RE: Insider on draft point guards

["John Lyell" <jlyell@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I would love to pick up Troy Bell, Steve Blake or even Keith Bogans with our
second rounder (do we have this? I see one mocking showing Denver owns it)
would be great. I doubt they will be there unless we move up.
Bell has a wicked Iverson like cross over and can fill it up. He could allow
us to move Pierce to the 3 spot. Landing a Sofoklis Schortsianitis to
provide the beast inside or moving Walker for Brand and Jaric. Jaric may be
available if they take TJ Ford.

Imagine adding Brand at the 4 along with Jaric and say Chris Marcus and
taking a potential Jermaine O'neal with Charlie Villanueva or Jerome Beasley
or Collison, and Bell or Bogans!

Marcus Battie
Brand Collison or Beasley
Pierce
Bell
Jaric


John




-----Original Message-----
From: owner-celtics@igtc.com [mailto:owner-celtics@igtc.com]On Behalf Of
Berry, Mark S
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 10:29 AM
To: 'celtics@igtc.com'
Subject: Insider on draft point guards


Not the best time to be talking about the draft, but this is Insider's take
on the upcoming crop of point guards.

Mark

P.S. As one of those "Obie-bashers" I'm not in hiding. He's clearly
outcoaching Isiah in this series, which hardly qualifies him as the coach of
the year. As long as Wallace is fired in the offseason, things have to
improve. The unfortunate thing about Obie saving his job is his tie to
Antoine. However you feel about Antoine, you have to understand that this is
the critical offseason for dealing with him. Obie won't feel that way, of
course, because he will tell you Antoine clearly is a max player. I'm sure
plenty of fans feel that way. I don't, but you know that already. Anyway,
I've been rooting for Wallace and Obie both to go, but now I'm just crossing
my fingers that Wallace doesn't wriggle off the hook. We'll see.


2003 NBA Draft: Top 15 point guards

's been three pretty long years since the point guard explosion of 1999
brought us Steve Francis
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3325> , Baron Davis
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3326> , Andre Miller
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3331>  and Jason
Terry <http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3333>  in the
lottery.

Since then, only 11 point guards have been drafted in the first round. Only
two, Jay Williams
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3600>  and Jamal
Crawford <http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3407> , have
been drafted in the lottery.

We spend a lot of time talking about centers being a dying species. But is
the pass-first point guard also heading toward the evolutionary abyss?

"Who knows?" one prominent GM answered Insider. "Last year, I would've told
you that smallish point guards were a thing of the past. Teams were obsessed
with big point guards who could shoot the ball. Now, with the emergence of
Earl Boykins <http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3311>
and Tony Parker <http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3527>
, who knows? There just isn't a protypical point guard anymore. To each
their own."

This year you have your choice of the 5-foot-10, pure point from Texas or
the skinny, 6-foot-3 kid from Iowa who does everything; or maybe you'd like
the Nene Hilario
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3605>  of point
guards (a Brazilian you've never heard of) or a 6-foot-6
shoot-the-lights-out combo guard from the Rick Pitino school of basketball.

Everyone has his place. With one major caveat."I think there's a still a
major fear of the tweener," the GM said. "Nothing scares a team off more
than an undersized 2-guard trying to make the switch to point guard in the
pros. It's already the hardest position to learn in the NBA -- and that's if
you've played the position your whole life. Gilbert Arenas
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3540>  is a great
story this year. But he's the exception not the rule."

Here's a look at what should be the best point-guard class since 1999.
Tuesday we'll tackle the Top 15 shooting guards.

Note: The list includes all players seriously considering entering the 2003
draft. An asterisk (*) by a player's name indicates he is an underclassman
who has officially declared.

1. T.J. Ford <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=7970> ,
Texas
The line: 5-10, 165, Sophomore
The skinny: Ford is the top point guard in college hoops despite being only
5-foot-10. He may be the fastest player in basketball, pro or college. Has
an uncanny ability to see the floor and deliver it with laser-like accuracy.
Call it a kind of point guard sixth sense -- the same stuff that fuels Jason
Kidd's mojo. His only real weakness is his size and lack of a consistent
jumper. Still, some teams feel he's the best playmaker to come out of
college since Kidd. He's not for everybody, but there's almost no way he
falls out of the Top 10.

2. Kirk Hinrich <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=4092>
, Kansas
The line: 6-3, 190, Senior
The skinny: If seniors are out and young kids with 40-inch verticals are in,
how does a skinny kid from Iowa sneak into the lottery? Poise. Savvy.
Intelligence. A killer jumper. Surprising athleticism. Hinrich has the size,
floor vision, ball handling, unselfishness and long-range jumper that scouts
beg for in a point guard. While some worry about his strength and lateral
quickness, most teams feel he's a lock for the mid-to-late lottery.

3. Leandrinho Barbosa, Brazil*
The line: 6-4, 220, 21 years old
The skinny: Considered the best player in Brazil. He's very long and is an
explosive athlete. The thing that has scouts buzzing is the speed at which
Barbosa plays for someone his size. He's constantly attacking the basket on
offense, and aggressively harassing his man on defense. With his long arms
(6-foot-10 wingspan) he gets an unusual amount of steals and blocks for a
point guard. Only a few teams have actually been to Brazil to see Barbosa
play. He averaged 29.6 ppg, 7.8 apg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 spg and 0.8 bpg while
shooting 57 percent from the field, 47 percent from beyond the arc and 85
percent from the free-throw line. Several NBA scouts who have seen him feel
he could move into the late lottery with strong workouts.

