Minnesota Sports Forum

The Rage Monster wrote:

monsterpile wrote:I am an Iowa State guy so I am biased but does anyone think Niang has any shot at being an effective player at the Nba level or will he just have to end up settling for making lots of money playing the international game?

In this new efficiency era he's kind of a perfect player, really craft and effective around the rim and also good from deep. He's not a great athlete but there are plenty of below average guys who've made it work. Could he be similar to Diaw?

Good points. Diaw is an interesting comp although I think people always forget he came into the league as a better athlete than he is today because um well he is fat-ish. You can still see that SF game he had back when he was younger in Diaw in how he can move around pretty quickly. My guess is the issue with Niang is whether or not he can defend anyone. DX doesn't even have him drafted and I can't say I disagree with that but it will be interesting to see if he can get a shot somewhere.

bleedspeed177 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:I am watching Gonzaga vs Syracuse and Sabonis has 11 rebounds at halftime. What impresses me about him is he makes the right rotations gets to the right spot on defense very well. Rebounding he is always boxing at least one guy out one time he boxed out 2 guys and Syracuse still got the rebound but it wasn't his fault that's for sure. Either was on fire in the first half. He is a fun player to watch shoot the ball. Syracuse was swarming on defense after getting carved up early and got back in the game.

Sabonis is a man playing amongst boys. I think he will only get stronger looking at his dad. He is going to have a long career in the NBA. I am not sure his ceilng, but he won't be a bust and likely be a solid starter on a playoff team for many years. I hope he is on our team.

Milt start working the phones to trade down to get him.

DX has him at #19 right now and maybe he could keep rising. I keep hearing this draft isn't that strong so maybe he keeps rising.

Sabonis the way he plays reminds me of Kevin Love in the way he plays the game kind of like a throwback guy in the way they just bang and play smart but has a lot of skills that reflect how the game has evolved. Obviously Sabonis doesn't have the 3 point shooting prowess Love had and I'm not expecting him to turn into a 20ppg scorer but he can score in a few ways and passes the ball. On the other side of the ball his defensive instincts and technique are very good. His overall length and lack of dynamic athleticism may keep him from being a top level defender but at least he will be in the right spot a lot of the time. I'd love to get him and I realize their may be guys that may have a higher upside than he does but I really like what he can do. I could also see him turning into a much better player than expected because he just knows how to play and just plays strong as a big.

With the way Sabonis is playing, I just don't see him making it out of the top 10 come draft day. He is very young, and is certainly put together well. I wouldn't expect to get him if you trade back outside the top 10 guys. He may end up even higher.

Hicks123 wrote:With the way Sabonis is playing, I just don't see him making it out of the top 10 come draft day. He is very young, and is certainly put together well. I wouldn't expect to get him if you trade back outside the top 10 guys. He may end up even higher.

I was thinking I wouldn't trade past 10 if I wanted him. I wonder if we could pick up an assist doing so. Thinking Denver picks.

monsterpile wrote:

The Rage Monster wrote:

monsterpile wrote:I am an Iowa State guy so I am biased but does anyone think Niang has any shot at being an effective player at the Nba level or will he just have to end up settling for making lots of money playing the international game?

In this new efficiency era he's kind of a perfect player, really craft and effective around the rim and also good from deep. He's not a great athlete but there are plenty of below average guys who've made it work. Could he be similar to Diaw?

Good points. Diaw is an interesting comp although I think people always forget he came into the league as a better athlete than he is today because um well he is fat-ish. You can still see that SF game he had back when he was younger in Diaw in how he can move around pretty quickly. My guess is the issue with Niang is whether or not he can defend anyone. DX doesn't even have him drafted and I can't say I disagree with that but it will be interesting to see if he can get a shot somewhere.

I see Niang being a late pick or undrafted as well. With the comp I was thinking just that Niang could be a play making PF off the bench and we could really use some improved bench scoring. Facilitating PF's seem to create matchup issues for other teams although perhaps Bjelica could fill that row if he can adjust his game.

