Draft prospects - Who do we want?

[slimcalhoun27 [enjin:6640095]]

My thing is this.....Can Okafor become a PF with crazy fundamentals? He doesn't seem to have the defensive skills needed, but he is a baby still....and what would he physically be like after 2-3 years in the pros?. I see him as a Tim Duncan type offensive player (Smart) with a more athletic frame. Kid has the frame to be a beast IMO. Add him next to Rubio and Dieng who can pass extremely well, plus a high energy All-Star pedigree in Wiggins....Im on board with that!

We need to make some moves, A Core of Rubio, LaVine, Wiggings, Shabazz, Dieng is all I would hold onto currently.

[bleedspeed]

I think it would come down to if Dieng could be a PF. I am not sure he will ever be strong enough to play center as a starter.

[WildWolf2813]

Karl Towns still makes the most sense in terms of fit. Been thinking about it more. I bet Flip feels the same.

And assuming we pick 3rd or 4th, that's probably the right pick. But if we pick top 2, man, it would be really, really hard to pass on Okafor or Russell (assuming they keep on doing what they've been doing).

Question: Flip had Wiggins rated No. 1 overall on his big board last year, ahead of the better offensively Jabari Parker. I'd assume that's because Wiggins was better defensively and a much better athlete. He's been extremely vocal about getting two-way players. One could argue that if Towns figures out how to play with his lower body more in the post more, he could be the best big in the draft. Who's to say Okafor's tops on Flip's radar? He also has to believe in what he's got at center with Dieng and Pek.

I also don't see Russell that high (top-two) on his radar. He has Harden syndrome. Loves to get buckets, doesn't give full effort in stopping them. Not to mention he'd practically have the exact same role as LaVine. Doubt Flip's willing to give up on Zach's long term potential by drafting a guy to do the same thing, even if he is better right now.

Russell's fourth on my list of guys that I'd want on this team.

LaVine was a project pick that Flip admitted was a homerun swing. i don't think he is absolutely banking on Zach locking up a wing spot for the next decade. You don't pass on the best player available because of LaVine.

I haven't watched enough OSU to see if Russell can defend or not. But when you are THAT gifted offensively, you just figure out how to work around it. Rubio and Wiggins certainly help, especially since I anticipate that these two still aren't done getting better defensively (certainly not Wiggins).

One thing Russell does do is crash the defensive glass. We've seen how important that is to having a good defense. So he at least is willing to go get rebounds.

You don't call someone you draft a potential destination player and then give up on them after a year. Cutting his losses would be wise, but you also couldn't trust Flip's judgment drafting project players.

[WildWolf2813]

Watching the Kentucky game tonight. They play really good team defense. I think the ball pressure they put on makes the interior defenders looks better and they just don't let you get comfortable anywhere half court because of the depth. I focused on Towns a bit. He looks a step slow to me. All the length and skill don't mean jack if you don't have the mental speed to put that in play. There is a reason why guys like Rodman and Ben Wallace flat out are better then players with better measurements. Their game clock was hyper fast.

One thing I didn't realize is that Calipari has been coaching Towns since he was 16 with the national team. It would be interesting how much growth he has seen with him and work ethic.

and Towns has already seen and gone up against NBA superstars at a young age playing for his national team... just like Rubio did. Towns has definitely been groomed to be a pro

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

My thing is this.....Can Okafor become a PF with crazy fundamentals? He doesn't seem to have the defensive skills needed, but he is a baby still....and what would he physically be like after 2-3 years in the pros?. I see him as a Tim Duncan type offensive player (Smart) with a more athletic frame. Kid has the frame to be a beast IMO. Add him next to Rubio and Dieng who can pass extremely well, plus a high energy All-Star pedigree in Wiggins....Im on board with that!

We need to make some moves, A Core of Rubio, LaVine, Wiggings, Shabazz, Dieng is all I would hold onto currently.

Okafor will never be a 4. Not as a rookie, not as a vet. He's too big and too slow for that position. It'd be Dieng who got kicked to power forward if anybody.

Duncan came into the league as a 4. He was more agile and way smarter defensively than Okafor. Over time, he's moved to that center spot to prolong his career, plus that's where Pop wants him to be.

