Camden wrote:Wolves snag KBD there at 48. Can't be disappointed with that. Super solid player on both ends of the court and we needed another SF/PF tweener going forward. Thought maybe Chimezie Metu might have been in play there to add some real length in the frontcourt, though.
I'm not particularly happy with the pick. He's not a 3-point shooter and he's not big enough to play the PF position in the NBA except perhaps as a stretch-4, which he can't be because of his mediocre 3-point shooting. So he's another SF without an NBA-quality handle for a wing. Jay Billas described him as an old-school player with a good mid-range game. That's simply not what the Wolves need. This pick is yet another window into Thibodeau's mind. He says all the right things about the importance of three-point shooting and athleticism. But when he makes decisions he continues to reflect his long-standing reputation as a dinasour. Diop just doesn't provide the Wolves what we need and he doesn't fit well in the modern NBA. Why not take Shake Milton -- a wing with the handle of a wing and a terrific 3-point shooter? Milton's wingspan is just 1 inch less than Diop's.
I'm very happy with the Okogie pick. But we're seeing the mediocrity of Thibodeau. No creativity or strategy. He probably could have traded down, gotten some additional value and still taken Okogie. The good news is he doesn't do anything really dumb. But his linear, pedestrian thinker always leaves me with a sense of disappointment.
longstrangetrip wrote:I like this pick...seems like a steal at 48. I recognize he's a senior, but 19.8 PPG and 8.7 RPG in the Big 10 is impressive. I see him as mostly a 3, so Thibs will need a plan to fill our big man roster if 2 of Aldrich, Gorgui and Belly are gone next year.
You just don't expect to get much at 20 and 48, so I have to give Thibs a B+ on this draft.
I think Diop is a guy that can play plenty at the 4 also which is what this team needs. Also the Big 10 this year was far below its usual standards.
Edit: On the other hand he was likely a big reason why OSU overachieved this year even though the conference as a whole wasn't that impressive.
monsterpile wrote:I know Lip didn't want Diop but I think this selection makes a ton of sense at #48. We needed a combo forward and Diop could be a guy that can do that. Another guard type might not make sense espcially if we add one in FA.
Also some guys are going to be available as undrafted FAs.
In the abstract, Diop can be viewed as a good pick at #48. But for the Wolves it just doesn't make much sense. Another mid-range SF with a mediocre to poor handle strikes me as a pretty bad pick for the Wolves. Shake Milton seemed like the right pick to me because he's a terrific three-point shooter, which Diop is not. But at #48 I can't say Diop is terrible pick.
Lip, in all honesty, KBD's biggest strengths are his defensive prowess and his versatility -- things this Wolves roster desperately needs. I'm less worried about his old school mid-post offensive game than you are I think, but I agree he isn't going to be scoring the ball in bunches. And his 35.9% from three point range his senior season sure isn't spectacular, rather just decent, but it was on solid volume.
longstrangetrip wrote:I like this pick...seems like a steal at 48. I recognize he's a senior, but 19.8 PPG and 8.7 RPG in the Big 10 is impressive. I see him as mostly a 3, so Thibs will need a plan to fill our big man roster if 2 of Aldrich, Gorgui and Belly are gone next year.
You just don't expect to get much at 20 and 48, so I have to give Thibs a B+ on this draft.
I think Diop is a guy that can play plenty at the 4 also which is what this team needs. Also the Big 10 this year was far below its usual standards.
Edit: On the other hand he was likely a big reason why OSU overachieved this year even though the conference as a whole wasn't that impressive.
I hope so, monster...but the Ringer questions whether he is tough enough to play much 4. We'll have to see...I just didn't watch enough Big 10 basketball this season to have an informed opinion on him.
monsterpile wrote:I know Lip didn't want Diop but I think this selection makes a ton of sense at #48. We needed a combo forward and Diop could be a guy that can do that. Another guard type might not make sense espcially if we add one in FA.
Also some guys are going to be available as undrafted FAs.
In the abstract, Diop can be viewed as a good pick at #48. But for the Wolves it just doesn't make much sense. Another mid-range SF with a mediocre to poor handle strikes me as a pretty bad pick for the Wolves. Shake Milton seemed like the right pick to me because he's a terrific three-point shooter, which Diop is not. But at #48 I can't say Diop is terrible pick.
