Monday, May 30, 2011

WARRIORS WORKS BIG BOARD


Since the last Big Board, the lottery positions have been determined and the NBA Combine has taken place. After watching much of the Combine coverage online, checking out interviews and measurements, and doing additional research on players that intrigued me, here is the latest list of players I'd like the Warriors to bring in to workouts and do further scouting. I've omitted some of the top point guards (Irving, Knight, Walker) because I feel they either will go prior to the Warriors selection or due to current make-up of the Warriors, they there would be better fits available.

  1. Enes Kanter : excellent combo of size, skill, and power, all-star potential
  2. Derrick Williams : well-rounded, NBA-ready, versatile, all-star potential
  3. Bismack Biyombo : best defensive prospect, big upside, valuable weapon if develops consistent mid-range, elite defensive potential
  4. Jan Vesely: exciting high flyer, proven productivity vs. tough competition, developing 3 point threat
  5. Jonas Valanciunas: agile big man, plays with energy, solid rebounder and shot-blocker, Biedrins with more skill
  6. Alec Burks : Dwayne Wade lite, needs to work hard on jump shot, prototypical SG size, excellent finisher, rebounds well, good passer, intangibles, needs to add strength
  7. Kawhi Leonard : energy and incredible motor, rebounds well, great defensive potential, developing offensive player, good work ethic, can disappear in games
  8. Tobias Harris: well-rounded, good ball handling, good shooter, versatile, 18 years old, high character, high BBIQ, gym rat, projected to be solid but not a star
  9. Jeremy Tyler : size, athleticism, former no. 1 ranking for his class, natural shot blocker and strong rebounder, needs to prove professionalism and work ethic issues behind him, gamble
  10. Chris Singleton: defensive stopper, athletic, can guard 4 positions, improving 3 point shot, raw on offense, not a strong rebounder
  11. Donatas Motiejunas: skilled big man, fairly athletic, good passer, needs to add strength and work on defense, high BBIQ, not a good rebounder
  12. Tyler Honeycutt: good defender, long and athletic, high BBIQ, good shooter, decent handles, can play SG/SF, inconsistent, needs to get stronger
  13. Tristan Thompson: garbage man specialist, offensive boards, long and athletic, blocks shots, currently has troubles on defensive glass, needs to work on post offense
  14. Klay Thompson: big time scorer, quick release, good size, plays SG/SF, good passer, high BBIQ, good pedigree, lacks lateral quickness, could be defensive liability
  15. Marshon Brooks: uncanny similarities to Kobe Bryant's game, big-time scorer, good finisher, threat to score from anywhere on court, good rebounder, good athlete, dominates the ball
  16. Marcus Morris: versatile SF/PF, good mid-range shooter, can score in the post, short wing-span
  17. Jimmer Fredette: big-time scorer, very high BBIQ, leader, deep range, aggressive, defense questionable, not a great athlete, could be considered more SG than PG
  18. Lucas Nogueira: athletic big, great shot blocker and rebounder, very thin, raw on offense

Saturday, May 28, 2011

JEREMY TYLER : TOKYO APACHE VIDEOS

Jeremy Tyler is the biggest mystery in this year's draft. First impressions of this 19 year old are that he's immature, unprofessional, undisciplined, and lacks the heart and work ethic to succeed at the NBA level. After forgoing his senior year of high school, he had a disastrous year playing professionally for Maccabi Haifa of Israel. He quit the team early and the following season signed to play with the Tokyo Apache because he was still too young to enter his name into the draft, not to mention he had destroyed his reputation as well.

There, he supposedly learned from his mistakes and has grown as a player and person under the guidance of ex-NBA head coach, Bob Hill. In a NY Times article that reflects on his 2nd chance to play professionally, Hill gives us an idea of just how much Tyler has evolved from his time in Israel.

Hill, who mentored David Robinson while winning 62 games with the San Antonio Spurs in 1994-95, also coached the Knicks, the Pacers and the SuperSonics. He joined the Apache this season in Japan’s basketball league, where teams often play three United States players at a time. He said Tyler was simply too young to jump from his junior year at San Diego High School to a different culture.

“How can you send an 18-year-old to Israel by himself?” Hill said. “First of all, the Israel league is good. There’s no way he was ready, especially if he didn’t have an American coach who could bring him along. I mean, they took him out of high school in his junior year. It was a disaster. He didn’t do well. He’s doing much better here than he did in Israel.”

