Following Potential *2020* Draftees

passing abilities?
don't like idea of drafting de'aarons copy at PG. would prefer someone with different skill set like killian hayes - PNR's and 3pt shooting. and good defense too...
I think most would prefer Hayes but I don't think we're drafting high enough to be able to pick him.
 
I agree, it's just they are kind of hard to find. Haliburton is another example but he'll probably be off the board too. The Kings need players that can make the players around them better.

I know it's not ideal drafting a player that is similar to Fox but if we wind up with Fox and the next Kemba Walker, that's a heck of a lot better than winding up with the next Marcus Morris or big man that doesn't have much of a foot print on the game. At that point you have trade chips that can land you exactly what you want instead of rolling the dice on what you want in the draft every year.
 
ok, but lewis is usually out of the lottery on the majority of mock drafts


i would like saddiq bey at 12th spot, and some PG at 35th, if there is something interesting, that can be developed into something better...
something pass-first oriented, or 3pt shooting oriented. wasting 12th pick d'fox copy.... no

also, both buddy and bogdan can go in this offseason which leaves us with bjelica as best 3pt shooter in the roster. second best will be barnes and cojo.
so all in all, i would like to skip bricky guys on this draft, unless... something really promising slips to our hands
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
ok, but lewis is usually out of the lottery on the majority of mock drafts


i would like saddiq bey at 12th spot, and some PG at 35th, if there is something interesting, that can be developed into something better...
something pass-first oriented, or 3pt shooting oriented. wasting 12th pick d'fox copy.... no

also, both buddy and bogdan can go in this offseason which leaves us with bjelica as best 3pt shooter in the roster. second best will be barnes and cojo.
so all in all, i would like to skip bricky guys on this draft, unless... something really promising slips to our hands
If you want to skip the bricky guys in this draft, then why would you want Hampton who shot 29% from the three. I'm constantly amazed at how people want to take a shot on a player who played poorly in a pro league in Australia, didn't even play the entire season, but want to disregard a player like Lewis who did shoot the ball well, and who played extremely well in the SEC, one of the toughest conferences in college. I might as well stop watching college basketball if what I see doesn't matter.

I would love to give high praise to Hampton, but I can't. He was downright terrible in the games I watched. Am I supposed to ignore that? Look, he may well turn out to be a very good player, but for me, he's a risk I'm not willing to take. I also don't understand why having a player that can play in the same fast paced offense that Fox runs is a bad thing. One of the problems the Kings had on offense last season was the dramatic change when Joseph came into the game. The pace slowed down to a snails pace while he did nothing but pound the ball. He even had trouble making an entry pass.

There are some PG's that should be available in the 2nd round, like Devin Dotson, Malachi Flynn, Grant Riller, Payton Pritchard, Jahmi'us Ramsey, and Isaiah Joe. Of that group I really like Flynn and Riller. Both can shoot the ball and both are tough hardnosed players that play with an edge. Flynn is another player that's fun to watch.
 
If you want to skip the bricky guys in this draft, then why would you want Hampton who shot 29% from the three. I'm constantly amazed at how people want to take a shot on a player who played poorly in a pro league in Australia, didn't even play the entire season, but want to disregard a player like Lewis who did shoot the ball well, and who played extremely well in the SEC, one of the toughest conferences in college. I might as well stop watching college basketball if what I see doesn't matter.

I would love to give high praise to Hampton, but I can't. He was downright terrible in the games I watched. Am I supposed to ignore that? Look, he may well turn out to be a very good player, but for me, he's a risk I'm not willing to take. I also don't understand why having a player that can play in the same fast paced offense that Fox runs is a bad thing. One of the problems the Kings had on offense last season was the dramatic change when Joseph came into the game. The pace slowed down to a snails pace while he did nothing but pound the ball. He even had trouble making an entry pass.

