With tonight's NBA draft, we'll learn where Andre Roberson will be starting his professional basketball career. As a primer, I've come up with five landing spots which would be the best places for Dre, and three spots that we should all be hoping he could avoid. Tomorrow, I'll take a look at the team that lands Dre and we'll discuss how he fits in and what we can expect from him next year.
So without further pause, here are the top 5 places for Dre to go:
5.) Chicago Bulls (Picks #20 & #49): The Bulls desperately need rebounding, and with Tom Thibodeau as coach, they value defense. That would allow Dre to come in and contribute immediately for a team that many think could contend next year.
4.) Dallas Mavericks (Picks #13 & #44): A Texas team that gives Dre a good spot to play due to openings. The Mavs are clearing cap space to go hard after Dwight Howard. This is going to leave a lot of space on the roster for guys looking to play. With a good role model like Dirk around, that would help Dre get accustomed to the league as well.
3.) Los Angeles Lakers (Pick #48): Ugh. Like Alec Burks to the Jazz, this one would hurt personally. Unlike Burks to Utah, this would be great for Dre professionally. With Kobe Bryant on the team, you know he’ll be forced to work hard. Plus, like with the Spurs, they have the scorers already but need someone to do the dirty work. Dre can bring that to the Lakers.
2.) Memphis Grizzlies (Picks #41, #55 & #60): Memphis has completely overhauled its front office with analytics guys, including John Hollinger –formerly of ESPN. If you look over the WARP studies for this year’s draft, you’ll see that they absolutely LOVE Dre. If he were to go to Memphis, he would be put in a system that values what he does without penalizing him for not being a 20 ppg scorer.
1.) San Antonio Spurs (Picks #28 & #58): This is the ideal spot. The Western Conference champions have a perfect setup for him. It’s his favorite team, and it’s a veteran team in which he can find a role. He may not play immediately, but you can guarantee that they will work on him and get him ready so when it is his time to shine, he’ll be able to take over. Plus, they have three big time scorers in Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, so they’ll be able to let Dre do what he needs to do instead of worrying about his offensive limitations.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the three situations that we'd like to see Dre avoid if at all possible.
3.) Phoenix Suns (Picks #5, #30 & #57): The Suns are a bit of a mess right now. The good news if Dre lands in Phoenix is that they have a new front office and tons of playing time available. It’d be better if he went to a successful team with tons of veteran leadership, but of the “bad” options on this list, this one is easily the best.
2.) Washington Wizards (Picks #3, #38 & #54): Well, at least they got rid of the potential shootings in the locker room. And while they’re doing their part, and he would be surrounded by a few solid vets to let him get his feet wet, it’s still not an organization that really would be an ideal fit for Dre.
1.) Charlotte Bobcats (Pick #4): Dear God, not the Bobcats. Horrible management, horrible players, just a horrible situation. Pray he’s not a Bobcat. I genuinely do feel for Bobcats fans because they deserve better, but my God… At least they only have the one pick, so barring a trade, Dre should be safe.
So without further pause, here are the top 5 places for Dre to go:
5.) Chicago Bulls (Picks #20 & #49): The Bulls desperately need rebounding, and with Tom Thibodeau as coach, they value defense. That would allow Dre to come in and contribute immediately for a team that many think could contend next year.
4.) Dallas Mavericks (Picks #13 & #44): A Texas team that gives Dre a good spot to play due to openings. The Mavs are clearing cap space to go hard after Dwight Howard. This is going to leave a lot of space on the roster for guys looking to play. With a good role model like Dirk around, that would help Dre get accustomed to the league as well.
3.) Los Angeles Lakers (Pick #48): Ugh. Like Alec Burks to the Jazz, this one would hurt personally. Unlike Burks to Utah, this would be great for Dre professionally. With Kobe Bryant on the team, you know he’ll be forced to work hard. Plus, like with the Spurs, they have the scorers already but need someone to do the dirty work. Dre can bring that to the Lakers.
2.) Memphis Grizzlies (Picks #41, #55 & #60): Memphis has completely overhauled its front office with analytics guys, including John Hollinger –formerly of ESPN. If you look over the WARP studies for this year’s draft, you’ll see that they absolutely LOVE Dre. If he were to go to Memphis, he would be put in a system that values what he does without penalizing him for not being a 20 ppg scorer.
1.) San Antonio Spurs (Picks #28 & #58): This is the ideal spot. The Western Conference champions have a perfect setup for him. It’s his favorite team, and it’s a veteran team in which he can find a role. He may not play immediately, but you can guarantee that they will work on him and get him ready so when it is his time to shine, he’ll be able to take over. Plus, they have three big time scorers in Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, so they’ll be able to let Dre do what he needs to do instead of worrying about his offensive limitations.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the three situations that we'd like to see Dre avoid if at all possible.
3.) Phoenix Suns (Picks #5, #30 & #57): The Suns are a bit of a mess right now. The good news if Dre lands in Phoenix is that they have a new front office and tons of playing time available. It’d be better if he went to a successful team with tons of veteran leadership, but of the “bad” options on this list, this one is easily the best.
2.) Washington Wizards (Picks #3, #38 & #54): Well, at least they got rid of the potential shootings in the locker room. And while they’re doing their part, and he would be surrounded by a few solid vets to let him get his feet wet, it’s still not an organization that really would be an ideal fit for Dre.
1.) Charlotte Bobcats (Pick #4): Dear God, not the Bobcats. Horrible management, horrible players, just a horrible situation. Pray he’s not a Bobcat. I genuinely do feel for Bobcats fans because they deserve better, but my God… At least they only have the one pick, so barring a trade, Dre should be safe.
