No Body else made a thread about this and I thought why not. The offseason is here and the one thing we have to look forward to is coming, the draft. Right now we own the #26, and #51 picks in this years draft. Here are some useful links to look at draft information: Hoops Hype Draft Express NBA Draft.Net From looking at Hoopshype and various other articles, here are the players that I've read about us working out: 1. Tarence Kinsey 6'6" SG from South Carolina. 2. Shawn Hawkins 6'6" SF from Long Beach State. 3. Tang Zhengdong 7'1" C from China. 4. Chris Hernandez 6'2" PG from Stanford. 5. Mike Efevberha 6'5" SG from Cal State NorthRidge. 6. Lean Powe 6'8" PF from California. 7. Taj Gray 6'9" PF from Oklahoma. 8. Matt Haryasz 6'11" PF/C from Stanford. 9. James White 6'7" SF from Cincinatti. 10. Will Blalock 6'0" PG from Iowa State. 11. Christian Maraker 6'10" PF from Pacific. 12. Dee Brown 6'0" PG from Illinois 13. Julian Sensley 6'9" SF from Hawaii. 14. Jose Juan Barea 5'11" PG from Northeastern. 15. Eric Williams 6'9" PF from Wake Forest. 16. Louis Amundson 6'9" PF from UNLV. 17. Chris Quinn 6'2" PG from Notre Dame. 18. Bobby Jones 6'7" SF from Washington. 19. Maurice Ager 6'5" SG from Michigan State. 20. Paul Millsap 6'8" PF from Louisiana Tech. 21. Kenny Adeleke 6'9" PF from Hartford. 22. Arron Afflalo 6'5" SG from UCLA. 23. Thomas Gardner 6'5" SG from Missouri. 24. Kevin Pittsnogle 6'10" PF from West Virginia. 25. Alexander Johnson 6'9" PF from Florida State. 26. Guillermo Diaz 6'2" PG from Miami. Players that I think we should seriously consider with our draft picks are: For the #26 Pick: Dee Brown Guillermo Diaz Paul Davis Jordan Farmar Sergio Rodriguez Mardy Collins Darius Washington Jr Saer Sane Nick Fazekas Aaron Gray For the #51 Pick: Sean Dockery Justin Williams Taj Gray Ryan Hollins Curtis Stinson Mustafa Shakur Allan Ray Pops Mensah-Bonsu JP Batista Taquan Dean Eric Williams All Links were put in by me, they're not the random links that pop up sometimes. Possible Backcourt Additions: In my opinion the best pick for us at #26, if still around would be either Mardy Collins [hopefully he slips] or Dee Brown. Both are PG's one pushes the ball very well the other defends and creates matchup nightmares with his size at the PG postion, Mardy being 6'6" would be a good fit with the triangle, he's a pass first player that has a shoot-second mentality. Good all-around game and good college experience at Temple. Dee on the other hand is the one man fast break, arguably the quickest player in the draft, but this guy has a scorers mentality. I also think that at the #51 there will be some serviceable gaurds left, like possibly Sean Dockery and Taquan Dean. Dockery's a great defender and would be a nice backup to whomever is the starter next season, Dean is a combo gaurd that like Dee would have a scorers mentality. I would take Dean>Dockery if both were left at this point in the draft. Possible Frontcourt Additions: At #26 I think the best player left with decent size could be a good pick wheter it be the 19 year old 7'0" center from Senegal, Saer Sane or someone with NCAA experience like Paul Davis, Nick Fazekas or Aaron Gray. Sane has the most potential because he's a lot younger and has an enourmous wingspan with good hops. He's like a rich mans DJ MBenga from what I read with more potential and offensive game although he does concentrate on defense more. Aaron Gray has had a decent year and could possibly raise his stock during workouts and pre-draft camp in Orlando so I put him in the running, decent all around player and a big body. Fazekas is the scorer of this group, good back to the basket game but his defense is questionable. For the #51 pick someone like Pops Mensah-Bonsu or Eric Williams would be a nice fit. Although I didnt post his name in the links I posted above Marco Killingsworth if he's around would be a solid pick up as well, Im real high on this guy but in many mock draft's he's going undrafted so I left him off. Mensah-Bonsu had a good NCAA campaign and is very athletic, he's very active so he'd be a nice player to come off the bench with someone like Ronny Turiaf. Eric Williams is a huge body and load down low, I watched him in the tournement and realized hes a true post player. He shouldnt slip this low but if he does he could end up being the steal of the draft. Kinda like Ryan Gomes was this year for Boston. Thats all, I had time on my hands so I made it as detailed as I could. Hopefully we get some active discussion going because of this.
