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LloydFree wrote:

jpengland wrote:Floor - Brandon Wright
Ceiling - Larry Sanders

It just doesn't excite as a top 5 pick, I guess. But he could be vary valuable to pretty much any team IMO.

Brandan Wright was a better player as a Freshman than Caulie-Stein was as a Junior. I don't see how the better prospect could be his "Floor".

Offensive player, yes. Defensively, he was never in the same league with WCS. Just because of size, WCS can play center, something Wright never could.

King Ken wrote:

LloydFree wrote:

jpengland wrote:Floor - Brandon Wright
Ceiling - Larry Sanders

It just doesn't excite as a top 5 pick, I guess. But he could be vary valuable to pretty much any team IMO.

Brandan Wright was a better player as a Freshman than Caulie-Stein was as a Junior. I don't see how the better prospect could be his "Floor".

Offensive player, yes. Defensively, he was never in the same league with WCS. Just because of size, WCS can play center, something Wright never could.

You're judging Caulie-Stein's Defense as a Junior to Brandan Wright's defense as a Freshman. WCS' defense as a Freshman was no better than Wright's and the offense is no contest. Either way its a faulty comparison and disrespectful to Brandan Wright. WCS will be lucky to reach Brendan Wright level in the NBA.

LloydFree wrote:

King Ken wrote:

LloydFree wrote:Brandan Wright was a better player as a Freshman than Caulie-Stein was as a Junior. I don't see how the better prospect could be his "Floor".

Offensive player, yes. Defensively, he was never in the same league with WCS. Just because of size, WCS can play center, something Wright never could.

You're judging Caulie-Stein's Defense as a Junior to Brandan Wright's defense as a Freshman. WCS' defense as a Freshman was no better than Wright's and the offense is no contest. Either way its a faulty comparison and disrespectful to Brandan Wright. WCS will be lucky to reach Brendan Wright level in the NBA.

WCS defense right now is better than Wright's for the NBA. He simply has a much better defensive ability and tools. He is a much better athlete in general. He weighs 240 pound compared to Wright's 220 and only 209 out of college. Wright couldn't bench 185 once out of UNC. This isn't comparable.

King Ken wrote:

LloydFree wrote:

King Ken wrote:Offensive player, yes. Defensively, he was never in the same league with WCS. Just because of size, WCS can play center, something Wright never could.

You're judging Caulie-Stein's Defense as a Junior to Brandan Wright's defense as a Freshman. WCS' defense as a Freshman was no better than Wright's and the offense is no contest. Either way its a faulty comparison and disrespectful to Brandan Wright. WCS will be lucky to reach Brendan Wright level in the NBA.

WCS defense right now is better than Wright's for the NBA. He simply has a much better defensive ability and tools. He is a much better athlete in general. He weighs 240 pound compared to Wright's 220 and only 209 out of college. Wright couldn't bench 185 once out of UNC. This isn't comparable.

Ridiculous. You can't compare Willie Caulie-Stein's NBA defense to Brandan Wright's NBA defense because WCS isn't in the NBA. You can only compare them at the same stage of development.
WCS is what Sam Dalembert was as a sophmore at Seton Hall. A college defensive terror due to his physical tools.
WCS is a future 'Shaqtin a fool' all-star on offense. He tops out as Sam Dalembert and bottoms out as Javale Mghee.

LloydFree wrote:

King Ken wrote:

LloydFree wrote:You're judging Caulie-Stein's Defense as a Junior to Brandan Wright's defense as a Freshman. WCS' defense as a Freshman was no better than Wright's and the offense is no contest. Either way its a faulty comparison and disrespectful to Brandan Wright. WCS will be lucky to reach Brendan Wright level in the NBA.

WCS defense right now is better than Wright's for the NBA. He simply has a much better defensive ability and tools. He is a much better athlete in general. He weighs 240 pound compared to Wright's 220 and only 209 out of college. Wright couldn't bench 185 once out of UNC. This isn't comparable.

Ridiculous. You can't compare Willie Caulie-Stein's NBA defense to Brandan Wright's NBA defense because WCS isn't in the NBA. You can only compare them at the same stage of development.
WCS is what Sam Dalembert was as a sophmore at Seton Hall. A college defensive terror due to his physical tools.
WCS is a future 'Shaqtin a fool' all-star on offense. He tops out as Sam Dalembert and bottoms out as Javale Mghee.

You can't just automatically project Cauley-Stein defensively. It remains to be seen if it will translate. The Dalembert comp was accurate in the sense that he was a menacing shotblocker in college, yet in the league guys still go through and around him. Cauley-Stein isn't a sure thing defensively at all. The guy doesn't even love basketball either.

