Thank Nation! Pre-Lottery: Denver 9th, NY pick 7th (PART 4)

[deeps6x]

I don't think we should be too worry about Skal rebound numbers and look at pow situation. Everyone scout miss this stud because he has no shot; look what happen when we have a D-leauge this kid killed it and help us won a game or 2 in the first round guarding geroge. Skal is the pick I'll choose with the 9th if I'm masai

Working on your shot is easier than working on rebounding tbh. Skal is 7ft with a huge wingspan and jamal murray avg'd more rebounds than him lol. Dude is a mental midget

Yeah, because Skal averaging 16 minutes per game versus Murray's 35 doesn't skew that at all. Keep things in perspective. Per 40 Skal works out to 8 rebounds per game and Murray gets 5.9

Because Skal was a foul machine. If he had a smidge of BBIQ he could have stayed on the court longer.

Per 40, Brice Johnson 15.0 rebounds
Per 40, Sabonis 14.8 rebounds

Yep, keep it in perspective. For a guy so much taller than most of the college competition, he sucked at rebounding.

Skal per 40. 7.6 fouls! I guess it really comes down to where he goes in the draft. Take him too high, and he might be called a bust (a la Ross at #8). Skal has better than average range, is very good at blocking, but crap at rebounding and just can't stop fouling. He is intriguing for sure. He will either get all of his sh^t together and become a star in the league a few years down the road, or will be a bust and out of the league in a few years. He was certainly nothing special this past season. He probably looks like a bust in his first NBA season, no matter who picks him. But if they stick with him and teach the crap out of him, he could still be great. If you really want Skal, try trading for him in February or next summer. The fans in his first city will be disgusted with him at that time and he could come very cheap.

Personally, I'd rather take less risk at #9. Actually, I don't want #9 at all. Trade up for Murray with it, or trade down for two picks in the teens.

[Mister Ze]

While I'm not totally against letting Demar go, I know it's not happening if he wants to stay. Ross and Norman have been impressive this post-season but they aren't at Demar's level.

Ross doesn't get to the line, turns it over too much for a bench player, not a great ball handler nor is he a good passer. Norman doesn't really have an offensive game where he creates his own shot . He turns it over too much going out of control at times, is undersized for his position which doesn't bother him too much, and the skill set isn't there to be an all-star like Demar, he's already pretty developed not getting a whole lot better.

Norm and Ross aren't impressive starters and neither will a shooting guard from this draft be taken at #9. As bad as Demar has been, replacements for him aren't available.

[BHF]

While I'm not totally against letting Demar go, I know it's not happening if he wants to stay. Ross and Norman have been impressive this post-season but they aren't at Demar's level.

Ross doesn't get to the line, turns it over too much for a bench player, not a great ball handler nor is he a good passer. Norman doesn't really have an offensive game where he creates his own shot . He turns it over too much going out of control at times, is undersized for his position which doesn't bother him too much, and the skill set isn't there to be an all-star like Demar, he's already pretty developed not getting a whole lot better.

Norm and Ross aren't impressive starters and neither will a shooting guard from this draft be taken at #9. As bad as Demar has been, replacements for him aren't available.

Give Powell the same green light that DD has and i can bet you anything he will have similar numbers to DD plus he defend 10 times better.

[S.W.A.N]

Working on your shot is easier than working on rebounding tbh. Skal is 7ft with a huge wingspan and jamal murray avg'd more rebounds than him lol. Dude is a mental midget

Yeah, because Skal averaging 16 minutes per game versus Murray's 35 doesn't skew that at all. Keep things in perspective. Per 40 Skal works out to 8 rebounds per game and Murray gets 5.9

Because Skal was a foul machine. If he had a smidge of BBIQ he could have stayed on the court longer.

Per 40, Brice Johnson 15.0 rebounds
Per 40, Sabonis 14.8 rebounds

Yep, keep it in perspective. For a guy so much taller than most of the college competition, he sucked at rebounding.

Skal per 40. 7.6 fouls! I guess it really comes down to where he goes in the draft. Take him too high, and he might be called a bust (a la Ross at #8). Skal has better than average range, is very good at blocking, but crap at rebounding and just can't stop fouling. He is intriguing for sure. He will either get all of his sh^t together and become a star in the league a few years down the road, or will be a bust and out of the league in a few years. He was certainly nothing special this past season. He probably looks like a bust in his first NBA season, no matter who picks him. But if they stick with him and teach the crap out of him, he could still be great. If you really want Skal, try trading for him in February or next summer. The fans in his first city will be disgusted with him at that time and he could come very cheap.

