2015 Draft Thread - Part 1

[nate33]

http://stats.nba.com/draftcombine/#!/an ... T_IN&dir=1

Wow, there were a lot of bigs that measured very well - a lot of them a little longer than I would have expected. Rakeem Christmas might have earned 1st round consideration. Upshaw had the best standing reach, the best wingspan, and the longest and widest hands. I guess it all depends on how he does with interviews - If he does poorly, he might not get drafted, but if he does real well, someone will use a 1st round pick on him.

I was actually surprised at Kaminsky, I thought he'd have cody zeller like reach, but he measured really well. If he can bulk up he might have a nice future as a stretch 5. I also like Portis's reach. I don't think we'll be in position to draft either though, unless we trade up with a future '16 pick.

Where are you guys getting data? When I clicked on the link, I got the measurements for last year's draft class.

[nuposse04]

Wow, there were a lot of bigs that measured very well - a lot of them a little longer than I would have expected. Rakeem Christmas might have earned 1st round consideration. Upshaw had the best standing reach, the best wingspan, and the longest and widest hands. I guess it all depends on how he does with interviews - If he does poorly, he might not get drafted, but if he does real well, someone will use a 1st round pick on him.

I was actually surprised at Kaminsky, I thought he'd have cody zeller like reach, but he measured really well. If he can bulk up he might have a nice future as a stretch 5. I also like Portis's reach. I don't think we'll be in position to draft either though, unless we trade up with a future '16 pick.

Where are you guys getting data? When I clicked on the link, I got the measurements for last year's draft class.

Thats weird, they changed it...definitely had everyone elses numbers a couple hours ago.

this was the original link: http://stats.nba.com/draftcombine/#!/anthro/

[Ruzious]

It's got the right year back up.

Maybe the player that hurt himself the most - Christian Wood. He measured great as far as height and length, but 216 lbs with a body fat percentage of... 14.7. The potato chips and doughnuts diet is not working well for him.

Compare that to Justin Anderson - who's projected to play guard by some... 231 lbs with a 5.0 body fat percentage.

[theboomking]

Ruzious, I've been eying Anderson as a 3&D type later for us. If we bought a pick, I think he would pair nicely with Portis.

You also have to think that Upshaw could be worth the risk. Likely to fail out of the NBA, but with his size, if he hits....

I really want Portis. I think the fit is perfect. He measured out well for a PF and while he isn't a vertically explosive athlete, if you watch his draft strengths/weaknesses videos, he seems to move laterally very well. I think he could fit nicely into our team defense.

[Severn Hoos]

It's got the right year back up.

Maybe the player that hurt himself the most - Christian Wood. He measured great as far as height and length, but 216 lbs with a body fat percentage of... 14.7. The potato chips and doughnuts diet is not working well for him.

Compare that to Justin Anderson - who's projected to play guard by some... 231 lbs with a 5.0 body fat percentage.

And a wingspan of 6'11.75" (what, they couldn't stretch that last 1/4"?) You know how much I'd love to root for Justin on the Wiz, but if he doesn't end up with us somehow, I really hope he goes to the Spurs. Could you imagine him & Kawhi on the wings for them?

If the shooting touch he displayed before he got injured this year isn't a mirage, he'll be a very good player, and some team draftiing late in the 1st will be very happy to have him.

I fully endorse boomking's suggestion to buy a pick to pair Anderson with Portis. That would be a remarkably successful draft, even if it meant giving up next year's 1st to do so.

And I was also surprised by Wood's measurements. At 6'10.5 with a 7'3.5" wingspan, he might actually be able to play C, which I had not even considered a possibility. He looked skinny, so the 216# didn't surprise me, but 14% body fat? I might have him beat in that category, and that's not a good thing...

It's never a good idea to put too much stock in the measurements, but that did knock him down a bit in my book.

[payitforward]

[quote="theboomking"]Ruzious, I've been eying Anderson as a 3&D type later for us. If we bought a pick, I think he would pair nicely with Portis.... I really want Portis..../quote]
Unfortunately, teams in front of us look at the same stuff we do, and Portis will be gone by #19.

