Official 2007 NBA Draft Thread

Dallas should trade away Howard for Oden

I'm dreaming, yeah.

3PK, I can guarantee you that Zach Randolph will be starting at PF....looks like LaMarcus, Oden & Randolph will play all the minutes at C & PF....look for Magloire to be gone....they will probably keep Pryz-bizz as 4th big man....

Miles, Udoka & Webster handle SF position....Roy, Jones & Webster the SG spot....Jack, Roy & Rodriguez the PG spot....

they'll be good, maybe not next season, but they'll be 35 win good, but on from that, they can add a SF, a PG & other pieces to the puzzle....exciting times for the Blazers....


hey Shannon, you've got the Hawks stretching at 3 for a PG....they've stretched on their pick last year....I think Hawks should trade down rather than take Conley at 3....Conley is not going to be Chris Paul or Deron Williams....I think Al Horford is perfect pick for the Hawks....the only problem with that is they stretched on Shelden Williams last year & didn't take a PG the year before ahh well, at least they've got another chance to screw up rather than Phoenix adding Brewer or Horford to their ranks....


my quick mock is:

1. Por - Oden
2. Sea - Durant
3. Atl - Horford
4. Mem - Conley
5. Bos - Wright
6. Mil - Brewer
7. Min - Yianlian
8. Cha - Hibbert
9. Chi - Hawes
10. Sac - Wright
11. Atl - Law
12. Phi - Noah
13. NOK - Young
14. LAC- Crittenton

this will change no doubt as draft moves closer, just a quick snapshot....

I think the Blazers will take Oden.. And Seattle will grab Durant..

Then rosters :

C - Oden.
PF - Randolph.
SF - Miles (If heathy)
SG - Roy
PG - Jack..

C - Wilcox.
PF - Lewis.
SF - Durant.
SG - Allen.
PG - Ridnour..

I can't see why Seattle should keep Lewis after drafting Durant, as they play exactly the same position. I think they should either try to trade up, resign Lewis and trade him for a center, or just let him go and try to get a big man via free agency - allthough there isn't a lot of options.

I can't think of anyone but Primoz Brezec, P J Brown or Darko Milicic who could be interesting for the Sonics.

This is great for the Sonics. I haven't been this happy since the Sonics won game four of the 04-05 playoffs against San Antonio.

Most people are thinking this is the end of the road in Seattle for Rashard... but I think there is a good chance he'll stay. He's said numerous times that he wants to stay, and I think with expiring contracts (Fortson) and new management, they'll be willing to pay more to keep him in Seattle. He'll definitely not leave for nothing, if they lose him it'll be for something valuable.

I think there's a great chance that Durant and Lewis can play together, both are versatile forwards so it'd be great to watch them out on the floor together.

he is already overpaid. i say let him go or get a sign and trade if you can. no way would i pay rashard more money.

Post draft interview...some fun stuff here. Boy are Memphis & Boston pissed. I think Stern is going to get some angry voicemails.

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2064

Portland

Question: Put into perspective how important this draft is because of Oden and Durant.

Kevin Pritchard: Huge. Unbelievably huge. Franchise making. I don't know how to make it any bigger than that. That's pretty big, huh? Bigger than the Rose garden, bigger than our organization, bigger than the city of Portland. The whole state and the whole area revolve on the Portland trailblazers. As we go, so does the whole city so to speak. This has a chance to really change our organization and the city. Rip city again, here we come.

Question: Could you under any scenario picture trading this pick?

Kevin Pritchard: I can't see us trading this pick, no. This is a very top-heavy draft and we feel like there is an unbelievable difference maker. They don't come around.

Memphis

Q: Can you tell me your feelings about how the Lottery fell together?
WEST: Well, I don't really want to comment on it, OK? I don't like the Draft Lottery, never liked it. It's not sour grapes. I just think it's a terrible system and it needs to be addressed. Every other league in the other professional leagues, they all draft according to how they finish in the season. And we didn't come here expecting to get the No. 1 or No. 2, because it doesn't happen very often. The two worst teams this year get No. 4 and 5 in the draft and that's arguably hard to say who's going to be there that will help the team as much as the first two guys.

