2018 Draft Thread #6

[WindyCityBorn]

I think there's a pretty obvious strategy to employ if we're trying to get MPJ to drop.

You guarantee him that you'll take his brother as well with the other 1st rounder. MPJ then doesn't share his medical with any team other than us. We take MPJ and Jontay. That seems like a rather reasonable string of events.

I'm not convinced on his fit on our team though (with Lauri specifically).

Sounds like a lot to go through for a player still living off high school hype.

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Yeah I'm not sure he is worth a package deal on a guy we would not take otherwise.

[TheSuzerain]

I think there's a pretty obvious strategy to employ if we're trying to get MPJ to drop.

You guarantee him that you'll take his brother as well with the other 1st rounder. MPJ then doesn't share his medical with any team other than us. We take MPJ and Jontay. That seems like a rather reasonable string of events.

I'm not convinced on his fit on our team though (with Lauri specifically).

Sounds like a lot to go through for a player still living off high school hype.

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Yeah I'm not sure he is worth a package deal on a guy we would not take otherwise.

I mean, we should want Jontay anyway. This isn't a Taylor Griffin thing.

[nomorezorro]

jontay is gonna be 18 years old during the draft; he should be a freshman in college next year

i dunno how high his upside actually is, but he's definitely got room to grow still

[ReturnofJPR]

ESPN wrote an article how they see the Bulls taking Porter then SG Lonnie Walker IV outta Miami. I watched the tail end of that tar heels hurricanes game where Miami won 91-88 in chapel hill against the most overrated top 10 team this season. To be honest, Lonnie Walker IV didn't impress me. He had 13 points, stood around the 3 point line a lot waiting for the ball. He committed turnovers late in the game and got a shot in the lane blocked out of bounds. He seems like one of those potential guys instead of productive. It was only a few minutes, but I feel like chicago can do better than a 6 foot 3/6 foot 4 SG with the Pelicans' pick.

[WindyCityBorn]

ESPN wrote an article how they see the Bulls taking Porter then SG Lonnie Walker IV outta Miami. I watched the tail end of that tar heels hurricanes game where Miami won 91-88 in chapel hill against the most overrated top 10 team this season. To be honest, Lonnie Walker IV didn't impress me. He had 13 points, stood around the 3 point line a lot waiting for the ball. He committed turnovers late in the game and got a shot in the lane blocked out of bounds. He seems like one of those potential guys instead of productive. It was only a few minutes, but I feel like chicago can do better than a 6 foot 3/6 foot 4 SG with the Pelicans' pick.

Agreed. We need size/length on the perimeter and in the front court.

[GimmeDat]

Just because he's not sexy doesn't mean his upside isn't high. Big guys with a high skill level and well rounded package on both sides of the ball are a premium.

Quite honestly, between Gafford, Porter, and Williams, I find it quite hard to settle on a favourite for a C with the Pels pick. They all bring different stuff to the table. Some would argue Mitchell Robinson deserves to be in that group, it's hard to say either way because he hasn't been playing, but I'm skeptical.

Two big games from Gafford/Porter today actually. Porter 24/7/6 with 4 blocks (remember, he's 18). Gafford 21/10/2 with 7 blocks.

As for wings, I like Walker a lot, Brown's there, my gut is that Knox might fall. There's another name worth mentioning - Deandre Hunter. I don't know if he's going to declare, personally I've left him out of my mocks up to this point, but if he does many are very high on him - for instance, Zwicker has him at 11 on his big board.

Have a read here if you're interested -

https://www.thestepien.com/2018/02/22/deandre-hunter-arrived/

Notable aspects - he has a great body, 6'8, 7'2 wingspan, and combined with a high motor and positive defensive attributes he's highly versatile on that end of the floor, and crashes the boards at a high rate. Offensively he has good instincts, has shown an ability to create his own shot, is a solid athlete, etc.

Stepien are pushing him as a no brainer lottery pick and possible top 10 guy. I haven't seen a lot of him, but they certainly make a convincing argument.

There's also Zhaire Smith, who Zwicker has at 13. Again, not sure he's going to declare, but he's a pretty fun, active player to watch. I'm not sure exactly what he is at the next level yet, and I'm not as confident on him as I would be with Hunter, from what I've seen, but another guy to keep in consideration.

I mentioned Frazier a couple of weeks ago, and I like him a lot as well, but I have him closer to 20+.

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Hunter's not a big name for more casual draft followers, but if we take a big with our 1st rounder, maybe Hunter's the guy to get.

