Official 2007 NBA Draft Thread

[Indy]

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..

Mike Miller has had 2 really outstanding seasons in a row. He was a guy that just roamed around the 3 point line for much of his career, but in the last 2 seasons he has quietly become a true star in this league. He's really a guy that does it all. He rebounds well, passes well and is extremely proficient on the floor. I think he shot around 47 percent from the floor this season, and I know a couple years ago he shot 50 percent. If put in the right system with quality defenders at the point guard and low post position, his poor defense would be less obvious then it is with Memphis.

However, as good as he is he is more suited to be a third scorer on a championship level team. He is capable of being the number 2 option on a good team, but he would fit in perfectly with a team like Detroit. He would take a huge amount of pressure off Rip Hamilton.

[Dean]

Would you say he could maybe be a guy like Ginobilli is being for the Spurs at the moment?

[The X]

Would you say he could maybe be a guy like Ginobilli is being for the Spurs at the moment?

I would say so....

[3PK]

Well i thought i would do some seious research and i found a few mock draft and then did a bit of work and this is what i got:

1. Portland Greg Oden 7-0 250 C Ohio St. Fr.

2. Seattle Kevin Durant 6-10 220 SF Texas Fr.

3. Atlanta Brandan Wright 6-10 210 PF UNC Fr.

4. Memphis Yi Jianlian 7-0 242 PF China 1984

5. Boston Al Horford 6-9 245 PF Florida Jr.

6. Milwaukee Jeff Green 6-8 235 SF Georgetown Jr.

7. Minnesota Mike Conley 6-1 180 PG Ohio St. Fr.

8. Charlotte Corey Brewer 6-8 185 SF Florida Jr.

9. *Chicago Joakim Noah 6-11 230 PF Florida Jr. 39.

10. Sacramento Julian Wright 6-8 225 SF Kansas So.

And here's one that is a lot more indepth and IMO a very subjective Mock Draft

Portland Trail Blazers - Greg Oden, Ohio State University, C, 7'0"
Team Needs: First off, the Blazers got really lucky here, jumping from a projected sixth spot to the first overall. Congrats u bloody lucky Blazers fans, particularly all those at Blazers Edge - the enthusiasm is infectious. In any case, last year's draft brought the Blazers two excellent players to build around in LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy. Both made the All-Rookie first team with Roy taking the Rookie of the Year award. Picking at number one, the Blazers have an excellent chance to have another ROY trophy given to a Blazers player.
Player Comment: Imagine a frontcourt of Oden, Roy, and Aldridge. Wow. I'm not forgetting about Z-Bo, Zach Randolph, but I don't see him as a Blazer for too long. At least not like I picture the other three. Oden will bring instant production in boards and blocks. Any offense is pure gravy, and while he doesn't have quite the offensive repetoire Kevin Durant has, Oden is no slouch. But, it's Oden's defense that will make people stand off their seat.

2. Seattle SuperSonics - Kevin Durant, University of Texas, SF, 6'10"
Team Needs: Talk about disarray. Do the SuperSonics even have much of a fanbase left? Their two superstars, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis could be wearing different uniforms come next season, so they'll need something special here or at least a perceived step in the right direction and the only freshman in NCAA history to win Player of the Year honors is a definite step in the right direction.
Player Comment: Durant is a special player with skills comparable to newly crowned MVP, Dirk Nowitzki, but with a better skill set when you look at Dirk at Durant's age. Durant can score in many ways and once he adjusts to NBA defenses and adds some muscle, Durant will be something special.

3. Atlanta Hawks - Brandan Wright, University of North Carolina, PF, 6'9"
Team Needs: Well, they really need a point guard more than anything else since they've been lacking somewhat ever since Jason Terry left town. My apologies to Tyronn Lue and Speedy Claxton, of course. However, picking this high wouldn't justify taking any of the available point guards. The Hawks have athletes and high fliers in Josh Smith and Marvin Williams, as well as versatile players in Joe Johnson and Josh Childress. So, it would make sense to go big and get an inside player.
Player Comment: Wright has the physicality to succeed in the NBA and has a ton of upside. He was thought to be NBA first round material last year as Oden and Durant were, but new eligibility rules prevented that from happening. In only took a year to make it happen, though. Wright is a great athlete and will make a difference down low, both offensively and defensively.

4. Memphis Grizzlies - Al Horford, University of Florida, PF, 6'9"
Team Needs: When you have a record like the Grizzlies, what don't you need? Seriously, Pau Gasol, Mike Miller, and Rudy Gay are great blocks to build from and even though the odds beat them and they fell out of the top three picks, the Grizzlies are definitely going to get a player to add to the talented trio.
Player Comment: While the casual fan praises Joakim Noah, Horford is put on the backburner to a degree... except by NBA scouts. Horford improved his game from last year while Noah did not and that says something about Horford.

