Draft prospects - Who do we want?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I am still in the camp that Towns has a lot of bust potential. If freshman are good they play for Callapari. Cap is known for showcasing strengths. What weakness is he hiding for Towns? A big concern for him is doesn't seem to be much of a leaper off 2 feet. That explosiveness he has won't do much good if he needs a running start.

I need to see some growth over the course of the rest of the season to get excited about him.

Perhaps that 9'5 standing reach will help him. The guy is LONG. This is one reason why he's an excellent shot blocker already. With the pace he's on, he'll finish the season 2nd all-time in blocks in Kentucky history behind Anthony Davis. This while playing limited minutes.

[bleedspeed]

Pre Madness has me with:

1. Okafor - best post scorer in years
2. Johnson - 2 way player
3. Russell - Cam's concern about playing off the ball keeps him out of 2nd spot
4. Mudiay - No college games and AAU teams losing more then they won worses me
5. Porzingis - How bad will he get pushed around?
6. Towns - Possible upside
7. Cauley-Stein - Low upside

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

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.

Cam, I think my problem with this thinking is that Towns is in no way a 2-way player either. Heck, I am not so sure he is even a great defender yet. Based on what I have seen from him, he is a great help defender at this point.....not much else here. I just find it curious that you criticize Okafor for his defensive future, all while he is the most efficient and dominant offensive big man in the country. But then you seemingly give Towns a free pass on all of his "struggles" and basically assume that he will improve all facets of his game. Why...because he is an athlete? At least we can all agree that with Okafor, we get the best offensive big in the draft. And as you stated previously, given his size, he should be an ok post defender, even if he never is great overall defender. But Towns....he literally needs to improve every skill to become even serviceable in the NBA. He has no offensive game as of yet, and due to his lack of strength, would not be a plus defender in the NBA for some time. Personally, I am losing faith in these guys that always show up at the top of these draft lists based more for their physical makeup rather than their on-court performance. The fact is that with all of Towns physical gifts and suggested skillset, he should be showing a lot more than he is to date. I too love the idea of a seven footer that can jump out of the gym, defend and shoot....but Towns simply hasn't shown me yet that he is that guy.

All that being said, I think there are more talented guys in the draft than Okafor. But the fact is, dominant bigs almost always get the nod over wings when drafting.

Dominant bigs do always go first. If Okafor just played better defense I would be all in. His offensive game is sweet. Great post moves. Great passer. I just hate his defense. For me that C needs to be a great defender. We have to improve our defense. Johnson looks like a great defender already. Russell shows flashes. To me we need the best two way player we can get. Wiggins is going to be a great two way guy. A guy we can win with. Let's get another two way guy.

I suspect Okafor will be a lot like Love in the sense he will put up a ton of points and rebound well. I think as far as winning we need the whole package. If Okafor is the pick I will be happy because we got a great scorer. I just feel we can get a better fit.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Yes, it's very bold to predict someone like Towns has a 50% chance or better of being better than a Favors/Horford level talent. That is some heady stuff. By the way, it took Favors 4 years to get to this point! He just got inserted into Utah's starting lineup last year. These young bigs can take a long freakin' time to develop!

Horford had three years of college and it still took him about three seasons to really hit his stride.

Banking 100% on the draft is a legitimate strategy, but it's not the ONLY strategy. Many very good teams are built with a mixture of draft picks, trades, and free agent signings.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Yes, it's very bold to predict someone like Towns has a 50% chance or better of being better than a Favors/Horford level talent. That is some heady stuff. By the way, it took Favors 4 years to get to this point! He just got inserted into Utah's starting lineup last year. These young bigs can take a long freakin' time to develop!

Horford had three years of college and it still took him about three seasons to really hit his stride.

Banking 100% on the draft is a legitimate strategy, but it's not the ONLY strategy. Many very good teams are built with a mixture of draft picks, trades, and free agent signings.

Are you arguing potential here? If so, I really disagree with you. Towns is just more naturally gifted than both of them. If he puts in the work, I see no reason why he isn't better than either one of them. Not really a prediction, but rather gauging a player's ceiling. Think you're possibly capping his rather low.

Favors played 20 games with NJ and the rest with UTA off the bench his rookie year; that's rough. Once he got to Utah, he had to play the waiting game until 2013. 2013! He was behind Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. Excuse him for taking a backseat there. First season he got 30 MPG he went for 13/9. Maybe the big guy just needed minutes.

Horford did have two more years in college than Towns will, but he came into the league and immediately averaged a double-double. Hell, Kevin Love did too. As well as Tristan Thompson and plenty of others.

Did I say Towns would be better than Favors/Horford right out the gate? Of course not because that's dumb. With him you're banking on high potential. I could definitely see him coming into the league and being a double-double guy immediately, though. By year three, who knows what he'll have developed into.

We're still at a stage where picking up great potential is vital. The idea is you get Towns (or another prospect) that grows with Wiggins while they're young and there's fairly little pressure and the team gets competitive before they've even hit 25-years old. That's the ideal dream that we can actually pursue. I don't see why you don't go after it.

[Porckchop]

The problem with getting another project player is having to wait for him to pay dividends. Based on recent history there's no guarantees about who will be around in 4-5 years. I really like the neucleus of this team, so why not get a guy that can come in and contribute right away and see what this team can accomplish now.

Draft Okafor put Martin and Pek on the market and see if we can't find a defensive 4, backup pg and someone to pickup some of the perimeter scoring Martin leaves behind.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Way, WAY too much analysis and speculation here. Why don't we wait until June?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I hear you Cam, but I'm just much more of a draft skeptic than you are. We'll just have to agree to disagree on the "odds" piece of this. I think the odds of Towns becoming a star big man is lower than what you think. It's not because I have any particular problem with Towns - it's based on draft history. Bigs drafted in that 3-5 range usually have less than a 50/50 chance of becoming plus level starters.

We're probably splitting hairs here for the most part. I'm not going to be disappointed if we keep our pick. I just wouldn't totally rule out the possibility of trading it for the right type of player, of which there are very few that meet all the criteria required (good, still young, available, etc.).

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Way, WAY too much analysis and speculation here. Why don't we wait until June?

Cuz we're basketball nerds.

[Porckchop]

Way, WAY too much analysis and speculation here. Why don't we wait until June?

When your team has 8 wins there's very Lil else to talk about .. Can't have twenty threads about how good Wiggins has been.lol