**OFFICIAL** 2003 NBA Draft thread

[NeoV]

Don't be happy if you are the Knicks. they sucked it up again..

Lampe has some serious contract issues with his Euro team, and might not be able to play in the NBA next season...and now without a 1st round contract, I don't know...

Sweetney is another undersized post player, only he lacks the strength some of their other guys have....nothing to be happy about for the Knicks, they really need a new GM.


I am not a Laker fan, but they did exceptionally well to get Cook and Walton, two guys who will be able to contribute immediately...I wouldn't be surprised to see both of them start, actually....Kobe, Payton, Shaq, Cook, Walton...with Rush, D-Fish, and Horry if he doesn't bolt, with Medvedenko and a healthy Fox...better cast I think....Payton wants to go there, but is he willing to accept only 4.5Mil?

Kirk Hinrich over Ford is tough to figure...Collison isn't going to do much in the Pro's...and Ridenour is a nitemare on D....Sonics blew their pics big time too..

Golden St continues to draft players based on best available, not based on needs..not sure why...

"baby Shaq" is a huge 6-9 guy, they will likely leave him in Euro leagues for another year or two...

The Euro kid the Nets picked is a really good prospect, a 6-8 legit PG...probably have to wait a year on him..

 

[HansBbans]

you definitely sound like a laker fan. payton going to the lakers is a pipe dream, lets just be realistic. Also cook is pretty soft, and definitley cant guard the power fowards of the west. they basicaly just found a young robert horry.

 

[Dragnov]

Originally posted by: HansBbans
you definitely sound like a laker fan. payton going to the lakers is a pipe dream, lets just be realistic. Also cook is pretty soft, and definitley cant guard the power fowards of the west. they basicaly just found a young robert horry.

Which is exactly what they need.

Lakers starting line up -

C - Shaq
PF - PJ Brown (or another legitimate free agent PF)
SF - Devean George
PG - (Best free agent PG they can get) Otherwise Fisher...
SG - Kobe Bryant


Lakers backup -

C - Medvedenko
PG - Pargo
SG - Kareem Rush
SF - Luke Walton (I'm assuming Ric Fox is out still due to injury, or at least limited minutes)
PF - Brian Cook

Looks very good to me.

 

[Jgtdragon]

Golden St continues to draft players based on best available, not based on needs..not sure why

For trading!

 

[Masas]

Originally posted by: Gr1mL0cK

Originally posted by: HansBbans
you definitely sound like a laker fan. payton going to the lakers is a pipe dream, lets just be realistic. Also cook is pretty soft, and definitley cant guard the power fowards of the west. they basicaly just found a young robert horry.

Which is exactly what they need.

Lakers starting line up -

C - Shaq
PF - PJ Brown (or another legitimate free agent PF)
SF - Devean George
PG - (Best free agent PG they can get) Otherwise Fisher...
SG - Kobe Bryant


Lakers backup -

C - Medvedenko
PG - Pargo
SG - Kareem Rush
SF - Luke Walton (I'm assuming Ric Fox is out still due to injury, or at least limited minutes)
PF - Brian Cook

Looks very good to me.

I HOPE the best PG they find is Gary Payton...
he SEEMS like a guy who wants to win, and doesn't care about money too much...unlike most of the "I wanna win" guys...
and he would look GOOD in purple and gold...

 

[Dragnov]

I HOPE the best PG they find is Gary Payton...
he SEEMS like a guy who wants to win, and doesn't care about money too much...unlike most of the "I wanna win" guys...
and he would look GOOD in purple and gold...

I do think Gary Payton is actual more believable than the rest of the people who say they mainly want a championship. However, I believe the Lakers are going to take a legitimate defensive PF w/ their mid level exception. It's just such a huge need. I don't expect Robert to back, especially w/ the pick of Cook. That only leaves the veterans exception, which is just so meager that I HIGHLY doubt Gary Payton will take. I'm hoping they can trade Fisher and a few other junk (Samaki Walker especially) though to free up some room.

 

[Lyfer]

Originally posted by: fritolays

Originally posted by: Francodman

Originally posted by: fritolays

Originally posted by: tokamak
espn. yes lebron is that good. kobe, tmac, and kevin garnett were all drafted out of high school

A.I. also

A.I. went to georgetown.

hahah, you're right

damn all this time i thought he came straight out of high school LOL!

, thanx for the laugh.

 

[CrazyDe1]

Man, I don't know how you draft a guy like Darko ahead of a Duane Wade...I mean this guy is playing in Europe and only averages 9.5 points a game. The other thing is you look at the 2nd round and how do most of those guys get drafted and Hollis Price doesn't get drafted? I'm a Colorado fan and saw the crap he pulled all the time. He was a big time player on a big time team...I seriously don't get how people rate players based on athleticism and potential. Why wouldn't you go with what they actually did against competition? Last year me and my friends were saying Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas were gonna be awesome...we read things like Arenas scores 34 points to lead his team to victory against a Michael Jordan led team in a pickup game. That kind of stuff matters. Duane Wade single handedly carried his Marquette team. Caron Butler dominated in the tournament the year he got drafted. Why don't people look more at what the guy does against competition on a big time stage rather than just potential?

