Countdown to NBA Draft: Prospect Talk

[GONYK]

It appears Phil is scared of getting the 1st pick. Maybe he's afraid of failure. I could be wrong but if there as a clear cut franchise changer Ala LeBron or Shaq I think we would be tanking. But he probably don't wanna pick Ok4 with the #1 and have let say 4th pick (Russell) becomes the better pro. Phil is the GM equivalent of a star player who is scared to take the last shot. I hope I'm wrong though.

You're saying a man who has 11 championship rings is afraid of failure and is thus sabotaging his own success based on nothing else outside of the Knicks beating the Spurs last night?

This is logic to you?

[EMG518]

I just want to point this out. We cant have this mentality that were good with any pick in the top 4. Every year people are wrong on players. I went through espn draft history back until 2001 and there was not one draft were someone didnt walk away with a bust in the top 4, not 1. Alot of these picks are not just busts for their position but complete misses. We have to get this right if we are keeping the pick. We can just assume were good with whomever we get. I dont feel that way about this draft.

NBA Draft

2008
1.Rose
2.Beasley
3.Mayo

2009
1.Blake Griffin
2.Hasheem Thabeet
3.James Harden

2010
1.John Wall
2.Evan Turner
3.Derrick Favors

2011
1.Kyrie Irving
2.Derrick Williams
3.Enes Kanter

2012
1.Anthony Davis
2.MKG
3.Bradley Beal

2013
1.Anthony Bennet
2.Victor Oladipo
3.Otto Poter

[Fat]

sooooo... who does everyone like with the 7th pick?

WCS

[JustCame]

I just want to point this out. We cant have this mentality that were good with any pick in the top 4. Every year people are wrong on players. I went through espn draft history back until 2001 and there was not one draft were someone didnt walk away with a bust in the top 4, not 1. Alot of these picks are not just busts for their position but complete misses. We have to get this right if we are keeping the pick. We can just assume were good with whomever we get. I dont feel that way about this draft.

NBA Draft

2008
1.Rose
2.Beasley
3.Mayo

2009
1.Blake Griffin
2.Hasheem Thabeet
3.James Harden

2010
1.John Wall
2.Evan Turner
3.Derrick Favors

2011
1.Kyrie Irving
2.Derrick Williams
3.Enes Kanter

2012
1.Anthony Davis
2.MKG
3.Bradley Beal

2013
1.Anthony Bennet
2.Victor Oladipo
3.Otto Poter

The main reason why we want the worst record is to have a chance at any of the top 4 (Towns, Okafor, Russell, Mudiay). Those top 4 players are by far the best players in the draft on paper. Obviously there's always a chance of bust, but anybody outside of that top 4 doesn't really have franchise player potential, and that's what we need.

[djphan]

I just want to point this out. We cant have this mentality that were good with any pick in the top 4. Every year people are wrong on players. I went through espn draft history back until 2001 and there was not one draft were someone didnt walk away with a bust in the top 4, not 1. Alot of these picks are not just busts for their position but complete misses. We have to get this right if we are keeping the pick. We can just assume were good with whomever we get. I dont feel that way about this draft.

NBA Draft

2008
1.Rose
2.Beasley
3.Mayo

2009
1.Blake Griffin
2.Hasheem Thabeet
3.James Harden

2010
1.John Wall
2.Evan Turner
3.Derrick Favors

2011
1.Kyrie Irving
2.Derrick Williams
3.Enes Kanter

2012
1.Anthony Davis
2.MKG
3.Bradley Beal

2013
1.Anthony Bennet
2.Victor Oladipo
3.Otto Poter

Here's the main difference... any of the top 3 of Towns, Russell and Okafor is #1 in any of those drafts except for Anthony Davis and maybe Griffin..

[EMG518]

I just want to point this out. We cant have this mentality that were good with any pick in the top 4. Every year people are wrong on players. I went through espn draft history back until 2001 and there was not one draft were someone didnt walk away with a bust in the top 4, not 1. Alot of these picks are not just busts for their position but complete misses. We have to get this right if we are keeping the pick. We can just assume were good with whomever we get. I dont feel that way about this draft.

