Its Lottery Eve

[Duke13]

I would say it's agents mostly fueling that, but who knows.

It worked out well for Curry and Klay Thompson. And by all reports concerning them they seem to be pretty good guys and teammates.

[Monster]

LST while it bugs the heck out of me when players try and force their way into certain situations you can't rule guys out because of that. For example Curry didn't work out for the Wolves. Also can you blame Dunn for not wanting to go to the Suns or Boston? Those teams have no spot for him if he wants to play PG.

Personally when I've seen Dunn I see a nice player but I just don't get this star type guy people seem to be hoping for. Q's idea that he can be a "do shit" type strikes me as about where I am with him. Basically you are very likely to get something out of the guy but I just don't see the manic upside. I've been wrong though and I won't be upset if we pick him because he does bring a true attacking ball handling player that the Wolves don't really have at this point although Zach and Wiggins have grown in those areas in different ways.

I'm not necessarily going to rule a player out because he tries to control the process, but I do see it as a red flag. It means one of two things to me, neither of which I like:

1) the player is an entitled prima donna who is used to getting what he wants
2) the player doesn't think he is good enough to beat out someone at the same position on a certain team

If Dunn doesn't think he is good enough to challenge Thomas or Smart for a starting job, he doesn't belong in the lottery. If the Celtics draft him, they clearly are doing it because they have plans for him. I really believe players need to STFU prior to the draft and let the process work on its own.

Eh it's a different time now which is both good and bad. I agree it's a red flag but it's more typical for people in any sphere to work things out for their benefit. Agents play a big role here too. Ultimately the teams have the power they can pick a player and there is nothing that player can do. It's all a game and if one team player X would prefer not to go to picks him he has to just go make the best of it at the very least.

On top of all that we should have some healthy skeptism about some of these reports. Maybe Dunn and his camp would prefer to drop down or be picked by a more PG needy team but they aren't actively forcing the issue. We know first hand some of these "reports" are basically false. I nearly went bonkers yesterday hearing on the local sports radio show that Rubio still wants to force his way to the Knicks.

[Porckchop]

Why are you guys expecting a star from the 5th pick when you've already been perfectly content with Ricky from the same spot?
So content that hindsight hasn't even been used in passing on Curry for him . By the majority anyways.

[Lipoli390]

Pork - I think hindsight tells us we should have taken Curry at #6 instead of Flynn. I think that verdict would be nearly unanimous on this board. In fact, I believe most of us would have taken Curry over Flynn back then without the benefit of hindsight. But then again, perhaps it was clear that Curry would likely look to leave here at the end of his rookie deal. And given the situation back then with Kurt Rambis as our head coach and then the uncertainty over Love, I suspect he would have left at his first opportunity. So maybe even hindsight isn't necessarily 20/20 in this instance.

By the way, I'm not expecting a star at #5. I see a number of potentially good rotation players, possibly solid starters in Hield, Murray and Dunn. Any of those three COULD become an all-star caliber player but I wouldn't count on it.

[Porckchop]

There is a logjam of players who are candidates for the 5th pick, but I'm going to remove Kris Dunn from contention. There are 3 red flags which I think disqualify him from being considered:
So Thibs is going to ride a pg that's dealt with injuries his whole career and your not worried about having a decent backup?

1) Inconsistent shooting: Made less than 45% of his shots form the floor (despite a lot of layups) and consistently made less than 70% of his free throws throughout his college career.

2) higher turnover rate than we would like to see

3) leaking that he doesn't want to play in Phoenix or Boston. I hate it when players do this. It indicates a character flaw to me...a sense of entitlement or need to control the situation.

I think Thibs is going to ride Ricky hard...perhaps 38-40 minutes a game...so backup PG is not a huge concern for me. I suspect Thibs will continue to watch video of Tyus and conclude whether he is ready for backup minutes this season. If not, there will be several stopgap options available in free agency. I'm not interested in Dunn at 5.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

There is a logjam of players who are candidates for the 5th pick, but I'm going to remove Kris Dunn from contention. There are 3 red flags which I think disqualify him from being considered:
So Thibs is going to ride a pg that's dealt with injuries his whole career and your not worried about having a decent backup?

1) Inconsistent shooting: Made less than 45% of his shots form the floor (despite a lot of layups) and consistently made less than 70% of his free throws throughout his college career.

2) higher turnover rate than we would like to see

3) leaking that he doesn't want to play in Phoenix or Boston. I hate it when players do this. It indicates a character flaw to me...a sense of entitlement or need to control the situation.

I think Thibs is going to ride Ricky hard...perhaps 38-40 minutes a game...so backup PG is not a huge concern for me. I suspect Thibs will continue to watch video of Tyus and conclude whether he is ready for backup minutes this season. If not, there will be several stopgap options available in free agency. I'm not interested in Dunn at 5.

Pork, yes Ricky has missed a lot of games during his career, but mostly because of two gruesome injuries that had nothing to do with minutes played. While I have concerns about Thibs working his players too hard in practices during the season (I'm hoping he has learned during his year off that this was a bad idea), I'm not concerned if Thibs wants to play Ricky 38 minutes a night.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Pork - I think hindsight tells us we should have taken Curry at #6 instead of Flynn. I think that verdict would be nearly unanimous on this board.

Nearly unanimous? :)

[Phenom]

Why are you guys expecting a star from the 5th pick when you've already been perfectly content with Ricky from the same spot?
So content that hindsight hasn't even been used in passing on Curry for him . By the majority anyways.

I see what you did there. We'd be very fortunate to get another player at 5 who can elevate his teammates when he is on the court, though.

[Lipoli390]

Pork - I think hindsight tells us we should have taken Curry at #6 instead of Flynn. I think that verdict would be nearly unanimous on this board.

Nearly unanimous? :)

Had to account for the possibility that David Kahn posts on this Board. :)

[Coolbreeze44]

Pork - I think hindsight tells us we should have taken Curry at #6 instead of Flynn. I think that verdict would be nearly unanimous on this board.

Nearly unanimous? :)

Had to account for the possibility that David Kahn posts on this Board. :)

Haha, good one Lip!