Official 2016 Draft Thread

[Coolbreeze44]

I imagine Thibs could do some great things with Bender. If he's not there, I like the high floor of Hield. He may or may not be a great all around player, but I think he's a safe pick that can contribute to a contender right away.

[Lipoli390]

The more I read and hear about Bender the less I like the idea of the Wolves drafting him if available.

Fortunately, the Wolves are NOT in a position where they need to swing for the fences with a higher risk pick based on upside. Instead, we're in a position where we can and should take the BPA, factoring in floor as much as ceiling. That approach should take the Wolves to Hield or Dunn. Both seem to have high floors but also reasonably high ceilings. Each has something special/elite that will likely translate almost immediately to the NBA: 3-point shooting from Hield and defense from Dunn. Hield has also shown ability as a slasher and seems to have good enough size and athleticism to go with his worth ethic to become a decent defender. Dunn has very good playmaking skills and potential as a shooter to go with his tenacious disruptive defense.

Bender just isn't the right guy for the Wolves this June. I admit I have little to go on. But that's part of the problem because Thibs and Layden don't have that much to go on either in evaluating Bender.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

That's where I am too, Lip. I spent a half hour looking at video today, and most of it was U18 stuff...difficult to get a read on a guy playing against white kids much shorter than him. And wirth Maccabi, he doesn't look comfortable in the half court inside the perimeter. He obviously has decent athleticism for a guy that long and he is a very good passer, but I would need to see a lot more before using a lottery pick on him.

I wonder if our board member Eitan has had a chance to see him live since he lives in Jerusalem...haven't heard from him in awhile.

[Monster]

The more I read and hear about Bender the less I like the idea of the Wolves drafting him if available.

Fortunately, the Wolves are NOT in a position where they need to swing for the fences with a higher risk pick based on upside. Instead, we're in a position where we can and should take the BPA, factoring in floor as much as ceiling. That approach should take the Wolves to Hield or Dunn. Both seem to have high floors but also reasonably high ceilings. Each has something special/elite that will likely translate almost immediately to the NBA: 3-point shooting from Hield and defense from Dunn. Hield has also shown ability as a slasher and seems to have good enough size and athleticism to go with his worth ethic to become a decent defender. Dunn has very good playmaking skills and potential as a shooter to go with his tenacious disruptive defense.

Bender just isn't the right guy for the Wolves this June. I admit I have little to go on. But that's part of the problem because Thibs and Layden don't have that much to go on either in evaluating Bender.

Based on what DX said about Layden when he was getting hired that he was a tireless scout he has probably seen Bender a healthy amount.

I doubt Bender falls but maybe teams aren't willing to take the chance on him and he falls to us. I want him bad I think he would fit really well. He and Towns could be lethal offensively and have potential to be good on defense together. Towns isn't going to be too weak to play C for very long. Imagine pairing him and Dieng with a 7' guy with more offensive skills and moves his feet better than Dieng. Yikes.

[kekgeek]

The more I read and hear about Bender the less I like the idea of the Wolves drafting him if available.

Fortunately, the Wolves are NOT in a position where they need to swing for the fences with a higher risk pick based on upside. Instead, we're in a position where we can and should take the BPA, factoring in floor as much as ceiling. That approach should take the Wolves to Hield or Dunn. Both seem to have high floors but also reasonably high ceilings. Each has something special/elite that will likely translate almost immediately to the NBA: 3-point shooting from Hield and defense from Dunn. Hield has also shown ability as a slasher and seems to have good enough size and athleticism to go with his worth ethic to become a decent defender. Dunn has very good playmaking skills and potential as a shooter to go with his tenacious disruptive defense.

Bender just isn't the right guy for the Wolves this June. I admit I have little to go on. But that's part of the problem because Thibs and Layden don't have that much to go on either in evaluating Bender.

