2015 Draft prospect thread III

[GopherIt!]

If Flip could acquire another first round pick (anywhere from 10th or later). What prospects interest you the most?

Lets assume KAT, Okafor, Russell, Mudiay, Porzingis, WCS, Winslow, Hezonja and Johnson are off the table.

[MinotauroBigNog]

I like Turner, but depending on who we draft 1st we will be looking at different players.

[Mattya]

Booker, Upshaw, Looney, Grant, Jones, Kaminsky, Turner, Anderson, Alexander, McCullough, Wood, Vuaghn.

[Saltine]

We have so many bigs, plus Towns, and I'd rather have a vet PG backup... so I like Justin Anderson, he can shoot (%45.2 on 3s), has great hops (43" vert), and plays nice D on the wing (6'11.75" wingspan). Should be gettable in the 20's; http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Justin-Anderson-5676/
He'd fit in well with Wiggins, Bazz, and Lavine.

[the_bruce]

I like upshaw. While we have a lot of bigs there are some glaring holes.

pek\Dieng\Towns
KG\Bjelica\Bennett\Payne

Pek is a huge question mark. KG will play 20 minutes a game on non back to backs. Will Bjelica come over, and will he transition to the NBA quickly? Bennett wasn't healthy much last season, threw an occasional intriguing spark, but can't be viewed as a for certain long term piece, same with Payne.

We know dieng can at least be competent as a backup center. I think Towns natural position is probably PF, getting a shot blocking center next to him would be great imo. Bjelica again is a huge question mark but he can probably mix and match with dieng/upshaw/towns.

Upshaw\Dieng
Towns\Bjelica

I don't see a huge hole at the wings Wigg\bazz\lavine\martin is a solid rotation.

rubio + lobro can probably hold down the 1, and backup pg is easier to fill than most positions. I don't object to taking a pg with another pick, but you can find cheaper/more experienced vets who are better than a rookie mid 1st pick.

[Worm Guts]

I'd trade up for WCS if he fell, other than that probably just Tyus and only if we could get him for cheap.
If we use Bjelica to move up, I guess Looney or Harrell make some sense.

[Grits n Gravy]

IMO The only reasonable default position to take on Pek right now is to assume he is done and won't be part of the team next year or going forward. With that I'd love to take a chance on Upshaw as interviews I've seen with him seem to show a lot more maturity. Interviews are one thing obviously when your on your best behaviour and trying to sell yourself for teams but I'd happily take that 2 year commitment on a guy to give him clean slate. He has some great physical tools and if he doesn't work out you simply release him and take a 2 year cap hit to get him away from your other young guys.

[Camden0916]

I'd pursue a trade up to get Willie Cauley-Stein as high No. 6 with the Kings that could include essentially anyone but Wiggins, LaVine, Rubio and the No. 1 overall pick. What comes to mind is Muhammad, Dieng, rights to Bjleica and 31 +36 picks. It could be considered overpaying, if you feel that way, but I value WCS' rim protection and ability to guard 1-5 legitimately very highly, especially next to Karl-Anthony Towns.

BUT if we weren't able to pull that off, my guy is Bobby Portis. He measured in at the combine at 6'10.5", 246 lbs with a 7'2" wingspan. He's not the most athletic guy in the draft, but he's very mobile for a guy of his size and he's skilled and smart to go with it. His game revolves around a basic-but-effective post game from either box, a reliable 16-18-foot jumper (sometimes stretched it out to the college three; also a 73.7% FT shooter), can beat close-outs with a couple dribbles towards the basket and is an underrate passer. Defensively, he does his job. He's solid in man, is adept at hedging and recovering, a solid shot-blocker, moves his feet well on the perimeter and has a strong enough bass to battle in the post. He plays intense, but controlled basketball. Oh, and he was very consistent in college and a double-double machine. He entered the draft as a 20-year old sophomore after a campaign that saw him average 17.5 PPG / 8.9 RPG / 1.2 APG / 1.1 SPG /1.4 BPG on 53.6% from the field. If he was a better/more explosive athlete, we'd be talking about him as a top-six pick more than likely.

