Minnesota Sports Forum

Camden wrote:Lip, in all honesty, KBD's biggest strengths are his defensive prowess and his versatility -- things this Wolves roster desperately needs. I'm less worried about his old school mid-post offensive game than you are I think, but I agree he isn't going to be scoring the ball in bunches. And his 35.9% from three point range his senior season sure isn't spectacular, rather just decent, but it was on solid volume.

Cam -- You make a great point. You have to view KBD from a defensive perspective to appreciate him. I do like his defense. I understated his length. He actually that's decent length for a PF with a standing reach of 8'10.5 and a 7'3.5 wingspan. He has a decent vertical, 30.5" standing and 35" max. I just finished watching some video of him. His handle doesn't look as bad as some of the written reviews. It actually looks better than Wiggins. What I did like watching him was the toughness he showed. So while he might be a mid-range wing without a good handle like Wiggins, he shows a toughness and grit we haven't seen from Wiggins. And we didn't draft him to be our starting SF. On reflection, it's hard to unhappy getting a guy with Diop's talent and accomplishment at #48. I can't remember where I saw the motor questions, but I've been searching and haven't been able to find it tonight. So maybe I mistakenly read a comment not directed to him.

Anyway, this was a very good night for a Wolves team that didn't have a lottery pick.

lipoli390 wrote:

Camden wrote:Lip, in all honesty, KBD's biggest strengths are his defensive prowess and his versatility -- things this Wolves roster desperately needs. I'm less worried about his old school mid-post offensive game than you are I think, but I agree he isn't going to be scoring the ball in bunches. And his 35.9% from three point range his senior season sure isn't spectacular, rather just decent, but it was on solid volume.

Cam -- You make a great point. You have to view KBD from a defensive perspective to appreciate him. I do like his defense. I understated his length. He actually that's decent length for a PF with a standing reach of 8'10.5 and a 7'3.5 wingspan. He has a decent vertical, 30.5" standing and 35" max. I just finished watching some video of him. His handle doesn't look as bad as some of the written reviews. It actually looks better than Wiggins. What I did like watching him was the toughness he showed. So while he might be a mid-range wing without a good handle like Wiggins, he shows a toughness and grit we haven't seen from Wiggins. And we didn't draft him to be our starting SF. On reflection, it's hard to unhappy getting a guy with Diop's talent and accomplishment at #48. I can't remember where I saw the motor questions, but I've been searching and haven't been able to find it tonight. So maybe I mistakenly read a comment not directed to him.

Anyway, this was a very good night for a Wolves team that didn't have a lottery pick.

I keyed in on the motor questions also Lip. I read them in multiple places. One video I just watched said it was something that was a problem earlier in his career but it improved last year. I asked the guy I work with that watches a lot of OSU games if the motor issues rang true and he said he could see that a little bit. I'm gonna try and watch some actual games of both our pick in the coming days and see what's i find with KBD having questions about his motor and Okogie being praised for his. I'll say this about KBD watching some various videos his jumper looks pretty good much better than his percentage last year. He looks like a guy that can be a pretty good 3 point shooter and is not just a stand still guy either. Ultimately the guy has some skills was productive and has a nice amount of physical gifts (wingspan standing reach) so it feels like a pretty good/solid draft. Hopefully KBD can play some right away and stay healthy.

monsterpile wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

Camden wrote:Lip, in all honesty, KBD's biggest strengths are his defensive prowess and his versatility -- things this Wolves roster desperately needs. I'm less worried about his old school mid-post offensive game than you are I think, but I agree he isn't going to be scoring the ball in bunches. And his 35.9% from three point range his senior season sure isn't spectacular, rather just decent, but it was on solid volume.

Cam -- You make a great point. You have to view KBD from a defensive perspective to appreciate him. I do like his defense. I understated his length. He actually that's decent length for a PF with a standing reach of 8'10.5 and a 7'3.5 wingspan. He has a decent vertical, 30.5" standing and 35" max. I just finished watching some video of him. His handle doesn't look as bad as some of the written reviews. It actually looks better than Wiggins. What I did like watching him was the toughness he showed. So while he might be a mid-range wing without a good handle like Wiggins, he shows a toughness and grit we haven't seen from Wiggins. And we didn't draft him to be our starting SF. On reflection, it's hard to unhappy getting a guy with Diop's talent and accomplishment at #48. I can't remember where I saw the motor questions, but I've been searching and haven't been able to find it tonight. So maybe I mistakenly read a comment not directed to him.

Anyway, this was a very good night for a Wolves team that didn't have a lottery pick.

