Early 2012 NBA Draft Prospect Watch: EA Sports Maui Invitational

I’m no doctor, but I think you should see a doctor about that.

Michael: I disagree, this roster has fundamental flaws(A Two-way wing man(two-way being that unlike Jodie Meeks, the wing can actually slash or hit the mid-range jumper off the dribble. Thereby creating some actual space :D. Oh and also play some pretty good defense. So, I’d like everyone here to say that LeQuan actually does care for that side of the ball. It just so happens that, offensively we’re not below average. We’re terrible.)

And a big man. I think we all agree generally on the needs for a wing and a big.

Duke has two players that after watching the title game against Kansas(and I know, it’s “one game”) that I’ve fallen in love with:

Seth Curry: Like his brother, Stephen. He’s about a 6’3 guard with an incredible stroke. Frankly, he should be a point and not a two. Luckily, we have Jrue Holiday whose defensive upside could negate that ALA Eric Snow once did for Iverson. I need to see more than 3pt shooting from Curry though. I need to see handles and finishing against traffic. I need to see guard play from Curry but he excites me with his ability to stretch the floor.

Mason Plumlee: This guy is a BEAST. 6’11 and he has solid handles evidently. He also has quick court speed and athleticism. He also has shown the ability to bang and finish underneath, unlike most finesse centers who are absolutely useless in that area.

The problem with Plumlee, is like all athletic 6’11 bigs, he finds himself miserably out of position on defense. Bothering to cover the pick and roll and either leaving himself unable to protect the rim, or he’ll face foul trouble. Sound familiar? It pained me to see Dalembert roll out to the 17 foot area defensively, only to see the far faster guard beat him to the rim. Even if Daly and his hands could get there, it’s a freaking goaltending.

It’s something these athletic mobile bigs don’t understand(and I partly blame coaching. They see those mobile legs as an answer against the pick and roll but really, it’s not. It actually helps the pick and roll alot more. Because you draw the big out and the defense to your attention far more easily).

Stay In DA Paint! A big’s job is to protect the rim and defend the post. Anything outside of that is gravy. If a team has a hybrid big and they can shoot the 15-17 footer? Fine. But we’re not going to give up the three point shot, or the easy penetration. Two points is two points, a 17 footer is a 17 footer.

Also, Vuvecic is at best a marginal starting center in the league(That is to say, you could put him there and he won’t kill you. But we’re not going to win championships that way.). But if we want Vuvecic to be a part of a Sixers Championship core?

He’s our 8th-9th man. 15-20 minutes off the bench, for 7/5 on solid shooting percentages. I look at Nikola and I see a vastly superior form of Hawes. But still, a form of Hawes nevertheless.

We already have our answer at PF: Thaddeus Young. He’ll have to improve on his rebounding, but he has shown the potential. He’s shown us several games where he can and has crashed the boards with authority. It’s a solid gamble on a 23 year old to make. He can be our James Worthy/Lamar Odom type.

Thad wanted 11, I’ll negotiate it down to 9. I think he can put the pieces that are missing together, I think he can be a monster hybrid forward in this league. Much the same way a young Antawn Jamison was for GSW and for Washington. The medium then is 10.5 million annually. i think Six years/’60 million is a fair deal for both the organization and for Thad.

I’ve always been a Thad lover, and I really do think we have our power forward of the future in Thad.

That means we need a C/SG. It means we need another first round pick.