Wolves 2017 Draft Thread

[Monster]

John Hammond is now GM of the Magic.

We might have to kiss the dream of Isaac here goodbye.

Wait wtf? Why did he leave to go to the Magic for what is sort of a step down? It sounds like the Bucks are promoting a guy from within. What is going on over there?

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Dennis Smith may end up being are pick if Issac goes to Orlando. I wouldn't complain. I think his talent is going to be too appealing by that point even if it means 4 PGs on the roster for a while.

I do not want Dennis Smith. One of the laziest defenders last year, and he can't make up for it with length. I also don't like how he would fit offensively, not to mention the roster imbalance of having 4 PGs.

If Fox fell to us, on the other hand, it'd be hard not to take him despite the redundancy with the PGs. Unlike Smith, he's got the length to guard 2s, and his talent is worth the shot. Plus I like his personality, which is pretty important for a PG.

Who below would you take Smith over?

Tatum
Monk
Fox
Jackson

Personally, I'd take all those guys, and several others, over Smith.

[Monster]

One of the possible things that could make taking over the Magic is that they have some worthwhile players that could be moved and basically have a blank slate type situation. What players will they look to move? Are their any guys worth looking to acquire? I'd like Aaron's Gordon but I don't know how much so value him and I would think the Magic would want something worthwhile in return so i don't see a deal working there.

[Monster]

Hammond with the Bucks was part of a team that has gone for some Lengthy athletes. Maybe he does it again and takes Jeanne. Givoney retweeted someone hyping him saying he is a unicorn and I just watched this workout...um that shooting looks legit.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/jonathan-jeanne-nba-pre-draft-workout-and-interview-5949/

[bleedspeed]

Crazy! Kid looks like he would be a SF. I would be for taking him at 7 if he is there. We will need a power player, but we can get one in FA.

[Monster]

Crazy! Kid looks like he would be a SF. I would be for taking him at 7 if he is there. We will need a power player, but we can get one in FA.

I don't think I would go that far but he looks plenty skilled for a guy 7' 3/4" barefoot with a 7'6.5" wingspan. That's a lot of length.

[thedoper]

Dennis Smith may end up being are pick if Issac goes to Orlando. I wouldn't complain. I think his talent is going to be too appealing by that point even if it means 4 PGs on the roster for a while.

I do not want Dennis Smith. One of the laziest defenders last year, and he can't make up for it with length. I also don't like how he would fit offensively, not to mention the roster imbalance of having 4 PGs.

If Fox fell to us, on the other hand, it'd be hard not to take him despite the redundancy with the PGs. Unlike Smith, he's got the length to guard 2s, and his talent is worth the shot. Plus I like his personality, which is pretty important for a PG.

Who below would you take Smith over?

Tatum
Monk
Fox
Jackson

Personally, I'd take all those guys, and several others, over Smith.

I'd take Tatum and Fox, Jackson and Monk are toss ups but I'd be fine with any of those 4 as an alternative.

[Lipoli390]

The problem Lip is that Wiggins' length doesn't really translate into results on the defensive side of the ball. We've talked ad nauseam about his mediocre rebounding and lack of blocks/deflections/steals. He gets man handled by bigger wings. After three seasons in the league, he has put on minimal weight, so I'm skeptical that he's suddenly going to pack on another 15 lbs. of muscle.

That being said, I do think he can still play SF to finish games, where teams tend to downsize significantly anyway. It's the start of halves where I'd prefer to have a bigger, stronger lineup and a big wing defender next to him that can take some of the defensive and rebounding pressure off of Wiggins. Then may be he'll have the legs and energy to perform better in crunch time.

