2016-2017 College Basketball / '17 NBA Draft Thread

[smittybanton]

I have not watched any Michigan St games. I noticed Miles Bridges scored 24 points yesterday. Anyone who has seen him where would you rank him in this class. What's his NBA comparison? I really know nothing about him.

Beast!

Wrote this up before the game yesterday: "Is Miles Bridges a better prospect than Jayson Tatum? Life aint fair. Tatum may have a better looking frame and is perhaps more skilled due to his excellent ballhandling. But Bridges is such an aggressive and athletic force that his ceiling might justify the Sixers going with him over Tatum. At the very least, Miles Bridges is the warm security blanket that makes okay for the Sixers to win a lot of games in the second half. He's more athletic than Tatum, he shoots better than Josh Jackson, he can guard more positions and closeout on shooters than Malik Monk. Tom Izzo is a GREAT coach, who emphasizes teamwork and defense. When he lets a freshman loose, I take notice. The Spartans once had a guy who could shoot and jump out of the gym just like Bridges. His name was Morris Peterson, or Mo Pete, and played shooting guard very well in the NBA for 10+ years. One of the original 3 & D men."

Had six turnovers yesterday. One was on a walk that won't be called in the league. A couple of the others were inexperience and perhaps being asked to do too much with the rock in his hands. Which is actually a good sign for his development and how Tom Izzo sees his game. Very serious about possibly wanting him over Tatum. Tatum's game is more old school and mid-rangy, while Bridges' three point shooting and high flying is tailor made for today's game.

I think the knock on him might be his body. Very stocky--if you can call someone 6'7 stocky. On one hand, I'd love to have him muscling through pick and rolls, as well as setting picks for Ben Simmons. Bruising. He can pop out or fly over the rim for the oop. On the other hand, will he be able to maintain that athleticism if he "Sullingers"? People who lament taking Larry Hughes over Paul Pierce perhaps forget that the worry was his "bad" body.

Sullinger or Pierce? I'd roll the dice.

[cksdayoff]

People who lament taking Larry Hughes over Paul Pierce perhaps forget that the worry was his "bad" body.

Sullinger or Pierce? I'd roll the dice.

well the sixers drafted tim thomas the year before. and what was funny is coach brown made a big fuss over 1 and done players praised Paul Pierce for staying longer, and coach brown had ties to Kansas so he knew all he needed to know about Pierce...and still took Hughes lol.

[Unbreakable99]

DX updated their board. They have the top 3 players as PG.

Read on Twitter

[JojoSlimbiid]

I appreciate them updating that but what's the point of putting in a mock draft and not accounting for team need? Isn't it just a big board?

[freshie2]

People who lament taking Larry Hughes over Paul Pierce perhaps forget that the worry was his "bad" body.

Sullinger or Pierce? I'd roll the dice.

well the sixers drafted tim thomas the year before. and what was funny is coach brown made a big fuss over 1 and done players praised Paul Pierce for staying longer, and coach brown had ties to Kansas so he knew all he needed to know about Pierce...and still took Hughes lol.

I don't bash Brown for that...trying to build a team around Iverson had to be maddening. Hughes was less of a scorer and supposed to be better defensively...probably seemed like a better fit next to a player that wanted to be the man and take every shot.

[PhilasFinest]

I'd be happy to get Frank and Isaac. Monk is gonna be a good scorer, I'm pretty sure of it but he could be a player who comes off the bench a couple of years down the road because of his size and turnstile defense.

And Ntilikina could be a Dante Exum. He certainly has an intriguing package in terms of size/length and skill set....but he is also not an "explosive" athlete and is still developing his perimeter shot.

With Monk, you know your getting a kid who's going to be able to score and shoot from the perimeter at a high level and run the floor.
Not only is that a highly coveted skill in the league, but its also something we severely lack.

With Embiid anchoring the D, you can afford to have someone one the floor who isn't an all NBA level defender. His offense and shooting would be a huge shot in the arm for this team. Imagine Monk getting Nik Stauskas' looks.

[phiphan]

DX updated their board. They have the top 3 players as PG.

Read on Twitter

Ouch at that Giles ranking. It would be great if he can show enough of his potential by the end of the season that some team before us and the Lakers takes a risk on him.

