FreeDarko's Mock Draft has the Warriors picking...

by BearsNecessity on Jun 21, 2008 9:50 PM PDT

14. Warriors: Alexis Ajinca

Nellie is often referred to as a mad scientist. In Alexis Ajinca, he will meet his ultimate Frankenstein. Seven feet, two inches and equipped with a 7'6" wingspan, Ajinca is Brandan Wright athletic, has Diaw-like finesse and passing skills, and can pop off from beyond the arc. This thin giant plays with equal parts snooty aplomb and clumsy abandon, and acts that way, too. Also, no one can decide if he's still bursting with potential, or already counts as a bust. At long last, Nellieball will discover its perfect big man, which alone should assure Don sticking around a few more seasons.

Found some video of him. He looks very...intriguing.

What do you guys think of having a passing athletic big man along with Wright and Biedrins? It definitely fits right into the Nellieball system.

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!

Tweet Comment 18 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Hard to tell

He’s playing against a bunch of scrubs who are much smaller and he looks slow. I can see him ending up a victim in one of those slammadamonth photos in SLAM magazine!!

by goldenstatefan on Jun 21, 2008 10:58 PM PDT reply actions

oh snap

he looks good! Is he wearing a weighted vest?

by highflya on Jun 22, 2008 12:13 AM PDT reply actions

Hmmm

Definitely intriguing. At #14, I’m not averse to taking a risk on a skinny kid with the dreaded “upside.”

On the plus side, his shooting touch and swat timing in those clips looked sick, and Draftexpress lists his wingspan as 7’9”. Best case LaMarcus Aldridge, worst case Francisco Elson? I’ll take it.

On the downside, at a couple of moments he had a bit of a lethargic “POBby” vibe in the way he moved around the court. And I worry about the “average rebounder”, “frail” “cannot hold spot on the block” stuff. Even if he does end up some hybrid of Aldridge and Bargnani, it’s almost impossible to imagine him stepping and contributing right away. Also, the letters of his name rearrange to spell: ALIAS: ACE JINX.

On balance: let the Ajinca Movement begin … or, maybe not…

Sign ^^^^ !!!

by Sleepy Freud on Jun 22, 2008 4:50 AM PDT reply actions

I've been thinking about him for a while

I hear he looked very good in that 17 team workout the warriors had. He does look a little slow in this video to me, but it’s hard to tell from videos like these. If we picked him, I wouldn’t be upset, but I wonder if Kosta Koufos is a better choice if he’s still there.

by Hoopachoo on Jun 22, 2008 5:26 AM PDT reply actions

bursting with potential?

or just bursting when a real bigman slams into him? My guess is Shaq would pick him up and tie him into a pretzel and dunk him.

by Skeptic con Urquell on Jun 22, 2008 9:22 AM PDT reply actions

intriguing indeed

but man is he skinny.

Also, he was working out against guys less talented and smaller than him. It didn’t look like he was taking them to the hole despite that. He seemed to like shooting outside and take fadeaways even against smaller guys.

by misterjennings on Jun 22, 2008 10:59 AM PDT reply actions

How many legit big men are left

By my count, the only true C’s that would be dangerous are Yao, Dwight, and Greg Oden.

Shaq is fading, Kaman isn’t that dangerous, Chandler just dunks on offense, and Amare is a PF.

Also, as a draftnik, there aren’t any true C beasts in the pipeline (in the Shaq/D-Howard mold) for the next 2-3 years.

I’m a firm supporter of Ajinca if the Dubs can’t move up to get Love reasonably and they damn well better not trade B-Wright for Varejao.

by dprodigy19 on Jun 22, 2008 11:02 AM PDT up reply actions

I think...

im falling i love with this guy (no homo). IMO, his skill set is screaming for Nellie-ball. Although its obviously high to take him at 14, he would be a nice late round pick. The only thing that concerns me is his attuide, the lack of motivation (aka POB). But overall, i think he would be a great addition for the Dubs: a lineup with him in it would create havoc for other teams

PG- Baron
SG- Ellis
SF- Jackson
PF- Harrington
C- Ajinca

by Spee-D on Jun 22, 2008 2:33 PM PDT reply actions

Whew!

For a second there I thought you might be gay. Naturally, that would have lowered my opinion of you terribly. ;-P

Seriously, amid all the intriguing names that have bandied about here lately — Ajinca, Speights, Rush, Batum, Greene et al. — the only one who really excites me is Kevin Love. With his toughness, polish, smarts, passing, rebounding, strength, and perimeter game, he just seems like the ideal fit for the Ws. I love the idea of a Love/Wright/AB frontcourt. Love seems to have the hoops IQ to step and help immediately say 25-30 minutes a game); and I could totally see BD taking his fellow Bruin under his wing. In Draftexpress’s latest installment of “just by the numbers” breaking down the PF crop, Beasley and Love were absurdly head-and-shoulders above the competition. Love is like Top 5 in every possible category, and #2 in most of them. I want Love. I need Love. Not entirely heterosexually. ;-)

So … how, realistically, do we move up and grab him? Throwing out a random possibility:

Knicks give: #6 pick and a <$10M salary dump of their choice: say, QRich, Jefferies, Jerome James, or Malik Rose.
Knicks get: #14 and Anderson Varejão.

Cavs give: Andy V.
Cavs get: Al Harrington

Warriors give: Al Harrington, #14
Warriors get: Love at #6 (assuming Memphis doesn’t grab him — we’d have to swing the deal on draft day) and the Knicks’ salary dump.

