Official 2016 Draft Thread

[Monster]

Cam how has Poeltl's offensive game developed this season?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The other thing to think about with Poetl is he has taken a very nice step forward since last season, improving in almost every category. That doesn't always happen with players, even though we all just assume guys get better. Not all do. He did, in multiple areas.

One thing that bugs me a bit is that Utah is ranked something like 45th in defensive rating in the D-1. Considering the fact that really good defensive centers tend to have an out-sized impact on team defense, that is a bit troubling to me. How good is he if they are barely in the top 50 of all D-1 teams defensively?

(of course, as I said earlier, Louisville was ranked #1 when Dieng anchored their defense and that proved to be a pretty useless predictor for him).

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Cam how has Poeltl's offensive game developed this season?

From what I've seen, Poeltl's footwork in the post has improved, though it was already something positive to build off. He's also gotten stronger and you can see that as he finishes through more contact than he did last year. But I think the biggest improvement offensively has been overall feel for the game. He's making passes now, finding teammates when they're open. He wasn't really doing that as much last year. This year he's been the focus of the other team, being double teamed more regularly and having to make right decisions. His AST% more than doubled, from 6.6% as a freshman to 13.7% as a sophomore, while his TOV% reduced from 18.2% to 12.2%. And as previously noted, his FT% went from 44.4% to 68.2%, which is a very good sign. In his "Get to Know U" interview for the Utes a year ago, he talked about wanting to improve his shot from mid-range. I think improving his FT% nearly 25% is a good step forward.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Sabonis cannot guard NBA centers at the next level. He doesn't have the necessary length or vertical to really bother anybody. And as previously noted, he's not a rim protector.

If you can get low and push out a center further away from the rim, you can guard that position even without length. That's how Pekovic did it, and even KLove to some extent. I see that ability in Sabonis.

Pekovic was 6'11, 290 pounds. Sabonis is 6'10, 240 pounds. There's a difference in body types. Sabonis can get as low as he wants to, but he's not hanging with DeMarcus Cousins or Brook Lopez one on one. They're just too big. He's also not stopping DeAndre Jordan from going over him. He's a power forward in the NBA.

Guys like Love and Nick Colison proved that they can do a shift at center. I'm not saying Sabonis can go full time at center. We have KAT and he's a center, so that should be enough. Even guys like Duncan and Davis, who have been protected by their franchises, both have played plenty of minutes at center. Drafting a guy top 10 to be a role player who's meant to protect KAT isn't good for me. Role players shouldn't come that costly.

I think the benefit of Poeltl is his floor is a role player, but he may very well become a legit starting C at the next level as well. So I don't see drafting him top 10 as just getting a role player. The expectation would be he would initially back up Towns and if he plays well enough, start next to him. In a weak draft that's good value.

[Monster]

Cam how has Poeltl's offensive game developed this season?

From what I've seen, Poeltl's footwork in the post has improved, though it was already something positive to build off. He's also gotten stronger and you can see that as he finishes through more contact than he did last year. But I think the biggest improvement offensively has been overall feel for the game. He's making passes now, finding teammates when they're open. He wasn't really doing that as much last year. This year he's been the focus of the other team, being double teamed more regularly and having to make right decisions. His AST% more than doubled, from 6.6% as a freshman to 13.7% as a sophomore, while his TOV% reduced from 18.2% to 12.2%. And as previously noted, his FT% went from 44.4% to 68.2%, which is a very good sign. In his "Get to Know U" interview for the Utes a year ago, he talked about wanting to improve his shot from mid-range. I think improving his FT% nearly 25% is a good step forward.

Thanks for the response I didn't really see him play much at all last year but it seemed like he was a pretty nice prospect even in loaded draft.

[Brooklyn_Wolves [enjin:14608167]]

I think the benefit of Poeltl is his floor is a role player, but he may very well become a legit starting C at the next level as well. So I don't see drafting him top 10 as just getting a role player. The expectation would be he would initially back up Towns and if he plays well enough, start next to him. In a weak draft that's good value.

