Re: orlando deals

[opi@unesco.org]

Wow, I also like the 6-8 Kenyon Martin as a fiercely committed defensive
stopper in the PJ Brown mold, but I find it hard to believe he'll be much of
a go-to scorer as a pro, even based on his one good college year offensively
as a senior.

Freshman DerMarr Johnson seems like the true bluechip prospect of that Cincy
bunch, and Pete Mickael (an LJ type) is an even tougher man defender and a
much more offensively polished player than Martin the last time I saw those
two guys play.

I'm kind of stunned that Kenyon Martin is being hyped as a #1 overall.  He's
had only one good year offensively in his four college seasons (he averaged
just 10.1 ppg last year). His senior numbers are all way up (17.0 ppg, 9.1
rpg, 3.4 blocks) but he doesn't have the look of a great NBA scorer to me.
If this guy amounts to even a #5 overall pick, then Tony Battie (a
sophomore) deserved to go #1 overall based on his far greater ability to
score and swat. I picture Martin as one of the "steals" of the draft, taken
anywhere from 8th to 13th overall like a Keon Clark. I guess I need to watch
MUCH more college basketball than I do, but honestly Warwick I'd hold off on
trading Paul Pierce for him just yet.

On the other hand, I'd almost prefer Quentin Richardson's NBA future to
Charles Barkley's NBA past. Although he's only 6-4, he was arguably on his
way to becoming the most dominant offensive rebounder in the history of
college basketball. As a freshman last year, he was the nation's leading
offensive rebounder with over five a game, then switched to guard this year
to improve his pro chances and has rained in .403 on treys in six attempts
per game while scoring 19.2 ppg (.475FG% overall). He's still also managing
ten boards this year including 4 offensive boards. In terms of the range of
things he can do on the court, he's kind of a shorter much more under
control version of Antoine Walker but without the passing ability.

****

W wrote:

> I want that Golden State pick if it gets to be #1 - I'd give Paul Pierce
> up for it and take Kenyon Martin and keep both Fort and Toine.
>
> Martin / Fort / AW would be the best frontline in modern (after the Big
> Three) NBA history and with Pots, Battie, EW and Walter coming from the
> bench, I'd be very satisfied with that.
>
> We already have a defensive shooting guard in Adrian Griffin, we'd have
> Calbert to back Griffin up, Kenny would still need a backup, how about
> signing Bobby Jackson or Anthony Johnson...
>
> But whoever said Kenyon Martin previously, I applaud your talent
> evaluation - the man is just awesome. I watched a game and wow. I dont
> need to see anymore to see why you were impressed.
>