Embiid Noel & Russell vs Okafor Randle & Clarkson vs Towns Wiggins & Levine

[nmeurett]

Just wondering where you would put the Milwaukee Bucks young trio of Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter Williams?

[laika]

Noel ahead of Randle? wow

Among the best defensive players in the league last season; Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard, and him were only players in top 10 of DBPM, DWS, and DRtg.

Gobert, Duncan and Gasol also did that. Noel did not.

As for the question, I would pick Embiid/Noel/Russell.
Lavine was terrible last year. I'm not sure how much better he'll get. Clarkson was also way overrated and I don't think Okafor/Randle will be great. So, based on not having a known bad player I'll take the 76ers.

[machu46]

Just wondering where you would put the Milwaukee Bucks young trio of Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter Williams?

I like MCW, but I feel like Middleton would be a part of the trio before MCW.

The trio stuff itself is kinda non-sense though because it discounts the young teams that have more than 3 young prospects.

[BIG_controversy]

Ppl think it's a foregone conclusion that Lakers will draft Okafor. Clarkson, Russell & Randle change the dyamics of the discussion bc then the Lakers would have the best future backcourt in the league next to Wall & Beal. If Randle can have an impact offensively what Draymond Green is defensively as a "Value Forward" than the Lakers would clearly have the highest ceiling offensively.

[nmeurett]

Machu46 I agree that all players under the age of 24 should be included which is why I do not value the Lakers much as besides the top 3 (Randle,Clarkson, Okafer/Russell they do not really have anyone else of interest. I think the Bucks and Jazz have much more young talent then the Lakers.

I also agree I would put Middleton on the big 3 of the bucks over MCW but technically he is a free agent which is why I did not include him.

[nmeurett]

Ppl think it's a foregone conclusion that Lakers will draft Okafor. Clarkson, Russell & Randle change the dyamics of the discussion bc then the Lakers would have the best future backcourt in the league next to Wall & Beal. If Randle can have an impact offensively what Draymond Green is defensively as a "Value Forward" than the Lakers would clearly have the highest ceiling offensively.

Ill take MCW/Middleton over Clarkson/Russell (I still dont think they take him over Okafer)

[dham1974]

Why not wait til the draft to make this thread? What if Minny goes for Okafor? Or What if Lakers take Russell? Seems premature to debate it all.

if the draft happens as most of us expect it to who will have the best young group of players for the future?

for the same reason we talk about potential.

[BIG_controversy]

It all depends on how Russell tests during his workout. A 38 inch vertical would quell the "is he athletic enough to be elite" questions. And if Kobe is brought in to work him out & Kobe gives his seal of approval, I think he'll be a star.

[dham1974]

Just wondering where you would put the Milwaukee Bucks young trio of Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter Williams?

I wasn't aware that MCW was in Milwaukee. I know who Parker is but I don't know much about the other player.

[E-Balla]

1. Philly snatches this spot easily. Russell is the most impressive G prospect since Kyrie Irving and I think he'll at least be an All-Star. He has the potential to jump into superstardom and I'd expect it more from him than any other player in this draft. Embiid is a risk but he's still the most physically talented player of the bunch and he's showing the necessary skillset to dominate. His issues as of now come from his low IQ on the court but he's relatively new to the sport and he could always take that leap out of nowhere. Noel is the best defensive prospect I've ever seen and in his rookie season he played good enough to make the Sixers defense go from 26th to 13th. I think he's a generational talent and he had a 20 PER after All-Star break already. Don't be surprised if he's having 25 PER seasons with under 18 PPG in the future. This combination of a possible outside shooting and passing monster of a PG, generational defender at PF, and overall great big at C is amazing.

2. LA takes the second spot for me. Okafor and Randle are a bad fit but I love both of their games. Randle seems like a poor man's Blake Griffin and he'll need to develop his outside game like Blake did. I don't see any reason why he couldn't be a All Star and I'm kind of expecting him to at least be a fringe All Star. Clarkson is a great player and if he can shore up that outside shot he should be a very good G. He already had a 17 PER as a rookie so even if I think he's close to his ceiling his ceiling is at least being a fringe All Star. Okafor is the main reason why I'm taking LA. On this team don't expect him to show out early because the team isn't built around him and he's that type of talent. I've said he reminded me of Moses Malone without the outside shot and inside he'll instantly demand double teams from most guys even at the NBA level. I mean the only player to guard him well 1 on 1 was Karnowski and he's bigger than any starting NBA C and Okafor missed some baskets he usually hits. He was still 57% from the field overall against 6-10+ starters and that doesn't count the games against Christmas who was measured with the same standing reach as Jahlil and at 6-10 at the combine.

