Well you and I will just have to disagree on Hield. And, I was not comparing him to Kobe as a player, I was comparing the situation. I could have picked at least 200 players that have come into the NBA and struggled their rookie season, only to go on and become good players. Unlike you, my statements about a player aren't written in concrete. Players get better every year if they put in the work. I watched Hield play in at least 50 games or more during his college career. Some of the games I watched twice to review what I thought I saw. I feel pretty confident about what he can and can't do. But all that aside, it's still a terrible trade. Hield is hardly enough compensation for Cousins.
Players to watch: 2016/17 college season.
- Thread starter bajaden
- Start date
How s**t is it that we pretty much have zero chance of getting a top 3 pick due to the Philly swap. Don't even get me started on 2019. Barring a miracle, we can absolutely rule out getting any of Fultz/Ball/Smith in this draft.
From where we're likely to be picking, I really like Isaac and Patton. Both are full of potential, although a few years away. We won't be in a hurry anytime soon. Patton reminds me a little of Towns although clearly not as polished/productive as KAT was. He's big, skilled, athletic but needs to get stronger. His rebounding is a little worrying too. I love Isaac's physical profile and skill set. He can do a little of everything and when he gets stronger and more confident, he could be a hell of a player. I think he's a SF, just a massive one. I also like Tatum/Jackson here but they may be gone.
I could see both guys rising however so we will likely only have a shot at one of them with our pick. With NOP's pick (barring disaster), we are likely looking at having a pick somewhere between 12-16. If any of Ntilikina, Fox, Monk fall here they should be top of the list. I realise that's unlikely, so I'm going to have to watch more college ball to see who I like here.
From where we're likely to be picking, I really like Isaac and Patton. Both are full of potential, although a few years away. We won't be in a hurry anytime soon. Patton reminds me a little of Towns although clearly not as polished/productive as KAT was. He's big, skilled, athletic but needs to get stronger. His rebounding is a little worrying too. I love Isaac's physical profile and skill set. He can do a little of everything and when he gets stronger and more confident, he could be a hell of a player. I think he's a SF, just a massive one. I also like Tatum/Jackson here but they may be gone.
I could see both guys rising however so we will likely only have a shot at one of them with our pick. With NOP's pick (barring disaster), we are likely looking at having a pick somewhere between 12-16. If any of Ntilikina, Fox, Monk fall here they should be top of the list. I realise that's unlikely, so I'm going to have to watch more college ball to see who I like here.
I think Swanigan will probably have a career as a specialist rebounder type but I just think his upside is very limited. I haven't seen much of him so my opinion comes with that caveat. I also need to watch more of Rabb. He seems to be highly rated by a lot of people but he has never blown me away. They are both on my list of guys to watch more of, particularly Rabb as I'd like to see what all the intrigue is about. I'm not very interested in Swanigan to be honest at this point.
Just my opinion, but I think Isaac will be drafted before Tatum. I like Tatum, but not for the Kings, although I'll take him because he very talented. I think Isaac has more overall potential. If we could slide all the way to the fifth spot, which is possible, we'll have a shot at a very good player. However, I think all three of the best PGs will be gone by then. But, you never know for sure, especially in a draft where there's so much talent at the top, what order they'll go in. It might come down to team needs, and if a team already has a PG, maybe they pass and one slides down to us.
Swanigan is a double/double machine. He's not that athletic, but he's skilled, and it's hard to argue with success. He has game away from the basket offensively, but not defensively. Although, he does have decent lateral quickness. I've called him Cousins lite. He has a similar game as Cousins and similare body type as well. I see where some of the boards have him going in the first round now. If I had to choose between him and Patton, I'd take Patton, although Swanigan is more ready to play right now.
Rabb is going to surprise some people. Very skilled player who needs to get stronger. He's one of those players that might be a better NBA player than he was a college player.
Rabb is going to surprise some people. Very skilled player who needs to get stronger. He's one of those players that might be a better NBA player than he was a college player.