Personally, I'd rather take less risk at #9. Actually, I don't want #9 at all. Trade up for Murray with it, or trade down for two picks in the teens.

The foul rate isn't a big deal. A guy who gets limited minutes but challenges a lot of shots is going to foul. That can be fixed. The rebounding is a little more troubling but can be worked with. I think with Skal it will come down to interviews and workouts. Does he truly have the desire and work ethic to be great? If he does then draft him. If not take a pass. Same with the other high upside guys like Chriss. Find the one with best work ethic and draft him...

[OAKLEY_2]

While I'm not totally against letting Demar go, I know it's not happening if he wants to stay. Ross and Norman have been impressive this post-season but they aren't at Demar's level.

Ross doesn't get to the line, turns it over too much for a bench player, not a great ball handler nor is he a good passer. Norman doesn't really have an offensive game where he creates his own shot . He turns it over too much going out of control at times, is undersized for his position which doesn't bother him too much, and the skill set isn't there to be an all-star like Demar, he's already pretty developed not getting a whole lot better.

Norm and Ross aren't impressive starters and neither will a shooting guard from this draft be taken at #9. As bad as Demar has been, replacements for him aren't available.

Give Powell the same green light that DD has and i can bet you anything he will have similar numbers to DD plus he defend 10 times better.

Pretty sure if Ross or Norm got the starts and got the ball Ross w/be a 16 ppg player without trips to the line like Derozan. Powell would be similar maybe 14ppg with trips to the line and Powell would have much better rebounding stats. They both would be more typical of non allstar starting shooting guards. Both would bring significantly better defence. Demar is an over 20ppg scorer that as a near allstar isn't as good as D Wade post injuries and aged in his mid 30's. Remember also Norm is 22 and that is the most important stat between the 3 of them. That meshes nicely with both JV and Biyombo.

[OAKLEY_2]

I should add Derozan isn't consistently competitive with D Wade or Paul George. At times he looks like the best offensive player in the league. We all assume he cannot get any better. It would be crushing if he somehow found another gear in LA. I think Derozan's footwork prevents that from happening. If anyone needs to work out in the sand in the offseason like Pat it is Demar.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Working on your shot is easier than working on rebounding tbh. Skal is 7ft with a huge wingspan and jamal murray avg'd more rebounds than him lol. Dude is a mental midget

Yeah, because Skal averaging 16 minutes per game versus Murray's 35 doesn't skew that at all. Keep things in perspective. Per 40 Skal works out to 8 rebounds per game and Murray gets 5.9

Because Skal was a foul machine. If he had a smidge of BBIQ he could have stayed on the court longer.

Per 40, Brice Johnson 15.0 rebounds
Per 40, Sabonis 14.8 rebounds

Yep, keep it in perspective. For a guy so much taller than most of the college competition, he sucked at rebounding.

Skal per 40. 7.6 fouls! I guess it really comes down to where he goes in the draft. Take him too high, and he might be called a bust (a la Ross at #8). Skal has better than average range, is very good at blocking, but crap at rebounding and just can't stop fouling. He is intriguing for sure. He will either get all of his sh^t together and become a star in the league a few years down the road, or will be a bust and out of the league in a few years. He was certainly nothing special this past season. He probably looks like a bust in his first NBA season, no matter who picks him. But if they stick with him and teach the crap out of him, he could still be great. If you really want Skal, try trading for him in February or next summer. The fans in his first city will be disgusted with him at that time and he could come very cheap.

Personally, I'd rather take less risk at #9. Actually, I don't want #9 at all. Trade up for Murray with it, or trade down for two picks in the teens.

Well, seeing as how the poster compared his rebounding to Murray I'm not sure why I'd compare him to Sabonis and Johnson. Way to take it out of context.

Obviously Skal isn't the best rebounder and obviously you didn't read my post since you didn't pick up the fact that I didn't call him one. It was simply a comparison to Murray.

