Devin Booker

[atlantabbq99]

I think I found a guy I could throw my hat behind for this year's draft. If the Hawks can't get any first tier prospects, then I hope they end up taking Devin Booker out of Kentucky. His game is like Klay Thompson (His freshman stats are close or alittle bit better than Klay's freshman numbers)

His skill set seems to indicate that he would excel in this new NBA and Budz's system. In addition his athleticism seems good enough to play NBA defense. His free throw shooting and 3pt shooting are on par with Korver and Klay.


[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkoA1hWlo1o[/youtube]

[Hawk Eye]

Well I think he will definitely be available no matter where our pick ends up. He's actually currently not even ranked in chad ford's lottery In the draft simulator

See here: http://espn.go.com/nba/lottery2015/mockdraft

From everything I've read, Booker and Hunter are the standout shooters in this draft. RJ has more length than Booker but Booker seems to be more athletic.

[atlantabbq99]

Well I think he will definitely be available no matter where our pick ends up. He's actually currently not even ranked in chad ford's lottery In the draft simulator

See here: http://espn.go.com/nba/lottery2015/mockdraft

From everything I've read, Booker and Hunter are the standout shooters in this draft. RJ has more length than Booker but Booker seems to be more athletic.

I'm not sure what you are suggesting, but Booker has been a late lottery prospect in every mock draft i have seen so far....

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft/mock-draft
http://www.nbadraft.net/2015mock_draft
http://espn.go.com/nba/lottery2015/mockdraft
http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/2015-nba-mock-draft.html
http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2015/
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2408139-2015-nba-mock-draft-first-round-projections-sweet-16-edition
http://hoopshype.com/draft_2015.htm


I wouldn't put too much in chad ford, especially with all the controversy and integrity issues he has had over the years.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/01/25/did-espns-chad-ford-retroactively-change-his-nba-draft-prospect-rankings/

I count 7 possible 1st tier prospects in this draft, Okafor, Towns, Russel, Mudiay, Stanley as 1st tier guys, and Turner, and Porzingis as "question mark" 1st tier material. If the Hawks pick 9th or 10th, their should be a wide selection of 2nd tier guys the Hawks can choose from, with Booker being one of them.

[Hawk Eye]

My mistake, I forgot all about the chad ford controversy that came about this year. I need to take that dude off my Twitter feed and source feed lol.

I wasn't suggesting anything really. I would be fine if we took Booker or Hunter but ideally I'd like someone from the top tier list if the opurtinity presents itself.

[theatlfan]

I like bbq's approach - you look at several listings and come up with a composite that you base your opinions on. Even with controversy surrounding Ford, I'd still rate his lists higher than some of those other guys though. Just think he'd have more access to NBA professionals that can color his opinions whereas some of the other lists are a bit more of a "one man's opinion". One thing to note is that the lottery mock draft simulator is a mock draft which can differ from someone's big board and it's only for the lotto which means that if the player is 13th and slipped all of 2 spots, then he's not listed at all.

The problem with Booker is that he came out of the chute like gangbusters and at one point even got some love for the grouping in the top 12. Then he fell into a pretty bad shooting slump that lasted all the way up to last night (he's still 2-12 from 3 for the tourney). It brings up 2 pretty big questions: 1st, was the shooting slump just a bad streak or actually a regression to the mean for him and 2nd, if his shot isn't falling, then what else can he do at an elite - or at least a very, very good - level to help the team. As for the former, it's a legit question. His feather was his shot even coming out of HS. If you can take him out of his game even when surrounded by a team as talented as KY's, then what happens when he bumps up another level? As for the latter, I'm not sure we'll be able to answer that satisfactorily with the talent he was playing with the talent at KY. Maybe he's a better passer than he's given credit for, but to find that out, you'll have to take the ball out of the hands of some very good PGs. Still, it's not like he's an out of world athlete and his length is sub-par so I can't think that his defense would ever project as anything more than average. One more point here is that his length, if current measurements on DX are accurate, would actually be the shortest on our team.

