Official 2017 Draft Thread - Something Positive To Look Forward To

[DayofMourning]

Does Boston have space. They could just absorb right?

[DayofMourning]

Top recruiting classes per nbadraft.net:

http://www.nbadraft.net/top-ten-2016-17-ncaa-recruiting-classes

I like Kentucky's class a lot, but the depth of Duke's class is hard to ignore. Giles is a wildcard still, and I'm not a huge Tatum supporter, but I like Frank and Bolden as pieces to a possible championship team.

[QUIZ]

I usually like Draftexpress a lot more, but they have Josh Jackson at #4 which I find strangely low.

Anyway we only see the real mocks starting to shape out after they play a few games in college. Very hard to notice some things before that.

Whoever we get, I think we should go after a bonafide scorer, a ~20 PPG freshman. Our entire young core is full of great defenders, but none are a #1 first option. we can cover for a really talented aggressive scorer, and we already have the passing and shooting to surround him with. we need a high level creator.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INRZE4mmp-8[/youtube]

Thoughts?

Could be a sleeper star in this upcoming draft.

[IggieCC]

I usually like Draftexpress a lot more, but they have Josh Jackson at #4 which I find strangely low.

Anyway we only see the real mocks starting to shape out after they play a few games in college. Very hard to notice some things before that.

Whoever we get, I think we should go after a bonafide scorer, a ~20 PPG freshman. Our entire young core is full of great defenders, but none are a #1 first option. we can cover for a really talented aggressive scorer, and we already have the passing and shooting to surround him with. we need a high level creator.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INRZE4mmp-8[/youtube]

Thoughts?

Could be a sleeper star in this upcoming draft.

We gotta get on this guy QUIZ Def. tank worthy we need to keep our wins to 12-14 for this guy I bet.

I feel like Rex will be all over this guy all year because of his strengths (tall, skinny, white, shooting, deceptively quick) but we must keep it low key about this guy so that we can draft him

[RexBoyWonder]

Jesus Christ not again.............................................

[QUIZ]

It just showed up in my YouTube recommendations out of nowhere. I haven't even been watching basketball videos as of late. It's fate no other way to explain it.

[dancing2thabeet]

God help us all

[Myam333]

It just showed up in my YouTube recommendations out of nowhere. I haven't even been watching basketball videos as of late. It's fate no other way to explain it.

Google is spying on you outside of youtube.

[DayofMourning]

Some quality prospects (not 2017 draftees though) on deck at 815 tonight, in the U18 FIBA championship:

https://www.youtube.com/FIBA

Edit-Apparently Fultz will be on display. Bamba is worth watching this for alone. He's a big time prospect for the 2018 draft.

[DayofMourning]

Fultz looking good tonight.

[PizzaLord305]

But really, what spots do y'all think we could possibly end up drafting in? I'm going to say, i think we can end up anywhere from 16-23. AT WORST, 13 - 15.

As much as some of y'all want to get your tank party going, there's too much talent on this team to be that bad. Dragic is a very good point guard, we have a trio of do it all high energy young players who love to play defense and have legitimate two-way talent, hassan is one of the most talented big men in the nba and can take it to another level if he's willing to commit mentally and pay attention to detail, and we have a top 7 coach. Also, we can't rule out the potential impact of one of the best two way players in the league one chris bosh if he can retrurn in some capacity.

If Winslow can take a jump, y'all can rest assured we're definitely making the playoffs. He has the talent to do it on offense, man. I watched duke games frequently after he healed up from injury that year, and he was arguably their best player. Yes, better than the 3rd overall pick Jah Okafor, who is damn good. He had a limited role this past year. Yes, the jump shot is a cause for concern, but one he should overcome. He shot well in college, and once he gains confidence in himself as a scorer and fully adjusts to the nba game, he will be fine. You guys honestly can't say he's hopeless offensively if you watched a majority of the heat games from last season, especially after December. He has the tools, he just needs the experience using them against tjis level and the green light to use em. ESPN and folks love to talk about the shooting prowess of guys like porzingis and booker, but fail to mention that they both shot in the low 30's from 3pt land on three times the attempts per game as winslow who shot 28%, but shot the same percentage they did for the season after the all star break. Sure, they are clearly better shooters atm and maybe they'll always shoot better in the nba, but its not like those guys lit the world on fire while justise stunk up the joint.

