2018 NBA DRAFT THREAD

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

ESPN Top 25 Players In College Basketball ~ Very interesting list with names you don't normally see or in much higher
spots than others have them ranked...

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/insider/story/_/id/21949619/top-25-players-college-basketball-20

1. Trae Young, Oklahoma Sooners
Previous ranking: None
Young may yet rewrite the rules we've used to classify college basketball talent since the dawn of the one-and-done era. Until this season, there were two primary ways to be an elite, Wooden Award-level performer. Either you were a veteran who refined your game over the course of two or three seasons to the point where you had become hegemonic (Frank Mason III, Josh Hart), or you were a freshman who carried a huge reputation on Day 1 and then lived up to your billing (a la Lonzo Ball).

Lon Kruger's star fits neither profile. Young entered the season as the No. 23-ranked freshman in the nation, yet he has exploded in the college hoops sky like a point guard version of Anthony Davis. Young is either scoring or assisting on an astonishing percentage of Oklahoma's possessions, to the clear benefit of a previously moribund Sooner offense. If he continues to perform at the level he has shown thus far, it will be legitimate to ask whether we've just seen the best season recorded by any college player in the past 15 years.

2. Mikal Bridges, Villanova Wildcats
Previous ranking: None
Bridges seemed to announce his intentions for 2017-18 with an especially emphatic dunk in Villanova's especially emphatic 88-72 win over Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden last month. The 6-7 junior has always been an efficient scorer and versatile defender, but this season he has taken a quantum leap forward in terms of possession usage on offense. With Hart and Kris Jenkins no longer in residence, Bridges and Jalen Brunson are now the stars for still another highly effective Wildcat offense.

6. Jock Landale, Saint Mary's Gaels
Previous ranking: No. 7
Every year I do these lists, and every year I point out that Landale plays for a slow-paced team that gets a limited number of games against marquee opponents. If the senior keeps putting up numbers like the 31-13 double-double he registered in SMC's overtime win against BYU in Provo, I can probably dispense with the disclaimers. Landale converts his 2s at the same rate as Ayton or Bagley, but he does so while taking a larger share of his team's shots.

Other interesting rankings:

5. Jevon Carter
7. Devonte' Graham
8. Landry Shamet
15. Collin Sexton
20. Mo Bamba

BONUS footnote on Michigan State's Nick Ward
His per-40-minute stats are such that he could be plausibly ranked above just about anyone here not named Trae Young

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

So......are Liangelo and LaMelo Ball legit NBA prospects now, since they're playing against grown men? Asking for a friend.

[London2Boston]

So......are Liangelo and LaMelo Ball legit NBA prospects now, since they're playing against grown men? Asking for a friend.

We'll wait until they dominate against grown men before claiming that..

[KD95]

So......are Liangelo and LaMelo Ball legit NBA prospects now, since they're playing against grown men? Asking for a friend.

You do realize they were playing against a bunch of 17 years old kids, right?

[Scoonie]

ESPN Top 25 Players In College Basketball ~ Very interesting list with names you don't normally see or in much higher
spots than others have them ranked...

Where are Ayton, Bagley, Wendell Carter, etc. ranked?

[jmr07019]

I'm a little late on this one but damn what a game here by Bamba

Watch on YouTube

Also this fansided Mock Draft has

1. Doncic
2. Ayton
3. Porter Jr
4. Bamba
5. Trae Young
6. Bagley

It's awesome to think we could still get Bagley at 5

https://fansided.com/2018/01/04/nba-mock-draft-deandre-ayton-hawks/28/

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

ESPN Top 25 Players In College Basketball ~ Very interesting list with names you don't normally see or in much higher
spots than others have them ranked...

Where are Ayton, Bagley, Wendell Carter, etc. ranked?

From what I remember, Ayton was around 5, Bagley was in the Top 10, and Carter, have no idea.
It's a ranking of players dominating the NCAAs, so, different than the other lists.

[sam_I_am]

Trae Young is having a mind blowing season but I cannot see passing on the other elite talents to take a skinny 6-2 below the rim athlete. No way he goes #1. Doncic is similarly unathletic but at least he is 6-8. I am intrigued by Bamba if we have #5 pick. Ayton, Porter and Bagley are still my favorites.

[Homerclease]

Bagley is the best player on the court and it’s not even close

[Kalela]

I feel like Bamba has a higher ceiling than everyone else in the draft. He is almost as raw as they come and he is already a decent player.

[Curmudgeon]

I feel like Bamba has a higher ceiling than everyone else in the draft. He is almost as raw as they come and he is already a decent player.