Hill said he has tried to wean Tyler off a permissive American grass-roots basketball culture that, he said, is “at an all-time low” in terms of grooming prodigies for the adult rigors of basketball life.

Too often, young players are told how great they are, Hill said.

“Young 17-, 18-year-olds believe it,” he said. “Jeremy is a product of that to some degree. I’ve had to break him. I’ve had to get to a point where he says, ‘That was my fault,’ to take accountability for his actions. He’s finally there. It’s taken eight or nine months, and I’m proud of him. He’s going in the right direction.”

It sounds as if Tyler is starting to 'get it,' but many are still skeptical, and rightfully so. He could be a big steal for a team willing to take a chance on him late in the draft, or a big bust to a team willing to risk a lottery pick on a promising player who few have scouted personally since falling off the radar after he quit Maccabi.

The talent and physical tools are there, as evident in this video when he was the #1 Ranked Player in the Class of 2010. The question is, does Tyler have the mentality and drive to reach his full potential? In a weak draft year such as this, there might be a team desperate for a Big Man that will take that gamble. Will it be the Warriors?





Thanks to 'hoopasia2011', we can see some of the games Jeremy Tyler played on Tokyo Apache. I've organized them in chronological order, so you can see the development (or lack there of) as the season progressed.


12/26/10

16 min, 4-6 fg, 3-4 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 1 stl, 2 blk, 5 to, 11 pts


01/16/11

10 min, 1-3 fg, 0-2 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 0 stl, 1 blk, 1 to, 2 pts


01/18/11

5 min, 2-3 fg, 0-1 ft, 2 reb, 0 ast, 3 pf, 0 stl, 0 blk, 2 to, 4 pts


01/19/11

13 min, 2-6 fg, 0-0 ft, 4 reb, 0 ast, 2 pf, 0 stl, 0 blk, 2 to, 4 pts


02/15/11

17 min, 5-7 fg, 2-6 ft, 10 reb, 0 ast, 2 pf, 2 stl, 4 blk, 2 to, 12 pts


02/22/11

11 min, 4-8 fg, 0-0 ft, 4 reb, 0 ast, 4 pf, 0 stl, 0 blk, 1 to, 8 pts


03/06/11

25 min, 6-17 fg, 2-6 ft, 11 reb, 0 ast, 5 pf, 1 stl, 1 blk, 4 to, 14 pts


03/09/10

19 min, 5-11 fg, 2-6 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 0 stl, 0 blk, 2 to, 12 pts


03/10/11

23 min, 11-18 fg, 2-7 ft, 11 reb, 0 ast, 3 pf, 0 stl, 1 blk, 1 to, 24 pts


Games with 20+ minutes
10/31/10: 20 min, 8 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 to
11/07/10: 26 min, 27 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 0 blk, 0 stl, 3 to
11/20/10: 24 min, 18 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 1 blk, 0 stl, 5 to
01/09/11: 20 min, 10 pts, 8 reb, 0 ast, 2 pf, 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 to
01/27/11: 20 min, 6 pts, 13 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 2 blk, 2 stl, 3 to
02/16/11: 21 min, 16 pts, 12 reb, 0 ast, 3 pf, 1 blk, 0 stl, 4 to
03/06/11: 25 min, 14 pts, 11 reb, 0 ast, 5 pf, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 to
03/10/11: 23 min, 23 pts, 11 reb, 0 ast, 3 pf, 1 blk, 0 stl, 1 to

Season Highs
26 min
27 pts
9-13 fg
5-6 ft
8 oreb
10 dreb
13 reb
2 ast (4 times)
4 blk
2 stl (2 times)
7 to

Obviously, Jeremy Tyler is a project that needs a lot of refining. 2009 was almost a lost year in terms of his on-court development, but he's finally getting on track with good support and coaching. Areas of concern are his footwork, shot selection, and black-hole mentality. Tyler needs to develop a few go-to moves and not rush it too much in the paint. He'd also be best served to stop thinking himself as solely a scorer and not force the issue all the time. If he can learn to pass out of the double team and focus more on the defensive end (less fouling), Tyler has a chance at being a future starter in the NBA.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

