Grading the West: Pacific Division Review

Western Conference Draft/Overall Team Analysis
Team by Team

Pacific Division:

Golden State Warriors
Players Selected: none

The Warriors have their balls in a steady firm grasp by Jerry Stackhouse, currently getting paid Twenty-Seven Million Dollars. $27,000,000.00 USD. When he comes off the books next year, along with teammates Yao Ming, Paccelis Morlende, and all but two of their other players, they'll be able to make a huge splash. It should be a monumental offseason for the Warriors franchise, with both of their picks for the first time since anyone can remember, and almost $45,000,000.00 in cap room. IFlip should definitely have some fun.

Probable Starting Five:
C Yao Ming B+ C- D- B C+ C
F Robert Swift B+ D D A- C+ C
F Hedo Turkoglu B- A- C B- C C
G Jerry Stackhouse B- B+ F+ B+ C- D
G Paccelis Morlende C A A- B+ D+ C

Los Angeles Clippers
Players Selected: G Austin Rivers, F Andrew Nicholson

SG Austin Rivers B- B- C B- C-
Scouted Selected: A

PF Andrew Nicholson B- D+ D C+ C+
Scouted Potential: C

The Clippers went ahead and picked, probably the guy that should have gone in the top 3. Austin Rivers comes in with excellent scoring abilities, Masterful ball handling and solid defense to boot. The big question on Rivers is whether he can translate his skills to the SSBL. Many have wondered how effective his already lacking distribution skills will be in the faster paced pro league, or how far his lack of defensive intensity will hold him back.

Some questions for the young Rivers, however, he has the potential to be a star in this league, and there probably won’t be many hurdles for him to jump to get to that point early. Their other draftee, Andrew Nicholson, on the other hand, is a guy full of questions along with potential. If he can keep his head on straight and focus on the game, Nicholson could become a scorer in lieu of Leon Powe’s and his departure last season. At this rate, on the Clippers, anyone has a chance to come in and make a splash. GM Brian is still waiting for a couple of his past top picks (Monroe, Motiejunas) to actually show up and play to their potential. A few look like lost causes, including Eric Gordon, whom he just traded away.

Brian is proving that he isn’t going to give these young guys much patience if they don’t want to learn how to win quickly. Brian is a winner, and he could very well ship most of these players out by the end of next season if they hadn’t grasped the concept by then.

Probable Starting Five:
C Jerome Jordan B- C- D+ B B B
F Taj Gibson B+ D+ C- B- B- C
F Marshon Brooks B C+ C B C+ C
G Austin Rivers B- B- C B- C-
G Ricky Rubio C+ C+ A- B C- A

Los Angeles Lakers
Players Selected: G Marquis Teague, G Tomas Satoransky

PG Marquis Teague B- C+ B- B+ C-
Scouted Potential: A

SG Tomas Satoransky C B B- C+ D+
Scouted Potential: B

Rarely does a team with 6 SG’s on their team take two guards in a draft. Afro must have seen some great hope in Satoransky with his 2nd round pick, as the rookie becomes one of the six total SG’s on the Lakers. However, Los Angeles struck gold with it’s first round pick in Marquis Teague. This sure shot All-Star will log heavy minutes in an ill equipped PG position on the team.

Afro must have some more moves up his sleeve, because as it stands, the team has one bigman from a recent trade with Memphis, and DeJuan Blair doesn’t seem fit to start for the team just yet. However, with Daequan Cook, Andrei Kirilenko and now Donte Greene and Marquis Teague, 4/5 of their starting lineup is pretty solid. They just need to move some of those unused wing players for some bigs and this team could be fighting for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

Probable Starting Five:
C DeJuan Blair C+ C- D+ B- B+ B
F Andrei Kirilenko B- B+ D+ A C+ D
F Donte Greene B A- C B+ C+ B
G Daequan Cook B B+ B B- C C
G Marquis Teague B- C+ B- B+ C- A

Phoenix Suns
Players Selected: F Perry Jones, G Bradley Beal, F Joshua Smith

F Perry Jones B C+ C B C+
Scouted Potential: A

SG Bradley Beal C+ B+ C+ B- C-
Scouted Potential: A

PF Joshua Smith B C- D C+ C+
Scouted Potential: B

Phoenix was lucky enough to land the 1st overall draft selection in the 2012 draft, with which they selected Baylor standout Perry Jones. Jones is a well equipped Forward who has the athleticism and perimeter game to play the Small Forward, and the rebounding and toughness to bang in the post with Power Forwards. It should be exciting to see how Jones develops, especially given the fact that Tristan Thompson is apparently the team’s starting PF, and Austin Daye manning the 3 spot until the draft. It seems management is ready to give Perry Jones the keys to the SF slot, and if so, they need to make sure he is conditioned enough to play on the perimeter.

