BossTweed

Here is a link to an excel with all the players that got measured, not just the top picks. http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbe...0%20Results.xls

Sorry, the bench press was 185 pounds. Oden didn't do the bench press because he was afraid of re-injuring his wrist that was hurt before the season. As far as I know Durant couldn't do any 185 bench presses.

I stole these from realgm, but I formatted them nicely and took a picture. http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php...er=asc&start=24

Quote: No because block totals don't take into account all the shots he alters or even prevents. Some guys will drive, see Smith, and just turn around or pass to someone else. Yeah, I was going to mention this. He definitely alters and intimidates enough shots in addition to the ones that are counted as blocks to make up for his turnovers. And like others said, Smith has to handle the ball way too much. He was pretty much the only player on the Hawks who would push the ball in a fast break situation. That isn't really in his job description but it was something he had to do the way the team is built right now. It's an interesting idea though.

Yeah, I think the combination of coming into a decent situation team/player-wise, plus the fact that he would be rebuilding at Florida and not guaranteed that he would reach the same level (I'm sure he would probably make a few more Final Fours, but Championships are hard to come by) have some influence in his decision. Plus, coaches like a challenge. They are competitive people who want to be challenged in their job. Once you think you have the college game figured out, it is natural to want to see how you can do on the highest level. I'm sure the money was a factor, but I doubt it was the most important factor.

Yeah, I think it could be very interesting. Donovan knows how to use big men in lots of different ways (Bonner, Lee, Haslem, Noah and Horford) and obviously did a good job using two at once. It could be interesting if he can make Darko and Howard into his Noah and Horford.

Quote: So who's working out where? Brandan Wright said he has workouts scheduled with the Hawks, Grizzlies and Celtics. Al Horford said he has workouts with those three teams as well as the Bucks and Timberwolves. Al Thornton is working out for the Celtics, Blazers, Timberwolves, Bobcats and Bucks. Spencer Hawes said he has workouts scheduled with the Wolves, Bulls and Kings. Jeff Green said he'll work out with the Bulls, Sixers, Bobcats and Bucks. Where'd you get this from? I haven't seen any workout information yet.

Quote: And get this, the only guys who have had 200+ buckets with a 60% completion percentage or higher are Bogut, Okafor, Kaman, Boozer, and Collison. Are you just making this stuff up? http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=24424 http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22154 edit: alright, I take it back, guess you meant made 200+ buckets.

Quote: Where are you all seeing this workout schedule the Hawks have? I haven't seen this anywhere. Yes, could someone post where there individual team workouts listed? I'd like to keep an eye on these.

Quote: He also shot SIXTY FIVE PERCENT which means if he just had 3/4 of as many shots as Durant he would have had absolutely sick numbers scoring wise. Chris Richard shot 69% for the year for Florida! If he had only gotten the ball as much as Durant, he would have had super sick numbers! Come on, you have to know better than to use this arguement. Why don't you just use some per 40 minutes stats to tell me that Speedy Claxton would be the best PG in the league if he was on the court more. If Wright got the ball as much as Durant, there is no way he is going to shoot 65%. The only way to get him the ball more often would be to run plays for him, which would be much more difficult shots than he would be getting in the standard flow of the game. He would also get double teamed.

Quote: Can someone post this blog please? Is it under Insider? He talks about it in his audio podcast here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/index Play the "Daily Dish 6/1" podcast. There may be more in his insider blog, but I don't have insider to read it.

Quote: nbadraft.net already has Crit ranked ahead of Law. Wow, I hadn't noticed that. He must be building up some hype during this down time. Be interesting to see what happens once they start having workouts.

Chad Ford in his "Daily Dish" podcast says that the rumor around the Orlando camp is that the Hawks aren't as interested in Conely as they are in Crittenton. Has anyone heard this anywhere else or is this just basically more "BK likes tall guards" talk?

Quote: Comments on Horford in the Championship game from Draft Express: I don't feel like the NCAA Championship game was an accurate display of Horford or Noahs' defensive abilities. I think Donovan was really afraid of Florida's big men fouling out and just had them play soft D on Oden and let him have what he wanted. It didn't work because Florida managed to get called for fouls anyway, but I think he was concerned about fouls. Similar to what people try to do to Shaq sometimes, they wanted to let him Oden his points, and just focus on the rest of the team. The officiating was really horrible and kept Florida's bigs in foul trouble the whole game, not allowing them to play physical defense at all on Oden. I still haven't had a chance to go back and watch it again, but watching it in person I couldn't believe the ticky-tack calls they were calling.

