NBA 2017 Draft Prospects Thread

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

Lonzo Ball is really interesting to me. He's gifted physically and is pretty well skilled, but that shot is absolutely crazy. I wonder how many teams will be scared off just because of his shot mechanics, especially if he struggles this year to make outside shots.

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Watching Arizona vs Michigan State. Here's my notes on two players that might be there for us to take:

Lauri Markkanen - seems fluid... bad pass from the baseline. Got passed way too easily by bridges. Looked like a cone on D on this possession. Another bad defensive possession in transition by Lauri... Didn't move his feet, allowed opponent to just go around him and finish. Pick and Pop 3! Swish! His shot looks like $$$! Oh wow! 7 footer - crossover, attacks the paint and sweet dish inside. This guy has skills! Very fluid for his size. As fluid as he looks on O, his feet are like in cement on D. Very slow changing directions. Corner 3! Money! His shot is extremely smooth. Looks like it's going in the moment he releases it! I'd say it looks better than Porzingis' shot. I don't like his foot speed on D. Really don't like it! OK, that's better... this time stayed in front of Bridges on his drive and slapped the ball out of his hands on the gather. On the following offensive possession - established deep position in the post, soft touch for a baby hook. Another post possession - asked for the ball, battled for position, got the ball faced up, nice move to the inside, tried to finish with the left, got fouled by Bridges. A couple of good defensive possessions - first denied the ball in the post to Bridges and then deflected a ball on a drive by Michigan State guard. Wow! What a move! 7 footers don't do that. Caught the ball on the perimeter on the pop, 1 dribble to the left, gets cut off, spin moves to the right second dribble, explodes to the rim, but couldn't finish because of the contest by defenders at the rim. Still impressive. Lauri is good at establishing post position, too bad Arizona guards can't make the entry pass... he flows so easily from one side of the post to the other... If you follow the notes for Bridges below - after the two ISO possessions vs Markkanen, Arizona coach is making offense-defense subs - Lauri out for the defensive possessions. He's back for the offensive possession - another AWESOME seal by Markkanen in the post, give his guy so much space to pass him the ball. This time they succeed and he scores easily in the post.

Miles Bridges - nice finish on a long alle oop pass, followed by a quick catch and shoot 3. HOLY SMOKES!!! Explosive play, blasts past Markkanen and throws a vicious reverse dunk. WOW! Attacks closeout well, seems to have the skills to go to the rim, but couldn't finish. Out of control attacking the paint, runs out of space and throws wild shot. Nice vision and pass over the shoulder. Damn, he's really athletic... another freaky reverse. Transition alleyoop. Chriss! That's who he reminds me of. VERY EXPLOSIVE... Nice move in the post, goes around defender, DUNKS! WOW! WOW! Another monster dunk on a backdoor alley-oop(beat Lauri on the backdoor cut)... WOW! His ball security doesn't seem great, got it poked away from him several times already. Sweet move by Bridges on Lauri... ISO from the top of the key, in and out crossover, spin move into the lane and athletic layup. Sweet! They iso'd him again vs Lauri, I think they think they have a mismatch here and I'd agree. This time better D from Lauri, forces him into the baseline, but Bridges passed well out of it to an open shooter who missed.

Final thoughts:

Markkanen: Markkanen can be a great offensive player, but I suspect he will struggle on D. He will probably need to guard 5s. Strong sides - very skillful and fluid for size, shot is wet, good at fighting for post position, nice touch. Don't like his footspeed on D.

Bridges: I had not watched him before. It was a nice introduction to him. Right now he's projected no. 19 on DX... If he had a bit better size(he's 6'6'') I would say he'd be candidate for top 10, but right now I don't know what position in the league he would be. Listed as SF/PF. He's extremely explosive though. Also, seems like a good passer too. Had a season worth of highlight reel in this one game and he also has some skills both in the post and as a ballhandler(though, handle can be shaky). I want to see more. Keep in mind he's 18 and just a freshman and he just posted 21/7/2 in his college debut...

