Chinanu Onuaku is 31 days older than Deyonta Davis, doesn't do anything worse than Michigan St forward, well, not counting moving screen fouls and slightly higher jumping, does a couple of things much better, showed huge improvement frosh-to-soph, so he's obviously a hard worker, anchored top D-I defense, was doing it as a starter, while Davis is the only bench guy in the whole draft, I think. And still Davis is 20-30 picks higher.
2016 NBA Draft Discussion
- Thread starter Dime Dropper
- Start date
I saw their latest mock draft the other day. They do a fantastic job of breaking down prospect strengths and weaknesses. I am not sure that they have Sacramento's pick correct though. I think we are picking the player that will be ready to contribute now and we won't be waiting for them to develop.
The guy that does all the view break down the for draftexpress tweeted the other day that he can see Chriss going even further up the draft board as we get closer to the draft. Hopefully that is the case so that one of the guards can fall our way.
If not I can definitely see us drafting Baldwin is we keep the pick. There is enough there to work with going forward and at the very lease he can provide some shooting in his rookie year. I am still hoping for Dunn but not expecting it.
3 teams that I could see picking Chriss (some if I squint really hard) are Phoenix, Minnesota and Denver. KAT is obviously a jet for the Timberwolves but if they see him more as a C, then Chriss becomes a nice complement to him long term especially when you have KG taking the kid under his wing and showing him the ropes. Having said that, I would be shocked if Minnesota don't draft Dunn. Thibs would absolutely LOVE him, especially on the defensive end.
The guy that does all the view break down the for draftexpress tweeted the other day that he can see Chriss going even further up the draft board as we get closer to the draft. Hopefully that is the case so that one of the guards can fall our way.
If not I can definitely see us drafting Baldwin is we keep the pick. There is enough there to work with going forward and at the very lease he can provide some shooting in his rookie year. I am still hoping for Dunn but not expecting it.
3 teams that I could see picking Chriss (some if I squint really hard) are Phoenix, Minnesota and Denver. KAT is obviously a jet for the Timberwolves but if they see him more as a C, then Chriss becomes a nice complement to him long term especially when you have KG taking the kid under his wing and showing him the ropes. Having said that, I would be shocked if Minnesota don't draft Dunn. Thibs would absolutely LOVE him, especially on the defensive end.
Their mock drafts aren't really mock drafts. It's just a bigboard.
Yeah, you're probably right. It's interesting to see him slide from lotto range down to 20. It wouldn't surprise me if he does get bumped back up a little bit because of all the intangibles. DX also currently has Malik Beasley at 30, I fully expect him to rise up to outside lotto in a few weeks. I have a question, do you know if they start shaping their big boards accordingly to NBA teams as the draft gets closer? DX has been pretty accurate with slotting players in certain ranges
Yeah, you're probably right. It's interesting to see him slide from lotto range down to 20. It wouldn't surprise me if he does get bumped back up a little bit because of all the intangibles. DX also currently has Malik Beasley at 30, I fully expect him to rise up to outside lotto in a few weeks. I have a question, do you know if they start shaping their big boards accordingly to NBA teams as the draft gets closer? DX has been pretty accurate with slotting players in certain ranges
In the past they have usually changed their big board to a "true" mock draft just after the lottery. It doesn't look like they've done that this year, and I'm not sure why. They do appear to have a lot of inside info come in as the draft gets closer. A few hours before the draft they can be pretty accurate and sometimes nail unusual picks that nobody saw coming. Basically, if DX updates their mock on the day of the draft with a guy jumping way higher than you thought, it's probably right.
