2015 Draft Thread - Part 1

[fishercob]

Keeping my eye on another legacy kid out of curiosity. Gary Payton II at Oregon State. So far eyepopping rebounding numbers for a guard, plus efficient scoring, and as you would expect good defensive numbers.

Ironical. The Glove is the guy that I want John to become. Can any of Shawn Kemp's kids play? That's more of a position on need long term

[Ruzious]

Speaking of point guards, I've been meaning to ask our Ohio State expert, Nate, what he thinks of 18 year old freshman D'Angelo Russell. Not sure if he's a 1 or a 2, but he is averaging 7 assists per 40 minutes- as well as producing big-time scoring numbers - and doing real well in steals and rebounding for a 6'5 175 lb frosh. Gotta figure he's going to fill out some. He's already viewed as the 13th pick in draftexpress' mock.

[theboomking]

Willie Cauley Stein with a huge game last night against Texas. 21 Points, 12 boards, 5 steals and 3 blocks. I don't think we have the ammo or the desire to move up in the draft and grab him, but it would give us a young rim protector to groom for the Wall, Beal, Durant era.

Also at center is Jakob Poeltlm a 7 footer from Utah. ESPN currently has him at 18th on the big board. Poeltl currently has a PER of over 39, with a rebound rate of 21.9. In 24.3 minutes a game he is putting up 9.6 rebounds, 3 blocks and 12 points on .738 FG%. Has anyone watched him?

In the draft forum, someone had posted about Domantas Sabonis. 6-10, 235 pound freshman at Gonzaga. He is currently scoring 12.6 points in 19.9 minutes on .795 G+FG% and is grabbing 6.4 rebounds in that same time period. Has anyone seen him play?

[fishercob]

As the Wizards have become watchable over the past couple of years, I have almost completely stopped watching college basketball and follow it only casually -- except for Patriot League champions American University. Go Eagles.

So draftniks, can you answer some questions for me about the upcoming draft?

1) How does the overall depth of talent look right now; are the Wizards likely to nab (or at least have to opportunity to nab) a good prospect where they pick -- likely in the late teens to early 20's?

2) The Wiz have yougn players at PG, SG and SF. Rice is another developmental wing and will be a RFA. Any young bigs -- particularly PFs or stretch 4's to watch? What about combo guards/backup PG's who can make the roster next year?

Educate me.

[Ruzious]

As the Wizards have become watchable over the past couple of years, I have almost completely stopped watching college basketball and follow it only casually -- except for Patriot League champions American University. Go Eagles.

So draftniks, can you answer some questions for me about the upcoming draft?

1) How does the overall depth of talent look right now; are the Wizards likely to nab (or at least have to opportunity to nab) a good prospect where they pick -- likely in the late teens to early 20's?

2) The Wiz have yougn players at PG, SG and SF. Rice is another developmental wing and will be a RFA. Any young bigs -- particularly PFs or stretch 4's to watch? What about combo guards/backup PG's who can make the roster next year?

Educate me.

My feeling at this point is that this is going to be a real good draft in both quality and depth - making a pick in the 20's more valuable than usual. And watch Kentucky - they might have literally 7 or 8 players that go first round.

One player I like a lot that I don't think has been mentioned and likely will be available for the Wiz is swing guard Jerian Grant of Notre Dame. And yes, he is one of former Bullet Harvey Grant's sons. I think he had some off-court issues, but he came from DeMatha, so he's likely a good kid. Great assist/to ratio's his entire college career. Has great size at the point - and that's where he plays for Notre Dame. Probably not the most athletic of the Grants, but he seems to have easily the best skills and the best BBIQ. Has he ability to create shots for himself and for his teammates.

Delon Wright is another swing guard with a higher BBIQ but questionable jump shot that could be there that I like a lot. Tall but very lanky/skinny.

The aforementioned Frank Kaminsky could slide as a stretch 4 but most likely will be gone. Same with beefier Bobby Portis.

[Ruzious]

Willie Cauley Stein with a huge game last night against Texas. 21 Points, 12 boards, 5 steals and 3 blocks. I don't think we have the ammo or the desire to move up in the draft and grab him, but it would give us a young rim protector to groom for the Wall, Beal, Durant era.

Also at center is Jakob Poeltlm a 7 footer from Utah. ESPN currently has him at 18th on the big board. Poeltl currently has a PER of over 39, with a rebound rate of 21.9. In 24.3 minutes a game he is putting up 9.6 rebounds, 3 blocks and 12 points on .738 FG%. Has anyone watched him?

In the draft forum, someone had posted about Domantas Sabonis. 6-10, 235 pound freshman at Gonzaga. He is currently scoring 12.6 points in 19.9 minutes on .795 G+FG% and is grabbing 6.4 rebounds in that same time period. Has anyone seen him play?

