Official 2015 NBA Draft Discussion Thread [ft. TyCobb]

[aaron_gray]

Well have at it. The Suns have our pick, but we have Houston's pick unless they miss the playoffs plus we'll most likely get to keep our 2nd that we sent to Orlando.

Thoughts, suggestions? How can we acquire more picks this year?

[One Love]

We keep the Suns pick if Top 5 & Hiustons pick (Lin trade) will most likely be in the late teens therefore we could have two solid first round picks... It's a little early to discuss before college hoops gets ramped up...

Damn...

[crazyeights]

Looking at the league, we'll be competing with:

Philly, Boston, and Orlando? With Utah and Milwaukee hanging around depending on how many games their youth can scrap out. Detroit, Cleveland, Sacramento, New Orleans, Denver are all looking to rebound from last year.

Minnesota is a wild card too. Can't imagine they'll win many games, but we'll see.

I expect us to be damn experts on the NCAA game this season.

Wait so under what conditions would we be able to keep the 2nd rounder?

[Slava]

Keeping both our picks and striking on a couple good players in free agency would make the next season so much more palatable.

[Mirjalovic]

Lin-Klay-Kawhi-Randle-Karl Townnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn !!!!

[ak7]

Looking at the league, we'll be competing with:

Philly, Boston, and Orlando? With Utah and Milwaukee hanging around depending on how many games their youth can scrap out. Detroit, Cleveland, Sacramento, New Orleans, Denver are all looking to rebound from last year.

Minnesota is a wild card too. Can't imagine they'll win many games, but we'll see.

I expect us to be damn experts on the NCAA game this season.

Wait so under what conditions would we be able to keep the 2nd rounder?

Our 2nd rounder is protected 31st-40th otherwise it is owed to Orlando. If we do not convey our pick this year, our obligation to Orlando is no more.

You can find detailed draft pick conditions here:

http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/ ... s/detailed

[crazyeights]

Along with our own 2nd rounder (owed to Orlando) we have one from the Lin trade?

2015 second round draft pick from L.A. Clippers
L.A. Clippers' 2015 2nd round pick to the L.A. Lakers (via Toronto to Houston) protected for selections 31-50 and 56-60 (if this pick falls within either of its protected ranges and is therefore not conveyed, then the L.A. Clippers' obligation to the L.A. Lakers will be extinguished) [L.A. Clippers-Toronto, 1/7/2009 then Houston-Toronto, 7/28/2010 then Houston-L.A. Lakers, 7/13/2014]

So this one depends on the Clippers not being a top 5 team in the league?

[ak7]

Yep. If it lands between and including the 51st and 55th pick, it is ours.

[aaron_gray]

I highly doubt we'll keep the Suns first, but with our injury streak we may just end up with it after all.

[One Love]

I hate to be negative but we will be lucky to win 25 games with this roster... We have no PG's, no defense, limited offense & 1 top 100 player... There are only 435 players in the NBA & we have 1 of the top 100... Think about that... It speaks volumes...

[ArC_man]

How deep is the draft this year compared to last? I never really followed NCAA prospects until last year and I was hoping I wouldn't have to follow it this year...

[ak7]

Depending on how you feel about the consensus top 3 picks right now (Okafor, Mudiay, Towns), it's either completely top heavy with "stars" and full of role players or a draft with a couple starters and full of role players.

At least that's the way some of the media/scouts are portraying this years draft out to be.

[crazyeights]

At this point, other than Randle we have needs absolutely everywhere.

Star or role player--we need em.

[DEEP3CL]

I see a lot of guys always clamoring for Mudiay....I'm not big on taking a guard if the draft is laced with bigs such as Okafor, Towns, Cauley-Stein and Cliff Alexander. And being real about it, you can always acquire a vet guard. But it's going to be hard to pass up on one of these bigs.

Here's what scouts project about Okafor and Mudiay as far as strengths...


Okafor

Strengths:
-6-10 in shoes with a 7-3 wingspan
-Massive frame. 272 pounds, but looks to be in good shape physically
-Huge, soft hands. Palms ball like a grapefruit
-Very comfortable operating with back to the basket
-Excellent footwork and a natural feel for posting up and taking what the defender gives him
-Great body control and an array of spin moves
-Establishes position inside with ease
-Catches everything that is thrown to him
-A magnet for drawing fouls
-Finishes with either hand
-Tremendous offensive rebounder. Terrific length. Gives multiple efforts on the glass. Catches anything in his area
-Very good basketball IQ for his age
-Seems very grounded and well spoken off the court
-Incredibly young. Won't turn 17 until December

Mudiay

Strengths:
-Tremendous size for the point
-Huge frame. Long arms
-Excellent athlete
-Very good ball-handler
-Powerful driver and shot-creator. Turns the corner well, gets low to the ground
-Can finish around the rim. Excellent frame helps a lot
-Shooting mechanics aren't bad
-Not a selfish player. Comfortable creating for others. Very good on the drive and dish
-Great defensive potential with size and length

Not bad for either, but for me looking at Mudiay you can find a lot of guards in the league with some of those traits. But when it comes to Okafor you're going to be hard pressed to find bigs in the league with his projections.

That's why I would draft a big first, if we can sniff that close to a top pick. It's Okafor for me because this dude is going to be the first to turn the 5 back into a position of worry for opponents.

[crazyeights]

Good stuff, Deep. Though I just googled Okafor's draft express profile and apparently he's 18 now and turning 19 in December. Born in '95.

If we ever need some luck, it's in June with those ping-pong balls.

[crazyeights]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64a62iEdAY8[/youtube]

So many one-handed rebounds^^

Didn't think I'd be hearing the DraftEx Scouting Video music this early in the season.

After watching the video, will be interesting how he does defensively this season. He lacks explosiveness, sorta reminds me a bit of an older Pau...looks "crafty" on offense, but I wonder how he'd pair with Randle if neither are true shotblockers.

Offensively, though, they'd be total bullies. We could slow down and crush teams like Randolph and Marc Gasol.

[TyCobb]

Time for a Towns watch. On SEC network right now--Kentucky in a scrimmage against some team. I'll give a report from what I see.

[TyCobb]

11-2-2014

After 1st Half vs. UPIKE:

18 points, 9-10 FG

- This team has so much talent that he'll be spoon fed many scoring opportunities.
- Needs to physically mature, not great athleticism. Jumps and runs a little heavy.
- Not great athleticism, however has good instincts on protecting the rim (several blocks without fouls thus far)
- Team shot 82% in 1st half, huge talent differential between the two schools leading to gaudy statistics.

[TyCobb]

We should do a poster-prospect draft watch for the top 10 prospects.

For instance, lets say aaron_gray chooses Mudiay--well every game he plays, aaron_gray will post youtube highlight (if available) of the game plus scouts tweets, his own scouting report and just about every bit of information as possible on him. He'll maintain and update his Mudiay post with as much up-to-date news as he can.

If we can get 10 people to maintain a scouting report on a certain prospect, maybe we can become as close to experts on the guy come draft time.

If there is enough interest, let's do this. I think it can be alot of fun, as well as informative.

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The college season starts in about a week, so if we can get a group going before then that'd be perfect.

[ak7]

I would be interested, but I can't guarantee I'll be updating after each game that prospect plays in.