[goodseats]

after the NCAA tournament it looks like Joakim Noah is going to ride his hype into the top 5 picks in this draft. i personally do not think he is that good of a prospect for the NBA, buti really do hope he is picked this high. This gives the magic a very legitimate shot at landing a guy like rudy gay or adam morrison. it almost gurantees that we could have rodney carney as well. i am really excited about him and tyrus thomas too, and here is to hoping that they go 1-2 in the draft this year. what a sham that would be.

 

[deanwoof]

According to Dickie V today on the Dan Patrick show, Noah is staying. Thank god cuz I think he's not worth a high pick. Nobody in the tournament game really shined much as far as what the Magic need - which is a shooter or do it everything guy at the 2/3 position.

 

[Enigma]

Another guy who's caught my eye recently was someone who wasn't in the tournament. I haven't seen him play much, but just based on what I've read, I think Brandon Rush of Kansas is someone to keep our eye on. Most sites don't think he'll enter the draft though. Skillwise, he's everything we want. He's got good SG size and strength at 6'7" 210 lbs, he's very athletic, he's a very good shooter, an efficient offensive player, a good rebounder, he's unselfish, and will give effort on defense.

He's said to not be a shut-down defender at this point but he has the athleticism and effort to become one. Technique can be taught and our two shot-blocking demons can help him out.

His downsides are that he's still raw, he tends to float around the perimeter too much and is not aggresive enough, he doesn't have picturesque form on his jumper because of some childhood injury, and will make freshman mistakes (after all, he is a freshman).

Again, most don't predict him to enter til 2007, but he did test the waters out of high school. He's also an older freshman at 20 years old, so he may want to start his career. If he does come out, we obviously wouldn't take him in the top 6. But maybe we can trade up from our second round pick, possibly a future second rounder, and/or maybe package a player to move somewhere in the mid to late first round to grab him.

Just by reading his bio, he kind of sounds like Nick Anderson. A Nick Anderson type player would be perfect for this team.

 

[JNice]

According to Dickie V today on the Dan Patrick show, Noah is staying. Thank god cuz I think he's not worth a high pick. Nobody in the tournament game really shined much as far as what the Magic need - which is a shooter or do it everything guy at the 2/3 position.

I'll believe it when I see it. Noah just won a championship and can probably ride that hype to a top 5 pick. Guys just don't turn that down. A lot of them say they will but they don't.

Hopefully not too many of the guys stay in school. If a lot of those guys come out like Noah and Thomas, Orlando could have a choice between Morrison, Gay, Carney, Roy, or Rush (although I think he stays).

Tough choice between those guys and probably less likely Morrison and/or Gay will be there.

 

[Enigma]

I'll believe it when I see it. Noah just won a championship and can probably ride that hype to a top 5 pick. Guys just don't turn that down. A lot of them say they will but they don't.

But why don't they turn that down? Because the money in the top 5 is so much better than later in the round. Noah is one of the extreme few in which that may not matter. His parents are multi-millionaires. He's definitly not hurting for cash. I'm not saying Noah will not declare, but money will not play a factor in his decision. And money is usually the #1 reason why players jump early.

 

[JNice]

But why don't they turn that down? Because the money in the top 5 is so much better than later in the round. Noah is one of the extreme few in which that may not matter. His parents are multi-millionaires. He's definitly not hurting for cash. I'm not saying Noah will not declare, but money will not play a factor in his decision. And money is usually the #1 reason why players jump early.

Ah, I still don't buy it. Money almost always matters. Look at NBA players and their contracts. They'll leave a good team to go to a crap team to make 80mil instead of 60mil. Not to mention if the kid may have some personal pride and want to make his own millions instead of using that of his parents. Plus, what else now does he have to accomplish in college? He's won it all and starred while doing it. I'm betting he goes.

 

[JT3000]

You guys sound as if you think we'll actually have a top 5 pick. If you hadn't noticed, they've already thrown out that opportunity. We'd have to get lucky in the lottery, which I doubt we do.

 

[Duck]

You guys sound as if you think we'll actually have a top 5 pick. If you hadn't noticed, they've already thrown out that opportunity. We'd have to get lucky in the lottery, which I doubt we do.

You sound like your dissapointed with the Magic winning a few games. lol.

 

[Enigma]

You guys sound as if you think we'll actually have a top 5 pick. If you hadn't noticed, they've already thrown out that opportunity. We'd have to get lucky in the lottery, which I doubt we do.

Of course we'll have a top 5 pick. We'll get the #1 pick because we still have our secret weapon.

 

[deanwoof]

As long as we dont draft a foreigner this year, anybody would be welcomed here. Almost.

 

[JT3000]

You sound like your dissapointed with the Magic winning a few games. lol.

Too little, too late. We needed the pick (assuming we don't waste it again.) I'll be happy if this streak continues into next season, but that's yet to be seen. Frankly, I'm becoming increasingly shocked that this team is winning this much with it's current lineup. Why were they not doing this before?

 

[lw32]

You sound like your dissapointed with the Magic winning a few games. lol.

As JT3000 stated, it's too little too late. Honestly it's nice to see our young guys playing well, but that higher draft pick would have helped us out a lot more. As it is though, I'm hoping we'll be set with the 6th pick which should land us a decent player.

