Towns or Okafor or Mudiay or Russel?

[Jeff Van Gully]

i think we are sleeping on mudiay a bit as the top guard. i think if philly ends up with the #2 pick, they take him with a smile.

The competition in the CBA just looks really bad. Guys that cant make it in the NBA put up video game stats over there. Muddiays stats and highlights haven’t really been THAT impressive either and he has been hurt. I don’t doubt the kid has talent and potential, but there are just way more question marks around him.

But yeah, I could def see Philly picking him at #2 or #3.

Personally I love Mudiay's work ethic and maturity. He could've came straight in from high school and he would've flourished. He's just too much of a question mark on the court for me.

fair enough. but the work ethic and maturity are what alleviate a lot of questions for me.

[Juco24]

Almost any other draft year... Russell would be the numero uno. With that said, I'd take him. Honestly, if/when Russell gets more consistent - he's going to be special! He has a smooth jumper and AWESOME court vision. Once he's a professional and is able to constantly hit the weight room along with working on his game, I can see some team saying "We should've took Russell". So I'd take Russell and be content.

[mpharris36]

Russell is the clear cut #3 and is a great consolation prize if you miss out on either of the bigs.

But I think the bigs are the clear 1 and 2 in this draft.

4 is where it gets tricky for the knicks.

[kane2021]

I think the oakfor kid is getting a little bit of a bad wrap on the defensive end. He is very good at sticking to his assignment and making it difficult on him. One on one I think he is pretty good and shows flashes of being great.

But the weakness is he rarely sees the game outside of his man. He wont leave his man to protect the rim. He rarely seems to check over his shoulder to see if the rim needs help being protected. He just dont have the weak side help rim protection instinct.

On the flip side of that though is his size. He seems good at sticking his man but he is usually 5 inches taller and 50 pounds heavier than his man too. Maybe thats why I have seen some flashes on the defensive end. Just because he is so much bigger.

From what I have seen I definitely wouldnt give him a D grade on the defensive end. Maybe help defense is a D. I would say his man to man is a B+. Every game I have seen him in so far he has blocked a shot. And I dont recall seeing any kinda battle between he and his man. He dominates the matchup.

So you like him a little more now Kane?

And I agree about the help D needing the most work. I think he gets the verticality aspect of big man defending and I think he's a pretty good man to man post defender.

I do like him a little more. I still dont think he is a franchise changer though. But he could end up being a key rotation player. Theres still two things about him that are major negatives to me that wont change.

1,.. his size and agility. They are good things.... but he is really dramatically bigger than just about everyone he faces. So he is dominating matchups at the ncaa level just based off of pure body mass. So it remains to be seen how that transitions to the pros. Where he is going to be playing against guys closer to his size every night.

2,.. He's a blue devil. Historically these guys play their best basketball in school. When they hit the pros they either dont adjust well,... or some kinda tragedy strikes cutting their careers short. The team that drafts this kid is going to be placing their hopes on something that has just never happened before. As a knick fan it worries me. Because it would just our luck.

[Deeeez Knicks]

i think we are sleeping on mudiay a bit as the top guard. i think if philly ends up with the #2 pick, they take him with a smile.

The competition in the CBA just looks really bad. Guys that cant make it in the NBA put up video game stats over there. Muddiays stats and highlights haven’t really been THAT impressive either and he has been hurt. I don’t doubt the kid has talent and potential, but there are just way more question marks around him.

But yeah, I could def see Philly picking him at #2 or #3.

i hear ya. it is defintiely behind the NBA and top euro leagues in terms of talent. but there are still some legit pros out there. so it's good to see a boy still competing against men. CBA is improving, but there are a LOT of stiffs out there. but you'd be surprised at the current NBA-level talent on some of those teams. one or two guys on a lot of teams who kind of go back and forth between the NBA and there.

but for those reasons, i just look at his approach to the game. i'm excited by his vigor. the kid goes hard and is genuinely unselfish. those things will translate well to the NBA.

