I really like the idea of going after Thon Maker later in the draft. I'd try see if we could package #32 + Lou Williams to a middle of the pack playoff team in need of a scoring punch in exchange for a pick in the low 20s area to make a play for Thon. Indiana, Atlanta, and Charlotte all come to mind, since I think their expirings should put them into a position to absorb Lou's 7 million. Then with the extra cap savings, look to make a play at a guy like Brandon Jennings in the offseason to replace Lou.
Watching KD in these playoffs really is cementing my choice to Ingram. I see Brandon as a better defender than KD who is no slouch on D either with his handcuffing of Draymond and Leonard using that incredible length. Ingram is a more aggressive defender and I won't be surprised if he averages two blocks a game in the NBA.
What if ..... Brandon Ingram, unlike Kobe unafraid to tell the world at 18 years old he wanted to be better than Mike ..... secretly plans on being as good or better than KD?
Mitch went to Israel. He gave vague answer on the gap between number 2 and 3 pick. Kinda circumstantial but I think he's setting us up again like last year, making the unpopular move for the player he likes or just won't draft a good player from Duke.
It appeared in one article I think, but if there is anything we know about Mitch, it's that he keeps things close to the vest. I doubt anyone really knows.
That rumor came from a piece I wrote arguing why the Lakers could legitimately draft Bender with the 2nd pick. I was explaining why Bender can't be simply dismissed as an option, even finished the piece by stating that Ingram is still the most likely player to end up in LA. Unfortunately, some sites changed the headline to read that the Lakers are leaning towards taking Bender instead of Ingram, which I never said.
the stuff directly from mitch does NOT lead me to believe that he's got some radical idea in his head. there are plenty of reasons to say that the gap isn't as large as people believe. and if he did--though it would be nerve wracking initially--i do have faith in the FO's draft decisions. i think their board last year was towns/russell/kp/okafor, and i think that was right on in retrospect. i'm sure they're doing their homework on bender and will make an informed and appropriate decision. at #2, you're doing yourself a disservice by not looking at a wider pool of candidates. so, will i be disappointed if it's not simmons or ingram? yes. i was disappointed when it wasn't okafor, but i got over it.
You and me against the world on that take apparently. This is all I've been saying, but most people don't want to hear it. They've got their heart set on Simmons or the more likely Ingram. If anything I learned from last year not to do that since I was so set on getting Okafor. There's every chance one of Simmons or Ingram could be this year's Okafor. I mean we can't pretend like Simmons has no red flags on him already.
bender could be this year's zinger, hield or brown or dunn could be this year's russell. oddly enough, i was slightly more impressed with what i saw from zinger last year, his frame and lack of athleticism just scared me a bit. but he had played real minutes against men and held up. bender really hasn't played much against higher level competition. still, i can't say i know enough about him to be definitive in my stance. like anyone, i just feel pretty comfortable with what i've seen most. ingram could very well end up tayshaun prince. which is fine, and probably better than at least 1/3 of all #2 picks. but i'm sure mitch wants superstar potential here. if he thinks bender has it, he'll take him, imo. ingram, like okafor, has very low bust potential, which is why i lean that way. but i'm not making those kinds of decisions, and i'm not entirely sure that being cautious this high in the draft is how you win big. everybody thought russell westbrook was a huge reach at #4.
I'm with you. I see some things from Bender that I like. I'm not sure I see Porzingis. Bender reminds me more of Kirilenko than Porzingis actually (albeit the very beginnings of a Kirilenko and he may never be that good even). Bender plays more of a perimeter game, he's got solid footwork, and he's a good passer. The whole "Porzingis" thing I think stems more from him being a tall European that can surprise in the draft than an actual comparison of their games because I'm not sure they're really that similar. To be fair, I haven't seen a ton of footage on him though, just the impression I get. That being said, as long as Ingram and Simmons show something good in the workouts, I think they're still the front runners. I see decent potential in the other picks, but those two to me are the ones that have low floors AND high ceilings. I'm not sure Hield, Bender, Dunn, Brown, and Poetl have that combination.
Here's the piece, for those interested: http://www.lakersnation.com/lakers-...er-with-second-overall-draft-pick/2016/05/23/
Knowing that both of them are not locks at all to be taken by the Lakers likely gives even more incentive to hopefully bring their most A games possible when Simmons and Ingram have their likely 2 workouts each. Okafor says hello, though he might not have been what Mitch and staff were most wanting to acquire in the draft anyway.
True. Hopefully though these guys are self motivated enough to know to bring their A game no matter what. Sometimes with these young guys, that's not always the case.
