Official Draft Thread 2015-16

[djFan71]

From the last draft: How I wanted Robert Upshaw in the second round.

Today:

D-League terminates Robert Upshaw's playing services for violating Anti-Drug program
He will no longer play in D-League
Robert Upshaw’s NBA D-League playing services have been terminated, effective immediately, for violating the league’s Anti-Drug Program. Upshaw spent the training camp with the Lakers after went undrafted.

http://www.sportando.com/en/usa/d-league/193812/d-league-terminates-robert-upshaw-s-playing-services-for-violating-anti-drug-program.html

Robert, you won the perfect-physical-frame lottery, and you're blowing it.


Further thought: I always want the Celtics to get the long, mobile big guys.
I wanted: Saer Sene, Rudy Gobert, Hassan Whiteside, and Robert Upshaw.

Lesson: I can only be trusted half the time.

Man, I forgot about Sene. Sonics had him as the last of the string of center draft pick failures: Johan Petro, Robert Swift, then Sene. Turned things aroudn the next year with some guy named Durant, but if they'd've gotten the #1, I'm sure they'd have picked Oden.

[mrscruff]

Further thought: I always want the Celtics to get the long, mobile big guys.
I wanted: Saer Sene, Rudy Gobert, Hassan Whiteside, and Robert Upshaw.

Lesson: I can only be trusted half the time.

I am sure Danny has a couple o' picks to spare.

[MrTwister]

My preseason prediction that Luwawu would be a top 8-12 pick caliber is coming to place.

Here's another guy who's ranked ridiculously low by Draftexpress (#47 in 2017, eligible for this draft): Nik Slavica.

He will be in 14-20 range in 2017. Slavica dominated Korkmaz in u19 last June in semis, he looked comparable to Taytum, Josh Jackson and Giles in the final. Those games were definitely high end games of his and he doesn't perform like that regularly, but that ranking is just asinine, especially looking at his Draftexpress pros and cons: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Nik-Slavica-69222/

NBADraftProspects likes him as well, his tweets often remind me I forgot to watch my local team :
[tweet]https://twitter.com/draftprosnba/status/702541613223034880[/tweet]

He's the guy Cs should talk with about draft-and-stash option with PHI pick. The fact that his production is relatively low this season (DE has ABA stats, these are Europe Cup link) doesn't concern me at all with 1st pick in 2nd round.

He is really versatile and can guard multiple positions.Not sure why he didn't played more this season in Cibona instead of some washed up vets.Had game saving block and clutch 3 in that FIBA game vs Juventus few weeks ago.He played SG-SF-PF during the season, watched him live few days ago in Podgorica, impressive athlete, effortless jump, yet need some polishing.Not sure he will declare for this year, maybe he will wait for next one if he gets more playing time to raise his stock.

That block vs Tatum on u19 tournament finals was amazing.

[Leprechaun18]

I watch some vids on Poeltl and was impressed by his agility near the rim. I also suspect he will measure well, since he is 7 ft an looks to have long arms. The kid is a baller. I also like D. Stone. The Celtics need a big who is not a TRex.

[Murta]

LSU players and coach Jones are very very stupid and Simmons is very passive. Recipe for disaster that is unfolding right now.

[Murta]

If there's anyone watching, should Simmons have caught this lob pass to Trocha? I think he should've. Most players wouldn't be able to read it, but he had read it and his arms aren't long enough to disrupt the offensive play.
Rejection on the other end is also not particularly pleasing.

[benjaminbuttonz]

I feel like every time i see a UConn game Rip Hamilton and Ray Allen are in the building. Always cool to see that with the former NBA alums.

[Wes-J]

Simmons is simply not an alpha. You're drafting him to be the 2nd piece on a contender. Many blasted Wiggins for not being assertive enough but I never had issue with him, he played with a loaded team that didn't need him to put up 20ppg. LSU is a different story and was very disappointed to see Simmons not be more aggressive for someone of his immense talent. He's still the top prospect but Ingram now in the conversation.

[ddb]

I think Simmons made a lousy decision with where he choose to play his 1 year of college ball. That LSU team has no talent, and even worse coaching.
I know Simmons has a link to an assistant coach at LSU, bla bla...bottom line is he should have went to a bigtime hoops program like Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina or Michigan St. Nonetheless, he is going to be a stud NBA player. Dont look too much into it and fool yourself.

[No-Man]

Simmons would not look better in this UK team, they are awful also, North Carolina maybe, I thought he should have gone to Duke, especially since they lost Tyus and had no PG until Thornton reclassified, I thought that was the ideal spot for him in paper.

[No-Man]

Simmons is simply not an alpha. You're drafting him to be the 2nd piece on a contender. Many blasted Wiggins for not being assertive enough but I never had issue with him, he played with a loaded team that didn't need him to put up 20ppg. LSU is a different story and was very disappointed to see Simmons not be more aggressive for someone of his immense talent. He's still the top prospect but Ingram now in the conversation.

He reminded many scouts in HS of Boris Diaw for a reason
He is going to be a super role player I think, not a franchise player.

I think both Ingram and Bender should be in the conversation, honestly the 3 of them are quite leveled for me at the top3 and I could understand any team going with one of them at 1st.
I think Ingram is the easiest call for many teams due to been an easy guy to plug in.

[Murta]

Simmons is simply not an alpha. You're drafting him to be the 2nd piece on a contender. Many blasted Wiggins for not being assertive enough but I never had issue with him, he played with a loaded team that didn't need him to put up 20ppg. LSU is a different story and was very disappointed to see Simmons not be more aggressive for someone of his immense talent. He's still the top prospect but Ingram now in the conversation.

