Westbrook our choice at nine?

[dav7z]

Acording to this Charlotte is smitten with Westbrook . Your thoughts of Westbrook at nine.

http://www.nj.com/nets/

[dnbman]

Love it, as long as we get another PF through FA or draft.

The good thing is there look to be some good choices in the high second to fill the role. Dorsey comes to mind.

[Icky Thump]

I don't hate the idea of drafting Westbrook as he's obviously talented but I just don't see the NBA upside potential that some of you are seeing... as has been said if we draft Westbrook we had better make some move to solidify our post positions....

[ammofan]

Why do we need him?

[ALong13]

I could see us drafting and trading him away tbh, I just don't see Westbrook here, when we got Felton, so that he can sit the bench...

[spectre]

I could see us drafting and trading him away tbh, I just don't see Westbrook here, when we got Felton, so that he can sit the bench...

Brown says that Felts is a PG and not a combo...doubt if we'll be seeing a lot of Felts at SG this year (thank God!). If that's the case we have NO good defensive 2 at all. The two most athletic positions teams usually have are the 2 & 3. Crash can't stop 'em both.

This way we cover two needs (backup PG and defensive 2) with just the one player.

[dnbman]

Why do we need him?

You don't always draft for need. If Westbrook is a potential 30 minute NBA player and the power forward we could draft is a future 15 minute per game player, which is more valuable?

Westbrook will still get 20-30 minutes per game easy backing up Felton and playing some shooting guard when JRich takes a break or plays SG. He's also a potential lock down defender who can finish strong to the hoop. If he approaches anything near a Wade, he'll be a great pick up. Plus, he can play point guard, which is what we also need. So, even though we don't need him as much as a PF, it makes a lot more sense to draft Westbrook, knowing that you've got a valuable asset if you can't find enough minutes for him.

More than anything in this draft, I want an athlete who can ball. I don't want another guy who's either too slow, too fat, too injury prone, or too old to make a significant impact on the court.

[Mustachio]

You don't always draft for need. If Westbrook is a potential 30 minute NBA player and the power forward we could draft is a future 15 minute per game player, which is more valuable?

Westbrook will still get 20-30 minutes per game easy backing up Felton and playing some shooting guard when JRich takes a break or plays SG. He's also a potential lock down defender who can finish strong to the hoop. If he approaches anything near a Wade, he'll be a great pick up. Plus, he can play point guard, which is what we also need. So, even though we don't need him as much as a PF, it makes a lot more sense to draft Westbrook, knowing that you've got a valuable asset if you can't find enough minutes for him.

More than anything in this draft, I want an athlete who can ball. I don't want another guy who's either too slow, too fat, too injury prone, or too old to make a significant impact on the court.


that is the truth.

I am a firm believer in the Best Player Available Philosophy.
In the Westbrook case though... I still see him as a player in a position of need. There is no rule that you have to start a lottery player. and Backup PG is a major need for this franchise. Westbrook maybe the BPA and a big hole filler for the Bobcats.

[Jonathanmartin7]

He sure can ball. I wouldn't mind having him. I'd rather have him than any guard that has a chance of being available at 9. I still think we will end up with Lopez or Jordan and of those 2 I'd rather have Jordan. He didn't have that great a year in college but he is oh so talented.

[TheBeagle]

I could see us drafting and trading him away tbh, I just don't see Westbrook here, when we got Felton, so that he can sit the bench...
Don't worry about the PT; he'll get that like dnb explains. I wouldn't anticipate having a rookie starting on our team next season anyway, no matter who is drafted, so that shouldn't be a reason not to draft RW.

[Mustachio]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Drafttradetalk-080618

wow. 2 things. read the whole article.



Small forwards on the market include Richard Jefferson of the New Jersey Nets (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=Njn), Josh Howard of the Dallas Mavericks (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=Dal), Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=Cha) and Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=Det).

