Absurdly early 2018 NBA Draft Thread

[macd-gm]

I hoping the T-Wolves make the playoffs. It's a tough task out West. This is how I tier rank the teams (in no order)
Tier 1 (4 teams)
Spurs
Thunder
Rockets
Warriors

Tier 2 (2 teams)
Jazz (love their defense, Gobert is showing in the preseason he can score)
Nuggets (Millsap presence helps this young team)

Tier 3 (5 teams)
Wolves (too many new pieces, not enough 3 point shooting, defense still a question)
Pelicans (the Boogie factor, not enough floor spacers)
Grizzlies (Ithey they can incorporate their young players with Gasol and Conley, they might be OK)
Blazers (not enough defense)
Clippers (considering they lost CP3, they have a decent team)

That seems fair although it won't surprise me to see the Wolves move up and the Rockets move down. I think the D'Antoni honeymoon will be over and they'll regress a bit.

[Jamaaliver]

...I think we need a wing (subject to change) that can handle and give us some offense off the dribble - who fits that mold?

Another small blurb regarding a potential draft target with one of our later picks. Sounds as though there's a chance he returns to school if he isn't showcased as a freshman as much as he hopes.

26. Gary Trent Jr. | SG | Duke

Someone is going to have to take a back seat at times on this loaded Duke team, and it's not going to be senior Grayson Allen. Will Trent, a big, aggressive, hot-shooting guard, get enough touches to impress NBA scouts? If not, he could come back next season and be a lottery pick. He could still be a lottery pick -- I just wonder about his role and Allen's being too similar.

CBS Sports

[Jamaaliver]

2018 NBA Draft: The Top 10 International Prospects


1. Luka Doncic (Slovenia, PG/SG, 1999)

Draft range: Top 5

The hype doesn't get much louder for an international prospect. But it's also deserved, given his unprecedented production and obvious impact as a teenager among pros.

From Euroleague to EuroBasket, where he recently helped Slovenia run the table, Doncic has been a constant, making winning plays and demonstrating the toughness and intensity coaches love.

He's the Lonzo Ball of this year's draft, with his intangibles and shooting more prominent than his athleticism and scoring. He'll use the 2017-18 season to strengthen his case to tankers like the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks—teams who could desperately use a winner like Doncic to build with in the backcourt.

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

Bleacher Report



There's a reason the kid is ranked #1:

Read on Twitter

[Spud2nique]

I'm telling ya don't pass up on Luka...

[Spud2nique]

I hoping the T-Wolves make the playoffs. It's a tough task out West. This is how I tier rank the teams (in no order)
Tier 1 (4 teams)
Spurs
Thunder
Rockets
Warriors

Tier 2 (2 teams)
Jazz (love their defense, Gobert is showing in the preseason he can score)
Nuggets (Millsap presence helps this young team)

Tier 3 (5 teams)
Wolves (too many new pieces, not enough 3 point shooting, defense still a question)
Pelicans (the Boogie factor, not enough floor spacers)
Grizzlies (Ithey they can incorporate their young players with Gasol and Conley, they might be OK)
Blazers (not enough defense)
Clippers (considering they lost CP3, they have a decent team)

That seems fair although it won't surprise me to see the Wolves move up and the Rockets move down. I think the D'Antoni honeymoon will be over and they'll regress a bit.

I expect the Grizzlies and the Clippers to do better...possibly up to tier 1....I like the Grizzlies with Gas n Conley alone...they are too smart. The Clippers need to stay healthy but if they do, I think they have some pretty feisty pissed off players in Gallo and the pest and sweet uncle Lou. Lol. Wasn't it just sweet Lou?

[Spud2nique]

Sorry I meant push grizz n Clipps to tier 2..not 1

[jayu70]

Sorry I meant push grizz n Clipps to tier 2..not 1

You had me there for a minute.

[Jamaaliver]

I'm telling ya don't pass up on Luka...

I DO THINK HE'LL BE GOOD. It's just a matter of how good...

If we had a franchise cornerstone like Anthony Davis onboard, I'd gladly add a talented kid like Luka. But if Luka is the best player on your team...can that team truly contend?

The three most accurate comparisons I've heard are Manu Ginobili, G Hayward, Steve Smith.

All three were All Stars.

Two of them were NBA Champions.

None of them were franchise talents.

(But If Doncic is there at #4, I'd gladly take him and let Bud/Trav's next coach mold him into a 2nd tier star)

[Spud2nique]

I'm telling ya don't pass up on Luka...

