Lauri Markkanen - How high can he go in the draft?

doordoor123 · Post #1 » by **doordoor123** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 4:33 pm

What are your thoughts on him? What position does he play in the NBA?

Post #2 » by **bwgood77** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 4:42 pm

Stretch 4. He is shooting over 43% from 3. Also a solid rebounder. 7 footer but not a good shot blocker. For an 18 year old 7 footer he has quite a bit of muscle too and is a tough player.

doordoor123 · Post #3 » by **doordoor123** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 4:56 pm

bwgood77 wrote:Stretch 4. He is shooting over 43% from 3. Also a solid rebounder. 7 footer but not a good shot blocker. For an 18 year old 7 footer he has quite a bit of muscle too and is a tough player.

I just think he's to slow to defend the 4 and he can't defend the 5 for sure. If he can't defend at all, how much value does he have?

Post #4 » by **bwgood77** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 5:25 pm

doordoor123 wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:Stretch 4. He is shooting over 43% from 3. Also a solid rebounder. 7 footer but not a good shot blocker. For an 18 year old 7 footer he has quite a bit of muscle too and is a tough player.

I just think he's to slow to defend the 4 and he can't defend the 5 for sure. If he can't defend at all, how much value does he have?

He's very mobile and defends switches well, and has muscle to not get outmuscled in the post either. I don't know what you are looking for in this regard. He's not going to likely be an elite defender. How much value did Dirk have? I don't recall ever seeing a 7 footer freshman shoot 43.5% on 3s on high volume. DX has him 7th above guys like Rabb and Giles.

BoyzNTheHood · Post #5 » by **BoyzNTheHood** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 5:27 pm

I really like him. He's obviously missed more than half, but I haven't seen him miss a 3 yet. He's very dependable. I think a team like Dallas would be smart to take him and let Dirk tutor the youngster. But Dallas might be picking a bit too high for him. Maybe they should trade down and get a player plus Markkanen.

Post #6 » by **Duke4life831** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 6:03 pm

Depends on where Miami is picking but he would be a great fit for them to go alongside Whiteside. If Minny wants to make the move to have KAT at the 5 he would be a solid fit there as well. He's the type of guy that can plug and play into a team that has a legit rim protector and rebounder. That will kind of hide his biggest flaws. Offensively he should be pretty good from day 1, that jumper is money, he's slightly older but I think he's a better version of Bender.

No-Man · Post #7 » by **No-Man** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 6:34 pm

Duke4life831 wrote:Depends on where Miami is picking but he would be a great fit for them to go alongside Whiteside. If Minny wants to make the move to have KAT at the 5 he would be a solid fit there as well. He's the type of guy that can plug and play into a team that has a legit rim protector and rebounder. That will kind of hide his biggest flaws. Offensively he should be pretty good from day 1, that jumper is money, he's slightly older but I think he's a better version of Bender.

Bender is a worse natural shooter but can do much more, Bender is a better transition player, has legit grab and go potential, can pass, not just flash some passing, can actually pass, and has better, much better, instincts and reads than Lauri on D, both need to improve physically, but I think Dragan is the better athlete as well.

Markkanen is weird, itdeally he hones his skills, improve as a passer, gets strength, so doesnt get beaten on the boards all the time, people just toy with him at this point, and can be sort of okay in a switching defense, he has good feet but more than half the time he has no idea of what he is doing.
If all that come together and his shooting is what we have seen, he can be a really good player, potentially an All Star, but it takes a leap of faith, it's not like trusting on his shooting, that I am sure will traslate, the rest is up in the air, and if it doesn't you can find yourself regretting picking him superhigh because his floor is just a back-up big, and those are valuable but if he cant do anything of the bigman things you are better off just playing a wing in his place.

I am comfy with him as a late lotto pick, wont touch him in the top10 with this class.

Post #8 » by **Duke4life831** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 6:43 pm

Fischella wrote:
Duke4life831 wrote:Depends on where Miami is picking but he would be a great fit for them to go alongside Whiteside. If Minny wants to make the move to have KAT at the 5 he would be a solid fit there as well. He's the type of guy that can plug and play into a team that has a legit rim protector and rebounder. That will kind of hide his biggest flaws. Offensively he should be pretty good from day 1, that jumper is money, he's slightly older but I think he's a better version of Bender.

