Aleksej Pokusevski

[No-Man]

He is way more fluid and quicker than Thon, Bol and Bender (who don't have that much in common all together, Bender is pretty big now and was always going to fill up fine)

I think he is a top5 prospect in this class really

[clyde21]

I still love the potential. I wouldn't balk at him going top 20. His ability to square up on a 3PT shot at his height while coming around a screen or on the move is borderline special. That's more intriguing to me than him handling the rock all the way down the floor and instigating the play.

And to me the main difference between Poku and Bol is the mobility. Poku isn't a twitchy guy, but his body control and ease of movement is on the ABSOLUTE opposite side of the spectrum as Bol. I think Bol can be a rotation big, but he is limited to C and unless he get tougher, bigger and more passionate he is going to be steamrolled there IMO. I don't trust his conditioning one bit either and that's going to take lots of time w/ a offseason trainer to correct, but I am not sure he is the type to put the work in to do so. I hate commenting on young guys commitment to the game, but there was never more smoke in this regard than w/ Bol, so while I generally dismiss this, I am assuming there is fire there as well.

lol...how is Bol a bust?

also Bol has pretty ridiculous body control for a guy his size, not sure what ur talking about there

[Ruzious]

I still love the potential. I wouldn't balk at him going top 20. His ability to square up on a 3PT shot at his height while coming around a screen or on the move is borderline special. That's more intriguing to me than him handling the rock all the way down the floor and instigating the play.

And to me the main difference between Poku and Bol is the mobility. Poku isn't a twitchy guy, but his body control and ease of movement is on the ABSOLUTE opposite side of the spectrum as Bol. I think Bol can be a rotation big, but he is limited to C and unless he get tougher, bigger and more passionate he is going to be steamrolled there IMO. I don't trust his conditioning one bit either and that's going to take lots of time w/ a offseason trainer to correct, but I am not sure he is the type to put the work in to do so. I hate commenting on young guys commitment to the game, but there was never more smoke in this regard than w/ Bol, so while I generally dismiss this, I am assuming there is fire there as well.

lol...how is Bol a bust?

also Bol has pretty ridiculous body control for a guy his size, not sure what ur talking about there

I like Bol a lot. I would have bought a 2nd round pick to get him - the Wiz bought a pick 2 picks before he was picked and chose Admiral Schofield. Problem is - that body of his is always an injury waiting to happen. Is he going to break the next time he makes a sharp cut to the basket? Pokuman's like the opposite - even though he's not much heavier now. He can stop on a dime like it's nothing - no stress on his joints - like a young AK47 on Utah. And he's likely got the frame to add the extra pounds.

[clyde21]

I still love the potential. I wouldn't balk at him going top 20. His ability to square up on a 3PT shot at his height while coming around a screen or on the move is borderline special. That's more intriguing to me than him handling the rock all the way down the floor and instigating the play.

And to me the main difference between Poku and Bol is the mobility. Poku isn't a twitchy guy, but his body control and ease of movement is on the ABSOLUTE opposite side of the spectrum as Bol. I think Bol can be a rotation big, but he is limited to C and unless he get tougher, bigger and more passionate he is going to be steamrolled there IMO. I don't trust his conditioning one bit either and that's going to take lots of time w/ a offseason trainer to correct, but I am not sure he is the type to put the work in to do so. I hate commenting on young guys commitment to the game, but there was never more smoke in this regard than w/ Bol, so while I generally dismiss this, I am assuming there is fire there as well.

lol...how is Bol a bust?

also Bol has pretty ridiculous body control for a guy his size, not sure what ur talking about there

I like Bol a lot. I would have bought a 2nd round pick to get him - the Wiz bought a pick 2 picks before he was picked and chose Admiral Schofield. Problem is - that body of his is always an injury waiting to happen. Is he going to break the next time he makes a sharp cut to the basket? Pokuman's like the opposite - even though he's not much heavier now. He can stop on a dime like it's nothing - no stress on his joints - like a young AK47 on Utah. And he's likely got the frame to add the extra pounds.

if you worry about his durability that's a fair concern, just don't see how he's 'already a bust', doesn't make sense

[3toheadmelo]

Meh prospect. Don’t see the hype

[getrichordie]

No way Pokusevski is top 5. He has character concerns. Top 10? Sure.

