For those of you that choose Bogut over Paul...

[Paul2Smoove]

think about this:

1. Are we going to find a PG as talented and that has more potential than Chris Paul in the draft or FA?...NO

2. Look at the FA classes of centers to point gaurds over the next two seasons

Big men:

Dally

Tyson Chandler

Eddie Curry

Big Z

Ben Wallace

Amare Stotamire

Yao Ming

Point gaurds:

Earl Boykins

[Nicholasp27]

lol

felton/deron/ukic/jack and even gilchrist if he gets his head on, all have as good a possibility of being an above-average pg as paul does...the fact is, nobody knows who will be best of those 5 pgs...they are all close and they all played each other (except ukic) all season long and paul did NOT fare the best overall against the others...

felton is ur man if u want fast break passes to smoove...felton2smoove should be ur moniker...

dally=restricted

chandler=restricted

curry=restricted

big z=wants to resign in cle

wallace=restricted

amare=restricted

yao=restricted

pgs:

duhon

jaric

jwill if he gets 100% healthy

boykins

knight

next year's pg class, which will be good as well

we can get a pg with the 31st pick (gilchrist) who has as much potential as the top 10 pgs if he gets a good psychologist...we can get a pg with 15-30 (ukic/jack) who has as much potential as the top 10 pgs...

no reason to take a pg with the first pick in the draft...that'd be dumb in such a deep pg draft

[Paul2Smoove]

None of those guys have the potential in my mind to be as good of a defensive stopper than paul, or that have the fire that Paul plays with. + Even if they do, compare the pgs to centers you put down for FA, which posistion hasbetter players in it?...big men. Also take a look at all those soon to be NBA point gaurds compared to the ones later in the draft,or in the FA classes, you can't find one that has the amount of talent and potential that those guys have.

[emeans]

I agree. This draft is PG heavy. And all of these point guards are potentially going to be good on the next level. Draft Bogut first and you will still get an excellent PG at 31 if you make no more moves and stay there.

I hear a lot of people talk of trading Al to move up in the 1st round and get your PG. I disagree with that move however. I say keep Al and get an excellent PG at 31. I even like Louis Williams at 31.

I would be happy with a draft of Bogut and Williams for next year. Then you pick up Kwame and Dally in FA and you have a pretty good team.

Imagine:

Lue/Williams

Chillz/FA

Smooth/Harrington

Harrington/Kwame

Dally/Bogut

Of course add 3 more players to make 12 on the roster.

This is a pretty good core of players!!

[Nicholasp27]

the centers i put down are RESTRICTED...

and we just disagree re:paul...i don't think he's the next iverson...i think he'll get posted up by bigger points in the nba (hurt him a lot in ncaa) and he will NOT be a good defender

we'll see in a few years

[Packfill]

I don't understand the argument that it is a negative that a smaller point guard will get posted up by a larger opponent. How many point guards not named Magic Johnson or Mark Jackson have you seen posting people up? If Smoove plays power forward won't larger power forwards with well developed post games post him up?

Now, I am still torn as to who the Hawks would take if they get the first pick, but to worry about your point guard getting posted up is very far down the list of issues.

[Nicholasp27]

i don't worry about that in theory so much as i worry about the fact that he did worse against taller pgs than normal...

[Lascar78]

Quote:

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None of those guys have the potential in my mind to be as good of a defensive stopper than paul

---

what? you must be nuts. Paul is not a great defender. He got 1st team all ACC for the same reason that Kobe gets on the all defense NBA team, because he's a great player and people don't put alot of thought into these awards. Give it to the bigger name and everyone's happy. Especially in college where no one pays attention to them except for player of the year and freshman of the year in each conference.

Paul proved time and time again that he could not handle taller point guards like Jack. He's going to have some long nights in the NBA. He might be able to get by on D and have great offense, but he will not be a great defender.

[chillzatl]

First off, nobody knows if Paul will be "the next Jason Kidd" or not. He could just as easily be the next Jamal Tinsley. Not that Tinsley is bad, but he's no J.Kidd. But that is also the point. We don't need Jason Kidd to be a good, winning, eventual championship contender. We could do that just as easily with a Jamal Tinsley type player. We just need a guy who can run the offense, spread the floor and play solid D.

second, the truely good quality players you list, aren't going to go anywhere. Yao isn't going to leave houston. Amare Stoudemire isn't going to leave Phoenix. Big Ben isn't going to leave Detroit. Beyond those three, there isn't one guy that's going to coem available that can match the overall package that Bogut offers at the college level. That's not even factoring in the potential that he still has waiting to be released. None of those guys have the maturity or basketball IQ to even come close to him and from an offensive/passing standpoint, it's comical.

