SF prospects in the upcomming draft

[Notanoob]

Besides Wiggins and Parker, I thought I'd go over the SFs who are considered 1st round material, in case we try to address that position in the draft and we retain our pick at 8th overall.

James Young- 6'7", 6'11" wingspan, 19 years old, Feshman, Kentucky
James Young is the highest ranked SF prospect after Wiggins and Parker, and projected to go just below the 8th pick. He's a local boy from Rochester MI, who's averaging 14.6ppg, 4.3rpg, 1.9apg, .8spg and .2bpg. He's 3rd among sf prospects in made three's, but he's only shooting 33.5% from deep. A southpaw, he's got a low but quick release and can make shots when he's in rhythm. He plays hard and is a willing passer. With his size and wingspan, he should be a very good defender. However, he's not a particularly good ballhandler or shot creator, and while he's a solid athlete who should be able to hack it in the pro's, he isn't an above average athlete. He's not a guy you can give the ball to and expect to score at this point, and he's fine with that. At Kentucky, they basically have no shooters, so Young is forced to take a ton of 3's to try and space the floor as their nominal shooter. He's honestly kind of raw, but if he improves his shooting, he'd be a fine fit here. He'd work hard on defense, space the floor, and he'd be fine just trying to get the ball inside to Monroe on Drummond.

Jerami Grant- 6'8", 7'2.5" wingspan, 19 years old, Sophomore, Syracuse
Grant is a bigger, better athlete than Young. He's got the potential to guard shooting guards and power forwards with his size and quickness. However, he's a limited ballhandler who basically can only do a straight line drive, and he basically never takes jump shots. He's barely shot any 3's at all over his career, and is not a good free throw shooter at all. Compared to Young he'd be a reach and a bit of a project. His stat line for this season: 12.6ppg, 7.2rpg, 1.5apg, .8spg, .6bpg.

Rodney Hood- 6'8", 6'8" wingspan, 21 years old, Junior, Duke
Hood is an older and relatively unimpressive athlete, especially by the standards of the rest of the guys here. He's got a small wingspan relative to his height. However, he's naturally the most polished guy in the group. Of honest-to-God small forwards in this draft, he's clearly the best shooter, knocking down 43.6% of his 3's on high volume and 81% of his free throws. He can score well by himself, and has a good feel for the game. He looks fluid on the court and is a solid passer. He plays solid defense too, although that projects as being essentially "okay" in the NBA. You know the type, relatively limited upside dude with some skills. He's averaging 16.1ppg, 4.2rpg, 1.9apg, .7spg, .3bpg.

K.J. McDaniels- 6'6", 6'9.5" wingspan, 21 years old, Junior, Clemson
McDaniels is another older prospect, but he's a reverse of Hood- more athletic, higher potential, late bloomer with fewer skills. The guy is extremely athletic. Wiggins is the only guy who's clearly got an edge on him there in this draft class, and that's about it. His athleticism really shows up in the box score too; just look at his stat line! He's getting more blocks per game than all but 8 guys in this draft class, and that includes centers! The Clemson squad he's on is garbage and probably won't make the tournament, so he's the focus of opposing defenses. This is bad for him, because he's not a great ball handler or creator for his teammates. However, he manages to score a lot. He crashes the glass and gets to the line well (4.7 FTApg). He's got a poor % from 3 (31%), but this is because he's not good when he's rushed. He's an excellent free throw shooter, 3rd the best in this draft class at 87%. If he can quicken his release, he could become a very good 3 point shooter, as when he's shooting open jumpers with his feet set, he shoots 41% from 3. On a squad where he isn't the focus, he might be able to get better looks and up his % too. I like this kid a lot and honestly don't understand why he's expected to go in the 20s. His stat line: 17ppg, 7.1rpg, 1.3apg, 1.2spg, 2.8bpg.

