2013 Draft Prospects

[Dime Dropper]

Marcus Smart has decided to return to school for his sophomore year. That's a shock to me. He likely would have gone higher in this years draft than next years unless he has a stellar year.

Bad news for us as it makes the talent at the top of the draft thinner.

If we end up with a top 8 pick, my list would now have to be something like this (in no particular order): Noels, McLemore, Burke, Oladipo, Porter, Len/Zeller, Bennett, Muhammed. With the last three/four not being particularly attractive to me. I like Bennett but he's undersized and not a great fit next to Cuz, UNLESS you believe he can be a full-time SF.

 

[Kingster]

Not if you like defense. Oladipo was my favorite college player to watch this season because he never stops moving. Not to mention he's one of the better athletes in the draft. Strongly disagree with you on this one. Evans used to be fun to watch pre-Smart. I have to think he'll be getting some of his mojo back playing for a coach that actually wants to utilize his talent.

I like Oladipo. And I like Tyreke. But I see them both primarily as 2-guards. I don't want opposing teams loading up on Tyreke at the point. He doesn't have the instincts or pg BBIQ for the point, and I think the four years shows that.

I do agree that a better coach is going to help everybody on this team. I just hate it when there is a cop-out for players and their own performance. I like accountability. But unfortunately we have the un-smart Smart as our coach, and that is a legit excuse for *some* of the poor performance of our team. (For example, I think it's pretty obvious that Cousins' antics are not entirely the product of the coach; they may in fact be entirely the product of himself). It will be so nice when we get a legit coach because, among other things, the old cop-out excuses will not have any legitimacy, and then we can have some accountability on this team.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I think Adetokunbo belongs on our list. Not saying he should necessarily be our pick, but I'm pretty confident he's going to climb into the lottery, and he probably has the best potential/upside of any player in the draft. He's such an unknown and I've never seen him play save for a few videos, but just the tools he has is so special on its own that its worth high consideration in an average at best draft like this. I'd probably put Noel, McLemore, Burke, and Porter in front of him for us, but I'm not so sure about others.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

Marcus Smart's decision was awful, because he easily could have been the second overall pick behind Noel, and definitely a top five'er. With another set of hyped freshmen coming in there's a very good chance he'd actually slip into the top ten especially with all the variables that come along with a typical season in play.

A guy that looks somewhat interesting in this draft is Mouhammadou Jaiteh. He looks really, really good and I think he could be a steal in this draft. There's really some high lotto ability in there.

Good decision by James McAdoo. Horrible decision by Vander Blue, he needed another year.

If anyone cares, here's my read on prospects. Disclaimer: all opinion. You guys know my opinions on Shabazz Muhammad and others, and this doesn't reflect where they will be selected in the draft. This might, however, reflect how much of a steal or bust they can be relative to draft position.

http://public.tableausoftware.com/shared/YBBFXSRMG?:display_count=yes

 

[Gilles]

Watched some footage of Jaiteh recently. While he's not a high-flyer, he moves very well. Doesn't block many shots, but is always rotating to contest. Has no problem in P&R as well. Offense is raw(as expected for 18 years old), but he has great hands, some handles, and shoots 68% from FT line, so he has some touch.

 

[bajaden]

I think Adetokunbo belongs on our list. Not saying he should necessarily be our pick, but I'm pretty confident he's going to climb into the lottery, and he probably has the best potential/upside of any player in the draft. He's such an unknown and I've never seen him play save for a few videos, but just the tools he has is so special on its own that its worth high consideration in an average at best draft like this. I'd probably put Noel, McLemore, Burke, and Porter in front of him for us, but I'm not so sure about others.

Funny you bring him up, because I just finished watching a bunch of film on him. By the way, this saturday at 4:00 PM Pacific, the Nike Hoop Summit will be on ESPN2. Its a little different than some of the others if my memory serves, because it puts the US against international players. I havn't seen the rosters yet, but some of these guys like Adetokunbo may be playing in that game. Anyway, going on just the film I watched, its obvious that Adetokunbo is loaded with potential. His outside shot has to be completely rebuilt, and he has to get stronger, but the kid has confidence and is a good athlete. He plays very unselfishly, and is a very good passer. He's 6'9" tall, and has grown 3 inches in the last 10 months, so he may not be done growing. He's a very good ballhandler for a guy his size, and at times almost looks like a PG out there.