Yeah, Draftexpress is consistently accurate -- more so than most mock drafts -- I think it's just very early in the process. There's not a lot to go on as far as who particular teams are most interested in. Have any of the top prospects even held individual workouts yet? I don't think Chriss to the Kings is all that far-fetched though, especially if Brown, Dunn, Hield, and Jamal Murray are all off the board as they're projecting. People keep saying we want NBA ready prospects but you can't draft something that's not there. There isn't a player in this draft who doesn't have some significant flaw in their game. Is Chriss really any further away from being an impact player in the NBA than Brown, Dunn, Jamal Murray, or Buddy Hield? Jaylen Brown is a freakishly athletic wing who's not a great ballhandler or shooter right now, Kris Dunn has to prove he can play PG without throwing the ball away, Jamal Murray is probably a 6'4" SG caught between positions, Buddy Hield doesn't have any glaring flaws other than age and upside -- if he's near his ceiling already he might top out as just a high-level roleplayer. Even in the top 2 you have Ben Simmons who can't shoot outside of 16 feet and Brandon Ingram who looks like he needs to put on about 30 pounds of muscle.
If I told you there's a legit 6-10 PF on the board who's in the running for most athletic player in the draft and has a very promising shooting stroke which could make him one of the rare and coveted "blocks and 3s" big men in the league in a few years are you going to remove him from consideration just because he's a year or two younger than some of his peers? Whoever we draft at #8 is going to be making about $2.5 million next season -- that's probably less than Seth Curry is going to get next year. The financial commitment is minimal. We can afford to bring someone along slowly while we add veteran pieces with our cap space. Just keep this in perspective. When we go hunting for "safe" picks we usually wash out. Sure-thing shooters can't always shoot in the NBA, fully-developed juniors and seniors sometimes don't get any better than they were in college and that's a long way from NBA elite. It makes no sense to pass on a future NBA star to get yourself a college star who might be a roleplayer at best in the NBA. Draft for talent and trust your coaching staff to get the most out of it.
If I told you there's a legit 6-10 PF on the board who's in the running for most athletic player in the draft and has a very promising shooting stroke which could make him one of the rare and coveted "blocks and 3s" big men in the league in a few years are you going to remove him from consideration just because he's a year or two younger than some of his peers? Whoever we draft at #8 is going to be making about $2.5 million next season -- that's probably less than Seth Curry is going to get next year. The financial commitment is minimal. We can afford to bring someone along slowly while we add veteran pieces with our cap space. Just keep this in perspective. When we go hunting for "safe" picks we usually wash out. Sure-thing shooters can't always shoot in the NBA, fully-developed juniors and seniors sometimes don't get any better than they were in college and that's a long way from NBA elite. It makes no sense to pass on a future NBA star to get yourself a college star who might be a roleplayer at best in the NBA. Draft for talent and trust your coaching staff to get the most out of it.
Again, I agree with you. I think Phoenix at #4, Tvolwes at #5 and Denver at #7 take a hard look at him. If he is available at #8 and we take him I feel very good about it. I wanted this kind of player next to Cousins for years so naturally I am more high on him than others. If he and Willie pan out and we can sign Cousins to a new contract our PF/C rotation would be pretty special and locked up for years.
But with the current Collison drama and our lack of quality guards on the roster I can see Vlade being high on perceived "NBA ready" guards like Dunn, Hield and Baldwin as well
But with the current Collison drama and our lack of quality guards on the roster I can see Vlade being high on perceived "NBA ready" guards like Dunn, Hield and Baldwin as well
That is OK in theory but not so in practice. The last thing we need to do is use a lottery pick on a PF two years in a row. We did it on SG for two years prior to drafting WCS and that has worked out magnificently for us! 
The issue is that when you draft talent in the same position two years in a row, the. You give no room for either of them to develop properly. Especially if you are a team that is not inthe process of stock piling young talent in a major rebuild.
If anything, Collison incident and Rondo's free agency has just about convinced me that we will be drafting a PG and if Dunn is not there, I would not be surprised at all if the commisioner calls out that the Kings are drafting Baldwin.
Your approach is perfectly fine while you are in the process of searching for the franchise player. Once you find him, then you draft on the basis of talent but also how that fits in with the rest of your roster going forward and especially around your franchise player or players.
