2016 draft thread: Part 2

[Worm Guts]

Oh he's undersized as SG? Still won't he play the same 3&D wing role? Or is his defense not good?

Hield is 6-4, he's definitely undersized. That lack of size and athleticism will also limit him on defense from being a true 3/D wing.

He's got relatively good length though I believe.

[Saltine]

Oh he's undersized as SG? Still won't he play the same 3&D wing role? Or is his defense not good?

Hield is 6-4, he's definitely undersized. That lack of size and athleticism will also limit him on defense from being a true 3/D wing.

He's got relatively good length though I believe.

Buddy is an inch shorter than Zach, same wingspan, 20 pounds more muscle.

[Raymond437]

Oh he's undersized as SG? Still won't he play the same 3&D wing role? Or is his defense not good?

Hield is 6-4, he's definitely undersized. That lack of size and athleticism will also limit him on defense from being a true 3/D wing.

He's got relatively good length though I believe.

His size and length is almost same as Tony Allen

[Klomp]

I'm going to make a case for Jakob Poeltl

The two biggest needs are defense/rebounding and shooting. Everyone is going right to the shooters of this class if we stay out of the Top 3, but I'm don't think that's such a sure thing.

Check this out:
However, outside of Towns, who ranked sixth in defensive rebounds this season, the Timberwolves are lackluster on the glass, ranking 23rd in defensive rebound percentage. Chicago ranked in the top 13 in defensive rebound percentage in four of Thibodeau’s five seasons at the helm; Minnesota hasn’t ranked in the top 15 in four years. (Source)

Four years ago was when you had a healthy Love and a healthy Pekovic. Well, actually it was five years ago, but hear me out. The two bigs absolutely dominated the glass together. I think it's important to get back to that. I know there are worries that it would slow down the offense too much, but we still had a top-5 team in pace in 11-12 with the 16th-best DRB%. More defensive rebounds means more transition opportunities, not less.

I actually look at that team and that's how I would incorporate Poeltl on offense. Pick and rolls, rim runs and duck-ins. Those are all in his wheelhouse. Towns would then take the Love role. Probably not as many 3s, but he would be a floor-spacer who would still get plenty of post-ups.

I know people are worried that this isn't the same era, and we need small-ball yadda yadda yadda. But to me, a Thibodeau-coached team will always start on the defensive side of the ball. We have plenty of offensive options. I think it's easier to find a 3-point difference-maker in free agency than it is to find a defensive difference maker.

[LordBaldric]

Sorry Klomp, while you lay out a good case I believe moving Towns from the Center position would be an epic mistake, especially in this day & age in the NBA.

And this isn't just a small ball issue. Towns is a legit 5, and will mismatch the fake small ball 5's they send against him in the future. He's a match-up nightmare as a 5! Hell, if nothing else I feel Dieng is a good pairing @ 4 for him. We'll see what Thibs can do for his D.

[Takingbaconback]

I don't mind Poeltl either. I think he has a much higher ceiling than popular opinion. He's got the size, he's got very good athleticism, and great hands. Rebounding must be a priority if Wolves draft a 4/5 and Poeltl can help more than anybody else when you talk about boxing out and establishing physical dominance inside the paint.

I don't think moving Towns to 5 would be bad, it just depends on the player Wolves pair him up with. I would rather have Favors/Towns combo over Towns/Poeltl, but I rather have Towns/Poeltl over Ryan Anderson or Dieng/Towns. Could see Duncan similarities where it doesn't matter what he plays as long as he is next to great players like Robinson or LMA.

[Klomp]

Sorry Klomp, while you lay out a good case I believe moving Towns from the Center position would be an epic mistake, especially in this day & age in the NBA.

And this isn't just a small ball issue. Towns is a legit 5, and will mismatch the fake small ball 5's they send against him in the future. He's a match-up nightmare as a 5! Hell, if nothing else I feel Dieng is a good pairing @ 4 for him. We'll see what Thibs can do for his D.

Here's the flaw I see with that argument: when Dieng was in the game (which was when Towns arguably played his best ball), most of the time Towns was going against opposing 4s while Dieng was guarded by the 5s. So really, there would be no change in terms of being a matchup nightmare.

In terms of how he was defended, Towns was a 4 last year. The only times he was really guarded by 5s was when he was paired with guys like Bazz, Bjelica, etc. at the 4. Not surprisingly, our rebounding plummeted too.

[LordBaldric]

Sorry Klomp, while you lay out a good case I believe moving Towns from the Center position would be an epic mistake, especially in this day & age in the NBA.

And this isn't just a small ball issue. Towns is a legit 5, and will mismatch the fake small ball 5's they send against him in the future. He's a match-up nightmare as a 5! Hell, if nothing else I feel Dieng is a good pairing @ 4 for him. We'll see what Thibs can do for his D.

