#27 #34 Draft Picks Discussion

[Michael Lucky]

Why go with a big at #2?

G Wesley Saunders - Ht: 6'5, Wt: 215, Senior, Harvard

%Min - 86%
%Poss - 29.7%
%Shot - 28.5%
ORtg - 109.4
eFG% - 49.3%
TS% - 55.3%
OR% - 6.2%
DR% - 15.4%
ARate - 32.1
TORate - 17.1
Blk % - 1.3
Stl% - 3.4
FC/40 - 2.6
FD/40 - 5.4
FTRate - 46.9
FT% - .783
2FG% - .454
3FG% - .431

G D'Angelo Russell - Ht: 6'5, Wt: 180, FR, Ohio State

%Min - 84.3%
%Poss - 30.2%
%Shot - 30.6%
ORtg - 113.6
eFG% - 54.1%
TS% - 57.3%
ARate - 30.1
TORate - 17.3
Blk % - 1.1
Stl% - 2.8
FC/40 - 2.5
FD/40 - 4.7
FTRate - 30.3
FT% - .756
2FG% - .479
3FG% - .411

For those who have no idea who I'm talking about:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOQo7aD-CNo[/youtube]

Take Saunders with the #34.

It's a nice comparison if we ignore the very first thing that jumps out. Senior. 3rd year in the league and your hope is that your #2 pick is nearing All Star Level type of play in the league.

I thought the very first thing was #2 pick vs. #34 pick. That post was with regards to impact. They are pretty favorable stats for Saunders. Another difference is Saunders ability to absorb contact and finish.

No doubt Russell has a higher upside--that wasn't what my post was intended to imply.

I understand what you meant, i'm just alluding to the fact that the difference is so big that we really shouldn't focus on balancing things this way by going big with the #2 pick. It's also not taking into account the type of competition they played against. I think we should just focus on taking the best player available no matter of position and if the organization feels that means okafor or towns then great.

[TyCobb]

I understand what you meant, i'm just alluding to the fact that the difference is so big that we really shouldn't focus on balancing things this way by going big with the #2 pick. It's also not taking into account the type of competition they played against. I think we should just focus on taking the best player available no matter of position and if the organization feels that means okafor or towns then great.

Well, the goal is to build a team, strategies should be taken into account.

We're on the same page here, but my original post was for a sleeper at the #34 pick. Russell's season was admirable for any class. Just pointing out that there was a guy out there who posted comparable numbers. Sure the competition was lesser (although the Big Ten was trash this past season), but so are the talent levels of each of their teammates.

[ArC_man]

I just wanted to post this article from DX. It averages out 5 different analytic models that try to project prospects as NBA players. At the very bottom is a full list of the top 75 prospects ranked using this method and the last column (which I think is the most interesting) is the comparison with the prospect's respective DX top 100 rank (bigger negative number = better).

Guys who are ranked very favorably using this method are Kevon Looney (Ty's favorite), Delon Wright (my pick for our #27 if we keep it), Christian Wood, Richaun Holmes, Terry Rozier, Wesley Saunders, Vince Hunter, and Seth Tuttle (who we brought in to work out yesterday).

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Ana ... Draft-5021

[TyCobb]

My guys all year (Looney, Saunders, Hunter, and Portis) all showing up here is not by accident. I used advanced statistics to spot these guys and then watched as many games of theirs as possible to confirm. When the eye test matched up with the numbers, well, it's hard not to get excited.

[TyCobb]

People would be going nuts over Melo Trimble right now if he had stayed in the draft.

[LApwnd]

Why go with a big at #2?

G Wesley Saunders - Ht: 6'5, Wt: 215, Senior, Harvard

%Min - 86%
%Poss - 29.7%
%Shot - 28.5%
ORtg - 109.4
eFG% - 49.3%
TS% - 55.3%
OR% - 6.2%
DR% - 15.4%
ARate - 32.1
TORate - 17.1
Blk % - 1.3
Stl% - 3.4
FC/40 - 2.6
FD/40 - 5.4
FTRate - 46.9
FT% - .783
2FG% - .454
3FG% - .431

G D'Angelo Russell - Ht: 6'5, Wt: 180, FR, Ohio State

%Min - 84.3%
%Poss - 30.2%
%Shot - 30.6%
ORtg - 113.6
eFG% - 54.1%
TS% - 57.3%
ARate - 30.1
TORate - 17.3
Blk % - 1.1
Stl% - 2.8
FC/40 - 2.5
FD/40 - 4.7
FTRate - 30.3
FT% - .756
2FG% - .479
3FG% - .411

For those who have no idea who I'm talking about:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOQo7aD-CNo[/youtube]

Take Saunders with the #34.

