Upcoming Draft

[Strago]

Let's play GM, and you just hit it rich with the first pick in the upcoming draft. Who do you pick first overall - Yao Ming, Jason Williams, Eddie Griffin, Shane Battier, Eddy Curry, Joseph Forte, Jamaal Tinsley, or others?

(assumed all college, high school, and foreign players are available)

[scooterj5]

I don't think the team with the #1 will be able to pass up Ming (if avaliable of course)

[djb]

With all they hype surrounding him and his play in China, does anyone here think Ming might be a disappointment (a la Olowakandi)? I've never seen him play so I can't really comment.

[LonestarROB]

I haven't really payed any attention to the draft yet but I agree with DJ. Ming will be a dissapointment. If I had the first pick(being a Mavs fan), I'd probably get a center though.

I think Ming is the real deal though. He is 7'5" and athletic. He has a decent weight of 280 without ever going on a strength program. Put him in a NBA weight/strengthening program and let him gain 20 lbs. and watch out!

Ming is naturally tall and not a by product of some hay-wired hormones as is the case with most people his height, which means he doesn’t have heath problems usually associated with extremely tall people.

He can put the ball on the floor and even makes tres. Scouts are very high on him and Yao was impressive in his limited play against the US Dream Team in the Olympic.

He will be a force in the NBA in the future, with emphasis on future. I think he is only around 20 years old and still has a way to go, but there's no doubt in my mind he's going first if China allows him into the draft.

[Strago]

I wrote the last post...lol...I should log in before I post next time. I'm a little prejudice on Ming since I'm part Chinese.

God damn, there needs to be an Asian NBA player soon!

[djb]

Ahh so I'm not the only azn boy here [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[Evilmav2]

Right now Eddie Curry is becoming head and shoulders above the rest of the competition for the first pick of the draft. Jason Williams (who says he is staying at Duke next year) would be competition depending on who ended up with the first pick. Desagana Diop and Tyson Chandler should both be in the top ten if they declare, while Mings' stock has been dropping because of the Chinese governments reticence to discuss releasing him, and the fears that he might end up playing many of his best years in China... Eddie Griffin and Gerald Wallace both got a lot of coverage early in the year, but neither should come anywhere near the top 1-5 if they also declare. Expect Jamaal Tinsley to find his way into the top 10, and Battier may challenge for it as well... It is going to be hard to predict the draft order this early because of the uncertainty of what underclassmen and HSers are going to declare, and also because of the different needs of the prospective drafters... But right now it would be almost impossible for any team to pass on a prospect like Curry...

[Strago]

I don't think Curry is a sure shot. Many scouts are worry about his weight. They don't want him to turn out like another Oliver Miller.

[scooterj5]

It's fun to post polls on the Virtual GM message board like "Should there be more fat people in the NBA? Fat people wanna play too why should they not" and "Do you think we should see an Iraqian in the NBA?"

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] By the way I am not fat and definitely not Iraqian [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[Evilmav2]

I like your "fear no evil" line Strago... LOL

Curry has his weight down to about 280 right now, and I keep reading that his recent games have been propelling him to the top... Did any of y'all see those "Preps" episodes on FoxSports featuring Curry? It doesn't look like he has much of a jumpshot, but he can handle the ball, is exceptionally quick, and most importantly he looks like he is going to be like a young Shaq in the NBA. His power and athleticism, combined with his bulk, are going to make him very very hard to stop in the NBA... I don't think most teams could really stop themselves from drafting a guy who looks as Shaq-like as he does...

[madape]

There are so many great big men coming out this year - it may be the best draft ever for centers. Ming, Curry, Diop, Chandler, even Haywood and Loren Woods. The odds of one of them dropping into the middle rounds is pretty good, which means that the Mavs can land a pretty good young center by trading into this draft. (Anyone wish they had that pick back that we traded to Orlando for the rights to Courtney Alexander?). Still, I am huge on Jason Williams of Duke. He probably won't come out this year, but when he does, whoever picks him is getting a hell of a player.