Your Reactions to Past Drafts

[Aenadin]

Im a long time kings fan but ive only registered to kingsfans just this april but i have been monitoring the drafts and the players that the kings have been drafting...

so what were your initial reactions to the players that were drafted before.. i mean im not going to jump back to 1980s or something but the ones that were pre our rebuilding phase (2004)

Kevin Martin
Francisco Garcia
Quincy Douby
Ricky Minard
Spencer Hawes

obviously kevin martin is the most successful in the bunch at the moment but negating their performances... would you have drafted them based on what school they were in? Big or small... and stuff just saying

 

[Entity]

Im a long time kings fan but ive only registered to kingsfans just this april but i have been monitoring the drafts and the players that the kings have been drafting...

so what were your initial reactions to the players that were drafted before.. i mean im not going to jump back to 1980s or something but the ones that were pre our rebuilding phase (2004)

Kevin Martin
Francisco Garcia
Quincy Douby
Ricky Minard
Spencer Hawes

obviously kevin martin is the most successful in the bunch at the moment but negating their performances... would you have drafted them based on what school they were in? Big or small... and stuff just saying

Honestly my reactions to the following

Martin (who the hell is that skinny dude)
Garcia (what is GP doing we need a big)
Douby (what is GP doing we need a big)
Ricky Minard (pfft Oooooook)
Spencer Hawes (needed a big, got best availeable, cool)

 

[fnordius]

so what were your initial reactions to the players that were drafted before.. i mean im not going to jump back to 1980s or something but the ones that were pre our rebuilding phase (2004)

Kevin Martin: I was okay with this one, partly because I trusted Geoff quite a bit at the time, and also because he was such a late pick that there was nobody who looked decent that we passed on.
Francisco Garcia: I wasn't sure about drafting two SGs in a row, but liked his rounded skill set, and particularly that he could defend. He wasn't #1 on my wish list, though.
Quincy Douby: Hated it. Not only 3rd SG in a row, but an undersized one at that.
Ricky Minard: Didn't care, since almost all of Geoff's 2nd rounders get waived. I expected that he was just going through the motions, and that whoever he picked would be gone soon anyway.
Spencer Hawes: Didn't like it, wanted someone more athletic. I'd have gone with Thornton.

 

[Entity]

thorton you mean Kenny Thomas 2. You know Kenny was considered very athletic on his draft day as well. still a tweener

 

[1kingzfan]

Kevin Martin: I was okay with this one, partly because I trusted Geoff quite a bit at the time, and also because he was such a late pick that there was nobody who looked decent that we passed on.
Francisco Garcia: I wasn't sure about drafting two SGs in a row, but liked his rounded skill set, and particularly that he could defend. He wasn't #1 on my wish list, though.
Quincy Douby: Hated it. Not only 3rd SG in a row, but an undersized one at that.
Ricky Minard: Didn't care, since almost all of Geoff's 2nd rounders get waived. I expected that he was just going through the motions, and that whoever he picked would be gone soon anyway.
Spencer Hawes: Didn't like it, wanted someone more athletic. I'd have gone with Thornton.

Aside from being much higher on Kevin's selection, this sums up my feelings to the T.

 

[nbrans]

Kevin Martin - hadn't heard of him but liked what I saw when I researched him afterwards

Francisco Garcia - I was pissed we didn't draft David Lee

Quincy Douby - I really wanted Douby, and called that pick. Didn't really think Rondo was going to be valuable because he couldn't shoot, didn't think Marcus Williams had his head on straight. I think I was right about Williams. Mostly wrong about Rondo. I say mostly because he's in a very unique situation in Boston where he's surrounded by three 20 ppg scorers and he's not needed for offense. But in another system I don't think he'd be nearly as good or valuable because his lack of offense puts so much pressure on the other guys to score, and even against the Lakers you saw how they didn't even really guard him. But he is a really strong defender and ballhandler so... at least thus far looks like a bad call. We'll see how Douby does this season.

Ricky Minard - didn't know who he was

Spencer Hawes - royally pissed on the grounds of a lack of athleticism. He seems to be a bit more athletic than he was in college, but too early to pass any judgments on this draft

 

[CruzDude]

Kevin was surprise but based on previous 8 years figured it was smart but needing few years.

