Re: Draft

[Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

John Lyell wrote:

> I would like to see us get a good physical big man like Gadzuric
> another scorer at point or a physical 4 (if Zach Randolph leaves could
> he be there? Lonnie Baxter ?) if we keep Walker and move him to the 3
> spot, and would be ecstatic if Richard Jefferson was available with
> our third pick. This guy is the defensive stopper we need and with his
> height and athleticism he could be great compliment to the offensive
> talent we have. It should be interesting to see what happens with
> Williams and Battier on Monday.

It sounds like Richard Jefferson did a nifty job guarding Jason
Richardson in what was likely Richardson's last college game.  Looking
at the draft boards I don't see why he or Terence Morris wouldn't be
available in the high teens, and either could turn out to be a steal.
Both played on teams with natural born gimme-da-ball scorers (Steve
Francis, Dixon, Baxter in Maryland and Wright, Woods, Arenas, Gardner,
Terry etc. at Zona) so you can forgive these two for being wallflowers
at times within their systems.

I was thinking that some of the players projected 10-20 in your mock
draft probably could have gone top-five in Pitino's first 1997 draft,
ahead of the likes of Billups, Battie and Antonio Daniels. With good
scouting Boston should have a much stronger bench and hopefully a solid
third scorer out of the draft this summer. I sure hope so.

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