23. Seattle Soncis
The 23rd pick of the Usenet mock draft belongs to the Seattle Sonics
who are represented by:
Christopher Beck .
With that pick, the Sonics select:
Rodney Dobard, 6-9, power forward, Florida State.
==========================================================================
REGULAR SEASON RECORD:
55-27, 2nd in Pacific Division, 2nd in Western Conference
I will refrain from summarizing the season, as many of you are
familiar with the team due to much posting and analysis about the
Sonics on the net.
PLAYOFF COMMENTS:
The Sonics have advanced to the Western Conference finals, where they
will play Phoenix. The Suns will have the homecourt advantage. This
team analysis does not take into account anything that occurs in the
Phoenix series.
REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS:
(lifted from the Seattle Times, without permission)
PLAYER GP MPG FGM FGA FG% 3FGM 3FGA 3FG%
============================================================================
Pierce 77 28.8 524 1071 .489 42 113 .372
Kemp 78 33.1 515 1047 .492 0 4 .000
Johnson 82 22.8 463 991 .467 17 56 .304
Payton 82 31.1 476 963 .494 7 34 .206
McKey 77 31.7 387 780 .496 40 112 .357
Perkins 79 29.8 381 799 .477 24 71 .338
Barros 69 18.0 214 474 .451 64 169 .379
McMillan 73 27.1 213 459 .464 25 65 .385
Cage 82 26.3 219 416 .526 0 1 .000
Askew 73 15.5 152 309 .492 2 6 .333
Paddio 41 7.5 71 159 .447 2 8 .250
Scheffler 29 5.7 25 48 .521 0 0 ----
King 3 4.0 2 5 .400 0 0 ----
============================================================================
TEAM 82 241.2 3473 7140 .486 218 610 .357
OPPONENTS 82 241.2 3143 6707 .469 272 808 .337
PLAYER GP FTM FTA FT% PTS PPG HI
===================================================================
Pierce 77 313 352 .889 1403 18.2 33
Kemp 78 358 503 .712 1388 17.8 35
Johnson 82 234 257 .911 1177 14.4 29
Payton 82 151 196 .770 1110 13.5 31
McKey 77 220 297 .741 1034 13.4 30
Perkins 79 250 305 .820 1036 13.1 26
Barros 69 49 59 .831 541 7.8 26
McMillan 73 95 134 .709 546 7.5 24
Cage 82 61 130 .469 499 6.1 15
Askew 73 105 149 .705 411 5.6 16
Paddio 41 14 21 .667 158 3.9 12
Scheffler 29 16 24 .667 66 2.3 10
King 3 2 2 1.000 6 2.0 4
===================================================================
TEAM 82 1720 2259 .761 8884 108.3 149
OPPONENT 82 1746 2299 .759 8304 101.3 120
REBOUNDS
PLAYER GP OFF DEF TOT RPG ASST APG
====================================================================
Pierce 77 58 134 192 2.5 220 2.9
Kemp 78 287 546 833 10.7 155 2.0
Johnson 82 124 148 272 3.3 135 1.6
Payton 82 95 186 281 3.4 399 4.9
McKey 77 121 206 327 4.2 197 2.6
Perkins 79 163 361 524 6.6 156 2.0
Barros 69 18 89 107 1.6 151 2.2
McMillan 73 84 222 306 4.2 384 5.3
Cage 82 268 391 659 8.0 69 0.8
Askew 73 62 99 161 2.2 122 1.7
Paddio 41 17 33 50 1.2 33 0.8
Scheffler 29 15 21 36 1.2 5 0.2
King 3 1 4 5 1.7 1 0.3
====================================================================
TEAM 82 1222 2254 3476 42.4 1906 23.2
OPPONENT 82 1075 2220 3295 40.2 1835 22.4
PLAYER GP PF DQ STL TO BLK
===========================================================
Pierce 77 167 0 100 160 7
Kemp 78 327 13 119 217 146
Johnson 82 173 0 36 134 4
Payton 82 250 1 177 148 21
McKey 77 208 5 105 152 58
Perkins 79 225 0 60 108 82
Barros 69 78 0 63 58 3
McMillan 73 240 6 173 139 33