There are some PG's that should be available in the 2nd round, like Devin Dotson, Malachi Flynn, Grant Riller, Payton Pritchard, Jahmi'us Ramsey, and Isaiah Joe. Of that group I really like Flynn and Riller. Both can shoot the ball and both are tough hardnosed players that play with an edge. Flynn is another player that's fun to watch.

huh, i don't remember ever mentioning hampton, maybe i liked some post where he was mentioned. also, not sure if i watched any scouting clips on him... if i mentioned anyone, it was avdija, who is currently out of our reach.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
huh, i don't remember ever mentioning hampton, maybe i liked some post where he was mentioned. also, not sure if i watched any scouting clips on him... if i mentioned anyone, it was avdija, who is currently out of our reach.
Then my bad and I humbly apologize for singling you out. Maybe I need to read more carefully. I like Avdija and while I think a lot of his play came against somewhat weaker competition, and that he's still a bit rough around the edges, he comes with a lot of tools in his box, and plays with a confidence that makes me want to bet on him. One of the things I like about him is that he doesn't shy away from physicality like some European players do. I certainly wouldn't mind him on the Kings, but the chances of that are slim unless the Kings were to trade up.
 
Then my bad and I humbly apologize for singling you out. Maybe I need to read more carefully. I like Avdija and while I think a lot of his play came against somewhat weaker competition, and that he's still a bit rough around the edges, he comes with a lot of tools in his box, and plays with a confidence that makes me want to bet on him. One of the things I like about him is that he doesn't shy away from physicality like some European players do. I certainly wouldn't mind him on the Kings, but the chances of that are slim unless the Kings were to trade up.
Baja, id be interested in your opinion on whether the kings should consider trading a buddy package to Atlanta for the #6 if Deni is still on the board?? I think it’s been mentioned a couple times on this board and my apologies if you’ve already given your take
 
Kira Lewis really is creeping to the top of my board, the more I study him. He is a sophomore, but he's younger than most freshmen in this draft. I just think his talent level and physical attributes are too much to pass on at 12. I get that we have Fox, but drafting for need is not a good ideology. Take BPA. If that's Lewis, go with him and figure out the rest later.
 
Kira Lewis really is creeping to the top of my board, the more I study him. He is a sophomore, but he's younger than most freshmen in this draft. I just think his talent level and physical attributes are too much to pass on at 12. I get that we have Fox, but drafting for need is not a good ideology. Take BPA. If that's Lewis, go with him and figure out the rest later.
I'm in agreement unless someone kind of unexpected drops. Fox is tall and lanky enough to check most shooting guards so it's not like they wouldn't be able to play on the court together at all. Take the BPA and let everything else sort itself out.
 
Kira Lewis really is creeping to the top of my board, the more I study him. He is a sophomore, but he's younger than most freshmen in this draft. I just think his talent level and physical attributes are too much to pass on at 12. I get that we have Fox, but drafting for need is not a good ideology. Take BPA. If that's Lewis, go with him and figure out the rest later.
I’m kind of with you. With the emergence of young PG’s like Young and Morant I would hate to pass on Lewis, if he’s looking that good, just because we have Fox. Also Lewis should be able to play alongside Fox in some cases.
I’m not saying he’s my pick, I’m all over the shop at 12 and lately interested in Maxey there, but yeah if Lewis is too good to pass on in McNairs eyes then cool with the pick.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Baja, id be interested in your opinion on whether the kings should consider trading a buddy package to Atlanta for the #6 if Deni is still on the board?? I think it’s been mentioned a couple times on this board and my apologies if you’ve already given your take
I believe that trade had us including our number 12 pick in that deal, and I think that's too much to give up for the 6th pick and change. If we could acquire the 6th pick and keep our 12th, then I think I might do that trade. Right now I have no idea the direction McNair wants to take this team. Maybe after the draft and free agency we'll have a better idea.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I’m kind of with you. With the emergence of young PG’s like Young and Morant I would hate to pass on Lewis, if he’s looking that good, just because we have Fox. Also Lewis should be able to play alongside Fox in some cases.
I’m not saying he’s my pick, I’m all over the shop at 12 and lately interested in Maxey there, but yeah if Lewis is too good to pass on in McNairs eyes then cool with the pick.
I predicted a couple of months ago (not a hard thing to do) that this draft was going to be a tough one to gauge. There's definitely talent, and some of it will likely rise up to be stars, but good luck trying to figure out who. If I was to make what I would call a safe prediction, I would guess Toppin. Not that he'll be the best player, but he has a way of always making himself known on the floor. He's fun to watch, and he impacted every game I watched him play. Offensively, he really doesn't have any major flaws. There's not much he can't do offensively, and what he does do, the does with a flair.

Defensively, that's another story. Not saying he'll always be a bad defender, but he wasn't asked to play defense. But he's a terrific athlete so who knows. I know one thing, he's entertaining!
 
