All Things 2017 Draft

[TheMartian]

Yeah definitely not picking Lauri. Let's just stick with Fultz/Ball/Jackson hype thanksssss

Unless the Lakers overtake Brooklyn.

In which case.

Panic.

Well, the Lake Show is blatantly trying their hardest to do just that. Wouldn't surprise me if they don't win another game this season. Meanwhile, the Nets are winning games. Shameless. SMH.

[Murta]

Yeah definitely not picking Lauri. Let's just stick with Fultz/Ball/Jackson hype thanksssss

Unless the Lakers overtake Brooklyn.

In which case.

Panic.

Well, the Lake Show is blatantly trying their hardest to do just that. Wouldn't surprise me if they don't win another game this season. Meanwhile, the Nets are winning games. Shameless. SMH.

Russell and Clarkson must be one of the worst defensive pairings in NBA history. That gives their opponent like 80 free points every game. It's embarrassing.

Well, good for the Lakers they don't have any long-term contracts for aging veterans. Oh, wait.

[No-Man]

Who's 4th you guys think in Danny's board? assuming he has Fultz, JJ and Ball as top3, because the pick can fall to 4th, so at the very least you gotta have an idea there...

I'd guess Isaac or Tatum probably, although Monk or DSJ wouldn't surprise me one bit, heck even Bridges.

[SmartWentCrazy]

Who's 4th you guys think in Danny's board? assuming he has Fultz, JJ and Ball as top3, because the pick can fall to 4th, so at the very least you gotta have an idea there...

I'd guess Isaac or Tatum probably, although Monk or DSJ wouldn't surprise me one bit, heck even Bridges.

I'd guess Tatum. Ainge has historically viewed having a high highschool ranking very favorably. Tatum also appears to be the BPA, too.

Isaac wouldn't surprise me, though. I could see Ainge drafting him with the intention of making him our PF of the future. He's been a strong rebounder, has fantastic defensive versatility and can reasonably space the floor. He's raw, but Ainge has historically been very willing to be patient.

[Wes-J]

Who's 4th you guys think in Danny's board? assuming he has Fultz, JJ and Ball as top3, because the pick can fall to 4th, so at the very least you gotta have an idea there...

I'd guess Isaac or Tatum probably, although Monk or DSJ wouldn't surprise me one bit, heck even Bridges.

I'd guess Tatum. Ainge has historically viewed having a high highschool ranking very favorably. Tatum also appears to be the BPA, too.

Isaac wouldn't surprise me, though. I could see Ainge drafting him with the intention of making him our PF of the future. He's been a strong rebounder, has fantastic defensive versatility and can reasonably space the floor. He's raw, but Ainge has historically been very willing to be patient.

Bridges.

[Gant]

Ainge has a history of having his own draft board which markedly veers from the consensus. This year, being at the top, things are a little more clear.

He's almost surely got Fultz at #1. Jackson and Ball probably are #2 and #3 in some order due to style and merit. Hopefully we never know who #4 is.


...plus there's always Mr. Trade, who could end up being the guy.

[KumaJG]

Danny Ainge got Jackson & Ball at the top. They're his type of player.

[Banks2Pierce]

I kinda think we should be talking about the Kentucky guards more in relation to the 4th and even the 3rd pick. They've been the main cogs for a top 5 team in the country that's been good at both ends.

Fox's athleticism jumps off the TV. He just drives by good defensive guys and dunks without a screen sometimes. Plays a lot bigger than his listed height. If someone 3-14 is going to turn into Russ Westbrook, it's him.

I've quickly dismissed Monk in the past, but those scoring stats are insane. Have to get quirky with how you cross match him against guards probably. That offense looks like it could be Ray Allen esque, though, and guards are easiest to 'hide' on the other end. Wish the steals/rebounds were a bit better and I'd be fully into it.

I don't feel comfortable with anybody at pick 3 yet.

