'10-'11 CB Draft
Chicago Bulls
Team Motto: You mess with the horns, something about Bulls. Go Bulls!
Coach: Alvin Gentry-Like the actual Bulls, our first choice was Mike D'Antoni. However, after looking at all the facts around Mr. D'Antoni, and considering the needs of our team, I went with the guy most qualified. Alvin Gentry has the respect of the players, which is important with LeBron, he cares about defense, so Joakim Noah and Tony Allen don't go wanting, and he is one of the best communicators in the NBA.
Steve Nash, who won back-to-back MVP awards quarterbacking D'Antoni's up-tempo system and now seems to have gotten second life under Gentry, was sensitive to the issue when asked to expound on Gentry's strengths. "I don't want to sound like I'm demeaning Mike," Nash wrote in a text message, "because, the truth, is, we have more depth, defense and toughness on our roster." (Translation: Players such as Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley, Goran Dragic, Channing Frye, Robin Lopez and Louis Amundson, none of whom were there during the D'Antoni regime, make the Suns a stronger team.) But Nash had some very specific things to say about the job that Gentry has done.
"Alvin has empowered the bench," Nash continued. "He's given guys confidence who haven't been NBA contributors before, and that gives us more depth and more bullets in the chamber. That means more opportunities for someone to make a difference on any given night.
"Alvin has simplified our defense, erasing confusion, building cohesion and making clear not only what our roles are but what's expected of us. That allows for the all-important accountability to be met and also policed. And he will let us know without hesitation when we're not meeting our standards.
"On top of that, we all like him and trust him." (added Nash)
Starting Lineup (Round/Pick Selected)
Point Guard: Brandon Jennings, 2.8
20 Years Old, 6'1, 170 lbs, 1 year experience
15.5 PPG, 5.7 APG, 3.4 RPG
Brandon Jennings is a spectacular talent at the point who took an unusual road to the NBA, by forgoing college and instead playing for Lomottica Roma in the Italian League. Although his year there wasn't spectacular, he obviously learned something. In his first season in the NBA he started all 82 games (a pretty significant achievement for a rookie used to only playing 30-40 games in a season. Jennings in his first year had a lot of positives; he proved he could score, he could pass, and he proved he could play defense well above the level advertised when he entered the league. Kevin Pelton from 'The Basketball Prospectus':
POINT GUARD All-Defensive Team
Second Team - Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee
Don't laugh. While the book on Jennings was that he was too slight to be anything but a liability on defense, I've been impressed when I've seen him play and his numbers are strong across the board. In particular, Jennings' dMult of .864 (meaning opposing point guards produced at 86.4 percent of their usual rate against the Bucks) is tops among the point guards I considered.
Shooting Guard: Mike Miller, 6.1
30 years old, 6'8, 201 lbs, 10 years experience
Mike Miller is now on the other side of 30. The bad side. Many of us can probably remember him 5, even 10 years ago, always a player that you thought should be better than he was, always a player that seemed to hit his ceiling early, and stay there. Well, at least it is pretty clear what you will get out of him. He'll hit somewhere around 45% of his 3 pointers (48% last season), he'll drive to the hoop once and a while (usually to his right, once in a blue moon to his left), he'll get incredibly rebounding numbers for his position (2nd in the league) and he'll make smart passes, as long as he's not playing for a terrible team. Miller's defense at the two is a bit like Tim Duncan's defense at the 4; he can pull it off most nights, but there are just players that are too fast for him to guard. Miller also shares a friendship with LeBron James, so chemistry on the team should be helped by his presence. A happy LeBron is a focused LeBron.
Small Forward: LeBron James, 1.1
25 Years Old, 6'8, 250 lbs, 7 years experience
29 PPG, 8.6 APG, 7.3 RPG
There is a lot of debate about LeBron James right now. A lot of bad press. I will defer to Kelly Dwyer, a guy who actually gets paid to write what he thinks about the NBA, when discussing LeBron James. His attitude mirrors mine.
1. LeBron James(last year: first)
By now we know what we're dealing with, with LeBron.
The guy is lost. We probably would be too had we had the same upbringing, the same things whispered in our ear and/or shouted on cable TV before we could legally drive. But that doesn't mean we can't criticize him time and again for appearing - what should the catch-all word of the day be for LeBron today? - clueless. Over and over again.
But he's also the best player in the game. Others are more accomplished, because others have had better teams. Others have been more tactful, classier, smarter and worked harder. But in the end, all these mitigating factors don't take enough away for us not to accurately describe LeBron James as, far and away, the best player in pro basketball.
