College players thread/ Draft Related thread

[deeney0]

If Wolves are going to stay with Foye, they've got to pair him with someone taller, Evans or Holiday in this draft. Al and Love are young enough that they can press the reset button once for a guy like Teague, but if they do it's not to pair with Foye. Then you're looking Corey or someone else at the 2 long term, someone with some height.

[big3_8_19_21]

well we all were saying the same things about pairing Love with Jefferson...the Wolves FO thought differently (though that is still a concern that needs to be addressed). Teague brings a valuable skill that the Wolves have always lacked...drawing FTs. Teague/Foye/SF/Love/Jefferson is a bit too undersized, but that's some incredible offensive firepower. Jrue Holiday is 6'3" where Teague is 6'2" so I don't see how that 1 inch should really be that big of a selling point. Turner is 6'7" but he's not really going to play PG for us...he could handle the ball some in a Mike Miller like fashion, but he's not going to be a Brandon Roy type primary ball handler in my opinion.

[zauchary]

well we all were saying the same things about pairing Love with Jefferson...the Wolves FO thought differently (though that is still a concern that needs to be addressed). Teague brings a valuable skill that the Wolves have always lacked...drawing FTs. Teague/Foye/SF/Love/Jefferson is a bit too undersized, but that's some incredible offensive firepower. Jrue Holiday is 6'3" where Teague is 6'2" so I don't see how that 1 inch should really be that big of a selling point. Turner is 6'7" but he's not really going to play PG for us...he could handle the ball some in a Mike Miller like fashion, but he's not going to be a Brandon Roy type primary ball handler in my opinion.

looking at Holiday, he looks 6'4, and a long 6'4 at that. he will be able to guard the 2.. i think Teague's tools wouldn't fit in with the wolves. ..evans should be considered but i feel he would kill chemistry with his need to have the ball in his hands all the time, although he does show strong defensive ability that i like..... evan turner and jrue holiday are the best fits for this team.

let's not forget; the problem with this team isn't that we can't score, it's that we can't defend, anyone.

[zauchary]

I would love to have Jeff Teague. He is what Foye should be. If we could find a big, distributing PG that would be great, but I just don't see it happening and I don't see Teague and Foye being a problem together. Both are dangerous scorers in a variety of ways it's not like running a line-up with Steve Kerr, Jason Kapono and Fred Hoiberg. I'm also a proponent of Darren Collison and Stephen Curry, though. I think we will get a good guard to pair with Foye this draft...or Thabeet which could be a terrific pick-up.

i'm sorry but foye in college could get to the cup at a way better rate than teague could ever dream.. teague might shoot a little better but he's a worse defender... teague and foye would be terrible tandem on D.

[Devilzsidewalk]

either a PG or a SG should be right in our wheelhouse come draft time so I just want the best player available in the backcourt, I'm down for a SG like Harden to a PG like Rubio and everything in between. If the Wolves went forward or center for some reason with their first pick, I wouldn't mind going after one of those pitbull PGs like Collison or Lawson. We played great with little Bassy and Foye in the backcourt before they both decided they'd earned their paychecks for the season. Even wee little Nate Robinson - I'd love to have him on our team and I'd start him too w/ Foye. I'd definitely take Robinson/Foye before Foye/Miller as my starting backcourt. The key thing is just getting some stamina guys out there, our team gasses so quickly, I don't think any other team can match it.

[big3_8_19_21]

I would love to have Jeff Teague. He is what Foye should be. If we could find a big, distributing PG that would be great, but I just don't see it happening and I don't see Teague and Foye being a problem together. Both are dangerous scorers in a variety of ways it's not like running a line-up with Steve Kerr, Jason Kapono and Fred Hoiberg. I'm also a proponent of Darren Collison and Stephen Curry, though. I think we will get a good guard to pair with Foye this draft...or Thabeet which could be a terrific pick-up.

i'm sorry but foye in college could get to the cup at a way better rate than teague could ever dream.. teague might shoot a little better but he's a worse defender... teague and foye would be terrible tandem on D.

Teague finishes from everywhere at a way higher rate in college than Foye could have ever dreamed in college at a much younger age...Teague also averages more than 2 more FTA per game than Foye did his senior year.