[greenroom31]

In the last version of this thread I was posting about Devin Robinson and why I think he could be a good late 1st early 2nd type guy. Jonathan Tjarks wrote about him in his latest piece:

https://theringer.com/six-under-the-radar-nba-prospects-to-watch-in-the-sweet-16-c80bf9c104f#.2xndk48ot

Robinson hits all the checkmarks for a 3-and-D wing, one of the most coveted types of players in today’s game. At 6-foot-8 and 200 pounds with a 6-foot-11.5 wingspan, he glides across the court like a fighter jet and plays way above the rim; he also has the strength to battle bigger players in the paint and fight for rebounds. Robinson has steadily improved as a 3-point shooter in his three seasons at Florida, going from 25.6 percent as a freshman to 34 percent as a sophomore to 39.4 percent in his junior season, in which he’s shot 3.1 attempts per game.

Robinson is playing some of the best basketball of his career at the perfect time, averaging 19 points and nine rebounds a game on 60 percent shooting in Florida’s tournament victories over East Tennessee State and Virginia. His ability to switch screens and slide among multiple positions on defense was crucial to the Gators holding Virginia to 39 points on 29.6 percent shooting on Saturday. At various points in the game, he guarded UVA point guard London Perrantes, wing Marial Shayok, andpower forward Mamadi Diakite, and none of them had an answer for his size and athleticism on the other end of the floor.

While Robinson is never going to be a primary option at the next level, his ability to both attack closeouts and shoot over the top of smaller opponents on the block will go a long way toward earning him a spot in an NBA rotation. Watch what happens when Florida goes small against Wisconsin in the Sweet 16: Robinson will guard either Nigel Hayes or Ethan Happ in the post. If he can hold his own on defense, his shooting and driving ability will stretch out Wisconsin’s stifling defense and give the Florida guards some breathing room to attack the lane.

[Stadium5]

I kinda think we should be talking about the Kentucky guards more in relation to the 4th and even the 3rd pick. They've been the main cogs for a top 5 team in the country that's been good at both ends.

Fox's athleticism jumps off the TV. He just drives by good defensive guys and dunks without a screen sometimes. Plays a lot bigger than his listed height. If someone 3-14 is going to turn into Russ Westbrook, it's him.

I've quickly dismissed Monk in the past, but those scoring stats are insane. Have to get quirky with how you cross match him against guards probably. That offense looks like it could be Ray Allen esque, though, and guards are easiest to 'hide' on the other end. Wish the steals/rebounds were a bit better and I'd be fully into it.

I don't feel comfortable with anybody at pick 3 yet.

Looking forward to see the UK guards face off with Lonzo on friday

[Justin33]

I kinda think we should be talking about the Kentucky guards more in relation to the 4th and even the 3rd pick. They've been the main cogs for a top 5 team in the country that's been good at both ends.

Fox's athleticism jumps off the TV. He just drives by good defensive guys and dunks without a screen sometimes. Plays a lot bigger than his listed height. If someone 3-14 is going to turn into Russ Westbrook, it's him.

I've quickly dismissed Monk in the past, but those scoring stats are insane. Have to get quirky with how you cross match him against guards probably. That offense looks like it could be Ray Allen esque, though, and guards are easiest to 'hide' on the other end. Wish the steals/rebounds were a bit better and I'd be fully into it.

I don't feel comfortable with anybody at pick 3 yet.

I could see Danny really liking Fox he plays with an attitude

[jmr07019]

Who's 4th you guys think in Danny's board? assuming he has Fultz, JJ and Ball as top3, because the pick can fall to 4th, so at the very least you gotta have an idea there...

I'd guess Isaac or Tatum probably, although Monk or DSJ wouldn't surprise me one bit, heck even Bridges.

I think many on this board are sleeping on Markkanen. Since Stevens came on board we have drafted Olynyk in the lotto and player him over 20 mpg every year. Brandon Bass, Amir and Horford launched career highs in 3PA playing under Stevens. We have let terrible shooters like Sully and Smart bomb away in hopes they improve. We passed on young, talented, big men Nurkic and Noel despite the fact they were dealt for cheap and we could have kept max cap space after dealing for them. We drafted a small ball pf Yabusele who shoots from 3 a lot in the mid 1st. The only player to buck this trend is Zizic and you can argue he was too good to pass up at 23 fit be damned.

To say we prioritize bigs shooting 3's (Lauri's strength) would be an understatement.

