NBA Draft 2018 II

[MemphisX]

Al Horford is setting a good example for Wendell Carter.

More likely Jaren Jackson Jr. Carter nowhere athletic enough to do what Horford does.

[King Ken]

Al Horford is setting a good example for Wendell Carter.

More likely Jaren Jackson Jr. Carter nowhere athletic enough to do what Horford does.

Neither are no where close to Horford. Horford strengths is how he makes the game supremely easy for everyone around him, with his BBIQ, off the ball movement, feel for the game, passing, off ball defense, versatility, coordination, instincts, range, and intangibles.

The only player in this draft that kind of reminds me of Al and in the last 10 years is Mikal Bridges. Mikal might never average more than 18PPG but his impact on winning Basketball will be there.

I compare Carter Jr to a more athletic Brook Lopez prospect. I compare JJJ to a weaker Clint Capela with range. Both are top 10 prospects on my board.

[Bob8]

It's ridiculous you have Doncic listed at SF. The guy plays PG for Real Madrid. So until someone changes his position, he should be listed at PG.

Running the offense or not, he's going to be defending NBA wings, not NBA PG's.

Yes. But on the other hand this classification is somewhat strange. Simmons is considered a Pg, even though he for sure doesn’t look a Pg and Doncic, who plays much more as a Pg is a wing. You’re what you defend is normally o.k. but I’m not sure if being a wing described, what Doncic or some similar players does for his team. Doncic has much more things in common with Young than with Mikal Bridges.

[GimmeDat]

It's ridiculous you have Doncic listed at SF. The guy plays PG for Real Madrid. So until someone changes his position, he should be listed at PG.

Running the offense or not, he's going to be defending NBA wings, not NBA PG's.

Yes. But on the other hand this classification is somewhat strange. Simmons is considered a Pg, even though he for sure doesn’t look a Pg and Doncic, who plays much more as a Pg is a wing. You’re what you defend is normally o.k. but I’m not sure if being a wing described, what Doncic or some similar players does for his team. Doncic has much more things in common with Young than with Mikal Bridges.

Comes down to your semantics of what defines a position. I think most people would say that positionally Simmons is a PF. He runs the offense but you generally run him with a PG or combo guard that defends the PG position, as opposed to having Simmons at 'PG' and then having another PF on top of Embiid in the lineup.

I think either interpretations are acceptable, but I wouldn't say that listing Doncic as an SF is 'ridiculous'.

[clyde21]

It's ridiculous you have Doncic listed at SF. The guy plays PG for Real Madrid. So until someone changes his position, he should be listed at PG.

Running the offense or not, he's going to be defending NBA wings, not NBA PG's.

I don't think it works like that anymore with all of the switching in today's NBA. He'll be guarding SGs and combo guards just as much as he'll be guarding pure wings.

I'd list him as a combo guard if anything, but if we're going to limit it to traditional roles, I think PG or even SG make more sense than SF.

[clyde21]

This may be all of the combine invites minus maybe 3 to 5 more including Robert Williams.
SF
Rawle Alkins
Brian Bowen
Sviatoslav Mykhuiliuk
Melvin Frazier
Zhaire Smith
Troy Brown Jr
Gary Clark
Devon Hall
Jacob Evans
Mikal Bridges
Kevin Knox
Caleb Martin
Hamidou Diallo
Michael Porter Jr
Luka Doncic-
Charles Matthews
Chandler Hutchison
Kris Wilkes
George King

It seems like you're trying to inflate the SF position, honestly.

All of the bolded don't belong on the SF list if we're being strict about it.

Alkins, Diallo and Smith are definitely not SFs. You can play Bridges there in the NBA but SG will be a more natural position. Also Doncic more of a combo guard than a SF. Same with Brown.

[Bob8]

Running the offense or not, he's going to be defending NBA wings, not NBA PG's.

Yes. But on the other hand this classification is somewhat strange. Simmons is considered a Pg, even though he for sure doesn’t look a Pg and Doncic, who plays much more as a Pg is a wing. You’re what you defend is normally o.k. but I’m not sure if being a wing described, what Doncic or some similar players does for his team. Doncic has much more things in common with Young than with Mikal Bridges.

Comes down to your semantics of what defines a position. I think most people would say that positionally Simmons is a PF. He runs the offense but you generally run him with a PG or combo guard that defends the PG position, as opposed to having Simmons at 'PG' and then having another PF on top of Embiid in the lineup.

I think either interpretations are acceptable, but I wouldn't say that listing Doncic as an SF is 'ridiculous'.

I understand your point of view, but I believe Pg defines his game better than Sf. Whoever drafts Doncic will do that because of his play making abilities. Watching Phily:Boston series, Simmons doesn’t look as Pg for sure, his play making is very limited, he looks more like classical old time Pf, who cannot shoot. It shows that he’s a rookie, but without developing some kind of a jumper, he will struggle in playoffs every single year.

