Top Ten 2005 Draft Grades

[jibbajabba614]

Had some free time this week and I liked this draft a lot. So...

1. Miami Heat: Chris Paul
Grade: A+
Comparison: Steve Nash

Hands down, number one prospect. The Wake Forest product has amazing handles, superior passing and good outside shooting. Future superstar possibly a future MVP. Darko and Paul give the Heat a new one two punch since rebuilding and trading Kenny Anderson and Christian Laettner. Give it a couple more years and I think the Heat will be back as a contender in the east. It's been a painful process but Chris Paul was worth the wait. Chris Paul vs LeBron James in the Rookie vs Sophomores should be a good one.

2. Seattle SuperSonics: Andrew Bynum
Grade: B-
Comparison: Al Jefferson

Clearly the best bigman available. Even though he is stronger and bigger than Big Al, they both cannot handle the ball. I could understand Sonics waiting on a point guard especially with their cap space and free agency market for point guards. Bynum and Okafor is a nice young frontcourt to work with. Should be interesting to see if he develops into a Marc Gasol or Chris Kaman type of player. As long as Bynum can stay healthy, he should have a long career ahead of him.

3. New Jersey Nets: Deron Williams
Grade: A
Comparison: Andre Miller

Like Chris Paul, he has amazing handles. But Deron has always been more of a inside threat. He should work well with Jason Richardson. I think he has an amazing inside if he can produce an outside shot. He definitely has to get better defensively. With Billups as his mentor, I can see him shining in no time. Overall, I don't see anything negative about him. He could possibly be a future superstar. Really like what the Nets are building. Should be one of the exciting young teams in the east.

4. Los Angeles Lakers: Monta Ellis
Grade: B+
Comparison: Dwyane Wade

Only get a B+ because Lakers had all the picks in the world and didn't make a move into top 3. Monta Ellis is the fourth best prospect in the draft. He is a quick scorer. Undersized for a shooting guard. He should be okay though developing on a team like Los Angeles. Wade hasn't had much success so this could be a bad comparison. He could be the next Stevenson with time and minutes. Monta has very large shoes to fill with the Marbury era over. Now all the Lakers need to do is find a replacement for Zo. And with Chris Bosh and LaMarcus Aldridge eyeing their way into the league, I think they can.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves: Marvin Williams
Grade: B
Comparison: Michael Redd

Marvin Williams is very unknown. Played really well in the NCAA tournament on a deep Tarheel team and became a top five pick. Has a pretty good shot and he is also pretty athletic. Defensively he will make mistakes but Kevin Martin had defensive questions and made up for it on offense. Due to Minny rebuilding I gotta give him a B for going Williams over Granger.

6. San Antonio Spurs: Danny Granger
Grade: B-
Comparison: Antawn Jamison

Spurs are still at a crossroads after hitting big on a couple free agents but never getting that draft pick with superstar potential. You would think Spurs would be a playoff team with Stevenson, Baron, Jamison and Joe Johnson. But Jamison was traded and Stevenson left in free agency. The Spurs are back to square one. And I could see Spurs adding more draft picks for showcasing Granger. Great mid range shooter, good defender. Probably one of the most underrated player in this draft.

7. Atlanta Hawks: Johan Petro
Grade: B+
Comparison: Marcus Camby

Defensively this kid is a beast. Offensively though, it will take time. I really like the pick for the Hawks. Since losing Baron Davis, Atlanta has been bringing in players who all compliment each others game. Chandler is more of a rebounder, Nene is more of a defensive stopper. And Petro is a little of both and a great shot blocker. It's all on Josh Smith to step up and become a dominant player. He has the front court and a solid back court in Jones and Crawford. Maybe just missing that final piece.