[big3_8_19_21]

either a PG or a SG should be right in our wheelhouse come draft time so I just want the best player available in the backcourt, I'm down for a SG like Harden to a PG like Rubio and everything in between. If the Wolves went forward or center for some reason with their first pick, I wouldn't mind going after one of those pitbull PGs like Collison or Lawson. We played great with little Bassy and Foye in the backcourt before they both decided they'd earned their paychecks for the season. Even wee little Nate Robinson - I'd love to have him on our team and I'd start him too w/ Foye. I'd definitely take Robinson/Foye before Foye/Miller as my starting backcourt. The key thing is just getting some stamina guys out there, our team gasses so quickly, I don't think any other team can match it.

This is exactly how I feel.

[john2jer]

Holiday is listed at 6'4" in most places, even draftexpress until recently when they dropped him to 6'3", but he looks bigger than that on the court. He's also exactly 2 years younger than Teague, won't turn 19 til right before the draft, gotta assume he's got a little growing left in him. He's also got a phenomenal wingspan, great basketball IQ and great court vision. Excellent man, help, team, ball, off-ball defender. We sorely lack perimeter defense and we need to pair Foye with a big point guard.

As I mentioned Teague is two years older and he seems like a Jason Terry clone. Terry's a fine player, but a horrible fit with the Wolves. This quote from draftexpress scares me...

He gets to the free throw line at will thanks to the reckless abandon he plays with, but surprisingly doesn’t finish around the basket quite as well as you might hope, being a bit wild with some of his attempts and lacking some touch and/or strength on others.

Wild is a key word when evaluating Teague’s game, he’s extremely unpredictable, to the point that even he doesn’t quite even know what his next move will be, which leads to quite a few turnovers. He currently ranks as the 5th most turnover prone prospect in our database per-40, and sports a near-even assist to turnover ratio.

Tyreke Evans I'm falling in love with as a 6'5"-6'6" PG who'd pair well with Foye.

Assuming we drop a bit due to the Big Al injury, and going off draftexpress's predictions, a draft of Thabeet, Evans, and potentiall Summers is possible. That would be a dream draft for me.

We'd fill all three of our major needs. A center who can defend the basket, block shots, and rebound; a big point guard who can defend the perimeter and take pressure off Foye having to run the offense, and a strong, athletic SF who can slash, rebound, and defend the wing.

C - Thabeet/Love
PF - Jefferson/Smith
SF - Miller/Summers
SG - Foye/Brewer
PG - Evans/Telfair

Loving it.

[AQuintus]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/200 ... -Analysis/

2008 Nike Hoop Summit Official Measurements

Jrue Holiday: 6'4" (in shoes) 6'7.75" wingspan

Tyreke Evans: 6'5.5" (in shoes) 6'11.25" wingspan

[theGreatRC]

I'm falling in love with Tyreke in the same way that john2 is. Having a PG that tall in our lineup and then having him guard the SGs while Foye guards the PG while offensively playing SG solves our backcourt situation and how Foye can go back to the position he feels most comfortable in.

I now have a headache after typing that.

[revprodeji]

If we do get Evans just be prepared that he is likely a year or two before he can be considered a starter at the pro level.

[Worm Guts]

I agree that we should stay away from Teague, undersized, score first PG's are not what we need with Big Al in the post and possibly Foye being a main cog. We need a distributor. David Stern owes us for handing Boston #17, give us the damn #2 pick and hope Rubio comes out.

I don't like that Teague is only 6'2 and not a true point guard, but statistically I look for 2 things out of a perimeter scorer, the ability to get to the free throw line and the ability to shoot the 3. Teague gets to the line 7.5 times a game and is shooting 51% from 3, those numbers really jump out at me.
I've also never seen him play, so who knows.

[PeeDee]

Tyreke's wingspan is ridiculous. It's the same as Kevin Love's!

[jpatrick]

I haven't seen Memphis since Evans transitioned to the point. At the time the commentators said it wasn't because he was a natural point but because he was Memphis' best player and they didn't have anyone to get him the ball so they just decided to put the ball in his hands full time.

So my question is, will he be a point guard at the next level or a 2? If he turns into Rodney Stuckey or Chauncey Billups I'd be cool with that. I'm just struggling getting the visions of him at that McDonald's game out of my head where he played as selfishly as I've ever seen in my life...and that's saying something since I consider all-star games glorified one and one battles usually, but his performance just stuck out as abnormally selfish.

In a perfect world we'd get a true point with some size to pair with Foye. But Rubio might not come out, Holliday has questions about his athleticsm and ball handling and who knows what's going on with Jennings since none of us can see him play...maybe Evans is the best alternative, I just hope it's with Miami's pick, a top five is a little steep.

