Draft prospects - Who do we want?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Cam....question. Would you trade the #1 pick for Rudy Gobert? Absurd question even a couple months ago. Now, I think I make that move.

I'm not Cam, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.......Man, it sounds nutty, but I would do that in a heartbeat. A Rubio-Wiggins-Gobert trio; you are talking about a potential #1 or #2 defense eventually, especially as Wiggins and Gobert get older and wiser.

No way. I stay firm with my stance that Towns/Okafor is the better play. Offer Gobert, offer Drummond, offer DeAndre Jordan. I do realize the reasons behind making that move. Immediately we get a shot-blocker + garbage points scorer and good rebounder. I would just hate to see that is all we get from a No. 1 pick. With the two 19-year old bigs, we get the skill-set and potential to have much more, a star player in the NBA even. Stay patient.

Gobert, Jordan, Asik, etc. Those guys were found later in the draft because they are limited. They play defense, swat shots, grab boards and get putbacks. They do it at a very good level, great even, but I do believe those guys can be found in the same ranks of the draft.

Take this draft class for instance. Robert Upshaw, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Moussa Diagne. Throw a 2nd rounder on any one of those three and you could very well have a diamond in the rough.

To recap, I'm not downplaying the effect Gobert/Drummond have on their teams, but I'd argue the ceilings of Towns/Okafor are too good to trade for them. My opinion.

I would argue that Gobert is a star. I don't even put him in the same boat as Jordan or Drummond. He's better than both. He's single-handedly turned Utah from a mediocre defense into #1 in the NBA since the all-star break. That's just crazy, but it goes to show what an impact he's having. 11 PPG on 60% shooting, 13 rebounds, and nearly 4 blocks per 36 minutes means he's producing in the box score as well. And he's only 22. Centers don't peak until their mid to late 20s. He is a monster.

They moved to the number 1 D because he replaced Kanter who doesn't really play defense. They still have Favors who is still very good defensively in his own right hence why they were even a mediocre defense to begin with and not a terrible one. As nice as the stifle tower is he's not doing it by himself. He'd be in the same boat as Dieng here having to cover for everyone so it's not a guarantee he has nearly the same impact here. KG is the only forward we have who is even close to Favors defensively and he's not playing much these days.

Not sure what you are saying here. So the singular change of moving Gobert to starting Center and effectively leap frogging about 15 other teams in defensive efficiency isn't very impressive? Obviously he's getting some help, but the very fact they went from mediocre to elite by simply making that one change should say something about his impact.

And the Dieng comparison is laughable. You do realize that Dieng is part of the problem, not solution? He's one of the worst defensive Centers in the NBA and it's not because he's covering for everyone else.

I'm saying if you put Gobert on our team we don't jump 15 spots like the Jazz did because he has no help on our team. He has a great defender in Favors next to him helping his life be a lot easier and we don't have anyone close to Favors besides KG. When you swap a negative defender for a positive defender and pair him next to another positive defender the impact is that much greater. If they swap Favors to the Thunder and keep Gobert/Kanter they have no shot at jumping 15 spots so wouldn't that mean Gobert isn't worth 15 spots in that scenario? It's not as simple as swapping Gobert for Kanter making them an elite defense makes Gobert the sole reason that is the case. He put them over the top, he didn't take them from garbage to great on the defensive end. If you put him next to Kevin Love or Serge Ibaka do you think the defensive output for the team would remain at an elite level in both scenarios? He is a great defender, but he's not doing it by himself as you basically suggest him being the sole reason they are now the top defense in the league.

[bleedspeed]

I like Russell as my top, but am starting to sway back to Okafor. Nothing that Russell has done. Just the way Okafor is playing and a little bit of what LaVine is doing.

PG: Rubio, FA, Brown
SG LaVine, Martin, Neal
SF: Wiggins, Shabazz, Hummel
PF: KG, Bennett, Payne
C: Okafor, Pekbic, Hamliton

Might not be able to keep Hummel if Budinger is still on the team.

[kekgeek]

I like Russell as my top, but am starting to sway back to Okafor. Nothing that Russell has done. Just the way Okafor is playing and a little bit of what LaVine is doing.

PG: Rubio, FA, Brown
SG LaVine, Martin, Neal
SF: Wiggins, Shabazz, Hummel
PF: KG, Bennett, Payne
C: Okafor, Pekbic, Hamliton

Might not be able to keep Hummel if Budinger is still on the team.

What happened to gorgui and neal I doubt comes back to be a third stringer

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

I like Russell as my top, but am starting to sway back to Okafor. Nothing that Russell has done. Just the way Okafor is playing and a little bit of what LaVine is doing.

PG: Rubio, FA, Brown
SG LaVine, Martin, Neal
SF: Wiggins, Shabazz, Hummel
PF: KG, Bennett, Payne
C: Okafor, Pekbic, Hamliton

Might not be able to keep Hummel if Budinger is still on the team.

