Poll: Who should the Wolves take with the #1 overall pick?

[AQuintus]

Okafor to Duncan? I can see that as long as they're talking about young Duncan, and they're completely ignoring defense. Current Duncan doesn't play out of the low post anywhere near as much as Okafor does.

Towns to Robinson? That's an interesting comparison that I haven't heard before. Towns isn't the athlete that Robinson was, and though I'm really high on Towns' scoring ability, I'd be surprised if he gets to be anywhere near as good of a scorer as Robinson.

[Devilzsidewalk]

Alex Kennedy ‏@AlexKennedyNBA 12m12 minutes ago

In talking to execs, I've heard Jahlil Okafor compared to Tim Duncan and Karl Towns compared to David Robinson. How lucky were the Spurs?

Alex Kennedy ‏@AlexKennedyNBA 5m5 minutes ago
Sat with several coaches. Here were comparisons (ceilings):
Okafor: Duncan
Towns: Robinson
Russell: Kyrie
Winslow: Butler
Hezonja: McGrady

Wow this is the best draft ever!!!

Mudiay: Oscar Robertson
Cauley Stein: Bill Russell
Porzingis: Super Athletic Dirk Nowitzki
Tyus Jones: Isiah Thomas
Andrew Harrison: Kobe

[Devilzsidewalk]

Okafor to Duncan? I can see that as long as they're talking about young Duncan, and they're completely ignoring defense. Current Duncan doesn't play out of the low post anywhere near as much as Okafor does.

Towns to Robinson? That's an interesting comparison that I haven't heard before. Towns isn't the athlete that Robinson was, and though I'm really high on Towns' scoring ability, I'd be surprised if he gets to be anywhere near as good of a scorer as Robinson.

Yeah those are some seriously optimistic ceilings. David Robinson was built like a 7'1" Adrian Peterson.

[FargoWolf]

Here are his other ceilings...

[tweet]https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/607030445214191616[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/607031435489378305[/tweet]

I don't really get the point of setting an unrealistic ceilings. A few of them aren't bad though I guess but others are just way out there.

[Cyborg21]

No thanks on Mudiay, unless we are getting him with Towns.

[Saltine]

Mudiay? The guy plays 12 not impressive games in China, putting up similar numbers to 38 year old Marbury (who played 51 games), and some of you guys want to make him our starting PG???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephon_Marbury
The internet is funny.

That's a strange perspective.

Hey, the kid is as good as a washed up Starbury, the sky is the limit

[Feilong]

If Flip drafts Okafor i kinda hope he trades Rubio to SAC or somewhere else.

[m2002brian]

What? A guy with hands and moves like JO only helps RR. It's a worlds difference between stone hands, no pump, one (or two) moves PEK. Hopefully it would bring back more of the PR game that we didn't see much from Rubio last year.

*BTW I'm on the DownTowns (R) bandwagon, but at 19 either can become great if they are willing to work at it.

[Cyborg21]

I'm wondering if the Wolves are going to try and get the 4th pick and have the trade center around Rubio/Dieng.

Don't think the Wolves have anything worth the 4th pick to get it done, though.

[rugbyrugger23]

I'm wondering if the Wolves are going to try and get the 4th pick and have the trade center around Rubio/Dieng.

Don't think the Wolves have anything worth the 4th pick to get it done, though.

I think they do. Here is the formula:

Which team would want Rubio most (in the top 10)? Send them Rubio, plus assets needed for their top 10 pick. Assets include Bazz, Payne or Bennett, Martin if they want vet, #31.

Send Knicks that top 10 pick, plus Dieng (and other asset as needed).

Wolves take on bad contract of Calderon.

[SARGO127]

I'm wondering if the Wolves are going to try and get the 4th pick and have the trade center around Rubio/Dieng.

Don't think the Wolves have anything worth the 4th pick to get it done, though.

I think they do. Here is the formula:

Which team would want Rubio most (in the top 10)? Send them Rubio, plus assets needed for their top 10 pick. Assets include Bazz, Payne or Bennett, Martin if they want vet, #31.

Send Knicks that top 10 pick, plus Dieng (and other asset as needed).

Wolves take on bad contract of Calderon.

I don't think I'd trade out of the top 4 for Dieng to be honest.

[Worst_to_First]

I'm wondering if the Wolves are going to try and get the 4th pick and have the trade center around Rubio/Dieng.

Don't think the Wolves have anything worth the 4th pick to get it done, though.

Could you guys explain why Dieng's rim protection stats are weak? I actually had this perception that he is a good defender. Is it because of Flip's defensive schemes or the backcourt defense was a bit weak (LaVine was statistically ranked as the worst defensive PG in the league), therefore exerting extra pressure on your bigs?

Also wanted to ask if Gorgui can effectively play the PF position? Thanks in advance!

[jpatrick]

I think Dieng appeared to regress slightly from how he looked late in his rookie year, although that was a very short sample. However, I give Dieng somewhat of a pass for last year. With injuries, we literally were playing rookies and guys off the street. It was a constant clear path to the rim. A big could only do so much. Plus, I think Dieng somewhat wore down after carrying his national team during the summer.

I kind of just want to draft Towns and roll with a Rubio, Lavine, Wiggins, Towns, and Dieng starting lineup and see what we have before tinkering. However, I get why Flip would be frustrated by Rubio's injuries and lack of shooting improvement.

