Official Draft Thread 2015-16

[No-Man]

In this draft he could most certainly be a value pick on the right team from 12-18 - you can't ignore total team construct. Some teams are 2-3 years into core rotations in that range.

I have no problem with 12-18 in this class for him, I have a problem with top5-10, and I think anybody that consider that he has the skills to go 3 is a maniac.

Best case scenario for him is a Wes Matthews without the defense and strength, that is half of what Matthews does, so meh, he is closer to be a well-rounded Jodie Meeks/Wayne Ellington than anything, anybody projecting him as a guy that is going to play with the ball in his hands and start pick&rolls or create his own shot regularly is in my mind bound for disappointment.

[Shamrock]

Favorite trait with Dunn is his aggressiveness. He's got some fire in him. Simmons and Ingram are creampuffs

[Yunsen]

Brought up Sabonis once in this thread earlier in the season. Unless Gonzaga goes to the Final Four or something and he plays even greater than he has in the tournament so far, he should be close enough to the Mavs pick where we can either draft him with it or trade it and lesser picks for him. I'm sure a lot of this board has doubts about drafting another Gonzaga player after Olynyk but he's a different player. Sabonis has always known what type of player he was going to be unlike Olynyk who was a SG until late in High School. He's a big energy dude that knows what he's doing (if a little reckless) where Olynyk is slower and overthinks a lot. Even in Denver he played 36/40 minutes (the last 2 or so on the bench in garbage time) constantly running for position, manning up every time against Poeltl. Poeltl only played 24 minutes (most in the 2nd half since he was in foul trouble in the first) and kept gassing hard. Sabonis could bring the energy this team seriously lacks. Biggest issue for him will be bulking up so he can outmuscle PF's and most C's and I don't know if his 3 point shot will ever be good, but he's not bad from 15-20 feet.

Sorry for the completely biased homer view.

[165bows]

@ByJayKing: Kelly Olynyk assured me Sabonis would have 20 and 10 for Gonzaga tonight. Not a bad prediction. He finished with 19 and 10.

[No-Man]

Sabonis is good, what is limiting him from been a starting big prospect is his shooting, if he gets 3pt range he is going to be a stud, he is athletic, aggressive, smart, tireless motor, and can really move his feet.
The issue is that he doesnt have length to be a rim protector, but he moves well and anticipate so if you have strong perimeter D you can survive with him at the 5 for some minutes.
Still would be ideal for him to add range and be able to play traditional PF, switching to C for smallball purposes.

I think just outside the lotto is good for him, Denver probably would be all over him with their two picks around that range, and their need at PF.

[Setshot33]

Danny says he's looking for transcendental players.

I see none in this draft.

[Gant]

Danny says he's looking for transcendental players.

I see none in this draft.

I think he said he was looking for transcendent players. Transcendental players are much rarer.

Bill Walton was both.

[ddb]

Ingram is going to be a star. So will Simmons. Maybe Dunn

[Setshot33]

Ingram is going to be a star. So will Simmons. Maybe Dunn

Disagree on Simmons.

Guy has no fire in him. We already have one of those players (Olynyk) here and that's one too many.

If you're gonna spend a high pick on a guy, you'd like for him to be confident enough to assert himself.

[Marley2Hendrix]

I know RJ has had a lot of moments where he inexplicably looks lost at times (the ball bouncing off his head, ugh), but the heady defense he has displayed at times (good rotations and sneaky length to get steals) is what I expect from Ingram on the defensive side as a rookie. At this point, I'm all in hoping to sneak up with the BKN pick (and looking better with PHO possible at the 4th worst record). If a trade doesn't emerge, I'm all over Ingram, and I wouldn't mind Sabonis at all with the DAL pick (or Dal + slight trade up).

[ddb]

Ingram is going to be a star. So will Simmons. Maybe Dunn

Disagree on Simmons.

Guy has no fire in him. We already have one of those players (Olynyk) here and that's one too many.

If you're gonna spend a high pick on a guy, you'd like for him to be confident enough to assert himself.

He made a bad choice going to LSU. Moving on....the pro game is where he will excel. Obviously needs to extend his range, but he is already great in certain areas such as rebounding, transition game, playmaking, and finishing with both hands around the rim.
He is a huge point guard essentially that will guard SF's and PFs. Versatile. Gonna be very good.
With that said, Ingram is the 1 out of 2 that really improved and stepped up down the stretch. I see Ingram as the #1 pick in a lot of situations.

[ddb]

Random draft notes..

#1-If Skal declares I still expect him to go fairly high. Top 10 for sure. In a draft thats weak on depth, a team in mid to late lottery will gamble on him.

#2- Dunn is for real. Murray will likely go higher because he is 3 years younger, but Dunn is plug n play and could be electric in the right situation.

#3-sticking with Providence, Ben Bentil will go mid first round if he declares. Great motor, good improvement to his game. Strikes me as a guy that will impress in workouts.

#4-I want nothing to do with Poeltl. Stay away Danny!!

#5- For a team that can be patient, Ivan Rabb is going to be a great pick.

#6- I hear Philly wants to make an Anthony Davis play if they land #1 or 2. Could get real if they get Lakers pick too.
Okafor, #1, #4 or #5 for Davis.

[KGboss]

Random draft notes..

