Just some personal NBA draft thoughts
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Random NBA draft observations guys. 1 look out for Minnesota, I believe they are coming, and they are coming quickly, with our own Andrew Wiggins and now Towns? I feel they have got a very strong nucleus. 2 with the 76er’s drafting Okafor, what does the future hold for our boy Jo, Jo? possible trade? with not knowing for sure IF he is going to be able to play this coming year with his setback? plus they have the other big that didn’t get to play because of his injury what was his name again? 3rd. am I just a complete idiot or does anyone else feel Myles Turner got drafted way to high? I
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dam kicked myself out, lol, but anyways I just don’t get it, just don’t see it I think he was drafted WAY to high. and then didn’t stay around to see about Cliff but how do we feel about Kelly? drafted by Atlanta and instantly traded to Washington. you all like his shoes? lmao the boys seem to think he can help Washington, Paul may or may not be there anyways my thoughts I’m no expert just my thoughts. What you think?
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Good points. The 76ers had to draft Okafor and it was really a no brainer; now they will have to figure out what to do with all the bigs they have accumulated. I see a trade in the future; Embiid’s slow recovery is not helping him, on the other hand the expectations will also be lower.
The Wolves will be greatly improved and if Rubio can stay healthy the entire season , they will be very good.
The Cavs don’t seem to have learned from their previous trade with the Wolves…
Cliff sure has dropped a lot more than expected…he will end up being the poster child and cautionary tale for future players/prospects with NBA aspirations.
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Pierce next stop will likely be San Diego where he is a known commodity to Coach Doc Rivers…
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@JayHawkFanToo Cliff is a sad, sad situation! Probably going to repo that shiny red jeep.
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I agree. Hate to see a Jayhawk in that situation. Hopefully he can still be selected in the second round, secure a roster spot in the Summer League and have chance to impress a GM or two…
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@jayballer54 I’m wondering if Turner got drafted so high because he worked out for scouts with Porzingis, and if that skewed his stock because Porzingis didn’t separate himself significantly from Turner in that workout. If the GMs overvalued Porzingis, they might then overvalue Turner.
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Last night I couldn’t believe how high Tuner went. Tried to comment on it a couple times but the site was balky so I gave up in disgust. Didn’t see it coming at all. Maybe it’ll fan Oubre’s flame…he wasn’t happy about falling out of the lottery, you could see it all over his face ( if not his shoes).
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Some really bad picks last night. Teams were reaching badly for players they could have gotten 5 to 10 picks later. When the Lakers picked Russell as reported all day, the chain of events at 3,4,5 were comical.
Sixers getting Okafor means that someone is getting traded. Either it be Noel or Embiid someone is going. Or the Sixers are scared that Jo Jo won’t be able to play much this year with his injury concerns still lingering. Either way it doesn’t look bright for Embiid when you pick yet another Center.
Knicks, honestly I haven’t watched much tape on Porzingis but what I saw didn’t scream to me #4 pick for a team needing everything but a project player. That is was he is at this point, a guy who’s not ready to be a top option on a bad team. Drafting that high and reaching on someone who could possibly 2-3-4 years from now be very good is dumb when your trying to win games in the present. But the Knicks are notorious for making the worst pick so its not a surprise.
Magic, again they reached on Hezonja who’s got major talent but failed to play more than 10 minutes a game on his club team in Spain. He’s a nice piece to add and I don’t doubt that his shooting will really help them out.
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I agree…however. picking Okafor at #3 was no brainer, you can’t pass on that potential and worst case, you can trade him for some proven player or players that will help you now.
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@JayHawkFanToo I concur that the Sixers could not pass on Okafor. That pick could easily turn out to be the real steal of the lottery. If Embiid does not make a second year show, then Okafor is essential to their lineup. If JoJo steps up big time, then the team possesses another pair of Bigs with tremendous trade value. I would imagine that the likes of Phil Jackson might be absolutely drooling over the Sixers’ covey of big men.
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Absolutely agree it was a no brainer for Okafor at 3. At that pick he’s a bit underrated because of his offensive prowess. But who’s to throw them the ball? And if Embiid is healthy how do you keep 3 big men with star quality happy with minutes. If I’m a Sixers fan at this point you have to seriously question why you would even like them. They must have some plan we can’t see, especially in the sense of these guys trade value.
That scenario could very well happen. We have no idea the extent of which Embiid’s injury is still around and no word yet on if he’s set to play summer league or not? I would say that is essential for Joel because of how little basketball he’s played in almost 2 years.
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“Cliff is a sad, sad situation! Probably going to repo that shiny red jeep.”
You have to wonder just how much money him and his mom have already borrowed?
Don’t you think NBA scouts and management get the complete scoop on players? I venture to say that even his preliminary spending habits played a part in him falling off the draft board. Personal responsibility is definitely a factor in how high players go in a draft. Cliff has basically made mistakes in every area of his life since coming to Kansas… at least… as interpreted by NBA management.
Very tough to watch… We’ll see if he is able to turn his life around. All we can do is hope a light bulb goes off in the big guy’s head.
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Compared to previous years, for me it was an underwhelming evening on both fronts. Certainly, the Cliff saga but also Kelly’s repetitive glowing opinion of himself seemed rather desperate and atypical of him and a KU player. After watching a single player on the court nearly steal the NBA Championship (or at a minimum force the series to six games), one has to wonder why Kelly was unable or unwilling to move KU beyond the round of 32 given his self-proclaimed accolades during the NBA interviews and last night during the broadcast. Confidence is great but how about backing up that confidence with play on the floor and let others do the bragging for you?
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@CRH107 I would have to agree with you on Kelly. The words he described himself with we’re not what I saw in a KU uniform. If he had a stellar march Madness and carried KU a few games, then sure.
