Clippers trade 33rd Pick to New Orleans for 39 & 40. Select Stone and Michineau

[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/746178669928943616[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/746178975009996800[/tweet]
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[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/RowanKavner/status/746179857411866624[/tweet]

[Neddy]

damn, two power forwards in this year's draft?

Griffin on the trade block?

[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DanWoikeSports/status/746181613780774912[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/746181684786270208[/tweet]

[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/746181978018488322[/tweet]

[Neddy]

wow

[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/LawMurrayTheNU/status/746186075345825792[/tweet]

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I don't know much about the French PG but it's good if he can play D. Based on what I've heard and what I know I think Stone has been our best pick tonight.

[madmaxmedia]

wow

Wow good, wow bad, or just wow? I don't know these guys-

Forgetting the actual players, trading 33 for 39 and 40 seems like good value, for what it is...

[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/746204066812833793[/tweet]
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Draft Express - David Michineau
[tweet]https://twitter.com/DanWoikeSports/status/746189918662103040[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/latbbolch/status/746189194259628033[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/Diamond_Stone33/status/746185544627949568[/tweet]

[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/romanstubbs/status/746201776798334978[/tweet]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gw29HLSnjE[/youtube]
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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YisHnIc8GfQ[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB13783Gf4U[/youtube]

[mkwest]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Diamond_Stone33/status/746219662904426496[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/CarlLandry/status/746184862567129088[/tweet]

Clippers select North Carolina forward Brice Johnson with 25th pick, add French point guard, Maryland center

Michineau, a 22-year-old, 6-4 guard who played for the French team Chalon, is a bit of an unknown, ranked as the No. 85 overall prospect by DraftExpress. Still, the Clippers loved what they saw scouting him this summer, raving about his defensive intensity and athleticism.

Had the team not traded back, Rivers said Michineau likely would have been their pick at No. 32.

And by making the trade, the Clippers were able to add the 6-10 Stone, a top newcomer in the Big Ten this past season.

Stone (12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds) is gifted on the offensive end, scoring 39 points in a win over Penn State this past season. Rivers said his talent on that side of the ball was first round-worthy. The big question with the 19-year-old is on the defensive end, where he struggled.

Dan Woike, OC Register

[Neddy]

wow

Wow good, wow bad, or just wow? I don't know these guys-

Forgetting the actual players, trading 33 for 39 and 40 seems like good value, for what it is...

Wow that after all that talk Doc spitted out and spinned about trading up and getting guys who can help now, he actually traded down to get a back up PG and a C to go along with a PF. we still don't have a wing, which means Doc is hellbent about keepnig Green and he will start as our SF. grabbing a PG seems like he knows Austin ain't coming back with all the nepotism negativity (myself included) and a rookie backup C means bye bye Cole.

it is WOW our roster suddenly looks young by default. outside of the usual starters of CP-JJ-JG-BG-DJ, the backup units could comprise of the French Dave/Wilcox/Dawson/Brice/Diamond. that is a young 5 men bench. I am sure we will add a few more pieces and still a chance we bring back Austin( I am not excited but not terribly disappointed if it happens) or Jamal ( not particularly happy at all but as long as he comes cheap) and Pierce certainly may choose to come back, but what we have on paper right now begs the differ...

thus.... WOW.

[LACtdom]

wow

Wow good, wow bad, or just wow? I don't know these guys-

Forgetting the actual players, trading 33 for 39 and 40 seems like good value, for what it is...

Wow that after all that talk Doc spitted out and spinned about trading up and getting guys who can help now, he actually traded down to get a back up PG and a C to go along with a PF. we still don't have a wing, which means Doc is hellbent about keepnig Green and he will start as our SF. grabbing a PG seems like he knows Austin ain't coming back with all the nepotism negativity (myself included) and a rookie backup C means bye bye Cole.

it is WOW our roster suddenly looks young by default. outside of the usual starters of CP-JJ-JG-BG-DJ, the backup units could comprise of the French Dave/Wilcox/Dawson/Brice/Diamond. that is a young 5 men bench. I am sure we will add a few more pieces and still a chance we bring back Austin( I am not excited but not terribly disappointed if it happens) or Jamal ( not particularly happy at all but as long as he comes cheap) and Pierce certainly may choose to come back, but what we have on paper right now begs the differ...

thus.... WOW.

