Draft Thread Part 2

[Cactus Jack]

Come on now, comparing him to Ed Davis is disingenuous. Davis literally could only get his points on drop offs and alley oops, Chriss has a much better mid-range game with him even without considering his jump shot and he actually showed ability to create shots for himself

I did say Davis BUT with an outside shot. Davis is the superior rebounder though. Both undersized.

[thamadkant]

Got to be careful with Chriss.

Hakim Warrick, Stromile Swift were super athletic PFs drafted mainly due to their athleticism.

The Chriss and Amare comparison ends at the athleticism alone. Amare was an excellent rim protector at high school and was incredibly strong and explosive....

I don't know why people compare him to Amare anyway. Yeah, he is an athletic guy who can dunk, but his strengths are blocking shots and hitting the 3, and Amare's were mostly strictly as a finisher.

What you would hope for is a prime Ibaka with him if he learns how to rebound.

To me he looks like a cross between Terrence Jones and Gerald Green, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

I think Chriss is a Small Forward with a long neck..
If he was a good ball handler... He would be comparable to a poor man's Paul George.

[letsgosuns]

Chad Ford reported the Suns are considering picking Marquese Chriss with the 4th pick. I watched his highlights and he looks pretty good. Has some really good averages too. Shoots from the outside and dunks with power and looks really athletic. Also blocks a lot of shots. Seems like he could be a good pick.

What the ****?

Idk anything about him. I do not watch college sports. I just thought he looked good from some highlights though.

[bwgood77]

Come on now, comparing him to Ed Davis is disingenuous. Davis literally could only get his points on drop offs and alley oops, Chriss has a much better mid-range game with him even without considering his jump shot and he actually showed ability to create shots for himself

I did say Davis BUT with an outside shot. Davis is the superior rebounder though. Both undersized.

How is 6'10 undersized? The kid is pretty young.

[bwgood77]

Honestly, the talk about the Suns maybe being interested in Chriss at #4, whether they are or they are not interested, is smart to leak, because he will most certainly not be taken higher than that, and if there was a team praying he would slip to them, perhaps they offer a deal. OR, less likely, if the Suns really want Bender, perhaps they are trying to get the Celtics to take a few more looks at Chriss' highlights if they fear they might take Bender.

The position the Suns are in, after a clear top two, they could say they are interested in anyone and it doesn't really have any downside. Less downside if we were sitting at 3, of course.

[Cactus Jack]

Come on now, comparing him to Ed Davis is disingenuous. Davis literally could only get his points on drop offs and alley oops, Chriss has a much better mid-range game with him even without considering his jump shot and he actually showed ability to create shots for himself

I did say Davis BUT with an outside shot. Davis is the superior rebounder though. Both undersized.

How is 6'10 undersized? The kid is pretty young.

He's listed at 6'10''(w/shoes). But He's really 6'8''. Listed at 230. Very similar to Davis when he came out.

[Zelaznyrules]

I did say Davis BUT with an outside shot. Davis is the superior rebounder though. Both undersized.

How is 6'10 undersized? The kid is pretty young.

He's listed at 6'10''(w/shoes). But He's really 6'8''. Listed at 230. Very similar to Davis when he came out.

No, you're shorting him by 3/4ths of an inch and that's a bad round down. He measures reasonably well other than a disappointing standing reach. In comparison to Markieff for example, he's a full inch taller with a 1.5 inch advantage in wingspan, Keef had him by the same advantage in standing reach. But Chriss is the far superior athlete.

Chriss screams boom or bust to me. I don't see Amare, I don't see Ed Davis and I don't see "solid" player. He's a star 5 years from now or he's learning Chinese.

[Cactus Jack]

How is 6'10 undersized? The kid is pretty young.

He's listed at 6'10''(w/shoes). But He's really 6'8''. Listed at 230. Very similar to Davis when he came out.

No, you're shorting him by 3/4ths of an inch and that's a bad round down. He measures reasonably well other than a disappointing standing reach. In comparison to Markieff for example, he's a full inch taller with a 1.5 inch advantage in wingspan, Keef had him by the same advantage in standing reach. But Chriss is the far superior athlete.

