Draft Thread Part 2

[Saberestar]

Tyler Ulis NBA Draft Scouting Report and Video Breakdown

Ulis' value goes far beyond the numbers, though, as he's your consummate floor general who runs a team exceptionally, while also finding ways to put the ball in the basket himself when needed. Kentucky head coach John Calipari freely admitted that Ulis “coached our team,” giving him the freedom to make adjustments and run the team as he sees fit, due to his outstanding basketball IQ and leadership skills.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Tyler-Ulis-NBA-Draft-Scouting-Report-and-Video-Breakdown-5471

My favourite option at #13.

Without Ronnie Price we are going to need another PG on the roster and an insurance for Bledsoe. He can be our best passer and ball handler on the entire team since the first day in training camp.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I think the TWolves would take Hield or Murray, because they were one of the worst 3 pt shooting teams in the league. One of those guys would be the perfect 6th many for them.

This team played SO much better with Rubio healthy and he's still young at 25....the perfect vet pg who knows how to make every player on that team better because he is such a good passer as well as one of the 2 best defensive point guards in the league. Thibs will probably love him.

Maybe. Hard to take another SG with LaVine on the roster, dontcha think?

Both Suns and TWolves would prefer a PF, if there were one worthy of a pick in that range. Who knows, maybe there is.

Well, Ford has them taking Ellenson. If you are worried about Rubio getting injured, then LaVine can play some point, as could probably Murray. But Hield would probably make an awesome 6th man.

They were tied for 25th in 3 pt shooting, and many of their losses they would basically have similar box scores or better looking box stats, but would get killed in 3 pt shooting, and thus would lose. I know Ellenson projects as a stretch 4, but for them, Towns is close to being a stretch (shoots 34% from 3) and plays well with Dieng, and they also have Adreian Payne, a 2nd year PF who shot 42% from 3 as a senior in college, who shot 28% from 3 this past year.

Ellenson shot like 27% from 3.

I don't know. I'd probably add more perimeter shooting.

Rubio's also only 3 years older than Dunn, and obviously a much better passer and defender. But for injury concern I guess it's worth thinking about.

You make a good point. I'll re-think my mock.

[bwgood77]

Tyler Ulis NBA Draft Scouting Report and Video Breakdown

Ulis' value goes far beyond the numbers, though, as he's your consummate floor general who runs a team exceptionally, while also finding ways to put the ball in the basket himself when needed. Kentucky head coach John Calipari freely admitted that Ulis “coached our team,” giving him the freedom to make adjustments and run the team as he sees fit, due to his outstanding basketball IQ and leadership skills.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Tyler-Ulis-NBA-Draft-Scouting-Report-and-Video-Breakdown-5471

My favourite option at #13.

Without Ronnie Price we are going to need another PG on the roster and an insurance for Bledsoe. He can be our best passer and ball handler on the entire team since the first day in training camp.

He's the best floor general in the draft (though I wouldn't take him at 13), especially if you don't consider Valentine a pg or a guy that would run an offense. This is interesting...and also odd they pick the Phoenix Suns to talk about...

In analyzing Ulis’ efforts alongside the other nine Bob Cousy Award finalists — presented to the nation’s top point guard — Ulis’ name appears among the upper echelon of nearly every meaningful advanced stat.

A point guard’s primary duties are to serve as the coach on the court, orchestrate the offense, and ultimately, produce points. To that end, Ulis headlines the Cousy finalists in offensive rating per 100 (an estimate of points produced per 100 possessions) with a 131.5 rating — a staggering 25.5 points more than Dunn, a projected top-five pick.

Only five NBA teams currently average 100-plus possessions per game, with the Phoenix Suns just over that mark with a 100.1 pace rating — number of possessions for 48 minutes; your average NBA game. Essentially, the discrepancy in offensive rating between Ulis and Dunn would mean if they were to each orchestrate the Suns’ offense all game, Phoenix would score 25.5 more points with Ulis at the helm.

