Ennis is not 18. He will be 20 y.o. this August. He's a good college PG, playing for the best defensive SYSTEM in the country. Their schedule strength is outside of top-50. No, he wouldn't be discussed as top-3 pick in any draft - just doesn't have physical tools. Syracuse is a low TO team every year, and only MCW last year was able to pull them to the middle of the field. Ennis doesn't shift defenses, he just uses the cracks opponents allow - it's an excellent quality, but not one, that gets you drafted middle of the lottery.
2014 Draft Prospects:
- Thread starter bajaden
- Start date
I don't think I said that Ennis was 18, I said Parker was 18. Must you quibble about everything. I could report that an atomic bomb went off in Phoenix and you'd say it was in Scottsdale, when the point was, that a frigging atomic bomb went off. As to where Ennis would be drafted without the others being there, we'll just have to disagree, and I do disagree. Just my opinion mi amigo.
Probably depends on where our range ends up being. Right now, I believe were around 4th, and if we were to remain there, I can't off hand think of any player on the Syracuse team that I would pick that high. Of course there's always the possibility of trading down, or that we go on a winning streak and slide down the draft board. Or, we acquire another first round pick through a trade. There are a few Syracuse players that I like, but at the same time, they play for Syracuse which is always scary. As much as I like Ennis, I still can't get the Syracuse image out of my mind. On the whole, more so called busts have come out of Syracuse than stars. Even players that had very good careers, like Derrick Coleman, were looked at as players that never lived up to expectations. Even Melo has his critics.
Anyway, the only players I think he would be looking at are Jerami Grant, C.J. Fair, and Tyler Ennis. Keita is a senior, but he really hasn't done anything to warrant our using a draft pick on him. Of the three, only Grant and Ennis will be first round picks, and we don't have a second round pick, so that removes Fair from the equation, unless we acquire a second round pick through a trade. Maybe PDA just has nothing better to do.
Anyway, the only players I think he would be looking at are Jerami Grant, C.J. Fair, and Tyler Ennis. Keita is a senior, but he really hasn't done anything to warrant our using a draft pick on him. Of the three, only Grant and Ennis will be first round picks, and we don't have a second round pick, so that removes Fair from the equation, unless we acquire a second round pick through a trade. Maybe PDA just has nothing better to do.
Ennis is a freshmen who's been playing like a senior. He has everything there to be a good NBA player. The biggest knock on him is his athleticism. His sucky athleticism still earns him 4.6fta pg. I think there's a lot of talent all over this draft. Even in the 2nd round.
Random q: What position will Kyle Anderson play once he's in the NBA?
Random q: What position will Kyle Anderson play once he's in the NBA?
Point Forward.
Anderson is just incredibly unique. Whatever team selects him will be best served having him bring the ball up the floor and run the offense, but he'll have to guard the SF or even the PF depending on the matchup. In many cases, the PF may be the better option (or in the case of a SG who can't drive, you might hide him there). I think he'd be a fascinating fit next to a player like Jimmer, honestly.
Anderson is just incredibly unique. Whatever team selects him will be best served having him bring the ball up the floor and run the offense, but he'll have to guard the SF or even the PF depending on the matchup. In many cases, the PF may be the better option (or in the case of a SG who can't drive, you might hide him there). I think he'd be a fascinating fit next to a player like Jimmer, honestly.
Taking into consideration that you might have just a tad of personal bias, I do think your dead on about Anderson. Regardless of how he might be used on the offensive side of the ball, he'll have to guard SF's on defense at the next level. And even that may somewhat of a challenge for him, but certainly better than trying to stay in front of a 5'11" skitter bug. Athleticism aside, Anderson is very talented. What really separates him for others is his BBIQ. He's a very smart player with good anticipation on offense. He's capable of seeing the outcome before it happens. Great attribute. He's also improved his shooting, and shot selection. The two go hand in hand. He's a good rebounder, and defensively, despite his lack of athleticism, he's very smart, knows when to play the passing lanes, and understands team defense. He's one of those players, like Creighton's Doug McDermott, that I think is going to surprise a lot of people.
He's no Scotty Pippen, or Magic Johnson, but he might be a very tall version of Andre Miller.
He's no Scotty Pippen, or Magic Johnson, but he might be a very tall version of Andre Miller.
