Draft prospects - Who do we want?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I think the idea of what Towns can become is clouding what he actually is now. I watched him the other day and he got pushed around in the paint easy enough to affect his shot substantially without getting fouled. He is said to have a midrange jumper, but if he doesn't use it in competition for a whole year can that really be relied upon as a weapon he'll have out of the gate? People talk about WCS's stats, but Towns' stats are virtually the same with the exception of a lower FG%, but higher FT%. Cam - you preach offense over defense all the time, yet now you are going with defense over offense. Why is this different? Okafor is 17% better from the field than Towns. That is a massive difference. Towns being a 50% FG shooter with his size and athleticism in college is a little worrisome to me because it shows just how raw he is offensively. Okafor is also going to be more prepared to bang with the opposing bigs out of the gate with the extra 20 pounds he has on Towns. I look at this like the Parker v. Wiggins debate only I was always of the belief that Wiggins just wasn't that far behind Parker offensively and then adding in the defense and athleticism gave him the clear edge. In this case though, the offensive game is statistically that far apart. While Okafor averages 10 more MPG's, he also has twice as many PPG's and that 17% better FG%. This is like drafting Cousins without the attitude issues. That is how dominant he is being on the college level right now. I just don't see how you pass up Okafor if you get the chance. Towns looks good on paper, but he hasn't shown much in the time he has been on the court. If he was that good, Calipari would have to keep him on the floor at least as long as WCS. He's just going to be very raw and I'd much rather take the big with the post game than without because that is just something not many players ever become good at if they don't have it out of the gate. Meanwhile, it's pretty easy to teach guys how to stay vertical while challenging shots in the paint and Okafor certainly has the size and length to do it at a respectable level. Towns may become the better player eventually, but I think it is a much bigger if than anyone was saying with Wiggins over Jabari last year.

[bleedspeed]

This is like drafting Cousins without the attitude issues. That is how dominant he is being on the college level right now. I just don't see how you pass up Okafor if you get the chance. Towns looks good on paper, but he hasn't shown much in the time he has been on the court.

Exactly how I feel. i am not sure Towns is top 3 pick. He is a much greater risk and honestly his upside seems lower then Noel.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Except Cousins was way more versatile than Okafor, which was why he was scary coming out. Cousins could win on the block, from the perimeter and in face-up situations. That talent was always a sure thing whereas his mentality was not.

[bleedspeed]

Except Cousins was way more versatile than Okafor, which was why he was scary coming out. Cousins could win on the block, from the perimeter and in face-up situations. That talent was always a sure thing whereas his mentality was not.

Fair enough. I have not watched/seen Okafor enough to comment on his face up/perimeter game. That seems to be an area that is added to players games when they get to the pros as Jefferson and Pek have to a degree. Tim Duncan surely has so it is more common to add a jumper then a post game.

I really liked how he passed, but not sure why he doesn't boxout better. It might be that he doesn't usually need position to win the battle, but he better start doing that because it won't work in the pros.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I hope we end up in the 5-7 range as I want to see this team finish strong the last 2 months instead of tanking for a chance at Okafor. I think we let the media hype and marketing about the draft get the best of us, how this draft class if full of great bigs, etc. It's a total crapshoot every year, it looks like we got lucky with Wiggins.

Anybody else like Cliff Alexander at Kansas?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Except Cousins was way more versatile than Okafor, which was why he was scary coming out. Cousins could win on the block, from the perimeter and in face-up situations. That talent was always a sure thing whereas his mentality was not.

Yeah, Cousins was an absolute monster in his one year. His rebounding especially was dominant, so I'm not sure I'd put Okafor on the same level in terms of pure talent/dominance.

However, putting the mental/emotional issues aside, one thing I don't like about Cousins the basketball player is the fact he is a bit sloppy and unfocused. He is still very turnover prone and tends to float outside for long 2's (25% of his shot distribution). This is where his versatility almost hurts him. If he saw himself as purely a low-post presence, I think he would be a much bigger asset to his team.

And that's why ultimately I like Okafor so much. He sticks to his knitting and is damn good at it.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I hope we end up in the 5-7 range as I want to see this team finish strong the last 2 months instead of tanking for a chance at Okafor. I think we let the media hype and marketing about the draft get the best of us, how this draft class if full of great bigs, etc. It's a total crapshoot every year, it looks like we got lucky with Wiggins.

Anybody else like Cliff Alexander at Kansas?

Don't disagree with you Lloyd. I think we can still get a very good player in that range.