I DO THINK HE'LL BE GOOD. It's just a matter of how good...

If we had a franchise cornerstone like Anthony Davis onboard, I'd gladly add a talented kid like Luka. But if Luka is the best player on your team...can that team truly contend?

The three most accurate comparisons I've heard are Manu Ginobili, G Hayward, Steve Smith.

All three were All Stars.

Two of them were NBA Champions.

None of them were franchise talents.

(But If Doncic is there at #4, I'd gladly take him and let Bud/Trav's next coach mold him into a 2nd tier star)

Oh wow 4th huh...good comparisons with former NBA guys for sure. Having said that I'd take him top 2 I think.

[Jamaaliver]

I DO THINK HE'LL BE GOOD. It's just a matter of how good...

If we had a franchise cornerstone like Anthony Davis onboard, I'd gladly add a talented kid like Luka. But if Luka is the best player on your team...can that team truly contend?

The three most accurate comparisons I've heard are Manu Ginobili, G Hayward, Steve Smith.

All three were All Stars.

Two of them were NBA Champions.

None of them were franchise talents.

(But If Doncic is there at #4, I'd gladly take him and let Bud/Trav's next coach mold him into a 2nd tier star)

Oh wow 4th huh...good comparisons with former NBA guys for sure. Having said that I'd take him top 2 I think.

And, honestly, that would be completely understandable.

[Spud2nique]

I DO THINK HE'LL BE GOOD. It's just a matter of how good...

If we had a franchise cornerstone like Anthony Davis onboard, I'd gladly add a talented kid like Luka. But if Luka is the best player on your team...can that team truly contend?

The three most accurate comparisons I've heard are Manu Ginobili, G Hayward, Steve Smith.

All three were All Stars.

Two of them were NBA Champions.

None of them were franchise talents.

(But If Doncic is there at #4, I'd gladly take him and let Bud/Trav's next coach mold him into a 2nd tier star)

Oh wow 4th huh...good comparisons with former NBA guys for sure. Having said that I'd take him top 2 I think.

And, honestly, that would be completely understandable.

I love our competitiveness but we need a top 5 pick...it would be hard for even us to mess that up...#2 in 2006 doesn't count...lol..they trapped us..

[ATL Boy]

If we go pick with our first pick I'd love to end up with Dzanan Musa later on in the first with another one of our picks.

I've watched a lot of him in international play the past few years and his scoring prowess can't be ignored. He can create for himself off the dribble, get to the line, and has improved his outside stroke. That and I've been yearning to see a Bosnian play for the Hawks for the longest time.


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[Jamaaliver]

Honestly, after reading all of this the last few days I'm thoroughly confused as to who is on what side?....Do we like young NBA guys or do we want them to stay in college? I know it's much more loaded than that but..

Big picture: owners and NBA leadership are in favor of raising the age limit. It'd be to their benefit financially to pay players low wages from age 21-24. And then max them out from age 25-29. (Imagine getting an MVP season from Kawhi at age 24--on a rookie scale contract.)


The Player's Association officially is against any restrictions at all. Though privately, players have expressed concern that the kids come in unprepared to play and unable to manage the responsibilities of fame.


Adam Silver has stated in the past that he wants to do away with 'the one & done rule', but has not stated what he hopes to replace it with? (A higher age limit? no age limit? a true minor league in the G League?)


Most posters here seem to favor letting the kids come out when they want.

I'm in the minority that think most kids would be better off at least 2-3 years removed from HS.

Spoiler:

“My sense is it’s not working for anyone,” Silver said Thursday night before Game 1 of the N.B.A. finals. “It’s not working for the college coaches and athletic directors I hear from. They’re not happy with the current system. And I know our teams aren’t happy either, in part because they don’t necessarily think the players who are coming into the league are getting the kind of training that they would expect to see.”

There are arguments for raising the minimum age to 20, as well as arguments for getting rid of the rule altogether.

I think we all agree that we need to make a change. As I’ve said before, our position, at least our formal position, going into bargaining was that we wanted to raise the minimum age from 19 to 20, and of course their formal position was they want to lower the age from 19 to 18. I think it’s one of those issues that we need to come together and study.

There were six rookies this season who averaged 10 points per game or more; none were teenagers. One of the advantages that could come from raising the age minimum to 20 would be that players may be more ready for the pro game. Silver said he has talked to many veteran players, who have a sense that the 19-year-olds “are not coming in game-ready.”