Well, the Celtics have Daniel Ochefu up in Maine. Ochefu played at the Westtown School, as did Bamba. Ochefu's younger brother Anthony was Bamba's teammate. Funny how a little Quaker school near Philadelphia can become an instant basketball power. Many years ago I lived about a mile from the South Kent School, which consisted of 2-3 ramshackle buildings and was in danger of closing. I doubt if they had a gym at that point. That's another school that has certainly come up in the basketball world.

Bamba looks good in the clip above. He blocks shots to teammates so they can recover the ball. He's actually not that raw. In fact he looks gangly but well-coached.

I'd worry a little about Bamba's two deadhead brothers (both felons), one of whom tried to squeal on him as having taken money from a Michigan booster, although Bamba was cleared by the NCAA.

[Kalela]

I feel like Bamba has a higher ceiling than everyone else in the draft. He is almost as raw as they come and he is already a decent player.

Well, the Celtics have Daniel Ochefu up in Maine.

It is funny you wrote that because I was watching a G-League game between the Austin Spurs and the Windy City Bulls earlier today and Ochefu was playing for the Bulls in that game. I couldn't find any news of him changing teams.

[Curmudgeon]

LOL, I thought Ochefu was still in Maine too. He was waived, so I guess he was free to sign anywhere and felt that the Bulls were an easier path back to the big show.

[Duke4life831]

Watch on YouTube

Bamba tonight. The dude is just going to be something else on the defensive end. And on a side note, havent yelled as loud as I did on that missed layup to finish the game for a sporting event in a long time. I really wanted Texas to come away with the win after hearing about Andrew Jones.

[Marti-mar]

Bamba has the tools to be one of the all time great defenders... but his game is very limited offensively. He has almost no post up moves and he's fairly easy for big men to move due to his slender frame. He's going to fill out and get stronger, but he's always going to be somewhat skinny. He does have a nice, soft release on his shot. I expect his outside field goal and free throw shouting percentages to increase dramatically over the next few years.

I think he would fit in well here where he could be a great rim protector and rebounder but wouldn't be expected to carry a big offensive load.

[peachbucket]

So......are Liangelo and LaMelo Ball legit NBA prospects now, since they're playing against grown men? Asking for a friend.

Liangelo has ZERO chance of seeing the NBA floor...if he gets a summer league invite it will only be to the Lakers as a courtesy to Lonzo and it will not be pretty. I would wager 100-1 against him being on an NBA roster in 2 years

LaMelo has talent but the odds are really stacked against him. He has a handle and can make unconventional long threes at the high school level but to have a chance in the NBA he will have to grow to at least 6'7 or become a Steph Curry level shooter....both highly unlikeyly but because he's still 16 I would give him a 1-25 shot.

At the end of the day, Lonzo will be the only Big Baller in the league and imo will have a very mediocre career.

[peachbucket]

Watch on YouTube

Bamba tonight. The dude is just going to be something else on the defensive end. And on a side note, havent yelled as loud as I did on that missed layup to finish the game for a sporting event in a long time. I really wanted Texas to come away with the win after hearing about Andrew Jones.

I think his best comp is Mutombo...who was a hell of a player.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

So......are Liangelo and LaMelo Ball legit NBA prospects now, since they're playing against grown men? Asking for a friend.

Liangelo has ZERO chance of seeing the NBA floor...if he gets a summer league invite it will only be to the Lakers as a courtesy to Lonzo and it will not be pretty. I would wager 100-1 against him being on an NBA roster in 2 years

LaMelo has talent but the odds are really stacked against him. He has a handle and can make unconventional long threes at the high school level but to have a chance in the NBA he will have to grow to at least 6'7 or become a Steph Curry level shooter....both highly unlikeyly but because he's still 16 I would give him a 1-25 shot.

At the end of the day, Lonzo will be the only Big Baller in the league and imo will have a very mediocre career.

Yeah, I know. Was just taking a shot at all the sensitive Doncic stans. Lol

[jmr07019]

I'm thinking my Celtic's big board is:

1. Ayton
2. Bagley
3. Porter Jr
4. Bamba
5. Doncic / Young

I feel as though fit is always part of the equation that makes up a prospects draft grade. Basketball is played 5 on 5 not 1 on 1. Guy's games need to mesh together. For the Celtics with so many pieces already in place fit is taken a bit more into consideration which is what pushes Bamba above Doncic and Young. Porter Jr isn't talked about in this thread a lot but he was my favorite prospect going into the year. His injury could be a blessing in disguise allowing him to drop to us at 3 or 4. A taller, longer, more athletic Tatum who still has all the moves and shooting touch? YES PLEASE!

[big-shot-ROB]

We are not getting the pick. The Lakers right now are in and out of the Top-5 bottom teams, and teams haven't started to tank.