With that being said, what position should we project to be looking for next summer? Let's throw on the hypothetical cap. Athletic three and D wing, back up point guard, young big man pf/c tweener?

[RexBoyWonder]

But really, what spots do y'all think we could possibly end up drafting in? I'm going to say, i think we can end up anywhere from 16-23. AT WORST, 13 - 15.

As much as some of y'all want to get your tank party going, there's too much talent on this team to be that bad. Dragic is a very good point guard, we have a trio of do it all high energy young players who love to play defense and have legitimate two-way talent, hassan is one of the most talented big men in the nba and can take it to another level if he's willing to commit mentally and pay attention to detail, and we have a top 7 coach. Also, we can't rule out the potential impact of one of the best two way players in the league one chris bosh if he can retrurn in some capacity.

If Winslow can take a jump, y'all can rest assured we're definitely making the playoffs. He has the talent to do it on offense, man. I watched duke games frequently after he healed up from injury that year, and he was arguably their best player. Yes, better than the 3rd overall pick Jah Okafor, who is damn good. He had a limited role this past year. Yes, the jump shot is a cause for concern, but one he should overcome. He shot well in college, and once he gains confidence in himself as a scorer and fully adjusts to the nba game, he will be fine. You guys honestly can't say he's hopeless offensively if you watched a majority of the heat games from last season, especially after December. He has the tools, he just needs the experience using them against tjis level and the green light to use em. ESPN and folks love to talk about the shooting prowess of guys like porzingis and booker, but fail to mention that they both shot in the low 30's from 3pt land on three times the attempts per game as winslow who shot 28%, but shot the same percentage they did for the season after the all star break. Sure, they are clearly better shooters atm and maybe they'll always shoot better in the nba, but its not like those guys lit the world on fire while justise stunk up the joint.

You're really too optimistic. And you're really overrating our readiness as a team. Not our talent, our readiness.

Whiteside - first year in a leading role
Winslow - first year trying to score, second year in NBA
TJ - First year established in a rotation, third year in NBA
Rich - First year expected to be consistent, second year in NBA
Weber - first NBA year
Reed - second year in NBA
D.Williams - 25 YO, bounced around, looks like a vet next to our guys.

As a whole, more then half our rotation is trying to do something new this year - extended their roles, develop.

We're inexperienced as a team, we're really lacking another proven creator besides Dragic. We're really young, players take 3-4 years to make the jump usually. This same core will be a lot better in 2019 then it is now. I can see us losing a lot of close games this year due to being green and not having "go to" guys, lacking shot creators.

With that being said, what position should we project to be looking for next summer? Let's throw on the hypothetical cap. Athletic three and D wing, back up point guard, young big man pf/c tweener?

Really depends if we Land Blake Griffin in free agency. But generally IMO we need to add a bonafide high upside scorer.

Rich - great defender, great shooter, not a great creator.
Justise - Great defender, will improve is shooting but probably won't become elite scorer.
TJ - Very good defender, great catch and shoot shooter, not an aggressive scorer.
Whiteside - great shot blocker/rebounder, great finisher, bad passer and questionable creator.

We lack that "get buckets" mentality dude, the guy that take the ball and just makes something happen. Some comfortable taking 20 shots in a game. Someone that can create good looks for himself and for others. Someone you call "clear/open" for. Basically we need a young Wade type player.

[puppa bear]

But really, what spots do y'all think we could possibly end up drafting in? I'm going to say, i think we can end up anywhere from 16-23. AT WORST, 13 - 15.

As much as some of y'all want to get your tank party going, there's too much talent on this team to be that bad. Dragic is a very good point guard, we have a trio of do it all high energy young players who love to play defense and have legitimate two-way talent, hassan is one of the most talented big men in the nba and can take it to another level if he's willing to commit mentally and pay attention to detail, and we have a top 7 coach. Also, we can't rule out the potential impact of one of the best two way players in the league one chris bosh if he can retrurn in some capacity.

