Dime Magazine talks about the expectations they have for John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe, and Daniel Orton. Here is what they have to say, and of course, I will throw my opinion in there as well.
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John Wall[/B]
[QUOTE]Saunders once said pure point guards are “sent from Heaven.” His offense should open up the court for Wall to make plays using the gifts he was blessed with. He did the same in Minnesota for a young [B]Stephon Marbury[/B] and in Detroit with [B]Chauncey Billups[/B]. The rest of the roster is young and athletic so Wall will find some partners to get out on the break with in guys like [B]Nick Young[/B] and [B]Andray Blatche[/B]. Smart, they may not be. Fun, they will be.
The No. 1 pick should put up ROY-type numbers and lead the Wizards to around 30-35 wins. Consider that a success. Down the road, Wall has a chance to be the best point guard in the world
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Saunders could be the best fit for John Wall since I am pretty sure John Calipari thinks the same way about point guards. Wall will be the most exciting thing to hit D.C. since Bill Clinton and a box of cigars.
[B]
DeMarcus Cousins[/B]
[QUOTE]
Realistically, Cousins couldn’t have fallen into a better situation. He will be playing big minutes for a team that lacks a frontcourt presence and in a city that is out of the spotlight. There won’t be many distractions in Northern California and he will get all of the touches that he wants, so Cousins won’t have many excuses. Despite the recent trade for [B]Samuel Dalembert[/B], the Kings will probably start Cousins in the middle immediately. Sacramento is about as low-key an NBA city as you will find and hopefully that’ll get Cousins into the gym where he can work on his 16 percent body fat.[/QUOTE]
I really don’t think the Kings will have to worry about Cousins getting into any off the court trouble. I really look forward to the Cousins vs. Andrew Bynum battles, as Boogie has been calling him out on twitter for a while now.
[B]Patrick Patterson[/B]
[QUOTE]He will immediately be their most athletic frontcourt guy- his 11.14 agility time at the combine was tops among bigs- and should contribute a productive 15-20 minutes a game. Houston found success with [B]Carl Landry[/B], another energetic but slightly undersized four man, so it will be much of the same in this situation. His time mingling on the perimeter last year at Kentucky should help him now; that elbow jumper will make him a nice fit next to the Rockets’ other bigs. Patterson doesn’t have much potential beyond being a decent role player, but he aced every pre-draft interview. He will be team-first. Houston won’t ask him to do anything out of his realm, so don’t expect much more than perhaps 8-9 points and 4-5 rebounds a game. Cal had to be happy his top three players are all going into almost perfect situations.[/QUOTE]
Pat is Pat. Everyone who follow Kentucky knows what they are going to get from Pat. He will be a force for a long time to come, and his work ethic in unreal.
[B]Eric Bledsoe[/B]
[QUOTE]At the 18th pick, Bledsoe fell right around where his draft projection was. Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he would have certainly been begging for minutes behind [B]Russell Westbrook[/B], Bledsoe now is heading to L.A. to backup [B]Baron Davis[/B]. He’s used to it. In his one year at Kentucky, Bledsoe averaged just 2.9 assists a game playing in the same backcourt as Wall. He has a long ways to go before he could be a full-time point. That’s probably going to fit right in with the Clippers. But he has the potential to be one of the best from this class.[/QUOTE]
Playing behind Baron Davis could be a blessing for Eric this year. He will have time to adjust to playing the point again and learn from one of the best while doing that. Bledsoe is another Cat that could be a future All Star in the League.
[B]Daniel Orton[/B]
[QUOTE]The ugly duckling of the bunch. Whereas Bledsoe might struggle at times to find a laid-out role in L.A., Orton should do just fine with that…in the D-League. Orton handled this whole process horribly: from ducking his agent and letting his family squabble over how to manage him to his knee issues that date back to high school. It was actually surprising teams were considering Orton in the top 20 at all. He’s lucky that he will get first round money because it is going to take some time for this dude to find the NBA floor. ESPN’s Chad Ford thinks he will spend a lot of time with Orlando’s D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. I agree. Orton is a good shot-blocker, but the rest of his game is severely lacking.[/QUOTE]
Every bit of this summary on Orton is right on. D-League, meet Daniel Orton.
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