No Surprises: Bucks picking 10th
by Frank Madden on May 19, 2009 8:27 PM CDT
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PrintThe bad news: the Bucks didn't get lucky in the NBA draft lottery. The good news: neither did any of the teams behind them in the lottery standings. As a result, the Bucks are now officially the proud owners of the 10th pick in the 2009 draft.
Also not getting lucky were the two teams with the best chance of winning the right to draft Blake Griffin, as the Kings and Wizards were leapfrogged by the Clippers, Grizzlies, and Thunder. That's fine by me, as I'm always happy to see the first four picks being held by teams in the Western Conference.
So with the lottery out of the way, let the speculation begin. With the Grizzlies already having Mike Conley/O.J. Mayo and the Thunder having Russell Westbrook, does that mean Ricky Rubio could slip outside the top three? Is Blake Griffin doomed now that he's destined to be a Clip?
Most importantly, who do you think the the Bucks should take 10th overall? Below is a list of guys who might be there. I've excluded Griffin, Rubio, and Hasheem Thabeet since that trio seems to be in everyone's top four or so. Feel free to exclude guys you don't expect to be there, like Jordan Hill, James Harden, and Demar DeRozan. I'll include them all for the time being, but we'll try to be a little more realistic with our option as the top nine become a little more clear.
Of the guys who might be available,
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It really depends on what they plan to do about Sessions and Villanueva
Does free agency start before the draft or is it the other way around?
If they plan to keep Sessions, then they should go after Blair. If they plan to keep Villanueva, they should go after Ty Lawson.
Both are the best options out of the top 5 at their respective positions.
Crimson and Cream Machine
Baseball season = Go Brew Crew!
by dishingoutdimes on May 19, 2009 11:27 PM CDT reply actions
Draft first, then free agency
Draft is the 25th, free agency starts July 1.
I’ve been surprised by how non-committal they’ve been about re-signing Sessions, so I doubt they’ll pass on Holiday or Lawson if they think he’s the BPA. Given where the team is, I don’t think we can afford not to go BPA over need, but in reality it’s never quite so black and white. Either way, they’re going to shop the hell out of Ridnour so if they pick a young PG they’d still probably have minutes for him even if Sessions is re-signed.
All indications are that they’re far less committed to keeping Villanueva, but we’ve been saying the same thing for two years and Charlie has always stuck around. Picking Blair would probably be the easiest thing because then you have the latitude to let CV walk without being completely undermanned at PF. Still, in all likelihood you’d have to make a cost-cutting move if you want to re-sign Sessions and stay under the tax—that’s where possible deals involving Ridnour, Alexander, or RJ come into play.
Blair for PF... bid CV farewell
Blair just seems like a right fit for the Skiles system, he has enormous amount of tenacity on the defensive end and seems to be the paradigm of the classic lunch pale kind of guy. He certainly has the drive, enthusiasm and a bit of attitude to boot (be it a an electical/charged attitude but not arogant). I get a feeling of Rodman/ Wallace esque player within Blair. Rodman wasn’t particuarly tall, around 6-8, and did not really possess vertical prowess, however he knew exactly how to read the ball and position himself between the ball and his man… plus he had the disire to ‘own’ the ball. Quite similar to Blair in the way he operates and goes about his game. He’s still raw, but he has the desire and will, something that can’t be taught. We have plenty of guys to carry to offensive load, if we were to get Blair it would certainly add a nice defensive pairing together with AB and Moot.
On a side note AB seems to have a gone a real mission to make his core strength much stronger (so expect an improvement on last years post camp frame), he’s hitting the FT line training (? help on his mechanics/release) and he seems determined to reacquire his short/mid jumper – he had it in college so it’s not totally a lost cause. He doesn’t need to constanly knock down jumpers, but just develop it enough so that he’s able to knock it down efficiently enough to worry/drag his opponent out.
forgot to mention...
plus forgot to ad!…the blog’s a great read, it’s nice to read informative articles that keeps me up to date with the bucks and what’s happening… thumbs up! keep up the good work.
I’ve also been swayed by Ford to like Holiday. DeRozan seems ice cold, but I just don’t think he’ll quite get it at the next level. Seems like you pick guards if you want BPA this year, doesn’t it?
Thanks for your thoughts, guys. And welcome to the blog, spartakus.
I didn’t get the chance to see Blair that much last year but I could talk myself into liking him. He’s the kind of guy who can help you without needing touches, but then again he seems to need a lot of work—staying slim, working on his shot, developing the defensive footwork so that he can hang with quicker PFs. He doesn’t have a superstar ceiling, but picking 10th it’s tough to find those guys and in this draft that seems especially true.
I think the danger is talking yourself into a guy just because it fits a need, but the tough part is that the Bucks have backed themselves into a bit of a corner with their cap situation. I think if DeRozan somehow slipped I’d have a hard time passing on him because his potential is so much higher, but he’s obviously not a sure thing either. DeRozan and Holiday are still living off their high school reps a fair bit it seems, which always makes me a bit nervous. DeRozan at least turned it on at the end of the year, but Holiday was kind of stuck at SG and so it doesn’t seem like anyone’s seen him really get a chance to shine outside HS. I wish Holiday was more athletic, too, but that’s probably why he’s not a top five lock.
by Frank Madden on May 21, 2009 12:29 AM CDT up reply actions
That’s the thing. It seems like Holiday might truly be a distributor, and that’s just how his game is. I feel like if he had played in position he would be a top 5 lock. Maybe what happened to him at UCLA is akin to playing Bogut as a power forward for a year and he’s just meant to be a point guard. Or maybe he’s not even good enough at point guard to make it in college, who knows? Weird draft.
by MadTown Hoops on May 21, 2009 12:38 AM CDT up reply actions
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