The off-season is still young, Doc will have plenty of moves up his sleeve (for better or for worse). I don't see Dawson or Dave getting any minutes. As a massive advocate of blooding rookies, even I don't particularly want those two getting much more than garbage minutes. Wilcox and Brice are the two I'm most eager to see on the court. I wouldn't have a problem with Pierce coming back IF Doc used him as a locker room influence / mentor, instead of a stadium builder throwing bricks everywhere.

[Neddy]

The off-season is still young, Doc will have plenty of moves up his sleeve (for better or for worse). I don't see Dawson or Dave getting any minutes. As a massive advocate of blooding rookies, even I don't particularly want those two getting much more than garbage minutes. Wilcox and Brice are the two I'm most eager to see on the court. I wouldn't have a problem with Pierce coming back IF Doc used him as a locker room influence / mentor, instead of a stadium builder throwing bricks everywhere.

yes it is. Im sure we will manage to find a few quality vets willing to sign the minimum deals for a chance to play for a contender. but just what kind of quality they will be, or if they can even match the last season's bench, is doubtful to me.

I personally think guys like Dawson and DIamond can have a much higher ceiling than their drafted positions if developed correctly. the answer to our problem of having doc as our headman of the clips, is that for big Steve to buy a developmental franchise and start stashing guys who needs playing time and more teaching. will it happen? I dunno. Steve has already spent a couple of billion for this team, whats a few more million to gain a D league team?

[mkwest]

33. Los Angeles Clippers (traded to New Orleans Pelicans)

Pick: Cheick Diallo, forward, Kansas

Grade: B

Analysis: Diallo had a disappointing freshman season at Kansas, but as a high motor, athletically gifted guy who can be versatile on both ends of the floor, the upside is there. He has a chance to learn from one of the best at the position in Anthony Davis, too.

39. New Orleans Pelicans (traded to Los Angeles Clippers)

Pick: David Michineau, guard, France

Grade: C-

Analysis: Don't expect to see much of Michineau — who averaged just 5.6 points on 43.4% shooting last season in France — on the floor for the Clippers any time soon.

40. New Orleans Pelicans (traded to Los Angeles Clippers)

Pick: Diamond Stone, forward, Maryland

Grade: B

Analysis: Stone has a lot of upside after one year in College Park, but his athleticism remains a question when progressing at the next level. But at 6-10, 250, and with a knack for physicality in the paint, the Clippers made the right choice.

AJ Neuharth-Keusch and Michael Singer, USA Today

[Ranma]

I've only done a cursory review of reference materials regarding our recent draftees, so I want to give my initial impressions on them in their respective dedicated threads. I'll start with our 39th overall pick, David Michineau, since there is the least amount of readily available information about him.

Michineau represents a real intriguing proposition as a project. He seems to have the size and athleticism of Keyon Dooling while possessing the speed and quickness of Eric Bledsoe. However, he lacks an outside shot as he'll unnecessarily shoot the ball off-balanced and even fadeaway for no real reason. Even Bledsoe was a good 3-point shooter from a set shot. While Michineau is supposedly equally adept at going either right or left on his drives, he finishes exclusively--not just predominantly--with his right hand based on the videos I've seen.

Doc described him as sort of a combo guard who is more of a PG than SG with "great feel". He even lauds him for his defense and speed, in particular. He seems like Doc's version of Tony Parker. Since Doc wants to follow in Gregg Popovich's footsteps, I hope he remembers that Pop actually played Parker through his growing pains where he eventually learned to finish at the rim with regularity.

