Draft Grades

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I love all the Monday morning GM's on here who are smarter than Flip!!

[Monster]

Lip Hummel is a RFA I believe so he isn't signed so the team doesn't have to do anything with him if they don't want to. If a team offers him a contract he is gone so we will see about that. I wouldn't count him out if nobody else offers him something. I'm not saying I think he will make the roster butI also wouldn't be shocked. If he isn't on the SL team TI haven't heard he will be) we will know he is gone. If that allows GR3 to be on the roster that works for me.

Bud just seems like the Webster thing all over again and while Bud has had 2 knee injuries that's still not as bad as the litany of issues Webster had. I remember Tim and I lobbied to have Webster come back but we both knew it probably wasn't going to happen. Webster signed with Washington and well is a pretty nice rotation guy for them. A change of scenery might have been good for him so I recognize that. I get it Bud is making decent money but unless some team is giving us something for him I don't see the point of trading him. He has proven to be a worthwhile rotation player if healthy so that's nice. Let's hope he gets healthy and therefore contribute. Do I worry about him returning from injury? Yes I really do but I like what he brings if he is healthy. I won't be too shook up if he is traded though.

[Monster]

LST in fairness to Simmons he never really finished his thought. He said he didn't like the fit he didn't say why. Simmons analysis depending on what he is talking about is terrible. He is basically a legit sports writer that is a well read fan type. I choose to ignore some of his snarky crap and enjoy the good stuff and he honestly cracks me up. I got a kick out of his fist pump at the draft. I like that the guys have something to cheer for a little.

The issue with Gary Harris is he isn't even 6'4" That's short. He has the exact same measurables as CJ McCollum. Let that sink in. Ellington is 2 inches taller than Harris. Mayo is an inch taller than Harris. Harris isn't just a slightly undersized guy he is a PG sized player so a legitamately undersized SG that's the absolute reality. That's a real problem if you want a two-way SG. That's why he fell so far. I liked him but the narrative of him being such a 2-way threat is forgetting his size. My thought was if he could guard PGs then he might work next to Rubio who maybe could slide over to guard SGs. I don't know if Harris has that in him and if Rubio guarding SGs is really what you want to do.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I love all the Monday morning GM's on here who are smarter than Flip!!

Ha, guilty as charged! You mean I'm not as smart as Flip??????

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Monster, Simmons has said he has a lot of respect for Zach's athleticism, but doesn't see him fitting easily into the Wolves' half court offense. I actually saw this as a legitimate concern, as opposed to the usual Simmons' snark.

You nailed the reason Harris dropped so far, and perhaps CJ's struggles in his first year as another undersized SG cost Harris several draft spots. Harris vs. LaVine should provide a lot of conversation fodder for years to come...starting in Summer League.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

More evidence that I have my head up my rear end on Flip's 2014 draft is Chad Ford's draft grade (perhaps someone can post his analysis in this thread). I respect Ford more than most NBA analysts, and he gives Flip a solid B+ this year. Ford's grades are rather inflated it seems, but that may be reflective of the high quality of this year's draft. I'm going to wait to see how this one plays out, but it may be that we actually have a PBO who knows what he is doing.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I love all the Monday morning GM's on here who are smarter than Flip!!

Ha, guilty as charged! You mean I'm not as smart as Flip??????

I just love all the post draft grades and analysis from our band of casual fans who don't do any real player evaluations and then blast or praise Flip for his work! Just read Simmons article (somebody posted it on another thread) about how much of a crapshoot this whole process is.

But even more so, I love how LeBron and Melo hijacked the whole pre draft discussions. Well done boys!

[ace [enjin:6598567]]

I still wish that we had selected a more NBA-ready Gary Harris at 13, but I admit to feeling some excitement about adding two elite athletes to our roster and cannot disagree that there is plenty of potential upside with both of them.

I get where you're coming from LST, but I think the smart play is going for the homerun. Gary Harris doesn't move the needle enough. Yes, he may come in and contribute right away, but his ceiling is a good role player. A role player isn't going to make the Wolves contenders. He might fix the bench and help make the playoffs, but that's not a very lofty goal.

I'm convinced that Flip is intent on taking Love into training camp. That means there are two possible outcomes.

1. LaVine shows huge potential, Ricky steps up, and Love decides to stay. Flip has just saved the immediate future of the franchise and set up a possible "big 3."

2. Love leaves as a FA. Everything goes to shit. Is Ricky going to be able to pull the team out of the gutter with a bunch of role players? No, and then he'll leave and we'll be starting over.

Flip is kind of like a WWI doctor in this situation and the Wolves are a guy with an infected leg. One option is giving the guy some penicillin and morphine, then tell him to enjoy the 3 weeks he has left until he's dead. The other choice is to cut the whole leg off. The guy might die tonight of catastrophic blood loss, or with some luck and doctoral skill he could make a recovery and be home with his kids in two months to live a long life. Harris is penicillin, while LaVine is an amputation. Let's hope Flip is a good doctor.

[Monster]

From the best NBA Draft site

Jonathan Givony ?@DraftExpress

Haven't done draft grades in a long time & don't plan on doing them again. One of the more pointless exercises you'll find, clicks and all.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

First, I think it's unfair to LaVine to say that Westbrook "lit it up" and he didn't. Westbrook averaged 12.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.9 RPG and shot 47% (34% 3P) from the floor. 34 minutes a game and that's all he produced. I'm not saying it's a trash statline, but it doesn't blow you away.

Per-40, their numbers are pretty close actually.

RW: 15.1 PPG, 5.1 APG, 4.6 RPG, 1.9 SPG.
ZL: 15.4 PPG, 2.9 APG, 4.2 RPG, 1.5 SPG.

Keep in mind, though, that LaVine's a much better shooter than Westbrook is/was and he wasn't used primarily on-ball or else maybe his assists would be higher. We forgot that Westbrook was an even bigger homerun pick at the time of his selection.

Also, I can't remember who said it, but comparing Budinger to Webster is really poor for me. This is mainly because Webster's always been a good defender. Budinger is average on defense when he's at his best. I'm confident that the comparison was made only in terms of injury and production post-injury, but I'm not willing to wait around to find out if Budinger can make it. I'd rather let some other team find that out. Let Muhammad and Robinson battle it out for backup minutes.

I love all the Monday morning GM's on here who are smarter than Flip!!

Ha, guilty as charged! You mean I'm not as smart as Flip??????

I just love all the post draft grades and analysis from our band of casual fans who don't do any real player evaluations and then blast or praise Flip for his work! Just read Simmons article (somebody posted it on another thread) about how much of a crapshoot this whole process is.

But even more so, I love how LeBron and Melo hijacked the whole pre draft discussions. Well done boys!

That hurts, Lloyd. I'm no casual fan. :cry: