The #2 Pick

[Luciferswings]

How many of you think Towns or Okarfor will attempt a Steve Francis move just to get to Los Angeles? I mean lets keep it real here. who would really want to play in Minny? Its cold there!

I think Jalen Rose brought this up and I laughed because it sooo true!

This sort of thing doesn't work anymore, because teams call your bluff. It helped Curry drop a little bit because he wasn't projected as high as other players, and had a skill set that wasn't as desirable at the time (which looks laughable now), so workouts were important for him. Towns is a known quantity. He's going #1 no matter what he wants.

[H00PDREAMS]

If a player is focusing on LAL as the best choice to succeed by winning championships, by all means try to push yourself in LA.

If the player wants to play in LAL to make more money, endorsements, better social scene, by all means go to Minnesota where you wont get distracted and have a Bynum complex.

Yeah but there is no way we would be able to foresee that as fans. GMs should interview wisely. Some say Shaq fell under this spell too when he got to Los Angeles. However, Shaq was a vet by then and had his priorities straight. Work first then play.

[Sofa King]

You take a big because Russell is Jamal Crawford, I don't know isht about Mudiay (sorry), and it's a major, major plus to have an extremely talented bigmen on the payroll for cheap for the next five years -- it's very similar to the Seahawks having Russell Wilson under contract for pennies; they were able to use his discounted contract as a means to improve talent and overall depth.

Towns and Okafor are going to be good -- at best they're Hall of Famers, at worst they're really good role players.

I'll take my chances on the bigs.

I read a bit of Mudiay months ago. He was an elite top prospect coming out of HS. All Star potential is right there after a few years in the league.

Having said that, very hard to pass up on Towns and Okafor. No signs of them being the next Oden or Bowie. So the worse that they could be is Bynum.

[PKABOOICU]

If a player is focusing on LAL as the best choice to succeed by winning championships, by all means try to push yourself in LA.

If the player wants to play in LAL to make more money, endorsements, better social scene, by all means go to Minnesota where you wont get distracted and have a Bynum complex.

I'm pretty sure these young 19 y/o's don't give a flying f about rings at this point...they're all about getting paid and getting laid at this stage...itll change when they lose a couple of playoff battles and media starts scrutinizing them, and they realize the window and the fanbase is closing in on them.

[ALL HAIL]

You take a big because Russell is Jamal Crawford, I don't know isn't about Mudiay (sorry), and it's a major, major plus to have an extremely talented bigmen on the payroll for cheap for the next five years -- it's very similar to the Seahawks having Russell Wilson under contract for pennies; they were able to use his discounted contract as a means to improve talent and overall depth.

Towns and Okafor are going to be good -- at best they're Hall of Famers, at worst they're really good role players.

I'll take my chances on the bigs.

disagree...russell will be much better than crawford, simply because he's a pass first SG. thats a rare quality to have at the 2 guard position. Crawford is streaky, takes a bunch of contested shots to get himself going, has zero court vision, and somewhat better defense than russell.
Id compare russell to manu ginobili with a better shot...and he could end up being as good as James Harden, if not even better.

Ignoble and Harden have always been tough as nails -- you could always see them with the ability to play football.

Russell, on the other hand, not so much. He seems to not like to be touched; he seems soft -- like Jamal Crawford.

Don't be surprised to see Russell become an instant offense third guard -- like Jamal Crawford.

[H00PDREAMS]

Towns and Okafor are going to be good -- at best they're Hall of Famers, at worst they're really good role players.

I'll take my chances on the bigs.

Id compare russell to manu ginobili with a better shot...and he could end up being as good as James Harden, if not even better.

OK. But I still wouldn't pick him over either big men. If I were the GM of some other team like Sacramento or Chicago maybe I would take Russell. But as the Lakers GM you just got to go with a big man. Solid building block. Great place to start during a rebuild.

[Slava]

Plain and simple you just don't ignore bigs when they're on the board to be drafted.

How did that work out for the Bucks in 2005? Or the Blazers in 07? Or the Clippers in 98?

Oden was being compared to Bill Russell until he basically broke down. Unless you work with the benefit of hindsight, you cannot predict that kind of an outcome.

[Sofa King]

If a player is focusing on LAL as the best choice to succeed by winning championships, by all means try to push yourself in LA.