Relatedly, producing points at such an impressive clip translates to wins, at least in regard to the individualized win shares per 40 statistic — an estimate of the number of wins a player contributes per 40 minutes. The league average is approximately .100. Ulis’ .230 rating among the Cousy finalists ranks second, behind only Oakland’s Kay Felder (.240). Meanwhile, Dunn (.182), Jackson (.178) and Trimble (.195) — all of whom are projected as NBA draftees ahead of Ulis —are well behind the value Ulis brings to Kentucky’s success.

Even more telling of Ulis’ value as an efficient and productive floor general is the collective consideration of his assists percentage, turnover percentage, and usage percentage.

Out of the 10 point guards in the discussion, Ulis’ assists percentage — the percentage of teammates’ field goals a player assisted on while on the court — ranks No. 5 at 32.3 percent, just behind Oregon State’s Gary Payton II and just ahead of Trimble. And he’s managed to dish the ball at a high clip, despite having the second-lowest usage percentage (an estimate of the percentage of a team’s plays used by a player when on the floor) among the Cousy finalists at 21.6 percent.

Essentially, Ulis is doing more with much less, and doing so in a tremendously efficient manner — his turnover percentage (estimated number of turnovers per 100 possessions) of 11.6 ranks behind only Iowa State’s Monte Morris’ unfathomable 9.4 percent. Again, prospectively putting this in an NBA-bound context, if Ulis were to be given the keys to the Suns’ offense for an entire game, he would commit 6.3 fewer turnovers per 100 possessions than Dunn and 6.2 fewer than Trimble. Ulis’ assists-to-turnover ratio of 3.56 ranks No. 9 in the entire NCAA.

Still, with the statistical evidence clearly throwing Ulis into the discussion of college basketball’s premier floor generals, is his 5-foot-9 stature so much of a drawback that his NBA draft stock should suffer so greatly?

ESPN Insider’s Chad Ford cites size as Ulis’ downfall, saying in the Kentucky star’s draft profile on ESPN.com: “If Ulis were 5 inches taller, he’d be a top-five pick. That’s how much scouts are in love with his game.”

Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports expanded on that sentiment in a recent conversation:

“The concerns with Ulis are legitimate,” Vecenie said. “He’s small. He’s skinny. He doesn’t have great length even beyond the height. Despite the high-pressure defense, he can occasionally get bullied around on that end by bigger guys. There isn’t much in the way of versatility on that end because of that.”

But while Ulis’ name falls far down some NBA big boards and mock drafts, including a No. 51 position from DraftExpress.com and No. 42 ranking from ESPN, Vecenie is one of the few who have bought stock in the Kentucky point guard’s game, evidenced by a No. 26 ranking on his latest CBS Sports big board.

“I just buy him as a kid,” Vecenie said. “He’s literally a second coach on the floor, and he’s a leader. Basically, the kid can just play, and he’s a guy NBA players are going to love playing with due to his toughness.”

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-basketball-men/article60613726.html#storylink=cpy

[MrMiyagi]

**** it. I want us to take Ulis. Bled is injured too often. Knight isn't a lead guard. I think Archie needs a new address, but this could light a fire under his ass. Ronnie Price is a 15th man. Booker would be a nice partner for him. I think he could honestly be in play for Rookie of the Year. Pull the trigger.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

**** it. I want us to take Ulis. Bled is injured too often. Knight isn't a lead guard. I think Archie needs a new address, but this could light a fire under his ass. Ronnie Price is a 15th man. Booker would be a nice partner for him. I think he could honestly be in play for Rookie of the Year. Pull the trigger.

I had us taking him at #13 in my mock. The thing that concerns me most is not the height, but the weight. Dude's 160. IT is 185. IT could post him up. That's... that's something to think about.

People have said that he'd go top 5 if he were 6'3". I think he be in contention for #1.

[bwgood77]

**** it. I want us to take Ulis. Bled is injured too often. Knight isn't a lead guard. I think Archie needs a new address, but this could light a fire under his ass. Ronnie Price is a 15th man. Booker would be a nice partner for him. I think he could honestly be in play for Rookie of the Year. Pull the trigger.

