Absurdly early 2018 NBA Draft Thread

[Jamaaliver]

I'm a big fan of Jontay ever since last December. I thought we should take him at 30, but now i'm thinking about taking him at 18

And this is a growing sentiment around scouting circles. I get it from a skill set perspective. But this strikes me as a pick that can get a guy fired if it doesn't work out.


He's so raw and out of shape.

But I've heard Nikola Jokic comparisons which seem absurd...but intriguing.

[MaceCase]

Big guys get more space if a big is guaring them. If there's a switch and they have a smaller player, just shoot over the top. Big guys have a stroke advantage by not jumping on their jumper. Just kind of lift their heels

Depends, guards can typically dunk on a 10 foot rim and NBA bigs can cover space. A big man doesn’t have an advantage on their jumper if they have a low and/or slow release allowing a defense to cover. Not saying JJJ is Childress out there but he does have to tweak his mechanics some to make his jumper an effective weapon in the NBA and not just a perk.

[Spud2nique]

Big guys get more space if a big is guaring them. If there's a switch and they have a smaller player, just shoot over the top. Big guys have a stroke advantage by not jumping on their jumper. Just kind of lift their heels

Depends, guards can typically dunk on a 10 foot rim and NBA bigs can cover space. A big man doesn’t have an advantage on their jumper if they have a low and/or slow release allowing a defense to cover. Not saying JJJ is Childress out there but he does have to tweak his mechanics some to make his jumper an effective weapon in the NBA and not just a perk.

Marion never did and he was an all star and in the league 15+ years. Sometimes you can be so athletic and smooth that it just doesn’t matter.

[MaceCase]

Big guys get more space if a big is guaring them. If there's a switch and they have a smaller player, just shoot over the top. Big guys have a stroke advantage by not jumping on their jumper. Just kind of lift their heels

Depends, guards can typically dunk on a 10 foot rim and NBA bigs can cover space. A big man doesn’t have an advantage on their jumper if they have a low and/or slow release allowing a defense to cover. Not saying JJJ is Childress out there but he does have to tweak his mechanics some to make his jumper an effective weapon in the NBA and not just a perk.

Marion never did and he was an all star and in the league 15+ years. Sometimes you can be so athletic and smooth that it just doesn’t matter.

Eh, Marion was an uber-athletic WING whose career took off specifically because D’Antoni played him at PF to offset his lack of a jumper.

The NBA has changed though so you’re not surprising anyone and if you’re telling me that JJJ is at a level where he can guard 1-5 one on one plus snatch down 11+ rebounds then much like Marion, there isn’t a point discussing his jumper.

[Spud2nique]

Depends, guards can typically dunk on a 10 foot rim and NBA bigs can cover space. A big man doesn’t have an advantage on their jumper if they have a low and/or slow release allowing a defense to cover. Not saying JJJ is Childress out there but he does have to tweak his mechanics some to make his jumper an effective weapon in the NBA and not just a perk.

Marion never did and he was an all star and in the league 15+ years. Sometimes you can be so athletic and smooth that it just doesn’t matter.

Eh, Marion was an uber-athletic WING whose career took off specifically because D’Antoni played him at PF to offset his lack of a jumper.

The NBA has changed though so you’re not surprising anyone and if you’re telling me that JJJ is at a level where he can guard 1-5 one on one plus snatch down 11+ rebounds then much like Marion, there isn’t a point discussing his jumper.

Ok so let’s not discuss it. Plus I got the answer right and you gave me an eh? Perhaps you thought I was Cap. Lol.

[MaceCase]

Marion never did and he was an all star and in the league 15+ years. Sometimes you can be so athletic and smooth that it just doesn’t matter.

Eh, Marion was an uber-athletic WING whose career took off specifically because D’Antoni played him at PF to offset his lack of a jumper.

The NBA has changed though so you’re not surprising anyone and if you’re telling me that JJJ is at a level where he can guard 1-5 one on one plus snatch down 11+ rebounds then much like Marion, there isn’t a point discussing his jumper.

Ok so let’s not discuss it. Plus I got the answer right and you gave me an eh? Perhaps you thought I was Cap. Lol.

Well I gave you an “eh” because there’s not much comparison between the players besides funky jumpers. Would you have liked a cookie if you brought up young Jason Kidd too?

[Spud2nique]

Eh, Marion was an uber-athletic WING whose career took off specifically because D’Antoni played him at PF to offset his lack of a jumper.

