TalkingApes

The following was posted on our forum by Wiggin:

I saw the Bobcats Insider show this morning. It was their draft preview. There were a few interesting nuggets I picked up on. Whether they mean anything or not, we’ll see. Anyway, I thought I would share those nuggets.

While being interviewed by Steve Martin, Bernie said that if Toronto wants to move back to get Bargnini, he didn’t think he would be there if they moved past us.

I just found this interesting. Because the implication is that either the Bulls (or their trading partner) would take him or we would…you’d assume Toronto wouldn’t trade with someone after their guy. So, is this smoke to make Toronto think twice about shipping the pick to someone who wants our guy, or is Bargnini at the top of our list? Initially, I thought smoke, but then wondered if what he said on this local show would actually get to the other teams.

Kenny Williamson (the Bobcats Director of Scouting) talked about some of the key players in the draft. I’ll list the players, then what he said.

Bargnini:
- He said he had excellent range and that the NBA 3 point is no problem. Also said he is an excellent passer with a high basketball IQ.
- He did mention that he needs to work on rebounding, but then minimized that by saying he is young and it will come in time.

This is especially interesting when combined with Bernie’s statement.

Thomas:
- Said he is a late bloomer who has to work on getting skilled. Said he is a put-back guy who needs to learn all sorts of moves.
-He did say the sky is the limit for Thomas.

Gay:
-Said Gay is very versatile and athletic, and can basically do everything (shoot, dribble, pass, defend, etc.)
-Also said RG is very exciting at times, but fades out at times (this was when he was talking about his positives, so take that for what its worth).
- Said he needs to learn when to be a compliment player and when to be a take charge guy.

Morrison:
- Said Ammo is one of the most ready players and a fierce competitor.
- Said he is a scorer, not a shooter.
- Mentioned that he needs to work on defense, to learn how to space.
- He also said he seems to have is Diabetes under control.

Nothing real earth shattering there.

Aldridge:
- Said LA can handle the ball, shoot, and rebound.
- Mentioned he can be dominant.
- But also said that he “takes time off sometimes, kinda like floats around a little bit.”

He then talked about Randy Foye, Marcus Williams, Sheldon Williams, and J.J. Redick. Also mentioned Withers, Justin Gray, Winters (from Davidson), and Cedric Simmons as some local guys.

Basically a lot of stuff we already knew, but I found Bernie’s comment interesting, as well as Williamson’s praise of Bargnini while minimizing his weakness. I got the impression that they think Thomas is a huge project, and I would be shocked if we took him. I think they feel like most everyone about Gay. They love his athleticism and skills, but are concerned about his occasional disappearances in games. I think they love Morrison, but realize he will take a lot of work on defense. As for Aldrige, I think they like him well enough, but question his desire.

Conspicuous by his absence was Roy. Not one word about a legitimate possibility at #3, despite talking about a few guys that are clearly not in the picture. Either some things have occurred that have caused us to take him off our draft board (or perhaps the questions about his knee), or they really like him, and don’t want to give anything away by saying too much. So most likely it is either Roy or Bargnini as the third player in our top three.