NBA 2017 Draft Prospects Thread

[Catchall]

Regarding Wilson, there are gaps in his game, but the skills he does have translate really well. He can space the floor as a credible 3-pt shooter, and he's very mobile and explosive attacking close-outs. He also runs the floor as well as any 6'10" player in this draft (including Issac). This alone makes him a comparable prospect to Tyler Lydon, imo, though Lydon has a better and more complete game. You obviously hope his game develops further. His injuries must have hurt his development this far. I thought his floor would be akin to Davis Bertans.

Why aren't we talking more about Bolden at 30?

[SoCalJazzFan]

Why aren't we talking more about Bolden at 30?

Prompted me to look into him. I would say severely underrated.

Watch on YouTube

[KqWIN]

Wilson has a nice release and has good athleticism, but when I watch him I don't get the impression that he has a lot of game. That's fine for a 19 year old, but if you're 21 and are limited that's a problem.

I know that's super vague, but it's something I've begun to look for in players. People love to associate athleticism with potential, but the best players from 20 and on don't seem to be the ones with great physical tools unless they are centers.

[Hoops Addict]

https://www.si.com/nba/2017/05/24/nba-mock-draft-lonzo-ball-markelle-fultz-debate-celtics-lakers

many drafts have us taking Wilson. I watched his video...big dunker, long arms.....very good shooter.

Shot 37% for 3's and good defense, can switch.......the new NBA's power forward....and appears quick enough to play SF at times.

s.i says........... In the second half of the first round, there are two players I love. The first is Wilson, a rangy 6'10 forward—twitter handle: @Lanky_Smoove—who shot 37% from three this year and fits pretty perfectly with everything we know about where the NBA is going. He can help at the three or the four, he can switch on defense, and he's long enough to bother anyone in front of him. He could either be a solid fifth starter or a fun weapon off the bench, and either way, he's worth it in the 20s.

[Catchall]

Why aren't we talking more about Bolden at 30?

Prompted me to look into him. I would say severely underrated.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

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[Catchall]

Go to 1:00 and check out the left-handed inside-out dribble, cross-up and drive with the dunk. Kind of KD-like.

Watch on YouTube

[sipclip]

The fact that so many of you have given up on Lyles is nuts to me. I haven't even come close to giving up. I still expect him to be a major contributor for us next season and beyond.

I haven't given up on him, but he also won't stop me from getting a good player at his position. Also... I was never really super high on him. In the draft he was drafted in I had about 10 players ranked higher than him on the board when we selected him.

I think that nearly everyone on this board had Booker ahead of Lyles, which in retrospect would have been a great selection.

Lyles certainly still has potential (he has a pretty good handle and passing ability and was a better shooter his rookie year), but someone like DJ Wilson, or other stretch forwards, would appear to be able to come in and immediately have better outside shooting, perimeter defense, and interior defense- so why keep Lyles if that is what we are hoping he will develop into?

Because there is no guarantee that those other guys actually become that type of player. Give me 2 shots at that type of player any day over just one.

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[SoCalJazzFan]

I haven't given up on him, but he also won't stop me from getting a good player at his position. Also... I was never really super high on him. In the draft he was drafted in I had about 10 players ranked higher than him on the board when we selected him.

I think that nearly everyone on this board had Booker ahead of Lyles, which in retrospect would have been a great selection.

Lyles certainly still has potential (he has a pretty good handle and passing ability and was a better shooter his rookie year), but someone like DJ Wilson, or other stretch forwards, would appear to be able to come in and immediately have better outside shooting, perimeter defense, and interior defense- so why keep Lyles if that is what we are hoping he will develop into?

Because there is no guarantee that those other guys actually become that type of player. Give me 2 shots at that type of player any day over just one.

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Ok, but Lyles worth will drop like a rock once he is beat out by the next stretch forward the Jazz draft and has one less year on his rookie contract.

I was pretty excited about Lyles after his first year and particularly after the summer league. However, I have been thinking a little more critically about that since then and I believe that Lyles is the kind of player that needs to have the ball in his hands and get a lot of touches and shots to get in a rhythm (he had no leash and always had the ball and constantly shot, even bad shots, in SL). Unfortunately, he isn't going to get that in regular NBA games and thus might never be effective. He was a poor outside shooter in college (playing SF) and he has never been a good defender either on the perimeter or the paint. While he could make a large leap this year, if the Jazz could replace him with a number of players in this draft and get some decent value out of him it might be a good move.

[SoCalJazzFan]

I am going through all of the stretch bigs after looking at Kuzma, Wilson and Bolden the last couple of days. Going in order according to Draftexpress.