Bender is a worse natural shooter but can do much more, Bender is a better transition player, has legit grab and go potential, can pass, not just flash some passing, can actually pass, and has better, much better, instincts and reads than Lauri on D, both need to improve physically, but I think Dragan is the better athlete as well.

Markkanen is weird, itdeally he hones his skills, improve as a passer, gets strength, so doesnt get beaten on the boards all the time, people just toy with him at this point, and can be sort of okay in a switching defense, he has good feet but more than half the time he has no idea of what he is doing.
If all that come together and his shooting is what we have seen, he can be a really good player, potentially an All Star, but it takes a leap of faith, it's not like trusting on his shooting, that I am sure will traslate, the rest is up in the air, and if it doesn't you can find yourself regretting picking him superhigh because his floor is just a back-up big, and those are valuable but if he cant do anything of the bigman things you are better off just playing a wing in his place.

I am comfy with him as a late lotto pick, wont touch him in the top10 with this class.

I think I'm a little higher on him than you and others but I do agree with most of what you said. There are some legit perennial all star guys in this draft and guys that can really make a big impact on your team. Lauri isn't that, I don't see a two way impact potential guy or a guy that you know you can just give him the ball and know he's going to get you 25.

Lauri to me is in a different tier, he's in the tier where in the right system and surrounded by the right guys he may have a year or two where he has numbers that might be good enough for an all star appearance. I think his ceiling is a good 3rd option on a championship team or a 2nd option on a treadmill team.

So I think if your Miami and say have the 8th or 9th pick I can see them taking him and I wouldn't think it's a bad pick. But if you don't have that legit rim protecting 5 already on your team, I don't think I'd take him top 10 either.

No-Man · Post #9 » by **No-Man** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 6:48 pm

I think the system point for him is valid you gotta nurture him in the right enviroment for his skills.
I like the top10 of this draft, but for me there is 1 clear, and maybe 3 max, potential perenniall All Stars aka franchise players, but really good depth in the top10, just not sure I have Lauri as part of that, he has a path to have that type of career and be a more dominant scorer than guys I have ahead of him, just I trust the others floor and two way, complete games much more.
Lauri could flame fast if things go south.

NewEra21 · Post #10 » by **NewEra21** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 9:55 pm

BoyzNTheHood wrote:I really like him. He's obviously missed more than half, but I haven't seen him miss a 3 yet. He's very dependable. I think a team like Dallas would be smart to take him and let Dirk tutor the youngster. But Dallas might be picking a bit too high for him. Maybe they should trade down and get a player plus Markkanen.

There might be way too much pressure for him to be the next Dirk if he was indeed drafted by Dallas and with Dirk mentoring him.

DirtyDez · Post #11 » by **DirtyDez** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 10:19 pm

There's been whispers of him planning to stay two years but he could improve his value in conference play. I think his ceiling in this draft is around 10 but he could fall if other areas of his game don't improve. Sign me up for the Ayton/Markkanen front court.

His family has also said he came in Arizona with a 2-yr plan... http://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2016/12/24/14073728/arizona-basketball-lauri-markkanen-family-two-year-plan-college-nba-draft-projection-one-and-done

BoyzNTheHood · Post #12 » by **BoyzNTheHood** » Fri Dec 30, 2016 12:40 am

NewEra21 wrote:
BoyzNTheHood wrote:I really like him. He's obviously missed more than half, but I haven't seen him miss a 3 yet. He's very dependable. I think a team like Dallas would be smart to take him and let Dirk tutor the youngster. But Dallas might be picking a bit too high for him. Maybe they should trade down and get a player plus Markkanen.

There might be way too much pressure for him to be the next Dirk if he was indeed drafted by Dallas and with Dirk mentoring him.

Fair enough.

Post #13 » by **Duke4life831** » Fri Dec 30, 2016 12:57 am

DirtyDez wrote:There's been whispers of him planning to stay two years but he could improve his value in conference play. I think his ceiling in this draft is around 10 but he could fall if other areas of his game don't improve. Sign me up for the Ayton/Markkanen front court.

