Post by Golden State Warriors on Nov 13, 2009 6:03:56 GMT
the Indiana Pacers select DeMar DeRozan...
I was able to catch up with Pacers GM James McGowan and ask him why they chose DeMar over players such as Johnny Flynn and Brandon Jennings.
"It was a tough pick as we felt they all were good players with great potential it's just we felt DeMar was the best fit. With our current roster we already have Jarryd Bayless and we believe that if we drafted another lottery point guard it would be admitting that we view him as a failure already and that couldn't be further from the truth. Also we have plans on getting a veteran point guard via free agency, something we believe drafting a point guard would have hampered our chances of."
...and Dejuan Blair.
To be honest as a reporter I was very shocked by this pick, I mean Dejuan DOESN'T HAVE AN ACL IN EITHER KNEE!?!? Yet James seemed more excited about drafting him the DeMar.
"Wow I was very excited to see Blair drop to us like that. I know about his health concerns and not having even one ACL and how it's a big risk but I feel it's worth it. I mean if your not willing to take a risk with a late first round pick (with only two years guaranteed money) you shouldn't even be a GM in the NBA. And to be honest I believe the risk are being over stated, I'm a huge Big East fan and I believe it's the most physical basketball played outside of the NBA and in two years of Big East play Blair missed no games and only one practice and that was due to personal reasons not injuries."
Well with that being sad I give the Pacers a B- as a draft grade, passing on Jennings is going to look bad but possibly not as bad if they do land a big free agent point guard.
Joe Smoe.
I was able to catch up with Pacers GM James McGowan and ask him why they chose DeMar over players such as Johnny Flynn and Brandon Jennings.
"It was a tough pick as we felt they all were good players with great potential it's just we felt DeMar was the best fit. With our current roster we already have Jarryd Bayless and we believe that if we drafted another lottery point guard it would be admitting that we view him as a failure already and that couldn't be further from the truth. Also we have plans on getting a veteran point guard via free agency, something we believe drafting a point guard would have hampered our chances of."
...and Dejuan Blair.
To be honest as a reporter I was very shocked by this pick, I mean Dejuan DOESN'T HAVE AN ACL IN EITHER KNEE!?!? Yet James seemed more excited about drafting him the DeMar.
"Wow I was very excited to see Blair drop to us like that. I know about his health concerns and not having even one ACL and how it's a big risk but I feel it's worth it. I mean if your not willing to take a risk with a late first round pick (with only two years guaranteed money) you shouldn't even be a GM in the NBA. And to be honest I believe the risk are being over stated, I'm a huge Big East fan and I believe it's the most physical basketball played outside of the NBA and in two years of Big East play Blair missed no games and only one practice and that was due to personal reasons not injuries."
Well with that being sad I give the Pacers a B- as a draft grade, passing on Jennings is going to look bad but possibly not as bad if they do land a big free agent point guard.
Joe Smoe.