Alright, next time I hear someone say Russell Westbrook wasn’t on any draft boards at the beginning of the season, I’m going to slap them.
NBADraft.net figured out that Russel Westbrook was going to be a badass before everyone else apparently. They projected him to be a first round pick IN AUGUST. That’s a few months before the season begins no? NBADraft.net is where I’ll start looking at mock drafts, thank you very much.
Here are the projections from NBADraft.net, DraftExpress.com, and NBAMock.com
NBADraft.net has Russell Westbrook going 12th and Kevin Love 13th:
DraftExpress.com actually has Love higher than Westbrook, with Love going 8th and Westbrook going 13th:
NBAMock.com has the same projection as Draft Express:
So what does this all mean? Absent the NBA going broke between now and June, Westbrook and Love are gone. Love said he’d say as long as he’s in the lottery…which he’s guaranteed…and Westbrook said he’d stay if he was top 20…which is guaranteed. Even if Westbrook’s shot isn’t consistent in the workouts, his upside is off the charts and that alone will keep him in the top 20.
Josh and Luc are coming back. I wouldn’t worry about them. Shipp is going to have a great year next year. As Howland reminded us, this is going to be his first summer where he can actually practice instead of rehabbing his hip. I’ll have another update next week.
April 30th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I think it would be very interesting to see Kevin go to Charlotte. Larry Brown coming in as head coach may be just what Kevin needs. He is going to have to learn to play PF against bigger and more athletic guys and Larry Brown is a great teacher. The Bobcats aren’t going to win a championship anytime soon and Brown will only be there for a couple years, but that time can allow him to develop into a successful NBA player and get him the all important second contract.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
The one thing thats so valuable about Love is that he is already so well developed and that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to be a great player. If they want him to lose weight, he’ll lose weight, etc. It may take a few years, but just watching how he’s improved over the course of this year, I know he’s going to be in the League for a looong time.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
To clarify I don’t think that Love is in jeopardy of not getting the second contract. I am talking about the BIG second K which is most important in this era of the rookie salary cap. 2 years under Larry Brown would be a major benefit to Love. Brown has won with all kinds of different talent and is in a great position to teach Love how to play when he is not the biggest (or second or third biggest) dude on the floor, something that will be new to Love.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Great write up.