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

Same here; although, I'm high on Henzonja. Mudiay is the wildcard for me; I've come around in the last month or so at him, but I want to see more of him in workouts.

 

It might. I can't fault the guys for winning those games, though. Actually, I won't. It is what it is...we'll just have to watch Tuesday biting our nails and praying that a little luck bounces our way.

 

I'm feeling Hezonja will sneak into the Top 5 after workouts.

 

Yeah. The talent is there with Hezonja. If he does well in interviews then who knows.

Mudiay is really the wild card for me. I think a lot of pieces will fall into places once everyone is able to get a really good look at him in workouts.

 

I think you're right. That might be the curve ball we have in this draft...

 

Mudiay isn't too much of a wildcard for me. I think we know what we're going to get from him. I think he'll be in the Russell Westbrook/Derrick Rose mold. A slasher combo guard with NBA level athleticism.

For me, it's how Hezonja's talent will translate to the NBA. He certainly has the confidence in the Euro leagues, taking on tough competition at such a young age, AND excelling. His attitude needs a bit of tuning, but I don't think it's too far off. I actually like that he has a little personality and fire. I was/and still am unimpressed with Wiggins.

 

NBA Combine 2015: Live Results, Prospect Analysis for Thursday
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...5-live-results-prospect-analysis-for-thursday

 

Fair or not, I am always a bit skeptical of international prospects. I think people have a natural fascination at times with unknown guys. Throw out a few highlight reels and everyone gets excited.

That's not saying I don't think they are good because I do. I just want to see a bit more.

 

Another someone's "butt" .... from which another opinion and/or article written with Lakers in the title..... Cynical me. (OK, after reading, apologies to Silver Screen and Roll) This seems to just be a misleading title for the article. No one saying that this is what Lakers are "going to" do from a reporting aspect and sources, rather this is a Silver Screen and Roll consensus. Still, worth about the same. Just like any of us not privy to the inner workings with Mtich, Jimmy and Jeanie.


Lakers NBA draft board: Karl-Anthony Towns reigns at the top
By Ben R, Harrison Faigen, Tom Fehr, Trevor Lane, and Drew Garrison on May 14, 2015, 7:40a 35


Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Although the Silver Screen and Roll staff is uniformly agreed on who they would want the Lakers to pick if they win the lottery, there is broad disagreement afterward on the direction the Lakers should take, especially on the degree to which fit and talent should be weighed.

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Quite a lot has happened since we had our inaugural draft board for the season. A new college champion was crowned, Kentucky left a lot of people thinking that "Kentucky vs. the field" was a genuinely legitimate bet in hot water, and the Los Angeles Lakers finished the season bad enough to still have a decent chance of keeping their pick but sufficiently good as to leave the fans in collective agony until May 19 rolls around. As one might expect, several of these events have also shuffled around the draft boards of most of your Silver Screen and Roll writers, producing broad consensus on the names in our respective top sevens, but not necessarily on the order of those names.

The tournament, however, did serve as a coronation party for a new consensus first overall pick in Karl-Anthony Towns that is dutifully reproduced below, as well as a termination of the slagging campaign of Stanley Johnson to be a candidate to wear purple and gold. Likely to the chagrin of the Fullerton native, Johnson simply couldn't overcome his enormous problems finishing inside the arc, and combined with Justise Winslow's victory march to the championship, the competition over who the best wing in the draft is was conclusively decided. As a result, Johnson's place on nearly every board here was taken by hyper-athletic Croatian wing Mario Hezonja.

With a full season of evaluation under our belt, both of the college/overseas prospects and the Lakers themselves, our writers have also had the opportunity to make more informed decisions on these prospects' fit and ultimate projections, which has produced a wide variance in the boards. This has hurt, for instance, Emmanuel Mudiay, whose power drive game and poor outside shooting make him a less-than-ideal fit with Jordan Clarkson, and significantly raised the fortunes of Julius Randle's former college teammate Willie Cauley-Stein, a development in part caused by worries over Jahlil Okafor's projected defensive problems in the pros.

Taking this into account, let us proceed with our consensus board. Recall also that this is a Lakers-centric draft board, so our writers were encouraged to take into account the Lakers' specific needs and team context. (I'll still expect a random person to appear and decry Kristaps Porzingis' absence, but I digress.)