I left a few other prospects out mostly because I didn't feel like they could be effective defenders against NBA small forwards (Saric, McDermott, Anderson), and there are a few interesting guys in the 2nd round as well (LaQuinten Ross and GR3).

I'm pretty high on Warren as being a good fit for us, but Young and Hood both fit as well. Grant is there kind of because; with his complete lack of shooting I don't know if we could draft him. I figured I'd bring them up here so people could watch them a bit while they're still playing games, as none of these guys get talked about much at all.

[ImHeisenberg]

None of those prospects blow me away. If we still have a pick in this draft- we shouldn't draft based on need (look where KCP got us). Whomever is calling the shots at that point needs to take the best player available.

I'd definitely prefer a player with a lot of upside, that's also playing great now in Gary Harris, despite an ill perceived lack of need at the 2. Young has had games where he's looked great, and games where he's disappeared.

Just my two cents on the matter. The only position I absolutely wouldn't draft in would be a center- Drummond owns that position. But, the 1-4 is up for grabs, in my opinion.

[Notanoob]

I still believe in KCP plenty. He was projected to go around our pick, and you could honestly say that he has excellent upside. Regardless of team situation you can justify that pick IMO, and while he hasn't produced a lot, I think that has more to do with the rest of the team than him. He plays tough perimeter defense and can shoot the 3, but he never gets the ball at all. Just IMO.

Harris is not my favorite prospect. I liked him when I watched him, but stepping back, he isn't a fantastic prospect. He isn't a great athlete by NBA standards, he's more of a passable one. He isn't a great shooter, hitting just 33.9% of his 3's, nor is he special as a creator. His FG% is a bit weak. For NBA prospects, you want an elite something, and the closest thing to elite he has is defense, but that doesn't help us when we've got KCP already.

And while I usually am down with not reaching for a need, none of the other prospects listed between us and these SFs really excites me. Saric looks to be Kyle Anderson without the ability to shoot (ie a bench scrub). Aaron Gordon is completely incompetent at shooting, like Drummond level bad, and he isn't a ball handler either. He's got no real offensive game besides garbage buckets and lobs. McDermott is a great shooter and all, but he doesn't have the size to handle a power forward nor the quickness to guard small forwards, and he doesn't have the defensive instincts to make up for either deficiency. The only other prospects higher rated that McDaniels, the bottom rated SF of the group, are centers, Adrien Payne (who I like a lot honestly), Nik Stauskas, and PJ Hariston (D-Leaguer). I feel like these SFs are just as good of prospects as any of these guys.

[mercury]

Can we do this for PGs... cause that's our biggest need right now.

[ComboGuardCity]

Other than Burke and Shabazz, the vast majority of prospects were wanted by very few people. Only Giannis and MCW are flat out better prospects than KCP in terms of people who went after him. Can't really argue against the pick.

[Blkbrd671]

Doug mcdermott,

[MotownMadness]

I actually like Rodney Hood, If we kept our pick and Wiggins and Parker are gone I would probably go with him.

[Notanoob]

With the PGs, it basically comes down to Tyler Ennis or second round guys. Smart, if he drops to us, is Rodney Stuckey 2.0, so I would hate for us to draft him. Exum has no chance of falling to us. Ennis is a solid PG, but he won't be a good defender in the NBA and really doesn't look to be much more than an average PG.

Now, the guys we could get in the second round could actually turn out to be pretty good, but naturally they've all got questions around them.

Deonte Burton is one of the guys. He's a senior, but the dude is an absolute stud. He scores around 20 ppg, he has a great wingspan at 6'6", he lightning fast and a good leaper. He gets to the line a ton and is very efficient. He's got an incredibly low turnover rate too. However, his team is total garbage. He's forced to play the entire game (literally, he averages 38.3 minutes per game), and clearly gets tired of putting the team on his back and starts jacking up bad 3's, so he's got a poor percentage from beyond the ark. On the other hand, he can run the pick-and-roll and is an absurdly good finisher for a guard. Basically he's got 4 issues the hurt his stock: 1. Crap team, no exposure. 2. Poor 3pt%. 3. Few assist, can he run an offense or is he just a scoring guard?. 4. Age. Dude's a big sleeper.

