Towns or Okafor or Mudiay or Russel?

[mpharris36]

you can't get jimmy butler. the other 3 are fine but i wonder how much you'll have to overpay.
i would go for a defensive big first in free agency. deandre. r lopez. asik.
with melo, a defensive center and a dynamic guard you have a start. then fill in the pieces.

ehhh we did the whole 4 on 5 offensive thing with Tyson and that didn't work.

I really am not thrilled with have a schlub on offense as a big man.

Robin Lopez might have a little skill. But I don't see Deandre Jordan and Asik being fits in our offensive system. And Jordan you would have to give the max too and I don't see the clippers not maxing him out. I mean who else would they go after and with what $$$?

Asik doesn't do it for me.

[mpharris36]

I wouldnt draft based on position or who we may or may not be able to sign. You can get burned doing that. Just need to focus on taking the best guy.

i understand but i don't think it's obvious who that is though.

young skilled bigs don't are very rare to find and don't come into the draft very often. There are always playmaking guards guards coming through the league. Russell would be the only guy I would consider a top 3 pick. Mudiay isn't up there yet, he has yet to impress me. He is the clear cut #4 guy.

[Meat]

you can't get jimmy butler. the other 3 are fine but i wonder how much you'll have to overpay.
i would go for a defensive big first in free agency. deandre. r lopez. asik.
with melo, a defensive center and a dynamic guard you have a start. then fill in the pieces.

ehhh we did the whole 4 on 5 offensive thing with Tyson and that didn't work.

I really am not thrilled with have a schlub on offense as a big man.

Robin Lopez might have a little skill. But I don't see Deandre Jordan and Asik being fits in our offensive system. And Jordan you would have to give the max too and I don't see the clippers not maxing him out. I mean who else would they go after and with what $$$?

Asik doesn't do it for me.

you mean in 2013?
i hardly think felton, shump and Kmart counted as 1 each.

[mpharris36]

you can't get jimmy butler. the other 3 are fine but i wonder how much you'll have to overpay.
i would go for a defensive big first in free agency. deandre. r lopez. asik.
with melo, a defensive center and a dynamic guard you have a start. then fill in the pieces.

ehhh we did the whole 4 on 5 offensive thing with Tyson and that didn't work.

I really am not thrilled with have a schlub on offense as a big man.

Robin Lopez might have a little skill. But I don't see Deandre Jordan and Asik being fits in our offensive system. And Jordan you would have to give the max too and I don't see the clippers not maxing him out. I mean who else would they go after and with what $$$?

Asik doesn't do it for me.

you mean in 2013?
i hardly think felton, shump and Kmart counted as 1 each.

it wasn't just 2013. I watch the clippers and yes I love the fact Jordan pads his rebounding #'s but he can't score and his FT shooting is abysmal.

Asik can't score either.

Lopez has a little more skill but I would rather go for a skilled young big and get a 2-way guard.

[RHODEY]

Honestly I get the sense that people prefer Towns because they think you must be able to be strong defensively to be a good/great player. That's simply not true. They see Okafor struggle defensively so they immediately disqualify him from possibly being great and immediately gravitate to the next closest guy that gives any hope of being both... Then they project what they wish on that guy and see things that isn't there or isn't proven. point still is by the very fact Calipari has not utilized Towns as much as he probably should means Towns hasn't had enough play offensively to prove or disprove anything. Can Towns be a strong offensive player? Absolutely. Has he shown for certain he is? No.

Perhaps Towns has bigger bust potential than Okafur? Along with a higher ceiling? Okafur's bottom is Curry with excellent passing skills
and a solid work ethic...

Curry with a solid work ethic is a much better player than Curry ever was. So what does that even mean?

Dont know it was a question.

I hate those types of comparisons. "His ceiling is X player with better this, this and that". By the time you're done listing what he does differently, the initial comparison doesn't make sense anymore.

I thought is was understood that they are similar offensively, I didn't think adding work ethic and passing to the mix would make people's heads explode.