I have a hard time recommending international players because in most cases, I haven't seen them play, and if I did catch a game on ESPN, it was usually just one game, and I won't judge a college player on one game. So for the most part, all I'm doing is forwarding someone else's opinion. Some other interesting international players are Lucas Noqueira, a 6'11" C/PF with a 7'4" wingspan. From everything I've seen on him, he's extremely raw, and if drafted, it should be by a contending team like the Thunder or the Heat. A team that can afford to wait for him to develop. He's not ready to play in the NBA right now. Dario Saric is another interesting prospect. He's a 6'10" SF/PF/PG. I list PG because thats the position he loves the most, but is too tall to play. His outside shooting percentage is lacking, but he has very nice form on his jumpshot, so I don't see it as a problem. Defensively he's a little slow laterally, but he's appears to be a very smart player with good BBIQ. Hey, and he's croatian. Sign him up I say!

Lastly we have one of the most inticing prospects from europe. France in fact. Rudy Gobert. A 7'1" center with a, pay attention now, 7'9" wingspan. This guy has the potential to be a shotblocking machine. He's a very good athlete who scores most of his points in the paint, and appears to have little game away from the basket. He definitely needs to add muscle to his frame if he's going to play in the NBA. He's probably a year of two away from being a regular rotation player, but down the road, he could be something special. Here's a little video of him.

[video=youtube_share;FXSgw_epvDc]http://youtu.be/FXSgw_epvDc[/video]

 

[Kingster]

Its questiionable that there's any franchise turn around players in this draft. Maybe Noel, , Smart, or Mclemore, but maybe not. I've certainly never looked at Oladipo as a franchise player. But I do look at him as a very good role player, and possible starter on a good team. I'm not sure why you think that backcourt would be problematic. Oladipo isn't going to create much off the dribble right now, but he's turned himself into an excellent 3 pt shooter, averaging 44% from the three. He took and average of 8.4 shots per game and made 60% of them. Thats pretty efficient! He also averaged 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals a game while averaging 28 minutes a game.

I think he's exactly the kind of player we need on the floor with Cousins and Tyreke. Great defender that can defend all three backcourt positions, won't get in the way on offense, and will help spread the floor on offense. He will drive the opposing offensive player nuts with his aggresive defense. Hell, I watched almost all of Indiana's games just to see Oladipo play defense. The dude is lightning quick. He's a freak athlete. If your right about him being a 7-10 player in the draft, that means he'll be sitting there for us, since were at 7 right now I believe. Porter is still my first choice of players that might be available. I love Burke, but I don't see PG as a glaring need. But then I guess SG isn't either.

When you last in the league in defense, and scoring over a hundred points a game on offense, then just maybe you should take a serious look at a good defensive player in the draft. Or is my logic wrong?

I like Oladipo. I'd be happy if we drafted him. I don't think 7-10 is an insult. He has much of what I like - BBIQ, tough, willing to stick his nose into the play and get a ball, athletic, good defender. But if you draft him, I don't think he ends up playing next to Tyreke. I think he's either double escrowed or Tyreke gets shipped out. Or you have another quandry for the next coach to deal with. Neither one of them has enough pg qualities to mesh together imo. I also don't think that Oladipo is the drop-dead outside shooter that Tyreke needs next to him, or vice-versa.

 

[bajaden]

Marcus Smart's decision was awful, because he easily could have been the second overall pick behind Noel, and definitely a top five'er. With another set of hyped freshmen coming in there's a very good chance he'd actually slip into the top ten especially with all the variables that come along with a typical season in play.

A guy that looks somewhat interesting in this draft is Mouhammadou Jaiteh. He looks really, really good and I think he could be a steal in this draft. There's really some high lotto ability in there.

Good decision by James McAdoo. Horrible decision by Vander Blue, he needed another year.

If anyone cares, here's my read on prospects. Disclaimer: all opinion. You guys know my opinions on Shabazz Muhammad and others, and this doesn't reflect where they will be selected in the draft. This might, however, reflect how much of a steal or bust they can be relative to draft position.

http://public.tableausoftware.com/shared/YBBFXSRMG?:display_count=yes

I was absolutely shocked by Blue's decision. Its possible that he'll go undrafted, or at best, go in the bottom of the second round. He needed another year, maybe two years before declaring. I agree on McAdoo, he made the right decision. He was a major disappointment to me this past season. I'm surprised by Smarts decision, but after listening to his press conference, I have to admire his confidence. He believes he's as good or better than anyone in the next draft. I may not agree, but I do admire his moxey! And more power to him. His only well known competition at the PG position next year will Andrew Harrison, who is a major stud, and who, unlike Smart, can shoot the rock. Next years draft is going to be one of the best in a long, long time.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Both Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary have returned to Michigan. Next years draft is getting stronger by the week. Likely won't affect what we decide to do, but I do like McGary (though not a great fit) and Robinson to a lesser extent.