 

[lw32]

Draftexpress has Rudy Gay falling to #7 right now, and if he's on the board when we pick I'd take him in a heartbeat. He's a top 2 talent that doesn't have the "hype" tag attached to him like Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. Sure he has his flaws and has been too passive at UConn, but he's just to big of a talent to not take the risk.

Depending on which way we go with the 6th pick, I'd keep my eyes on Hassan Adams, James White and PJ Tucker still. This draft his little depth at the 4-5 positions after the top 15 picks. Whereas the swingmen are looking pretty solid, and knowing that we're weak in the department I'd even look into both my picks being 2/3's. With Hill probably retiring, it looks like the right move.

 

[goodseats]

Rush already said that he is going to attend Kansas next year so he is out of it. Now, i still think that if noah and thomas come out we will miss out on morrison and gay, but that is fine with me because the guys i really want are brandon roy and rodney carney. i think both of them are going to be big time players even moreso than gay and morrison. its probably because i am a big time pac-10 fan, but roy is awesome, and carney i just like because he is one of those freak athletes, but he can still shoot which is really hard to find. oh and just think about how great a frountcourt could be with dwight and lamarcus aldridge, and darco. i would love it. second round, i just hope we pick the best guy available who will be able to come in and get some time. while i really do like travis deiner we all knew that he was never really going to contribute on the court. i want a guy like hassan adams, or even allen ray, who might still be there. my sleeper pick for a steal in the second round is marcus slaughter though. anybody who watched him the last couple of years at san diego state knows that this guy plays hard defense and, ala dwight howard, has a nose for rebounding. he can also hit the 17 foot jumper consistently, and has a good FT percentage. dont overlook that guy.

 

[lw32]

We're now looking at a late-lotto pick, unless the balls fall right. Ronnie Brewer, JJ Reddick and Mardy Collins will all be around. I could possibly see 1 top SF or SG fall, depending on work outs and team needs. I don't see Golden State, Boston or Houston needing a swingman really. It also tends to happen often with swingmen. Paul Pierce, Qyntel Woods, Gerald Green are all recent examples of 2/3's that dropped come draft day.

 

[rainman]

the nucleus of the team is so young that maybe moving that pick for a veteran player that could help them go deep into the playoffs may be the way to go.

 

[JNice]

..

I'm happy with our starting lineup right now but probably with Darko starting over Battie next year. Arroyo and Dooling coming off the bench at guard is fine with me. Ariza coming off the bench for Hedo is fine with me. And Dwight, Darko, and Battie will take a majority of the big man minutes.

I think we could draft Redick ... a sharpshooter with some fire and leadership characteristics and find any big cheap body as an extra big man. More than likely unless we get lucky and get a guy like Morrison or Gay I can't imagine anyone we'd be drafting that would get a whole lot of PT next year.

We had our draft in trades this year picking up Darko, Arroyo, and Ariza.

 

[rainman]

..

I'm happy with our starting lineup right now but probably with Darko starting over Battie next year. Arroyo and Dooling coming off the bench at guard is fine with me. Ariza coming off the bench for Hedo is fine with me. And Dwight, Darko, and Battie will take a majority of the big man minutes.

I think we could draft Redick ... a sharpshooter with some fire and leadership characteristics and find any big cheap body as an extra big man. More than likely unless we get lucky and get a guy like Morrison or Gay I can't imagine anyone we'd be drafting that would get a whole lot of PT next year.

We had our draft in trades this year picking up Darko, Arroyo, and Ariza.

i'd like to see them get a veteran wing player,someone like a trenton hassel or a shane battier. i think their youth is a major plus but can also be a minus, get a veteran in there without having to break the bank in terms of someone coming in and needing 25 shots a game, a grinder basically.

 

[deanwoof]

Rainman - Hassell and Battier both have over 4 years left on their contracts with Hassell's being at $4.5M a year and Battier at $5M ending at $7.5M. That's a lot of money to be throwing at a SF coming off the bench.

We have veterans already in Hill, Augmon, Battie and Outlaw. Of course Hill doesn't play, however Augmon and Outlaw are our mentors/cheerleaders and will play when called upon to. I think we should just let our guys develop together and don't make any drastic changes. In the draft, we should draft a senior/junior; someone that can help us right away instead of a project.

 

[rainman]

Rainman - Hassell and Battier both have over 4 years left on their contracts with Hassell's being at $4.5M a year and Battier at $5M ending at $7.5M. That's a lot of money to be throwing at a SF coming off the bench.

We have veterans already in Hill, Augmon, Battie and Outlaw. Of course Hill doesn't play, however Augmon and Outlaw are our mentors/cheerleaders and will play when called upon to. I think we should just let our guys develop together and don't make any drastic changes. In the draft, we should draft a senior/junior; someone that can help us right away instead of a project.

how much they made wouldnt matter to me as a fan as long as it doesnt disrupt the chemistry, i mentioned those two as examples of guys with some experiance that would add some toughness and be good in the clubhouse. there could be a lot of guys who could fit the bill. i just dont think in this draft, unless you are going to get into that top 3,there is going to be that player that is going to be of much help.