Snapbacks and Handshakes: The 2017 Draft (Raps pick #23)

[HeadtopChunes]

My Board so far

Bolden
Ojeleye
Bell
Wilson
Thornwell/Iwundu


Bam, Ferguson and Jeanne are interesting too.

[HeadtopChunes]

http://www.odetooden.com/home/2017/5/31/jordan-bell-a-test-case-for-fit


Here's an interesting article on Jordan Bell. Basically talks about his Bells window for greatness is now in the small ball era until Big players like KAT, AD, Giannis etc. Take over. And Bells value is lowered because he doesn't have the strength to hang on with these guys. He cites Bell as a short term piece for a contending team not a long term piece for a rebuilding one.

This guy is assuming Jordan Bell will play Centre, which is a big mistake. He's a 4. Sure, I've said he can guard 1-5 in the NBA but let's not go overboard and put the guy on Shaq. If true bigs back him down he'll struggle. But in the modern NBA small ball is king, and Jordan Bell will be a small ball savant. This guy also questions his strength which is a complete farce. Bell is very strong.

The only reason he isn't ranked high is because of his current offensive skill set. Hustle players aren't sexy. People want bombers and Kyrie-esque handles. Bell isn't going to be in the 3 point contest or And1 mixtape. He's going to be the guy getting deflections, diving on the floor, coming from the weak side for highlight reel blocks, containing point guards, 2-guards, and forwards. The only time he'll struggle defensively is if you make him check a 270 pound post up big.

Sure thats true but if hes a 4 and he cant faceup/postup he doesnt fit most modern offenses. I thinke hell be able too in some time but you have to spend time and develop his shot. Because his skillset is a 5s. Same reason Rabb suffers.

[Clementine64]

[gfycat]https://gfycat.com/WarmheartedRecentKillifish[/gfycat]

[Clementine64]

I'm getting on board the Bolden bandwagon. The guy plays D and hits 3s. Also has some nice finishes at the rim. If he improves his handle(which is not bad already) to a point where he can play SF, he could be the steal of the draft. He just seems to have the best combination of size, athleticism and skillset available in our range.

Strongly agree with this post. He's our man come hell or high water (I hope)

Sent from my D6503 using RealGM mobile app

[AkelaLoneWolf]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but...

https://pickandroll.com.au/jonah-bolden-nba-draft-interview/

Not only is Bolden prepared to play any role to kick-start an NBA career, he is also ready to put in the work required to elevate his game to stardom. Bolden grew up a Toronto Raptors fan and now uses the Raptors’ All-Star shooting guard as inspiration, when toiling away in the gym.

“I really like how DeMar DeRozan was ranked the 46th best player before this NBA season [referring to Sports Illustrated’s top 100 player ratings] and at the end of the season he is averaging 27 points.

“You just see that he came in with a chip on his shoulder and did the work in the summer. You just see the difference it makes and I mould myself after him, not his game but his mentality. I look at how he went from being a scorer to being the main guy.”

This is a guy I hope and expect us to get. Not sure if he's doing any workouts at the moment but if he is and he shines, I could see us grabbing him at 23. Seems like a very bright kid. Would love to try and mold him into an Otto Porter type of player on our team.

if he was at ucla, did powell play with him?

[HeadtopChunes]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but...

https://pickandroll.com.au/jonah-bolden-nba-draft-interview/

Not only is Bolden prepared to play any role to kick-start an NBA career, he is also ready to put in the work required to elevate his game to stardom. Bolden grew up a Toronto Raptors fan and now uses the Raptors’ All-Star shooting guard as inspiration, when toiling away in the gym.

“I really like how DeMar DeRozan was ranked the 46th best player before this NBA season [referring to Sports Illustrated’s top 100 player ratings] and at the end of the season he is averaging 27 points.

“You just see that he came in with a chip on his shoulder and did the work in the summer. You just see the difference it makes and I mould myself after him, not his game but his mentality. I look at how he went from being a scorer to being the main guy.”