Delon Wright is another under-the-radar PG prospect. He had to spend 2 years in junior college due to academics, so he's got no hype. He's 6'5", very big for a PG, and is extremely athletic, like Burton. He's extremely productive; he's getting about 17 ppg, 6.6 boards, nearly 3 steals, 1.3 blocks (as a PG!), and 5.4 assists. He's destroying people out in Utah, but his team is also basically garbage so no one cares. His flaws are simple, he has no outside shot (25% from 3) and he's going to be 22 soon.

Other PG prospects who we have a shot at (mostly 2nd rounders or undrafted guys, so don't expect much): Vasilije Micic, Jahii Carson, Semaj Christian, Elfrid Payton, Russ Smith, Andrew Harrison (if he declares), Keith Appling, Aaron Craft, Shabazz Napier, Oliver Hanlan.

[kurtis48239]

With the PGs, it basically comes down to Tyler Ennis or second round guys. Smart, if he drops to us, is Rodney Stuckey 2.0, so I would hate for us to draft him. Exum has no chance of falling to us. Ennis is a solid PG, but he won't be a good defender in the NBA and really doesn't look to be much more than an average PG.

Now, the guys we could get in the second round could actually turn out to be pretty good, but naturally they've all got questions around them.

Deonte Burton is one of the guys. He's a senior, but the dude is an absolute stud. He scores around 20 ppg, he has a great wingspan at 6'6", he lightning fast and a good leaper. He gets to the line a ton and is very efficient. He's got an incredibly low turnover rate too. However, his team is total garbage. He's forced to play the entire game (literally, he averages 38.3 minutes per game), and clearly gets tired of putting the team on his back and starts jacking up bad 3's, so he's got a poor percentage from beyond the ark. On the other hand, he can run the pick-and-roll and is an absurdly good finisher for a guard. Basically he's got 4 issues the hurt his stock: 1. Crap team, no exposure. 2. Poor 3pt%. 3. Few assist, can he run an offense or is he just a scoring guard?. 4. Age. Dude's a big sleeper.

Delon Wright is another under-the-radar PG prospect. He had to spend 2 years in junior college due to academics, so he's got no hype. He's 6'5", very big for a PG, and is extremely athletic, like Burton. He's extremely productive; he's getting about 17 ppg, 6.6 boards, nearly 3 steals, 1.3 blocks (as a PG!), and 5.4 assists. He's destroying people out in Utah, but his team is also basically garbage so no one cares. His flaws are simple, he has no outside shot (25% from 3) and he's going to be 22 soon.

Other PG prospects who we have a shot at (mostly 2nd rounders or undrafted guys, so don't expect much): Vasilije Micic, Jahii Carson, Semaj Christian, Elfrid Payton, Russ Smith, Andrew Harrison (if he declares), Keith Appling, Aaron Craft, Shabazz Napier, Oliver Hanlan.

Are you saying smart is a upgraded version of stuckey ? If so that dosent seem like such a bad pick if parker,wiggins,exum,randle are gone.

[Notanoob]

No, I mean that he's basically the same caliber of player as Stuckey. He really isn't a point guard. He's not a good distributor and he turns the ball over too much. He's a poor shooter who relies on his physical strength to out-muscle guys and draw fouls. He's basically the same style of player, but he's in a better conference, on a better team, and putting up worse stats than Stuckey. Only thing that he's really got going for him is that he's more athletic that Rodney.

Just for your benefit, here's their career stat lines in college:
Stuckey
24.4 ppg, 4.8 apg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 spg, .3 bpg, 47 FG%, 31 3P% 80 FT%
Smart
16.3 ppg, 4.4 apg, 5.7 rpg, 2.8 spg, .6 bpg, 41 FG%, 29 3P%, 76 FT%

[Q00]

I say if we can't get Wiggins or Parker, just get a guy who can play, who is NBA ready and consistent like a Tayshaun type. I don't want to gamble on a player who might be a superstar but might also be unemployed in 3 years, and no more KCP types - guys from small programs who had 1 fluke year.

