Just no to Dario Saric. Brings nothing new including bad defense. Gordon is not a post player, don't want him either. Exum might be too big of a talent to pass up if this http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...eps-facing-australian-nba-prospect-dante-exum is indeed true, but at this point I don't believe he's a realistic option if both Cousins/Gay is healthy for the rest of the season.
Kings possible draft picks game
- Thread starter Glenn
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I tend to agree with you that Gordon doesn't at present look like a post player, and who knows, his position of the future may well be at SF. But he is a very good man on man defender right now. I've seen him on the perimeter defending everything from PG's to SF's. His outside shot needs some work, but he definitely has a future in the league. I just don't see him as a good fit for the Kings, especially with Williams and Gay on the team. If we end up picking at 7, I'd be willing to move down a couple of slots if I could get another low first or a high 2nd. If not, I pick either Vonleh or Cauley-Stein. That's barring an Exum or a Randle sliding down to us. Which is unlikely, but then no one thought Cousins would be there at 5 either.
He's said he's going to talk to some colleges, but to be honest, he has nothing to gain by signing on to any college team for the remainder of the season. The only other possibility would be for him to play in the D-League, and once again, why would he want to take a chance on getting injured. He knows he's probably going no later than 5 and at worse 7, depending on how his workouts go. You might be able to go on line and find some of his U19 games at the world championships, or perhaps some of the highschool all star games he played in, especially the Jordan Brand classic where the US plays the international teams. Other than that, I doubt you'll be seeing him.
Having seen him play, and admittedly, its just a small sampling, the only weakness I could find was that his outside shot needed to become more consistent. But I could say that about almost all the young players coming out of highschool. He's 6'6", and lightning quick, with an explosive first step off the dribble. Excellent ballhandler and passer with good court vision and is definitely a team first player. He's outstanding at getting to the basket. Which is another area where he needs to improve. He needs to get stronger to help him finish better at the basket.. He's an elite athlete, and may be the best player to ever come out of Australia (sorry Bogut). If not, then the second best player. He's a very good defender, and has the length to defend three positions. Now I'm speaking about highschool, and it remains to be seen how all that translates to the NBA. But there's no denying that he's a very talented player. He had no problem defending in the highschool all star games and he was going up against Seldon and the Harrison twins.
In the U19 games, he played against Marcus Smart, and Smart was incapable of guarding Exum, while Exum shut Smart down. See if you can find that game on line. Don't know if that's possible, but it would give you an idea of what kind of player he is. A lot of these world championship games are shown on one of the ESPN channels when their on. So keep your eye's open for them.
Having seen him play, and admittedly, its just a small sampling, the only weakness I could find was that his outside shot needed to become more consistent. But I could say that about almost all the young players coming out of highschool. He's 6'6", and lightning quick, with an explosive first step off the dribble. Excellent ballhandler and passer with good court vision and is definitely a team first player. He's outstanding at getting to the basket. Which is another area where he needs to improve. He needs to get stronger to help him finish better at the basket.. He's an elite athlete, and may be the best player to ever come out of Australia (sorry Bogut). If not, then the second best player. He's a very good defender, and has the length to defend three positions. Now I'm speaking about highschool, and it remains to be seen how all that translates to the NBA. But there's no denying that he's a very talented player. He had no problem defending in the highschool all star games and he was going up against Seldon and the Harrison twins.
In the U19 games, he played against Marcus Smart, and Smart was incapable of guarding Exum, while Exum shut Smart down. See if you can find that game on line. Don't know if that's possible, but it would give you an idea of what kind of player he is. A lot of these world championship games are shown on one of the ESPN channels when their on. So keep your eye's open for them.
I understand that relying on box scores is tricky, but in that game USA won 94-51, Smart had 11 points(9 possessions used), 2 TOs and no personal fouls in 17 minutes, while Exum ended up with 7 points(5 possessions used), 4 TOs and 2 personal fouls in 11 minutes. They matched up, but it was a two dozens possessions overall. I don't think you can seriously use that to draw any conclusions.
Other than that I have to agree with your assessment: it's pretty generic, but you can't get more detail with such a small sample size.
Other than that I have to agree with your assessment: it's pretty generic, but you can't get more detail with such a small sample size.
Well I tried desperately to find some film of the game. But to no avail. Anyway, I don't want to make too much of one game, but going on my memory, Smart originally tried to guard Exum in the game, and had little success. At that point I believe the US put Justise Winslow on Exum, and had more success. The fact that the US team beat the Australian team is of little surprise. The Australian team had one good player, Exum, and the US team had one objective in the game. To stop Exum. On the other hand the US team had players like Parker, the Harrison twins, Jahlil Okafor etc. Talent wise, there was no comparison. I guess you had to see the game.
Indeed. But I don't think that's all too likely. I see us probably passing the Lakers and Pelicans in the West, but not catching any of the quintet of T-Wolves, Nuggets, Grizz, Suns or Dallas that are currently vying for the 7-8 seeds. Even assuming we finish with a better record than all of the non-playoff teams in the East, that still puts us at 11. Will be interesting to see if some of those fringe playoff teams in the East (Bobcats, Cavs, Pistons, etc) try to make moves to improve, too (or, in the Cavs situation, more moves).
This has been my fear as well. At this type of range in this current moment in time, I would be happy to land Zach LaVine.
Your fear?
