Official 2016 Draft Thread

[KiwiMatt]

After 105 pages I don't blame you Cam lol.

Let's wait and see where we are picking! I'm praying for a top two pick, although that would just be getting greedy.

[Monster]

I value everyone's opinion here. There are no trolls which is why I keep reading and posting here. Now sure there are times when some people IMO have had opinions that are poorly supported but I am sure people have thought the same about me. That's cool. I think everyone here has plenty of great thoughts and comments too (which is what a large majority of posts are IMO) and assume I bring something to the table. We are all Wolves fans (Short for fanatic so there is some crazy passion here) we are on the same side but we are not always going to agree.

It's going to be fun to be able to be fans of a legit basketball team in the coming months and hopefully years. This current group has not experienced that together and there are only a few old ESPN board members and heck the days when the Wolves were good was like a totally different life for me. It's looking like a fun ride is ahead folks.

[Lipoli390]

Cam --

I hope you'll reconsider your decision to abandon this thread. The couple months leading up to the draft is always fun, especially when we likely have a top 7 pick like this year. Even more interesting given that we're already loaded with young talent. Your absence from the discussion on this topic would be a big loss.

I'm always in favor of drafting the best player available. But I think some element of need will have to be factored in this summer, although I'd give it relatively little value. One factor is Pek's prognosis. If he can come back healthy and be the player he was at least for 20 minutes a game, then I'm more inclined to go for a guard or wing (Hield, Murray, Dunn or Valentine) rather than a big guy (Bender, Sabonis) in the draft. If we think Pek will be the player we've seen the last couple seasons, then I'm not inclined either way and would just go with the BPA. Thoughts?

[bleedspeed]

Have we talked about Marquese Chriss? Seem like he might be a great upside/fit type player. Rebounding is a concern and if he has enough motor.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Marquese-Chriss-83240/

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

An interesting second round Eurostash pick is Jonathan Jeanne. He's built like Rudy Gobert at 7"2 and 7"6 wingspan but about 25 pounds skinnier. Like Gobert, he's very athletic for a big man. He's already an excellent shot blocker, good defender, and very effective scorer in close range. His offensive range is limited but he's working to expand his range. He also needs to bulk up. Would be nice to take a flyer on him, let him bulk up and develop on someone else's dime and bring him over when he's ready. He's still 18 years old and 5 years younger than Gobert.

Here's a draft profile: "NBA Comparison: Tyson Chandler/Samuel Dalembert
Strengths: Amazing wingspan (measured at 7-6 feet) ... Great shot blocker ... Rim Protector ... Good weak side defender ... Active off the ball defender ... Denies passing lanes with his long reach and positions himself well ... His size, wingspan and reach make him a tough opponent to score over, because he can either block or alter shots ... If he continues working hard he can become a game changer on the defensive end of the floor due to his blocking ability ... Good athlete ... Great leaping ability ... Very mobile for someone his size ... Solid coordination for a big man ... Runs the floor extremely well ... Good lateral quickness ... Can defend the Pick and Roll at an acceptable rate ... Really energetic on the defensive end when motivated ... Can play above the rim ... An ideal lob target due to his size, reach and jumping ability ... Moves well without the ball ... Aggressive offensive rebounder... Nice footwork with his back to the basket ... Has the ability to become really good on Pick and Roll situations on the offensive end... Has a nice touch around the basket ... Improving mid-range game ... He is trying to expand his range to the 3-point line ... Above average passer ... Solid ball handling ...

Weaknesses: He barely weights 200 lbs ... He needs to bulk up his body to play at the next level ... Has narrow shoulders, so it remains to be seen whether he can really add considerable muscle to his frame nd not lose any of his speed and agility ... Has very little lower body strength, which creates balance issues ... Must become more physical... Average post-defender... Gets pushed around by stronger players ... Relies too much on his long reach... Still adapting to his body ... Sometimes he needs time to gather before jumping ... He often puts his hand down when he tries to block a shoot, which leads to be called for fouls ... Jumps at pump-fakes and hesitations ... Has to learn to jump vertically when trying to block a shot to be even more effective ... He is marginally average defensive rebounder, mainly because either forgets to box out or gets pushed around ... Very raw offensively... Doesn't have a go-to post-move ... He mainly turns to his left shoulder when he posts up the defender, which makes him predictable... Not a good finisher at the rim just yet... Has problems finishing through contact ... His shooting form needs some work ... Shooting Mechanics aren't always consistent ... Needs to cut down turnovers ... Has to learn to set harder screens ... Doesn't always roll hard to the basket when he sets a screen on Pick and Roll situations ... Sometimes he struggles to catch the ball ... He still has to put a lot of work on his mid-range game ...

Notes: An intriguing prospect ... He is still pretty raw, but has a lot of NBA upside ... Hasn't been able to crack the rotation of his new team, Le Mans, this year ... Has been a member of the French Junior National Teams ... Averaged 8.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 2015 U18 European Championship in 2015 ..."