3. Minnesota is third in the beauty pageant. I don't think Wiggins is a superstar but I think he'll be on that Paul George level one day. He's a super athlete and his post game will one day replace Melo's as the best on any perimeter player. He has a long way to go but his aggression he finally showed last year is the best step forward I could imagine for a player who's biggest weakness IMO was his extreme timidness. I was wondering why they were giving him so much burn and responsibility early in the season but he's better for it. Towns is great but I don't think he's carrying any franchises in the future. If he's winning I think it'll need to be more of a team effort than if Jahlil or Russell win and that's kind of what we saw in college where per minute Towns was just as valuable as them but clearly way less capable of leading teams like Duke and OS to wins. The reason Minnesota is third here though is the worst prospect of the bunch - Zach LaVine. The kid is athletic, has average handles, and can shoot but he's just not bright. I never bet on players with bricks for brains and while he's a good kid I didn't see any improvement in him until April which is always the time where teams are dogging it for the most part and they always say don't trust trends you only observed in April/the last 10 games of the season. He can hopefully be a good sixth man scorer or a decent starting SG one day but he has a lot of work to put in. He's been playing basketball for awhil and he tries to play the right way he just doesn't seem to have the mental acumen for it.

[nmeurett]

MCW was traded to Milwaukee at the deadline for Brandon Knight

Giannis Antetokounmpo aka the Greek Freak is a highlight play waiting to happen 6'11 wing/forward that can really play any position. Put his name into youtube and take a look

[CoreyGallagher]

Noel ahead of Randle? wow

Among the best defensive players in the league last season; Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard, and him were only players in top 10 of DBPM, DWS, and DRtg.

Gobert, Duncan and Gasol also did that. Noel did not.

My mistake, Gobert and Duncan as well, Gasol did not, Noel did.

DWS- Green tied 2nd, Leonard 1st, Noel tied 10th, Gobert tied 7th, Duncan tied 3rd, Gasol tied 3rd
DBPM- Green 6th, Leonard 10th, Noel 5th, Gobert 2nd, Duncan 3rd, Gasol 9th
DRtg - Green tied 6th, Leonard 1st, Noel 10th, Gobert 9th, Duncan 4th, Gasol 19th

Exact Defensive Ratings can be found on RealGM.

[wickedwrister]

Easy, there's only one player in this whole group who has all time great written all over him, and that's embiid. Add in Noel's defensive dominance (along with embiids), and developing offensive game, and Russell, and it's clear to me. Okafor has one above average skill, just one. His defense, rebounding, mid range game, and free throws, are all terrible, way below average. My list goes.... Embiid, Wiggins, towns(could end up like Sam Perkins if his motor doesn't pick up), Noel, Russell, lavine, okafor, randle, clarkson.

How does the guy who's the most injury prone out of the group have all time great written on him? Even if he manages to stay healthy at this point they'll have to manage his mins. As far as Okafor rebounding goes how is it terrible with him avging 8.5 Rebs? Cmon your post sounds bias. At least Okafor is a dominant scorer Embiid would be lucky to play 30 mpg with him avging almost 4 fouls in 20 mins or if his body will hold up for that amount of mins over an 82 game season

You sound salty. Poll not going the way you anticipated?

Pretty much this, thread feels like a Lakers fan who thought the answer was clearly LA and was surprised when people didn't agree.

[wickedwrister]

Ppl think it's a foregone conclusion that Lakers will draft Okafor. Clarkson, Russell & Randle change the dyamics of the discussion bc then the Lakers would have the best future backcourt in the league next to Wall & Beal. If Randle can have an impact offensively what Draymond Green is defensively as a "Value Forward" than the Lakers would clearly have the highest ceiling offensively.

Young backcourts I'd take over Clarkson/Russell:
Wall/Beal (as you mentioned)
MCW/Middleton
Rose/Butler (Rose still only 26)
Oladipo/Payton
Jrue Holiday/Evans
Splash Brothers (only 27 and 25)

Maybe a few others after this draft as well.

[Gerald3Wallace]

I love how underrated Clarkson is.

[jpatrick]

If their were no injury history, Enbiid is the best prospect on this list and I go 76ers. However, he's been sidelined in HS and college with back issues and had a broken foot this year, these are not ACL type injuries where 100% recovery is almost guaranteed. Consequently, I would rank them MN, Philly, then LA.

[wickedwrister]

I love how underrated Clarkson is.

Fill in the blank.

Jordan Clarkson is the _______ best point guard in the NBA.

[HeartBreakKid]

I love how underrated Clarkson is.

Is he underrated? He has a lot of praise, and a lot it comes from putting up ok numbers on a big market team like the Lakers. There's no real reason to assume he'll be anything greater than a solid starter at this point. He even made the first team over Bagdanovic.

[JB2]

Why not wait til the draft to make this thread? What if Minny goes for Okafor? Or What if Lakers take Russell? Seems premature to debate it all.

if the draft happens as most of us expect it to who will have the best young group of players for the future?

for the same reason we talk about potential.

Potential is a subjective matter. This is trying to predict who is going to draft where when in reality we've seen rumors that Okafor is 60% the guy and Larry Brown has been pushing Philly to take Mudiay.

Not trying to validate those rumors but there have been stories each and every way.

[wablty]

Philly
Minny
LAL

I think it is pretty cut and dry.

While the top 2 players from the 6ers and Wolves are comparable, Russell vs Lavine isnt.

Lakers are a distant third. Id probably put a few teams like the Magic and Jazz ahead of them too.

Please explain why you believe this. Are you certain he's a PG at the NBA level?