Draft Grades

[m4gor [enjin:6667447]]

I dont really get why would anybody compare Westrbrook to Lavine, Westbrook is all about penetration and around the rim finishing even through contact .. Lavine cannot take any contact and finishes around rim even worse than worst league rim finisher .. wait for it .. Rubio. He is shooter and gets a lot of points from transition just by athleticism.

However in NBA game there is not that much space and you wont get that many transition points, esp. if you shy from contact, and in half-court offense he is going to be completely lost, beyond belief i would say. With sucky def without effort.

Is this not actually a purpose what are advanced stats used for? To check out 15pts per 40 to another guys 15pts per 40? :-D I guess Flip dont have a time to make/study them as he is GM+Coach :-D

I give a mark of C- if Flip trades Love away and this is one of those high Risk/Reward picks which rebuilding teams need to make, and F if he keeps Love and uses one of our few chances to get better for next season this way

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

m4gor-I agree with you that Westbrook is a poor comparison, but there are reasons why we go there even though their styles are so different. The main thing they have in common is that they were both athletic UCLA guards who couldn't crack the starting lineup as freshman. Since Westbrook is now a top 10 player in the NBA, the optimistic spin on LaVine is that he will show the same kind of explosive improvement that Russell did. I think it's quite a stretch, but if it happens, Flip is a genius.

[Monster]

Cam it was me comparing Webster and Bud. You are right I wasn't comparing their games just the similar situation and possible impact which I think is very compareable.

[Monster]

A big problem wiith comparing LaVine to Westbrook is who watched Westbrook his freshman year? What was he like then? I suppose he looked really awesome since he only played 9 mpg. If anyone knows what he looked like his freshman year I'd like to hear it. Did he put on some more weight between his freshman and sophomore year? See where I am going with this? I don't really get the comp but we are comparing a 2nd year westbrook with a 1st year Lavine. That's pretty significant.

[Lipoli390]

I don't think any of us were comparing LaVine to Westbrook as a predictor of the type of player LaVine will be in the NBA. It was in response to complaints that LaVine's college stats don't support taking him as high as #13. The point is that Westbrook's stats as a Sophomore were not better than LaVine's stats as a Freshman. What they share in common coming out of college is tremendous speed/athleticism, good skills and terrific work ethics. LaVine will likely be more of a long-range shooter than Westbrook will Westbrook will be the better scorer on penetration.

[thedoper]

Well I think that we can undoubtedly say Flip is not averse to risk. Other than Embid and some of the euros this was one of the higher risk/reward picks. It will be interesting to get through free agency without anyone in Flip's way to see the team he picks. I imagine there is a big wildcard coming our way next year. As for a grade I am giving him a C+. I think LaVine is an incomplete and Robinson could be a solid player for where we picked him,

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Nobody better be in favor of getting Klay and also ripping Lavine for not being able to finish at the basket. Klay doesn't get to the line at all, so if Lavine can shoot (obviously not as good as Klay, but he could be a good shooter) then you can't like Klay on this team while ripping Lavine. Klay isn't going to provide any offense at the rim either.

I give Flip a B+. These are the kind of picks you should make at the end of the lottery especially on a team full of veterans regardless of their quality. Lavine won't be counted on to be a huge contributor early in his career and that is how these raw guys actually develop into good players. They gradually get better and grow their games every year and get stronger. They don't just get thrown into the fire. This is a good situation for Lavine to develop his talent, especially if we keep Love and go for the playoffs. Robinson is a steal at 40. He was a late first round pick that slid to 40. He's also a young guy that needs some consistency on his jump shot, but has all the tools to be a good two-way player. Leonard would have been a nobody if he wasn't the 4th option on a playoff team for a couple years before they expanded his responsibility. He'd be a defensive specialist on some team with no offensive game to speak of. He had multiple off-seasons to get stronger, develop a reliable jumper, improve his handle and most importantly build his confidence in his game. I see the same for Lavine and Robinson. They both have the tools to guard their positions with some coaching. They both can work on their consistency with their jumpers and they can both improve their handle without being relied on to be difference makers. That is a better recipe for success than counting on rookies to give you something their rookie year, then being disappointed, then devaluing them, then they keep playing less because they keep getting worse as their confidence is shot and you eventually trade them because they never "got it" on your team. At least Flip is taking a risk to get better players on the team for the long-haul. That's the only shot to get this team's long-term potential back to where it needs to be. Love couldn't buy starters minutes his first few years which led to him developing a jumper, getting in shape and now he is considered a top 10 player. The road to earning playing time is what helps a lot of players develop the pieces of their game that eventually turns them into good to great players.

