Jodie Meeks stays in Draft.
Meeks should of stayed. Playing for a winner would of definately boost his stock to a late first round pick next year. I dont think he is starting material in the NBA. I think he can be a good/scorer shooter off the bench. For once gatorheels, I disagree with you. Meeks is slightly bigger than West. While he does shoot better, I think West is the better defender and athlete (the problem is he is small for the 2, he is a 6'3 player gaurding 6'5-6'7 players). The Cavs do need another SG so West can come off the bench as a 6th man/combo gaurd, I just dont think Meeks would be the right choice. Meeks will be a Von Wafer type player whos NBA skills take a couple of years to develop. If the Cavs want a shooter I think they should choose Dionte Christmas over Meeks, he is bigger and a better ball handler or they could go with Thornton if he is available.
I posted about this on the Gani Lawal thread, but I think Meeks probably made the right decision. As much as Coach Cal might have helped him in some ways, I just do not see his stock improving after a year in which he averaged 24 points per game. Even if Kentucky would have been odds on favorites to win, a year of scouts dissecting his game and a significant drop in numbers might have killed his stock. If Meeks is indeed better than Delonte West, I have yet to see it. I mean, he had some great games last year and crushed Tennessee, but I think Delonte West is the type of guy who can run point and is an overall solid defender and shooter. I also think the Cavs are not exactly doing the smart thing by basically starting two undersized shooting guards that can run point. I think a defensive minded, bigger shooting guard should be on their minds, and if he could shoot than all the better. Before Delonte got hurt this year, I felt that Cavs were an even better team than they were at the end of the year. They should seriously consider Meeks, Christmas or some other player that would provide some length at guard (as compared to Williams and West). Shooting woes for the Cavs were well documented, so I see Meeks to the Cavs having some legs, but I also think that some team might have promised him which is what lead him to remain in the draft.
Delonte West cannot run the floor like Meeks that is a fact. Meeks can play heavy minutes without getting tired. Meeks is a little undersized but he played solid defense in college. I think he can guard most SGs in the NBA. By the way Meeks is a MUCH better shooter than Christmas. Meeks is also automatic from the free throw line which is a plus. Christmas' size does make him an attractive pick though.
Jodie Meeks may indeed be faster running the floor than Delonte West, but he can not run point like Delonte West. Also, Delonte is no slouch as far as stamina is concerned as the dude played close to 40 minutes a game in that Orlando series. If Jodie Meeks was better than Delonte West, and maybe he could be, he will go top 20. If he is as good as Delonte and goes any lower than that, teams are making a huge mistake. I still think he goes lower and is not the player Delonte is.
This kind of surprised me. I thought he could have benefited by playing in Calipari's system next year and raised his stock into a mid first round pick.