Comments on: Draft Lottery Hurts Warriors

By: johnny t

johnny t — Fri, 25 May 2007 13:43:16 +0000

is gasol still available?
harrington, monta, and our 1st for gasol?

By: Marcus Thompson

Marcus Thompson — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:51:56 +0000

manhattanproj, sometimes that “getting value” thinking lands you Mike Dunleavy, because you convince yourself no way can you take Stoudemire way up there at No. 3. Sometimes, you’ve got to just grab what you need, and Atlanta came out and said that’s what they’ll do. No way Conley lasts until 18. He’s the best PG in the draft. Easily. Whatever flaws he displays will be tolerated because he’s so young. He’s already being projected as a top 10 pick.
Hoopshype.com and Draftexpress.com have him going 6th to Milwaukee. NBADraft.net and Sports Illustrated have him going 7th to Minnesota. NBA.com and Insidehoops.com has him going 5th to Boston. Espn.com and Mynbadraft.com has him going third to Atlanta.
The lowest I have seen yet is Aboutbasketball.com, which has him going 10th to Sacramento.
Add to that a story that came out today saying Portland is looking to make a trade to move up in the draft so they can get Conley and Oden.
If Atlanta wants to draft a PG, Conley is certainly their top choice. It makes sense to get him third because they have two picks. What does it matter if they pick him third or 11 if they can get two players high on their board? The reason you would pick him third, instead of 11th, is that he may not lost until 11. But there will be a pretty good big man at 11. Or, like I said, they could trade Marvin Williams and/or Speedy Claxton and move up to five, six or seven and take Conley there. Either way, he’s a top 10 pick, barring injury. Too many teams need a PG.

By: EJ

EJ — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:13:45 +0000

I say we trade our pick for someone like Chris Wilcox or maybe even Jason Maxiell. A sign and trade with Pietrus might be able to get it done. I’m sure they’d love him coming off the bench in either Seattle or Detroit. But I don’t think we need anymore projects that need a couple years to develop. Nellie isn’t going to be coaching forever. I’d also love to get Earl Watson. How about Wilcox and Watson for our #18, Pietrus, and O’Bryant?

By: manhattanproj

manhattanproj — Thu, 24 May 2007 03:31:33 +0000

wow marcus, you think conley can go as high as #3. i dont think he’s worthy of a top 10 pick. i think once scouts start to evaluate his game, especially his offense and his shots, he’s going to drop. i like his game, his poise and his floorsense but he played with alot of talents around him. i think he’ll be good at #18. definitely not in the top 10.

By: Marcus Thompson

Marcus Thompson — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:57:07 +0000

That’s a great point commish. Can you imagine Phoenix with Wright or Horford in tow? …
Pietrus and No. 18 might can get Dalembert, but would you want him at his salary? I wouldn’t. He makes way too much for a player with no post game. Plus, to get him, you’d have to move Andris because they are almost the same player.

By: commish

commish — Wed, 23 May 2007 20:52:30 +0000

I posted these basic thoughts on the GSoM blog but felt I would put them here again. The four reasons I’m glad the West got numbers 1&2:

1. As a season ticket holder I will enjoy seeing Oden and Durant play at the Oracle for a long time to come;
2. The luck of Portland and Seattle “should” force the Warrior franchise’s hand in significantly upgrading our roster to compete for a playoff berth;
3. I’m glad the “tanking” of Boston and Memphis got them what they deserved;
4. As of bonus, the 3rd pick did NOT go to the Suns, who don’t need to get even better by drafting in the top 3.

By: nycmike

nycmike — Wed, 23 May 2007 17:55:10 +0000

who out there thinks we’re “a lock for the # 4 seed”? We made the playoffs on the last day with help from the Clips and Mavs. The amazing postseason run shouldn’t blind us from how far we are from elite status. Marcus, any hope of packaging 18 and Pietrus (in a sign-and-trade) for an interior defender like Dalembert?

By: Marcus Thompson

Marcus Thompson — Wed, 23 May 2007 17:20:36 +0000

AJ, I don’t see the Hawks moving down, not for Monta Ellis. Biedrins maybe. They need a big and a point guard. They can get both at No. 3 and No. 11. Going down to 18, they won’t. They’ll probably take Yi or Brandan Wright at No 3 and hope like crazy Conley is available at No. 11 (which he won’t be, so they’ll end up with Acie Law or Crittendon from G-Tech). If they’re really gangsta, they’d take Conley at No. 3 and nab Spencer Hawes or someone is available at No. 11. Or, they’d trade No. 11 and Marvin Williams to get the No. 4 or 5 pick, so they can draft Horford and Conley.

By: Marcus Thompson

Marcus Thompson — Wed, 23 May 2007 16:57:12 +0000

I forgot about that trade. I was looking at the team salary report. Good catch majic. robbyrobb47, you are right about Portland looking to move one of their big guys. Randolph is their first choice, and Przybilla their second (both are high salary players). But you are mistaken if you think the Sonics will let Leiws walk now. They want him even more now. They were going to rebuild. But getting Durant gives them a legitimate big three (as far as the fans are concerned) for much cheaper than going out to add another star. They wanted to keep Lewis anyway (over Ray Allen). But now they are especially looking to keep him. Ray, Rashard and Kevin would give the fans just the hope they need to vote for a new stadium. And no way would Lewis be to the Warriors what Amare is to Phoenix. But Rashard might be a nice fit. He isn’t the answer at PF but he does give them another dominant scorer, which would allow them to flourish at their style more. But Lewis’ rebound numbers aren’t great (6.6), and he took more 3-pointers (387) than free throws (315), which doesn’t speak volumes for his post-up game or his ability to create. I didn’t see much of Seattle, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say he can’t guard the premiere PFs in the West. I’d take him for the right price, but if the Warriors go the perimeter route, I’d rather have another swingman type who can create and gets to the FT line more (and makes them).

By: AJ

AJ — Wed, 23 May 2007 15:38:18 +0000

Marcus – what about the possibility of trading Monta and the 18th pick to Atlanta for the 3rd pick. Then drafting Al Horford to get the rebounding they desperately need!