For Mudiay and even Hezonja a lot might come down to the workouts and draft camp. Just so hard to say how there games translate from foreign leagues to the NBA.. i have no idea where to slot those guys simply from youtube videos

[GYK]

He gets to the line very well IDK what you're watching. Plus wouldn't the team want someone 68% from the field and 52% from the line getting fouled less?


How is desire taught? And how many players play both ways in college when they're relied on to carry their teams on offense? Look at the last 5 first picks. Bennett didn't play defense, Davis did but he wasn't relied on to carry the offense, Kyrie didn't, Wall did and he carried the offense (RARE), and Blake didn't. Bennett is the only guy in the bunch that isn't a franchise player and outside of Blake who had Harden and Curry suddenly improve last offseason to become better than him all of those guys would go first in a redraft.

He doesn't. Not in comparison to Towns or Davis. Also that's a weird game to say what was I watching as Duke took just two FT's.
You want your best player getting to line. Foul trouble is extremely important. High conversion rates do not suffer in absolutely no way hurt ability to get to the line at a high rate. Al Jefferson suffers from this in the NBA currently.

I mean if Okafor shoots 12-14 when he isn't fouled that's not a bad thing. He's shown there's only 2 ways to stop him; foul and pray or throw double and triple teams.

It's the same thing for other bigs but they also get to the line more. Shaq was a horrible at the stripe but got your team in foul trouble. Same with Howard. Same with every great big all time during their scoring prime.
Jefferson doesn't get to line. His opposing big and the teams likely anchor doesn't have to worry about foul trouble. Jefferson, who Okafor might be, also has the trouble as big, which rarely average 20+ FGA in the NBA, will have to constantly convert to get his points.

[Tron Carter]

2,.. He's a blue devil. Historically these guys play their best basketball in school. When they hit the pros they either dont adjust well,... or some kinda tragedy strikes cutting their careers short. The team that drafts this kid is going to be placing their hopes on something that has just never happened before. As a knick fan it worries me. Because it would just our luck.

i think this is a little outdated. kyrie and jabari we're blue devils.

[DickGrayson]

2,.. He's a blue devil. Historically these guys play their best basketball in school. When they hit the pros they either dont adjust well,... or some kinda tragedy strikes cutting their careers short. The team that drafts this kid is going to be placing their hopes on something that has just never happened before. As a knick fan it worries me. Because it would just our luck.

i think this is a little outdated. kyrie and jabari we're blue devils.

Kyrie barely played at DUKE.

[Jeff Van Gully]

2,.. He's a blue devil. Historically these guys play their best basketball in school. When they hit the pros they either dont adjust well,... or some kinda tragedy strikes cutting their careers short. The team that drafts this kid is going to be placing their hopes on something that has just never happened before. As a knick fan it worries me. Because it would just our luck.

i think this is a little outdated. kyrie and jabari we're blue devils.

i feel you, but jabari doesn't help the case with the knee injury right out of the gate. kyrie seems to have gotten over his injuries, but he had the gimp tag too.

all that said, i don't think it's fair to say duke pros are cursed. coach k doesn't run a superstar system and doesn't recruit those prototypical guys. duke is one of those character programs, so you're usually drafting a certain kind of guy that the league needs. a well-rounded professional. duke's legacy of winning kind of inflates expectations of individual players.

this is coming from a semi-duke hater. but i have all the respect in the world for that program.

[Deeeez Knicks]

Deng, Reddick, Boozer, Kyrie, Mason Plumlee, Brand…Duke has put out some good pro’s lately. They have all met or exceeded expectations. I wouldn’t put anyone in a box simply because of school.

[mpharris36]

Deng, Reddick, Boozer, Kyrie, Mason Plumlee, Brand…Duke has put out some good pro’s lately. They have all met or exceeded expectations. I wouldn’t put anyone in a box simply because of school.

this is also different than the typical 4th to 5th year senior duke player.