As for his fouling. It's like you've never watched basketball. You act like a young, inexperienced big man who blocks a lot of shots and picks up a lot of fouls is mind blowing. It's actually not. He contests a lot of shots, he's going to foul. When he gets more practice time and more experience overall he'll figure it out. It's rare for someone to be great at something without experience.

[Kevin Willis]

If the lottery is legit fixed, the celtics are going to win...which sucks for us.

The NBA sees right now how bad the East is. There is only one team!

The East is the strongest it has been in years. It's the West that's getting older with teams like SA, LAC, Dallas, etc past their prime. If the NBA fixes something it is making sure anyone but Philly gets the first pick.

[Risk101]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/NBAcom/status/731116569779154944[/tweet]

[CunningLinguist]

Yeah, because Skal averaging 16 minutes per game versus Murray's 35 doesn't skew that at all. Keep things in perspective. Per 40 Skal works out to 8 rebounds per game and Murray gets 5.9

Because Skal was a foul machine. If he had a smidge of BBIQ he could have stayed on the court longer.

Per 40, Brice Johnson 15.0 rebounds
Per 40, Sabonis 14.8 rebounds

Yep, keep it in perspective. For a guy so much taller than most of the college competition, he sucked at rebounding.

Skal per 40. 7.6 fouls! I guess it really comes down to where he goes in the draft. Take him too high, and he might be called a bust (a la Ross at #8). Skal has better than average range, is very good at blocking, but crap at rebounding and just can't stop fouling. He is intriguing for sure. He will either get all of his sh^t together and become a star in the league a few years down the road, or will be a bust and out of the league in a few years. He was certainly nothing special this past season. He probably looks like a bust in his first NBA season, no matter who picks him. But if they stick with him and teach the crap out of him, he could still be great. If you really want Skal, try trading for him in February or next summer. The fans in his first city will be disgusted with him at that time and he could come very cheap.

Personally, I'd rather take less risk at #9. Actually, I don't want #9 at all. Trade up for Murray with it, or trade down for two picks in the teens.

Well, seeing as how the poster compared his rebounding to Murray I'm not sure why I'd compare him to Sabonis and Johnson. Way to take it out of context.

Obviously Skal isn't the best rebounder and obviously you didn't read my post since you didn't pick up the fact that I didn't call him one. It was simply a comparison to Murray.

As for his fouling. It's like you've never watched basketball. You act like a young, inexperienced big man who blocks a lot of shots and picks up a lot of fouls is mind blowing. It's actually not. He contests a lot of shots, he's going to foul. When he gets more practice time and more experience overall he'll figure it out. It's rare for someone to be great at something without experience.

And yet you won't give Chriss the same benefit of the doubt for similar issues.

[OakleyDokely]

Thank God Colangelo is back in the league. Now Masai can dump some unwanted contracts in Philly.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Because Skal was a foul machine. If he had a smidge of BBIQ he could have stayed on the court longer.

Per 40, Brice Johnson 15.0 rebounds
Per 40, Sabonis 14.8 rebounds

Yep, keep it in perspective. For a guy so much taller than most of the college competition, he sucked at rebounding.

Skal per 40. 7.6 fouls! I guess it really comes down to where he goes in the draft. Take him too high, and he might be called a bust (a la Ross at #8). Skal has better than average range, is very good at blocking, but crap at rebounding and just can't stop fouling. He is intriguing for sure. He will either get all of his sh^t together and become a star in the league a few years down the road, or will be a bust and out of the league in a few years. He was certainly nothing special this past season. He probably looks like a bust in his first NBA season, no matter who picks him. But if they stick with him and teach the crap out of him, he could still be great. If you really want Skal, try trading for him in February or next summer. The fans in his first city will be disgusted with him at that time and he could come very cheap.

Personally, I'd rather take less risk at #9. Actually, I don't want #9 at all. Trade up for Murray with it, or trade down for two picks in the teens.

Well, seeing as how the poster compared his rebounding to Murray I'm not sure why I'd compare him to Sabonis and Johnson. Way to take it out of context.

Obviously Skal isn't the best rebounder and obviously you didn't read my post since you didn't pick up the fact that I didn't call him one. It was simply a comparison to Murray.

