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Draft Part Deux: Pick 28

I’ve already broken down the prospects the Grizzlies can take at the 5-spot, but now I’ll take a look at the potential candidates that could fall to Memphis at their second, and final pick in the draft, thanks to the 2006 draft day trade that brought Alexander Johnson (who was waived before this season started) to town.

But, anyways, here’s to hoping that the Grizzlies can grab a capable bench player in the mold of Kyle Lowry with this pick, one of two 1st round picks they acquired from the Lakers in the Pau Gasol trade.

Not, let me preface this off by saying that I’m not a big fan of taking a center at this spot, as even though I’ve seen a countless number of big men, especially foreign big men, taken around this area of the draft I really don’t like essentially wasting this pick on the word I hate most surrounding the NBA draft, ‘potential’.  Also, the Grizzlies are heavily invested in Darko Milicic for the next couple of years so they won’t be needing anything more than a back-up over the next couple of years.

But, anyways, lets look at the three main candidates I think are good picks for the Grizzlies at this pick:

Chris Douglas-Roberts (SG) and Joey Dorsey (PF): Grizzlies fans are familiar with these two Memphis Tigers, and unlike star PG Derrick Rose the Grizzlies could actually have both the opportunity and need of one of these players.  Both play positions that the Grizzlies need some help at and one, if not both of them could be available at the #28 spot.  I think Douglas-Roberts is the better fit because he is the slasher to the basket that can set up a Mike Miller or Juan Carlos Navarro that the Grizzlies desperately missed last season, especially off the bench.  But the problem is that it is looking like he will go at least a handful of picks before the Grizzlies pick at the 28-spot.

On the other hand, it is looking like Dorsey will be available, and even though he snubbed the Grizzlies request for a workout they could still pick him for the buzz he will create around the team.  Besides buzz, Dorsey brings hustle and energy at the PF spot, and would surely be a great contributer off the bench for the Grizzlies in his rookie season and beyond.  But if Memphis selects Kevin Love at the 5-spot, which is looking more and more likely, I don’t see the Grizzlies picking two undersized PFs, which leaves Dorsey out.

JJ Hickson (PF- NC State): Hickson is a player that has the dreaded p-word in ‘potential’ as he is entering the draft after his freshman season at NC State.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for potential at a spot like this in the draft, but at the 5th overall pick, with a player like Anthony Randolph from LSU, not so much.  Experts project that if Hickson stayed in school he would be a lottery pick next season, but his combination of strenth and agility is certainly something the Grizzles could need at the PF spot.  The Grizzlies also are in a perfect position to allow Hickson to develop, as they are in their seemingly never-ending rebuilding mode.  Hickson would also be able to bring some scoring off the bench, something the Grizzlies lacked last season.

These are the main three, but this spot in the draft is where we could see some potential mid-late lottery picks fall, which means the Grizzlies could get lucky.  Now, even though I don’t like very many of the centers in this seasons draft I do like Robin Lopez and potentially Roy Hibbert if either slipped to them.

Lopez is surprisingly agile for a big man, which would be a very good fit for the Grizzlies, while I really think Hibbert could be a solid back-up C in the NBA with the potential to be a starter in a half-court based offense.

The other couple of names that the Grizzlies would be silly to pass up if they fell to them would be Chase Budinger (SG- Arizona) and Nicholas Batum (SF- France).  Batum is only 19 years old and has a solid all-around game and has drawn comparisons to Rudy Gay.  Budinger seems to be slipping a little bit and even though I’m not the biggest fan of his he is too good to pass up at this spot.  He brings size and athleticism to go along with a good shooting stroke, and while I question his defensive abilities he would still be a very solid contributor off the bench.

But, unless the Grizzlies get lucky (and when have they ever) it will more than likely be one of the three players discussed earlier and while it would be great if Douglas-Roberts were to fall to them I don’t see it happening, so I would most like the Grizzlies to grab JJ Hickson if he is there, even if the Grizzlies do select Love, as Hickson brings the athleticism that many think Love lacks.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 7:46 pm and is filed under Grizzlies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.