Well, I do try to be objective. For instance, I don't see Jordan Adams as an NBA player at all, and Zach LaVine (after his hot start) has looked so bad shooting that he's probably best served spending another year in college. But Anderson is just so skilled that I can believe he'll find a way to contribute in the NBA despite being slow - especially now that he has developed his jumper (a bit slow getting it off, though).
It appears that my enthusiasm for Shabazz was pretty misplaced, though.
It appears that my enthusiasm for Shabazz was pretty misplaced, though.
Pencil me into the Xavier Thames fanclub. He has a lot of qualities that could translate to the NBA-athleticism, ball handling, defense, shooting. Not only that, but he's also from right here in Sac and we've never had a hometown guy on the Kings. He might be a long shot to make the team, but if no major prospect slips into the 2nd round, he'd be worth a look. And, who knows. He wouldn't be the first 6'3 small-school SG to be a valuable NBA player (see: John Starks, Gail Goodrich)
I think there will be a lot of talented undrafted guys in this upcoming draft that would be 2nd rounders in last years draft. The kings should host a draft workout for local hometown guys. If I could, I'd probably sign Thames to a small small small contract 3 years and 100,000 and stash him on the D-League for a while.
Strengths: excellent handles with both hands though favors left side, FT shooting, especially late in the game, excellent outside shooter both C&S and pull up, can get perimeter shot off against NBA length (Wiggins and Embiid), in the only true P&R situation (big man defender stayed to double team, while SDSU player rolled) found his teammate with ease, can get inside off a screen and draw fouls, have decent mid-range pull up jumper, moves his feet on defense, tries to anticipate screens and recovers pretty quick, if he gets stuck on one, being an excellent shooter has no problem and is effective playing off the ball, TO free .
Weaknesses: takes over games with sometimes bad results, questionable shot selection, for 23 y.o. still pretty weak - gets stuck on good screens, struggles to score inside through contact and is not a factor on the boards. Five year senior, upside is suspect: the only thing you can realistically expect improvement in is probably strength and polishing around the edges.
Still, when looking at what player is doing on the court, you should never forget, that this is college: spacing is worse, they are stuck with the roster they have for the whole season. And SDSU has a lot of ball handling, but not much in terms of shooting. In fact Thames and Polee (from time to time) are the only guys, who can knock down contested perimeter shots. That's why Thames often finds himself without the ball, and late into possession, when they give him the ball back there's no space inside and it's either a contested pull up three or time violation. Their offense relies heavily on dribble drive from other guys and offensive rebounds. And that should be taken into consideration, when you look at his measly 2.8 assists per game and decide, he has no chance to be an NBA PG. Thames is a combo guard, but he knows how to get the ball to his teammates and is unselfish.
P.S. Looking at Thames throughout this game really reminds of IT playing
: driving into 4 guys inside, hoisting contested 3s. P.S.2 I think it's a no-brainer to give him a Summer League invite: no one has him as draftable, DX have him as just #48 senior. Probably due to a fact that they view him as 23 y.o. weak 6'3" SG.
Strengths: excellent handles with both hands though favors left side, FT shooting, especially late in the game, excellent outside shooter both C&S and pull up, can get perimeter shot off against NBA length (Wiggins and Embiid), in the only true P&R situation (big man defender stayed to double team, while SDSU player rolled) found his teammate with ease, can get inside off a screen and draw fouls, have decent mid-range pull up jumper, moves his feet on defense, tries to anticipate screens and recovers pretty quick, if he gets stuck on one, being an excellent shooter has no problem and is effective playing off the ball, TO free .
Weaknesses: takes over games with sometimes bad results, questionable shot selection, for 23 y.o. still pretty weak - gets stuck on good screens, struggles to score inside through contact and is not a factor on the boards. Five year senior, upside is suspect: the only thing you can realistically expect improvement in is probably strength and polishing around the edges.
Still, when looking at what player is doing on the court, you should never forget, that this is college: spacing is worse, they are stuck with the roster they have for the whole season. And SDSU has a lot of ball handling, but not much in terms of shooting. In fact Thames and Polee (from time to time) are the only guys, who can knock down contested perimeter shots. That's why Thames often finds himself without the ball, and late into possession, when they give him the ball back there's no space inside and it's either a contested pull up three or time violation. Their offense relies heavily on dribble drive from other guys and offensive rebounds. And that should be taken into consideration, when you look at his measly 2.8 assists per game and decide, he has no chance to be an NBA PG. Thames is a combo guard, but he knows how to get the ball to his teammates and is unselfish.