[kulaz3000]

ESPN wrote an article how they see the Bulls taking Porter then SG Lonnie Walker IV outta Miami. I watched the tail end of that tar heels hurricanes game where Miami won 91-88 in chapel hill against the most overrated top 10 team this season. To be honest, Lonnie Walker IV didn't impress me. He had 13 points, stood around the 3 point line a lot waiting for the ball. He committed turnovers late in the game and got a shot in the lane blocked out of bounds. He seems like one of those potential guys instead of productive. It was only a few minutes, but I feel like chicago can do better than a 6 foot 3/6 foot 4 SG with the Pelicans' pick.

Yeah, for as athletic as Lonnie is supposed to be, he really hangs around the 3 point line quite significantly and he isn't even that great of a shooter.

He has potential no doubt, but I think he'll end up being quite a dud.

[WindyCityBorn]

Just because he's not sexy doesn't mean his upside isn't high. Big guys with a high skill level and well rounded package on both sides of the ball are a premium.

Quite honestly, between Gafford, Porter, and Williams, I find it quite hard to settle on a favourite for a C with the Pels pick. They all bring different stuff to the table. Some would argue Mitchell Robinson deserves to be in that group, it's hard to say either way because he hasn't been playing, but I'm skeptical.

Two big games from Gafford/Porter today actually. Porter 24/7/6 with 4 blocks (remember, he's 18). Gafford 21/10/2 with 7 blocks.

As for wings, I like Walker a lot, Brown's there, my gut is that Knox might fall. There's another name worth mentioning - Deandre Hunter. I don't know if he's going to declare, personally I've left him out of my mocks up to this point, but if he does many are very high on him - for instance, Zwicker has him at 11 on his big board.

Have a read here if you're interested -

https://www.thestepien.com/2018/02/22/deandre-hunter-arrived/

Notable aspects - he has a great body, 6'8, 7'2 wingspan, and combined with a high motor and positive defensive attributes he's highly versatile on that end of the floor, and crashes the boards at a high rate. Offensively he has good instincts, has shown an ability to create his own shot, is a solid athlete, etc.

Stepien are pushing him as a no brainer lottery pick and possible top 10 guy. I haven't seen a lot of him, but they certainly make a convincing argument.

There's also Zhaire Smith, who Zwicker has at 13. Again, not sure he's going to declare, but he's a pretty fun, active player to watch. I'm not sure exactly what he is at the next level yet, and I'm not as confident on him as I would be with Hunter, from what I've seen, but another guy to keep in consideration.

I mentioned Frazier a couple of weeks ago, and I like him a lot as well, but I have him closer to 20+.

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Hunter's not a big name for more casual draft followers, but if we take a big with our 1st rounder, maybe Hunter's the guy to get.

Gafford seems like the kind of player I would swing for the fences with the Pelicans pick.

[WindyCityBorn]

All Trae Young hype men....stand up and be counted. Was he looking more Curry or Nash tonight?

[GimmeDat]

Gafford seems like the kind of player I would swing for the fences with the Pelicans pick.

He's pretty special, and he's far less of a one trick wonder than Robert Williams, as exceptional as Williams is in what he does well. That said, Gafford lacks a lot of the skills that a guy like Porter has, as well. I find it tricky trying to weigh all those guys up. I think Williams might be the worst of the 3.

Don't know exactly where that Pels pick will land now but as a general statement, I'd probably be happy with Gafford there.

[kodo]

Texas vs Baylor.
Good lord.

[thedarkstark]

All Trae Young hype men....stand up and be counted. Was he looking more Curry or Nash tonight?

He's looked like trash recently but he still leads the nation in points and assists as an 18 year old Freshman, let's not act like that's some easy task.

Sample size is important, a bad stretch of games doesn't negate what he's done all year long.

[WindyCityBorn]

All Trae Young hype men....stand up and be counted. Was he looking more Curry or Nash tonight?

He's looked like trash recently but he still leads the nation in points and assists as an 18 year old Freshman, let's not act like that's some easy task.

Sample size is important, a bad stretch of games doesn't negate what he's done all year long.

Yeah the sample where he has played against his toughest competition...

Use the entire Big 12 schedule and it still won't be flattering. And Big 12 is not even good this year.

[thedarkstark]

All Trae Young hype men....stand up and be counted. Was he looking more Curry or Nash tonight?

He's looked like trash recently but he still leads the nation in points and assists as an 18 year old Freshman, let's not act like that's some easy task.

Sample size is important, a bad stretch of games doesn't negate what he's done all year long.

Yeah the sample where he has played against his toughest competition...

Use the entire Big 12 schedule and it won't be flattering.

Except that's not at all true and now you're just making stuff up. Kansas shut him down recently, but he lit them up like 3 weeks prior to that.

In the middle of the season OK had a 10 game stretch where they played 6 ranked opponents and that is almost unarguably when he was playing his best basketball.

