2015 NBA Draft Thread

[nickhx2]

Maybe he can be our Tony Allen.

Jonathan LeBlanc, Detroit Free Press (6/25/15)

ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford said in a conference call today that Dawson could get drafted, especially after "consistently" shining while guarding elite prospects in predraft workouts. Ford said that Dawson, a 6-foot-6 athletic small forward, specializes in defense and could make an NBA team because of that ability.
...

ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla said it wasn't fair to compare Dawson to past MSU forwards who have entered in the NBA, especially Golden State's Draymond Green, who has flourished as a versatile offensive and defensive threat. "You can't really compare him to Draymond," Fraschilla said, "because I'm not sure if Branden made a three in his career at Michigan State."

(Dawson was 0-for-9 shooting three-pointers in his Spartans career.)

"Branden, unfortunately, is in that tweener mode as a player," Fraschilla said. "He's played like a 4 man, but he's built like a 3."

Fraschilla, however, did say that Dawson could land on an NBA roster.

"He's going to just have to fight for his life, figuratively, because he is athletic," Fraschilla said. "He's going to have to find a niche, maybe as a defensive stopper."

Dawson's Defense in Workouts Enhances NBA Draft Hopes

i know fran fraschilla has been a long respected member of the media but that statement is a reminder that there are basically two types of people in the basketball universe: people still abiding by the old rules and those who are progressive.

this whole tweener, must play a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 thing has been in the process of being dismantled for years. you would think GS blew it apart almost completely after this past season, but my guess is it'll be 1-2 decades before the majority of teams build based on roles as opposed to positions.

being a tweener means nothing. being a 4 who is built like a 3 means nothing. defensive intelligence, enough speed to switch, and one of any other skill like shooting, rebounding, passing, etc. means you are good enough to play in the NBA, and perhaps in an extremely valuable role as draymond green showed for GS.


btw i'm very happy about the pick. really surprised we actually got a 2nd round guy that i liked. that never happens.

[Ranma]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/RowanKavner/status/614296893951115264[/tweet]

[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/status/614292274348883968[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/pioms/status/614322457671938049[/tweet]

Clippers' Branden Dawson: 'I'm going to be relentless'

"I can't wait to get with coach (Doc) Rivers and get started, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to help them win," Dawson said of the Clippers in a phone interview moments after he was chosen and moved. "I'm gonna be relentless. This is my livelihood now."

"I'm really excited for Branden," MSU coach Tom Izzo said in a statement. "He'll have the opportunity to play for one of the best coaches in the NBA, and being the Clippers' only draft pick is certainly a plus. Branden had a very good career at Michigan State. He overcame three major injuries, graduated, won Big Ten titles and played in a Final Four. He kept working and improving, and tonight his dream of reaching the NBA came true."

"Branden Dawson is a big-time athlete, a great offensive rebounder, very good in transition," ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said on the broadcast after Dawson was chosen. "He has tried to improve his offensive game and he has improved his offensive game, but he's going to have to come in as more of an energy guy. He can rebound, defend and run the floor."

Joe Rexrode, Lansing State Journal

Clippers Value Dawson’s Defense, Toughness

“The biggest thing is his toughness,” said general manager Dave Wohl. “He’s a winner. He’s not a guy you just lock into a position. I think he can play a couple different positions. He can defend a number of positions.”

“When you watch him play a lot, one of the things he does, he makes multiple-effort game-defining plays a lot of times. He’ll get his hand on a loose ball, he’ll save a loose ball, he’ll dive on a loose ball, he’ll go over bigger players and grab a rebound. He’s a little raw offensively, but we love the competitiveness and toughness about him.”

“He’s willing to take on a challenge 1-on-1,” said assistant general manager Gary Sacks. “If you tell him to go guard a guy, doesn’t matter what size, I think he can guard threes, fours, even some twos. The other thing I love about him is he fits in well with the scheme.”

Rowan Kavner, Clippers.com

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqShQ3mgrRI[/youtube]
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[thanumba2clippersfan]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/614455609778270208[/tweet]

[TheNewEra]

Sacks looks so depressed

[Quake Griffin]

*looks at Branden Dawson's shooting form*

Our FO is GOAT.
They found Shawn Marion at the end of the draft.

[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/lukemitch24/status/614514017965445120[/tweet]

A 6'10 writer pretends to be a 2015 draft pick.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsvaQR9hKDI[/youtube]

[mj_shoefanatic]

Dawson was a solid defender/rebounder in college and can get to the hoop at will. Hopefully he makes the team and Doc actually gives him a chance to prove himself.

[nickhx2]

i know the (gigantic) knock on him is that he can't shoot. but i hope he tries really hard to learn either that or something else to a proficient level so he can give us some valuable court time.

if similar guys like najera and green can all of a sudden come into a season with a 3pt shot, then i don't see why he can't. and as much as i hate doc, i absolutely have to believe that doc thinks he can make dawsen our version of green.

[TucsonClip]

I dont see Dawson developing a shot. He only attended 9 threes in his career, shot 29% on jumpers last year and 55% from the line for his career.

[playaloc916]

His shot does not look very promising. I hope he can focus on being a high energy defender/hustle player, and maybe try to go for the occasional put back. If he can bring what Barnes did (minus the three point shooting), I'd be happy with that. IF we end up getting Pierce it would reduce his offensive short comings too.

[kylem4711]

his shot looks so bad...