Rodney Hood seems to fit both of those models. He seems like the safe type pick that can start right away and get great shooting from, however, him transferring to Duke from a smaller school where he didn't play that great last year makes me wonder if this is just a fluke, where he's just excelling now because its Duke and he's surrounded by great talent and coaching. (Also our last two "Rodney" lotto picks didn't work out so great lol)

The rest of those guys all sound they have potential to be KCP 2.0. Honestly, maybe we are better off drafting a PG to develop off the bench and then getting our SF in FA/trades.

[HotelVitale]

No, I mean that he's basically the same caliber of player as Stuckey. He really isn't a point guard. He's not a good distributor and he turns the ball over too much. He's a poor shooter who relies on his physical strength to out-muscle guys and draw fouls. He's basically the same style of player, but he's in a better conference, on a better team, and putting up worse stats than Stuckey. Only thing that he's really got going for him is that he's more athletic that Rodney.
Just for your benefit, here's their career stat lines in college:
Stuckey
24.4 ppg, 4.8 apg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 spg, .3 bpg, 47 FG%, 31 3P% 80 FT%
Smart
16.3 ppg, 4.4 apg, 5.7 rpg, 2.8 spg, .6 bpg, 41 FG%, 29 3P%, 76 FT%

I'm not a huge fan of Smart but this is a little misleading. First, Stuckey played at Eastern Washington while Smart plays in one of the toughest conferences in the country. Second, Smart's dominant on defense, an area in which Stuckey was never much of a prospect. Third and maybe most important, Stuckey should have been better. A lot better. He plateaued in his 3rd year and never became a reliable shooter or decision maker, and even his key skill (driving recklessly) came and went throughout his career. If Smart can be the upside version of Stuckey, that's a really really good NBA player. But, yeah, there are legit concerns that he won't develop too much more.

(Smart is also substantially stronger than Stuckey and has a steal rate that scouts are drooling over (since steal rate for guards is one of the best predictors of NBA success)).

[HotelVitale]

I say if we can't get Wiggins or Parker, just get a guy who can play, who is NBA ready and consistent like a Tayshaun type.
The rest of those guys all sound they have potential to be KCP 2.0. Honestly, maybe we are better off drafting a PG to develop off the bench and then getting our SF in FA/trades.

Don't confuse Tayshaun with 'any old rotation NBA guy'! If teams knew a guy would have Tayshaun's career, that guy would go top-6 in every draft. Tay's one of the great role-players of the last 20 years, really valuable dude in his prime.

I think you're right on the last part, though. If we're in the top 8 or so, we probably have no business looking for a SF, and we should be trying to get someone respectable by trade of FA. Guys like Delfino, Dunleavy, Dorrell Wright, etc can be had for pretty cheap, and it's overwhelmingly likely that they'd be better than the prospects the OP listed for at least the next two-three years.

[Q00]

I say if we can't get Wiggins or Parker, just get a guy who can play, who is NBA ready and consistent like a Tayshaun type.
The rest of those guys all sound they have potential to be KCP 2.0. Honestly, maybe we are better off drafting a PG to develop off the bench and then getting our SF in FA/trades.

Don't confuse Tayshaun with 'any old rotation NBA guy'! If teams knew a guy would have Tayshaun's career, that guy would go top-6 in every draft. Tay's one of the great role-players of the last 20 years, really valuable dude in his prime.

I think you're right on the last part, though. If we're in the top 8 or so, we probably have no business looking for a SF, and we should be trying to get someone respectable by trade of FA. Guys like Delfino, Dunleavy, Dorrell Wright, etc can be had for pretty cheap, and it's overwhelmingly likely that they'd be better than the prospects the OP listed for at least the next two-three years.