If we didn't draft WCS, I would be opent to the idea of Chriss but since we drafted the side kick for Cousins last year we need to address other areas. Your idea of having 3 big as you suggested js fine until you get to the point of having to pay all 3 of them serious money which becomes financially unfeasable. You keep 2 and go hunting for a cheaper 3rd option to come off the bench.
As I said previously, I think Chriss will fly up the draft board the closer we get to the draft and I would think Phoenix, possibly Minnesota and Denver will likely give him very strong consoderation at their picks. I wouldn't rule Boston out either especially if Bender is going to stay in Europe for a few years.
The issue is that when you draft talent in the same position two years in a row, the. You give no room for either of them to develop properly. Especially if you are a team that is not inthe process of stock piling young talent in a major rebuild.
If anything, Collison incident and Rondo's free agency has just about convinced me that we will be drafting a PG and if Dunn is not there, I would not be surprised at all if the commisioner calls out that the Kings are drafting Baldwin.
Your approach is perfectly fine while you are in the process of searching for the franchise player. Once you find him, then you draft on the basis of talent but also how that fits in with the rest of your roster going forward and especially around your franchise player or players.
If we didn't draft WCS, I would be opent to the idea of Chriss but since we drafted the side kick for Cousins last year we need to address other areas. Your idea of having 3 big as you suggested js fine until you get to the point of having to pay all 3 of them serious money which becomes financially unfeasable. You keep 2 and go hunting for a cheaper 3rd option to come off the bench.
As I said previously, I think Chriss will fly up the draft board the closer we get to the draft and I would think Phoenix, possibly Minnesota and Denver will likely give him very strong consoderation at their picks. I wouldn't rule Boston out either especially if Bender is going to stay in Europe for a few years.
That is OK in theory but not so in practice. The last thing we need to do is use a lottery pick on a PF two years in a row. We did it on SG for two years prior to drafting WCS and that has worked out magnificently for us!
The issue is that when you draft talent in the same position two years in a row, the. You give no room for either of them to develop properly. Especially if you are a team that is not inthe process of stock piling young talent in a major rebuild.
If anything, Collison incident and Rondo's free agency has just about convinced me that we will be drafting a PG and if Dunn is not there, I would not be surprised at all if the commisioner calls out that the Kings are drafting Baldwin.
Your approach is perfectly fine while you are in the process of searching for the franchise player. Once you find him, then you draft on the basis of talent but also how that fits in with the rest of your roster going forward and especially around your franchise player or players.
If we didn't draft WCS, I would be opent to the idea of Chriss but since we drafted the side kick for Cousins last year we need to address other areas. Your idea of having 3 big as you suggested js fine until you get to the point of having to pay all 3 of them serious money which becomes financially unfeasable. You keep 2 and go hunting for a cheaper 3rd option to come off the bench.
As I said previously, I think Chriss will fly up the draft board the closer we get to the draft and I would think Phoenix, possibly Minnesota and Denver will likely give him very strong consoderation at their picks. I wouldn't rule Boston out either especially if Bender is going to stay in Europe for a few years.
The issue is that when you draft talent in the same position two years in a row, the. You give no room for either of them to develop properly. Especially if you are a team that is not inthe process of stock piling young talent in a major rebuild.
If anything, Collison incident and Rondo's free agency has just about convinced me that we will be drafting a PG and if Dunn is not there, I would not be surprised at all if the commisioner calls out that the Kings are drafting Baldwin.
Your approach is perfectly fine while you are in the process of searching for the franchise player. Once you find him, then you draft on the basis of talent but also how that fits in with the rest of your roster going forward and especially around your franchise player or players.
If we didn't draft WCS, I would be opent to the idea of Chriss but since we drafted the side kick for Cousins last year we need to address other areas. Your idea of having 3 big as you suggested js fine until you get to the point of having to pay all 3 of them serious money which becomes financially unfeasable. You keep 2 and go hunting for a cheaper 3rd option to come off the bench.
