Shift into neutral and roll this one out....
Here. Quoting myself from the Happyhappy thread:
doclinkin wrote:Know what? At this point I'm prepared to be happy for any pick we actually select at #3.
I'll drop a happy thoughts version of this post maybe, but I have run through a few iterations of possibilities for that selection and can see all of them working fine, fitting in with the group we have. Fact is we have a pretty decent and solid foundation to add new players, what we need most is depth of talent and future starters. Our short term needs fit well with the talent likely available.
1. Noel. Best talent available, he'd be an ideal understudy for our current bigs, blends the passing and face-up dribble drive game of Nene with the defense and rebounding of Okafor. The fact that he is recuperating makes no major impact on our success next year, and may help us land a decent draft pick. Eventually though if he fulfills his potential he'd be a great frontcourt complement to Wall. His active defense initiates the fast break and his footspeed outpaces most all of his counterparts when he runs the lane to catch up to John for the dump off alley oop. There are two key players you need for strong defense in the NBA: a low-post intimidator who snares loose rebounds and a disruptive perimeter hellion who can disrupt interior passing, bother ballhandlers, break up the smooth function of pick and roll. Noel's top end looks like he can manage to be a hybrid of both roles on defense. Not the beefiest guy in the league, but wiry and wily and too quick for his size.
2. Porter. Our probable pick. His character and personality and heads-up play just fit so well with our core perimeter players. He shoots well enough to keep defenders honest, passes great, makes the smart play, rebounds well enough, takes personal responsibility on defense, manages to find a way to score on the interior, and is young enough and hardworking enough to constantly adjust and improve. A humble guy he'll be easy to root for, we'll still be an under dog but we'll pick our fair share of high caliber wins. If we ever do land a hothead like Boogie Cousins it will be useful to have a solid team of good attitude young players surrounding him to balance out any shenanigans and min-max his bench and locker room demerits against his best effect on court.
3. Bennett. So far in low-lights reels he sucks on defense and puts out a lazy effort, lazy vibe. But for all, that he can't be the worst ever, his squad actually ranked high on the Kenpom rating for defensive efficiency, with him playing out of position as the Center out of necessity. So okay that leaves room for improvement, and if he does improve under a team that stresses defense, then he's clearly one of the most talented players in the draft.
I actually agree with him that he may hit weight rooms and develop a fitness regimen that would allow him to lean up a little and develop the footspeed to play SF at times. And there he'd be all hell of a mismatch on offense, with his perimeter game bolstered by mighty natural strength and athleticism. This squad struggled to find any mismatch on offense other than John's speed, and here we'd add a face-up 3/4 who can stretch defenses and give John room to operate. Even if he was Antawn Jamison out there, we have enough pieces surrounding him that our overall defense might not bottom out. Picture a frontcourt of Okafor, Nene and Bennett. Yes he might get scorched by fast SFs blowing by him, but they'll stall driving into the heart of our solid defensive core. And if he does learn to keep his hands up and feet active and mind in the game, then he'll be a 200% better player just on a minimum of effort alone. Okay asthma affecting fitness and compounding injury concerns may temper our enthusiasm, but if he learns that he needs a constant effort to overcome this hurdle then suddenly his liability becomes a virtue.
Seeing how well he could fit on offense makes me willing to be excited about playing with line-ups and playbooks that feature his best skills.
4. Len. I'm willing to be patient. Love his upside and appreciate how hard he has worked in his short time over here. Still so young and I look at his improvement through that Roy Hibbert lens. True Bigs take longer to develop, but while he may not yet have the confidence in his size and developing strength, in a few games against more loudly touted prospects and opponents he showed up tough and determined, on defense especially. If he suffered a stress fracture from adding too much weight too quickly, okay but medical science has improved leaps and bounds (so to speak) since say Rik Smits had to retire with glass feet. And the kid is still young. No matter what, he has more potential than almost any player in this draft. Real size, athleticism, defensive emphasis, his upside has more up than most.
5. Oladipo. His defensive intensity makes me grin. The rest is gravy. He's another player who has used his time in college well to improve his game and work his weaknesses to death. Freed of the need to attend classes etc I can see him becoming a workout demon, constantly driven to fix wrinkles in the offseason, ballhandling skills, long range shot whatever. And I can see him adding the strength to effectively guard bigger players at that 3spot. His height undersells how long his arms are, he'll surprise a player with his reach in defending the perimeter, with a wingspan closer to the average SF than a 2guard (even if his standing reach is about average there).
With the new contract structure, any players we pick up become a bargain for us, even as a 6th man type, so long as they do earn playing time. But with Beal's reckless playstyle in attacking the interior, I have no doubt that back-up 2 guard and defensive sub is a need position for us. Let him be that ballstopper on defense, putting him on the toughest outside shooter and making them work and get creative to get their shot off.
To say nothing of the dozen iterations of trade down scenariae.
Basically I can see in my inner vision the best potential possible in most of our likely draft picks at 3. Can envision sets and offensive plays and defensive schemes that feature any and all, and basically: it doesn't suck to have the 3rd pick in this draft. There's strong signals that say we're in a good position to get better and be happier for it.
Magnumt
