Draft Thread 2018: LA Has The #25 & #47 Overall Picks... And #39 Now

I don't think so either.

But Magic did say in the exit interviews he wishes he could have 20 Josh Harts on a team. Well a guy like Divi is someone who I believe is cut from the same cloth. They are both great friends, come from a winning culture and even though Hart's defense is better. I think Divi projects to be better offensively, is more athletically gifted than Hart.

 

Jordan Barnett, 6'6" Forward, Senior, Mizzou. A crazy leaper who turned himself into a high volume, solid efficiency three point shooter. His shot probably needs a little bit of compacting, but there's some promise there.



Jordan Caroline, 6'7", Forward, Junior, Nevada. Okay athlete. Okay shooter. Built like a train, but I don't see an NBA player here.



Drew Eubanks, 6'10", Forward, Junior, Oregon State. Solid athlete, good build. Defensive minded, but not very skilled. I don't see an NBA player here.



Jock Landale, 6'11",Center, Junior, St. Mary's. Interesting athlete, not a big leaper but gets off the floor easier than you'd expect. Runs the floor well. He averaged a gaudy 21/10/2 with a block last season and was the WCC player of the year. Sort of an interesting player. (Video is from a year ago against a great Arizona team).



Daryl Macon, 6'3", Point Guard, Sophomore, Arkansas. A little small and not very athletic, but one of the best shooters out there. He shot 42% from outside last season. He nearly doubled his assist totals without increasing his turnovers at all. Could be a sneaky pick late in the draft.

 

Ponds right now is a better offensive player than Beverly is and Beverly even now is probably a better defender than Ponds will ever be.

Ponds is a little more Crawford. This is a lefty bias for sure, but he's got some Harden to his game. Younger Harden though, before he relied on the refs for everything.

 

Caruso counts as two, so I think we're OK there.

 

Anyone have a subcription? I'm not doing a free trial and then forgetting to cancel in time. Just not worth $2.99 annually or $7.99 monthly.

 

Knowing that the Lakers put a lot of value into the Combine, some standouts were:

Dante DiVicenzo- SG, 6'5"

Game 1: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 tovs, 3/6 FGs, 2/4 3Ps
Game 2: 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 tovs, 4/10 FGs, 1/6 3Ps

Struggled shooting in the second game, but showed great hustle. I think offensively he showed a nice repeatable jumper and even flashed some creativity around the rim. Defensively I saw him get lost a little bit and his timing was slower on that end. He's a solid passer and played a good team game as well. It certainly doesn't hurt that he had the highest standing vert (34.5") and tied for the highest max vert (42"). He also is a two-time NCAA champion who shone brightest on the brightest stage.

Udoka Azubuike- C, 7'

Game 1: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 tov, 7/10 FGs, 0/4 FTs
Game 2: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 6/10 FGs, 0/1 FTs

Not a lot more than a big lug, but one hell of a lug. He was dunking a LOT and made many of the other bigs look tiny by comparison. The big problem: obviously he didn't show much else on the floor besides his dunks. He ran alright, but with his size and athleticism, you'd expect a block in this type of environment. Somewhat concerning in college this year his minutes nearly doubled and his blocks per game stayed the same. His block percentage dropped 5% too. I'd say he's a second rounder right now, but his athleticism and strength is notable if someone can get his head on straight.

Jevon Carter- PG, 6'1"

Game 1: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, 3 tovs, 2/9 FGs, 0/1 3Ps
Game 2: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 tovs, 8/17 FGs, 1/4 3Ps

Jevon tested on the smaller, less athletic side of nearly every measurement. The only measurements he excelled at were hand length and shuttle run, everything else he was in the lower range. Still, as a 4-year veteran he showed great patience and control on the floor. He won both of his games and was a good captain. His outside shooting is a little concerning, but he shot well the last two years in college so there's hope there. The bigger concern was his lack of pop really limiting him especially near the basket. I'm not sure he's an NBA player, but he's someone to watch as a G-Leaguer or a Summer League pick up. I could see someone taking a shot with him in the 2nd as well.

Omari Spellman- PF, 6'8"

Game 1: 9 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 4/12 FGs, 1/5 3Ps
Game 2: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 tovs, 6/9 FGs, 1/2 3Ps, 1/3 FTs

Omari was incredibly disappointing in athletic testing among Centers/Power Forwards. He had the second highest body fat percentage (just behind Jontay Porter), smallish hands for a big, he was the 3rd shortest among Centers and only 10th tallest among forwards in shoes, and he had poor rankings across the board for agility even among Centers. The only redeeming point was his vertical leap which was on the upper end for Forwards and was second in max vertical among Centers at 35.5" (just behind Metu at 36"). Even without the most impressive athletic profile though, Omari was effective on the floor. His all-around game was impressive as was his attention to detail on either end. He may be shorter, but he's still very young and has a chance to keep growing. This is the perfect kind of pick for that 25th spot if we want to get another big man. He shows a high ceiling while also being competent as a youngster.

Honorable mentions: Gary Trent (shot well, but didn't show enough versatility), Kevin Hervey (defended well), De'Anthony Melton (good all-around game).

Guys who hurt their stock: Shake Milton (played awful in scrimmage), Landry Shamet (completely unimpressive in scrimmage), Alonzo Trier (didn't stand out), Jontay Porter (tested horribly and then didn't play in scrimmages).

 

Definitely agreed. He's got a lot of baby fat on him still and if he puts in the work, he could get himself up solidly in the first round. Put some work on his body and on his defense and he could end up in the mid-1st.

 

Chandler Hutchinson, Dante DiVicenzo, and Melvin Frazier are by top guys I would want and probably in that order with maybe Frazier moving into that #2 slot.

But Chandler is definitely #1 for me and has been for a while.