CB Draft '09 Mock Press Conference: Northwest Division

[KCattheStripe]

Question for Denver, who is your main offensive threat? Also, are you worried about having  franchise player that is as njury prone as Oden is? One more, Is Oden really a franchise big if he hasn't shown any flashes of being offensivley dominant?

Like I said in my review, there is a lack of a big time scorer on my team.  There are multiple guys capable of 12-16 points a game.  Therefor, this season will be used to build team offense.  Oden is going to be force feed the ball.  

Of course you have to be concern, but given his age and how it looks like he is bouncing back, I believe he will shake that "injury prone" tag.

Even if Oden never becomes offensively dominant, he can be a franchise big.  (Russel was never offensively dominant)

yeah, but Oden's not Russell. And Russell was the only Franchise big I coud think of who wasn't offensvely dominant, until I thought of Wes Unseld. But still.

[wdleehi]

PF/SF  Brandan Wright  6-10  210 lbs.  21 years old
17.6   .528   .741   4.0 rebounds  8.3 points
per:  18.77

I am big on his potential.  I needed a little more athleticism at the PF spot, and he fit.  His lack of shooting has made him a bad fit for Nellie ball.  We hope that a more traditional team will allow him the chance to shine.  He is a dark horse candidate to win the starting PF spot.

As high as Denver is on Wright, and he's certainly tantalizing (That baby hook!), how do the Nuggets prevent him from becoming an afterthought amidst the team's great frontcourt depth? Mandated playing time? It's not only his jumpshot that kept him out of Nelson's line up. Injuries limited him to 38 games in his rookie campaign and 39 games last season, and that time lost has translated to trouble on the court - in missed rotations and broken plays.

Or, to put it another way, Kevin Love, both a more physical and savier 4, has already played more NBA games. And it's Jeff Green, not Love or Haslem, who might most easily overshadow Brandan. Green, a player with a similar physique and position on the court, is only a year older but already fully established.

He will have to earn his playtime.  Right now, he is the 4th big man.  With Love playing at the C position as well as PF, I see Wright being able to carve out a 10-15 minute role at PF and SF.

As for him vs. Green, Green's outside shot and handle will keep him ahead of Wright at the SF spot.  A bad shooting starting SF would not work well. 

[wdleehi]

Question for Denver, who is your main offensive threat? Also, are you worried about having  franchise player that is as njury prone as Oden is? One more, Is Oden really a franchise big if he hasn't shown any flashes of being offensivley dominant?

Like I said in my review, there is a lack of a big time scorer on my team.  There are multiple guys capable of 12-16 points a game.  Therefor, this season will be used to build team offense.  Oden is going to be force feed the ball.  

Of course you have to be concern, but given his age and how it looks like he is bouncing back, I believe he will shake that "injury prone" tag.

Even if Oden never becomes offensively dominant, he can be a franchise big.  (Russel was never offensively dominant)

yeah, but Oden's not Russell. And Russell was the only Franchise big I coud think of who wasn't offensvely dominant, until I thought of Wes Unseld. But still.

Who else was ever Russell?   

Oden could easily develop into a 16 and 10+ defensive force.   And with the pieces Denver has, they can find the offensive focus of the team later.

[The Walker Wiggle]

Question for Denver GM: When did your love affair with Mardy Collins begin? Did you know the first time you saw him, or did you resist his big guard potential at first, only to be drawn in later by his sensitive nature?

He played well this year when he got a chance to play.  And I think he is a good fit next to smaller SGs off the bench (House in real Boston and Foye in CB Denver)  He can be another Eric Snow.  Big PG.  Good defense.  Lack of outside shot.

Loosely related, how confident are you, on a scale of 1-10, that on the L.A. Clippers, he'll beat out Fred Jones for the always coveted last spot on the active roster?

(I fully believed it was going to be Houston's 15th round pick, Mike Taylor, but as the only partly guaranteed contract in the field, he was waived after a poor summer league showing...)

[wdleehi]

Question for Denver GM: When did your love affair with Mardy Collins begin? Did you know the first time you saw him, or did you resist his big guard potential at first, only to be drawn in later by his sensitive nature?