NBA Draft

2008
1.Rose
2.Beasley
3.Mayo

2009
1.Blake Griffin
2.Hasheem Thabeet
3.James Harden

2010
1.John Wall
2.Evan Turner
3.Derrick Favors

2011
1.Kyrie Irving
2.Derrick Williams
3.Enes Kanter

2012
1.Anthony Davis
2.MKG
3.Bradley Beal

2013
1.Anthony Bennet
2.Victor Oladipo
3.Otto Poter

Here's the main difference... any of the top 3 of Towns, Russell and Okafor is #1 in any of those drafts except for Anthony Davis and maybe Griffin..

Youre way off base.

[EMG518]

I just want to point this out. We cant have this mentality that were good with any pick in the top 4. Every year people are wrong on players. I went through espn draft history back until 2001 and there was not one draft were someone didnt walk away with a bust in the top 4, not 1. Alot of these picks are not just busts for their position but complete misses. We have to get this right if we are keeping the pick. We can just assume were good with whomever we get. I dont feel that way about this draft.

NBA Draft

2008
1.Rose
2.Beasley
3.Mayo

2009
1.Blake Griffin
2.Hasheem Thabeet
3.James Harden

2010
1.John Wall
2.Evan Turner
3.Derrick Favors

2011
1.Kyrie Irving
2.Derrick Williams
3.Enes Kanter

2012
1.Anthony Davis
2.MKG
3.Bradley Beal

2013
1.Anthony Bennet
2.Victor Oladipo
3.Otto Poter

The main reason why we want the worst record is to have a chance at any of the top 4 (Towns, Okafor, Russell, Mudiay). Those top 4 players are by far the best players in the draft on paper. Obviously there's always a chance of bust, but anybody outside of that top 4 doesn't really have franchise player potential, and that's what we need.

This is my exact point. This is the type of thinking that has failed every year. Every year many of the best players are missed on with this thinking. The players that go top 4 every year are not the best players every year, they have not been one time.

[Deeeez Knicks]

It is a good point and I agree with EMG. As good as all of these guys sound and as much as I like 3 or 4 of the top guys, there's always busts. We can speculate, but sometimes its just hard to know. Hopefully we make the right decision, but nothing is guaranteed in the draft

[JBreezeNY]

If the knicks fall outside of top 4, I don't mind drafting this Hezonga guy he can ball like his skill set.

HEZONJAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd really love to get him, that boy is gonna come out the gate scoring not to mention he's an athletic motherfu*ker. I'm starting to hope in the back of my mind we get the #5 pick so we get him

[djphan]

Youre way off base.

well let's start with russell.... he's posting better numbers across the board than any guard on that list in their freshman year... the only exception is irving but irving only played 11 games... him and harden are somewhat equal but harden came out as a soph... wall and rose are somewhat close but he blows everyone else away...

same thing with towns... he's only behind davis... way way ahead of thabeet

okafor is doing about the same as blake griffin... it's really a coinflip of who you prefer...

if you rerank them according to their college production and factor in age it would look something like:

1. Davis
2. Favors
3. Towns
4. a. Russell b. Irving c. Harden
6. a. Okafor b. Blake
7. Wall
8. Rose
9. Beasley
11. Turner
12. Oladipo
13. Porter

I invite anyone to take a look at the numbers... and if you think wall / rose deserve to be ahead of russell i won't argue much with you but that group is pretty close in any case...