Third, there are lot of quality PG's that will be available all through the first and early second round of this draft. Most experts think that while Paul is the best of the bunch, there isn't a huge gap between him and anyone else that will go in that range.

SO you combine all those, it's ridiculous to spend a potential #1 pick on a PG when we can get a PG that is nearly as good and offers us almost as much potential, later. Then we can use that pick to get the consensus #1 player who also happens to play the most coveted position in the league and also plays the position that we have been the weakest at since Deke was traded.

If you want to take it to another level. If you do'nt think we can get a good enough PG that late, we can move AH and our 31 to move up some and take someone like Ukic, Felton or Jack. Those guys definitely hvae the potential to be more than good enough for us and are less of a theoretical gamble than a later player would be.

[Lascar78]

Quote:

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I don't understand the argument that it is a negative that a smaller point guard will get posted up by a larger opponent. How many point guards not named Magic Johnson or Mark Jackson have you seen posting people up?

---

I see alot. I see some point guards like Payton who do it on anyone, but I mostly see PG's who don't do it unless matched up against a short guy and then they go to work.

You can debate how much of an impact it will have, but it will be an issue.

[chillzatl]

You are obviously a Paul fan and it is likely that nobody here is going to sway you. But as others have pointed out, paul is not a good defensive player and he's TINY. Which means defensively, he may be a very good "disrupte the passing lanes" type of player. But he will not be a good overall defender in the NBA. He will also have a hard time getting his shot off agaist the average NBA sized defender.

Your assessment of pauls talent vs. those other guys doesn't mesh with most analysts opinions. Partly due to your obvious bias for Paul and partly due to your lack of knowledge of the other players out tehre. Again, most experts recognize that while paul has definite skills, he also have very serious weaknesses, mainly his size. That's a weakness that has rarely been overcome by a true PG in the NBA.

[pathway23]

I'd be happy with Bogut + Williams based on Williams potential but I think if we signed Daly and Kwame I would go with this lineup:

Lue/Williams

Chillz/FA

Smooth/Harrington

Dally/Harrington/Kwame

Bogut/Dally

I think Al should be 6th man if we had that much depth in our frontcourt...because Dally won't sign unless he starts probably and I think Bogut could start off the bat at Center for us, Dally's limited offensive game at PF would be offset by Bogut's great offense at C.

[Paul2Smoove]

1st of all, I'm sick of hearing he was only good in college because he matched up agianst players the same size as him while, everyones boy Bogut matched up against 6'9 Centers in a 2nd rate college confrence. Also, I watch, and study NBA prospects as much as everyone else on this board, and I couldn't care less if the experts like him or not because...I do. Earl Boykins is a solid NBA player, and I'm taller than him...why is he so good?...Heart. That is what Chris Paul has, except with a lot more talent. Of course he is no AI, but they play the same way mentally. They dont care if shaq is gaurding them, they are still gana do thier thing. Bogut is a non-aggresive, non-athletic center. And to be honest I think Dally has 10 times more potential than Bogut ever will. Also, I like Louis Williams, but taking him at 31 would be a big reach.

[pathway23]

Paul was the same size as the college kids he was with or even smaller in some cases, while Bogut was a man amongst boys..you said it.

[Paul2Smoove]

thank you

[pathway23]

So why is this a knock against Bogut and a nod for Paul again?

Lebron was a man amongst boys in highschool and lots of people expected him to struggle in the NBA....so with Bogut?

[Paul2Smoove]

thats different, LeBron is the next Jordan. Bogut in my mind is about to become the Ryan Leaf of the NBA

[chillzatl]

Sorry, that's not top 4 pick worthy by any stretch of the imagination.

[chillzatl]

In my mind Chris Paul is the next Earl Boykins.

Sorry, Lebron isn't the next Jordan.

In my mind Bogut is the next Andrew Bogut..go figure.

[Paul2Smoove]

Earl Boykins? He's a solid playr, but c'mon you know Chris Paul will bea great playr in this league. I was stupid to say that Bogut is the next Ryan Leaf of the NBA, because he is gana be a solid player in this league, but at the end of thier careers I believe Chris Paul will have been much more productive in the NBA than Bogut.