As I said previously, I think Chriss will fly up the draft board the closer we get to the draft and I would think Phoenix, possibly Minnesota and Denver will likely give him very strong consoderation at their picks. I wouldn't rule Boston out either especially if Bender is going to stay in Europe for a few years.
Start of the game: Cousins-WCS
You then sub out WCS to go to: Cousins-Chriss
Then swap Cousins with WCS and you have WCS-Chriss against other teams backups
And at the end you go back to Cousins-WCS
So you get:
PF: 16 mins WCS; 32 mins Chriss
C: 32 mins Cousins; 16 mins WCS
Exactly, Willie is a 7 footer. He can play either front court position. Even if we keep Willie as the starting PF, he played 21 minutes per game this season. Who's his backup in the future? We don't even have one right now. And they don't have redundant skillsets either. Chriss is going to be someone who can create offense by facing up and driving to the basket and he's also someone you can spot up at the three point line. He's a stretch 4 type player like Ryan Anderson with better athleticism and more defensive potential. There's more than enough frontcourt minutes to find roles for both of them in the future.
Now granted he's not going to be Ryan Anderson next season, but none of these rookies are ready to step in and contribute NBA veteran level production -- our mistake is always in thinking we can fill our immediate needs with a rookie. Nik Stauskas and Ben McLemore didn't work because we expected both of them to develop much faster than they actually have and we had no veterans in place last year ready to take up the load if they weren't ready. You really think Kris Dunn (or Wade Baldwin) is going to come close to Darren Collison or Rajon Rondo's production next season? That's highly unlikely. That doesn't mean don't draft them -- it just means that they're going to need to grow into their NBA role just like Chriss is into his. They may be a little further along now but whoever we draft is signing a 4 year contract. You're aiming to find the best player in the draft class by the end of those 4 years.
And the one thing you absolutely cannot do is tell yourself "I'm taking a PG no matter what". We don't know what the 7 teams ahead of us are going to do and we don't want to reach for somebody lower on the board just because they play a position we need. The only certainty in our starting lineup right now is Cousins and we only have him signed for 2 more years. We've got trades and free agency to resolve the holes in the roster. And if Chriss becomes so good that we have to pick between re-signing Cauley-Stein or Chriss because we can't afford both -- I don't think you're going to look back at this draft pick and think it was a mistake.
Now granted he's not going to be Ryan Anderson next season, but none of these rookies are ready to step in and contribute NBA veteran level production -- our mistake is always in thinking we can fill our immediate needs with a rookie. Nik Stauskas and Ben McLemore didn't work because we expected both of them to develop much faster than they actually have and we had no veterans in place last year ready to take up the load if they weren't ready. You really think Kris Dunn (or Wade Baldwin) is going to come close to Darren Collison or Rajon Rondo's production next season? That's highly unlikely. That doesn't mean don't draft them -- it just means that they're going to need to grow into their NBA role just like Chriss is into his. They may be a little further along now but whoever we draft is signing a 4 year contract. You're aiming to find the best player in the draft class by the end of those 4 years.
And the one thing you absolutely cannot do is tell yourself "I'm taking a PG no matter what". We don't know what the 7 teams ahead of us are going to do and we don't want to reach for somebody lower on the board just because they play a position we need. The only certainty in our starting lineup right now is Cousins and we only have him signed for 2 more years. We've got trades and free agency to resolve the holes in the roster. And if Chriss becomes so good that we have to pick between re-signing Cauley-Stein or Chriss because we can't afford both -- I don't think you're going to look back at this draft pick and think it was a mistake.
Whoa, DX's latest mock this morning has Chriss going THIRD to Boston: http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2016/
I'm not sure where folks got the impression this is a big board, not a mock. They have a separate top 100 big board.
I'm not sure where folks got the impression this is a big board, not a mock. They have a separate top 100 big board.
Well, they've changed it now. Before, it used to say "Team needs have NOT yet been taken into account in this mock draft.". It acted the same as their big board, but it looks like they're making it into more of a mock draft now.
They recently updated their mock draft, but their bigboard remains the same from the 27th. Makes me wonder if they're going to update that too.