Also selected in the top ten was Bradley Beal of Florida University. Beal was arguably the best SG available in the draft, with a set of skills matched by few others. Beal can get to the rim, handle the ball if needed, and defend the perimeter pretty good for a rookie. One thing that doesn’t need to be mentioned about Beal is his lights-out shooting ability, which should be his meal ticket in the SSBL.

Finally, rounding out the 3 selections is a player who some thought could go as high as the lottery, despite his conditioning and weight issues, Joshua Smith. Smith is a very nice post player on offense, and he uses his size to bull his way around the basket for offensive rebounds and quick putbacks. Smith should fit right in as the 3rd big off the bench for Phoenix and will provide much needed post offense and in general some bulk to put along side Ha Sueng Jin. The biggest question mark on this team is probably at PG, where the team is still looking for a traditional pass-first PG who can handle the ball better than Kemba Walker (3.2topg).

Probable Starting Five:
C Ha Sueng Jin B- D D+ A A- C
F Tristan Thompson B- D+ D B+ C+ A
F Perry Jones B C+ C B C+ A
G Bradley Beal C+ B+ C+ B- C- A
G Kemba Walker C+ A- B A- C- B

Portland Trailblazers
Players Selected: F LeBryan Nash, F Renardo Sidney

SF LeBryan Nash B C+ C B C
Scouted Potential: A

PF Renardo Sidney B- C D C B-
Scouted Potential: C

LeBryan Nash should be able to come in and play an important role for the Blazers now that they have opened up a lot of room with the dealing of Michael Beasley, Andrew Bogut and Christian Eyenga last season. However, just because there isn’t a logjam anymore, doesn’t mean there won’t be competition; Lenny Cooke, the 6 year veteran, will provide Nash with enough motivation to want to keep getting better and could end up playing a crucial role in the development of the ex-Cowboy.

In an attempt to find another young big to compliment Cole Aldrich (acquired in Bogut to Dallas trade), the Blazers also drafted Renardo Sidney of Mississippi State. Sidney, while an inadequate defender, is a nice scorer and is also a beast on the boards. With a little conditioning Sidney could become even better at both while making up for his defensive inadequacies.

Word is, the Blazers are looking to move Farmar after just one season in Portland, and sources say the team is very close to pulling the trigger on one of a few deals they have been discussing. Whether or not the team has a replacement for the flashy PG, the team has signed undrafted Free Agent Maalik Wayns to come in for the team and try out, to showcase what he may be able to offer the franchise.

Probable Starting Five:
C Cole Aldrich B C- D B+ B- B
F Zach Randolph B+ C C- C- A- C
F LeBryan Nash B C+ C B C A
G Klay Thompson B- A- C C+ C B
G Jordan Farmar B A- B B+ C- C

Sacramento Kings
Players Selected: C Fab Melo, F JaMychal Green

C Fab Melo C+ C- D B B-
Scouted Potential: A

PF JaMychal Green B- C- D+ B- B-
Scouted Potential: C

Sacramento was able to grab two high quality big men late in the draft for one reason - they took a chance. Fab Melo was arguably the 2nd best center in the draft, yet fell to the mid-first round. General Manager Will was very happy to have been able to pick him up and should introduce Melo as the teams main backup to Josh Smith, or could even take the starting role away from Saer Sene if he proves himself in Training Camp. Even though there are 7 bigs on the roster, many are ill equipped to handle the full rigor of a complete SSBL game at the time.

While they aren’t simply “6 more fouls to throw out”, they aren’t quite the guys getting to the line 10 times a game. Sene provides expert shot blocking, and has carved his niche in the league as such. If Fab Melo can bring a consistent and similar type of game, with a little offense, he could be seeing major minutes. With a dynamic backcourt of Evan Turner and Brandon Roy, along with young PG’s Ty Lawson, Will Bynum and Kyle Lowry, Sacramento looks to be on the fast track to a Conference Title bid next season.

Probable Starting Five:
C Saer Sene C+ D+ F+ B+ B+ C
F Josh Smith A- C C- A C+ C
F Gerald Wallace B+ C- D A- B- D
G Brandon Roy B+ A- B B- C C
G Evan Turner B- A- B+ B C+ A

Seattle Supersonics
Players Selected: none

Seattle is coming off a great season in which they completely reshaped the team to launch themselves into the playoffs. Without many moves foreseen by anyone around the league, Seattle looks to be a favorite in the Pacific Division for the 2nd straight year.

Probable Starting Five:
C Greg Oden B- D F+ A- B+ A
F Leon Powe B+ D+ D- B B+ C
F Chase Budinger B+ A C- B- C- B
G Monta Ellis A- A- B+ A D+ C
G George Hill B- B B- A- C- A