lol at Simmons scouting Embiid.
Bill Simmons trying to be the new Chad Ford?
There's only one Chad Ford dammit!
He wasn’t playing against anyone, just going through a two-hour workout with Will Perdue.
Yeah...
If Chad Ford has taught us anything all these years is that private no-defender non-game workouts mean less than practice. Practice, where Dwight Howard makes 80% of his free throws.
c/o benji:
Darko Milicic | PF | 7-0 | Serbia
Why? The Pistons made this decision as soon as they got the No. 2 pick. Milicic can have an impact next season. The word out of Detroit is that Larry Brown will play him plenty to give him the necessary minutes to develop. Milicic is the best European player to come out since Dirk Nowitzki, at least that's according to the scouts.
Moderator: You were expecting somebody else? Well, Will in Grand Rapids, Mich. still has questions about the European teenager. "Chad, from what you have seen, does he look like the real deal? And still being so young, can he put on the muscle mass to bang with some of the stronger PFs and Cs in the league today?"
Chad Ford, ESPN Insider: He's the real deal. He's really one of a kind. He runs the floor, handles the ball, shoots the NBA 3-pointer, plays with his back to the basket, so you can slot him in at the 3, 4 or 5. What sets Darko apart is his toughness in the post. You have to love a guy who has the footwork to spin by an opponent, but still prefers to lower a shoulder and bang. Fact is, Milicic plays in attack-mode at both ends of the floor. The more you push, the more he pushes back. He's got a great frame. He'll definitely get stronger. He'll have no problem holding his own in the post.
Pavel Podkolzine
Notes: Podkolzine, for those who can't remember, is the 7-foot-5 Siberian sensation who took the NBA draft by storm last June and then, just as quickly, disappeared from the radar screen. After being projected as a lottery pick by many NBA scouts and GMs, a diagnosis of acromegaly (a growth hormone secreting pituitary adenoma) just before the deadline pushed him to withdraw from the draft. This year, with the acromegaly under control and a ton of exposure, Podkolzine will definitely be in the draft. His agent already has an NBA buyout in place based on where he's drafted. At this point he has very little to lose. A gaggle of NBA scouts watched him play very week at the Reebok Big Man camp in Italy in early June.
Upside: He's enormous. He's got a thick body, is very strong, yet is coordinated and an above average athlete for someone his size. He has soft hands, a very nice jump shot from 18 feet in and can really run the floor. He's even shown the ability to put the ball on the floor and hit the open man in transition. He's not afraid of contact and has the tendancy to pummel people.
Downside: Inexperience. He's only been getting real playing time in the last two months of the season. He still is very raw in his post play. He's just learning the game and still doesn't take advantage of the size and strength advantage he has over just about everyone Teams are still a little concerned with his health after the acromegaly incident last year.
Insider Projection: By all accounts Pavel is a much better draft prospect than he was last season. Considering that he was a likely mid-to late lottery prospect last year, what does that mean for this year? He impressed just about everyone in Treviso two weeks ago. He's really starting to come on. He has as much or more upside than anyone in the draft. He could go anywhere from 5 to 14 on draft night however because of the risks involved.
Chad Ford's Analysis: The Hawks were tempted to draft Chris Paul because of their need at the point, but at the end of the day they took the best player available. Marvin Williams is an upgrade over Al Harrington and Josh Smith. It will be interesting to see what the Hawks do from here. Obviously they're going to have to clear up a logjam at the forward position. Maybe they'll be able to trade Harrington in an effort to acquire the team's real needs at point guard and center.
Draft Projection: No. 1 to 3 overall
Notes: Williams flirted with declaring for the NBA draft after his senior season of high school. Insider projected him as a late lottery pick at the time. After one year of coming off the bench at UNC, he's now a top-three pick in the draft.
Positives: In a draft bereft of players with star potential, Williams is one of the few guys scouts are universally excited about. Williams is an unbelievable specimen. He has a great NBA body, top-notch athleticism and the ability to play just about anywhere on the court. He has one of the most developed inside-outside games of any prospect, something the Tar Heels rarely took advantage of. He also possesses a fantastic basketball IQ and work ethic.
Negatives: Williams is still young and inexperienced. He came off the bench all season for the Tar Heels and played in a supporting role to Sean May, Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants. He let his nerves get the best of him during North Carolina's run in the Final Four and didn't have the impact you'd think from such a highly-rated player. There were no Carmelo Anthony-like shining moments for Williams.
Summary: Williams is Insider's No. 1-ranked player in the draft. He's a versatile forward who can play both inside and out. Still developing but has the trappings of a superstar.