It's a nice comparison if we ignore the very first thing that jumps out. Senior. 3rd year in the league and your hope is that your #2 pick is nearing All Star Level type of play in the league.

I thought the very first thing was #2 pick vs. #34 pick. That post was with regards to impact. They are pretty favorable stats for Saunders. Another difference is Saunders ability to absorb contact and finish.

No doubt Russell has a higher upside--that wasn't what my post was intended to imply.

don't see Saunders projected in either round on draft net or express....will he make enough noise during workouts?

[cashflo]

Would you do this?
Lakers trade both #1 picks,Randle,Swaggy and Kelly
Thunder trade Russell Westbrook

I think the Thunder has run its course and I believe it's time to rebuild... Russel is on a great contract and I as a Laker fan would do it in a heartbeat!

[SilentScream]

If we're going after Westbrook, it'd be preferable to retain our assets and pursue him when he becomes a free agent. We'd be in a more attractive position compared to if we dumped what little we had for him in a trade. Not that dissimilar to when the Knicks relinquished their assets for Melo. If he had been willing to forgo money and sign outright, they'd have been in a slightly better position to win. I would hope that free agents prefer going to teams that have the flexibility to improve.

[Speedlot]

Would you do this?
Lakers trade both #1 picks,Randle,Swaggy and Kelly
Thunder trade Russell Westbrook

I think the Thunder has run its course and I believe it's time to rebuild... Russel is on a great contract and I as a Laker fan would do it in a heartbeat!

Hrmm no. Way too expensive. Leave Randle for us and I might consider it. Give than Hill or something.

But to get #2 and Randle, I would only trade them for a TIER 1 player, which to me right now is Lebron, Durant, Curry, and Davis.

[oneseven]

I like Wright at 27 as a stronger PG defender, who can b/u Clarkson 15-20 mpg. LA could also sign his brother on the cheap (2.5 - 3 mil ish) to get SF minutes.

[oneseven]

Found this analysis (Vantage Sports) in another thread and was surprised:

OKAFOR: 6.1 POINTS ALLOWED PER 100 HELPS, 30.6 EFFECTIVE HELP RATE

TOWNS: 16.7 POINTS ALLOWED PER 100 HELPS, 19.4 EFFECTIVE HELP RATE

To punctuate that previous point, Okafor does a far better defensive job on help defense compared to Towns, allowing 10.6 fewer points per 100 helps and a 11.2 percent edge in overall Effective Help Rate. The mere presence of Okafor on a defensive show or rotation can deter so much action toward the rim. While Towns had an Opponent Inside Shot% of 50.0 percent, Okafor allowed just 44.2 percent.
While Towns certainly has the wingspan and quickness to help, he can be a bit slow on some help attempts or end up committing too early, giving up the easy pass.

If Okafor is passable as a defensive C, combined with his ready post game and passing ability, to me he is the clear choice.

[crazyeights]

Would you do this?
Lakers trade both #1 picks,Randle,Swaggy and Kelly
Thunder trade Russell Westbrook

I think the Thunder has run its course and I believe it's time to rebuild... Russel is on a great contract and I as a Laker fan would do it in a heartbeat!

Westbrook's had 3 knee surgeries in 2 years. For that reason alone I wouldn't trade 2 top 10 picks for him.

Even if we did trade for him, we'd be lucky to make the playoffs next year, as we'd be less talented than the OKC team he led this year.

The fact is we simply don't have enough assets to pull off a big trade for a win-now veterans and then make it worth it by retaining enough talent to be competitive.

And...with his contract running out in a couple of years, might as well wait until he's a FA.

Our best chance is building for the future. Keep the picks.

[laduane1]

Don't Troll. I said we didn't need posts like this.

-Kilroy

[Pointgod]

Would you do this?
Lakers trade both #1 picks,Randle,Swaggy and Kelly
Thunder trade Russell Westbrook

I think the Thunder has run its course and I believe it's time to rebuild... Russel is on a great contract and I as a Laker fan would do it in a heartbeat!

