2014 Draft Prospects Thread

Swish4 · Post #1081 » by **Swish4** » Fri May 30, 2014 12:22 am

One guy I'd like with the #13 pick would be James Young from UK. Run him off screens, give him spot-up jumpers, or get him out in transition and he'll shine. He's deadly as an open shooter, would be a great compliment to Rubio.

Krapinsky · Post #1082 » by **Krapinsky** » Fri May 30, 2014 12:22 am

Sakuragi_ wrote:I understand the KG analogy but Gordon doesn't have the length to shoot over guys. He even struggled to get his shot off against college guys.. its one of his key weaknesses.

I just see him as a liability in certain phases of the game. I can't imagine him being a full-time starter at any position.

Even both of his best comparisons in AK47 and Shawn Marion mostly played the 3...

Maybe he could go the Lamarr Odom route and gradually shift over to a PF.

Recently those guys are more known as 3's, but for most of their careers they played the 4.

AQuintus · Post #1083 » by **AQuintus** » Fri May 30, 2014 12:23 am

Sakuragi_ wrote:I understand the KG analogy but Gordon doesn't have the length to shoot over guys. He even struggled to get his shot off against college guys.. its one of his key weaknesses.

Shooting (jumpshots) was a bit of a weakness, but I'm not sure it was because he struggled to get his shot off.

Getting his shot off inside (from the low post) might be a bit of a problem, but he's super springy off of two feet and capable of dunking in traffic. Low post offense will probably never be a strength for him, but it really doesn't have to be in today's NBA, especially with Pek and Dieng capable in the low post.

Edit:

His offense would primarily come off of transition and pick-and-roll/pop, both of which he should excel at.

AQuintus · Post #1084 » by **AQuintus** » Fri May 30, 2014 12:25 am

WesJ4 wrote:One guy I'd like with the #13 pick would be James Young from UK. Run him off screens, give him spot-up jumpers, or get him out in transition and he'll shine. He's deadly as an open shooter, would be a great compliment to Rubio.

As far as I know, Young is the only guy mentioned by the local sports writers as someone the Wolves are interested in. That was a while ago, though, before the draft combine and workouts.

AQuintus · Post #1085 » by **AQuintus** » Fri May 30, 2014 12:43 am

[tweet]https://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/472175017283686401[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/472175202789371904[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/472175553869381633[/tweet]

At this rate, we might not actually have a shot at Vonleh even at 6.

My guess is that the top 5 will go:

1. Cle - Embiid
2. Mil - Wiggens
3. Phi - Parker
4. Orl - Exum
5. Uta - Vonleh (at PF with Favors at C)

Maefteda · Post #1086 » by **Maefteda** » Fri May 30, 2014 1:08 am

I really hope Vonleh gets picked at #5, so he's not in the conversation for #6 if we do the Celtics trade. I don't trust him to become a good player on either end. He has great tools, and probably looks the part in a workout environment, but I don't trust him in a 5 on 5 game.

I really like Gordon's fit with Rubio. He's a great defender as well, so if we do end up with Young or hopefully Stauskas at #13, we'd have a good defender to complement them.

My dream would be to trade away some expiring contracts for cap space and try to go for Lance Stephenson. Rubio-Lance-Young-Gordon-Pekovic has a lot of potential, with Shabazz, Olynyk and Dieng off the bench.

I'd also rather have Olynyk than Sullinger. Seems to have the most potential, and a much better shooter. Really like his passing game as well.

Krapinsky · Post #1087 » by **Krapinsky** » Fri May 30, 2014 1:30 am

Russell Westbrook is kind of a reminder of why you draft guys like Gordon. Guys that are that athletic are made for the NBA game and will eventually figure it out if they have the work ethic.

MinneOOPalis · Post #1088 » by **MinneOOPalis** » Fri May 30, 2014 1:46 am

Krapinsky wrote:Russell Westbrook is kind of a reminder of why you draft guys like Gordon. Guys that are that athletic are made for the NBA game and will eventually figure it out if they have the work ethic.

Not sure if this was posted yet..

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raBoU-GL6Ow[/youtube]

He comes off as extremely intelligent and well spoken. Definitely the attitude you want from a young guy. He may not reach his potential but theres no way he could ever be a bust.

AQuintus · Post #1089 » by **AQuintus** » Fri May 30, 2014 1:58 am

Krapinsky wrote:Russell Westbrook is kind of a reminder of why you draft guys like Gordon. Guys that are that athletic are made for the NBA game and will eventually figure it out if they have the work ethic.

It might be worth it to take a long look at Zach LaVine for the same reason.

Edit:

And speaking of two-way players and Zach LaVine, I just took a quick look at the Draftexpress scouting report videos for the three guys most likely in contention for the 13th pick, Zach LaVine, Nik Stauskas, and James Young. It's interesting that all three are pretty similar players - shooters with limited defense. Based on the videos, Stauskas is the best, most consistent shooter, and while all three are bad defenders at this point, LaVine is the most athletic and therefore has the most potential to become a good defender. James Young is pretty much in the middle at both aspects.

mondry · Post #1090 » by **mondry** » Fri May 30, 2014 2:26 am

Sakuragi_ wrote:
Krapinsky wrote:Russell Westbrook is kind of a reminder of why you draft guys like Gordon. Guys that are that athletic are made for the NBA game and will eventually figure it out if they have the work ethic.