I know nothing about Cliff Alexander.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

I think the idea of what Towns can become is clouding what he actually is now. I watched him the other day and he got pushed around in the paint easy enough to affect his shot substantially without getting fouled. He is said to have a midrange jumper, but if he doesn't use it in competition for a whole year can that really be relied upon as a weapon he'll have out of the gate? People talk about WCS's stats, but Towns' stats are virtually the same with the exception of a lower FG%, but higher FT%. Cam - you preach offense over defense all the time, yet now you are going with defense over offense. Why is this different? Okafor is 17% better from the field than Towns. That is a massive difference. Towns being a 50% FG shooter with his size and athleticism in college is a little worrisome to me because it shows just how raw he is offensively. Okafor is also going to be more prepared to bang with the opposing bigs out of the gate with the extra 20 pounds he has on Towns. I look at this like the Parker v. Wiggins debate only I was always of the belief that Wiggins just wasn't that far behind Parker offensively and then adding in the defense and athleticism gave him the clear edge. In this case though, the offensive game is statistically that far apart. While Okafor averages 10 more MPG's, he also has twice as many PPG's and that 17% better FG%. This is like drafting Cousins without the attitude issues. That is how dominant he is being on the college level right now. I just don't see how you pass up Okafor if you get the chance. Towns looks good on paper, but he hasn't shown much in the time he has been on the court. If he was that good, Calipari would have to keep him on the floor at least as long as WCS. He's just going to be very raw and I'd much rather take the big with the post game than without because that is just something not many players ever become good at if they don't have it out of the gate. Meanwhile, it's pretty easy to teach guys how to stay vertical while challenging shots in the paint and Okafor certainly has the size and length to do it at a respectable level. Towns may become the better player eventually, but I think it is a much bigger if than anyone was saying with Wiggins over Jabari last year.

This is always the interesting part of different folks views of draft picks. Despite Okafor being more efficient as a low-post scorer than any top prospect in recent memory, he is second guessed because he isn't the best athlete, or doesn't have an outside game. My take - he has the skills of an old-school low post center...and he has these in spades. Towns, on the other hand, while clearly showing strengths as a superior help defender and rim protector, is applauded for his athleticism and potential, despite the fact that these gifts rarely show up in his offensive game. People say he is a "shooter", but this is clearly NOT a strength in his current game....at least not statistically.

I think many of us prefer the "show me now" test (i.e. Okafor), while others are more comfortable with a wait-and-see approach (Towns). While my commentary certainly shows which side I lean towards, I am not in any way trying to say Towns is not a good pick...or even the better pick. Just pointing out differences in how we all see these guys.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

And can we dismiss Emmanuel Mudiay from our conversation? I know we just resigned Rubio, but I am still not convinced he is our future. I am not going to even talk about skill level as this debate has been worn out over the years, but simply from an injury level, he is obviously a HUGE risk. Some will argue that none of his injuries are the same, thus he is not "injury prone", but I disagree. Some guys can stay on the court over the course of a career, and some can not. Assuming Rubio comes back within the next couple weeks, he will have missed 100 games over 3 1/2 seasons. This is certainly not a solid trend, and is extremely discouraging.

Physically, Mudiay plays a Westbrook style game. We have all seen what a game changing, physical, scoring PG can do to influence a game. Westbrook is as big a game changer on many nights as we see in the NBA. I honestly don't know anything about this guy other than seeing his physical makeup and stats from China.....but I wouldn't pass him over JUST BECAUSE we have Rubio.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

And can we dismiss Emmanuel Mudiay from our conversation? I know we just resigned Rubio, but I am still not convinced he is our future. I am not going to even talk about skill level as this debate has been worn out over the years, but simply from an injury level, he is obviously a HUGE risk. Some will argue that none of his injuries are the same, thus he is not "injury prone", but I disagree. Some guys can stay on the court over the course of a career, and some can not. Assuming Rubio comes back within the next couple weeks, he will have missed 100 games over 3 1/2 seasons. This is certainly not a solid trend, and is extremely discouraging.

Physically, Mudiay plays a Westbrook style game. We have all seen what a game changing, physical, scoring PG can do to influence a game. Westbrook is as big a game changer on many nights as we see in the NBA. I honestly don't know anything about this guy other than seeing his physical makeup and stats from China.....but I wouldn't pass him over JUST BECAUSE we have Rubio.

Agreed, I just don't think people comment on him because he's not playing college ball and is hurt right now.

One of our key needs is backup PG, as Mo is only on a one-year deal. If we were to draft Mudiay, he would immediately become Rubio's backup. And if he became really good, he could probably spend time playing next to Rubio too, as both have the size to guard 2's.

Other than who I'd take #1 (Okafor) and may be #2 (Towns), I really have no idea how I would sort things after that. It feels like a number of guys could be in the mix.