Official #1 pick thread

[Arsenal]

Clevelands struggles stem far beyond LeBron.

There offense is stagnant, they don't move the ball, rely on isolation plays and lack depth.

They need a good coach and for LeBron to buy into it.

I agree with you. All the things you just mentioned are what I summed up as "LeBron ball". It won't get the job done unless you have an overwhelming talent advantage. It's just an inferior/less efficient/less effective way to play.

Unfortunately it's how LeBron wants to play. So I'd be surprised to see him buy into a GS/SA type of motion offense.

[sixers23]

Saric is better than lavine. He's gotten overrated bc of dunk contest. His rookie season was horrendous he improved sure but still has a long way to go

And your basing this off of what? Your projection from Turkey to the nba ?

Sure and my opinion of lavine

[Arsenal]

Let's all hope where we get to the point where we have to worry about Simmons being neutralized by Golden State while he's almost averaging a triple double.

Agree.

Nevertheless I think it's abundantly clear that "LeBron ball" is inferior to the modern motion offenses exemplified by GS and SA. It's no coincidence that those 2 teams will (soon) have won the last 3 championships while hammering LeBron's team in the finals.

It took peak LeBron, along with 2 other Hall of Famers in Wade and Bosh, plus an overall stacked team to steal the title in 2013 also, where they should have lost to SA as well.

Now that he's on the downslope, his style of ball isn't going to win against the western powers.

Let's not act like you can't win that way. OKC should have beaten GS and they play hero ball a lot. They have elite talent to do so. It's all about great players. Look at the best players. They make the final 4 regardless of style of play.

OKC has crazy talent, and yet they still choked it away when they should have won. I believe their reliance on ISO-ball (or what Charles Barkley called "Hero-ball" or I called "LeBron ball") makes them less successful than they would be with a GS/SA type offense. Now I'm not sure if Durant and/or Westbrook would buy into that type of offense as they both seem like Hero-ball type players also. It seems like Billy Donovan is trying to do that, but having mixed results.

[Ericb5]

I think that Saric is clearly ahead of Lavine value/potential wise. Saric was the better prospect then, and he has only gotten better.

The only argument for Lavine at this point is that he has played the last two years and Saric hasn't yet.


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I think that's a bit of a reach.

LaVine scored 14 ppg in under 30 mpg as a 20 year old, nearly 39% from 3 and is one of the most exciting high flyers in the league.

He's far from perfect, but he's a quick, athletic combo guard who can score and shoot from 3. That's valuable in the league.

Saric is a intriguing prospect as well and has improved while playing overseas but I fail to see how he's head aND shoulders above LaVine both in terms of a prospect and/or upside.


Given our current situation, I'd gladly trade Saric for LaVine.

I think that you overrate every prospect that has played in the NBA in comparison to ones that haven't.

Saric started out as the better prospect, and he has gotten a lot better since then.

Lavine has played well too, but I don't think he has played himself past Saric. Lavine hasn't outperformed his draft slot is another way of saying it.


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[Sixerscan]

Let's all hope where we get to the point where we have to worry about Simmons being neutralized by Golden State while he's almost averaging a triple double.

Agree.

Nevertheless I think it's abundantly clear that "LeBron ball" is inferior to the modern motion offenses exemplified by GS and SA. It's no coincidence that those 2 teams will (soon) have won the last 3 championships while hammering LeBron's team in the finals.

It took peak LeBron, along with 2 other Hall of Famers in Wade and Bosh, plus an overall stacked team to steal the title in 2013 also, where they should have lost to SA as well.

Now that he's on the downslope, his style of ball isn't going to win against the western powers.

wtf? those heat teams played excellent team ball. the main complaint about Lebron throughout his career is that he's too unselfish...

[Unbreakable99]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/nbacom/status/741727981916323840[/tweet]

[PhilasFinest]

I think that Saric is clearly ahead of Lavine value/potential wise. Saric was the better prospect then, and he has only gotten better.

The only argument for Lavine at this point is that he has played the last two years and Saric hasn't yet.


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I think that's a bit of a reach.

LaVine scored 14 ppg in under 30 mpg as a 20 year old, nearly 39% from 3 and is one of the most exciting high flyers in the league.

He's far from perfect, but he's a quick, athletic combo guard who can score and shoot from 3. That's valuable in the league.

Saric is a intriguing prospect as well and has improved while playing overseas but I fail to see how he's head aND shoulders above LaVine both in terms of a prospect and/or upside.


Given our current situation, I'd gladly trade Saric for LaVine.

I think that you overrate every prospect that has played in the NBA in comparison to ones that haven't.

Saric started out as the better prospect, and he has gotten a lot better since then.

Lavine has played well too, but I don't think he has played himself past Saric. Lavine hasn't outperformed his draft slot is another way of saying it.


