If we are 9 or 10 do you trade out
- Thread starter sactowndog
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Christie played PG in college and had better handles and was a better passer than Mikal, who has played mostly SF at Villanova, but has guarded four positions at times. Villanova usually had Mikal guard the best offensive player on the other team. Mikal is a better shooter at Villanova than Christie was in college. The only similarity is the fact that both are very good defenders, and both can and could shoot the three. The other similarity is that both are team players who are unselfish on the court.
Of all the top ten players in the draft, I could make a case that Mikal Bridges was the most consistent player all year long. There were games when he only scored 10 or 12 points, but it was because he only took 7 or 8 shots. He still shot 50% overall and 43.5% from the three. 50% overall for a jump shooter is outstanding. Villanova had a starting lineup with five players shooting 39% or above from the three. So they just fed the hot hand on any given night. They beat every team in the tournament by double digit points.
Scouts wonder if what you see is what you get with Mikal. In other words, does he have any upside left. The only thing one can say is that he dramatically better every year in college. So there's no reason to believe that he doesn't have any growth left. I agree with Jamal's floor, but I also think his ceiling could be 15 to 18 ppg with terrific defense. He's more than just a 3 and D player in my mind.
Of all the top ten players in the draft, I could make a case that Mikal Bridges was the most consistent player all year long. There were games when he only scored 10 or 12 points, but it was because he only took 7 or 8 shots. He still shot 50% overall and 43.5% from the three. 50% overall for a jump shooter is outstanding. Villanova had a starting lineup with five players shooting 39% or above from the three. So they just fed the hot hand on any given night. They beat every team in the tournament by double digit points.
Scouts wonder if what you see is what you get with Mikal. In other words, does he have any upside left. The only thing one can say is that he dramatically better every year in college. So there's no reason to believe that he doesn't have any growth left. I agree with Jamal's floor, but I also think his ceiling could be 15 to 18 ppg with terrific defense. He's more than just a 3 and D player in my mind.
I had this kind of queued up, then heard about the Wall/Beal friction: I’m not a fan of the KLove or Klay deals being proposed. I’m just not interested in any wholesale changes this offseason. If there was a James Harden to the Rockets type trade out there....OK, let’s talk. But, Klay and Love are much older than Harden was at the time. If there is a young player that is going to be too expensive for his current team, and can be had for anything less than two of Fox/Buddy/Bogi/1st, then let’s hear it. Cue the Wiggins honks, of course, but I mean a serious prospect.
That brings us back to Beal and Wall. They can’t move Wall’s contract, and it sure seems like Beal is on track to pull a Kyrie and demand a move to his own club this summer. Who says no to Buddy/WCS for Beal/Biyombo, Kings or Wizards? Gives the Wizards a shooter to replace Beal, a decent young big, and clears a lot of cap. We get Beal, of course. Beal’s actually only about 6 months older than Buddy. Anyway, if Beal’s available there may be better offers, but that’s the kind of deal I’d keep my powder dry for.
That brings us back to Beal and Wall. They can’t move Wall’s contract, and it sure seems like Beal is on track to pull a Kyrie and demand a move to his own club this summer. Who says no to Buddy/WCS for Beal/Biyombo, Kings or Wizards? Gives the Wizards a shooter to replace Beal, a decent young big, and clears a lot of cap. We get Beal, of course. Beal’s actually only about 6 months older than Buddy. Anyway, if Beal’s available there may be better offers, but that’s the kind of deal I’d keep my powder dry for.
It looks like @The_Jamal and @bajaden already provided some pretty good responses, so I won't repeat what they said. I will say that I firmly believe you'd love watching Mikal Bridges play in a Kings uniform if it happens...
At this point, I'd have a hard time parting with either of those guys. Bogie is a Manu type superglue guy you absolutely need to win in the modern league and I am now firmly in the Buddy is a future all-star camp thanks to how he's developed over the past year. Now obviously, a lot of the sting of losing one of those guys is alleviated by acquiring one of the best shooting guards in the league but I don't think I could take the strain of having to listen Grant blather on about how he once saw Klay score 37 points in a quarter on a nightly basis.
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When the mock drafts start coming out (which will be after the draft lottery I believe), we'll start separate thread for them. 
