**Official 2009 NBA Draft Thread** (ON RIGHT NOW)

The entire Spain-USA FINALS game in the Olympics is online.

When I get the chance I'll rewatch the whole game to carefully analyze Ricky Rubio.

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/player/266605.html

Originally posted by crzy:

I guess the boy band had to have a token black guy.

Originally posted by crzy:
The entire Spain-USA FINALS game in the Olympics is online.

When I get the chance I'll rewatch the whole game to carefully analyze Ricky Rubio.

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/player/266605.html

Good find!

I'll watch this when I get home tonight before the Laker game, and see how our opinions match up.

And @ pantstickle. What would a good Spanish Boy Band name be?

Originally posted by crzy:

Originally posted by socalfan21:

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by crzy:

Originally posted by socalfan21:
Dar Tucker is leaving DePaul for the NBA and has hired an Agent...

Unreal I thought he could use some more seasoning before he left for the NBA. I guess not...

Mid-late 2nd round pick.

He should change his name to Der Tucker because he's a bonafide dumbass.

Exactly.. Tucker would have been a top 10 pick in 2 years if he would have stayed at DePaul.

I wouldn't go that far.

I would. If he jus impoves his jumper he would have been something special...

Originally posted by socalfan21:

Originally posted by crzy:

Originally posted by socalfan21:

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by crzy:

Originally posted by socalfan21:
Dar Tucker is leaving DePaul for the NBA and has hired an Agent...

Unreal I thought he could use some more seasoning before he left for the NBA. I guess not...

Mid-late 2nd round pick.

He should change his name to Der Tucker because he's a bonafide dumbass.

Exactly.. Tucker would have been a top 10 pick in 2 years if he would have stayed at DePaul.

I wouldn't go that far.

I would. If he jus impoves his jumper he would have been something special...

He's already a sophomore and he's barely projected to be a late 2nd round/undrafted FA.

He's not going to magically improve his stock all the way into the top 10.

This isn't the NFL draft. Nobody flies up that high out of nowhere.

Not to mention...6-4 shooting guards without any passing skills aren't picked in the top 10.....unless they're elite, superstar talents like Eric Gordon.

The best that Dar Tucker could have done to improve his stock if he stayed in school is to make it into the bottom of the first round.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by crzy:
The entire Spain-USA FINALS game in the Olympics is online.

When I get the chance I'll rewatch the whole game to carefully analyze Ricky Rubio.

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/player/266605.html

Good find!

I'll watch this when I get home tonight before the Laker game, and see how our opinions match up.

And @ pantstickle. What would a good Spanish Boy Band name be?

Los Backdoor Boys

http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-usc-sidney29-2009apr29,0,6331872.story

Renardo Sidney verbally commited to USC, but backed out and is now going to Mississip State to play with 2010 first rounder...Jarvis Varnado.

Sucks for USC.

Sidney is 16th on Rivals, and 9th on Scout for 2009 high school basketball players.



http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?sport=2&pr_key=41967

Somebody needs to get that kid to the gym. He's gonna cost himself a lot of money if he enters the NBA looking like that.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:
Somebody needs to get that kid to the gym. He's gonna cost himself a lot of money if he enters the NBA looking like that.

Yup. His stock is already falling. Not only for his "baby fat" but also for his lack of effort.

He went from 10th best on Rivals.com for 2009 High Schoolers to 16, and from #5 best on Scout.com to 9th.

This is what he used to look like two years ago as a high school sophomore....he led Artesia to a state title and then went to Fairfax.



He's still a mammoth with a lot of talent, but if he heads down this path, he'll be another Eddy Curry.

You're making me realize how uneducated I've become about the preps/college. I used to know all these dudes as soon as they hit the radar, and this guy plays in my back yard and I've never heard of him.

This is probably the least I've known about a draft since '91.

Wow.

Jarvis Varnado is considering entering the NBA draft. I thought he would stay for sure. Best shotblocker in the nation (including Hasheem Thabeet).

I have a hardon for shotblockers. I was obsessed with Sean Williams in the 2007 Draft.

Even though Vanardo is only 6-9. Basically he's Josh Smith without the insane athleticism.

Late first round pick.

Assuming the Lakers traded up into the 20-22 range, Pete, who would you want them to draft?

Originally posted by crzy:
Assuming the Lakers traded up into the 20-22 range, Pete, who would you want them to draft?

My #1 choice would be Jrue Holiday, simply because I've seen him in the high teens/low twenties in a couple of mocks and he has no business being that low, especially in a so-so draft. He needs a little more time to "cook", but would be able to get a year of experience in behind Fisher & Shannon Brown. Has the potential to be a very good defender in the pros, and his deficiencies (not really a true PG, not great at getting his own shot) are minimized by the triangle and guys on the Lakers that create open looks for role players. He has the long term potential to be one of the top 5 players in this draft, but he's definitely not a sure thing.

My #2 choice would be Stephen Curry, if he were to fall for some reason. I think he could contribute right away, and his questionable PG skills wouldn't be much of an issue in the triangle. He's not a notable defender (neither is Fisher), but the Laker offense would be devastating with Kobe, Gasol, & Co. creating open looks for Curry.

My #3 choice is Gani Lawal, simply because I think he's the most talented player that will likely be available at that point...but somebody ALWAYS drops inexplicably, so who knows. If it's not Holiday or Curry, I'd want BPA.

I don't think any of those three players will be there at 20 after workouts.

I think Holiday shoots up back to the top 10, Curry is in the 10-15 range, and Lawal goes between 10-20 somewhere.

Lawal is top 8 talent, but came out too early

You're probably right. If Teague's there he'd be on that list as well. When I have a little more time I'll do a Top 30 board or something, although that would diverge slightly from what I'd want as a Laker fan.

Does Austin Daye fit the "likely to be available" description there? If he does, he'd probably be #4. Teague's projecting in the high teens as well, and I'd love to have him.