Westbrook's had 3 knee surgeries in 2 years. For that reason alone I wouldn't trade 2 top 10 picks for him.

Even if we did trade for him, we'd be lucky to make the playoffs next year, as we'd be less talented than the OKC team he led this year.

The fact is we simply don't have enough assets to pull off a big trade for a win-now veterans and then make it worth it by retaining enough talent to be competitive.

And...with his contract running out in a couple of years, might as well wait until he's a FA.

Our best chance is building for the future. Keep the picks.

I'd trade #2, Clarkson and our 2nd round pick, Young for Westbrook in an instant. Then we would still have room to throw some money at a wing like Tobias Harris and we'd have tons of cap space to go after the plethora of bigs in 2016.

[kblo247]

Would you do this?
Lakers trade both #1 picks,Randle,Swaggy and Kelly
Thunder trade Russell Westbrook

I think the Thunder has run its course and I believe it's time to rebuild... Russel is on a great contract and I as a Laker fan would do it in a heartbeat!

Westbrook's had 3 knee surgeries in 2 years. For that reason alone I wouldn't trade 2 top 10 picks for him.

Even if we did trade for him, we'd be lucky to make the playoffs next year, as we'd be less talented than the OKC team he led this year.

The fact is we simply don't have enough assets to pull off a big trade for a win-now veterans and then make it worth it by retaining enough talent to be competitive.

And...with his contract running out in a couple of years, might as well wait until he's a FA.

Our best chance is building for the future. Keep the picks.

And one of those picks didn't even play 15 minutes before He ended up needing not one but two surgeries

[Sofa King]

^he has a point

[crazyeights]

No he doesn't. Are you seriously conflating a broken leg with 3 knee surgeries?

Randle's second one was to fix a screw. There are no issues going forward and the 2nd one was elective.

All surgeries are not the same.

[cashflo]

Would you do this?
Lakers trade both #1 picks,Randle,Swaggy and Kelly
Thunder trade Russell Westbrook

I think the Thunder has run its course and I believe it's time to rebuild... Russel is on a great contract and I as a Laker fan would do it in a heartbeat!

Westbrook's had 3 knee surgeries in 2 years. For
that reason alone I wouldn't trade 2 top 10 picks for him.

Even if we did trade for him, we'd be lucky to make the playoffs next year, as we'd be less talented than the OKC team he led this year.

The fact is we simply don't have enough assets to pull off a big trade for a win-now veterans and then make it worth it by retaining enough talent to be competitive.

And...with his contract running out in a couple of years, might as well wait until he's a FA.

Our best chance is building for the future. Keep the picks.

I'd trade #2, Clarkson and our 2nd round pick, Young for Westbrook in an instant. Then we would still have room to throw some money at a wing like Tobias Harris and we'd have tons of cap space to go after the plethora of bigs in 2016.

That's what I'm thinking... Westbrook will be at $16m .. That's a heck of a deal under the new CBA
You would have to get as much as possible off the books as you can so Randle,Swaggy and Kelly would have to be involved.even though you may only be able to do this...

Davis Sacre
Love Black 34th pick
Johnson 27th pick
Westbrook Clarkson Price
Kobe Ellington Brown

Big $$ next year

[dockingsched]

So Towns won't be doing any workouts, just interviews with the wolves and lakers. He has been working out here in LA with Don McLean who has this to say:

http://zagsblog.com/articles/towns-will-interview-with-wolves-lakers-wont-do-workouts/

"“I’ve been doing this for 11 or 12 years pre-draft,” MacLean, the leading scorer in Pac-12 and UCLA history, previously told SNY.tv. “Because I had a lot of top 10 picks and a lot of really good players, I’m not really impressed or blown away. I had Towns all last week and I was blown away. Blown away.

“A kid that big but shoots it that well but handles it that well and understands the game, that’s coachable, that wants to get better, wants to be great, I was blown away by him last week.

“Am I a little biased? I’ve known Jahlil because I’ve done Adidas nations forever. Jahlil’s a great kid and a great player but I just think he doesn’t have as much to his game as Karl has.”

[ArC_man]

Not sure how to read this rumor. Does it mean he has a guarantee from the Lakers that he's going at least 2nd? Does it mean he wants to force his way to LA by making Minny hesitate about choosing him at #1?

More interesting to me is how Okafor's camp is going to respond. Is Okafor going to skip all workouts as well?