Q: I know you're leaving July 1. How do you feel the team is set up to move forward with its young nucleus?
WEST: I don't really want to focus on that right now; there's so much work to be done between now and the draft. But this is not the most favorable night for us, that's for sure.

Q: This is considered one of the deeper drafts. Do you feel there can still be solid players at No. 4?
WEST: They say that every year, but there are two great players this year. Don't you believe all the hype you read.

Celtics

Q: Do you think it’s maybe time to go back to a system where every team has a shot at it?
HEINSOHN: What can I say? It’s a dramatic thing. One guy tells me if they don’t get the number one pick, they’re going to have trouble getting fans in the building.

Q: Who do you think the Celtics should be looking at?
HEINSOHN: I really haven’t scouted much. I’m not really at liberty to say. The two top kids that everybody talks about are potential franchise players that you can ride for 10 years. They seem to have that kind of potential.

Q: Do do you see this draft shaping up?
HEINSOHN: What Jerry West told me is that you have the first two guys, and then there’s a huge drop off. But, the other guys will be good players.

Q: Are you disappointed?
HEINSOHN: Yeah. Certainly, it’s disappointing. It was such an unusual thing where the three worst teams fell to six, five and four. It’s a little screwy.

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Re: Rashard

I can't see why Seattle should keep Lewis after drafting Durant, as they play exactly the same position. I think they should either try to trade up, resign Lewis and trade him for a center, or just let him go and try to get a big man via free agency - allthough there isn't a lot of options.

I gotta disagree here, you keep your BPAs no matter what. People said the same about Jordan & Pippen, and the same about Duncan & Robinson. A lot of writers thought the Spurs were going to trade one of those guys since they didn't have superstar backcourt.

If do agree if they can trade Rashard for Dwight Howard or someone like that they take it, but i can't see any team valueing Rashard that highly.

We should remember that Seattle's best year in the post-Payton era was with a 6'10" long range shooting, 230 lb winger. When Radmanovic played well, Seattle was almost unstoppable. They were one of the highest scoring teams while playing within a set half-court offense, because of the rain of 3's. And i think Durant is a bit better than Radmanovic =P

Sauru i imagine your feeling a little depressed know that Boston slipped so far, and, they gave up Greg Oden AND Brandon Roy to get Sebastian Telfair. Hey, at least Joakim Noah is available.

hey Shannon, you've got the Hawks stretching at 3 for a PG....they've stretched on their pick last year....I think Hawks should trade down rather than take Conley at 3....

I agree on trading down, but Memphis will nab Conley right away, so if they want him they have to take him here.

Whats better, Al Horford + Acie Law or Mike Conley + Roy Hibbert?

I go with Conley and Hibbert, though they could get Spencer Hawes if Chicago passes on him, which would be even better. He's much more NBA ready and his offensive ability and passing skill should compliment Shelden Williams quite well.

Conley + Hibbert/Hawes has alot more potential than Law + Horford IMO. Both Law and Horford are sorta "what you see is what you get" type players.

The latest rumor is that Roy Hibbert will pull out because it's a such a strong draft...he hasn't hired an agent so he can pull out at any time.

Hibbert has a good chance of going #1-#3 next year, so i can believe he'll stay.

Sauru i imagine your feeling a little depressed know that Boston slipped so far, and, they gave up Greg Oden AND Brandon Roy to get Sebastian Telfair. Hey, at least Joakim Noah is available.

i hate you. but seriously, yes, i am very upset about it. i thought that the celtics were finally gonna get a franchise player. sure we got pierce but honestly, he is a great 2, not the number 1 guy. i say we trade pierce now, get what we can. hell i say send his happy ass to phoenix for thier pick next year(the one from atlanta) and other players. then again who does phoenix have, that is young, and they would be willing to get rid of plus a pick for pierce? pierce is exactly the kind of guy they would need to get over the hump. he would provide them with a go to guy in the half court. anyway just dreaming i guess.


on another topic, mock drafts. i made mine on the espn page. not sure if any cares but here is the link to my mock draft. flame away is you will


Mock Draft

Sauru, I was thinking Kurt Thomas, Marcus Banks, Boris Diaw and Atlanta's first round pick for Paul Pierce and Tony Allen, but apparently Kurt Thomas can't be traded.