He played well this year when he got a chance to play.  And I think he is a good fit next to smaller SGs off the bench (House in real Boston and Foye in CB Denver)  He can be another Eric Snow.  Big PG.  Good defense.  Lack of outside shot.

Loosely related, how confident are you, on a scale of 1-10, that on the L.A. Clippers, he'll beat out Fred Jones for the always coveted last spot on the active roster?

(I fully believed it was going to be Houston's 15th round pick, Mike Taylor, but as the only partly guaranteed contract in the field, he was waived after a poor summer league showing...)

I think he stays.  With a smaller SG Gordon, he would be a better fit off the bench then Telfair.

[Edgar]

Question for Denver GM: When did your love affair with Mardy Collins begin? Did you know the first time you saw him, or did you resist his big guard potential at first, only to be drawn in later by his sensitive nature?

He played well this year when he got a chance to play.  And I think he is a good fit next to smaller SGs off the bench (House in real Boston and Foye in CB Denver)  He can be another Eric Snow.  Big PG.  Good defense.  Lack of outside shot.

Loosely related, how confident are you, on a scale of 1-10, that on the L.A. Clippers, he'll beat out Fred Jones for the always coveted last spot on the active roster?

(I fully believed it was going to be Houston's 15th round pick, Mike Taylor, but as the only partly guaranteed contract in the field, he was waived after a poor summer league showing...)

fred jones is with crotornats waiting for his chance..........

[Roy Hobbs]

Questions for Denver:

1) Among the non-injured players on your team, only Haslem was a full-time starter on a playoff team.  Oden made the playoffs, but was relegated to a secondary role on his "real life" team.  The vast majority of your players played on truly horrid teams such as Oklahoma City, Memphis, and Minnesota.

Does your team have the experience and winning attitude necessary to compete now?  Does it have the mentors to allow the team to develop, so as to compete later?

2)  With so many guys competing for spots, will the internal hierarchy on your team be an issue? 

3) Where do you see yourself in our division?

[KCattheStripe]

Question for Denver, who is your main offensive threat? Also, are you worried about having  franchise player that is as njury prone as Oden is? One more, Is Oden really a franchise big if he hasn't shown any flashes of being offensivley dominant?

Like I said in my review, there is a lack of a big time scorer on my team.  There are multiple guys capable of 12-16 points a game.  Therefor, this season will be used to build team offense.  Oden is going to be force feed the ball.  

Of course you have to be concern, but given his age and how it looks like he is bouncing back, I believe he will shake that "injury prone" tag.

Even if Oden never becomes offensively dominant, he can be a franchise big.  (Russel was never offensively dominant)

yeah, but Oden's not Russell. And Russell was the only Franchise big I coud think of who wasn't offensvely dominant, until I thought of Wes Unseld. But still.

Who else was ever Russell?   

That was my point, you said Oden is your franchise player but I can think of only two "franchise' bigs who were never offensively dominant. 16 and 10 to me isn't franchie. If you want to say that he's a perfect stop gap until your real franchise big comes back from injury, I'd buy that.

[Roy Hobbs]

Portland:


What about this rumor of Shaq wrestling The Big Show in September?  Aren't you worried about losing your C before the season ever starts?

CrotoNats management has no problem with Shaq being a "character"; we know that his first, second, and third priorities are winning a championship and showing Kobe how his rear end tastes yet again.

Shaq can, and will, take the Big Show. 

[KCattheStripe]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your locker room stocked with Werther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping those darn kids off the lawwn?

[wdleehi]

Question for Denver, who is your main offensive threat? Also, are you worried about having  franchise player that is as njury prone as Oden is? One more, Is Oden really a franchise big if he hasn't shown any flashes of being offensivley dominant?

Like I said in my review, there is a lack of a big time scorer on my team.  There are multiple guys capable of 12-16 points a game.  Therefor, this season will be used to build team offense.  Oden is going to be force feed the ball.  

Of course you have to be concern, but given his age and how it looks like he is bouncing back, I believe he will shake that "injury prone" tag.

Even if Oden never becomes offensively dominant, he can be a franchise big.  (Russel was never offensively dominant)

yeah, but Oden's not Russell. And Russell was the only Franchise big I coud think of who wasn't offensvely dominant, until I thought of Wes Unseld. But still.

