Pathway23 has #1 pick.....6pm EST tonight deadline

[JTFan31]

Martynas Andriuskevicius

Birthdate: 3/12/86

NBA Position: PF/C

Ht: 7-2

Wt: 240

Int Team: Zalgiris Kaunas

Hometown: Lithuania

He is a big man with so much talent and at a tender age of 18. He can become something special in this league, he can play inside and outside and doesn't shy away from physical play. Seattle needs a big man in a desperate way, Booth, James and Potapenko, are just backups in this league. Throw in Martynas in there with Allen, Barry, Lewis, and Radmanovic and this can be a team to be reckon with in the future.

I was in between Martynas and Jameer Nelson, but Seattle already has Barry (if they resign him), Antonio Daniels and Luke Ridnour...there wasnt another space there for another PG and I think Martynas was a more needed pick and better pick for the Sonics.

[Diesel]

Teams in the draft have needs. Shucks... You have to find that player that covers your need when all the talent is merely the same. Iggy is not that much more talented than anybody else. This draft is a 2 horse race in the talent department. So don't give me this BS about Best Talent.... Andrivickus or Ramos is probably more talented than Iggy in the real world... PLUS they would have filled GS's need. Don't spread your dumb hypocrisy and try to pawn it off as truth.

[Admin]

You picked a guy with the 10th pick for a team that has other needs. Not only that, but you choose a guy that many have going in the 2nd half of the first round. I have seen him drop all the way out of the 1st round in some mocks. The point is that you drastically reached on a player if most of the mock drafts are right about where he will be selected. He was a big ticket item for about a week after that all-star game.......but he is fading fast and Cleveland could have used Igoudala or a few other players much more. You never know when McInnis is going to turn back into the player that has been such a disappointment in his career, so they could have gone for Jameer Nelson as well who would have been a much better pick.

[Lascar78]

exactly. when you're picking somebody about 10 turns before he's projected to go (talent wise), it can only happen if he's the perfect fit for that team, a specific immediate need. JR smith is not that. You picked him at 10 when most agree he''ll be picked in the 19-25 range.

There have been other picks here that I disagree with too. But most are arguable, it's a matter of opinion, and depends on whether GMs are going for best talent available or team needs. Yours was pointed out because there were MUCH more talented people left and you picked the ONLY position that makes no sense for them to pick if they're picking for need.

Stop making such a martyr of yourself

[Guest]

Quote:

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Andre brings great Athleticism, defense and unselfishness to our roster. Being a player willing to pass the ball will be a welcome addition to the roster and this can really help the Warriors to get out and run and gun. Andre still needs to work on his jump shot but that will come in time.

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Wait a minute...did you just say Mickael Pietrus?

[Diesel]

Quote:

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You picked a guy with the 10th pick for a team that has other needs.

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Other needs? What other needs? Clevelands needs as spelled out byt he coach is a shooter to spread the defense. He wanted to find this in a wing, however, moving Born to 3 and picking a 2 is just as good. Juanny has JT problems. Ira is not high on the coaches list. The only real 3 in the draft was Gomes and I don't think that would have been a wise choice. Iggy is 6'5" probably shorter and he's not a good shooter. J.R. Smith is already bigger than Iggy. Just as athletic... But he's a shooter.

What are these other needs?

You mean Burn a 10th pick on a BU PG?

What are these Other needs Dol...

What's more important than a shooter for Cleveland? You might not like my choice, but don't try to make it out like I didn't consider cleveland's need. In fact, that's what the pick was about... NEED. Now if you want somebody to attack, get the guy who chose yet another SG for GS!! If you want to talk about Need.... With 3 7 footers on the board, he picks a SG...

[Admin]

Did you not see that I said I didnt totally agree with his pick?........did you not see others follow suit? Did you not see that we also said at least we can somewhat understand his pick since Igoudala is rated in the top 10 picks in every mock I have seen, whereas in most drafts JR Smith is in the bottom of the 1st round.

Cleveland has other needs. There were better shooters in the draft as well. Not to even mention that Lebron plays the 2 for them, he isnt a SF. Luke Jackson would have been a far better pick. Reason being is that Cleveland isnt a team that can wait 2 years on a guy to start contributing since they are on the cusp of being a playoff team and they need a guy who can contribute right away. Jackson can play the 2 or the 3 since he has good size at 6'7 and very good ball handling skills. Igoudala is 6'6 and has reportedly already put on some serious muscle working out with Grover, so he could easily play SF in this league due to his good enough size and exceptional defensive skills. Sergei Monya would have also been a far better choice. He has very good size and is an excellent shooter as well. Jameer Nelson would have also been a much better choice. He is an excellent scoring PG who can break down a defense and get guys easy looks. You can talk all day long about how much they like McInnis, but McInnis is not starter quality and never has been and never will be.

