2015 Nba Draft Discussion: Russell, Nance Jr., Brown

Unfortunately, we're going to have to go down road of athleticism. Some bigs just don't get up like others. You have extreme ends like DeAndre Jordan, and then you have guys like Hibbert who barely make it off the ground, but uses his size well.

Okafor is going to fall under the latter category, and I think he'll be a Monroe type player. Good offensive skillset, but he won't be a defensive presence.

I like Towns better for his potential. He might not be as polished as Okafor, but he has a very similar build and makeup as Bynum, hopefully without the structural inadequacies we saw with Drew. He's got excellent length and reach, has a nose for boards, great job anchoring the paint and affecting shots with his length, and soft touch around the rim. Surprisingly, he's very mobile and in control on the open floor, crazy for his size.

 

I've seen him. don't think he's going to be a good pro. he's painfully unathletic, and doesn't have a very strong base. you're right, if he's there at 27, you take him. I don't even consider him in the lotto.

 

I wouldn't mind Willie Cauley-Stein as a defensive-minded hustle player next to Randle. I'm actually surprised he hasn't been talked about on this thread nearly at all (if at all) compared to Okafor and Towns.

 

We discussed Cauley-Stein around page 6 or 7.

I love what I have seen from him. I think he has definitely played himself into the lottery at this point.

 

We're in the bottom 5 presently. Detroit, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and New York are all head of us. SVG isn't tanking with Detroit; Monroe has been killing it lately. I think the chemistry gets better without Smith that team improves as the season goes along gaining some wins playing in that pathetic Eastern Conference. I pointed this out in the Kobe thread; the 2nd half of our schedule gets less difficult, and that's where I see us potentially winning more games quite possibly decreasing our chances of keeping our pick. We'll see, though.

 

yeah, I think det will win some more games in the second half of the season. their gm is their coach; don't see a full-on tank job there.

but no way the lakers out-tank philly or minny, and ny--despite not trying to tank--seems unbeatable in a tanking sense as well. so, just have to hope boston, indy, charlotte, and Utah try to win basketball games. I'd really like to see the lakers sitting with at least the 4th worst record in the league at the end. that allows for one team below them to sneak into the lotto without losing the pick.

 

Yeah, I edited what I said...I meant to say we are presently; my fault. The Wolves still have Pek, Rubio, and Martin coming back...maybe they win some games?

 

The Knicks are done; they'll finish in the bottom 2 with Philly, IMO. I think it's the bottom 2 teams that are guaranteed a top 5 pick...

 

Omg, if we get the 6th pick and have to give it to Phoenix, I'm gonna murder someone cold.

 

Honestly, I still feel like we are gonna land in the Top 5. I still think we end up somewhere between 20 and 25 wins.

The Knicks, Wolves, and Sixers are awful and will be tough to beat out. But I am hoping Rubio might give the Wolves just enough of a boost when he comes back to give us the edge over them. I'm also hoping (or praying) at least a couple of the Eastern conference teams show some kind of heart down the stretch.

At this stage, I think we will all breathe a small sigh of relief when its announced that we get pick number 4 or 5.

 

please correct me if i'm wrong,

but even if we finish 4th or 5th worst, isn't there still a chance we land outside of the top 5 pick? thus giving that pick to phx? seems like we have to finish bottom 3 to be guaranteed a top 5 pick?

 

IMO, Detroit will improve; they have the coaching to get better as the season progresses...they just beat the Cavs by 23 and look better now that Smith is gone and Meeks has come back. I think they'll finish outside of the top 5.