I keyed in on the motor questions also Lip. I read them in multiple places. One video I just watched said it was something that was a problem earlier in his career but it improved last year. I asked the guy I work with that watches a lot of OSU games if the motor issues rang true and he said he could see that a little bit. I'm gonna try and watch some actual games of both our pick in the coming days and see what's i find with KBD having questions about his motor and Okogie being praised for his. I'll say this about KBD watching some various videos his jumper looks pretty good much better than his percentage last year. He looks like a guy that can be a pretty good 3 point shooter and is not just a stand still guy either. Ultimately the guy has some skills was productive and has a nice amount of physical gifts (wingspan standing reach) so it feels like a pretty good/solid draft. Hopefully KBD can play some right away and stay healthy.

Apparently, he dedicated his game to his younger who collapsed on the court and almost died of a heart condition that now prevents him from playing. That may have accounted for the change in his motor from earlier in his career. It's clear that some switch turned on when you look at his stats in his first two seasons versus his last. I've been watching a lot of video of him tonigh and, like you, I'm impressed with his shooting. I also like that he looks though. None of the passive Wiggins fade-away stuff. So I'm encouraged. I remain really pumped about Okogie.

Very pleased with the draft tonight.


A- overall if I had to grade it, only because the two guys I wanted (Diallo and Mykhailuk) went right before our pick. wasn't a big fan of Bates-Diop at all, but at 48, he's at least worth a flier.

There's about 30 minutes of film here on Josh Okogie -- both the good and areas of improvement for him. He's not a perfect prospect, which should be obvious considering we got him at No. 20, but man, there is a lot to like with him. Very, very excited about this pick. You all know he's a player I wanted so the bias is clear. Bright future for Okogie in Minnesota, in my opinion.

Things I'd want you to look for in this video are:

- Rebounding outside of his area.
- Knockdown spot-up shooting.
- Ability to recover on defense; gets through screens well.
- Attacking in transition.
- Creating the contact; getting to the FT line.
- Movement without the ball; very good cutter.
- High energy plays; competitive fire is apparent.

- Questionable decision-making.
- Silly fouls that could be avoided.
- Handle needs improvement.
- Shooting off the dribble needs to be better.
- Inconsistent facilitator.

[youtube]VxPIp2L6yrs[/youtube]

I believe Bilas had KPD as his best available around pick 25 or was it sooner? Also, did we all play the Bilas drinking game?

I just spent 15 minutes reading the rubechat draft thread...minutes I will never get back. It's interesting to me how differently than us they view the Okogie pick. Here he was identified early by several posters, and largely celebrated when the selection was made. The reaction was almost exactly the opposite over there...nobody really knew who he was, and almost everyone was violently opposed to the pick. Who knows which reaction will prove to be more correct, but I suspect it will be ours. I don't think Okogie will be a star, but I think he will play hard and be a solid rotational wing at an early age. And if you read through the draft threads on both boards, I guarantee you will come away happy that you spend your sports forum time here rather than there.

Hard to argue with the two selections the Wolves made given their options. I'm thinking they maximized the draft given their slots. But this is not going to move the meter in terms of our ability to contend. We need some bold, creative moves to get to the next level. They have been talked about in this forum for months. Let's see what Thayden gets done between now and training camp. That, much more than this draft will determine our plight for next season. NBA championships are won during the offseason, not the actual game season. Lebron is going to determine which teams(s) can contend with the Warriors. Hopefully some groundwork is laid this summer to eventually give us a chance to be in the discussion.

longstrangetrip wrote:I just spent 15 minutes reading the rubechat draft thread...minutes I will never get back. It's interesting to me how differently than us they view the Okogie pick. Here he was identified early by several posters, and largely celebrated when the selection was made. The reaction was almost exactly the opposite over there...nobody really knew who he was, and almost everyone was violently opposed to the pick. Who knows which reaction will prove to be more correct, but I suspect it will be ours. I don't think Okogie will be a star, but I think he will play hard and be a solid rotational wing at an early age. And if you read through the draft threads on both boards, I guarantee you will come away happy that you spend your sports forum time here rather than there.

LST, a rational person could say we didn't address our desperate need for shooting last night. If anyone has reason to be annoyed that would be part of it. But we got good value with each pick given our slot. I don't think last night is anything to get overly excited about, but hard to be negative in my opinion either.

I for one at least feel better about our long-term potential. This, much like the 2014 draft with Zach LaVine, was a selection that screams home run swing instead of a solid ground-rule double. Okogie's not expected to be a star, but the tools are there for him to become one should he be able to capitalize on his God-given abilities. His physical profile alone is hard to come by.