Chriss screams boom or bust to me. I don't see Amare, I don't see Ed Davis and I don't see "solid" player. He's a star 5 years from now or he's learning Chinese.

Chinese it is.

[Zelaznyrules]

He's listed at 6'10''(w/shoes). But He's really 6'8''. Listed at 230. Very similar to Davis when he came out.

No, you're shorting him by 3/4ths of an inch and that's a bad round down. He measures reasonably well other than a disappointing standing reach. In comparison to Markieff for example, he's a full inch taller with a 1.5 inch advantage in wingspan, Keef had him by the same advantage in standing reach. But Chriss is the far superior athlete.

Chriss screams boom or bust to me. I don't see Amare, I don't see Ed Davis and I don't see "solid" player. He's a star 5 years from now or he's learning Chinese.

Chinese it is.

It could well be. Most years I'd hate the idea of drafting him at 4. This year though, might as well unless the brain trust thinks someone like Bender is the real deal.

[Damkac]

T.J. Warren watched today's Suns draft workout, looking swole in the upper body after undergoing surgery in February for a foot fracture.

https://mobile.twitter.com/paulcoro/status/736272776269430785

He must have awesome work ethic. Improving his 3pt shoot, transforming his body (he already lost much fat in the past). Hope he may also improve his D. Trading this guy would be the dumbest think that Suns could do.

[No-Man]

I updated my Mock/Board (in the end is a combination of both) after we got the Official Early Entry List (minus internationals prospects, I am assuming that Cordinier, Papagiannis, Yusta, Slavica, Atic, Bakumanya, Birsen, Bouteille, Diop, Fall, Flaccadori, Guven, Håkansson, Jaramaz, Kaba, Loubaki, Mesicek, Sipahi, Ugurlu and Vezenkov withdraw from this Draft).

I added a 3rd round, just out of curiosity and because even if this class is difficult to foresee at the top10-15, it is deep and there are some guys I didnt want to leave out.

http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draft_simulator/view/202092/
http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draft_simulator/view/202102/

Like always not trying to hit with any pick, just adapting my board to the teams picking, sort of, any feedback is very much appreciated, but take into consideration that it is not a prediction.

PHX in my mock goes with Dunn, Sabonis, Siakam and Yabusele, I think boasting the frontcourt is necessary but you can't draft for fit with the 4th pick, neither Bledsoe or Knight are 100% part of the future and the only guy that should matter is Booker, I like both Baldwin and Dunn next to him, but Dunn is a better defensive Guard, instincts wise and brings a more complimentary role to Booker's shooting, whereas Baldwin, whom I like a lot and think is deserving of top5-10 consideration is a bit more one-dimensional offensively.
Sabonis upside lies on him developing his face-up game, I think he has more than he has shown and he has phenomenal footwork in both ends, rebounding ability and positioanl versatility, his passing will be welcomed also, Siakam is an upside pick with length, energy and defense and Yabusele is another guy with a similar mold, but a better face-up game, to stash oversees.

[Mulhollanddrive]

How would Chad Ford be told 'We're considering Marquese Chriss at 4".

If anything his agent should be leaking that to get a few extra $m.

[Waylay13]

Marques Chriss looks like a tweener to me.
Small forward game and mentality...short reach at 8'9... Skinny build.... Long neck.... He is a tallish Small forward IMO... With excellent atheleticism..

I wont judge him on his highlight reels but his fundamentals..

I read somewhere that he has modeled his game after Rudy Gay. While Gay is a nice player he isnt what I want my power forward to be.

[carey]

I added a 3rd round, just out of curiosity and because even if this class is difficult to foresee at the top10-15, it is deep and there are some guys I didnt want to leave out.

http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draft_simulator/view/202092/
http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draft_simulator/view/202102/

Your mock is kind of out there, mate. You have Gary Payton II going before Buddy Hield (who you have going #26.) I can guarantee he doesn't get past New Orleans at #6. I don't think there's any way Baldwin goes as high as #5. I re-watched his game against Kentucky and he struggled finishing over length and getting to his spots all game long. Kentucky is the closest thing to playing against NBA talent and although he's improved since then I don't think he's quite ready for prime-time. His draft range according to workouts seems to be #13-#20. I like that you blaze your own path instead of just rehashing Ford or Givony's mock. You'd be a fun contestant in our draft game over at .net but don't be surprised when some of your picks are way, way off.