Cage 82 183 0 76 59 46
Askew 73 135 2 40 69 19
Paddio 41 24 0 14 16 6
Scheffler 29 37 0 6 5 1
King 3 1 0 0 3 0
===========================================================
TEAM 82 1971 27 944 1267 409
OPPONENT 82 1853 19 655 1516 406
PLAYOFF STATISTICS (including Houston series):
PLAYER GP MPG FGM FGA FG% 3FGM 3FGA 3FG%
============================================================================
Pierce 12 30.8 74 176 .420 6 17 .353
Kemp 12 34.1 60 130 .462 0 0 ----
Perkins 12 32.9 64 137 .467 17 44 .386
Payton 12 32.7 66 153 .431 1 6 .167
Johnson 12 20.7 57 152 .375 10 30 .333
McKey 12 33.8 50 93 .538 2 5 .400
Askew 8 8.3 14 28 .500 0 0 ----
Cage 12 21.9 25 52 .481 0 0 ----
McMillan 12 21.8 21 57 .368 4 15 .267
Barros 9 7.1 15 26 .577 4 10 .400
Paddio 4 4.3 4 10 .400 0 1 .000
Scheffler 4 3.5 3 3 1.000 0 0 ----
============================================================================
TEAM 12 241.4 453 1017 .445 44 128 .344
OPPONENTS 12 241.4 433 929 .466 49 134 .366
PLAYER GP FTM FTA FT% PTS PPG HI
===================================================================
Pierce 12 46 52 .885 200 16.7 25
Kemp 12 49 61 .803 169 14.1 29
Perkins 12 22 26 .846 167 13.9 23
Payton 12 16 19 .842 149 12.4 23
Johnson 12 11 13 .846 135 11.3 24
McKey 12 23 37 .622 125 10.4 16
Askew 8 15 21 .714 43 5.4 12
Cage 12 6 15 .400 56 4.7 9
McMillan 12 10 18 .556 56 4.7 16
Barros 9 3 4 .750 37 4.1 9
Paddio 4 0 0 ---- 8 2.0 4
Scheffler 4 0 0 ---- 6 1.5 4
===================================================================
TEAM 12 201 2259 .756 1151 95.9 120
OPPONENT 12 209 2299 .766 1124 93.7 103
REBOUNDS
PLAYER GP OFF DEF TOT RPG ASST APG
====================================================================
Pierce 12 8 20 28 2.3 25 2.1
Kemp 12 58 67 125 10.4 29 2.4
Perkins 12 22 71 93 7.8 21 1.8
Payton 12 16 21 37 3.1 42 3.5
Johnson 12 11 17 28 2.3 16 1.3
McKey 12 32 30 62 5.2 41 3.4
Askew 8 6 7 13 1.6 5 0.6
Cage 12 30 41 71 5.9 7 0.6
McMillan 12 10 28 38 3.2 62 5.2
Barros 9 0 6 6 0.7 5 0.6
Paddio 4 0 2 2 0.5 1 0.6
Scheffler 4 2 4 6 1.5 1 0.3
====================================================================
TEAM 12 195 314 509 42.4 255 21.3
OPPONENT 12 152 334 486 40.2 281 23.4
PLAYER GP PF DQ STL TO BLK
===========================================================
Pierce 12 20 0 8 19 2
Kemp 12 44 0 20 30 16
Perkins 12 31 0 9 14 12
Payton 12 36 0 22 21 3
Johnson 12 23 1 2 7 1
McKey 12 28 0 4 27 7
Askew 8 5 0 1 4 0
Cage 12 31 1 9 9 3
McMillan 12 26 0 26 10 5
Barros 9 1 0 4 5 0
Paddio 4 1 0 2 2 1
Scheffler 4 0 0 1 0 0
===========================================================
TEAM 12 246 2 108 1267 50
OPPONENT 12 245 2 89 1516 66
TEAM ROSTER:
PLAYER # HEIGHT WEIGHT COLLEGE YEAR
====================================================================
Vincent Askew 17 6-6 205 Memphis State 85?
Dana Barros 3 5-10 170 Boston College 1989
Michael Cage 44 6-9 235 San Diego State 1984
Eddie Johnson 8 6-7 210 Illinois 1981
Shawn Kemp 40 6-10 245 --------- 1989
Rich King 25 7-2 270 Nebraska 1991
Derrick McKey 31 6-10 210 Alabama 1987
Nate McMillan 10 6-5 205 North Carolina State 1986
Gerald Paddio 21 6-6 210 UNLV 86?
Gary Payton 20 6-4 200 Oregon State 1990
Sam Perkins 14 6-9 250 North Carolina 1984
Ricky Pierce 22 6-4 215 Rice 1982
Steve Scheffler 55 6-9 250 Purdue 90?