As for his fouling. It's like you've never watched basketball. You act like a young, inexperienced big man who blocks a lot of shots and picks up a lot of fouls is mind blowing. It's actually not. He contests a lot of shots, he's going to foul. When he gets more practice time and more experience overall he'll figure it out. It's rare for someone to be great at something without experience.

And yet you won't give Chriss the same benefit of the doubt for similar issues.

My issue with Chriss is not so much his fouling, but his lack of effort. And I guess it can be argued that bad rebounding numbers are the result of bad effort, but with Skal it just seems like his rail thin frame won't allow him to body guys up and box out. With Chriss it's like Bargnani where he just doesn't care.

[Troubadour]

I think I would take Marquese Chriss over Jakob Poeltl at this point. Having a guy who can block shots, hit threes, play up-tempo, and switch on defence is essential in the NBA. Poeltl is a great prospect and I would be happy if we drafted him, but Chriss, to me, seems like the player with the highest upside.

[CunningLinguist]

Well, seeing as how the poster compared his rebounding to Murray I'm not sure why I'd compare him to Sabonis and Johnson. Way to take it out of context.

Obviously Skal isn't the best rebounder and obviously you didn't read my post since you didn't pick up the fact that I didn't call him one. It was simply a comparison to Murray.

As for his fouling. It's like you've never watched basketball. You act like a young, inexperienced big man who blocks a lot of shots and picks up a lot of fouls is mind blowing. It's actually not. He contests a lot of shots, he's going to foul. When he gets more practice time and more experience overall he'll figure it out. It's rare for someone to be great at something without experience.

And yet you won't give Chriss the same benefit of the doubt for similar issues.

My issue with Chriss is not so much his fouling, but his lack of effort. And I guess it can be argued that bad rebounding numbers are the result of bad effort, but with Skal it just seems like his rail thin frame won't allow him to body guys up and box out. With Chriss it's like Bargnani where he just doesn't care.

Chriss' defensive rebounding effort isn't consistent but I think, similar to Skal, his lack of bulk makes him less willing to play physical. I've seen the same from Skal at times.

I actually see them as similar in terms of skills and strengths and weaknesses and like them both as prospects. I don't think either is ready to contribute at the NBA level but they both have high ceilings with some risk that they don't adapt to the physicality of the NBA game. The fact that the power forward position is becoming less about brute strength and a low post game and more about perimeter skill bodes well for both of them at the next level.

[BoyzNTheHood]

And yet you won't give Chriss the same benefit of the doubt for similar issues.

My issue with Chriss is not so much his fouling, but his lack of effort. And I guess it can be argued that bad rebounding numbers are the result of bad effort, but with Skal it just seems like his rail thin frame won't allow him to body guys up and box out. With Chriss it's like Bargnani where he just doesn't care.

Chriss' defensive rebounding effort isn't consistent but I think, similar to Skal, his lack of bulk makes him less willing to play physical. I've seen the same from Skal at times.

I actually see them as similar in terms of skills and strengths and weaknesses and like them both as prospects. I don't think either is ready to contribute at the NBA level but they both have high ceilings with some risk that they don't adapt to the physicality of the NBA game. The fact that the power forward position is becoming less about brute strength and a low post game and more about perimeter skill bodes well for both of them at the next level.

Agreed. But honestly just not on board with drafting Chriss at this point, but it won't be the end of the world for me if we do. I'll give whoever we draft a chance to succeed before judgement, but my personal choice at this point is Skal. I just think that if he adds some strength, and that 3 he's been working on he will add immediate value if given a chance.

[CoachJReturns]

I think I would take Marquese Chriss over Jakob Poeltl at this point. Having a guy who can block shots, hit threes, play up-tempo, and switch on defence is essential in the NBA. Poeltl is a great prospect and I would be happy if we drafted him, but Chriss, to me, seems like the player with the highest upside.

I'd take a lot of guys over Poetl. It's not that I think he's a bad player, but I don't think JV is going anywhere and with a top 10 pick we should be looking for a future starter. And you definitely can't play those two together. It would be a disaster.

[CunningLinguist]

My issue with Chriss is not so much his fouling, but his lack of effort. And I guess it can be argued that bad rebounding numbers are the result of bad effort, but with Skal it just seems like his rail thin frame won't allow him to body guys up and box out. With Chriss it's like Bargnani where he just doesn't care.