1. Ayton-Suns
2. Doncic-Grizz
3. JJJ-Hawks
4. Bagley-Magic
5. Bamba-Mavs
6. Carter Jr-Kings
7. Young-Bulls
8. MPJ-Cavs
9. Sexton-Knicks
10. Mikal-Sixers
6 Sacramento Kings Wendell Carter Jr. Duke Age: 18.9 C
Height: 6-foot-10 | Weight: 259
None of the Kings' big men has emerged as a franchise cornerstone at this stage, meaning it would be foolish to pass on a top-tier talent due to positional concerns.
Carter's basketball IQ and versatility are promising in a number of ways. He is a physically mature big man with a 259-pound frame and a 7-foot-3 wingspan, which will allow him to play the center position in the NBA with ease.
He is a polished player with excellent hands and touch around the basket, and he has demonstrated a nice blend of passing, shot-blocking and perimeter shooting, despite being overshadowed at times by fellow big man Marvin Bagley III.
Starting salary: $4,823,520
Yeah, I subscribe to ESPN Insider as well, but decided not to post their latest mock because it's done by Jonathan Givony, who was the brain child of the now defunct DraftExpress. and he always waits till a couple of weeks before the draft to put up the final order based on team needs. Personally I like his format at DraftExpress better, but when you sell your soul, you lose control. Anyway, his analysis are still good if your willing to pay the small fee.
Personally, I can't see any scenario, other than Carter just blowing Kings management away, where they take Carter over either Mikal Bridges or Michael Porter Jr. Especially if Koufos doesn't opt out of his contract. We would already have WCS, Koufos, Skal, Giles, Randolph, and Sampson, if they decide to sign him to a contract. where in the hell would Carter get any minutes? Obviously that picture could change, but the Kings will know whether Kosta is on the team or not prior to the draft. Both Koufos and Shumpert's deadline is before the draft.
Personally, I can't see any scenario, other than Carter just blowing Kings management away, where they take Carter over either Mikal Bridges or Michael Porter Jr. Especially if Koufos doesn't opt out of his contract. We would already have WCS, Koufos, Skal, Giles, Randolph, and Sampson, if they decide to sign him to a contract. where in the hell would Carter get any minutes? Obviously that picture could change, but the Kings will know whether Kosta is on the team or not prior to the draft. Both Koufos and Shumpert's deadline is before the draft.
I don't like the Carter pick either. I'm all down for BPA, but Carter wouldn't be my BPA pick. Let's say he's just as good of a prospect as Porter Jr and Mikal. Even then, why would we pick the big over wing? As you pointed, at center we still have WCS, Koufos, and Giles. At SF, we only have Jackson.
Carter is a darkhorse pick for us, but I wouldn't rule it out (assuming he decides to declare that is). I think in the range of players possibly available at 6 or 7, Carter is near the bottom right now but he's got good size at the C position and he's a surprisingly good passer and outside shooter who plays strong under the basket and can even handle the ball a little in the open court. Skal can shoot but he's not much of a playmaker. Cauley-Stein has shown a willingness to pass but he's not stretching the floor. Carter's not a physical monster like Ayton, Bagley, Bamba, or Jackson but he really knows how to play the game and he's got a perfect skillset for where the NBA game is going.
I'm not sure why Wendell Carter Jr. isn't seen as an elite prospect because statistically he's right up there with all of the other top Freshmen and he's got some really impressive tape too dating all the way back to the 2016 FIBA U17 championship where he helped Team USA dominate. (Jaren Jackson Jr. and Collin Sexton were also on that team -- Carter Jr. and Sexton were both first team All-Tournament). I would not be mad about coming out of this draft with Carter Jr. or Mikal Bridges or Miles Bridges or Jaren Jackson or Marvin Bagley or Michael Porter. Even at 8 we'd be in position to get one of these guys and if you go all the way down to 9 or 10 you can add the guards to the list too: Young, Sexton, and Gilgeous-Alexander. So no, I wouldn't trade down if we end up at 9 or 10. I would do my homework and get this pick right.