I can actually see Michineau contributing as a defender next season and teaming with Austin Rivers to form a tenacious tandem in the backcourt as defensive stoppers off the bench. However, there is a good likelihood that Rivers will sign elsewhere just as Jamal Crawford will. Michineau doesn't look ready to be the backup point guard right now, but if Doc is open to playing him, he can progress similarly as Bledsoe did with Chris Paul as his mentor along with Doc's tutelage as a former point guard himself.

While it is unfair to expect Michineau to be an immediate contributor, I think it's fair to hold Doc accountable for this particular selection given that we traded back from 33rd overall to draft him. Doc said he likely would have taken him in the 2nd round even if we didn't trade back citing that "a lot of people liked him". Who exactly are these people? Were they from our internal evaluation team? Did Doc buy into the hype spread by agents and other team personnel with bad intentions?

The point is there is little excuse for Michineau not to work out given that--like when we took Brice Johnson 25th overall--there were plenty of other options available including Cheick Diallo, Patrick McCaw, Demetrius Jackson, or even Tyler Ulis among others. Doc stated he was sold on him, so I don't want to hear excuses if Michineau doesn't work out.

What intrigues me in particular besides Michineau's physical tool set, is that this is an opportunity for Doc to actually develop a rookie for the Clippers. Having Chris Paul take him under his wing will help, but David Michineau could really benefit if Doc provides him guidance along with playing time and the opportunity to grow. Again, Doc would need to follow Pop's playbook with Tony Parker. While there has been a surge of French players coming over and succeeding in the NBA recently (Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Gobert, etc.), Michineau didn't sound like he was getting much playing time over in his home country, so this is one time were apprenticing on the Clippers' bench would be the better alternative.

To be honest, I don't know what to expect from David Michineau but he represents a bit of a wildcard in that he possesses the physical tools to be a high-impact player, but his lack of polish and raw ability could go to waste without the proper development. It will be interesting to see him playing for the Clippers in Summer League while also seeing how our coaches develop him during the offseason. Doc stated that he expected both 2nd-round picks to make the team. While that is all well and good, we need them to contribute more than Branden Dawson has so far.

[Ranma]

It's funny that I find myself in contradictory position in defending and even advocating for the selection of Diamond Stone 40th overall in the draft as he represents a lot of what I don't like about certain athletes. Quake Griffin expressed his disdain when we drafted him citing his demeanor and lack of effort while at Maryland after spurning Quake's alma mater, Wisconsin. I, on the other hand, advocated for selecting Stone as a skilled big body with thuggish tendencies and attitude problems being worth the risk this far into the draft.

Ironically, I recall my previous discussion with Quake regarding alpha male athletes, specifically, Jordan Farmar. He advocated on behalf of Farmar arguing that such mindset provides motivation to succeed while I argued against stating the individual-over-team attitude would serve more as a detriment rather than the team benefiting from the individual's performance. In this case, I'll have to plead guilty in being a hypocrite.

I'm not saying I condone Stone's behavior or even like him. I just happen to think he represents a risk/reward proposition with a decent chance of paying off as a gamble to take in the 2nd round. Now this is even further egregious given that we had other options with Stephen Zimmerman, Ben Bentil, Zhou Qui, Demetrius Jackson, and others still on the draft board who all represented good value at that draft position. In fact, I think Stone is the most likely of our draftees to bust and that includes the raw Michineau from France.

Stone is a skilled big-body known for his offensive performance instead of his defensive prowess or even rebounding. He's physically imposing with thuggish tendencies despite not quite being a 7-footer. He seems to be active with his put-backs off missed attempts on the offensive end, but for a guy who supposedly excels offensively, he does seem to miss quite a bit on his 1st attempts around the basket. I'm not sure he can get away with that in the pros.

The troubling aspect to me about his game is his mindset. Despite being a poor defender and rebounder for his size, he seems more focused on expanding his perimeter game rather than addressing his defensive shortcomings. On top of that, he's had weight issues with the 2nd-highest body-fat percentage at the combine along with the 2nd-smallest hands by width.