[No-Man]

I added a 3rd round, just out of curiosity and because even if this class is difficult to foresee at the top10-15, it is deep and there are some guys I didnt want to leave out.

http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draft_simulator/view/202092/
http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/draft_simulator/view/202102/

Your mock is kind of out there, mate. You have Gary Payton II going before Buddy Hield (who you have going #26.) I can guarantee he doesn't get past New Orleans at #6. I don't think there's any way Baldwin goes as high as #5. I re-watched his game against Kentucky and he struggled finishing over length and getting to his spots all game long. Kentucky is the closest thing to playing against NBA talent and although he's improved since then I don't think he's quite ready for prime-time. His draft range according to workouts seems to be #13-#20. I like that you blaze your own path instead of just rehashing Ford or Givony's mock. You'd be a fun contestant in our draft game over at .net but don't be surprised when some of your picks are way, way off.

You left this out of your quote

"Like always not trying to hit with any pick, just adapting my board to the teams picking, sort of, any feedback is very much appreciated, but take into consideration that it is not a prediction."

[carey]

Chriss screams boom or bust to me. I don't see Amare, I don't see Ed Davis and I don't see "solid" player. He's a star 5 years from now or he's learning Chinese.

Chinese it is.

What worries me about Chriss is this tidbit from Givony's write-up:

Chriss was one of the most foul prone players in college basketball, being disqualified from 15 of his 34 games, and committing four fouls in ten others. Many of his fouls seemed highly unnecessary, particularly early in the season, and appeared to be almost entirely due to a lack of focus.

You can't have a guy that awful on defense be your starting PF unless he's so gifted offensively he is Amare. I didn't see many Washington games, but from his highlights he does not look like Amare. He looks like Jeff Green.

[carey]

You left this out of your quote.

"Like always not trying to hit with any pick, just adapting my board to the teams picking, sort of, any feedback is very much appreciated, but take into consideration that it is not a prediction."

On purpose. You're adapting to the teams picking, which is the definition of predicting and then you go out of your way to say it's not a prediction. So...

[NavLDO]

Spoiler:

I hear you but if we're gonna talk about quality..it goes both ways. Jenkins, Goodwin, Price are just not very good, you can't make roster decisions based on them. Bogdan is an absolute wildcard, nobody knows what he's gonna be or If he's even coming over. And Knight is a guy everyone wants out of town. So basically that leaves Bledsoe and Booker as go-forward pieces. I wouldn't call that a huge glut when it comes to building a roster. There's also no reason you can't have Bledsoe and Booker on the court together with Dunn/Hield/Murray for stretches.

I'm not gonna sit here and act like I know exactly which player is gonna be the best of the bunch, none of us do. I'm just failing to see any reason why you don't take BPA no matter the position if someone separates himself.

Understood, but look at this way--Len is the best we have at C. After that, it's a 33 YO. Bledsoe and Booker are our best Guards. After that, we have Knight, Jenkins, and Goodwin. The add in Bogdanovic--two-time winner of Euroleague Rising Star Trophy; he only other two time winner was Nikola Mirotic, so I doubt we have to worry about whether he'll be good for us in the future.

http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/5xr5u88astihvwuj/euroleague-rising-star-trophy-bogdan-bogdanovic-fenerbahce-ulker-istanbul

And also look at it like this--who will likely be the better player; Jahlil Okafor or any of the 3 Guards you listed, considering Okafor was the consensus #2 player, and some had him #1, in a strong draft. Dunn, Murray, or Hield are no higher than 3rd in a weaker draft. AND consider how much easier it is to find a god Guard vice an Elite Center prospect.