If Winslow can take a jump, y'all can rest assured we're definitely making the playoffs. He has the talent to do it on offense, man. I watched duke games frequently after he healed up from injury that year, and he was arguably their best player. Yes, better than the 3rd overall pick Jah Okafor, who is damn good. He had a limited role this past year. Yes, the jump shot is a cause for concern, but one he should overcome. He shot well in college, and once he gains confidence in himself as a scorer and fully adjusts to the nba game, he will be fine. You guys honestly can't say he's hopeless offensively if you watched a majority of the heat games from last season, especially after December. He has the tools, he just needs the experience using them against tjis level and the green light to use em. ESPN and folks love to talk about the shooting prowess of guys like porzingis and booker, but fail to mention that they both shot in the low 30's from 3pt land on three times the attempts per game as winslow who shot 28%, but shot the same percentage they did for the season after the all star break. Sure, they are clearly better shooters atm and maybe they'll always shoot better in the nba, but its not like those guys lit the world on fire while justise stunk up the joint.

You're really too optimistic. And you're really overrating our readiness as a team. Not our talent, our readiness.

Whiteside - first year in a leading role
Winslow - first year trying to score, second year in NBA
TJ - First year established in a rotation, third year in NBA
Rich - First year expected to be consistent, second year in NBA
Weber - first NBA year
Reed - second year in NBA
D.Williams - 25 YO, bounced around, looks like a vet next to our guys.

As a whole, more then half our rotation is trying to do something new this year - extended their roles, develop.

We're inexperienced as a team, we're really lacking another proven creator besides Dragic. We're really young, players take 3-4 years to make the jump usually. This same core will be a lot better in 2019 then it is now. I can see us losing a lot of close games this year due to being green and not having "go to" guys, lacking shot creators.

With that being said, what position should we project to be looking for next summer? Let's throw on the hypothetical cap. Athletic three and D wing, back up point guard, young big man pf/c tweener?

Really depends if we Land Blake Griffin in free agency. But generally IMO we need to add a bonafide high upside scorer.

Rich - great defender, great shooter, not a great creator.
Justise - Great defender, will improve is shooting but probably won't become elite scorer.
TJ - Very good defender, great catch and shoot shooter, not an aggressive scorer.
Whiteside - great shot blocker/rebounder, great finisher, bad passer and questionable creator.

We lack that "get buckets" mentality dude, the guy that take the ball and just makes something happen. Some comfortable taking 20 shots in a game. Someone that can create good looks for himself and for others. Someone you call "clear/open" for. Basically we need a young Wade type player.

Hayward & Blake would be the big names I'd be looking at. Fit them in with the current group & it's a pretty exciting rebuild.

That's assuming Bosh is off the books & the numbers actually work (can't be bothered atm).

[twozeroMM]

If we get a high lotto pick, I would really like to see Tatum on this team. I see PG in him

[PizzaLord305]

But really, what spots do y'all think we could possibly end up drafting in? I'm going to say, i think we can end up anywhere from 16-23. AT WORST, 13 - 15.

As much as some of y'all want to get your tank party going, there's too much talent on this team to be that bad. Dragic is a very good point guard, we have a trio of do it all high energy young players who love to play defense and have legitimate two-way talent, hassan is one of the most talented big men in the nba and can take it to another level if he's willing to commit mentally and pay attention to detail, and we have a top 7 coach. Also, we can't rule out the potential impact of one of the best two way players in the league one chris bosh if he can retrurn in some capacity.

If Winslow can take a jump, y'all can rest assured we're definitely making the playoffs. He has the talent to do it on offense, man. I watched duke games frequently after he healed up from injury that year, and he was arguably their best player. Yes, better than the 3rd overall pick Jah Okafor, who is damn good. He had a limited role this past year. Yes, the jump shot is a cause for concern, but one he should overcome. He shot well in college, and once he gains confidence in himself as a scorer and fully adjusts to the nba game, he will be fine. You guys honestly can't say he's hopeless offensively if you watched a majority of the heat games from last season, especially after December. He has the tools, he just needs the experience using them against tjis level and the green light to use em. ESPN and folks love to talk about the shooting prowess of guys like porzingis and booker, but fail to mention that they both shot in the low 30's from 3pt land on three times the attempts per game as winslow who shot 28%, but shot the same percentage they did for the season after the all star break. Sure, they are clearly better shooters atm and maybe they'll always shoot better in the nba, but its not like those guys lit the world on fire while justise stunk up the joint.

You're really too optimistic. And you're really overrating our readiness as a team. Not our talent, our readiness.