It's like Tskitivishkili last year. He plays 11 minutes a game for his Italian league team. He averages like 4 points a game and somehow gets drafted in the lottery? WTF?? At least with Hilario we saw him dominate the US team. I mean, after Brazil played the US in, I think it was the world games, all the US guys were like that guy is gonna be awesome. But no, they go and draft some guy because he's supposed to be good?

 

[First]

God, I was just watching one of LeBron's HS games today and I can't help but wonder if he's not going to immediately be great in the NBA. Honestly, this guy is truly amazing...

Anyway, draft pretty much went as expected (except for Lampe, poor guy). Out of the good teams (Mavs, Spurs, Lakers, Kings, Pistons, Nets, etc.) the Pistons easily got the best pick with Darko (duh), with the Lakers definitely getting the second best pickups out of the top teams. The first is a young (23 years) 6-10 PG from Illinois who is a tremendously good FT shooter and is exactly what the Lakers need as a starting PG (unless Lakers keep Horry). Luke Walton was their second pickup and by far the best. Walton is an excellent passing SF (if you?ve ever watched college bball it?s well known that he?s renown for his passing ability) and will fit perfectly into the Shaq-centered triangle offense. Can?t wait to see how that helps the Lakers? defense.

Mavs got the third best pickups out of last seasons top teams with a 7-footter from China who should do very well as a backup C or big PG to Bradley/Dirk (unless Bradley?s traded of course). What?s more significant about this pickup is that it will indefinitely help the Mavs become a better defensive team (ever heard the phrase ?there?s no D in Dallas?), unless he is a total idiot (lol, kind of like Bradley). The Mavs? best pickup by far was a 6-7 shooter from Wake Forest named Josh Howard. He?ll do superbly as a backup SG (possibly PG) for the Mavs, especially considering their style of play. Having watched a few Wake Forest games I have to say that his defense was quite sharp and that could definitely be a good thing for the Mavs, especially as he matures.

Kings got the shaft while the Spurs and Nets picked up some foreign players I?ve never heard of that most likely won?t amount to much, but who knows.

 

[CrazyDe1]

Originally posted by: Evan Lieb
God, I was just watching one of LeBron's HS games today and I can't help but wonder if he's not going to immediately be great in the NBA. Honestly, this guy is truly amazing...

Anyway, draft pretty much went as expected (except for Lampe, poor guy). Out of the good teams (Mavs, Spurs, Lakers, Kings, Pistons, Nets, etc.) the Pistons easily got the best pick with Darko (duh), with the Lakers definitely getting the second best pickups out of the top teams. The first is a young (23 years) 6-10 PG from Illinois who is a tremendously good FT shooter and is exactly what the Lakers need as a starting PG (unless Lakers keep Horry). Luke Walton was their second pickup and by far the best. Walton is an excellent passing SF (if you?ve ever watched college bball it?s well known that he?s renown for his passing ability) and will fit perfectly into the Shaq-centered triangle offense. Can?t wait to see how that helps the Lakers? defense.

Mavs got the third best pickups out of last seasons top teams with a 7-footter from China who should do very well as a backup C or big PG to Bradley/Dirk (unless Bradley?s traded of course). What?s more significant about this pickup is that it will indefinitely help the Mavs become a better defensive team (ever heard the phrase ?there?s no D in Dallas?), unless he is a total idiot (lol, kind of like Bradley). The Mavs? best pickup by far was a 6-7 shooter from Wake Forest named Josh Howard. He?ll do superbly as a backup SG (possibly PG) for the Mavs, especially considering their style of play. Having watched a few Wake Forest games I have to say that his defense was quite sharp and that could definitely be a good thing for the Mavs, especially as he matures.

Kings got the shaft while the Spurs and Nets picked up some foreign players I?ve never heard of that most likely won?t amount to much, but who knows.

Man, I really don't agree with anything you've said. I don't think Lebron is ever going to be truly great. He'll be a JR Rider. He'll average like 18 points a game and have a few amazing games and completely suck the next night. He was playing against guys in high school half his size. I've seen a few Lebron games and it seems like he doesn't do anything offensively except dunk and putbacks. All his points are off dunks or putbacks. In the McDonalds game he missed every shot that wasn't a dunk or a putback. He's lazy on defense. Again, in the Mcdonalds game the other team had a 4 on 1 and he just turns around and lets them go in. Anyone halfway competitive would have tried to reject them or something. He already thinks hes the best player on the court. It seems like he already thinks hes great and hes not. The one thing I do like is his passing.

Luke Walton a good player? hahahahah yeah right...I remember last year thinking who in their right mind would draft Mike Dunleavy Jr in the first round? Well, I think the exact same thing about Luke Walton. How would he help your defense? Luke Walton has this problem called slow. Guys in the NBA are big and quick. He's going to get burned every single time. They're both terrible and won't do anything in the NBA. You also say things like this guy will do superbly as a backup. How can you be superb as a backup? You draft guys to contribute, not to be a good backup. No team ever goes in trying to draft a 6th man.