Not sure if this was posted yet..

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raBoU-GL6Ow[/youtube]

He comes off as extremely intelligent and well spoken. Definitely the attitude you want from a young guy. He may not reach his potential but theres no way he could ever be a bust.

Yeah, I don't really like Vonleh, watched his draftexpress video and I dunno, I'm an amatuer for sure but I didn't really see much there. If he's doing better in workouts then that changes it a little but his bbiq seemed bad and really he didn't seem that great at anything. He looked completely lost on quite a few plays but again, what do I know.

Gordon on the other hand has some real clear positives imo and as AQuintus posted earlier, his older brother looks pretty filled out and the dudes only 18 so I'm not super worried about that. I like guys with hi bbiq, high motors, good work ethic etc. If the dude keeps at it he should be able to get there eventually. To me that is more important than a guy like D.will who has the talent but no motivation to be great.

On the flip side and while speaking about bloodlines, Drew Gordon didn't seem to make it in the NBA according to his wiki, and he's bounced around the "lesser" leagues. Does that concern anyone about Aaron Gordon or does he have something more than his bro?

AQuintus wrote:And speaking of two-way players and Zach LaVine, I just took a quick look at the Draftexpress scouting report videos for the three guys most likely in contention for the 13th pick, Zach LaVine, Nik Stauskas, and James Young. It's interesting that all three are pretty similar players - shooters with limited defense. Based on the videos, Stauskas is the best, most consistent shooter, and while all three are bad defenders at this point, LaVine is the most athletic and therefore has the most potential to become a good defender. James Young is pretty much in the middle at both aspects.

Interesting, so it seems like if you want a pure shooter without the potential to become a good defender Stauskas is the guy, but if you want a more athletic dude who can perhaps get there one day, LaVine just has too much physical talent. Young seems to be the one you take if the other 2 are gone? haha.

AQuintus · Post #1091 » by **AQuintus** » Fri May 30, 2014 2:45 am

Here's the videos if you want to look at them yourself:

Stauskas:
Strengths at: 0:34
Weaknesses at: 8:39
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwWFgomoRy0[/youtube]

Young:
Strengths at: 0:32
Weaknesses at: 4:41
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdyZC31AFRc[/youtube]

LaVine:
Strengths at: 0:29
Weaknesses at: 6:46
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myt7Hg8s4uw[/youtube]

mondry wrote:Interesting, so it seems like if you want a pure shooter without the potential to become a good defender Stauskas is the guy, but if you want a more athletic dude who can perhaps get there one day, LaVine just has too much physical talent. Young seems to be the one you take if the other 2 are gone? haha.

I pretty much agree with this, I suppose. Stauskas has the highest floor; at the very least, his shooting ability should allow him to have a role on an NBA team for a long time. LaVine has the highest ceiling, though, so if we're willing to take a risk, he'd be the guy.

Edit:

mondry wrote:On the flip side and while speaking about bloodlines, Drew Gordon didn't seem to make it in the NBA according to his wiki, and he's bounced around the "lesser" leagues. Does that concern anyone about Aaron Gordon

No, that really shouldn't concern anyone. Most NBA players' family members don't make it into the league. Most of their family members weren't even good enough to make it into D1 basketball.

or does he have something more than his bro?

Based on their respective combine numbers, Aaron is substantially more athletic than Drew, and is better now, at age 18, than Drew was at 18.

Swish4 · Post #1092 » by **Swish4** » Fri May 30, 2014 3:11 am

I like Young's ability to get his shot up on the perimeter over guys more than the other 2 guys. I think he has a sweet stroke in open jumpers from any range. One of those top high school stars who never really learned defense but I think will be fine on that end in time. Very young, and lots to learn but there's something about his size and stroke that seems kinda rare to me. I like him alot as a fit next to Rubio in the backcourt. Can mix it up in the paint a little too and is a decent enough athlete to create space for himself without the ball and I think with his stroke could be a nice guy for Rubio to feed in open spots.

mondry · Post #1093 » by **mondry** » Fri May 30, 2014 5:06 am

Alright watched um all.

Young - I like his shooting, but I'd still put Stauskas ahead of him there. He did some nice things in his "strengths" section. One of the things I like to look at with these videos is how long the strengths portion is vs the weaknesses, his was 4:30 out of 11:13! His weaknesses section was down right awful to me. Very bad defender, and when it said "Forcing offense - prone to forcing up bad shots in the paint - Barrels into defenders" all I could think of was JJ Barea. Seems to be a "below the rim" player so again when comparing the 3, he's not going to be much better than Stauskas there and way behind Lavine.

