DeJuan Blair vs. Big Baby

[MVP]

Blair is a type of player that is probably going to slip, especially is he measures out below 6'8". I was thinking that if he slips into the 20s, would it be a more prudent move to buy a pick with 3M and get Blair instead of resigning Baby for 3-4M a year? Going the Blair route would be cheaper since Celtics would have to pay 3-4M x 2= 6-8M for Big Baby because of the luxury tax, but for Blair they would have to pay 3M + ~1.2M x 2=~5.4M. And after next year, the savings would be even greater.

There are a few teams in the 20 range who might be willing to sell their pick. New Orleans at 21(sold their pick last year and losing money...might have to sell pick to keep Paul/West/Chandler together), Minnesota at 18 (since they have 2 other 1st rounders), Atlanta at 19 (cheap ownership group and have Williams/Bibby/Zaza going into free agency) and Utah at 20 (save money to resign Boozer + Millsap).

[Evantime34]

I think they are very similar players. Blair has a higher ceiling but if we were to replace Baby with Blair this year it would be a large step back. What made Baby great this postseason in our offense was the development of his jumper. A jumper that Blair does not have.
Although I love Blair we really need someone closer to 7 feet as a backup (I know he has a 7'3 wingspan) not someone who is probably more like 6'6

[Chris]

I wonder how much he will slip.  Even though undersized PF's normally do, this is a terrible draft with very few big men who are anywhere close to producing in the pros.  My guess is he won't make it to #20.

With that said, I also don't think he will be as good of an NBA player as Davis.  What has made Davis as good as he is, is his skill and BBIQ.  Blair is much more of a pure bruiser, who excelled at beating up on weaker college players.  He is not going to be able to do that as much in the pros, where guys are often just as strong, but also about 6 inches taller than him. 

My guess is he ends up being somewhere between Danny Fortson and Brandon Hunter with the over/under being Craig Smith.

[wiley]

I would love to add Blair via bought pick to our free agent big signings.  Despite his lack of height he has a 7' 3" wingspan.  Basically I would want him for rebounding, energy and intensity. Said to be a great person.  I still want McDyess and a 7 footer, however...

[Evantime34]

I wonder how much he will slip.  Even though undersized PF's normally do, this is a terrible draft with very few big men who are anywhere close to producing in the pros.  My guess is he won't make it to #20.

With that said, I also don't think he will be as good of an NBA player as Davis.  What has made Davis as good as he is, is his skill and BBIQ.  Blair is much more of a pure bruiser, who excelled at beating up on weaker college players.  He is not going to be able to do that as much in the pros, where guys are often just as strong, but also about 6 inches taller than him. 

My guess is he ends up being somewhere between Danny Fortson and Brandon Hunter with the over/under being Craig Smith.

Brandon Hunter and Craig Smith are both undersized but they don't have the wingspan of Blair. Blair has the ability to finish around the rim with a soft touch. I think he'll end up being the best out of all the guys you mentioned.
I think his ceiling is Ben Wallace with the ability to finish around the hoop his floor is Brandon Hunter.

[oldmanspeaks]

Living now near Pittsburgh, I have watched Blair play many times. He has something of a different game than BB. BB has better feet/agility but BB can't hold Blairs jockstrap when it comes to rebounding.  Blair is very short (way less than 6' but has significant jumping ability and is an absolute beast on the boards. He doesn't have the dancer feet of BB nor does he have the range of BB(although he can go out 12-15 feet). However he can shove anyone around on the blocks and despite his height(Thabeet got shoved around badly everytime they matched up) he is a significant shot blocker both on the man he is guarding and from the weakside. His super long arms also disrupt entry passes and screws up the opponents passing lanes. He also has no fear from any contact by anyone of any size.  
The only thing BB and Blair have in common is that they both can put the ball on the floor for a dribble or two on the way to the hoop. Blair continually surprised people in college when he did that. His hands are NOT those of just a big banger bur more like those of a SF.
I would compare Blair more to a very big bodied Powe. Relentless on the boards and can score anywhere down low. My only real fear of his potential is that the athletic 4s will take him to the perimeter and Blair can't go 20 feet from the basket and be effective. To put it simply KG will score at will from the outside even though Blair will push KG out of any low block situation.

[cordobes]

Different players, as others have said.

I'm worried about Blair's rebounding ability (and overall potential) in the NBA though. I'll have to watch him more carefully. But he needs to lose weight to play above the rim and I don't know if that won't transform him into too much of a tweener.

[wil]

Rebounding is said to be the one trait that carries over the best from college to the pros, so I don't have any doubt that Blair will be good on the boards in the NBA.  I think he's going to be a very good player regardless of height.  Some guys just know how to rebound, and he is one of them.

In Chad Ford's chat today he was brought up, and Chad is also high on him.  He said that he can't see Blair going any higher (umm, or lower??) than the Bulls at 16, but he expects Blair will probably be off the board before then. 

[Who]

It sounds like Blair has a great chance to be a late lottery pick. If he does drop, I agree with Chris, he won't drop past #20. I don't think the C's can get to him.

[Chris]

I wonder how much he will slip.  Even though undersized PF's normally do, this is a terrible draft with very few big men who are anywhere close to producing in the pros.  My guess is he won't make it to #20.

With that said, I also don't think he will be as good of an NBA player as Davis.  What has made Davis as good as he is, is his skill and BBIQ.  Blair is much more of a pure bruiser, who excelled at beating up on weaker college players.  He is not going to be able to do that as much in the pros, where guys are often just as strong, but also about 6 inches taller than him. 

My guess is he ends up being somewhere between Danny Fortson and Brandon Hunter with the over/under being Craig Smith.

Brandon Hunter and Craig Smith are both undersized but they don't have the wingspan of Blair. Blair has the ability to finish around the rim with a soft touch. I think he'll end up being the best out of all the guys you mentioned.
I think his ceiling is Ben Wallace with the ability to finish around the hoop his floor is Brandon Hunter.

Brandon Hunter had a wingspan of 7'2.75", and measured at 6'6.5" barefoot.  I would be shocked if Blair measures any bigger than that.  My guess is he is closer to 6'6" in shoes. 

As for the Wallace comparison, you must be forgetting just how freakish an athlete Wallace was/is.  He is one of the most explosive athletes in the league.  Blair is nowhere close to that.

[MVP]

My thinking was that if we sign a guy like Sheed, then we need to replace Leon and get a 4th big that does the dirty work in the paint. Even if we resign Leon, I wouldn't expect any contribution from him next year. Having Baby and Sheed or even McDyess coming off the bench would make 4 out of 5 of our bigs being perimeter oriented (KG/Big Baby/Scal/Sheed or McDyess). So even if a guy like Blair wouldn't be as good in his rookie year as Davis in his 3rd year, he might fill a more needed role.