Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 8:00 am  |  48 responses

SLAMonline Mock Draft: DeJuan Blair, No. 11

The Pitt native isn’t moving far.

DeJuan Blair

by Zach Lowe

With the 11th pick in the 2009 SLAMonline Mock Draft, the New Jersey Nets select…

DeJuan Blair. Let me stop you right now: I know Blair measured just short of 6-6 in bare feet. I know James Johnson and Earl Clark are here for the taking, and that both are power forward/small forward tweeners with athleticism Blair will never have. I know the Nets could use some backcourt scoring depth, especially if they can convince a contender to take Vince Carter’s insane contract off their hands.

But I’ll be damned if I’m reaching here for a Dukie shooting guard who can’t shoot three-pointers and wasn’t a very efficient offensive player in college—even if Gerald Henderson is almost as tall as Blair.

At its core, this pick is about rebounding. Dudes who can rebound in college can usually rebound in the pros, even if they are not off-the-charts athletic. Kevin Love stepped in and became the best per-minute rebounder in the League, and though he’s listed as four inches taller than Blair, DeJuan’s monster 7-2 wingspan will help make up for his height. He’s got a longer standing reach than Blake Griffin.

And Blair rebounded like a madman in college, pulling down 12.3 per last season, fourth best in college hoops. Nearly half those boards (5.6) were offensive rebounds, and the Nets were the 22nd best (or ninth worst, if you like) offensive rebounding team in the NBA last season. They were strictly average on the defensive glass.

He has great instincts, he’s surprisingly quick off the ground, he’s a slightly better jumper than people give him credit for, and, really, he just knows how to rebound the basketball. He’s also got an epic space-creating ass. His ass is so impactful the freaking New York Times, usually afraid to address any sort of PG-13 topic, wrote an entire story about it (even throwing in a classic NYT wannabe-hip reference to Sir-Mix-A-Lot).

Blair used his ass to score on the interior in college, including owning the likely No. 2 pick, Hasheem Thabeet, whenever Pittsburgh played UConn. He put up the best points-per-possession of every forward DraftExpress tracked. He’s obviously not going to be able to step in and do that in the NBA, and he won’t have to on the Nets, not with Devin Harris and Vince Carter jacking 20 shots each per game. He’s going to have to get rebounds and set nasty screens, and he’ll be able to do that from Day One.

This will give him time to do the one thing he’s absolutely going to have to do to eventually justify this pick: Develop a jumper. He took just 0.2 jumpers per game in college, according to DraftExpress. Blair is saying all the right DeJuan Blairthings about taking hundreds of jumpers a day and changing his diet and work habits to keep off the 40 or so pounds he’s dropped since starting his work with David Thorpe in Florida. Of course, players with millions of dollars at stake are going to say all the right things. But you don’t average 15-12 in the Big East as a 6-6 power forward without being a worker. We at the Nets believe Blair is a worker, and we’ve got as sorry a crop of forwards as there is in the NBA.

Glen Davis, a player to whom Blair is often compared, developed a jump shot where none existed before, and he’s about to make himself about $3 or $4 million a season. (By the way, Blair is a much better rebounder than Big Baby).

Blair’s ceiling is probably a 15-9 player in the NBA. Clark and Johnson may have higher ceilings, but they don’t come to the NBA with one ready-made knockout skill. Clark was inefficient on offense and turned the ball over a ton, and Johnson, though he improved his all-around game, is 22 and a bit raw.

The one thing that made us really think: Johnson, with his size (6-8) and athleticism, could become an elite defender, something Blair is never likely to be. But lots of guys with elite tools never learn how to guard properly in the NBA. So in the end, we chose Blair. Rod Thorn wants a “moose.” Who are we to argue?

2009 SLAMonline Mock Draft Results
Pick Team Player
1 L.A. Clippers Blake Griffin
2 Memphis Grizzlies Hasheem Thabeet
3 Oklahoma City Thunder Ricky Rubio
4 Sacramento Kings Brandon Jennings
5 Washington Wizards Jordan Hill
6 Minnesota Timberwolves Demar DeRozan
7 Golden State Warriors James Harden
8 New York Knicks Stephen Curry
9 Toronto Raptors Tyreke Evans
10 Milwaukee Bucks Jonny Flynn
11 New Jersey Nets DeJuan Blair
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  • Moose Posted: Jun.1 at 8:24 am
    “Rod Thorn wants a “moose.” Who are we to argue?” Damn, I gotta enter the draft haha. But this is a good pick. Personally, I really like Blair: Rebounds a lot bigger than he really is. Good pick.

  • bielasiak33 Posted: Jun.1 at 8:37 am
    Indeed, he just has a knack for knowing where/when the ball is gonna come off the hoop and getting to it. That wingspan, strength, and ass certainly help too when creating space. Good pick.

