For all the Deng lovers here...

[Diesel]

Why hasn't none of you watched. I keep hearing all this stuff about how Deng looks so good. I watched the Indy game... He didn't seem that great to me. I think he's good at what he does but when you look at him play, his shot is not that great, he's not that fast, he's just got good size. While I was watching this is what I saw...

His shooting, while he has decent form (practiced) who wasn't hitting nothing from outside of 12 feet.

Right now, you see the stats, but really, he gets a lot of layups and put backs... as the season goes on, it will be beared out that he's a good garbage player. He's the same as Harrington. IN fact, Harrington may have a better stroke.

I would be willing to bet that Deng's FT and 3P% are unusally low and his Reb/FG% are unusually high... Reason being is because he can hit the put back. Why don't you guys watch a game.

As far as Chillz go, He's not impressive either.. except for the fact that he has really good handles. He dribbles well for a guy that has played SF in college. However, his shot is off and so is J-Smooths... However, with time and confidence, we will see what happens. I'm not trying to take away from Deng, he does what he does, I'm just saying that he's not the Lebron James you guys make him out to be.

[chillzatl]

Nobody said Deng was COMPLETE. Nobody said he was perfect. But the guy is damned good, ready to contribute and he WILL IMPROVE.

You can't, with any hope of honesty, say either of the three about Childress. He hasn't shown one facet of his game to be worthy of praise.

Again, I don't want to seem like I'm bashing on Childress. He's here, I want him to succeed. But I picked my horse long before the draft and it was Luol Deng. Every time I see him put up good numbers, it's going to set me off. Because he's the guy that I, along with d*ck Vitale and MANY other "experts", felt was better than what we got.

We've had so many idiot GM's with more vision than common sense and we the fans have suffered for it. They make picks based on character or "their type guy" and let talent slide on by to the next team, smiling stupidly the whole way. Enough is enough!

[sinctybldh]

Diesel judging by half your riduclous trade proposals, you sir are definitely the last person I would trust to judge talent. You must have some really bad eyesite because you are definitely not seeing the same player I am seeing for the Chicago Bulls. That is for damn sure.

[Diesel]

Maybe your head is too far into Deng's lap... But let me look for the comparison...

Al Harrington

Atlanta Hawks

Position:  F

Height:  6-9 Weight: 250

High School: St. Patrick's HS (NJ)

Player file | Team stats

2004-05 Statistics

PPG

16.3

RPG

4.7

APG

1.3

SPG

.67

BPG

.33

FG%

.380

FT%

.800

3P%

.429

MPG

39.0

Luol Deng

Chicago Bulls

Position:  G-F

Height:  6-8 Weight: 220

College: Duke '04

Player file | Team stats

2004-05 Statistics

PPG

21.5

RPG

7.5

APG

2.0

SPG

.50

BPG

.50

FG%

.500

FT%

.556

3P%

.222

MPG

36.5

Get your head out of Deng's lap. He's a poor shooter. Like I said, I watched the Indy game and he didn't impress me with much more than his size.

[Diesel]

It's no secret, My Horses were always D. Howard, J. Smith, and J. Nelson. I would have given up everything in this draft and the next two to get those guys. So when I see us with J-Smooth, I'm a little happy, but I think D. Howard will be ROY and he will be the next KG... I just hope we can get him on his second contract.

[TROUBLEMAN69]

Diesel, you mention Deng's free throw percentage and three point percentage, but remember he is only 19 years old. Personally I would have taken Deng over Childress, because I felt he had a bigger upside. Most 19 year olds struggle at the free throw line and three point line. Heck, most rookies struggle in those areas their first year. I do know that we could use his production, even if it is in a reserve role. We are not getting close to that from Childress.

Now that Childress is a Hawk, I'm willing to give him time before I label him anything, but right now my thoughts on Childress vs Deng are true.