5. Boston Celtics - Roy Hibbert, Georgetown University, C, 7'2"
Team Needs: The team is just a mess with seemingly very little cohesion and in need of a leader type of player. Paul Pierce is getting up in age and is almost as enigmatic as Manny Ramirez concerning if he wants to stay or go. The folks of Beantown deserve better and they have the opportunity to make not only the heartbreak of a failed season and lost opportunity during the Draft Lottery go away, but get someone who can help Al Jefferson with inside duties and help on the defensive end.
Player Comment: Hibbert displayed great improvement this season and he still has some upside to work with. You can't teach size, but you can teach Hoya toughness, which the Celtics fans will appreciate, and big man ability.

[The X]

Hibbert withdrew from the draft....1st mock seems a little better at this stage although I'd have Brewer & Conley higher, & Green lower

[SVSM/CC-23]

go portland go^^
there you can see what boston,milwaukee,seattle etc. got in favour by losing games more or less consciously.

i think we will see a lot of trades... e.g. if seattle picks durant because lewis and allen already allstars playing at his position. and through this trade and this draft NBA will never be like it`s been before. we will see a lot of new teams in the playoffs next few years. atlanta got great chances of leaving lotteryland finally after so many years when they`ll get good picks at nr 3 & 11

[-BHZMAFIA-]

I was thinking the Grizzlies could trade Mike Miller for Marcus Camby straight up because the salaries match and why wouldn't the Nuggets want a sharp shooter like Miller? That's something they've been missing for like the past few years and with K-Mart coming back, they really just don't have as much need for Camby (along with Nene and Evans). That deal would help both teams out and even though Camby is old, he could still contribute alot and help give Pau sidekick he needs in the post. IF that deal ended up going down, I would think Memphis would keep the pick and draft Corey Brewer or Jeff Green and hopefully be able to sign Mo Williams if he wants to leave.

2006-07 Outlook:
C - Camby
PF - Gasol/Warrick
SF - Gay
SG - Brewer or Green/Kinsey
PG - Williams/Lowry

Just one of the many things Memphis could do. I think Miller is a little expendable, but it really depends on what Memphis does with the draft pick.

[scrub]

I've looked at quite a lot of mock drafts and a lot of people seem to have Brandan Wright going to the Hawks. Why would they pass up Mike Conley for another forward?

[maes]

The media's mock drafts almost always focuses too much on wingmen and NCAA players. They also don't take into account marketability, the ability to sell tickets and get endorsement deals.

- all these wingmen (Julian Wright, Jeff Green, Brewer) will go down signficantly. Remember Granger, Gerald Green, Iguodala...they all dropped. You know the NBA has too many SFs when Carmelo can't make the first cut of an All-Star game.

- Athletic C's will rise, even if unproven & international. People said i was an idiot for having Sene in the top 10 last year's draft, Bynum before that. Tiago Splitter (6'11.75", 7'1" in the NBA, a better Andris Biedrins, who's untouchable now) will rise. If he didn't pull out last year, he was top 5. The "unproven athletic 7 footer" syndrome happens every year.

- Noah will go high, i'm guessing #3. To the mass market, he's the most well known player outside of Oden. My gf has no idea who Durant is, she's seen Noah on magazine covers. Very marketable. Will he do well in the NBA? I have no idea, but this very same situation happened with Morrison and he got drafted #3 despite being unable to guard Matt Carroll in workouts.

- Lastly the top athletes will fill out the rest of the 1st round. I wouldn't be surprised to see Thad Young go top 15. 4.0 GPA as well, shows unusual work ethic.

[Clock]

I've looked at quite a lot of mock drafts and a lot of people seem to have Brandan Wright going to the Hawks. Why would they pass up Mike Conley for another forward?

Because it's the Hawks. This is what they do.

[Sauru]

The media's mock drafts almost always focuses too much on wingmen and NCAA players. They also don't take into account marketability, the ability to sell tickets and get endorsement deals.

- all these wingmen (Julian Wright, Jeff Green, Brewer) will go down signficantly. Remember Granger, Gerald Green, Iguodala...they all dropped. You know the NBA has too many SFs when Carmelo can't make the first cut of an All-Star game.