[Deeeez Knicks]

I wouldnt draft based on position or who we may or may not be able to sign. You can get burned doing that. Just need to focus on taking the best guy.

i understand but i don't think it's obvious who that is though.

young skilled bigs don't are very rare to find and don't come into the draft very often. There are always playmaking guards guards coming through the league. Russell would be the only guy I would consider a top 3 pick. Mudiay isn't up there yet, he has yet to impress me. He is the clear cut #4 guy.

yeah, i would agree with Mudiay. They all have some questions, but he has the most. The competition in China is really just terrible. I would put him at #4 too.

If Okafor is still the consensus #1, Towns vs Russell is a pretty close call. Right now I may lean towards Towns. Personally, I just love the potential as a legit 2 way player. I do love Russell's vision and feel for the game too. They both have different question marks and strengths. Its going to be a tough decision.

[Bill Pidto]

I thought is was understood that they are similar offensively, I didn't think adding work ethic and passing to the mix would make people's heads explode.

My head didn't explode. I was just making a point that those comparisons are kinda silly. Eddy Curry with a good work ethic is a totally different player than Eddy Curry ever was. I'll take that guy on my team, so if that's his "floor"...

[RHODEY]

I thought is was understood that they are similar offensively, I didn't think adding work ethic and passing to the mix would make people's heads explode.

My head didn't explode. I was just making a point that those comparisons are kinda silly. Eddy Curry with a good work ethic is a totally different player than Eddy Curry ever was. I'll take that guy on my team, so if that's his "floor"...

Well that's your opinion,I don't agree that it's "silly" to compare two offensively similar players, but I digress.

[Marty McFly]

Too much on Towns shoulders? Sheeeeiiiit look at what everyone is putting on Okafor's shoulders as well

People already label him as the most NBA ready player out the draft and got him as a franchise changer. You know how much pressure that is to put on a kid like that?

Okafor, Towns, Mudiay, Russell all of them needs this city to be patient with them. So what if we don't win a title while Melo is still in his prime, whoever the next young kid to come here is we need to give him patience.

Thats because he (okafor) is the most nba ready. we know what we're going to get with okafor. His pros and cons have been discussed , dissected, by most anyone here who cares about the draft. with towns, he's getting talked about like he's the next bill russell, coming to save the day, to cover all the ass the current bums on this team show on a nightly basis, because "defense wins championships" And those people are going to be severely dissappointed. how many teams have won championships relying solely on a single player to produce defensively?

But that's the thing though even with Okafor being the most NBA ready this particular class has a lot of weaknesses & for anyone to expect Okafor to save the day like he's Patrick Ewing or Towns to save the day like he's the next Bill Russell is just crazy. We're not talking about Lebron James or Blake Griffin, this class doesn't have any immediate superstars.

I understand your focus was primarily on how people view Towns but I'm just looking at the bigger picture for this top draft class.

I agree the the top 4 blue chippers are flawed, which why it appears that there's little separation between them as prospects,
but I disagree that it'd take all of them the same amount of time to produce what we think they should. you put Okafor in an offense that has Carmelo Anthony in it, and he's going to look like sure fire all star right off the bat. The same might be true with russell.

[RHODEY]

I thought is was understood that they are similar offensively, I didn't think adding work ethic and passing to the mix would make people's heads explode.

My head didn't explode. I was just making a point that those comparisons are kinda silly. Eddy Curry with a good work ethic is a totally different player than Eddy Curry ever was. I'll take that guy on my team, so if that's his "floor"...

Well that's your opinion,I don't agree that it's "silly" to pose a question about two offensively similar players, but I digress.

[Sprewell4Three]

Curry didn't have the handle in college , he developed it in the pros. Russell can develop his handle more in the pros.

this.

To be fair just because Curry did it doesn't mean Russell will. That's bad logic. Every player is different.

That's true but Curry is a good example of a player that had limited handles in college to having excellent handles in the NBA. I'm just saying there's hope for DeAngelo to improve his handle.

[Sprewell4Three]

Not a huge fan of any of those. If Russell and or Mudiay are the next big thing at the guard position, I'd rather take a chance on those guys than over paying for average guards in FA. Jimmy Butler will not be as good as advertised In his next contract. The injuries are piling up thanks to Thibs over playing him.

you don't like Wes Matthews, Danny Green, Jimmy Butler, or Middleton?