I don't think size is Wiggins problem on the defensive end. Watching him live in close to 120 home games the past three years, I see his defensive failings primarily as a function of his inconsistent motor and his learning curve understanding how to defend. I've seen him get out-quicked more than I've seen him overpowered. He and KAT have both been way too matador-like on defense. Wiggins is listed at 6'8, 199. Compare that to some SFs on playoff teams around the League - many of them regarded as excellent defenders:

Bazemore - 6'5, 201
DeMarre Carroll - 6'8, 212
Otto Porter - 6'8, 198
Kelly Oubre - 6'7, 205
Iggy - 6'6, 215
Ariza - 6'8, 215
James Ennis - 6'7, 210
Jonathon Simmons.- 6'6, 195
McDermott - 6'8, 219
Andre Roberson - 6'7, 210

Yes, there are much beefier SFs like Leonard. But the ones I listed are all good players, many of them good defenders and none have the hops or overall athleticism of Andrew Wiggins. Compared to these guys it's obvious that Wiggins isn't some pewee who is too small physically to defend at the SF position. On the offensive end, Wiggins doesn't have the ball-handling skills of a top NBA SG. Some of it comes down to matchups. But overall, I see Wiggins as more of a SF than SG and his size is in line with a number of currently successful NBA SFs.

That said, it doesn't look like we're going to ever get much rebounding out of Wiggins. So I do see merit to pairing him with another (probably bigger) wing who rebounds. On the other hand, we absolutely have to have a top 3-point shooter on the floor with Wiggins to spread the floor and provide for more efficient scoring. If not, we won't have any good 3-point shooters on the floor in our starting lineup and that's totally unacceptable in today's NBA. Moreover, we were actually a pretty good rebounding team last season with KAT, Gorgui and Ricky among the better rebounders at their respective positions.

[Lipoli390]

My bottom line in this draft is to take the best player available. After 31 wins and another in a long string of lottery appearances, the Wolves simply aren't in a position to draft for need. Look at the two teams we're going to see in this year's NBA finals. One team, the Cavs, have 3 all-stars, including perhaps the best player in the NBA. The other team, the Warriors, have 4 all-stars and a borderline all-star in Iggy. The Spurs championship teams of the past had 3 allstars in Parker, Duncan and Manu. The Miami Heat had LeBron, Wade and Bosh. The Lakers had Shaq and Kobe. In other words, you rarely see an NBA champion that doesn't have at least two, often three, allstars and among those allstars at least one superstar.

So let's consider our current Wolves roster. Obviously, we don't have any allstars yet. But who are our potential allstars? I'd say KAT and Wiggins. LaVine perhaps, but I'd rank his chances below the other two. And whether we consider two or all three as potential allstars, it should go without saying that we're still only talking potential. Our front office should make it their mission to use the #7 pick to add another potential allstar to the roster. They can use free agency and our nearly $30 million in cap space to provide more immediate help.

So the task for our front office between now and the draft will be to identify the players in the draft who have the best chance of becoming NBA allstars and take the best one still available at #7. For me, best player available isn't necessarily the player with the most upside. Instead it's a combination of upside and the likelihood of the player reaching his potential. The latter piece is important and it's generally a function of physical issues, attitude, work ethic, and drive or what we call "motor." Smith has huge upside, but I'd shy away from him because I have doubts about Smith actually reaching his potential given his injury history, attitude and inconsistent motor.

My top tier so far are Ball, Fultz, Josh Jackson, Jonathan Isaac, and Tatum in that order. Unfortunately, I'm convinced they'll all be gone by the time we pick at #7. I like Fox, but his poor perimeter shooting is a gaping hole in his game. As I mentioned earlier, Smith's physical issues and motor scare me away from him. I like Monk, but I don't see all-star caliber upside in his game. That leaves me with two guys who I'd gravitate towards at #7 - Zach Collins and Markkanen. Collins looks like his has the length and skills that make him a very high upside prospect along with a toughness and motor that suggest he has a good chance of eventually reaching his potential. Markkanen seems defensively limited, but so did Nowitski when he came into the League. Markkanen is a bona fide 3-point marksman with other offensive skills, including excellent ballhandling for a 7'0 PF.

So I wouldn't trade the pick unless someone makes an offer we can't refuse. I'd take Isaac or Tatum if either is still available. But if not, I'd probably take Zach Collins after giving serious consideration to Markkanen.

[bleedspeed]

Crazy! Kid looks like he would be a SF. I would be for taking him at 7 if he is there. We will need a power player, but we can get one in FA.

I don't think I would go that far but he looks plenty skilled for a guy 7' 3/4" barefoot with a 7'6.5" wingspan. That's a lot of length.

I think he could play there for stretches early. That length would be a nightmare and he seems pretty mobile, but he would get pushed around on the block, but with that length it really wouldn't matter that much.