I'm no scout or self-professed great talent evaluator, but IMHO the team that drafts Lauri Markkanen, particularly in the lottery let alone top 10, is going to be making a HUGE mistake. He is a one trick pony, and there are others at least 6'10" who can play that trick
(outside shooting) and have a more all around game as a PF (I would seriously take either Wilson and Bolden over Markkanen). I honestly don't see how Markkanen stays on the floor for any length of time in the NBA.

Feel free to call me crazy, and maybe one of us will remember this post a couple of years from now to see who was right.

[sipclip]

Someone that we should think about at 42 if Bolden is no longer around is Devin Robinson. I could see this kid turning into a damn good defensive wing in this league. He has the length and athleticism that you need to compete against the top wings in this league and offensively he can finish around the rim and has a pretty good 3pt shot.

Watch on YouTube

[babyjax13]

Why aren't we talking more about Bolden at 30?

Prompted me to look into him. I would say severely underrated.

Watch on YouTube

Looks like we could run Hayward's off-ball actions for him. I prefer Semih Ojeleye, but Bolden looks promising.

[sipclip]

I think that nearly everyone on this board had Booker ahead of Lyles, which in retrospect would have been a great selection.

Lyles certainly still has potential (he has a pretty good handle and passing ability and was a better shooter his rookie year), but someone like DJ Wilson, or other stretch forwards, would appear to be able to come in and immediately have better outside shooting, perimeter defense, and interior defense- so why keep Lyles if that is what we are hoping he will develop into?

Because there is no guarantee that those other guys actually become that type of player. Give me 2 shots at that type of player any day over just one.

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Ok, but Lyles worth will drop like a rock once he is beat out by the next stretch forward the Jazz draft and has one less year on his rookie contract.

I was pretty excited about Lyles after his first year and particularly after the summer league. However, I have been thinking a little more critically about that since then and I believe that Lyles is the kind of player that needs to have the ball in his hands and get a lot of touches and shots to get in a rhythm (he had no leash and always had the ball and constantly shot, even bad shots, in SL). Unfortunately, he isn't going to get that in regular NBA games and thus might never be effective. He was a poor outside shooter in college (playing SF) and he has never been a good defender either on the perimeter or the paint. While he could make a large leap this year, if the Jazz could replace him with a number of players in this draft and get some decent value out of him it might be a good move.

We will just have to agree to disagree. Can't wait until next year when we have a better idea of how his development is going. Also one thing that you don't seem to leaving any room for is that a player like Wilson if we were to take him could see minutes at the 3 spot with Lyles at the 4. I could see that as a strong possibility.

[KqWIN]

I think that nearly everyone on this board had Booker ahead of Lyles, which in retrospect would have been a great selection.

Lyles certainly still has potential (he has a pretty good handle and passing ability and was a better shooter his rookie year), but someone like DJ Wilson, or other stretch forwards, would appear to be able to come in and immediately have better outside shooting, perimeter defense, and interior defense- so why keep Lyles if that is what we are hoping he will develop into?

Because there is no guarantee that those other guys actually become that type of player. Give me 2 shots at that type of player any day over just one.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using RealGM mobile app

Ok, but Lyles worth will drop like a rock once he is beat out by the next stretch forward the Jazz draft and has one less year on his rookie contract.

I was pretty excited about Lyles after his first year and particularly after the summer league. However, I have been thinking a little more critically about that since then and I believe that Lyles is the kind of player that needs to have the ball in his hands and get a lot of touches and shots to get in a rhythm (he had no leash and always had the ball and constantly shot, even bad shots, in SL). Unfortunately, he isn't going to get that in regular NBA games and thus might never be effective. He was a poor outside shooter in college (playing SF) and he has never been a good defender either on the perimeter or the paint. While he could make a large leap this year, if the Jazz could replace him with a number of players in this draft and get some decent value out of him it might be a good move.

I think that's the player Lyles wants to be, but that's not what he needs to do to help the team. He wants to be a volume scorer who creates for himself, but what he really needs to work on is the simple things. He's left wide open all the time at the top of the 3. All he needs to do is make that shot and be able to attack that closeout. That situation presented itself time and time again but he was awful at it. It even got worse as the season went along.

I still think he has a chance to be a decent offensive player in this league, but he has to realize where he is. No skipping steps. He isn't good at one thing yet, and there are so many areas where he is complete liability.

[Catchall]

One more comment on Jonah Bolden -- he has a very good physical profile at 6'10" and 7'4" wing-span. I'm not sure if his vertical has been measured, but he's obviously very bouncy. Physically he's very similar to Larry Nance of the Lakers, which is pretty ideal for an athletic PF.

So picture Larry Nance with a sweet jump shot.

[stitches]

I am going through all of the stretch bigs after looking at Kuzma, Wilson and Bolden the last couple of days. Going in order according to Draftexpress.

