I hope everybody had a great weekend and is looking forward to the last week in June (I can't believe it either). Postings may be a little sporadic this week as my wife and I make the big move from an apartment in Hickory to a house in Statesville.
That's right, I am officially a home owner. Scary. My first order of business? Make sure the TV gets moved in and the cable hooked up in time for Thursday's NBA Draft.
Speaking of the draft ...
Rick Bonnell, the Bobcats beat writer at the Charlotte Observer, broke down who might be available at the No. 8 slot in Sunday's Observer.
Meanwhile, the folks over at nbadraft.net - an awesome and accurate mock draft Web site - have Charlotte tabbing Joakim Noah with the No. 8 pick.
So who should the Bobcats pick? Let's make a fairly safe assumption and say Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Brandon Wright and Al Horford won't be available at the No. 8 slot. If one of those four are available, they will certainly be the pick.
That leaves the Bobcats with a potential pool of Mike Conley, Jeff Green, Noah, Corey Brewer and maybe Yi Jianlian or Julian Wright. And hopefully not Spencer Hawes.
In terms of the best value and the most likely to still out there, I'd say Noah. While a lot of analysts and scouts feel Noah got exposed last year - and he did at times - I think he would fit in really well with Charlotte. He's the hardest working in the draft, something big for Sam Vincent, and he would have been a top-three pick in last year's draft.
Jianlian is interesting - he may go as high as No. 4. Ultimately, with Charlotte badly needing a playoff push, I think the team would go for an instant impact type of player.
Brewer would be my ideal pick - he's a great, rangy defender and would fit in wonderfully with Charlotte's style - but may not be available at No. 8. I also like Green, but he's not nearly the defender Brewer is.
In a bit of sad news, former Chicago Cubs reliever Rod Beck died on Sunday. Beck was notorious for his goofy mullet and cheesy moustache, as well as rocking his right pitching arm to intimidate opponents. I saw Beck live once in 1998 against the Colorado Rockies, which was the year he led the National League in saves. In typical Beck fashion, he struck out the first two batters of the ninth inning, then promptly gave up a single and a double before buckling down and striking out the next guy to preserve the one-run win. Beck always made it interesting, but when he had to get the final out, he always came through.
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6 comments:
What do you think about Al Thorton? I'm sure he'll be available by the time the Bobcats pick, but he's not getting much attention. I thought he was a great player in college and I'm a bit surprised he hasn't gotten much attention.
Has to be Conley, no? A true point in the Deron Williams, Chris Paul mode...
I like Al Thornton a lot, and he'll definitely be there. I don't think most scouts have him on the same "tier" as the players I mentioned though. A big reason for that is players like Corey Brewer, Joakim Noa, Yi Jianlian and Jeff Green can potentially get a lot better. To use a scout's term, Thornton's "upside" isn't nearly as high as the other guys. Don't know if I like the pick at No. 8, but I think he'll be a very good NBA player.
Gzino, I think Conley will be gone by No. 8. It would be very interesting if he was available, though. Bernie and staff really loved Raymond Felton, even with his shoot-first mentality, and I'm not sure how Sam Vincent feels about him. It would be a tough sell to use two lottery picks in three years on point guards, though. Vincent said in an interview today the team will look for help in the frontcourt - but that could just be a smoke screen as well.
Come to think of it, Thornton may really be the pick. Vincent has said numerous times he wants an athletic forward, and I think Brewer will be gone. That leaves Noah and Thornton, maybe Jeff Green although a lot of people think he has a promise from a team in the top-seven. I would support that pick.
Gerald Wallace has decided to become an unrestricted free agent. How much of a factor do you think that decision will have on Charlotte's draft choice?
Since Day 1 I've wanted Thorton with this pick. Last year at FSU everyone knew he was the go to guy and no one could stop him. He reminds me a lot of Josh Howard, maybe a little taller and stronger. He is a freakish athlete and really blossomed his last two years at FSU.
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