They recently updated their mock draft, but their bigboard remains the same from the 27th. Makes me wonder if they're going to update that too.
Yeah, I remember seeing that too, but figured they just forgot to remove it. Since the lottery they've published explanations of the mocks (usually on the Vertical, from what I recall) explaining each pick for each team, so I'd say team needs were taken into account. Looking forward to seeing if they have anything to say about this Chriss move.
Well, I was thinking for a while that Chriss was going to go in the top 7. He arguably has just as high of a ceiling as anyone in this draft not named Ben Simmons. He's only 18! He's 3 years younger than Hield and Dunn.
He's everything you want in a modern PF. I don't see why he wasn't rated higher earlier in the draft process.
Face up 4 with freaky athleticism. He can play above the rim, has a smooth stroke, can shoot the 3, is a good weakside shotblocker, and can also guard out in the perimeter. Here's his game vs. San Diego St where he showed a bit of everything:
Didn't make any in this game, but he has an elite mid range jumper. 39.1% of his shots are 2pt jumpers. He makes them at 43.9%! That's amazing for any player.
He's everything you want in a modern PF. I don't see why he wasn't rated higher earlier in the draft process.
Face up 4 with freaky athleticism. He can play above the rim, has a smooth stroke, can shoot the 3, is a good weakside shotblocker, and can also guard out in the perimeter. Here's his game vs. San Diego St where he showed a bit of everything:
Didn't make any in this game, but he has an elite mid range jumper. 39.1% of his shots are 2pt jumpers. He makes them at 43.9%! That's amazing for any player.
First, I agree on the draft for talent part. However, I think your trying a tad too hard to convince us and yourself that Chriss is the guy to take if all the other guys are gone. By the way, turnovers is one of the easiest things to correct if that's all your worried about. Last season Dunn averaged 3.5 turnovers a game. Too many, I agree. His last year in college some dude named Steph Curry averaged 3.7 turnovers a game. Also too many. He turned out just fine don't you think? The way your framing this whole thing, is your actually penalizing players for being better than Chriss, and assuming that they're as good as they're going to get. Convenient me thinks.
I have nothing against drafting Chriss if indeed the Kings want to invest in a player long term knowing he won't be able to contribute for 2 to 3 years. Chriss has a lot of holes in his game, and some of them are glaring. He's a foul magnet and at one time fouled out of something like 7 or 8 games in a row. He's a poor rebounder for a 6'10" player blessed with great athleticism. Nothing about him is polished, not even the things he does well. Do I think he'll be a good player in the NBA? Eventually, yes. A star? Who knows. Maybe! All the other players you mentioned have just as good a chance of being stars as Chriss, Maybe a better chance. If I have to choose between Chriss and Poeltl, I'm taking Poeltl because I know he'll at least be a solid player, and maybe a lot more than that. Is that a so called safe pick? Sure, but it's the right kind of safe pick, based on talent, and not PR value.
I have nothing against drafting Chriss if indeed the Kings want to invest in a player long term knowing he won't be able to contribute for 2 to 3 years. Chriss has a lot of holes in his game, and some of them are glaring. He's a foul magnet and at one time fouled out of something like 7 or 8 games in a row. He's a poor rebounder for a 6'10" player blessed with great athleticism. Nothing about him is polished, not even the things he does well. Do I think he'll be a good player in the NBA? Eventually, yes. A star? Who knows. Maybe! All the other players you mentioned have just as good a chance of being stars as Chriss, Maybe a better chance. If I have to choose between Chriss and Poeltl, I'm taking Poeltl because I know he'll at least be a solid player, and maybe a lot more than that. Is that a so called safe pick? Sure, but it's the right kind of safe pick, based on talent, and not PR value.
That is OK in theory but not so in practice. The last thing we need to do is use a lottery pick on a PF two years in a row. We did it on SG for two years prior to drafting WCS and that has worked out magnificently for us!
