Official Speculation Thread (Pt. LV - NBA Draft Edition)

[RickB-Orlando]

Mehhh

Bledsoe
Oladipo
Harkless
Harris
Vucevic


Wouldn't the athleticism/perimeter defense of this squad make Vucci not being an elite shot blocker easier to live with while he improves?


Never been on the Oladipo wagon but him and bledsoe in the back court would be a pretty fkn annoying back court to have guarding you lol

Who the hell is gonna score besides Harris? It cant be ALL defense, just like it cant be ALL scoring. You play ball, you know there has to be some form of balance. No matter how good you defense is, you still need to put points on the board to win.

Who the hell is gonna protect the ball? No a single player in the starting 5 can run the show. That is a major major issue.

I guess the plan would be to
(A) see if Bledsoe can develop as a playmaker
(B) see if Dipo can develop as a scorer
(C) see how Harkless develops, and
(D) expect a very high draft pick in 2014

Maybe not the worst strategy, I guess, but I'm not one of the many fans of tanking here.

[Magic#1]

Mehhh

Bledsoe
Oladipo
Harkless
Harris
Vucevic


Wouldn't the athleticism/perimeter defense of this squad make Vucci not being an elite shot blocker easier to live with while he improves?


Never been on the Oladipo wagon but him and bledsoe in the back court would be a pretty fkn annoying back court to have guarding you lol

Who the hell is gonna score besides Harris? It cant be ALL defense, just like it cant be ALL scoring. You play ball, you know there has to be some form of balance. No matter how good you defense is, you still need to put points on the board to win.

Who the hell is gonna protect the ball? No a single player in the starting 5 can run the show. That is a major major issue.

I guess the plan would be to
(A) see if Bledsoe can develop as a playmaker
(B) see if Dipo can develop as a scorer
(C) see how Harkless develops, and
(D) expect a very high draft pick in 2014

Maybe not the worst strategy, I guess, but I'm not one of the many fans of tanking here.

Yeah, I wouldn't expect us to get our big gun until the '14 draft. I just want to add a player who will be a productive and fit into the scheme we're going for.

[Neon1]

OT - HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have to watch the end!!!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_QFVmTybDE[/youtube]

[doct3r dr3]

One issue with McLemore that I haven't seen brought up is his muscle/weight. In addition to being undersized from a height perspective, the guy is straight-up tiny, even for his height. Consider these pre-draft height/weight comparisons:

J. Harden - 6'4", 222 lb
E. Gordon - 6'2", 222 lb
J. Richardson - 6'4.75", 213 lb
V. Oladipo - 6'3.25" 213 lb
B. Beal - 6'3.25", 202 lb
O.J. Mayo - 6'3.25", 200 lb
R. Allen - 6'5", 198 lb


B. McLemore - 6'3.5" 189 lb

You've got to have some mass to be able to finish with NBA contact in the lane. Even Jameer Nelson, at 5'11", weighed in at 199 lb. This tells me that McLemore's reluctance to score off of drives in the halfcourt is not merely a "mentality" issue, but also a structural issue. That is to say, even if he were to have shown an appetite for driving and scoring in college, his size would give cause for serious skepticism about how that translated to the next level.

[rcklsscognition]

McLemore has tremendous body potential, great frame. I understand people are griping about his ability to get through traffic, but why does that have to be the focal point of his game? Does every SG need to have that be their primary offensive weapon? Just because a player doesn't do one particular thing well doesn't make them a bad prospect. You don't get perfect players, ever, out of the draft. Everyone has flaws.

Same goes for Oladipo, just because he's not a touted as a great shooter doesn't make him a bad prospect. He makes up for it in other areas, just like McLemore does. It just differentiates him in his position.

[Coach_McGuirk]

@ESPNSteinLine

Some draft scuttle: Rockets have been offered chance to shed contract of PF Thomas Robinson for first-round pick in next Thursday's draft

[doct3r dr3]

McLemore has tremendous body potential, great frame.

Based on what, exactly? Compared to Oladipo, who I also have reservations about with a #2 pick, McLemore has about the same height, wingspan (actually a bit shorter), and hand size. And it's not like he has especially broad shoulders or anything.

I understand people are griping about his ability to get through traffic, but why does that have to be the focal point of his game? Does every SG need to have that be their primary offensive weapon? Just because a player doesn't do one particular thing well doesn't make them a bad prospect. You don't get perfect players, ever, out of the draft. Everyone has flaws.