 

[First]

Originally posted by: CrazyDe1

Originally posted by: Evan Lieb
God, I was just watching one of LeBron's HS games today and I can't help but wonder if he's not going to immediately be great in the NBA. Honestly, this guy is truly amazing...

Anyway, draft pretty much went as expected (except for Lampe, poor guy). Out of the good teams (Mavs, Spurs, Lakers, Kings, Pistons, Nets, etc.) the Pistons easily got the best pick with Darko (duh), with the Lakers definitely getting the second best pickups out of the top teams. The first is a young (23 years) 6-10 PG from Illinois who is a tremendously good FT shooter and is exactly what the Lakers need as a starting PG (unless Lakers keep Horry). Luke Walton was their second pickup and by far the best. Walton is an excellent passing SF (if you?ve ever watched college bball it?s well known that he?s renown for his passing ability) and will fit perfectly into the Shaq-centered triangle offense. Can?t wait to see how that helps the Lakers? defense.

Mavs got the third best pickups out of last seasons top teams with a 7-footter from China who should do very well as a backup C or big PG to Bradley/Dirk (unless Bradley?s traded of course). What?s more significant about this pickup is that it will indefinitely help the Mavs become a better defensive team (ever heard the phrase ?there?s no D in Dallas?), unless he is a total idiot (lol, kind of like Bradley). The Mavs? best pickup by far was a 6-7 shooter from Wake Forest named Josh Howard. He?ll do superbly as a backup SG (possibly PG) for the Mavs, especially considering their style of play. Having watched a few Wake Forest games I have to say that his defense was quite sharp and that could definitely be a good thing for the Mavs, especially as he matures.

Kings got the shaft while the Spurs and Nets picked up some foreign players I?ve never heard of that most likely won?t amount to much, but who knows.

Man, I really don't agree with anything you've said. I don't think Lebron is ever going to be truly great. He'll be a JR Rider. He'll average like 18 points a game and have a few amazing games and completely suck the next night. He was playing against guys in high school half his size. I've seen a few Lebron games and it seems like he doesn't do anything offensively except dunk and putbacks. All his points are off dunks or putbacks. In the McDonalds game he missed every shot that wasn't a dunk or a putback. He's lazy on defense. Again, in the Mcdonalds game the other team had a 4 on 1 and he just turns around and lets them go in. Anyone halfway competitive would have tried to reject them or something. He already thinks hes the best player on the court. It seems like he already thinks hes great and hes not. The one thing I do like is his passing.

Luke Walton a good player? hahahahah yeah right...I remember last year thinking who in their right mind would draft Mike Dunleavy Jr in the first round? Well, I think the exact same thing about Luke Walton. How would he help your defense? Luke Walton has this problem called slow. Guys in the NBA are big and quick. He's going to get burned every single time. They're both terrible and won't do anything in the NBA. You also say things like this guy will do superbly as a backup. How can you be superb as a backup? You draft guys to contribute, not to be a good backup. No team ever goes in trying to draft a 6th man.

I honestly have to question how much you've watched LeBron James play. To say that his offensive game consists of just dunks and putbacks is a gross misrepresentation of his offensive ability. His quickness, strength and stamina are simply amazing for an 18 year old. This fact (his conditioned body that is) has been discussed ad nauseam, so it's well known that he's physically ready for the NBA. It's hard to tell how mentally ready LeBron is, but to say he will turn out to be a JR Rider based on HS games is ridiculous. I'm not saying he's going to be the next Jordan, but I bet he'll be better than a JR Rider, and I bet my opinion is widely shared with people who have followed LeBron closely.

I also have to ask if you've watched any Arizona games (Walton slow? How?). Walton's most likely not going to be a great player, but he's definitely going to be a good NBA player if he simply continues to work on his game. And I'm not sure what you mean when you say "You draft guys to contribute, not to be a good backup." Is it somehow impossible for a backup to contribute? And to say that teams don't draft players for 6th man positions is ridiculous. By picking up players in the draft teams are naturally forced to consider how good of a backup that player will be if last year's starting squad is the same. This isn't a hard concept to understand, not all teams draft players with the intention of starting them, therefore they must ascertain newly drafted player(s)'s abilities at backup.

 

[Miramonti]

<FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #c0c0c0">Lebron = Jr Ryder?

We'll see if he's the next mj or magic, but he's quick enough, strong enough, tall enough, has the hops, and is smart enough, (and good enough imo) at this point to be a future superstar in the league. And doggonit, people like him! (unlike ryder ). It will be very difficult guarding points tho, which he stated.

Regarding the lakers, I'm looking forward to seeing cook. He's underrated imo...and excellent shooter, a big game player, and a good shot blocker, very athletic. He worked out alot before his senior season and his added bulk really helped his game. Great pickup.

I'd love to see walton do well, but I read an article suggesting he'd play small forward??? Definitely too slow there but he's a very smart player.
</FONT>