The issue is that when you draft talent in the same position two years in a row, the. You give no room for either of them to develop properly. Especially if you are a team that is not inthe process of stock piling young talent in a major rebuild.
If anything, Collison incident and Rondo's free agency has just about convinced me that we will be drafting a PG and if Dunn is not there, I would not be surprised at all if the commisioner calls out that the Kings are drafting Baldwin.
Your approach is perfectly fine while you are in the process of searching for the franchise player. Once you find him, then you draft on the basis of talent but also how that fits in with the rest of your roster going forward and especially around your franchise player or players.
If we didn't draft WCS, I would be opent to the idea of Chriss but since we drafted the side kick for Cousins last year we need to address other areas. Your idea of having 3 big as you suggested js fine until you get to the point of having to pay all 3 of them serious money which becomes financially unfeasable. You keep 2 and go hunting for a cheaper 3rd option to come off the bench.
As I said previously, I think Chriss will fly up the draft board the closer we get to the draft and I would think Phoenix, possibly Minnesota and Denver will likely give him very strong consoderation at their picks. I wouldn't rule Boston out either especially if Bender is going to stay in Europe for a few years.
The issue is that when you draft talent in the same position two years in a row, the. You give no room for either of them to develop properly. Especially if you are a team that is not inthe process of stock piling young talent in a major rebuild.
If anything, Collison incident and Rondo's free agency has just about convinced me that we will be drafting a PG and if Dunn is not there, I would not be surprised at all if the commisioner calls out that the Kings are drafting Baldwin.
Your approach is perfectly fine while you are in the process of searching for the franchise player. Once you find him, then you draft on the basis of talent but also how that fits in with the rest of your roster going forward and especially around your franchise player or players.
If we didn't draft WCS, I would be opent to the idea of Chriss but since we drafted the side kick for Cousins last year we need to address other areas. Your idea of having 3 big as you suggested js fine until you get to the point of having to pay all 3 of them serious money which becomes financially unfeasable. You keep 2 and go hunting for a cheaper 3rd option to come off the bench.
As I said previously, I think Chriss will fly up the draft board the closer we get to the draft and I would think Phoenix, possibly Minnesota and Denver will likely give him very strong consoderation at their picks. I wouldn't rule Boston out either especially if Bender is going to stay in Europe for a few years.
DraftExpress does all this with a two man scouting staff, which is pretty amazing. I ran into Jonathan Givony at summer league a few years ago. We were staying at the same hotel. The first thing I asked him was how big a scouting staff had, and he said that it consisted of just himself and Mike Schmitz. I told him that I thought his critique of Tyreke Evans at the time pretty much sucked, and got a big laugh out of him. Anyway, he does a great job, and get's all of his info first hand. Check out the site today. There was a lot of movement.
It isn't exactly that I think Chriss is our guy at #8, I haven't really made up my mind yet. I just don't see any reason to dismiss him as a potential Kings target. And I really like Dunn -- he might be the guy I would take first overall over both Simmons and Ingram. I was just trying to point out that all of these players have things they need to work on, even Dunn. Chriss certainly has more to work on than an upperclassman does but he's a completely different type of player with a completely different skillset if he does reach his potential. You have to weigh that potential against the likelihood he's going to reach it and use that to make a best-guess. I could see a spot in our rotation for any of Dunn, Hield, Luwawu, Brown, Chriss, Labissiere, Poeltl, etc. I don't like the idea of picking based on position unless you see somebody on the board who could be a perfect fit (which again, that looks like Dunn but we can't draft him if someone else gets him first). The only thing I disagree with you about here is Poeltl. I think he's a great prospect but I probably don't take him over Chriss. And that is based on talent, not PR value. Chriss being from Sacramento is a cool little side story, but it shouldn't factor into our decision making. But that's just my take and I think there's an argument to be made for picking either one.
