Tuyen's Blog

Posts for Tag: rudy gay

NBA Draft today!

NBA Draft is today. Interesting draft for the Warriors in that it's the first draft with the new brain trust completely in place - Lacob, West and Myers. With two first rounders and two second rounders, the Warriors have options. Their biggest need is SF and there are rumors that they are looking to trade their picks for a veteran SF. Definitely a good deal if they can swing a Rudy Gay or Andre Iguodala. The Wilson Chandler rumors are just crazy talk...

But let's say they do keep the picks, who to get? Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Harrison Barnes are the top two SF's in this class and either one would make an immediate impact. But since they both look likely to be off the board at #7, the most likely option is a project big man in Drummond or there has been talk of trading down and getting Terrence Ross. Another possibility is Dion Waiters who Jerry West is very high on. Problem there is that you would most likely have to slide Klay Thompson over to SF which is not his natural position. Regardless of who they choose, this seems to be a deep draft so whoever they get won't be a totally dud. They may not a future all-star but they'll get a nice serviceable player. But then again, it could be another Anthony Randolph, as well.

NBA Draft

I spent most of the day dealing with work and iPhone 4 pick up so didn't have much time to do my usual NBA Draft research. This year's draft seemed a little ho-hum. Besides Wall and Turner, there wasn't much in terms of sure fire pro talent. Favors and Cousins have potential to be great but also could turn out to be the next Tyrus Thomas and Eddy Curry. Wesley Johnson is somewhere between Rudy Gay and Corey Brewer. In other words, either slightly above or slightly below average.

As for the Warriors' pick, Ekpe Udoh at #6, I can't really get too excited one way or the other. There's no one picked after him I thought was better and he does fill very specific needs - defense, rebounding and shot blocking. He won't be asked to score much (which he can't) and can learn behind Randolph and Wright. In the end he was a safe pick in a weak draft with no real upside but no big downside either. The W's weren't going to find salvation in the draft any way. The bigger impact will be when the team is sold to a better owner who has a different philosophy than current management's "break-even" mind set.

Azubuike's time to shine

As the Amare to Warriors trade rumor gains steam, it got me thinking that next year should be Kelenna Azubuike's time to shine. This is a guy who plays with a ton of heart and always gives maximum effort. Being undrafted, he's got a huge chip on his shoulders and understands that being on an NBA roster is a privilege and not a right. His numbers have improved every year as he gets more minutes and more confidence. The thing I love about him is for a 6' 5" guy, he rebounds with the best of them. Kinda reminds me of when Jason Richardson lead all SG's a few years ago in rebounds (6.7 a game). If the 2005 NBA draft were re-ordered here's how I'd see it:
 
Brandon Roy
Rajon Rondo
LaMarcus Aldridge
Paul Millsap
Rudy Gay
Randy Foye
Kelenna Azubuike
 
If Amare does come to the W's, here's my projected starting five - Monta, Azubuike, Jackson, Randolph, and Stoudemire with CJ, Morrow, Maggette, and Turiaf as the main bench players. Assuming Randolph continues to develop, I'd say the Warriors are a solid playoff team - maybe as high as 5th or 6th seed but more likely 7th or 8th.