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

I'm not sure I get the physical limitations argument against Kaminsky. He flat out out-played Okafor who everyone is touting as ready to come in an physically dominate the post in the NBA.

There are four categories for bigs in the NBA. From best to worst I'll call them:

Outliers ----> Physically Dominant = Skill Dominant ----> Stiffs

The Outliers are the all time greats who are transcendent in ability + skill (Kareem, Wilt, Shaq, Olajuwan)

The Physically Dominant are also skill limited (DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard)

The Skill Dominant are also physically limited (Gasol brothers, Nowitski)

The rest of the bigs are stiffs (Sacre).

Where does Kaminsky fit? He is clearly not a dominant outlier. He is also clearly not in the physically dominant category. That leaves only two choices. Will he be a stiff; filling space and collecting a check like a Mozgov? Or will he approach the dominant skill category? No way to know for sure at this point, but I see him much closer to the Gasol level in the NBA than I do the Mozgov level.

I would argue that he will NOT become an NBA stiff.

 

We'll see. I'm not sure I see Pau in him. Pau for all of his faults has put together a tremendous game and able to finish with either hand in a way most players never can. Frank has a great drop step where he uses his length to get to the rim, but I haven't seen the same kind of footwork as Pau.

I think there'll be more room to drive, but once Frank gets past his first defender, there'll incredibly quick guards in his face ready to rip the ball from him and another big body waiting in the paint. He'll need to develop a pull-up in mid-range just like Ryan Kelly is trying to do. I think he can do it, but again it limits his upside.

What you're describing is a less grizzled Brad Miller which I think could make some sense. More of a finesse Brad Miller is still a good player though. I think it'll take him a while to get there though and again if he ends up in a bad situation, I could still see Channing Frye in him. Four years of college certainly helps and I think he'll have a pretty good career.

 

That's why I said if Mudiay is the best player on the board at that point. If somehow Towns or Okafor slides to #3, we keep it and don't look back.

 

Definitely not the best player coming out of college. His stock is hampered by the fact that he's 7 feet tall, but fairly slim and operates mostly on the perimeter.

Pros:
- intelligent, high BBIQ
- 4 years he comes into NBA as a contributor
- good outside shot
- good post defender
- good mobility
- good passer
- good quickness, deceptive for his size
- good footwork

Cons:
- not a leaper
- not strong
- smaller frame (can he battle NBA size?)
- good-not-great inside game
- average defensively
- average length for his size

He'll be a stretch player in the NBA and what will make or break him is whether or not he can survive in the trenches against stronger guys. At 22 years old he's unlikely to suddenly put on a ton of muscle but he will need to for the NBA. His age is an advantage though as he is more cerebral than his younger, more gifted peers like Towns and Okafor. His learning curve will be shorter, but his ceiling is also lower.

 

Best player in college doesn't mean best NBA prospect. Therefore he is not the best player coming out of college.

 

The argument is that we have no playoffs to discuss. Therefore we are talking about Frank the Tank.