We have, it appears, our first known promise of the draft. Multiple sources say that UCLA's Westbrook has shut down all workouts and has a promise in the mid-lottery range.
Apparently the promise isn't coming from the Knicks. They like Westbrook at No. 6, but they're also looking at Mayo, Bayless, Alexander and Eric Gordon (http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2008&playerId=19131).
The promise isn't coming from the Bucks or Pacers; neither team was able to get him in for a workout.
That leaves the Clippers at No. 7 and the Bobcats at No. 9. As noted above, the Clippers are trying to move up to get Mayo, so I doubt it's them. That leaves the Bobcats as the most likely to have made a promise to Westbrook.
One other possibility: The Seattle SuperSonics (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=Sea) have taken a strong interest in Westbrook, according to sources. Although No. 4 is a little higher than expected for him to go, one source said it's possible that the Sonics will trade down a few spots and take Westbrook.



So many points in that little blurb that could set Ziggys server on fire!


First of all... we might take Westbrook.

Secondly... we could trade up with the Sonics

Thirdly....is Gerald part of any deal?

discuss

[ohara831]

WOW!! Great find!! Too much there to digest at one time. I'm going to the mountains for a drive today to clear my thoughts. I'll jump into this one later after I've thought it all through.

[ohara831]

Let's see. Crash and #9 for Watson, Wilcox #4 and #24? If Mayo made it to #4, can you imagine that lineup? And grab Ajinca at #24, or McGee if Ajinca is gone.

Ray/Watson-PG
Mayo/Carroll-SG
J-Rich/Dudley/Ammo-SF
Wilcox/Davidson/#38-PF
Okafor/Ajinca/Hollins-C

E-gads my friends. We'd be a mighty force in the East. That would be a nice trade for me, but the risk is whether Mayo makes it to #4. If he was gone, Bayless is there, and Bayless is a better PG than Mayo and a terrific scorer, but not at Mayo's level. But I dont know about drafting Bayless to play the SG. He's a natural PG with scoring skills.
From Seattle's perspective, adding Crash & Westbrook to Durant gives them a solid 3-some right there.

[dav7z]

Very good find and it leaves some very good quesiions.
1st Im thinking more and more Westbrook is our choice.
2nd With Westbrook Wallace might be expendable and i think a trade is all ready in place for a power foward. More than likely it's a nice player and a draft pick.
Whitch could be one of a number of trades we have all ready talked about.
For some reason in thinking it's Frye, Jack , and Portlands first . Just because of th write up Portland not needing any more draft picks. That all so allows us to pick up Hibbert.
All of a sudden we become very deep.
I think Wallace is gone and we all so taking Westbrook?

[dav7z]

This is what we doing,
1st We take Westbrook at nine
2nd out ,Crash and the 38 pick so Portland can trade back into the first round.
In = Frye, Jack, Outlaw, and the thirteenth pick,
We take the thirteenth and pick Hibbert.
1. Felton, Jack,
2. Westbrook, Carroll, Morrison
3. Rich , Outlaw, Dudley
4. Frye, May , Davidson
5. OK50, Hibbert, Hollins, Nazz.
Thats a full 15 man roster?

[Mustachio]

The Clippers want Mayo. Lakers have Kobe, they would like that big star in Mayo. They want him so bad it appears that no one on the roster is safe from being used as bait. Minnesota GM McHale says he doesnt want anything but young guys. So what better way than 2 lottery picks in 7 and 9 (less money and still good players than 3). SO Sign and Trade Elton Brand.

Minnesota gets picks #7 and #9 Loses pick #3

Clippers get pick #3 and Sean May Lose Elton Brand and pick #7

Charlotte gets Elton Brand Lose pick #9 and Sean May.


you guys will have to play with that but its a good base i think. everybody happy!

[spectre]

In addition to Lofton, Charlotte worked out highly touted guard Russell Westbrook of UCLA today, along with 7-footer Kosta Koufos of Ohio State, forward Gary Forbes of Massachusetts, 7-1 Predrag Samardziski (try spelling that one without looking) and guard Mark Tyndale of Temple.

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2008/06/the-draft-frust.html

Per Bonnell's ghost.

According to the Bucks' board Westbrook cancelled his workout with them at 8th...but then shows up for us?

