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Im hoping Hansborough falls that far, but its probably only a pipe dream. And with how deep the draft is this year I do think he could slip. Is he a senior?
The spurs will be drafting at 28 this year right? Do you think nichols could fall that far? I'm a big SU fan and i've watched this kid play all year- good size, athletic ability, great range, and active on the defensive end (even though Boheim plays the 2-3 zone)... reminds me of Josh Howard comming out of Wake a few years ago.
he only gets 5.5 rebounds per game i believe but, that could change in the pros- could be our athletic 3 maybe?
Im hoping Hansborough falls that far, but its probably only a pipe dream. And with how deep the draft is this year I do think he could slip. Is he a senior?
THe Spurs picking at 28 is not set in stone. The picks will be in place after the season is over.
Yeah but it will probably be around there
Hansborough <= Luis Scola
They both have equal intensity, good post games, and are not quite athletic enough for the position.
Hansborough or this guy? Tyler is a soph, not sure of this guy. I think he may stay at Chapel Hill for another season, but not if he has a big tourney.
No not hansborough. I am a huge fan of his, and while he might not be great in the pros, he will be a Nick Collison type of player. He probably should go back one more year but I dont think he will
Nichols could probably be had in the second round. The main knock on him is his reliance on the long-range jumper. He's not particularly athletic, has no post game, and is a sub-par rebounder. I think he leaves something to be desired as the long 3/small ball 4 of the future.
as someone that has watched him play for 4 years i disagree about your assesment of his athleticism but ill agree that he relies on his 3 quite a bit, the thing is that he has a good medium range shot...and even if he isnt much of a dribble driver, we certainly have enough of those
You're right that I've only seen him play a handful of games, but I do trust scouts when they talk about how his abilities translate to the NBA for the most part.
Disagree with your last statement. The weakness of this team is that it relies on too many "shooters" and doesn't have enough "scorers". So when the shots aren't falling, the Spurs only have Tim, Tony, and Manu that they can absolutely rely on to create their own offense and draw contact.
Don't get me wrong, I like Nichols as a scorer. But he'll need to do more to be the answer for the Spurs at the 3 spot.
The long, athletic 3 of the future is one of these guys....
Jeff Green
Al Thornton
Corey Brewer
Nicolas Batum
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
If the Spurs can't snag one of those guys (b/c they go too high or don't come out) they should settle for best player available.
If they can't get one of the above-mentioned, I hope they snag Rudy Fernandez or Nick Fazekas.
Nichols should be available in the early 2nd round. So... the Milwaukee pick.
Hansbrough... I'd love on this team. Even as a career back-up, he's tough as and will permanently battle for you. I can't see him staying in unless he'll go earlier.
I truly hope the Spurs can trade up for Jeff Green or maybe Corey Brewer, if he's around, but they'll likely be lottery picks.
I'm not thrilled with Fazekas. Rudy Fernandez would be awesome.
The thing is... trading up in this draft will be easier than in previous years, especially using Scola. Scola only has one more year on his contract (I think), but more importantly, as it's a deep draft teams will still expect to find good talent late in the draft. Last year the talent was practically gone by the time the lottery was up and even then those players sucked. Might have been the worst draft ever. This year, #28 plus the #35 (wherever Milwaukee is) could move us up at least to the early #20s at least.
*crosses fingers*
One thing i will say about Nichols as far as driving to the basket goes, when he gets the ball outside, he is instantly double teamed, so he often shoots jump shots over two players, or takes a shot off a screen (by the way, this kid makes some amazing shots off screens, and has a very, very quick release) in San Antonio he wouldn't be double teamed ever, so his quickness to the basket and his dribble will be much easier to evaluate in the pros.
Go Cuse! They just spanked UConn in the Big East tourney. It was fun to watch that 2nd half.
A fellow SU fan?
My daughter is going to college there now, and most of my family went there as well
(im slightly torn this year as Uva is having quite a good season by our standards)
You have a problem with the most versatile offensive forward in the draft? I know he's not a great athlete, but he's a smart player that can score from anywhere on the court. Not saying he's Dirk Nowitzki, but he's not Matt Bonner either.
