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The Memphis Grizzlies select Sam Dekker from the University of Wisconsin at #25
From Grizzly Bear Blues: The Grizzlies would have loved to have been able to make a move by either adding talent from another roster or moving up in the 1st round this year, but we just didn't have the right assets to pull off a significant trade. The main piece we'd like to trade, Jeff Green, isn't a on the table because of his pending player option. No one wants any of Vince Carter or Jon Leuer. Courtney Lee might be sought after, but trading away one of your only shooters with perimeter shooting being your primary need seems unproductive. No one will value Zach Randolph or Tony Allen the way we do, and Mike Conley is essential for us re-signing Marc Gasol.
So here we are at #25, and by the Dome of Adam Silver if a top 15 player in Sam Dekker hasn't fallen into our laps. The NCAA Tourney star will give the Grizzlies the most well-rounded small forward they've had since overpaying for Rudy Gay years ago, and can hopefully develop his outside shot into a consistent weapon for Memphis. This leaves us still searching for a knock-down shooter as we head into free agency, but we just couldn't pass up the talent of Dekker this late in the draft.
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Kevin: Dekker might also be a player who has pretty much peaked here in his career. I think he can develop into a solid 3-and-D player off the bench for an NBA team, but he’s not going to be a long term starter.
I do like that he can play three spots on offence in the NBA, he’s got decent handles and has a smooth stroke. He can also probably play three positions on defense for the Grizzlies. I don’t think he’s athletic enough to create his own shot in the league, so he better start practicing being consistent on knocking down that corner three pointer.
The people of Nashville will eventually grow to love this guy.
Lucas: The fact that Sam Dekker is still available at 25 is nothing less than shocking, as he was projected by many as a top 15 pick. While it must be disappointing to Dekker to fall so far out of the lottery, the Grizzlies front office is certainly ecstatic that he was still available this late in the first round. While Dekker does not solve the Grizzlies most pressing issue, which is a lack of outside shooting (he shot 31.6 from three last season and 34.8 for his career) he will solve their second most pressing issue, which is lack of Small Forward depth. While Tony Allen is still one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, his offensive struggles are well documented. Similarly, midseason addition Jeff Green has been largely disappointing during his time in Memphis, and i’d look for Dekker to possibly take some of his minutes by the end of the season.
Dontae: Sam Dekker falling out of the lottery to the Grizzlies might sound like good news, but I’d be singing the blues if I was Memphis. Not that Dekker isn’t a great player, but he might be too much like the most frustrating player they have presently on their roster: Jeff Green.
Dekker has the reputation of a knock-down outside shooter when, as Lucas pointed out, he’s shot 31.6 from three last season, 34.8 for his career, and 69.5 percent from the free throw line. His explosion in the NCAA tournament had a bit to do with that assessment. Dekker is sneaky athletic, having posterized his fair share of victims last year. He can post up smaller players and take bigger guys off the dribble effectively. He just does none of these things consistently enough to warrant "star" status.
Like Green, you keep waiting for him to put it all together, but he never consistently does it. On a Memphis team that is ripe for championship contention, Dekker may very well be the fill-in-the-gaps type of wing that the Grizz so desperately need, but isn’t that what we said about Jeff Green?