[illastrate]

Nice pick at #56, really can't expect much more. Would've liked Christian Wood more, but I like that the FO bought into the draft for the first time ever and actually wanted to buy a 1st, but nobody was selling. Indicative of the regime change.

[og15]

Maybe he can be our Tony Allen.

Jonathan LeBlanc, Detroit Free Press (6/25/15)

ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford said in a conference call today that Dawson could get drafted, especially after "consistently" shining while guarding elite prospects in predraft workouts. Ford said that Dawson, a 6-foot-6 athletic small forward, specializes in defense and could make an NBA team because of that ability.
...

ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla said it wasn't fair to compare Dawson to past MSU forwards who have entered in the NBA, especially Golden State's Draymond Green, who has flourished as a versatile offensive and defensive threat. "You can't really compare him to Draymond," Fraschilla said, "because I'm not sure if Branden made a three in his career at Michigan State."

(Dawson was 0-for-9 shooting three-pointers in his Spartans career.)

"Branden, unfortunately, is in that tweener mode as a player," Fraschilla said. "He's played like a 4 man, but he's built like a 3."

Fraschilla, however, did say that Dawson could land on an NBA roster.

"He's going to just have to fight for his life, figuratively, because he is athletic," Fraschilla said. "He's going to have to find a niche, maybe as a defensive stopper."

Dawson's Defense in Workouts Enhances NBA Draft Hopes

i know fran fraschilla has been a long respected member of the media but that statement is a reminder that there are basically two types of people in the basketball universe: people still abiding by the old rules and those who are progressive.

this whole tweener, must play a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 thing has been in the process of being dismantled for years. you would think GS blew it apart almost completely after this past season, but my guess is it'll be 1-2 decades before the majority of teams build based on roles as opposed to positions.

being a tweener means nothing. being a 4 who is built like a 3 means nothing. defensive intelligence, enough speed to switch, and one of any other skill like shooting, rebounding, passing, etc. means you are good enough to play in the NBA, and perhaps in an extremely valuable role as draymond green showed for GS.


btw i'm very happy about the pick. really surprised we actually got a 2nd round guy that i liked. that never happens.

While this is true, the caution comes from being burned multiple times, even with high picks. Micheal Beasley, Derrick Williams, and it's also about complimenting your players.

The issue is that Dawson is probably best guarding 3's, but then offensively he's a spacing killer at the 3, actually even at the 4, he's like DeAndre Jordan in terms of his offensive scoring areas. So who do you pair him with on the court? Unlike a guy like Green, he didn't show himself to have ball handling and playmaking abilities which Green had in college. Green didn't really just "develop" a 3PT shot in the NBA, he had range in college.

Junior year: 2.9 3PA, 36.3% 3PT, 4.2 APG
Senior year: 3.6 3PA, 38.8% 3PT, 3.8 APG

Statistically from his sophomore to senior season, Green increased his percentage of isolation possessions by 2%, but what was impressive was that he doubled his efficacy scoring from isolation.

Draymond Green isn't a guy to use as an example in general, and certainly not in this case. He was thought to be a tweener in the not big enough for the 4 and not quick enough for the 3, which means no position that he can defend, but obviously he's actually very good guarding 4's. Then offensively he had the ability to shoot, handle, create and pass. Many of the other players who had the label couldn't guard a position, or the position they could guard, their skills didn't fit most teams makeup for that position at the offensive end.

While I hope Dawson can contribute, comparing him to Green is setting him up to fail. His skills are in no way similar on the offensive end. Dawson was 0/9 3PT like you said, went 11/40 from mid-range as a senior (only 40 attempts is terribly small) and shot 49% FT. Right now you're hoping for a straight up hustle undersized PF, not a multi-skilled, versatile player.

Draymond Green was more like a Boris Diaw, while Dawson is more like a Renaldo Balkman.

[nickhx2]

really good post. i think it's important to temper expectations and those are very fair points. i don't expect him to be draymond green (maybe if i said that or that was me being a bit overzealou). after all, he is a late second rounder.

i am just more thinking if he can figure out how to be an elite defender while learning something else along the way, he could potentially be a tony allen type defender with something on the side. or at least that's my hope!

fwiw i'd be extremely surprised if he played more than sparingly this season. but at the same time old-school coaches like doc and larry brown tend not to play rookies simply because they are too lost on defense. perhaps dawsen can break through that red shirt year and give us something off the bench.

[Quake Griffin]

just realized one of the Harrison twins from Kentucky went undrafted.
And it's the one who devastated my Badgers and everybody at the bar I was with his 3 pointer….Aaron.

we should give him a spin.
he can shoot it. he's not athletic but he has the size and feet to be able to defend imo.
just worth the look imo.

[Don Tommy]

I miss having a guy like AFA on our team, I'm not hoping for a Draymond Green type of player, I'd be happy with our new version of AFA. A guy that can defend and rebound, we need that. Tom Izzo is an amazing coach, so four years under him has to have helped him grow as a man and a player. If the consistency issues arise, CP3 will have no problem putting him in his place. Considering where we were a few weeks ago, I like the direction we're going.
I wish we could have signed Quinn Cook. Have him learn a year with CP3 and Austin, then next year we could have a bench where Austin and Dawsen make up a pretty good defensive wing combo. These part few years with Jamal playing no D at all will be forgotten by then

[mkwest]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py4CgSwoBgs[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywNjW7rcADI[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dwAMN3GCns[/youtube]