Here's the Bridges highlights(worth the watch):

Watch on YouTube

Thoughts?

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

Miles Bridges looks like an NBA player out there. I don't know much about him, but watching those highlights, I can see how a team could fall in love with him. Strong frame, great athleticism, solid skill set and takes long strides.

Has anyone watched much of Frank Jackson so far this year? Draftexpress has him projected 17th in the 2018 draft. Anyone know why he isn't coming out this year?

I'm watching him play for Duke against Kansas right now. The guy is so strong and has great size for a point guard. Seems like he has a strong base and good potential on defense, although he's struggled to guard Kansas guards at times tonight. Also hasn't scored much tonight but he seems like he has all the tools to be a good offensive threat.

For the season (not including tonight), he's shooting 50% from the field 50% from 3, 80% from the line and 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals a game. Obviously those aren't all sustainable, but I really like his physical tools and the way he plays the game.

UPDATE: I'm sure you'll see the highlights but Frank Jackson came up huge for Duke in the clutch. 4 point play and then a big time 3 to tie the game up with less than a minute to go. He's a big moment player. Didn't shy away from it at all and made it happen.

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Frank Jackson looks a bit.... Wade Baldwin-ish to me(offensively). I like him but I like the potential of the other freshman PGs better.

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I'm watching Kentucky vs Michigan State now. I really like Fox, his jumper looks good, but it isn't falling. I think with work and time he will be at least an OK shooter(he's 21/21 from FT this season).

Other prospect in that game - Malik Monk - his shot is wet. Quick and compact release, very nice. He will be one of the best shooters in this draft. In the past his shooting consistency has been questioned, but I feel like it's probably more a problem of shot-selection rather than the shot itself.

Adebayo has very little control over his body and gets a ton of fouls called on him.

Miles Bridges - you can see why he's a 5 star recruit. This is a worse game for him than his debut, but you can just see the potential there. He's not just a dunker, has some floor game and passing too...

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I'm watching Kansas vs Siena. Notes on prospects below:

Josh Jackson - the first thing that makes immediate impression is that he is not selfish and he has pretty good passing skills for his position and size. 3 offensive possessions in a row 3 different passes - dump off to a cutter, great post entry pass and outlet pass in transition. Good start. I like what I'm seeing. He's also grabbing rebounds seamlessly so far. Shoots the gap on D, intercepts the pass and athletic dunk in transition. Another great defensive possession - blocks a layup attempt from the weakside. A bit too excited and out of control in the transition following the block - gets called for offensive foul(second of the game, I kind of feel both were debatable). Second half - another good defensive possession, followed by another foul... this one was ill-advised... tried to cross the path of the ballhandler... called for blocking foul. His athleticism will be an asset in transition - beautiful layup in stride. Sloppy handle in half-court, tried to split a double, hit opponent's foot... handle needs work. Good awareness on the offensive glass - realized his teammate will likely miss a heavily contested layup, followed him from the 3p line and put it back in. Beautiful lateral quickness on D, cut off a guard without much trouble. 2-hands block in the paint! Nice baseline drive and reverse layup. Post up... turn around jump hook... scores with the glass from about 8-10feet. Damn. I am starting to really like him... I want to see more of his jumpshot. Other than that - a lot of things to like about Jackson. A LOT! Ouch... undisciplined foul on 3p shot.

Svi is not starting... he seems big to me. Probably have grown, bulked up a bit... he used to be very thin. Spot up 3 from the corner is good, 1 dribble pullup - not. Also had a couple of good defensive possessions - good contest on a layup, forced a miss, denied the ball on the wing in the other possession. Svi doesn't do much on offense, they are not relying on him to create, sits in the corner waiting for passes. Svi can still pass... and moves his feet well on D. Had to wait until the last minutes to see what I thought he was capable of - nice drive into the paint and athletic finish at the rim. Why did they wait until the game's decided to give him freedom to operate with the ball? Follows the layup with a 3.

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Watching Arizona again.

