2017 Pick Watch (Sac Swap Rights, LAL pick)

[Unbreakable99]

Better than Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Phoenix (if Bledsoe is not healthy), Sacramento (if Cousins is not sane), ...?

Deng, Calderon, Ingram and Mozgov can give them 10-15 extra wins imo + they have a good coach now.

I don't see how they are better than us and the other teams you listed. Brooklyn got a lot better and were better than them last season. Phoenix has more talent. Sacramento has more talent. I think it's pretty clear the Lakers have the worst talent in the NBA. They should have the worst record.

Brooklyn got a lot better? I don't see how. They lost two of their three best players on Young and JJ, didn't resign Jack, and didn't even have a pick in the top 50 this year. They're two best signings were Jeremy Lin, Joe Harris, and Anthony Bennett. I would say they got worse, they even had Lopez healthy last season. Lakers mad the mistake by signing vets that could put them around 7th worst team in the league if guys like Randle and Clarkson see some improvement. I think it could end up Brooklyn, Miami, Phoenix, L.A., N.O., Philly, and Sac 1-7. (Not in order).

I don't think there is any way the Lakers don't have a bottom 3 record.

[Dell]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-L_k5nIS2M

FIBA U18's - The Markelle Fultz show. I think he's going to be a real contender for the #1 pick next year and he's definitely the guy we should be targeting right now.

[Arsenal]

Fultz is the guy I want right now. If we can get him and either Jackson or Tatum we're golden. From anyone who has watched, can Jackson or Tatum play SG or are they SF only? It's rare to see guys who are a legit 6'8" who are good at defending SG. Even a hyped guy like Khris MIddleton has problems there from what I've heard, and is better defending SF's.

[Dell]

With his athleticism and defensive skill, Jackson could play the two if you don't mind his shooting. Tatum can't.

My dream right now is Fultz and then Dennis Smith Jr. That would be some backcourt for the next 10 years.

[sixerhp3]

We haven't seen an athlete at the point guard position quite like Dennis Smith Jr. since Westbrook. Gotta zone in on him and hope he lands with us, guy is a straight killer.

[Ericb5]

We haven't seen an athlete at the point guard position quite like Dennis Smith Jr. since Westbrook. Gotta zone in on him and hope he lands with us, guy is a straight killer.

I love him too. He is a freak.

[Dell]

We haven't seen an athlete at the point guard position quite like Dennis Smith Jr. since Westbrook. Gotta zone in on him and hope he lands with us, guy is a straight killer.

Can you imagine Smith Jr. and Fultz running with Simmons? Oh my.

[CoreyGallagher]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/theScore/status/758106905327697920[/tweet]

[HartfordWhalers]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/theScore/status/758106905327697920[/tweet]

Espn forecast has Sixers tied for 1st pick and Sac at 5th. If that holds it is better odds at the #1 pick than this past season.

[Wilfried]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/theScore/status/758106905327697920[/tweet]

Espn forecast has Sixers tied for 1st pick and Sac at 5th. If that holds it is better odds at the #1 pick than this past season.

I do think we are better than New Jersey.
And I also think Sacramento is going to blow up.

Next draft is going to be huge, with also a big chance the Lakers' pick conveying.

[Ericb5]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/theScore/status/758106905327697920[/tweet]

Espn forecast has Sixers tied for 1st pick and Sac at 5th. If that holds it is better odds at the #1 pick than this past season.

I do think we are better than New Jersey.
And I also think Sacramento is going to blow up.

Next draft is going to be huge, with also a big chance the Lakers' pick conveying.

We need to be rooting for the Lakers to win games. I think that the Kings will be bad again, but as long as Cousins is healthy they will probably be better than the Sixers, Lakers, and Nets.

[Ericb5]

This year, going into the lottery, I was hoping for Simmons at 1, and wasn't in love with any of the players potentially available at 4. While getting the Lakers pick at 4 this year and taking Dunn would have been great, next year's draft has so much more potential.

Next year if we somehow manage to get 1, and 4, it will be amazing.

Josh Jackson at 1 would be perfect for us. He reminds me of Wiggins, with a much better handle, and I definitely think that he could be slid into the 2 position for us. He would give us the perfect fast break running mate for Simmons.

At 4, we might be able to choose between Fultz and Smith, and they are both studs, and both better prospects than Dunn, and probably even Ingram.

My current preference is Smith. He just looks absolutely electric, and I don't even care that he is more of a scoring guard than a point guard. In fact it would actually be BETTER to have a scoring guard at the 1 since Simmons can run the team.