Personally, I'm not too high on him - don't really see what he brings that Jenkins couldn't nor do I see what he provides that would complement Korver as opposed to replacing him (which, considering Korver's age, is something we should consider - but with a top 10 pick for a championship contender, I'd expect more than an eventual replacement for a current AS). Not that I'd be completely peeved if we popped Booker @ 15/16 (if BRK made the playoffs), but I do think there are far superior prospects that would be on the board if we're sitting in the 9-10 area. I suspect that probably 2 of the big 4 wings would still be on the table and if we reached past them to tab Booker, then I'd be really scratching my head.

[atlantabbq99]

Not that I'd be completely peeved if we popped Booker @ 15/16 (if BRK made the playoffs), but I do think there are far superior prospects that would be on the board if we're sitting in the 9-10 area. I suspect that probably 2 of the big 4 wings would still be on the table and if we reached past them to tab Booker, then I'd be really scratching my head.

A couple of years ago, i was trying to figure out why a guy that picked in the middle of the first round does way better than a guy who is picked 5 spots ahead of him. Like Tobias Harris, Kawhi, Klay, Butler, do better than guys like Derrick Williams, Harrison Barnes, Terrance Ross.

I came to realize that you really can't think of guys in rankings but in tiers. Like in alot of mock drafts, Al-Farouq Aminu was four or five spots ahead of Paul George. So i could really care less if a guys is ranked 10 or 15, and i don't mind reaching for for a guy anymore. Its better to put guys in tiers and in that group, figure out which one is the best guy, than to think of a guy is ranked 10th and another guy is ranked 20th

The more i look at Oubre and Winslow, the more i don't like their game. They look like fools gold. They are starting to look like Marvin or Aminu to me. They pass the eye test and that could fool alot of people.

[theatlfan]

A couple of years ago, i was trying to figure out why a guy that picked in the middle of the first round does way better than a guy who is picked 5 spots ahead of him. Like Tobias Harris, Kawhi, Klay, Butler, do better than guys like Derrick Williams, Harrison Barnes, Terrance Ross.

I came to realize that you really can't think of guys in rankings but in tiers. Like in alot of mock drafts, Al-Farouq Aminu was four or five spots ahead of Paul George. So i could really care less if a guys is ranked 10 or 15, and i don't mind reaching for for a guy anymore. Its better to put guys in tiers and in that group, figure out which one is the best guy.

The more i look at Oubre and Winslow, the more i don't like their game. They look like fools gold. They are starting to look like Marvin or Aminu to me. They pass the eye test and that could fool alot of people.

First, yeah, I do think in tiers for the draft. If the draft thread was still around, you can see where I try to figure out tiers by taking a composite of a handful of Big Boards and have put that exercise up on those threads for the last few years. From the exercise earlier this season, the 1st tier was Okafor (and I think the love we see now for others sneaking in here has more to do with the prospect fatigue in that we've been hearing about Okafor for the last 3-4 years while the others have been able to fly a little under the radar), then KAT, Mudiay, and Russell are in the 2nd tier. Stanley Johnson and Porzingis are 2 guys who some are saying should be in that 2nd tier while others aren't as convinced. The 3rd tier goes out to about 12-13 and I really can't say that I've seen too many have Booker in this tier since shortly after KY started SEC play (which, not coincidentally, was about when Booker went from hitting > 50% from 3 before to < 30% after season-to-date). I've poked around some more recently, and I think the tiers are basically the same although maybe 3 guys that were in that 3rd tier (Looney, Oubre, Turner) were losing ground and might make up their own tier now but they are very, very close and all 3 represent something that some decision makers love. Still, it says something about Booker that many still have him in that 4th tier - and generally fairly high. When he was hot, he was absolutely scorching hot.