I've been more impressed by Josh Jackson than anyone else in college this season. He came into the year as a defensive specialist with point forward skills but no go-to moves on offense and he just keeps getting better in every way. At this point I don't think I could point to a single weakness in his game. He's not a force the tempo scorer like Markelle Fultz, but he's got a pretty good handle for a wing player, never looks out of control, makes smart passes, creates his own looks, moves well off the ball, pulls in tough rebounds, and makes big plays on defense. Now he's also knocking down his spot-up jumpers with regularity too. I would have loved to have seen him paired up with Cousins but even without Cousins, he's my favorite prospect in this draft at this point. I suppose you could say he needs to get stronger but that's true of every 20 year old in comparison to professional players. Fultz may be the better NBA pro but he's a shoot first PG (on a bad team that needs him to iso and score, to be fair) which is like my own personal kryptonite. Fultz has everything you want from a guard in the NBA but my general belief has always been that a truly great two-way wing player can positively impact a team more even if they don't get the same accolades as the leading scorer.
I have some issues with Lonzo Ball right now. He's going to be a top 3 pick but I'd be nervous about picking him that high. I understand where the hype is coming from, he is super smooth on the court as if everything about the game of basketball comes easy to him. And some of the numbers are eye-popping. But the Lavar Ball thing scares me for one. He's turned his family into a money making basketball factory and that makes me question how much these kids are just playing for their dad. He's also a Bruin which means he's got a major hill to climb for me perception-wise already. I fell for other Bruins in time though, so I think it's a pretty good litmus test. Collison, Mbah a Moute, and Love all won me over pretty quickly. I absolutely loved Russell Westbrook at UCLA and wanted him badly in that draft. But I'm a big SC guy first and foremost so he's got to do something to earn it from me and I haven't flipped out over him yet. His icy cool demeanor is kindof a turnoff too. In the game against Kentucky and both games against SC I thought he was too passive for most of the game. I might be 100% wrong about him but I just don't see the amazing PG prospect there. When athletic guards pressure him he gets sloppy with the ball. He's not getting to the line at a very high rate either. On paper he looks amazing but watching him play, I haven't been wowed yet.
My gut reaction to the Cousins trade is that this has all become pointless. Just figure out who the best shooter on the board is likely to be and that's who the Kings will pick because that seems to be their answer for everything these days. We need shooting, we need shooting, blah, blah, blah. No we need players who excel in multiple facets of the game who can contribute offensively and also get some stops and clean up the defensive boards. That particular record isn't just broken at this point, it's been melted down, reconstituted into more records, and broken again. I'm just never going to be satisfied with this team because they have no interest in looking at the big picture. But I like college ball so I'll keep watching anyway, even though Vlade (or whoever has his job next) is almost certainly going to do something with the draft that makes my blood boil.
I have some issues with Lonzo Ball right now. He's going to be a top 3 pick but I'd be nervous about picking him that high. I understand where the hype is coming from, he is super smooth on the court as if everything about the game of basketball comes easy to him. And some of the numbers are eye-popping. But the Lavar Ball thing scares me for one. He's turned his family into a money making basketball factory and that makes me question how much these kids are just playing for their dad. He's also a Bruin which means he's got a major hill to climb for me perception-wise already. I fell for other Bruins in time though, so I think it's a pretty good litmus test. Collison, Mbah a Moute, and Love all won me over pretty quickly. I absolutely loved Russell Westbrook at UCLA and wanted him badly in that draft. But I'm a big SC guy first and foremost so he's got to do something to earn it from me and I haven't flipped out over him yet. His icy cool demeanor is kindof a turnoff too. In the game against Kentucky and both games against SC I thought he was too passive for most of the game. I might be 100% wrong about him but I just don't see the amazing PG prospect there. When athletic guards pressure him he gets sloppy with the ball. He's not getting to the line at a very high rate either. On paper he looks amazing but watching him play, I haven't been wowed yet.
