he doesn't even look as good as kp did in highlight reels. kp had much more going for him as a post player and was clearly going to be a 4/5 in the nba. bender looks like a 4 who wants to be a 3. I'd trust management if they took him, though. as others have said, the lakers have been drafting well for a while now. like rofy said, i'll probably get a lot more interested if the lakers actually have a pick.
I'm just not sold his lateral quickness is competitive against NBA quickness and speed. The leagues he's playing in are certainly not the NBA. Like abeer said he looks like he has a SF's game in a PF/C body which sounds good in today's NBA, but only if you have the athleticism to back it up and I'm not sure he does. Like others have said though (I can't remember who) if the Lakers take him that means they saw something in him that I'll trust. The only thing the Lakers have done well the last few years is draft good players. If they took Bender it means they see some legit talent there. I'd prefer Jaylen Brown. Jaylen has a perfect SF physical profile, he's uber-athletic, and he can provide elite defense relatively quickly. The only problem with Jaylen is inconsistent shooting but he can grow out of that I think.
Ingram showed some excellent versatility in his first Tourney game. Insane length, good timing, very fluid, and found teammates nicely. I'd like to see more outside shooting from him, but right now he's still my ideal Laker pick if they got it and kept it.
If simmons drops, and we have the opportunity to take him, you take him no doubt. In todays game he can play almost any position on the floor, (although he needs to work on his shot) and he's a good asset to have incase a good trade comes our way
Ingram looked really good today. If he continues at this pace in the tourney, I could see him eclipsing Simmons for the #1 pick. Then again, had Simmons gone to a better program...he'd be playing right now too. I guess we'll never know. But now, I'm just hoping we get at least the 2nd pick so that we guarantee ourselves Ingram or Simmons.
If we get the #1 pick, I'm looking to flip it with Clarkson for a true star to tempt Durant with Star 1, Russell, Randle and another good free agent signing.
If we get the #1 pick, I'm looking to flip it with Clarkson for a true star to tempt Durant with Star 1, Russell, Randle and another good free agent signing.
What true stars are gonna be available? Cousins isn't a true one imo and even so I doubt the Kings will settle for the pick and Clarkson. They'll want more and they'll probably just fire Karl and keep him.
I think if the thought is we would package our top 3 pick with Clarkson to try to get Cousins, the C Bags will stand in the way and outbid the Lakers. The C Bags frankly could give Sacramento a better offer considering they have up to 4 1st round picks (one being the Brooklyn pick which may end up being a top 3 pick as well). That and they also have a bunch of young assets they can package picks with.
Perhaps. However, Boston has been trying to get rid of these picks forever and honestly this draft is so weak it's possible those picks are viewed really negatively. A pick in the teens and twenties in this draft is going to net you probably a 2nd round pick. Not to mention their young "assets" are all very average guards. They're not actually a super talented team, they just have a fantastic coach. The only way they outright bid more than the Lakers is if they get a higher pick than us with that Brooklyn pick. Regardless, Sac might prefer their offer anyway to get Cousins out of the division and conference.
I did not get to see Ingram play today. I have been watching games since 2 pm or so though. Favorite player I've seen today is Brice Johnson of UNC, senior power forward. Super active, really long, 16 points, 6 boards, 8 blocks in this game. Makes me we wish we had a late first rounder this year, I don't know if we have any 2nd rounders.
We've got a pick early in the 2nd Round. DE has us going after Diallo I think who is a somewhat undersized PF/C who is athletic and runs the floor. I'm all for taking the most talented kid, but we'd be stacking up on PFs. I haven't seen much of Brice Johnson, but I recognize the name.
I've seen Brice Johnson play a few times this year now, and I really like him. He's an energy big, not unlike Nance Jr, if not the crazy leaper. I'd also compare him a little to Willie Cauley-Stein, that sort of hustle big that plays without the ball. I know we have stocked up on the PF's, but most likely Bass walks, and I want Kelly gone, so Johnson would be a solid replacement. I don't see how we could get him in the 2nd round though, this isn't a deep draft, and if he has a good tournament and workouts he's going in the 1st. His final numbers from the FGC game are 18 points, 7 boards, 8 blocks, and some nice passes for 3 assists. Unrelated to us, my favorite performance of the day was actually from Josh Hagins of Little Rock, crazy double-OT game and he was awesome.
So if it came down to trading our pick with a young asset, you guys would rather part with Clarkson over Randle?
exactly. boston's assets are being highly over valued, imo. they have no star potential on the roster, and every pick except bkn's is meh. i think the lakers could be very competitive in a trade scenario, should it arise. what boston has is a guarantee that they have a high pick to move, though. based on what i've seen the past couple of years, he'd be my #3 pick, were it kept.
