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

Arizona basketball: One theory behind Stanley's wait
http://tucson.com/sports/blogs/pasc...cle_20e3b94c-e2e6-11e4-a70b-7b2ccb6f81ec.html

Some think Stanley is waiting for assurances he will be a top 10 pick before leaving now.

 

If we dont draft Johnson or Winslow,I take RHJ at 27 and hope to get Upshaw at 34. If we miss out on upshaw, so be it. If we draft sf, I take either upshaw or a pg like lucas at 27.

 

I'm still curious about Hezonja.

He does intrigue me a bit. I want to see how workouts go with him if we do land 4-5.

I know the whole Euro thing sounds scary, but Mitch didn't fly all the way to Barcelona for nothing, even though, he did because the Barca coach was being a poor sport and benched him the game where many scouts came to see him play.

It'll be interesting to see how his workouts go.

 

I am not that worried about guys playing with Kobe at this point. Next year is probably his last season and even then I have my doubts about how much he will actually play next season. Just don't know if his body will hold up at this point. Hoping he is able to at least play his last game but I would not pass on a guy in the draft or free agency because of Kobe. If we have to bring Russell off the bench for a bit, then so be it.

 

Like you mentioned, if we draft Russell he won't start (neither would any other guard in the draft) Clarkson and Kobe will start at the 1 and 2, so we need to sign a starting caliber 3 (ie Middleton)

Our immediate need is a wing, so we need to fill that role through the draft or the offseason, but when Kobe retires we'll need another wing. So I think Russell will be an excellent draft choice for the 2017 season and beyond.

 

Wings are a dime a dozen. Look at the number of a free agent SF's (restricted and unrestricted) there are next year and available in the draft.

What the Lakers need is an impact big, whether it be offensive or defensive, or even better, the rare two way. Either way, we need someone legitimate on the inside to keep teams honest. Guys like Ed Davis, Tarik Black, Jordan Hill, aren't going to cut it as is. They're decent at what they do, but they aren't game changers. We need a guy who can command double teams on the block, we need a guy who can make players think twice about putting a shot up in the paint and make those easy shots a little tougher around the rim.

Either in the draft of free agency, we need to address the Center situation first. The best result for us is Okafor/Towns and going hard after a stud wing in free agency. After that, it's a toss up between grabbing a young wing like Johnson/Winslow and getting one of Marc Gasol/Jordan/Aldridge or getting Willie Cauley-Stein and maybe going big after Leonard/Butler/Middleton/Carroll.

 

Defensive bigs are dime a dozen as well...... if wings are so readily available, how come we had Wesley Johnson starting for us the last couple of years? The fact of the matter is that QUALITY players are scarce, regardless of position.

I do agree that if Okafor/Towns were available, we'd be stupid to pass up on them, but I'm not so sure about your stance of "needing to address the Center situation first" At least we have players that are "decent at what they do" playing the 5. At the SF position we have nothing. NADA. Shouldn't that be our priority? Or do we want Wesley starting for us again?

 

Right, and those defensive bigs are?

We went after Wesley because of the two things we lacked, $ and draft picks. Money was tied up and we couldn't go after quality wings. We got Nick Young on a great deal for his production. Wesley was young and had the tools, but he doesn't have the mental makeup. We didn't have any draft picks because we either had a late pick or the pick was leveraged for talent needed to be successful.

 

Noah, Gasol, Howard, Davis, Noel, Perkins, Chandler, Horford, Ibaka, Varejao, Splitter, Duncan, Monroe, Bogut, Aldridge, Drummond, Cousins, Asik, Landry, Jordan, Wright, Collison, Garnett, Sanders, Hayes, Gibson ..............etc etc

Pretty much any big that every team has, except for us LOL

 

And I agree with your assessment on Wesley. Still does not change my stance that we need to fill that SF hole asap, as our 1st priority.

 

I understand the lack of a quality SF, but to what sort of impact are you expecting this player to bring? Offensively/defensively? From a big point of view, you know what holes you are trying to fill, a defensive presence or a interior scorer. Two things we need desperately 1. defense 2. someone who can score at a high FG%.

 

In terms of defense, I feel we have a greater need for perimeter defense over interior defense. Because, quite frankly, Kobe is now a liability on defense. We need a wing that can cover his own man while helping out on Kobe as well. As for the frontcourt, Black, Davis, and Randle gives us effort and they can become decent defenders. Hence, at least for the upcoming season, I prioritize a defensive wing over a defensive center.

In terms of offense, an interior scorer would be nice, but Randle is known to score inside. Davis/Black can score in P&R situations and they give us hussle on offensive boards and second chance points. We do not have any shooters. Kobe and Clarkson are below average. Hence I prioritize a shooter over a inside presence, to keep the opponent's defense honest.

Of course, it all depends on talent level, but I believe our perimeter situation sucks.

 

Most of us (or at least me) are basing our picks on who would likely be available at the 4 or 5 spot. I think pretty much everyone would draft Towns or Okafor if we have a top two pick. After that, I still feel like you draft the best guy available. Bottom line is that we just had the worst team in our history. I like some of our guys and think guys like Clarkson, Randle, etc have a ton of potential. But, I'm not sure I would go as far to say we have any position absolutely covered at this point.

At the end of the day, we struggled to get to even 20 wins. Kobe is literally on his last leg. We have a questionable coach.

We can use help in a lot of areas.

I really hope the front office doesn't overthink this. There are several guys who can come in and help us rebuild our team. No need to get cute. If we land in the top two, grab Okafor or Towns. If we aren't in the top 2, grab the highest guy on our board that's still there whether its Mudiay, Russell, or Winslow. Address other needs later in the draft and in free agency.

 

Yeah I kind of feel the same way... The only position I wouldn't draft is PF, and fortunately there aren't any top prospects at that position.

 

I can tell you hezonja is one of the kind talent that you dont see very often.
He has great combination of skills and athletic abilities.
Plus he has good attitude and he is cocky in good way ala kobe...his coment on lionel messi just shows how good could he become...i dont know where he should go...couse i never saw neither towns,okafor or anybody else...so i cant measure him with other guys from ncaa...but now doubt he has potentional to develope in great nba player...