[revprodeji]

Evans has the tools to be a pg, but he will need time to learn. He would need to be considered a longterm investment. but there is little doubt he can play the pg.

Holiday does not have questions about athleticism.

[john2jer]

I haven't seen Memphis since Evans transitioned to the point. At the time the commentators said it wasn't because he was a natural point but because he was Memphis' best player and they didn't have anyone to get him the ball so they just decided to put the ball in his hands full time.

So my question is, will he be a point guard at the next level or a 2? If he turns into Rodney Stuckey or Chauncey Billups I'd be cool with that. I'm just struggling getting the visions of him at that McDonald's game out of my head where he played as selfishly as I've ever seen in my life...and that's saying something since I consider all-star games glorified one and one battles usually, but his performance just stuck out as abnormally selfish.

In a perfect world we'd get a true point with some size to pair with Foye. But Rubio might not come out, Holliday has questions about his athleticsm and ball handling and who knows what's going on with Jennings since none of us can see him play...maybe Evans is the best alternative, I just hope it's with Miami's pick, a top five is a little steep.

Agreed on Evans, like I said before I hope Miami falls a little bit because I think getting him at 15 would be perfect, and I'm pretty sure his stock will rise as the season continues, so he might not be there at 18-19.

The McDonald's All America game is probably the WORST place to scout a player. It's worse than an NBA All-Star game because this is most of those guys first chance to really shine on a national spotlight so it's all 1on1 with no defense, no system, teamwork, or philosophy. Big guys normally get completely ignored, which Evans isn't a big guy, but how he'd work with a guy like Al Jefferson is important.

[Krapinsky]

I like Evans as a player, but I don't like Evans for this team.

1) I'm tired of the "we have to compensate for Foye's height" argument. I could only buy that if Foye was an all star and averaged 25 ppg. Currently, that is not the case. Yes it's nice that Evans could guard 2's and Foye could guard 1's, but wouldn't even be better if Evans could guard 1's and a proper SG could guard 2's? Maybe Foye should be a 6th man, and that way for at least part of the night the offense can run through him, which is when he excels (as was displayed in the L agaisnt the Raps).

2) Evans is a player that needs to have the ball in his hands and likes to dribble a lot. He's a playmaker, but he's not a facilitator. In an offense surrounded by Al, this teams needs a facilitator, someone who can get everyone in position and get the ball in the post quick, with lots of time left on the shot clock-- and then be able to hit the open shot. I think Lawson is a much better fit in this regard.

I'm hoping for Harden with #2-5 and Lawson with the Miami pick, or if necessary, whatever it takes to trade up and get him.

If we fall after Harden, then I'm open to Holiday/Thabeet/Evans.

[john2jer]

I see us getting passed by Memphis, which puts us at 5th, but unless we shockingly win one of the top 3 spots, I see us drafting 5th or later depending on who passes us. As a Wolves fan we can hope for anything more than that.

I assume Harden is going 2nd to most teams that would draft 2nd, and also assuming Rubio doesn't declare. Griffin, then Harden is what I figure most teams draft board looks like. I'm not even going to debate Griffin or Harden in any draft scenario. So yeah, I'm thinking Holiday, Thabeet, and Evans are the three guys I'd like to see most out of our early pick, and Summers and Jordan out of our later picks. Now of course if we draft 5th-7th, assuming Evans doesn't have a completely meteoric rise, we won't take Evans that high, but I do see him raising his draft position.

Is it too early to start a board draftboard like we've done the last couple years. Where we say, "Ok who would you take with the 1st pick and everyone votes until a player gets 10 votes, then we move to the 2nd pick"? I know we're still in the middle of the conference schedule, but it would be itneresting to see how things change from month to month. In fact I'm going to start one now.

[revprodeji]

I am still of the feeling that after Rubio Holiday is the best "fit" to put around Al and Foye. Defensive oriented and more of a pg then Evans. But that is fit.

[john2jer]

I am still of the feeling that after Rubio Holiday is the best "fit" to put around Al and Foye. Defensive oriented and more of a pg then Evans. But that is fit.

Completely agree.

I'm torn between Thabeet and Holiday, honestly, but after those two it's Evans in my book.

Realistic Wolves draftboard goes something like this for me...(Of course assuming we stay at our spot and don't have a chance at Griffin, Rubio, or Harden)

Holiday/Thabet
.
.
.
Evans
.
Everyone else