Why, pray tell, would I want this guy on our team? I can't believe I'm saying this as Doc hasn't exactly gotten non-defenders to change their stripes, but I'm hopeful that Doc can convince him to put more effort into rebounding and defense. Despite the Trump-like hands, Stone does have a 7' 2.5" wingspan and 9' 0.5" standing reach. It's a matter of changing his mindset a bit. Stone is already a fairly physical player who provides a different look at center than DeAndre Jordan does since Stone is solid from the free-throw line and more adept in the post as an option on offense. He might even serve as an enforcer presence to deter opponents from taking liberties with Blake Griffin.

If Stone can't get his act together, then he'd be a fairly inexpensive throwaway pick since he was basically a throw-in for trading down from 33rd overall even if it did cost us the opportunity at those aforementioned prospects who were still available at the 40th overall selection slot.

Roman Stubbs, Washington Post (6/27/16)

Stone entered Thursday as a projected late-first- or early-second-round pick by a number of analysts, including Draft Express, which at one point in April had slotted the young center as high as No. 22 overall. While he faced questions about his maturity for much of the draft evaluation process, Stone’s stock also dipped somewhat after a quiet showing at the NBA draft combine in May, where he opted not to participate in the scrimmages and showed off extreme measurables. He was the heaviest player (254 pounds), had the second-highest body-fat percentage (12.5), the second-smallest hands by width (7 3/4 inches) and tied for the third-longest standing reach (9 feet 1/2 inch).

While Stone is a traditional back-to-the-basket center entering a league that has increasingly become guard-oriented, he nonetheless has an advanced offensive skill-set for his age. He slimmed down over the past two months while preparing for the draft at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and he made it clear in a number of interviews that he wanted to show off his ability to knock down jumpshots on the perimeter. Stone shot 56.8 percent from the field but rarely stepped outside of 15 feet on the offensive end, and while he is expected to continue blossoming as a low-post scorer at the next level, he plans to expand his range as he matures.

Diamond Stone Selected 40th Overall in the NBA Draft, Dealt to Clippers

[QRich3]

I hate this trade with a passion. I'm not the most knowledgeable guy on draft prospects and how they translate to the NBA, but my humble eye thought all of the guys picked from 33 to Machineau would be steals and will have a solid career. Diallo, Brogdon, Onuaku, McCaw, even Ulis, I liked them all a lot and see their game translating to the pros. Stone on the other hand, I'm not a fan at all. Machineau I have no clue about him tbh.

Let's hope I'm very wrong and can continue to distrust my scouting, cause I was really excited about both our draft picks and we got two of the guys that leave me the coldest.

[Ranma]

Peter Nygaard, UpsideMotor.com (1/22/16)

True to his name, Stone’s offensive game revolves primarily around his toughness. He is a bully when he wants to be, and his blend of brute strength and agility can make him difficult to contain once he gains any sort of inside position on his defender. Stone won’t leap out of the gym, but he does have a very quick second jump. He also has great hands for a player his size, which is especially important given that he does the majority of his work below the rim.

Combine those two attributes with his junkyard dog ferocity in the low post, and it’s little wonder why defenders can sometimes appear overmatched. It’s not uncommon to see Stone get two or three put-back attempts in a row because nobody can rip the ball away from him; the possession is either going to end in an easy bucket, free throws or both.

Of course, the flip side is Stone could stand to improve at finishing through contact. Longer defenders tend to give Stone trouble, given his below-the-rim nature, and opponents who are able to push back against his strength are able to keep him out of the areas in which he is most dangerous.
...

For a player with such tenacity inside the opponent’s paint, it’s downright weird to see Stone sleepwalk through rebounding opportunities on the defensive glass. Sometimes, he exhibits a complete disinterest in boxing out; other times, he seems to just kind of give up when he’s placed at a disadvantage.

Now, this is not always the case. When he’s dialed in, Stone uses that same bruising strength to claim ownership of the boards. But again, he’s 6-11 and 255 lbs. The fact that he’s posted five or more defensive rebounds in a game only three times this season would seem to be a red flag. On the positive side, his best rebounding performances have come since the new year, so there is some hope moving forward. But the effort needs to be far more consistent.

Diamond Stone Scouting Report: January 2016