Kira Lewis really is creeping to the top of my board, the more I study him. He is a sophomore, but he's younger than most freshmen in this draft. I just think his talent level and physical attributes are too much to pass on at 12. I get that we have Fox, but drafting for need is not a good ideology. Take BPA. If that's Lewis, go with him and figure out the rest later.
McNair obviously super comfortable playing 2 PG's together as the Rockets have been built around it the last 4 years with CP3/Harden and Russ/Harden. I don't see any reason the combo couldn't work extremely well together as Lewis is a good enough shooter and both him and Fox are athletic/enough wing-span to stick with taller 2's just fine.
 
I would not move up for Avdija. Frankly, I wouldn’t draft him. Wings who can’t shoot terrify me, and this kid is not athletic enough to play without shooting. No way I give up assets to roll the dice on Avdija. Seems a lot of folks look at him as the second coming of Luka, but I see a 7th man on a middling playoff team if things work out.
 
I would not move up for Avdija. Frankly, I wouldn’t draft him. Wings who can’t shoot terrify me, and this kid is not athletic enough to play without shooting. No way I give up assets to roll the dice on Avdija. Seems a lot of folks look at him as the second coming of Luka, but I see a 7th man on a middling playoff team if things work out.
He can shoot, and he's a good athlete. This is called a hot take. You're looking at percentages and dealing in absolutes. 7th man if all works out? That's ludicrous. He is likely a 7th man if all goes wrong.

I mean, I'm not sure I'd trade up for him either, guess it would depend on what we'd have to give up. And he's definitely not Luka. But your post is ignorant, he is a big talent and has been for a long time. I just don't know what his actual ceiling is.
 
He can shoot, and he's a good athlete. This is called a hot take. You're looking at percentages and dealing in absolutes. 7th man if all works out? That's ludicrous. He is likely a 7th man if all goes wrong.

I mean, I'm not sure I'd trade up for him either, guess it would depend on what we'd have to give up. And he's definitely not Luka. But your post is ignorant, he is a big talent and has been for a long time. I just don't know what his actual ceiling is.
Nope—pretty room temp take. In Euroleague, 27% from 3, 55% FT. That is called a non-shooter. He is a good athlete. What I said was: he’s not a good enough athlete to contribute if he can’t shoot. Giannis can’t really shoot...doesn’t matter. Ben Simmons can’t really shoot....doesn’t matter. Is Avdija a Ben Simmons or Giannis level athlete? If things work out, and he goes from non-shooter to just being a bad shooter, then he’ll top out around 7th man. He’ll get some good minutes, but won’t be able to close games.

If he makes a miraculous, Kawhi type improvement on his shooting, then sure he can be more. The problem is, unlike domestic kids from Kawhi’s era, who played for their friend’s dad (in a lot of cases) in AAU and then maybe got 1-2 years of decent coaching and NCAA limited gym time, Avdija has been a professional with professional coaching. He’s been at Maccabi since 2013, and on the senior team since he was 16 years old. There’s no way he should still be a non-shooter. Huge red flag—pass.
 
you have to understand that euroleague is pretty much veterans league and his club, maccabi, plays every match to win, not to develop players for a NBA draft. that's something what NCAA is all about.
since they cannot earn money (NBA teams are paying some miserable training compensation, cca 500k $), they will give him very limited minutes to play vs 30 yrs old players, or those who played ncaa 5 years ago, or those who played NBA 3 years ago. one small mistake, and he's benched.

don't compare NCAA to a euroleague, because players are far more mature, tactically skilled, defensively shaped etc.
and don't try to compare numbers from those two leagues, it's simply not same cup of tea.

maybe israelian national league can be compared, IDK. I want to point out that avdija was playing with grown ups, edwards, wiseman & co didn't. and that "clash with reality" can be painful for rookies in NBA.

also in europe, there is a big difference between EL and other competitions, national or not. so you can take his EL numbers and multiple them with two, if you want to compare them to other league's statistics.
I believe that in NCAA, numbers played in one conference have bigger value than stats from some sorry ass conference (would appreciate if someone give me a link to some wiki page explaining the structure of ncaa, how conferences look like, who goes to playoffs...)

ok, there is a question marks about his 3pt shot and free throws. somehow I believe he will add them to his toolbox with less effort than bagley adding his right arm.
intelligent player is intelligent player.
 