[the_bruce]

IMO The only reasonable default position to take on Pek right now is to assume he is done and won't be part of the team next year or going forward. With that I'd love to take a chance on Upshaw as interviews I've seen with him seem to show a lot more maturity. Interviews are one thing obviously when your on your best behaviour and trying to sell yourself for teams but I'd happily take that 2 year commitment on a guy to give him clean slate. He has some great physical tools and if he doesn't work out you simply release him and take a 2 year cap hit to get him away from your other young guys.

In agreement here. The other thing about our front court depth is its just not as deep as it seems. An infusion of shotblocking and rebounding with towns + upshaw would make this wolves team a whole lot better next season. This stance doesnt take into account other factors like

KG - some playing time, mentoring
PEK - possible he could play/recover, but unlikely
AB\Payne - they both had some OK games when healthy and aggressive, but nobody expects much at this point
Bjelica - If his game translates immediately everyone is happy!

Plus! I like a long term 4/5 rotation of
Upshaw\Dieng\Towns
Towns\Bjelica

Upshaw and WCS are really the only 2 guys I'd be targeting if we moved into the 1st rnd and they fell to somewhere we traded up to. I know people like Tyus, but meh? Can't we just sign like nate robinson, mo williams, lin, or sergio rodriguez.

[the_bruce]

I'd pursue a trade up to get Willie Cauley-Stein as high No. 6 with the Kings that could include essentially anyone but Wiggins, LaVine, Rubio and the No. 1 overall pick. What comes to mind is Muhammad, Dieng, rights to Bjleica and 31 +36 picks. It could be considered overpaying, if you feel that way, but I value WCS' rim protection and ability to guard 1-5 legitimately very highly, especially next to Karl-Anthony Towns.

I love WCS I'd take him at #4 with our pick if we ended up there, but I wouldn't give up that much. Not sure I could give up Bjelica and Dieng + Bazz. Bjelica is probably better right now and 3-4 years from now than anyone we could pickup at 10-20. Let alone the fact the same could be said about Dieng and Bazz. Bjelica is already proven in a professional league and excelled, we shouldnt overlook that because he's a euro or is already 27. A healthy Gallinari translated really well into the NBA, and Bjelica looks similar in play style and size.

There are no easy picks look at some previous years drafts and think about which players youd rather have then the 3 mn players listed here

I'd have bjelica, dieng, and Bazz over all these guys. from memory picks 2-12ish?
2012 - tross rivers waiters lamb trob
2011 - Biyombo Jimmer Knight dwill
2010 - turner aminu wjohnson Udoh

Dont even get me started on quirky personality bigs with tons of athletic talent.

Sanders? McGee?

Both out of the league....

Is thabeet still around?

A 5 player trade(3 productive players + 2 picks) for 1 player who might be productive puts way to many eggs in the basket. WCS could easily get seriously injured, not care enough about basketball, be to horrible offensively to see the floor. Etc etc.

[Camden0916]

Gotta give up something to get something. I'd rather have the rare game-changing defensive center who projects to be a good starter than two role players and a 27-year old Bjelica (who I actually really like) that isn't accustomed to NBA basketball yet.

We can can replace scoring. We have failed to produce rim protection and P&R defense. Having Towns and WCS would be something this teams never had.

[minimus]

We have so many bigs, plus Towns, and I'd rather have a vet PG backup... so I like Justin Anderson, he can shoot (%45.2 on 3s), has great hops (43" vert), and plays nice D on the wing (6'11.75" wingspan). Should be gettable in the 20's; http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Justin-Anderson-5676/
He'd fit in well with Wiggins, Bazz, and Lavine.

I would be happy if we get 3&D guy and replace Martin with capable defender. Assuming that we select talented big, than versatile perimeter defender is next issue to resolve if we find backup PG via FA.
Also watching GSW I'm wondering if we can get and develop our own Dray Green. This kid is really special. He does every thing that his team need: rebounds, defends, passes, hits open jumpers, penetrates. Is there any similar draft prospect this year?

