Minnesota Sports Forum

Does Bender deserve to be ranked 3rd? When you initially see his stats, its like how does he get ranked so high. But when you look at his stats on a per 36 basis, realize his competition is better than college and factor in that he is 18, it doesn't look so bad. Will he be a eurostud like Porzingis, Dirk or Gasol or a eurodud like Darko, Bargnani or Tshkvilli or maybe just ok like Valanciunas, Mirotic, Kukoc? His best compliments talk about his size, his fluidity and great feel for the game or basketball IQ. After you get past Ingram and Simmons, it seems like every prospect has some question marks. He's actually more than 2 years younger than Porzingis, so he probably won't be as developed. He doesn't get a lot of playing time for Maccabi Tel Aviv, so for him, workouts will probably be very important for him. I am intrigued but by no means sold on picking him. Its just that after the big 2 nobody has stepped up to decisively grab that three spot and it seems that Dunn, Brown, Bender, Poeltl, Hield all could be considered for that spot. And if Skal goes on a tear, he could put his name back in the top 5 discussion.

TeamRicky wrote:Does Bender deserve to be ranked 3rd? When you initially see his stats, its like how does he get ranked so high. But when you look at his stats on a per 36 basis, realize his competition is better than college and factor in that he is 18, it doesn't look so bad. Will he be a eurostud like Porzingis, Dirk or Gasol or a eurodud like Darko, Bargnani or Tshkvilli or maybe just ok like Valanciunas, Mirotic, Kukoc? His best compliments talk about his size, his fluidity and great feel for the game or basketball IQ. After you get past Ingram and Simmons, it seems like every prospect has some question marks. He's actually more than 2 years younger than Porzingis, so he probably won't be as developed. He doesn't get a lot of playing time for Maccabi Tel Aviv, so for him, workouts will probably be very important for him. I am intrigued but by no means sold on picking him. Its just that after the big 2 nobody has stepped up to decisively grab that three spot and it seems that Dunn, Brown, Bender, Poeltl, Hield all could be considered for that spot. And if Skal goes on a tear, he could put his name back in the top 5 discussion.

I'll chime in more on Bender. It seems there is some buzz about him lately and after watching some video of him he is plenty intriguing. To compare him to Porzingis he isn't anywhere near the same type of shooter and his frame is more narrow, probably not quite as long and Porzingis has more explosiveness. What Bender has going for him though is he is very fluid and moves more like a guard and handles the ball more like a guard. When he gets the ball and brings it up the floor you don't think it's a 7' guy he looks more like a SF or even a SG. Defensively he can get low and move quickly when switched into smaller players. His upside seems a little hard to project but he looks pretty skilled and fluid for someone with that length and at that age (youngest player DX projects to be drafted). He will go top 10 no doubt but we will see if some other players give reason to pass over a guy that is a bit more unknown and may take longer to develop.

I am starting to think the top 5 will be the following guys. Simmons, Ingram Bender, Brown, and Labissiere. No idea on order.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I am starting to think the top 5 will be the following guys. Simmons, Ingram Bender, Brown, and Labissiere. No idea on order.

Labissiere won't be a top-five pick. Too many question marks to go that high, but his flat out upside will keep him in the lottery and possibly top-10.

If we had Thibs as a coach, I think I'd favor Brown for the third spot as he resembles Jimmy Butler in many ways and maybe Thibs could replicate that success with Brown.

Towns is KG'ng Skal Labissiere

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/karl-anthony-towns-advice-skal-113000897.html

TeamRicky wrote:If we had Thibs as a coach, I think I'd favor Brown for the third spot as he resembles Jimmy Butler in many ways and maybe Thibs could replicate that success with Brown.

Only one problem:

Jaylen Brown sucks on defense.

WildWolf2813 wrote:

TeamRicky wrote:If we had Thibs as a coach, I think I'd favor Brown for the third spot as he resembles Jimmy Butler in many ways and maybe Thibs could replicate that success with Brown.

Only one problem:

Jaylen Brown sucks on defense.

Maybe he isn't a great defender now, but all the reports I read said he has the tools to be a very good defender in the NBA. That's where Thibs comes in. Here's what NBADraft.Net said about him "he's shown all the tools to be a great defender at any level ... His frame and athleticism allows him to guard between three and four positions ... Can stay in front of quicker players and go blow for blow with bigger players down low."

Jaylen Brown has so much potential. Guy is such a great athlete and has a thick frame. So explosive, so you'd have to believe the guy has the ability to develop as a stud two way player. Remember these guys are super young and have room to develop.

There will be a bunch of really good options for our pick, including some trade options. As it stands I'm in the camp of flipping our pick for Nerlens. The guy is developing into an elite defender and fits well with both Towns and Dieng giving us a nice trio of bigs to deal with. Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine can score with ease, so we don't necessarily need another huge scoring option.

TRKO wrote:Jaylen Brown has so much potential. Guy is such a great athlete and has a thick frame. So explosive, so you'd have to believe the guy has the ability to develop as a stud two way player. Remember these guys are super young and have room to develop.

There will be a bunch of really good options for our pick, including some trade options. As it stands I'm in the camp of flipping our pick for Nerlens. The guy is developing into an elite defender and fits well with both Towns and Dieng giving us a nice trio of bigs to deal with. Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine can score with ease, so we don't necessarily need another huge scoring option.

But why does the 76ers do that, they could have 2 top 4 picks went would they get rid of arguably their best player for a pick