Getting through traffic doesn't have to be the focal point of a SG's game. But if he's going to become a big-time scorer, like people claim McLemore will be, getting into the lane is a scorer's bread and butter. Even Ray Allen was getting to the line 4-5x and making a couple of layups/dunks per game in his prime. A player's got to be able to drive if he's going to be a scorer, even if he uses the drive primarily to set up his shot. You're not going to score 20 points a night on nothing but threes.

Same goes for Oladipo, just because he's not a touted as a great shooter doesn't make him a bad prospect. He makes up for it in other areas, just like McLemore does. It just differentiates him in his position.

People that don't tout Oladipo's shooting are just willfully ignorant of the fact that he shot over 44% from 3 this year-- better than McLemore. There's no equivalence here, Oladipo is the better-rounded player who has a near-identical physical profile to McLemore, and McLemore is the one-dimensional shooter who can finish pretty alley-oops.

[Neon1]

Jus saw this on Twitter

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6txKYPg07o[/youtube]

[Mannchild]

FWIW

@MagicalNBA
Hearing Magic may go for Oladipo if they think they are getting Gordon. Highly athletic backcourt. Still too close to call. #draftlottery

What Gordon do you think he's referring to? I don't remember a Gordon rumor.

Jeff Gordon? .... Someone has to drive the tank next year

[Skin]

@ESPNSteinLine

Some draft scuttle: Rockets have been offered chance to shed contract of PF Thomas Robinson for first-round pick in next Thursday's draft

This would be a good move it that team happens to be us.

[BaunceyChillups]

McLemore has tremendous body potential, great frame. I understand people are griping about his ability to get through traffic, but why does that have to be the focal point of his game? Does every SG need to have that be their primary offensive weapon? Just because a player doesn't do one particular thing well doesn't make them a bad prospect. You don't get perfect players, ever, out of the draft. Everyone has flaws.

Same goes for Oladipo, just because he's not a touted as a great shooter doesn't make him a bad prospect. He makes up for it in other areas, just like McLemore does. It just differentiates him in his position.

McLemore's problem is that he doesn't do enough. He can shoot and finish in transition, that's it. You can find guys much later in the draft that can do that (Reggie Bullock, Allen Crabbe). He's a bad defender, has a poor motor, can't create his own offense, has no handle, is a poor finisher in the halfcourt and doesn't draw fouls or get to the line. There are so many things McLemore needs to fix in his game and his mentality for him to be even decent in the NBA, let alone a star. It's why the Ray Allen comps have always been hilarious, his strengths and weaknesses are almost identical to Wesley Johnson's.

If Oladipo plateaus tomorrow then he's Tony Allen who can hit an open jumper and perhaps a little better floor game. That's still a starter on a deep playoff team.

[Orlando_Pride]

@ESPNSteinLine

Some draft scuttle: Rockets have been offered chance to shed contract of PF Thomas Robinson for first-round pick in next Thursday's draft

I dont think Rockets have a first. Didnt they trade it to Oklahoma?

[rcklsscognition]

McLemore has tremendous body potential, great frame. I understand people are griping about his ability to get through traffic, but why does that have to be the focal point of his game? Does every SG need to have that be their primary offensive weapon? Just because a player doesn't do one particular thing well doesn't make them a bad prospect. You don't get perfect players, ever, out of the draft. Everyone has flaws.

Same goes for Oladipo, just because he's not a touted as a great shooter doesn't make him a bad prospect. He makes up for it in other areas, just like McLemore does. It just differentiates him in his position.

McLemore's problem is that he doesn't do enough. He can shoot and finish in transition, that's it. You can find guys much later in the draft that can do that (Reggie Bullock, Allen Crabbe). He's a bad defender, has a poor motor, can't create his own offense, has no handle, is a poor finisher in the halfcourt and doesn't draw fouls or get to the line. There are so many things McLemore needs to fix in his game and his mentality for him to be even decent in the NBA, let alone a star. It's why the Ray Allen comps have always been hilarious, his strengths and weaknesses are almost identical to Wesley Johnson's.

If Oladipo plateaus tomorrow then he's Tony Allen who can hit an open jumper and perhaps a little better floor game. That's still a starter on a deep playoff team.

I can't agree on all those accounts in bold. No evidence that Ben is bad at those things as you say he is. The can't create his own offense is something we'll see about, finishing in the half court as well. Those aren't parts of what we saw him do in college, I have no idea if it's system based or him, but those aren't red flags to me.

