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

I'd take Okafor right now number 1. No doubt. and I'd take Towns number 2. Outside of that, I'd take Russell, and then Cauley-Stein.

 

Okafor
Russell
Towns
Johnson
Mudiay

 

Smalls get you good records in the regular season. Bigs win you championships. The NBA has SO many good pgs in this era that I feel the Lakers can just sign a PG via free agency to go with a Okafor/Randle. You can't really find that many great bigs. Imagine okafor/randle/kobe/clarkson/Brandon knight

 

My top 5 is the same if you switch russell and johnson. Man I hope the lakers get a top 3 pick though

 

Of course. So do elite wings; Nevertheless, if we land outside the top 2 and Towns and Okafor are gone, you grab the best player available. If the Front Office determines that to be Russell, Johnson, or Mudiay, you take that player no matter what; worry about balancing the roster later on down the line, but at least now you have a player that you could move later on or watch develop and grow within our franchise...

 

So you agree that if we get a top 2 pick, you gotta take one of the bigs? They are the 2 best players in this draft.

 

Oh, no doubt. If that was your point, I 100% agree.

 

Thoughts on watching prospects this week...

Phil was on hand to watch Russell tonight. He left early with leg cramps, but I wasn't impressed with what I saw from him today. I don't know for how much of the game his leg was bothering him though.

Did yall see Okafor put up a season's best 30 the other night? He just moves do effortlessly getting his baskets. His foot work and he's very deliberate in his post moves. damn, if we could get lucky and nab that #1 spot...

 

^The last 2 weeks or so Russell has been off his game. I don't know if it's the injuries, fatigue, or a combination of both, but he'll figure it out. Okafor is the clear number 1 pick right now. He's the best player in college basketball. Period.

 

Didn't you have johnson above mudiay at one point? Just wondering what changed if so. Have there been any new clips of mudiay? Johnson had a poor offensive game the other night against UCLA but it was a defensive contest the whole game and nobody looked good.

 

Mudiay has got the Exum factor going for him... a man of mystery at this point so when lottery guys in the NCAA play bad, Mudiay rises

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-air-occupied-by-james-harden-and-steph-curry

My list hasn't changed much. I go with Okafor, Towns, Russell, Mudiay as my top four. Johnson vs. Cauley-Stein is a bit of a coin toss for me at this point.

This article is pretty interesting comparison of Russell to Harden and Curry based on offensive rating and usage percentage. Russell is a big time talent and his numbers back it up.

"Speaking of both Russell and Harden, an NBA Eastern Conference scout told B/R: "Their control of the ball and understanding of the floor and being able to get the ball (there) as guys arrive, that's something that's a rare trait to have, not passing where guys are but passing where guys are going to be before they're there. That's something that, again, indicates a guy has special talent.""

...."But it’s Russell, not Okafor, whom the Western Conference scout says he believes is the surest bet to become an All-Star. And if you want an idea of how special Russell has been or what NBA people are starting to believe he can be, it’s this: The No. 1 pick isn’t as clear-cut as it once was.

“To me, if we have the No. 1 pick,” the scout said, “he's a hard guy to pass up on.”"

 

Think of it like this; would Lillard fall to 6 if we knew the kind of future he had? I don't think so...however, as I noted if our pick falls outside the top 3, I'm shopping it.

 

Who would we be targeting with the pick?

 

Off the top of my head, Cousins. Then why not dangle it to the Bulls who are notoriously cheap for Butler? I'd even target Tobias Harris. Tobias Harris and maybe another piece or 2. They have some young quality depth. Notice I said shopping the pick to see what's out there; also, provided it falls out the top 3. If there's nothing out there, draft Cauley-Stein and call it a day.

 

New York Knicks president Phil Jackson will likely face an NBA fine for publicly commenting on Ohio State freshman guard D’Angelo Russell, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Upon leaving Ohio State’s game on Thursday night in Columbus, Jackson told Cleveland.com that Russell was a “great looking kid. Great prospect.”

The NBA forbids league officials from making public comments on draft-ineligible players, and sources told Yahoo Sports that the league office was beginning to look into the matter Friday morning.

After winning 11 NBA championships as a coach, this is Jackson’s first year as an NBA executive. The Knicks will have one of the highest picks in the 2015 NBA draft, and Russell is considered the No. 1 point guard prospect in college basketball.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source...nting-on-draft-eligible-player-155149565.html

 

I think if Phil has a chance to take Russel, he would. Phil likes the big PGs.

 

My problem with Mudiay is if he is too athleticism dependent. Much like Rose, Westbrook...etc. Will he be a long lasting player?

Which is kind of why I really prefer Russell over Mudiay. He might not have the same athleticism, but he's definitely more fundamentally sound offensively. He's in control, he can shoot, and he has great vision. Those attributes usually translate well in terms of health. Plus, you actually get to see Russell play, whereas Mudiay has a small sample size to go off of.

I think Mudiay will come out of the gates on fire, but him being an athleticism dependent player worries me. Could he learn from Kobe, sure. But I'm not sure he comes off as that type of player. I'm not quite sure yet, especially with him skipping college and going to the pro route.