Well HoopsVibe readers, the draft is almost here and there is so much to discuss, but I have two final prospects in this years 2007 draft that I would like to breakdown. So I will hit two birds with one stone, starting off with Wilson Chandler, followed by Petteri Koponen.
Wilson Chandler is 6’7, 220 pounds and has amazing physical tools. He is very athletic and has great strength as well. His leaping abilities are out of this world, and he can throw down some impressive dunks. He is a pretty good rebounder, has some solid post moves, and he finishes well at the basket. He is getting better at handling the ball, and he is also improving his jump shot from the perimeter. He is solid defender in the paint and is capable of blocking many shots.
Wilsons intensity and effort on the court can be questioned at times, he is not known to be an all out hustle player. He still needs to work on his jump shot although it is coming along, he could also make better shot selections. Wilson lacks quickness and size so he is like a tweener, he is not 100% suited for small forward or power forward. I don’t see one thing that he does really well skill wise. Rumor is Isiah Thomas would like to take him with the 23rd pick, I think Wilson is a mid second rounder at best. As a best case scenario he could be like Joey Graham and as a worse case Tyrus Thomas.
Petteri Koponen is 6’4,195 pounds and is becoming real popular with scouts. He is a pass first point guard with excellent court vision and he is always able to find the open man. He is a great slasher, who is not afraid to drive to the basket and draw contact. He has a great attitude, is very coachable, likes to learn the game, and works real hard to improve. He has a quick high arch release on his jump shot that is pretty decent. He is a good defender that can guard in the lane, at the top of the key, off the ball, as a help defender, or man to man. He has great mental toughness and doesn’t let things get to him.
Petteri tends to force shots and makes a lot of mistakes starting out. He struggles against more athletic players and also against great defenders that are more physical than him. He needs to improve his half court sets on offense, and his one on one on defense. He does make bad passes and turns the ball over frequently against good defensive teams. As a PG he needs to be more vocal. He is also still very young, so he struggles to play against top veteran competition. He’ll need at least two years before he’s ready to run an NBA team. At his best I believe he could be like Kirk Hinrich, and at his worse Sarunas Jasikevicius.