He reminded many scouts in HS of Boris Diaw for a reason
He is going to be a super role player I think, not a franchise player.

I think both Ingram and Bender should be in the conversation, honestly the 3 of them are quite leveled for me at the top3 and I could understand any team going with one of them at 1st.
I think Ingram is the easiest call for many teams due to been an easy guy to plug in.

The problem with Simmons are false expectations from LeBron and Kobe fanboys, YouTube highlights and ESPN hype. Simmons is still a damn good prospect and whichever team gets him should be through the roof, but he doesn't have the elite of the elites athleticism LeBron has nor the defensive ability of Magic Johnson. Magic could guard 4.5 positions (part time center), Simmons can't even guard his own. And "the best prospect since LeBron" statement is utterly ridiculous as well because Anthony Davis was on the same level as LBJ, even if Simmons were on that level.

And it is absolutely OK that he isn't in that tier. He can still be a star and I fully expect him to be a top 20 or top 10 player. But false expectations create unnecessary disappointment.

[Celtsfan1980]

Imagine Whiteside, Deyonta Davis, and Mickey on the same team? For those of us who love shot blocking, that would be ideal. I'd still be happy with Poeltl but I'd be happy with Davis too.

[Cornbread]

Imagine Whiteside, Deyonta Davis, and Mickey on the same team? For those of us who love shot blocking, that would be ideal. I'd still be happy with Poeltl but I'd be happy with Davis too.

I like the handful of video I've seen on Davis and think he'd be a very solid pick in the teens.

[return2glory]

I watch some vids on Poeltl and was impressed by his agility near the rim. I also suspect he will measure well, since he is 7 ft an looks to have long arms. The kid is a baller. I also like D. Stone. The Celtics need a big who is not a TRex.

If the Celtics want another big that can't rebound (see Zeller & KO), then Poeltl would be their guy.

If his rebounding was better, I would consider him, but it's pretty bad for a guy his height. Oregon just blew his team out and he was a joke on the glass.

[Edug27]

I think Simmons made a lousy decision with where he choose to play his 1 year of college ball. That LSU team has no talent, and even worse coaching.

Preparing himself for a smooth transition to Philly I guess.

[Gomes3PC]

Simmons would not look better in this UK team, they are awful also, North Carolina maybe, I thought he should have gone to Duke, especially since they lost Tyus and had no PG until Thornton reclassified, I thought that was the ideal spot for him in paper.

Yeah Duke was the obvious choice, especially in hindsight seeing how Coach K maximized a similar non-jump shooting big in Okafor just a year before.

[Wes-J]

UK vs TAMU

just a few quick observations:

*Murray time and time again proves to be a cold blooded assasin. He's at minimum a dynamic 6th man on any team in the league. More upside than Hield IMO, he's good enough to be in the mix @3. I was pounding the table for Booker last year and if we can't land top 2 Murray is a nice consolation.

*at 5'9 I believe Ulis has a place in the nba as a backup earning 20-25mpg. League is deep there but he can play. Likely 2nd rd prospect. If he declares the combine will loom large.

*Skal is not much of a fit in this version of the Cats. He obviously needs to get stronger but tougher too, to earn minutes with coach Cal. Otherwise it's hard to say how much progress he's made, he needs PT.

*Tyler Davis is an interesting prospect. The 6'10 , 270lb freshman has advanced post skills and great BBIQ. Plays with emotion and tenacity (anti-Zeller). He's been a key player in the Aggies run. Not the most explosive player but he's one to watch. Love this kid.

[BfB]

Simmons is simply not an alpha. You're drafting him to be the 2nd piece on a contender. Many blasted Wiggins for not being assertive enough but I never had issue with him, he played with a loaded team that didn't need him to put up 20ppg. LSU is a different story and was very disappointed to see Simmons not be more aggressive for someone of his immense talent. He's still the top prospect but Ingram now in the conversation.

He reminded many scouts in HS of Boris Diaw for a reason
He is going to be a super role player I think, not a franchise player.

I think both Ingram and Bender should be in the conversation, honestly the 3 of them are quite leveled for me at the top3 and I could understand any team going with one of them at 1st.
I think Ingram is the easiest call for many teams due to been an easy guy to plug in.

The problem with Simmons are false expectations from LeBron and Kobe fanboys, YouTube highlights and ESPN hype. Simmons is still a damn good prospect and whichever team gets him should be through the roof, but he doesn't have the elite of the elites athleticism LeBron has nor the defensive ability of Magic Johnson. Magic could guard 4.5 positions (part time center), Simmons can't even guard his own. And "the best prospect since LeBron" statement is utterly ridiculous as well because Anthony Davis was on the same level as LBJ, even if Simmons were on that level.

And it is absolutely OK that he isn't in that tier. He can still be a star and I fully expect him to be a top 20 or top 10 player. But false expectations create unnecessary disappointment.

If people can embrace the very real probability that he is NOT going to be a go-to scoring option, he'll be fine.

He needs a massive improvement in his overall tenacity and very much needs to show that he gives a **** defensively. His biggest problem is he likes to play the game his way instead of trying to give the game what it needs.

He's a great talent who will perform at a high level for years to come. Whether or not he becomes a great player or not depends on his willingness to apply himself to other areas of the game that aren't current interests to him.

[rickrolled]

FWIW, Simmons is now represented by Klutch Sports, LeBron and his friend Rich Pauls agency.