2016 NBA DRAFT NIGHT THREAD

[NavLDO]

kinda wish we had taken Felder instead of Ulis...seems like he does everything better with more upside

I disagree. He's Older, not as good of a shooter, and has lower A/TO numbers, yet similar PPR numbers.

Let me ask you this-were Ulis 177 lbs, and Felder 149, would you still feel the same? Yes, he had an insane Vertical, but Ulis had an insane Lane Agility Drill (10.80 vs Felder's 11.52). The other two (3/4 sprint and shuttle run were nearly identical).

Ulis had an RSCI of 18...Felder's?? Non-existant. So to recognize that Ulis, at 5'10" was 'recruited' that heavily, and played on Kentucky, vice Oakland, leads me to believe differently regarding which has the higher upside.

So Ulis has the higher upside, IMO, whereas Felder is more ready to contribute right away.

[SkinnyOMiller]

Ulis reminds me of Russell Wilson when he was drafted. Practically everyone agreed that the guy was a top 1st round talent, that he had all the skills to play in the league but "oh, only if he was a few inches taller." I expect him to be a pretty good backup PG at minimum.

[BobbieL]

Ulis reminds me of Russell Wilson when he was drafted. Practically everyone agreed that the guy was a top 1st round talent, that he had all the skills to play in the league but "oh, only if he was a few inches taller." I expect him to be a pretty good backup PG at minimum.

Gambo -(he had a good night actually on twitter) - mentioned Ulis as being like JJ Barea. Can't guard anybody but also tough to guard

So use him wisely ; understand some nights he might get on a roll scoring and passing; other nights, the opponent will take advantage of his size.

[NavLDO]

Salary Cap:
Bledsoe 14
Knight 13
Chandler 12
Tucker 5
Len 5
Bender 3
Booker 2
Chriss 2
Warren 2
Goodwin 2
Ulis 1
Total = 11 players @ 61m
Space = 4 players @ 32m

I wonder if we target an experienced PF for 1-2 years to help teach Bender and Chriss.

I hope they re-sign Teletovic AND Leuer, but if we have to choose one ove rthe other, I believe Leuer is more versatile, he's definitely younger, and IMO as good, or nearly as good, of a 3PT shooter.

[Qwigglez]

Watch when Ulis has a late growth spurt. Grows 3 inches over the summer.

In all seriousness all three draft picks need to hit the weights immediately. A solid three months in the gym should give them enough time to beef up.

[Cactus Jack]

Just thinking about the Kings. If you're a fan, how could you be motivated to watch next season? No player will be signing there despite their cap space. If this were the Suns draft, I'd probably not waste money on league pass this year.
I am totally cool with losing but when you know you have the worst owner in the league (maybe all of sports?) and a GM who is obsessed with foreign players, why watch?
Players won't go there and no matter what pick they have in the draft, they will botch it. If they had the #1, they probably trade out of it for future picks & draft someone expected to go late first round.

I'm not even a fan of them and it makes me so irate thinking about that mess. I guess, as a fan, you probably would rather take that then lose your team to Seattle but it makes you wonder what could have been.

I'm still bitter about the Kings ordeal. them. I hope they always suck.

[BobbieL]

Salary Cap:
Bledsoe 14
Knight 13
Chandler 12
Tucker 5
Len 5
Bender 3
Booker 2
Chriss 2
Warren 2
Goodwin 2
Ulis 1
Total = 11 players @ 61m
Space = 4 players @ 32m

I wonder if we target an experienced PF for 1-2 years to help teach Bender and Chriss.

I hope they re-sign Teletovic AND Leuer, but if we have to choose one ove rthe other, I believe Leuer is more versatile, he's definitely younger, and IMO as good, or nearly as good, of a 3PT shooter.

I just don't think Teletovic is worth 12m plus per year. I think that is more "starter" money. Already have Knight off the bench for 14m;
Tucker might be off the bench

Barnes might be more affordable now

[Cactus Jack]

Ulis reminds me of Russell Wilson when he was drafted. Practically everyone agreed that the guy was a top 1st round talent, that he had all the skills to play in the league but "oh, only if he was a few inches taller." I expect him to be a pretty good backup PG at minimum.

Throwing out Russell references. I like it.

[Cactus Jack]

So who were all the members of the Buddy Brigade again? I want their feelings/take on the draft because i remember hearing a lot from them leading up to the draft.......

They're all over on the NOP board, telling them how awesome they are going to be next year!