And, certainly, the best player at his position.
LeBron James is not a fan's ideal franchise player. To put it bluntly, when David Stern (god) was handing out class, tactfulness, and consideration as qualities, LeBron wasn't at the front of the line. He runs with an entourage that seems to do a better job buffering him from the real world than any team of guys since the Presidential Cabinet of 2000-2008. That's all true.
But it's also true that the last guy to lead the small forward position in assists that wasn't LeBron James was Jamal Mashburn, and that's because LeBron wasn't in the league yet. The last guy to win the MVP not named LeBron James was Kobe Bryant, and that was in 2008. James has been on the All-NBA Defensive team for 2 years in a row now, he's an Olympic Champion, he's allegedly closer to 6'10 than he is to his listed 6'8 and his body resembles Karl Malone more than Michael Jordan, but he can still handle the ball as well as most point guards in the league. He can rebound, he can defend, he can score, and he can lead. Simply put he is by a large margin the best player in professional basketball.
PF: Ersan Ilyasova, 7.8
23 Years Old, 6'10, 235 lbs, 2 Years Experience
10.4 PPG. 6.4 RPG, 1.0 APG
Ersan Ilyasova was drafted in 2005, spent a year in the D-Leagues, then went over seas for 2 years to play for the ACB Club FC Barcelona. He must have studied with ancient basketball monks over there because he came back with game. Last season he shot a respectable 34% from 3pt range as a starter, but Scott Skiles (his real life coach) and others have mentioned that they expect that number to jump to 37 or 38% after a full season in the NBA. Of the in the top 20 power forwards for rebound rate, only Troy Murphy finished higher in 3pt %. I
lyasova has a better rebounding rate than Dirk Nowitzki and a better field goal % than Rashard Lewis. On top of that, he's second among power forwards at taking charges. All this and the kid is 23 years old and 6'10. It will be interesting to see how he improves next season.
Joakim Noah
25 Years Old, 6'11, 240lbs, 4 years NBA expereince
Joakim Noah is listed at 6'11 just like Kevin Garnett is but I think it's pretty fair to call him 7 feet. In college, he was one of the leaders of maybe the most impressive college team of the last decade, the 2007 Florida Gators. He can score a little bit around the basket and finish in transition to make him a legitimate threat rolling towards the hoop, but none of that is nearly as important as the other things he does.
He was sixth in the NBA in rebounds per48, 8th overall in rebound rate (the % of available rebounds a player grabs while on the floor), and 7th in rebounds per game. He was 17th overall in blocks per 48 minutes, and 14th overall in blocks per game.
As a center he regularly outperformed his counterpart in every aspect of the game, aside from scoring, but that's mostly due to the fact that Noah attempts 2.5 less attempts per 48 minutes. He shot a better % from the floor, he rebounded more, he passed better, and he defended better.
Some press:
Though his fiery personality and, um, unconventional offseason habits are the Houston forward's polar opposite, Noah almost reminds of a 7-foot version of Shane Battier(notes). The ultimate teammate, Noah is constantly barking out the opposing team's play, his position on the help defense side and he's the first to meet a teammate when things go perfectly, terribly awry, or somewhere in the middle.
He also put together a double-double last season while playing just 30 minutes per game, a fantastic accomplishment. And he's made huge strides in his rebounding since entering the league as a rookie in 2007, topping out with a rebound rate that flew past the 20 percent mark last season.
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The Heavy Rotation!
SG/SF Tony Allen, 8.1
28 Years Old, 6'4, 213lbs, 6 years experience
Tony's primary roles on the team will be that of stopper/energy guy. I know he can't shoot reliably, I know he can't dribble out of trouble. I don't care. Tony Allen can finish at the rim, and he can play some of the most smothering defense of any 2 guard in the league.
There will be times when Mike Miller will be completely unable to cover the guards in front of him. That's where Tony comes in. There will be times when LeBron is not on the floor and someone will need to guard the best wing. That's where Tony comes in. Tony Allen leads the league in steal %, which means he leads the league in % of possessions by the opposing team that end in a steal by any specific player. Rajon Rondo is second. That's how much of a ball hawk Tony is.
SG, Von Wafer, 11.1
25 years old, 209 lbs, 4 years experience
Von Wafer will be tasked as my "microwave man" off the bench. Likely, if Mike Miller is not at the 2 position, Von Wafer will be (unless the opposing starting SG is in the game). Wafer isn't much for defense, but he can create his own shot, he's a tenacious competitor, ala Nate Robinson, and he shoots a remarkably high near-40% from deep.