NBA 2011 MOCK DRAFT 2.0


01. Cavaliers - Kyrie Irving: PG, 6-3, 190 lbs, 19 y.o.
02. Timberwolves - Derrick Williams: SF/PF, 6-9, 250 lbs, 20 y.o.
03. Jazz - Enes Kanter: C, 6-11, 260 lbs, 19 y.o.
04. Cavaliers - Jonas Valanciunas: C, 6-11, 260 lbs, 19 y.o.
05. Raptors - Brandon Knight: PG, 6-3, 180 lbs, 19 y.o.
06. Wizards - Kawhi Leonard: SF, 6-7, 225 lbs, 19 y.o.
07. Kings - Kemba Walker: PG, 6-1, 185 lbs, 21 y.o.
08. Pistons - Bismack Biyombo: C/PF, 6-9, 240 lbs, 18 y.o.
09. Bobcats - Alec Burks: SG, 6-6, 195 lbs, 19 y.o.
10. Bucks - Klay Thompson: SG/SF, 6-7, 205 lbs, 21 y.o.
11. Warriors - Jan Vesely: SF/PF, 6-11, 240 lbs, 21 y.o.
12. Jazz - Jimmer Fredette: PG, 6-2, 195 lbs, 22 y.o.
13. Suns - Tobias Harris: SF/PF, 6-8, 225 lbs, 18 y.o.
14. Rockets - Chris Singleton: SF, 6-9, 230 lbs, 21 y.o.
15. Pacers - Donatas Motiejunas: PF/C, 7-0, 215 lbs, 20 y.o.
16. 76ers - Marcus Morris: PF, 6-9, 230 lbs, 21 y.o.
17. Knicks - Jeremy Tyler: C, 6-11, 260 lbs, 19 y.o.
18. Wizards - Marshon Brooks: SG, 6-5, 195 lbs, 22 y.o.
19. Bobcats - Tristan Thompson: PF, 6-9, 230 lbs, 20 y.o.
20. Timberwolves - Jordan Hamilton: SF, 6-8, 230 lbs, 20 y.o.
21. Trailblazers - Josh Selby: SG, 6-3, 195 lbs, 20 y.o.
22. Nuggets - Kenneth Faried: PF, 6-8, 225 lbs, 21 y.o.
23. Rockets - Tyler Honeycutt: SF, 6-4, 190 lbs, 20 y.o.
24. Thunder - Nikola Mirotic: SF/PF, 6-10, 225 lbs, 20 y.o.
25. Celtics - Nikola Vucevic: PF/C, 7-0, 260 lbs, 20 y.o.
26. Mavericks - Markieff Morris: PF, 6-10, 240 lbs, 21 y.o.
27. Nets - Kyle Singler: SF/PF, 6-9, 225 lbs, 23 y.o.
28. Bulls - Lucas Nogueira: C, 7-0, 225 lbs, 18 y.o.
29. Spurs - Jordan Williams: C, 6-9, 250 lbs, 20 y.o.
30. Bulls - Travis Leslie: SG/SF, 6-4, 205 lbs, 21 y.o.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

ELLIS AS GOOD AS GONE


Today, the legendary Jerry West, was formally introduced by the Golden State Warriors. He is regarded as one of the most respected basketball minds in the world and among the greatest players to ever play the game. In the press conference, he was sharp as ever and was not shy in offering his opinion on how to best improve the team.

He emphasized taking RISKS!
He stated that they needed to get bigger overall.
He specified the need to get bigger at two positions. Obviously he's referring to SG and C.
Then he drop this bombshell during an interview after the press conference:
Monta, fierce competitor. He competes his fanny off every night. Love to watch him play. But to me, size helps. A lot of times...the two trades that we made that were pretty controversial, we traded Norm Nixon, he was part of a World Championship team. And even to this day, I don't think Norm is very happy with me, but I've always said that, with the ball in his hands, Ervin Johnson was Magic Johnson, without it, he was Ervin Johnson. And they had a difficult time sharing the ball and being successful. Trading Nick Van Excel was one of the most difficult...he was one of my favorite players. But it got to the point where you would rather it be about the team than the individual. And to this day, I know he despises me, but I don't think you have to look it that way, you have to look at what's best for the bigger picture here. And that's exactly what these guys want to do.
The writing is on the wall and it is a matter of time before they trade Monta. Maybe not this season, but if they miss the playoffs yet again in 2012, definitely the next.

