2008 NBA Draft: Small Forwards

Straight from The On Deck Circle.net - by Blake Murphy

This is Part 3 in a 7-part NBA Draft Preview Series over at The On Deck Circle..  The series will take a look at the draft, position by position, attempting to amalgamate information from ESPN and Draft Express and condense it into digestible profiles for the top players of the Class of 2008.

Yesterday, I started with Point Guards , today features Shooting Guards and Small Forwards, tomorrow will examine Power Forwards and Centers, and Thursday will look at potential Toronto Raptor draft picks.

The week-long coverage will commence with a live-blog of Draft Night, starting in the afternoon with news updates. Up next, the Small Forwards.

Danilo Gallinari: Italy
Measurements: 6-foot-9, 209 pounds, age 19
Draft Express Rank: 1
ESPN Rank: 1
Projection: 5-10
Synopsis: Gallinari is the rich man’s Andrea Bargnani. While not a center and not quite as big, Gallinari is polished beyond Il Mago’s current level and has addressed most of the concerns usually apparent with European imports. That is, he has a high basketball IQ, has great maturity and experience for a player his age, and already has an NBA-ready offensive game.

The main knock against him is that he may lack the athleticism to play strong defense against other small forwards, and he rebounds poorly for a player his size, but he more than accounts for these concerns with his frame, intensity, and versatility.

Try not to get too excited about Gallinari, because European imports are generally risky, but feel free to express cautious optimism if your team drafts him. He is the surest thing a European draftee has ever been.

Interesting Fact: He plays for Armani Jeans, Milano of the Italian League, no joke. He was also awarded the EuroLeague Rising Star Trophy this past season.

Brandon Rush: Kansas
Measurements: 6-foot-7, 211 pounds, age 22
Draft Express Rank: 3
ESPN Rank:3 (on the SG rankings)
Projection: 12-20
Synopsis: Nobody questions that Rush has NBA-level talent, but over the past three years he has jumped around mock draft boards more than anyone save for Tiago Splitter. Rush is another NBA-ready swingman with an NBA-ready body.

He possesses good size and strength for his age and position, and he’ll have the ability to play both wing positions. Additionally, he may be the best 3-point shooter in the draft, though he struggles to create his own shot.

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