[WeekapaugGroove]

It's more Ulis weight than height that concerns me. At 150 he's one of the lightest players of the modern era NBA and those lighter like bogues and Boykin were shorter and thicker. Now he's only 20 and most likely will put on some much needed muscle. As I mentioned last night I doubt he could ever be a starter on a playoff team because certain matchups like say Westbrook wouldn't be doable for long stretches. But he definitely could be a backup pg and spark plug off the bench. He's a decent 3 point shooter but needs to really refine that part of his game because if teams have to stay up on him respecting his shot then it will open up drive and kick opportunities.

[NavLDO]

I can't believe Denver got Jamal Murray, Hernangomez, Beasley and Cornelie

They had one hell of a draft.

It will be interesting to see how they build their team. They're in a very similar situation as the Suns, a lot of young talent and some total question marks on big contracts. If Chandler can come back strong, Gallo stays healthy, Barton plays like he did last year, and Faried rounds into form, they can make some noise in the West.

If their youth takes some big steps, they could be a 6 seed.

Not sold on their draft, actually. I think Murray will have to be 'hidden' on Defense. Hernangomez, to me, was a mid-20s value, not mid-teens. Same with Beasley, but even more so, like a late 20s-ish value. To me, Cornelie was their best value, as I saw him as a 'first 10 picks' of the 2nd Rd-type.

So while I like three of their players, the more I read up on Jamal Murray, the more concerned I got for his NBA prospects.

His release point is very low, making it easy to get his shot blocked. And he can't finish at the rim. His Wingspan of 6' 6.5" is a full 2" shorter than Booker's, and Booker's was considered to be extremely limited. Murray simply did not get it done at PG in College. Maybe that changes in the NBA, but that's a risk. And if it doesn't, they have a 6' 4.25" SG prospect.

Anyway, I know it's a biased view, but I would've been exteely disappointed with Murray as a selection for us as time went by. Early on (last month), I was a supporter, but over the past 2 weeks, my view changed.

[bwgood77]

Chriss is a weird guy:

Asked about being selected by Phoenix - "I'm fine with it".
How was the workout in Phoenix - "Good weather and nice hotel".

Totally serious answers lol.

I was wondering if Chriss would be a little letdown not to go 4, not just another PF going instead where he wanted to go and losing the money, but then going there also where they already just drafted a PF.

[RaisingArizona]

So who were all the members of the Buddy Brigade again? I want their feelings/take on the draft because i remember hearing a lot from them leading up to the draft.......

They're all over on the NOP board, telling them how awesome they are going to be next year!

Yeah, I still think Buddy will win ROY. Doesn't mean I don't like what we did.

[bwgood77]

I had a dream last night we drafted both Bender and Chriss, then woke up to find out it was not a dream Went to bed thinking about the draft because it was the first time we actually traded up to get a good player, not 42 to 35 or 29 to 28 and I was totally shocked and excited.

Don't know what these guys are going to turn out to be, be we all can have a reasonable level of excitement considering we have a long player and an athletic player which we have not had in a long time minus Len.

I know BW is probably still running around like an 8 year old on Christmas day

No, but I still couldn't go to sleep until well after 4 and then woke up to 35 notifications.

[bwgood77]

Best drafting teams in the McDonough era:

Dunn, Lavine, Wiggins, Muhammad, Dieng, Towns
Simmons, Okafor, Noel, Embiid
Booker, Warren, Chriss, Bender, Len

I'd love to get another 1-2 elite picks (I'm not sure we have our no.1 superstar yet) and then go head to head with these mid-market teams who built through the draft for the next decade, similar to GS and OKC.

I'm already checking for PGs in the lottery next year as the two high level protypes we probably need in the 18-23 core still are a PG and then a defensive SF.

Difference is, Mc'D had to be crafty and good. Those other guys just got super high picks year after year, hell, Philly has two number 1's in there as does Minny.

Go watch some Markelle Fultz.

[gaspar]

Tjarks:

At no. 4, the Suns had the most fascinating decision in the draft. Needing a power forward of the future, they had an important decision to make between Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender, two of the youngest players in the draft, with floors and ceilings as distant as Seattle is to Tel Aviv. In the end, they couldn’t choose. So they got both. After taking Bender with the fourth pick, they flipped the no. 13 and no. 28 picks, along with Bogdan Bogdanovic (a late first-round pick from 2014), to Sacramento for the rights to Chriss, who was selected at no. 8. Ryan McDonough went straight at the fork in the road, and the Suns are suddenly one of the most fascinating young teams in the NBA.

While drafting two young players at the same position can often lead to disaster, the versatility of Chriss and Bender means the Suns’ gamble has a real chance at working out. At 7-foot-1, Bender has a legitimate 3-point stroke, the passing ability of a guard, and the athleticism to slide among three positions on both sides of the ball. Chriss, meanwhile, is the best athlete in the draft, and he should thrive catching alley-oops from Eric Bledsoe and playing high-low with Bender. At this stage in their careers, the formula for both young men is to get out and run, and they are in a perfect place to do that in Phoenix.

