Your top 5 choices at #19

[AZ_]

Obviously if this team can land a suitable 2, Speights should be the obvious choice.

A big man with offensive upside and toughness on the boards is too good to pass up in a draft deep in bigs, getting that talent at 19 is too good to pass up.

 

[David]

I think we could land Redd for Varejao Wally and DJ

I sure as hell don't want a draft pick in there to get rid of

 

[TruBuckeye22]

I think we could land Redd for Varejao Wally and DJ

I sure as hell don't want a draft pick in there to get rid of

I still don't understand why people think Milwaulkee will just give Redd away. just because he may be on the block doesn't mean they don't think he has value.

 

[KU_216]

Well, if it makes you feel better, I guarantee he won't be our starting SG by the trade deadline next season.

Yeah, but then we have to watch him for half a season. Maybe if we draft Rush or CDR, they can come in and contribute immediately, thus taking Wally's minutes.

 

[crazedcav333]

CDR. That's it. CDR.

 

[David]

I still say Speights

Do i have to remind you guys of Ben on the O? Plus all of our big guys are getting old, plus IF we trade for Redd then we have 2 Good SG's

I say if Speights is still there take him... CDR is my backup choice...

 

[Jon]

If we trade for Redd and draft CDR/Rush he or perhaps Sasha may very well be going to Milwaukee.

Our front court is very deep. Unless we thin it out, Speights would be lucky to even get Dwayne Jones minutes.

 

[CBBI]

If we trade for Redd and draft CDR/Rush he or perhaps Sasha may very well be going to Milwaukee.

Our front court is very deep. Unless we thin it out, Speights would be lucky to even get Dwayne Jones minutes.

I'm assuming the thought process is that any trade bringing in a wing player like Redd would be sending Varejao out in the process.

Which would leave Z (33), Ben (34), and Joe (33) as your top 3 big men heading into next season. When you factor that out, the need for a young big man increases dramatically.

 

[Jon]

I'm assuming the thought process is that any trade bringing in a wing player like Redd would be sending Varejao out in the process.

I don't think you should assume that at all.

a) Ferry always wants a viable big back in exchange for sending one out, he won't assume a rookie (aka Speights) will contribute significantly until he actually does;

b) Anderson has a no-trade clause until December;

c) Milwaukee has no need for him;

d) If Ferry wants to dump Anderson because he's scared of dealing with Fegan again, you can bet most of the other GMs will be also.

e) We may have to trade Anderson AND the player we draft to get something significant back - unless we just take back a ton of bad contracts.

A lot of folks thought Damon would be shipped out of town a long time ago, but it's simplistic to just look at a player who's caused some sort of problem and then just assume he'll be on the next bus out of town. Sometimes those problems can be smoothed out ... and often the player simply has more value to us then he does to any other team. Afterall we finally were only able to move Hughes once we found another team with a player who had become equally overpaid and unmovable.

Heck, if Ferry is as worried as you of having such an old front court after moving Anderson, he can always just not move him. Seems the simplest solution.

But IMO age itself isn't a problem. What we need is talent, durability, athleticism, and experience. If we have to replace Andy, the best way to do that in the short term wouldn't be with a draft project. We'd likely do better via trade or with the MLE.

 

[David]

I don't think you should assume that at all.

a) Ferry always wants a viable big back in exchange for sending one out, he won't assume a rookie (aka Speights) will contribute significantly until he actually does;

b) Anderson has a no-trade clause until December;

c) Milwaukee has no need for him;

d) If Ferry wants to dump Anderson because he's scared of dealing with Fegan again, you can bet most of the other GMs will be also.

e) We may have to trade Anderson AND the player we draft to get something significant back - unless we just take back a ton of bad contracts.

A lot of folks thought Damon would be shipped out of town a long time ago, but it's simplistic to just look at a player who's caused some sort of problem and then just assume he'll be on the next bus out of town. Sometimes those problems can be smoothed out ... and often the player simply has more value to us then he does to any other team. Afterall we finally were only able to move Hughes once we found another team with a player who had become equally overpaid and unmovable.

Heck, if Ferry is as worried as you of having such an old front court after moving Anderson, he can always just not move him. Seems the simplest solution.

But IMO age itself isn't a problem. What we need is talent, durability, athleticism, and experience. If we have to replace Andy, the best way to do that in the short term wouldn't be with a draft project. We'd likely do better via trade or with the MLE.

Well theres always after December

So if we Draft a forward/center this year we will try to trade Andy

 

[Jon]

Waiting until December eliminates Anderson's ability to veto, but it doesn't provide a replacement for him ... unless Speights (or someone) is stepping up big time. It also doesn't change the fact that whoever trades for Varejao still has to deal with Fegan.

Put yourself in the shoes of a trading partner. Let's say Andy is playing well, but Speights in the limited time he's gotten has played well too. Who would you target? Andy? The guy who's going to be asking $10m/yr again and is going to be an unrestricted free agent? Or the rookie who you can lock up fairly cheap for 4+ years?

otoh, if we trade Anderson and don't have a legit replacement, we risk improving in one area at the expense of another.

The key is drafting smart, snagging an asset, and getting someone who'll be able to earn playtime and prove himself. If we drafted Speights, and our front court was healthy ... he's going to probably be seeing a lot of time in Erie. We're not so deep in the backcourt, and a rookie should have a better chance to contribute.

Our front court "problem" is easy to solve. Keep, make happy, and pay Varejao.

 

[TruBuckeye22]

http://www.nbadraft.net/prevenas083.asp

interesting article on upside

 

[jason436]

The other thing to consider is that the draft isn't going to fill all of our needs with one pick and it's very likely that any player we draft won't see a lot of playing time this year. Keeping this in mind we also have to factor in the idea that we might look to add backcourt help with our MLE. Of course the possiblity of trade for a player is out there, I would love to get Redd.

With this said I think we have to approach the draft and take the player that Ferry and company think is the best player overall when we pick; meaning he might not contribute as much this year but in a year or two he'll be considered the best pick for us. The reason I say this is when you look at our roster the only place we can legitimately say we couldn't do better at is obviously SF where Lebron plays. That would seem to negate a SF type player but Lebron's skills would even open up that possiblity as long as the two players could play on the court together.

 

[SnitchesGetStitches]

^ I dont know i could see us picking up Rush or McGee and them playing alot i mean Rush is better than pavs.

 

[TruBuckeye22]

^ I dont know i could see us picking up Rush or McGee and them playing alot i mean Rush is better than pavs.

I think any of of the wings with the exception of maybe Bantum could play a key role from day 1. if they take a big at 19 I wouldn't expect as much from those guys. McGee I see as a huge flop.