We wouldn't have a lot of shooting on the floor, but we would have amazing talent at every position. Fill the roster with shooters, and defenders, and contend for years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BoomBap]

Embiid
Towns
Simmons
Jackson

which one is supposed to be the most talented player? gimme a raking dudes.

[Dell]

Towns / Embiid / Simmons / Jackson

The 2017 Draft is strong because there's at least 3 guys who could go #1 (Giles, Jackson, Fultz) and another group of 10 who could be top 3-5 picks in any other given year.

[Ericb5]

Towns / Embiid / Simmons / Jackson

The 2017 Draft is strong because there's at least 3 guys who could go #1 (Giles, Jackson, Fultz) and another group of 10 who could be top 3-5 picks in any other given year.

I'm not sure if there are any guys that will be on the Towns/Simmons level by draft time, but there could be. The more important thing I think is that there are at least 5-7 players that could be on or above the Ingram level.

So to illustrate the difference between this draft and next year's draft, if all of those guys were in this year's draft they would likely be slotted somewhere between 1 and 3.

Just imagine if Kriss Dunn was the 8th or 9th pick. That's how good next year's players can be.

[Dell]

That's an interesting question... If 2016 and projected 2017 prospects were in the same draft how would they be picked (based solely off early projections). I would guess:

Ben Simmons (16)
Harry Giles (17)
Josh Jackson (17)
Brandon Ingram (16)
Markelle Fultz (17)
Jayson Tatum (17)
Dennis Smith Jr, (17)
Dragan Bender (16)
Kris Dunn (16)
Jonathan Isaac (17)
Frank Ntilikina (17)
Kostja Mushidi (17)
Lauri Markkanen (17)
Jaylen Brown (16)
Lonzo Ball (17)
Buddy Hield (16)
De'Aaron Fox (17)
Isaiah Hartenstein (17)
Ivan Rabb (17)
Jamal Murray (16)
Omer Yurtseven (17)
Terrance Ferguson (17)
Marquese Chriss (16)
Malik Monk (17)
Thon Maker (16)
Rodions Kurucs (17)
Edrice Adebayo (17)
Frank Jackson (17)
Grayson Allen (17)
Jakob Poeltl (16)
Ogugua Anunoby (17)
Marques Bolden (17)
Denzel Valentine (16)
Ray Smith (17)
Jonathan Jeanne (17)
Edmond Sumner (17)
Wade Baldwin (16)
Malik Beasley (16)
Blaz Mesicek (17)
Tyler Lydon (17)
Domantas Sabonis (16)
Dwayne Bacon (17)
Taurean Prince (16)
Bennie Boatwright (17)
Juan Hernangomez (16)
Jaron Blossomgame (17)
Michael Fusek (17)

That's obviously based on my opinion of them as prospects, not where the 16 class actually went.

[Ericb5]

That's an interesting question... If 2016 and projected 2017 prospects were in the same draft how would they be picked (based solely off early projections). I would guess:

Ben Simmons (16)
Harry Giles (17)
Josh Jackson (17)
Brandon Ingram (16)
Markelle Fultz (17)
Jayson Tatum (17)
Dennis Smith Jr, (17)
Dragan Bender (16)
Kris Dunn (16)
Jonathan Isaac (17)
Frank Ntilikina (17)
Kostja Mushidi (17)
Lauri Markkanen (17)
Jaylen Brown (16)
Lonzo Ball (17)
Buddy Hield (16)
De'Aaron Fox (17)
Isaiah Hartenstein (17)
Ivan Rabb (17)
Jamal Murray (16)
Omer Yurtseven (17)
Terrance Ferguson (17)
Marquese Chriss (16)
Malik Monk (17)
Rodions Kurucs (17)
Edrice Adebayo (17)
Frank Jackson (17)
Grayson Allen (17)
Jakob Poeltl (16)
Ogugua Anunoby (17)
Marques Bolden (17)
Denzel Valentine (16)
Ray Smith (17)
Jonathan Jeanne (17)
Edmond Sumner (17)
Wade Baldwin (16)
Blaz Mesicek (17)
Tyler Lydon (17)
Bennie Boatwright (17)
Jaron Blossomgame (17)
Michael Fusek (17)

That's obviously based on my opinion of them as prospects, not where the 16 class actually went.

I am a big believer in the "tier" system of ranking prospects.