Well, I'd put Fazekas closer to Matt Bonner than Dirk Nowitzki in that spectrum. And saying he's "the most versatile offensive forward" in the draft is just silly. The last I saw, Kevin Durant was a forward, as was Julian Wright, as was... I'm not down on Fazekas, but he's not what we need. He doesn't solve any problems and is basically Matt Bonner++. We don't need Matt Bonner anything. We have Matt Bonner already. If we manage to find him with the Milwaukee pick, okay, but with that #28 there should be guys around I'd much rather have. DX has Brandon Rush there right now. He'd be a far better pick.
I think Hansborough is a lottery pick.
Yeah, I'm a big Cuse fan. I didn't go to college there though, but I lived in Syracuse for 5 years (back in the 70's) and it was the only game in town. I used to go watch them at old Manley Field House with my dad. I saw them win the national championship (beating UT & Kansas in final 4) down in N'awlins a few years ago which was cool.
Yes I said "most versatile offensive forward". Durant has a great outside game, but he doesn't have the muscle or moves to go inside (yet). Wright is more of an inside guy and though his 12-15 footer is reliable, he has no 3pt shot. So yes, I think Fazekas has the most developed offensive game of any forward.
His inside skills and rebounding have really improved. I'm not saying he's a "need" either, but if the Spurs can't get what they really want, "settling" for this guy isn't that bad.
And the talent gap between Bonner & Nowitzki is substantial....saying that he's closer to Bonner than Nowitzki isn't saying much. I'll say he's closer to Nowitzki than he is to Bonner....how much closer is really the question.
Last edited by AFBlue; 03-07-2007 at 06:19 PM.
Matt Bonner ++ you say? Try if he was on the Spurs roster right now, he'd be starting beside Duncan. Fazekas is really good. If he falls as far as #28, he's going to be a Josh Howard level steal (another Senior, pushed down on the basis of "upside").
I will admit Brandon Rush would be potentially useful at the SF spot. Same with Demitris Nichols. Neither, however is currently a stopper a la Bruce. Rush does have the athletic gifts to become one.
As I have previously suggested on this board, I expect Pheonix's later picks to be for sale. If we could arrange to pick up 29, we could get both Rush and Fazekas ... I would like that.
As far as discussions about trading up for Fernandez, I wouldn't mind, except he is really at a position that we are overloaded at already; also, it is very likely he would not be able to contribute for at least another year or two. He is currently Livingston thin - 6'6" and 172 lbs last I heard.
As a Philosphy in a salary cap limited league (what the NBA has effectively become), the teams that are contenders are usually the ones with the most unfair contracts (in the teams favor). In NBA terms, these are FA steals, Ultra Super Stars who are worth more than a Max contract (eg. Duncan), and productive Rookie contracts (eg. Josh Howard for last year, this year, and next year). The Spurs currently had/have advantages through Duncan, Bowen (who restructured for the Spurs advantage), and Finley (who signed for much less than he would have gotten elsewhere). Finley and Bowen are getting to the point where they are no longer underpaid. We need to find further financial advantage or fall back to the pack; I think the best source would be a couple of productive rookie contracts. This draft offers significant hope of getting such productive players in the 25 to 35 range...
All the mocks I have seen have Hansborough going in the late teens to early 20s. But I guess it all depends on who comes out and who stays
Very good synopsis overall. I wouldn't trade up to get Rudy Fernandez because the Spurs have no immediate need there right now, but if he fell to the Spurs I think he'd be hard to pass up. Yes he is very thin, but I see alot of "Manu" in him. I also think that the Spurs' SG situation will get thin very soon, with Fin and Barry only on the books for one more season....plus Manu's age and hard style of play. Again, I wouldn't trade up to get him, but I think he'd be a steal at 28. If the Spurs could get him and Fazekas it would make for a very good draft, despite the inability to get a SF.
I still maintain however....SF is the primary goal.
I'm going with Georgetown and either Jeff Green or (Oh GOD I hope) Roy Hibbert.
Sadly, we'll probably be about 5-8 picks too late with either our own or Milwaukee's pick to be in play for the players we want. Green will be gone before 28 and Fazekas/other will be gone before 35. A lot will depend on hang on trading up. I could see the 28 and 35 packaged or the 28 plus Scola. Or even, I suppose, 35 plus Scola to get into the early 20s.
I don't think Phoenix would sell us a draft pick. If they did, they might demand we take Marcus Banks, which wouldn't happen.
I don't see how anyone better than Fazekas will be available, but if Fernandez is still there, you have to grab him and run. Unfortunately we may not get much done unless we can move up. Otherwise it's time to pull Demetrius Nichols or the like, who isn't likely the answer.
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