OK. I liked the Channing Frye and Nate Robinson selections. David Lee, not so much. Don't get me wrong, I like Lee. He is very athletic (he measured as the top athlete in the power forward category at the Chicago combine), has a great motor and is very tough. He's a more skilled version of Bo Outlaw or Mark Madsen. But with guys with much bigger upside, like Chris Taft and Andray Blatche, still on the board, I'm not sure why Isiah decided to play it safe. Lee will be a rotation player in the league for 10 years. But given their deficiencies up front, Isiah should have swung for the fences. Instead he hit a solid single at 30.
Notes: Andriuskevicius has been tutored the past few years by Arvydas Sabonis. Andriuskevicius declared for the 2004 draft but withdrew when he couldn't get a top-five commitment from a team. However, he wasn't far off that quest. The Suns, who had the No. 7 pick, seriously were considering taking him and leaving him in Europe before he pulled out of the draft. "I saw Dirk [Nowitzki] when he was 18, and I'm not sure he was as comfortable with the ball as this kid is," Mavs president Donnie Nelson told Insider in May. "I think his true position in the pros is at forward. He's really talented." Andriuskevicius looked solid this summer at the European Under-18 Championships in Zaragoza. He averaged 16.9 ppg and 13.4 rpg there but didn't exactly dominate. He's played sparingly this season for Zalgris this year. Andriuskevicius is expected to stay in the draft this year.
Positives: Andriuskevicius has great hands, is a fantastic passer and doesn't shy away from contact despite his thin frame. He has great quickness for his size and is capable of playing both inside and outside. The fact that he's being tutored daily by Sabonis is evident. Right now, Andriuskevicius is much more comfortable playing as a finesse 4. At the Reebok Eurocamp last June, he showed excellent court vision and made a number of picture-perfect passes off the dribble to driving big men. He has great court instincts and always seemed to know when and how to make the right play. The game comes easy to him. He ran the floor as well as anyone in the camp and showed impressive athleticism for a guy his size. He also has a stellar perimeter shot. He shot 15-for-25 from the international 3-point line and has the ability to shoot off the dribble.
Negatives: While he shows a ton of skill, his body is still too weak to hold position in the paint. If that's a problem at the junior level, you can only imagine what will happen in the pros. Martynas' game is still pretty raw. He still needs more strength and playing experience, but there is little not to like. Is he a little injury prone?
Summary: Andriuskevicius may have the most upside of anyone on the board, but he's also the furthest away. He'll have to spend a minimum of two years overseas or in the NBDL bulking up. But once he does, he has everything else. Big risk, high reward means that his draft stock will be all over the place. The Suns almost promised him at No. 7 last year; getting him at No. 21 this year seems like a steal.
Count Arizona's Loren Woods among those whose draft stock is on the rise. After an impressive private workout Friday in Chicago several teams are beginning to buzz about Loren Woods. Woods, who has been in a vigorous workout program this spring has been adding muscle to his lanky frame. According to his agent, Matt Muehlebach, Woods has added 20 pounds to his frame since we last saw him in the Final Four. Woods now reportedly weighs 250 pounds.
That's good news for teams who have worried about whether Woods can survive the physical nature of the NBA game. Woods reportedly shot the ball extremely well in workouts and his added bulk is making teams give him a second look. One GM. whose team is in the lottery, told Insider that Woods might really rise on draft boards in the next two weeks. "He was a projected top 5 pick last year, he played well in the tournament this year, he's 7'1" and is now showing the ability to bulk up," the GM told Insider. "When the smoke clears, he might sneak right back up into the top 10. I don't think he'll slip past Boston. If things keep going well the next two weeks, he may go as high as 6."
"A lot of people would die to be in the position I'm in," Woods said. "So I'm not by any means saying I had a rough year. It's just unfortunate that because I had some ups and downs this year, (people say) I can't play. I'm a way better player than I was last year, and last year I would have gone in the top five if I had gone to the draft."
Chad Ford - Sportstalk.com (June 12th)
Not Chad Ford but reading how Simmons described Embiid...
Dare is only in his third year of organized ball, yet has already drawn comparisons to the likes of Ewing, Olajuwon, Motumbo and O'Neal. Like those players, Dare is a power player. Unlike those players, he is still learning the game.
Defensively, Dare is a good post defender, strong enough to defend the biggest centers, who is athletic enough to defend on away from the basket. He is a big time shot blocker who will be able to keep opposing players from getting clear shots at the basket from close range. He still has a lot learn as far as positioning and staying out of foul trouble. Dare is also a topnotch rebounder.
Offensively, Dare has little more then a dunk for a repertoire. He also had poor footwork and will require a lot of work. The potential upside to Dare's game will more then likely make him the first center taken (definitely a lottery pick).
