Official "Declaring for the Draft" thread Options

[DutheDoduhon21]

what is beasley laughing about at the beginning of the press conference? he said something about the paper and thats all i got.

[Balta1701-B]

Rose in.

[soxfan3530]

Rose in.

The Bulls future point guard is in!!!!

[SoxFan1]

The Bulls future point guard is in!!!!

We can only hope.

As far as some of the prospects, if we don't somehow get Rose, I'd want Augustin or Westbrook next. Jordan doesn't even need to be in lottery discussion. Randolph...well, I can't handle another undersized SF/PF athlete from LSU, 1 is enough, thanks. If we draft Brook Lope, it means we've given up on Tyrus, which isn't a terrible thing to me. A Noah/Lopez front-court duo could be very good in 2 or 3 years. Bayless is too much like Ben Gordon for my taste, as is OJ Mayo...though I wouldn't pass on him if he was there for us. He's got some kind of talent.

[eddog2]

Am I the only one that would love to see us add Brook Lopez? I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day and he thought I was an absolute nut for thinking that. He kept bringing up the name "Chris Mihm", completely different player in my opinion.

Brook Lopez sucks. He'll be a decent big man in the NBA but nothing special. People are always looking for the next Hakeem, the next Duncan, the next Dwight Howard but they just don't come along that often. The NBA of draft of the 80's probably won't ever happen again. When you think that Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Malone, Barkley, & Daugherty. There probably won't be another 5 year stretch where we get that many quality big men that are ready to come into the NBA and produce/dominate from day 1. Dwight Howard was the last can't miss # 1's and can't miss top 3 for that matter.

Top 3 picks should be used on can't miss prospects if there are any or on the most potential. Teams need to quit taking big men too high just because they fear an unproven player will become a great big man on someone elses team or because they don't need to fill a hole even though they know the player won't be great. Top 3 picks or top 5 for that matter shouldn't be wasted.

The 2006 draft was a good example of that. Bargnani was taken b/c people feared he'd be the next Dirk, Aldridge was taken because of his potential and he might pay off, Tyrus was taken 4th b/c of potential and that may or may not pay off. Any of those teams could have taken them more sure player in Brandon Roy (except Portland got lucky or played their cards right and got both players they wanted). Can you imagine how much better the Bulls & Raptors would have been with Roy instead of Bargnani or Tyrus. But the biggest joke of all was Atlanta's stretch at 5 for Sheldon Williams. I know they didn't need another wing player, but Gay would have been better or they could have traded down or traded the pick in a package for a PG.

Andrew Bogut and Marvin Williams were a joke 1, 2 as well. But I guess they didn't see either Williams or Paul being such studs at the NBA level.

So in the past 5 years, Dwight Howard, Bosh, Oden, & Yao Ming highlight the top big men in the top 3. The verdicts still out on Oden but you can say that with the exception of Howard none of the others can even dream of being on the same level at the end of their career as Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Malone, or Barkley. Those players were legends. That NBA doesn't exist anymore and I doubt we'll see that many great big men enter the game in a 4 year stretch.

The lesson should have been learned long ago. Take the can't miss player in the top 3. If it's a big man it's a bonus. If not, and you don't want the other can't miss players, trade down b/c someone will always be willing to trade up for the can't miss player.

[ZoomSlowik]

I definitely agree that teams get too absorbed with upside and size in the draft, but I don't really think it's that big of an issue in this particular draft, no one is going to take Lopez over Beasley or Rose. After that none of the other guys are absolute can't miss type guys. I suppose some might argue Mayo, but others would point out that at the moment his only tool that's definitely above average for an NBA player is his scoring, which could mean a career somewhat similar to Jamal Crawford or Ben Gordon (nowhere near the shooter that Ben is, but better on the drive, probably a bit less of a defensive liability too assuming he tries). That wouldn't exactly qualify in most people's book, and you're starting to see Mayo ranked ahead of Lopez on a fair number of boards anyways.