My gut reaction to the Cousins trade is that this has all become pointless. Just figure out who the best shooter on the board is likely to be and that's who the Kings will pick because that seems to be their answer for everything these days. We need shooting, we need shooting, blah, blah, blah. No we need players who excel in multiple facets of the game who can contribute offensively and also get some stops and clean up the defensive boards. That particular record isn't just broken at this point, it's been melted down, reconstituted into more records, and broken again. I'm just never going to be satisfied with this team because they have no interest in looking at the big picture. But I like college ball so I'll keep watching anyway, even though Vlade (or whoever has his job next) is almost certainly going to do something with the draft that makes my blood boil.
Were in total agreement on Jackson. I think he has star written all over him, maybe superstar, but I don't want to lay that on the kid. He's improved dramatically this season, and I love the intensity he plays with. I'd grab him in a heartbeat. On Ball we disagree. First, never let school allegiance sway your opinion on a player. If you watched the Kentucky/UCLA game, and you wern't impressed with Ball, then I'm not sure anything I say will change your mind. All I can say, is that the main, and maybe the only reason UCLA is as good as they are is because of Ball. He has singlehandedly put UCLA on his shoulders and made them what they are.
Would I take Ball over Fultz or Jackson? I'm not sure. Whomever gets the first pick in the draft has that decision to make, and unlike other years, I don't think it's a slam dunk decision. Down the road, the best PG in this draft may end up being Fox. I doubt it, but that's how talented these players are. In all likelyhood, there will be five PG's picked in the top ten. That's a very rare occurrence.
All that aside, I'm done talking about the politics of the Kings. I'm not interested in talking about how good or bad Kings management is. I can't do a damm thing about it, so it's wasted energy, and energy wasted on a distasteful subject. It serves no purpose other than to get people upset. I can get that at home watching the news on television. But let me say this. All we as fans know, are the results. Someone is traded or their not. We win a game, or we don't. Amazingly, if we all watch the game, and have the same visual information right in front of us, we seldom agree on what caused the result.
So, how then do we come to any logical conclusion on why a trade is made, and whether a better deal could have been done, when we have little to no information on the process that made it happen? It's sort of like sitting on our front lawn watching our neighbors come and go, and then posting on line what we think of our neighbors. We have no idea what happens when they close the front door. We lack information. So, I think ifs fair to be critical of the result, but without knowing all the other details, it's hard to know the why's, when's and what's of the situation. Now if I knew that Cousins pulled a Charles Hayley on Vlade's car, then I might know the why.
Would I take Ball over Fultz or Jackson? I'm not sure. Whomever gets the first pick in the draft has that decision to make, and unlike other years, I don't think it's a slam dunk decision. Down the road, the best PG in this draft may end up being Fox. I doubt it, but that's how talented these players are. In all likelyhood, there will be five PG's picked in the top ten. That's a very rare occurrence.
All that aside, I'm done talking about the politics of the Kings. I'm not interested in talking about how good or bad Kings management is. I can't do a damm thing about it, so it's wasted energy, and energy wasted on a distasteful subject. It serves no purpose other than to get people upset. I can get that at home watching the news on television. But let me say this. All we as fans know, are the results. Someone is traded or their not. We win a game, or we don't. Amazingly, if we all watch the game, and have the same visual information right in front of us, we seldom agree on what caused the result.
So, how then do we come to any logical conclusion on why a trade is made, and whether a better deal could have been done, when we have little to no information on the process that made it happen? It's sort of like sitting on our front lawn watching our neighbors come and go, and then posting on line what we think of our neighbors. We have no idea what happens when they close the front door. We lack information. So, I think ifs fair to be critical of the result, but without knowing all the other details, it's hard to know the why's, when's and what's of the situation. Now if I knew that Cousins pulled a Charles Hayley on Vlade's car, then I might know the why.
