Draft Day Help - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Bayliss · 06-15-2003, 05:25 PM

This draft is so deep it's literally making my head spin. You know, it really is a good thing that I found this place because growing up in school I thought I was the only one that looked at the NBA prospects, and played "fantasy GM" to help improve certain teams. Bill Simmons writes about the ritaul that I've been doing since grade school. Anyway, looking at this draft, the Mavs can go so many directions, it truly is scary. Even though we are picking 29 and 56(?) we can find a player that could play 15-20 minutes, and fill a major hole in our team. (Since we don't have a lottery pick I'm only looking at players that we can realistically get to help us.)

Badiane
The scary thing about him to me is the resemblance to Keon Clark. But on the flipside, it looks like he'll be much more aggressive than Clark. And that is something we need. He sounds like he crash the boards, reject shots, play decent one on one defense... and is a fierce competitor.

Zarko
A poor man's Dirk? A very good pedigree. Topped it off by playing with the Yugos in the World Championships... and we'll play this summer in the European championship. Plays more of a power forward, than a small forward, but his skill set and coachibility he could switch off. If he was teamed with Dirk, they could switch back and forth on the forwards and it wouldn't matter.

Vujacic
Very similar to Planinic. At 6'7" he sounds like he could be a Jon Barry type player. He could play either guard position, shoot the ball pretty well, and **defend**. Right now he's not even on some mock drafts so we might could pick him up with the 56th pick.

Luke Walton
He is literally a jack of all trades but a master of none. He could be a steal if he slips to the late 50's. (He is projected in the 2nd round.) He's never going to be mistaken with an athletic swingman but if /when he gets drafted, he is going to have a great career because he has a knack of doing the little things to make teams win.

Okay... I picked 4 (2 for the first round... 2 for the 2nd round) Now you give me 4 realistic possibilities that you'd love to see on the team.

Evilmav2 · 06-15-2003, 09:11 PM

Malick Badiane
There's not a lot that I can add to what Bayliss and others have written about Badiane, but just based upon what I have been reading, it sounds like we would be able to find minutes off of the bench pretty quickly for the athletic forward- and that kind of immediate productive ability might prove to be a valuable commodity indeed over our next couple of years of playoff contention.

Zoran Planinic
Any 20 year old 6-8 player described as having a "lethal" outside shot, while being an incredibly proficient passer sounds like a man who might be able to fit in pretty darned well with these Mavs. A guy who can hit open shots and pass will fit in very neatly here, and like Badiane, I think that Planinic's play might well find him a lot of minutes in our system...

Slavko Vranes
You can't teach height, and the 7-6 Vranes has a profusion of it. Slavko's sturdy but athletic frame sounds like it might fare better over the years than bulkier giants like Muresan or Smits (late in Rik's career), and he is definitely no easily pushed around "stickman" ala Mr. Bradley or a Manute Bol. Add to his impressive physical gifts his reputed good shooting ability, and it looks to me like Vranes might well be a worthwhile project player who could eventually become a pivot worthy of succeeding the Shawn Bradley era of Dallas Maverick's history...

Victor Khryapa
This "Kirilenko Clone" sounds like just what the doctor ordered to be able to fill our gaping void at small forward. 6-9 with long arms and excellent athleticism, Victor sounds like he might grow into a good role as a good scoring utility forward and Pippen-like defensive stopper. Add to the mix his decent shooting ability (something critical on a Nelson team), slightly sub-Kirilenko athleticism, and his also reputedly high energy level and Khryapa sounds like someone who really might be a great pick toward the bottom of the 1st round...

David · 06-15-2003, 10:14 PM

My worry about the draft is the over-hype. Everybody is the next(fill-in-the-blank) and is seldom as good as the guy he was supposed to resemble. I've sat through "the next Karl Malone", Randy White, as an example. There is a thread in the "around the NBA" section dealing with this and it is a concern. When we start thinking the 29th pick in the draft is going be able to play 15-20 minutes on a WCFs team, it's may be time to reign in the enthusiasm. I would be delighted if that were the case, but I will believe it, when I see it.

Bayliss · 06-15-2003, 10:39 PM

How many minutes does Stephen Jackson get on the Spurs team?

How many minutes does Speedy Claxton get?

Manu Ginobili?

They all get decent amount of minutes, and they were all selected later than the 29th pick. Those 3 players fill a need on the Spurs (athleticism and explosiveness). Why can't the Mavs find a player or two that fills their needs: a rugged interior presence or a starting 3?

Evilmav2 · 06-16-2003, 01:59 AM

Who is to say whether our draft pick(s) this year will be able to play or not?

Obviously, picking at the 29th spot stacks the odds against that possibility, but depending on who we pick up through trades or free-agency, one of our rookies may very well play a role in our rotation next year. Najera started his first game as a Maverick at small forward, and I don't see any reason why a seasoned or skilled rookie wouldn't be able to take advantage of that same SF void (even three years after Najera's rookie year). I certainly don't think it impossible that a Mavs' drafted Planinic or a Khyrapa, would find it that difficult to take some minutes away from whatever of this year's cast of small-forward stumblebums we choose to retain next year...

ocelot_ark · 06-16-2003, 02:35 AM

Quote:

I certainly don't think it impossible that a Mavs' drafted Planinic or a Khyrapa, would find it that difficult to take some minutes away from whatever of this year's cast of small-forward stumblebums we choose to retain next year...

I thought Planinic was more of a PG?

Mandyahl · 06-16-2003, 02:38 AM

Quote:

I thought Planinic was more of a PG?

which is why he will make the perfect small forward in nellie's system [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

David · 06-16-2003, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Bayliss
How many minutes does Stephen Jackson get on the Spurs team?

How many minutes does Speedy Claxton get?

Manu Ginobili?

They all get decent amount of minutes, and they were all selected later than the 29th pick. Those 3 players fill a need on the Spurs (athleticism and explosiveness). Why can't the Mavs find a player or two that fills their needs: a rugged interior presence or a starting 3?

I think Jackson and Claxton have been knocking around the league a while and Ginobili was drafted a couple of years ago, I think. Manu is not your typical rookie, as he was an MVP of the Italian league last year, or somesuch. He was like getting a veteran rookie. It takes luck to get a guy like that. If the Mavs had hung on to Gordon Giricek, they would have had the same thing.

Evilmav2 · 06-16-2003, 08:09 AM

I thought Planinic was more of a PG?

PG perhaps... But a 20 year old, 6-8 point guard with a "lethal" outside shot and a "knack for finding open players" and endowed with "surprising athleticism". That sounds like exactly the kind of small forward I would love to see the Mavericks' draft...

We might have to trade up to get the man, but just judging on what I have read about him, Planinic has just the kind of skills and size to cause significant mismatches on offense (something we know Nellie loves) and the only thing that might prevent him from contributing sooner rather than later, would be how quickly he adjusts to playing defense in the league...

Again, I am no draft expert, but knowing these Mavs, and barring a significant roster change I see no reason that a young, athletic small forward wouldn't at least find some minutes coming off the bench next year. And furthermore, I think that such said player would have a real opportunity to play himself into quite a significant role on the team by infusing some playmaking into the empty, bereft void that has been our small forward rotation for the last few years (after all, why did we bring Rigadeau over at the midseason mark?)...

I reallly don't see a young big man playing anything but garbage time next year, but a passing-small forward like Planinic might be a different matter indeed...

Rhylan · 06-16-2003, 09:16 AM

Claxton was drafted in 2000, blew out his knee and missed his entire rookie year. He played small-time minutes for Philly in '01-'02, and was traded to SA for Mark Bryant and 2002 draftee John Salmons before this season.