Official 2016 Draft Thread

[bleedspeed]

Sabonis looks like he might be a good pickup. Big jump in production in his sophmore year.

From ESPN
Sabonis has been a double-double machine for Gonzaga. He has one of the highest basketball IQs of anyone in the country. He's shooting a terrific 73 percent in the paint and 47 percent on 2-point jumpers.

But will his lack of length and athleticism stunt his production in the NBA? That's the question.

Pros:
Strong, physical player (we lack this)
Very high basketball IQ
Excellent passer
Elite rebounder
Clever at attacking
Plays with a great motor

Cons:
Needs to improve his perimeter game (I think he will be able to extend to 3 in time)
Lacks elite athletic ability

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Domantas-Sabonis-62889/

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

Assuming we don't get a top 2 pick, I think I'd go Dunn-Hield as my #1 and #2 options. We desperately need a strong backup PG, thus Dunn makes a ton of sense. Hield could replace Shabazz as our bench scorer, except do it in a way that helps the rest of the offense because he's a floor spacer. I don't see how a guy that prolific won't be able to translate his shot to the next level. The only reason he's not a top 3 pick is because he's a little on the short side for a conventional shooting guard.

I like Hield if we pick outside the top 4 or 5. I think being a senior is the biggest knock on his value. I think he could a great 6th man. I'd take Ingram, Simmons, Dunn and probably Brown ahead of him. I'm unsure if I'd take LaBassiere ahead of him--though before the season started scouts liked LaBassiere ahead of even Simmons.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

I don't know what to think of Dragan Bender. I see some mocks have him ranked third. I wonder if Porzingis mania is elevating his stock. Anybody see this kid play and have thoughts?

[bleedspeed]

Bender stuff from Ford

Bender suffered an ankle injury and missed several weeks of action before returning against Maccabi Haifa to score 12 points and grab five rebounds in 17 minutes on Feb. 6.

I went to Maccabi practice while Bender was injured and only got to see him in shooting drills. What I saw impressed me. But what impressed me more was the way his coach and general manager spoke about him as a person -- he's the real deal off the court.

It remains to be seen if he's the real deal on it. But given his size and skill set, he looks like the ideal stretch-4 in the NBA.

Pros
Versatile big man can play the 3, 4 & 5
High basketball IQ
Excellent ballhandler
Good rebounder
Good athlete for a seven footer

Cons
Needs to add strength
Needs a more consistent jump shot

[bleedspeed]

Jamal Murray Update:

Murray has been on fire, scoring 35 points against Florida and another 24 points against Georgia and shooting a crazy 14-for-20 from beyond the arc in those two games.

Scouts have been looking to see more point guard skills than he has shown, but his high basketball IQ and ability to score from anywhere on the floor should make him a lock for the top 10.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Jamal Murray Update:

Murray has been on fire, scoring 35 points against Florida and another 24 points against Georgia and shooting a crazy 14-for-20 from beyond the arc in those two games.

Scouts have been looking to see more point guard skills than he has shown, but his high basketball IQ and ability to score from anywhere on the floor should make him a lock for the top 10.

Yeah, I liked him a lot pre-season. Would be a nice consolation prize if we fell out of the top-five.

[bleedspeed]

I like Hield if we pick outside the top 4 or 5. I think being a senior is the biggest knock on his value. I think he could a great 6th man. I'd take Ingram, Simmons, Dunn and probably Brown ahead of him. I'm unsure if I'd take LaBassiere ahead of him--though before the season started scouts liked LaBassiere ahead of even Simmons.

I worry Hiedi is having an outlier year. His is shooting 12% better from 3 than his best year and 14% better than last year. The volume is there, but that is a concern.

LaBrassiere is really having a bad freshman year, but if he can put it together in March for 4 or 5 games his stock would certainly go up.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Assuming we don't get a top 2 pick, I think I'd go Dunn-Hield as my #1 and #2 options. We desperately need a strong backup PG, thus Dunn makes a ton of sense. Hield could replace Shabazz as our bench scorer, except do it in a way that helps the rest of the offense because he's a floor spacer. I don't see how a guy that prolific won't be able to translate his shot to the next level. The only reason he's not a top 3 pick is because he's a little on the short side for a conventional shooting guard.

I could see Dunn in top 5, but don't see Hield in the top 10. He is having a good year, but scouts see him as a Marcus Thorton type player.

I don't know Bleed. Marcus Thornton wasn't knocking down four 3's per game at a 50% clip at LSU. This dude is absolutely prolific. Plus Hield has a little better physical profile.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Assuming we don't get a top 2 pick, I think I'd go Dunn-Hield as my #1 and #2 options. We desperately need a strong backup PG, thus Dunn makes a ton of sense. Hield could replace Shabazz as our bench scorer, except do it in a way that helps the rest of the offense because he's a floor spacer. I don't see how a guy that prolific won't be able to translate his shot to the next level. The only reason he's not a top 3 pick is because he's a little on the short side for a conventional shooting guard.

I like Hield if we pick outside the top 4 or 5. I think being a senior is the biggest knock on his value. I think he could a great 6th man. I'd take Ingram, Simmons, Dunn and probably Brown ahead of him. I'm unsure if I'd take LaBassiere ahead of him--though before the season started scouts liked LaBassiere ahead of even Simmons.

This is where I feel like Draftnicks get it wrong. I get how the value of a 21 or 22 year with mediocre stats plummets because at that point folks question whether there is much more room for improvement. But at some point potential is what potential does. The dude is averaging 25 PPG, 50% from 3 and over 50% from 2. Plus his other stats are pretty good too. I feel the same way about Denzell Valentine.

I think the one thing against him is height. He doesn't have prototypical shooting guard height. He's 6"4.5 with shoes on and 215 lbs. However, that is bigger and taller than CJ McCollum.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I like Hield if we pick outside the top 4 or 5. I think being a senior is the biggest knock on his value. I think he could a great 6th man. I'd take Ingram, Simmons, Dunn and probably Brown ahead of him. I'm unsure if I'd take LaBassiere ahead of him--though before the season started scouts liked LaBassiere ahead of even Simmons.

I worry Hiedi is having an outlier year. His is shooting 12% better from 3 than his best year and 14% better than last year. The volume is there, but that is a concern.

LaBrassiere is really having a bad freshman year, but if he can put it together in March for 4 or 5 games his stock would certainly go up.

Well, I doubt he will ever go 25PPG and 50% from 3 in the NBA, but to your point, when you see that kind of volume, it makes it harder to be an outlier. If you want the poster child of outliers, go look at what Derrick Williams did at Arizona from 3 prior to being drafted at Minnesota. So yeah, you need to be leery of guys with high 3 pt % without much volume. That's not the case with Hield.