2006 NBA Draft Preview: Top 3

Due to the new NBA age limit (excluding traditional high school seniors and foreigners under the age of 19 to enter the draft), there is no Greg Oden in this year's draft. No Lebron. No Amare, etc.
The consensus top 3 in the 2006 draft goes like this: Lamarcus Aldridge, Adam Morrison, and Tyrus Thomas. The lazy one, the unproven one, and the resembles-Stromile-Swift-too-much one, respectively.
The top of the draft is where the players are supposed to be, and none of the big 3 appear to be the league's next players.

Adam Morrison is likely to average 15-16 points given 30 minutes his rookie year, but he needs to make leaps and bounds in his defensive effort before he can expect to see 30 minutes a game. Don't expect the man dubbed by some as "The Next Larry Bird" to ever be more than the starting SF on a .500 team unless he becomes a smart defender. If that does not happen, he would be best served to play a significant role off the bench as "instant offense" for a good team with good shot blockers... good fit for the Pistons.

Speaking of shot blockers, Tyrus Thomas seems like the safest pick of the 3. Although the resemblance to Stromile Swift is remarkable, I can assure you it is just cosmetic. Same school, same height, same weight, same athletic ability, yes. They are physical clones. What Tyrus Thomas has that Stromile lacks is a brain. Stromile's me myself and I need $m$o$n$e$y$ attitude has gotten him nowhere. Actually, it has gotten him a big contract... not much to warrant his #2 selection in the 2000 draft though. Tyrus, on the other hand is a good teammate, has a good 15 foot J, and is a much better leader. Thomas is a sure thing to be a serviceable+ NBA player. What he has over the other two prospects at this point is that he is good enough to come in and start on any NBA team not in Detroit. What Tyrus must avoid are injuries. With a style of play like his, where he spends more time in the air than on the court, injuries are almost inevitable. Hopefully he can avoid the long term ones and anything concerning the knee.

Lamarcus Aldridge has the most talent, but also is the most likely of the 3 to become a bust. Joe Smith, if you will. Although I've always felt the word 'aggressiveness' when relating to basketball is a bit arbitrary, that is the best word to describe what Aldridge lacks. He is not quite Rudy Gay in terms of his aggressiveness (if you haven't noticed - Rudy Gay is as aggressive as a dead biodegrading sloth), but he's far from where he needs to be mentally. For example, the difference between Kevin Garnett and Lamarcus Aldridge is not their physical ability; in that aspect they are very similar. It is Kevin Garnett's mental ability to outwork his opponent, not be afraid to try, and his ability not get too down on himself when things don't go well. To be cliche, "basketball is 90(+)% mental and 10(-)% physical." Lamarcus will play 10 years based on talent alone, but his ability to stay mentally focused and stay aggressive during games will dictate whether or not he becomes a star.