Post by heelsguy25 on Mar 17, 2011 13:17:04 GMT -5
The SSBL Times is back for another installment of action around SSBL. The 2008 SSBL Draft is complete and with that we will grade the teams based on their made draft selections. We will take a look at how each team did in the first round of the draft. We will also take a look at how the player selected should fit on the team.
Dallas Mavericks
Player(s) selected: No picks
Denver Nuggets
Player(s) selected: PF Blake Griffin, PG Rodrigue Beaubois, C Omer Asik
Grade: B
Mixed reviews for how the draft went for Denver this year. Denver had the #1 overall pick and Griffin was their guy. He looks to overtake McDyess as the starting PF, which means McDyess shifts to C. Hope that experiment works out well for them. Their other 2 picks were a bit of head scratchers. They took Rodrigue Beaubois with the 14th overall pick, and most here wonder why. Rodrigue Beaubois is a young player with potential, but Mario Chalmers is a more polished PG and was available. The nuggets lack a solid passing PG and Chalmers could have been that for them. He would have either been a good starter or a solid bench option at the PG spot. The third and final 2st round selection for Denver was a flyer type pick we assume. Omer Asik is a big out of Turkey. The Nuggets need more bulk, and decided Asik wouldn't fit that as he was dealt shortly after the draft to Portland. All in all an ok draft for the Nuggets who are looking to get younger as the year goes on.
Houston Rockets
Player(s) selected: No picks
Minnesota Timberwolves
Player(s) selected: C Ante Tomic
Grade: B-
A solid foreign pick for Minnesota. The Timberwolves made a nice pick here as they get a young player who wont come over for a year and affect their roster spots yet. Tomic could be a nice bench player after a year or two in the D League. We know some GMs were hoping Tomic would have fallen into the 2nd round.
San Antonio Spurs
Player(s) selected: C Semih Erdin, PG Goran Dragic
Grade: B
The Spurs went overseas with both players. Dragic will join the club this season, while Erdin will not. Dragic is another PG and may see D League time since the backcourt in San Antonio is still crowded. Erdin will be a nice bench player once he arrives in the states.
Utah Jazz
Player(s) selected: PF Ryan Anderson
Grade: B-
Utah grabbed a player that wont see much time unless he progresses well in his D League stint. Anderson is a good shooting PF, but wont see PT since hes behind a few other players on the DC. Another player the Jazz could have gone with is SG Courtney Lee.
Vancouver Grizzlies
Player(s) selected: SG Eric Gordon
Grade: A
The Grizzlies roster is bare bones and adding a sharp shooting player like Gordon helps a bunch., Very good draft by Vancouver as they could have gone in several directions with their selection. Gordon could be a very solid candidate for ROY.
Golden State Warriors
Player(s) selected: No picks
Los Angeles Clippers
Player(s) selected: PF Kevin Love
Grade: B-
The Clippers feel they had a solid draft, some feel otherwise. The Clippers fell in love with their pick, but some are still shaking their heads. The pick adds another PF to an already crowded frontcourt in LA. Love is a solid rebounder, but outside of that not much better then some of the PFs already on the roster. A player like Eric Gordon or Danila Gallinari would have been a much better pick. Gallo could have filled their SF hole.
Los Angeles Lakers
Player(s) selected: No picks
Phoenix Suns
Player(s) selected: No picks
Portland Trailblazers
Player(s) selected: No picks
Sacramento Kings
Player(s) selected: PG Stephen Curry
Grade: B
Curry can shoot the lights out, but will he be the starter in Sacramento? Some feel that the Kings could have gone with Gordon here, moving Roy to SF, Smith to PF and Horford to C. Curry needs work on his handles and defense to become more of an all round player. It will be interesting to see how things shake out in Sac-Town.
Seattle Supersonics
Player(s) selected: PF Serge Ibaka, SF Chase Budinger
Grade: B
Seattle continues to rebuild. Ibaka will stay overseas for one season and should battle Lorbek for a starting spot if he has a nice season. Budinger becomes part of a crowded SF crop, but could see alot of PT due to his shooting ability. We feel that JaVale McGee will be the better player than Ibaka and could have contributed right away for Seattle, instead of waiting on Ibaka like they will have to do.