I definitely need to watch Ball play more, I'll admit that. I don't have a lot of free time lately and I'm loathe to spend it watching a team I, well, loathe when there are so many other games I could be watching instead. I am impressed by him, I didn't mean to give the impression that I'm not. But I'm not as impressed as everyone else seems to be. Of the PGs at the top of the draft this year, right now I'd rank them Fultz, Fox, Ntilikina, Smith, then Ball in terms of my preference. Fultz is a guy that could be a league MVP candidate. Just an A+ talent. Your eyes are drawn to him whenever he's on the court. I like Josh Jackson a little more for the reasons I mentioned before, but talentwise it's a wash. Fox and Ntilikina I like a lot because they're two-way players who will contribute as much or more on defense as they contribute on offense. That's always a big plus in my book and it's the only reason why I have them a step above Dennis Smith Jr. who is also a very impressive prospect but doesn't have the same impact on defense right now. He's going to sell a crap ton of jerseys once he starts popping up on Sportscenter highlights though. 
As for Ball, he's clearly a top 10 pick in any circumstance. Top 3? Not for me right now. I'm probably exaggerating my anti-Bruin bias just a bit. By the time of the draft I've never had much trouble looking at everybody objectively. And if a player jumps out to me at the college level as a sure-fire NBA star I don't care what jersey he wears. I'm not quite sure yet what about his game bothers me exactly. His standout skill is passing ability and I will say flatout that it's been a long time since I saw a player who can throw pinpoint outlet passes like Ball can. He seems to know where he wants to throw the ball before he's got it in his hands more often than not which is a special talent. Here's the thing though, we just traded our star player. If you draft Ball and put him on a team with nobody he's going to have to become a scorer and I don't see that going well for him out of the gate. Now maybe other people say context doesn't matter, draft the best player and figure the rest out later but practically speaking I think you have to create an environment where a player can succeed first. And as a franchise we've failed miserably at that for almost our entire history.
I'm looking at a lot of different things when I watch prospects -- but the biggest factor to me is always how I see them fitting into the NBA game which is a lot different than the college game. Since I'm only interested in trying to project these guys into NBA roles not rank them according to their success in college, what a guy can do on the court isn't as important to me as how he does it. I haven't really tried to figure out precisely why I'm less impressed with Ball as a prospect than everyone else seems to be, but I could attempt to come up with an explanation. It could be that he doesn't accelerate and explode to the rim like Fultz, Smith, or Isaac. You know elite athleticism when you see it and Ball is a good athlete but not a great one. It could be that I don't see him having the same impact on defense as Jackson, Fox, or Ntilikina. He's long and he's got quick hands but he's also stick skinny and doesn't seem to take contact very well. He obviously makes his teammates better right now with his passing but is that going to translate to the next level? Not necessarily. If he can't get his shot off against stronger, faster defenders and he can't finish through contact it's going to be harder for him to spread the ball around like he is now. Also, I've watched him play 3 full games so far and in those 3 games he has combined for 17 turnovers. That's 5.6 TOs per game! This guy is supposed to be the next great PG? Not if he can't do a better job of valuing possessions. Just a small sample size fluke? I don't think so. USC and Kentucky are both loaded with NBA level defenders at the guard positions and he's going to be facing that level of pressure on a nightly basis.
Put another way, I have no doubts about those six guys I mentioned excelling in the NBA but I have some about Lonzo Ball and I have some about Jayson Tatum. I reserve the right to change my opinion before the draft of course, but right now they're both a level below for me for that reason. So it's not that I don't think Ball is a great prospect, I just don't think he's a can't miss player and I don't rank him above Jackson, Fultz, Fox, Ntilikina, Smith, or Isaac. I may even take Tatum over him if I need a go-to scorer (which we do).
