Official 2014 NBA draft thread

[worldK]

Like cam, stauskus is my guy as well. Someone mentioned jj redick and i think thats the worse case scenario for nik. Il take that for the 13 th pick.

Stauskus is an elite shooter( curry, thomson, korver,jj level) and above average ball handler and play maker for a sg. Has good size as well at 6'6 and is a decent athlete. You can always use a guy like that and he can easily fit on any team, has an edge to him too. I actually dont think he will be there at 13. If he is, we grab him and never look back. The kid will be fun to watch and worth the 13 th pick.

[TheFuture]

So what's the name of our defense-playing, dribble driving, high potential, gifted athlete of a basketball prospect? Such a player has to be there at 13 for the Wolves to take. So let's hear it, what's his name?

The only player that fits that description a little bit is KJ McDaniels.

Tier 1
Gary Harris
KJ McDaniels
PJ Hairston
Rodney Hood
Zach Lavine (Based on huge potential alone)

Tier 2
James Young
Cleanthony Early
Markel Brown

Tier 3
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Glenn Robinsion III


To name a few... not saying all of these players are first rounders, or should be picked at #13, but there are quite a few good players out there not named Stauskas, some of which I believe will impact a game more overall than he will.

Adding Stauskas to our lineup gives us a younger Martin imo. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't want to watch us constantly try to outshoot teams to win, much like this year. Yeah, our bench didn't score well, but they were much worse on the defensive end (positions 1-3). Rubio-(Tier 1 Player from above)-Muhammad-Love-Dieng is a lineup I'd like to see in the 4th quarter. A good Defensive lineup with enough Offense to keep or extend a lead. That whole lineup would also be tenacious on the glass.

[TheFuture]

Stauskas has never cracked the top 10 in any mock and yet people think he is a perennial All-Star at his peak? Get realistic. The guy can shoot. That's about it going forward. He wasn't blowing by anybody this year in college, he was just making shots over them. The fact is that the increase in size and speed in the NBA is going to cut down his offensive production to mostly spot up 3's and some shot creation against really poor defenders. Take off the rose colored glasses if you think he is a perennial All-Star. He'd be going a lot higher than 13 if anybody outside of this board thought of him as highly as some of you do.

+1000000


Weaknesses: Although he's viewed as more than just a shooter, his lack of overall speed could relegate him into being a one dimensional (spot up threat) pro ... Not the most fluid of athletes. Lack of foot speed and overall quickness will make running defenders off screens to get open more challenging. This also affects his on ball ability to get by athletic defenders, and create shot opportunities ... While his level of foot speed makes him very effective against college athletes, there is concern that he may struggle to find the same success against bigger, stronger, quicker athletes. Has been less effective when matching up against top shelf opposing guards. Lacks physicality. Gets pushed under the basket on drives easily. Has had a few games where he has been completely shut down (0-2 fg, 4 pts vs Duke) ... Struggles on the defensive end against stronger and quicker opponents ... Lack of foot speed hurts defensively ... A good leaper off of 2 feet, but lacks a high level of overall run/jump athleticism and lateral speed ... Body appears to be filled out, so how much stronger his legs and overall body can get are questionable ...http://nbadraft.net/players/nik-stauskas

Weaknesses: Because of John's Beilien's "switch everything" defensive scheme for shooting guards/wings, Stauskas never had to play lockdown defense on any one player for the entire 40 minutes. This allowed him to exert more energy on offense, and Stauskas was never seen as a lockdown defender in his two years in Ann Arbor. Will he be guarding shooting guards or small forwards? This is a question that NBA executives will have to think about when deciding if it makes sense to draft him. Along with his mediocre defense, Stauskas is still not an incredibly strong player. In the NBA, he will probably need to add even more strength to his slightly weak frame to help him battle. A final problem with Stauskas is when he takes himself out of the offense at times. While Kentucky had no answer for the gunslinger in the first half, John Calipari implemented a box-and-1, and Stauskas only finished with six second half points. This is concerning because Stauskas is such a talented player, and needs to find ways to be more aggressive when college or NBA teams throw this defensive scheme at him... http://www.btpowerhouse.com/2014/4/4/5582138/nba-draft-breakdown-nik-stauskas-americas-favorite-canadian

And yes Cam, I have watched him play plenty. I see a 3-point specialist in the NBA at the least, and an offensive spark plug off the bench at the very best in 2-3 years. That is a nice asset, but not what I would say is our biggest need. Everyone here talks about moving Pekovic or packaging a few players in a trade to get a much needed 2-way player on the wing (moving Martin to the bench to fill that spark plug role talked about previously), but yet those same people are also fine with settling for a potential role player who scores at a nice clip in college? I don't get it. I understand the desire to play it safe with the horrendous drafting in the past, but is this what the fans of our franchise have come to? Settling for a 1-way player just because you know he is good at something? Don't we have enough of those already? Love - Offense. Pekovic - Offense. Martin - Offense. Budinger - Offense. Barea - Offense. Turiaf - Defense. LRMAM - Defense. etc. The closest thing we have to a 2-way player is Dieng (Muhammad we can't be sure of, curse you Adelman.) and he was drafted last year by Flip. I trust Flip to get us another this year and his name is not Stauskas.