PF? Dieng can play spot minutes there effectively but not as his primary position.

[The J Rocka]

I'm wondering if the Wolves are going to try and get the 4th pick and have the trade center around Rubio/Dieng.

Don't think the Wolves have anything worth the 4th pick to get it done, though.

Could you guys explain why Dieng's rim protection stats are weak? I actually had this perception that he is a good defender. Is it because of Flip's defensive schemes or the backcourt defense was a bit weak (LaVine was statistically ranked as the worst defensive PG in the league), therefore exerting extra pressure on your bigs?

Also wanted to ask if Gorgui can effectively play the PF position? Thanks in advance!

He still gets pushed around in the post, especially against bigger front-courts.

Also seems like he's in no man's land when he's out there at times, then other times, he's in the right place at the right time ready to block your shot. Very inconsistent in that regard. He's a better help defender than he is a one-on-one defender in the post.

No way he's a PF. He may have the size to be a PF, but he lacks lateral quickness.

[C.lupus]

I agree with both of the above posts. He was forced into a bigger role last year than he should have had playing with a bunch of rookies and D Leaguers. He was trying to do too much and ended up out of position a lot ( a lot of slow rotations and lack of communication). I think he has some good defensive skills but he needs to play with better defenders to let him focus on fewer things And, yeah, he struggles against bigger and stronger centers.

I disagree with those who say he regressed last year, though. I don't think he regressed, he just didn't progress as much as some wanted and anticipated. His shooting improved, his passing improved, and he cut down on his turnovers compared to his rookie season.

[Klomp]

I disagree with those who say he regressed last year, though. I don't think he regressed, he just didn't progress as much as some wanted and anticipated. His shooting improved, his passing improved, and he cut down on his turnovers compared to his rookie season.

Finally!

[Feilong]

I disagree with those who say he regressed last year, though. I don't think he regressed, he just didn't progress as much as some wanted and anticipated. His shooting improved, his passing improved, and he cut down on his turnovers compared to his rookie season.

This isn't exactly true. Besides the simple eye test, there are also the stats.
PER 36 his REB went from 13.2 to 10.0 (huge drop) despite playing most of the time as the solo big (due to injuries).
His BLK went from 2.2 to 2.1, and his TO fro 2.4 to 2.1 (more or less the same)
His AST went up from 1.7 to 2.4 (decent improvement).
His shooting stayed the same .498 to .506 and his points dropped a bit 12.6 to 11.7
The only big improvement he had was his FT% from 63 to 78%.

But if you consider that the first half of his rookie year he was absolutely terrible (just making 3-4 quick fouls and going to the bench), then the drop off between the 2nd half of his rookie year and his 2nd year is quite big.

[TRKO]

I disagree with those who say he regressed last year, though. I don't think he regressed, he just didn't progress as much as some wanted and anticipated. His shooting improved, his passing improved, and he cut down on his turnovers compared to his rookie season.

This isn't exactly true. Besides the simple eye test, there are also the stats.
PER 36 his REB went from 13.2 to 10.0 (huge drop) despite playing most of the time as the solo big (due to injuries).
His BLK went from 2.2 to 2.1, and his TO fro 2.4 to 2.1 (more or less the same)
His AST went up from 1.7 to 2.4 (decent improvement).
His shooting stayed the same .498 to .506 and his points dropped a bit 12.6 to 11.7
The only big improvement he had was his FT% from 63 to 78%.

But if you consider that the first half of his rookie year he was absolutely terrible (just making 3-4 quick fouls and going to the bench), then the drop off between the 2nd half of his rookie year and his 2nd year is quite big.

He went from playing 13 mpg to 30 mpg. When you are playing only 13 mpg you can play with more energy which can skew the per 36 number. When you are playing 30 mpg you have to play with endurance. I also think being the only big can really hurt your rebound totals because you have nobody helping you block out. You can't go by the per 36 or in college the per 40. This is what worries me a bit about Towns. He could play at a high energy rate because he had reinforcements where as Okafor was on a team with very limited depth. The Towns per 40 numbers look terrific, but can he play at that pace for a full game night in and night out? Maybe he can. I'm not going to say he can't, but I'm leery of just projecting his per 40 numbers just as much as I dislike projecting per 36 when a guy was only getting 13 mpg.

[Feilong]

He went from playing 13 mpg to 30 mpg. When you are playing only 13 mpg you can play with more energy which can skew the per 36 number. When you are playing 30 mpg you have to play with endurance. I also think being the only big can really hurt your rebound totals because you have nobody helping you block out. You can't go by the per 36 or in college the per 40. This is what worries me a bit about Towns. He could play at a high energy rate because he had reinforcements where as Okafor was on a team with very limited depth. The Towns per 40 numbers look terrific, but can he play at that pace for a full game night in and night out? Maybe he can. I'm not going to say he can't, but I'm leery of just projecting his per 40 numbers just as much as I dislike projecting per 36 when a guy was only getting 13 mpg.

Bla bla bla ...
If you for some reason don't like the PER36 comparison then go and check his stats from March and April (1st year) when he was playing similar (big) minutes and make a comparison with this year. Tell me what you found out.

[Klomp]

Bla bla bla ...

Quality retort.