For me personally though, these discussions have started to feel like a giant waste of time. Not because of the Cousins trade exactly, that's just the final straw. It's not fun having the entire message board call my judgement into question every year just because I don't listen to any of the pundits and I don't care where other mock drafts rank these players. It's also not fun watching this team go the complete opposite direction of what I would do in 9 out of 10 years either. The only Kings draft I was truly happy with since I've started following it (around 2002 or so) was the Cousins/Whiteside draft and that's completely down the toilet now. If past history is any indication, this team could have the #3 pick and they'll still pass on a half dozen players I really like and take someone like Malik Monk instead. Not that he isn't a great prospect in his own right, but they just traded a hall of fame big man for Buddy Hield after already spending 3 of their last 4 lottery picks on SGs so it begs the question where they expect him to play. Best player available has it's limits -- if you've got 1 core player you should really think long and hard before committing your one shot at drafting a star for the year on a guy who plays the same position.
As for Ball, he's clearly a top 10 pick in any circumstance. Top 3? Not for me right now. I'm probably exaggerating my anti-Bruin bias just a bit. By the time of the draft I've never had much trouble looking at everybody objectively. And if a player jumps out to me at the college level as a sure-fire NBA star I don't care what jersey he wears. I'm not quite sure yet what about his game bothers me exactly. His standout skill is passing ability and I will say flatout that it's been a long time since I saw a player who can throw pinpoint outlet passes like Ball can. He seems to know where he wants to throw the ball before he's got it in his hands more often than not which is a special talent. Here's the thing though, we just traded our star player. If you draft Ball and put him on a team with nobody he's going to have to become a scorer and I don't see that going well for him out of the gate. Now maybe other people say context doesn't matter, draft the best player and figure the rest out later but practically speaking I think you have to create an environment where a player can succeed first. And as a franchise we've failed miserably at that for almost our entire history.
I'm looking at a lot of different things when I watch prospects -- but the biggest factor to me is always how I see them fitting into the NBA game which is a lot different than the college game. Since I'm only interested in trying to project these guys into NBA roles not rank them according to their success in college, what a guy can do on the court isn't as important to me as how he does it. I haven't really tried to figure out precisely why I'm less impressed with Ball as a prospect than everyone else seems to be, but I could attempt to come up with an explanation. It could be that he doesn't accelerate and explode to the rim like Fultz, Smith, or Isaac. You know elite athleticism when you see it and Ball is a good athlete but not a great one. It could be that I don't see him having the same impact on defense as Jackson, Fox, or Ntilikina. He's long and he's got quick hands but he's also stick skinny and doesn't seem to take contact very well. He obviously makes his teammates better right now with his passing but is that going to translate to the next level? Not necessarily. If he can't get his shot off against stronger, faster defenders and he can't finish through contact it's going to be harder for him to spread the ball around like he is now. Also, I've watched him play 3 full games so far and in those 3 games he has combined for 17 turnovers. That's 5.6 TOs per game! This guy is supposed to be the next great PG? Not if he can't do a better job of valuing possessions. Just a small sample size fluke? I don't think so. USC and Kentucky are both loaded with NBA level defenders at the guard positions and he's going to be facing that level of pressure on a nightly basis.
Put another way, I have no doubts about those six guys I mentioned excelling in the NBA but I have some about Lonzo Ball and I have some about Jayson Tatum. I reserve the right to change my opinion before the draft of course, but right now they're both a level below for me for that reason. So it's not that I don't think Ball is a great prospect, I just don't think he's a can't miss player and I don't rank him above Jackson, Fultz, Fox, Ntilikina, Smith, or Isaac. I may even take Tatum over him if I need a go-to scorer (which we do).
For me personally though, these discussions have started to feel like a giant waste of time. Not because of the Cousins trade exactly, that's just the final straw. It's not fun having the entire message board call my judgement into question every year just because I don't listen to any of the pundits and I don't care where other mock drafts rank these players. It's also not fun watching this team go the complete opposite direction of what I would do in 9 out of 10 years either. The only Kings draft I was truly happy with since I've started following it (around 2002 or so) was the Cousins/Whiteside draft and that's completely down the toilet now. If past history is any indication, this team could have the #3 pick and they'll still pass on a half dozen players I really like and take someone like Malik Monk instead. Not that he isn't a great prospect in his own right, but they just traded a hall of fame big man for Buddy Hield after already spending 3 of their last 4 lottery picks on SGs so it begs the question where they expect him to play. Best player available has it's limits -- if you've got 1 core player you should really think long and hard before committing your one shot at drafting a star for the year on a guy who plays the same position.