If the player wants to play in LAL to make more money, endorsements, better social scene, by all means go to Minnesota where you wont get distracted and have a Bynum complex.

I'm pretty sure these young 19 y/o's don't give a flying f about rings at this point...they're all about getting paid and getting laid at this stage...itll change when they lose a couple of playoff battles and media starts scrutinizing them, and they realize the window and the fanbase is closing in on them.

Before Randles injury around the time he got drafted by LAL, he was talking about wanting to win championships, competing against Lebron, etc.

[PKABOOICU]

Towns and Okafor are going to be good -- at best they're Hall of Famers, at worst they're really good role players.

I'll take my chances on the bigs.

Id compare russell to manu ginobili with a better shot...and he could end up being as good as James Harden, if not even better.

OK. But I still wouldn't pick him over either big men. If I were the GM of some other team like Sacramento or Chicago maybe I would take Russell. But as the Lakers GM you just got to go with a big man. Solid building block. Great place to start during a rebuild.

i know where you're coming from, I'm almost in the same boat as you lol. i just want to make sure this 2nd pick doesn't go to waste. whether its towns, okafor, russell, or mudiay, he's got to be the best player of the 2015 draft. Like kobe was in 96. this pick has to be an absolute stud. not just a very good role player.

[PKABOOICU]

If a player is focusing on LAL as the best choice to succeed by winning championships, by all means try to push yourself in LA.

If the player wants to play in LAL to make more money, endorsements, better social scene, by all means go to Minnesota where you wont get distracted and have a Bynum complex.

I'm pretty sure these young 19 y/o's don't give a flying f about rings at this point...they're all about getting paid and getting laid at this stage...itll change when they lose a couple of playoff battles and media starts scrutinizing them, and they realize the window and the fanbase is closing in on them.

Before Randles injury around the time he got drafted by LAL, he was talking about wanting to win championships, competing against Lebron, etc.

true, but they have to....these kids aren't gona go out on sports shows and say all they care about is nice cars and hot women....its the right thing to say when you're in the spotlight....lol i think the only 'real' dude who doesn't care and would probably admit it is nick young.

[Sofa King]

If a player is focusing on LAL as the best choice to succeed by winning championships, by all means try to push yourself in LA.

If the player wants to play in LAL to make more money, endorsements, better social scene, by all means go to Minnesota where you wont get distracted and have a Bynum complex.

Yeah but there is no way we would be able to foresee that as fans. GMs should interview wisely. Some say Shaq fell under this spell too when he got to Los Angeles. However, Shaq was a vet by then and had his priorities straight. Work first then play.

Shaq had the same spell as Kobe did. Movies, TV shows, rapping, etc. Shaq has an outgoing, comediac personality. Kobe is more of an introvert and didnt follow into the partying crowd and did his own thing.
The difference is Kobe took basketball way more seriously than Shaq and they clashed.
It depends on the players work ethic and how they deal with other distractions besides basketball
Shaq got injured and got surgery on company time.
Kobe got rape allegations and still focused on basketball.

Either way both are champions. Just to draft one of these bigs to bring us a ring is worth it.

[H00PDREAMS]

How did that work out for the Bucks in 2005? Or the Blazers in 07? Or the Clippers in 98?

Oden was being compared to Bill Russell until he basically broke down. Unless you work with the benefit of hindsight, you cannot predict that kind of an outcome.

I followed Oden and Durant college days. Oden already had multiple injuries before he left college. His health was in question from day one. In fact everyone argued that would be the reason why Durant would go 1st. Later it was revealed that Oden killed it in early season play before the draft. Oden had impressed Portland early and so much that they considered the risk. NBA analyst continued to remind the media that Oden was injury prone. Not one GM listened. Even when media started to echo the same thing the top NBA analyst were saying, GMs still called the pick a toss up on draft night.

[Slava]

How did that work out for the Bucks in 2005? Or the Blazers in 07? Or the Clippers in 98?

Oden was being compared to Bill Russell until he basically broke down. Unless you work with the benefit of hindsight, you cannot predict that kind of an outcome.

I followed Oden and Durant college days. Oden already had multiple injuries before he left college. His health was in question from day one. In fact everyone argued that would be the reason why Durant would go 1st. Later it was revealed that Oden killed it in early season play before the draft. Oden had impressed Portland early and so much that they considered the risk. NBA analyst continued to remind the media that Oden was injury prone. Not one GM listened. Even when media started to echo the same thing the top NBA analyst were saying, GMs still called the pick a toss up on draft night.

