The #2 Pick

[Michael Lucky]

Russell's sports science clip is on page 75 of this thread.

dear lord, shows how much i've been paying attention.

[Sedale Threatt]

Chris Paul can barely jump and he's only the best pure PG in the NBA. So that means F all...

At any rate, apologies if this has been posted, but I thought these were interesting. Anonymous scout's take on the top three guys. Nothing really new.

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/06/22/2015-nba-draft-scouting-reports-jahlil-okafor-karl-towns-emmanuel-mudiay

Okafor: My biggest issue with him is conditioning. He’s never been in shape anywhere. He’s a good post defender, but he’s not great laterally. A beast physically. He’s a terrific passer when he’s doubled. I thought he would have been a better rebounder. He predetermines a lot of his moves in the post, but he’s bigger and stronger so he gets away with it. Defensively, he’s not a real presence at the rim. I’m sure he’ll work on his free throw shooting, but many bigs have improved on that?

Towns: I’d take him No. 1. He’s a great player on both ends. There’s a huge gap between him and Okafor defensively. Towns can stretch out to the three, but Okafor only plays inside. I don’t know that he’ll be a dominant player on the block like Okafor will be.

Russell: He’s amazing. He’s the best passer in the draft. I hear people say he’s going to be challenged a little bit athletically—so challenged that he’s not going to get past pick No. 3 or 4 in the draft. He just has a magical feel about the game. Beautiful vision, great understanding of what he’s trying to accomplish. He’s not a great shooter yet, but he has a chance to be.

[Sedale Threatt]

"Magical" passer with a chance to be a great shooter...man, that's tough to pass up.

[crazyeights]

I can't wait until tomorrow. I'll be happy with any of the top 3 prospects. Man, we're lucky to have kept the pick and jumped the lottery.

Going to be fascinating to see the direction of this team in 28 hours.

[PKABOOICU]

"Magical" passer with a chance to be a great shooter...man, that's tough to pass up.

I'm telling you man...hes going to be a hybrid of both ginobili and harden.
hardens shot (same shooting form as well) (about the same defense)
ginobilis vision

both, harden and ginobili are the craftiest players I've ever seen...russell would be just that. its really hard to pass him up...

i don't know, maybe the lakers can draft him at 2, forcing philly to take okafor, and then hoping marc gasol comes to LA...thats a lot to ask for....on the flip, I'm so intrigued by okafors inside game, thats just too hard to pass up. He's going to be a good player, but he won't be a franchise changing big man; and that is the type of potential i see in russell. i honestly think he's going to be the best player in 5-6 years. I'm torn

[PKABOOICU]

He may be... I find the 'trade rubio' rumors interesting. I definitely could see the Wolves take Russel and trade Rubio...

I've thought about that scenario as well. But I think they are pretty high on Zach Lavine running the point. I highly doubt they draft anybody but KAT.

KAT/lavine/wiggins puts them on the developmental path of the okc thunder via drafts....they'll be young, athletic, and very good...the one thing okc lacked was a legit post presence, and KAT provides that...hell, okafor would be even better at that.

[ROballer]

GIVE

ME

RUSSELL



I just have a gut feeling we're gonna regret this draft if we don't pick him ...Okafor will be more than solid, but I have a feeling about D' Angelo that I just can't get from Jahlil

[Rosque]

GIVE

ME

RUSSELL



I just have a gut feeling we're gonna regret this draft if we don't pick him ...Okafor will be more than solid, but I have a feeling about D' Angelo that I just can't get from Jahlil

This. I was all in on Jahlil...then last few days I like Russell more and more.

[crazyeights]

Don't underestimate what Jahlil's passing out of the post will do to an NBA offense. Give him with a shooter like Wes Matthews and that pairing alone creates so much spacing for Randle and Clarkson.

[Sedale Threatt]

"Magical" passer with a chance to be a great shooter...man, that's tough to pass up.