Before Kevin was no pick, Gerald Wallace, Hido Turgolu, all of which in a few years became starters. Before that was JWill and Peja amazing picks and in Peja's case an all-star but had to wait 3-4 years. In most cases, when drafting below the top 2-5 you have to wait 2-4 years to see what you really have, or don't have. After awhile, those of us who have been around a bit and learned some patience, know why GP was voted as Executive of the Year twice in a 4 year span!!! How soon some of KingsFans forget, eh?

 

[CruzDude]

Another interesting thing about this year. All three draftees are college Seniors!!!! All have 4 years of college ball and two were starters the whole time with PE a major 6th man. This cuts down on surprises and gives them a chance to contribute sooner.

 

[Kev.in]

Kevin Martin - Excited, DraftCity (now DraftExpress) had a lot of good things to say about him, I remember they had at least one video of him from a workout showing his footspeed and how quick he got off the floor. On draft day I was scared they were going to draft Sasha Vujacic. I remember people on here being mad, saying Martin would suck and we should've taken a chance on a big man with star potential like PJ Ramos.

Francisco Garcia - Mad! When they announced the pick I was really mad. It ruined my night, I just didn't like him or want him on the team. I wanted a big man here but if the Kings were bent on taking a guard or wing player I was hoping for Julius Hodge, Jarret Jack or Nate Robinson. Those 3 were taken right before the Kings pick, so I started hoping for David Lee, Wayne Simien or Ronny Turiaf's name to be called. So to me Garcia was about 7th on the realistic best case scenario for the Kings pick.

Quincy Douby - Didn't like this pick either. There were like 4 or 5 point guards and Josh Boone still on the board so this pick got me mad. Marcus Williams, Rajon Rondo and that Spanish kid that the Blazers ended up with all would've been better fits. I'm still pretty mad about this one, with that many point guards on the board we draft a guy who would have to learn the position just to be a decent backup.

Spencer Hawes - I didn't like most of the prospects at this spot, kind of like this year. When the Kings were on the clock I wanted Julian Wright. First thing I learned about Hawes was that he's 19 and has already had some knee surgeries. But after two consecutive years of getting angry about the draft pick I decided to not care.

 

[tyrant]

our picks were terrible. ive always liked kevin martin though. when he first came into the league i thought he'd be an allstar. lately he's been pretty dissapointing. i thought he would be better than the one-dimensional kmart we have now. with that said he's still young and i think he can get better. and i do expect that he'll at least participate in 1 allstar game.

 

[Bricklayer]

Im a long time kings fan but ive only registered to kingsfans just this april but i have been monitoring the drafts and the players that the kings have been drafting...

so what were your initial reactions to the players that were drafted before.. i mean im not going to jump back to 1980s or something but the ones that were pre our rebuilding phase (2004)

Kevin Martin
Francisco Garcia
Quincy Douby
Ricky Minard
Spencer Hawes

obviously kevin martin is the most successful in the bunch at the moment but negating their performances... would you have drafted them based on what school they were in? Big or small... and stuff just saying

Kevin Martin -- Yes (a much discussed sleeper before the draft, and nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking the chance that late. Very similar to the Gerald pick.)
Francisco Garcia -- No (had a bit of a bad read here -- he's better at some things than I thought he would be, and worse at others. So my reasoning on the "no" is inapplicable. Wanted a big -- Lee, Turiaf etc.)
Quincy Douby -- No (wanted a true point -- Williams, Rondo, Farmar etc.)
Ricky Minard -- shrug (2nd rounders are usually irrelevant, this seemed a solid enough shot in the dark)
Spencer Hawes -- Yes (but because he was the last of the major bigs available -- I would have been trying to move up after B.Wright, Yi or Horford. Only J. Wright of the guys picked after Hawes would have tempted me.)

 

[KingKong]

Kevin Martin: Looks a lot like Doug Christie (I don't think that anymore, btw)
Francisco Garcia: I liked the way he talked, accent and all.
Quincy Douby: There's actually a player named "Douby". Sweet.
Ricky Minard: Didn't care much.
Spencer Hawes: Miller 2.0.

 

[Bricklayer]

Another interesting thing about this year. All three draftees are college Seniors!!!! All have 4 years of college ball and two were starters the whole time with PE a major 6th man. This cuts down on surprises and gives them a chance to contribute sooner.

And cuts down on their long term potential.

That's the flip. Drafting seniors is safe and will keep the fans off your back int he short term. But in the longterm the odds of one off them stepping forward and surprising you, and the league, are much much lower than they are for a frosh. Its low risk low reward.