Remember there have been some other young big men labeled as long-term projects in recent years who ended up being a lot more NBA ready than they were given credit for. Myles Turner and Kristaps Porzingis last year, the "Greek Freak" two years ago, Andre Drummond the year before that. So "too raw, too far away" seems like the worst possible reason for passing on a prospect to me. If you can get a player like that and you have a reasonable level of expectation that you can develop them into an All-Star, why would you care that they might take a couple years to get there? How else are we getting All-Star players to come to Sacramento?
Remember there have been some other young big men labeled as long-term projects in recent years who ended up being a lot more NBA ready than they were given credit for. Myles Turner and Kristaps Porzingis last year, the "Greek Freak" two years ago, Andre Drummond the year before that. So "too raw, too far away" seems like the worst possible reason for passing on a prospect to me. If you can get a player like that and you have a reasonable level of expectation that you can develop them into an All-Star, why would you care that they might take a couple years to get there? How else are we getting All-Star players to come to Sacramento?
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If Chriss really goes top 5 and Dunn somehow is avalaible at #6 we need to call the Pellys immediately and offer them the 8th pick + a package around any player they like except for Cousins and Willie. Luckily for us, they have holes at SG, SF and C , so they may consider that trade because we could offer Mclemore, Gay or Koufos on good deals and at #8 they can still get a good prospect like Hield, Murray or Poetl. But for us, Dunn is exactly what we need, in terms of playing style and leadership. The videos and transcripts of his workouts/interviews are really good. Draftexpress has a new one. Really impressive:
I heard Grant mention recently that Scot Pollard isnt very high at all on Buddy. He wasnt high on Ben right when we drafted him so perhaps he knows what he's saying? Does anybody have any thoughts on that?
I fell in love with Buddy during the tourny, but Kris Dunn is skyrocketing up my list. I think he's my guy right now.
I fell in love with Buddy during the tourny, but Kris Dunn is skyrocketing up my list. I think he's my guy right now.
I think we pretty much agree. I'm a best player guy, but when there are players of somewhat equal ability, and one of them plays a position of need, then I take that player. But if I need a SG and the best player available is a center, and I already have a center, I still take the center. You never know what the future holds in trades or injury. Plus, you can always trade said player later if you want. I didn't have a problem with Turner last year. He has turned out to be close to what I thought he would be his rookie year. But did take issue with some people that said he was going to be a better player than Karl Anthony-Towns. Which was ridiculous.
Between Turner and Willie, I leaned toward Willie because of his overall defensive ability, and his athleticism. As to who will be the better player down the road, I think that jury is still out. But I wouldn't bet against Willie. Hopefully both will have outstanding careers. The concern with Drummond was never about his abilities. Everyone knew he was very talented. The question was desire, which is not a black and white issue. All we had to go on was past performance in college and highschool, and there were too may times he seemed disinterested. Was it because he lacked the neccessary drive, or was it because the competition didn't warrant his full attention in his mind? Apparently the latter.
Between Turner and Willie, I leaned toward Willie because of his overall defensive ability, and his athleticism. As to who will be the better player down the road, I think that jury is still out. But I wouldn't bet against Willie. Hopefully both will have outstanding careers. The concern with Drummond was never about his abilities. Everyone knew he was very talented. The question was desire, which is not a black and white issue. All we had to go on was past performance in college and highschool, and there were too may times he seemed disinterested. Was it because he lacked the neccessary drive, or was it because the competition didn't warrant his full attention in his mind? Apparently the latter.
Well first, Pollard went to Kansas, and McLemore went to Kansas, so Pollard probably had a lot of first hand knowledge from the coach (Self), who he's very good friends with, and got to see him first hand at practices etc. Hield did not go to Kansas, he went to Oklahoma, so I really doubt he got the same info. That aside, Pollard is just one person with an opinion. Take it for what it's worth. I happen to disagree with him, if he did indeed say that. I won't bore you with my description of Hield's talents. I'm running out of opinion.
Dean Demakis just wrote about Onuaku the other day, calls him the "obvious sleeper" who should be a lotto pick: https://deanondraft.com/2016/05/29/2016-baby-bigs-dont-sleep-onuaku/