Okafor's 270. 270! Him guarding anyone on the perimeter is a big no no.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Watching the Kentucky game tonight. They play really good team defense. I think the ball pressure they put on makes the interior defenders looks better and they just don't let you get comfortable anywhere half court because of the depth. I focused on Towns a bit. He looks a step slow to me. All the length and skill don't mean jack if you don't have the mental speed to put that in play. There is a reason why guys like Rodman and Ben Wallace flat out are better then players with better measurements. Their game clock was hyper fast.

One thing I didn't realize is that Calipari has been coaching Towns since he was 16 with the national team. It would be interesting how much growth he has seen with him and work ethic.

and Towns has already seen and gone up against NBA superstars at a young age playing for his national team... just like Rubio did. Towns has definitely been groomed to be a pro

I remember Towns going right at Anthony Davis not too long ago. I hadn't put it in comparison with Rubio and his Spanish career.

Towns played for Dominican Republic, right? Isn't that who Also Horford played for at one time or was that Puerto Rico? Can't remember. Would be cool if Towns and Horford had a relationship of some kind.

[WildWolf2813]

Watching the Kentucky game tonight. They play really good team defense. I think the ball pressure they put on makes the interior defenders looks better and they just don't let you get comfortable anywhere half court because of the depth. I focused on Towns a bit. He looks a step slow to me. All the length and skill don't mean jack if you don't have the mental speed to put that in play. There is a reason why guys like Rodman and Ben Wallace flat out are better then players with better measurements. Their game clock was hyper fast.

One thing I didn't realize is that Calipari has been coaching Towns since he was 16 with the national team. It would be interesting how much growth he has seen with him and work ethic.

and Towns has already seen and gone up against NBA superstars at a young age playing for his national team... just like Rubio did. Towns has definitely been groomed to be a pro

I remember Towns going right at Anthony Davis not too long ago. I hadn't put it in comparison with Rubio and his Spanish career.

Towns played for Dominican Republic, right? Isn't that who Also Horford played for at one time or was that Puerto Rico? Can't remember. Would be cool if Towns and Horford had a relationship of some kind.

They do. Horford's on the Dominican team along with Towns.



Horford didn't play in FIBA World Cup due to his triceps injury, but they briefly played together during the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2012 when Calipari was coach (had they beat Nigeria, Towns would have been younger than Rubio was heading to the Olympics; Towns was 16) . Towns made himself A LOT of fans on Team USA when he played against them. They'll likely be teammates again assuming good health to try to make it to Rio for 2016.

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

My thing is this.....Can Okafor become a PF with crazy fundamentals? He doesn't seem to have the defensive skills needed, but he is a baby still....and what would he physically be like after 2-3 years in the pros?. I see him as a Tim Duncan type offensive player (Smart) with a more athletic frame. Kid has the frame to be a beast IMO. Add him next to Rubio and Dieng who can pass extremely well, plus a high energy All-Star pedigree in Wiggins....Im on board with that!

We need to make some moves, A Core of Rubio, LaVine, Wiggings, Shabazz, Dieng is all I would hold onto currently.

I don't see how he can play the 4. He isn't quick or agile enough defensively and isn't a face to the basket guy. He is strictly a back to the basket guy. I haven't seen him score from 15' out.

[bleedspeed]

Here is an interesting boxscore for this draft. 2014 Nike Hoop Summit. Lots of familiar names.

http://archive.usab.com/mens/hoopsummit/stats.html

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

1. Arizona is playing its best basketball of the season. Coincidentally, so is Stanley Johnson.

Since a weird, random, upset loss to a supposed-to-be-terrible-then-randomly-good-then-back-to-bad-again Oregon State team on Jan. in Corvallis, the Wildcats (20-2, 8-1 Pac-12) have been dominant, winning five of their last six games, on average, by 22.4 points. The other game was at Stanford, which Arizona won by 7.

As for Johnson, he's hit his 6-foot-7, 245-pound stride, figured out his role on this team, and is killing it. Last six games: 16.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.3 spg, and a 47.1% field goal percentage.

"I think in some ways we're playing our best overall basketball of the season," Miller said.

http://tucson.com/sports/basketball/college/pac-12/pac--basketball-round-up-on-stanley-johnson-ernie-kent/article_0ca90190-ac17-11e4-b792-1316842ae946.html