 

[bajaden]

And cuts down on their long term potential.

That's the flip. Drafting seniors is safe and will keep the fans off your back int he short term. But in the longterm the odds of one off them stepping forward and surprising you, and the league, are much much lower than they are for a frosh. Its low risk low reward.

In a general sense, and I realize that your speaking in generalities, what you say is true. Your more likely to be surprised by a freshman than you are with a senior. Because you have a better idea of what your getting with a senior. Most of the general development work has been done, hopefully.

Thats where scouting come's into play. If you can find a senior thats a late bloomer and is already somewhat impressive in what he can do, you might have a surprise player. All descriptions of Thompson fit that analogy. He is a late bloomer, in the sense that he's still figuring out how to use his body. Going from a 6' guard to a 6'11" PF in a very short span of time. From that prospective, he has more upside perhaps than some other seniors. At the moment, he's a PF with some guard skills. Not a bad thing if he can refine the rest of his game. Only time will tell.

Speaking of time. I hope that everyone out there is will to give this young man some time. He's not going to come in and light up the league. He's going to require patience. Something thats not always readily available on this fourm.

 

[Vlade4GM]

How about these

Kenny Smith
Pervis Ellison
Billy Owens
Walt Williams
Bobby Hurley
Brian Grant

 

[Warhawk]

And cuts down on their long term potential.

That's the flip. Drafting seniors is safe and will keep the fans off your back int he short term. But in the longterm the odds of one off them stepping forward and surprising you, and the league, are much much lower than they are for a frosh. Its low risk low reward.

Maybe so, but the other side of the coin is that you are otherwise paying for a player to be on your team who really can't contribute soon and may not ever. Kinda like Martin his first year or two. Much higher risk for maybe not so high a reward? There is a plus and a minus for both sides....

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

I actually see two of the seniors we drafted with some level of potential--Jason Thompson and Patrick Ewing, Jr., albeit in different ways. Thompson at least was a virtual unknown before the tail end of his junior year, and has a solid set of tools that will help him thrive in the NBA, and his mobility and above average, but not freak, athleticism will always give him some level of potential, because he has a lot of bad habits he can correct. As for Ewing Jr., anyone who plays so few minutes, despite his age, and who has that level of freak athleticism and quickness will always have potential. The difference is--I don't think Ewing will live up to that potential, due to variables involving time, patience, and the fact that he's 24 already. Thompson, however, will be given that chance to thrive with us--so I'm hopeful for his prospects, but there's probably only so much he can do because in terms of the NBA, he doesn't have the benefit of a skill set he extremely excels in nor does he have freak athleticism. But he should be a satisfying piece for our equation. I don't want to talk about Sean Singletary at all.

Back to the thread, I actually liked Martin--sleeper prospect, and people were even throwing around the Richard Hamilton comparisons because he was a bonafide scorer in a small school. Garcia was somewhat telegraphed, because you could go no wrong with him back then (little bust potential, but was probably a role player in the NBA) and I thought that he could've provided extra versatility for us. Douby--hated it; wanted Rondo really really badly, and I thought Douby was a one-dimensional chucker, and I haven't been proved wrong as of yet, seemingly. Ricky Minard--he was a workout warrior that inched his way up in the 2nd round not because of his college production--and sort of like Martin, Petrie snatched him because of that; he did okay with us, but again there are many like him so it was an okay gamble at the time. Hawes--eh, I wasn't really enamored with him because I thought he duplicated Brad Miller in many areas and preferred a shotblocker type athlete, but he's doing fine with us.

 

[est.1999]

spencer hawes is not brad miller. He at least has a post game

 

[SacKings7]

I didn't know who Kevin Martin was when he was picked, so I didn't really have any opinion on the pick. Same with Minard. I was actually excited to hear Garcia's name called, I figured he would be a really good player. (still) pissed at the Douby pick, and was ok with Hawes because at least he was a frontcourt player, but would have preferred Thornton or Julian Wright

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

spencer hawes is not brad miller. He at least has a post game

Hence some areas. But there's no denying that both players are relatively earthbound offensive-oriented big men who have mild deficiencies rebounding the ball. But Hawes' shotblocking skills are surprisingly good, at least in his rookie year.

 

[ovrush]

And cuts down on their long term potential.

That's the flip. Drafting seniors is safe and will keep the fans off your back int he short term. But in the longterm the odds of one off them stepping forward and surprising you, and the league, are much much lower than they are for a frosh. Its low risk low reward.

low risk low reward could be our team slogan these days.