P.S. Looking at Thames throughout this game really reminds of IT playing
: driving into 4 guys inside, hoisting contested 3s.P.S.2 I think it's a no-brainer to give him a Summer League invite: no one has him as draftable, DX have him as just #48 senior. Probably due to a fact that they view him as 23 y.o. weak 6'3" SG.
Take a look at this video
That looks like an NBA SF to me. Parker can't defend him. Kyle doesn't have power or strength for PF position.
That looks like an NBA SF to me. Parker can't defend him.
Kyle doesn't have power or strength for PF position.
I think a lot of us agree that he'll be a SF in the NBA. Maybe my hope of a Magic Johnson 2.0 is a bit too much. I think if he had a better latteral quickness and overall much quicker, he'd be able to fit pg..or point forward. He's a very intriguing player because he has a very very high bball iq and can see the floor much better than a lot of "actual" pgs.
I think Thames can be a good NBA player. The kings should invite him to a draft workout and bring him into the summer league. Sign him the cheapest they possibly can and let him play about half a season in the D-League. That way, if he shines in the D-League no other teams can try to steal him from us.
Unrelated post: Doug McDermott has been so impressive this season. 1st round draft pick for sure.
Unrelated post: Doug McDermott has been so impressive this season. 1st round draft pick for sure.
To piggy back on one of Baja's earlier points on Ennis and this draft, I sorta like him - and just off the top of my head I like him more than a lot of the similarly ranked PG prospects in years past. Just based on what they've done in college, I like Ennis more than guys like Burke and Knight.
And I think he is a realistic option for us depending on how far down the draft boards the Kings fall. I seriously doubt IT is the starting PG next season. And I don't know if PDA want's to bring in a guy like Smart.
And I actually might be one of the last remaining Smart 'fans'. I hate the fit with this roster, but man - I'd be scared to draft him and I'd be scared to not draft him.
I could see a scenario where the Kings are hoping Exum falls, they miss him by one pick, and take Ennis as plan B.
Of course, I'd prefer the big guy, be it WCS or Vonleh, but I could see Ennis being the guy, for better or worse.
And I think he is a realistic option for us depending on how far down the draft boards the Kings fall. I seriously doubt IT is the starting PG next season. And I don't know if PDA want's to bring in a guy like Smart.
And I actually might be one of the last remaining Smart 'fans'. I hate the fit with this roster, but man - I'd be scared to draft him and I'd be scared to not draft him.
I could see a scenario where the Kings are hoping Exum falls, they miss him by one pick, and take Ennis as plan B.
Of course, I'd prefer the big guy, be it WCS or Vonleh, but I could see Ennis being the guy, for better or worse.
Last edited:
Strengths: excellent handles with both hands though favors left side, FT shooting, especially late in the game, excellent outside shooter both C&S and pull up, can get perimeter shot off against NBA length (Wiggins and Embiid), in the only true P&R situation (big man defender stayed to double team, while SDSU player rolled) found his teammate with ease, can get inside off a screen and draw fouls, have decent mid-range pull up jumper, moves his feet on defense, tries to anticipate screens and recovers pretty quick, if he gets stuck on one, being an excellent shooter has no problem and is effective playing off the ball, TO free .
Weaknesses: takes over games with sometimes bad results, questionable shot selection, for 23 y.o. still pretty weak - gets stuck on good screens, struggles to score inside through contact and is not a factor on the boards. Five year senior, upside is suspect: the only thing you can realistically expect improvement in is probably strength and polishing around the edges.
Still, when looking at what player is doing on the court, you should never forget, that this is college: spacing is worse, they are stuck with the roster they have for the whole season. And SDSU has a lot of ball handling, but not much in terms of shooting. In fact Thames and Polee (from time to time) are the only guys, who can knock down contested perimeter shots. That's why Thames often finds himself without the ball, and late into possession, when they give him the ball back there's no space inside and it's either a contested pull up three or time violation. Their offense relies heavily on dribble drive from other guys and offensive rebounds. And that should be taken into consideration, when you look at his measly 2.8 assists per game and decide, he has no chance to be an NBA PG. Thames is a combo guard, but he knows how to get the ball to his teammates and is unselfish.
