LAKERS PICK BYNUM ??

[BruceW]

Well,

The Lakers pick a 7 footer with their 10th pick. Maybe they should make sure this kid (only 17 years old) gets at least 5 min of play during first 30 games. Then maybe 6 to 10 minutes next 20 games to find out where he really is. All this providing he has good training camp.

[Soulstation1]

he weighs 300 lbs

[Jim Alfredson]

The next Darko?

[Tjazz]

Well,

The Lakers pick a 7 footer with their 10th pick.  Maybe they should make sure this kid (only 17 years old) gets at least 5 min of play during first 30 games.  Then maybe 6 to 10 minutes next 20 games to find out where he really is.  All this providing he has good training camp.

←

So when does the 19 year old rule kick-in?

[Soulstation1]

Next year

[connoisseur series500]

I didn't follow the draft. Who did the Pistons get, Jim? And what are his prospects?

The next Darko?

←

[Jim Alfredson]

The got a PF named Jason Maxiell from Cincinnatti. He's been called a "mini-Ben Wallace" which is a good thing, I suppose. Pistons still need a scorer. Maybe they can pick up somebody in a trade this summer.

One question: Why does Dumars insist on keeping Darvin Ham? What has that guy done?!

[Jim Alfredson]

From the Detroit News:

Maxiell is a 6-7, 260-pound power forward, who played four years for Bob Huggins at Cincinnati. He averaged 12 points and seven rebounds for his career -- 15 points, 7.7 rebounds and nearly three blocks a game his senior season.

"I am going to a defensive team and that's my game," Maxiell said in a teleconference. "And to go to a team that's been in the NBA Finals the last two years, that's just wonderful. I feel like I fit like a glove defensively, and I get to play beside Ben Wallace and work him out every day."

The Pistons view Maxiell as primarily a power forward. He is 6-foot-7, which is undersized, but his wingspan is 7-foot-3. He is actually longer than Tayshaun Prince.

"When you see a guy like that in college, you only see so much," Dumars said. "When we get these kids in for workouts, we try to see skills that they may not have shown in college." Dumars said Maxiell showed some ball-handling skills and the ability to hit 10- to 15-foot jump shots. He was known in college as primarily a back-to-the-basket offensive player.

"This is a guy who adds depth to your bench," Dumars said. "This is a guy you can throw into a game and know he will defend and rebound and block shots and add an incredible amount of toughness. Make no mistake about it, this is a tough, tough, hard-nosed guy."

Sounds like a good pick. I've also read, speaking of picking up another scorer, that Jalen Rose is a free agent and the Pistons are very interested in getting him. That would be great!

[BruceW]

Jalen Rose is washed...

Had a semi bad attitude early in career, progressed to a bad attitude the rest of his career in Indiana and Chicago... is a ball hog, gets jealous of other scorers and will not fit Piston makeup..

Pistons will make a very bad mistake if they get Jalen

Edited June 29, 2005 by BruceW

[Soulstation1]

what 'bout the heat pick?

guy from kansas, 6-9 255 lbs

they could use a rebounder and some beef

[paul secor]

As a long time Laker fan, I hope that Bynum turns out to be a good player.

That said, weighing 285 - 300 lbs. (I've read both) doesn't bode well for someone who's 17 years old, even if he is 7 feet tall. I just hope that he doesn't eat his way out of the NBA.

I also don't have much faith in Mitch Kupckak's decisions. Under him, the Lakers went from the NBA finals to the lottery in one year - how much of that was due to him and how much of it was due to Jerry Buss is something I'm not privy to. I hope that Kupchak learned enough from Jerry West to prove me wrong.