Why the Knicks do it: because at #6 all the real franchise guys are off the board. Gallinari is a soft Euro who won’t appease their irate fanbase, Bayless/Gordon kind of duplicate Crawford, Love kind of duplicates Lee. Most importantly, they’re overloaded with absurd contracts and need to start shedding salary in earnest if they want to make a run at LeBron in two years. Varejåo brings energy at the 5 that Curry lacks, and comes off the books when LeBron hits free agency. And they get a shot at a decent player with the #14.

Why the Cavs do it: well, we’ve heard they’re interested in Andy V. for Harrington swap, but that they’d need to kick in more to make it happen. Here they don’t have to kick in anything more, except possibly a salary equalizer of some kind.

Why the Ws do it: for Love.

Sing with me: “All you need is…..”

Sign ^^^^ !!!

by Sleepy Freud on Jun 22, 2008 6:35 PM PDT up reply actions

iggy wins

I agree with you that the trade makes a lot of sense for all involved….but I think the Knicks would rather go with Westbrook than keep count on the “wait for LeBron” card to work with their fanbase for the next couple years. Jeffries is the only bad contract I’d be willing to take back from the Knicks as I think he could actually fit Nellie Ball fairly well. That said, you do realize how much you sound like Iggy now, with all the love for Love.

by sam23 on Jun 22, 2008 7:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Owww.

That hurts, man.

Of course, IIRC, Iggy’s other main theses were:

1. Biedrins sucks
2. Biedrins and Wright are incapable of being on the same team at the same time
3. Love, despite being the best Bruin since Alcindor/Walton, would magically drop to the Warriors at #18 (at the time, we were pencilling the Ws as the #8 playoff seed)
4. Anyone who doesn’t see why this is so is an idiot
5. Did I mention that Lowell Cohn is my daddy? So there.

But yeah, I sheepishly admit to sharing Iggy’s Love love. I just think Love is too good to throw out with Iggy’s bathwater…

Sign ^^^^ !!!

by Sleepy Freud on Jun 22, 2008 8:00 PM PDT up reply actions

The picture above...

is very disturbing. Where is it from.

by goldenstatefan on Jun 23, 2008 7:57 AM PDT up reply actions

"Gummo"

1997 freakfest directed by crazy artist Harmony Korine, of “Kids” fame:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119237/

I mostly hated the movie — white trash America as seen through the eyes of an obnoxious, pretentious New York hipster — but a few of the scenes, such as the one above, do worm their way into your subconscious. I guess that takes a certain kind of talent.

Sign ^^^^ !!!

by Sleepy Freud on Jun 23, 2008 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions

I've seen "Kids'

Rosario Dawson made a name for herself there if I’m not mistaken. Not sure if I want to see Gummo.

by goldenstatefan on Jun 23, 2008 11:55 AM PDT up reply actions

yea I'm with you completely

just wanted to point out that as annoying and ridiculous as Iggy was…..he may have found the proverbial occasional nut.

by sam23 on Jun 23, 2008 6:09 PM PDT up reply actions

Next Shawn Bradley?

Possibly….

His height is intriguing, but everything else seems average to below average. I’m not sold on his jumper as most of the shots he took were wide open and with no pressure, also its 3-3 so its much easier to score. Also, a video can’t determine his skill as they probably took out all the bad things he did on the court. Not sold on this guy, I’d rather take a guy from the NCAA and hope for a banger like Paul Millsap or Jason Maxiell.

It's Been A Great Year! Thanks Warriors!

by ballin on Jun 22, 2008 7:45 PM PDT reply actions

Yeah but............

POB and Kosta are both 7’ tall guys that had versatile skill sets. Nothing stunned me greater than when POB looked like he was going for a drive and popped up and nailed a mid-ranged jumper.

Height is good, but I would rather have someone who is a serious competitor like Green. But you never know, Green could turn out to be the next Diogu, and this guy could be Howard 2.0 after gaining 35lbs. That’s why the draft is so great; you have guaranteed ballers like Rose, then surprises like Monta Ellis that can come from nowhere.

Stick w/ Green, to learn from a veteran Harrington. If he proves to be slightly better than Harrington, than that is a damn acceptable thing. Harrington gets crap, but he helped win many games this last season. If Green could just rebound a little more and have the post game, which it looks like he does, than HELL YES! Green, Wright, Harrington and Biedrins should be a damn solid frontcourt.

The 12:

PG Baron/Watson/Ellis
SG Ellis/Belinelli/Buike
SF SJax/Buike/Barnes
PF Harrington/Wright/Green/Barnes
C Biedrins/Wright/Kosta

Plus CJ Watson…. Did anyone forget how he handled the team while Baron was out? And how Ellis learned to dish it out better than Tony Parker after a drive to the hole. With Baron, Ellis, Buike, Watson and Belinelli in the back, stuffs looking goods.

Keep Monta Movement.

by danielholl on Jun 22, 2008 10:50 PM PDT reply actions

Well...

He would be something to dream about for the next 2-3 years as he “develops” on the bench. I actually wouldn’t mind it if Mullin didn’t think that there was a player left on the board that could help us immediately (though some mocks have this guy gone already by the time we pick).

Having said that I’m kinda thinking that someone might slip to us. This year there seems to be a lot of movement in the mocks. I’m not sure if I’m just paying closer attention this year but I could see a guy or two jumping up and thus sliding down one of the more sought after players to us.

If that doesn’t happen my best guess would be Greene or Rush. Or maybe trade down for CDR or Batum. My thinking is that if they aren’t impressed with the BPA they might target one of the (semi) quality wings available later in the draft.

"...OlympicMike is clearly the Barack Obama of GSoM"-Sleepy

by olympicmike on Jun 23, 2008 12:41 PM PDT reply actions