As to Anderson, how exactly would we have "bought a pick" to get him? With $$$ ?? Teams don't usually sell R1 picks for money. He might wind up being the best guy available at #19, for that matter -- although right now DR projects us to get Looney, as Tyus Jones seems to be moving up according to what they hear.

I still like my trade down notion -- if it gets us Cliff Alexander and a good prospect high in R1. But that's not a Grunfeldian move. At least not one i can remember seeing from him.

[pcbothwel]

Ruzious, I've been eying Anderson as a 3&D type later for us. If we bought a pick, I think he would pair nicely with Portis.... I really want Portis..../quote]
Unfortunately, teams in front of us look at the same stuff we do, and Portis will be gone by #19.

As to Anderson, how exactly would we have "bought a pick" to get him? With $$$ ?? Teams don't usually sell R1 picks for money. He might wind up being the best guy available at #19, for that matter -- although right now DR projects us to get Looney, as Tyus Jones seems to be moving up according to what they hear.

I still like my trade down notion -- if it gets us Cliff Alexander and a good prospect high in R1. But that's not a Grunfeldian move. At least not one i can remember seeing from him.

Yup. If Portis, Looney, Lyles, or Turner dont fall to 19. I look to LAL to get 27 and 34 and pick two of Wood, Alexander, Hunter, Hollis-Jefferson, Christmas, Upshaw, Dakari johnson...
Lakers have ZERO intention of adding more than one rookie from this class. They'd love to consolidate and grab the better talent

[Ruzious]

Ruzious, I've been eying Anderson as a 3&D type later for us. If we bought a pick, I think he would pair nicely with Portis.... I really want Portis..../quote]
Unfortunately, teams in front of us look at the same stuff we do, and Portis will be gone by #19.

As to Anderson, how exactly would we have "bought a pick" to get him? With $$$ ?? Teams don't usually sell R1 picks for money. He might wind up being the best guy available at #19, for that matter -- although right now DR projects us to get Looney, as Tyus Jones seems to be moving up according to what they hear.

I still like my trade down notion -- if it gets us Cliff Alexander and a good prospect high in R1. But that's not a Grunfeldian move. At least not one i can remember seeing from him.

A good thing about your trade is - It allows the Wiz to take a chance on someone like Upshaw - even if the only one like Upshaw... is Upshaw.

The 2 players the Wiz are most likely to pick - Harrell and Looney - had mostly very good measurements but had weight issues and much higher body fat %'s than I'd guess - at 11.9%. They're both have outstanding length - both in wingspan and standing reach. Harrell's weight was 253 - a bit high for him but not bad, while Looney was 222 - he's got to avoid Wood's diet - get more protein and weight lifting. If I had to choose between them, I'd take Harrell. I like his intangibles better, and he's a more powerful player. I think he'd be a fan favorite.

Oh, and Jordan Mickey had excellent measurements - though his standing reach is pedestrian.

[nate33]

Ruzious, I've been eying Anderson as a 3&D type later for us. If we bought a pick, I think he would pair nicely with Portis.... I really want Portis..../quote]
Unfortunately, teams in front of us look at the same stuff we do, and Portis will be gone by #19.

As to Anderson, how exactly would we have "bought a pick" to get him? With $$$ ?? Teams don't usually sell R1 picks for money. He might wind up being the best guy available at #19, for that matter -- although right now DR projects us to get Looney, as Tyus Jones seems to be moving up according to what they hear.

I still like my trade down notion -- if it gets us Cliff Alexander and a good prospect high in R1. But that's not a Grunfeldian move. At least not one i can remember seeing from him.

A good thing about your trade is - It allows the Wiz to take a chance on someone like Upshaw - even if the only one like Upshaw... is Upshaw.

The 2 players the Wiz are most likely to pick - Harrell and Looney - had mostly very good measurements but had weight issues and much higher body fat %'s than I'd guess - at 11.9%. They're both have outstanding length - both in wingspan and standing reach. Harrell's weight was 253 - a bit high for him but not bad, while Looney was 222 - he's got to avoid Wood's diet - get more protein and weight lifting. If I had to choose between them, I'd take Harrell. I like his intangibles better, and he's a more powerful player. I think he'd be a fan favorite.