#1-If Skal declares I still expect him to go fairly high. Top 10 for sure. In a draft thats weak on depth, a team in mid to late lottery will gamble on him.

#2- Dunn is for real. Murray will likely go higher because he is 3 years younger, but Dunn is plug n play and could be electric in the right situation.

#3-sticking with Providence, Ben Bentil will go mid first round if he declares. Great motor, good improvement to his game. Strikes me as a guy that will impress in workouts.

#4-I want nothing to do with Poeltl. Stay away Danny!!

#5- For a team that can be patient, Ivan Rabb is going to be a great pick.

#6- I hear Philly wants to make an Anthony Davis play if they land #1 or 2. Could get real if they get Lakers pick too.
Okafor, #1, #4 or #5 for Davis.

I would do #6 if I was new orleans. That's a great haul and I think AD is overrated.

[SmartWentCrazy]

If (when?) we pick a combo guard in round 1, I really hope Danny picks one that can actually shoot.

Dunn is a good player, but he definitely disappeared at times this season. Yes, there were injury concerns, but a guy with his talent/experience should've dominated his conference and he did not do so.

Murray had a worse tournament, for sure, but he carried that Kentucky team in conference play and can shoot lights out. He was the first Calipari player since DaJuan Wagner to average over 20 a game, and showed excellent growth from the beginning of the year to the end. Maybe it's because I'm tired of watching Smart shoot brick after brick beyond the arc, but the prospect of actually getting a great shooter is very appealing to me.

[Murta]

#4-I want nothing to do with Poeltl. Stay away Danny!!

#5- For a team that can be patient, Ivan Rabb is going to be a great pick.

#4 Jonathan Tjarks made a very nice point on yesterday's Basketball Insiders podcast that Poetl is in an ideal situation for him with coach Krystkowiak who's much better than most NCAA coaches, spacing around him and being focal point of the offense, he's concerned Poetl is overrated compared to the rest of the draft and that in the NBA the situation won't be as good for JP.

#5 Could you elaborate on this, specifically what "great pick" means? Compared to the rest of the draft, I do think Rabb could be one of the higher value for pick players in long term, although I currently see him as Vonleh who also has nice physical elements, good defense, pretty stats, but just isn't ready for the NBA game because neither has Drummond-like physical presence to compensate for lack of polish.

[Cornbread]

I think teams would be crazy to take Murray over Dunn.

At this point I would be thrilled with Ingram or Simmons and I'd be very happy with Bender or Dunn.

Brown, Murray, Hield, and Rabb are the third tier and I'd only really feel good about then if I was a team picking 7-10. I'm close to the point where I would add Skal Labissier to this group.

A guy I think is underrated is Deyonta Davis. I could see him ending up better than 2-3 of the guys in tier three.

I also think Ulis should be a top 15 guy, but I don't think he will be.

I'm hoping for Simmons, Ingram, Bender or Dunn with the BKN pick and Skal or Davis with the DAL pick. If it isn't Dunn with the BKN pick than I'd like Ulis with the BOS pick.

[Gant]

I think teams would be crazy to take Murray over Dunn.

At this point I would be thrilled with Ingram or Simmons and I'd be very happy with Bender or Dunn.

Brown, Murray, Hield, and Rabb are the third tier and I'd only really feel good about then if I was a team picking 7-10. I'm close to the point where I would add Skal Labissier to this group.

A guy I think is underrated is Deyonta Davis. I could see him ending up better than 2-3 of the guys in tier three.

I also think Ulis should be a top 15 guy, but I don't think he will be.

I'm hoping for Simmons, Ingram, Bender or Dunn with the BKN pick and Skal or Davis with the DAL pick.

Agreed, everywhere. I like Davis a lot too.

[Gant]

Continuing the never ending quest to get the Celtics a tall guy, here's the all or nothing pick: Jonathan Jeanne. 7'2" tall without shoes. 7'7" wingspan. Incredibly long, skinny, and light. Also very young. Runs the floor and moves really well.

He's either the next Gobert or the next Saer Sene. He's the perfect Euro-stash as he should not try the NBA for a few years.

It's unclear if he'll be in the draft in 2016 or 2017. If it's 2016 the Celtics have some picks to experiment with.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jonathan-Jeanne-73326/https//t.co/9OgvdZ6a3s

http://www.nbadraftroom.com/2016/02/jonathan-jeanne.html

[SmartWentCrazy]

Ingram is going to be a star. So will Simmons. Maybe Dunn

Disagree on Simmons.

Guy has no fire in him. We already have one of those players (Olynyk) here and that's one too many.

If you're gonna spend a high pick on a guy, you'd like for him to be confident enough to assert himself.

The guy got 11 FTA's a game in conference play. If that's not trying to assert yourself, then nothing is.

It's pretty obvious some of you didn't watch many LSU games this year-- his team was full of selfish, crappy chuckers who looked Simmons off constantly and bricked open looks that he fed them. If he picked a better team, like Duke or Oklahoma, he would be the undisputed #1 pick.

The criticism against his shot is 100% real-- it's broken and I doubt he'll ever put up more than 20 PPG in his prime. But he will be deadly in transition from day one and, if put into a role where he's not asked to be a scorer, he will help a team win games from the get go. Comparing him to Kelly Olynyk is laughable.

[Duke4life831]

Ingram highlights from Thursday's game

[youtube]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma4yrIykNLI[/youtube]