Chad Ford Interview of Perry Jones

Is Jones Peanut Butter or Jelly?

One GM says: "That sort of talent doesn't come along very often," one GM said. "As I was watching the workout, I thought you finally got to see what a freed-up Perry Jones could do if a coach just lets him be himself. He could be a dominant, and I mean dominant, forward with his size, athletic ability and skill set. I think he's a hard worker and will be a much better contributor if you give him the chance to be himself. I'd have no concerns drafting him in the top five. He could be a home run of a pick."

The other GM says: "Of all the guys that are in your top 10, I'd have the hardest time taking him," another GM said. "I know he wants to be a 3, but I don't think he does anything that we ask our 3s to do that is special. He's not a great shooter. He doesn't have a great handle. He's not an aggressive defender. He's got great size and athleticism, but he's not skilled enough. That means he'll end up being a stretch 4, which is a euphemism for a guy who doesn't have a position. "Could he be great? Sure. But I think he's a major project and a major risk. There are safer picks in the top 10 with very good upsides. I think there's a good chance that he slides in the draft as people continue to wrestle with who he is."

Permanent Draft Chat

Let's use this perma-thread for discussing all thing draft related, including trades involving picks. Ok? (in other words, please for the love of the flying spaghetti monster, post your draft thoughts* here, and not in random FanShots, so I don't get angry at you, because you won't like me when I'm angry, kthnksbye) *Of course, if you want to write a more detailed FanPost about the draft, you should do that. The idea with the permashot is to have one ongoing discussion for people to post comments that aren't quite FanPost or FanShot worthy.

7. Golden State — John Henson, PF North Carolina

The most Golden State Warriors pick ever, right? Think Ekpe Udoh, Brandan Wright (via draft-day trade), Anthony Randolph and others. David Lee is solid, but I think they could give in to Henson's monster range and massive potential.

Klay Thompson named 6th best rookie.

Klay Thompson 6th in R.O.Y. voting.

#2 Prospect John Henson

Long shot blocking skilled big. NBA skill is his size, skill level, and ability to block shots., rebound, as well as adding back to the basket offense to his game. He’s another big man in this draft that is extremely active and energetic. Very good shot blocker and active rebounder on both ends of the floor. His offensive game is much improved from last year. Very good with backdowns in the paint for hooks and spinning off his man. His face up game as well is improved from last year. Besides the Zeller boys, Henson could be the most skilled big man in the draft. Very potent rebounder averaging a rebound every 2.87 mins which is a very good number for bigmen. HIs body could be an issue as some compare him to Brandan Wright with his skinny frame. I think hes slightly stronger than Wright and cill be fine. I can see him being a 3rd – 4th best player on a good NBA team by year 5.

timkawakami: OK, there's some confusion on at least one site that picked up the GSW/ Meyers Leonard info & misinterpreted what I wrote...

timkawakami: If GSWs keep their pick, they're looking SF (draft/trade). Leonard is an option if they combine OTHER picks & trade back into mid-1st rd.

NBA franchises spend anywhere from 50 million to 100 million on yearly salaries, plus another few million per year evaluating and developing players. For a scout or general manager (I've only been the latter), seeing a prospect for one measly four-month season of college ball increases the risk of being wrong about his potential. Remember, talent evaluation is a business in which, in the words of Jerry West, the greatest GM of all time, "Being right 51 percent of the time means you're doing well." Having an extra season to assess the potential of college players would cut down on the personnel mistakes that teams inevitably make in the draft, something that could potentially save the league tens of millions of dollars every year.

Are The Warriors Right? They Believe Their GM Is Smarter Than Yours

"I thought I was a top-five pick coming out, but there's a lot of East Coast bias and I wasn't on TV a lot at Washington State," Thompson said. "I really wanted to go to Orlando and be around the All-Stars and be a part of that whole weekend. I thought I was easily one of the top nine rookies (selected to the rookie-sophomore game), but I hope I've proved in the second half of the season that I deserved it."

Lee, who averaged 20.1 points and 9.6 rebounds, said he has been shut down for the season because of groin and hip injuries that have been troubling him for the past couple of weeks. The Warriors' doctors performed an MRI exam on Lee on Friday and found a stress reaction that risked severe injury with continued play.

"It's unfortunate, because I wanted to finish out the season strong," said Lee, who had gone through a sleeve of pain medication since initially injuring his hip. "I was willing to go through any means necessary to try to play these last games, but the doctors didn't leave any gray area for me."

Due to consistent groin pain that he has been experiencing for the past several weeks, Warriors forward David Lee underwent an MRI this morning that revealed a strained groin and a stress reaction. Following the MRI, Lee was told by team doctors that he should not play until he is fully healed, or risk causing further substantial injury.

Lee traveled with the team to Los Angeles today, but will not play in tomorrow’s game against the Clippers. He will continue receiving treatment from the Warriors athletic training staff and will be evaluated periodically by the team’s doctors.

Following last night’s game versus Dallas, Warriors forward/guard Richard Jefferson experienced swelling in his right knee. After being evaluated by the team’s medical staff earlier today, he was scheduled to undergo an MRI in the Bay Area late this afternoon. Results of the MRI will be released when available.

Jefferson will remain in the Bay Area to receive treatment and miss tomorrow’s game in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

Michael Jordan and Joe Lacob have secretly agreed to swap picks on draft day. The deal would send Charlotte's pick (likely to be Anthony Davis) to Golden State for David Lee and our pick. The deal would be conditional on our having a top 7 pick and Charlotte landing the top spot.

It is unknown at this time why Michael Jordan would do this move. One source told me, hey, if MJ can't make it work in Charlotte, he damn well doesn't want to see anyone make it work, as it would tarnish his reputation. Basically, this would be a "poison pill" that would all but ensure the NBA contracts the league and eliminates or moves the franchise.

As to why MJ has decided to do this deal with Joe Lacob, my sources say, he felt bad for Joe being booed a couple weeks ago. Also, MJ wants to get back into acting, and so the connections with Peter Guber made a lot of sense. Apparently, he wants to produce Space Jam 2, and Guber is reported to have green-lighted the project.