[WindyCityBorn]

He's looked like trash recently but he still leads the nation in points and assists as an 18 year old Freshman, let's not act like that's some easy task.

Sample size is important, a bad stretch of games doesn't negate what he's done all year long.

Yeah the sample where he has played against his toughest competition...

Use the entire Big 12 schedule and it won't be flattering.

Except that's not at all true and now you're just making stuff up. Kansas shut him down recently, but he lit them up like 3 weeks prior to that.

In the middle of the season OK had a 10 game stretch where they played 6 ranked opponents and that is almost unarguably when he was playing his best basketball.

I'm saying use his averages from conference play and his stats fall significantly A lot of those "ranked" teams are not ranked any more so not as impressive as you make it seem.

[DorO]

Young's ceiling is so high that he will be drafted very early, too early. He's basically just a boy who is doing funny stuff on the floor and when he's finally getting proper coaching...might be awesome in few years. It's very lucky team to get him drafted.

[thedarkstark]

Yeah the sample where he has played against his toughest competition...

Use the entire Big 12 schedule and it won't be flattering.

Except that's not at all true and now you're just making stuff up. Kansas shut him down recently, but he lit them up like 3 weeks prior to that.

In the middle of the season OK had a 10 game stretch where they played 6 ranked opponents and that is almost unarguably when he was playing his best basketball.

I'm saying use his averages from conference play and his stats fall significantly A lot of those "ranked" teams are not ranked any more so not as impressive as you make it seem.

So what's your point? That on average he plays better against weaker competition? That's true of absolutely everyone and not just basketball but life in general. Show me a person who has better numbers against stronger opponents and I'll show you a statistical anomaly.

All teams play roughly the same number of conference/non-conference games and yet here he is still leading the nation in points and assists.

[WindyCityBorn]

Except that's not at all true and now you're just making stuff up. Kansas shut him down recently, but he lit them up like 3 weeks prior to that.

In the middle of the season OK had a 10 game stretch where they played 6 ranked opponents and that is almost unarguably when he was playing his best basketball.

I'm saying use his averages from conference play and his stats fall significantly A lot of those "ranked" teams are not ranked any more so not as impressive as you make it seem.

So what's your point? That on average he plays better against weaker competition? That's true of absolutely everyone and not just basketball but life in general. Show me a person who has better numbers against stronger opponents and I'll show you a statistical anomaly.

All teams play roughly the same number of conference/non-conference games and yet here he is still leading the nation in points and assists.

College pts and asts averages are generally not accurate indicators of professional performance. That's nice he leads in those categories, but means nothing in regards to his pro potential.

Also guys like Ayton, Bamba and JJJ are actually starting to play better now no a step up in competition does not automatically mean your production will fall.

[Leslie Forman]

I'm saying use his averages from conference play and his stats fall significantly A lot of those "ranked" teams are not ranked any more so not as impressive as you make it seem.

Well then let's just look at his games against the teams that are still ranked - Kansas, Wichita State, Texas Tech, West Virginia: 7 GP / 24.7 PPG / .560 TS%

I'm not about to do the research myself, but I'd find it hard to believe that any other perimeter player in Div I basketball has scored that much, that efficiently in their games only against ranked opponents, let alone freshmen. Yes that's down from his overall stats but his overall stats are comically ridiculous. If he had literally never played against any other teams this whole season, people would be talking about this 19-year-old kid averaging 25PPG on pretty good efficiency against the toughest schedule in the country. And scoring is not even the best part of his game.

I will say he has fallen off and is looking kinda disinterested out there now. But since conference play started, he's been averaging 37.5 MPG. That would lead the entire NBA.

He's freaking 19.

[thedarkstark]

I'm saying use his averages from conference play and his stats fall significantly A lot of those "ranked" teams are not ranked any more so not as impressive as you make it seem.

So what's your point? That on average he plays better against weaker competition? That's true of absolutely everyone and not just basketball but life in general. Show me a person who has better numbers against stronger opponents and I'll show you a statistical anomaly.

All teams play roughly the same number of conference/non-conference games and yet here he is still leading the nation in points and assists.

College pts and asts averages are generally not accurate indicators of professional performance. That's nice he leads in those categories, but means nothing in regards to his pro potential.

Also guys like Ayton, Bamba and JJJ are actually starting to play better now no a step up in competition does not automatically mean your production will fall.

Dude come with actual facts and not just made up opinions. I don't even like Trae Young that much (he's like 6th or 7th on my prospects list) but you clearly have an agenda you're trying to push. He's a flawed player and he's going through a bad stretch, so what? It's not like any of these other players are can't-miss, they're all flawed in some way. He still has arguably one of the highest ceilings of any player available.