Minnesota Sports Forum

With so much talk about Love, I thought I would get back to some draft buzz:

Payton ready for prime time

The most impressive workout I've seen this draft season came from Payton on Thursday. He has the least exposure of any of the prospects here -- but has as much or more talent as anyone on the floor.

Payton had a big year, averaging 19.2 points, 5.9 assists, 2.3 steals and an incredible 8.9 free throws per game -- good for second in the country. Very few players possess his combination of size, quickness, defensive toughness and ability to get to the rim. I've had more than one NBA scout compare him to a young Gary Payton, and I think the comparison is a really good one.

The biggest knock on Payton has been his shooting. He shot just 26 percent from 3-point range this season on 14-for-54 shooting and just 24 percent from 2-point jumpers. He's been working on his jump shot since arriving in L.A. in early April and it looks much better. He was hitting NBA 3s with ease in the workout and his shooting mechanics look much more consistent. His shot isn't broken, though he'll obviously have to show he can hit these in game settings.

To that end, Payton participated in very competitive 3-on-3 sessions and was not only getting to the rim at will, he was hitting those shots in the context of live action. Payton is a "lights-on" player whose intensity quickens when in actual live settings. He was dominant on both ends in workouts, exploding to the hole, finishing above the rim and playing stifling defense. On multiple occasions he blocked James Young's shot -- the same James Young that measured with a 7-foot wingspan at the combine last week.

After Marcus Smart, I'm not sure there's a better floor leader and defender in the draft than Payton. His quickness and ability to get to the rim are special and may actual make him a better long-term prospect than Smart. And he just turned 20 in February, making him a year younger than most juniors.

While he's currently projected by ESPN.com as a mid-first-round pick, I believe he deserves to get a close look in the lottery from the Lakers, Kings, Hornets and Magic. After seeing both Payton and Tyler Ennis live, I like both, but I think Payton has more long-term potential because of his quickness and defensive abilities. The Kings especially seem like a good fit -- especially if Smart is off the board. Payton provides size, defense, a pure point guard mentality, high character -- all the things they are looking for in a point.

Re-thinking Warren

I was also really impressed with North Carolina State's T.J. Warren. I've been a skeptic in the past. While he's clearly one of the three most gifted scorers in the draft (Jabari Parker and Doug McDermott are the other two), Warren's unorthodox game and lack of a legit 3-point shot have raised question marks for me.

Warren's measurement and athletic testing numbers in Chicago made me give him another look. He measured bigger and more athletic than I expected him to. His drill work was just so-so Thursday. He's not a great shooter from beyond the arc, and he's not the quickest or most explosive in drills.

But when the ball rolled out for 3-on-3 action? Holy ... Warren is so aggressive as a scorer and can get his shot off in multiple ways. You can't sit on him defensively. He just has too many moves, floaters, hesitations and ways to get that ball in the bucket. That explains why he shot nearly 76 percent at the rim this year and 44 percent in his 2-point jumpers. The guy can score.

His competitiveness in those game situations just shines through. He's hungry and he wants to dunk on everyone. I think the over obsession with athletic metrics and skills can hinder the obvious -- if you want a bucket-getter, Warren is as good as anyone in the draft. If he ever gets a better 3-point shot, he could easily be a 20-points-per-game scorer in the NBA. Given that scoring comes at a premium, I think we also have him too low -- maybe considerably too low on our draft board. Teams as high as Phoenix at No. 14, Atlanta at No. 15, the Bulls at No. 16 and the Celtics at No. 17 will be giving him long looks.

Age an asset for talented Young

Warren's primary competition at the small forward position will come from Young. We got to see Young in only his fourth day of workouts, which meant that he didn't have the same number of reps under him that the other players in the workout did. That didn't stop him from making a positive impression.

Young's size for position is impressive. With that 7-foot wingspan, he's a physically imposing wing who, at just 18 years old, could still be growing. Young got a lot of love from scouts prior to the season for his shooting in Kentucky practices and early on he showed why. He was hitting from everywhere on the floor and often rattling off seven or eight 3-pointers in a row. Young was streakier in games this year for Kentucky, but most scouts attribute that to shot selection. As Kentucky's only real 3-point threat, he launched up some questionable shots on occasion. When he gets good looks, he rarely misses.

Young may be one of the real sleepers in the draft. I've always been a big fan and everything I saw here confirmed that he has the potential to be a very good NBA player and should be mentioned in the same breath with all the other elite shooting wings.

I had more scouts call me about him than any other player in the workout. The refrain is always the same, there's more there than we saw at Kentucky -- take him off a team loaded with scorers and he would've had an even more dominant freshman season. Some teams in the lottery including the Hornets, Sixers, Nuggets, Magic, Timberwolves and Suns are all giving him serious looks in the lottery.

I think all three guys I mentioned are all going to be in play for the Wolves. Payton would give us a dynamic playmaker off the bench, and James Young and Warren could get minutes very quickly as bench scorers, which is something we were lacking a year ago. I also think Robinson III may sneak into the middle of round 1 as well.

wtf are you a scout yourself? Scouts call you? !!!????

I thought it would be clear, but these were copied from an ESPN article. Didn't think I had to clarify...but I guess I was wrong....

I'll be really pissed if we take Young.

I like Warren. People think we need a guy who can get his own shot and he can certainly do that. I'm not sure how he is defensively, but he is going to be a big time scorer off the bench for a lucky team pending they actually let him get his offense and don't just post him on the perimeter.

Speaking of the draft. I've seen some reports that the Kings are willing to ditch the 8 pick for veteran help. Anyone think they would do a 8th pick, Landry and McLemore or Thomas for 13, Martin and salary matching expiring (Shved or JJ depending on McLemore or Thomas)? They clear the worse contract between Landry and Thompson, get a veteran scoring wing and still have a lottery pick. We get a shot at whichever SG we want at 8. We get an overpaid, but effective on good teams scoring option off the bench in Landry and a young asset like Ben or Thomas to develop long-term. I don't know if they'd give up on McLemore that quick, but he would be a nice project to bring off the bench and then you hope either he or our pick at 8 becomes an effective, starter worthy player at the 2. I don't know if we are giving them enough in return for their youth and pick, but it could be enough to entice them. Maybe taking one of their bad PF contracts off the books is enough to make it worth it to them.

I doubt SAC gives up McLemore unless it's in a package for an All-Star. He came on pretty nice at the end of the season. Could tell his feel for the game had grown as well, making smart passes and being more aggressive at the right times. Think the Kings have a keeper with him.

As for your proposed trade (8, Landry and McLemore for 13, Shved and Martin?), I'd definitely do it, but I'm quite sure they wouldn't.

I do really want their lottery pick, though, as I believe Stauskas (best SG in the draft) won't make it past Charlotte. 13 + Martin seems really likely that it'd get the deal done, but would we be overpaying? Probably doesn't matter. I doubt Flip trades Martin this summer anyway.

Draft day deals il look at

Pek + 13 for thad young+10.

My main target in the draft is stauskus but im afraid the hornets will snatch him @9. He makes the most sense for them at their spot and their team needs. Could we move 10 and some pices to swap with kings for the 8th pick? We will have to take back landry for sure to rid them of a bad contract.