Also, why would people rather draft stash picks that will never come over versus selling the picks? We already have several international guys that aren't going to be NBA guys, so what does adding to that list accomplish? Where's Bjelica, Norel and Prestes? Haven't heard a word on any of them and Flip doesn't talk like any of them are in the future plans of the team. I'd rather have a million bucks for Taylor to throw at renovations or the practice facility or even in his pocket than add more guys to that list.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I dont really get why would anybody compare Westrbrook to Lavine, Westbrook is all about penetration and around the rim finishing even through contact .. Lavine cannot take any contact and finishes around rim even worse than worst league rim finisher .. wait for it .. Rubio. He is shooter and gets a lot of points from transition just by athleticism.

However in NBA game there is not that much space and you wont get that many transition points, esp. if you shy from contact, and in half-court offense he is going to be completely lost, beyond belief i would say. With sucky def without effort.

Is this not actually a purpose what are advanced stats used for? To check out 15pts per 40 to another guys 15pts per 40? :-D I guess Flip dont have a time to make/study them as he is GM+Coach :-D

I give a mark of C- if Flip trades Love away and this is one of those high Risk/Reward picks which rebuilding teams need to make, and F if he keeps Love and uses one of our few chances to get better for next season this way

The bolded part is false. There's more transition opportunities in the NBA than there are in college. His athleticism should shine on that aspect alone, especially if (when) Love is kept.

The point of using those per-40 stats was to show that Westbrook's production when he got drafted was not miles better than LaVine's, as it was being made out to be. Styles are different, but production-wise they were similar.

I don't understand altering a grade based on Love's situation. The player is still the same. The guys that were not chosen instead of LaVine are the same. That's what it should be based off. I also think LaVine's going to contribute more than people think he will. With him having so much potential, Flip is going to have to give him steady minutes even if they are 15 or so a game.

[m4gor [enjin:6667447]]

I dont really get why would anybody compare Westrbrook to Lavine, Westbrook is all about penetration and around the rim finishing even through contact .. Lavine cannot take any contact and finishes around rim even worse than worst league rim finisher .. wait for it .. Rubio. He is shooter and gets a lot of points from transition just by athleticism.

However in NBA game there is not that much space and you wont get that many transition points, esp. if you shy from contact, and in half-court offense he is going to be completely lost, beyond belief i would say. With sucky def without effort.

Is this not actually a purpose what are advanced stats used for? To check out 15pts per 40 to another guys 15pts per 40? :-D I guess Flip dont have a time to make/study them as he is GM+Coach :-D

I give a mark of C- if Flip trades Love away and this is one of those high Risk/Reward picks which rebuilding teams need to make, and F if he keeps Love and uses one of our few chances to get better for next season this way

The bolded part is false. There's more transition opportunities in the NBA than there are in college. His athleticism should shine on that aspect alone, especially if (when) Love is kept.

The point of using those per-40 stats was to show that Westbrook's production when he got drafted was not miles better than LaVine's, as it was being made out to be. Styles are different, but production-wise they were similar.

I don't understand altering a grade based on Love's situation. The player is still the same. The guys that were not chosen instead of LaVine are the same. That's what it should be based off. I also think LaVine's going to contribute more than people think he will. With him having so much potential, Flip is going to have to give him steady minutes even if they are 15 or so a game.

If you shy from contact you wont get many transition points in the NBA, i mean this for real as there are guards like 2x faster than those kids in the NCAA, there are many players in the NBA who are struggling to translate their athleticism to the game, it is not that easy that if you have speed and vertical you automatically score in transition

What you dont get about altering marks?
If you keep Love you are in Win-now mode so you should better upgrade your horrible bench with your pick, esp. when you are already capped for the next season
If you trade Love you should better pick a raw talent as Lavine, and hope for the best

[worldK]

The best case comparison of lavine to me as an nba player is manu ginobili.

Both are around the same size. Can handle the ball and initiate the offense. Play with a certain flair and Can shoot the long ball and excellent in transition. Manu is much better at slashing and finishing and one of the smartest players in the league.

Lavine can develop into a slasher and finisher as he has the speed,ball handling and athletic ability but he is not there yet. Both has what it takes to be good defenders. I think he fits and grow nicrly with rubio as his pg.

Worse case for lavine eould be alexey shved