He is going to be a liability on defense in the NBA. You are going to have scheme/cover for his slow side to side speed. He’s not going to be able to guard on the perimeter. Slow feet don’t eat.

Where his value comes in is as a potential playmaking 4 who can bring the ball up the court.

I see the upside and I have him ranked top 10, but I’m bullish on Pokusevski for where I have him ranked and that may force me to reconsider where I should put him on my BB.

[MemphisX]

Top 5 talent in this draft is possible. He is definitely top 5 in upside IMO. One of the few in this draft with star upside.

[RiotPunch]

This has been by far my most difficult eval. Weighing in high/median/low outcomes and the likelihood of him coming close to maximizing them is risky business.

The high end is HIGH though. A GM with job security should probably make the gamble, but lottery teams tend to have management staff on thin ice going in. San Antonio is probably his best and most realistic landing spot, but I hope he slips to my Bucks where he can sit and learn for 2-3 years before joining a 28-year-old Giannis, primed for world domination.

[GimmeDat]

No way Pokusevski is top 5. He has character concerns. Top 10? Sure.

He is going to be a liability on defense in the NBA. You are going to have scheme/cover for his slow side to side speed. He’s not going to be able to guard on the perimeter. Slow feet don’t eat.

Where his value comes in is as a potential playmaking 4 who can bring the ball up the court.

I see the upside and I have him ranked top 10, but I’m bullish on Pokusevski for where I have him ranked and that may force me to reconsider where I should put him on my BB.

What's the character concerns?

[getrichordie]

No way Pokusevski is top 5. He has character concerns. Top 10? Sure.

He is going to be a liability on defense in the NBA. You are going to have scheme/cover for his slow side to side speed. He’s not going to be able to guard on the perimeter. Slow feet don’t eat.

Where his value comes in is as a potential playmaking 4 who can bring the ball up the court.

I see the upside and I have him ranked top 10, but I’m bullish on Pokusevski for where I have him ranked and that may force me to reconsider where I should put him on my BB.

What's the character concerns?

He’s been seen trying to discipline teammates for defensive lapses only to play lackadaisically defense against his assignment.

Not a good look. He should be focused on his own defense first before getting on to others.

[No-Man]

No way Pokusevski is top 5. He has character concerns. Top 10? Sure.

He is going to be a liability on defense in the NBA. You are going to have scheme/cover for his slow side to side speed. He’s not going to be able to guard on the perimeter. Slow feet don’t eat.

Where his value comes in is as a potential playmaking 4 who can bring the ball up the court.

I see the upside and I have him ranked top 10, but I’m bullish on Pokusevski for where I have him ranked and that may force me to reconsider where I should put him on my BB.

What's the character concerns?

He’s been seen trying to discipline teammates for defensive lapses only to play lackadaisically defense against his assignment.

Not a good look. He should be focused on his own defense first before getting on to others.

This is absolutely ridiculous and your post should get flagged

I know people close to Poku's inner circle, absolutely 0 character concerns to speak of

[No-Man]

This has been by far my most difficult eval. Weighing in high/median/low outcomes and the likelihood of him coming close to maximizing them is risky business.

The high end is HIGH though. A GM with job security should probably make the gamble, but lottery teams tend to have management staff on thin ice going in. San Antonio is probably his best and most realistic landing spot, but I hope he slips to my Bucks where he can sit and learn for 2-3 years before joining a 28-year-old Giannis, primed for world domination.

You don't draft for median outcome, you draft for upside, esp high

[RiotPunch]

This has been by far my most difficult eval. Weighing in high/median/low outcomes and the likelihood of him coming close to maximizing them is risky business.

The high end is HIGH though. A GM with job security should probably make the gamble, but lottery teams tend to have management staff on thin ice going in. San Antonio is probably his best and most realistic landing spot, but I hope he slips to my Bucks where he can sit and learn for 2-3 years before joining a 28-year-old Giannis, primed for world domination.