[JBreezeNY]

Youre way off base.

well let's start with russell.... he's posting better numbers across the board than any guard on that list in their freshman year... the only exception is irving but irving only played 11 games... him and harden are somewhat equal but harden came out as a soph... wall and rose are somewhat close but he blows everyone else away...

same thing with towns... he's only behind davis... way way ahead of thabeet

okafor is doing about the same as blake griffin... it's really a coinflip of who you prefer...

if you rerank them according to their college production and factor in age it would look something like:

1. Davis
2. Favors
3. Towns
4. a. Russell b. Irving c. Harden
6. a. Okafor b. Blake
7. Wall
8. Rose
9. Beasley
11. Turner
12. Oladipo
13. Porter

I invite anyone to take a look at the numbers... and if you think wall / rose deserve to be ahead of russell i won't argue much with you but that group is pretty close in any case...

Yup.

I'm telling you fam we're good with ANY of the top 4, hell, we're good with anybody in the top 5. Obviously me & you both prefer Towns but if it comes down to Okafor, Mudiay, Russell or Super Mario we will be more than fine. Anyone panicking and thinking this draft is gonna feature busts and we NEED to get the #1 pick and we NEED to stop winning games aren't paying attention to these kids.

[TrueWarrior]

NBADraft.net writeup on Hezonja. This was written in August 2011 mind you and he's only gotten better.

Strengths: Smooth, athletic guard with enormous potential ... Right now at 16: he was born in 1995, he can already play at a high level in Europe ... Probably is the best European prospect at his position since Drazen Petrovic and honestly has more potential: on the court he can do everything ... Prototypical SG size for the NBA with excellent leaping ability ... A natural and aggressive scorer: he has great jump shot, with good spot up/pull up ability ... His long arms and athleticism also make him very efficient finishing at the rim; against opponents smaller than him he also knows how to utilize a post up game ... He can pass: he is tall for the role and he has a terrific vision, so he can even play like point guard or point forward ... He can takes rebound: with is body skills he is a good rebounder for his size thanks to his aggressiveness and athleticism and he plays clutch when the game is close ... He's really an exciting player ... He's also a good ball handler and he runs very well in fast break and in transition ... He also shows good anticipation defensively and has a great knack for jumping passing lanes ...

Weaknesses: Hezonja has incredible intensity, but sometimes that manifests itself in him being too hard on himself and especially teammates. He's been seen getting in the face of teammates when they don't play up to his expectations ... He's a poor student and considered to be a bit of a wild child off the floor. Gaining some maturity and becoming more of a team player should be something that he focuses on ... He's very young so his long-limbed body is perfect for his age, however he must put on some muscle to play in NBA ... In one-on-one defense, he doesn't always exhibit enough intensity, but sometimes that is understandable in order for him to be as prolific as he is offensively ...

So his negatives are he sometimes is too intense, he gets in the face of teammates when they arent playing well and he's a little wild off the court. Sign me up. We could use a crazy European.

[Dantares]

NBADraft.net writeup on Hezonja. This was written in August 2011 mind you and he's only gotten better.

Strengths: Smooth, athletic guard with enormous potential ... Right now at 16: he was born in 1995, he can already play at a high level in Europe ... Probably is the best European prospect at his position since Drazen Petrovic and honestly has more potential: on the court he can do everything ... Prototypical SG size for the NBA with excellent leaping ability ... A natural and aggressive scorer: he has great jump shot, with good spot up/pull up ability ... His long arms and athleticism also make him very efficient finishing at the rim; against opponents smaller than him he also knows how to utilize a post up game ... He can pass: he is tall for the role and he has a terrific vision, so he can even play like point guard or point forward ... He can takes rebound: with is body skills he is a good rebounder for his size thanks to his aggressiveness and athleticism and he plays clutch when the game is close ... He's really an exciting player ... He's also a good ball handler and he runs very well in fast break and in transition ... He also shows good anticipation defensively and has a great knack for jumping passing lanes ...

Weaknesses: Hezonja has incredible intensity, but sometimes that manifests itself in him being too hard on himself and especially teammates. He's been seen getting in the face of teammates when they don't play up to his expectations ... He's a poor student and considered to be a bit of a wild child off the floor. Gaining some maturity and becoming more of a team player should be something that he focuses on ... He's very young so his long-limbed body is perfect for his age, however he must put on some muscle to play in NBA ... In one-on-one defense, he doesn't always exhibit enough intensity, but sometimes that is understandable in order for him to be as prolific as he is offensively ...