[Mattya]

We have so many bigs, plus Towns, and I'd rather have a vet PG backup... so I like Justin Anderson, he can shoot (%45.2 on 3s), has great hops (43" vert), and plays nice D on the wing (6'11.75" wingspan). Should be gettable in the 20's; http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Justin-Anderson-5676/
He'd fit in well with Wiggins, Bazz, and Lavine.

I would be happy if we get 3&D guy and Martin with capable defender. Assuming that we select talented big, than versatile perimeter defender is next issue to resolve if we find backup PG via FA.
Also watching GSW I'm wondering if we can get and develop our own Dray Green. This kid is really special. He does every thing that his team need: rebounds, defends, passes, hits open jumpers, penetrates. Is there any similar draft prospect this year?

Finding the next Draymon Green is a tough task. Very tough to guage a guys heart, work ethic, and intensity without actually seeing them every game, in practice, and around the team. No scouts expected him to be even 25% of the player he is today.

[minimus]

I'd pursue a trade up to get Willie Cauley-Stein as high No. 6 with the Kings that could include essentially anyone but Wiggins, LaVine, Rubio and the No. 1 overall pick. What comes to mind is Muhammad, Dieng, rights to Bjleica and 31 +36 picks. It could be considered overpaying, if you feel that way, but I value WCS' rim protection and ability to guard 1-5 legitimately very highly, especially next to Karl-Anthony Towns.

So basically you want to trade our bench (Bazz, Dieng, Bjelica, both picks) for bigman without any offensive game.

[the_bruce]

Gotta give up something to get something. I'd rather have the rare game-changing defensive center who projects to be a good starter than two role players and a 27-year old Bjelica (who I actually really like) that isn't accustomed to NBA basketball yet.

We can can replace scoring. We have failed to produce rim protection and P&R defense. Having Towns and WCS would be something this teams never had.

I dont disagree with you gotta give to get, but rim protection can be had in most drafts and in free agency. Upshaw is very similar in terms of what he would bring to the table immediately and he might be available at #31. Heck you could even pickup a guy like Cole Aldrich or similar on the cheap as a free agent.

I feel like our board underrates Bazz in general too. He's played 2 seasons, one which adelman buried him and didn't give him much time even when he clearly earned it. Then last season when he wasn't injured he played really well. I think he posted the best advanced stats on the team and meshed really well with wiggins as a 1-2 punch. The kid is relentless. He might not have the distribution skills but he reminds me of young spreewell thats more relentless on the boards with a dash of matt barnes. I have a real hard time comparing him still.

Dieng gets a bad rap too. He clearly didn't defend as well this season, he seemed to get lost on a lot of plays, but he didn't regress at all even when his minutes nearly tripled. He's not an elite center, but for regular starters hes in decent company statistically.

>2000 minutues, >1 stl p36, > 2blk p36, > 9 trb p36, last season
http://bkref.com/tiny/plMCg

List: Davis, Jordan, Duncan, Gobert, Drummon, Dieng, Noel

Even If you roll it back a few years and drop the minutes to 800 the company remains fairly decent.
http://bkref.com/tiny/X19IM

The comparison that might be best could be to relate his biggest draw back to other prospects in the last few years. His draw back is certainly age coming into the league, same as WCS's imo.

So 05-06 to 14-15 season, players 1st - 3rd season, age >24 played c/pf, >1500 minutes
http://bkref.com/tiny/EPmM0

List: M.Gasol x3, Okafor, Pek, Varejao, T Zeller, Noah, Asik, Dieng, Hibbert, Elson

All this filter tells us is these players were good enough to get starter minutes for a team in their first few seasons, but its still very telling they were older and came in ready to produce. Aside from Gasol this entire list is a defensive or offensive role player whos who for the past 10 years. This is the set of players that I'd see WCS ending up on too, and Dieng is already there. Will WCS be x2 better or impactful?

Both played 3 years of college, Similar measurables and advanced status. WCS is more fluid, finishes better at the rim and a better athlete. Dieng a better jump shooter and rebounder.

