Check out Darius Miles, they wanted him to play as a PG. Not saying he was ever any good, but that totally destroyed him. Also, college experience isn't all that great. Remember all the hype about J. Williams coming out of college? He sucks.