Draft Thread Part 2

[bwgood77]

I'm assuming you mean defensive potential, because Brown wasn't near the defender that he has been made out to be in college and those projections are coming from his measurables, which are all the same as Archie's +2 inches across the board. Archie was also known for his finishing ability in college, slashing was pretty much his only strength at Kentucky, just like Brown at California.

The only real difference between them as prospects is that Brown has an NBA-ready body and is supposedly more coachable than Goodwin was. Both of them had a low basketball IQ coming out of college, poor jump shots, average ball handling skills, and an overall mediocre feel for the game.

Yes, Brown is all about measurables. He didn't live up to any hype yet was still cocky in interviewers turning teams off. I'd consider him at 28 or 34 if he was there though.

I would take a stab at Brown at #13 if we got Bender with #4 and re-sign Mirza, although if Luwawu, Chriss, Davis, or Skal were there I'd still prefer them over him.

I'm starting to think Boston will take Bender. Interesting write up here...probably just a fan, but shows a video of his best game this year...

http://www.causewaystreetblog.com/2016/05/dragan-bender-will-he-be-3rd-overall.html

Dragan Bender is an 18 year old freak of nature that is turning heads in Israel for his current club Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Right now, he is only playing right around 13 minutes per game, but the tape on him when he does get some run is very impressive. Last year in the Addidas Euro Showcase Game, he was voted MVP and got his hype train started. He was only 17 at the time.

Bender has numerous strengths such as versatility, size, and speed. He is probably the most impressive ball handler at his size, that I've seen since Kevin Durant was at Texas. He is also lightning quick running the floor with or without the ball. Bender has the size of the prototypical stretch four in today's NBA but almost looks more comfortable as a wing. He has a crazy long wingspan and is able to defend the wing with ease.

Bender's offensive game is predicated on driving to the hoop and finishing in the fast break, but he has developed a very smooth 3-point shot He is also an extremely polished passer as a big man which proves his competency as a ball handler.

In this video, Bender probably had his best game in his breif stint at Maccabi Tel-Aviv. He put up 15 points and his versatility is on display.

Pretty impressive display of his offensive potential in this clip. He nails two three-balls and you get a sense for his willingness to get out in transition, which I think will be one of his major strengths in the NBA.

Now being 18 years old, he does have a growing list of weaknesses that some scouts are ripping him for. His strength won't cut it on the next level. I think he would definitely struggle if he was forced to use his size down low but putting on more muscle would be a part of his development.

One of his biggest knocks is his lack of raw athleticism. He isn't going to jump out of the gym any time soon, but has at his size, he has enough speed and footwork to make up for what he is lacking in other areas.

Overall, I am extremely impressed with Dragan Bender. I do not think that he will be able to contribute in year one quite like Porzingis did, but I am very confident that he will develop into a player that has the same effect on the game.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Random Stat - Bender commits 6 fouls every 33 minutes and has made 4 FGs in his last 6 games.

[saintEscaton]

Holy hyperbole Batman.... Bender is a friggin' third string who couldn't even crack the rotation of a Tel Avivi team that get relegated down to Eurocup.But I know the usual excuse of "why would a club give me serious burn when he's gunna just leave anyway"

[bwgood77]

Interesting video of some analysts doing a mock.....if you watch this video, there is a short stupid one with Ainge, but wait until the second one starts.....when they get to 3, one guy says he thinks Philly will offer up Okafor for #3 and Philly will take Dunn to pair with Simmons. The other guy says they take Murray.

I paused the video to post the link here, but now am going to continue to see what they say about the Suns.

http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/ainge-allowed-myself-get-my-hopes-second

Well, I guess since it's Boston guys doing the mock, they stop at 3.

[LukasBMW]

So I gotta say, just watching highlight tapes of Chriss and Bender, I get way more excited about Chriss.

Chriss seems faster, more athletic, more natural, and is a athletic FREAK. His outside shot is not as pretty, but it falls. He might not be as good of a passer, but who cares when you can finish in traffic with power.