The NBA has changed though so you’re not surprising anyone and if you’re telling me that JJJ is at a level where he can guard 1-5 one on one plus snatch down 11+ rebounds then much like Marion, there isn’t a point discussing his jumper.

Ok so let’s not discuss it. Plus I got the answer right and you gave me an eh? Perhaps you thought I was Cap. Lol.

Well I gave you an “eh” because there’s not much comparison between the players besides funky jumpers. Would you have liked a cookie if you brought up young Jason Kidd too?

I’d probably blow for a cookie but that’s neither here nor there...I’m cutting brah you know the hunger urges. We were talking about the funky shot wasn’t saying their games were similar. Although now that I think about it, JJJ is probably projected at about 11 rpg if he pans out for his career so there’s a similarity right there Mr. big man on campus! Boom.

[MaceCase]

Ok so let’s not discuss it. Plus I got the answer right and you gave me an eh? Perhaps you thought I was Cap. Lol.

Well I gave you an “eh” because there’s not much comparison between the players besides funky jumpers. Would you have liked a cookie if you brought up young Jason Kidd too?

I’d probably blow for a cookie but that’s neither here nor there...I’m cutting brah you know the hunger urges. We were talking about the funky shot wasn’t saying their games were similar. Although now that I think about it, JJJ is probably projected at about 11 rpg if he pans out for his career so there’s a similarity right there Mr. big man on campus! Boom.

Eh...growing up, the Monsignor would send kids with those kind of “urges” off to a special camp but I’m not judging you Spudlous.

Well like I said, you can’t just boil down the effectiveness of two completely different players just because they share one similar aspect. That and rebounding wasn’t JJJ’s strongpoint in college, it’s why he’s drawn Myles Turner comparisons yet even then Turner was a superior college rebounder that has failed to notch 8 RPG in the NBA.

The excuse is that JJJ is young and he was surrounded by other rebounders but I’ve been contending from the beginning that if we are going to use his teammates to explain away his weaknesses then we need to include them to account for his strengths.

[Spud2nique]

Well I gave you an “eh” because there’s not much comparison between the players besides funky jumpers. Would you have liked a cookie if you brought up young Jason Kidd too?

I’d probably blow for a cookie but that’s neither here nor there...I’m cutting brah you know the hunger urges. We were talking about the funky shot wasn’t saying their games were similar. Although now that I think about it, JJJ is probably projected at about 11 rpg if he pans out for his career so there’s a similarity right there Mr. big man on campus! Boom.

Eh...growing up, the Monsignor would send kids with those kind of “urges” off to a special camp but I’m not judging you Spudlous.

Well like I said, you can’t just boil down the effectiveness of two completely different players just because they share one similar aspect. That and rebounding wasn’t JJJ’s strongpoint in college, it’s why he’s drawn Myles Turner comparisons yet even then Turner was a superior college rebounder that has failed to notch 8 RPG in the NBA.

The excuse is that JJJ is young and he was surrounded by other rebounders but I’ve been contending from the beginning that if we are going to use his teammates to explain away his weaknesses then we need to include them to account for his strengths.

Go back in the thread we were replying to fixing his shot mechanics, that’s why I compared the two players. Not sure how else to say this.


Kudos on the kids off to special camps though that was pretty solid...nephew!

[Jamaaliver]

If Doncic becomes a consistent threat from outside in the NBA (38% or better), he might truly be unstoppable on the offensive end of the court.

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[jayu70]

NBA Exec: Bamba May Have Higher Upside Than Ayton

like Bamba a lot,” an Eastern Conference executive told The Athletic. “He’s one of the top picks for me. I would seriously look at him and DeAndre Ayton and see who has the bigger upside. I think his upside may be better than Ayton’s. He’s such an elite shot blocker.

“His skill level isn’t bad, and it’s getting better. He has a nice touch, and he’s going to get better. Ayton has a super body right now. Bamba needs to get stronger. But you can’t go wrong either way. Which one has the drive to be great? Ayton right now is the better overall player, but Bamba has an elite skill.”

 

[Jamaaliver]

NBA Exec: Bamba May Have Higher Upside Than Ayton

Link?

[Jamaaliver]

Most of this stuff is encouraging.

If we were to select Bamba (and I'm not yet advocating it), I'd hope we would focus on offense with the other three selections. Dzanan Musa, Jalen Brunson and Elie Okobo later in the draft.