Oh, and Jordan Mickey had excellent measurements - though his standing reach is pedestrian.

In a twisted way, I kinda like some of these guys with high body fat measurements. It gives them room to improve athletically. We'll have to wait and see how they measure out in the strength and agility categories, but if Looney turns out to be reasonably athletic and strong at a 11.9% body fat, it bodes well for how athletic he could become with the right physical conditioning regimen.

[Ruzious]

But if Looney is only 222 lbs when he has 11.9% body fat, it's a sign that he's going to have a much tougher time than a guy like Harrell being big thick enough to battle NBA bigs.

[No-Man]

Looney is going to need a lot of time to develop if he ever does, he is always going to be tiny and not big enough for a post player, he is also slow footed and non that athletic.
He is just basically long and… thats about it, you have to bet on him developing a reliable jumper to stick in the league, I understand that with a pick in the twenties, potential wise, but I won't waste a top20 pick with so many options at PF in this draft, and better than him.

[theboomking]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5vOZho1YuM

This interview made me feel a lot better about Robert Upshaw. He is really well spoken and seems genuine. We need youth in the front court. I would consider him. If he pans out, he may have apt of impact.

[Baam]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5vOZho1YuM

This interview made me feel a lot better about Robert Upshaw. He is really well spoken and seems genuine. We need youth in the front court. I would consider him. If he pans out, he may have apt of impact.

Meh the Wiz can't afford to make that kind of risky pick after Javale and Blatche... He might be well spoken but too many red flags...

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Ruzious, I've been eying Anderson as a 3&D type later for us. If we bought a pick, I think he would pair nicely with Portis.

You also have to think that Upshaw could be worth the risk. Likely to fail out of the NBA, but with his size, if he hits....

I really want Portis. I think the fit is perfect. He measured out well for a PF and while he isn't a vertically explosive athlete, if you watch his draft strengths/weaknesses videos, he seems to move laterally very well. I think he could fit nicely into our team defense.

I agree Portis and Anderson would be great fits here. Their skillsets, defense, their competitiveness and effort they play with would be welcome additions. Not sure how to acquire another pick but I would love to. If we can essentially replace Nene with Portis and Webster/Butler with Anderson as a g/f 6th man, I like the makeup of that roster.

Wall, Beal, Anderson, Porter, Portis, Gortat

Fill in rest of roster with any of Blair, Humphries, Gooden, Pierce, Temple, Sessions etc


But how to get that other pick? I don't think our 2nd w/ Satoransky gets it done. Maybe our 1st rounder next year? I'm pretty sure I suggested this before and wasn't accepted but as far as skill and personality Portis and Anderson could be ideal, and to get that 6 man foundation would be worth it and put us in great position next year and long-term.

[The Consiglieri]

Chad Ford:

William Hot Springs, Arkansas [via mobile]

What are your thoughts on Bobby Portis? Do you still think he'll be a mid first round?
Chad Ford (1:44 PM)

Almost no way he fails in the NBA. Does everything well and plays really hard. But doubt he's ever an All-Star. His agent, Mark Bartelstein, compares him to Hot Rod Williams (Bartelstein also represented Hot Rod back in the day). I usually don't pay any attention to agent comps because they are filled with hyperbole. But that one feels right on. I'd love to see him on the Wizards. I think that's a perfect fit for player and team at 19.

For now, I'm looking at Portis, Looney, Lyle, and Turner, if none of these guys are around, I probably try to trade down, and get Wood, Harrell, or a PG.

[The Consiglieri]

Why would anyone be disappointed in MKG? He wasn't drafted based on being advanced offensively -- he wasn't. His appeal was that he did everything else well, and the hope was that the offense would come. This season, on slightly below average usage, he was about average in offensive efficiency. And he rebounded well. And he defended well. I wouldn't trade the Porter we've seen in the playoffs for MKG, but I'd trade the regular season Porter for him.

I concur.

My musing caused me to reflect on just how profoundly improved Porter has been in the playoffs.

