In his most recent Draft Watch column at ESPN.com, Chad Ford appraises the talent pool at the wings in the upcoming draft:
While there is some talent, the field doesn’t appear to have the next Dwyane Wade or even the next Danny Granger in the mix.
When you take a look at the Clippers’ organizational chart, it quickly becomes apparent that the team needs some depth at the wings, something we discussed a couple of weeks ago. Problem is, I’m not certain there’s a guy on the list outside of James Harden who offers immediate help. DeMar DeRozan’s freshman campaign has been DeFlating. If there were ever a shooting guard who could use another 30 games at the collegiate level to bolster his credentials as a bona fide NBA starter, it would be DeRozan. Work your way further down the list, and you’ll be hard-stretched to find a player who will be a stronger pro than Al Thornton, which says a lot more about the collective talent of this draft class than it does about Thornton’s skill set.
You can construct a scenario in which Al-Farouq Aminu develops a crisp NBA game as a physical small forward, but in recent weeks, he’s looked like nothing more than a beefier Joey Graham. Earl Clark offers flashes of potential but, as Ford aptly puts it, “He reminds me a lot of the Hornets’ Julian Wright: a talented athlete without a real position or a definitive game. Chances are Clark will declare for the draft this year. And if he does, someone will take him between the 10th and 20th picks.”
The Clippers are fortunate on a number of fronts. Their personnel needs run counter to most of the league, where size is at a premium. The teams likely to pick above them are deep at the 2/3 and will likely be looking for size. Additionally, the Clippers might decide that the best pool of wing talent to draw from exists on current NBA rosters. If that’s the case, the Clippers can deal one of their frontcourt assets for a nice perimeter piece, then draft the best talent on the board irrespective of need.
11 Responses
Kevin, do you know how possible it is, assuming theres really nothing to take with our more than likely high draft pick, that we can draft Ricky Rubio for his rights even if he doesn’t declare?
Posted on January 26th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Yep, should have trade the pick. Clippers will probably also get the TWolves pick this year the way they’re playing.
Posted on January 26th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Only guys, I think that are “good” is rubio, Blake and Harden.
Posted on January 26th, 2009 at 10:55 am
wouldn’t mind getting aminu, but also a trade for a proven vet wing would do wonders for this team
Posted on January 26th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Figures. The Clippers get a really high draft pick and the draft happens to be the weakest in years. Unless Ricky Rubio makes himself available to play in the NBA next year and we have a shot to draft him I’d probably trade the pick for a good young wing.
Posted on January 26th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
pick best available player…young players on rookie contracts are assests that be traded for other pieces for the puzzle..
Posted on January 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I think we should stay away from Greg Monroe, he reminds me of Joe Smith.
Posted on January 26th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Trade the pick to the Lakers for rights to put blue and red seats in the arena. That purple makes me sick.
Posted on January 26th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Best case scenario we end up with one of the top 2 picks. Then we go Blake or Harden. It’s not out of the question for us to do a Minnesota/Memphis type draft day deal, and get a quality player out of it like Minnesota did with Mike Miller.
I wouldn’t mind trading the pick, but the problem is other teams have to have someone to trade up for. I think we should all be rooting for Rubio to come out- even though we don’t “need” him, some team desperate for a point guard could offer us a nice deal to draft him.
All in all, we really need to hope we are top 2. If we’re not, don’t rule out a big guy like Monroe. Randolph, Camby and Kaman could all be gone in 3 years.
Posted on January 27th, 2009 at 6:18 am
China Wholesale Electronics Supplier – eBreezee.com is the biggest China wholesale electronics supplies site and has three sub sites: they are China cheap replacement laptop battery supplies site, China wholesale beads and jewels supplies site, China wholesale toys supplies sit. Welcome to visit our sites, thanks!
Posted on April 20th, 2009 at 2:06 am
I just found a great wholesale website. Do you know what is china wholesale and Made in China products? What are the top sales wholesale products? Here is the good news to you: our website is a clever choice as wholesaler.
Posted on April 20th, 2009 at 2:49 am
Trackbacks