What NBA analysts are you talking about?

Bomani Jones

Oden is poised to be a franchise center, someone you can build a team around. Franchise centers usually win championships. His name's already being mentioned in the company of Russell, Robinson, Olajuwon and Shaq. Lot of rings on those fingers.

Durant is most often compared to Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett. Some people project him as a combination of the two. That's pretty darn good—but I don't see any rings on their fingers.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ant/070126

Jonathon Givony

For the second year in a row, Portland gets an A for effort, an A for creativity and an A for going out and finding value when the rest of the league was content on twiddling their thumbs.

Greg Oden was an obvious pick that takes this team’s potential to a whole new level. Rudy Fernandez is an absolute steal at No. 24—if he ever comes over considering the very low slot he’s now slotted on the rookie scale. Petteri Koponen’s intangibles embody the culture that GM Kevin Pritchard has been talking about for some time—and he’ll be stashed to develop overseas for another season as well.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/200 ... Card-2156/

Chad Ford

Landing Oden alone gets them an A. But GM Kevin Pritchard didn't rest there. He also acquired two late first-rounders, including Fernandez, who is quickly becoming a star at the highest levels of the Euroleague. Both he and Koponen likely will play in Europe for one more season before heading to Portland.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft200 ... raftgrades

Marty Burns

For the second straight year, they were bold and aggressive. Oden was the safe and logical pick at No. 1, Fernandez could prove a Ginobili-type steal down the road and McRoberts was a great value at No. 37. They also got Channing Frye while ridding themselves of Zach Randolph in that trade with the Knicks.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/w ... index.html

[Luciferswings]

That's kind of the point though. Oden seemed the safe pick, but he actually wasn't. That's why you look closer at Russell. I actually think Oden would have been a star if he'd been healthy, he looked awesome in college, but in hindsight even a healthy Oden would have been struggling to be more impactful than Durant.

[tugs]

It's not that often that you get the opportunity to get a quality big man that will also be cheap for years to come wherein a decent guard with the right tools can be found in free agency, late round, even the DLeague. Remember Marshall? Call me crazy but I'm set with Clarkson, Buycks, and Lin (at a reasonable price).

Passing up on Okafor/Towns is really stupid, for lack of a better word. You don't pick a player with a similar skillset with pretty much the rest of the roster. Do we get the player or need or the BPA? Luckily, Towns/Okafor address both needs.

[Sofa King]

That's kind of the point though. Oden seemed the safe pick, but he actually wasn't. That's why you look closer at Russell. I actually think Oden would have been a star if he'd been healthy, he looked awesome in college, but in hindsight even a healthy Oden would have been struggling to be more impactful than Durant.

The difference is that Okafor and Towns have not shown any questionable injuries to see any connections to Oden's situation.

At the moment, the players closest to Oden is Embiid and Randle.

[Sofa King]

Bomani Jones is still right with Durant on the no rings category.

[Sofa King]

And comparing Oden and Durant picks will be moot if Durant cant put it together next season. Oden went down early in the beginning. Durant is breaking down now and has to salvage what he has left.

[Slava]

That's kind of the point though. Oden seemed the safe pick, but he actually wasn't. That's why you look closer at Russell. I actually think Oden would have been a star if he'd been healthy, he looked awesome in college, but in hindsight even a healthy Oden would have been struggling to be more impactful than Durant.

Unless you know something about Okafor having a career threatening physical liability, there's really no way to know what a safe pick is. I disagree that Durant would be more impactful than a healthy Oden, just look at what Gobert has done to the Jazz defense. Oden was that good on defense (Bill Russell comparisons) along with a healthy post game and a monster on the pick and roll. If he stayed healthy, he'd be the best center today, hitting his prime at 27.

A good example for the guard version of Oden was also on the Portland roster in Brandon Roy. So you just never know how injuries work out with Russell or Mudiay either.

[Luciferswings]

Not sure what is more outlandish, confidently comparing healthy Oden's impact to an MVP player like Durant, or saying that KD might as well be Oden if he doesn't get healthy soon (as though the previous 7+ years of his career are now irrelevant).