I think a trade like this is good for both teams though:

To Boston:

SG Raja Bell
SF Boris Diaw
PG Marcus Banks
SF James Jones
Atlanta's 1st round pick

To Phoenix:

SF Paul Pierce
SG Tony Allen

Why for Phoenix? They get an all star replacement for Shawn Marion in Paul Pierce, who is enjoying the prime years of his career in a losing system. His motivation to win a ring could push Phoenix over the hump and get them their championship trophy they have been so close to for the last few years. They also get an athletic Tony Allen, who I think would thrive in the run 'n gun system, as a solid replacement for Raja Bell. Remember Tony Allen was on his way to a 12/4/2 season before his injury. Shoots over 50% from the floor, if he got his 3 point shot down he could really contribute.

Why for Boston? They get an extremely versatile player in Diaw who won the most improved award a year ago and stepped up big time while Amare was gone. Diaw will hold down the SF position quite well for Boston. James Jones will be a great 6th man with the departure of Tony Allen, Jones can shoot the 3 and play solid defence. Raja Bell will give the Celtics some perimeter scoring and when the souble teams to Al Jefferson come, Raja will be ready to knock down the open shots that leaves him. Marcus Banks also returns and can split time with a still learning Rajon Rondo as the floor general. They also get Atlanta's pick in the '08 draft, which could weild a franchise point guard, something Boston needs. Imagine OJ Mayo or Derrick Rose in a Celtics uni. Other attractive options include Nicolas Batum, Mike Beasley, Eric Gordon and Donte Greene (Potentially Kevin Durant pt. 2... Seriously, look out for this guy).

Even if Phoenix wants more they could chuck someone like Kendrick Perkins into the deal.

my top 14 assuming the Georgetown boys go back like I tihnk they will:
1. Por- Oden. anybody else would be pure stupidity. i think they'll go with oden for sure after pritchard's comments.
2. Sea- Durant. another no-brainer.
3. Atl- B Wright. I think they'll go big here. no need to take a PG at 3 when you can get a quality PG at 11.
4. Mem- Horford. They need to go big as well, especially with Gasol trade rumors. Also, they don't really need a PG as badly as a swingman or a big man, so no need for Conley here.
5. Bos- Yi. Best available talent. very versatile player and can be an impact player right away. a lot of peple say they need a PG too, but I'm still scratching my head on the Telfair trade last year when they had West already. Rondo's coming up strong too.
6. Mil- Noah. with all the big-impact big guys gone, they'll settle for a talented player tht can fill their needs at the 4/3 spot.
7. Min- Brewer. Again, best avilable talent. He's an amazing scorer, but I'm not 100% sure about this one because that would create a big log-jam at the swingman spot with Ricky D, Foye, Hassell, and Brewer.
8. Cha- Hawes. This last season showed their need for big men (why they traded Ely I do not know) when May's knee acted up again.
9. Chi- Wright. With all the big men gone their need for an inside scorer cannot be addressed. they will go with the best available talent here or look to trade up.
10. Sac- Thornton- They're pretty solid at every position except maybe the 4 but again the big men are gone, so they'll go with a versatile player that can help in a lot of different spots. Don't tihnk they'll take Conley because he won't have any PT behind Bibby.
11. Atl- Conley. they'll be like a kid on Christmas morning if they pick a big at 3 and have Conley fall into their lap at 11. Otherwise, they go with Law.
12. Phi- Jason Smith- With the emergence of Iguodala as their main guy and Miller running the point, they need bigs to help their inside prescence.
13. NO- T Young- They need scoring. badly. CP can't score 20+ pts a night or else he'll be tired by the end of the season.
14. LAC- Law- If Law isn't gone by now, they'll take him. With Livingston out unfortunately and an aging Cassell, they'll need a PG here so they won't have to start Jason Hart. Hart's not a bad player, but def not a starter in the league.