Nope—pretty room temp take. In Euroleague, 27% from 3, 55% FT. That is called a non-shooter. He is a good athlete. What I said was: he’s not a good enough athlete to contribute if he can’t shoot. Giannis can’t really shoot...doesn’t matter. Ben Simmons can’t really shoot....doesn’t matter. Is Avdija a Ben Simmons or Giannis level athlete? If things work out, and he goes from non-shooter to just being a bad shooter, then he’ll top out around 7th man. He’ll get some good minutes, but won’t be able to close games.

If he makes a miraculous, Kawhi type improvement on his shooting, then sure he can be more. The problem is, unlike domestic kids from Kawhi’s era, who played for their friend’s dad (in a lot of cases) in AAU and then maybe got 1-2 years of decent coaching and NCAA limited gym time, Avdija has been a professional with professional coaching. He’s been at Maccabi since 2013, and on the senior team since he was 16 years old. There’s no way he should still be a non-shooter. Huge red flag—pass.
The issue is you're looking at percentages in a vacuum without actually having watched him play. The sample size is far too small for definitive statements like the ones you're making. Avidja shot 20 FTs total over the last two seasons and shot 60% overall. Certainly not very good but context is important. Last season he made 39% on 3s, on 111 attempts on the season (the year before he shot 28% from 3 but on a much smaller sample size). He is playing against a higher level of competition than college players. I am pretty certain he will be a + shooter within a couple of seasons based on what I know about him and have seen.

Source: https://basket.co.il/player.asp?PlayerId=11166&lang=en
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
you have to understand that euroleague is pretty much veterans league and his club, maccabi, plays every match to win, not to develop players for a NBA draft. that's something what NCAA is all about.
since they cannot earn money (NBA teams are paying some miserable training compensation, cca 500k $), they will give him very limited minutes to play vs 30 yrs old players, or those who played ncaa 5 years ago, or those who played NBA 3 years ago. one small mistake, and he's benched.

don't compare NCAA to a euroleague, because players are far more mature, tactically skilled, defensively shaped etc.
and don't try to compare numbers from those two leagues, it's simply not same cup of tea.

maybe israelian national league can be compared, IDK. I want to point out that avdija was playing with grown ups, edwards, wiseman & co didn't. and that "clash with reality" can be painful for rookies in NBA.

also in europe, there is a big difference between EL and other competitions, national or not. so you can take his EL numbers and multiple them with two, if you want to compare them to other league's statistics.
I believe that in NCAA, numbers played in one conference have bigger value than stats from some sorry ass conference (would appreciate if someone give me a link to some wiki page explaining the structure of ncaa, how conferences look like, who goes to playoffs...)

ok, there is a question marks about his 3pt shot and free throws. somehow I believe he will add them to his toolbox with less effort than bagley adding his right arm.
intelligent player is intelligent player.
I may not agree entirely with your analysis, but I agree with most of it. The league Avdija plays in, is far tougher than any NCAA competition. Of course that doesn't remove the fact that he does struggle from the three, but it can't be ignored that even his 3pt shot did improve later in the season. I think one of the reasons Doncic had such a big impact in his first season was because of the tougher competition he had played against. The European leagues put more emphasis on skill than they do athleticism. I think the European players that tend to fail are the one's that can't adjust to the speed and physicality of the NBA.

I don't think Avdija will have that problem since he is a physical player himself. He plays with an edge and a toughness that I think will help him succeed.
 
To whom it may concern:

I was wrong about Isaiah Stewart. He already looks better than what I thought his ceiling was.
Think it was SactownKid all over him. Looks like a perfect new-age center that's gonna be impactful on both ends. 12.3 PPG, 9.7 RPG on 62% TS. 109.4 ORtg, 105.5 Drtg in 12 games as a starter. Det still needs a franchise building block, but I think they nailed 2 10+ year starters in Stewart and Bey that are gonna be high level players for a long team.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Think it was SactownKid all over him. Looks like a perfect new-age center that's gonna be impactful on both ends. 12.3 PPG, 9.7 RPG on 62% TS. 109.4 ORtg, 105.5 Drtg in 12 games as a starter. Det still needs a franchise building block, but I think they nailed 2 10+ year starters in Stewart and Bey that are gonna be high level players for a long team.
I certainly liked Stewart and hoped he would slide into the 2nd rd to us. I know the Capt also liked him. If I had a question mark regarding him it was what position he filled. With some players, it doesn't matter, and Stewart seems to be one of those players.