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Without a doubt, Malik Monk. He's a SG, he's also a great shooter and athlete. He is a good prospect to be fair, but how many SGs who are supposedly great shooters are we going to accumulate? I'm sure Vivek will answer that for us. Somebody needs to keep Vivek away from March Madness and pre-draft workouts so he can't see Monk catch fire and demand that we do everything to draft "the next, next Stephen Curry". In fact, keep him away altogether. I don't trust Vlade either not to take a European to be honest. Nothing wrong with drafting a European but Ntilikina is the only one I'm really interested in where we'll be picking.
I'm not sure exactly what you would define as west coast, but I would think that the top three in the west would be the same guys the pundits would say: Ball, Fultz, and Markkanen.
But as for guys who might be under-ranked based on being on the west coast, Leaf is one of those guys. Dillon Brooks is another guy who I think is criminally underrated right now. Chris Boucher and Rawle Alkins could also turn out to be better than people think, early second round material. Metu seems to be getting no buzz and might deserve at least a bit of buzz. I don't really think Ivan Rabb is underrated at this point, in fact he might be overrated a bit. Trier is probably pegged about right. People may be sleeping on Anigbogu a bit, but I don't think he's a good candidate to come out yet, so next year he might get a bit more notice.
But as for guys who might be under-ranked based on being on the west coast, Leaf is one of those guys. Dillon Brooks is another guy who I think is criminally underrated right now. Chris Boucher and Rawle Alkins could also turn out to be better than people think, early second round material. Metu seems to be getting no buzz and might deserve at least a bit of buzz. I don't really think Ivan Rabb is underrated at this point, in fact he might be overrated a bit. Trier is probably pegged about right. People may be sleeping on Anigbogu a bit, but I don't think he's a good candidate to come out yet, so next year he might get a bit more notice.
In the order I would draft them, Fultz, Ball, Markkanen, and I don't think their being overlooked by anyone. After those three I would take Dillon Brooks, Ivan Rabb,, Zach Collins and with honorable mention going to T.J. Leaf, Jock Landale, Tyler Dorsey and Jordan Bell. As you might have figured, Oregon has a pretty good team when all cylinders are clicking.
Has anyone seen Jonathan Jeanne play?
Height: 7' 1"
Wingspan: 7' 6"
Weight: 215 lbs
From what I've read, he seems like he would be an excellent pick with one of our 2nd round picks. At that size, it sounds like he's got good/great lateral quickness and is really good defending the pick & roll. His passing & ball-handling seem to be pros for him, and he's also working on expanding his mid-range game to the three.
It would be pretty cool to draft him & he becomes a quicker Gobert who can also hit a jump shot. That's essentially the ceiling I pick up on when I read the scouting reports. If Cauley-Stein can continue to improve his jump shot, starting a Cauley-Stein/Jeanne frontcourt would be a lot of rim protection, length, quickness, & athleticism. Not to mention both would theoretically be able to provide space with their jump shots and both would be great P&R defenders which would really make things difficult on "today's" NBA. Then you'd have Labissiere off the bench who has quickness & length to defend the P&R.
Height: 7' 1"
Wingspan: 7' 6"
Weight: 215 lbs
From what I've read, he seems like he would be an excellent pick with one of our 2nd round picks. At that size, it sounds like he's got good/great lateral quickness and is really good defending the pick & roll. His passing & ball-handling seem to be pros for him, and he's also working on expanding his mid-range game to the three.
It would be pretty cool to draft him & he becomes a quicker Gobert who can also hit a jump shot. That's essentially the ceiling I pick up on when I read the scouting reports. If Cauley-Stein can continue to improve his jump shot, starting a Cauley-Stein/Jeanne frontcourt would be a lot of rim protection, length, quickness, & athleticism. Not to mention both would theoretically be able to provide space with their jump shots and both would be great P&R defenders which would really make things difficult on "today's" NBA. Then you'd have Labissiere off the bench who has quickness & length to defend the P&R.