I miss the GP who traded for a risky Webber, and picked Jwill off the scrap heap after he got the boot from Florida. The crazy thing about the team he built, and maybe he forgets this... is that he was very active every offseason. He didn't build that team through signing a guy to the MLE, drafting where we stood and standing pat.

Bibby/Webber/Divac/Christie were all offseason acquisitions. I can't remember the last time we made an offseason move that wasn't us strictly signing someone to the MLE.

 

[fnordius]

thorton you mean Kenny Thomas 2. You know Kenny was considered very athletic on his draft day as well. still a tweener

Kenny Thomas: after 12 years in the NBA, career high of 32 points.
Al Thornton: after 1 year in the NBA, career high of 39 points.

No, I don't think they're the same guy.

 

[BMiller52]

Kenny Thomas: after 12 years in the NBA, career high of 32 points.
Al Thornton: after 1 year in the NBA, career high of 39 points.

No, I don't think they're the same guy.

Of course they are man. Thornton is like Kenny except he can make a lay up, dunk, shoot 3 pointers, play defense, jump, run while chewing gum, tie his shoes, block shots, get steals, dribble a basketball, etc.

The one thing Thornton can't do as well as Kenny is throw a lay up off the backboard like it's a fastball.

 

[FakeInjury]

A+ Draft. Lets try to get some FA too.

 

[steelevt]

Kevin Martin-didnt know much about him except he could score...didnt love the pick, but at the time i still trusted petrie and his ability to find diamonds in the rough(but was a upset at him for trading cwebb)

Francisco Garcia-i know we could have used a big, but i felt finding a backup for peja at the 3 was needed also. i was praying that granger would fall a bit further (damn you Indy). but was content with garcia considering our position in the draft.

Quincy Douby-HATED the pick. i yelled, cussed, slammed the table whatever. i knew we needed a pg, you knew we needed a pg, all the pg's available knew we needed a pg. the whole nba knew we needed a pg. i guess someone forgot to tell petrie. with williams, rondo, and farmar at the top of my list and still available i was ecstatic...until stern walked to the podium and announced our pick

Ricky Minard-meh

Spencer Hawes-was kinda upset. felt we needed a banger instead of a b.miller clone. but considering almost everyone i wanted was gone, i sorta knew we were getting him but didnt like it. i had thornton ahead of him and he was still available so that was the major reason i was upset.

 

[Aenadin]

i liked all most of the picks the douby pick still needs to convince me.. if i remember douby broke peja's work out record for 3 pointers thus petrie picked him

im really wondering also why people compare hawes to brad miller... brad doesnt have that post move he has... best case for hawes is he turns into a better version of vlade

 

[Entity]

Hence some areas. But there's no denying that both players are relatively earthbound offensive-oriented big men who have mild deficiencies rebounding the ball. But Hawes' shotblocking skills are surprisingly good, at least in his rookie year.

I would compare Hawes to Divac before Miller strictly because of his savy around the basket. Miller gives you nothing in the post. In fact if the paint were wet his shoes would still be white at the end of the game.

 

[upinsmoke]

When i first saw kevin me and my pops both turned to eachother and laughed because nobody ever heard of him and he looked like he was still in high school LOL anyways

Garcia- thought it was a great pick from the start, loved his passion for the game.

Douby- wasted pick. I was hoping for the local leon powe or for the pick to be traded for next years second rounders because not much was still there that year.

Hawes- Like everyone else was thinking Noah but soo glad he did was not there anymore. Was still okay with hawes.

 

[Aenadin]

id rather have hawes than some crackhead NOAH

for a 19 year old with those post moves and bb IQ.. he would just outsmart his defender rather than power over them

well i still hope he bulks up too

 

[SacKings384]

Martin - Didn't mind the Martin draft pick, he was relatively low, but I never thought he'd turn out this good.
Minard - Second rounder, he was athletic, took a shot in the dark. Don't mind it.
Cisco - Didn't like it at all. Think he's a solid bench player, but David Lee was available and man did we need rebounding.
Douby - Didn't like it at all. High volume shooter, little size, and not a true pg. At the time we needed a PG to back up Bibby, and we needed a big man really bad. We got neither.
Hawes - Hated this pick. He is slow, unathletic, plays poor defense, can't rebound, and is soft. As if we didn't have enough of those already.