If Boston takes Bender at 3, I love Chriss at 4.

[darealjuice]

I'm starting to think Boston will take Bender. Interesting write up here...probably just a fan, but shows a video of his best game this year...

http://www.causewaystreetblog.com/2016/05/dragan-bender-will-he-be-3rd-overall.html

Dragan Bender is an 18 year old freak of nature that is turning heads in Israel for his current club Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Right now, he is only playing right around 13 minutes per game, but the tape on him when he does get some run is very impressive. Last year in the Addidas Euro Showcase Game, he was voted MVP and got his hype train started. He was only 17 at the time.

Bender has numerous strengths such as versatility, size, and speed. He is probably the most impressive ball handler at his size, that I've seen since Kevin Durant was at Texas. He is also lightning quick running the floor with or without the ball. Bender has the size of the prototypical stretch four in today's NBA but almost looks more comfortable as a wing. He has a crazy long wingspan and is able to defend the wing with ease.

Bender's offensive game is predicated on driving to the hoop and finishing in the fast break, but he has developed a very smooth 3-point shot He is also an extremely polished passer as a big man which proves his competency as a ball handler.

In this video, Bender probably had his best game in his breif stint at Maccabi Tel-Aviv. He put up 15 points and his versatility is on display.

Pretty impressive display of his offensive potential in this clip. He nails two three-balls and you get a sense for his willingness to get out in transition, which I think will be one of his major strengths in the NBA.

Now being 18 years old, he does have a growing list of weaknesses that some scouts are ripping him for. His strength won't cut it on the next level. I think he would definitely struggle if he was forced to use his size down low but putting on more muscle would be a part of his development.

One of his biggest knocks is his lack of raw athleticism. He isn't going to jump out of the gym any time soon, but has at his size, he has enough speed and footwork to make up for what he is lacking in other areas.

Overall, I am extremely impressed with Dragan Bender. I do not think that he will be able to contribute in year one quite like Porzingis did, but I am very confident that he will develop into a player that has the same effect on the game.

I think they will unless they are able to package their picks and a player for Jimmy Butler or DeMarcus Cousins. He fits a long-term need for their team at the 4 and will arguably be the best prospect available at the 3rd pick. Murray could be in play, but I don't think he's shown enough ability running the point to be considered a real combo guard there, and playing him and IT together would be a disaster waiting to happen on defense.

I'm having a real tough time with who would be our best option if Bender is off the board at 4, and I'm not even high on Bender. Trading back is the obvious option but it seems like a lot of teams will could looking to move back, and I know some people here want BPA but we really, really don't need another combo/shooting guard and that's all there is.

[bwgood77]

Holy hyperbole Batman.... Bender is a friggin' third string who couldn't even crack the rotation of a Tel Avivi team that get relegated down to Eurocup.But I know the usual excuse of "why would a club give me serious burn when he's gunna just leave anyway"

You had him what was it, 5 or 6 on your big board? That is the best league in the world outside the NBA that they got relegated from for the first time, so they pulled a Phx Suns and played the vets to try and get back to the promise land. Though I guess you are right that what would be the point in playing him to develop him if he is leaving anyway?

[saintEscaton]

Its should be Dunn. Send Bledsoe packing and salvage some value out of him before his knee inevitably gives out

[Mulhollanddrive]

Another Interesting Stat:

Danny Ainge has never selected an international player in the first round in 13 years.

and

10 out of 16 of his first round selections have been Guards.

[bwgood77]

So I gotta say, just watching highlight tapes of Chriss and Bender, I get way more excited about Chriss.

Chriss seems faster, more athletic, more natural, and is a athletic FREAK. His outside shot is not as pretty, but it falls. He might not be as good of a passer, but who cares when you can finish in traffic with power.

If Boston takes Bender at 3, I love Chriss at 4.

Yeah, Chriss is exciting to watch. The shot blocking and ability to hit 3s plus his athleticism is crazy. Of course these are two of the biggest boom/bust guys in the draft (unless you think Brown has a chance to boom).

