NBA Draft: Point, Counter-Point

Straight from The On Deck Circle.net by Stu Wilkinson and Alex Pennycook.

Y’all know the drill by now, so let’s just get right into it.

Who Is the Biggest Sleeper in the Draft?

Alex: Chris Douglas-Roberts—sleepers are hard to predict at this stage because so much of a player's success depends on the situation they land in, but I’ll go with a guy that I can’t understand why isn’t projected to go higher in the draft, and that is CDR.

A first team All-American, CDR is a little undersized for an NBA two-guard.  However, he is a proven scorer that has a ton of big game experience.  Right now a lot of experts have him going to New Orleans, which I believe is a perfect fit. The Hornets already have two sharpshooters in Peja and MoPete, and a slashing wing is exactly what they need off the bench.

Stu: If MoPete’s a sharpshooter, then Carlos Delfino is this generation’s Larry Bird.  The biggest sleeper in this draft?  That’s definitely my favorite question to answer—I’ve got a list of sleepers a mile long.  Joey Dorsey, George Hill, Shawn James, Ronald Ramon—they’re all there.

The biggest sleeper of them all, however, is my main man Roy Hibbert.  He’s an absolutely mammoth big guy that can change the game defensively, score the ball down low when he’s asked to, and has a little bit of a mid-range jumper to boot.

A year ago he was considered a lottery pick, and now he’s a late first rounder behind JaVale McGee, DeAndre Jordan, and some French guy who averages five points per game?  After a very stellar season in college?  Am I missing something here?

Rose or Beasley?

Alex: Derrick Rose—if I was building a team for the future, the one player I would want from this draft would be Rose.  At 6'3", 200 pounds, he has great size for an NBA point guard, but his best quality is his blazing speed.

Watching him throughout March Madness, I couldn’t believe how quickly he got down the floor.  He is as good a scorer as he is a distributor, and he definitely will be a franchise player in the NBA.

Stu: Derrick Rose is an absolute freak and should be number one on every NBA team’s draft board.  If you watched the NCAA Tournament (and you did), you know that he possesses ridiculous strength, quickness, and leaping ability.  He was coached by Johnny Calipari at Memphis, so you know his head is probably screwed on pretty well at this point.

Plus I just saw Billy King say that the Bulls should take Beasley at number one.  Case closed.

Who Will Be the Biggest Bust of the Draft?

Alex: Joe Alexander—a white small forward that isn’t a shooting specialist?  Alexander played more of a back-to-the-basket game in college at West Virginia but is too small right now to play in the post in the NBA.

I can’t help but think that he is going to be the next Adam Morrison.  While Alexander is definitely more athletic, he won’t be anywhere close to a lockdown defender and isn’t the scorer that Morrison is.

Stu: First of all, I’m watching a draft special on RaptorsTV as I’m writing this.  They’re showing a piece on Adam Morrison right now.  His quote?  “I feel like I’m the best offensive player in this draft.”  Don’t call it a comeback when Ammo’s dropping twelve a game next year.

But back to the issue at hand.  I think the biggest bust of this draft will be Kevin Love, even though the surprisingly draft-savvy Bill Simmons is harboring a Glen Davis-sized man crush for him.  I’d love to see Kevin somehow become an All-Star, but I tend to think he’ll be riding pine more often than not.

The only reason why he wasn’t a liability on the defensive end at UCLA was his boiler that makes Randy Leahy blush.  Let’s just say that in the NBA that boiler will be getting called for a lot of hacks.

Whose Stock Will Drop Like a Rock?

Alex: Brook Lopez—first of all, Stanford players do not make good NBA players, especially those that play in the post.  Brook Lopez has all the physical tools to be a solid player, but teams are worried about his upside potential, and this will cause him to fall.

That said, I still think that he’ll be a better pro than Kevin Love, and I probably am still just bitter at him for nailing that buzzer beater to knock out Marquette in the NCAA tourney.

Stu: I pray that the answer to this is K-Love, but I think it’ll be Eric Gordon, which I think is completely bizarre.  First, here’s why Eric will drop: injury concerns, poor shooting at Indiana (33 percent from MoPete Land), and a lack of team success in his only year in college.

With a lot of guards available in the draft (O.J. Mayo, Mario Chalmers, Jerryd Bayless, Russell Westbrook), Gordon could be cast aside in favor of these big names and drop to the later portion of the lottery.

Now here’s why he shouldn’t drop: He’s a sick athlete, he can shoot, and he didn’t actually suck at Indiana like people would have you believe.  Chad Ford said in his mock draft with Billy Simmons, “I’m scared of this kid.  He collapsed in the second half of the season.”  He averaged 20 a game at Indiana!  How can you do that and collapse in the second half of the season?

Who Is Anthony Randolph?

Alex: So apparently Mr. Randolph is a 6'10", 200 pound, 18-year-old freshman from LSU that is some kind of a freak of an athlete.  If you are looking for an NBA comparison, envision the exact opposite of Zach Randolph.

Obviously he is a very raw prospect, and it will probably take a couple of years for him to make any kind of contribution to an NBA team.  On the other hand, his ceiling is as high as any player not named Rose or Beasley.

What does this all mean?  He probably will be taken late in the lottery by a team that can wait for him to develop.

Stu: Anyone who’s the polar opposite of Zach Randolph doesn’t deserve to be close to the league, but he’ll probably make it anyway.  I’d love to see the Nets take him just so they could bring a project on board to help them make the lottery for the next couple years, bringing more talent on board for the coming of King James.

How any team looking to make the playoffs in the next couple years could take Anthony Randolph boggles my mind, especially when guys like Chris Douglas-Roberts and Brandon Rush will be available when he’s taken.

Who Should the Toronto Basketball Raptors Take?

Alex: Frankly it does not seem like the Raptors will even have the 17th selection, as rumors continue to swirl about packaging the pick along with T.J. Ford to acquire an established veteran scorer.  The biggest need they have right now is a rebounding big man that can score in the post to complement Bosh and Andrea.

If they do keep the pick, they would likely be looking at Robin Lopez, DeAndre Jordan or Kosta Koufos.  Of those players, I think that Jordan would be the best fit for the Raptors and would give them a very solid front line for years to come.

Stu: Here’s my incredibly simple, easy to execute plan for Bryan Colangelo and the Raptors.  Step one?  Pray that Eric Gordon free falls into the teens, allowing you to trade up to snag him without losing too much (too much meaning valuable assets like T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic).

Step two?  Make sure you get Joey Dorsey in the second round.  Sell the farm for Joey Dorsey.  I want Joey Dorsey on the team next year.

If that strategy somehow doesn’t pan out, I’d love to see the Raps bring two NCAA Championship Game alumni into the fold: Brandon Rush in the first round, and then Dorsey by any means necessary in the second.

Straight from The On Deck Circle.net by Stu Wilkinson and Alex Pennycook.