4. Reece Gaines <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=1308>
, Louisville
The line: 6-6, 205, Senior
The skinny: He's 6-6, has legitimate point-guard skills, is a great athlete
and has developed into a legit 3-point marksman. Several scouts used words
like "slick" and "savvy" to describe his play. If teams are convinced he can
be a full-time point guard in the pros, he's got a great shot at the late
lottery. If he they think he's a combo guard, he's looking at a mid-to-late
first-round selection.

5. Luke Ridnour <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=2703>
, Oregon*
The line: 6-2, 185, Junior
The skinny: Ridnour is a point guard with a flair for the dramatic. Despite
his frail-looking frame, scouts say he's tough. Ridnour has great floor
vision, is a natural leader and can really shoot. Still, concerns about his
ability to create his own shot in the pros and his athleticism will hurt
him. He's tough to gauge. Several scouts still prefer him to Hinrich and
Gaines. But most feel he could be in for a Dan Dickau-like draft day drop.

6. Maurice Williams
<http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=7982> , Alabama
The line: 6-1, 183, Sophmore
The skinny: Williams is a slick point guard with all of the requisite tools.
He has great ball-handling ability, superb handles and a killer crossover
that helps him get the ball to the basket. Loves to drive and dish and is
also solid running the pick and roll. Plays in control. Has a nice mid-range
game. He's a strong floor leader. He does have his flaws, however. He gets
abused at times on the defensive end. He has the strength and size to be a
good defender, but hasn't shown the effort. He isn't a great athlete. He's
quick, but not explosive. He needs to work on his jumper, especially his
3-ball. Scouts think he should stay in school, but they admit he's a mid- to
late-first-round pick if he comes out.

7. Marcus Moore <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=2789>
, Washington State
The line: 6-6, 208, Junior
The skinny: Size. Size. Size. Scouts love his explosiveness and claim he's a
legitimate point-guard prospect, but his 35 percent shooting from the field
may scare many of them off. Moore averaged 18.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 4.7 apg
this season. He scored a career-high 42 points against Gonzaga and also had
a 35-point effort against Arizona. Rumors have been circulating for a month
that he's considering the draft. Will he declare? Scouts want him to stay in
school under the tutelege of new head coach Dick Bennett. However, Moore is
worried that his offense will suffer in Bennett's more conservative system.
Right now he's looking at a mid- to late-first-round pick. That could go up
or down depending on he works out.

8. Marcus Banks <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=6332>
, UNLV
The line: 6-2, 200, Senior
The skinny: Think a poor man's Baron Davis. Banks already has an NBA body
and an NBA-type game. He's strong, can get to the basket at will and already
plays solid defense. He's got great court vision and can really run the
break. However, he has issues. He's an inconsistent shooter from the
perimeter, is turnover prone, and scouts fear he's closer to 6-0 than 6-2.
He's on the late first round, early second round bubble.

9. Zoran Planinic*
The line: 6-6, 215, 21 years old
The skinny: Gets a lot of comparisons to Jiri Welsch
<http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3614> . He plays both
guard positions, but his NBA future is at the point. Unlike Welsch, he's
more of a 1 than 2. He's coming off an injury, which has limited his
exposure a bit. But now that he's healthy, scouts are flocking to Cibona,
Croatia, to check him out. He's very thin, but teams will always take a risk
on a 6-6 point guard. Should be a late first-rounder.

10. Chris Thomas
<http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=5097> , Notre Dame
The line: 6-1, 182, Sophmore
The skinny: Thomas is one of the few "true" point guards in the draft. Like
Ford, he's a 2001 McDonald's All-American alum. However, that's where the
comparison's end. He doesn't have the speed or the floor vision of Ford.
He's a better shooter, but scouts consider him just an average athlete. He's
anxious to put his name in the draft this year, but he's probably making a
mistake. Scouts say he's probably a second-rounder, due in part to the
unusual number of top point guards in this year's draft.

11. Troy Bell <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=351> ,
Boston College
The line: 6-1, 183, Senior
The skinny: A gifted college scorer who is going to have to prove to scouts
he's not a 2-guard trapped in a point-guard's body. He doesn't really have
the size or the body to play the 2 in the NBA on consistent basis like Juan
Dixon. Could be a Bobby Jackson-like spark plug off the bench, if he commits
to playing good defense. He's a second-round pick.

12. Paccelis Morlende, France
The line: 6-3, 190, 21 years old
The skinny: The next Tony Parker? Morlende was actually once ranked higher
than Parker in France. He's a great athlete with good size for a point
guard. However, he doesn't have Parker's "knack" for running the point.
Still, he's intriguing.

13. Kristaps Valters, Latvia
The line: 6-3, 185, 22 years old
The skinny: When NBA scouts start traveling to Latvia, you know there's
something to his game. Valters is a good athlete who likes to drive and
dish. He's got good speed and is an expert finisher around the basket.
However, he's been playing in a pretty weak division in Europe. How will he
fare against NBA players? There's a pretty big difference between Cleveland
and Latvia, believe it or not. Someone will take a chance on him in the late
first round.

14. Jermaine Boyette
<http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=4838> , Weber State
The line: 6-1, 183, Senior
The skinny: Made a name for himself in Portsmouth when he shot 70 percent
from the field. Some scouts still believe he's an undersized 2, but he
showed some nice court awarness at Portsmouth. If he could learn to play the
point, he'd be a steal in the second round.

15. Marcus Hatten
<http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=5306> , St. Johns
The line: 6-1, 165, Senior
The skinny: Size. Size. Size. If he were 6-foot-5, he'd be a lottery pick.
He's an explosive scorer who can absolutely dominate a game when he gets it
going. But is he a point guard? Hatten passed up the opportunity to prove it
to scouts in Portsmouth. With the new underclassmen rules in effect at
Chicago, there's a chance he could get shut out there, too.