[doct3r dr3]

@ESPNSteinLine

Some draft scuttle: Rockets have been offered chance to shed contract of PF Thomas Robinson for first-round pick in next Thursday's draft

I dont think Rockets have a first. Didnt they trade it to Oklahoma?

I think the idea is the Rockets would GET a first for Thomas Robinson.

[magicman123]

McLemore has tremendous body potential, great frame. I understand people are griping about his ability to get through traffic, but why does that have to be the focal point of his game? Does every SG need to have that be their primary offensive weapon? Just because a player doesn't do one particular thing well doesn't make them a bad prospect. You don't get perfect players, ever, out of the draft. Everyone has flaws.

Same goes for Oladipo, just because he's not a touted as a great shooter doesn't make him a bad prospect. He makes up for it in other areas, just like McLemore does. It just differentiates him in his position.

McLemore's problem is that he doesn't do enough. He can shoot and finish in transition, that's it. You can find guys much later in the draft that can do that (Reggie Bullock, Allen Crabbe). He's a bad defender, has a poor motor, can't create his own offense, has no handle, is a poor finisher in the halfcourt and doesn't draw fouls or get to the line. There are so many things McLemore needs to fix in his game and his mentality for him to be even decent in the NBA, let alone a star. It's why the Ray Allen comps have always been hilarious, his strengths and weaknesses are almost identical to Wesley Johnson's.

If Oladipo plateaus tomorrow then he's Tony Allen who can hit an open jumper and perhaps a little better floor game. That's still a starter on a deep playoff team.

I can't agree on all those accounts in bold. No evidence that Ben is bad at those things as you say he is. The can't create his own offense is something we'll see about, finishing in the half court as well. Those aren't parts of what we saw him do in college, I have no idea if it's system based or him, but those aren't red flags to me.

he must really dislike oladipo

[Neon1]

People that don't tout Oladipo's shooting are just willfully ignorant of the fact that he shot over 44% from 3 this year-- better than McLemore. There's no equivalence here, Oladipo is the better-rounded player who has a near-identical physical profile to McLemore, and McLemore is the one-dimensional shooter who can finish pretty alley-oops.

Seriously? In 36 games Oladipo only made 30 threes all year long (68 attempts), all of the wide open, spot up, set shot variety. They guy isn't even remotely in the same area code as a shooter. You really think nobody noticed his 3pt% this year?

He had a little hot streak to start the season where he made 19-37 (51%) he finished 11-31 (35%). The guy is nowhere near as what his percentage was this year on that miniature sample size.

OLADIPO
FR 8-26 .308
SO 10-48 .208
JR 30-68 .441
48-142 .338 3pt%
257-357 .716 ft%
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pla ... ipo-1.html

McLEMORE
73-174 .420 3pt%
120-138 .870 ft%
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pla ... ore-1.html

[Neon1]

@ESPNSteinLine

Some draft scuttle: Rockets have been offered chance to shed contract of PF Thomas Robinson for first-round pick in next Thursday's draft

This would be a good move it that team happens to be us.

The #2 pick for Thomas Robinson would not be a good move...

[doct3r dr3]

Neon1, I didn't say Oladipo was necessarily a better shooter than McLemore, but people act like McLemore is Ray Allen and Oladipo is Tony Allen, when percentages tell a different story. Of course the volume argument is a fair one, but ~1 3PM per game isn't nothing -- Paul Pierce made 1.1 his last year and Vince Carter made 1.2 in his. The "spot up" argument isn't a very good one. It's not like McLemore was killing people off the dribble.

[rcklsscognition]

Neon1, I didn't say Oladipo was necessarily a better shooter than McLemore, but people act like McLemore is Ray Allen and Oladipo is Tony Allen, when percentages tell a different story. Of course the volume argument is a fair one, but ~1 3PM per game isn't nothing -- Paul Pierce made 1.1 his last year and Vince Carter made 1.2 in his. The "spot up" argument isn't a very good one. It's not like McLemore was killing people off the dribble.

Tony Allen took more 3s a game than Oladipo in college then just nosedived when he got drafted.

[Def Swami]

NOLA tv guy:

Chris Miles ‏@mileswdsu
Mclemore's stock apparently is taking a hit as Orlando has locked into Trey Burke according to a league source

Been awhile since I read a rumor of this nature.