Everyone needs to start getting over the godawful mindset of "Lose more games for better draft picks because better picks mean moar winz!". This isn't Maloof-land anymore. Our team finally has a direction and a couple of bonafide stars. At this point what we really need are players that fill roles on our team and system more than we the super influx of talent brought forth by a top five pick in this years draft, though I'm sure no one will really mind if we did with up with a top five pick through sheer luck.
At this point, our team is probably better off building chemistry between Cuz and Rudy and winning games rather than tanking in the hope that this year's draft pick will finally be the one to put us over the top. Yes having an Embiid, Parker, or Exum on our squad would be nice but having a big two that is growing and striking the fear in the hearts of our competitors is even better.
Plus, there's still a hell of a lot of time between now and the draft. For all we know Vonleh or WCS slip to the ten or eleven range and we still potentially wind up with a key cog that the team's been lacking for the better part of a decade. And LaVine probably isn't coming out in this year's draft anyways.
Everyone needs to start getting over the godawful mindset of "Lose more games for better draft picks because better picks mean moar winz!". This isn't Maloof-land anymore. Our team finally has a direction and a couple of bonafide stars. At this point what we really need are players that fill roles on our team and system more than we the super influx of talent brought forth by a top five pick in this years draft, though I'm sure no one will really mind if we did with up with a top five pick through sheer luck.
At this point, our team is probably better off building chemistry between Cuz and Rudy and winning games rather than tanking in the hope that this year's draft pick will finally be the one to put us over the top. Yes having an Embiid, Parker, or Exum on our squad would be nice but having a big two that is growing and striking the fear in the hearts of our competitors is even better.
Plus, there's still a hell of a lot of time between now and the draft. For all we know Vonleh or WCS slip to the ten or eleven range and we still potentially wind up with a key cog that the team's been lacking for the better part of a decade. And LaVine probably isn't coming out in this year's draft anyways.
Do people not understand that with they way we started and ending up with a pick 10-12 is great.
1.) it means DMC is the truth
2.) Rudy Gay and DMC have meshed together and are a legit combo
3.) Coach Malone is the truth and the team is buying in
4.) we can still draft players like WCS and Vonleh late in the lottery
1.) it means DMC is the truth
2.) Rudy Gay and DMC have meshed together and are a legit combo
3.) Coach Malone is the truth and the team is buying in
4.) we can still draft players like WCS and Vonleh late in the lottery
Don't want to seem like a dick, but I want the high pick. Say what you will about my philosophy but 30 wins and not making playoffs isn't going to keep me warm at night. Boogie is day to day and Rudy Gay just got hurt. Maybe I'm disillusioned, but a championship is the only thing I want for this team. We aren't going to get that praying for team chemistry and 5'9 point guards. I am still unconvinced of Rudy, and I am doubtful he remains once his contract has run its course. You can call me pessimistic but I'm also realistic.
You can't have too much talent if it's on rookie contracts. And it's not like this team has a lot. I'm not saying let's shut down Boogie/Rudy for the season, but giving them week or two to get fully healthy shouldn't affect the process of team building, while improving draft pick.
P.S. Well, watching Indiana last night got me thinking that Vonleh might easily crack top-6.
P.S. Well, watching Indiana last night got me thinking that Vonleh might easily crack top-6.
S
Great post
Anyone that says otherwise is delusional.
Some posters here would prefer us to lose that draft pick. This is the best draft year in who knows how long and probably last time in a while for us to get a decent pick. This is the last or one of the last pieces to making this squad a playoff contender. We need that draft pick whether Exum at 5 or Willie Cauley-Stein at 12. It doesn't matter
Anyone that says otherwise is delusional.
Some posters here would prefer us to lose that draft pick. This is the best draft year in who knows how long and probably last time in a while for us to get a decent pick. This is the last or one of the last pieces to making this squad a playoff contender. We need that draft pick whether Exum at 5 or Willie Cauley-Stein at 12. It doesn't matter
S
LOL false
"A couple bonafide stars"? LOL more like 1 star, 1 really good player and a crapty supporting cast.
This team is going nowhere. No amount of chemistry and veteran experience will make this team a championship squad. They need another star and that's probably coming from the draft.
Where is your big two? Rudy Gay will be shut down by any serious team. He's not a star LOL He averages a non-stellar 20 points per game in a squad where he should be averaging way more than he is. 6 rebounds and 2.7 assists. That's nothing impressive, bud. Nor does it make him a star and his price tag overrates him even more. He's a great player and a good third option.
"A couple bonafide stars"? LOL more like 1 star, 1 really good player and a crapty supporting cast.
This team is going nowhere. No amount of chemistry and veteran experience will make this team a championship squad. They need another star and that's probably coming from the draft.
Where is your big two? Rudy Gay will be shut down by any serious team. He's not a star LOL He averages a non-stellar 20 points per game in a squad where he should be averaging way more than he is. 6 rebounds and 2.7 assists. That's nothing impressive, bud. Nor does it make him a star and his price tag overrates him even more. He's a great player and a good third option.
First game all year that they decided to use Vonleh in their offense. Up to now, he was nothing more than an afterthought. One of my criticisms was that I didn't think he ran the floor as well as he could, but in this game, he got out ahead of the defense the way I wanted him to. He has a lot of upside. Already a good rebounder.
People forget that Kobe was drafted outside the lottery 
Have no fear, we'll get a good pick.
No way we get anything worse than 12
Have no fear, we'll get a good pick.
No way we get anything worse than 12