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I
How hasn't Lavine outperformed his draft slot?
If there was a redraft, he would go at least top 10.

[CoreyGallagher]

(OT, lol)

http://nyloncalculus.com/2016/05/26/draft-projections-and-visualizing-predictors-for-the-2016-nba-draft/

Another predictive draft model, this one by Nylon Calculus.

[Ericb5]

I think that's a bit of a reach.

LaVine scored 14 ppg in under 30 mpg as a 20 year old, nearly 39% from 3 and is one of the most exciting high flyers in the league.

He's far from perfect, but he's a quick, athletic combo guard who can score and shoot from 3. That's valuable in the league.

Saric is a intriguing prospect as well and has improved while playing overseas but I fail to see how he's head aND shoulders above LaVine both in terms of a prospect and/or upside.


Given our current situation, I'd gladly trade Saric for LaVine.

I think that you overrate every prospect that has played in the NBA in comparison to ones that haven't.

Saric started out as the better prospect, and he has gotten a lot better since then.

Lavine has played well too, but I don't think he has played himself past Saric. Lavine hasn't outperformed his draft slot is another way of saying it.


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I
How hasn't Lavine outperformed his draft slot?
If there was a redraft, he would go at least top 10.

He would because a few of the guys ahead of him have underperformed.

Has Lavine surprised anyone? He has been so far what people thought that he was.


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[Ericb5]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/nbacom/status/741727981916323840[/tweet]

What is it with him where he has his shirt off all of the time? I would hate to be the guy guarding him in the post that would have to be slimed by him trying to back me down.


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[XtremeDunkz]

I think that you overrate every prospect that has played in the NBA in comparison to ones that haven't.

Saric started out as the better prospect, and he has gotten a lot better since then.

Lavine has played well too, but I don't think he has played himself past Saric. Lavine hasn't outperformed his draft slot is another way of saying it.


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I
How hasn't Lavine outperformed his draft slot?
If there was a redraft, he would go at least top 10.

He would because a few of the guys ahead of him have underperformed.

Has Lavine surprised anyone? He has been so far what people thought that he was.


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I have seen quite a bit of Lavine because I have been keeping up with Wiggins, and he just looks like your average scoring backup guard to me. His game won't age well. Saric will be better quickly and will have a better, longer career.

[Kobblehead]

Would you trade Saric for Lavine?

Yes. I value an offensively gifted guard that doesn't defend more valuable than an offensively gifted frontcourt player that can't defend.

Do you think Lavine is and will be he better player?

I don't think either player will rise too far above the other. I think they're both in that same tier. I see both as Top 8 rotation guys, whether being a fringe starter or the focal point of the 2nd unit.

Do you think Hinkie should have drafted Lavine or Saric?

I don't think Hinkie necessarily made a mistake passing on Lavine. Zach was a completely polarizing prospect. He could have easily been a bust.

However, I'm not sure Saric is a good enough player to have waited all these years for.

[Ericb5]

Would you trade Saric for Lavine?

Yes. I value an offensively gifted guard that doesn't defend more valuable than an offensively gifted frontcourt player that can't defend.

Do you think Lavine is and will be he better player?

I don't think either player will rise too far above the other. I think they're both in that same tier. I see both as Top 8 rotation guys, whether being a fringe starter or the focal point of the 2nd unit.

Do you think Hinkie should have drafted Lavine or Saric?

I don't think Hinkie necessarily made a mistake passing on Lavine. Zach was a completely polarizing prospect. He could have easily been a bust.

However, I'm not sure Saric is a good enough player to have waited all these years for.

We will have to see how good Saric looks when he comes, but you can't separate the other picks we got with him from that move.

I forget which second round pick we got from them, but it was either Holmes via the trade for McDaniels, or it was Grant.

The first round pick that we got back from the Magic was protected in some form, but it was still a first round pick that will eventually turn into a player.


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[HartfordWhalers]

I forget which second round pick we got from them, but it was either Holmes via the trade for McDaniels, or it was Grant.

The first round pick that we got back from the Magic was protected in some form, but it was still a first round pick that will eventually turn into a player.

It was 35, which was traded to the Knicks for 2 future 2nds and 1.5m cash.
It was protected down to top 8 in 2018, if not a 2nd or 2 (I could check).

[Unbreakable99]

Would you trade Saric for Lavine?

Yes. I value an offensively gifted guard that doesn't defend more valuable than an offensively gifted frontcourt player that can't defend.

Do you think Lavine is and will be he better player?

I don't think either player will rise too far above the other. I think they're both in that same tier. I see both as Top 8 rotation guys, whether being a fringe starter or the focal point of the 2nd unit.

Do you think Hinkie should have drafted Lavine or Saric?

I don't think Hinkie necessarily made a mistake passing on Lavine. Zach was a completely polarizing prospect. He could have easily been a bust.

However, I'm not sure Saric is a good enough player to have waited all these years for.

