6 DAYS TO GO, DRAFTING 6TH
6th Overall: Milwaukee Bucks
After a disappointing season, Milwaukee has much to look forward to. The Bucks get a return and full health to Charlie Villanueva, Bobby Simmons and Andrew Bogut to go along with their 6th overall pick.
Villanueva was acquired for T.J. Ford deal after he put up 13 ppg and 6.4 rpg his rookie season. Charlie sat out 43 games last year and is looking forward to bouncing back. Bobby Simmons was a big free agent signing following a 16 ppg, 6 rpg season with LAC in '05. Simmons played 75 games with Milwaukee in the '06 season but was sidelined for all of '07 due to ankle surgery. The Bucks will also get a more mature, more experienced and healthy Andrew Bogut next year. Andrew played just 66 games because of a sprained left foot that ended his season in early March.
Health doesn't seem to be a worry as the Bucks decided to exercise options to re-sign Bogut for the next two years and Villanueva for at least another year past 2007.
The Bucks traded for Earl Boykins, but his 14 ppg and 4 apg was overshadowed by Steve Blake's success with the Nuggets. Mo Williams and Earl Boykins are in charge or handling the point next year, which could be a slight concern for GM Larry Harris. With the 6th overall pick, Harris might look to draft Mike Conley Jr.
Bucks current point man is Mo Williams. Mo is young and talented and he played great last season. Williams goes into next year with extra motivation, he's playing for a new contract. The Bucks might want to draft Conley in the event that they can't afford or get outbid trying to re-sign Williams. It's been reported by the LA Times that in an effort to appease Kobe, the Lakers are trying to get a point guard and both Williams and Boykins have come up (among many names).
It's not just the point guard that concerns Larry Harris. Former #1 overall pick Andrew Bogut is 7 feet tall, but doesn't play the center position. Brian Skinner, Dan Gadzuric, Ersan Ilyasova and Damir Markota are not good enough to help the Bucks make the post-season, even in the Eastern Conference.
Joakim Noah would have been a perfect fit and could have instantly given the Bucks a much needed personality. Too bad he declared himself too good to play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. If Boston grabs Jeff Green, and Mike Conley goes to the Grizzlies, Yi Jianlian could be the Bucks selection.
Even though I think that the Bucks will take Jeff Green or Mike Conley Jr, Jianlian could be the final puzzle piece. His athleticism is pretty decent, he looks 100 times better than the first time I saw Yao. I've been following Yi for more than a year - I first heard about him on PTI and Rivals.com. YouTube.com has plenty of videos of Yi where you can see firsthand that his talent compares with Yao. See for yourself, he takes Pau Gasol off the dribble in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-nfAJJJV_M&mode=related&search= . Regardless of the small-town market - Yi Jianlian would develop and grow with a talented young team (the average age of the Bucks roster is 27).
One problem with drafting Yi if you are Milwaukee is that you could be drafting another Andrew Bogut. Yi isn't exactly a true center and he hasn't gained the strength needed to back down defenders. He also doesn't shoot the highest percentage from outside which could hinder his ability to play small forward in the best league in the world.
Other players that the Bucks could draft at 6th are Jeff Green or Corey Brewer. Even though Milwaukee saw good production from Ruben Patterson, they would love to upgrade in the small forward position. Charlie Bell's 34 minutes per game could get drastically decreased if the Bucks draft Green or Brewer.
No comments:
Post a Comment