Thank Nation! Raps pick 9th - Draft on June 23rd 8pm (Part 7)

[nabbs]

I just watched some Kentucky games and watched Skal through the entirety of the games (Full games, not highlights, which 90% of you are basing your analysis on). I tried to watch games where he struggled, not the one where he dominated against division 2 schools. A few things stuck out:


- he showed flashes of what he could be. A very mobile big who can step out and really stroke it. It's incredible the way he moves and his upside his hard to throw away, despite his struggles during the college season.

- the criticism of his rebounding is valid, but from the game footage I saw, he doesn't seem to be lacking effort. He does fight for boards, is just that he gets bullied around by bigger opponents. I envision him improving drastically with added strength


- the biggest concern for me is his defense. He has the mobility and quickness to switch on smaller guards and whatnot. The awareness and IQ just isn't there. This is expected from a guy who has only been playing for a few year. There were times where he would switch on the PnR and the guard would recover but he was just a little late getting back. Coach cal would bench him if he made just one mistake. The guy was really harsh with him and it didn't seem like he really instilled confidence in him.


All these things to me can be improved. A few years with our developmental staff and our strength training coach and I can envision this guy becoming a legit starter in 2-3 years.

[MavCarter]

Anyone else feel like if bos/phx pass on bender he could fall to 9? I'm hoping sac takes sabonis or baldwin with their pick

[Troubadour]

What would you all think of this trade?

HOU Receives
Bebe
#9

TOR Receives
Capela
#37

Then we draft Guerschon Yabusele (#27) and Dorian Finney-Smith (#37).

Lowry / Joseph / Wright
DeRozan / Powell
Carroll / Ross / Finney-Smith / Caboclo
Patterson / Yabusele
Valanciunas / Capela

[thunderforce]

NEW DRAFTEXPRESS MOCK DRAFT - SOUND THE ALARM

Has us taking...
9. Jakob Poeltl
27. DeAndre Bembry

NEW NBADRAFT MOCK DRAFT - SOUND THE ALARM

Has us taking...
9. Maquese Chriss
27. Thon Maker

That would be an A grade draft in my books.

With that draft you stand a good chance of getting nothing for both picks . If you are going to roll the dice just do it on the 27th pick . Poeltl is going to be a beast .

[MavCarter]

What would you all think of this trade?

HOU Receives
Bebe
#9

TOR Receives
Capela
#37

Then we draft Guerschon Yabusele (#27) and Dorian Finney-Smith (#37).

Lowry / Joseph / Wright
DeRozan / Powell
Carroll / Ross / Finney-Smith / Caboclo
Patterson / Yabusele
Valanciunas / Capela

This is a pretty terrible trade for us lol

[TheGoodDoctor]

Imo Skal can become a fairly good and serviceable player BUT I really, really don't see any star potential to him anymore.

He would need to DRASTICALLY improve his offensive arsenal in terms of his ballhandling and creativity.

Right now (again) he's Channing Frye that block shots better. Literally 95+% of his offence is a spot up jumper or a play where he takes a single dribble and shoots or perhaps the occasional jump hook. He's far too predictable and basically would operate the same way Patterson does now but with better shot blocking but not near the same level of overall awareness. I believe that can improve so again he can clearly be a better version of Frye but it's his offensive ability that really cools me off on his potential.

Right now he's a richman's Frye but I'd pray to develop him into a poorman's Turner but there's a lot of work in between those two. As a stretch 4, Skal has to get more comfortable putting the ball on the floor so he's not so predictable with his spot up jumpers and then add some creativity with fakes, foot work and being able to use angles and positioning. He essentially would need to do what DeRozan has done but as a big man and that's a very tough task. I'll still take him over Poeltl or Sabonis because right now they are all projecting as role playing big men but atleast Skal is a shot blocker and has a lot more upside.

[Kevin Willis]

A lot of sites have us taking Dejounte now. Not sure why we would do that.

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

New Chad Ford mock draft has us taking Dejounte Murray.

He claims his range is 8-14 and that the Kings have also shown interest.

Chad Ford's relentless pushing of DeJounte Murray makes it seems like he's being paid by someone. Who's DeJounte's agent?

Rich Paul. Figures.

[gerrit4]

Anyone else feel like if bos/phx pass on bender he could fall to 9? I'm hoping sac takes sabonis or baldwin with their pick

It would definitely be interesting - Bender is really the perfect fit for us, and he's got a ton of potential. I think a guy like that would have better opportunities here than someone like Murray, Buddy or Dunn, so it would be incredible if he dropped.

