2017 Draft Thread: Clippers select Jawun Evans (39) and Sindarius Thornwell (48)

[madmaxmedia]

Wonder how much input Jerry had on these picks

Well, I read that Jerry's list of guys was the same as the one the Clippers had before. That being said...

Do you think it's a coincidence that before Jerry, we had traded away our picks for the year. And then after Jerry comes in, we end up buying our way back into the 2nd round with 2 very well-graded picks? Not only that, I actually feel confident that there is going to be a plan in place to develop these guys (regardless of actual rookie season playing time.)

[nickhx2]

well we did draft 3 players last year so i'm not sure i understand the difference between this year and last year.

as far as playtime for the rookies, i just don't see it. not with doc rivers as the coach. fwiw i see development and pt as one and the same.

[Wammy Giveaway]

But I'll believe Doc is willing and/or able to develop a young player who isn't related to him when I see it.

One problem: Doc is afraid that playing rookies means having to endure an automatic losing season. He wants championships, not development; that's why he prefers veterans.

The only way Doc will play rookies is for Jerry West to convince him that this is a losing season. The Warriors are invincible; nobody can defeat them. Paul and Griffin are gone (in my opinion). Why bother rolling that rock up hill when you know the rock will just roll down again with you along with it. Doc has to accept - no, embrace the idea that he must play rookies now. Who knows - maybe the Clippers could be rewarded with an 8th seed playoff visit for sacrificing his championship lust.

Doc's championship image was tarnished with his corrupt GM status, made prevalent by his three ejections in the regular season. He needs to repair his image, and only by playing his rookies and accepting a losing season will he get that respect back.

[Ranma]

Juwan Evans is ranked behind Jordan Bell as the best second-round selections by The Ringer's staff writer Jonathan Tjarks.

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Jonathan Tjarks, TheRinger.com (6/23/17)

Jawun Evans, Clippers
It’s hard to know exactly how big a role Jerry West is playing in the Clippers front office in his first week as a consultant, but someone in L.A. was paying attention in the second round when they traded for the rights to Evans (no. 39) and Sindarius Thornwell (no. 48). It’s a sharp contrast to what they did in the same spot last season, when they drafted a slow-footed and post-oriented big man (Diamond Stone) with little chance of ever playing for them. The odds of Doc Rivers playing a pair of rookies are still low, but Evans and Thornwell are both good enough to conceivably earn minutes right away.

Evans, a sophomore at Oklahoma State, was arguably the best point guard in the country this season. KenPom had OSU as the no. 1-rated offense in the NCAA by adjusted efficiency, even though Evans was their only player in the DraftExpress’s Top 100. It’s not hard to figure out why: Evans generated 0.992 points per possession every time he ran the pick-and-roll, and he ran the play a mind-boggling 526 times this season, almost twice as often as Dennis Smith Jr. (365) and Markelle Fultz (312) did. Brad Underwood, OSU’s first-year head coach, scrapped his preferred full-court press halfway through the season, spread the floor on offense, and turned over the reins of his team to his star point guard.

Evans fell in the draft because he’s undersized (5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, albeit with a 6-foot-5 wingspan) and he struggles to finish at the rim, but there’s no better point guard in the NBA to learn how to minimize those weaknesses from than Chris Paul, assuming he stays in Los Angeles. Eric Bledsoe went from a raw athlete to a finished product after spending two years in the CP3 Finishing School for Point Guards, and Evans could end up following in his footsteps. Thornwell, meanwhile, might be a better two-way player than any of the wings in the Clippers rotation right now — though that says as much about those guys as it does about him.

The Five Best Second-Round Picks in the 2017 NBA Draft

[madmaxmedia]

well we did draft 3 players last year so i'm not sure i understand the difference between this year and last year.

as far as playtime for the rookies, i just don't see it. not with doc rivers as the coach. fwiw i see development and pt as one and the same.

Last year, we had both our picks going into the draft, then flipped our 2nd into 2 lower seconds. So there was some activity. This year we had nothing going in, and had to buy our way in to get anything at all.

PT is a part of development, a big part to be sure. But there has to be some sort of organization game plan that starts much earlier. Given Rivers' disdain for younger players I am guessing that wasn't really there, that we weren't giving our young guys a good chance of succeeding. Granted none of these guys are lottery picks, but if anything that means you need to put even more effort into them if you hope to have any positive expectation for them to eventually fill holes in your roster.

Any weaknesses in the Clipper organization, Jerry West is going to see and point out. So we'll see what happens after that. I think Ballmer will listen to West and then we go from there. Until now, Ballmer basically just had Rivers to look to.