We will have to see how good Saric looks when he comes, but you can't separate the other picks we got with him from that move.

I forget which second round pick we got from them, but it was either Holmes via the trade for McDaniels, or it was Grant.

The first round pick that we got back from the Magic was protected in some form, but it was still a first round pick that will eventually turn into a player.

Hinkie could have drafted Lavine if he wanted to. Lavine was drafted 13th.

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[Unbreakable99]

Would you trade Saric for Lavine?

Yes. I value an offensively gifted guard that doesn't defend more valuable than an offensively gifted frontcourt player that can't defend.

Do you think Lavine is and will be he better player?

I don't think either player will rise too far above the other. I think they're both in that same tier. I see both as Top 8 rotation guys, whether being a fringe starter or the focal point of the 2nd unit.

Do you think Hinkie should have drafted Lavine or Saric?

I don't think Hinkie necessarily made a mistake passing on Lavine. Zach was a completely polarizing prospect. He could have easily been a bust.

However, I'm not sure Saric is a good enough player to have waited all these years for.

We will have to see how good Saric looks when he comes, but you can't separate the other picks we got with him from that move.

I forget which second round pick we got from them, but it was either Holmes via the trade for McDaniels, or it was Grant.

The first round pick that we got back from the Magic was protected in some form, but it was still a first round pick that will eventually turn into a player.


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Hinkie could have drafted Lavine if he wanted to. Lavine was drafted 13th.

[Ericb5]

Yes. I value an offensively gifted guard that doesn't defend more valuable than an offensively gifted frontcourt player that can't defend.




I don't think either player will rise too far above the other. I think they're both in that same tier. I see both as Top 8 rotation guys, whether being a fringe starter or the focal point of the 2nd unit.




I don't think Hinkie necessarily made a mistake passing on Lavine. Zach was a completely polarizing prospect. He could have easily been a bust.

However, I'm not sure Saric is a good enough player to have waited all these years for.

We will have to see how good Saric looks when he comes, but you can't separate the other picks we got with him from that move.

I forget which second round pick we got from them, but it was either Holmes via the trade for McDaniels, or it was Grant.

The first round pick that we got back from the Magic was protected in some form, but it was still a first round pick that will eventually turn into a player.


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Hinkie could have drafted Lavine if he wanted to. Lavine was drafted 13th.

True, but getting Saric at 12 was the value play given his talent, and was a prime motivator of the deal imo.

He was in the same tier with Randle and Smart


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[76ciology]

Let's all hope where we get to the point where we have to worry about Simmons being neutralized by Golden State while he's almost averaging a triple double.

Agree.

Nevertheless I think it's abundantly clear that "LeBron ball" is inferior to the modern motion offenses exemplified by GS and SA. It's no coincidence that those 2 teams will (soon) have won the last 3 championships while hammering LeBron's team in the finals.

It took peak LeBron, along with 2 other Hall of Famers in Wade and Bosh, plus an overall stacked team to steal the title in 2013 also, where they should have lost to SA as well.

Now that he's on the downslope, his style of ball isn't going to win against the western powers.

Let's not act like you can't win that way. OKC should have beaten GS and they play hero ball a lot. They have elite talent to do so. It's all about great players. Look at the best players. They make the final 4 regardless of style of play.

Yeah, you need enough firepower to stay with the top teams. It's the coach's job to find ways to find the edge and ways to pullaway.

For Cavs, they clearly lacked depth and they don't have much option on offense. LBJ and Kyrie interchange between iso and spot up shooter while Love have not much use except being a spot up shooter.

It's a game of match-ups, you need counters since there will be team who can neutralize your strength. If they sag off you, you need to be able to shoot. If they deny you the ball, then you need to cut to the basket. If they play small, you need to punish their smaller defenders.

Cavs just have one identity. They don't have much counters.

If you watch game 6 and 7 of OKC-Warriors, OKC also suffered the same faith with Cavs. GSW just have the extra gear to stop Iso ball, thanks to their position less inclined defense, no defensive liability and good individual defenders like Iggy and Draymond.

When the defense has length to switch every screens and be effective against iso ball against good perimeter players, you know what would have been useful? Low post offense from bigs against smaller defenders. My guess is Pop knew this, thus the LMA signing (LMA shot .57+TS% on Play-offs btw). That is something Cavs and Thunders don't have. It would then force Warriors to play big, that limits the exposure of their deathball line-up.

[kriss73]

[youtube]https://youtu.be/-7iy6PahN4E[/youtube]

Nice!
If we had lost the 2 games vs Twolves in 2015, they could have played together next year.
KAT is a beast by the way.

[Easymoney]

It would be nice to have drafted Towns, but I''m happy with what we got.

I'm not convinced that he's a significantly better player than Okafor and i'm not convinced that he'll be the better player in 6 years.