PLAYER ANALYSIS:
Vincent Askew gets most of the time allotted to the 9th man, sharing
with Dana Barros. He is an athletic, slashing swingman. He goes to
the basket effectively and drwas fouls, but his outside shot is
limited. However, he does tend to take bad shots, especially in the
lane. My favorite is the Jordan/drift-sideways-across-the-lane-and-
bank-it-in shot. His primary role is defense, and Coach George Karl
has used him to front Karl Malone in the Sonics' trapping/switching
defense. A former CBA star, Askew is a hustler and thus a favorite of
Karl.
Dana Barros is generally not one of Karl's favorite players. He gives
away too much height and can be burned by opposing point guards,
although he has improved a good deal since his rookie year. Dana is
very guick and has dunked off an alley-oop despite his height. He has
outstanding range on his jumper, and was the league leader in 3-point
percentage last year. He can pull up and hit off the break or on the
drive. Despite this, Karl does not use him as much as I would like.
With Eddie Johnson getting older, Barros should hopefully see more
time on the court.
In my opinion, Michael Cage is the unsung hero of this team. Despite
having his free-throw touch desert him this year, his rebounding
production is still with him. Cage had an OK touch from about 15
feet, but that seemed to head south this year along with the
free-throw percentage. Cage is strictly left-handed and likes to dunk
over and/or through people on the drive. He gets the job of defending
the centers and power forwards in the post, where he uses his muscle
to good advantage. At 6-9, he gives up inches to many of the players
he must guard. He excels at tipping the ball to himself until gaining
control.
Eddie Johnson is getting old. He is still capable of unconscious
shooting, but those episodes seem to be less frequent. He has range
to three-point land, a quick release, and a veteran shooter's bag of
shot fakes, spins, and step-through moves which get him open closer to
the basket. Additionally, Karl sometimes uses him at big guard, where
he can post up at 6-7. He was fifth in the NBA in free-throw
percentage this year. His limited defensive abilities are declining
as his age advances. I would give him two more years, maybe three.
Shawn Kemp has always relied on his tremendous athleticism. This was
never more apparent to me than in the playoffs against Houston. He
has post moves that can be termed reliable. He finds himself in
the lane with Hakeem in the way, and resorts to pivoting until his man
(hopefully) commits. What he is is a 6-10, 245-pound slasher, and
devastating on the break. Kemp is easily the NBA's most athletic big
man. His rebounding numbers are fine, but could easily be higher if
he were to improve his positioning. He has effective range 10 12 or
14 feet, and occasional range to 18 feet. His foul shooting needs
some work. On defense, he fouls too much, bites on nearly all
up-fakes, and tries to block every shot in sight. I wish the Sonics'
coaches would give him old tapes of Kevin McHale to watch. One more
complaint is that he tends to take down a defensive rebound, and then
turn around and try to lead the break by himself. This is a
crowd-pleaser to the fans, but people like John Stockton must like the
resulting chest-high dribble. My final complaint is that he makes
easy passes look hard, with too much pastry.
Rich King has spent the first two years of his career on the DL.
Having little to go on, I will state that he appears to have decent
mobility for a 7-2 player. He allegedly shoots and passes well from
the high post, but like all big men right out of school his post
defense needs work. He was drafted before the George Karl small-ball
era began, thus I don't know if he will ever get into a game if he is
healthy.
Derrick McKey should be an all-star, but lacks the necessary
temprament. He can defend from power forward to point guard. He has
long arms and great lateral movement. He has athleticism and jumping
ability, which is rarely displayed any more. McKey's concentration
wanders, leading him to make lazy entry passes or other baffling
mistakes. Anyway, McKey has a reliable turnaround jumper and jump
hook when posted up. His court vision and passing are the best on the
team, and he can hit the three-pointer. McKey's rebounding numbers
are light, but considering who he guards on defense I don't think that
they are that bad. His foul shooting was not that great this year,
and lately he tends to miss important free throws. Derrick can drive
with either hand, and for some reason prefers finishing with his left
hand despite being right-handed. He has a great (for a big man)
crossover dribble. Karl uses him a good deal at guard, and I wouldn't
mind if he were moved there permanently. He can cope on defense, and
on offense he would be a big matchup problem for opposing teams.
Nate McMillan is a fine swingman who is a perfect fit for the Sonics.