I'm not sure why Wendell Carter Jr. isn't seen as an elite prospect because statistically he's right up there with all of the other top Freshmen and he's got some really impressive tape too dating all the way back to the 2016 FIBA U17 championship where he helped Team USA dominate. (Jaren Jackson Jr. and Collin Sexton were also on that team -- Carter Jr. and Sexton were both first team All-Tournament). I would not be mad about coming out of this draft with Carter Jr. or Mikal Bridges or Miles Bridges or Jaren Jackson or Marvin Bagley or Michael Porter. Even at 8 we'd be in position to get one of these guys and if you go all the way down to 9 or 10 you can add the guards to the list too: Young, Sexton, and Gilgeous-Alexander. So no, I wouldn't trade down if we end up at 9 or 10. I would do my homework and get this pick right.
I agree, I would not trade down, but I would hire Utahs FO to do the homework for us.
At this point Carter would be a bit of a let down for me. That may change come workouts. Mikal is my player in that 7-9 range assuming he last that long. Miles Bridges, sorry I think short arms and only 6' 7", I think Morris twins, so not game changing.
Young, has got my interest because of where we pick, but I think come workouts he's going to either really impress some teams or not so it will be interesting where he goes.
At this point Carter would be a bit of a let down for me. That may change come workouts. Mikal is my player in that 7-9 range assuming he last that long. Miles Bridges, sorry I think short arms and only 6' 7", I think Morris twins, so not game changing.
Young, has got my interest because of where we pick, but I think come workouts he's going to either really impress some teams or not so it will be interesting where he goes.
Grant was being a total jerk to a guy on the radio today because Grant was acting like his opinion of the draft was some sort of factual truth but he did say one thing that I hadn't really thought of when it came to Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz. He said that the Jazz didn't do any kind of elite scouting when it came to Mitchell. He just fell into their laps.
I thought about it and that's pretty true. Most mock drafts had Mitchell going from like 9th-15th or so but right in the wheelhouse of where the Jazz picked. Luke Kennard wasn't really mocked by many to be taken ahead of Mitchell like he was so you could almost say that Mitchell fell to the Jazz. Now if the Kings would have taken him at 5, that could be considered good scouting because they would have saw something in him that no one else (other than our very own Blob) did. But I think Grant is right on this one.
I thought about it and that's pretty true. Most mock drafts had Mitchell going from like 9th-15th or so but right in the wheelhouse of where the Jazz picked. Luke Kennard wasn't really mocked by many to be taken ahead of Mitchell like he was so you could almost say that Mitchell fell to the Jazz. Now if the Kings would have taken him at 5, that could be considered good scouting because they would have saw something in him that no one else (other than our very own Blob) did. But I think Grant is right on this one.
It’s not clear Carter will be in the draft.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/theund...ether-duke-star-should-leave-for-the-nba/amp/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/theund...ether-duke-star-should-leave-for-the-nba/amp/
The way I look at it is if you are "lucky" more often than not, it just means you're smarter than most more often than not. Napier sounds like sour grapes to me, just like Reynolds used to talk about how the whole draft is luck. If that's really the case, the Kings should fire their entire scouting staff and just use nba.com or so espn.com as their scouting service. Those services are essentially "consensus driven" from what I can tell, and the teams that are really good at scouting don't operate according to consensus.
If the Kings get into the 7th or 8th slot and are left with schlock in this draft I can just imagine Napier using the excuse: "Well, the Kings weren't in the top 5, so what do you expect?" Of course he won't go into the fact that the Kings' own decision making contributed to them being outside of the top 5. After all, it's all just the luck of the ping pong balls. You're smart if you're right and you're unlucky if you're wrong.
If the Kings get into the 7th or 8th slot and are left with schlock in this draft I can just imagine Napier using the excuse: "Well, the Kings weren't in the top 5, so what do you expect?" Of course he won't go into the fact that the Kings' own decision making contributed to them being outside of the top 5. After all, it's all just the luck of the ping pong balls. You're smart if you're right and you're unlucky if you're wrong.
Reynolds GM’d back when you had to give players big money up front just to sign them and there was no telling how they would respond to being set for life (in theory) at 21 years old. It was a different era. There was a lot of luck involved in who kept working and who coasted. Also, he was the GM of probably our greatest first round gem, and subsequently most tragic situation, so I think we can grant him some leeway regarding his thoughts on the draft.