Notable College Players ranked by BPM (Boxscore Plus Minus):

1 Denzel Valentine SR
3 Chinanu Onuaku SO
4 Brice Johnson SR
5 Daniel Ochefu SR
6 Gary Payton SR
7 Buddy Hield SR
8 A.J. Hammons SR
8b Caris Levert SR
12 Ben Simmons FR
16 Malcolm Brogdon SR
18 Kris Dunn JR
19 Jakob Poeltl SO
20 Ron Baker SR
25 Deyonta Davis FR
30 Dorian Finney-Smith SR
35 Jarrod Uthoff SR
43 Marshall Plumlee SR
45 Grayson Allen SO
47 Robert Carter JR
48 Fred VanVleet SR
52 Tyler Ulis SO
58 Michael Gbinije
61 Josh Hart JR
62 Sheldon McClellan SR
67 DeAndre Bembry JR
69 Jamal Murray FR
74 Damion Lee SR
75 Domantas Sabonis SO
80 Jaron Blossomgame JR
86 Ivan Rabb FR
96 Jake Layman SR
105 Patrick McCaw SO
113 Kay Felder JR
115 Wade Baldwin SO
123 Yogi Ferrell SR
126 Pascal Siakam SO
131 Wayne Selden JR
150 Perry Ellis SR
153 Brandon Ingram FR
155 Monte Morris JR
158 Isaiah Taylor SO
159 Dillon Brooks SO
163 Taurean Prince SR
174 Tyrone Wallace SR
206 Damian Jones JR
212 Ben Bentil SO
219 Demetrius Jackson JR
229 Derrick Jones Jr. FR
235 Melo Trimble SO
253 Isaiah Cousins SR
266 Prince Ibeh JR
274 Nigel Hayes JR
275 Danuel House SR
286 Marquese Chriss FR
303 Malik Beasley FR
345 Anthony Barber JR
356 Diamond Stone FR
369 Skal Labissiere FR
490b Check Diallo FR
504 Dejounte Murray FR
604 Joel Bolomboy SR
605 Jaylen Brown FR
631 Henry Ellenson FR
929 Dwayne Bacon FR
1232 Stephen Zimmerman FR

Notable college players ranked by WinShares:

1 Thomas Walkup SR F Stephen F. Austin
4 Pascal Siakam SO F New Mexico State
5 Buddy Hield SR G Oklahoma
6 Domantas Sabonis SO F Gonzaga
7 Denzel Valentine SR G
8 Grayson Allen SO G Duke
9 Brice Johnson SR F North Carolina
10 Tyler Ulis SO G Kentucky
11 Malcolm Brogdon SR G Virginia
13 Egidijus Mockevicius SR C Evansville
14 Kay Felder JR G Oakland
16 Jakob Poeltl SO F Utah
18 Joel Bolomboy SR F Weber State
20 Yogi Ferrell SR G Indiana
24 Perry Ellis SR 2015-16 F Kansas
25 Josh Hart JR 2015-16 G Villanova
27 Jamal Murray FR 2015-16 G Kentucky
31 Ben Simmons FR 2015-16 F Louisiana State
32 Ron Baker SR 2015-16 G Wichita State
35 DeAndre Bembry JR 2015-16 F Saint Joseph's
36 Ben Bentil SO 2015-16 F Providence
37 Michael Gbinije SR 2015-16 F Syracuse
38 Sheldon McClellan SR 2015-16 G Miami (FL)
49 Jaron Blossomgame JR 2015-16 F Clemson
57 Dillon Brooks SO 2015-16 F Oregon
77 Damion Lee SR 2015-16 G Louisville
83 Ivan Rabb FR 2015-16 F University of California
95 Patrick McCaw SO 2015-16 G Nevada-Las Vegas
98 Gary Payton SR 2015-16 G Oregon State
102 A.J. Hammons SR 2015-16 C Purdue
103 Brandon Ingram FR 2015-16 G Duke
105 Melo Trimble SO Maryland
106 Fred VanVleet SR 2015-16 G Wichita State
143 Wade Baldwin SO 2015-16 G Vanderbilt
145 Robert Carter JR 2015-16 F Maryland
146 Kris Dunn JR 2015-16 G Providence
169 Nigel Hayes JR 2015-16 F Wisconsin
215 Chinanu Onuaku SO 2015-16 C Louisville
246 Malik Beasley FR 2015-16 G Florida State
253 Henry Ellenson FR 2015-16 F Marquette
311 Damian Jones JR 2015-16 C Vanderbilt
315 Taurean Prince SR 2015-16 F Baylor
466 Deyonta Davis FR 2015-16 F Michigan State

I don't care too much about freshman or sophomore win shares, especially when scouting them as NBA prospects. College basketball is different. Juniors and seniors help teams win more than underclassmen.

Camden wrote:I don't care too much about freshman or sophomore win shares, especially when scouting them as NBA prospects. College basketball is different. Juniors and seniors help teams win more than underclassmen.

Point taken and I don't disagree with you. I just want to provide a variety of advanced stats to see where players rank. I have found the defensive orientated stats are more useful and I'll share more of these when I get time.

It's early and these things are fluid but DX has Grayson Allen at #31 right now. He feels like the most underrated prospect right now on their board however they come up with the values.