2018 NBA Draft

[SeattleJazzFan]

Bagley plays like a man. and i just love that demeanor. never gets too high or too low. as even keeled as they come. his motor is unparalleled. so explosive. not sure how he makes himself most useful in the NBA because NBA teams won't got to the low post consistently. would be pretty great if he could continue to make that outside shot reliable and dangerous. would open up so much for him.

He did make 2 more 3s in today's game. Considering him only being 18, I think with the amount of 3s hes making so far this year plus his form is really good, I think its a really solid bet his 3pt shot will be pretty solid within a few years in the NBA.

i hope that's the case. that one he hit to bring them to within two was crazy.

[Duke4life831]

Bagley plays like a man. and i just love that demeanor. never gets too high or too low. as even keeled as they come. his motor is unparalleled. so explosive. not sure how he makes himself most useful in the NBA because NBA teams won't got to the low post consistently. would be pretty great if he could continue to make that outside shot reliable and dangerous. would open up so much for him.

He did make 2 more 3s in today's game. Considering him only being 18, I think with the amount of 3s hes making so far this year plus his form is really good, I think its a really solid bet his 3pt shot will be pretty solid within a few years in the NBA.

i hope that's the case. that one he hit to bring them to within two was crazy.

I dont think hes going to ever be considered a sharp shooter or anything like that, but where he is at with his jumper right now compared to a lot of other bigs in today's game at the same age who are now shooting 3s, hes looking really good. And again that jumper is really clean, I think he needs to speed it up some, but form wise its pretty damn good.

[DaddyCool19]

Have Bagley, Doncic, Ayton, Jackson, Porter, Bamba and Young cemented themselves as the Top 7 picks in this draft? I think nearly every mock draft site has them there.

[GIMME_DATT]

Kevin Knox 34pts.. 5/8 from 3... 7/8 FT...7 rebounds. Vs West Virginia

[PLO]

Kevin Knox 34pts.. 5/8 from 3... 7/8 FT...7 rebounds. Vs West Virginia

I caught most of the second half - finally got to see "top 15 NBA draft prospect" Kevin Knox.

Kerwin Roach continues to impress me - he likely won't declare but he's been awesome in Andrew Jones' sad absence. For an athlete playing basketball he sure looks like an actual basketball player.

[yoyoboy]

Have Bagley, Doncic, Ayton, Jackson, Porter, Bamba and Young cemented themselves as the Top 7 picks in this draft? I think nearly every mock draft site has them there.

Yep. I have a hard time seeing anyone overtake those guys.

I could maaaaybe see one of Bamba or Jackson Jr falling a couple spots lower than expected because some poor team decides to take someone like Sexton ahead of them. But those 7 are the clear best prospects in my opinion. Even though I do like Mikal Bridges and Carter a lot.

[doordoor123]

Knox is a cock-tease. He sucks for most of the year and has one big game. Now he’s going to suck again and have a really big performance in the tournament that will raise his stock.

[AJ3]

Knox is a cock-tease. He sucks for most of the year and has one big game. Now he’s going to suck again and have a really big performance in the tournament that will raise his stock.

Ye but that one big performance makes people think, what if he just needs the right coaching and some development?

[RookieStar]

As a a magic and duke fan, i was ecstatic wr got JJ before.. I think this will be the year again where I hope we draft another dukie.

Seriously though, I think after Doncic, Ayton or Bagley is equal in my eyes.

[No-Man]

I think Knox is an easy evaluation, he is going to be solid-fine, and solid-fine wings are worth a top15 selection no problem, is really that simple.

Is he the next stud wing? probably not, is he a rotation player that can give you okay D and okay shooting? probably yes, so that's basically the math, plus he is super young and has a NBA body and he makes nice reads at times that's enough for me, you might miss on a more solid NBA player or a guy with a higher floor, but I am all for taking any wing that looks promising enough early.

[Fat]

Knox is a cock-tease. He sucks for most of the year and has one big game. Now he’s going to suck again and have a really big performance in the tournament that will raise his stock.

Ye but that one big performance makes people think, what if he just needs the right coaching and some development?

He mainly needs to keep playing with that confidence and Aggressiveness he played with last night vs West Virginia that’s the Knox everyone’s been waiting to see. He could also Improve his ball handling but that kids got some real potential with nice size and length for the small forward position and only 18. People are kind of sleeping on him because he”s been mostly average but I wouldn’t overlook him.