I'm telling you man...hes going to be a hybrid of both ginobili and harden.
hardens shot (same shooting form as well) (about the same defense)
ginobilis vision

both, harden and ginobili are the craftiest players I've ever seen...russell would be just that. its really hard to pass him up...

i don't know, maybe the lakers can draft him at 2, forcing philly to take okafor, and then hoping marc gasol comes to LA...thats a lot to ask for....on the flip, I'm so intrigued by okafors inside game, thats just too hard to pass up. He's going to be a good player, but he won't be a franchise changing big man; and that is the type of potential i see in russell. i honestly think he's going to be the best player in 5-6 years. I'm torn

I feel the same way. Some of the passes he makes just drop your jaw. Add 38-40 pct 3-point shooting to that, and you've got an absolute monster. I wouldn't be 100 percent confident, but I'm taking Russell if it's up to me. I'd feel less apprehensive about passing up Okafor than I would him.

It's pretty much consensus that Okafor is going to be a load on the block; add the passing, and that's a huge weapon. But the free throw shooting and defense really give me pause. I've been thinking the exact same thing as this scout: How often do you see guys really improve in that area? Off the top of my head I can think of Karl Malone, who might have been the hardest worker in NBA history, and maybe Tim Duncan. But it's a short list. Unless you're such a freak that it doesn't really matter, like Shaq, that can really limit your impact.

I don't know, I've been really looking at Russell, and then to hear what West said, that pretty much clinches it for me.

[Sedale Threatt]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MySportsLegion/status/613802679941378050[/tweet]

[moonpie]

#Hustle4Russell

[crazyeights]

Okafor: My biggest issue with him is conditioning. He’s never been in shape anywhere. He’s a good post defender, but he’s not great laterally. A beast physically. He’s a terrific passer when he’s doubled. I thought he would have been a better rebounder. He predetermines a lot of his moves in the post, but he’s bigger and stronger so he gets away with it. Defensively, he’s not a real presence at the rim. I’m sure he’ll work on his free throw shooting, but many bigs have improved on that?

Look back a few pages, you'll see that Okafor's made a ton of strides in his conditioning and athleticism over the past 3 months.

[Sedale Threatt]

Okafor: My biggest issue with him is conditioning. He’s never been in shape anywhere. He’s a good post defender, but he’s not great laterally. A beast physically. He’s a terrific passer when he’s doubled. I thought he would have been a better rebounder. He predetermines a lot of his moves in the post, but he’s bigger and stronger so he gets away with it. Defensively, he’s not a real presence at the rim. I’m sure he’ll work on his free throw shooting, but many bigs have improved on that?

Look back a few pages, you'll see that Okafor's made a ton of strides in his conditioning and athleticism over the past 3 months.

As he should with a multi-million dollar payday coming. I suppose the question then would be, can he keep it up? (No idea either way; maybe he'll turn into a fitness freak like Malone.)

Also, you realize this is a scout saying this not me, correct?

[crazyeights]

Okafor: My biggest issue with him is conditioning. He’s never been in shape anywhere. He’s a good post defender, but he’s not great laterally. A beast physically. He’s a terrific passer when he’s doubled. I thought he would have been a better rebounder. He predetermines a lot of his moves in the post, but he’s bigger and stronger so he gets away with it. Defensively, he’s not a real presence at the rim. I’m sure he’ll work on his free throw shooting, but many bigs have improved on that?

Look back a few pages, you'll see that Okafor's made a ton of strides in his conditioning and athleticism over the past 3 months.

Ah, my bad, just re-read your post. I will say it's pretty dismissive of the scout to think a dude is going to just get fat and lazy when he's won everywhere he's been. Okafor is going to be a top 3 pick even if he sat on his ass after winning the championship.

These kids are just beginning to be professionals (finally able to devote their lives to basketball full-time). I think it's a good sign that he's in the best shape of his life to start off.

The good news is drive should be an easy thing to snuff out after multiple workouts/conversations with the kid.

To me the pick between Okafor and Russell will come down to whoever has the "it" factor. I trust Mitch knows that when he sees it.

[Mindflayer]

I'd choose Mudiay. I'll be happy with Okafor, Russell, or even a small trade down. Just don't draft Prozingis with the #2.

