PG Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies)

[Thump]

Talk of the Trailblazers also trying to get Conley!!

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

[exhawg]

Originally Posted by naptownbuck

I gotta disagree,Mike was never a consistent three point shooter, but he's a good shooter. From having watched him since his soph year in HS I don't know if he'll ever be a great 3 point shooter simply because he's not a volume shooter. He wants everyone involved,and if he can't do that his outside shot is the 4th or last option. Who says he can't live on his dribble drive in the NBA? If you believe that Jr. is one of the great ones like me,he shouldn't have much of a problem. Like any great PG,all he needs is some shooters,there won't be many guys who can stay in front of him.He will end up being in the same class with Nash,Kidd,Paul ect.. imo.

I do agree with your point about his strength,but that along with his shooting will only affect his progress,not his draft status.

2005 draft
#4 Chris Paul
#5 Raymon Felton

These guys didn't have consistent outside shots and probably won't ever be "great" outside shooters.

I could go back to more drafts,but it's a waste of time. Jr. is the best PG in the draft and the best PG gets picked in the top 10.

From the Yahoo article I posted in the Oden thread the Blazers would like to trade to get a second first round pick and get Conley along with Oden. He will go in the top 10 which is going to be the hard part if they want to move up to get him.

Edit: Damn you Thump!!!

[wigmon]

2005 draft
#4 Chris Paul
#5 Raymon Felton

These guys didn't have consistent outside shots and probably won't ever be "great" outside shooters.

Felton shot 44% on 3-pts his last year in college and Paul was a career 47% 3-pt shooter in college. I would say that is much more consistant than 30.4%

[naptownbuck]

Originally Posted by wigmon

2005 draft
#4 Chris Paul
#5 Raymon Felton

These guys didn't have consistent outside shots and probably won't ever be "great" outside shooters.

Felton shot 44% on 3-pts his last year in college and Paul was a career 47% 3-pt shooter in college. I would say that is much more consistant than 30.4%

Without even looking at the stats I would bet that those guys took way more 3s than Jr. Especially Felton who was more of a scorer/volume shooter at the PG position than Paul or Conley ever was. Your point is taken,but it still doesn't speak to my point about not having to be a sharpshooter,or even a "good/consistent" outside shooter to get drafted in the top ten if you're the best PG.

2004 Draft
#5 Devin Harris

2003 Draft
#8 T.J Ford

2002 Draft
#2 Jay Williams

These guys didn't get drafted that high because of their shooting or lack there of. If Mike isn't in this group of players then I don't know who is. It's the same thing with Greg,while everyone was harping on his offense all year to create some "competition" with Durant,they forgot what made him a phenom in the first place. Greg Oden was the #1 pick last year because of his defense,he's the #1 pick this year because of his defense,and he would be the #1 pick next year because of his defense. Conely's shooting won't hurt his draft position.

[wigmon]

I'm sure those guys (Paul/Felton) did take more 3's than Conley, but I don't see how that affects whether they are consistant shooters or not. If you shoot a lot and are cold, your percentage goes down, if you shoot a lot when you are hot, it goes up. Conley did not take many 3-pt shots, but they were all pretty much right at the line and without a hand in his face as thats about the only way he took one.

Harris and Jay Williams were very good college 3-pt shooters and had much more developed games than Conley does at this point probably because the spent at least 3+ years in college. Ford is probably the best comparison as he was a pretty poor college shooter. He was the 8th pick in a draft that outside the top 5-6 was pretty weak. The 2007 draft is very deep except at the PG position and as such I think Conley being about equal to Ford and the top PG in the draft puts him in the 8-14 range in my opinion depending on draft needs.

If Conley develops a consistant jumper (doesn't even need to be 3-pt range), he will be a all-star in the league and considered a great value as an 8 pick. If he doesn't, he will still be a solid PG, but teams will look back and wonder why they passed on a big man like Hawes or a great scorer like Young (Thad or Nick). Thats a pretty big risk to take on a 19-year old, but GM's do it all the time, so it wouldn't even surprise me to see him go top 5.

[LitlBuck]

Originally Posted by naptownbuck

Without even looking at the stats I would bet that those guys took way more 3s than Jr. Especially Felton who was more of a scorer/volume shooter at the PG position than Paul or Conley ever was. Your point is taken,but it still doesn't speak to my point about not having to be a sharpshooter,or even a "good/consistent" outside shooter to get drafted in the top ten if you're the best PG.

Originally Posted by naptownbuck

.

Just because you take more shots that makes your percentage go up?? That's like saying in baseball the more at-bats you get the higher your batting average will be

[jwinslow]

CNNSI - Top NBA Draft Prospects

The nifty passer had one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the nation (2.77) last season.

[RugbyBuck]

The Hawks will blow it, as usual. They'll take the best power forward available, as usual, and Javaris (GA Tech) at 11. They'll pass on Conley and it will bite them in the ass just like not taking Paul did last year. They suck and they always will.