[LukasBMW]

Regarding #13,

Why did Skal end up in coach Cal's doghouse? Given the relationship the Suns have with Kentucky, I'm sure we have the inside track.

If coach Cal doesn't have any damning evidence and his private workout was as good as rumored, I'd say not only take him at #13, but maybe consider packaging #28 and #13 to make sure we can get him at 8-12.

[bwgood77]

Another Interesting Stat - Danny Ainge has never selected an international player in the first round in 13 years.

Yeah, I guess he went and watched him back late in 2015 when he killed it...I was just reading some interesting discussion about it on a Celtics message board. http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=80801.0

[bwgood77]

Regarding #13,

Why did Skal end up in coach Cal's doghouse? Given the relationship the Suns have with Kentucky, I'm sure we have the inside track.

If coach Cal doesn't have any damning evidence and his private workout was as good as rumored, I'd say not only take him at #13, but maybe consider packaging #28 and #13 to make sure we can get him at 8-12.

It's funny, I was reading Ford's mock earlier and he said something like "if Skal hits his upside, he could become the next Channing Frye".

[bwgood77]

Random Stat - Bender commits 6 fouls every 33 minutes and has made 4 FGs in his last 6 games.

Yeah, almost as bad as Chriss and Brown with the fouls, though it was in a tougher league...yeah, I'm a PAC12 fan but gotta be honest.

[saintEscaton]

Regarding #13,

Why did Skal end up in coach Cal's doghouse? Given the relationship the Suns have with Kentucky, I'm sure we have the inside track.

If coach Cal doesn't have any damning evidence and his private workout was as good as rumored, I'd say not only take him at #13, but maybe consider packaging #28 and #13 to make sure we can get him at 8-12.

It's funny, I was reading Ford's mock earlier and he said something like "if Skal hits his upside, he could become the next Channing Frye".

because cal was trying to turn skal into a physical banger but he has no functional upper body strength to hold his own down low so that experiment was set up to fail. also foul trouble basically took him out games in the first half.Channing Fre was a 4 year player and never put the block numbers Skal did

[darealjuice]

I'm starting to think I'd be happier with

4th Pick: Marquese Chriss
13th Pick: Timothe Luwawu/Skal Labissiere/Henry Ellenson/Deyonta Davis/Furkan Korkmaz

than

4th Pick: Jaylen Brown
13th Pick: The scraps of Marquese Chriss/Skal Labissiere/Henry Ellenson/Deyonta Davis/Domantas Sabonis

I know 4th is a reach for Chriss, and ideally we'd be able to trade back to get him. I just don't see Brown as being that much further ahead of Chriss as a basketball player and prefer Chriss's measurables, skillset, and upside to Brown's. They're both project players in the end, Chriss just feels like the better project to me. Feel free to call me a loon though.

[saintEscaton]

This class is such a crapshoot I'm having a hard time even ranking by tiers, the drop off is immense

[letsgosuns]

I wonder if there is a chance the Suns can be part of a three way trade where they end up with the first or second pick of the draft.

[saintEscaton]

I wonder if there is a chance the Suns can be part of a three way trade where they end up with the first or second pick of the draft.

That ménage à trois is just as likely to happen as the one I'm dreaming about right now

[bwgood77]

This class is such a crapshoot I'm having a hard time even ranking by tiers, the drop off is immense

Well, you probably don't have to worry about McD taking Bender as a lame duck GM and him and Sarver wanting to compete now. We will take a guy more ready to contribute so he can hopefully keep his job. As a retort one Boston fan said to another one not wanting Bender because of his stats and that he might not contribute immediately, the guy replied "ok, then never complain that we took Olynyk over Giannis."

So we will go with the safe pick, whatever they consider that to be.

And to add to that, I think Ainge and Stevens are probably more realistic that they are not as close as they appear, and would be more inclined to take the risk and long term upside of Bender.