This is a guy I hope and expect us to get. Not sure if he's doing any workouts at the moment but if he is and he shines, I could see us grabbing him at 23. Seems like a very bright kid. Would love to try and mold him into an Otto Porter type of player on our team.

if he was at ucla, did powell play with him?

yeah he did, Bolden was a freshman then

[Clementine64]

Bolden wants to play SF. He does look more like a PF. It's interesting because I don't think positions really matter that much anymore. Or at least that's where the league is headed. You could feasibily roll out a lineup of Pascal-Bolden-Ibaka and it would be fine.

Regardless BPA definitely. Fit is good when discussing between 2 players of similar levels. But without that take the talent first.

Bolden is the Greek Stopper!

I was really big on Giannis in his draft year (not sure how to dig up that old thread) cause I just saw a rare combination of skills for a guy that size.

Now obviously Bolden is a different type of player but I'm high on him for similar reasons. He's got size, frame, length, athleticism, shooting touch, and seems like a smart hardworking kid. I think he's a very good 3/4 hybrid which is what we need.

I think Bolden goes top 15 and shocks alot of people in similar fashion to the Thon Maker pick last year by Milwaukee at 10.

Bolden wants to play SF. He does look more like a PF. It's interesting because I don't think positions really matter that much anymore. Or at least that's where the league is headed. You could feasibily roll out a lineup of Pascal-Bolden-Ibaka and it would be fine.

Regardless BPA definitely. Fit is good when discussing between 2 players of similar levels. But without that take the talent first.

Bolden is the Greek Stopper!

Look I just want to be able to say there is one Leaf in the playoffs.

Sent from my D6503 using RealGM mobile app

[BoyzNTheHood]

http://www.odetooden.com/home/2017/5/31/jordan-bell-a-test-case-for-fit


Here's an interesting article on Jordan Bell. Basically talks about his Bells window for greatness is now in the small ball era until Big players like KAT, AD, Giannis etc. Take over. And Bells value is lowered because he doesn't have the strength to hang on with these guys. He cites Bell as a short term piece for a contending team not a long term piece for a rebuilding one.

This guy is assuming Jordan Bell will play Centre, which is a big mistake. He's a 4. Sure, I've said he can guard 1-5 in the NBA but let's not go overboard and put the guy on Shaq. If true bigs back him down he'll struggle. But in the modern NBA small ball is king, and Jordan Bell will be a small ball savant. This guy also questions his strength which is a complete farce. Bell is very strong.

The only reason he isn't ranked high is because of his current offensive skill set. Hustle players aren't sexy. People want bombers and Kyrie-esque handles. Bell isn't going to be in the 3 point contest or And1 mixtape. He's going to be the guy getting deflections, diving on the floor, coming from the weak side for highlight reel blocks, containing point guards, 2-guards, and forwards. The only time he'll struggle defensively is if you make him check a 270 pound post up big.

Sure thats true but if hes a 4 and he cant faceup/postup he doesnt fit most modern offenses. I thinke hell be able too in some time but you have to spend time and develop his shot. Because his skillset is a 5s. Same reason Rabb suffers.

I don't think him developing his 3 is far off. During his Lakers workout he was running up and down the court hitting a good percentage of his attempts. Sure, that's in an open gym, but it's basically at the end of the workout while gassed from running up and down shooting on both ends.

[HeadtopChunes]

What do people think about D.J Wilson? Looks very mobile for a 4 and played well in the tournament.

If he's playing 4 in the NBA, I'll pass. If he can play SF im interested. Becuase of how soft he is him at the 4 is probably not what you want.

[HeadtopChunes]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[HeadtopChunes]

Read on Twitter

[Morse Code]

What do people think about D.J Wilson? Looks very mobile for a 4 and played well in the tournament.

If he's playing 4 in the NBA, I'll pass. If he can play SF im interested. Becuase of how soft he is him at the 4 is probably not what you want.

Agreed. He'd be "clunky" as a 3 too. Not with it.

[omar36]

i dont see bolden being there at 23. tho his age might scare some teams off

[Volcano]

With the hype that Bolden and Semi are getting, what are the chances they're both gone by our pick? and who drops?

[HeadtopChunes]

With the hype that Bolden and Semi are getting, what are the chances they're both gone by our pick? and who drops?