Whiteside - first year in a leading role
Winslow - first year trying to score, second year in NBA
TJ - First year established in a rotation, third year in NBA
Rich - First year expected to be consistent, second year in NBA
Weber - first NBA year
Reed - second year in NBA
D.Williams - 25 YO, bounced around, looks like a vet next to our guys.

As a whole, more then half our rotation is trying to do something new this year - extended their roles, develop.

We're inexperienced as a team, we're really lacking another proven creator besides Dragic. We're really young, players take 3-4 years to make the jump usually. This same core will be a lot better in 2019 then it is now. I can see us losing a lot of close games this year due to being green and not having "go to" guys, lacking shot creators.

With that being said, what position should we project to be looking for next summer? Let's throw on the hypothetical cap. Athletic three and D wing, back up point guard, young big man pf/c tweener?

Really depends if we Land Blake Griffin in free agency. But generally IMO we need to add a bonafide high upside scorer.

Rich - great defender, great shooter, not a great creator.
Justise - Great defender, will improve is shooting but probably won't become elite scorer.
TJ - Very good defender, great catch and shoot shooter, not an aggressive scorer.
Whiteside - great shot blocker/rebounder, great finisher, bad passer and questionable creator.

We lack that "get buckets" mentality dude, the guy that take the ball and just makes something happen. Some comfortable taking 20 shots in a game. Someone that can create good looks for himself and for others. Someone you call "clear/open" for. Basically we need a young Wade type player.

I don't think we're ready to be to a very good team unless bosh comes back. I think we're ready to be a fringe playoff team or average bad team. I don't think we're anywhere as bad as a tank team. We are absolutely nowhere near as talentless or as unready as Phoenix, sixers, nets or the lakers were last year. Those are the tank teams in terms of where their roster is at. We're not even as bad or unready as teams like the nuggets, pelicans, or Kings were last year. I think we could end up a tier or two above that. In no way do I think we're going to be one of the best teams in the league, but our level of talent and experience dwarfs that of a team like the nuggets dude.

I really think we're more on par with where the rockets, jazz, Bulls, the pacers were last year. Maybe a lil lower of things don't go well, but not that bad. I think we'll have 28-43 victories this year or a lil more than that if bosh comes back

There's a nice blend of young guys and vets here. We actually have three point shooting on the floor for once maybe an identity. The youngs do take a couple of years to realize the best version of themselves,
But we don't need the prime version of them to compete for the playoffs or stay outside the early lottery.
I agree the Iso scoring on the team looks iffy. Im a little scared of being too dragic dependent the roster ended up looking after free agency. I just don't see the same level of bad as I saw when watching the lakers or nets play. I think some of you are overvaluing life without the popular known commodity.

[RexBoyWonder]

But really, what spots do y'all think we could possibly end up drafting in? I'm going to say, i think we can end up anywhere from 16-23. AT WORST, 13 - 15.

As much as some of y'all want to get your tank party going, there's too much talent on this team to be that bad. Dragic is a very good point guard, we have a trio of do it all high energy young players who love to play defense and have legitimate two-way talent, hassan is one of the most talented big men in the nba and can take it to another level if he's willing to commit mentally and pay attention to detail, and we have a top 7 coach. Also, we can't rule out the potential impact of one of the best two way players in the league one chris bosh if he can retrurn in some capacity.

If Winslow can take a jump, y'all can rest assured we're definitely making the playoffs. He has the talent to do it on offense, man. I watched duke games frequently after he healed up from injury that year, and he was arguably their best player. Yes, better than the 3rd overall pick Jah Okafor, who is damn good. He had a limited role this past year. Yes, the jump shot is a cause for concern, but one he should overcome. He shot well in college, and once he gains confidence in himself as a scorer and fully adjusts to the nba game, he will be fine. You guys honestly can't say he's hopeless offensively if you watched a majority of the heat games from last season, especially after December. He has the tools, he just needs the experience using them against tjis level and the green light to use em. ESPN and folks love to talk about the shooting prowess of guys like porzingis and booker, but fail to mention that they both shot in the low 30's from 3pt land on three times the attempts per game as winslow who shot 28%, but shot the same percentage they did for the season after the all star break. Sure, they are clearly better shooters atm and maybe they'll always shoot better in the nba, but its not like those guys lit the world on fire while justise stunk up the joint.

