NBA 2015 Draft Discussion Thread

[15th overall]

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[laploutocratie]

Those people comfortable with taking Kaminsky in the first round: have you seen the guy play? He makes Kelly Olynyk look like Charles Oakley in terms of toughness. If we draft that nonathletic pussy, ....

[humblebum]

Those people comfortable with taking Kaminsky in the first round: have you seen the guy play? He makes Kelly Olynyk look like Charles Oakley in terms of toughness. If we draft that nonathletic pussy, ....

I've watched Kaminsky plenty and what always stands out to me is that he has mental toughness and all the skills you want in that Euro big, stretch 5 man. Kelly has a lot of guard skills which makes him intriguing and to go with the physical weakness (something Kaminsky shares), he's also a bit of a mental toughness midget too.

He's not my first choice, but I think if you land him, you'll land a piece you can plug into a role in Stevens system and contribute to the team likely from day 1. That has value. I think his potential is substantially higher than Kelly's.

[KGboss]

Kaminsky reminds me of a doofier version of Olynyk. Terrible defense as well.

[CelticFaninLBC]

Kaminsky is a byproduct of a top 5 college coach and system. Can't see him being anything special in the pro's.

[humblebum]

I'm sure Kaminsky's rare blend of skills and size have nothing to do with his success. I mean there are tons of seven footers with good touch, high BBIQ, excellent passing skills, great footwork, etc.

Frankly, I think if you had a couple more guys who could actually drive the lane on Wisconsin, Kaminsky would be even tougher to guard. Right now, he has to create a ton of offense from scratch. Sure there is plenty of ball and player movement, but a lot of times Kaminsky is working in 1v1 situations and having to find ways to create offense for himself or others.

Not saying he's going to be Hakeem the Dream at the NBA level, but he has plenty of talent, just as much talent as Kelly at the very least, and I actually like Kaminsky's game better.

[CelticFaninLBC]

Per kenpom, Wisconsin runs the most efficient offense in the nation. Kaminsky's teammates are pretty good. Also, Olynyk is nothing special either. I'd rather have Dekker.

[UGA Hayes]

It's amazing that a team that seems so weak in the ball handling department in Wisconsin is the best turnover team in the country.

[DorfonCeltics]

WCS is looking exactly like what this team needs. I could see him having a similar impact to Noah in the NBA. Danny needs to combine some picks so we can move up and get this guy.

[laploutocratie]

WCS is looking exactly like what this team needs. I could see him having a similar impact to Noah in the NBA. Danny needs to combine some picks so we can move up and get this guy.

He's much more Chandler than Noah, but I agree he is exactly what this team needs. Hell, he's been what we needed for half of the last decade. Kaminsky is the last guy we need.

[robbie84]

we need Porzingis. The next great white hope. Dirk Nowitzki with athleticism and defensive awareness.

[Gomes3PC]

If we take a guy from Wisconsin, it should be Dekker. He can stroke it, he's a far better athlete than people give him credit for (mainly due to his skin color) and he's a strong finisher at the rim. Bo Ryan also teaches his guys to play great man defense, so he will be more prepared than a lot of other guys on that end of the floor.

He does not have the upside of Winslow, Stanley Johnson or Oubre but I feel pretty comfortable he will become a solid 15 PPG, 6 RPG type of player. I actually see a lot of Jeff Green in him (in a good way).

[Gomes3PC]

we need Porzingis. The next great white hope. Dirk Nowitzki with athleticism and defensive awareness.

I mean, comments like this are just ridiculous. Frankly nobody here has a clue about Hezonja or Porzingis, because there's like 20 minutes total on each of these guys out there publicly. So unless you're over in Barcelona or Seville and watching lots of La Liga games live, there's not much basis for comments like this. It's like when people got all jacked up about seeing Yi destroy that chair in his workout video.

[Gomes3PC]

It's amazing that a team that seems so weak in the ball handling department in Wisconsin is the best turnover team in the country.

They are probably the most efficient paint scoring team in the country. Their frontcourt of Kaminsky, Hayes and Dekker shoot a combined 59% FG% on 2 pointers. Including free throws, they are scoring 1.6 points per shot on 2 pointers. That's insane efficiency. When you have a trio of incredibly good finishers who also pass well, draw fouls and hit their FTs, you're going to have an elite offense even without a dynamic guard.

[Gomes3PC]

WCS is looking exactly like what this team needs. I could see him having a similar impact to Noah in the NBA. Danny needs to combine some picks so we can move up and get this guy.

I agree. I think Stevens would have a field day playing around with WCS defensively. We've already seen Stevens get wacky with his aggressive defensive rotations and super-aggressive switching, and that's using undersized guys like Bass and Crowder in the frontcourt. Having a legit 7-footer who is guarding SGs and even PGs in college will have him well-prepared to defend on the perimeter in the NBA.

[Gomes3PC]

Really starting to hope we can grab Bobby Portis with either first round pick we have I think this kids gonna be a steal.

Portis is a basket trader. His numbers look great because of the pace Arkansas plays at but he sucks defensively. He will probably put up numbers in the NBA but the guy guarding him will be licking his chops.

[ddb]

I'm sure Kaminsky's rare blend of skills and size have nothing to do with his success. I mean there are tons of seven footers with good touch, high BBIQ, excellent passing skills, great footwork, etc.

Frankly, I think if you had a couple more guys who could actually drive the lane on Wisconsin, Kaminsky would be even tougher to guard. Right now, he has to create a ton of offense from scratch. Sure there is plenty of ball and player movement, but a lot of times Kaminsky is working in 1v1 situations and having to find ways to create offense for himself or others.

Not saying he's going to be Hakeem the Dream at the NBA level, but he has plenty of talent, just as much talent as Kelly at the very least, and I actually like Kaminsky's game better.

I like Kaminsky as a player. Just not for the Celtics. He'll carve out a nice role in the NBA though

[ddb]

WCS is looking exactly like what this team needs. I could see him having a similar impact to Noah in the NBA. Danny needs to combine some picks so we can move up and get this guy.

Yup! I've been on the WCS train all season long. The guy is a freak. Freakish footwork, length, athleticism, and timing. He has the type of upside to develop into a DPOY candidate during his prime years.

He would be an excellent fit on the Celts. He could anchor our interior D, protect the rim, add versatility...Overall just a game changing defensive minded Center. Offensively he will never be a guy you go to for buckets. But if he works on developing a respectable set J from 10-15 feet it'll be enough to keep defenders honest...that's all he needs. He will get the majority of his buckets on put backs, lobs and hustle plays.

[ddb]

Really starting to hope we can grab Bobby Portis with either first round pick we have I think this kids gonna be a steal.

Portis is a basket trader. His numbers look great because of the pace Arkansas plays at but he sucks defensively. He will probably put up numbers in the NBA but the guy guarding him will be licking his chops.

Portis isn't going to do crap in the league. Just a hunch I have. I could be wrong

[ddb]

If we take a guy from Wisconsin, it should be Dekker. He can stroke it, he's a far better athlete than people give him credit for (mainly due to his skin color) and he's a strong finisher at the rim. Bo Ryan also teaches his guys to play great man defense, so he will be more prepared than a lot of other guys on that end of the floor.

He does not have the upside of Winslow, Stanley Johnson or Oubre but I feel pretty comfortable he will become a solid 15 PPG, 6 RPG type of player. I actually see a lot of Jeff Green in him (in a good way).

Dekker will be a solid rotation player in the NBA. Great size. Solid SF skills. He's tough. He'll be able to play small ball 4 as well. I'm not sure what his ceiling is, but he could be a Parson's type...Dekker is stronger then Parsons...but not as deadly from deep