#7: Mario Hezonja
Ben Rosales (ranked him #7): Stanley Johnson was here on my board for the longest time but it's hard to overlook the fact that he only shot 40% in the paint this year and had an awful tournament, Arizona's spacing issues be damned. In his place is a very good finisher in Hezonja, who is a physical marvel of a swingman with an insane first step and excellent shooting ability. His consistency and attention on defense are issues, as well as his attitude apparently, but the latter aspect will probably only be a plus for arch-a****** Kobe Bryant.

Trevor Lane (ranked him #6): Hezonja has been steadily rising up draft boards for some time now, and with good reason. Like Mudiay he has played against top competition overseas but has been doing so since he was 14. Hezonja has an intriguing mix of extreme athleticism combined with dead-eye shooting, and there have been whispers that some teams may have him ranked even higher than this. Mitch Kupchak did take a scouting trip to Europe a few months ago and the Lakers have been rumored to be one of the teams interested in Hezonja. Should he end up in purple and gold it would be a risky pick but one that could pay big dividends down the road.

Harrison Faigen (ranked him #6): Hezonja's athleticism is phenomenal, as is his joy in emphatically flying off of or hanging on the rim to taunt opponents after smashing on or around them. A 6'8 shooting guard, Hezonja will probably play the 3 as well in the NBA, a big plus as the league shifts towards valuing versatility more and more. In limited attempts, he has also shown an ability to can three pointers, 38.7% overall this year, a crucial skill for a modern wing. With Kobe Bryant just about ready to hang them up, the Lakers need a wing for the future, and Hezonja may be that guy.

Drew Garrison (ranked him #7): He's flown under the radar leading up to the draft lottery but Hezonja has a highly-refined skillset that makes him a tantalizing option at the wing. He's incredibly athletic, has ideal size for a small forward, and is a shooting specialist. He has a quick release off catch-and-shoot opportunities and is good at mixing it up inside once he has his defender off balance. Hezonja had the ball in his hands often, which exposed his shortcomings as a decision-maker, but the Lakers would have other players handling that. He could be an ideal "system" wing who does his damage while moving off-ball and in transition.

And more ..... from this link:

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2015/5/14/8596959/nba-draft-board-la-lakers-karl-anthony-towns

 

Philly takes Russell & Okafor falls into our laps. We get indications that Butler & Middleton will be matched so our attention shifts to Love. Have to cash in on Randle's value to a team willing to trade out of the lottery. Analysts think Orlando will draft WCS & play him out of position just to find a frontcourt mate for Vucevic, so we give them Randle for the pick + Oladipo. Take Hezonja.

Oladipo
Kobe
Hezonja
Love
Okafor

 

Bleep Randle going anywhere. This kid has more going for him with who he is mentally, beyond being a potentially really good player in the league. This kid is smart, well spoken and may very well be an alpha dog leader type that doesn't just grow on trees in the league. Look at sorry a** Houston in that regard.

 

I hear you, I hope Randle becomes a superstar for our team. The only problems are we've seen him play less than 1 full game at this level, so it's hard for me to just assume he'll be a star. & this FA class is extremely thin on superstars that don't play the same position as either Randle or Clarkson. If max offers are being matched on Butler, Leonard, & Middleton, you're stuck in a tough position of signing players at positions we're strong at or settling for role players that have overachieved like Carroll.

 

I see where you are coming from, it probably should have the work "Mock" in there. We did try to take the Lakers perspective when making these picks though, and besides, I might be biased but I think it's a decent write up.

 

Just keep our pick and then we hope for some more Mitch magic with where he takes it from there. Coming up. 3 more days. Only 17% chance of the day turning to bleep. But still ........

 

Yeah, that 17% is scary as hell. We will most likely keep the pick, and could even move up, but if it's lost, man that would be such a huge hit to a team that is already down. I'm going to be nervous all day Tuesday.

 

No no I didn't mean to say it wasn't a good article, although I didn't really seriously read it all yet. I had attention deficit disorder. It started off like the first paragraph saying Towns and then was jumping on to next guys. Hadn't realized it was a breakdown of you guys' running through all your discussed possibilities that make sense to you. The title just caught my eye since we've had 2 similar proclamations just this week where the articles are seeming to imply some kind of source or inside knowledge of which way the Lakers were leaning. This seemed like a third one to me on the surface. Just was shooting from the hip first impression. Talking before brain in gear.

 

Great article. Echoes my concern with Mudiay. He is clearly the worst fit for this team.