This is the debut of Hornets.com's newest feature, NBA Notebook. In the regularly appearing column, Hornets.com lead writer Jim Eichenhofer and other Hornets.com contributors will cover a wide range of issues related to the Hornets, as well as the league’s 29 other teams. Eichenhofer has written about the NBA for national basketball magazines Inside Stuff, Hoop and SLAM since 1999.

July 17, 2006

NBA NOTEBOOK
NBA Scout Analyzes Las Vegas' First-Rounders
by: Jim Eichenhofer, Hornets.com

LAS VEGAS – Now that the final buzzer has sounded on this year's Vegas Summer League, what have we learned about the 2006 NBA draft class? Most basketball analysts believe the group is one of the weaker classes in recent years, but there have already been plenty of surprises, based on summer performances.

Hornets.com sat down with an Eastern Conference scout to find out more on the progress of many of the first-round picks who played in the Vegas Summer League.

Players are listed in their draft order (team listed reflects which squad they are a member of, not which club drafted them). The following are the scout's comments and do not necessarily represent the views of the Hornets and Hornets.com:

First-Round Picks

1, Andrea Bargnani, Toronto
He's more athletic than I expected. Has an athletic game, is very long and has the ability to put the ball on the floor. Without a doubt, one of the things he's proven in the games I've watched is that he can shoot the NBA 3-point shot at a decent percentage.

2, LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland
Young, impressive athlete. Like any other underclassman, he has a great deal to learn, but has shown flashes of greatness in some of his games. As a young big man, he has to learn the flow of an NBA game and learn where his shots are coming from.

6, Brandon Roy, Portland
Started off slow (in Vegas Summer League) and turned it up late – in one game he had 35 points. You can tell he's a mature, four-year college player. Great body, with the ability to both put the ball on the floor and rise up above defenders and make jump shots. He's shown everyone that he’s got the skills to play point guard. He can shoot it, and he can drive. He's got all the tools.

7, Randy Foye, Minnesota
I don't think anyone would argue with me that he's been the most exciting player in the Vegas Summer League. Has shown an innate ability to get to the basket whenever he wants, to rise with body control, hang and finish – unlike a lot of guys his size. He's 6-3, but can go up against guys who are five or six inches taller and still get his shot off. The scouts around the league who had him rated high on their draft board were right on. He's proven already that the size factor is not going to be an issue with him. He's got a great handle and can shoot it from the outside.

9, Patrick O'Bryant, Golden State
Like Aldridge, he's had his moments. But he's a developing player, a guy who's evolving. Has shown that he's going to have a nice defensive game. He's learning the speed of the game and where his shots are going to come from. He's got a great body, is long and athletic.

12, Hilton Armstrong, New Orleans/Oklahoma City
He's extremely athletic. He's very agile on his feet for a 6-foot-11 center. He's shown that he's got a jump shot, that he's got a motor and will go rebound, and that he can block shots. He's been fun to watch. Obviously he has a lot of work to do – just like the other big men in this draft – but he's a four-year college player and he's got some experience playing at a high level at Connecticut.

15, Cedric Simmons, New Orleans/Oklahoma City
Put him in the category with Aldridge and O'Bryant, in that he's a young big man with two years of college experience. He's come in and played hard. He's had moments, but is learning the speed of the game. At some point in his career, he's going to be a force, both defensively and rebounding-wise, no matter what. I think offensively he's going to be an excellent player, too. He's learning. He's a young guy with a great attitude.

18, Oleksiy Pecherov, Washington
He's surprised me with his play. He's shown to be a very skilled all-around player. He looks like a guy who can help the Wizards next season. For a guy his size, he can put it on the floor. He can shoot it with range and can guard people. He doesn't have slow feet. He looks like he'll be a very solid player. I like him.

19, Quincy Douby, Sacramento
A guy you wouldn’t want to tangle with in H-O-R-S-E. He's offensive lightning in a bottle – you never know when he's going to strike. He's got every shot in his repertoire – he can shoot it from long-range, he can shoot it from mid-range, he's got a floater. His learning curve will be on the defensive end. Because of his size, he's going to have to learn how to guard bigger players and how to guard in the post. But he's so much fun to watch because he's such a skilled offensive player.

20, Renaldo Balkman, New York
He's an intriguing player in that he was kind of an unknown as a first-round pick to a lot of teams. He's an extremely hard-working guy who plays hard on both ends of the floor, runs and finishes in fast-break situations. He's learning to develop his jump-shooting game. He's not a bad shooter, but he's not a great one, either. But I don't think that's what they drafted him for. They drafted him as a hustle guy who's going to do the dirty work. That's the kind of player he's shown to be.

21, Rajon Rondo, Boston
Rondo has benefited from playing on a (summer league) team with a lot of players with experience who are confident and know Boston's system. Ryan Gomes got a great deal of experience last year, Gerald Green was on the roster, Al Jefferson is going into his third year and Sebastian Telfair has played a great deal. (Rondo) has played really well: great hands, great defensive ability already. Hasn't shown his NBA jump shot range yet, but he hasn't had to, because with his ballhandling skills he's been able to get around guys for drive-and-kick (passes).

25, Shannon Brown, Cleveland
He looks like a tailback out there. He's built like an NFL running back, but he can dribble, jump, shoot and run. He's going to be a good player in the league. He's explosive and he plays as hard on defense as he does on offense. He gets in his stance and really tries to guard people, which is a rarity sometimes in these (summer league) games – a lot of guys just want to get up and down and score some points. He looked like he was really hunkered down and trying to guard guys.

28, Maurice Ager, Dallas
He played really well in the games I've seen. He's similar to Shannon Brown in that he's very good at getting to the rim and finishing. He's also got a nice jumper that he can rise up and shoot over you, because he's got good size at 6-4. He had a big game the other night (23 points vs. Boston).

29, Mardy Collins, New York
He's a big point guard with a nice mid-range game. He's able to make jump shots off of one or two dribbles, and can pull up and shoot over smaller guys. Not your prototypical lightning-fast jet, but a guy that looks like he could be a solid contributor in the league for years to come.

Notable Second-Round Pick

32, Steve Novak, Houston
He's been so impressive. Novak shot it lights out the first three games I saw. He was incredible with his ability to come off screens, get his feet square and make jump shots from NBA range. The knock on him going into the draft was that he might not be athletic enough – and that still remains to be seen – but in the Vegas Summer League he proved himself as one of the best scorers here.