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Jun.1 at 8:47 am
    Excellent, excellent pick. Dude is looking in great shape, and he seems like the perfect fit. Blair and Lopez would be one of the most interesting frontcourts in the League. My only question is why Carlos Boozer thinks the Nets are going to give him a contract this summer…

  • Moose Posted: Jun.1 at 9:00 am
    @ bielasiak33: A lot like Barkley.

  • Zach Lowe Posted: Jun.1 at 9:04 am
    It wasn’t an easy pick to make. Clark is the kind of player who looks fantastic in video highlight packages. But I asked every Nets fan I know for advice, which means I asked one guy.

  • french toast Posted: Jun.1 at 10:10 am
    Blair is an excellent choice. He has love for the game, he hustles every game and we’ll be a great complement to Brook Lopez.

  • tavoris Posted: Jun.1 at 10:12 am
    actually a pretty good pick for the Nets…and he’d probably start immediately at the 4. He does need 2 work on a J tho, so Lopez won’t get doubled.

  • MeloMan22 Posted: Jun.1 at 10:27 am
    so instead of drafting Danny Granger 2.0 (Clark), u draft Big Baby 2.0?

  • SLAM ONLINE | Posted: Jun.1 at 10:31 am
    [...] With the 11th Pick… [...]

  • Tzvi Twersky Posted: Jun.1 at 10:58 am
    It makes sense, it’s just not sexy.

  • JoeMaMa Posted: Jun.1 at 11:21 am
    Am I supposed to believe this guy is better than Mike Sweetney? And where is that guy now?

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Jun.1 at 11:38 am
    Danny Granger and Earl Clark are so dissimilar it’s not even funny.

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Jun.1 at 12:10 pm
    @JoeMaMa: Yes, Blair *is* much better than Mike Sweetney. He’s in much better shape (something Sweetney never was able to show), and he’s a far more ferocious worker. He’s a great character guy. Think of him as a better Jason Maxiell.

  • TADOne Posted: Jun.1 at 12:20 pm
    A better Jason Maxiell is nothing to sneeze at.

  • Taylor Price Posted: Jun.1 at 12:40 pm
    Something tells me if his career doesn’t pan out in the Association, Blair could always try his hand at playing tight end for the G-Men. He looks like an Antonio Gates in the making.

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Jun.1 at 1:05 pm
    I do like this pick. You got chutzpah to admit he’s barely Gerald Henderson height haha

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Jun.1 at 1:23 pm
    Right, just when I thought I’d never thought I’d hear GW and DeJuan in the same sentence…

  • BETCATS Posted: Jun.1 at 1:46 pm
    he will either turn out to be Mike Sweetney, Sean May, or Glenn Big B!tchy Davis

  • BETCATS Posted: Jun.1 at 1:48 pm
    And whoever is drafting for the Bobcats, take Earl Clark or will r@pe you to death. I would also not mind Terrance Williams or Gerald Henderson, but Earl is my pick as to who i want.

  • JoeMaMa Posted: Jun.1 at 2:57 pm
    @Ryne: that’s a bold statement, comparing Blair to Maxiell. I was thinking along the lines of Reggie Evans, mayyyyybe Danny Fortson (but not as good rebounding numbers). I’ve come to understand that undersized PFs, especially those at 6’6″, are more miss than hit.
    But it IS a weak draft….

  • B. Long Posted: Jun.1 at 6:02 pm
    Absolutely no damn possible way that DeJuan Blair goes this high. None. Zip. Nada.

  • Dacre Posted: Jun.1 at 8:23 pm
    B. Long… If he’s still on the board at the 14th pick, Steve Kerr better have a good hard look at himself.

  • Pitt Blather — The Rantings Continue Permalink » Blair Closing In On Lottery Posted: Jun.2 at 12:05 am
    [...] the NBA Draft and DeJuan Blair finds himself getting mentioned more and more in the top-14 picks. New Jersey at #11 seems to be the place, since they spoke of needing a “moose.” Of course that goes out [...]

  • Jay Posted: Jun.2 at 3:34 am
    I’m not buying the love for Blair. He embodies toughness and he was productive, I get that, I get that the draft gets too much into flimsy potential territory and he might be a guy of substance. But he’s only 6’7 and good teams don’t start 6’7 power forwards. You’re at too much of a disadvantage. Maybe people think if Glen Davis can be effective than why not blair but Davis is actually a bit taller at 6’8 and unlike what the article states, he did not suddenly come up with a jump shot in the pros. He had one in college along with great footwork, body control and passing ability. Glen Davis was a McDonald’s all-american and college all-american, he is not some scrub that anyone can easily copy. The thing with Blair is that he does only one thing well and that’s rebound. He’s not good enough in other areas to be more than a role player. He plays in a tight band around the hoop and at his size and with his strength advantage diminished, there is only so much he can do. I can see him being effective coming off the bench and getting some offensive boards and setting some vicious screens. But he tops out at that. You have to reach for something higher with a lottery pick.

