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| Who needs who? (Photo credit: Interaksyon.com) |
Based on how the teams fared this season, we already have a working idea of who-picks-where for the coming draft. Some names have already announced their intent (primarily highly touted 6"7 Fil-Tonggan Moala Tautuaa), while some names are still playing in minor leagues both locally and internationally (keep doing what you're doing Bobby Ray!).
Now the fun part: do teams go for "best available talent" or do they address specific "team needs?"
Here's how we think the teams will approach the 2015 PBA Draft, based on their overall performance this season and who they should be looking out for:
1. Talk'n'Text (from Blackwater)
Conventional wisdom says that the 2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup champions are in dire need of a center. No more, no less. Someone to patrol the lane, anchor the defense and basically take care of scoring and defending in the shaded lane. Since Ali Peek retired, TNT has been forced to either wait for a decent import to play center, or use forwards Ranidel de Ocampo, Kelly Williams and or Harvey Carey to take care of the spot, which, based on the championship that they were able to win this season, pretty much tells you that they're just fine. They could go with Tautuaa, a promising talent who combines strength with speed and agility-- like a more skilled, bigger Williams. Or they could go Troy Rosario, who is starting to gain more ground as this year's 1st overall pick thanks to his potential to turn out to be a taller Ranidel de Ocampo-- which is really, a more focused, non-lackadaisical Yancy de Ocampo.
Needs: Center
2. Kia
See at this point, Kia can pick anyone from Tautuaa to Rosario to even Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. (should he choose to apply for the draft). They just need a fresh face for the franchise, to move on from the Manny Pacquiao "joke." Any new name, even a wild child like Roi Sumang,would be a breath of fresh air for this team which finished their season on a very respectable note and have yet to make any shady transactions with either Team MVP or Team SMC despite Pacquiao's many ties. We've heard that should TNT go for Tautuaa, Kia has no qualms of tabbing Rosario even if a BRP is available. Well. Okay. We understand the fear here is that if they go BRP, that he'll end up flying elsewhere again and try his luck with the NBA for the nth time. Which ultimately means, a wasted pick. But if they were wise, they'd put it in his contract- a buy out of some sort, in the event that BRP is signed by any NBA team. Right?
Needs: Star/ Franchise player
3. Rain or Shine (from NLEX)
RoS needs a big man. Who can score AND rebound. Emphasis probably on the rebounding part. We're not sold on Torres, so we're hoping that BRP applies for the draft so that TNT and Kia could tab him, which will leave us with Rosario/ Tautuaa. We're using "we're" because it's not a secret that we're RoS fans. So we know what our team needs. Should Tautuaa and Rosario be unavailable at this point, and there's no BRP, then RoS should look to get the best available talent and not waste the pick on Torres or Guinto (too high, will still be there by 12th pick IMHO). Garvo Lanete. He's the Gilas shooter/ transitioning point guard that both Team MVP and SMC desires.
Needs: Tautuaa or Rosario; or Best Available Talent
4. Meralco (from GlobalPort)
Let's face it: Meralco is only competitive whenever Mike Cortez is at full strength. They tried Simon Atkins. They tried Jai Reyes. They tried Anjo Caram. Hell, they even tried to run it with Jared Dillinger a couple of times. But is it really Mike Cortez the player? Or more of his natural point guard skills that Coach Norman Black needs to run his position-less, blue collar offense wherein his 2-4 guys are interchangeable on the fly? A guy that would easily fit the Cortez mold and be an instant upgrade over Reyes, Caram and Atkins is Baser Amer. But then Meralco could also flirt with Garvo Lanete for the same reasons we said in the RoS piece. Chris Newsome? They have Rey Guevarra, Gary David, Ryan Buenafe and Mark Macapagal in the fold-- sure, they can add him. But a point guard is more important the way Cortez' injury concerns have been the last couple of years.
Needs: Point guard/ Shooting guard
5. Ginebra (from Barako Bull)
Garvo Lanete or bust. They need a floor spacer at the 2 spot. Lanete's shooting would make a world of difference, now that Coach Frankie Lim is in control and loves playing big point guard Sol Mercado. With a shooter, the floor opens for high post playing Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter. With a shooter, Dorian Pena, Rodney Brondial and Dave Marcelo would wreak havoc in the paint rebounding and sticking putbacks. With a shooting guard, Ginebra can continue moving on from the soon to be 36 year old Mark Caguioa era and further bury soon to be 39 year old Jayjay Helterbrand on the bench.