His family has also said he came in Arizona with a 2-yr plan... http://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2016/12/24/14073728/arizona-basketball-lauri-markkanen-family-two-year-plan-college-nba-draft-projection-one-and-done

I think it all depends on where he hears his name is being talked about come the time to declare. If he is hearing his name is outside the top 10 it would probably be smart to come back. But another thing to think about is his age, he is actually older than Bender is right now, so staying another year could hurt when it comes to his potential. I could see him being the 6th prospect in the 2018 draft. assuming no one is a big bust or someone doesn't come out of nowhere

jrob23 · Post #14 » by **jrob23** » Sun Jan 1, 2017 12:37 am

A slightly better Kelly Olynyk. Hard pass

LonZoBallin · Post #15 » by **LonZoBallin** » Sat Jan 21, 2017 11:12 pm

Baring injury, pretty much a lock to play in the League for years to come. With where the NBA is going with 3 point shooting, he has his place on pretty much every NBA team. I think the future 5's in the NBA will be either Defensive studs that can guard multiple positions and protect the paint and guys like Markkanen that can spread the floor.

He isn't just the best shooting Big in college basketball, he's the best shooter period! I think he's the first big off the board(depending what you consider Tatum) People always like to assume tall white guys potential is always low but I don't think that's 100% in all cases.

If someone told me Dirk is his Ceiling, I don't think that's too much of a stretch. To me he is closer to Dirk and porzingis than Kaminsky, Oylnyk or Hawes.

I'll even go out on a limb right now, because I think he's the best big and I also think very highly of Arizona, I could see him improving his stock a lot. He's without question the best player on their team so if they make a nice push in the tourny, wouldn't be shocked at all if he went top 5.

DirtyDez · Post #16 » by **DirtyDez** » Sat Jan 21, 2017 11:27 pm

19 year old 7 ft'ers aren't supposed to do these things.

cksdayoff · Post #17 » by **cksdayoff** » Sat Jan 21, 2017 11:31 pm

he's gonna be an amazing stretch 4 in the nba. too bad his defense is ass

JRSG · Post #18 » by **JRSG** » Sat Jan 21, 2017 11:51 pm

cksdayoff wrote:he's gonna be an amazing stretch 4 in the nba. too bad his defense is ass

with more and more PF's being small forwards pushed up the line-up, can he survive as a stretch four? I can see him finding a Channing Frye type niche, but i'm very sceptical about where he could start.

Post #19 » by **Duke4life831** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 12:07 am

DirtyDez wrote:19 year old 7 ft'ers aren't supposed to do these things.

This. Im very high on this kid. That jumper is freaking pure. He has the body where it looks like he should bulk up pretty nicely as well so strength shouldn't be an issue. I think he moves pretty well for a guy his size as well. Hes never going to be a great defender or anything like that. Hes going to have to be paired with a 5 that is a good rim protector and rebounder. Whiteside would be a perfect fit, AD if they move him to the 5 for good would be a perfect fit, same goes for Towns. Honestly the best fit would be with Embiid but Philly already has Simmons and plenty of guys playing the 5 and 4. One thing he is going to have to add to really be a special scorer which I think he has the potential to be, is he is going to have to add some kind of low post turn around jumper.

The Sparest · Post #20 » by **The Sparest** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 9:10 am

NewEra21 wrote:
BoyzNTheHood wrote:I really like him. He's obviously missed more than half, but I haven't seen him miss a 3 yet. He's very dependable. I think a team like Dallas would be smart to take him and let Dirk tutor the youngster. But Dallas might be picking a bit too high for him. Maybe they should trade down and get a player plus Markkanen.

There might be way too much pressure for him to be the next Dirk if he was indeed drafted by Dallas and with Dirk mentoring him.

I doubt that there would be that much pressure on him, at least from Dallas media. Everyone plays second fiddle to the Cowboys here.

He isn't at the top of my wish list, but if Dallas ends up out of the top 4, I wouldn't mind trading down for him and picking up more assets.