[Tortiglioni]

Really interesting comparison of analytics models/rankings: http://www.tothemean.com/tools/draft-models/#/2016/dv2/all

Analytics consensus rankings:
1. Simmons
2. Ingram
3. Poeltl
4. Murray
5. Sabonis

14. Stone (as high as 5 on one board)

[thunderforce]

Really interesting comparison of analytics models/rankings: http://www.tothemean.com/tools/draft-models/#/2016/dv2/all

Analytics consensus rankings:
1. Simmons
2. Ingram
3. Poeltl
4. Murray
5. Sabonis

14. Stone (as high as 5 on one board)

That is more close to what Masai would be following . BPA will be Poeltl .

[fame]

Really interesting comparison of analytics models/rankings: http://www.tothemean.com/tools/draft-models/#/2016/dv2/all

Analytics consensus rankings:
1. Simmons
2. Ingram
3. Poeltl
4. Murray
5. Sabonis

14. Stone (as high as 5 on one board)

That is more close to what Masai would be following . BPA will be Poeltl .

Been saying this for a while. All analytics point to Poeltl being one of the better players in this draft. Combined with his size and skill I'm finding very difficult to believe anyone else is the "the best player available".

In my mind this draft should be considered a top 9 not a top 8.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Really interesting comparison of analytics models/rankings: http://www.tothemean.com/tools/draft-models/#/2016/dv2/all

Analytics consensus rankings:
1. Simmons
2. Ingram
3. Poeltl
4. Murray
5. Sabonis

14. Stone (as high as 5 on one board)

That is more close to what Masai would be following . BPA will be Poeltl .

Maybe, if you look at 2015 they have Portis ahead of Wright and their 2013 projections look freaking awful two years later. Unless you believe Marcus Smart is a superstar.

I like Sabonis quite a bit, but Masai had better not be going off stats alone.

[Mister Ze]

Anyone else feel like if bos/phx pass on bender he could fall to 9? I'm hoping sac takes sabonis or baldwin with their pick

I'm starting to think Bender falls outside the top 6 for sure, but he seems like a great fit for Denver and the Kings.

He'd fit in well on both teams, the Nuggets could finally move Faried who they've been shopping for a year. The Kings get a high ceiling big for Cousins to co-exist with.

Sabonis - low ceiling , safe bet, immediate impact. Bender - complete opposite of Sabonis

[CoachJReturns]

I would love to walk away with Poeltl + Prince/Jackson.

I'm not a big fan of Poetl, but getting 2 rotation players on rookie contracts would definitely be a nice haul. Jackson is an outstanding athlete and may make a better pro than he he was a college player. He's not much of a passing point guard, but if he could play beside Cojo and Delon that would let him play off ball where he's a better shooter.

[super_balls]

Anyone else feel like if bos/phx pass on bender he could fall to 9? I'm hoping sac takes sabonis or baldwin with their pick

I'm starting to think Bender falls outside the top 6 for sure, but he seems like a great fit for Denver and the Kings.

He'd fit in well on both teams, the Nuggets could finally move Faried who they've been shopping for a year. The Kings get a high ceiling big for Cousins to co-exist with.

Sabonis - low ceiling , safe bet, immediate impact. Bender - complete opposite of Sabonis

Kings already have WCS and Cousins. I can see them going after Sabonis or a guard like DeJounte Murray or Baldwin. I am worried about Nuggets though.

[CoachJReturns]

Really interesting comparison of analytics models/rankings: http://www.tothemean.com/tools/draft-models/#/2016/dv2/all

Analytics consensus rankings:
1. Simmons
2. Ingram
3. Poeltl
4. Murray
5. Sabonis

14. Stone (as high as 5 on one board)

That is more close to what Masai would be following . BPA will be Poeltl .

But this isn't college ball and the analytics are often very misleading. If analytics were the key factor, my personal pick last year Delon, would be an all-star as a rookie. He was that good.


Been saying this for a while. All analytics point to Poeltl being one of the better players in this draft. Combined with his size and skill I'm finding very difficult to believe anyone else is the "the best player available".

In my mind this draft should be considered a top 9 not a top 8.

[CoachJReturns]

Anyone else feel like if bos/phx pass on bender he could fall to 9? I'm hoping sac takes sabonis or baldwin with their pick

I'm starting to think Bender falls outside the top 6 for sure, but he seems like a great fit for Denver and the Kings.

He'd fit in well on both teams, the Nuggets could finally move Faried who they've been shopping for a year. The Kings get a high ceiling big for Cousins to co-exist with.

Sabonis - low ceiling , safe bet, immediate impact. Bender - complete opposite of Sabonis

Kings already have WCS and Cousins. I can see them going after Sabonis or a guard like DeJounte Murray or Baldwin. I am worried about Nuggets though.

Denver has been drafting and developing really well as of late, so they're definitely a team that could ruin our night.

[Agimat]

I get a strong feeling we will be picking Korkmaz at 9 then Diamond Stone at 27.

[sweetcity]

Poetl is easily BPA. If we can get Bender though you have to swing for the fences. His athleticism is insane for this size. Pau Gasol with a J.