No, Towns is at his best as a center, that's where he's going to be the most influential offensively. There are certain matchups where you want to protect him from banging and foul trouble. But you don't draft a center top 10 who projects to be a starter because you want to avoid a few matchups for Towns. KAT is a center, period, and should spend most of him minutes there.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

I think Poeltl is an option if we drafted 8-12, but not if we keep the pick. There aren't many near sure things outside of Ingram, Simmons and perhaps Dunn and this is even true of Poeltl. I worry that he could end up being a slightly better version of Luc Longley. There are a number of bigs available in free agency that could be options instead of Poelt. While Horford is the dream, Mahinmi, Whiteside, Jefferson, Ezeli, Noah, Biyombo, Pachulia, Mozgov, Nene and Ty Zeller are some decent options. Yeah we don't get the third big on a rookie contract, but if we draft Poeltl, we don't get a talented rookie like Brown, Bender, Dunn, Hield or Valentine on a rookie deal.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I think the benefit of Poeltl is his floor is a role player, but he may very well become a legit starting C at the next level as well. So I don't see drafting him top 10 as just getting a role player. The expectation would be he would initially back up Towns and if he plays well enough, start next to him. In a weak draft that's good value.

No, Towns is at his best as a center, that's where he's going to be the most influential offensively. There are certain matchups where you want to protect him from banging and foul trouble. But you don't draft a center top 10 who projects to be a starter because you want to avoid a few matchups for Towns. KAT is a center, period, and should spend most of him minutes there.

Towns is going to be a star regardless of where he plays. He's not a single-position player. You plug him in at PF or C and he's got the same ridiculous skill set. At center, he can use his quickness and agility against bigger players. At power forward, he can utilize his strength and length against smaller players. He's already a handful. Make no mistake about it, Towns is going to produce offensively regardless of who's guarding him.

You don't draft a player top-10 for the reasons you picked out, but you do draft a player top-10 if he's of appropriate value and can help your team now and help in the future. Poeltl fits the bill perfectly in that regard. He's got a relatively high ceiling of his own, though not star-worthy, and his floor is high as well. I don't think you're accurately valuing what Poeltl brings to the table.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I think Poeltl is an option if we drafted 8-12, but not if we keep the pick. There aren't many near sure things outside of Ingram, Simmons and perhaps Dunn and this is even true of Poeltl. I worry that he could end up being a slightly better version of Luc Longley. There are a number of bigs available in free agency that could be options instead of Poelt. While Horford is the dream, Mahinmi, Whiteside, Jefferson, Ezeli, Noah, Biyombo, Pachulia, Mozgov, Nene and Ty Zeller are some decent options. Yeah we don't get the third big on a rookie contract, but if we draft Poeltl, we don't get a talented rookie like Brown, Bender, Dunn, Hield or Valentine on a rookie deal.

And now I know why we're not seeing eye to eye on Poeltl. I'm not sure where that comparison came from, but I think it's a poor one. When Longley was a 20-year old sophomore at NMSU, he averaged 13.0 PPG and 6.8 RPG while shooting 57% from the floor in about the same number of minutes per game as Poeltl. Poeltl's posting better numbers than that (17.6 & 9.0 w/ 66.7% shooting) offensively and figures to be a much better rebounder and defender than Longley ever was in the NBA.

Side note: Why is Valentine in this conversation? I've seen you bring up his name in the group of guys you'd look at with our pick, but he shouldn't be picked near the top-five. That's too high, especially when you're downplaying Poeltl as a prospect.

One more thought: Why is it that if we draft Poeltl, we don't get a "talented rookie" like those wings you listed? Poeltl would be a talented rookie and he comes at a position of need with a chance to be a future starter. I'm not sold that any of those wings are going to be starters in Minnesota as long as LaVine and Wiggins are here. They're slated in as bench guys from the jump barring some major improvements.

[Brooklyn_Wolves [enjin:14608167]]

KAT is a modern day center and that's where he's going to be the best through out his career. Just because you have a hard on for Jakob, it's not gonna change.