http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php?content=video&url=http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/draft/profiles/08draft_lopez_b.asx&rss=true&siteid=rss

This guy is a lot better than anyone here is giving him credit for. A couple of those highlights have him scoring left handed, which is huge for a center. They show a number of big time blocks. They show him passing out of double teams for wide open layups.

I think a lot of the opinions about him are biased because there is not a lot of video of him on youtube or anywhere else. I just don't think many people know a lot about him or his play. Take a look at the game log. There were only two games where he was limited to single digits in scoring and both were in limited minutes. Nine times he had double digit rebounds. Nine times he had 3+ blocks. He will be a great player to add to this team and I think he could bring us more wins than any other prospect at the #3 pick just by his presence alone. The more pressure taken off of Jefferson the better and Lopez's game could easily pull some of the double teams off of Jefferson with the outside jumper and the post game.

All I can say is I really hope you are right.

Nice work on compiling the research and whatnot.

All the stats aside, I know there's bias against the guy. He's a goofy looking, lanky white guy with a Disney obsession. However, he is a solid player.

One thing is for certain, from a business standpoint, this is awful. Lopez certainly isn't going to bring anyone in the building.

The NBA needs to revise the CBA. This is the only sport where a draft pick can make such an immediate impact and to make the value of a draft pick literally $0 sucks.

For example - Let's pretend the Heat wanted Elton Brand and were willing to trade the CLippers the #2 pick for Brand straight up. Not only can they not make the trade before the draft, they can't even make the trade straight up after Beasley/Rose would be signed because the rookie salary restriction would make the amounts unfeasible under the NBA's trading rules. Although it can punish bad management, teams should be free to make Hershel Walker style trades. This is why our pick sucks. We don't get one of the big two, the rest of the players (all of them, including Mayo) all have serious bust potential and none of them (including Mayo) aren't going to bring the team any marketing dollars.

I agree with you about Lopez, but the potential of O.J. Mayo is hard to pass on. O.J. Mayo has the ability to be a superstar goto guy, where Lopez is solid but I don't think he can be a goto guy. Well, it's up to the Wolves Management to pick so I'm fine if they pick one of these two guys, but if they pick anyone else, that would suck.

I think you are correct that Lopez would bring us more wins than any other prospect next season. That is because he is filling a wide open void. I just wonder if we could fill that void elsewhere (admittedly not easy at all) and use that top pick to upgrade another position in the long term.

Those 30ish percent shooting nights against UCLA and USC on that game log were a concern, of course under the tutelage of Kevin McH.....

TheOldLogo wrote:
All the stats aside, I know there's bias against the guy. He's a goofy looking, lanky white guy with a Disney obsession. However, he is a solid player.

One thing is for certain, from a business standpoint, this is awful. Lopez certainly isn't going to bring anyone in the building.

The NBA needs to revise the CBA. This is the only sport where a draft pick can make such an immediate impact and to make the value of a draft pick literally $0 sucks.

For example - Let's pretend the Heat wanted Elton Brand and were willing to trade the CLippers the #2 pick for Brand straight up. Not only can they not make the trade before the draft, they can't even make the trade straight up after Beasley/Rose would be signed because the rookie salary restriction would make the amounts unfeasible under the NBA's trading rules. Although it can punish bad management, teams should be free to make Hershel Walker style trades. This is why our pick sucks. We don't get one of the big two, the rest of the players (all of them, including Mayo) all have serious bust potential and none of them (including Mayo) aren't going to bring the team any marketing dollars.

What are you wanting the league to change? The rule that salaries have to match up? That would be a major paradigm change in how the salary cap works. If the draft pick had a monetary value it would make it very tricky for trades that happen on future picks.

Pants Wrote:

What are you wanting the league to change? The rule that salaries have to match up? That would be a major paradigm change in how the salary cap works. If the draft pick had a monetary value it would make it very tricky for trades that happen on future picks.

I want the league to change two things. First, the guaranteed salaries are out of control (Allen Houston got $20 million in retirement).

Second, I think it's extremely flawed that draft picks aren't worth any value. Let's go back to 2003. Everyone knows LeBron is the #1 pick. Let's say the Lakers know Kobe wants out and they decide, we'll trade him for the shot at LeBron, the teams should be able to make that trade. This is one of the ways that teams get built. It's like the Vikings being able to trade draft picks for Jared Allen. Allen wanted out of KC, we wanted him, they wanted our pick, but not necessarily anyone on the roster. You should be able to make these trades. We should be able to trade our #3 pick for a player in return, not have to trade our 3 pick and Marko's dog**** contract for another team's higher pick and a shorter dog**** contract in return. I know a lot of teams have stupid GMs (like the Knicks trading the Bulls their pick to essentially get the stay-puffed marshmellow Curry), but they should be free to do that.

So yes, it is a major paradigm in how the salary cap works, which is what I'm suggesting because it's silly to assign a #1 pick, in a league where the teams are comprised of 12 players, 8 of which should be in a rotation, a value of $0, which is what the CBA does.

Christian Laettner = Brooks Lopez

The End.

mwithers wrote:
http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php?content=video&url=http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/draft/profiles/08draft_lopez_b.asx&rss=true&siteid=rss

This guy is a lot better than anyone here is giving him credit for. A couple of those highlights have him scoring left handed, which is huge for a center. They show a number of big time blocks. They show him passing out of double teams for wide open layups.