While both prospects will need time to develop, the Suns’ front line is clearly in flux, and it’s unclear what this means for the long-term future of Tyson Chandler and Alex Len. Chandler was an expensive bust in his first year after signing a $52 million contract, and there doesn’t appear to be much of a place for him on a rebuilding team, although his locker-room leadership could benefit the Suns’ cadre of young men. Len, meanwhile, has shown flashes of greatness but never put it all together in the three seasons since the Suns selected him at no. 5. Either way, there’s enough young talent in Phoenix for the team to be considered an NBA League Pass favorite. Draft hipsters have a new favorite team.

[darealjuice]

Best drafting teams in the McDonough era:

Dunn, Lavine, Wiggins, Muhammad, Dieng, Towns
Simmons, Okafor, Noel, Embiid
Booker, Warren, Chriss, Bender, Len

I'd love to get another 1-2 elite picks (I'm not sure we have our no.1 superstar yet) and then go head to head with these mid-market teams who built through the draft for the next decade, similar to GS and OKC.

I'm already checking for PGs in the lottery next year as the two high level protypes we probably need in the 18-23 core still are a PG and then a defensive SF.

Difference is, Mc'D had to be crafty and good. Those other guys just got super high picks year after year, hell, Philly has two number 1's in there as does Minny.

Go watch some Markelle Fultz.

That kid is going to tear up the Pac 12 next year

[saintEscaton]

Difference is, Mc'D had to be crafty and good. Those other guys just got super high picks year after year, hell, Philly has two number 1's in there as does Minny.

Go watch some Markelle Fultz.

That kid is going to tear up the Pac 12 next year

No way UDub underachieves again with him

[dremill24]

I can't believe Denver got Jamal Murray, Hernangomez, Beasley and Cornelie

They had one hell of a draft.

It will be interesting to see how they build their team. They're in a very similar situation as the Suns, a lot of young talent and some total question marks on big contracts. If Chandler can come back strong, Gallo stays healthy, Barton plays like he did last year, and Faried rounds into form, they can make some noise in the West.

If their youth takes some big steps, they could be a 6 seed.

Not sold on their draft, actually. I think Murray will have to be 'hidden' on Defense. Hernangomez, to me, was a mid-20s value, not mid-teens. Same with Beasley, but even more so, like a late 20s-ish value. To me, Cornelie was their best value, as I saw him as a 'first 10 picks' of the 2nd Rd-type.

So while I like three of their players, the more I read up on Jamal Murray, the more concerned I got for his NBA prospects.

His release point is very low, making it easy to get his shot blocked. And he can't finish at the rim. His Wingspan of 6' 6.5" is a full 2" shorter than Booker's, and Booker's was considered to be extremely limited. Murray simply did not get it done at PF in College. Maybe that changes in the NBA, but that's a risk. And if it doesn't, they have a 6' 4.25" SG prospect.

Anyway, I know it's a biased view, but I would've been exteely disappointed with Murray as a selection for us as time went by. Early on (last month), I was a supporter, but over the past 2 weeks, my view changed.

Murray is a perfect complement to Mudiay (theoretically). Of course, it would be nice if he were 6'7" with elite athleticism and defensive ability, but guys like that dont exactly grow on trees, do they? Theoretically, you want 2way guards with size and no weaknesses, but in reality, youre going to have an imperfect guy that should be paired with another imperfect guy who can offset the other's weaknesses. Mudiay doesnt shoot well? Put him next to a shooter. Murray doesnt defend well? Put him next to a defender. Guess what they did...

And can we stop acting like 6'4"-6'5" is so drastically undersized for a 2? When you go 10 years of talent infusion and a large portion of the SGs are that size..it becomes the norm. The only big minute 2s i can think of (off the top of my head) who have a +3" advantage on a 6'5" SG are Rodney Hood and Andre Roberson. If we're talking about a 1"-2" difference in height..are you really at THAT much of a disadvantage?

[bwgood77]

Ulis reminds me of Russell Wilson when he was drafted. Practically everyone agreed that the guy was a top 1st round talent, that he had all the skills to play in the league but "oh, only if he was a few inches taller." I expect him to be a pretty good backup PG at minimum.

Gambo -(he had a good night actually on twitter) - mentioned Ulis as being like JJ Barea. Can't guard anybody but also tough to guard

So use him wisely ; understand some nights he might get on a roll scoring and passing; other nights, the opponent will take advantage of his size.

Well size will be a problem but he was SEC defensive player of the year.