Phoenix could definitely use that pick as trade bait now that they won't cash in this year, especially in their attempts to get under the salary cap.

Awww mothafuck*a Nuggets got no picks, at least we got Martin and Iverson for all of them

hey Shannon, you've got the Hawks stretching at 3 for a PG....they've stretched on their pick last year....I think Hawks should trade down rather than take Conley at 3....

I agree on trading down, but Memphis will nab Conley right away, so if they want him they have to take him here.

Whats better, Al Horford + Acie Law or Mike Conley + Roy Hibbert?

I go with Conley and Hibbert, though they could get Spencer Hawes if Chicago passes on him, which would be even better. He's much more NBA ready and his offensive ability and passing skill should compliment Shelden Williams quite well.

Conley + Hibbert/Hawes has alot more potential than Law + Horford IMO. Both Law and Horford are sorta "what you see is what you get" type players.

the Hawks' drafting situation isn't an easy one, but in what you're saying, I think you are underrating Horford a bit....I think his game will be suited more to the NBA than to college....I think there is more to him than you see....I haven't seen enough of Conley to believe he would be great....if he would be in next year's draft with PG's likely for next year, he would be late lottery pick....

I do think Horford would be better for the athletic up & down team than Hibbert, that's why I leaned towards him....

when all is said & done, I think Hawks will go Conley or Wright, with Horford or Brewer going to Milwaukee which is a great pick for the Bucks....it would be good to see the Hawks package one of their picks & one of their swingmen & see what they can do....I don't think they can wait around year after year for young talent to grow....they need to throw a vet or two into the mix....

I'll guess Conley goes pretty high for 2 reasons:
- because this year's draft is very low on impact PGs...i literally see two...Conley & Law, and i'm not even sure about Law. I wouldn't be surprised to see Atlanta pick Conley up at 3.
- Oden has made it public he wants Conley on his team, that may push Portland to trade a nice player to Atlanta.

Green is in, Hibbert is out. Both official.

ESPN's Thorpe thinks Portland should go after Durant, not Oden. Interesting.

But in the meantime, alarm bells are going off every time I hear someone say they know Portland will draft Greg Oden. There are a lot of angles here -- too many to discuss right now -- but some of the major points:

* Greg Oden, bless him, is a well-balanced individual. Kevin Durant is not. Multiple sources, who are in position to know, assure me that morning noon and night all Durant wants to do is dominate on the basketball court. I think it's entirely possible that distinction, multiplied over five years, makes Durant the more important player. (And don't give me all that stuff about big men ... Durant can be a big man too. He outrebounded Oden handily in college, and can defend a lot of bigs.) So, I hope my kids grow up to be happy like Greg Oden. But I hope my Trail Blazers hitch their wagon to Kevin Durant.

Could Oden be "too nice"?

EDIT: Hey Sauru mind changing your link? This thread is like unreadable.

That got me thinking. People say Oden is too nice, and he won't dominate as much as he could because he doesn't have that "something to prove" attitude.

...But what if he goes second in the draft?

He's been projected as number one forever and to go number two would give him reason to be determined. The thing is, if the whole "too nice" thing is true, Portland could get him number one and live with a dominant-but-not-as-much-as-he-should-be Oden. However, if they pass on him, Portland could of created a monster - in Seattle.

Sauru, I was thinking Kurt Thomas, Marcus Banks, Boris Diaw and Atlanta's first round pick for Paul Pierce and Tony Allen, but apparently Kurt Thomas can't be traded.

I think a trade like this is good for both teams though:

To Boston:

SG Raja Bell
SF Boris Diaw
PG Marcus Banks
SF James Jones
Atlanta's 1st round pick

To Phoenix:

SF Paul Pierce
SG Tony Allen

Why for Phoenix? They get an all star replacement for Shawn Marion in Paul Pierce, who is enjoying the prime years of his career in a losing system. His motivation to win a ring could push Phoenix over the hump and get them their championship trophy they have been so close to for the last few years. They also get an athletic Tony Allen, who I think would thrive in the run 'n gun system, as a solid replacement for Raja Bell. Remember Tony Allen was on his way to a 12/4/2 season before his injury. Shoots over 50% from the floor, if he got his 3 point shot down he could really contribute.