[Diesel]

No... I'm not accusing Deng of being a bad player... I think he's good at what he does. I'm saying to these Box score watchers need to sit down and watch Chicago lose a few games. Deng has the size of a Sf and the strength of a PF. He's Al Harrington in his 2nd year. But Deng doesn't shoot the ball as well as his PPG or FG% might suggest. From the games I have seen, He's getting a lot of putbacks and layups. My point about 3pt% and FT% is that's how you measure shooting ability. Deng is still good at what he does, I just think that right now, his game is more limited than what these Deng lovers are sharing.

I think that Chillz game is limited right now too. His shots don't look that good. Like I said, the best things about Chillz game is: 1. His dribbling ability. 2. His ability to get to the FT line. 3. His speed. 4. His rebounding.

I don't see Chillz or Deng as being stars. In fact, I see Chillz as being a do everything kinda guy in the mold of Pippen but not as good and Deng as being like Big Dog but not the scorer and having a much better defense.

The tell for both will be Basketball IQ. Again, Deng will be limited because he's not as atheletic and he really plays the PF game and for a while, Chillz will be limited by his size and the development of J-Smooth.

[BritishKnights]

Im afraid i have to disagree, Childress will never be anything like Scottie Pippen, Pippen is one of the greatest players ever, Childress sucks...I see Childress as being a Demarr Johnson, except with a much uglier/less effective shot, I hope im wrong of course, if he could be like Pippen id be elated, but so far he looks really bad and his shot is so so so ugly

Deng is far more athletic than Glenn Robinson, and not as selfish, Deng may not end up being one of the elite players in the league, but he will be way better than Childress

[emeans]

No rationalizing to it, Deng was a much better player in Summer League and he is a much better player now than Childress.

I think Childress mechanics will always hurt him in a faster NBA game. His shot is so arkward that it takes time and a certain body angle to effectively shoot it.

Marion of Pheonix is the only other NBA player with an arkward shot that has perfected it to become very effective. I hope Chillz can do that, but right now he can't even get his shot off cleanly playing SG. Keep in mind most of his scoring is coming during garbage time (in other words the game is way out of reach). When the intensity is up and the game is close is the time I want to see him put up some numbers.

Man I hope he proves me wrong, but Deng is looking might good right now.

[Traceman]

right now. Saying that Deng doesn't look FAR better than Childress up to this point is just ridiculous. Who knows who will be better down the road, all I know is that Deng was better in college and he's better now.

As for Deng not being LeBron James, of course he's not LeBron. But heck, Chill is not even Royal Ivey right now.

[Lascar78]

just as a note, I don't think it's true at all that rookies struggle at the free throw line. If you're a good free throw shooter, that's typically something you have coming in and doesn't change. There are no NBA defenders on you when you shoot a FT(10-13 for chill for instance). Long range shooting is a whole different ball game , and that's why childress looks bad. Although to be honest, I don't think we would be bashing childress if we hadn't seen pre-season and summer league action. He hasn't looked that bad at all in regular season. He just hasnt gotten minutes. I have no doubt chill will be an all around good player and a good shooter. I highly doubt Deng will be the star some of you think he is. I think he's a shane battier. Very physical and ready to contribute immediately, but not good enough at any given thing.

I don't know who will end up being better, but I doubt we end up looking like idiots for picking chill over deng.

[Diesel]

For now, that's all that can be said.

I applaud Deng's early start, but I don't see Stardom in his future. He don't have enough skill.

It's like saying Ben Wallace vs. Scottie Pippen. Sure Wallace will get a gang of Rebounds and Yes, Wallace will get his share of putbacks... But Pippen is a player that can help all areas of a team. That's what I see for Chill. Both situations exaggerated but not that much.

[TROUBLEMAN69]

I never said "all" rookies struggle at the free throw line, I said "most", and I stand by that comment. As far as Deng not having the skills to be a star, how in the heck do you know that? The guys is 19 years old, how do you know what kind of work ethic he has, or what kind of skills he can develop?

Again, I'm not ready to give up on Childress, and I hope he does become the good/great all-around player that you guys are predicting, but I truly wanted Deng over Childress, and so far I like what I see out of him.

[Sage11]

Thank you Traceman.... my thoughts also.