I'm with you on the Russell/Okafor thing. I would like a better solution at PF.

[bleedspeed]

I like Russell as my top, but am starting to sway back to Okafor. Nothing that Russell has done. Just the way Okafor is playing and a little bit of what LaVine is doing.

PG: Rubio, FA, Brown
SG LaVine, Martin, Neal
SF: Wiggins, Shabazz, Hummel
PF: KG, Bennett, Payne
C: Okafor, Pekbic, Hamliton

Might not be able to keep Hummel if Budinger is still on the team.

I'm with you on the Russell/Okafor thing. I would like a better solution at PF.

I am with you there. PF seems to be a position that is certainly easier to fill then center. Okafor likely will be a top 5 scoring center the day he is drafted.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I like the idea of moving Dieng to the 4. Let him be more of a floating defender as opposed to the anchor. Offensively he is better in the high post than low post anyway. We are hopefully getting a rookie C in Okafor or Towns so teams are more likely to run the PnR against them than Dieng. The only time it would be a defensive disadvantage to us would be against a stretch 4 of which there aren't many in the West. He either needs to put on some serious bulk to play the 5 or move to the 4 in my opinion.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Regardless of who we draft, I'd like to see us sign Ed Davis away from LA. Wonder what it'd take to sign him; couldn't be more than $5M per. PF/C who can provide dunks, defense and dirty work. The three Ds of scrappy big men. Also not bad in P&R as he's pretty mobile and can finish with both hands.

I like him and John Henson for a lot of the same reasons. Davis is the healthier player. Give me that guy.

[TheFuture]

I like Russell as my top, but am starting to sway back to Okafor. Nothing that Russell has done. Just the way Okafor is playing and a little bit of what LaVine is doing.

PG: Rubio, FA, Brown
SG LaVine, Martin, Neal
SF: Wiggins, Shabazz, Hummel
PF: KG, Bennett, Payne
C: Okafor, Pekbic, Hamliton

Might not be able to keep Hummel if Budinger is still on the team.

I actually hope Brown is our backup pg going forward. LaVine can fill in as needed for injuries/foul trouble. I'm a big fan of brown and think he is perfect for leading our second unit. He has proven enough for me to be more than a DNP 3rd pig.

I also hope LaVine starts, with martin being our 6th man capable of putting up starter minutes as I expect LaVine to have a short leash in his first year starting. I also don't see Neal coming back.

I will stick with your idea that Okafor is the pick.

Here's my hopeful lineup..

Rubio / Brown / Lavine
LaVinr / Martin / Wiggins
Wiggins / Shabazz / Budinger
Dieng / Payne / AB / KG
Okafor / Pekovic / KG

I put KG at the end because who knows how many games he plays/ if he plays. He'll likely start or be the first big off the bench when he does play.

Also, does everyone believe Okafor is a surefire starter right away? I can see it going either way with him and pek, due to peks ankles, but 12 mil for a bench big? God damn.

[bleedspeed]

I forgot all about Dieng. Odd.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I like Russell as my top, but am starting to sway back to Okafor. Nothing that Russell has done. Just the way Okafor is playing and a little bit of what LaVine is doing.

PG: Rubio, FA, Brown
SG LaVine, Martin, Neal
SF: Wiggins, Shabazz, Hummel
PF: KG, Bennett, Payne
C: Okafor, Pekbic, Hamliton

Might not be able to keep Hummel if Budinger is still on the team.

I actually hope Brown is our backup pg going forward. LaVine can fill in as needed for injuries/foul trouble. I'm a big fan of brown and think he is perfect for leading our second unit. He has proven enough for me to be more than a DNP 3rd pig.

I also hope LaVine starts, with martin being our 6th man capable of putting up starter minutes as I expect LaVine to have a short leash in his first year starting. I also don't see Neal coming back.

I will stick with your idea that Okafor is the pick.

Here's my hopeful lineup..

Rubio / Brown / Lavine
LaVinr / Martin / Wiggins
Wiggins / Shabazz / Budinger
Dieng / Payne / AB / KG
Okafor / Pekovic / KG

I put KG at the end because who knows how many games he plays/ if he plays. He'll likely start or be the first big off the bench when he does play.

Also, does everyone believe Okafor is a surefire starter right away? I can see it going either way with him and pek, due to peks ankles, but 12 mil for a bench big? God damn.

If we get the top pick and take him I don't see how we could not start him next year given how bad we were this year. $12 million is a lot for a bench big, but how many teams bring the number 1 pick in the draft off the bench? When you are this bad you don't block young guys with vets like Pek. Pek can play 20 minutes off the bench and be the low post scorer of the second unit that we don't have now.