Cam, you compare him to Hayward from Utah, and I won't deny that he could potentially be that in 2-3 years. Hayward is a few inches taller though, and never seemed to get completely shutdown from more athletic players. Hayward also plays on a team in Utah that can cover his deficiencies on the defensive end, as many of their players are highly athletic, especially in the interior. We do not have that opportunity here. We already have to do that for our current best players, and have failed miserably.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

So what's the name of our defense-playing, dribble driving, high potential, gifted athlete of a basketball prospect? Such a player has to be there at 13 for the Wolves to take. So let's hear it, what's his name?

The only player that fits that description a little bit is KJ McDaniels.

Tier 1
Gary Harris
KJ McDaniels
PJ Hairston
Rodney Hood
Zach Lavine (Based on huge potential alone)

Tier 2
James Young
Cleanthony Early
Markel Brown

Tier 3
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Glenn Robinsion III


To name a few... not saying all of these players are first rounders, or should be picked at #13, but there are quite a few good players out there not named Stauskas, some of which I believe will impact a game more overall than he will.

Adding Stauskas to our lineup gives us a younger Martin imo. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't want to watch us constantly try to outshoot teams to win, much like this year. Yeah, our bench didn't score well, but they were much worse on the defensive end (positions 1-3). Rubio-(Tier 1 Player from above)-Muhammad-Love-Dieng is a lineup I'd like to see in the 4th quarter. A good Defensive lineup with enough Offense to keep or extend a lead. That whole lineup would also be tenacious on the glass.

Gary Harris and McDaniels are the only players in any one of your tiers that I'd be good with at 13. Hairston/Hood if we traded down a bit, though neither are better on defense than Stauskas. Keep that in mind. LaVine has no legitimate case to be a first-rounder this year, but he'll get picked up as a lottery ticket by someone late first round. Again, he's not better on defense than Stauskas either.

Tier 2 looks super mehh. Late first rounders with capped potential. In Tier 3 I think GRIII should/will go back to school.

Ahh, I realize your biggest problem. You're thinking he's going to be a young Kevin Martin when he's actually way more skilled than Martin. Stauskas is a better facilitator, ball-handler, shot-creator and arguably a better overall shooter than Martin was at a young age. I also think he's much better on defense too. Fights through screens, understands spacing and help defense, doesn't commit dumb fouls, etc. He's no stopper on defense, but he won't get tagged with a "defensive liability" title like Martin has over most of his career.

"And yes Cam, I have watched him play plenty. I see a 3-point specialist in the NBA at the least, and an offensive spark plug off the bench at the very best in 2-3 years. That is a nice asset, but not what I would say is our biggest need. Everyone here talks about moving Pekovic or packaging a few players in a trade to get a much needed 2-way player on the wing (moving Martin to the bench to fill that spark plug role talked about previously), but yet those same people are also fine with settling for a potential role player who scores at a nice clip in college? I don't get it. I understand the desire to play it safe with the horrendous drafting in the past, but is this what the fans of our franchise have come to? Settling for a 1-way player just because you know he is good at something? Don't we have enough of those already? Love - Offense. Pekovic - Offense. Martin - Offense. Budinger - Offense. Barea - Offense. Turiaf - Defense. LRMAM - Defense. etc. The closest thing we have to a 2-way player is Dieng (Muhammad we can't be sure of, curse you Adelman.) and he was drafted last year by Flip. I trust Flip to get us another this year and his name is not Stauskas.

Cam, you compare him to Hayward from Utah, and I won't deny that he could potentially be that in 2-3 years. Hayward is a few inches taller though, and never seemed to get completely shutdown from more athletic players. Hayward also plays on a team in Utah that can cover his deficiencies on the defensive end, as many of their players are highly athletic, especially in the interior. We do not have that opportunity here. We already have to do that for our current best players, and have failed miserably."

Spark plug off the bench at best... Thanks for that, MS. I needed a good laugh this afternoon. 3-point specialists don't have the handle/creating abilities Stauskas has. Even if Nik never reaches his highest potential he still projects to be a JJ Reddick except taller, and JJ's more than a specialist in his own right. Though, I see him having a higher ceiling than Reddick to be clear.

People are discussing moving Pekovic because Dieng looks like he's a better fit next to Love and because he's cheaper. They feel like his $12M is better used on a wing player. If Dieng wouldn't have played so well in his starts to finish the season, we might not be talking about trading Pek.

So Minnesota would be settling/playing it safe for Stauskas at 13? He didn't JUST score at a nice clip. He was efficient from the field, 3P and the FT line where last season he averaged more than 5 FTAs per game. He had one of the best AST/TO ratios in college basketball and consistently showed the ability to set up teammates. That's a quality than only Rubio/Love have on this team. We need more outside shooting and players that can create for others. If we could get that (and possibly more) at the SG position, we'd be much closer to being a threat in the West.