[Monster]

Draft prospects seem like another reason why a guru like Kander could be useful. You would think he may have some worthwhile insight if he can work with them of how they may be able to get stronger improve movements etc. nobody can KNOW for sure but I would like to see Arnie around and people get his feedback. Just thinking outside the box a little

On the newest You betcha basketball show podcast Souhan asked Jon K what the Wolves need to do going forward in the entire organization. He said get a D league team but also beef up the international scouting dept. he said the guy that's been there forever is a great guy but he is based in LA and flys all over the place but it seems like it would make sense to have some Wolves scouts actually living in Europe. It's funny how the Wolves in some ways have so many non-USA players but it's felt like for pretty much the entire franchises history they didn't really have a good handle on that area. It almost seemed like Kahn was about as interested in going that route as anyone but he and Ronzone didn't get along (probably because Kahn was a joke) but yeah. DX said Layden was a tireless scout and was everywhere so maybe we will have some perspective on some guys and they can buy a pick or two. Of course it's not just about stashing guys it's also about signing international FA.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

An interesting second round Eurostash pick is Jonathan Jeanne. He's built like Rudy Gobert at 7"2 and 7"6 wingspan but about 25 pounds skinnier. Like Gobert, he's very athletic for a big man. He's already an excellent shot blocker, good defender, and very effective scorer in close range. His offensive range is limited but he's working to expand his range. He also needs to bulk up. Would be nice to take a flyer on him, let him bulk up and develop on someone else's dime and bring him over when he's ready. He's still 18 years old and 5 years younger than Gobert.

Here's a draft profile: "NBA Comparison: Tyson Chandler/Samuel Dalembert
Strengths: Amazing wingspan (measured at 7-6 feet) ... Great shot blocker ... Rim Protector ... Good weak side defender ... Active off the ball defender ... Denies passing lanes with his long reach and positions himself well ... His size, wingspan and reach make him a tough opponent to score over, because he can either block or alter shots ... If he continues working hard he can become a game changer on the defensive end of the floor due to his blocking ability ... Good athlete ... Great leaping ability ... Very mobile for someone his size ... Solid coordination for a big man ... Runs the floor extremely well ... Good lateral quickness ... Can defend the Pick and Roll at an acceptable rate ... Really energetic on the defensive end when motivated ... Can play above the rim ... An ideal lob target due to his size, reach and jumping ability ... Moves well without the ball ... Aggressive offensive rebounder... Nice footwork with his back to the basket ... Has the ability to become really good on Pick and Roll situations on the offensive end... Has a nice touch around the basket ... Improving mid-range game ... He is trying to expand his range to the 3-point line ... Above average passer ... Solid ball handling ...

Weaknesses: He barely weights 200 lbs ... He needs to bulk up his body to play at the next level ... Has narrow shoulders, so it remains to be seen whether he can really add considerable muscle to his frame nd not lose any of his speed and agility ... Has very little lower body strength, which creates balance issues ... Must become more physical... Average post-defender... Gets pushed around by stronger players ... Relies too much on his long reach... Still adapting to his body ... Sometimes he needs time to gather before jumping ... He often puts his hand down when he tries to block a shoot, which leads to be called for fouls ... Jumps at pump-fakes and hesitations ... Has to learn to jump vertically when trying to block a shot to be even more effective ... He is marginally average defensive rebounder, mainly because either forgets to box out or gets pushed around ... Very raw offensively... Doesn't have a go-to post-move ... He mainly turns to his left shoulder when he posts up the defender, which makes him predictable... Not a good finisher at the rim just yet... Has problems finishing through contact ... His shooting form needs some work ... Shooting Mechanics aren't always consistent ... Needs to cut down turnovers ... Has to learn to set harder screens ... Doesn't always roll hard to the basket when he sets a screen on Pick and Roll situations ... Sometimes he struggles to catch the ball ... He still has to put a lot of work on his mid-range game ...

Notes: An intriguing prospect ... He is still pretty raw, but has a lot of NBA upside ... Hasn't been able to crack the rotation of his new team, Le Mans, this year ... Has been a member of the French Junior National Teams ... Averaged 8.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 2015 U18 European Championship in 2015 ..."

Holy crap! I'm 6'4", and just under 200 lbs and I'm pretty skinny. How can a guy be 7'2", 200? Lol. I think Manute Bol weighed more than that.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Have we talked about Marquese Chriss? Seem like he might be a great upside/fit type player. Rebounding is a concern and if he has enough motor.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Marquese-Chriss-83240/

I had never heard of him until I noticed SI has him going 7th to Denver...they think he has enormous upside since he's only being playing ball for 5 years.

This draft is looking deeper than ever to me. I'm moving toward thinking a deal to move down and grab multiple picks (Denver, Boston or Phoenix) might be the best strategy. I think I'd prefer picks 15 and 19 over 5 (assuming we stay at 5), and Denver would probably rather have picks 5 and 7 over 7, 15 and 19. Which team doesn't make this trade?

[Duke13]

Wolves say no thanks and pick a solid prospect at 5-6

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Wolves say no thanks and pick a solid prospect at 5-6

If you believe the guys who have come up with a mathematical way to arrive at the value of a typical first round pick, having both picks 15 and 19 is slightly more valuable than just pick 5 (and even more valuable than pick 6)...and that would be based on the values in a typical year. In a year like this where there doesn't appear to be overwhelming talent in the top 10, but a lot of depth as you get to the teens, I would argue that having 15 and 19 is considerably more valuable than having just 5 (or 6).

For the stat heads out there, here's a link to basketball-reference.com valuation of each pick.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=2740