[PhilasFinest]

Giles needs to get healthy and play another year to play up to his level and show teams he can stay healthy.


I think medical red flags will be associated with him and could force him to fall if he comes out this year ( unless he has some crazy, dominant Tournament run)

[LloydFree]

DX updated their board. They have the top 3 players as PG.

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

I doubt it would play out that way, but I think the 76ers would be missing an opportunity by passing on Josh Jackson at 3 for fit. I like Dennis Smith and think he will be a good NBA player, but Jackson has more upside. Just sign or trade for two shooters and run with Jackson, Simmons and Embiid. The physical advantage the 76ers would have at 3 positions would be too much to handle for most teams. I like both players though. Both Smith and Jackson play with a mean streak that I like.

And although I think Fox is worthy of being picked that high, I think it would be a mistake for the 76ers to pass on Monk for Fox. Fox's skills are a bit redundant for the 76ers with Ben Simmons on the team.

[SelfishPlayer]

Fox's skills are a bit redundant for the 76ers with Ben Simmons on the team.

That's like saying that Lamar Odom and Tony Parker have skills that are redundant.

[SelfishPlayer]

Miles Bridges is a classic tweener. It's not worth it in the lottery.

[Slizeezyc]

I appreciate them updating that but what's the point of putting in a mock draft and not accounting for team need? Isn't it just a big board?

DX keeps it as just a Big Board for now. They don't turn it into a Mock until after the actual order is set and everything.

[LloydFree]

I'd be happy to get Frank and Isaac. Monk is gonna be a good scorer, I'm pretty sure of it but he could be a player who comes off the bench a couple of years down the road because of his size and turnstile defense.

And Ntilikina could be a Dante Exum. He certainly has an intriguing package in terms of size/length and skill set....but he is also not an "explosive" athlete and is still developing his perimeter shot.

With Monk, you know your getting a kid who's going to be able to score and shoot from the perimeter at a high level and run the floor. With Embiid anchoring the D, you can afford to have someone one the floor who isn't an all NBA level defender.

Yes. For some foreign prospects, sometimes I think they get agents who package them in a way to pump their draft status. I look at Frank N. similarly to the way I saw Exum. He's getting packaged as a big PG to get attention, but he's really just an average size SG with avg athleticism and a work-in-process jumper.

[phiphan]

Giles needs to get healthy and play another year to play up to his level and show teams he can stay healthy.


I think medical red flags will be associated with him and could force him to fall if he comes out this year ( unless he has some crazy, dominant Tournament run)

Yep. I was raked over the coals earlier in this thread for suggesting it might be better if he didn't declare this year. At that point I think he was ranked 12th or so, so maybe it was deserved. But there's a big difference in salary from 12th and say 5th versus 18th and 5th. Tough spot for him if that ends up being his projection come time to declare.

[eagereyez]

I need to see what the spacing is like when Simmons and Embiid are playing together. It's possible that the paint becomes too crowded due to those two, so the benefit of having a PG who's capable of driving to and finishing at the rim is diminished to a large extent. In that case it might be better to have someone who is already comfortable with 60% of their FGA coming from 3.

Not true. Simmons and Embiid can drive to the basket. Embiid is clearly a good shooter from every spot on the floor. Simmons will be at full speed driving down hill if a defender gives him too much space. Spacing is not a thing when your center and power forward can do the things that Embiid and Simmons can. Bottomline, Embiid and Simmons can stand behind the 3 point line out of the way as good as any other NBA player. If a defender sags off of Simmons too much while the PG is driving, there will be hell to pay. Simmons with a full head of steam will cause serious problems for the opposition.

Embiid is not a high volume 3 pt. shooter and his %s are coming back down to Earth. If our PG drives the paint and draws defenders, then kicks it out to SImmons, Simmons is supposed to then charge the paint and run into the wall of defenders that are already there? Prokafor logic .

[LloydFree]

Giles needs to get healthy and play another year to play up to his level and show teams he can stay healthy.


I think medical red flags will be associated with him and could force him to fall if he comes out this year ( unless he has some crazy, dominant Tournament run)

At this point it won't just be health that holds him back. He looks incredibly raw. He can't even catch the ball half the time. I wouldn't even think to consider selecting him before Edrice Adebayo or Ivan Rabb, at this point.

