The draft is next week, and I haven’t yet discussed what the Warriors can hope to do at #18, #36, and #46. Instead of crafting a well-written piece, I’ll just run through all the possible players for the sake of covering all the possibilities before next Thursday. That way, everyone will have something to judge me against when I feign excitement over our eventual draftee.
I’ll be covering the first round pick in this post and the second-rounders soon. The 18th pick should be more about taking the best guy available as opposed to the best fit for the team, so these comments skew more towards general impressions than in-depth analyses of these guys’ futures with the Warriors. So, really, I’m doing an incredible service to any fan of a team with a pick in the last half of the round. Let’s begin:
Thaddeus Young, G/F, Freshman, Ga Tech: One of my favorite players of anyone that’s been linked to GSW. I love this athleticism and build, but the guy is insanely raw and won’t be able to contribute immediately. I would’ve liked to have seen him dominate more at the college level, although it’s tough to do that without much of a jumper. Part of me thinks I’d rather see him struggle for a while on another team. Would be a good replacement for Pietrus if Mullin lets him leave.
Javaris Crittenton, PG, Freshman, Ga Tech: Crittenton’s name has been mentioned a lot because he’s 6-5 and plays the point, but anyone who saw the second half of their NCAA game against UNLV should seriously question this guy’s ability to run a team. They had no idea what they were doing in the most important minutes of the season. Maybe the Cavs can trade up, he seems to fit in there.
Nick Young, SG, Sophomore, USC: I hated Nick Young when he was at USC, mostly because he torched Stanford regularly. That said, I would love to land him at #18 and would jump for joy if he somehow fell. Incredibly smooth with the ball, pretty mid-range game, good enough athleticism. He will be a capable scorer for a while. Looks vaguely like Nick Cannon.
Derrick Byars, SG, Senior, Vanderbilt: Didn’t see him much outside of the tournament, but he can clearly shoot. Defense apparently doesn’t exist much for him.
Rodney Stuckey, SG, Sophomore, Eastern Washington: Carter already discussed him quite a bit, so I don’t want to steal this thunder. I won’t comment on him until I actually see him play. If we pick him, I’ll carry the hope that you always do when you hear good things about someone you haven’t seen.
Rudy Fernandez, SG, Born 1985, Spain: I hear good things. Apparently he can shoot, which is enough to make him intriguing. Again, I don’t like talking about guys I haven’t seen, so I’ll point you to nbadraft.net’s really thorough scouting report. Coincidentally, they have Mullin selecting Fernandez.
Jason Smith, PF, Junior, Colorado St: The last time I saw Smith play was in his freshman year, where he looked like a skilled big man. Of course, that’s because college teams force seven-footers down to the block. Apparently he likes to shoot jumpers and lacks post moves. Sounds like a Nellie guy to me, but I’d rather pick a dude with some toughness.
Acie Law, PG, Senior, Texas A&M: Biggest balls of anyone in college last season. Not really a true point, but good enough to bring the ball up and hit a jumper in the NBA. That makes him a pretty capable point guard. Not really the right guy for the Warriors, but he’ll make someone very happy.
Tiago Splitter, PF, Born 1985, Brazil: Video I’ve seen makes him look kinda like a stiff in the NBA, but that’s just YouTube dunks. There weren’t many defensive or rebounding highlights, and that’s what I’m most interested in with a guy like Splitter. (Nbadraft says he runs the court better than most, so shows what I know.) There have been reports that he won’t leave his contract with Tau Ceramica for another year, so that must be taken into consideration, as well. His name gets him extra points, so I won’t cry if we take him. DraftExpress says we do.
Marco Belinelli, SG, Born 1986, Italy: Carter sent me some of his YouTube videos last week. I don’t actually think the Warriors will take them and I’m not sure I really want them to, but he looks fucking awesome on YouTube, like the next Kobe or something. It’s incredible. There are a bunch of great ones with some really fantastic songs in the background. This one is a joint Belinelli/Bargnani mix with Christina Aguilera underneath, but the first half is all Marco. They even put it in some Kobe clips to make it seem like they’re comparable players. Needless to say, I can’t wait to see this guy actually play a game.
Sean Williams, PF/C, Junior, Boston College/Weed: The most compelling player in the draft outside of the Top 10. Shot-blocking monster at BC before they kicked him out for too many weed violations. Now, pot shouldn’t be a big deal for an NBA player, but Williams is considered pretty lazy and doesn’t work hard. That’s a problem. He’s either great value or a total bust. I’d like the pick if only because it shows a willingness to take a chance. He’s also being talked about as a second-round pick, so maybe I’ll write another post on him later!
Breaking News!!! DraftExpress has Williams going to the Jazz! Oh my god! Make it happen!
Josh McRoberts, PF (nominally), Sophomore, Duke: Oh my god, I hate him so much. DraftExpress has him going to the Lakers, which would certainly be enough to convince Kobe to stay.
3 comments:
I can't stand college basketball, so I'm more than a little ignorant of all its players, but you make Thaddeus Young sound like a raw, young Al Harrington. Does he have a volatile personality as well? Because then he'd be perfect for Golden State. I mean, come on.
Belinelli looks pretty great in that video you posted - the move in which he ball-faked to the right, then went left baseline was fucking sick. Thanks for sharing that. Too bad he won't be around in the second round for the Magic to draft him.
Young is not a bad guy at all, he got good grades in school and everyone seems to like him. He's an unbelievable athlete, but his jumper is very suspect. I don't think he'll ever have a post game approaching Harrington's; he's probably exclusively a three.
But yeah, the athleticism and general reckless play would fit. He could be Pietrus for sure. But the inability to hit a three is a problem in our offense.
I'm sure you use the term "offense" loosely. Just kidding.
The Warriors make me want to buy NBA League Pass. Well, they and the Bobcats. As Bill Simmons deftly pointed out, the Bobcats are a fantasy basketball team with uniforms and an arena. They're surprisingly fun to watch.
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