All those gusy are good on both ends of the floor. We are going to spend our $$$ on someone might as well be guys from winning teams that play on both ends. If you don't like that type of player I am pretty confused on what players you would actually like?

You're saying we should draft Towns because there's going to be good guards available in FA. I'm saying I'm not a huge fan of paying for those guys because I'd rather use my pick to draft the 2 guards that are coming out this year. The team could do both and sign one of those guards AND draft either Mudiay/Russell...so

[mpharris36]

Not a huge fan of any of those. If Russell and or Mudiay are the next big thing at the guard position, I'd rather take a chance on those guys than over paying for average guards in FA. Jimmy Butler will not be as good as advertised In his next contract. The injuries are piling up thanks to Thibs over playing him.

you don't like Wes Matthews, Danny Green, Jimmy Butler, or Middleton?

All those gusy are good on both ends of the floor. We are going to spend our $$$ on someone might as well be guys from winning teams that play on both ends. If you don't like that type of player I am pretty confused on what players you would actually like?

You're saying we should draft Towns because there's going to be good guards available in FA. I'm saying I'm not a huge fan of paying for those guys because I'd rather use my pick to draft the 2 guards that are coming out this year. The team could do both and sign one of those guards AND draft either Mudiay/Russell...so

i don't know what you have seen from Mudiay that tell you he comes right in and makes an impact. He is the definition of a project and he hasn't even played against college competition in the chinese league.

Russell you can make a case for..Mudiay no way in hell over Towns.

[Pharmcat]

I think at this time it is:
1) ok4
2) russell
3) towns
4) mudiay

[TrueWarrior]

Don't know how anyone can make a case for Mudiay over the other 3 right now. Look at the new draftexpress video of Mudiay's 2 playoff games. He can't even blow by Marbury who is 20 years older. Not nearly as athletic as advertised and the dude makes bad decisions all over the place. Hes also a poor triangle fit on top of it all.

[bigfnjoe96]

Don't know how anyone can make a case for Mudiay over the other 3 right now. Look at the new draftexpress video of Mudiay's 2 playoff games. He can't even blow by Marbury who is 20 years older. Not nearly as athletic as advertised and the dude makes bad decisions all over the place. Hes also a poor triangle fit on top of it all.

I agree True. I actually have him 5th behind Hezonja in my lottery mock

KAT
Okafor
D'Angelo
Hezonja
Mudaiy


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[FreeSpiritNY]

I would take rusell that kid can flat out ball. He is a two way player and he is dam good. Russell Galloway melo. ? ? If we can pry dridge and maybe ddraymond or kawki we will be pretty good.

[FemaleDogPlease]

Mudiay is still the top guard on my draft board. I dont understand why people are complaining that he isn't blowing by guards left and right.

He actually reminds me of JR Smith skill wise. A PG minded version of JR Smith with a brain is top NBA player.

[sportscrazy]

I'd for Okafor or Towns. I don't see a good fit/don't know enough about him with Mudiay. And for some reason Russell strikes me as that type of prospect that has a solid season and gets over-hyped in a shallow draft class then ends up going top three, but ends up being more of a serviceable player as a pro than a star (ie. Evan Turner, Derrick Williams, Michael Beasley, etc.). I don't know why Russell strikes me that way.

If we go Okafor or Towns, which center can we sign to start over him to start the year for cheap, like cap MLE or less cheap?

[And100]

I'd for Okafor or Towns. I don't see a good fit/don't know enough about him with Mudiay. And for some reason Russell strikes me as that type of prospect that has a solid season and gets over-hyped in a shallow draft class then ends up going top three, but ends up being more of a serviceable player as a pro than a star (ie. Evan Turner, Derrick Williams, Michael Beasley, etc.). I don't know why Russell strikes me that way.

If we go Okafor or Towns, which center can we sign to start over him to start the year for cheap, like cap MLE or less cheap?

The book on Okafor is that he's NBA ready, at least offensively.

Throw him out there.