If you read the Philly papers, or ESPN.com, or Dan Shannoff you’ve already been bombarded by Yi to the Sixers propaganda of epic proportions over the past 24 hours.
Billy King was either invited to L.A. to see the big Chinese power forward work out, or he crashed the party. King came away impressed. In the pre-draft hype environment, every little thing, no matter how mundane, no matter how much things scream “due diligence,” gets way too much attention. That being said, I’m starting to get a sinking feeling in my stomach.
Yi may be a good NBA power forward. He may be a great NBA power forward in the new euro-model of the position. He’s apparently very agile for a big man, with a nice touch on his jumper. A perimeter 4 with the skill set of a 3. Yi certainly has a following who believe he’s the next coming. This charge is led by the folks over at Golden State of Mind, who have been doing their own brand of e-recruiting for Yi for some time now.
If Yi is the best of what they’re saying about him, he’d obviously be a great addition. If the Sixers can get him at #12, I won’t be crushed. I’ll move on, learn everything I can about the guy, and hope he develops into a star. The thing that’s giving me a sinking feeling is that Billy King has all of this ammunition going into the draft. He’s got 3 first-round picks, and an early second-rounder. Basically, he has the chips needed to trade up to get just about any player other than Greg Oden or Kevin Durant (Al Horford could be out of reach as well, but that’s debatable). King has all of these chips, and I’m worried that he’s going to cash them all in to move up for Yi.
The Sixers need to come out of this draft either with more than one contributor, or with a sure thing. I don’t think you can say that about Yi. I certainly can’t. If Billy uses up all of his leverage to move up for one guy, that guy had better be named Greg Oden, Kevin Durant or Al Horford. I love Jeff Green, but I don’t think it’s worth giving up more than the #12 and #30 to move up a couple of spots to get him. This draft is flat from the top three players to about number 14. From Mike Conley Jr. down to Al Thornton is pretty much a pick ‘em (minus Noah, who is a late-first rounder in my opinion).
If the Sixers can come out of the first round with two players like Jeff Green and Morris Almond, for example, I think they’ll be in much better shape than they would if they wound up with Yi alone.
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A lot of GMs watched Yi practice, and I doubt that he'll be available at #12. And I'm with you in that I hope Billy doesn't gamble away the future (and the other high draft picks) to put all his money on Yi. I be a lot more confident if Larry were still around to babysit Billy Boy.
Sorry about the double post.
Tom Ziller in the AOL Blog referred to Yi as a 'ballhog.' In your opinion, is the guy a ballhog?
I've never seen him play, all I have to go on is what I read. I just think there are too many question marks about him. Too big of a gamble to trade up for him.
He's not a ballhog, he's a chucker. Like most foreign players, he doesn't over dribble, prefering to shoot quickly or pass the ball. But he does shoot alot... keep in mind, though, that he was a focus point of his team's offense in China.
Now, that having been said - he's a SF. A really tall SF, but a SF. So why does Philly supposedly want him? Are they going to move AI to SG? And, if so, is that a good move?
I don't have a problem with moving Iguodala to SG. He's legit at either the 2 or the 3. The problem I have w/ Yi is what it's going to take to get him. If the Sixers draft him, he plays the 4. He probably won't play it well against teams w/ a true PF, but that's where he'll play.
Priority #1 is a 4 or 5 (Dalembert can move if they get a legit center) priority #2 is getting a 2 or 3 (Iggy slides if nec.) The bottom line is that Steven Hunter and Willie Green need to be moved out of the starting lineup.
Yes, I realize getting two-starter quality rookies is a tall order, but not when you're only asking them to be an upgrade over Green and Hunter.
I'm curious to your thoughts on this scenario that I think is most likely come draft night. I see King sitting tight at 12 taking the player that falls to him; most likely Thorton, Green, or Wright. I then see King making his move in the middle of the first round trading 21 and 30 to move into the 15-17 range to grab someone like Thaddeus Young, AC Law, or Jason Smith.
I also wanted to note that getting a 2 or 3 to compliment Iggy may not be as much of a pressing issue as it seems. I have faith that Carney will be 100% healthy and ready to step up at the SG spot next season.
Graham,
Great points. I'll address them from last to first.
Carney is going to have to make great strides to slid into the starting lineup. He might be capable, but I just didn't see enough from him last year to think he's going to leap over Green in Mo's eyes, and Green needs to be removed from the starting lineup.
If King stands pat, and grabs one of those three guys at #12, then I'd definitely be in favor of moving up with the second pick for any of the guys you mentioned, or maybe even Rodney Stuckey.
Depending on who falls to #12, this could be the best-case scenario. Miller, Iguodala, Stuckey, Green and Dalembert sounds good to me.
I agree about moving up for Green. Here's the deal:
12 + 30 + Willie Green to Milwaukee for 6 + Gadzuric.