On a side-note with 2006, the rumor that's gone around is that several teams passed on Roy because they were jittery about a knee injury in his past. Personally I think that's BS, if the guy is healthy and playing at a high level at the time how big an issue can it be? It's one thing if you find damage in a physical/workout before the draft, but that's another thing entirely. There was no reason whatsoever for him to go below Charlotte at 3, and that still factors in the big-man love for Bargnani and Aldridge since if they're considered reasonably comparable prospects (Roy was considered the safest pick but not exactly a superstar in the making, somewhere around pre-07/08 Manu Ginobili at his peak, which is actually pretty close to what you have when you factor in that he plays a lot more than Manu) teams will ALWAYS take the big man unless they feel the perimeter player is a reasonably big step up. Even seeing what you have two years later, I'd bet at least a handful of GM's would take Aldridge over Roy simply because scoring big men are so hard to find (not necessarily competent ones of course).

As for Gay, teams have been burned on talented guys that have work ethic issues (real or perceived) a lot, so that's the reason he fell. Again, kinda dumb, since even at 80% he's better and more well-rounded than Adam Morrison, who went #3, but teams didn't want another Stromile Swift type incident. Every player is different though, I don't think you can lump them all together, that's how you miss out on guys like Rudy Gay and Caron Butler.

Also, just to be a pain in the ass, Bosh went #4. That draft was pretty ridiculous though, he'd go top-3 basically any other year.

[Balta1701-B]

OK, Love to go pro, Collison still undecided.

[Wanne]

OK, Love to go pro, Collison still undecided.

If Love is still there when the Bulls pick (assuming it's around 8th)....I'd take that dude in a HEARTBEAT!!!!!!!!

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

If Love is still there when the Bulls pick (assuming it's around 8th)....I'd take that dude in a HEARTBEAT!!!!!!!!

Why do you like Kevin Love so much? What would he add to this basketball team in the NBA? He seems like another Brad Miller to me.

[ZoomSlowik]

Why do you like Kevin Love so much? What would he add to this basketball team in the NBA? He seems like another Brad Miller to me.

I'm not exactly a gigantic Love fan either since he has a lot of the same flaws as Shelden Williams, but is Brad Miller really a bad thing? Neither is a great athlete, but Miller in his prime was a solid scorer and rebounder and a good passer. A Miller-like player would be our most productive post player, even over Gooden. We're not going to do much better with our pick in this draft, assuming he hits that level (entirely different debate).

[Wanne]

Why do you like Kevin Love so much? What would he add to this basketball team in the NBA? He seems like another Brad Miller to me.

IMO Love will be a VERY solid pro. I think he'll be a physical presence underneath...can score out to 15 feet or so...and hits and outlet pass better than most from what I've seen. I've got to see him quite a bit this year. I just like his mindset and the tools he brings to the table. I think any of these guys after 1-2 are gonna be a crap shoot anyway. If Love's there...you take him is my opinion. Like Zoom said you could do a lot worse...but I think he's better than Shelden any day of the week. Didn't Williams spend 4 years at Duke?

[SoxFan1]

Why do you like Kevin Love so much? What would he add to this basketball team in the NBA? He seems like another Brad Miller to me.

Umm, you wouldn't take Brad Miller on this team!?!? I would love a tandem of Love and Noah in the front court. We'd dominate the boards so much, and if we get that up-tempo offense, there is no one better at the outlet pass. He's also damn talented down low and can shoot a pretty decent mid-range jumper.

[ZoomSlowik]

Like Zoom said you could do a lot worse...but I think he's better than Shelden any day of the week. Didn't Williams spend 4 years at Duke?

Yeah, he did, though Williams was a more defensive-minded player and took a while to develop any kind of offensive ability. Love is a much better offensive player than Shelden, but Williams was also a far better defensive player in college. The lack of even decent quickness, leaping ability, or length has made him a rotation player at best. I think Love will be at least useful because of his skill level, but I wouldn't expect him to be anywhere near as productive as he was in college personally.

[DutheDoduhon21]

Rush and Arthur declared today.i like arthur alot

[Wanne]

Rush and Arthur declared today.i like arthur alot

I think Arthur's gonna be a very good pro as well. I know I'll get hooha'd for this...but I think his skill set is a lot like a young Amare...not quite the force...but not altogether that far off IMO.