Sabonis is amazing for an 18 year old for his understanding of how to play. I just worry about his lack of strength (he doesn't look 235). Unlike his dad, he's got narrow shoulders, and I'm not sure he can add a lot of bulk. But again, he's young, so there's a lot of potential, imo.

[nate33]

Speaking of point guards, I've been meaning to ask our Ohio State expert, Nate, what he thinks of 18 year old freshman D'Angelo Russell. Not sure if he's a 1 or a 2, but he is averaging 7 assists per 40 minutes- as well as producing big-time scoring numbers - and doing real well in steals and rebounding for a 6'5 175 lb frosh. Gotta figure he's going to fill out some. He's already viewed as the 13th pick in draftexpress' mock.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen him play. I dumped the cable subscription about 2 years ago and no longer have an easy method of watching sports. I have NBA League Pass and that's about it. I can only watch NCAA games televised on network TV.

[Rafael122]

Chad Ford has us taking Bobby Portis 6'11'' power forward from Arkansas in his latest mock draft.

[Ruzious]

Chad Ford has us taking Bobby Portis 6'11'' power forward from Arkansas in his latest mock draft.

I like him - for that late in the draft. He can shoot- and he's big. Maybe a strange comparison, but he reminds me of Brandon Bass - except 2 or 3 inches taller. Bass 2 or 3 inches taller could be pretty good.

[stevemcqueen1]

I feel like Jahlil Okafor should be a much better rebounder than he is.

[nuposse04]

Chad Ford has us taking Bobby Portis 6'11'' power forward from Arkansas in his latest mock draft.

I like him - for that late in the draft. He can shoot- and he's big. Maybe a strange comparison, but he reminds me of Brandon Bass - except 2 or 3 inches taller. Bass 2 or 3 inches taller could be pretty good.

Could be a poor man's Ibaka to start. Might have to tank a couple game to secure him at the rate we're going

[hands11]

Chad Ford has us taking Bobby Portis 6'11'' power forward from Arkansas in his latest mock draft.

Sounds right for what they would be looking for.

I haven't even started to look at college games yet. To much NBA stuff to watch at the moment.

I'll have to start my list and check out the draft x profiles. Gotta get started at some point. I will check Bobby out.

But first, what the best draft strategy this year ?

Draft and stash ?
BPA ?
Solid utility player that does something you want.. rim protection ? S4 ? back up PG, Shooter ?
Project with upside ala a Perry Jones, Giannis Antetokounmpo ?

[Rafael122]

Chad Ford has us taking Bobby Portis 6'11'' power forward from Arkansas in his latest mock draft.

Sounds right for what they would be looking for.

I haven't even started to look at college games yet. To much NBA stuff to watch at the moment.

I'll have to start my list and check out the draft x profiles. Gotta get started at some point. I will check Bobby out.

But first, what the best draft strategy this year ?

Draft and stash ?
BPA ?
Solid utility player that does something you want.. rim protection ? S4 ? back up PG, Shooter ?
Project with upside ala a Perry Jones, Giannis Antetokounmpo ?

In the KD threads, I keep hammering home this point: it is crucial that the Wiz hit on this year and next year's first round picks. You're gonna have a super max Durant, a max Wall and Beal on the same team you're gonna need young, good, cheap talent.

[Ruzious]

Chad Ford has us taking Bobby Portis 6'11'' power forward from Arkansas in his latest mock draft.

Sounds right for what they would be looking for.

I haven't even started to look at college games yet. To much NBA stuff to watch at the moment.

I'll have to start my list and check out the draft x profiles. Gotta get started at some point. I will check Bobby out.

But first, what the best draft strategy this year ?

Draft and stash ?
BPA ?
Solid utility player that does something you want.. rim protection ? S4 ? back up PG, Shooter ?
Project with upside ala a Perry Jones, Giannis Antetokounmpo ?

In the KD threads, I keep hammering home this point: it is crucial that the Wiz hit on this year and next year's first round picks. You're gonna have a super max Durant, a max Wall and Beal on the same team you're gonna need young, good, cheap talent.

The team needs to get a young big - and that would be the case whether or not they get Durant. Durant's going to want some protection - and not to spend the bulk of his time playing the 4 - even if it might become his best position at some point. I mentioned Delon Wright of Utah, but maybe the best reason to watch Utah is their freshman center, Jakob Poeltl. Most mocks have him going in 2016, but I think he's developing quicker than expected. That'll happen when you have a 34.7 PER. 7' 235 with a Great rebound rate and a great shot-blocking rate, shooting over 70%. He needs to work on his foul shooting and reduce the to's a bit, but he sounds like a young Gortat.

Btw, I would not be against trading Sato and Rice to move up in the 2015 draft.