Dallas Mavericks
Player(s) selected: No picks
Denver Nuggets
Player(s) selected: PF Blake Griffin, PG Rodrigue Beaubois, C Omer Asik
Grade: B
Mixed reviews for how the draft went for Denver this year. Denver had the #1 overall pick and Griffin was their guy. He looks to overtake McDyess as the starting PF, which means McDyess shifts to C. Hope that experiment works out well for them. Their other 2 picks were a bit of head scratchers. They took Rodrigue Beaubois with the 14th overall pick, and most here wonder why. Rodrigue Beaubois is a young player with potential, but Mario Chalmers is a more polished PG and was available. The nuggets lack a solid passing PG and Chalmers could have been that for them. He would have either been a good starter or a solid bench option at the PG spot. The third and final 2st round selection for Denver was a flyer type pick we assume. Omer Asik is a big out of Turkey. The Nuggets need more bulk, and decided Asik wouldn't fit that as he was dealt shortly after the draft to Portland. All in all an ok draft for the Nuggets who are looking to get younger as the year goes on.
Houston Rockets
Player(s) selected: No picks
Minnesota Timberwolves
Player(s) selected: C Ante Tomic
Grade: B-
A solid foreign pick for Minnesota. The Timberwolves made a nice pick here as they get a young player who wont come over for a year and affect their roster spots yet. Tomic could be a nice bench player after a year or two in the D League. We know some GMs were hoping Tomic would have fallen into the 2nd round.
San Antonio Spurs
Player(s) selected: C Semih Erdin, PG Goran Dragic
Grade: B
The Spurs went overseas with both players. Dragic will join the club this season, while Erdin will not. Dragic is another PG and may see D League time since the backcourt in San Antonio is still crowded. Erdin will be a nice bench player once he arrives in the states.
Utah Jazz
Player(s) selected: PF Ryan Anderson
Grade: B-
Utah grabbed a player that wont see much time unless he progresses well in his D League stint. Anderson is a good shooting PF, but wont see PT since hes behind a few other players on the DC. Another player the Jazz could have gone with is SG Courtney Lee.
Vancouver Grizzlies
Player(s) selected: SG Eric Gordon
Grade: A
The Grizzlies roster is bare bones and adding a sharp shooting player like Gordon helps a bunch., Very good draft by Vancouver as they could have gone in several directions with their selection. Gordon could be a very solid candidate for ROY.
Golden State Warriors
Player(s) selected: No picks
Los Angeles Clippers
Player(s) selected: PF Kevin Love
Grade: B-
The Clippers feel they had a solid draft, some feel otherwise. The Clippers fell in love with their pick, but some are still shaking their heads. The pick adds another PF to an already crowded frontcourt in LA. Love is a solid rebounder, but outside of that not much better then some of the PFs already on the roster. A player like Eric Gordon or Danila Gallinari would have been a much better pick. Gallo could have filled their SF hole.
Los Angeles Lakers
Player(s) selected: No picks
Phoenix Suns
Player(s) selected: No picks
Portland Trailblazers
Player(s) selected: No picks
Sacramento Kings
Player(s) selected: PG Stephen Curry
Grade: B
Curry can shoot the lights out, but will he be the starter in Sacramento? Some feel that the Kings could have gone with Gordon here, moving Roy to SF, Smith to PF and Horford to C. Curry needs work on his handles and defense to become more of an all round player. It will be interesting to see how things shake out in Sac-Town.
Seattle Supersonics
Player(s) selected: PF Serge Ibaka, SF Chase Budinger
Grade: B
Seattle continues to rebuild. Ibaka will stay overseas for one season and should battle Lorbek for a starting spot if he has a nice season. Budinger becomes part of a crowded SF crop, but could see alot of PT due to his shooting ability. We feel that JaVale McGee will be the better player than Ibaka and could have contributed right away for Seattle, instead of waiting on Ibaka like they will have to do.
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