There is a freshman shooting guard in Arizona worth keeping an eye on if not for this year - for next - Rawle Alkins. He's huge. His frame is like Stanley Johnson and just like him they say he's never lifted weights before college. He's a bit different than Stanley Johnson though. I'd say he's more offensively gifted (can create off the dribble and can finish around the rim) but not as good a defender.

Markkanen does a lot of the things Porzingis does on offense and some of them he does better. Too bad his D is nowhere near that level. Just look at this:

Watch on YouTube

I want to see him against better competition, but I think I'd trade Lyles right now to get Markkanen next year. His feet are slow, but at least he's not soft in the post.

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...

Hey Inigo, just in case you are still wondering why I'm so high on the top of this draft:

Watch on YouTube

I'd give up any two players(yes, including our big 3) on our roster for a chance at drafting Fultz.

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

...

Hey Inigo, just in case you are still wondering why I'm so high on the top of this draft:

Watch on YouTube

I'd give up any two players(yes, including our big 3) on our roster for a chance at drafting Fultz.

This kid is incredible. He's the real deal. Whoever get him is going to be ecstatic.

Philly better start praying they get the #1 pick again. He'd complete the rebuild.

[Inigo Montoya]

Hey Inigo, just in case you are still wondering why I'm so high on the top of this draft: ...
I'd give up any two players(yes, including our big 3) on our roster for a chance at drafting Fultz.

1. Who are our big 3? People's opinions tend to vary.

2. I have yet to dig in on the coming draft, so I'll reserve judgement for now. I need to see more tape on Fultz and others before being that high on anyone.

3. If you're willing to give two of our top three players for a chance to get Fultz, does it mean we aren't very good and that you're willing to blow things up and begin rebuilding again?

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Hey Inigo, just in case you are still wondering why I'm so high on the top of this draft: ...
I'd give up any two players(yes, including our big 3) on our roster for a chance at drafting Fultz.

1. Who are our big 3? People's opinions tend to vary.

2. I have yet to dig in on the coming draft, so I'll reserve judgement for now. I need to see more tape on Fultz and others before being that high on anyone.

3. If you're willing to give two of our top three players for a chance to get Fultz, does it mean we aren't very good and that you're willing to blow things up and begin rebuilding again?

1. Whoever you are I don't think you can be taken seriously if you don't think Hayward-Gobert-Favors are our top 3 player. I don't think there's even a debate on this one. I'm not taking our contracts situation into account here. I'm talking purely quality-wise going forward. Hill would be in consideration, but I kind of don't count him as part of the core... his timeline is very different than the rest of the team. His quality of play will very likely be dropping in the next several years(most PGs drop rapidly in their early 30s).

2. Agree. Need to watch even more on Fultz, but what I am seeing to start the season he's every bit as exceptional as he is hyped to be.

3. I think the Jazz at the current stage have somewhat capped upside and I think if we are healthy we are a pretty good team, I don't think we are exceptional though. And I think Fultz will be special. It's not really a slight to our current players. I love almost every one of them, but we have to be realistic and admit that none of them is likely to be a superstar and Fultz IMO is very likely to be one. I wouldn't break up this team just to break it up, but if you have a chance to get a generational talent I think you have to do it.

[Inigo Montoya]

1. Whoever you are I don't think you can be taken seriously if you don't think Hayward-Gobert-Favors are our top 3 player. I don't think there's even a debate on this one. I'm not taking our contracts situation into account here. I'm talking purely quality-wise going forward. Hill would be in consideration, but I kind of don't count him as part of the core... his timeline is very different than the rest of the team. His quality of play will very likely be dropping in the next several years(most PGs drop rapidly in their early 30s).

I was thinking more along the lines of Hood and Hill. Hill has been the Jazz's best player so far, and we had threads here about how Hood should be the main piece of this team, while we see an increase in the trade scenarios involving Favors which once was anathema.

Also anathema:

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

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1. Whoever you are I don't think you can be taken seriously if you don't think Hayward-Gobert-Favors are our top 3 player. I don't think there's even a debate on this one. I'm not taking our contracts situation into account here. I'm talking purely quality-wise going forward. Hill would be in consideration, but I kind of don't count him as part of the core... his timeline is very different than the rest of the team. His quality of play will very likely be dropping in the next several years(most PGs drop rapidly in their early 30s).