June 2017

[macd-gm]

My only opinion on the subject is that it is illegal to collude against adults to keep them from being hired for a job they are qualified for. If I was a top prospect and got seriously injured in college because i wasn't allowed to sign an NBA contract I'd sue the hell out of the NBA for lost wages. There's whats good for the game, the teams, the nba but at the end of the day these are people's livelihoods that they have been training for almost all their lives. We think of it as a game but it is a career like any other. What gives the NBA the right to make a rule like this? Nothing.

[Jamaaliver]

It...is a private company.

Teenagers can play basketball any number of places. But this company advocates that they can't do it until a certain age.

Same rule as the NFL.

I do like some of the rules/safeguards in place in NHL and MLB. You can be drafted and then go back to college with various limitations.

But lots of private companies have limitations on who can work there.

I think its shameful the games MLB scouts can play in pursuit of international talent. Tossing big money around to the handlers of Latin American teens to secure their loyalty. And we've seen this same type of action with the 'one & dones'.

[macd-gm]

It...is a private company.

Teenagers can play basketball any number of places. But this company advocates that they can't do it until a certain age.

Same rule as the NFL.

I do like some of the rules/safeguards in place in NHL and MLB. You can be drafted and then go back to college with various limitations.

But lots of private companies have limitations on who can work there.

I think its shameful the games MLB scouts can play in pursuit of international talent. Tossing big money around to the handlers of Latin American teens to secure their loyalty. And we've seen this same type of action with the 'one & dones'.

I disagree. The NBA is not a private company. It's an association with 30 private companies as it's members. In addition, no private company can deny employment based solely on the age of the applicant. In fact, you can't even ask their age. But even if they could come up with a non-discriminatory basis for the rule it doesn't take away from the fact that 30 companies are getting together to exclude a group of people from employment at any of their companies.

[Jamaaliver]

I disagree. The NBA is not a private company. It's an association with 30 private companies as it's members.

In addition, no private company can deny employment based solely on the age of the applicant. In fact, you can't even ask their age.

30 companies are getting together to exclude a group of people from employment at any of their companies.

YOU MAKE A COMPELLING ARGUMENT, COUNSELOR.

Maurice Clarett definitely agrees with you.

[macd-gm]

I disagree. The NBA is not a private company. It's an association with 30 private companies as it's members.

In addition, no private company can deny employment based solely on the age of the applicant. In fact, you can't even ask their age.

30 companies are getting together to exclude a group of people from employment at any of their companies.

YOU MAKE A COMPELLING ARGUMENT, COUNSELOR.

Maurice Clarett definitely agrees with you.

Except he lost! Dammit.

In his attempt to enter the 2004 NFL Draft, Clarett challenged the NFL's rule that a player must wait three years after graduating from High School to declare for the draft. Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin initially ruled based on anti-trust grounds that the NFL could not bar Clarett from participating in the 2004 NFL Draft.[8] This decision was later overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in an opinion by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and Clarett's petition for certiorari was refused by the Supreme Court.[9] Clarett and USC wide receiver Mike Williams, who were both hoping to enter the draft early, were then barred from the draft by the NFL. Later, because they both signed agents before being denied the opportunity to join the NFL Draft, the NCAA refused to reinstate the college eligibility of Clarett or Williams.

[Jamaaliver]

I am aware.




FTR, I have evolved 180 degrees on the issue as I've gotten older.

I now think the kids should wait at least 2 seasons before entering the league. (Preferably 3)

But, I also think these same kids should receive compensation (after the fact) for their collegiate years. (Performance bonuses, % of jersey sales, held in a trust until age 25 or graduation.)


To keep the topic relevant to the thread...Bagley scares me. I hear he is the top prospect in the draft. but he's so raw and so young. I'd much rather see him play for a couple more years against older/stronger competition before investing in him long term.

[Jamaaliver]

If we go pick with our first pick I'd love to end up with Dzanan Musa later on in the first with another one of our picks.

I've watched a lot of him in international play the past few years and his scoring prowess can't be ignored.

Dzanan Musa (Bosnia and Herzegovina, SG/SF, 1999)

One of the top young scorers overseas, Dzanan Musa has put up a lot of points for an 18-year-old.

He's averaged 25 points in 31 FIBA games dating back to 2014. Musa isn't an exciting athlete, but it's tough to argue with his success. And at 6'8", he has strong positional size and instincts, plus a high skill level off the dribble.

Musa won't explode by anyone. He uses crafty footwork and handles and has a knack for making pull-ups and runners. Being more competitive defensively and shooting the three-ball better would make Musa a worthy first-round pick.

Bleacher Report Prospect Rankings - Oct 2017