Most of the bigs I mentioned could play PF except maybe Aaron Gray. If we solely go after a PF I think the best offensive player available will be Nick Fazekas and the best defensive is a throw up. There will be some good players available this year around pick #26 though.
considering we have the #26th overall pick, i have no idea who will be there. a guy like craig smith would be good IMO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6fy2gNWEIg He is the guy in <font color=""DeepSkyBlue"">the baby blue shirt.</font> gawd damn chinese people can ball.....I want him....now..... http://nbadraft.net/profiles/yijianlian.asp <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Unlike other Chinese big men like Yao Ming or Wang Zhizhi, Yi is extremely athletic ... very good body type, long arms and big hands ... hasn't stopped growing yet, is projected to reach 7-2 ... great stamina ... nice ball handler and passer, some say he's able to play all 5 positions ... he has great speed at running the floor, jumps really quick and can dunk 360s ... amazing rebounder, anticipates well ... great defender, excellent shot blocker ... left hander with decent range ... develops more and more low post skills, like a jump hook ... intelligent player, knows how to use his physics ... battled fellow Draft prospect Ha Seung-Jin to a standstill, although Ha has almost three years, three inches and 70 pounds on Yi ... at the age of 15 he literally dominates 18-19 years old players, as he did at the Junior World Championships in Greece ... if you think of how good he'll be by the time he enters the NBA Draft (likely 2006 or later), it's hard to image he'd be something other than the first pick overall</div> He is only 15-16 freaking years old! <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">His team Guangdong Hongyuan used to train him as a guard when he was not very tall, so he has very good ball handling skill and shooting touch for his size. Superb body coordination ... very good 1-on-1 player. Probably the best leaper in China, can throw down wind-mill dunks easily. His style is a lot like KG's. He has played both PF and Center position in the CBA. A very good shot blocker, he swats the ball hard enough to make the fans crazy. When playing a bigger defender, he's able to dribble, spin, and out quick his defender. He can also back down weaker opponents, although he's usually one of the skinniest guys on the court. He also has the potential to play at SF position but might have problems staying with quick American perimeter players. </div> There is your KG right there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He is a good athlete with the right size, and shows soft touch and also silky moves playing on the outside. He just has to add weight. He is able to make several leaps in a few seconds and watching him practice, Yi shows the ability to hit a pull up mid range jumper as well as from the long distance. He is only fifteen years old, and there is a long way till the NBA, but he is guy to follow in the future.</div> *DROOLS* OMG!!!!
with our 26th overall pick, i will take shawne williams. im not sure if hes still going to be avalible, but on nba draft net they have him going at 21. so there is some hope that he can slip to us. i like him because he is a decent shooter, but he can also handle and pass the ball. he can be a good backup for kobe or odom, and i think he has a lot of potential to be special some day. if he isnt availible, i will look at sear sene. <div align="center"><font color=""Purple"">Shawne Williams</font> NBA Comparison: Walt Williams Strengths: Has tremendous versatility, at 6-9 Shawne can play from the 1-thru-4 positions ... Advanced offensive game, really understands how to play ... Great one on one skills offensively ... Great vision, passing skills ... Good ball handler, almost second nature ... Can create for himself or others off the dribble drive ... Consistent jump shot, with range out to three point ... A highlight reel waiting to happen ... Extremely long wingspan makes him a terrific rebounder and shot blocker ... Good competitor, doesn't back down from a challenge, as he showed squaring off with Adam Morrison after being pushed ... His body is not far from being NBA ready ... Weaknesses: Low-release point on his jumper could cause problems at the next level ... Will need to develop better defensive technique, more intensity ... Quickness is very good, but won't stand out on the next level ... Still must add strength and conditioning ... Notes: Played a fifth year at Laurenburg Prep which gave him great experience and developed his skill level heading into college ...</div> __________________________________________________________________________ with our 51st pick, i hope that we will draft a young point guard to groom for the future. hopefully then we have sam cassell or some veteran to take the youngster under their wing. and what do you know, nba draft net has sun yue falling to us with the 51st overall pick. i know that nba draft net is usually not accurate with their drafting positions, but still, i pretty excited. if shawne williams and sene arent their for our 26th overall pick, i might actually be crazy, but i think we should give him a look. from what ive read, im extremely impressed. <div align="center"><font color=""Gold"">Sun Yue </font> NBA Comparison: Boris Diaw Strengths: Unusual height for his position, terrific athlete, excellent jumper and quickness ... With 6-9 height, he has the ability to play the point guard position ... Decent ball handling skills, talented passer, outstanding court vision, good at finding open teammates ... Very unselfish with pass first mentality, great fast break player and play-maker, accurate bounce passer ... Penetrates well with a good ability to attack the hoop, quick first step ... Takes advantage of being left handed catching opponents off guard ... Likes to dunk, can do windmill/360 dunks easily ... Can shoot anywhere inside the NBA 3-point line ... Nice shooting stroke, soft touch, high release points on his shot ... Can guard positions from 1 to 4 , taking advantage of his height and length to pressure his opponents to adjust their shooting rhythm ... Great lateral speed on defense ; good reflexes as well as leaping ability make him a good shot blocker ... He performs as a help defender and even a rebounder under the basket for his team. 2.5 blks,1.9 stls and 7 rebs per game, the numbers reflect his defensive contribution ... His versatility gives him a chance to get Quadruple-double statistics in games, granted it's the ABA.... Shows a great passion to win other than his stats ... In addition, his age is not in question. Weaknesses: Physically weak like most young Chinese players ...His ball handling and ball protection need improvement for the NBA level ... As the main distributer (a team high 6.7 assists per game) , he usually saw the most pressure from their opponents, getting doubled sometimes. 4 Turnovers per game indicates that he should better learn to deal with tough defense ... He relies on his left hand too much , though he is making progress on his right handed ball handling skills ... To be a NBA player, his shooting skills still need work, less stability from downtown (39% FG, 25% 3pt FG ) Raw 1 on 1 skills ... Underdeveloped post skills, with his size learning to post up smaller wing players would be a big advantage for him ... Some concern about his ability to guard fast NBA guards ... _________________________________________________________________________ </div> Notes : sun yue is extremely versitle. it says he can play pg/sg/sf. also, for the first round, i would also look at guys like leon powe, rajon rondo, and paul davis. for the second round, i would look at guys like kyle lowry, dee brown, allan ray, and taquan dean.
I wouldn't go for Shawne Williams. He has a low FG%, and his defense is a big question. We already have enough defensive problems to worry about.
Theres no point in going after Shawne Williams because he'd be playing behind Odom and whoever ends up starting at PF. Like people said his defense is a question and the need for a backup SF/PF isnt as much as the need for a Center or PG.
More News On People The Lakers have worked out. According to hoopshype.com we've worked out: Chris Hernandez 6'2" PG Stanford Mike Efevberha 6'5" SG Cal State NorthRidge Lean Powe 6'8" PF California I'll add all these guys to the first post, just though i'd let you guys know. Leon Powe would be a great pick for us. Never really considered him before but he would be nice.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">They also plan on working out Paul Davis and Nick Fazekas.</div> i wouldnt mind davis, but i dont want nick fazekas
with the 26th pick they should adress the point guard pos. and go with the hometown man in Jordan Farmar he or Mardy Collins from Temple. Farmar is easily one of the most underrated players in this draft, i mean he is a great leader, has great court vision, superb passer, above average shot and can penetrate and dish it out with the best of em. Farmar is the best pure point guard that could be left on the board. worst case scenario you could take D-Wash or go with a big man like Saer Sene which would be a great pick also. For #51 go with Pops Mensah-Bonsu he will give us a great impact teaming up with Kwame at the PF position we don't really need a center with Chris Mihm coming back from injury and Andrew Bynum getting older. Pops is a great shot blocker but he may need a mentor to learn some offensive post moves, although not great offensively we do have Kwame who can score. If not Pops i would say Taj Gray, he is an excellent post scorer but lacks experience because he played juco ball before transferring to Oklahoma.
sun yue is projected to go in the 2nd round. hopefully the guy can slip to us and we can snab him. he is 6-9, yet he can play point guard. that would be perfect for the triangle IMO. he could also be sort of like lamar odom, being very versitle and all
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers are one of the many teams trying to move forward in the draft. In fact, LA has been exploring attaining a pick as high as top five. To that end, they've scheduled workouts with a number of players who are expected to go much sooner than 26. That list includes both Brandon Roy and Shelden Williams who are easily considered to be prospects in the top ten. It's not clear if the Lakers have yet scheduled a meeting with Marcus Williams, but he is another player they are said to have their eye on. Another player whose draft position is unclear at this time is Shawne Williams. He apparently wowed the Lakers in his workout, after which his agent stated that he Williams would be working out with teams primarily in the five to fifteen range. Considering LA is well below that, LA must be letting agents and/or players know that trading up is at least a legitimate possibility to even schedule with lottery level talent.</div> Preparing for the Draft Thanks for the updates Buckets, great stuff!