To me, and many on here, it's a no brainer. But then again, I'd draft Valentine over all three of those guys, so my opinion is jaded. And Valentine can play any of the 1, 2, or 3 spots. If you were to ask which I'd want over Okafor or Valentine, it would be a much more difficult choice for me, but I'd still have to go with Okafor.

And your original question was posed as if we had plenty of options at Center, and that just is not the case. Chandler cannot be an every-night starter playing 32 minutes a game, at his age, and Len hasn't really 'broken out' as being a "Top 5" Center. But if we were able to score Okafor, we'd have him, Len and Chandler next season. And if McD were smart, and Valentine was still available at 13, then pick up two of Yabusele/Cornelie/Diallo/Hernangomez/Johnson/Maker/Bentil/Carter/Bolomboy/Niang/Vezenkov at 28 and 34, then, trade Knight to the highest bidder (future picks/PF depth), and wow, we'd look pretty darn good next season, and how I'd build the depth chart to get some BBIQ in at PG:

Bledsoe/(Valentine)/Goodwin
Booker/(Bogdanovic)/(Valentine)
Warren/Tucker/(Bogdanovic)/(Hernangomez)
Bentil/Leuer/(Hernangomez)
Okafor/Len/Chandler

Mix'm up how you like, but there's some versatility, smarts, 'beef', shooting, upside, etc. in there. That's how I'd roll.

On the "Beef" side, if we are looking for that, there are plenty of 'big boys' in that late-1st-to-mid-2nd Range:

Bentil--6'8" 229
Yabusele--6'8" 240-to-260
Carter--6'9" 251
Siakam--6'10" 227
Bolomboy--6'9" 224
Niang--6'9" 231
Vezenkov--6'8" 225

And going a bit further off topic here, but the latter two, Niang and Vezenkov, are quite intriguing, and would love to brin them in if they go undrafted.

Niang at 6' 8.5" and 231lbs,is solidly built, and a SF/PF tweener. His 6' 10" Wingspan is below-average for a PF, but still managed pull in his fair share of rebonds, and Vezenkov, great shooter, low turnovers, and decent size, yet apparently, unathletic, but if you bring in a guy undrafted, well, there's a reason, right?

I think we're veering off topic here. I never actually said I was against picking up Okafor. I was just commenting on the fact that you'd be looking at 3 starting quality Cs who can't share the floor and that being ok with folks but somehow at the same time it's not ok to get another Guard when we really only have 2 building pieces and they're multiple positions that offer more options for minute distribution.

I'll take Jahlil if it doesn't cost much more than the pick, see how it goes. I'm also totally behind you on picking up Valentine, I love him. And boy do I want Siakam..but those are side topics.

Yeah, sorry, I do that sometimes...

I do get your point, I was just trying to counter it from different points of view, is all. I don't necessarily want a Center, but would rather have a better prospect a C for the 4, than ANY of the Guards at 4. 13? OK, but not at 4, unless we are talking Valentine, which for some unknown reason, no one is. Athleticism? That's the whole reason he's not worth a 4? Sorry, but "athleticism" gets overrated sometimes; give me he 'basketball player', they can keep the 'athletes'. But again, off-topic here...sorry.

[darealjuice]

https://theundefeated.com/features/jaylen-brown-the-2016-nba-drafts-renaissance-man/

Don't know if people have already seen this, but here's a pretty interesting article on Jaylen Brown, his approach to the draft, and a bit on how he's preparing and what he wants to be in the NBA. It's a relatively long read, but it wasn't too bad. Something about him bothers me though, not sure why. Interesting to see he's surrounding himself with and trying to learn from guys like Isiah Thomas and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

[DRK]

I absolutely love this article about Jaylen Brown. Sound like an extremely talented kid with an incredible work ethic. He really sounds like a player that would benefit greatly from Earl Watson's personal tutelage, and sounds like a very positive influence in the locker room.

https://theundefeated.com/features/jaylen-brown-the-2016-nba-drafts-renaissance-man/

Considering the fact that our most likely pick is Jaylen Brown at #4, after reading this article, it really cemented who will be top of my list at our pick once the draft comes around.