Now like you I don't have much to go on about Bender, but just in philosophy why not go for the home run one more time, this should be the last time the wolves will pick this last time and lets say hypothetically he is a home run like porzinges (This is really lazy analysis comparing him to last years star European player) the wolves have hit the jackpot and should compete for a championship for years to come. It is not like the PF position is set in Gorgui even though I like him a lot. I just feel we can add the higher floor/lower ceiling players when the wolves are in the playoffs with their draft picks. This is the last chance the wolves have a high probability to be in position to hit a home run and if the wolves do strike out going for a home run at least we have the foundation set for years to come. Once again I have never seen Bender play I am just talking about a pure philosophy standpoint.

[Lipoli390]

Geek -- I can see your perspective. This is likely our last high lottery pick for a long time so I can see some merit in taking one more home run cut. My problem with Bender is that I think he'd be a bit of a wild swing. Even if Layden's seen a lot of him, Bender just hasn't played many minutes against challenging competition. Taking Hield or Dunn I think you'd be swinging for a double, but sometimes when you swing for a double, the ball carries out of the park. I can see either Hield or Dunn becoming the ball that carries over the wall. And if not, I see a high likelihood that either one would be standing on second with Towns on deck, followed by Wiggins and LaVine.

[Monster]

Lip I respect you position on Bender and going for either Dunn or Buddy as guys you feel like you know what you are gonna get and still have that upside. I'm gonna make a case counter to what you said for picking Bender and I not sure I am quite as passionate about him as the post may sound although I do really like him.

Remember back when Porzingis and Towns were going to take all that time to make in the league? Well Bender might actually take a couple years. If the talent is there you take him. How many teams have missed out on a player the last few years for passing the guy that would take time or wouldn't come over right away? Bender isn't some prospect that came out of nowhere. He has been a guy highly regarded for quite a while. It's a risk but I don't think it's as wild as some are making it out to be. Another thing to consider is the 3's he is taking are pretty much NBA range. College 3 point line is quite a bit farther in. It's only a limited amount of games and minutes but at the age of 18 he has played against guys like Robbie Hummel and that level of talent. You can probably gather more about his limited work over there than what a guy did coming out of HS which is probably closer to what Bender is than one of the freshman coming out in the draft this year. I think the combination of length youth skills and the fact that he plays hard shouldn't be dismissed.

I don't think he will drop to the Wolves but I'd be pretty happy about it. He could end up being a guy that helps in a lot of areas this team needs. That doesn't mean I am dismissing the more known guys in Dunn and Buddy but I still think Bender is a better prospect. It seems unlikely he falls so this whole post may be pointless but it was fun anyway.

[bleedspeed]

I want the guy with the best upside. I don't see it in Dunn. I do see in it in Buddy. I also see it in Chriss, Luwawu, and Sabonis. I think Chriss and Luwawu have natural gifts and Sabonis is just a player that will always play bigger then his physical talent due to his IQ and motor.

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

As an Internet GM I have no clue on Bender because there isn't much to go on. That's where the countless hours and tireless scouting by teams come into play. If I were making the pick for the wolves I would have a hard time picking him because I have absolutely no clue one way are the other how good he is. I'm hoping Dunn is there at 5, although I doubt he is. He is the guy I really want. Heild and Murray aren't bad consultation prizes though.

[MikkeMan]

Murray has shown the ability to score in college with range, but I didn't see much else in his game. By the way, I wasn't that impressed with him when he played for Team Canada (I watched all the games) and his three point shooting was 32% (which equates to the NBA line). I watched him get to the hoop and I have concerns about him at the next level. When I watched him he had trouble with tall defenders and he's not very quick. I think he'll still be able to shoot 3s, but less than 40% and will have a hard time scoring at the hole. At best he's a good scorer with little else to contribute. But we don't need another scorer as much as a two way player who can contribute good defense. Bringing in a defensively challenged guy that will take shots away from our core guys is not the best way to go.

Which tournament you were watching? Based on FIBA-pages Murray shot three pointers better than 40% in Pan American games last summer.

http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/player/p/pid/107122/sid/11745/tid/257/tid2//_/2015_Pan_American_Games_for_Men/index.htmlJamal Murray's stats from Pan American games