Here's the flaw I see with that argument: when Dieng was in the game (which was when Towns arguably played his best ball), most of the time Towns was going against opposing 4s while Dieng was guarded by the 5s. So really, there would be no change in terms of being a matchup nightmare.

In terms of how he was defended, Towns was a 4 last year. The only times he was really guarded by 5s was when he was paired with guys like Bazz, Bjelica, etc. at the 4. Not surprisingly, our rebounding plummeted too.

I'd say wait until Towns can build up his body from a 19 year old rookie. I have full confidence Thibs will figure this all out though. Nice to feel confident about a coach .

[Klomp]

I'd say wait until Towns can build up his body from a 19 year old rookie.

I'd say lets not put full responsibility of rebounding on a 20-year old sophomore. We need to get him some help, not just assume he's Superman.

[Klomp]

One more comment: the small-ball thing is way overrated. Look at the final eight teams. Only one uses a small-ball lineup. These are the teams we need to be worrying about. It's more than just GS we have to worry about.

[Klomp]

All that being said, I don't know if it's enough to move him ahead of either of the SGs on my big board. In fact, I'd probably put all three of them in the same tier right now.

[LordBaldric]

I'm not positing Towns as a small ball center. I'm positing him as a real center that will punish small ball teams as long as we also have a non-oafish PF...

[Saltine]

One more comment: the small-ball thing is way overrated. Look at the final eight teams. Only one uses a small-ball lineup. These are the teams we need to be worrying about. It's more than just GS we have to worry about.

And we already beat that small ball lineup with the Ricky/Zach/Wigs/Bazz/KAT lineup
http://www.nba.com/games/20160405/MINGSW/gameinfo.html

[No-Man]

One more comment: the small-ball thing is way overrated. Look at the final eight teams. Only one uses a small-ball lineup. These are the teams we need to be worrying about. It's more than just GS we have to worry about.

only one? CLE, GS, POR, ATL, MIA, TOR all go small every game.
hell even SA does, and OKC who is the one that plays bigger, does play KD at the PF everygame and they should do it much more often but they dont have the two-way wings to do it comfortably.
You are wrong in your assesment, bigs are easily attainable, not difference makers or stars but regular bigs, the market is overloaded with them, drafting Poeltl in the top10 would be a mistake from value per draft slot perspective, a big one.

The Wolves should just go with either the better 3&D wing available, Luwawu, or the versatile F that can shoot and switch, Marquese Chriss.

Any other pick, unless someone falls or you jump in the top3, makes very little sense to this team.

[Klomp]

I'm not positing Towns as a small ball center. I'm positing him as a real center that will punish small ball teams as long as we also have a non-oafish PF...

Which is exactly why I said there is only one "small-ball team" still playing.

[Klomp]

only one? CLE, GS, POR, ATL, MIA, TOR all go small every game.

There's a difference between having one small-ball lineup for short stretches and having a small-ball lineup for the majority of the game.

And I guess I was wrong on there being only one. Miami is the second, since Bosh's health incident. Before that, he was playing PF, not C.

Toronto starts Patterson and Valanciunas. San Antonio starts Aldridge and Duncan. Atlanta starts Horford and Millsap. Cleveland starts Love and Thompson. During the season, Portland started Vonleh and Plumlee. Oklahoma City starts Ibaka and Adams.

If we don't sign or draft someone, we are going to continue to get killed on the glass because you can't expect one player to do all the rebounding for the team. Small-ball lineups only work when the lineup can defend and rebound.

[Klomp]

You are wrong in your assesment, bigs are easily attainable, not difference makers or stars but regular bigs, the market is overloaded with them, drafting Poeltl in the top10 would be a mistake from value per draft slot perspective, a big one.

You could spin that to say pretty much anything you want. Picks are only comparable to the players in their respective draft. This draft is weak. Pretty much anyone could be argued as a mistake from a value per draft slot perspective. But guess what, the draft still goes on. 60 picks will still be made on draft night. Someone has to be drafted, as good or bad a value you think it is.

And considering how spot on you were about Towns last summer, I like my odds.

[Klomp]

One more consideration: A lot of people are linking Luol Deng (or Harrison Barnes, Nic Batum, Jared Dudley, etc.) here. If that was a target, there would be no room for another SG in the top 5 unless you make the ever-so-popular decision to move Zach LaVine back to PG.

[jpatrick]

Interesting that Bender has fallen to #5 on Ford's big board. And even more interesting, both Ford and Pelton wrote that if we got the #3 pick, they project we'd take Murray, not Bender. I think/hope they're wrong. But Bender's minutes/productivity have been a roller coaster all year, which is to be expected given he's 18 playing against grown men.

[_AIJ_]

Will Bender play right away or is he gonna stay in Europe?