[Duke4life831]

This may be all of the combine invites minus maybe 3 to 5 more including Robert Williams.
SF
Rawle Alkins
Brian Bowen
Sviatoslav Mykhuiliuk
Melvin Frazier
Zhaire Smith
Troy Brown Jr
Gary Clark
Devon Hall
Jacob Evans
Mikal Bridges
Kevin Knox
Caleb Martin
Hamidou Diallo
Michael Porter Jr
Luka Doncic-
Charles Matthews
Chandler Hutchison
Kris Wilkes
George King

It seems like you're trying to inflate the SF position, honestly.

All of the bolded don't belong on the SF list if we're being strict about it.

Alkins, Diallo and Smith are definitely not SFs. You can play Bridges there in the NBA but SG will be a more natural position. Also Doncic more of a combo guard than a SF. Same with Brown.

You think Bridges is going to spend more time at the SG? Comparing him to another Nova guy in Hart, I think Hart was better laterally, had better ball skills and was a little shorter than Bridges. Hart did spend the majority of his time at the SG position but still spent 42% of his time at the SF position. I personally think Bridges is primarily going to play at the SF. But the rest of the guys I do agree with you.

[doordoor123]

This may be all of the combine invites minus maybe 3 to 5 more including Robert Williams.
SF
Rawle Alkins
Brian Bowen
Sviatoslav Mykhuiliuk
Melvin Frazier
Zhaire Smith
Troy Brown Jr
Gary Clark
Devon Hall
Jacob Evans
Mikal Bridges
Kevin Knox
Caleb Martin
Hamidou Diallo
Michael Porter Jr
Luka Doncic-
Charles Matthews
Chandler Hutchison
Kris Wilkes
George King

It seems like you're trying to inflate the SF position, honestly.

All of the bolded don't belong on the SF list if we're being strict about it.

Alkins, Diallo and Smith are definitely not SFs. You can play Bridges there in the NBA but SG will be a more natural position. Also Doncic more of a combo guard than a SF. Same with Brown.

As of now offensively SF is their position. You have to be able to shoot to play shooting guard offensively. And nowadays a lot of players who are typically guards play forward. E’Twaun Moore, who was considered to potentially play point guard coming out of college plays small forward. Same with Marcus Smart. Lance Stephenson too. The guys I picked out have the size and strength to defend 3s and shoot open corner threes. Mikal Bridges is a guy that most teams will want cutting because he’s able to do that. Guards primarily are closer to the top of arc and spend less time cutting. Plus Mikal Bridges is a really good shooter from the corner and doesn’t have much of a handle to slash from the top of the arc. He likes to cut in the middle from the corner and get a pass inside for a cut.

[doordoor123]

Really bizzare there are no predraft interviews/workout footage. Usually every team has stuff. This year it looks like teams are trying to stay quiet and aren’t posting anything. Only really Lakers stuff.

[doordoor123]

This guy from China is getting a lot of attention. He has 8 team workouts.

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[doordoor123]

It’s kind of crazy that all these workouts are filled with wings. All the teams are looking for wings.

[GimmeDat]

I consider myself pretty good with names, but I'm going to take a pass on pronouncing Abudushalamu Abudurexiti. Hopefully this guy is good enough for his own nickname.

[DaddyCool19]

That guys name sounds like it was made up

[peZt]

Call him Abu Abu

[HeadtopChunes]

Thoughts on Jared Vanderbilt?

[GimmeDat]

Thoughts on Jared Vanderbilt?

I really liked him going in to the season, and I still do, but he had a really interrupted season. He desperately needs to develop his jump-shot but he still brings energy, athleticism and versatility to the forward position. ELITE rebounder (18.5 boards per 40), strong defender, and a great feel for the game as well as being a good passer. Could even be a ultra small-ball 5.

Here's an example of what he's capable of -

Watch on YouTube

I could see him developing in to a Rondae Hollis-Jefferson type as a ceiling. I have him early 2nd round. Might sound low based on the positive things I had to say but his offense has a long way to go.

[Moooose]

It’s kind of crazy that all these workouts are filled with wings. All the teams are looking for wings.

It's a wing-heavy draft class. Just looking at the player pool, there are a lot of guys that are 6'-5" to 6'-9". Some smaller players like Okogie, DiVincenzo, Newman, Alkins can play (and would likely play) wing positions too.

I guess most teams would be looking at wings who can play and defend multiple positions.

[PLO]

Vanderbilt's actually also really good in the open court, plus handle on him for a guy that size, I think he'll go higher than some expect. There really is not another player like him in this draft.

[nolang1]

Vanderbilt's actually also really good in the open court, plus handle on him for a guy that size, I think he'll go higher than some expect. There really is not another player like him in this draft.

He’s talented enough to be a mid first-round pick but there’s a real chance he has chronic foot injuries.