Minnesota Sports Forum

I'm not sure if anyone has seen this, but came across it today trolling ESPN. I know some people are reluctant to take Okafor, but the snippet in here about Okafor and his offensive move learning/conversion rate... it's insane.

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/03/25/ncaa-tournament-sweet-16-rankings-kentucky-duke-arizona

We question his ability, effectiveness and desire on defense, but one way to improve your team defense is to have a more efficient offense and the other team taking the ball out of the basket more often. It certainly would help our transition defense.

I do still lean toward Towns given he's a better defender, rebounder, and more athletic, but I have to say Okafor's offensive game is so appealing that if he's a consolation prize I would still be very happy with that.

For those that think going overseas was the "easy move" for Muiday, here's a good interview piece on what he faced in his year. http://collegebasketball.scout.com/story/1531265-q-a-emmanuel-mudiay?s=196&utm_content=buffer51927&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Cam....question. Would you trade the #1 pick for Rudy Gobert? Absurd question even a couple months ago. Now, I think I make that move.

I'm not Cam, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.......Man, it sounds nutty, but I would do that in a heartbeat. A Rubio-Wiggins-Gobert trio; you are talking about a potential #1 or #2 defense eventually, especially as Wiggins and Gobert get older and wiser.

Q12543 wrote:I'm not Cam, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.......Man, it sounds nutty, but I would do that in a heartbeat. A Rubio-Wiggins-Gobert trio; you are talking about a potential #1 or #2 defense eventually, especially as Wiggins and Gobert get older and wiser.

The drafting of a player like Gobert later in the draft is exactly what the Wolves need to accomplish in order to find ultimate success. All really good teams find these gems later in the draft. Dieng, while inconsistent, is certainly a step in the right direction as far as value vs pick. Hopefully, Lavine becomes that pick for us.

Hicks123 wrote:Cam....question. Would you trade the #1 pick for Rudy Gobert? Absurd question even a couple months ago. Now, I think I make that move.

Yes. If Gobert or Drummond are offered, I am trading that #1.

I don't think I could take that deal. Admittedly Gobert was great value for where the Jazz got him, not sure his value exceeds the #1 pick in the draft.

Hicks123 wrote:Cam....question. Would you trade the #1 pick for Rudy Gobert? Absurd question even a couple months ago. Now, I think I make that move.

Q12543 wrote:I'm not Cam, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.......Man, it sounds nutty, but I would do that in a heartbeat. A Rubio-Wiggins-Gobert trio; you are talking about a potential #1 or #2 defense eventually, especially as Wiggins and Gobert get older and wiser.

No way. I stay firm with my stance that Towns/Okafor is the better play. Offer Gobert, offer Drummond, offer DeAndre Jordan. I do realize the reasons behind making that move. Immediately we get a shot-blocker + garbage points scorer and good rebounder. I would just hate to see that is all we get from a No. 1 pick. With the two 19-year old bigs, we get the skill-set and potential to have much more, a star player in the NBA even. Stay patient.

Gobert, Jordan, Asik, etc. Those guys were found later in the draft because they are limited. They play defense, swat shots, grab boards and get putbacks. They do it at a very good level, great even, but I do believe those guys can be found in the same ranks of the draft.

Take this draft class for instance. Robert Upshaw, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Moussa Diagne. Throw a 2nd rounder on any one of those three and you could very well have a diamond in the rough.

To recap, I'm not downplaying the effect Gobert/Drummond have on their teams, but I'd argue the ceilings of Towns/Okafor are too good to trade for them. My opinion.

Camden wrote:For those that think going overseas was the "easy move" for Muiday, here's a good interview piece on what he faced in his year. http://collegebasketball.scout.com/story/1531265-q-a-emmanuel-mudiay?s=196&utm_content=buffer51927&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Terrific article, cam...thanks for posting. I like Mudiay much more after reading this...seems like he really has his head screwed on right.

I lived in Shanghai for my job from 2007-2009, so I can identify with the culture shock and language barrier Emmanuel talks about. And I worked hard to just get a remedial grasp of the language...can't imagine how I would have gotten by without some Mandarin. He talks about flying after games, and I'm wondering what kind of planes he flew on. While international flights within Asia are luxurious...especially if you're flying up front...domestic flights are primitive at best. Almost all of the domestic flights I took had only one class of seats, and even though I'm only 6-1, I have never been more cramped on a plane in my life. I can't imagine how a guy 6-5 like Mudiay fit in those seats. Maybe they chartered, I don't know.

But what's most important to the Wolves, and to us on this board, is how well did playing in the CBA prepare Mudiay for the NBA. I would say "okay, but not great". I read something a week ago from an American sportswriter who covers the CBA, and he claimed that the level of play is slightly better than the NCAA. I have to say strongly that was not my impression in the games I watched live and on TV. The CBA is made up of Chinese guys and Americans who can't cut it in the NBA...Will Bynum was a star this year, for goodness sakes. I agree that the game could get physical at times, but for the most part the defense I observed was akin to an NBA all-star game...very little lateral quickness, and no rim protection. Very easy even for an over-the-hill guy like Stephan Marbury to get to the rim with impunity. It makes it really difficult for me to know where to place Mudiay in a mock draft, because we just haven't been able to watch him in comparative situation to the other guys in the top 5-6 players. It's why I still have to rank Stanley Johnson ahead of him right now. Workouts are going to be critical for Mudiay, just like they were for LaVine.

Having said all that, I think the option of going to China for a year rather than the NCAA is going to become more prevalent. If I were a top 10 high school prospect from a poor family, I would definitely choose playing in China over college. First, the opportunity to make life more comfortable for my family by making hundreds of thousands of dollars at age 18 would be a big draw. Secondly, I know how much I value the three years I got to spend in that fascinating country...imagine what an experience it would be for a kid from the Chicago projects. If Mudiay goes top 4 as expected, I predict that we will see many more high schoolers go this route.