I could see Boldens go top 15 but Semi should be there. As for who drops that's much harder to predict. Terrence Ferguson seems like he will

[navyblue]

Wow 20 days until the draft. Gotta go do my research and get my hopes all high and not realize it's the 23rd pick.

[OAKLEY_2]

With the hype that Bolden and Semi are getting, what are the chances they're both gone by our pick? and who drops?

I could see Boldens go top 15 but Semi should be there. As for who drops that's much harder to predict. Terrence Ferguson seems like he will

Remember every year this board has its Miracle picks and last year it was Skal and Deyonta Davis, at 9! Few liked Poetl and the usual bias reared its head. The board faithful wants its mythical beast down low or like unicorn at small forward. Comparisons are always with stars not named Draymond Green who most of the time were high lotto picks. In other words role player is what 23 yields if they don't bust. So since Ujiri has rabbit from hatted Bruno and Paskal the forum folk are scouring the planet for the overlooked and foresaken.

The pick at 23 won't be the overlooked and it likely won't be a position we need now. Nobody at 23 is going to replace Pat. If we work out power forwards it is because this is a bigs draft. Jordan Bell? He is Chad Ford's 2017 Skal.

The real stud from the eye test is Donovan Mitchell. I do not see anything in Semi or Bolden or Swani that even hints at the kind of game Mitchell has. We are trying to find that which isn't there.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I like Bolden, but the consensus that's starting to form on him is almost always a bad sign. The surprises in the draft tend to be just that.

[CoachJReturns]

I like Bolden, but the consensus that's starting to form on him is almost always a bad sign. The surprises in the draft tend to be just that.

Sometimes. I think the big surprises are usually the guys picked 30+ in the draft. I mean we almost had an early season consensus here, for those that remember, on Delon Wright. Quite a few of us were high on him.
I'm guessing someone like Evans would be this year's surprise, although it's less about him being unknown than him simply playing a position that most teams are stacked at.

I'm fine with several guys still, though if Masai thinks Bolden can realistically play small forward at his size then I don't see a reason to pass on him. 3 point shooting, athleticism, length, defended multiple positions in Europe, even a decent passer.

I like any of:

Bolden
Rabb
Pasecniks(my why not pick)
Evans(but I don't see how he'd get minutes here.)

So Bolden and Rabb are my main choices.

Also fine with:

Semi
Jeanne
Ferguson
Lydon, though I don't expect much more than shooting from him.

On the fence:

Swanigan - He has a lot of offensive skill and a bench scoring big is not bad with a late pick like ours. Still, I'm not exactly high on him.

[CoachJReturns]

With the hype that Bolden and Semi are getting, what are the chances they're both gone by our pick? and who drops?

I could see Boldens go top 15 but Semi should be there. As for who drops that's much harder to predict. Terrence Ferguson seems like he will

Remember every year this board has its Miracle picks and last year it was Skal and Deyonta Davis, at 9! Few liked Poetl and the usual bias reared its head. The board faithful wants its mythical beast down low or like unicorn at small forward. Comparisons are always with stars not named Draymond Green who most of the time were high lotto picks. In other words role player is what 23 yields if they don't bust. So since Ujiri has rabbit from hatted Bruno and Paskal the forum folk are scouring the planet for the overlooked and foresaken.

The pick at 23 won't be the overlooked and it likely won't be a position we need now. Nobody at 23 is going to replace Pat. If we work out power forwards it is because this is a bigs draft. Jordan Bell? He is Chad Ford's 2017 Skal.

The real stud from the eye test is Donovan Mitchell. I do not see anything in Semi or Bolden or Swani that even hints at the kind of game Mitchell has. We are trying to find that which isn't there.

I don't think anyone loved Poeltl because he was not an exciting choice, but we all knew he was coming. He was the consensus pick on most mock drafts regardless of whether we liked Skal or not. Once Chriss was selected it was the likely outcome.(Though I was ticked off we didn't trade up for Chriss when it was easy to do so. We have the 905 to develop raw players after all)
Donovan Mitchell seems out of our range which is why nobody is discussing him I think. We don't really have a place for him with Norm here already, but I wouldn't be opposed to taking him. I always like guards who can pick up a high number of steals and Norm is pretty easy to move if someone thought Mitchell was a keeper.