This piece has been submitted by Alex “NBA 2-Guard” Pennycook and Stu “Rasho” Wilkinson.
For those who don’t know, in late March Stu and Alex had their first point, counter-point article, to great reviews. With a controversial split-decision victory for Pennycook, Stu is back to avenge the defeat and rebutt Alex into submission. All of today’s topics concern the NBA Draft. Pennycook! Wilkinson! Part 2!
Who goes #3?
Pennycook: The fact that this is Atlanta’s pick means that literally anything can happen. With two lottery picks they can attempt to fill both their PG and
post needs. Conley at 3 is too high in my opinion and there will be other quality PG options at 11 so they take a post player with this pick and that will be Brandan Wright. As Jay Bilas will say, “this kid is an athlete,” and will easily be able to run with Atlanta’s talented wings. His 8-foot wingspan will help him on the defensive end as the Hawks may try and develop him in the mold of the new breed of centers in the NBA.Wilkinson: It’s got to be Big Al Horford, the best player available and basically the next step in the evolution of whatever species Carlos Boozer belongs to. The Hawks will probably be able to get Javaris Crittenton later, which wouldn’t
be a big downgrade from Mike Conley in my opinion. Crittenton had better numbers across the board than Conley (except FG%) despite playing in the ACC and being tenaciously defended by Greg Paulus, former standout high school quarterback.
Most likely to fall?
Wilkinson: Yi is going to drop like a rock unless the Celtics or another
lottery team picks up KG or Kobe. None of the teams that absolutely tanked down the stretch is going to be willing to take a project when guys like Green, Thornton, Noah, Brewer, and Fazekas are on the board. Something in my gut tells me he could end up in Chi-Town, Sacto, or Los Angeles. I’m also going to go out on a limb and say that Aaron Gray is going to get drafted in front of Kyle Visser, which means that Visser’s going to be dropping like some sort of rock-like object.
Pennycook: Since the NBA draft is much easier to predict relative to the NFL draft I don’t think that there is going to be any repeat of the Brady Quinn situation. Most of the falling has alreaey taken place. I was never sold on Joakim Noah being the #1 pick last year and I doubt he’ll slip past Charlotte at #8 strictly because of their history of drafting college champions. Josh McRoberts is a guy who probably would have been a lottery pick last year but is now praying to be taken in the first round. Sean Williams is a guy who I think could fall to the second round because of his history and the fact that he’s chosen not to work out for any team in particular.
Second round steal?
Wilkinson: Aaron Gray should be considered a steal because most guys in the
second round never even become Collins brothers clones, but there are a couple other guys that could become legitimately good players. Fazekas, Marcus Williams, and Aaron Afflalo could all be good surprises (though Marcus does need to stop partaking in the occasional doobie). Also, the guy from France can jump out of the building, so that’s always a good sign – he’s like a poor man’s Chris Taft!
Pennycook: The key thing for a player drafted in the second round is that he is in the right system. I think a guy like Reyshawn Terry who can contribute immediately will have a good first year. Apparently Nick Fazekas is lighting it up in his indivdual workouts hitting something like 75% of 3 point attempts so he could end up as a huge steal. I’m curious to see where Glen “Big Baby” Davis ends up after a very disappointing year.
Who should have stayed in school?
Wilkinson: The USC guys should have stayed. Playing smallball with O.J Mayo could have made that team like a ridiculously athletic version of Villanova and really raised their profile, although Nick Young’s talent seems to have done that trick for him. My one pick for a big mistake to go pro is Ramon Sessions out of Nevada. How could that team have three NBA-caliber players (Fazekas, Kemp, and Sessions) and never do anything in the tourney? That’s a real head scratcher.
Pennycook: Nick Young made the right decision to leave, but Gabe Pruitt should have stayed. He could have been the leader of the Trojan team and that would have shot up his draft stock. I’ve heard though that the Jazz are high on taking him with the 25th pick so as long as he goes in the first round it would be hard to fault him. Taurean Green is the main guy I felt should have stayed. The odds are against him sticking to an NBA roster so why not stay in college one more year with the spotlight solely on you and a shot at being a first round pick.
McRoberts… first round bust?
Wilkinson: Absolutely not. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got picked in the second round, but you have to be impressed by the unique ball handling and passing skills he brings to the table, along with the fact that he shot 50% last year on an offensively challenged Duke team. Why couldn’t he be a more athletic Brad Miller? Am I crazy?
Look at the guys McRoberts played with last year – Paulus, Nelson, that shitty wannabe JJ Redick who’ll be really good next year, and that big white guy who was highly touted and ended up sucking. This isn’t really a Battier–Boozer–Brand lineup. I’m not saying he’s a top 10 pick this year, but McRoberts is going to be a decent contributor for an NBA team.
Pennycook: Yes you are crazy. First of all I don’t think I’ve ever seen him score outside of the key. In fact, I think the only time I’ve seen him score is on an open dunk. He can’t be a Brad Miller type player because he doesn’t have a 17 foot jump shot to draw defenders away from the post and open up the passing lanes. He’ll be a slightly better version of Shavlik Randolph.
This piece has been submitted by Alex “NBA 2-Guard” Pennycook and Stu “Rasho” Wilkinson.