We gave the max to a guy who gets 7 boards a game and who's DREB% had been in decline for a couple of years straight. The team doesn't place a strong emphasis on rebounding (Lauri's weakness).

[jmr07019]

I kinda think we should be talking about the Kentucky guards more in relation to the 4th and even the 3rd pick. They've been the main cogs for a top 5 team in the country that's been good at both ends.

Fox's athleticism jumps off the TV. He just drives by good defensive guys and dunks without a screen sometimes. Plays a lot bigger than his listed height. If someone 3-14 is going to turn into Russ Westbrook, it's him.

I've quickly dismissed Monk in the past, but those scoring stats are insane. Have to get quirky with how you cross match him against guards probably. That offense looks like it could be Ray Allen esque, though, and guards are easiest to 'hide' on the other end. Wish the steals/rebounds were a bit better and I'd be fully into it.

I don't feel comfortable with anybody at pick 3 yet.

I think DSJ is the guard people are sleeping on. Similar athleticism to Fox but he's got about 20 pounds of strength on him and is a much better shooter.

[chrisab123]

Who's 4th you guys think in Danny's board? assuming he has Fultz, JJ and Ball as top3, because the pick can fall to 4th, so at the very least you gotta have an idea there...

I'd guess Isaac or Tatum probably, although Monk or DSJ wouldn't surprise me one bit, heck even Bridges.

I think many on this board are sleeping on Markkanen. Since Stevens came on board we have drafted Olynyk in the lotto and player him over 20 mpg every year. Brandon Bass, Amir and Horford launched career highs in 3PA playing under Stevens. We have let terrible shooters like Sully and Smart bomb away in hopes they improve. We passed on young, talented, big men Nurkic and Noel despite the fact they were dealt for cheap and we could have kept max cap space after dealing for them. We drafted a small ball pf Yabusele who shoots from 3 a lot in the mid 1st. The only player to buck this trend is Zizic and you can argue he was too good to pass up at 23 fit be damned.

To say we prioritize bigs shooting 3's (Lauri's strength) would be an understatement.

We gave the max to a guy who gets 7 boards a game and who's DREB% had been in decline for a couple of years straight. The team doesn't place a strong emphasis on rebounding (Lauri's weakness).

He's the perfect Celtic for this team. But he's also not a top 5 pick. Now I could see the Celtics reaching at 8 or something if they had that pick too.

[KumaJG]

I kinda think we should be talking about the Kentucky guards more in relation to the 4th and even the 3rd pick. They've been the main cogs for a top 5 team in the country that's been good at both ends.

Fox's athleticism jumps off the TV. He just drives by good defensive guys and dunks without a screen sometimes. Plays a lot bigger than his listed height. If someone 3-14 is going to turn into Russ Westbrook, it's him.

I've quickly dismissed Monk in the past, but those scoring stats are insane. Have to get quirky with how you cross match him against guards probably. That offense looks like it could be Ray Allen esque, though, and guards are easiest to 'hide' on the other end. Wish the steals/rebounds were a bit better and I'd be fully into it.

I don't feel comfortable with anybody at pick 3 yet.

I could see Danny really liking Fox he plays with an attitude

I can see us drafting him. Another player in this draft that can't shoot

[ddb]

It goes Ball, Fultz, Jackson in no particular order and that's that. For the Celtics sake they better hope that's the case. Tatum, Fox, Markkenan, Smith Jr, Monk, Isaac, Bridges, Giles, Frank N are all nice players, but not at that Top Tier.

Ball/Jackson strike me as Celtic types...Fultz concerns me a little bit, but maybe I ought to relax because there's no denying his skill set... Which means Ainge will probably draft Malik Monk #1 because Lord knows why... and Ainge will probably be right lol

[SmartWentCrazy]

I heard on the Ringer NBA show that, when asked, Sonny Vacarro said the one guy he would sign to a shoe deal if he could would be Josh Jackson.

I feel that Jackson is underrated because of his FT%. Reality is, the guy is around an average jump shooter, with better 2pt jumper %'s than both Wiggins and Ingram. I don't think he's nearly as bad as people paint.