[doordoor123]

Update: Devin Booker has been playing point guard successfully recently. It’s possible the Suns don’t draft a point guard.

[doordoor123]

IMO free throw shooting is so **** underrated. On every winning team the entire team or at least the majority of guys who get minutes make free throws. Look at the Warriors, Spurs and sometimes Cavaliers. One of the reasons they’re so successful is because they can make free throws. If I were a GM I would not draft someone who didn’t at least have potential to make all their free throws. It’s literally free points if you can make them and it gives your team a huge advantage if you’re making all of them. This Lakers team is disgusting to me because they would be so much better if they could make free throws. Same with the Sixers. Without making free throws it makes the ability to get to the line useless. I honestly believe the reason the Clippers haven’t been able to make it out of the West in the playoffs is because of DeAndre and their other bad free throw shooters in the past. You cannot win without making free throws, especially when it gets more physical in the playoffs. One player that can’t make them is fine because they can sub out that player for someone who can shoot hopefully without sacrificing much, but when you need a player out there to protect the rim like DeAndre it makes a huge difference.

If a GM on a team like Suns chooses to draft a starter that can’t make free throws it’ll be a huge mistake because going forward they already have Jackson, who they’re hoping will become starter material. Him plus another guy who can’t make free throws, if neither develop that and they both remain starters, that team will eventually have to be broken up to find success.

I love some guys who can’t shoot, but the reality is it’s not easy to get those guys to shoot it consistently and those players are a huge gamble. Some players like Trevon Duval, Hamidou Diallo and Bruce Brown are really scary picks. And the guys that cant learn to shoot are usually the ones that have a better chance of busting.

[SportsGuy8]

^ All of that is true, however, it might not be so much about the value of high FT percentages per se (although it's also very important), but also that high FT percentages show that players are hard working, that they care about fundamentals etc. Being good at FTs basically says a lot about a player and his personality, attitude, work ethic, mental and emotional stability ...

[doordoor123]

^ All of that is true, however, it might not be so much about the value of high FT percentages per se (although it's also very important), but also that high FT percentages show that players are hard working, that they care about fundamentals etc. Being good at FTs basically says a lot about a player and his personality, attitude, work ethic, mental and emotional stability ...

For me personally, I had a hard time making free throws. I was a defender and rebounder and my coach liked having me in at the end of games so he worked with me a lot on making free throws and for some reason I could never make them in game. Sometimes players just can’t do it. Even when i play pick up now I can’t make free throws (we shoot free throws to pick teams). I sympathize for players that can’t make them, but in the NBA it’s clearly a big issue. IMO it has nothing to do with personality, work ethic, and mental stability. It’s about how strong muscle memory is and if you can project where the basket is. If I could jump at the free throw line I would probably make more free throws. I just feel really uncomfortable shooting with my feet on the floor.

[SportsGuy8]

That's actually really interesting. If you had such issues, then it's not hard to imagine some extremely big guy having them also, probably to a much greater extent.

However, you said that "and for some reason I could never make them in a game". So you were a lot better at them in practice?

[doordoor123]

That's actually really interesting. If you had such issues, then it's not hard to imagine some extremely big guy having them also, probably to a much greater extent.

However, you said that "and for some reason I could never make them in a game". So you were a lot better at them in practice?

Well I wasn’t great in practice, but when you’re shooting a bunch in a row eventually you get in a rhythm and start making them. Gives a lot of false hope because in a game you’re tired and you don’t have the all the reps you just practiced.

[SportsGuy8]

True. Even in total amateur circles it's not uncommon seeing guys knock 10 THREES in a row basically every single practice, but they could obviously never duplicate that in actual games, even on an amateur level. Same for sinking FTs like it's nothing.

[Chi town]

I think Knox is an easy evaluation, he is going to be solid-fine, and solid-fine wings are worth a top15 selection no problem, is really that simple.

Is he the next stud wing? probably not, is he a rotation player that can give you okay D and okay shooting? probably yes, so that's basically the math, plus he is super young and has a NBA body and he makes nice reads at times that's enough for me, you might miss on a more solid NBA player or a guy with a higher floor, but I am all for taking any wing that looks promising enough early.

Well said. Wings are worth more in this NBA.

I think Knox and Oubre are very similar.

[3toheadmelo]

thoughts on khyri thomas? i think he might be a major sleeper