So Diesel, thats 4 guys right there that would have been MUCH better fits for the Cavs than the guy you seriously reached to choose.

Anyone else agree with me?

[capstone21]

I am sorry that you guys don't agree with my pick. Thats fine. That is what makes a mock draft fun.

Drafting a center will not neccesarily meet my needs because I don't think the guys that are left at Center will make any sort of impact or even be ready to play this season. Actually they are all many years away. How does that help me?

The Warriors got a real talent, a guy that is going to go earlier in the real draft. He is good enough to play right now and actually may become a real special player. To make the roster stronger, this move will allow GS to make other moves through FA and trades. They are strong at SG and now they can move one or two of the other guys to get stronger at other positions now. Plus who says they are not going to resign Dampier or Foyle?

[Admin]

Cap the problem is that it appeared that you forgot about Pietrius, who really came on at the end of the year and I believe will end up being their starting SG. They might end up trading JRich so then drafting Igoudala was a good idea......but at this point he would be their 3rd string SG or maybe backup SF. I think that Jameer Nelson would have been a lot better of a pick here since they do need help at PG....but at least we all agree that Igoudala was the highest rated player on the board and sometimes you have to take those guys when they slip.

[Diesel]

Bron is 6'8" 240. At some point, he will be moved to 3 simply based on Speed.

I agree... Nelson is a good choice. I just didn't feel comfortable drafting a BU PG at 10. Sorry. I think over the course of his career, Smith will be more valuable. Secondly... The conclusion of this will not be with some mock. Look over the history of these Mocks... They all have been far off in the past. Draft night, we will know what was closer to right. Moreover, you can't believe everything a GM says in these times. Bickerstaff just said Duhon will make a good journeyman PG with a lot of work... Do you believe that? There's very little honest reporting coming out of these workouts... GMs use the media just like players do.

Lastly, I never said that Smith was better than Iggy...

What I said is that Smith was a better pick for Cleveland than Iggy or Jackson in my opinion.

I consider Monya strongly as well.... He's not as consistent a shooter as you call him here. I liked the fact that he played defense. I still think he wouldn't be a bad choice... But you got to go with shooting ability. I know Smith has the range. When it comes down to it, Cleveland will take somebody who canshoot. It may be Nelson or Telfair... But they desperately need a shooter.

[CHORO44]

I think we should put up a pick by pick poll after the lottery finishes and let the members decide if they like the picks we each made. It would put more value on the reasons we chose the players we did. Dolfan, perhaps we can put up Yes and No percentages on the draft site?

[Traceman]

available regardless of position. What in the heck has Pietrus proven that makes him too good to have another SG drafted? He can't shoot and he's not a great balllhandler or passer either. Pietrus is already a good defender and rebounder for his position and he is a terrific athlete but I think Iguodala is going to be the better all around player. Besides, what is to stop GS from packaging Dunleavy and J Rich for a needed big man? Both Pietrus and Iguodala are big enough and athletic enough to spend time at SF. Would Chicago take J Rich and Dunleavy for Chandler/Fizer?

[Weez]

I will get my pick in by later tonight. sorry, call got worse than expected and I failed ot have proper time yesterday.

[Diesel]

A draft filled with Cs...

A FAcy with not many to offer (not that they have the money).

A team with more SGs than any thing else... But take the best player...

Let's look at the starting 5 for GS:

Speedy Claxton, Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Troy Murphy and Evan Eschenmeyer.

Yeah... Good Pick. That will never get off the bench.

[Weez]

nyder

SHOOTING GUARD | (6-6, 225) | NEVADA

Kirk Snyder

Notes: He dropped 29 and 9 on Kansas in a win in December and turned a lot of heads. Has declared for the draft and hired agent Roger Montgomery.

Upside: Considered one of the most complete guard prospects in the draft. He does everything for Nevada. He's strong, athletic, has great speed, shoots the ball well, rebounds and defends. What really intrigues scouts is his playmaking ability at the two. He has a very good handle and appears to be a smart player.

Downside: Not much. The biggest issue is underexposure. Scouts didn't start paying heavy attention until late. Once he gets into workouts, he could explode. He's a very good talent.

Insider Projection: The best player in the WAC is starting to get a lot of attention from NBA scouts. He was awesome in the tournament leading Nevada to an improbable upset over Gonzaga and into the Sweet 16. With so few good collegiate players in the draft, Snyder may be able to sneak into the late-first-round.