So his negatives are he sometimes is too intense, he gets in the face of teammates when they arent playing well and he's a little wild off the court. Sign me up. We could use a crazy European.

ya know two other athletic shooting guards that used to do that? Kobe and Mj... I'm just sayin.

[JBreezeNY]

NBADraft.net writeup on Hezonja. This was written in August 2011 mind you and he's only gotten better.

Strengths: Smooth, athletic guard with enormous potential ... Right now at 16: he was born in 1995, he can already play at a high level in Europe ... Probably is the best European prospect at his position since Drazen Petrovic and honestly has more potential: on the court he can do everything ... Prototypical SG size for the NBA with excellent leaping ability ... A natural and aggressive scorer: he has great jump shot, with good spot up/pull up ability ... His long arms and athleticism also make him very efficient finishing at the rim; against opponents smaller than him he also knows how to utilize a post up game ... He can pass: he is tall for the role and he has a terrific vision, so he can even play like point guard or point forward ... He can takes rebound: with is body skills he is a good rebounder for his size thanks to his aggressiveness and athleticism and he plays clutch when the game is close ... He's really an exciting player ... He's also a good ball handler and he runs very well in fast break and in transition ... He also shows good anticipation defensively and has a great knack for jumping passing lanes ...

Weaknesses: Hezonja has incredible intensity, but sometimes that manifests itself in him being too hard on himself and especially teammates. He's been seen getting in the face of teammates when they don't play up to his expectations ... He's a poor student and considered to be a bit of a wild child off the floor. Gaining some maturity and becoming more of a team player should be something that he focuses on ... He's very young so his long-limbed body is perfect for his age, however he must put on some muscle to play in NBA ... In one-on-one defense, he doesn't always exhibit enough intensity, but sometimes that is understandable in order for him to be as prolific as he is offensively ...

So his negatives are he sometimes is too intense, he gets in the face of teammates when they arent playing well and he's a little wild off the court. Sign me up. We could use a crazy European.

The guy is a **** beast bro!!!

I love his intensity & his confidence is sky high. Not to mention his defense continues to improve to the point where he's quite possibly a two way player now. I don't give a fu*k if he's a wild child or he gets in the face of his teammates like you said we could definitely use a crazy player that wants to win & wants his teammates to win.

I saw this video where he made 8 three's and immediately said we need to get this fu*king guy.

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

I got goosebumps watching this...

[EMG518]

Youre way off base.

well let's start with russell.... he's posting better numbers across the board than any guard on that list in their freshman year... the only exception is irving but irving only played 11 games... him and harden are somewhat equal but harden came out as a soph... wall and rose are somewhat close but he blows everyone else away...

same thing with towns... he's only behind davis... way way ahead of thabeet

okafor is doing about the same as blake griffin... it's really a coinflip of who you prefer...

if you rerank them according to their college production and factor in age it would look something like:

1. Davis
2. Favors
3. Towns
4. a. Russell b. Irving c. Harden
6. a. Okafor b. Blake
7. Wall
8. Rose
9. Beasley
11. Turner
12. Oladipo
13. Porter

I invite anyone to take a look at the numbers... and if you think wall / rose deserve to be ahead of russell i won't argue much with you but that group is pretty close in any case...

If only draft position was based purely on stats, but it aint. Beasley would go ahead of everyone on that list. Freshman numbers 31.5 min, 56.2% 2s. 37.9% 3s, 77.4% ft, 26.2 pts, 12.4 reb, 1.2 ast, 1.3 stl, 1.6 blk. Just stop, you dont know what youre talking about. That is in no way how the draft would go. You would have had to been active following the draft those years to understand how those players would be ranked and if you had been you wouldnt be ranking them the way you are. It cant be contrived from stats.