And all along, we thought of course McD would take another Kentucky guard in Murray, when it would actually in fact be ANOTHER Kentucky PG, in Ulis. The only way I'd consider him at 13 is if we got Bender or some other PF with our first pick, and then I'd STILL probably prefer another PF with the second. Though if we trade down, perhaps with both picks, I wouldn't mind taking him a little later. Or if we trade up from the Cleveland pick. I think Ulis probably goes in the late teens.

[bwgood77]

**** it. I want us to take Ulis. Bled is injured too often. Knight isn't a lead guard. I think Archie needs a new address, but this could light a fire under his ass. Ronnie Price is a 15th man. Booker would be a nice partner for him. I think he could honestly be in play for Rookie of the Year. Pull the trigger.

I had us taking him at #13 in my mock. The thing that concerns me most is not the height, but the weight. Dude's 160. IT is 185. IT could post him up. That's... that's something to think about.

People have said that he'd go top 5 if he were 6'3". I think he be in contention for #1.

Just for fun I just compared him to Steve Nash...compared their Soph years in college. From what I can tell, the ONLY stat Nash beats him in is 3pt fg%. Ulis was a much better 2 pt fg%, ft%, WAY better in assists with fewer turnovers. More steals, but per 40 they were same in steals. They were tied in blocks at .1 per game and per 40.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/tyler-ulis-1.html

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/steve-nash-1.html

Also, Ulis was SEC player of the year as a soph. Nash was WCC player of the year, NOT as a soph, but was as a jr and sr.

With Ulis it's ALL height and weight. If you purely want an offense to click, I'm pretty sure he's going to get that part done, and will RARELY turn it over with high assists. Will he give up a ton of points to the opposing PG? Probably, but our whole team will be better. It won't be Knight or Bledsoe trying to outscore Curry or Westbrook, taking it personally, by jacking up shots. But it would be our whole team playing better together.

Now that is an optimistic viewpoint, and I hope Bledsoe can stay healthy, but I certainly wouldn't mind having Ulis as a backup for starters and it would be interesting to see if he could ever really turn into a great NBA starting PG. It's not like Nash plays much defense, and lets face it, there are only a handful of guys in the league who can maybe slow down guys like Westbrook and Curry and maybe 2 of them, at the most, are PGs (Paul and Rubio are the best PG defenders but I don't even know if they slow those guys down too much).

[Saberestar]

If everyone shows from list NBA released today, only top prospects not scheduled to be at Chicago combine are Ben Simmons & Dragan Bender

https://mobile.twitter.com/JerryZgoda/status/728313771253334017

[Damkac]

I made stats comparison of power forwards:

As expected, older and more experienced players (Johnson and Sabonis) looks better.
If I had to choose one of them I would be torn between Chriss (potential as athletic stretch 4 with defense, must improve rebounding) and Sabonis (smart, hard working player who can be aid the team from his first day).
If you want player with one elite skill it's Davis (blocks) but he seems to be worst scorer of them all (at least he gets rebounds on offense).
Nobody from this group is a good 3pt shooter. Ellenson shoot the most but on bad %.

[Qwigglez]

I imagine this is what McD's big board looks like...
1.) Must play guard
2.) Must play for Kentucky

If we end up with Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis I wouldn't be super surprised.

[bwgood77]

I imagine this is what McD's big board looks like...
1.) Must play guard
2.) Must play for Kentucky

If we end up with Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis I wouldn't be super surprised.

He's probably already got his eyes on these guys too.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/185292

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/171070

[King4Day]

Reading the ESPN mock drafts they've been doing, it's starting to sound like Bender might slip a bit and fall to us even if we are at 4-6.
I sense we'll be picking between Bender and Ellenson in that order.

[Bogyo]

Reading the ESPN mock drafts they've been doing, it's starting to sound like Bender might slip a bit and fall to us even if we are at 4-6.
I sense we'll be picking between Bender and Ellenson in that order.

Yes, I have the feeling that one of these two guys will be our first pick.

