Cornrows,
I really loved hearing the conversation about the Pacers, never can get enough! You really got me going on Russell Westbrook, until this point I have been 100% all in on DJ Augustin, I collect every magazine that has had a Pacer on the cover and I already have started pickin’ up my DJ Augustin covers in the past month. But After YouTubin Westbrook and givin him some thought he really is startin to come around to me but still come on DJ Augustin is the pick and you know it!

Key Stat Why:

DJ Augustin:
1st Year: 35 MINS, 15 PPG, 7 ASST.
2nd Year: 37 MINS, 19 PPG, 6 ASST.
(Both years averaged nearly 2 steals a game, with a 2-1 Turnover ratio)

Russell Westbrook:
1st Year: 9 MINS, 3 PPG, 1 ASST.
2nd Year: 33 MINS, 13 PPG, 4 ASST.

BIGGEST KEY STAT
Last year, Augustin shot 38% from three range, Westbrook 33%
(Freshman year DJ shot 44%, Westbrook’s 3P% irrelevant because he didn’t play enough)

Just looking at that sample, Augustin has played for minutes = more ready for the next level, he has played with higher profile athletes while at college
(Kevin Durant vs. Kevin Love?). He can obviously adapt to his teammates in the pursuit of winning, and the big factor, he can shoot the three ball better than Russell. Remember the last time a 2nd year 6 foot point guard was getting slack and droppin’ off teams boards because of questions about his size, oh yeah and he had great high character just like DJ…... his name was Chris Paul, aka CP3 (I think a lot of teams would love to go back and have a do-over on that draft).

DJ Augustin:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?draftyear=2008&playerId=19083

Russell Westbrook:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?playerId=19241&draftyear=2007

FYI:
Chad Fords NBA Mock Draft 2.0 Has the Pacers Taking…... D.J. Augustin,
and Westbrook going to the Milwaukee Bucks at the 8th pick of the draft.

Personal Note:
I think teams are nuts, I think Augustin is going to be better than Jerryd Bayless, O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook, and Eric Gordon, keep letting him slip baby!

A free-agent that the Pacers could pick up with some extra cap room is Antawn Jamison.

First of all, D.J. Augustin is not going to be better than O.J. Mayo, or Eric Gordon. The only similarites that the CP3 and D.J. have is that they are undersized and that they can shoot the basketball well. No way will D.J. even come close to being as good as Chris Paul. Now if you’re looking for a comparison to Augustin, look at the starting point guard for the Orlando Magic named Jameer Nelson. I’m not saying that D.J. doesn’t have the potential to be a very solid player, but if we draft Augustin, all we’re gonna get is a small PG who can shoot and can’t guard anyone.(Travis Diener) Right now, one of the Pacers’ lapses is defense and RUSSELL WESTBROOK is the man we need.

I think the real issue here is that we need leadership on this team. D.J. Augustin has been the floor leader for two years now with a team that has had other star players who have deferred to him because of his leadership skills.

D.J. may not be the tallest point guard but with our height at the two and the three we should be okay. There are few point guards in the league right now that I think would abuse him. Should we be worried that he has to guard Rondo, or Delonte West? How about Kirk Hinrich and Jameer Nelson? These are the point guards on some of the best teams in the East and I don’t see any of them taking advantage of Augustin because of his height.

already have a leader (or at least a future leader) on this team in Danny Granger. With Westbrook, we don’t have to worry about defense, he has the tools to be able to shut down some of the best PGs in the league. Russell’s jumpshot will improve and he already has the ability to blow by defenders to create for other teammates. D.J. could run this offense very well but he doesn’t seem to be better than Westbrook in any other ways than that.