Cauley-Stein has Reggie Evans offense. His block rate this year is awful, and he has never rebounded. He's not a starter. Bench C.

teerfour+40LG wrote:Cauley-Stein has Reggie Evans offense. His block rate this year is awful, and he has never rebounded. He's not a starter. Bench C.

What does it matter that he's a center that is a zero on offense and doesn't rebound? He can stay in front of guards that play in the SEC...

Neithet of Jordan, Chandler or Dalembert were the athletes than WCS is. He can defend every position in college, and his feet are quick enough to defend guards and still helping on the weak side at the same time.
I think it will depend on the coach that draft him. He seems to have a flying mind and the coach must be on him to keep his objectives reachable without frustrating him. But the guy has the tools to br a defensive nightmare in the NBA, and given the proper PG and system he could be a weapon on offense.
But for success at the next level he must learn to be more physical and a bad boy, just like jordan is. Foul every rebound without nobody seems to note.

A few years ago i said that Mason Plumlee reminds me of Noah. In this year's draft, Willie reminds me of Noah.

7 footer with good feet, good defense, and good hustle, whose offense will come from his hustle plays and IQ. Just like Noah, at best he is not a #1 or #2, but could be a very good #3 who might make one or two all star games and a few DPOY considerations if he puts in the hard work and things go well.

teerfour+40LG wrote:Cauley-Stein has Reggie Evans offense. His block rate this year is awful, and he has never rebounded. He's not a starter. Bench C.

maybe because Karl Towns was assigned to protect the rim and WCS was assigned to guard the perimeter?

WCS is a more than capable shot blocker.

His block rate % was 13.4 last year, it dropped down to 8.4 this year. It just shows how WCS's role was changed. He's a good shot blocker, better than Tyson Chandler for sure. Towns just happens to be very good at shot blocking and primary focus on defense was to swat shots.

I know it's a minority view, but WCS is a bust waiting to happen. He has no offensive skills whatsoever.

Curmudgeon wrote:I know it's a minority view, but WCS is a bust waiting to happen. He has no offensive skills whatsoever.

Judging by everyone else's opinion in this thread, it doesn't seem like a minority.

I will say this: if you're anticipating any form of offensive production out of WCS, then you will be disappointed unless he has an unforeseen epiphany in the pros. I see a place for him in the NBA, but I wouldn't spend a top 15, maybe even 20, pick on him.

Negrodamus wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote:I know it's a minority view, but WCS is a bust waiting to happen. He has no offensive skills whatsoever.

Judging by everyone else's opinion in this thread, it doesn't seem like a minority.

I will say this: if you're anticipating any form of offensive production out of WCS, then you will be disappointed unless he has an unforeseen epiphany in the pros. I see a place for him in the NBA, but I wouldn't spend a top 15, maybe even 20, pick on him.

WCS absolutely has an offensive skill and that is the ability to finish around the rim. Some people don't consider that a skill but those people would be wrong. Earlier someone mentioned WCS being Reggie Evans on offense but that isn't even remotely true. Reggie Evans you can leave alone on the offensive end but WCS you have to keep a body on because if you don't he will get a lob around the rim. In this sense he is similar to Deandre Jordan. Jordan may not have a lot of offensive skills but because he can finish around the rim he has to covered. If you don't guard him then he will get easy buckets all game. Also the ability for a big to run the floor and get easy buckets is also skill.

Defensively the guy has it all. He can guard inside and outside and contests shots around the rim.

sipclip wrote:

Negrodamus wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote:I know it's a minority view, but WCS is a bust waiting to happen. He has no offensive skills whatsoever.

Judging by everyone else's opinion in this thread, it doesn't seem like a minority.

I will say this: if you're anticipating any form of offensive production out of WCS, then you will be disappointed unless he has an unforeseen epiphany in the pros. I see a place for him in the NBA, but I wouldn't spend a top 15, maybe even 20, pick on him.

WCS absolutely has an offensive skill and that is the ability to finish around the rim. Some people don't consider that a skill but those people would be wrong. Earlier someone mentioned WCS being Reggie Evans on offense but that isn't even remotely true. Reggie Evans you can leave alone on the offensive end but WCS you have to keep a body on because if you don't he will get a lob around the rim. In this sense he is similar to Deandre Jordan. Jordan may not have a lot of offensive skills but because he can finish around the rim he has to covered. If you don't guard him then he will get easy buckets all game. Also the ability for a big to run the floor and get easy buckets is also skill.

Defensively the guy has it all. He can guard inside and outside and contests shots around the rim.