Chriss' defensive rebounding effort isn't consistent but I think, similar to Skal, his lack of bulk makes him less willing to play physical. I've seen the same from Skal at times.

I actually see them as similar in terms of skills and strengths and weaknesses and like them both as prospects. I don't think either is ready to contribute at the NBA level but they both have high ceilings with some risk that they don't adapt to the physicality of the NBA game. The fact that the power forward position is becoming less about brute strength and a low post game and more about perimeter skill bodes well for both of them at the next level.

Agreed. But honestly just not on board with drafting Chriss at this point, but it won't be the end of the world for me if we do. I'll give whoever we draft a chance to succeed before judgement, but my personal choice at this point is Skal. I just think that if he adds some strength, and that 3 he's been working on he will add immediate value if given a chance.

The fact that Skal has a bigger frame to add size might be a deciding factor between the two. The case I would make for Chriss is his ability to attack off the dribble from the high post. I haven't really seen that from Skal yet. Perhaps he has that in his arsenal but hasn't been given a chance to show it yet.

[CoachJReturns]

My issue with Chriss is not so much his fouling, but his lack of effort. And I guess it can be argued that bad rebounding numbers are the result of bad effort, but with Skal it just seems like his rail thin frame won't allow him to body guys up and box out. With Chriss it's like Bargnani where he just doesn't care.

Chriss' defensive rebounding effort isn't consistent but I think, similar to Skal, his lack of bulk makes him less willing to play physical. I've seen the same from Skal at times.

I actually see them as similar in terms of skills and strengths and weaknesses and like them both as prospects. I don't think either is ready to contribute at the NBA level but they both have high ceilings with some risk that they don't adapt to the physicality of the NBA game. The fact that the power forward position is becoming less about brute strength and a low post game and more about perimeter skill bodes well for both of them at the next level.

Agreed. But honestly just not on board with drafting Chriss at this point, but it won't be the end of the world for me if we do. I'll give whoever we draft a chance to succeed before judgement, but my personal choice at this point is Skal. I just think that if he adds some strength, and that 3 he's been working on he will add immediate value if given a chance.

You're expecting one of the thinnest players(probably the thinnest) in the league to add immediate value? To what league? I agree Skal's first issue to be addressed is strength. But we're talking about a guy who wasn't strong enough to handle college kids. A realistic goal would be for him to gain enough strength to play college kids next year, which he can't. There is no hope in hell of him being strong enough to jump up two whole leagues in strength. Not unless you want to pump the poor kid full of every steroid known to man. He's going to the D League like just about any other player we can draft.

[Troubadour]

I think I would take Marquese Chriss over Jakob Poeltl at this point. Having a guy who can block shots, hit threes, play up-tempo, and switch on defence is essential in the NBA. Poeltl is a great prospect and I would be happy if we drafted him, but Chriss, to me, seems like the player with the highest upside.

I'd take a lot of guys over Poetl. It's not that I think he's a bad player, but I don't think JV is going anywhere and with a top 10 pick we should be looking for a future starter. And you definitely can't play those two together. It would be a disaster.

Agreed. Chriss could start down the road. He also compliments JV pretty well.

On a recent podcast, Bill Simmons was talking about how the Thunder should trade Serge Ibaka for a Top 10 pick. I would do that trade in a heartbeat, but that may just be him overreacting to OKC being down 2-1 in the series.

[Treadmill_Team]

If the lottery is legit fixed, the celtics are going to win...which sucks for us.

The NBA sees right now how bad the East is. There is only one team!

The East is the strongest it has been in years. It's the West that's getting older with teams like SA, LAC, Dallas, etc past their prime. If the NBA fixes something it is making sure anyone but Philly gets the first pick.

The east is getting stronger?! We finished 2nd this year lmao

If Parker, Duncan and Ginobili all retire, you could still make a case SA is better than any team in the East with Kawai and LA. And the west have teams with young superstars like the Blazers and Twolves to fill in for Dallas and LAC(who still would compete for #1 in the east next year). Who does the east have?

Which team in the east do you go, "woah, they're gonna be good in a few years?"

The only one you could make a case for is Boston, and they don't have anyone that has superstar potential. Which is why I said, if the lotto is really fixed they'd give Boston the 1st pick to put a potential superstar with a great young team in the East.