Damning analysis from league execs:

Code: Select all

Among the handful of league executives I spoke with, several expressed concern about Bamba’s offensive ability. As one longtime front-office executive said, “centers his size are becoming less attractive” because more teams than ever are going small and “playing five-out with the middle wide open on offense.” A guy like Rudy Gobert—someone Bamba has been compared to defensively—is a good example. Gobert could very well be the Defensive Player of the Year, but at times he was a postseason liability for a Jazz team that could desperately use more offense.

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[kg01]

Most of this stuff is encouraging.

If we were to select Bamba (and I'm not yet advocating it), I'd hope we would focus on offense with the other three selections. Dzanan Musa, Jalen Brunson and Elie Okobo later in the draft.


Damning analysis from league execs:

Code: Select all

Among the handful of league executives I spoke with, several expressed concern about Bamba’s offensive ability. As one longtime front-office executive said, “centers his size are becoming less attractive” because more teams than ever are going small and “playing five-out with the middle wide open on offense.” A guy like Rudy Gobert—someone Bamba has been compared to defensively—is a good example. Gobert could very well be the Defensive Player of the Year, but at times he was a postseason liability for a Jazz team that could desperately use more offense.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

I honestly don't think he's as offensively deficient as many folks thought. I thought the same thing before I say him play. He's better offensively than, say, Capela. I've adjusted my top 5 ...

1. #Ayton2A_Town
2. #LaBamba
3. #theMPorter
4. #BallinColinSexton
5. #BaDonkaDoncic

[Jamaaliver]

1. #Ayton2A_Town
2. #LaBamba
3. #theMPorter
4. #BallinColinSexton
5. #BaDonkaDoncic

[Spud2nique]

Most of this stuff is encouraging.

If we were to select Bamba (and I'm not yet advocating it), I'd hope we would focus on offense with the other three selections. Dzanan Musa, Jalen Brunson and Elie Okobo later in the draft.


Damning analysis from league execs:

Code: Select all

Among the handful of league executives I spoke with, several expressed concern about Bamba’s offensive ability. As one longtime front-office executive said, “centers his size are becoming less attractive” because more teams than ever are going small and “playing five-out with the middle wide open on offense.” A guy like Rudy Gobert—someone Bamba has been compared to defensively—is a good example. Gobert could very well be the Defensive Player of the Year, but at times he was a postseason liability for a Jazz team that could desperately use more offense.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

I honestly don't think he's as offensively deficient as many folks thought. I thought the same thing before I say him play. He's better offensively than, say, Capela. I've adjusted my top 5 ...

1. #Ayton2A_Town
2. #LaBamba
3. #theMPorter
4. #BallinColinSexton
5. #BaDonkaDoncic

You are a marketers dream kg.

[kg01]

1. #Ayton2A_Town
2. #LaBamba
3. #theMPorter
4. #BallinColinSexton
5. #BaDonkaDoncic

I don't read 'emoji' so I'll assume this means you love my top 5.

@spud, I missed my calling. If I see these tags anywhere I'm suing the pantz off errybody.

[Spud2nique]

1. #Ayton2A_Town
2. #LaBamba
3. #theMPorter
4. #BallinColinSexton
5. #BaDonkaDoncic

I don't read 'emoji' so I'll assume this means you love my top 5.

@spud, I missed my calling. If I see these tags anywhere I'm suing the pantz off errybody.

Oh that Jamal emoji face is the face he makes when the Celtics get ripped up in a few days...he’s gonna be very upset and will need our full support. Which is about the time I’m gonna go back to the old country...

[Jamaaliver]

Oh that Jamal emoji face is the face he makes when the Celtics get ripped up in a few days...he’s gonna be very upset and will need our full support. Which is about the time I’m gonna go back to the old country...

I gotta be honest, I'm just surprised the Celtics are still in this. They lost their two best players months ago, have been the less talented team in each matchup thus far -- and just seem to keep on chugging along in large part because of our cast off. HOW?!?

And they'll likely be even better next season.

I'll be more disappointed if HOU doesn't at least take GSW to 6 games.

[Jamaaliver]

1. #Ayton2A_Town
2. #LaBamba
3. #theMPorter
4. #BallinColinSexton
5. #BaDonkaDoncic

I don't read 'emoji' so I'll assume this means you love my top 5.

I am very surprised to see Bamba that high and Sexton there at all.

I think Collin will put forth some spectacular production...but to the detriment (and dismay) of his future teammates.

NOTE: If healthy -- Porter is probably the only player that checks every box in the franchise player checklist.

Mentally tough
Strong competitor
Elite skillset with likely elite production
Marketable
Productive on both ends of the court.


(Doncic comes close, be he profiles as a poor defender who's likely to provide solid stats but big plays in the clutch.)