- Athletic C's will rise, even if unproven & international. People said i was an idiot for having Sene in the top 10 last year's draft, Bynum before that. Tiago Splitter (6'11.75", 7'1" in the NBA, a better Andris Biedrins, who's untouchable now) will rise. If he didn't pull out last year, he was top 5. The "unproven athletic 7 footer" syndrome happens every year.

- Noah will go high, i'm guessing #3. To the mass market, he's the most well known player outside of Oden. My gf has no idea who Durant is, she's seen Noah on magazine covers. Very marketable. Will he do well in the NBA? I have no idea, but this very same situation happened with Morrison and he got drafted #3 despite being unable to guard Matt Carroll in workouts.

- Lastly the top athletes will fill out the rest of the 1st round. I wouldn't be surprised to see Thad Young go top 15. 4.0 GPA as well, shows unusual work ethic.

i agree with most of what you wrote except the noah part. i dont see anyway the hawks pass on conley to take noah. i could see them pass on conley for someone else, like one of the small forwards(which would be dumb btw) but i dont see them taking noah, no way. also i feel noah really hurt his stock this year, would not be surprised to see him slip out of top 10

[---]

I've looked at quite a lot of mock drafts and a lot of people seem to have Brandan Wright going to the Hawks. Why would they pass up Mike Conley for another forward?

Brandan Wright isn't like all the other forwards on the Hawks roster. He's all about low post scoring.

Unless they want Julian Wright at 3

[3PK]

Off topic who does everyone reckon will win rookie of the year

I reckon Oden or Durant probably

[The X]

3PK, if you're looking at who is going to win ROY each year, you really have to look at who is the most NBA ready talent & who has an open starting spot....

like Brandon Roy with Portland last year....he was ready, big-time college experience, physically ready, Blazers had no other guards in front of him....he won ROY easily....

whereas you look at Randy Foye....also a player that was ready to make a run for it, but he started year behind free agent signee Mike James, who's a solid PG....had he started the whole year, the ROY race would've been a 2 horse race....

you can't really guess who will the ROY at this point as you don't know where each player will end up & where they will stack up in the rotation....if I had to hazard a guess, Kevin Durant would be No. 1 choice....rounding out the All-1st Team would be Horford, Brewer, Oden & Acie Law....all physically ready & talented enough to contribute....but it's about where they end up....

and it doesn't matter how good the rookie year is anyway, it's the subsequent years....just look at Deron Williams, Monta Ellis & so on....

[TomCat]

Durant will win ROY with Sonics if Lewis becomes a free agent. Oden at Sonics and Durant at Blazers could make a good competition for ROY. Too hard to say right now, it might not even be either Oden or Durant...

[---]

We can't say for sure until the players are drafted. A guy like Al Horford or Al Thornton on the right team could win ROY. I'm still worried about Kevin's size, he always took big stronger guys outside and used his quickness, and against small guys he would post them up. However, he always had problems with quick bigs and small guys that were strong enough to hold him on the block, and that's exactly what he'll be facing in the NBA.

[maes]

i agree with most of what you wrote except the noah part. i dont see anyway the hawks pass on conley to take noah. i could see them pass on conley for someone else, like one of the small forwards(which would be dumb btw) but i dont see them taking noah, no way. also i feel noah really hurt his stock this year, would not be surprised to see him slip out of top 10

I'd agree, but the Hawks are insane. I think Conley is a lock for #3, especially if Oden wants him in portland, talk about trade value, but i've given up figuring out Knight.

2006 #5 Shelden Williams, a shorter version of Brian Skinner.
2005 #2, Marvin Williams, a guy who couldn't start on his college team.
2004 #6 Josh Childress, hey lets get this Childress guy while Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, and Al Jefferson are still waiting.
2003-01: Diaw & Gasol, great picks! Let's trade em. Although it's complicated, the ultimate result of the Gasol trade netted Atlanta Bobby Sura and that funny Rebraca guy.

Atlanta is the only team in the lottery that would have NOT drafted either durant or oden if they had #1/#2. Knight: "Man, that Noah guy has a lot of motor...i like that! #1!"

[The X]

to add to what maes is saying, Billy Knight always seems to show his hand....last season everyone knew the Hawks really wanted Shelden Williams, hence the reason why no one drafting below was going to give a good deal to move up....

it might work in his favour if he can actually tell a lie & make it believable....maybe if someone at 5 or 6 wants Yi, then trade down....I don't expect them to do so though....

[Sauru]

the hawks are dumb, they will draft some jerk who will be out of the league in 4 seasons lol. but seriously they have to take conley imo, anything else is just a waste.

[dan_suth]

Well, Brandon Rush withdraws from the draft and will return to Kansas for his junior year. Was there a decent chance that he would be taken in the first round this year? It was kinda weird hearing all about him during the NCAA tourney and then hearing nothing since then.