Why for Boston? They get an extremely versatile player in Diaw who won the most improved award a year ago and stepped up big time while Amare was gone. Diaw will hold down the SF position quite well for Boston. James Jones will be a great 6th man with the departure of Tony Allen, Jones can shoot the 3 and play solid defence. Raja Bell will give the Celtics some perimeter scoring and when the souble teams to Al Jefferson come, Raja will be ready to knock down the open shots that leaves him. Marcus Banks also returns and can split time with a still learning Rajon Rondo as the floor general. They also get Atlanta's pick in the '08 draft, which could weild a franchise point guard, something Boston needs. Imagine OJ Mayo or Derrick Rose in a Celtics uni. Other attractive options include Nicolas Batum, Mike Beasley, Eric Gordon and Donte Greene (Potentially Kevin Durant pt. 2... Seriously, look out for this guy).

Even if Phoenix wants more they could chuck someone like Kendrick Perkins into the deal.

i gotta tell i like this deal, for both teams. phoenix gets exactly what they need in a go to guy in the half court and the celtics get another draft pick that if history tells us anything will be a lottery pick. i would do it

Yeah, except Phoenix doesn't have Atlanta's first round pick now that its number 3. Unless they have a pick of Atlanta's later in the draft im unaware of?

It was top 3 protected, which means they have to wait another year for it. It's unprotected in 2008, so wherever Atlanta goes in the lottery it goes over to Phoenix.

Wow. You know you are going to be a monster superstar when the only knock against you before the draft is that you are "too nice."

Yeah, except Phoenix doesn't have Atlanta's first round pick now that its number 3. Unless they have a pick of Atlanta's later in the draft im unaware of?

Phoenix has Atlanta's pick in next year's draft, unprotected.

As a Phoenix fan, I would not be in favor of that deal, only because Raja Bell is involved. He brings so much to the table that no one else on the team can really offer. Besides...I understand that Phoenix needs a go-to guard/SF in the half-court, but Paul Pierce wouldn't be my first choice to fill that role. Phoenix needs a guy who understands that he's going to have the ball in his hands less than Steve Nash and just as much as Amare Stoudemire. Some guys I would like to see are; Mike Miller, Rashard Lewis, Corey Maggette...and highly unlikely, but Ray Allen would be my ideal choice. Who knows though...I'm sure Seattle will be looking to get rid of either Lewis or Allen, because there wont't be enough balls to go around once Durant comes to town.

Oh sweet, thanks for clairfying.. That Johnson trade has really worked out well for us then hasn't it haha.. Although i bet Atlanta have a good season and give us a shit pick..

I'd like Allen or Lewis as well.. Can't really understand Miller though.. I always thought of him as just a spot up shooter? But that being said, i havent seen Memphis play before..

Rather than pull of a big trade, i think Phoenix would be better off keeping the current team and then using the draft pick to nab a Nash backup and future replacement.. Keep in mind, that they have had set backs each season (Johnson's eye injury in the WCF, Stoudemire's knee last season, and then his reinclusion in this seasons line ups [not that thats a set back but it takes time for a team to gel, and he's a pretty big part of the lineup]), so i'd at least give them one more go at it, now that they have had a full season to gel together, before breaking up the core (by dealing Marion, Diaw or Bell)

i dont think any of those guys are on the level of pierce dro and i personally would hate having to leave my half court offense in any of thier hands. pierce only demands the ball so much now cause he has to, he could easily play with a team where he gets less attempts. infact he would probably get less attempts without hurting his ppg too much, might even go up and get more shots thanks to the run n gun style of phoenix

Wow. You know you are going to be a monster superstar when the only knock against you before the draft is that you are "too nice."

didn't they also say that about David Robinson?!? or was his "too nice" & "too soft" as well?!?