[Mustachio]

According to the Bucks' board Westbrook cancelled his workout with them at 8th...but then shows up for us?

thats exactly the first thing that popped into my mind when i read that first article today. If Westbrook cancels everything else and then shows up here today... then we know who we are drafting.

what we dont know is who we might be drafting for. us or another team like last year.

[dav7z]

Great find Mustachio.
We have to be drafting Westbrook
Put that with Wallace being on the trading block in the artical.
Put that along with Pritchard wanting a young experianced player and going as far as to say Jack and Outlaw is on the block and he has said befor Frye is on the block. Portland needing a good S/F. Pritchard saying he might wan't to trade back into the first round with his second rounders sounds as if hes give up his first rounder .

It all fits toghter or it all seams to fit including the trade contracts at about 9 milion on both sides.
This artical is saying a lot more than it seams like.
Your thoughts.
Im not saying i want this to happen though not opposed . It just all fits toghter.
They get a great player we get a hell of a lot deeper.
THOUGHTS

[TheBeagle]

I don't know about any of this trade stuff; I'm just thrilled that RW snubbed a team in front of us, and came to us instead!! My new favorite Bobcat!!!! Take that you other punks who snubbed us :mad:....we got the real deal to come work out for us :biggrin:

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080619/APS/806191084

I understand it looks like Gerald may not be here for long (which sucks quite a bit:(), but I don't see how us drafting RW makes him expendable. As much as I love RW, I don't even see him as a starter his rookie season, so it's not like we're going to need to shift JRich to 3 to make room for RW at 2 this fall. That said, as always, if we can get a starting 4 that makes sense with Crash plus other non-essentials, I think it really needs to be done.

RW will be a starter in his second year, but at what position? Wow. Lots of intrigue, and none of it involving Brook Lopez!!!:biggrin:

[spectre]

It doesn't make Crash expendable at all; in fact I'd much rather play RW as backup to the 1 & 2 (giving him about 25-30 minutes) instead of trying to force him into a starting gig.

Thing is, if we use the 9th to take Westbrook then we have no other viable assets other than Crash to get that PF.

[ohara831]

Exactly. If we are going with Westbrook and keeping him, then someone has to go for our PF spot. No way in Hades that we can be banking on May to be there, and Davidson is too raw still. Has to be a trade.

[spectre]

http://www.nba.com/bobcats/2008_draft_workouts_day7.html


(On these players coming into the NBA as backups)
All these kids coming into the NBA in this stage in their careers are looking at being backups, unless they go to a terrible team. It’s generally understood that the first or second player in the Draft might start. They don’t want to stay as backups. I look at Russell (Westbrook) and Kosta (Koufos) and all these kids, they are just trying to make a roster and improve themselves and hopefully someday play. I haven’t seen anybody that we’ve had in here that I can say is going to be a starter right now. If you’re drafted nine, I would hope somewhere down the road they would be a starter and a major contributor. I’ve seen a lot of those kids so far. We’ve had 15 or 20 that have gone through here that I think have a chance to be a starter in the NBA, but maybe not right off the bat.

No way in hell we draft Westbrook with the idea of letting him start...unless LB is just flat out lying, and I seriously doubt that. Maybe that means Westbrook really isn't in play?

BTW, RW said himself that he hasn't "talked" to us yet when asked. so there was no guarantee by us...I think he just didn't want to go to Milwaukee.

[countryboi]

man i just dont think westbrook is going to be there at 9..plus the fact we are stacked at 2 and 3....if i was going to trade someone it would be one of the guys at the bottom like morrison and not wallace...i would make westbrook show me he can play before i make a spot for him in the starting line up

[Jonathanmartin7]

..plus the fact we are stacked at 2 and 3....if i was going to trade someone it would be one of the guys at the bottom like morrison and not wallace...i would make westbrook show me he can play before i make a spot for him in the starting line up

Problem with trading one of the guys at the bottom like Morrison, is that there value is nothing. Where as Wallace hasn't got to large a salary and if he had been on any team better than us last year would have been an all-star. Well maybe not an all-star but would've gotten a lot more attention.

