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

^ we also had Darko, Hasheem, Stromile... But i guess You're right, we should go with a big (unless Jordan or Marc are coming) .

 

I'm now seeing the Light on Towns or Okafor. I was thinking Mudiay would be great, but I like the idea of Randle with Towns or Okafor.

Honestly, I'm cool with letting the Timberwolves decide for us on who goes to us.

If we want to trade it for Cousins, then fine. But I say why not use it and just see what can happen next year anyways because you could just not trade for Cousins or Durant and let them sign here. Or better yet, trade whoever we get for either one next year during the draft if worse comes to worse.

I think though, we should keep it and draft. Also, I hope whoever we take, we play them a lot with Randle and Clarkson, if not in the starting lineup a lot so that they can compete for the ROY

 

Well, Minny is not a bad place to live in/play for. Wayyyyy better than Philly

 

If only because they'd be traded the following year for draft picks.

Edit:
What about those 2 other picks? Anyone valuable we could get there? I'm not too much into college sports, and I didn't follow the thread all that closely.

 

While I think we'll be happy with either Okafor or Towns, I lean Towns. To me it comes down to defense. You can almost never go wrong with a guy who can defend even if he has some offensive weaknesses, but it can drive you absolutely nuts and create a major weakness if you have someone who CAN'T defend, even if he has offensive polish.

 

This is going to be very interesting. It's clear both of the bigs want to play for us. I wonder how their camps are going to play this.

Also, we will be bombarded with chatter on everything from trades to taking one of the guards. It won't happen. Russell or Mudiay would have to have the greatest workout ever to get picked ahead of Towns or Okafor. I mean, an injured Embiid went third last year. We won't pass on a big guy. I also doubt we will trade the pick. Having a core of 19 and 20 year olds with as much upside Clarkson-Randle-Okafor/Towns is just something we shouldn't pass on.

 

I don't think it's crazy to have Mudiay above Okafor on our board. He could very well live up to the John Wall comarison and be the best player in this draft.

I do however think Mitch is far too smart to just straight up draft Mudiay at #2. If anything he'll be shopping Okafor to teams that would sell their soul for him. He hasn't dropped below #2 on many boards and I'm sure some teams are sold on him being their future. If we really want Mudiay at any cost we'll have to strike a deal with the Sixers or Knicks to land Mudiay + assets. If we have Okafor ranked evenly with some other prospects we can move even further down and get more assets to go with a pick swap. Cousins + a player like Henzoja at #6 would be pretty interesting. There are a number of possibilities now that we're in such a great position.

 

minny has Pekovic and Dieng, unless they move one, I think they're pretty much set at center. With the talent disparity between Towns and Okafor being really slim, I predict they go with Town's versatility and athleticism.

 

Jahlil Okafor's dazzling post moves are borrowed from the game's best
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/03/24/jahlil-okafor-duke-blue-devils-ncaa-tournament

 

These articles cover some of the same ground. Naturally, his trainer came to his defense, but still some interesting nuggets in these.
“Defensively there is no issue with his lateral movement or rim protection,’’

“Every team has a different style of defense and scheme of defense that they promote off the pick and roll. In his last two years of high school, he had an aggressive defensive scheme and had to come up and defend on the pick and roll, and was able to.”

“When you get a coach whose assignments are different, he has to do what his coaches tell him to do. The rim protection piece is basically foul trouble. Having guards coming at you, he was trying to stay out of foul trouble, trying to stay on the floor versus being off the floor. You will see his lateral movement and rim protection and see him defend help-side defense and on-the-ball defense. They allow more contract in the NBA.’’


Jahlil Okafor Trainer: "Defensively There is No Issue"
http://dailyknicks.com/2015/05/17/jahlil-okafor-trainer-defensively-there-is-no-issue/

"Okafor covertly losing weight, fighting defense knock"
http://nypost.com/2015/05/16/knicks-option-okafor-covertly-losing-weight-fighting-defense-knock/

 

Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns? SI roundtable debates NBA prospects
http://www.si.com/nba/2015/04/02/jahlil-okafor-karl-anthony-towns-nba-draft-duke-kentuckyhttp://www.si.com/nba/2015/04/02/jahlil-okafor-karl-anthony-towns-nba-draft-duke-kentucky

 

When was the last time there were two legit big men prospects like this coming out of college? Shaq and Zo?

 

www.si.com/nba/2015/05/19/nba-draft-jahlil-okafor-top-pick-interview lol yeah first time in history that no one wants to be number 1

 

yep, But Towns is comparable to Garnett while Jahlil to TD

 

That is what I have been thinking. Different skill sets but tons of potential for greatness.