The percentages aren't great but he did take 5.4 3's a game. It's not like this is some guy that has no real range. Again the Wolves have needed a versatile combo forward for years and Belly is unreliable. Justin Jackson was one option but it's not like Diop is a bad one. We are talking about a guy with a supposed bad motor that averaged approaching 20-9 that we got at #48. At #20 hell no but #48 sure. To me what I like about this draft is we got 2 players that fit needs this team had and they also make sense together. I wanted shake Milton months ago...part of that was the name. Lol
longstrangetrip wrote:I like this pick...seems like a steal at 48. I recognize he's a senior, but 19.8 PPG and 8.7 RPG in the Big 10 is impressive. I see him as mostly a 3, so Thibs will need a plan to fill our big man roster if 2 of Aldrich, Gorgui and Belly are gone next year.
You just don't expect to get much at 20 and 48, so I have to give Thibs a B+ on this draft.
I think Diop is a guy that can play plenty at the 4 also which is what this team needs. Also the Big 10 this year was far below its usual standards.
Edit: On the other hand he was likely a big reason why OSU overachieved this year even though the conference as a whole wasn't that impressive.
I hope so, monster...but the Ringer questions whether he is tough enough to play much 4. We'll have to see...I just didn't watch enough Big 10 basketball this season to have an informed opinion on him.
My counter is how tough do you really have to be to play 4 in the NBA anyone? He can't play against some wing playing the 4? :)
monsterpile wrote:I know Lip didn't want Diop but I think this selection makes a ton of sense at #48. We needed a combo forward and Diop could be a guy that can do that. Another guard type might not make sense espcially if we add one in FA.
Also some guys are going to be available as undrafted FAs.
In the abstract, Diop can be viewed as a good pick at #48. But for the Wolves it just doesn't make much sense. Another mid-range SF with a mediocre to poor handle strikes me as a pretty bad pick for the Wolves. Shake Milton seemed like the right pick to me because he's a terrific three-point shooter, which Diop is not. But at #48 I can't say Diop is terrible pick.
The percentages aren't great but he did take 5.4 3's a game. It's not like this is some guy that has no real range. Again the Wolves have needed a versatile combo forward for years and Belly is unreliable. Justin Jackson was one option but it's not like Diop is a bad one. We are talking about a guy with a supposed bad motor that averaged approaching 20-9 that we got at #48. At #20 hell no but #48 sure. To me what I like about this draft is we got 2 players that fit needs this team had and they also make sense together. I wanted shake Milton months ago...part of that was the name. Lol
monsterpile wrote:
lipoli390 wrote:
monsterpile wrote:I know Lip didn't want Diop but I think this selection makes a ton of sense at #48. We needed a combo forward and Diop could be a guy that can do that. Another guard type might not make sense espcially if we add one in FA.
Also some guys are going to be available as undrafted FAs.
In the abstract, Diop can be viewed as a good pick at #48. But for the Wolves it just doesn't make much sense. Another mid-range SF with a mediocre to poor handle strikes me as a pretty bad pick for the Wolves. Shake Milton seemed like the right pick to me because he's a terrific three-point shooter, which Diop is not. But at #48 I can't say Diop is terrible pick.
The percentages aren't great but he did take 5.4 3's a game. It's not like this is some guy that has no real range. Again the Wolves have needed a versatile combo forward for years and Belly is unreliable. Justin Jackson was one option but it's not like Diop is a bad one. We are talking about a guy with a supposed bad motor that averaged approaching 20-9 that we got at #48. At #20 hell no but #48 sure. To me what I like about this draft is we got 2 players that fit needs this team had and they also make sense together. I wanted shake Milton months ago...part of that was the name. Lol
His 36% from 3 was better than a lot of the percentages the wings in this draft were putting up as well. A guy like Lonnie walker was a 35% 3pt shooter on 5.1 attempts per game. Troy Brown was sub 30%. Zhaire took 1 3 a game. I think Diop is good enough to be a threat to stretch the floor at the end of the day which is all that matters. You also factor in that he was the guy at Ohio State and his percentage is fine. It's not like he was just spotting up to 36%. He was doing it as the lead player on that offense.
He's not a physical freak by any means, but I mean, he can definitely play the 3 or 4 in today's NBA. No question about it in my mind. He's similar in size to Harrison Barnes in 2012: 6'8" size, 227.8 lbs, 6'11.25" wingspan, 8'6" standing reach. Barnes has been quite effective playing the 3 and 4 throughout his career. Speaking purely on size, KBD is just fine.