He can run the point, or swing to two-guard or small forward. His
outside shooting has improved to the point where teams cannot give him
open 18-footers any more. He occasionally hits three-pointers as
well. Nate is a fine defender and rebounder for a guard, and makes
good cuts without the ball in the lane. His veteran leadership is
also important to the younger Sonics. He is the last Sonic left from
the '87 team that went to the Western Conference finals. He spends a
lot of time playing "point-forward," which reminds some of us of John
Johnson, a fixture on the great Sonics teams of the late 70's.
Gerald Paddio is the Sonic's 11th man. He is an athletic swingman
with decent range. I don't really know about his defense, since he
never gets in against starters.
Gary Payton made great strides this year. He is finally hitting the
open jumper that teams have given him ever since he came into the
league. He was in the top 10 in steals this year, and at 6-4 has
great lateral quickness that enables him to defend against quick
guards. A noted trash-talker, he is at last backing up the talk. He
can post up, and has good spin moves in the lane. He does not average
as many assists as McMillan, but McMillan is used more when the Sonics
are in a half-court game. When they are both in together, McMillan is
the primary ballhandler.
Sam Perkins is the reason the Sonics are in the conference finals. He
bailed the Sonics out in game 5 vs Utah, and hit the key shot in game
7 vs Houston. In my view he was the perfect guy to pick up at the
trading deadline. (Thanks, Jerry West, for taking Benoit and Christie
off our hands.) Sam is a quiet leader who has helped the younger guys
a lot since his arrival. He has 3-point range, a good touch at the
line, and decent post moves. In addition, he is a fine passer and
rebounder. His long arms help him on defense and on his turnaround
jumper. An experienced defender, he can be used at center.
Ricky Pierce is the Sonics leading scorer and primary option in a
half-court game. He is very strong and therefore can get off a shot
against anyone. He has range to three-point land, but is most
effective from twenty feet in. He is a threat to post-up down low.
The Sonics like to run him off picks on the left-hand side of the
court. On the drive, he favors the right hand over the left. Going
right, he either pulls up after one dribble or goes all the way to the
hoop. Going left, he usually takes one or two dribbles before pulling
up. Pierce has become a better passer out of double-teams, but
sometimes makes errant passes anyway. Squares to the basket extremely
well, and is an outstanding free-throw shooter. Is average at best on
defense, and his advancing age isn't helping things much.
Last, but not least, crowd favorite Steve Scheffler. He actually
started 3 or 4 games earlier in the year when the Sonics had injury
troubles. A big banger, he has limited offensive skills but is a
decent rebounder.
TEAM NEEDS:
The Sonics have a group of players older than 30. These include (in
rough descending order) Johnson, Pierce, Perkins, Cage, and McMillan.
Drafting Doug Christie last year was the right move. If he had signed,
he would have been Pierce's eventual replacement at off-guard. The
next priority would have been to find a shooter to replace Johnson.
Cage and Perkins don't need replacement just yet. I would like to see
McKey start for Pierce, and bring Pierce off the bench. In the
frontcourt I would start Kemp, McMillan, and Perkins.
With the 23rd pick in the draft, I think the Sonics should take the
best available player at shooting guard or small forward. That said, I
think that it is unlikely that a really good player will be available
at these positions.
SELECTION AND REASONS WHY:
Rodney Dobard, 6-9, Florida State
Dobard is an excellent athlete, with above-average defensive ability.
The Sonics don't really need another 6-9 guy at this point, but I
don't think any of the players left can play for the Sonics right away
anyway. Dobard would at least have a few years to develop before he
is needed. McKey can be used more at guard if Dobard is capable of
contributing at least a few minutes per game. Besides, Perkins could
play this position on offense.
By the way, the two guys I most wanted were Greg Graham and George
Lynch. Hopefully the Sonics will receive better cooperation from the
GM's in front of them than I did from the GM's in front of me. :)
WHO THE TEAM WILL PROBABLY TAKE:
Given their position in the draft, this is extremely hard to predict.
Players I am looking at include Rodney Dobard, Douglas Edwards, Chris
Mills, Josh Grant, George Lynch, James Robinson, Scott Burrell, Sam
Cassell, Greg Graham, and Nick van Exel.
My preference of this group would be Greg Graham. He is 6-4, with long
arms. An athletic leaper, he can defend and has good touch from the
line and from 3-point territory. Thus, a good fit for the Sonics. He
is a winner, and besides, my brother was a manager at Indiana last year
and had nothing but good things to say about him.