I don't know if you're just watching his highlight videos or what, but there was no other player I dreaded more with the ball in his hands than WCS. Yes, he can dunk alley oops. He can definitely dunk over a defender if he's caught out of position. If he's posting a guy up and gets the ball from 10 feet in, he was a complete liability. Zero touch; pretty much throwing the basketball in the vicinity of the basket. Contested dunks? Will most likely get fouled, but he will certainly not finish. I love Willie, but he was a complete liability on offense, ESPECIALLY around the rim. The fact that the offense could have worked it around and possibly gotten the ball to KAT (someone who is great at finishing around the rim) makes Willie a negative on offense. Luckily he could defend extremely well.

WCS would be a fit in George Karl's system. I like him for the Kings.

Rudy, WCS & Cousins front court would be a formidable unit, imo.

He is the "rim runner" that Karl has been wanting. He is a transition beast and can outrun 99% of bigs in the NBA. Easy points. Like others has said, he is a threat for lobs (andre miller to WCS, anyone?) due to his insane athleticism and skill to finish around the rim.

He would be an incredible P&R roll man ala Chandler where he can catch anything above rim and throw it down with authority.

He would be a pest in the offensive boards due to his quick 1st and 2nd jump.

He is an improving FT shooter. I think he shot a ~30ish% clip at the FT line in his freshman year, got better in his 2nd year and is now a ~60ish% FT shooter as a junior.

He even showed signs of a mid range jumper (!). Key word "signs" though. Did not flash it enough but it's there. That said, to me, if he works hard, he can obtain the mid range jumper in the NBA.

We all know he will be a game changer on defense. He would be even more sick once he gains strength so that he can be an elite rim protector. He is already an elite perimeter defender.

I think he's a little overrated in the mocks I have seen - I personally have him as a late lottery guy.

That said, he does provide a pretty unquestionable NBA skill-set that is in demand... so I could kind of see a team that needs a guy like that (Lakers, Sacramento, Denver, Miami) reaching for him if they drop out of the top 5. Wouldn't agree with the pick, and wont mock it up that way, but it is entirely possible. Not sure he will go beyond Phoenix though, and someone like Boston would be thrilled to have him at their pick.

Curmudgeon wrote:I know it's a minority view, but WCS is a bust waiting to happen. He has no offensive skills whatsoever.

I know people will say his post up ability doesn't matter in the NBA but to me it is a huge red flag that somebody with his size and athletic ability couldn't develop even a rudimentary low post game while in college for three years. Can't even post up 6'5 guys, it is just sad. All he can do is dunk offensively. His defense is great but even great college defenders struggle right away in the league.

There seems to be a cult of Wolves fans that love him but I think he would be a disaster in Minnesota. On the right team I could see him making an impact perhaps but I am skeptical.

Negrodamus wrote:

sipclip wrote:

Negrodamus wrote:
Judging by everyone else's opinion in this thread, it doesn't seem like a minority.

I will say this: if you're anticipating any form of offensive production out of WCS, then you will be disappointed unless he has an unforeseen epiphany in the pros. I see a place for him in the NBA, but I wouldn't spend a top 15, maybe even 20, pick on him.

WCS absolutely has an offensive skill and that is the ability to finish around the rim. Some people don't consider that a skill but those people would be wrong. Earlier someone mentioned WCS being Reggie Evans on offense but that isn't even remotely true. Reggie Evans you can leave alone on the offensive end but WCS you have to keep a body on because if you don't he will get a lob around the rim. In this sense he is similar to Deandre Jordan. Jordan may not have a lot of offensive skills but because he can finish around the rim he has to covered. If you don't guard him then he will get easy buckets all game. Also the ability for a big to run the floor and get easy buckets is also skill.

Defensively the guy has it all. He can guard inside and outside and contests shots around the rim.

I don't know if you're just watching his highlight videos or what, but there was no other player I dreaded more with the ball in his hands than WCS. Yes, he can dunk alley oops. He can definitely dunk over a defender if he's caught out of position. If he's posting a guy up and gets the ball from 10 feet in, he was a complete liability. Zero touch; pretty much throwing the basketball in the vicinity of the basket. Contested dunks? Will most likely get fouled, but he will certainly not finish. I love Willie, but he was a complete liability on offense, ESPECIALLY around the rim. The fact that the offense could have worked it around and possibly gotten the ball to KAT (someone who is great at finishing around the rim) makes Willie a negative on offense. Luckily he could defend extremely well.

No one is expecting him to be a post player. I'm strictly talking about the fact that you can't just leave the guy alone on the offensive end because all he has to do is go towards the hoop and it is an easy lob for dunk. The clippers do not post up DJ either but he is very useful on the offensive end because whenever his defender leaves him it tends to turn into an easy 2 points. There is no reason that it can't be the same way with WCS.

Here is my own personal highlight vid of WCS. Check it out

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq2meKXJSsg[/youtube]