Better prospect: Walker or Hickson?

[winsomme]

with all the rumors swirling about Camby going to CLE I started to wonder a little about who had better prospects, the Cs or the Cavs...

I know Hickson has gotten legit PT this year on CLE so it's hard to argue against him, but honestly I think that Walker is the better prospect.

I hope that he gets some PT now that TA is on the shelf for a while and can actually back up this feeling i have about him.

Obviously there is not enough time before the trade deadline to show this, but if i was the Clipps and i actually cared about getting a decent prospect back for Camby in addition to salary relief, I actually might like the upside of Walker a little more.

[Roy Hobbs]

It's hard to say.  Hickson has looked decent in playing 44 games with the Cavs.  Walker has only played a handful of minutes in 8 games.  Walker may very well be the better player, but we have no way of telling.

As for trading one or the other for Camby, even if Walker was the better prospect, why would the Clippers trade with Boston?  We don't have the expiring deals.

[winsomme]

It's hard to say.  Hickson has looked decent in playing 44 games with the Cavs.  Walker has only played a handful of minutes in 8 games.  Walker may very well be the better player, but we have no way of telling.

yeah, Walker is definitely an uphill argument to make, but just in terms of putting a package together the little i have seen from Walker makes me feel like there is some serious talent there...

I wonder if a team like the Clipps might see that too...

[Celtic]

I think they are too concerned with dumping salary that they don't care.

[Chris]

"Prospect" is such a tough word.  I think on pure talent alone, you have to take Walker, who may be one of the top 10 talents of last years draft.  However, he also has much further to go than Hickson, and has shown less since becoming a pro.

So I think Hickson has more value.  But if we are talking about who could be the better player down the road, I go with Walker.

[moiso]

Hickson is the better player now, and he'll be the better player in the future.

[Who]

I'd rather have Hickson

[winsomme]

"Prospect" is such a tough word.  I think on pure talent alone, you have to take Walker, who may be one of the top 10 talents of last years draft.  However, he also has much further to go than Hickson, and has shown less since becoming a pro.

So I think Hickson has more value.  But if we are talking about who could be the better player down the road, I go with Walker.

maybe a way of looking at what you're saying is that Hickson is the safer pick at this point and Walker is more of a roll of the dice.

and that's fair...I don't know, I just look at Walker and see some really explosive qualities...

[indeedproceed]

with all the rumors swirling about Camby going to CLE I started to wonder a little about who had better prospects, the Cs or the Cavs...

I know Hickson has gotten legit PT this year on CLE so it's hard to argue against him, but honestly I think that Walker is the better prospect.

I hope that he gets some PT now that TA is on the shelf for a while and can actually back up this feeling i have about him.

Obviously there is not enough time before the trade deadline to show this, but if i was the Clipps and i actually cared about getting a decent prospect back for Camby in addition to salary relief, I actually might like the upside of Walker a little more.

The whole thing kinda goes out the window for me when you consider they already have Al Thorton.

[winsomme]

with all the rumors swirling about Camby going to CLE I started to wonder a little about who had better prospects, the Cs or the Cavs...

I know Hickson has gotten legit PT this year on CLE so it's hard to argue against him, but honestly I think that Walker is the better prospect.

I hope that he gets some PT now that TA is on the shelf for a while and can actually back up this feeling i have about him.

Obviously there is not enough time before the trade deadline to show this, but if i was the Clipps and i actually cared about getting a decent prospect back for Camby in addition to salary relief, I actually might like the upside of Walker a little more.

The whole thing kinda goes out the window for me when you consider they already have Al Thorton.

that's true, but Thornton is kind of a SF/PF and Gordon is more of a PG/SG...

Walker is actually between the two as a SG/SF, but i see what you're saying...Hickson is a low post guy in a way that Thornton isn't...

[Fan from VT]

with all the rumors swirling about Camby going to CLE I started to wonder a little about who had better prospects, the Cs or the Cavs...

I know Hickson has gotten legit PT this year on CLE so it's hard to argue against him, but honestly I think that Walker is the better prospect.

I hope that he gets some PT now that TA is on the shelf for a while and can actually back up this feeling i have about him.

Obviously there is not enough time before the trade deadline to show this, but if i was the Clipps and i actually cared about getting a decent prospect back for Camby in addition to salary relief, I actually might like the upside of Walker a little more.

The whole thing kinda goes out the window for me when you consider they already have Al Thorton.

that's true, but Thornton is kind of a SF/PF and Gordon is more of a PG/SG...

Walker is actually between the two as a SG/SF, but i see what you're saying...Hickson is a low post guy in a way that Thornton isn't...

Am I the only one not impressed by Thornton? I think that IF he makes several improvements, best case scenario he's a noticeably worse version of Al Harrington.

[winsomme]

with all the rumors swirling about Camby going to CLE I started to wonder a little about who had better prospects, the Cs or the Cavs...

I know Hickson has gotten legit PT this year on CLE so it's hard to argue against him, but honestly I think that Walker is the better prospect.

I hope that he gets some PT now that TA is on the shelf for a while and can actually back up this feeling i have about him.

Obviously there is not enough time before the trade deadline to show this, but if i was the Clipps and i actually cared about getting a decent prospect back for Camby in addition to salary relief, I actually might like the upside of Walker a little more.

The whole thing kinda goes out the window for me when you consider they already have Al Thorton.

that's true, but Thornton is kind of a SF/PF and Gordon is more of a PG/SG...

Walker is actually between the two as a SG/SF, but i see what you're saying...Hickson is a low post guy in a way that Thornton isn't...

Am I the only one not impressed by Thornton? I think that IF he makes several improvements, best case scenario he's a noticeably worse version of Al Harrington.

It's hard to tell because that team so dysfunctional, but i did think he would be having a better year....

[cordobes]

Is this even a discussion? Why has Walker more potential? I mean, he can end up being the better player, but why would anyone consider him the better prospect now?

The way I see it, it's Hickson by a fair margin. I've always sensed Walker is a tad over-rated by fans (and not especially Celtics ones). I think it's because of his association to players like Mayo and Beasley (and the exposure that granted him), the fact he was highly ranked coming out of high-school and the fact he's a scorer and a high-flyer dunker. But nothing of that matters when evaluating his NBA potential... Walker, coming out of college, wasn't/isn't:

- a good ball-handler
- a good shooter
- a good defender

that conjugation of (lack of) skills is fatal for a NBA wing player. Guys can get away with 2 of those traits, but the 3 of them? Almost impossible, they must be very polished and wise. He can improve, but his potential is limited by the chances of him not improving that much on any of them. That's why I was surprised by so many people believing he'd be ready to contribute this season right away (and why I thought it'd be wise to send him to Europe).

Hickson is already a good player, albeit very raw on some aspects of the game, one year younger than Walker and I can see him being a solid starting big man for good NBA teams. If Hickson was anywhere near his peak, I could understand the view that Walker is the better prospect if JJ Hickson was some college senior near his peak, but Hickson is also a "potential pick" and his athletic abilities are at least as impressive as Walker's. Plus, he's the big man.

I think it's very difficult to make a rational and convincing defence of Walker as the better prospect. Hopefully he'll be the better player down the road, but stating that now is more a leap of faith than anything else.