8. Orlando Magic: Sean May
Grade: B-
Comparison: LaPhonso Ellis

May was dominant in the final four leading his team to an NCAA Championship. If he can translate that to the pros he will be much better than Ellis. Due to limited potential, I felt Ellis is a good example for May. May is the best PF available and considering he has the chance to be a Mario Bennett in the league, I think it's a solid pick. Magic add another frontcourt piece to a future eastern contender. May is definitely the most pro ready out of all the bigmen.

9. Golden State Warriors: Ersan Ilyasova
Grade: A-
Comparison: Wally Szczerbiak

Considering he is 18 and needs a few years to develop, I think Wally Szczerbiak is a perfect comparison. Sure Wally is more of a guard and Ersan is more of a forward. Sure Wally is a better shooter than Ersan. But Wally came into the league at 22 with collegiate experience and Ersan comes into the league at with professional Turkish league experience. By the time he is 22, he could be on Dirk and Manu's level. I think Golden State found the right player to build off of.

10. Los Angeles Lakers: Jason Maxiell
Grade: C+
Comparison: Robert Traylor

Undersized Power Forward with great strength and rebounding skills. Villanueva might have been the pick for the Lakers. Maxiell is definitely better now than Charlie. But Villanueva could end up as the better player. Maxiell's potential had some GM's looking elsewhere. But Troy Murphy had bad potential. Al Harrington had bad potential. Antoine Walker had bad potential. So you can't say it's a bad pick. But for the sole purpose of Laker's rebuilding, I think, Villanueva was the better pick. Still a good pick in a very solid draft.

[Brophdog88]

Should be interesting to see if he develops into a Marc Gasol or Chris Kaman type of player

I feel like there are much better examples to use over kaman here, whether you wre going with two good players, or one good, one bad

Kaman is just kinda meh

[FlDuckFan]

It was a tough call between Granger and Williams. Since I'm rebuilding I went with the younger guy hoping his potential takes him somewhere and giving a little more flexibility.

[Goose!]

I'm happy with how the draft went for my team. I think if the people drafting knew how to draft (myself included) my #10 would've been much different. But considering I got Monta, Splittter, and Webster outside the lotto, I have no complaints.

[dd10snoop28]

Outside of CP3 (and maybe Deron) I don't see any guaranteed all-stars.

[jibbajabba614]

I feel like there are much better examples to use over kaman here, whether you wre going with two good players, or one good, one bad

Kaman is just kinda meh

Well I don't think Bynum is going to be a bad pick. Gasol is a star player, Kaman is more a role player. But yeah those two were stuck in my head. to give you what I meant. Eddy Curry or Michael Olowokandi.

t was a tough call between Granger and Williams. Since I'm rebuilding I went with the younger guy hoping his potential takes him somewhere and giving a little more flexibility.

to be honest, I think that fifth pick was the hardest in the draft. But I think u made the right call.

Outside of CP3 (and maybe Deron) I don't see any guaranteed all-stars.

True but I would of never drafted DeShawn Stevenson over Kenyon Martin (and no I did not draft Brian Cardinal over the two). Reason I think its something more fun to look back on. Last time Brad and Dave got the best of me. Maybe Goose and Phenom will too.

[Zyme]

I feel like there are much better examples to use over kaman here, whether you wre going with two good players, or one good, one bad

Kaman is just kinda meh

Well I don't think Bynum is going to be a bad pick. Gasol is a star player, Kaman is more a role player. But yeah those two were stuck in my head. to give you what I meant. Eddy Curry or Michael Olowokandi.

If you were to have asked me which I thought would ahve been the better player, I would have said the Kandiman. Curry is best case scenario based on my testing. There are a few players like that.

[UOducksTK1]

Good article jibba. I'm not gonna lie though, I'm a ratings guy. It would be nice to have the ratings of each drafted player and even the ratings of the players they are compared to.

Otherwise I like the article. Missed having articles around here for a while.

[UOducksTK1]

Please vote

[UOducksTK1]

Bump, vote.

[UOducksTK1]

Added to Elton Brand's defensive rebounding.