[sixerhp3]

Sorry to interrupt but does anyone have proof that jerry west said those things about russell? I looked it up and found nothing.. Hope you guys don't pick him lol

[john248]

I will trust Jerry if he wasn't connected to any team. Did he have a lie detector strapped to him when he said that? We are still no match for the dubs right now I agree..what I did say is that can they still stop a dominant center (if Okafor develops)when they still play small ball? Lebron had his way in the final did he?

You must be big on wacky conspiracy theories.

"Magical" passer with a chance to be a great shooter...man, that's tough to pass up.

I'm telling you man...hes going to be a hybrid of both ginobili and harden.
hardens shot (same shooting form as well) (about the same defense)
ginobilis vision

both, harden and ginobili are the craftiest players I've ever seen...russell would be just that. its really hard to pass him up...

i don't know, maybe the lakers can draft him at 2, forcing philly to take okafor, and then hoping marc gasol comes to LA...thats a lot to ask for....on the flip, I'm so intrigued by okafors inside game, thats just too hard to pass up. He's going to be a good player, but he won't be a franchise changing big man; and that is the type of potential i see in russell. i honestly think he's going to be the best player in 5-6 years. I'm torn

If Russell can be anything like a 35 mpg version of Ginobili, that would be something truly special since Ginobili is also a good off-ball player.

I've been waivering between Russell and Okafor with the slightest of edge to Okafor. I've talked a bunch of crap about Okafor, primarily his defense, and that it's just simply harder to build a team around him. I don't think people really understand the latter. Okafor's man defense in the post may be sufficient, but I doubt he'll ever be a rim protector. He's not good laterally, so he doesn't cover a lot of ground on defense which means he may never be good defending pick-n-rolls. He may become marginally quicker with his lateral movements with improved conditioning, but that's about it. Expecting him to understand angles and see plays develop before him on the defensive end is unrealistic since it's extremely rare for this to happen.

So this leads to building a team around him. Finding a 2nd big who is a good defender and can space the floor is tough to find, and due to that, such a player is very expensive. Randle just might not be the long term solution here if Okafor is drafted. Just to use the Clippers as an example, they've only been middle of the league in overall defense and protecting the paint over the years with DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffen; these are 2 guys who in comparison to Randle and Okafor are better defenders. Watching the Clippers, we never see DAJ step out and ice the PnR which was a problem and something we definately won't see Okafor do too. It's also the reason why people feed DAJ is an overrated defender. But the point is, I expect much of the same problems with the Okafor and Randle pairing except worse since Okafor cannot help from the weak side, and his defensive rebounding is also poor. He's been a guy who's been disinterested in defense, and years from now, we can point to his year at Duke when he's jogging back on defense.

This also means trying to build an offense around him. It is correct to say that the league has gone with a more perimeter approach and that there aren't as many talented low post bigs today. No argument there. But the league still hasn't quite figured out what to do with someone like Okafor and even Cousins on how to maximize their offensive abilities other than how the Spurs have used Duncan in the last several years. With defenses today, it's far easier to provide help defense on a low post player than ever before which takes away some of their value. The Lakers would also need to find a head coach or offensive assistant who will be able to utilize Okafor in a way that best gets the offense going as a while. Byron Scott isn't that guy, but I think most of us know that he's just going to be here for another season before being dumped. In the end, I think Okafor may be worth the pick or has the edge, but A LOT of things need to fall into place in order for it to work or else it just might not ever. Being a 1 way player severely limits things.

So the safe pick and possibly the most rewarding is selecting Russell. He has all the makings to be a very good player in this league. Going with Russell will likely be the easier road to a championship team since may already fill the role of a scoring and playmaking perimeter player which is absolutely essential to such a team. As long as he can turn the corner coming off screens, he'll he great in this league. If he can't, then things become limited for him which is where the athleticism concerns start to hit. I'm not as concerned here as much since he can handle the ball but has to improve in that area. GInobili has a great 1st step; Russell not so much.

[semi-sentient]

Sign me up for the Russell bandwagon. Really like this kid's potential, and I'm more of a sucker for guards anyway.

Go after Asik this off-season to provide some interior defense, let Russell and Randle mature a little (and hopefully work on their defense), then next season bring in Durant to seal the deal after the younglings have themselves a solid year of NBA experience.

[ArC_man]

If the Logo says so.