At small forward, I feel Grant lacks the necessary athleticism to fit
in with the rest of the Sonics. In terms of guards, I think Cassell is
too skinny and van Exel hasn't shown enough ability to play the point.
Robinson is my alternate choice (had Dobard been taken by Cleveland)
since there is some question whether Dana Barros will be back after
next season. Theoretically Robinson is not completely helpless on
defense (Wimp Sanderson coached him) and he has the requisite athletic
ability and outside shot. Plus, he is 4 inches taller than Barros.
OTHER MOVES THE TEAM SHOULD MAKE:
I might see what is available in the free-agent market at small
forward or shooting guard, but I would not go over the salary cap if
it can be avoided. Bob Whitsitt has demonstrated an ability to turn
over the roster in a productive fashion, and I would not want to
hinder any possible deals.
I also would play Barros more, provided he stays with the team.
Barros' contract is up after next year so I guess I might either sign
him to a longer deal or dump him now. Barros is probably a better
shooter than anyone the Sonics are likely to get in the draft, but
trading him plus the 23rd pick to move up is an option too. Or trade
him for a pick next year and draft a guard to replace him. Shawn Kemp
would go to Pete Newell's big man camp, if I were running the team.
He needs a post move or two.
As the team has reached the Western Conference finals, I don't think
it would be wise to make any major moves this year. Next year the
Sonics have the better of either Phoenix's or Philadelphia's first
round pick. With the prospect of the Sixers being in the lottery next
year fairly good, 1994 seems like the year to pick up Ricky Pierce's
successor at guard.
======================================================================
Draft Summary:
1. Orlando
GM: Tom@Orlando
Pick: Chris Webber, PF, 6-10. University of Michigan
2. Philadelphia
GM: Dave Meeks
Pick: Shawn Bradley, C, 7-7. BYU
3. Golden State
GM's: Mike Moore
Terry Wong
Pick: Jamal Mashburn, SF, 6-8. Kentucky
4. Dallas
GM: Curtis Hill
Pick: Anfernee Hardaway, SG, 6-7, Memphis State
5. Minnesota
GM's: Kevin Hansen
Toni Morgan
Pick: Calbert Cheaney, SF, 6-7. Indiana
6. Washington
GM's: The Crossjammer
Jim Nagle
Pick: J.R. Rider, SG, 6-5, UNLV
7. Sacramento
GM: TODD FURESZ
Pick: Rodney Rogers, PF, 6-7, Wake Forest
8. Milwaukee
GM's: Brian Saunders
Morgan Edwards
Pick: Malcolm Mackey, PF, 6-11, Georgia Tech
9. Denver
GM's: John Exby
Rick Grubin
Pick: Ervin Johnson, PF, 6-11, New Orleans
10. Detroit
GM: Rob Skrobola
Pick: Alan Houston, SG, 6-6, Tennessee
11. Detroit
GM: Rob Skrobola
Pick: Acie Earl, C, 6-10, Iowa
12. L.A. Lakers
GM: Cliff Slaughterbeck
Pick: Bobby Hurley, PG, 6-0, Duke
13. L.A. Clippers
GM: Cliff Slaughterbeck
Pick: Vin Baker, SF, 6-10, Hartford
14. Indiana
GM: Doug Mraz
Pick: Scott Burrell, SG, 6-7, UCONN
15. Atlanta
GM: Kevin Metz
Pick: Terry Dehere, SG, 6-4, Seton Hall
16. New Jersey
GM: A. Borges Sugiyama
Pick: Douglas Edwards, PF, 6-9, Florida State
17. Charlotte
GM: Bren Bailey
Pick: Chris Mills, SF, 6-6, Arizona
18. Utah
GM: Michael Wendt
Pick: George Lynch, SF, 6-7, North Carolina
19. Boston
GM: Orin Day
Pick: Greg Graham, SG, 6-4, Indiana
20. Charlotte (from San Antonio for J.R. Reid)
GM: Bren Bailey
Pick: Lindsey Hunter, PG, 6-2, Jackson State
21. Portland
GM: Mike Northam
Pick: Luther Wright, C, 7-2, Seton Hall
22. Cleveland
GM's: W. Scott Klingensmith
Brian Young
Pick: Joe Harvell, SF, 6-7, Mississippi
23. Seattle
GM: Christopher Beck
Pick: Rodney Dobard, PF, 6-9, Florida State
Next up:
24. Houston
GM: Brian West
Craig Simpson - Usenet Draft Commissioner