This was a difficult pick to make. Several sites have us listed as "promising" this spot to Snyder...and we sorta did, barring any true slip by guys named Smith. Our GM was exhausted after being "on call," but fortunately, the cards fell in a semi-expected order. We considered going with guys that play point, namely Jameer or Sebastian, but also realized that we could likely get one of these players later in the draft AND have the "luxury" of knowing that we're going to trade former Hawk SAR...and will get something we want back in return. Combine all that with the fact that the last thing we need is another "young" player, or a guy with a either a pristine record or a known drug problem...we decided to go with Snyder, a jack of all trades who does many things well, nothing great...and can back up Andersen if need be while learning the ropes.

I'm f'in beat y'all. Hopefully, this was a decent pick.

[capstone21]

Why are you whining so much? Is it to draw attention away from your own bad pick? Everyone has their personal opinions on who to draft and I explained why I did it. He was the player I thought would be the best pick for the future. This guy would not even be there when it is the Warrior's turn to draft on the 24th.

A. Dunleavy is not that good.

I made the pick to give the Warriors flexiblity to make moves with some of their current guys. I didn't like any of the Centers that were left in the draft so why waste the pick on them. They are all projects. So even if I drafted a center he would not do anything for the next couple of years. Why do that when I can get a quality shooting guard that will allow me to trade one of my current roster guys for a center that will play now. WHat is to stop me from resigning Dampier and or Foyle?

You pointed out my starting lineup. Its not that good. WE have to switch things up if we want to start winning games. Trading Richardson or Dunleavy to Chicago for one of their young forwards is an option. IF that happens I still have a good shooting guard that can play.

My pick was a player who could potentially make a real impact. If he has to spend his rookie year learning then that is alright that is usually what happens anyway. His playing time will come and we will switch up the roster to allow it to happen.

[DJ_Money]

The Utah Jazz select Rafael Araujo from Brigham Young University.

Araujo is a 6'11", 280 lbs. banger, originally from Brazil, who came to BYU by way of Arizona Western CC.

Araujo is a very strong player who loves to mix it up in the paint. He is a true center, not of the new variety that seem to spent as much time behind the 3 point line as they do in the paint. He's not as athletic as some would like, but he runs the floor well. He has a nice back to the basket game and is relentless on the glass (averaged over 18 ppg and 10 rpg as a Sr.) Not much of a shot blocker, he will have to work on using his wide frame, as well as his footwork and quickness, to become a solid NBA defender.

Despite having Curtis Borchardt already on the roster, we decided Araujo was the best fit for this team. We would have liked to possibly add a PG, but didn't see one we liked. We believe Araujo will benefit us more than another swingman, as we already have a plethora of those. It does take a certain type of player to be able to play in this city, and having already played at BYU, we know Araujo will fit nicely.

As one of only a handful of legit Center prospects in the draft, Araujo was at the top of our list. We debated on taking him now or at pick #16. But, we decided that it might be dangerous to leave him for Boston at #15, since we had a sneaking suspiscion that Boston GM Danny Ainge, a BYU alum, might snatch him up. Other players we considered at this pick were Sergei Monya, Jameer Nelson, Luke Jackson, and Kris Humphries.

(And I'm on time...whoo!)

[Traceman]

understand that guys can be traded. If we still had Reef and we had the #2 pick, would you not still take Dwight Howard? I would. I'd take Howard and trade Reef.

[Diesel]

I know that there is value that must be considered and the Market.

Do you remember after Dominique?

Do you remember how long we suffered without a Sf?? Did you ever wonder why we never got a Sf? Because Babcock was busy drafting these "great players" at other positions and not using the draft to fill our needs. Then every year in FAcy, we'd get let at the alter... Rick Fox, Ceballos, Williamson, Horry. Those are just a few of the SFs that turned us down in FAcy.

More proof.

What is the failing of Chicago in the draft?

Do you remember they had Brand/Artest... They drafted Fizer... Mike Miller still on the board?

What about the Clipps?

With Brand as their Pf, they draft Wilcox then Ely....

They missed out on Caron Butler or Tayshun Prince and what's their problem now... Logjam at PF..... Their looking to trade one of their Pfs that don't play much.

The same thing would happen in GS. Logjam at SG. For as much as you say trade, nobody will give you good value (a franchise type) for Richardson and it would be foolish to trade him..

We call teams like LAC and ChI draft stupid for making such moves and now you seem to applaud them??

[Admin]

So, you think its foolish to draft a player when it will create a logjam?......like for instance if you have the best young player in the league starting and a very good and also very young player backing him up.....and then drafting another young player but this time a high school kid to back the both of them up? Sounds pretty foolish to me. The only thing that would be worse was if you choose that high school kid 5-15 picks earlier than he should go.

For anyone that is confused of course I am talking about Diesels pick for Cleveland, when he took JR Smith at #10 to sit behind Lebron James and Dujuan Wagner at the 2 spot.