PF/C Louis Amundson, 12.1
27 Years Old, 6'9, 240 lbs, 4 Years experience
Louis Amundson absolutely shone under Gentry last season and I anticipate that same from him this upcoming year. While he didn't have the length of Robin Lopez or the athleticism (or length) of Amare Stoudemire, or even the height (or length) of Channing Frye, Amundson still managed to carve out a niche in the Suns' roster last season as the teams' best rebounder and overall defender. His energy off the bench, according to Valley of The Suns:
Although Lou Amundson played less minutes than any of Phoenix’s nine other regulars, he was an essential part of the Suns’ second unit, often turning games with his sheer energy and hustle alone. Lou fit the second unit’s defense and energy approach perfectly, carving out a role as the bench’s ace rebounder and shot blocker.
PG: Eric Maynor, 9.5
23 Years Old, 6'3, 175 lbs, 1 year experience
The final piece of my 9 man rotation, Eric Maynor is one of those players that was drafted into a niche, and will probably never leave it. He is the quintessential backup point guard. Could he start somewhere? Sure, but he would have a definite ceiling over just how much he would give you. He is not a sharp shooter, so he barely even takes 1 3pt shot per game. He can score a bit, and he did log a 24 point, 4 assist, 3 rebound performance over 40 minutes as a starter last season, but really it will take Maynor 20+ minutes to score 10 points.
What Maynor does well is make smart decisions with the ball, and play defense. Maynor runs squads. He won'd wow you with amazing passes or displays of athleticism, and really, you probably won't even know he is there. That in and of its self though is worth noting. While Maynor is no Jennings, he's also not a guy who will damage you. Maynor ranks 10th overall in assist ratio (% of possessions that end in an assist), which is no small feat, as Rondo only ranks 3 points higher.
Light Rotation!
Omer Asik
Asik is a legit 7 footer with decent leaping ability and good man on defense skills. He's big enough to get his paws on a fair number of boards, and he's been playing Euroleague for some time now.
He still has a long way to go, however. This year will be a bit of a steep curve for him, but it is one he will have to endure, both because we need his depth and he has a lot of the tools to be a very good big man in 2 or 3 years.
Gani Lawal
The only way Gani Lawal SHOULD see playing time is if someone is hurt. Lawal is 6'9 with a strong, wide body so he should be able to play some minutes immediately. Lawal is a hard rebounder and back to the basket player, and he doesn't mind mixing it up in the paint. As it sits right now, I could see Lawal stealing some of Amundson's minutes, but that has to be earned.
Landry Fields
Landry Fields is a guy who could take significant minutes away from Von Wafer, but like Lawal he'll need to earn them. Here is David Thorpe on Fields:
When he first steps onto the court and when he walks off of it at game's end, the perceptions of Fields changes dramatically. He looks like a deer (compared to most NBA players in his position) but plays like a tiger. Smooth with the ball, aggressively attacking angles, a fluid shot -- he has a perfect game for the Knicks' offense. If he's one of the two worst offensive players on the floor, then that offense will be extremely potent. Every time I saw him play I said to myself, "Great draft pick."
Rotation:
Minutes Managing:
Rotation Philosophy:
There will be a basic 'look' to lineups. Lineups will have a goal, and it will go beyond just "scoring more points than the other guys"
The starters will obviously get the most minutes on the floor, but beyond that the lineup will be 'tweaked' rather than switched on and off like in a hockey game.
Minutes managing will be paramount, even at the cost of games. I don't want Joakim Noah to play more than 32 minutes in a given night. I do not want Amundson to get less than 14. I want this team rested but ready for the playoffs, and I think that is do-able.
All my players beyond James, Jennings, and Noah are meant to fill a very specific role. The farther down the depth chart, the more defined the role gets.
Drafting Philosophy: I wanted athletic guys to surround LeBron James with, and as the draft wore on I intentionally targeted guys I thought LeBron James specifically would make better than they could be on their own.
Worst Pick: Kyrylo Fezenko, 9(30)
Worst Move: Waking up last Monday morning.
Interesting Piece of Information: Fracking is a real thing. It means you fracture rock to increase the output of an existing well, usually for natural gas or oil.
Topic: 2010 CB Draft: Central Division Press Conferences (Read 71416 times)