But he wasn’t diving for balls, his motor was questionable, and you didn’t see the fire he had in the middle of the season. I was very disappointed in his interview.
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One of the big question marks from NBA management concerning Kelly was if he would show CONSISTENT ENERGY on the floor as a pro. At KU he was great (at times) tipping balls away and hustling them down, sometimes going on the floor. But that conflicted with other times in games when he fell asleep and let his man beat him on the backdoor… or he gave up running after an opponent on a break away.
I understand the NBA management having this concern, but on the other hand, Kelly is still just a kid. And we put kids in the draft so we have to still remember their age.
His show of overwhelming enthusiasm/confidence seemed to be something he was coached in to. It came across a little raw… perhaps just a bit immature.
I do believe Kelly has a bright future and the key to reading him is to understand just how young he still is.
At that age, had that been me up there I probably would have said some really stupid comments… like saying “hi” to friends and family for several minutes and acting a bit too star struck from the moment. I probably would have “pee’d myself.”
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The Twolves are still a player away from being any real threat in the West. They either need Zach Lavine to really step up, or Bennett, or Wiggins has to go from being a solid NBA guy to a top 25 player. Otherwise, they will be back in the lottery again next year looking for that other piece.
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I have no idea what the Lakers are up to. Unless they are actually going to get Demarcus Cousins, there was no reason to take Russell.
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The Sixers had no choice but to take Okafor at that point. You have to take the best player available and they had to do that.
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My guess is one of the European players plays well, the other bombs. Just not sure which will do what.
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Once the Euros both went early and both Stanley Johnson and Justise Winslow started falling, I knew we were in for a wild night.
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Oubre went a spot later than I predicted, but the trade didn’t surprise me. I wasn’t expecting the Hawks to grab him, so when they did, I wondered if a deal was coming.
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Cliff probably benefits from not being taken in the second round. If you aren’t getting a guaranteed deal, its better to be able to pick your situation than to have it chosen for you.
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Don’t forget Ricky Rubio. When he is healthy he is one of the more exciting players in the League. If KG can guide the younger Wolve players, they could benefit greatly from his experience, he could be particularly good for Towns.
The Lakers will try hard to get either LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love who would like to go back to LA.
I understand that Cliff’s problems are of his own (and family) making but I can’t help but feel sorry for him…once a Jayhawk, always a Jayhawk…
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I think the Wolves have moved on from Rubio. He hasn’t been able to stay healthy, and on top of that, he is a very poor shooter (a career 36% FG shooter). Even with his great vision and passing, he’s an offensive liability because you can play 8-10 feet off him, which is spacing death for Minnesota.
I do think the Lakers land one of the free agents, but it will be interesting to see how they construct a roster with so much money already tied up.
I think Cliff will be fine if it boils down to basketball skills. He can make it in the NBA based on that. If the decision is made to make an example out of him, he will never get that chance. If that happens, I just hope his life after basketball is more along the lines of Fab Fiver’s Ray Jackson and Jimmy King than some of the others that were blackballed out of the NBA.
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Either of you guys know how much cap space is left for Minnesota? Do they have room to go after a top tier guy? I’m thinking Rubio is gone… not sure what his salary was but I’d he will free up some space. He is a free agent isn’t he?
Oh no… he’s in the first year of a 4-yr contract… a $55 million extension! Doubtful he is gone, especially if he is banged up.
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This site does a nice job of tracking the salary cap. Looks like the Wolves have about $24m in space, but their roster is not full yet, so they probably will be closer to $20m in space when all is said and done. Enough to offer a near max contract and land a nice piece, but you wonder what they will have to offer to get someone to come to Minnesota. The site is supposed to be real time, but I don’t know if it assumes rookie salaries or just places a hold.
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@drgnslayr How do these questions square with the belief by many here that OADs “protect the product” by playing at only 3/4 of their normal intensity level.? How, in fact, does a someone playing at that level not get outplayed by someone with only 90% of their talent, but who gives 100%? Why would an NBA gm want someone who has demonstrated that they don’t want to play at full speed? Most of the people in the NBA draft rooms have 10 to 30 years of experience watching people play basketball. Are they really that stupid or don’t they care?
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@jayballer54 Agreed on Minnesota. I said earlier that they will rise big like Golden State did in 4-5 years. I still have high hopes that Biid will play this season. There is 4 months left til the start of the NBA season. Thats a lot of time. He should be fine by then.
I didnt see the draft. Sucks that Cliff didnt get picked but he brought it on himself. Live and learn. Kelly, full of youthful exuberance, He’ll learn too. He wont be as good as Wigs, maybe not even as good as Ben but he’ll do ok for himself.
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@justanotherfan there are some quality free agent bigs. Can you imagine them adding a LaMarcus Aldridge caliber player to that roster?
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12307054/nba-free-agents-2015-2016
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Keep in mind that this is Kobe’s last year and when he retires he frees up a ton of money…close to $25M.
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Kobe will free up money, but you have to replace that with a top notch backcourt talent. They won’t get James Harden. Unless they can get Durant or Westbrook, the cap space after Kobe doesn’t make them a contender.
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Durant is an East Coast dude and if he leaves OKC it will be for Washington, his home town.
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Very good questions.
This is just my opinion… but I’m thinking NBA GMs differ from each other, so think differently about D1 OADs only going half speed.
On one side would be the guys who may be considered the “old timers” on their thoughts. Players should always go 110% because their natural competitiveness should set the tone.
One the other side are the contemporaries who think that guys going 90% to protect the product are showing great discipline. And discipline is always considered value at the next level.
I have to say that I don’t have a clue what NBA GMs think. I’m just feeding the conversation here with these ideas.