P.S. Looking at Thames throughout this game really reminds of IT playing
: driving into 4 guys inside, hoisting contested 3s.P.S.2 I think it's a no-brainer to give him a Summer League invite: no one has him as draftable, DX have him as just #48 senior. Probably due to a fact that they view him as 23 y.o. weak 6'3" SG.
I still think the team goes with the defensive 4 in that scenario. Kings need to be in win now mode next year to hold on to Rudy when free agency rolls around and to keep Cousins happy. Other than Exum, who projects to be an impact player based on his two-way potential, none of the point guards in the coming draft really grab me by the whiskers as game changers.
Am I the only one who is high on Jerian Grant? 6-5 203lbs. In 12 games this season he's averaged 35.6 minutes 19pts 6.2asts 2stls 1.8tos. He "attempted" 11.6fga pg but got to the line fairly easy with 6.2fta pg. He shot .518% overall and .408% behind the arc. He's no longer attending Norte Dame because of his academics. They have high standards for their students which is respectable.
I think if it was down to WCS, Vonleh, and Ennis, I would go with one of the bigs. I think a PG can be drafted in the 2nd round(if we trade for one) or we can target undrafted players. Some that might go undrafted would be, Russ Smith, Aaron Craft, Jerian Grant, Elfrid Payton, and more. I hope the kings trade into the 2nd round and draft one of these pgs. There's also many others I didn't include. It's a good pg draft if the kings bite.
I think if it was down to WCS, Vonleh, and Ennis, I would go with one of the bigs. I think a PG can be drafted in the 2nd round(if we trade for one) or we can target undrafted players. Some that might go undrafted would be, Russ Smith, Aaron Craft, Jerian Grant, Elfrid Payton, and more. I hope the kings trade into the 2nd round and draft one of these pgs. There's also many others I didn't include. It's a good pg draft if the kings bite.
I was thinking about a pg to put IT on the bench.. the only guards I'd want in FA would be Eric Bledsoe and Avery Bradley. However both are RFA. I think realistically, the kings can make IT the pg of the future and bring in a guy like Jerryd Bayless to back him up. This might be the path where they want to go when they said they're looking for another pg. That report sounded a whole lot like they wanted a pg to back up IT. I still don't believe IT should be the starting pg of our team.
I have a feeling that he stays with the Bulls...that's if they want him back. D-Rose's injury will always be a concern there. I don't think Augustin is a starting pg. He would basically play the role that Jordan Crawford did, except he would shoot a lot more. I think he resigns for a few more years. They're a pretty decent playoff team with him in it.
I think if Chicago wants him back, he'll come back. I wouldn't mind him at all in the kings. He'd bring vet presence and Cuz might learn a thing or two from him.
I think if Chicago wants him back, he'll come back. I wouldn't mind him at all in the kings. He'd bring vet presence and Cuz might learn a thing or two from him.
Grant wants to return back to Notre Dame.
BTW nice trivia: Jerian and Jerami Grant (plays for Syracuse) are sons of Harvey Grant (former top-20 pick) and nephews of Horace Grant. Harvey and Horace were identical twins.
Bradley is not a PG, you can't even call him a combo-guard. He guards Wade pretty well, so you can say he's a decent SG.
Hinrich is done.
BTW nice trivia: Jerian and Jerami Grant (plays for Syracuse) are sons of Harvey Grant (former top-20 pick) and nephews of Horace Grant. Harvey and Horace were identical twins.
Bradley is not a PG, you can't even call him a combo-guard. He guards Wade pretty well, so you can say he's a decent SG.
Hinrich is done.
Last edited:
You, and some others might think I'm crazy, but don't be surprised if Ennis gets drafted ahead of Smart. Oklahoma St. is in danger of not making the NCAA tournament. Smarts team is a very talented team, and their losing. Don't think scouts and GM's don't take that into consideration. On the other hand, Ennis is leading a team that's undefeated and number one in the nation. Teams that are looking for a PG, will seriously consider Ennis over Smart.