He was a man among boys in college. He'd be a boy among men in the NBA.

Besides, everyone thought Laettner was a can't-miss prospect back in the day....look how THAT turned out. I think Lopez may end up like him : Solid yet not All-Star material.

TheOldLogo wrote:
Pants Wrote:

What are you wanting the league to change? The rule that salaries have to match up? That would be a major paradigm change in how the salary cap works. If the draft pick had a monetary value it would make it very tricky for trades that happen on future picks.

I want the league to change two things. First, the guaranteed salaries are out of control (Allen Houston got $20 million in retirement).

Second, I think it's extremely flawed that draft picks aren't worth any value. Let's go back to 2003. Everyone knows LeBron is the #1 pick. Let's say the Lakers know Kobe wants out and they decide, we'll trade him for the shot at LeBron, the teams should be able to make that trade. This is one of the ways that teams get built. It's like the Vikings being able to trade draft picks for Jared Allen. Allen wanted out of KC, we wanted him, they wanted our pick, but not necessarily anyone on the roster. You should be able to make these trades. We should be able to trade our #3 pick for a player in return, not have to trade our 3 pick and Marko's dog**** contract for another team's higher pick and a shorter dog**** contract in return. I know a lot of teams have stupid GMs (like the Knicks trading the Bulls their pick to essentially get the stay-puffed marshmellow Curry), but they should be free to do that.

So yes, it is a major paradigm in how the salary cap works, which is what I'm suggesting because it's silly to assign a #1 pick, in a league where the teams are comprised of 12 players, 8 of which should be in a rotation, a value of $0, which is what the CBA does.

Yeah those guaranteed contracts are a killer. That would be a very very difficult thing to redo in a new CBA too. Ideally you could find a way to have the overall salaries be the same yet have the money going to players actually deserving the dough.

mwithers wrote:
http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php?content=video&url=http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/draft/profiles/08draft_lopez_b.asx&rss=true&siteid=rss

This guy is a lot better than anyone here is giving him credit for. A couple of those highlights have him scoring left handed, which is huge for a center. They show a number of big time blocks. They show him passing out of double teams for wide open layups.

I think a lot of the opinions about him are biased because there is not a lot of video of him on youtube or anywhere else. I just don't think many people know a lot about him or his play. Take a look at the game log. There were only two games where he was limited to single digits in scoring and both were in limited minutes. Nine times he had double digit rebounds. Nine times he had 3+ blocks. He will be a great player to add to this team and I think he could bring us more wins than any other prospect at the #3 pick just by his presence alone. The more pressure taken off of Jefferson the better and Lopez's game could easily pull some of the double teams off of Jefferson with the outside jumper and the post game.

WOW HE CAN SCORE LEFT-HANDED IN A FEW HIGHLIGHTS. I can't wait to watch that get rejected into the upper level of the Target Center next season.

I do agree that getting him would straighten our roster out by moving Al and Gomes to the 4 and 3, but if we didn't have such an idiot GM it would be SO F****** EASY to move up into the late 1st round with our 2nd rounders and get either R. Lopez, Hibbert, or someone else, thus curing that same exact problem while also giving us a great player in Mayo. Sigh.

nbafan#8 wrote:
Christian Laettner = Brooks Lopez

The End.
I second that...

I don't by any means want to sound like a Lattner apologist, but seriously guys, he was a good rookie, albeit he ultimately became a big *****na. I remember watching him and thinking he was going to be good for years. Anyone that gets drafted (even a #1) and puts up Laettner's rookie numbers is a stud rookie:

http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=LAETTCH01

Laettner as a rookie:

81 games played
18.2 point per game
8.7 rebounds per game
2.8 assists per game
6.8 free throws per game
47.5% from the field
83.5% from the FT line

People forget that this guy was a free-throw attempt machine for his first three seasons, then he grew out his hair and became a poon.

TheOldLogo wrote:
I don't by any means want to sound like a Lattner apologist, but seriously guys, he was a good rookie, albeit he ultimately became a big *****na. I remember watching him and thinking he was going to be good for years. Anyone that gets drafted (even a #1) and puts up Laettner's rookie numbers is a stud rookie:

http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=LAETTCH01

Laettner as a rookie:

81 games played
18.2 point per game
8.7 rebounds per game
2.8 assists per game
6.8 free throws per game
47.5% from the field
83.5% from the FT line

People forget that this guy was a free-throw attempt machine for his first three seasons, then he grew out his hair and became a poon.

WOW. Those numbers shocked me. The "grew out his hair and became a poon" comments also made me laugh out loud. Thanks for a good post.

All in all, winning will put people in the seats and as far as winning is concerned, quantity of quality outranks quality alone. If you have a quality player already in place at a position you should fill a position of need with a quality player before replacing the quality player already in place. If we have these two lineups, I would take the first one over the second because we have quality at every position.

Foye
McCants/low first rounder - high second rounder
Gomes
Jefferson
Lopez

Foye
Mayo
Someone/Gomes
Gomes/Jefferson
Jefferson/Someone

I like Mayo but he doesn't fill a need like Lopez does. And when it comes down to it, I don't care how many other people watch this team next year. I just want them to fill the positions of need with quality players so that we can win more games and move forward with a solid foundation. Replacing solid players that are still developing on the same pace as the franchise is not going to get us anywhere unless you come in with a guy like Lebron or Kobe.