One and done's really have no affiliation to the program they are there because they have to be. Kyrie and Okafor I really don't consider duke products.

Like when you think of Redick, boozer, laettner...

[MaseInYourFace]

Yeah Duke had a run of disappointing pros and the perception has kind of stuck around. Let's not forget Brand also went to Duke and he's had a good long pro career.

[Tron Carter]

2,.. He's a blue devil. Historically these guys play their best basketball in school. When they hit the pros they either dont adjust well,... or some kinda tragedy strikes cutting their careers short. The team that drafts this kid is going to be placing their hopes on something that has just never happened before. As a knick fan it worries me. Because it would just our luck.

i think this is a little outdated. kyrie and jabari we're blue devils.

Kyrie barely played at DUKE.

my point is coach k isn't recruiting the same types of players he used to and what duke had a reputation of producing

[Dkillanyk4lyf]

Okafor is the number 1 pick and it isn't even close.

[TrueWarrior]

Im still going with Towns first right now. He has 4 more games if KU makes the finals, hopefully to face Duke, to breakout. Towns doesnt need plays ran for him to be effective, and he hasnt shown his full offensive game this year. His all around potential is much more attractive to me than Jah's. There are very few great two way players in the NBA, especially centers.

1a. Towns
1b. Jah
3a. Russell
3b. Mudiay

[E86]

Russell is the clear cut #3 and is a great consolation prize if you miss out on either of the bigs.

But I think the bigs are the clear 1 and 2 in this draft.

4 is where it gets tricky for the knicks.

Gotta take WCS at 4 no? He'd contribute right away and we can beef up the other spots in FA.

[Sprewell4Three]

Seeing Towns more and more makes me realize that he might be a better pick for this team than Okafor. However Okafor in the triangle would be a monster.
It's a toss up at this point.

[Sark]

Russell is the clear cut #3 and is a great consolation prize if you miss out on either of the bigs.

But I think the bigs are the clear 1 and 2 in this draft.

4 is where it gets tricky for the knicks.

Gotta take WCS at 4 no? He'd contribute right away and we can beef up the other spots in FA.

At #4, you still take BPA. You never draft based on need with an early pick. I would've thought people had remembered Sam Bowie ahead of Michael Jordan, after all these years.

[kane2021]

Brand was a max player on his way to becoming a franchise power forward. A low post scorer. A very good rebounder and shot blocker. He was slowed to nothing by injuries as soon as he began to reach his potential.

Same could be said for Boozer. Although he was able to settle off and become a serviceable starter. Boozer had major game. He was an 18 and 10 guy on the way up. Each time it looked like he was going to hit the next level, he had an injury.

Irving was drafted only 3 or 4 years ago. And Parker is a rookie! Cant use kids that are still wet behind the ears as an example.

Duke has made some solid starters. But,...Everyone that has come out of Duke looking like a franchise changer has ran into circumstances that halted their growth. I understand its kinda silly to use that as a scouting tool. But its equally silly to assume that this kid is the one who will defy the odds.

Plus this is the knicks. We draft this kid and he is going to have heavy expectations placed on him. Its not like we can draft someone and just be realistic about what we picked up. From the time he gets his hat,... he is going to be forced to fill the shoes of a HOF center. That type of pressure break some people both physically and mentally.

Im just saying. If we do end up drafting this kid,... its better to take a wait and see approach. Taper off expectations and not put too much pressure on him to be the next franchise player. To be honest,... if I was the GM I would draft the kid to pump his value up and trade him. Thats how iffy I am with duke players.

[E86]

Seeing Towns more and more makes me realize that he might be a better pick for this team than Okafor. However Okafor in the triangle would be a monster.
It's a toss up at this point.

I think you can't miss in the top 4 this year. There are some stars coming out of this draft. This has been one of the most interesting ncaa tournaments in years.