Rafael Araujo's stock is on the rise...could he possibly help the mavs?

[Dirkenstien]

Rafael Araujo's stock is on the rise

Interesting article on Araujo. Ive seen this kid play. He's big, strong, and pretty athletic with an array of low post skills. Could he possibly help the mavericks in their quest for a big man to control the paint?

[ddh33]

I've been keeping my eye on him. From what I have read, he's very good offensively. On defense, he is more limited, but not afraid to throw his body around.

[foglemann]

his size is nice, but I have seen him play and he runs slower than Shaq. I think he will not be as good as people are rating him in this draft. There are a lot of big men in this draft, I just don't know which one will be the best after Okafor.

[EricaLubarsky]

He's top 12 if not top 8 material. What would it take to pry that pick away from a losing team?

[SaltwaterChaffy]

I have sang praises of Araujo before, and would love for us to somehow acquire him. But I can't see it happening.

[bernardos70]

I woudl take him anyday. I'd love to have such a bulky player in the middle of the lane playing for us. Plus he's brazilian like me [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I think Rafael is even better than Anderson Varejão. It's too bad so many teams discovered him, all the mock up draft sites have him going in the middle of the first. If we could trade for him, I'd do it in a heartbeat (Walker, Jamison...).

[Dirkenstien]

I would trade Walker for him but im not to sure if I would pull the trigger on sending jamison packing. It depends on what else we got with the pick. I really like Jamison and think he will be the key to an eventual championship with this team.

[DubOverdose]

I would NOT give up Jamison. He's too good of a player to trade for a rookie unless that rookie is the #1 pick.

[cheesestar]

i agree. i think jamison isworth more than this guy. but id be willing to give up walker to see if he is any good

[bernardos70]

I like jamison a lot, but do we really need his game more than a center? I would do the trade. But then again I could be subconsciously biased since I'd love to see a Brazilian on the Mavs. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] No, I actually think he's a pretty good player that would fit the bill over here, he has tremendous potential and he's just huge. I saw only one BYU game, but what he showed was impressive. I've been kind of reading up on him from the time the mock-up draft sites had him going on the 2nd round or not going at all till now. People are starting to pay attention [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

EDIT: Furthermore, apparently he's a Bastard™ Player, something we could use around here.

[cheesestar]

if theyd take walker id do it, so then we would get to replace our so-called center in walker and get this guy. i think he is a work in progress and would be willing to give him a shot if te right deal came by.

[ddh33]

I do like a lot of things about this kid. He may be able to really help, and he could do that a little sooner since he is older and a little more developed physically.

But why do I get this weird Vitaly Potopenko feeling? They are built the same, and Potopenko had a lot of fans coming into this league. If I'm not mistaken, he was picked around 8. I'm just afraid these guys could end up being an awful lot like each other. That's why I wouldn't trade Jamison for him.

[bcrav4]

Sportsline says Araujo may be too slow also:

Rafael Araujo, C, BYU. Another Brazilian, Araujo is more of a known commodity thanks to his work in Provo, where he developed into one of the nation's top collegiate big men. Although he's a load inside, don't be surprised to see him struggle against quicker centers and find himself in foul trouble on a nightly basis.

[cheesestar]

if he is slow he will never survive in the dallas offense

[mavsman55]

I've seen him play. He's impressive, but in the NBA would prove to be a high-scoring foul magnet. I can see him coming onto the floor, and after 10 minutes ending up with 10 points and 6 fouls.