Let me start by saying Furman is a school that's not on TV a lot, so it's difficult to really offer an objective opinion based on visual experience. Believe it or not, I have seen him play once, and my memory of him is that he's skinny as a rail, and he's not getting many minutes. Based on what I know, I'll be stunned if he declares for the draft, and if he does, he's not the brightest kid on the block, because he'll go undrafted. This draft is too loaded with very good players for a team to draft him.
That's not to say he can't develop into something, but to compare him to Gobert is just a bit of a reach. However I get your point. The other side of the coin is, the Kings already have Skal and Papagiannis to go along with Willie and Koufos. The Kings have a need at SF and maybe, depending on what they do with Collison and Lawson, a PG as well. We only have one experienced PF on the team in Tolliver, and the Kings have to decide if Skal and Tolliver is the answer going forward. The positions of least need are probably SG and Center. So realistically based on logic, I can't see the Kings drafting another center, unless he's the best player available at that spot.
That's not to say he can't develop into something, but to compare him to Gobert is just a bit of a reach. However I get your point. The other side of the coin is, the Kings already have Skal and Papagiannis to go along with Willie and Koufos. The Kings have a need at SF and maybe, depending on what they do with Collison and Lawson, a PG as well. We only have one experienced PF on the team in Tolliver, and the Kings have to decide if Skal and Tolliver is the answer going forward. The positions of least need are probably SG and Center. So realistically based on logic, I can't see the Kings drafting another center, unless he's the best player available at that spot.
Thanks for the take!
It sounds like the scouting reports have him overhyped (judging by your post). Draftexpress has him at #34, so I was a little surprised to hear you say he'd go undrafted.
I guess my thought was that he would be another guy who can shut down the P&R (Cauley-Stein) making it very difficult for teams to score on us in this day & age. And if Cauley-Stein & Jeanne both had range on their jumpers, they could make it work on offense and give ourselves two excellent P&R options that are easy lob threats.
That's kind of the direction I'd like to see our Kings take. We already have an elite 7 foot, P&R defender in Cauley-Stein. Let's try & get another one next to him to really clamp down on opposing team's offenses.
I guess we could just win the lottery next year and take Ayton 250 lbs, 7'0" tall, 7'6" wingspan, 9'3" standing reach. Not to mention he has excellent quickness/athleticism to guard the P&R while also having a good jumper. I'd love to see a big man rotation of Ayton/Cauley-Stein/Labissiere. Even Labissiere has the quickness & length to be a good P&R defender.
It sounds like the scouting reports have him overhyped (judging by your post). Draftexpress has him at #34, so I was a little surprised to hear you say he'd go undrafted.
I guess my thought was that he would be another guy who can shut down the P&R (Cauley-Stein) making it very difficult for teams to score on us in this day & age. And if Cauley-Stein & Jeanne both had range on their jumpers, they could make it work on offense and give ourselves two excellent P&R options that are easy lob threats.
That's kind of the direction I'd like to see our Kings take. We already have an elite 7 foot, P&R defender in Cauley-Stein. Let's try & get another one next to him to really clamp down on opposing team's offenses.
I guess we could just win the lottery next year and take Ayton
250 lbs, 7'0" tall, 7'6" wingspan, 9'3" standing reach. Not to mention he has excellent quickness/athleticism to guard the P&R while also having a good jumper. I'd love to see a big man rotation of Ayton/Cauley-Stein/Labissiere. Even Labissiere has the quickness & length to be a good P&R defender.Markkanen may not be the best player in this draft, but he's probably my favorite. Unreal shooting touch/release and has a really advanced offensive game. Has the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim or pull up from basically anywhere. Really like his smarts in the PnR and Pick n Pop too. He's been so effective and efficient this season in basically every scenario because it's so difficult to really challenge his shot. He gets the ball up high on his shooting form and has such a quick release, that defenders are almost always late on closing out on him. And when they do get there, he puts the ball on the floor and gets to the rim or he'll pull up from 15 feet.
