Draft prospects - Who do we want?

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Regarding Stanley Johnson: There has to be at least 5 better draft eligible players than him. If you have to spend a top 5 pick on Johnson, you better trade out of that pick. He's a first rounder, but I don't see much more than that.

I recognize that I have a different take on Johnson than most of us here, but I see him as an instant difference maker and would be happy to add him to our roster. This guy is the definition of a winner, having led his high school team to 4 consecutive Cal state championships (not at all an easy task). He's never going to look as pretty as Russell (who I think is going to be an offensive star in the NBA) or score as effectively as Okafor, but he just seems to have that "it" factor that makes his teams win. The more I watch him on defense, the more I salivate about pairing him with Rubio and Wiggins.

But I also find the top spots in this draft so interchangeable that it makes me a "draft for needs" guy this year, because I just don't see a clear BPA. And with the uncertainty at C and PF, combined with some optimism about LaVine at the 2, our first order of business is probably getting a big man. And to me that means Okafor and Towns, and at least for the moment, in that order.

[Coolbreeze44]

1) Towns
2) Okafor
3) Mudiay
4) Russell
5) Winslow
6) Cauley-Stein
7) Porzingis
8) Hezonja
9) Johnson

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

1) Towns
2) Okafor
3) Mudiay
4) Russell
5) Winslow
6) Cauley-Stein
7) Porzingis
8) Hezonja
9) Johnson

1. Karl Towns
2. Jahlil Okafor
3. D'Angelo Russell (point guard)
4. Emmanuel Mudiay
5. Willie Cauley-Stein
6. Stanley Johnson
7. Justise Winslow
8. Frank Kaminsky
9. Bobby Portis
10. Devin Booker

Not a fan of Porzingis. Have grown to be wary of Hezonja's attitude/mental approach.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I was on the opposing side of this argument last year, but this Okafor/Towns debate seems very similar to Parker/Wiggins.

We took the potential over "sure thing" in that scenario. Think we'd do the same here, and in my opinion, rightfully so. It'd help build an identity, that's for sure.

It's not the Wiggins/Parker debate though. Wiggins was consistently on the heels of Parker offensively at least on the stat sheet. When you combined that with his much higher defensive potential it was a no brainer in my mind. Towns is just not close to Okafor offensively. Towns is the better rebounder and defender and Okafor is the better offensive player. I see Towns as a 15/11/3 guy and Okafor as a 21/9/1.5 guy. It is a choice between offense and defense this year where as last year you could have both with Wiggins and that is why the Cavs ultimately picked him over Parker. I'm fine with taking Towns as a defensive anchor, but I'm tired of hearing that his offense is good to go as well when he has cracked 18 PPG just 5 or 6 times this year. The few post attempts he had last night again showed him struggling to finish through contact with guys more close to his size. Okafor has been big in every game so far. Towns has been big in 1/3 and it was against a 16 seeded team.

[bleedspeed]

I agree a lot of Khans. I see Oakfor and Russell as stars. I see Towns and Mudiay as potential stars. I they might be better phyiscally, but will their game skill and IQ ever catch up mentally to Oakfor and Russell.

I will be happy with any of them though.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Hard to argue that Okafor or Towns has a higher BBIQ, in all honesty. Okafor's knowledge comes on the block (scoring; getting fouled) and passing out of double teams. Towns is also a smart passer, and more skilled at this than Okafor. But Towns IQ shows more on defense, choosing when to help, when to hedge, when to try to block shots and when to wall up, also a fundamentally better rebounder due to his higher tendency to box out.

We can discuss parts of their games that are better or worse, but I think they're both equally advanced in terms of IQ.

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

I was on the opposing side of this argument last year, but this Okafor/Towns debate seems very similar to Parker/Wiggins.

We took the potential over "sure thing" in that scenario. Think we'd do the same here, and in my opinion, rightfully so. It'd help build an identity, that's for sure.

It's not the Wiggins/Parker debate though. Wiggins was consistently on the heels of Parker offensively at least on the stat sheet. When you combined that with his much higher defensive potential it was a no brainer in my mind. Towns is just not close to Okafor offensively. Towns is the better rebounder and defender and Okafor is the better offensive player. I see Towns as a 15/11/3 guy and Okafor as a 21/9/1.5 guy. It is a choice between offense and defense this year where as last year you could have both with Wiggins and that is why the Cavs ultimately picked him over Parker. I'm fine with taking Towns as a defensive anchor, but I'm tired of hearing that his offense is good to go as well when he has cracked 18 PPG just 5 or 6 times this year. The few post attempts he had last night again showed him struggling to finish through contact with guys more close to his size. Okafor has been big in every game so far. Towns has been big in 1/3 and it was against a 16 seeded team.

Totally agree with everything here. To me it's Okafor and Russell in a tier of their own. They lead their respective teams.

[Coolbreeze44]

From Ford on Johnson:

Scouts have been split on Oubre, Hezonja, Winslow and Johnson all season. But when recently polling scouts, it was clear that Johnson might be losing some ground. While he has an NBA body and a reputation as a winner, he's struggled a bit lately -- not only with his shooting but also with major defensive lapses. His play against Utah (3-for-19 from the field along with some lazy defense) earned him a spot on the bench. The scouts who have closely watched Johnson say that his reputation hasn't always lived up to his play this season.

He's not the athlete everyone says he is, nor does he have the motor everyone says he does. As one veteran scout said: "He takes plays off. His motor isn't always great and with the exception of a great NBA body, his tools aren't all they're made out to be. He struggles to finish at the rim. In my opinion, he's the most overhyped player in the draft."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement from Ford or the Scout.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Just to throw this out there...

If the ping pong balls made this scenario possible, would you trade the No. 1 overall pick for the No. 4 (Philly falls) and No. 6 (Philly via LAL) picks?

You might be thinking, "Why would Philly do that?" I'm not entirely sure, but perhaps they have Russell No. 1 on their board and don't want to risk anything. Who knows? That's not the premise of this post so don't focus on it too hard.

I think from the Wolves perspective, it's definitely something to mull over. We could come away with one of the big four (Towns/Okafor/Russell/Mudiay) and one of Cauley-Stein/Johnson. That'd be a pretty sweet deal especially if the cards fell favorably and Towns slipped to No. 4 because of a "mehh" or forgettable tournament run.

All hypothetical, and probably just me wasting time with this post, but if that's how the cards fell, technically we could come away with Towns and Cauley-Stein, which would be a dream come true.

But the probability of that happening is so minimal. *sigh*

[bleedspeed]

Cam, I would like it better if Okafor fell to 4 and we got WCS too. That would be crazy pairing.