Pelican draft workouts

[Topdawg26]

I can assure you that Burke is faster than Gravy. Also, I wouldn't mind getting Saric if we buy Dallas draft pick. But what about CJ? I wonder if they are going to take a look at him.

[Purple Haze]

Not a chance ^

^That they would or that you agree that Bazz is worth it? It's far from a crazy statement.

[PelsFan2313]

I also rather Shabazz at the 3, but I wouldn't be angry if we took Saric instead.

I trust that Demps knows what he's doing. He hasn't given us much evidence to believe otherwise (outside the CP3 fiasco *cough, cough*).

[BallSoHard]

I think my initial gut reaction on wanting Gobbert and stashing him would be the best thing. I know it won't happen.

[Snarly]

You want a good look at Saric, watch a full game rather than a highlight video.

[GESWhoseBack]

I think my initial gut reaction on wanting Gobbert and stashing him would be the best thing. I know it won't happen.

I would rather Len than Gobert but if we stashing someone, Gobert should be the one.

[BallSoHard]

I don't mind Len either, just don't love him. Gobbert still have that allure of the unknown to me; which isn't a great reasons to like him, but there's not really anyone else that jumps out at me l.

[jsl05]

I have a feeling that none of the guys that workout for us will be drafted by us.

[JJackisangry]

Most of the players I like are out of our range ... This really is a weak asssss draft

[JJackisangry]

I have a feeling that none of the guys that workout for us will be drafted by us.

So you think we are drafting Giannis?

[jsl05]

So you think we are drafting Giannis?

No, Dario

[GESWhoseBack]

No, Dario

No Gobert, no wait? What game we playing?

[RUFshreve]

These videos of Saric don't really impress me.

[Imnos 2]

I think anyone who watches any player need to watch it not as a polished veteran NBA player. But look at what he CAN do then what he could add to his game over time. I can look at some player in draft and say oh man that guy is skinny, or that guy missed shots in the game I saw. Thats so fan like for us to say. I think the talent evaluators are looking at the stuff we find boring. Did he shuffle his feet, whats his form look like on his jump shot, how is his vision, stuff like that.

When I look at Saric, i see a guy who could be a problem for teams to defend. Because he is a find a way to impact the game guy. He will be that guy crashing the offensive boards getting a close range put back. And I think I can clearly see how great him and AD will be playing with each other in time. That length around the basket is pretty scary. Especially when that length is coming from the small forward. He will tower over the smaller, 3's taking them into the post and finishing at the rim. Shooting over the bigger forwards, because he such a long player. In 3 or 4 years he will deadly from anywhere on the court. He can face you up, score in the post, pass and rebound. Not to mention he can be a point forward.

Of course he is going to have to improve defensively. We do have a pretty good defensive coach to teach him, I think. I will say this: If we dont find a good pure PG, all of this is mute. Saric is a guy that is going to need, at least in his early years, someone to put him in position to score. Yeah put backs and jump shots will get you some points, but a good pg could you in position to score in the double digits. So I would try to get another pick or trade for one.

[Bee-Fense]

Besides Giannis, no one projected in the 1st round is younger than Saric. He is very, very young having only turned 19 this April.

Something I have noticed with a lot of the European greats (in the NBA that is) is that almost all of them seem to hit their prime later than Americans do. American born players seem to hit their primes around the age of 25. However, I've noticed the European greats seem to hit their primes around the ages of 27-30. This could be because they rely less on athletic ability and more on skill, but some examples are

Tony Parker played his best ball this year at the age of 30
Dirk didn't hit his peak until 27, and then dominated the playoffs at the age of 32
Pau Gasol didn't peak until the age of 30
Manu had his best season at the age of 30
Marc Gasol is now entering his prime at 28

Now the reason why I point this out is because if Saric is the guy, I think we can expect a lot of progress from him and that what we see now isn't even close to the final product. Right now we see a wing that can score in the post, pass better than a lot of guards, rebound, and shoot sporadically from outside. We could eventually see a more developed post game and an improved jump shot and the size to take advantage of smaller wing players. Combine that with his ball handling and passing, and you have a really good offensive wing. Defensively, he won't be Tony Allen, but the guy works hard, has size, and at the wing I think he can be a solid defender. Marco was never a great athlete but he became a good defender for us. I think Saric can be a similar type of defender at the SF spot. The guy put up terrific numbers in the Croatian playoffs - 15.4 PPG (68% from 2, 30% from 3, 74% FT), 8.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.0 BPG. This is against grown men, so he's shown he can play well against the older guys too.

It's key that he improves his jumpshot in order to be more effective off the ball. Also he'll probably struggle defensively early on (like almost every young player) but he works very hard and is passionate, so I'm sure he will improve.

There's a lot of reasons to like Saric in my opinion. McCollum is my guy, but Saric is no slouch and I don't really consider him a reach. Big, smart, and hard working wings are nice to have. Hollinger has said before that big, productive wings almost never fail, and I don't think Saric will.

Side note - Gustavo Ayon was my favorite player to watch in 11-12 because of his feel for the game and his passing, and having a guy similar to that I'm sure will be a lot of fun to watch.

[Shrimpnose]

Croatian forward Dario Saric may opt to stay in Europe for another year, even if he's picked in the first round (via Sportando.net):
"I expect to be picked in the 1st round" said Saric who is playing with Cibona this season. "Being picked is a dream which comes true. But I may pull my name out of the draft. I will talk with my agent. Even if I get selected in the draft, I will return to Europe next season" added the forward.

[AUSSIE_PELICAN]

I think anyone who watches any player need to watch it not as a polished veteran NBA player. But look at what he CAN do then what he could add to his game over time. I can look at some player in draft and say oh man that guy is skinny, or that guy missed shots in the game I saw. Thats so fan like for us to say. I think the talent evaluators are looking at the stuff we find boring. Did he shuffle his feet, whats his form look like on his jump shot, how is his vision, stuff like that.

When I look at Saric, i see a guy who could be a problem for teams to defend. Because he is a find a way to impact the game guy. He will be that guy crashing the offensive boards getting a close range put back. And I think I can clearly see how great him and AD will be playing with each other in time. That length around the basket is pretty scary. Especially when that length is coming from the small forward. He will tower over the smaller, 3's taking them into the post and finishing at the rim. Shooting over the bigger forwards, because he such a long player. In 3 or 4 years he will deadly from anywhere on the court. He can face you up, score in the post, pass and rebound. Not to mention he can be a point forward.

Of course he is going to have to improve defensively. We do have a pretty good defensive coach to teach him, I think. I will say this: If we dont find a good pure PG, all of this is mute. Saric is a guy that is going to need, at least in his early years, someone to put him in position to score. Yeah put backs and jump shots will get you some points, but a good pg could you in position to score in the double digits. So I would try to get another pick or trade for one.

Interested to know what you think of his form on his jumpshot?
To me it doesn't look too good.

[Bee-Fense]

Also, from Chad Ford

Mike (Detroit)
Any chance Dario Saric goes #6 to the Pelicans? Or would they only draft him if they trade back?

Chad Ford (1:15 PM)
Yes and yes. There are a handful of teams that believe Saric is a top five talent in the draft. I believe the Pelicans are one of them. So, yes, if the guys they have ranked ahead of him are all gone, I do think they'd take him at 6. However, they could probably trade down to a pick like 9 or 10, pick up an asset and still get him. The scouts that REALLY know Europe say that there's not a huge difference between Saric and Otto Porter.

[AUSSIE_PELICAN]

Look to be honest if:

McClemore, Porter and Oladipo are gone I trust that the Pelican’s will select best player available out of:

Burke
Len
Saric
McCollum
Bazz
Pope

Any of these 10 players and I think we will get a decent player.
I just hope we can buy another pick and select a C like Adams or Gobert if of course we don’t pick Len already.
To come away with two picks either it being a PG, SG, SF or C I think this addresses a lot of problems moving forward.
I’d expect we pick up some players in FA and by the end of next year’s draft we will be going into year 3 of the ‘plan’ and we will see what the Pelicans will be for the future moving forward.

Exciting times!

[BirdMan504]

I really dont understand the media buzz with this dude.... Not impressed at ALL with Saric... plus the fact that he might still play overseas next year?!?! Mr Benson aint gonna go for that!! He wants to win NOW!! I hope to god this is all a smokescreen and we dont pick him at #6. Give me Burke or Olidipo please!

[RaisingTheBar]

Croatian forward Dario Saric may opt to stay in Europe for another year, even if he's picked in the first round (via Sportando.net):
"I expect to be picked in the 1st round" said Saric who is playing with Cibona this season. "Being picked is a dream which comes true. But I may pull my name out of the draft. I will talk with my agent. Even if I get selected in the draft, I will return to Europe next season" added the forward.

wowowowowowowo hold the phone. What?

[iNolaNightmare]

Reminds me of Gallinari; Saric that is.

[All Metro]

my goodness this draft is trash

[Purple Haze]

Besides Giannis, no one projected in the 1st round is younger than Saric. He is very, very young having only turned 19 this April.

Something I have noticed with a lot of the European greats (in the NBA that is) is that almost all of them seem to hit their prime later than Americans do. American born players seem to hit their primes around the age of 25. However, I've noticed the European greats seem to hit their primes around the ages of 27-30. This could be because they rely less on athletic ability and more on skill, but some examples are

Tony Parker played his best ball this year at the age of 30
Dirk didn't hit his peak until 27, and then dominated the playoffs at the age of 32
Pau Gasol didn't peak until the age of 30
Manu had his best season at the age of 30
Marc Gasol is now entering his prime at 28

Now the reason why I point this out is because if Saric is the guy, I think we can expect a lot of progress from him and that what we see now isn't even close to the final product. Right now we see a wing that can score in the post, pass better than a lot of guards, rebound, and shoot sporadically from outside. We could eventually see a more developed post game and an improved jump shot and the size to take advantage of smaller wing players. Combine that with his ball handling and passing, and you have a really good offensive wing. Defensively, he won't be Tony Allen, but the guy works hard, has size, and at the wing I think he can be a solid defender. Marco was never a great athlete but he became a good defender for us. I think Saric can be a similar type of defender at the SF spot. The guy put up terrific numbers in the Croatian playoffs - 15.4 PPG (68% from 2, 30% from 3, 74% FT), 8.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.0 BPG. This is against grown men, so he's shown he can play well against the older guys too.

It's key that he improves his jumpshot in order to be more effective off the ball. Also he'll probably struggle defensively early on (like almost every young player) but he works very hard and is passionate, so I'm sure he will improve.

There's a lot of reasons to like Saric in my opinion. McCollum is my guy, but Saric is no slouch and I don't really consider him a reach. Big, smart, and hard working wings are nice to have. Hollinger has said before that big, productive wings almost never fail, and I don't think Saric will.

Side note - Gustavo Ayon was my favorite player to watch in 11-12 because of his feel for the game and his passing, and having a guy similar to that I'm sure will be a lot of fun to watch.

Outstanding, so if we take Saric over Burke or CJ we get a guy that 1. Isn't even on the team until 2014-2015 2. Won't be a productive 2 way player for years instead of two PGs that will be productive next year.

Excuse me if I don't get excited about that.

[All Metro]

So lets draft Saric, and wait 9 years for him to hit his prime.