2015 NBA Draft

[northernhoops [enjin:9491634]]

As the Wolves are surely lottery bound and hopefully high lottery, I thought we might as well get some discussion on "our" guys from the draft.
If we have the chance to take Towns or Okafor we obviously do it. Right now I'm leaning towards Towns because I think he is a better fit, as he runs the floor better and has more potential as a rim protector. However, I've seen multiple people say that Okafor is the "consensus" #1. If we by some chance were to vault up to #1 in the lottery, I personally would trade down a spot or two to get Towns.
I think the most likely situation, with our past luck though is getting the 3rd or 4th pick and missing out on both. I'm not sold on Mudiay, and I think drafting him would be like punching Ricky in the face, so if we were in that position I'd look to trade down a few picks and pick up a proven player in the process.
My "Guys" outside of top 3:
Cauley-Stein: I think he has the potential to be DPOY if he adds on some strength and he runs the floor beautifully
Porzingas: LOVE this guy. Wanted him last year before he pulled out. He's a project for sure, but he can shoot, can jump, and he can defend the rim. Needs to put on weight.
"Anti-Guys"
Myles Turner: looked horrendous against Kentucky. Yes, it's Kentucky, but he'd be going up against front lines like that every night.
Stanley Johnson- interesting prospect, but doesn't fit and reminds me of

[bleedspeed]

Man if we landed the first pick we would have the last 3 first picks on team. That is just crazy.

I certainly would prefer a big. Porzingas really intrigues me as does Kevon Looney.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I can't decide between Towns and Okafor. If you take Towns, Bazz and Wiggins are going to have to score 50 a night to win a decent chunk of games for a couple years. Okafor has the length needed to affect shots at the rim unlike Pek and he has a polished post game that will work from day 1. I think if Okafor shows he has the defensive tools to be a two way guy eventually you take him because Towns isn't going to bring much of an offensive game to the table in the first few years. It's hard to evaluate Towns right now because he won't play a ton of minutes this year like Okafor. I think Cauley-Stein is the guy to take outside the top 3 because he can be a game changer defensively and probably can defend as a 4 or 5. I'm most worried that with our luck we end up in a spot in the draft where Winslow or Johnson are clearly the best on the board and we don't need either of them. I'd stay away from Alexander from KU. I don't think there are going to be 7 guys I'd be happy with drafting like last year at the top.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I like Towns over Okafor for several reasons.

- More mobile. Towns is much more mobile than Okafor. He runs the floor very well, and plays with quicker feet on defense. I see Towns as a potential anchor on defense whereas I think Okafor's team will always need defensive help around him. Towns averages 2.4 BPG in 19.5 minutes per game. That's very impressive. As a comparison, Okafor swats 1.5 shots per game in 28.8 minutes per game. Okafor still solid, but Towns definitely has the edge here.

- Jumper. Towns has a legitimate jump shot for a big man. He can step out to 18-feet and knock it down, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him be a corner-three threat in the future. I could also see him having a Dirk-ish type fade-away in his arsenal in the post. He's also already a good free throw shooter, which is an area that Okafor struggles in. I don't see Okafor having that kind of upside on the perimeter.

- Passing ability. Towns has terrific court vision for a big man and passing big men are huge weapons in the NBA. His college numbers aren't going to blow anyone away, but he's still better in this area than Okafor. Towns averages 1.1 APG in just under 20 minutes. Okafor averages 1.5 in just under 30. To put this in perspective, Okafor only has four more assists on the season than Towns, but has 92 minutes more than him.

- Team fit. I like Towns so much more than Okafor in terms of what we already have going here. We have the pieces to be a good defensive team that gets stops and then attacks in transition. I think Towns would be great for that type of game. Not to mention I see Towns being able to play with both Pekovic and Dieng, whereas Okafor doesn't have that versatility. Keep in mind Towns already plays plenty of minutes next to Cauley-Stein at Kentucky. We could be very big with Towns/Pekovic or Towns/Dieng moving forward. I'm also not worried about Towns having an average post game to this point. He's shown already that he has good touch with both hands, and that could transcend into lefty/righty hooks that he can go to. Add to that he has a good body, a jumper and he's a smart ball player. He'll be fine in the post. We also have wings (Muhammad, Wiggins) that need post touches. Towns can play around that as well. Can Okafor? I don't think so.

I'd be happy if we were able to get either one of them, but I do favor Towns over Okafor. I'm really hoping we have a shot at one of them, if not both.

[WildWolf2813]

Towns and Hezonja.

I see too many flaws in the other prospects to want them here.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Tough to compare Stanley Johnson vs. Wes Johnson when Stanley is just 18 years old. Wes came out as a 23 year old rookie, which left very little room for development. And from what I have read (I haven't seen him play yet), he is a beast of a defender - very strong and physical.

Otherwise, I don't have much to add. I simply haven't watched much college ball yet this season, so it's interesting to read others' takes.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Tough to compare Stanley Johnson vs. Wes Johnson when Stanley is just 18 years old. Wes came out as a 23 year old rookie, which left very little room for development. And from what I have read (I haven't seen him play yet), he is a beast of a defender - very strong and physical.

Otherwise, I don't have much to add. I simply haven't watched much college ball yet this season, so it's interesting to read others' takes.

Johnson's the best perimeter defender in all of college basketball as far as I'm concerned. He's smart, active, plays in his guy's chest, fights through screens at a high level. Doesn't gamble, stays at home. And I don't get the Wes Johnson comparison for this reason: Stanley ATTACKS the rim and is an improving shooter. Wes lived and died by his jumper and it was thought that he'd grow into attacking the rim. And like you said, the age difference is very clear, but I also think Stanley's got a much better NBA body. He's strong, thick kid already.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

So Cam, if we're drafting 4th or 5th and Towns, Okafor, and WCS are off the board, do you take a long hard look at Johnson? I don't see how we can't. So what if we already have Shabazz and Wiggins. I actually like the idea of paired wings with offensive/defensive strengths: Wiggins/Shabazz and Martin/Johnson. Or Wiggins/Martin and Shabazz/Johnson.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

So Cam, if we're drafting 4th or 5th and Towns, Okafor, and WCS are off the board, do you take a long hard look at Johnson? I don't see how we can't. So what if we already have Shabazz and Wiggins. I actually like the idea of paired wings with offensive/defensive strengths: Wiggins/Shabazz and Martin/Johnson. Or Wiggins/Martin and Shabazz/Johnson.

I love Johnson's prospects so for me I would definitely would look at him hard there. I know there's a lot of love for Porzingis going around, but I'm a little iffy on how good he actually is. I'm not a believer in Cliff Alexander or Kevon Looney. I think at that point, I'd set my sights on three guys: Johnson, Hezonja and Harrell. Or you could trade down and go for LeVert or Kaminsky, but if we're that high in that lottery I'd rather get one blue chipper.

I can't help but get a little excited thinking about Wiggins and Johnson locking down opponent's wings. Johnson and his 245 pound frame taking on SFs and letting Wiggins be an absolute handful for SGs.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I just think it's fishy that Towns could be considered the better athlete, defender, jump shooter, passer and be a more versatile overall player than Okafor and yet Okafor is still the consensus #1. That math doesn't add up so it is either rose colored glasses on what Towns can become when the reality is he is much more raw than believed or guys like Ford put way too much stock in a big man having a good post game this early. Ford had Wiggins ahead of Parker so he usually favors the best overall prospects over something like being good at offense out of the gate so something is fishy to me that Towns hasn't been a challenger to Okafor's #1 spot. I know Ford shouldn't be the end all be all, but that just raised some red flags for me.