Draft prospects - Who do we want?

[bleedspeed]

Does he break the top 10? I honestly think he might be better then WCS and Looney.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Does he break the top 10? I honestly think he might be better then WCS and Looney.

That'll be interesting, bleed. I can't say definitively top-10 or not, but if I was guessing...

Towns
Okafor
Mudiay
Russell
Johnson
Cauley-Stein
Hezonja
Porzingis

I'd guess that's the top-eight prospects on most people's big boards in any order they choose. After that, though, it's fair game to round out the top-10. Portis, Looney, Winslow, Turner, Oubre, Kaminsky, Harrell, Booker, etc. could snag the last couple spots. In that cluster, I believe Portis and Winslow would be the two to round it out.

[TheGrey08]

I won't be surprised if both Russell & Mudiay are gone before #4. Really depends on who finishes where in the lotto. I think the top 4 prospects end up being ranked VERY closely on boards with teams using need as a tie breaker of sorts.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I won't be surprised if both Russell & Mudiay are gone before #4. Really depends on who finishes where in the lotto I think. I think the top 4 prospects end up being ranked VERY closely on boards with teams using need as a tie breaker of sorts.

So, you're saying you think Mudiay and Russell will be top-three picks? I completely disagree there. I would be ridiculously shocked if Towns or Okafor fell out of the top-three.

Based on the standings today with the change of moving the Lakers ahead...

NYK: Okafor
PHI: Towns (traded to MIN)
LAL: Russell
MIN: Mudiay (traded to PHI)
ORL: Johnson

I think we'll end up seeing something like that. Philly has Embiid, Noel and Saric at the 4/5 going forward and just traded their ROY point guard in MCW. They are certainly going into this draft aiming at Russell or Mudiay specifically (already heard rumors of them loving Mudiay) while potentially trading back and getting an asset, even if it's just a reduced rookie pay scale. It could potentially be 2008 all over for us (Love/Mayo trade). I feel confident that when it's all said and done, we'll end up with Karl-Anthony in a Wolves uni.

Edit: Similar to the 2006 draft with Aldridge being dealt too.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I won't be surprised if both Russell & Mudiay are gone before #4. Really depends on who finishes where in the lotto I think. I think the top 4 prospects end up being ranked VERY closely on boards with teams using need as a tie breaker of sorts.

So, you're saying you think Mudiay and Russell will be top-three picks? I completely disagree there. I would be ridiculously shocked if Towns or Okafor fell out of the top-three.

Based on the standings today with the change of moving the Lakers ahead...

NYK: Okafor
PHI: Towns (traded to MIN)
LAL: Russell
MIN: Mudiay (traded to PHI)
ORL: Johnson

I think we'll end up seeing something like that. Philly has Embiid, Noel and Saric at the 4/5 going forward and just traded their ROY point guard in MCW. They are certainly going into this draft aiming at Russell or Mudiay specifically (already heard rumors of them loving Mudiay) while potentially trading back and getting an asset, even if it's just a reduced rookie pay scale. It could potentially be 2008 all over for us (Love/Mayo trade). I feel confident that when it's all said and done, we'll end up with Karl-Anthony in a Wolves uni.

Edit: Similar to the 2006 draft with Aldridge being dealt too.

I think Philly may try to extract something from Flip, thinking that he may covet Towns (or Okafor, depending on who goes #1). In that instance, I would hope that Flip would recognize that Philly isn't really interested in drafting a big man, and turn them down...unless the asking price was low (say, a second round pick). Since I don't know enough about Mudiay to be sold on him in any way, my biggest fear (if we draft 4th) is that it goes like this:
Knicks: Okafor
Philly: Russell
Lakers: Towns

If Flip had the same concern, he might be more inclined to trade up with Philly.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Yeah, really hard seeing us ending up almost anywhere other than 4th. Of course, injuries could "help" us, but let's face it, none of us want to see Ricky or Wiggins or some other key player go down at this point. It sounds like everyone is pretty pumped to keep watching competitive basketball.

That being said, 4th means we could draft as low as 7th! So we may end up completely out of the picture when it comes to Okafor/Towns/Russell/Mudiay. At that point, things get real muddy in my opinion and a bunch of names creep onto the radar. Even trading down might be a reasonable possibility.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Exactly, LST. In my scenario, Philly would take Towns at No. 2 because he's BPA and work out a deal the same night. If we go back to 2006, Chicago and Portland essentially swapped Aldridge and Tyrus Thomas with the only extra asset in motion was a 2nd round pick.

The only potential flaw in my scenario would be if the Lakers thought they'd try and jump into the ring, but it's not like they'd be able to outbid us in any way. I don't even think they'd do that, though. I suspect they'd take Russell as a potential Kobe replacement and build around him and Randle moving forward.

Then again, the Sixers could take Towns and decide they like him better than Noel or Saric and try to package one or both for something. I just don't think that's the case. I think they're for sure, barring crazy draft night selections, coming away with one of Russell or Mudiay when it's all said and done.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Yeah, really hard seeing us ending up almost anywhere other than 4th. Of course, injuries could "help" us, but let's face it, none of us want to see Ricky or Wiggins or some other key player go down at this point. It sounds like everyone is pretty pumped to keep watching competitive basketball.

That being said, 4th means we could draft as low as 7th! So we may end up completely out of the picture when it comes to Okafor/Towns/Russell/Mudiay. At that point, things get real muddy in my opinion and a bunch of names creep onto the radar. Even trading down might be a reasonable possibility.

Yep, and Wolves fans know all too well about piss poor luck with the lottery. Let's just hope we have enough ping pong balls and one gets picked to not let that happen.

[TheGrey08]

I won't be surprised if both Russell & Mudiay are gone before #4. Really depends on who finishes where in the lotto I think. I think the top 4 prospects end up being ranked VERY closely on boards with teams using need as a tie breaker of sorts.

So, you're saying you think Mudiay and Russell will be top-three picks? I completely disagree there. I would be ridiculously shocked if Towns or Okafor fell out of the top-three.

Based on the standings today with the change of moving the Lakers ahead...

NYK: Okafor
PHI: Towns (traded to MIN)
LAL: Russell
MIN: Mudiay (traded to PHI)
ORL: Johnson

I think we'll end up seeing something like that. Philly has Embiid, Noel and Saric at the 4/5 going forward and just traded their ROY point guard in MCW. They are certainly going into this draft aiming at Russell or Mudiay specifically (already heard rumors of them loving Mudiay) while potentially trading back and getting an asset, even if it's just a reduced rookie pay scale. It could potentially be 2008 all over for us (Love/Mayo trade). I feel confident that when it's all said and done, we'll end up with Karl-Anthony in a Wolves uni.

Edit: Similar to the 2006 draft with Aldridge being dealt too.

Never said I thought they would go top 3, but rather that I wouldn't be surprised IF they did. A lot can happen between now & draft night. Okafor is already losing his hold on the #1 spot from the sounds of it. It very well could end up being a 3-4 horse race for #1. Time will tell.

EDIT: Either way I can definitely see a scenario where the Sixers swap picks.

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

I think Okafor is perfect for the triangle. I think he is a great fit for the Knicks. I also see the Lakers and Sixers targeting Mudiay. I think we are going after a big man. I'm hoping for Russell, but wouldn't mind Okafor or Towns.