Tank Tank Or Tank Tank Tank?

So I guess we're officially tanking now, right? I mean the team no longer appears to be trying.

 

40 point loss to the 2nd worst team in the NBA...I'm not sure thats tanking intentionally. This is just being bad...like really bad.

 

Slow day today for me, so I've been perusing the draftees. My draft board right now:

1- Fultz: He has all the tools to be a very good player. Pros- well rounded talent, can shoot, rebound, pass, and defend. Cons- Inconsistent mentality.
2- Ball: Could be a great player. Pros- Incredible feel for the game, a winner. Cons- Translating his game to the pros won't be as easy as people think.
3- Jackson: Looks like a great role player. Pros- Competitive, multi-talented, versatile. Cons- slim frame, still developing as a scorer.
4- Isaac: Looks like a great role player. Pros- Unique athlete profile, competitive. Cons- slim frame, how does he translate?
5- Tatum: Probably a starter. Pros- Fantastic one-on-one player. Cons- Pretty much only a fantastic one-on-one player. (Has Rudy Gay written all over him)
6- Smith: Maybe a starter. Pros- Athletic, able to read defenses. Cons- Inconsistent motor. Reminds me of a worse Fultz.
7- Fox: Maybe a starter. Pros- Great defender, athletic. Cons- Smallish and I'm not sure he's a PG. Reminds me of Patrick Beverley.
8- Monk: 6th man, maybe more. Pros- Can score the damn ball, good vision. Cons- Everything else is a maybe. Shades of Jamaal Crawford.
9- Ntilikina: Project. Pros- Unique physical profile, good feel. Cons- Very skinny right now, needs a lot of work. Reminds me of Exum.
10- Markannen: Maybe a starter. Pros- A 7 foot shooter. Cons- I'm not positive he can rebound or defend in the NBA.

The rest are coming together. I'm looking into Robert Williams and Justin Patton some more, but they didn't impress me much on first glance. Hartenstein is sort of interesting as a 7 foot shooter with good coordination, but he needs a ton of work. I like Rabb's competitiveness, but he profiles as a PF with mostly C skills which isn't a great mix. I've looked into Josh Hart who I like, but is projected late. I've looked into Grayson Allen, who I don't like but could be valuable late in the draft. Blossomgame and Justin Jackson are half-way interesting as bench pieces, but their ceilings are pretty low.

edit- just got to OG Anunoby and I love him. He's got solid role player written all over him. He could easily be the Larry Nance Jr. of this class.

edit edit- looked into Giles, Terrance Ferguson, and Bam Adebayo. Adebayo is intriguing because he's got enormous shoulders and explosive athleticism. He's a physical monster. I'm not sure how smart he is or how many winning plays he's going to make in the NBA, but he'd be a great early 20s prospect. Ferguson is an athletic kid, but I don't see much there. When he fills out he could be a 3&D type of kid. Giles is interesting because he's clearly talented and bright, but he's got an extensive injury history already. He makes me nervous. When he's healthy though he looks like Chris Bosh so if you can get him in the late teens and he stays healthy, he's a huge steal.

 

Reservations on Ball is that can he create off a half court set instead of the fast paced, open floor style which he has excelled thus far. Fultz can do both off the dribble. I like Jackson though he could just be a "role" player as you noted. Josh Hart is not as highly touted but I like his overall game.

 

Exactly. Laker Film Room did a breakdown on Ball which went into much better detail than I could have, but my primary concern with Ball is: can he get to the mid-range and be effective? His shot is so funky that I really don't think it'll translate in small spaces with NBA defenders coming at him from behind. He has shown a little bit of a floater game, but he'd have to really, really make that floater one of his bread and butter shots. I think Ball would actually fit pretty well for us as a spacer with D'Angelo initiating offense and vice versa, but Ball is going to have to show some stuff he's never shown before if he's going to translate to the NBA level.

Jackson does so many things pretty well, but nothing great. He might be a second Ingram on the team, but he's got a little more fire in him. I do like that. Hart has smarts and I think he could really help a team like ours. He seems like a late round value player.

 

The depth people are seeing is kids who look like NBA players. There's a lot of prospects coming out that should be able to stick in the league in some way, shape or form, but no I don't see anyone that looks like Karl Towns.

I think for instance if Russell or Ingram were in this draft, they'd each have a good shot at #1 overall.

 

He doesn't look like Kyrie to me. I'd say he looks like something between Lillard and McCollum. The vast majority of shots Lillard takes are 3s or layups/dunks at the rim. Fultz has more ability to hit shots in the mid-range. Fultz has a very McCollum-esque spin game where he puts the defender on his hip and then turns around to get a clean looking shot.

He's certainly not the ball-handler Kyrie is. I don't think there's anyone in the draft that I've seen so far with that sort of handle.

 

http://www.si.com/nba/2017/02/13/nba-draft-big-board-lottery-markelle-fultz-dennis-smith

If we don't have another pick in the draft, maybe we can acquire one. I like Jackson who could be a Rodman-Green type player not that he would be on that level someday.

 

Ball at 8 is a joke. The kid has some flaws, but there's things he can do on the court that other guards won't be able to duplicate. He's a good prospect.

Anyone picking Ferguson before Anunoby is going to regret it.

Grayson Allen isn't a 1st round pick to me. Too many red flags and not enough potential. Grayson looks like Jordan Farmar to me if he can stop having breakdowns.