March to March is a college basketball blog. Its Kevin Berger takes a look at John Wall and Evan Turner as if he were the Nets' GM. He's not trying to see how Wall or Turner would fit into the Nets current roster. It's all about "best player available", which is how the Nets have always claimed they make draft decisions.
Berger thinks both have faults. Wall, in spite of his Jordanesque athleticism, has shooting issues. If Wall puts time in, as Jordan and Kobe Bryant did, "he’ll be the steal of the draft as the number one pick. If he’s merely average in terms of work ethic which translates to skill and shooting improvement, OJ Mayo would be a more accurate comparison".
Turner, he writes, is not as athletic as Wall (who is?) and might become "a jack of all trades, master of none...Is he elite enough to take smaller players off the dribble? Is he physical enough to slide down to the 3 if that’s what the club that drafts him needs? Don’t get me wrong, he can be a solid player at any of three positions, but solid isn’t what the number 1 pick in the draft is about."
Bottom line for Berger is the Nets should take Turner at #1...or be happy if he's available at #2. "If I’m New Jersey, I go Evan Turner because he’s going to come in and give you a talented team guy on a squad lacking direction and chemistry. I’m not sure Wall can do that right away. In all honesty, Turner can be what fellow Big 10 big guard Steve Smith was supposed to be coming out of college. The next Magic Johnson."
- NBA Draft: Making The Call On Evan Turner Or John Wall - Kevin Berger - March to March
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2010 NBA Mock Draft, Version 1.0 - Scott Schroeder - Ridiculous Upside