Similar to what I thought about Kristaps coming in a few years back, he's not a wussy stretch 4 either. He needs to add size, but he's not afraid of contact or afraid to go get rebounds. From what I've read too, he's done a great job at adding size the last couple years and if you look at him, his build can definitely continue to fill out.
Similar to what I thought about Kristaps coming in a few years back, he's not a wussy stretch 4 either. He needs to add size, but he's not afraid of contact or afraid to go get rebounds. From what I've read too, he's done a great job at adding size the last couple years and if you look at him, his build can definitely continue to fill out.
Yeesh, I don't see this at all. Inconsistent yes, which tends to happen with basically every 19 year old, much less a 19 year old big man, but it's an insult to compare his offensive game to Channing Frye. He excellent as the PnR roll man AND ball-handler and has shown the ability to make just about any shot on the floor. The defense has been meh, but defense is A) so tough to predict and translate from college to the NBA and B) He's a 19 year old big man, it's tough to make any defensive assumptions.
I see star potential on the offensive end. His shooting ability paired with his ability to put the ball on the floor is utterly unique and is absolutely perfect for today's NBA. Also, he's a perfect fit with a guy like WCS.
Another way to look at is I think Kristaps would have played pretty much the same way and put up similar numbers had he gone to school for a year.
I see star potential on the offensive end. His shooting ability paired with his ability to put the ball on the floor is utterly unique and is absolutely perfect for today's NBA. Also, he's a perfect fit with a guy like WCS.
Another way to look at is I think Kristaps would have played pretty much the same way and put up similar numbers had he gone to school for a year.
I disagree with the Porzingis comparison. Markkanen is nowhere the athlete Porzingis is. Porzingis is a guy who can legitimately play above the rim, and run in transition. Markknane isn't the same player. On defense, Porzingis is also 100x better. He can actually protect the rim and alter shots. Porzingis at the same age was almost a more better interior defender. I don't see it at all.
Aside from both guys being Euros, 7ft tall, and can shoot, there's not a lot going there. Porzingis is a really aggressive player with a lot of intensity.
Markkanen can be extremely SOFT at times. We saw a lot of that during his horrible 4-5 game stretch where he completely disappeared.
I'm just not a big fan of Markkanen. I don't know if his game(the offensive diversity he's showing) pans out in the NBA. Just aside from his shooting and some post-ups, he doesn't really bring much else where. He's a mediocre rebounder at best. He brings absolutely no defensive presence. He can't guard bigger players. He can't block shots. He's not much of an interior defender at all. His blocks per game is pathetic for a 7fter in college. 0.4blks/game is bad in every way, because if guys who we all know won't be able to translate their shotblocking, still average around 1.5. You just hope you can stick him onto stretch 4s and have him chase around screens.
I don't think he'd be a good fit next to Willie. As of right now, neither of them can rebound good enough.
Aside from both guys being Euros, 7ft tall, and can shoot, there's not a lot going there. Porzingis is a really aggressive player with a lot of intensity.
Markkanen can be extremely SOFT at times. We saw a lot of that during his horrible 4-5 game stretch where he completely disappeared.
I'm just not a big fan of Markkanen. I don't know if his game(the offensive diversity he's showing) pans out in the NBA. Just aside from his shooting and some post-ups, he doesn't really bring much else where. He's a mediocre rebounder at best. He brings absolutely no defensive presence. He can't guard bigger players. He can't block shots. He's not much of an interior defender at all. His blocks per game is pathetic for a 7fter in college. 0.4blks/game is bad in every way, because if guys who we all know won't be able to translate their shotblocking, still average around 1.5. You just hope you can stick him onto stretch 4s and have him chase around screens.
I don't think he'd be a good fit next to Willie. As of right now, neither of them can rebound good enough.