Needs: Shooting guard
6. NLEX (from Ginebra)
Coach Boyet Fernandez needs a point guard who can stay healthy long enough to match his 42-year old center, Asi Taulava's, minutes on the court or more. Baser Amer is Coach Boyet's guy, but only if Coach Norman doesn't beat him to it. Roi Sumang is another point guard that he can considering, but he comes with a lot of baggage and drama from how he handled his business in college. Do they check the guards? Scottie Thompson, Maverick Ahanmisi or Newsome? Sure, if only to supplant Mark Cardona. But then they just got John Wilson in the fold, and the former NCAA MVP deserves as many opportunities rewarded one Gary David over at Meralco to shine.
Needs: Point guard
7. Meralco
By this time, Meralco should've been able to address their need for point guard of the future. So now, it's time to look at another hole on the roster: Center. Sure, they play positionless basketball, but you can only do so much when it's time to match-up with Ginebra's Greg Slaughter or San Miguel's Junemar Fajardo. At this point, there are only two names left worthy of consideraiton: Norbert Torres and Bradwyn Guinto. And if we're to look at Torres' stint with Gilas Cadets, it's safe to say that he'll takeover the position that was supposed to go to Rabeh Al Hussaini-- with tutelage coming from the likes of Danny Ildefonso, John Ferriols AND Reynel Hugnatan.
Needs: Center
8. STAR
Take your pick: look for a guy to supplant the aging duo of PJ Simon and James Yap, only to bury him behind Alex Mallari and the returning Allein Maliksi, or get a power forward/ center, to help move on from the Rafi Reavis, Mick Pennisi, Don Allado, Jerwin Gaco warm bodies frontline? Scottie Thompson is nice, even a Chris Newsome, but we can't help shake this feeling that Coach Tim Cone might take a look at Glenn Khobuntin who could blossom into another Marc Pingris but with more range. Hell, don't be surprised if Art dela Cruz actually gets a look here, owing to his improved post game and solid rebounding.
Needs: Shooting guard/ Power forward/ Center
9. Blackwater (from TNT)
This team disgusts me. From doing a great job handling and funding the women's basketball team in previous years, they spent their entire first season making it known that they are in cahoots with Team MVP (lopsided trades, jersey color change-- apparently, blue, white and yellow are the new black) and then, the only non Team MVP move they make is sending their best player in their maiden campaign over to Barako Bull. Wow. Just wow. Team needs? To get out of here. Okay, wait. Seriously speaking, the team will need a scorer to move on from last year. Reil Cervantes is already there down low, so adding a guy who can work the perimeter would work wonders. Roi Sumang? Scottie Thompson? Even a Chris Newsome. Just someone who could points on the scoreboard fast or at least make the losses interesting.
Needs: Shooting guard/ Scorer
10. NLEX (from San Miguel Beer)
How old is Asi Taulava again? How good are Enrico Villanueva's knees? And when was the last time Nino Canaleta played inside the paint? Who else is left? Anyone over 6"5? Take him! No questions asked, take him! NLEX could use some more young blood on the roster since they often find themselves relying heavily on the exploits of Taulava. Cardona is still reliable, but there are times wherein he seems disenchanted with his coach who would start him one day, bench him the next despite being the team's best and most established scorer.
Needs: Center
11. Alaska
It's time to keep building. The way the Aces play basketball, they need fresh legs to keep pushing the pace and it would be very surprising if they do not look for a shooting guard- Thompson, Ahanmisi, to help transition the team from the aging duo of Cyrus Baguio and Dondon Hontiveros to someone paired with Rome dela Rosa. Unfortunately, we don't see a lot of quality guards left by the time the Aces get to pick. Unless that FBA urban legend Ryan Wetherell cat sneaks his way into the Top 5-8 spots.
Needs: Shooting guard/ Small forward
12. Rain or Shine
Back to us being fans of this team. When Ronnie Matias left, we were okay with it. Because we soon got Raymond Almazan. When Larry Rodriguez left... we got Alex Nuyles, who was sent elsewhere and we got Jericho Cruz. Then Jonathan Uyloan broke out of his shell and emerged as a legit PBA player. So our frontline is basically made up of: Almazan, Beau Belga, JR Quinahan and Jervy Cruz. You can even throw in our small forwards: Gabe Norwood and Jireh Ibanes in the mix. They're all good, pretty solid. But mostly specialists. We need a rebounder. If no one is available, we need a win player. Depending on who we took in at 3rd. Bradwyn Guinto. Norbert Torres is available. Yutien Andrada? Lol.
Needs: Center/ Wing
I still hope that Meralco and Coach Black take a good long look at Isaac Holstein.
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