[Matt]

some mock drafts had him late 1st round.

[Indy]

the hawks are dumb, they will draft some jerk who will be out of the league in 4 seasons lol. but seriously they have to take conley imo, anything else is just a waste.

I love Mike Conley, however if I truely think the Hawks should take Jianlian. I think he's going to be a very special player from the little I've seen/read/heard from people. If they can get Jianlian then they can use our 11th pick as trade bait for an established point guard. They could probably get Bibby for the pick by itself.

[grusom]

I was thinking the Grizzlies could trade Mike Miller for Marcus Camby straight up because the salaries match and why wouldn't the Nuggets want a sharp shooter like Miller? That's something they've been missing for like the past few years and with K-Mart coming back, they really just don't have as much need for Camby (along with Nene and Evans). That deal would help both teams out and even though Camby is old, he could still contribute alot and help give Pau sidekick he needs in the post. IF that deal ended up going down, I would think Memphis would keep the pick and draft Corey Brewer or Jeff Green and hopefully be able to sign Mo Williams if he wants to leave.

2006-07 Outlook:
C - Camby
PF - Gasol/Warrick
SF - Gay
SG - Brewer or Green/Kinsey
PG - Williams/Lowry

Just one of the many things Memphis could do. I think Miller is a little expendable, but it really depends on what Memphis does with the draft pick.

Camby for Miller straight up?!? That's the worst idea I have heard in 2007. Can you name 5 better centers than him? Yao, D. Howard, Amare and.... who? (And Amare and Dwight are actually 4s playing the 5). Then try to name 20 wing players better than Miller - I bet that'll be a whole lot easier.

No disrespect to Miller's game - he is a nice player, but nothing more. This just shows how Camby is one of the most underrated stars in the league.

[Sauru]

the hawks are dumb, they will draft some jerk who will be out of the league in 4 seasons lol. but seriously they have to take conley imo, anything else is just a waste.

I love Mike Conley, however if I truely think the Hawks should take Jianlian. I think he's going to be a very special player from the little I've seen/read/heard from people. If they can get Jianlian then they can use our 11th pick as trade bait for an established point guard. They could probably get Bibby for the pick by itself.

i agree, if they dont take conley it has to be for yi. i could see that as i also feel he will be a good player(not to mention bring in lots of money due to being chinese). at the same time, no matter how good i think Yi can be, i dont think he would excel in atlanta though. after being here about 4 years now i realized that people here care less about quality than they do about image, and they want players who uphold the image of atlanta. not sure if that makes sense to anyone or not.

anyway i think Yi should be the 3rd pick in the draft, i hope he aint though. want him at 5

[-BHZMAFIA-]

I was thinking the Grizzlies could trade Mike Miller for Marcus Camby straight up because the salaries match and why wouldn't the Nuggets want a sharp shooter like Miller? That's something they've been missing for like the past few years and with K-Mart coming back, they really just don't have as much need for Camby (along with Nene and Evans). That deal would help both teams out and even though Camby is old, he could still contribute alot and help give Pau sidekick he needs in the post. IF that deal ended up going down, I would think Memphis would keep the pick and draft Corey Brewer or Jeff Green and hopefully be able to sign Mo Williams if he wants to leave.

2006-07 Outlook:
C - Camby
PF - Gasol/Warrick
SF - Gay
SG - Brewer or Green/Kinsey
PG - Williams/Lowry

Just one of the many things Memphis could do. I think Miller is a little expendable, but it really depends on what Memphis does with the draft pick.

Camby for Miller straight up?!? That's the worst idea I have heard in 2007. Can you name 5 better centers than him? Yao, D. Howard, Amare and.... who? (And Amare and Dwight are actually 4s playing the 5). Then try to name 20 wing players better than Miller - I bet that'll be a whole lot easier.

No disrespect to Miller's game - he is a nice player, but nothing more. This just shows how Camby is one of the most underrated stars in the league.

What's the big deal on holding on to an injury prone player that may only play 50 games a season when you can get someone like Miller (A NEED) for Denver just like Camby is a bigger need for the Grizzlies. Miller is in his prime right about now at only 27 yrs old and Camby is 33 yrs old. The Nuggets see they aren't getting anywhere with what they already have, so why not bring in someone that can help knock down the outside shot consistently? I'm kind've leaning towards on them keeping Miller because I would rather see if they can get someone a little younger than Camby. Who knows how many years Camby have under his belt. I just hope West does what he says and bring in a player that can get tickets sold like a Billups, Carter or Lewis.