You don't draft for median outcome, you draft for upside, esp high

Not always, if the path to the high is deemed unlikely.

[No-Man]

Not sure why it'd be unlikely with Poku

[getrichordie]

LMAO @ flagging my post because the kid knows Poku’s inner circle. What the ****?

Get over yourself.

[BlazersBroncos]

lol...how is Bol a bust?

also Bol has pretty ridiculous body control for a guy his size, not sure what ur talking about there

I literally never called Bol a bust and said I think he has rotation center upside.

I reread my own post like 3 times to make sure, your making me feel crazy now.

I also think that Milwaukee and SAS are the best options. His floor spacing and potential ability to make a your-turn-then-mine PnR duo with Giannis would be straight up special. I also like his straight-line speed for those quick, long striding fast breaks that they get out and run with Freak. As for SAS, well its SAS and they just know how to develop Euros.

Wish he would be an option for Portland, but I don't think we have the balls to make such a risky, potentially not-NBA-ready pick with Dame in his prime. Which is a pity because hitting on a high upside guy like this is the only way we get out of pretender status.

[hugepatsfan]

Celtics at #17 make some sense. If history is any indication even an "NBA ready" player wouldn't play for us.

Stevens' first year Olynyk played a rotation role as a rookie. Then Smart came in the next year and did the same. But that was when we were a rebuilding team.

Since then, we've had guys like Rozier, Robert Williams and Romeo Langford barely play as rookies. Rozier/Williams were given back of the rotation roles in year 2, we'll see on Romeo (started to play a little more to end this season so would seem to be on track for a similar year 2 bump.

Jaylen Brown got low minutes as a rookie. Grant Williams was a rotation player this year. But neither got even 20 minutes per game.

Tatum is the only rookie under Stevens since the rebuilding years that's gotten significant run.

You look at the team coming back next year...

At center we have Theis/Kanter/R Williams. We have locked in starters with Kemba/Brown/Hayward/Tatum. Smart is locked in as a bench piece. Grant Williams should hold his rotation spot. Langford seems a good bet for a year 2 jump as I said.

Not saying that no one at #17 wouldn't be a better player than those guys long term. But considering Stevens history I doubt they play in year 1. So I'm not too worried about waiting for upside.

If we can stash him overseas a year it even helps luxury tax/roster space to be honest.

[BlazersBroncos]

He does make sense in Boston given the crowded roster but his profile really doesn't strike me as the type they target. When they took Langford over Sekou, it made me think they are not as willing as some would think to invest in unproven project guys. I think that pick will be their Fultz over Tatum moment, albeit not quite as much a mistake.

[hugepatsfan]

He does make sense in Boston given the crowded roster but his profile really doesn't strike me as the type they target. When they took Langford over Sekou, it made me think they are not as willing as some would think to invest in unproven project guys. I think that pick will be their Fultz over Tatum moment, albeit not quite as much a mistake.

I don't think you can characterize a whole philosophy on one decision like that. Langford was a top recruit coming out of high school (5 star recruit, #5 overall player). He struggled at IND but he had an injury to his shooting hand and a terrible supporting cast that put a lot on his plate. Ainge has a history of looking beyond one bad year in college. The most dramatic example is Jaylen Brown. He struggled in his year at Cal, especially shooting the ball. But the shooting projections coming out of high school were much better so Ainge chalked up the bad freshman year to poor spacing and bad teammates. Langford also has the strong length/athleticism to grow on defense, which he's already flashed in his spot playing time this year. I'm still really excited for Romeo and think he will have a similar career progression to guys like Avery Bradley/Terry Rozier in terms of looking like a bust after year 1 but growing into a very solid pick at their draft slots.

Historically though, they definitely haven't taken a lot of international guys. Only 1st rounder they did it with were Yabusele and Zizic but that was a unique circumstance. They needed to take draft & stash guys to preserve cap space for their run at signing Durant along with Horford that year. I do think the overall circumstance could change approach. We'll see I guess.

[EvanZ]

Boston seems to love football players.