Still, my eyes tell me the same. When Booker's shot was falling then he can stand out, but when his shot isn't falling, he didn't impact the game at all. Sure, maybe some of that was due to the talent surrounding him being able to pick him up when he wasn't having a good game, but I'd still like to see a little more out of someone especially when he's having an off-night for over 1/2 the season. I also worry about him athletically. Not to say that everyone who lacks good or better athleticism in the NBA *has* to have length, but it sure doesn't hurt to have at least one.

As far as the other wings, I'm really not convinced on any of them although I haven't seen Hezonja outside of highlights. I do think Winslow is the best of the 3 American kids though. Can guard 2 positions on D while his O is versatile enough that he can pick his spots. He isn't a finished product by any means but if he straighten out his jumper I could see a "poor man's" Kawhi Leonard in that kid. Oubre is all about potential - he has flashed just about anything that you would want out of a wing on the basketball court and a lefty to boot. Whenever I watched him though, I keep thinking of the old saying "Potential gets you fired" - he might have a really good play, then completely disappear for the rest of the game. Wiggins was the same way until his hot stretch at the end of last season though so Oubre may be getting undeserved love from there too. I'm really not sold on Stanley Johnson either. Now, I haven't caught an entire game from Arizona yet, but in the spurts that I do watch, I really don't see this motor that all his scouting reports rave about. Floats around the perimeter on O and doesn't even take the opposition #1 assignment - that goes to Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Johnson is sneaky and does think the game though and I do give him major props for that. For instance, the offensive rebound that he nearly got last night when he snuck up on the baseline. If he wasn't unlucky, then that play could have been ended the game.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Im pretty clueless about the top college players and am enjoying yalls discussion. Who are some of the players that I should watch this weekend and what team do they play for? Who are the ones that are most likely to be a Hawk.

[Hawk Eye]

Im pretty clueless about the top college players and am enjoying yalls discussion. Who are some of the players that I should watch this weekend and what team do they play for? Who are the ones that are most likely to be a Hawk.

I assume you are talking about the remaining prospects left in the march madness tourney correct? If so then here are the prospects within reach for the Hawks come draft day..

Duke

-Justise Winslow SF/SG
-Tyus Jones PG

Arizona

-Stanley Johnson SF/SG
-Rondae Hollis-Jefferson SF/SG

Kentucky

-Devon Booker SG
-Willie Cauley-Stein C/PF

Wisconsin

-Frank Kamensky PF/C
-Sam Dekker SF/SG
-Nigel Hayes SF/SG

UCLA

-Kevon Looney SF/PF

There's probably a few more but these are the ones that came off the top of my head.

[Goudelock]

His skill set seems to indicate that he would excel in this new NBA and Budz's system. In addition his athleticism seems good enough to play NBA defense. His free throw shooting and 3pt shooting are on par with Korver and Klay.

Blasphemy!

Anyways, he'd probably fit pretty well. You can never have enough shooting. I actually think that they should go after Mario Hezonja, assuming that they get something like the 8-12th pick from Brooklyn. Hezonja looks like a better version of Bazemore.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Im pretty clueless about the top college players and am enjoying yalls discussion. Who are some of the players that I should watch this weekend and what team do they play for? Who are the ones that are most likely to be a Hawk.

I assume you are talking about the remaining prospects left in the march madness tourney correct? If so then here are the prospects within reach for the Hawks come draft day..

Duke

-Justise Winslow SF/SG
-Tyus Jones PG

Arizona

-Stanley Johnson SF/SG
-Rondae Hollis-Jefferson SF/SG

Kentucky

-Devon Booker SG
-Willie Cauley-Stein C/PF

Wisconsin

-Frank Kamensky PF/C
-Sam Dekker SF/SG
-Nigel Hayes SF/SG

UCLA

-Kevon Looney SF/PF

There's probably a few more but these are the ones that came off the top of my head.

Thanks Mott!