I considered MKG to be a much better prospect than Beal. Based on what I've seen so far, I'd say MKG isn't that far behind Kawhi Leonard, potentially. Injuries and playing in Charlotte have not helped his progress. I agree his defense and his rebounding are strengths. After two regular seasons, I would say Beal has become a higher profile but perhaps still not better prospect than MKG. I think I would keep Beal over MKG only because I think Beal has begun to drive the basketball well, rebounds well, passes well, defends reasonably well, and he's a terrific open three point shooter. I would now rate Bradley slightly more valuable than MKG.

Otto Porter has made me quite optimistic. Playoffs Porter is a beast and I think the beast will not get worse next regular season. He'll be the starting SF for years to come. I think he's better than MKG.

I am shocked to be saying that this soon.

Back to draft thread topic...I would say the Wizards need to draft a PF of the future or a Wall backup, who can really help if Wall has a broken hand or something.

We need to draft a young, stud who's like Jordan Clarkson, who can back up Sessions ....

You would really love this owner in England's second Division that was written up recently for SI. He's an analytics geek who made his millions finding ineffiecencies in the bettering markets in European soccer, and took his winnings and bought a lower division soccer team with it, and then purchased another European team as well in Denmark (Midtjylland). Unlike our witless, supposedly tech savvy owner, this guy, who owns Brentford, used proprietary analytics models to first find inefficiencies in the markets, and later in the game itself, to help better prepare Brentford and his new Danish squad to compete at a top level. In the case of Brentford, he managed to help push Brentford from an unknown third tier squad, to a team competiting in this years playoff for promotion to the EPL, and all this was done, while firing the management of the team for repeatedly chafing and complaining about his analytics meddling with their management. Basically, he canned these guys for their recalcitrance when it came to his models. Now Midtjylland is about to win it's first ever Danish League Championship after adopting his analytics platform, and has set records by scoring a goal a game off set pieces, thanks to the use of his models which suggested flaws in how teams approach set pieces, as well as purchasing of players.

See, this guy, will fire a manager, and staff, even if the guy has a good record and numbers, if the guys refuse to buy in, and especially if they refuse to buy in, and are achieving results that his model suggests are based more on random chance, than actual accomplishment.

I love this guy. Now compare this guy, who is very Un-English, to our own management, and it just makes me want to cry. Incompetent coaching, incompetent management, free pass, whether the results are god awful (2009-2013), or inspite of the team in place (2014-2015), completing ignoring the role of player selection/rotations (Witman), and god awful team building (Cash instead of Clarkson, Vesely instead of Leonard, two bench guys instead of Curry etc), in our failure to achieve so much more. We are at the vanguard of analytics in this country and yet our teams are run by the worst front offices in the country.


uggh. I would also consider dealing up for Porter, but only if he falls to within 2-3 picks of us, as I don't want to give a ridiculous amount of value to a team, when there are four or five nice front court guys available.

http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/05 ... hew-benham

[Sluggerface]

It's got the right year back up.

Maybe the player that hurt himself the most - Christian Wood. He measured great as far as height and length, but 216 lbs with a body fat percentage of... 14.7. The potato chips and doughnuts diet is not working well for him.

Compare that to Justin Anderson - who's projected to play guard by some... 231 lbs with a 5.0 body fat percentage.

Shocked really. I knew with the mentality he showed this year, I wasn't really expecting much in that department, but that's pretty damning. I could see him falling out of the first round now.

[FAH1223]

Anybody watch MWC basketball? I wouldn't mind using our second round pick on Larry Nance Jr of Wyoming tbh.

Son of former NBA All-Star Larry Nance that led Wyoming to their first conference title in forever. 6-8.5, 235 lbs with a 7-0.5 wingspan. Really good athlete, really good defender, has a decent offensive game. Perhaps he can become a stretch 4?

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVtEXJbDSVI[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nuHtl2VGBM[/youtube]

[FAH1223]

Sign me up on the Portis bandwagon.

I hope ATL and BOS take the other PFs..

[nuposse04]

Sign me up on the Portis bandwagon.

I hope ATL and BOS take the other PFs..

He probably won't last that long, we'd have to trade a future 1st to move up and get him I think. I don't think I'd be opposed to the idea, but I wouldn't love it, especially since Portis isn't a good defensive rebonder, although I like most other facets of his game. I wouldn't mind Looney at 19 without having to give up future assets.