I love Monta, but for the good of the team and in the bigger scheme of things, it is best that the ball be in the hands of a true PG that could facilitate plays and make teammates around him better. If Monta remains as SG, the Warriors won't have problems scoring most nights, but they will usually have problems defending because of the lack of size. It may seem acceptable in the regular season, but when Playoff Basketball rolls around and defenses ratchet it up, size WILL matter, and the great teams will game-plan and exploit the mismatches.

I'm sure Lacob was aware of this situation even before West gave his input. Don Nelson also affirms this viewpoint in an interview with KNBR in which lauds Monta's offensive prowess, but ultimately says that a pairing of Curry and Ellis is too small and would not succeed at a high level.

With the respected Jerry West on board, it will be easier for the organization to break the news to the Monta Ellis fans. His days as a Warrior are numbered, so enjoy him in the Blue and Gold while you can. The 'Big Risk' West speaks of is in the works.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

NBA 2011 MOCK DRAFT 1.0

1. Cavaliers - Enes Kanter
2. Timberwolves - Kyrie Irving
3. Jazz - Derrick Williams
4. Cavaliers - Brandon Knight
5. Raptors - Kemba Walker
6. Wizards - Jan Veseley
7. Kings - Bismack Biyombo
8. Pistons - Jonas Valanciunas
9. Bobcats - Kawhi Leonard
10. Bucks - Alec Burks
11. Warriors - Tobias Harris
12. Jazz - Jimmer Fredette
13. Suns - Tristan Thompson
14. Rockets - Marcus Morris
15. Pacers - Klay Thompson
16. 76ers - Donatas Motiejunas
17. Knicks - Jeremy Tyler
18. Wizards -  Marshon Brooks
19. Bobcats - Jordan Hamilton
20. Timberwolves - Chris Singleton
21. Trailblazers - Tyler Honeycutt
22. Nuggets - Lucas Nogueira
23. Rockets - Markieff Morris
24. Thunder - Nikola Mirotic
25. Celtics - Kenneth Faried
26. Mavericks - Davis Bertans
27. Nets - Nikola Vucevic
28. Bulls - Josh Selby
29. Spurs - Reggie Jackson
30. Bulls - Justin Harper

Saturday, May 21, 2011

GAMBLE ON TYLER?

Two guys that impressed me coming out of the NBA Draft Combine were Tobias Harris and Jeremy Tyler. Harris is projected as high as #14, but Tyler is regarded by most as a 2nd round pick. He has a reputation for immaturity and under-achievement, but after listening to his interview, it seems like he may have shed that label and has learned to be more professional - either that or he's a good actor. Looks like he has the size we desperately need in the paint and has as much upside as anyone else in this draft.

Tyler looked pretty athletic in all the combine drills but needs to shed some fat (13.5%) and add muscle. He measured out to 6'10.5" with a freakish 7'5" wingspan, standing reach of 9'2.5".

If he's evolved into a coachable player, he could be worth a late lottery gamble in a weak draft like this.

As the #1 ranked sophomore back in 2008, Tyler averaged 18 points, 14.5 rebounds and 7.7 blocks while shooting 51 percent from the field. His failed experiment with playing overseas at such a young age stunted his development, but with the right coaching (Warrior Big Man coach, Robert Werdann was running the Combine drills) and support system he can become a force in the middle. He's got a long way to go, but it could pay dividends in a couple of years.



Related Articles
Marc Spears: Tyler says he’s grown from journey
Draft Express: Player Profile
ESPN: Draft Profile (Insider)

Monday, May 16, 2011

WARRIORS WORKS BIG BOARD

Draft lottery is tomorrow, so I've compiled a list of this year's draftees ranked using a combination of best available prospect and Warriors' team need. This might be very different from what you'll see from many other draft websites because this list omits players that are sure to be drafted in the lottery, but the Warriors really are better off targeting someone else due to duplication. The biggest factor in a draft that is widely regarded as weak, is to find that diamond in the rough if picking outside of the top 3. That player might not be able to help immediately, but down the road, they have the best shot at developing into a starter or even better.

  1. Enes Kanter
  2. Derrick Williams
  3. Kyrie Irving
  4. Jan Vesely
  5. Alec Burks
  6. Kawhi Leonard
  7. Jonas Valanciunas
  8. Donatas Motiejunas
  9. Tyler Honeycutt
  10. Tristan Thompson
  11. Bismack Biyombo
  12. Klay Thompson
  13. Marcus Morris
  14. Davis Bertans