Who else was ever Russell?   

That was my point, you said Oden is your franchise player but I can think of only two "franchise' bigs who were never offensively dominant. 16 and 10 to me isn't franchie. If you want to say that he's a perfect stop gap until your real franchise big comes back from injury, I'd buy that.

Yet you list them.  We do believe that Oden will develop into more of an offensive threat.  But even if he only reaches the floor of his potential offensively (16 and 10), the feeling is that his defense will be so top notch, he will control the game for the defensive paint.

Already, his efficiency on offense is high.  Increase his minutes and touches, his output will increase.  Give him two years working with Ewing, he will be a 20 point scorer that draws double teams.  

[KCattheStripe]

Question for Denver, who is your main offensive threat? Also, are you worried about having  franchise player that is as njury prone as Oden is? One more, Is Oden really a franchise big if he hasn't shown any flashes of being offensivley dominant?

Like I said in my review, there is a lack of a big time scorer on my team.  There are multiple guys capable of 12-16 points a game.  Therefor, this season will be used to build team offense.  Oden is going to be force feed the ball.  

Of course you have to be concern, but given his age and how it looks like he is bouncing back, I believe he will shake that "injury prone" tag.

Even if Oden never becomes offensively dominant, he can be a franchise big.  (Russel was never offensively dominant)

yeah, but Oden's not Russell. And Russell was the only Franchise big I coud think of who wasn't offensvely dominant, until I thought of Wes Unseld. But still.

Who else was ever Russell?   

That was my point, you said Oden is your franchise player but I can think of only two "franchise' bigs who were never offensively dominant. 16 and 10 to me isn't franchie. If you want to say that he's a perfect stop gap until your real franchise big comes back from injury, I'd buy that.

Yet you list them.  We do believe that Oden will develop into more of an offensive threat.  But even if he only reaches the floor of his potential offensively (16 and 10), the feeling is that his defense will be so top notch, he will control the game for the defensive paint.

Already, his efficiency on offense is high.  Increase his minutes and touches, his output will increase.  Give him two years working with Ewing, he will be a 20 point scorer that draws double teams.  

I named the two, I could gladly named the ones that were potent offensive an defensive threats, or at least jus the offensive ones. I guess we will have to agree to disagree on Oden's offensive abilities.

[Edgar]

Question for Denver, who is your main offensive threat? Also, are you worried about having  franchise player that is as njury prone as Oden is? One more, Is Oden really a franchise big if he hasn't shown any flashes of being offensivley dominant?

Like I said in my review, there is a lack of a big time scorer on my team.  There are multiple guys capable of 12-16 points a game.  Therefor, this season will be used to build team offense.  Oden is going to be force feed the ball.  

Of course you have to be concern, but given his age and how it looks like he is bouncing back, I believe he will shake that "injury prone" tag.

Even if Oden never becomes offensively dominant, he can be a franchise big.  (Russel was never offensively dominant)

yeah, but Oden's not Russell. And Russell was the only Franchise big I coud think of who wasn't offensvely dominant, until I thought of Wes Unseld. But still.

Who else was ever Russell?   

That was my point, you said Oden is your franchise player but I can think of only two "franchise' bigs who were never offensively dominant. 16 and 10 to me isn't franchie. If you want to say that he's a perfect stop gap until your real franchise big comes back from injury, I'd buy that.

Yet you list them.  We do believe that Oden will develop into more of an offensive threat.  But even if he only reaches the floor of his potential offensively (16 and 10), the feeling is that his defense will be so top notch, he will control the game for the defensive paint.

Already, his efficiency on offense is high.  Increase his minutes and touches, his output will increase.  Give him two years working with Ewing, he will be a 20 point scorer that draws double teams.  

so..we will leave it there with the
"future team" not wanting much right now...

[Gainesville Celtic]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your locker room stocked with Werther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping those darn kids off the lawwn?

TP,,, funny stuff

[KCattheStripe]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your locker room stocked with Werther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping those darn kids off the lawwn?

TP,,, funny stuff

Thank you, thank you. Don't forget to tip your veal and try the waitress.