Quote: So you're basically saying Zaza Pachulia would own Josh Smith in a one on one game? Yep that's great logic Also great logic saying someone like Josh Smith couldn't rebound. If I ever payed any attention to what Busboy said before this post, I can pretty much stop now. Somehow all this excitement about the draft has caused people to stop thinking before they post. I would definitely take team #2. They'd still be decent on offense and be much better on defense and rebounding.

Quote: Has anyone posted this? If not, here it is. There are some nice things. By "nice things", I assume you don't mean the audio track. Who the hell picks the music on these???

I'm not trying to defend busboy, because I do agree with a lot of your points falc82. The thing I think about is that Patrick O'Bryant and Saer Sene went 9th and 10th in last years draft. Obviously that draft wasn't as deep as this one, but I think you have to agree that even with Noah's offensive deficiencies, that he is leagues better than those two. I think the NBA really values big men, and they WILL get picked fairly early, particularly if there is a big drop off after that player, which after Oden, Noah, and Hawes, there is a pretty big drop off to the next big man.

I'm worried about what will happen if both Noah and Hawes are both gone at #11. I think there will be a good chance of that. We will just have to take the best player available and try to work out a trade of some sort I guess. I wish Hibbert had stayed in the draft.

Quote: His apparent drop in the NBA DRAFT is evidence that he isn't really a Top 5, franchise talent, but more of a high maintenance, 'flash in the pan' player who has some servicable skills but will be more of a sideshow than a someone you can depend on.. He does complain, and once he gets to the NBA level and continue his 'talking' the media may take his comments a certain way and he will become a 'distraction'..At Florida, the media pressure isn't as intense, but once he become a professional, his actions will be more closely scrutinized on and off the floor.. 1) I never said he was a top 5 talent. 2) What makes you think he is high maintenance? You just keep spouting out this crap with examples to back it up. You can say anything you want, but without facts to back it it doesn't mean a thing. 3) Give me a source where you have heard of Noah complaining. 4) I agree he will be more closely scrutinized in the NBA, but name me another player who has been more scrutinized in college this year? He has a bigger head start on handling pressure more than any other player, that's a fact.

Quote: Noah was part of a great team, but just like Conley never had to deal with adversity, and when you are pick as a Top 10 choice, you are usually deemed as a 'franchise player'. Noah plays when 'he wants to play' and that's not the type of player I want leading a young, emerging team.. What are you talking about? Noah faced a ton of adversity this last season. He was a potential #1 pick that went back to school. He had the spotlight on him all summer and during the season and tourney run, and handled it pretty well. He also had opposing fans on his case all year, as well as analysts when he didn't show a big jump in his game from last season. I definitely think he can handle diversity, and he has mentioned it himself how much he has learned this past year. When did Noah ever "not play"? He is all about getting wins and championships, not about personal goals. If he was worried about being a franchise player, you might have heard him say something about how many shot attempts he gets, or how he is always at the top of the key facilitating the offense, not finishing in the post, but you didn't hear him complain once.

Quote: he could help himself by working out. literally. Corey Brewer is another one that needs to put on some weight. i'm 6'3" average build and weigh more than him. he's supposed to be almost a half foot taller than I am for christ's sake! Yeah, it will be interesting to see how the measure up during the combine. Apparently Brewer put on 5 pounds in his first week once he started training to get prepared for the combine.

What what do you guys think is easier to improve, decision making or shooting? I would definitely go with shooting, and like someone said, there are tons of examples of players who get better at shooting while they are in the pros. Look at Josh Smith!

Quote: I had HEARD of Yi, but had little information. But I would rather let Chad Ford make the pick rather than Billy. -- But it sounds like Billy is going to give (uh, er) trade the picks away anyway. Please, Gearon ... if you are reading this - - FIRE BILLY NOW !!! Not tomorrow, ... pickup the phone and do it now! You'll be a hero in Atlanta - - just look at the AJC poll. I would definitely rather have Billy make the picks than Chad Ford. Chad Ford hypes every player he sees, particularly international players. Take his opinion with the same grain of salt you would any of the posters on this message board.

The reason they don't show it on TV is because it would anti-climactic. They do the drawing for the #1 spot first, then #2, then #3. The rest just fall into place after that. Who would get excited about watching that?

That's pretty much exactly how I feel as well. I think all of your analysis is spot on, and probably the optimal way of looking at the Hawks draft. I guess the next step would be to decide which teams have a decent center they would trade for a wing or two + a backup guard (lue/speedy)? The likelyhood of making a deal like this is probably pretty slim though. So if we end up picking for need and getting our PG and C, we will get less value, but it wouldn't really be the end of the world either.