  • Jay Posted: Jun.2 at 3:44 am
    Another thing about Blair, compare him to Kevin Love. They were both great college rebounders with strong hands and great physicality. But Love also was a great passer and capable of hitting outside shots. He was also 2 inches bigger than Blair. But even with those skill advantages, he still only tops out as a solid big. Blair comes is a couple notches below that.

  • Seven Duece Posted: Jun.2 at 12:34 pm
    Terrance Williams bro! He can start NOW, D up, move the ball, rebound and charm the pants off reporters. Plus, VC (hopefully with that perimeter loving bum YI) can get traded for a veteran big. “Hey Amare”

  • dex Posted: Jun.2 at 2:44 pm
    I didn’t expect anything else from a SLAM writer (gotta love the way Sussman SLAMMED one of your guys when he suggested VC faked injuries last season LOL), but Carter’s contract is not insane at all. And there’s NO WAY they pass on Clark to take Blair, esp if they land Boozer. Thorn said he wants a moose, but he didn’t say he will draft a player like that.

  • Jason Posted: Jun.2 at 4:11 pm
    No surprise to see another toolbag from SLAM insult Vince Carter, the most unfairly disrespected player in sports. The Knicks will always suck you losers

  • Seven Duece Posted: Jun.2 at 9:38 pm
    Sorry but I’m not seeing Earl Clark in the lottery. He measures a couple inches taller (in shoes do less) and longer than believed now all of a sudden he’s a better player? He’s the type that GM’s & fans see the word ‘potential’ and think he can be special. Fail.

  • Adam Sweeney Posted: Jun.3 at 3:58 am
    I love Blair’s effort. He will find a place in the league. Nice pick.

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Earl Clark, No. 13 Posted: Jun.3 at 8:01 am
    [...] SLAMonline Mock Draft: DeJuan Blair, No. 11 [...]

  • Nets Are Scorching » Blog Archive » Following The Mocks #3 Posted: Jun.3 at 8:40 am
    [...] Slam Online – DeJuan Blair/PF/Pitt [...]

  • Gerard Himself Posted: Jun.3 at 9:52 am
    Thorn: get Blair.

  • ciolkstar Posted: Jun.3 at 10:42 am
    I think they’d be beeter off with Earl Clark here. Its not like they are just one piece away from contending, in which case getting a guy like Blair who will comnpete, but has limited upside, makes sense. Clark will almost certainly be the better pro. Clark’s not perfect, but would you rather have Lamar Odom 2.0 or a slightly better version of Tractor Traylor?

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Jrue Holiday, No. 14 Posted: Jun.4 at 8:00 am
    [...] DeJuan Blair [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: B.J. Mullens, No. 15 Posted: Jun.5 at 8:01 am
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  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Patty Mills, No. 19 Posted: Jun.10 at 8:10 am
    [...] DeJuan Blair [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Austin Daye, No. 22 Posted: Jun.13 at 8:00 am
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  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Omri Casspi, No. 23 Posted: Jun.15 at 8:01 am
    [...] DeJuan Blair [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Victor Claver, No. 24 Posted: Jun.16 at 8:01 am
    [...] DeJuan Blair [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: No. 28 Posted: Jun.20 at 11:01 am
    [...] DeJuan Blair [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Slava Kravtsov, No.28 Posted: Jun.21 at 1:32 pm
    [...] DeJuan Blair [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Dionte Christmas, No. 30 Posted: Jun.23 at 8:01 am
    [...] DeJuan Blair [...]

  • The San Antonio Spurs Have Signed Marcus Haislip | Binary Basketball News Blog Posted: Jul.6 at 4:33 am
    [...] gotten lucky when DeJuan Blair’s draft stock dropped due to injury concerns. Many sources had DeJuan Blair being drafted in the lottery. If he turns out to be healthy, then the Spurs have made an excruciatingly simple choice to draft [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Ty Lawson, No. 17 Posted: Dec.8 at 1:29 pm
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  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Ty Lawson, No. 17 Posted: Dec.8 at 1:29 pm
    [...] DeJuan Blair [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: DeMarcus Cousins, No. 4 Posted: May.27 at 1:32 pm
    [...] [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » SLAMonline Mock Draft: Greg Monroe, No. 5 Posted: May.28 at 8:20 pm
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