Final Year of college pace adjusted 40
WCS: 13.8/9.9/1.5/1.9/2.6
Dieng: 12.6/12.1/2.6/1.7/3.2

WCS is one of the most unique prospects to come along in a very long time and I do think WCS has a very slight chance to be a franchise type player in the right situation similar to D12, but its far more likely imo that he ends up as a defensive role player something akin to Asik or Okafor. Even if I thought there was a 50/50 chance of WCS being the guy I couldn't pull off that trade. Oden was a sure fire franchise changer, but that didn't work out because of injuries.

[jpatrick]

If we end up going Okafor, Turner becomes interesting. He blocks shots and spaces the floor, which would compliment Okafor, I'm just not sure he has the athleticism to guards PFs out in space.

[SO_MONEY]

If we end up going Okafor, Turner becomes interesting. He blocks shots and spaces the floor, which would compliment Okafor, I'm just not sure he has the athleticism to guards PFs out in space.

Okafor is too hard to build around and past an elite post game is not better at much of anything else over Towns, a guy who is easy to build around.

If we take Okafor I suspect my interest will dwindle due to the fact I think it is largely improbable we can find a perfect combination of players to make this team anywhere near competitive.

If we can somehow find shooters, ball-handlers, defense and size at guard and PF I suspected the Wiggins, Okafor experiment didn't work.

Don't waste the next 4 years finding out the guy will never be able to defend and start the culture change of promoting the importance of defense. Otherwise we will continue to lose and wonder where the next rebuild may take us.

[Foye]

I'd pursue a trade up to get Willie Cauley-Stein as high No. 6 with the Kings that could include essentially anyone but Wiggins, LaVine, Rubio and the No. 1 overall pick. What comes to mind is Muhammad, Dieng, rights to Bjleica and 31 +36 picks. It could be considered overpaying, if you feel that way, but I value WCS' rim protection and ability to guard 1-5 legitimately very highly, especially next to Karl-Anthony Towns.

So basically you want to trade our bench (Bazz, Dieng, Bjelica, both picks) for bigman without any offensive game.

If we could get WCS by dealing the 2 picks and Dieng/Bjelica then do it. I wouldn't include Bazz, though.

WCS
Towns
Wiggins/Bazz
LaVine
Rubio
would be a sexy lineup a few years down the road.

[Domejandro]

If we end up going Okafor, Turner becomes interesting. He blocks shots and spaces the floor, which would compliment Okafor, I'm just not sure he has the athleticism to guards PFs out in space.

Okafor is too hard to build around and past an elite post game is not better at much of anything else over Towns, a guy who is easy to build around.

If we take Okafor I suspect my interest will dwindle due to the fact I think it is largely improbable we can find a perfect combination of players to make this team anywhere near competitive.

If we can somehow find shooters, ball-handlers, defense and size at guard and PF I suspected the Wiggins, Okafor experiment didn't work.

Don't waste the next 4 years finding out the guy will never be able to defend and start the culture change of promoting the importance of defense. Otherwise we will continue to lose and wonder where the next rebuild may take us.

He is a better ball-handler and passer than Karl Anthony-Towns.

[SO_MONEY]

If we end up going Okafor, Turner becomes interesting. He blocks shots and spaces the floor, which would compliment Okafor, I'm just not sure he has the athleticism to guards PFs out in space.

Okafor is too hard to build around and past an elite post game is not better at much of anything else over Towns, a guy who is easy to build around.

If we take Okafor I suspect my interest will dwindle due to the fact I think it is largely improbable we can find a perfect combination of players to make this team anywhere near competitive.

If we can somehow find shooters, ball-handlers, defense and size at guard and PF I suspected the Wiggins, Okafor experiment didn't work.

Don't waste the next 4 years finding out the guy will never be able to defend and start the culture change of promoting the importance of defense. Otherwise we will continue to lose and wonder where the next rebuild may take us.

He is a better ball-handler and passer than Karl Anthony-Towns.

Who is he? Russell?

If you are saying Okafor, no he is not. Towns is both the better ball-handler and passer.