You're really too optimistic. And you're really overrating our readiness as a team. Not our talent, our readiness.

Whiteside - first year in a leading role
Winslow - first year trying to score, second year in NBA
TJ - First year established in a rotation, third year in NBA
Rich - First year expected to be consistent, second year in NBA
Weber - first NBA year
Reed - second year in NBA
D.Williams - 25 YO, bounced around, looks like a vet next to our guys.

As a whole, more then half our rotation is trying to do something new this year - extended their roles, develop.

We're inexperienced as a team, we're really lacking another proven creator besides Dragic. We're really young, players take 3-4 years to make the jump usually. This same core will be a lot better in 2019 then it is now. I can see us losing a lot of close games this year due to being green and not having "go to" guys, lacking shot creators.

With that being said, what position should we project to be looking for next summer? Let's throw on the hypothetical cap. Athletic three and D wing, back up point guard, young big man pf/c tweener?

Really depends if we Land Blake Griffin in free agency. But generally IMO we need to add a bonafide high upside scorer.

Rich - great defender, great shooter, not a great creator.
Justise - Great defender, will improve is shooting but probably won't become elite scorer.
TJ - Very good defender, great catch and shoot shooter, not an aggressive scorer.
Whiteside - great shot blocker/rebounder, great finisher, bad passer and questionable creator.

We lack that "get buckets" mentality dude, the guy that take the ball and just makes something happen. Some comfortable taking 20 shots in a game. Someone that can create good looks for himself and for others. Someone you call "clear/open" for. Basically we need a young Wade type player.

I don't think we're ready to be to a very good team unless bosh comes back. I think we're ready to be a fringe playoff team or average bad team. I don't think we're anywhere as bad as a tank team. We are absolutely nowhere near as talentless or as unready as Phoenix, sixers, nets or the lakers were last year. Those are the tank teams in terms of where their roster is at. We're not even as bad or unready as teams like the nuggets, pelicans, or Kings were last year. I think we could end up a tier or two above that. In no way do I think we're going to be one of the best teams in the league, but our level of talent and experience dwarfs that of a team like the nuggets dude.

I really think we're more on par with where the rockets, jazz, Bulls, the pacers were last year. Maybe a lil lower of things don't go well, but not that bad. I think we'll have 28-43 victories this year or a lil more than that if bosh comes back

There's a nice blend of young guys and vets here. We actually have three point shooting on the floor for once maybe an identity. The youngs do take a couple of years to realize the best version of themselves,
But we don't need the prime version of them to compete for the playoffs or stay outside the early lottery.
I agree the Iso scoring on the team looks iffy. Im a little scared of being too dragic dependent the roster ended up looking after free agency. I just don't see the same level of bad as I saw when watching the lakers or nets play. I think some of you are overvaluing life without the popular known commodity.

I wasn't saying we'll be in the Lakers/Nets level of horribleness, but you yourself say we can win somewhere between 28-43 game.

You do realize that 28 wins last year would have given us the #5 pick? With the Suns getting healthier, Philly starting to shape up with more trades, 28 wins this year can be a top 3 or top 4 pick.

[PizzaLord305]

Oops lol yeah I did botch that win projection in comparison to the draft position I suggested. Although, there's usually more teams in the 20's in terms of wins than there were last year. Still, I messed up.

Alright I'll say this. With some bosh, nice improvement from the young dudes, and a somewhat system fit, I think we will be closer to 42. If bosh doesn't come back and there are a good deal of growing pains including unreadiness from young guys, I think we could be in low 30's maybe as low as 28/29, so there is a realistic chance of being one of these "tank" level teams. I think we will land somewhere in the middle of that or higher.

I just think we will be better than a lower tier team and we shouldn't be this quick to assume that our team will stink. I could be wrong though, and I'm certainly in the minority from what I've heard and read. I could've used more detail to explain all that though so my bad.

[DayofMourning]

Markelle Fultz doing well for himself in the FIBA U18 championships. Tourney MVP after 23, 5 and 5 against Canada.

[No-Man]

I think the Heat will have a pick anywhere between 10 and 16, depending on what happens with Dragic, if he's traded at one point and Bosh, same+retirement.

[QUIZ]

When does the College season typically start?