I watched the UNC/Wiscy game on Thursday and was really impressed by Dekker. I'm looking forward to tonight's matchup of Zona/Wiscy. I haven't had a chance to watch Zona all year and I keep seeing Stanley's name pop up.

I haven't watched a lick of college ball this year and I have 7 of the 8 elite 8 teams correct on my bracket. The only one I missed was Gonzaga. I had Iowa St. making it over Gonzaga and they were knocked out in the first round. I have Kentucky/Zona and Duke/Mich St as my Final Four.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Dekker looked impressive once again last night. That Wiscy/UK matchup should be a great one.

I also saw this on ESPN. Apparently Dekker scored 10 straight points in the final 90 seconds of his High School State Championship game to win by 1 on Wisconsin's floor.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=125798 ... tscenterFB

[atlantabbq99]

Personally, I'm not too high on him - don't really see what he brings that Jenkins couldn't nor do I see what he provides that would complement Korver as opposed to replacing him (which, considering Korver's age, is something we should consider - but with a top 10 pick for a championship contender, I'd expect more than an eventual replacement for a current AS). Not that I'd be completely peeved if we popped Booker @ 15/16 (if BRK made the playoffs), but I do think there are far superior prospects that would be on the board if we're sitting in the 9-10 area. I suspect that probably 2 of the big 4 wings would still be on the table and if we reached past them to tab Booker, then I'd be really scratching my head.

Jenkins has a 8'2 standing reach. Booker has a 8'7 standing reach and still growing. Booker is also more athletic than Jenkins.

[Geaux_Hawks]

I like Booker. I think he can grow into a Klay Thompson'ish player. Wouldn't be mad at all if he was our guy. I personally want to trade up for Hezonja though, but sitting at 15, I could live with Booker all day. Kinda reminds you of Manu in a way.

[atlantabbq99]

I like Booker. I think he can grow into a Klay Thompson'ish player. Wouldn't be mad at all if he was our guy. I personally want to trade up for Hezonja though, but sitting at 15, I could live with Booker all day. Kinda reminds you of Manu in a way.

I'm even okay with Booker at #10 if the Hawks had the 10th pick.

Booker, Myles Turner, and Stanley Johnson are kind of the hot names right now.

[theatlfan]

Now that we're set at 15 as well as Booker blowing the doors off the combine, I have to say that Booker wouldn't be a horrible choice but there are still others I would prefer. One name that jumps to mind is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who is kind of the anti-Booker in many ways. RHJ does everything on the floor except shoot. I believe many see him as a top notch D 1st / OK O role player fairly quickly but I also see a Kawhi-type upside if he shows the same progress with his shot that Demarre showed with his after we landed him.

Personally, I'm not too high on him - don't really see what he brings that Jenkins couldn't nor do I see what he provides that would complement Korver as opposed to replacing him (which, considering Korver's age, is something we should consider - but with a top 10 pick for a championship contender, I'd expect more than an eventual replacement for a current AS). Not that I'd be completely peeved if we popped Booker @ 15/16 (if BRK made the playoffs), but I do think there are far superior prospects that would be on the board if we're sitting in the 9-10 area. I suspect that probably 2 of the big 4 wings would still be on the table and if we reached past them to tab Booker, then I'd be really scratching my head.

Jenkins has a 8'2 standing reach. Booker has a 8'7 standing reach and still growing. Booker is also more athletic than Jenkins.

tbf, the measurements that DX had for Booker were short. They are still there and the most current Standing Reach measurement at that time was 8'4" - still more than Jenkins, but not overly so. Typically I focus in on wingspan for perimeter players and Booker really took off there since the 2" he added here took him from below average for a SG to average which is a huge jump. I still wouldn't call him long, but he's not the T-Rex guy I thought of him as before the combine either.

[Hawk Eye]

Booker has been gathering a lot of interest from around the league recently. About a month ago I was sure that he would be available to us at #15 but now I'm starting to think he goes top 10. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see him go top 10 actually.