Stauskas - Really impressed by his strengths section, at the bare minimum this guy should be a reliable shooter in the nba and a good role player. Love the high bbiq, making the smart play, every time it talked about where he ranked in the top dx 100 or amongst SG's it seemed like he was either first or second. Good passer from the looks of it, decent assists. Isn't a great defender and probably doesn't have the potential to ever be one, that seems to be his biggest down side when compared to young and lavine.

Lavine - Love the way he runs around without the ball, still a good shooter. This dude really is Westbrook light imo which if you guys know me that's both good and bad haha. He could end up being the best fit with Rubio with that athleticism and above the rim ability. I didn't like his effort in some of those defensive clips and simple things like boxing out. I don't think Westbrook ever shied away from contact so that's kind of a scary thing when talking about a guy that's going to need to be able to finish. Like most of these guys, he needs to get stronger / fill out.

For me it's between Stauskas and Lavine and for totally different reasons. If you want the safe player you know you'll get something out of, Stauskas makes a lot of sense. If you want the guy with the most upside it's Lavine and probably by a good mile. Young I just didn't like what I saw in his video, so maybe there is other stuff of him out there that paints a better picture or it's completely possible I have no idea what I'm looking at!

FinnTheHuman · Post #1094 » by **FinnTheHuman** » Fri May 30, 2014 5:34 am

I get a Derrick Williams vibe in James Young personality-wise. Wouldn't take him at #13 no matter what.

Post #1095 » by **Klomp** » Fri May 30, 2014 5:50 am

I agree with the last two posts, its a no from me on James Young.

I'm torn between Stauskas and Lavine. I think Stauskas has more upside than many here think, but obviously Lavine has the upside advantage because of his physical tools. Also, Stauskas has a much higher floor than Lavine.

Third on my list right now is Adreian Payne, who we could maybe trade down a few slots for.

minimus · Post #1096 » by **minimus** » Fri May 30, 2014 6:08 am

I hope that Stauskas can transform his body. Now he has body fat 12.1%, 6'6", 207 lbs. He should lose at least 10 lbs, I'm not saying gain muscles, just good conditioning to avoid injuries, improve quickness. We have nobody who can really explore solid screens from Pekovic, Love, we need a shooter who can catch and shoot, who can explore perfect passes from Rubio. NOBODY. Why do we need players who can't shoot or get lost in half court sets? Derrick Williams is good example of "bad fit/ low BB IQ" in many ways: athetic, can shoot threes, versatility, post up offense, proven scorer etc.

Just select Stauskas, hire personal trainer, make him work on his body over this summer, make his adoptation #1 priority during Summer League then give him clear role in team offense, teach him how to explore backdoor passes from high post. I think result will surprise us, because everybody benefits from this: Rubio will have a real shooter on the perimeter (instead of Brewer, Shved, Barea, Budinger), Pek, Love will have more space downlow. I really think that we will improve as a team if Stauskas replaces Martin in starting unit. He is better shooter, willing passer, bad defender (same as Martin). But the whole concept of team offense will change. We saw this when Rubio ran the show without Martin. Instead of ISO for Martin more pick-roll offense, more ball movement.

Post #1097 » by **Klomp** » Fri May 30, 2014 6:13 am

While his measurements drew little surprise -- 6 feet, 6.5 inches tall with shoes on; 206.9 pounds -- Stauskas posted the highest body fat reading of any player measured at the combine, checking in at 12.1 percent.

Stauskas looked stunned, laughing off the chubby distinction.

"I'm a little worried about that, man!," he joked, patting his stomach, which, for the record, looks exactly the same as it did all season. "I've been working out hard, so I don't know. Maybe it's baby fat. I have no clue."

Stauskas said he typically measured 7 or 8 percent body fat when tested at Michigan, which uses a different testing process.

"I'm the same weight and I've been running the same and jumping the same, so I don't know what happened," he said.

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.s ... _draf.html

Takingbaconback · Post #1098 » by **Takingbaconback** » Fri May 30, 2014 6:17 am

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czm7_b5jdi0[/youtube]

Wonder how high McGary is going to go. Looks a lot like a raw David Lee. From what I remember about him, he was pretty good at knocking down those 15-16 feet jump shots.

Post #1099 » by **Klomp** » Fri May 30, 2014 6:20 am

Takingbaconback wrote:Wonder how high McGary is going to go. Looks a lot like a raw David Lee. From what I remember about him, he was pretty good at knocking down those 15-16 feet jump shots.

I'd say late first is about right

horaceworthy · Post #1100 » by **horaceworthy** » Fri May 30, 2014 7:08 am

Krapinsky wrote:Still time to get on the Hairston at #13 bandwagon. It's getting lonely on here.

I know it's not fair, but McCants spoiled the well for UNC gunners with bad body language for me.

The two way player comment makes me hopeful Elfrid Payton is in the mix at #13. I know outside shooting's a need, in his case I'd like to take a gamble on upside.

More likely it means Gary Harris is high on the wish list, which isn't the worst thing in the world at all, I just don't see much of a chance for him to turn out better than good.