I agree totally on Tayshaun. I figure we'll probably be in that 6-8 range if we do keep our pick, so we should be able to get a Tayshaun type guy there.

Thats the thing about this draft though, after the top 4 there's really no one to get excited about. Which is why I've been against tanking all year, but at this point this doesn't look like a playoff team, and we are equal distance from getting the 6th pick as we are getting the 8th seed, so might as well just go all for the tank at this point and at least get an asset out of this season. With how valuable these picks have become this year, this could be our way of getting Rondo or some other star by using the pick in a trade, if there's no players we like where we pick.

I know you can't trade multiple picks in successive years, but I believe if you make the pick first, and then trade that player to another team afterwards, its legal. If we end up getting #8, I'd trade that player + KCP for Rondo easily, and make them take Jennings contract in the deal to clear the PG spot.

[Phenomenonsense]

I say if we can't get Wiggins or Parker, just get a guy who can play, who is NBA ready and consistent like a Tayshaun type.
The rest of those guys all sound they have potential to be KCP 2.0. Honestly, maybe we are better off drafting a PG to develop off the bench and then getting our SF in FA/trades.

Don't confuse Tayshaun with 'any old rotation NBA guy'! If teams knew a guy would have Tayshaun's career, that guy would go top-6 in every draft. Tay's one of the great role-players of the last 20 years, really valuable dude in his prime.

I think you're right on the last part, though. If we're in the top 8 or so, we probably have no business looking for a SF, and we should be trying to get someone respectable by trade of FA. Guys like Delfino, Dunleavy, Dorrell Wright, etc can be had for pretty cheap, and it's overwhelmingly likely that they'd be better than the prospects the OP listed for at least the next two-three years.

That's fine and dandy, but do you think we'll be ready to compete for a title in two-three years anyway? I mean, we should be building a competitive team to get Dre some Playoff basketball, but at the end of the day we aren't really competing until he gets better. I mean, **** me and all, but he will be 24 in four years. I think it takes at least 4 years before we're anything close to serious about contention, and that is only with perfect management of the team from here on out.

[pistontr]

we have no draft choice. we have beat denver, san antonio, atlanta and even tried to beat golden state. we are lord of the idiots.

[vic]

We need SF more than PG, personally I'd get rid of Jennings and let Stuckey run point. At least he can defend the pg position. I'd draft Kyle Anderson and let Stuckey defend the pg and let Kyle play point forward.

SFs
Parker
Wiggins
Kyle Anderson - IQ and production off the charts
Doug mcDermott - shooter is necessary to space floor for Drumroe
Jordan McRae - could help at SF with skill & length. Would have to gain 30 lbs

Pgs
Exum/Smart - gotta have defense at the point...
Deonte Burton - gotta have defense at the point
Micic - best passer in draft

[Notanoob]

Honestly, if we're drafting a forward who can't play defense, Anderson is the best option over McDermott or Saric. He's shooting an absurd 50% (!!!) from 3 right now. It's not on the same volume, so it could be that he's on a hot streak, but I don't think you could possibly shoot that well if you weren't at least good to start. Saric can't shoot and McDermott isn't on the same level as Anderson when it comes to basketball IQ. Of course, you know how I feel about Anderson.

Nice find on McRae, another guy who's older but has some ability. He's a bit short for a SF, but that wingspan! That should help him stick in the league, especially if his shooting holds.

[jakebernat]

i would love to go after mcdaniels if we can acquire a late 1st rounder. if nothing else, he could potentially be a lockdown defender at up to 3 positions, but he obviously has a ton of room to improve, namely his shot selection and perimeter shooting though he does have a very good free throw shooting percentage.

[Laimbeer]

Payne is projected at #27 right now, and I'd be interested in buying a late first and grabbing him. We have bigs and he's rough around the edges, but he's a freak athlete for his size.