The 2015 Draft Thread (MERGED)

[AtheJ415]

Why is it so many try to push a SF into PF role for us ??? Cant we just get a legit PF ??? Bad enough we have short guards. Lets get some legit size.

As for Booker's athleticism... Did I hear from the Talking Heads he ranked #1 on the agility drill ?

Yes, you heard correctly. He was tops in "Lane Agility" and "Shuttle Run", and he was tied for 20th out of 48 in the "3/4 Sprint". But some don't believe in these tests as being telling of athleticism, but IMO, it at least shows the 'ability', even if it doesn't 'prove' a player's athleticism.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2015-nba-draft-combine-athleticism-test-results

And another thing, I do not believe we have 'short guards'. Bledsoe is short, yes, but Knight (6'3") Goodwin (6'5"), Bullock (6'7"), and now Booker (6'6"), we have respectable enough of size, especially if Horny 'refrains' from playing Bledsoe/Knight together too often. But even then, Bledsoe has great 'length' in proportion to his height, so his height is a bit misleading. And when we play Tucker (6'5.5") at SG, he's plenty big enough as well. The concern is when we play Bledsoe, Knight, Tucker at the 1,2,3 spots, where IMO, we're putting out a 'small' back court.

Also, wingspan is more key than height, and Bledsoe is crazy long. He didn't get more blocks than all 1-3s over a few year span for nothing.

[Damkac]

The concern is when we play Bledsoe, Knight, Tucker at the 1,2,3 spots, where IMO, we're putting out a 'small' back court.

At least we won't see the Thomas-Bledsoe-Dragic-Morris-Morris lineup again.

[NavLDO]

Would agree that Booker is fairly safe pick, with an NBA skill, but I strongly have to disagree with ceiling. I think his ceiling is quite low; his standing reach and wingspan are very small, so small that in fact there are only 7 players in the league with such a small measurements, best of them being J.J.Redick, O.J.Mayo and Gary Harris. To top that, Booker is bigger than all 7 which make those measurements even smaller in comparison. Add to that his lack of explosiveness and you get a player, who will not be able to finish constantly at the rim (showed that in college), not going to be able to get to free throw line and will be limited defensivly. I other words, he's never going to be like Klay Thompson. I don't think that is really fair to Booker comparing him to Klay, as these kinds of expectations will result in big disappointment for all. He might become like Redick if we're lucky, but I think taller version of Randy Foye is more likely, which is not that catastrophic picking 13 at all.
To sum it up, safe player with role in the NBA, but also very limited upside.

Overall I'm ok with the pick, giving the other options available, though personally, if we would be set on shooter, I would probably reach for Hunter as I believe his potential and versatility is higher than Bookers.

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I find it extremely difficult to believe that Booker's Wingspan/Standing Reach is the 7th 'shortest' in the league. Where are you getting this information from?

Booker, at 6' 5.75", 206lbs, has a 6' 8.25" wingspan and 8' 6.5" standing reach. He doesn't turn 19 for another 4 months, which means he is likely still growing to some extent, and may include his leg/arm length, especially considering his wingspan and reach were measured at the Combine, respectively, 2 and 1.5" longer than they did at UK's pro day last year.

Other prospects this year with one or both Wingspan/Standing Reach measurements 'shorter' than Booker:

Justin Anderson SF--6' 6.25'', 230.6, 6' 11.75'', 8' 5''
Michael Frazier II SG--6' 4.25'' 199.4, 6' 8'', 8' 5.5''
Jerian Grant PG--6' 4.25'', 198.0, 6' 7.5", 8' 4''
Olivier Hanlan PG--6' 4.25'', 185.8, 6' 6.5'', 8' 4''
Aaron Harrison SG--6' 6'', 209.2, 6' 8.25'', 8' 4.5''
Andrew Harrison PG--6' 5.5'', 213.2, 6' 9'', 8' 4''
Tyler Harvey SG--6' 4',' 181.4, 6' 5.5'', 8' 2.5''
Stanley Johnson SF--6' 6.5'', 241.8, 6' 11.5'', 8' 6''
Kelly Oubre SF--6' 6.75'', 202.8, 7' 2.25'', 8' 6.5''
Norman Powell SG--6' 4.25'', 215.4, 6' 10.75'', 8' 6.5''
Terry Rozier PG--6' 2.25'', 190.2, 6' 8.25'', 8' 2.5''
DAngelo Russell PG--6' 5'', 193.4, 6' 9.75'', 8' 6''
Marcus Thornton WM PG--6' 2.75'', 177.4, 6' 7.75'', 8' 1.5''
JP Tokoto SF--6' 6.25'', 195.8, 6' 10'', 8' 4.5''
Rashad Vaughn SG--6' 5'', 198.6, 6' 7'', 8' 5''
Delon Wright PG--6' 5.5'', 181.4, 6' 7.5'', 8' 5.5''

As a count at least 10 from this list that were drafted, I have a hard time believing your assertion that only 7 players in the NBA have shorter measurements than Booker.

His measurements, while not 'ideal' are far from him being considered unusually short, and that there are 4 prospects above that are SFs, and 5 prospects being SGs, yes, there are 7 that are PGs. 5 of the above are taller in shoes, and 4 are shorter by less than an inch. So, Booker's measurements are not so incredibly short that it means he doesn't, or can't, have a high ceiling is extremely fallible reasoning. And taking into account that his release point is so high, further adds to the fact that his perceived 'shortness' will likely not be an issue.

So, I'll reiterate my assertion that Booker does, in fact, have a high ceiling. His shooting prowess, talent level, and BBIQ, all while considering him still being 4 months from turning 19, lend to the fact that he is likely to have a high ceiling, and making an assertion based on arm-length, to me, is short-sided. He may never be a defensive stud, but I hardly think he'll be defensive liability, as his timed athleticism lends to the fact that he should be able to 'stick' with his guy.

draftexpress:
The number of players in the NBA who aren't point guards and possess a wingspan shorter than 6-6 and a standing reach under 8-4 is fairly small: J.J. Redick, O.J. Mayo, Kirk Hinrich, Marcus Thornton, Jody Meeks, Gary Harris, Randy Foye.

Did you NOT read any of what I wrote? And why are you using LAST year's measurements for Booker? Like when he was still 17? You need to use his most current measurements, which I bolded above, but will do you for you again:

Booker, at 6' 5.75", 206lbs, has a 6' 8.25" wingspan and 8' 6.5" standing reach.

So, I'd be interested to see what your 'search' comes up with when entering his actual, current measurements. And which again, he's still growing, as evidenced by the difference between 2014 and 2015.

And why limit it to SGs? Which you conveniently left out of your first assertion, which I also showed some SFs from this year's draft that are not as long as Booker. But back to SGs, here are some quotes from DX on SGs with less length than Booker:

Frazier: "Defensively, Frazier can use his length to bother opposing shooting guards but being slightly undersized may hurt his ability to be a plus defender."

Powell: "Defensively, Powell was solid as a senior after being tremendous at times as a junior. Possessing good lateral quickness, great length, and active hands, Powell has promising tools on this end of the floor."

Vaughn: "Defensively, Vaughn has clear potential, with quick feet, solid lateral quickness, and the ability to get over the top of screens." AND "considering his 6-7 wingspan, which is fairly ordinary for a player his size." -- 'Ordinary', not 'short' , yet he has over an inch shorter wingspan and reach.

So how is it with other SGs that have similar Height/Wingspan/Reach are able to perform well defensively, yet Booker, who 'out-timed' them all in agility drills can't succeed as a defender? I think he can, he just needs coaching, and again, at 18, he still has lots to learn, but the fact that he's already a great shooter, shown stellar athleticism/quickness, and has high BBIQ, he still has a great chance to develop physically AND as an NBA professional, so yes, he does have a 'high ceiling'.