[PhilasFinest]

I need to see what the spacing is like when Simmons and Embiid are playing together. It's possible that the paint becomes too crowded due to those two, so the benefit of having a PG who's capable of driving to and finishing at the rim is diminished to a large extent. In that case it might be better to have someone who is already comfortable with 60% of their FGA coming from 3.

Not true. Simmons and Embiid can drive to the basket. Embiid is clearly a good shooter from every spot on the floor. Simmons will be at full speed driving down hill if a defender gives him too much space. Spacing is not a thing when your center and power forward can do the things that Embiid and Simmons can. Bottomline, Embiid and Simmons can stand behind the 3 point line out of the way as good as any other NBA player. If a defender sags off of Simmons too much while the PG is driving, there will be hell to pay. Simmons with a full head of steam will cause serious problems for the opposition.

Embiid is not a high volume 3 pt. shooter and his %s are coming back down to Earth. If our PG drives the paint and draws defenders, then kicks it out to SImmons, Simmons is supposed to then charge the paint and run into the wall of defenders that are already there? Prokafor logic .

I dont see how you can compare Okafor and Simmons.

Okafor is a turnstile on defense, can't defend anything, doesn't rebound on top of lacking distance on his jumper.

Okafor's "spacing" is not the issue. Its his lack of everything else that is. He can't play defense and doesn't rebound the ball. That is what is keeping him off the floor, not his lack of a perimeter shot.

Simmons if left wide open, I think is going to make the shot.Even if he doesn't, he's quick and skilled with the ball enough to get into the lane for a shot or foul or find the open man. He also rebounds the ball, can push it in transition, etc.

[eagereyez]

Not true. Simmons and Embiid can drive to the basket. Embiid is clearly a good shooter from every spot on the floor. Simmons will be at full speed driving down hill if a defender gives him too much space. Spacing is not a thing when your center and power forward can do the things that Embiid and Simmons can. Bottomline, Embiid and Simmons can stand behind the 3 point line out of the way as good as any other NBA player. If a defender sags off of Simmons too much while the PG is driving, there will be hell to pay. Simmons with a full head of steam will cause serious problems for the opposition.

Embiid is not a high volume 3 pt. shooter and his %s are coming back down to Earth. If our PG drives the paint and draws defenders, then kicks it out to SImmons, Simmons is supposed to then charge the paint and run into the wall of defenders that are already there? Prokafor logic .

I dont see how you can compare Okafor and Simmons.

Okafor is a turnstile on defense, can't defend anything, doesn't rebound on top of lacking distance on his jumper.

Okafor's "spacing" is not the issue. Its his lack of everything else that is. He can't play defense and doesn't rebound the ball. That is what is keeping him off the floor, not his lack of a perimeter shot.

Simmons if left wide open, I think is going to make the shot.Even if he doesn't, he's quick and skilled with the ball enough to get into the lane for a shot or foul or find the open man. He also rebounds the ball, can push it in transition, etc.

Where do you see me comparing Okafor and Simmons...? I said Prokafor logic, aka bad logic.

It's always difficult trying to get people to understand that our prospects aren't perfect. They will have flaws that are exploitable. Simmons' non-existent jumper is a flaw. He is going to live in the paint.

[PhilasFinest]

Giles needs to get healthy and play another year to play up to his level and show teams he can stay healthy.


I think medical red flags will be associated with him and could force him to fall if he comes out this year ( unless he has some crazy, dominant Tournament run)

At this point it won't just be health that holds him back. He looks incredibly raw. He can't even catch the ball half the time. I wouldn't even think to consider selecting him before Edrice Adebayo or Ivan Rabb, at this point.

He looks scared. On top of likely thinking about getting hurt again, I'm sure it has taken a bit of burst away from him. Add on the pressure of playing at a high level and the whole draft implications and he has a LOT on his shoulders for a young kid just coming back from a serious injury.

[PhilasFinest]

Anyone think Terrance Ferguson could end up in the mid-late lottery?

I know he isn't doing a ton over in Australia, but he is a Zach LaVine like athlete. I could see him being a "workout warrior" in a league constantly looking for quality perimeter players.