I was thinking more along the lines of Hood and Hill. Hill has been the Jazz's best player so far, and we had threads here about how Hood should be the main piece of this team, while we see an increase in the trade scenarios involving Favors which once was anathema.

Also anathema:

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

I don't mind people discussing who is expendable in our salary cap situation since we clearly would have to make some decisions sooner or later. That's understandable and I'm willing to entertain those. I just think it's delusional thinking Hood is a better player than healthy Favors or Hayward.

About Hill - again I kind of put him aside because I don't believe his timeline fits the rest of the roster and second, I absolutely agree he was by far our best player on our roster in those... 7 games. And herein lies the problem - it was 7 games. I'm sorry to say it but people would be massively disappointed if they expect him to continue playing like this. This is not sustainable. He's shooting 66% TS%... that's higher than Harden and Curry. And again - don't take this as a slight to Hill. I've been one of his biggest fans here and one of the biggest proponents to the Jazz getting him through trade for the last 2 years and I would still love to have him even when his hot streak comes down to earth, but lets be realistic about who Hill is and what we can expect of him in the long run, not just on the basis of 7 games played.

[Inigo Montoya]

I don't mind people discussing who is expendable in our salary cap situation since we clearly would have to make some decisions sooner or later. That's understandable and I'm willing to entertain those. I just think it's delusional thinking Hood is a better player than healthy Favors or Hayward.

But there is also Gobert, which is why I was saying people's opinion's differ. People see things differently. But that's enough digression from me on the subject. I agree with all the rest.

Another digression is Mario Hezonja who gets to play so little he almost qualifies as a 2017 prospect. Get it done DL!

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I don't mind people discussing who is expendable in our salary cap situation since we clearly would have to make some decisions sooner or later. That's understandable and I'm willing to entertain those. I just think it's delusional thinking Hood is a better player than healthy Favors or Hayward.

But there is also Gobert, which is why I was saying people's opinion's differ. People see things differently. But that's enough digression from me on the subject. I agree with all the rest.

Another digression is Mario Hezonja who gets to play so little he almost qualifies as a 2017 prospect. Get it done DL!

I actually think I'm the lowest on Gobert from anyone here. I didn't include him, because I thought most here actually put him above Favors and Hayward. From what I've seen everybody is talking about trading Hayward or Favors, rather than Gobert and most people right now seem disillusioned with what injured Hayward and Favors are showing. That's why I compared Hood to them, rather than Gobert.

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Here's a little display of athleticism by Josh Jackson:

Watch on YouTube

[AingesBurner]

Hey Inigo, just in case you are still wondering why I'm so high on the top of this draft: ...
I'd give up any two players(yes, including our big 3) on our roster for a chance at drafting Fultz.

1. Who are our big 3? People's opinions tend to vary.

2. I have yet to dig in on the coming draft, so I'll reserve judgement for now. I need to see more tape on Fultz and others before being that high on anyone.

3. If you're willing to give two of our top three players for a chance to get Fultz, does it mean we aren't very good and that you're willing to blow things up and begin rebuilding again?

Our big 3 are Hood, Exum, and Gobert, if Hill was 4-5 years younger I would say he was.

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Lonzo Ball, everybody:

Watch on YouTube

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Malik Monk has surpassed my expectations from before the season started. He seems to have a lot of skills modern SG should have and his shot seems much more reliable and smooth than expected(especially catch and shoot) and he already has NBA range. He's also playing MUCH MORE in control than expected. I love it!

Watch on YouTube

Also De'Aaron Fox:

Watch on YouTube

There are about 5 freshmen on Kentucky I love this season

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I'm taking back what I said about Frank Jackson... He's not really Wade Baldwin... this is a bad comparison. Seems much more shifty and creative offensively. On the other hand defensively he seems to fall asleep off-ball and doesn't seem to have Wade-Baldwinish length.