[osugrad21]

Fox

Pre-Draft rankings: Point guards

Jeff Goodman / FOXSports.com
Posted: 11 hours ago

With the June 28 NBA Draft exactly one month away, it's a good time to give you a position-by-position breakdown. We'll start with the point guards, the weakest position in the draft.
Disclaimer: USC's Gabe Pruitt and Eastern Washington's Rodney Stuckey are combo guards who we feel are more shooting guards than point guards. Neither will not be included with the floor leaders.

1) Mike Conley Jr., 6-0, 175, PG, Fr., Ohio State ? He's a floor leader who is as poised a freshman as there was in the country this past season. He's improved his strength and isn't afraid to take the big shot. He'll need to become more consistent with his long-range shot.


Cont...

[MaxBuck]

Mike Conley's star seems to be rising faster than any other player in the NBA draft. I think he is the next great point guard in the League, and will reach the top spot once JKidd and Nash retire. What a player.

NBA.com: NBA Draft 2007: What?s the Consensus?

[Bestbuck36]

No way Mike goes out of the top 10 like some of those mocks have him going. Very interesting situations for Mike at both #6 and #7. At 6 he gets the assists to Michael Redd. At #7 he either gets Garnet or the trade to Portland featuring Garnet and moving Oden to Minnesota being a possibility. I am guessing he doesnt make it past the Hawks at #3 though. He's just too good.

[king rhabuf]

PG is a position that takes a while to learn, and Conley is still very young. His shot needs to get better too.

[BGriffBuckeye]

Originally Posted by MaxBuck

Mike Conley's star seems to be rising faster than any other player in the NBA draft. I think he is the next great point guard in the League, and will reach the top spot once JKidd and Nash retire. What a player.

NBA.com: NBA Draft 2007: What?s the Consensus?

I don't know, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Ray Felton have all been very succeccful in their short careers (Felton just needs to get some help in Charlotte). But, I do agree Conley should enter this group a short time after he begins his NBA career.

[Bernini]

Originally Posted by BGriffBuckeye

I don't know, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Ray Felton have all been very succeccful in their short careers (Felton just needs to get some help in Charlotte). But, I do agree Conley should enter this group a short time after he begins his NBA career.

I don't necessarily think Felton needs too much help in Charlotte. He's the type of point guard who makes players better. What he does need though, to realize that potential and utilize his pure point guard skills; is for his bonehead coach to not play him at the off guard position. He's never played without the ball in his hands at any level, but now is doing so in the pros. Byron Scott would never ask for Chris Paul to play shooting guard with the Hornets, and Felton is more of a pure point than even Paul is. I think there's a distinct possibility that Felton might be the best point guard of that great class, but he's just been given the worst situation of the 3. I think when Brevin Knight has been out of the lineup, and Felton has been allowed to play exclusively at the 1 by Bickerstaff, the Bobcats aren't far from .500 the last two years. They had the best month in their history with Knight out. If Bickerstaff wises up and starts to utilize Felton's talents correctly, and the Bobcats finally stave off injury problems; I think Ray-Ray will finally get the respect that Paul and Williams are getting. Felton is one of my favorite players in the NBA (not a Tarheel or Bobcat fan). Williams is getting the stage that the other 2 aren't getting, because his supporting cast is so good; and thus is perceived to be the best. And I'm not sure about the logic of the contention that Felton is a volume shooter or that somehow causes your percentage to increase. That's counter intuitive. The more you shoot, the less likely it is a high percentage of those are wide open quality shots. Your percentage should go down rather. Therefore, Conley should have shot a higher percentage than Felton or Paul. However, I'd still kill for my Bucks to draft Conley, and put him next to his fellow Buckeye (Redd) in the backcourt. He has good vision, plays a pass first style, and exhibits strong on ball defensive skills to prevent penetration. Those are the 3 main things I want from my point guard. As I said, I love Felton, and he's been compared to him and a better version of T.J. Ford. I don't think it's any coincidence that the Bucks did so much better than expected in 03-04 with Ford (made playoffs but were predicted to be about the worst team in the NBA), but struggled once he left. Nor do I think it's a coincidence that the Raptors thrived immediately upon Ford's acquisition. Bosh was in Toronto for 3 years, and they didn't do spit. Who cares if guys like Ford, Kidd, and Felton; shoot low percentages from the field. They make up for it by their ability to improve other player's percentages. And that's what type of player I think Michael Conley Jr. is. The Bucks should draft him and sign and trade Mo Williams. Mo is just too much of a defensive liability and doesn't make other players better. We could use a shot in the arm in those areas.

[Hubbard]

On PTI today they featured Oden's blog, but as I was looking around Conley had one also.

LINK


Site has heavy traffic, I will post the blogs once it's back up.