khans2k5 wrote:Bender would be the best pick if we could get him. A 7' stretch 4 who protects the rim. The best part is he doesn't have to come here and be a top option right off the bat. He can actually develop on our team which is going to be best for his chances to succeed. I think Bender and Dunn are the best potential 2 way guys on the board when we draft.
I've been trying to research Bender, khans, especially since some mocks have him available at 5. At first I was excited about the prospect of him dropping based on the hype. But after watching some video, I wasn't so sure. I loved his ability to run the court, and he appears to be a terrific passer. And his length and footwork make him potentially a great defender. But I can't find much video of him doing anything inside. He seems to only hang around the perimeter shooting open threes, and while the highlights show a lot of makes, he's only around 25% lifetime and his shooting stroke needs some work. I recognize he's only 18 years old, but you'd like to have more to go on than 2 PPG and just over 1 RPG in only 10 MPG, especially since we're not going to be able to work him out. I mean really...if he was ready at all to contribute, wouldn't he be scoring more than 2 PPG for Maccabi? Trevor Mbakwe is almost averaging a double double for them.
I was really high on Porzingis last year and surprised when he dropped to 4, but there was so much more relevant video available for him...this is a different situation. Bender may turn out to be a great player, but I'm not smart enough to come to that conclusion based on available information. Some team will be taking a very high risk with potentially a high reward.
LST, here is little more scouting material about Bender. Here is link to box score of 2014 U18 European championship game against Lithuania and Sabonis. Remember that Sabonis is one and half year older.
I just don't see Bender falling to us unless something is wrong about him. He just fits both what the Celtics and Suns need. If he is a homerun type player how do they not take him?
TeamRicky wrote:
Murray has shown the ability to score in college with range, but I didn't see much else in his game. By the way, I wasn't that impressed with him when he played for Team Canada (I watched all the games) and his three point shooting was 32% (which equates to the NBA line). I watched him get to the hoop and I have concerns about him at the next level. When I watched him he had trouble with tall defenders and he's not very quick. I think he'll still be able to shoot 3s, but less than 40% and will have a hard time scoring at the hole. At best he's a good scorer with little else to contribute. But we don't need another scorer as much as a two way player who can contribute good defense. Bringing in a defensively challenged guy that will take shots away from our core guys is not the best way to go.
Which tournament you were watching? Based on FIBA-pages Murray shot three pointers better than 40% in Pan American games last summer.
The Wolves staff is apparently doing their homework on Bender. They have been in Israel on multiple visits. I'm not sure we have any less info on Bender than when we used to draft high school students and make projections on them. RealGM has a Bender thread with some links to some game action (mostly his U18 games). There's not a ton of tape, but you can see by the tape he moves well, handles the ball well and seems to have a good feel for the game. His outside shooting is more advanced than his post game, but he's an 18 year old and even KAT didn't really develop a post game until he was older than what Bender is now. I think guys like Porzingis and Dirk got drafted based on very impressive workouts more so than actual game production. Outside of the top 2, everybody in this draft has some question marks and for Bender its the lack of playing time on his Israeli team and given that, the ability to project how his physical tools and basketball IQ will translate to the NBA. The pros are that he dominated his age group in Europe and was more skilled at the same age than Porzingis.
My problem with Dunn isn't really Dunn. He's a fine prospect. My problem is we already have him on the roster. His name is Ricky Rubio. Unless you have him ranked way above Bender or Hield, I don't see how you can take him at #5. I'm totally in favor of drafting BPA (Bender), or if all these guys are ranked together, Hield has the highest floor and provides one of the elements we sorely lack.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:My problem with Dunn isn't really Dunn. He's a fine prospect. My problem is we already have him on the roster. His name is Ricky Rubio. Unless you have him ranked way above Bender or Hield, I don't see how you can take him at #5. I'm totally in favor of drafting BPA (Bender), or if all these guys are ranked together, Hield has the highest floor and provides one of the elements we sorely lack.
He makes some of the same positive impacts that Ricky does, like playing great defense, rebounding well for a guard, and setting up teammates with good looks. That's where it ends. He is a better shooter than Ricky and he's extremely athletic with the ability to drive on anyone and dunk over bigs at the rim.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:My problem with Dunn isn't really Dunn. He's a fine prospect. My problem is we already have him on the roster. His name is Ricky Rubio. Unless you have him ranked way above Bender or Hield, I don't see how you can take him at #5. I'm totally in favor of drafting BPA (Bender), or if all these guys are ranked together, Hield has the highest floor and provides one of the elements we sorely lack.
He makes some of the same positive impacts that Ricky does, like playing great defense, rebounding well for a guard, and setting up teammates with good looks. That's where it ends. He is a better shooter than Ricky and he's extremely athletic with the ability to drive on anyone and dunk over bigs at the rim.
He had one year where he shot "okay" from the college 3 point stripe. And the other area where he is unlike Rubio is free throw shooting. He is terrible from the stripe. I don't see him automatically becoming better when faced with more athletic defenders in the NBA.
Kobe and Klay think Buddy will be special. Here's what Klay said about Buddy: ""He'll be a great scorer," Thompson told CSNBayArea.com on Monday. "He works so hard. He'll be a tenacious defender. He's physically gifted. He's going to help somebody. He's going to make a big impact.
"Whatever team drafts him in the Top 10, well, personally, for me, I think he's top-three, at least a top-five pick," Thompson added. "But if he slips into that six to 10 range, some team is going to get really lucky."
I found it real impressive that Buddy was nailing threes way beyond the arc (Curry range) at an 80% clip in a recent workout. I also have watched Buddy enough to think he won't be a liability on defense and its encouraging to see some like Klay think he can become a "tenacious defender."