[MattD]

all this speculation is interesting, but at some point youve got to just sit back and see what happens, because unfortunatly our crazy multi team swaps probably arent going to happen. This is going to be an interesting off season though

[countryboi]

Problem with trading one of the guys at the bottom like Morrison, is that there value is nothing. Where as Wallace hasn't got to large a salary and if he had been on any team better than us last year would have been an all-star. Well maybe not an all-star but would've gotten a lot more attention.

man the only way i trade wallace is for a big...tyrus thomas and Nocioni or Barbosa and 15...of course it would need some other players to make it work

[dnbman]

It doesn't make Crash expendable at all; in fact I'd much rather play RW as backup to the 1 & 2 (giving him about 25-30 minutes) instead of trying to force him into a starting gig.

Exactly, which is what we need. More than anyone, I believe we need a PF desperately. However, I've also learned the frustration of trying to do a task at my house with the wrong tool. And that is what I'm afraid of the most with some of these bigs: we're getting a screwdriver when we really need a power drill. Don't get me wrong; there are several bigs I'd like to have. However, if we can get an electrifying guard that a.) provides us a back-up pg, b.) gives us a wing defender, and c.) gives us future flexibility in regards to our backcourt, I think we should take him over a guy who might get it done or might not as a big.


Thing is, if we use the 9th to take Westbrook then we have no other viable assets other than Crash to get that PF.

Yeah, but that's assuming the PF we get is going to be a semi-All Star caliber player. We could do for a lesser skilled player who can get the job done. Even though this draft is considered somewhat deep, think about the big talent available in the late first round. For the last few years, there have been some pretty good values in the 15-25 range, which is where we'd be next year if we made the playoffs. So, let's say that we acquire an o.k. big in free agency and/or draft another decent big prospect in the second round, where there are some pretty good prospects projected to be available. Next year we draft the best big we can get.

Obviously, we need to address the position next year for us to make a significant jump in the W column. However, we don't have to get a home run PF this season. As long as we get a guy who can hold the position down briefly, we can wait for the right big to make us a title contender. We'll be much better off getting the best player available than making a knee-jerk reaction to fill a need or drafting a lesser player when we could pick up a strong young player.

Spectre, I think you probably get this already, but I sensed some dread in your comment about having no assets. We still have a second round pick, the MLE, and next year.

We can do it!

[ohara831]

Interestingly enough, at Bobcats.com, the Consensus Mock now has Westbrook going #9 to Charlotte. Interesting, isn't it.

[Slam]

Of all the Bobcats workout video interviews I have seen, I have to say that Westbrook is the one that seems like he is the most likely to have "star power". His moves on the court, the way he spoke, his obvious intelligence.............

Star power.

Anyone else get that feeling?

[dvdbumpus]

to Big Slam, as for star Power, I'd say YES.


Here's an interesting article saying Brown really likes him, but they're unsure if he'll be available by the time we get to draft.

HOWEVER, he's refusing to work out for New Jersey @ #10, which they said it's likely he has a top 9 promise....but he worked out for us :D

[ohara831]

It seems sadly that the Clippers and Knicks are also very high on Westbrook. WE may have promised him we'd take him at #9, but that doesn't mean someone else might plan to take him before and just not have promised him. Rats! Why cant the Clippers do something stupid like in the past? Why did the Knicks have to hire a respectable smart GM? The BB Gods owe us, so there must be something good coming our way - I feel it!

[Slam]

I really think the Clipps will take DJ (the Augustin one, not the big hopeless one)

[walkerl]

We need a big, I will be disappointed if the Cats don't take a center or PF. How is another PG going to help a team that was 26 out of 30 in rebounding!!

[MattD]

yes but the options at PF/C we are looking at cannot rebound for anything. Brook Lopez? Anthony Randolph? No way they pull more then 4 per in the 15 minutes theyll be on the court. Theyre just not ready

[walkerl]

But considering the Othello, wont be there, the health of May is uncertain, and Hollins still sucks, they will get more than 15 minutes. And if you are 7ft tall, at least 5 or 6 boards will fall in your lap anyways.