[greenroom31]

It goes Ball, Fultz, Jackson in no particular order and that's that. For the Celtics sake they better hope that's the case. Tatum, Fox, Markkenan, Smith Jr, Monk, Isaac, Bridges, Giles, Frank N are all nice players, but not at that Top Tier.

Ball/Jackson strike me as Celtic types...Fultz concerns me a little bit, but maybe I ought to relax because there's no denying his skill set... Which means Ainge will probably draft Malik Monk #1 because Lord knows why... and Ainge will probably be right lol

I think Monk is underrated because he plays with a ball dominant guy in Fox. Same with Tatum on Duke -- he played with a few upperclassmen who wanted to get theirs and they had no real PG to share the ball so he had to create for himself and wait his turn to play offense.

I like Bridges a fair amount, but a lot will come down to how he measures out IMO. If he's 6'8 with his strength I could imagine him going in the 5-8 range. If he measures at 6'5 or 6'6 I bet he's closer to 8-10 range.

Fox and Isaac have great physical tools, but Isaac disappears for stretches and Fox's shooting is a question mark and he might be better at the college game than against other big fast guys.

Markannen is a one-tool player who can be taken out of his game against teams that really defend the 3pt line (like, say, every pro team). I'm concerned about him at the next level.

Jackson is a full year older than most of the other freshman (like Tatum and Fultz) so that's a bit of a turn-off. Also his jumper works but the form is not great to put it gently. And then I'd want to get my arms around his off-court stuff if I was a GM.

DSJ and Frank N are the wildcards. I won't pretend to know enough about Frank N to really comment there since I've only seen ~10 minutes of highlight clips on Draftexpress. DSJ had a forgettable freshman year after carrying NC State to a road win at Duke, but the talent is there. I could see him ending up as a steal in 3 or 4 years if he drops to the 10-12 range somehow.

Giles is a question mark and project due to his injury. I'd feel pretty scared taking him ahead of any of the other guys mentioned here other than possibly Markannen or Frank N.

[Banks2Pierce]

I can see us drafting him. Another player in this draft that can't shoot

Didn't you do a thread in December mockingly congratulating Ainge for passing on Giannis? Pick one side of the argument at least.

It's a decent little debate if it's framed without snark. Seems half of the All Stars have built off of questionable shots and half have obviously been good shooters from early on. Almost as if there's a bit of nuance to the draft.

[greenroom31]

Who's 4th you guys think in Danny's board? assuming he has Fultz, JJ and Ball as top3, because the pick can fall to 4th, so at the very least you gotta have an idea there...

I'd guess Isaac or Tatum probably, although Monk or DSJ wouldn't surprise me one bit, heck even Bridges.

I think many on this board are sleeping on Markkanen. Since Stevens came on board we have drafted Olynyk in the lotto and player him over 20 mpg every year. Brandon Bass, Amir and Horford launched career highs in 3PA playing under Stevens. We have let terrible shooters like Sully and Smart bomb away in hopes they improve. We passed on young, talented, big men Nurkic and Noel despite the fact they were dealt for cheap and we could have kept max cap space after dealing for them. We drafted a small ball pf Yabusele who shoots from 3 a lot in the mid 1st. The only player to buck this trend is Zizic and you can argue he was too good to pass up at 23 fit be damned.

To say we prioritize bigs shooting 3's (Lauri's strength) would be an understatement.

We gave the max to a guy who gets 7 boards a game and who's DREB% had been in decline for a couple of years straight. The team doesn't place a strong emphasis on rebounding (Lauri's weakness).

You can count me among them. Being 7' tall isn't such a rarity in the NBA as it is in college. KO had a different skill set than Markannen -- he was a PG until he had a late growth spurt and had good handles and vision for a big man. Markannen can't dribble or pass -- he's a 1 tool player. Also, Kelly was drafted at #13, so not really the same as taking a guy at #1-4. For the most part Ainge is guilty of overdrafting guards, not big men.

There's no question Ainge and Stevens like big men who can shoot, but I think they'd go Isaac before they took Markannen. And with the talent in this year's draft I'd be shocked if they didn't got with whoever's left out of Fultz/Ball/Jackson/Tatum at #4.