[bwgood77]

I made stats comparison of power forwards:

As expected, older and more experienced players (Johnson and Sabonis) looks better.
If I had to choose one of them I would be torn between Chriss (potential as athletic stretch 4 with defense, must improve rebounding) and Sabonis (smart, hard working player who can be aid the team from his first day).
If you want player with one elite skill it's Davis (blocks) but he seems to be worst scorer of them all (at least he gets rebounds on offense).
Nobody from this group is a good 3pt shooter. Ellenson shoot the most but on bad %.

Great comparison. Now I wish I had a magnifying glass.

[Mulhollanddrive]

5 Players College Stats Comparison:

19 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals @ 56% FG. (Ben Simmons - Freshman)
18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals @ 56% FG. (Scottie Pippen - Sophomore)
17 points, 8 rebounds, 7 asissts, 2 steals @ 46% FG. (Magic Johnson - Freshman)
17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal @ 48% FG. (Lamar Odom - Freshman)
14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal @ 57% FG. (Blake Griffin - Freshman)

[gaspar]

Just for clarification and context...

Hield is 23 years old.

Dunn is also near 23 years old.

Makes you wonder how well Knight would have done at OU or Providence last season.

Archie Goodwin is 8 months younger than Hield, 5 months younger than Dunn and 3 weeks older than Demetrius Jackson. Just imagine how good Archie would look if he still played against kids like those guys.

[bhawk]

5 Players College Stats Comparison:

19 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals @ 56% FG. (Ben Simmons - Freshman)
18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals @ 56% FG. (Scottie Pippen - Sophomore)
17 points, 8 rebounds, 7 asissts, 2 steals @ 46% FG. (Magic Johnson - Freshman)
17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal @ 48% FG. (Lamar Odom - Freshman)
14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal @ 57% FG. (Blake Griffin - Freshman)

What was Michael Beasley again?

Has everyone discounted Buddy Hield on this board? Any pro's and con's from the group? I was really impressed with the draft xpress write up.

He seems like a high character / team leader type of guy who is arguably the most competitive player in the draft. I am warming up to a Booker / Buddy combination. What if we cut bait on Knight and started over with Buddy? How does he compare with Knight?

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Buddy-Hield-NBA-Draft-Scouting-Report-and-Video-Breakdown-5469

[MrMiyagi]

If everyone shows from list NBA released today, only top prospects not scheduled to be at Chicago combine are Ben Simmons & Dragan Bender

https://mobile.twitter.com/JerryZgoda/status/728313771253334017

[Saberestar]

5 Players College Stats Comparison:

19 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals @ 56% FG. (Ben Simmons - Freshman)
18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals @ 56% FG. (Scottie Pippen - Sophomore)
17 points, 8 rebounds, 7 asissts, 2 steals @ 46% FG. (Magic Johnson - Freshman)
17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal @ 48% FG. (Lamar Odom - Freshman)
14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal @ 57% FG. (Blake Griffin - Freshman)

What was Michael Beasley again?

Has everyone discounted Buddy Hield on this board? Any pro's and con's from the group? I was really impressed with the draft xpress write up.

He seems like a high character / team leader type of guy who is arguably the most competitive player in the draft. I am warming up to a Booker / Buddy combination. What if we cut bait on Knight and started over with Buddy? How does he compare with Knight?

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Buddy-Hield-NBA-Draft-Scouting-Report-and-Video-Breakdown-5469

I really like Buddy Hield and I would be happy drafting him.

I give some consideration to player's age in the draft, but it's not the only thing that matters to me. Each player is different so it's hard to predict a career ...but what I know is that Hield is a very good player NOW and athletically he is good enough to play in the NBA and that is really important.

We are not talking about Fredette here.

[gaspar]

Has everyone discounted Buddy Hield on this board? Any pro's and con's from the group? I was really impressed with the draft xpress write up.

He seems like a high character / team leader type of guy who is arguably the most competitive player in the draft. I am warming up to a Booker / Buddy combination. What if we cut bait on Knight and started over with Buddy? How does he compare with Knight?

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Buddy-Hield-NBA-Draft-Scouting-Report-and-Video-Breakdown-5469

Looks like Jodie Meeks 2.0 to me.