[djphan]

well the main difference beasley is below griffin is.. a)he was a headcase.. everyone knew this that's why he wasn't #1... b)his 2p fg% was 56.2% .. blake as a soph was 65.9%

so instead of telling me to stop.. maybe you should continue on your perusal through the numbers and enlighten yourself...

[Manhattan Project]

1- Anthony Davis
2- Blake Griffin
3- Derrick Rose
4- Michael Beasley
Jahlil Okafor
5- John Wall
Karl-Anthony Towns
6- Derrick Favors
7- James Harden
8- Kyrie Irving
D'Angelo Russell
9- Bradley Beal
10- MKG
11- OJ Mayo
12- Enes Kanter
13- Derrick Williams
14- Evan Turner
15- Victor Oladipo
16- Otto Porter
17- Anthony Bennett
18 Hasheem Thabeet

[EMG518]

well the main difference beasley is below griffin is.. a)he was a headcase.. everyone knew this that's why he wasn't #1... b)his 2p fg% was 56.2% .. blake as a soph was 65.9%

so instead of telling me to stop.. maybe you should continue on your perusal through the numbers and enlighten yourself...

I shouldnt even bother responding to you because you honestly have no clue. It would be so easy to draft if we just ranked everyone based off of their current production wouldnt it?

As far as Beasley vs Blake, Blakes stats are not better as a freshman or a sophomore than Beasley's freshman year. Sorry.

[djphan]

it is actually pretty damn easy ... identifying who the best player in the draft is insanely easy.. it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that anthony davis was the best prospect since duncan... the numbers just back it up... same thing with every guy on this list that was the consensus #1... it was a CONSENSUS.. and the top 3 this year matchup fairly well to all those guys...

and i listed favors #2 for a variety of reasons... he literally has all the markers for an elite player but he hasn't had the success of the other guys further down... that's one reason why stats don't explain EVERYTHING... but it explains a good chunk...

and scoring efficiently is more important than scoring in volume... which is why beasley was not the prospect griffin was coming out... if you're going to look at the numbers look at them intelligently...

[RaZzMaTaZz]

NBADraft.net writeup on Hezonja. This was written in August 2011 mind you and he's only gotten better.

Strengths: Smooth, athletic guard with enormous potential ... Right now at 16: he was born in 1995, he can already play at a high level in Europe ... Probably is the best European prospect at his position since Drazen Petrovic and honestly has more potential: on the court he can do everything ... Prototypical SG size for the NBA with excellent leaping ability ... A natural and aggressive scorer: he has great jump shot, with good spot up/pull up ability ... His long arms and athleticism also make him very efficient finishing at the rim; against opponents smaller than him he also knows how to utilize a post up game ... He can pass: he is tall for the role and he has a terrific vision, so he can even play like point guard or point forward ... He can takes rebound: with is body skills he is a good rebounder for his size thanks to his aggressiveness and athleticism and he plays clutch when the game is close ... He's really an exciting player ... He's also a good ball handler and he runs very well in fast break and in transition ... He also shows good anticipation defensively and has a great knack for jumping passing lanes ...

Weaknesses: Hezonja has incredible intensity, but sometimes that manifests itself in him being too hard on himself and especially teammates. He's been seen getting in the face of teammates when they don't play up to his expectations ... He's a poor student and considered to be a bit of a wild child off the floor. Gaining some maturity and becoming more of a team player should be something that he focuses on ... He's very young so his long-limbed body is perfect for his age, however he must put on some muscle to play in NBA ... In one-on-one defense, he doesn't always exhibit enough intensity, but sometimes that is understandable in order for him to be as prolific as he is offensively ...

So his negatives are he sometimes is too intense, he gets in the face of teammates when they arent playing well and he's a little wild off the court. Sign me up. We could use a crazy European.

Henzonja is a very intriguing player wouldn't mind drafting him at all if we fall out of the top 5.

But I doubt Phil is gonna draft him we got lof of Sg/Sf on this team plus how he is gonna get playing time when we still have melo?

I think we are going big man or pg.