[nickhx2]

hmm i think i get you now, i think i wasn't clear that you were saying "before this year we had previously moved our 1st/2nd and we got back into it." i'm not sure it's west's influence as we did buy into the dawson pick but either way it's definitely welcome. and the prognosis on these guys seem to be a lot better than michineau and stone whom i don't see as doing a single thing for us.

it's my hope that you're right: given the new g-league team and west (hopefully) beating the stupid out of doc's head, that there will be a developmental plan for our young players that involves more than just letting them go 1v1 against paul pierce in practice.

i do definitely agree though, and i think it's a very underrated/understated point. until now ballmer only listened to doc. but now? he actually can listen to someone who has had tremendously more success and ability than rivers. it's a much better place for the team to be in.

[Ranma]

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[Clemenza]

I actually wish Doc would make a statement like, "Contrary to popular belief, we are about developing talent and intrigrating youth on this Clipper team. We have some players to work with and they will get a chance to prove they can contribute to our team or not".. or something to that effect. Say something different for a change then the usual kool-aid "I like this team" drivel and bullsh*t that he always spews out while the team fizzles out in the post season.I know you can't change a tiger's stripes but if this guy doesn't adjust/change his ways this instant I just hope Jerry West truly has Ballmer's ear and cans Doc.. If not we're headed into the crapper as an organization.

[Ranma]

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Cash
The Clippers have $3.27 million to buy a draft pick after sending $230,000 to Orlando to shed the contract of C.J. Wilcox. The Clippers can receive up to $3.5 million in any trade.
...

The Vertical's Draft-Night Reference Guide

[Neddy]

so, what is our absoulte nightmare roster at this point?
if every free agent was to leave, we would trot out

Evans-Austin-Wes Johnson-Brice-DJ with Jamal and Stone off the bench?



it's gonna be a party like nineteen ninety nine.

[Roscoe Sheed]

so, what is our absoulte nightmare roster at this point?
if every free agent was to leave, we would trot out

Evans-Austin-Wes Johnson-Brice-DJ with Jamal and Stone off the bench?



it's gonna be a party like nineteen ninety nine.

They would probably sign some vets or maybe not and just go total tank mode. The 2018 draft pick is lottery protected, right?

[Ranma]

They would probably sign some vets or maybe not and just go total tank mode. The 2018 draft pick is lottery protected, right?

Since Doc traded the Clippers' 2017 draft pick, he couldn't trade any part of our 2018 selection. Per RealGM, the 2019 pick, however, is lottery-protected from the Jeff-Green trade but that protection extends through 2020. If the pick is not conveyed within those 2 years, it converts to the Clips' 2022 second-round selection. We're actually in pretty good shape if we have to resort to tanking by next season.

[Ranma]

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[Forte IV]

so, what is our absoulte nightmare roster at this point?
if every free agent was to leave, we would trot out

Evans-Austin-Wes Johnson-Brice-DJ with Jamal and Stone off the bench?



it's gonna be a party like nineteen ninety nine.

I feel like we'd be able to sign someone, I think we have around $30 mil in cap space if everyone leaves. I'm sure we can find some form of replacements.

[MartinToVaught]

so, what is our absoulte nightmare roster at this point?
if every free agent was to leave, we would trot out

Evans-Austin-Wes Johnson-Brice-DJ with Jamal and Stone off the bench?



it's gonna be a party like nineteen ninety nine.

If Evans and Thornwell pan out like the media claims they will, that would low-key be a fun team to watch. Especially if we found a way to dump Austin and Jamal. We could even try to bring David Michineau over from France to see what he can do. For all the faults people found with his game when we drafted him, he did get a lot of praise for his speed, athleticism and defense. In a tanking scenario, why not bring him over and try to see if he could be a poor man's Eric Bledsoe off the bench?

All in all, that crew wouldn't win much, but they'd probably be more entertaining than last season's team was.

[Ranma]

[Ranma]

[Ranma]

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I suspect NBAdraft.net, in an effort to elevate itself more to DX's level as both a source for draftniks to follow and tool for NBA employees to use, is knowingly and willingly providing information and rumors to help further the cause of connected movers and shakers in the industry. In this case, NBAdraft.net is serving as an agent for God Shammgod by trying to generate buzz and urgency around his client Ben Bentil in an effort to move him up the draft board while also putting Shammgod's name out there to attract the attention of NBA employers as well as impressionable prospective clients for future drafts. Nothing generates more cursory interest than the impression of competitors' interest.

[og15]

Many times skill > athleticism. Both Evans and Thornwell don't rate high on the athleticism scale, and actually neither is a good finisher at the basket, but both are skilled players who compete on both ends.

[TucsonClip]

Athleticism is almost like a multiplier for skill. Its an enabler, which is why it is such a highly sought after trait in all sports.