Comments on: Brandon Knight impresses everyone

By: Ball Don’t Lie’s 2011-12 Season Previews: Detroit Pistons

Ball Don’t Lie’s 2011-12 Season Previews: Detroit Pistons — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:32:37 +0000

[...] worry is that, despite hitting on 2010 first-rounder Monroe and early reports suggesting that he may have hit on 2011 first-rounder Brandon Knight, Detroit president of [...]

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 04:24:17 +0000

You think Utah would want Gordon's salary? They just drafted your boy Alec Burks! They don't need a two guard anymore.

And no, Detroit would have to take on another salary. Something like Millsap and Raja Bell would work, although like I said, I don't think Utah would be interested in Gordon and I think a lot of teams would be interested in Millsap.

By: Laser

Laser — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:47:13 +0000

Well, this is the draft and if upside isn’t everything, it’s certainly almost everything, of Knight had distinctly the most upside, which he did, he’s the right pick. Especially given our desperate need for someone you could call a point guard without bursting into laughter. In the case of Monroe vs Udoh or Davis, Monroe had the most upside with more bust potential than a pair of bigs where you knew what you were getting and it was nothing spectacular. Near as I can tell, Golden State wanted athleticism and defense above all else. Detroit needed a home run. Neither Davis nor Udoh was getting us over any humps. But the absolute bottom line is that Ed Davis looks too much like Amir Johnson to draft that high, and we just got through dumping him for under $2m in cap space. I simply don’t believe that anybody else in Joe’s chair drafts any differently.

By: tarsier

tarsier — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:44:22 +0000

The point about Udoh, which I’m sure you understand, Laser, even if you pretend not to, is that if Monroe were such a slam dunk no-brainer, the Warriors would have taken him over Udoh. Epke Udoh and Ed Davis were about equally rated going into the draft. So if there is a chance that someone takes Udoh over Monroe (which obviously there was) then there is also a chance someone takes Davis over Monroe.

Yes, Monroe was easily the consensus highest pick player left. But that was the case for Golden State too. They are used as ab example to show that what seems cut and dry to a fan may not be to a GM. Another example of this is DeJuan Blair who was the obvious top consensus pick for about 15 GMs before San Antonio finally grabbed him.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:03:08 +0000

That's a different argument. You can only make draft decisions with the knowledge you have at the time. Virtually all of the scouting available prior to the draft had Knight rated slightly higher than Walker because he's younger and bigger.

Now, Walker could very well out-perform and Knight could under-perform, then with the benefit of hindsight, that changes things. But with the info available at the time, I think most would agree that Knight was the best prospect on the board when the Pistons picked. I don't think there was as wide a gulf between Knight and guys like the Morrises and Leonard as Laser thinks, but I think he pretty clearly has more upside than those guys.

By: detroitpcb

detroitpcb — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:36:28 +0000

Hey, Utah just signed Josh Howard, which means Milsap will be available since plans were to move him to the three out there this year. utah could use a two guard. Do you think we could tade Gordon for Milsap? Does it work under the cap?

By: Murph

Murph — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:29:38 +0000

“And as for Knight, yeah, he was the right pick. I think he was the best prospect available in a flawed draft. I won’t say that it was a brave, wise choice, but it was a gutsy choice.”

Please, we haven’t played a game yet. We haven’t even played an exhibition game. Obviously, I hope Knight works out, but it’s pre-mature to call him the right pick, already.

He has to play better than Kemba Walker for him to be the right choice.

By: Laser

Laser — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:17:39 +0000

Udoh was unavailable. If Joe picked up the phone and said “Udoh” the voice on the other end would have told him that the Warriors had JUST drafted him. I’m sure you catch my drift. Any GM with the faintest interest in keeping his job drafts Monroe where we drafted him.

As for the previous commenter’s bit about Kawhi Leonard, I admit to really liking the guy and wanting him on the team, but you just can’t draft him that high. As bad as you might want that kind of player, 100% of people take Knight there. Leonard was my second favorite player on the board, but a pretty distant second. Love to have them both, but there’s no decision there at all.

By: D_S_V

D_S_V — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:22:09 +0000

Hahahahahaha

By: Travis

Travis — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:21:38 +0000

Well if the Pistons are happy about how great Knight is turning out to be then maybe that gives them the leverage to give stuckey a really low offer or sign and trade him.