This whole one-way, two-way player discussion gets overblown from time to time. Would you rather have a pretty good two-way player or a potential stud one-way player? Steph Curry or Ricky Rubio? Carmelo Anthony or Andre Iguodala? Instead of ruling a player out because their defense isn't game-changing is ridiculous. You're failing to realize what Stauskas could become at the next level.

I said he has some Hayward in him, yes, but he has a splash of Curry in him too. Stauskas has the same bounce off the dribble and ability to get his shot off anywhere like Steph, but the way he's able to play off-ball at his size reminds me a lot of Hayward. I think that's what his potential is: Curry + Hayward.

[TheFuture]

" I think that's what his potential is: Curry + Hayward. "

You got your laugh, now I get mine. :lol:

I think that is a bit extreme, even for someone who thinks so highly of him. I guess time will tell, and I will gladly eat crow if you are correct with that prediction.

For now, I'd rather have P.J. Hairston, Gary Harris, or K.J. McDaniels @ #13. Though McDaniel's decision making and iffy dribble skills do scare me a bit, and I think he can be had in the 20-30 range. Perhaps a trade with the Sun's for #18 and #29 to grab McDaniels and Lavine would be more fitting.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

Cam,
I am fine with your thoughts of Nic. I disagree on his potential a bit, but I guess my overall thought is that if Nic displays even close to the level of skill you talk about when it comes to team workouts, to go along with what we already understand to be elite shooting skills, there is simply no way he lasts until 13. If he does last until 13, there will be several red flags that are forcing teams in another direction. I personally believe he won't show well defensively, and will struggle a bit doing more than just shooting. I know your stance here, so no need for an arguement, it is just my opinion of what's to come. If he shows an ability to score off the bounce, and also defend, his size and shooting should make him a top 5 pick.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A20tSnvb4c

I want this guy. Ridiculously committed to his game. The guy who realized he needed to step up. The passion he shows on the court. The flair, the skill and the killer instinct. His ball-handling and three-point shooting abilities are exactly what we lack on offense.

We just watched a guy with the same flair beat us last night. Steph Curry's mentality that it doesn't matter what you do to defend him, his shot's going to fall. Stauskas has that. Kevin Love has that. I want them on the same team.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A20tSnvb4c

I want this guy. Ridiculously committed to his game. The guy who realized he needed to step up. The passion he shows on the court. The flair, the skill and the killer instinct. His ball-handling and three-point shooting abilities are exactly what we lack on offense.

We just watched a guy with the same flair beat us last night. Steph Curry's mentality that it doesn't matter what you do to defend him, his shot's going to fall. Stauskas has that. Kevin Love has that. I want them on the same team.

Thanks for posting, cam. Although I had to close my eyes during the action against my beloved Gophers, your brother Nik looks great in those highlights. We all know what an elite shooter he is, but I'm glad the highlights also show his passing skills and ability to put the ball on the court. And I agree that his edgy competitive personality is what this team needs.

Hicks, you ask a good question about how a guy with several elite skills would be available at 13. Chalk it up to the incredible depth of this year's draft. The six freshmen diaper dandies, the two international guys, Smart and McDermott are all locks to go ahead of Nik. And most mock drafts have a couple other guys in there who knock Nik down to our level or below. He's not an elite athlete, and not an elite freshman...and those are aspects that push him down a little.

Still not a better choice for us in this draft, I think, But if he does get picked ahead of us, it's likely that Gary Harris has fallen, and he would be a good choice for us too.

[bleedspeed]

Sign me up.

[The Rage Monster [enjin:8010341]]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A20tSnvb4c

I want this guy. Ridiculously committed to his game. The guy who realized he needed to step up. The passion he shows on the court. The flair, the skill and the killer instinct. His ball-handling and three-point shooting abilities are exactly what we lack on offense.

We just watched a guy with the same flair beat us last night. Steph Curry's mentality that it doesn't matter what you do to defend him, his shot's going to fall. Stauskas has that. Kevin Love has that. I want them on the same team.

Thanks for posting, cam. Although I had to close my eyes during the action against my beloved Gophers, your brother Nik looks great in those highlights. We all know what an elite shooter he is, but I'm glad the highlights also show his passing skills and ability to put the ball on the court. And I agree that his edgy competitive personality is what this team needs.

Hicks, you ask a good question about how a guy with several elite skills would be available at 13. Chalk it up to the incredible depth of this year's draft. The six freshmen diaper dandies, the two international guys, Smart and McDermott are all locks to go ahead of Nik. And most mock drafts have a couple other guys in there who knock Nik down to our level or below. He's not an elite athlete, and not an elite freshman...and those are aspects that push him down a little.

Still not a better choice for us in this draft, I think, But if he does get picked ahead of us, it's likely that Gary Harris has fallen, and he would be a good choice for us too.

"Your brother Nik" is probably spot on, I'm just wondering why he wants his brother in MN so bad? If I was Cam I'd be lobbying for him to go to the bulls.

Anyway, for me this draft comes down to 3 players, Harris, Hood, and Stauskas. They all bring something different I think we need and I can't make up my mind which one will be the best for this team.