[Dark Faze]

Right now I like Tyus Jones and Dakari Johnson for our pick.

It's easy to forget how miserable this team was before we got Dre to run the bench, and he's expiring this summer. I don't know how much he loves it here. I think he likes it fine, but going into what will probably be his final contract, I see him looking at some other situations.

Tyus has good numbers on the year. Was a top high school prospect. Good numbers on the season. Cood passer, nice shooting numbers for a freshman. A fantastic prospect to take over for Miller I think.

Dakari Johnson, 7 footer from Kentucky. Has improved his numbers considerably this year. Fantastic defender. Plays completely within himself and is completely unselfish.

Having him slowly grow behind Gortat could give him time to become a starter at some point during the Durant era.

[Ruzious]

Right now I like Tyus Jones and Dakari Johnson for our pick.

It's easy to forget how miserable this team was before we got Dre to run the bench, and he's expiring this summer. I don't know how much he loves it here. I think he likes it fine, but going into what will probably be his final contract, I see him looking at some other situations.

Tyus has good numbers on the year. Was a top high school prospect. Good numbers on the season. Cood passer, nice shooting numbers for a freshman. A fantastic prospect to take over for Miller I think.

Dakari Johnson, 7 footer from Kentucky. Has improved his numbers considerably this year. Fantastic defender. Plays completely within himself and is completely unselfish.

Having him slowly grow behind Gortat could give him time to become a starter at some point during the Durant era.

Tyus Jones is listed at 20 on draftexpress and nbadraft.net, but there's no way he lasts that long. He's not the strongest, not the fastest, but I'm thinking he's the best PG in the country. His scoring efficiency and assist/to ratio are pretty much amazing right now. It's early, but I think he's for real. I was a big Trey Burk fan, and Tyus Jones is better than Burk.

Dakari Johnson looks the part and has excellent stats, but... I actually have not been impressed with his D, and he has short arms for a 7 footer. But I agree about the playing within himself part - seems to have a great attitude.

[Dark Faze]

Yeah I agree a lot with what you said. Obviously Dakari has flaws, that's why he might be available at our pick.

And yea, Tyus probably doesn't last that long. The thing to go in our favor is how many guys in front of us are looking for starter help though. 6'1 guards tend to take a lot of time in the oven. More often than not you're developing them as backups to then get paid by someone else. Other than Lawson--guys like Bledsoe, Conley, Lowry, Burke, etc have not been starters until their 4th season in the league or later. Maybe that works in our favor.

[Zonkerbl]

Speaking of point guards, I've been meaning to ask our Ohio State expert, Nate, what he thinks of 18 year old freshman D'Angelo Russell. Not sure if he's a 1 or a 2, but he is averaging 7 assists per 40 minutes- as well as producing big-time scoring numbers - and doing real well in steals and rebounding for a 6'5 175 lb frosh. Gotta figure he's going to fill out some. He's already viewed as the 13th pick in draftexpress' mock.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen him play. I dumped the cable subscription about 2 years ago and no longer have an easy method of watching sports. I have NBA League Pass and that's about it. I can only watch NCAA games televised on network TV.

I told Verizon I wanted to dump Fios (because Netflix) and they basically gave it to me for free for two years. Paying out the wazoo now though, should probably give it the axe.

[Dat2U]

Keeping my eye on another legacy kid out of curiosity. Gary Payton II at Oregon State. So far eyepopping rebounding numbers for a guard, plus efficient scoring, and as you would expect good defensive numbers.

Ironical. The Glove is the guy that I want John to become. Can any of Shawn Kemp's kids play? That's more of a position on need long term

Defensively, at least based on this season and the advanced stats, he seems to have even a larger impact on games than Payton did in his peak years.

But older folks have told me that Payton's defense was overrated his entire career... but I don't know that to be fact as watched the game abit differently back then and couldn't speak to how good his defense really was.

[Nivek]

Speaking of point guards, I've been meaning to ask our Ohio State expert, Nate, what he thinks of 18 year old freshman D'Angelo Russell. Not sure if he's a 1 or a 2, but he is averaging 7 assists per 40 minutes- as well as producing big-time scoring numbers - and doing real well in steals and rebounding for a 6'5 175 lb frosh. Gotta figure he's going to fill out some. He's already viewed as the 13th pick in draftexpress' mock.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen him play. I dumped the cable subscription about 2 years ago and no longer have an easy method of watching sports. I have NBA League Pass and that's about it. I can only watch NCAA games televised on network TV.

I told Verizon I wanted to dump Fios (because Netflix) and they basically gave it to me for free for two years. Paying out the wazoo now though, should probably give it the axe.

I dumped Fios awhile back because I hated their menu. Went back to DirecTV, but canceled when I realized that no one was watching TV. Now we use Netflix, Amazon Prime, and I catch sports on network or online.