Tier 1 are potential franchise players:

Simmons is the only one that today I think qualifies for this tier.

Tier 2 are the potential all stars:

This year only Ingram was in this tier.

Tier 3 are the good quality starters:

Kriss Dunn was in this group. An outside chance of becoming an allstar some day, but definitely less likely to do so than tier 2 guys.

Jaylen Brown, Bender, Murray, etc...


So the question becomes, How do we rank the best players from next year's draft into these tiers, and it is too early today to do so. We need to see them in college first.

Giles, Jackson, Fultz, Smith, Tatum, Ball, Fox, Issaacs, and maybe a couple others all have the potential to be in the Ingram tier at least in my opinion. How many of them have the potential to be in the Simmons tier? Not sure at the moment, but it is possible that a couple of them do.

[Dell]

I'll take a shot:

Tier One:

Ben Simmons (16)

Tier Two: (Players with a high chance of making an All-Star team)

Harry Giles (17) - He's a tier 1 guy without the injuries I think.
Josh Jackson (17)
Brandon Ingram (16)
Markelle Fultz (17) - I think he could work his way into Tier One before the season ends
Jayson Tatum (17)
Dennis Smith Jr, (17)

Tier Three: (Players with a reasonable chance of making an All-Star team or two at some point)

Dragan Bender (16)
Kris Dunn (16)
Jonathan Isaac (17)
Frank Ntilikina (17)
Kostja Mushidi (17)
Lauri Markkanen (17)
Jaylen Brown (16)
Lonzo Ball (17)
Buddy Hield (16)
De'Aaron Fox (17)
Isaiah Hartenstein (17)

Tier Four:

Ivan Rabb (17)
Jamal Murray (16)
Omer Yurtseven (17)
Terrance Ferguson (17)
Marquese Chriss (16)
Malik Monk (17)
Rodions Kurucs (17)
Edrice Adebayo (17)
Frank Jackson (17)
Grayson Allen (17)
Jakob Poeltl (16)
Ogugua Anunoby (17) - I really want to rank him higher, but he needs to produce with greater minutes.
Marques Bolden (17)
Denzel Valentine (16)
Ray Smith (17)
Jonathan Jeanne (17)
Edmond Sumner (17)
Wade Baldwin (16)
Blaz Mesicek (17)
Tyler Lydon (17)
Bennie Boatwright (17)
Jaron Blossomgame (17)
Michael Fusek (17)

[Ericb5]

I'll take a shot:

Tier One:

Ben Simmons (16)

Tier Two: (Players with a high chance of making an All-Star team)

Harry Giles (17) - He's a tier 1 guy without the injuries I think.
Josh Jackson (17)
Brandon Ingram (16)
Markelle Fultz (17) - I think he could work his way into Tier One before the season ends
Jayson Tatum (17)
Dennis Smith Jr, (17)

Tier Three: (Players with a reasonable chance of making an All-Star team or two at some point)

Dragan Bender (16)
Kris Dunn (16)
Jonathan Isaac (17)
Frank Ntilikina (17)
Kostja Mushidi (17)
Lauri Markkanen (17)
Jaylen Brown (16)
Lonzo Ball (17)
Buddy Hield (16)
De'Aaron Fox (17)
Isaiah Hartenstein (17)

Tier Four:

Ivan Rabb (17)
Jamal Murray (16)
Omer Yurtseven (17)
Terrance Ferguson (17)
Marquese Chriss (16)
Malik Monk (17)
Rodions Kurucs (17)
Edrice Adebayo (17)
Frank Jackson (17)
Grayson Allen (17)
Jakob Poeltl (16)
Ogugua Anunoby (17) - I really want to rank him higher, but he needs to produce with greater minutes.
Marques Bolden (17)
Denzel Valentine (16)
Ray Smith (17)
Jonathan Jeanne (17)
Edmond Sumner (17)
Wade Baldwin (16)
Blaz Mesicek (17)
Tyler Lydon (17)
Bennie Boatwright (17)
Jaron Blossomgame (17)
Michael Fusek (17)

I agree in general with your take on this, at least at this point. After the college season, some of the guys will shift around, but today the strength of the 2017 draft is in the fact that there are so many guys that can be in the top two tiers with good freshman seasons.

[gags1288]

Jackson and a healthy Giles are tier 1. Each are better prospects than Simmons. Fultz is close as well. Tatum and smith are Ingram level prospects. The '16 high school class is fantastic. Combine it with the '15 class and 7-8 of the top 10 are from the '16 class.