I'm no scout or self-professed great talent evaluator, but IMHO the team that drafts Lauri Markkanen, particularly in the lottery let alone top 10, is going to be making a HUGE mistake. He is a one trick pony, and there are others at least 6'10" who can play that trick
(outside shooting) and have a more all around game as a PF (I would seriously take either Wilson and Bolden over Markkanen). I honestly don't see how Markkanen stays on the floor for any length of time in the NBA.

Feel free to call me crazy, and maybe one of us will remember this post a couple of years from now to see who was right.

I wouldn't call you crazy because there is a real path to Markkanen getting benched and not seeing the floor - his defense. He will need to be on a team with a good weakside shotblocker/rimprotector, otherwise his team will get abused and his offensive firepower might not be enough to compensate.

What I don't agree on is that he's a "one trick pony". His one trick is shooting... and it's not really one trick when you consider from how many different situations he gets his shot off... He can shoot it on the catch, off the dribble, he can run through screens and shoot it coming off the screens , he can shoot it on handoffs. He can be the best shooting big man in the league the moment he steps foot on NBA floor. In essence you have a 7 foot tall JJ Redick, how many of those are in the league right now? 0? 1 maybe...? He also has good attack of closeouts and has decent spin move attacking closeouts. His handle is raw, but there is some potential there... most probably he won't be asked to dribble at all to start his career, but I can see him with time getting more comfortable with it, a bit like a Porzingis nowadays. He has good feel for seals on the block too. Finds good position and finds space to receive the ball... the problem is... his strength right now prohibits him from being successful in the post. The biggest mistakes teams make is overvaluing deficiency of strength. That's how Skal falls to 28, that's how Gobert falls to 27... this thing is fixable... one of the most fixable things in the game really... It's never going to be a pronounced strength, but players get from horrible strength to OK relatively easy if they apply themselves in the weight room and his game will never really be dependant on strength. He still has nice turnaround jumpers from the post going both left and right... he even banks them sometimes, like Dirk/Porzingis. I'm higher on Markkanen than most. I think he'd be a fabulous fit next to Gobert for example.

[Catchall]

I agree with Stiches. Lauri will have to work on defense and contribute on the boards, but he shoots well enough, both from range and mid-range as a 7-footer, that he's likely to draw some comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki. He's a guy that's going to space the floor, get his shot off, and make a good number of shots all over the floor. He could readily be a 20+ PPG scorer, and that's all you can ask for.

[pickIBL]

I'm all for Bolden over Wilson btw. Much better fit and talent.

[uber_snotling]

Feel free to call me crazy, and maybe one of us will remember this post a couple of years from now to see who was right.

I wouldn't call you crazy because there is a real path to Markkanen getting benched and not seeing the floor - his defense. He will need to be on a team with a good weakside shotblocker/rimprotector, otherwise his team will get abused and his offensive firepower might not be enough to compensate.

Markannen would be a huge defensive liability. Who does he defend? He's doesn't have the lower body strength to hold position and doesn't have the length to contain bigs in the post. He's way too slow to defend smalls.

How do you keep a guy like him from getting completely abused in the PnR?

It's great that he can shoot but I'm not sure where you hide a liability like him on defense in today's NBA. He's like a rich man's Kelly Olynyk or a slightly taller Ryan Anderson. That doesn't scream top 10 pick, but he might be ok in really strong defensive lineups with good rebounders.

[Daddy 801]

Haven't watched film. Won't comment on the specific player or what pick said player might gonas I am ignorant......

But a stretch 5 on our team would be very helpful and dynamic. We could play 5 out at times. It would give the second unit wings more space to operate and a different look. A player who is a better Olynyk or Anderson sounds very very enticing to me.

[stitches]

Markannen would be a huge defensive liability. Who does he defend? He's doesn't have the lower body strength to hold position and doesn't have the length to contain bigs in the post. He's way too slow to defend smalls.

How do you keep a guy like him from getting completely abused in the PnR?

It's great that he can shoot but I'm not sure where you hide a liability like him on defense in today's NBA. He's like a rich man's Kelly Olynyk or a slightly taller Ryan Anderson. That doesn't scream top 10 pick, but he might be ok in really strong defensive lineups with good rebounders.

I don't think his movement is horrible on D... it's not great and sometimes he is slow to react to change of direction of opponents(this was very obvious to me watching him defend in transition... he was like a chair). I don't think he's as bad as someone like... Kanter for example in the PnR. I think he can guard his man and I think he can hedge and recover somewhat, but this would rely heavily on the on-ball defender to stick with his man and not require switches. I think his biggest problem defensively is his complete lack of rim-protection and strength inside. He gets bullied by bigger players and I'm not sure his length is great. It looks limited. That's why I said he might work with a great rim protector and weakside shot-blocker like Gobert.