As for the Euros, I would not be surprised if Petrie is still at the helm, if we took Saric or even Karasev. Both guys are going to be much better than a lot of players taken ahead of them (unless they rise up the boards a lot). Actually, is Saric even in the draft anymore? Did I read somewhere that he decided not to declare? Someone can confirm that. As for Adetokunbo, I don't know anything about him apart from youtube, so I'll reserve judgement. I will say that Saric has very good physical tools also in terms of size/length, and he's very skilled, so I'd probably go with him over the latter. He's too thin but he's pretty tough. That said, I just don't know enough about Adetokunbo to make a fair comparison. Karasev is a baller, he knows how to play. He's going to be a good player. Like almost every year there's Euro guys that everyone underestimates who turn out to be better than college players taken before them (Fournier - who everyone is raving about in the Personnel forum, Shved, Asik to name a few in recent years). That's leaving out all the obvious guys who are known commodities in the NBA.

That said, Gobert scares me. He's too thin, gets pushed around and doesn't have much of an offensive game. He could be another Whiteside, but presumably he has a much higher IQ so he should at least reach some of his potential. A lot of my opinion here rests on how he does in workouts against other prospects. Not writing him off, just scared.

 

[Uk kings fan]

Can someone let me know what happend to shabazz muhammad?? I havent followed NCAA basktball at all this year because of a number of factors but i remember last year talkng with you guys about if he was going to go number one or number 2

 

[Darth Divac]

Next year's draft gets stronger as this one gets weaker....At this rate, my entire wishlist will be shattered. At this point, with a lot of guys staying in school, I think we may, unfortunately, have to go with the BPA.

 

[Glenn]

Or trade it for a vet that fills a need. At least we would have more of a guarantee that this vet would be what we wanted. We don't exactly need a super star so a trade might fill a void.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

Is anyone kind of surprised that Grant Jerrett is trying to stick in this draft? Typical consensus is "hello Europe" for him, but actually I like him. I think he can easily slot in as a NBA PF, and act as a very good long range floor spacer at 6'10". He's also got some rebounding and defensive playmaking on his side too. He probably needed another year just to see if he can do this in increased minutes and as a center of attention, but based on this year, given that he's only a first year I do think he has lottery potential. Perhaps he's too soft on offense but on defense I think he's tougher than he looks. I do think he can be a steal anywhere in the second round.

I just watched footage of Adetocunbo. I think he's halfway between small forward and power forward at 6'9", and really I'm leaning towards PF. I don't think his court vision and ballhandling are that refined, and since the comparisons are to Nic Batum, with the passing in particular Batum was far more advanced at his age than Adetocunbo was here. I think he's more of an OK shooter than a good shooter as well, although he's got a pretty good offensive framework. Very foul prone even at his low level of competition. In spite of all that, he has defensive/rebounding potential, has a groundwork of a good offensive game and he's so young that I sitll have him as a potential top five pick in this draft. Along with Jaiteh. I think these two can be really special, so it's no wonder people are looking to them as steals in the 20s.

 

[Flopi]

Just wanna share my point of vue on 2 fellow french prospects : Rudy Gobert and Mouhammadou Jaiteh.
Being young and international, I think they are flying under the radar a little bit but they are, in my opinion, very interesting prospects.

Rudy Gobert plays center for Cholet in Pro A (french first pro league) for 3 seasons. Cholet is known for developping young prospects (Michael Gelabale, Rodrigues Beaubois, Kevin Seraphin, Nando de Colo are all current NBAers originally from this team).
Gobert is 20 years old (born in 1992) and is a physical specimen (7'1'' without shoes and a 7'9'' wingspan) but he is skinny (107 kg / 235 lbs).
He lacks strenght but he is very mobile for his size and runs the floor very well. Physically, he reminds me Tyson Chandler.
He is still raw in term of basketball skills but he has slowly but constantly progressed during his 3 seasons.
Offensively, he plays within himself and his shots consist in dunks, putbacks and layups under the basket. As a result, he's shooting 72%.
The thing I like is that he is constantly moving around the basket, playing like a true center, ready to get entry passes. He does a good job at catching them and converting into dunks.
He has little post game as he is getting pushed by stronger opponents but, from time to time, he shows a little hook shot with a good form.
Outside the paint, he doesn't shoot at all but he has good shooting form (he's shooting 70% from the free throw line).
As bajaden said, he is probably 1 or 2 years away from contributing but I think that all the bases are here and that he still has a lot of upside.

Defensively he could contribute right now as he is of course a shotblocking machine and a very dissuasive presence, due to his exceptionnal length. He shows good instincts and great timing at blocking shots, helped by his size, his mobility and his good athletic abilities.
His positionning is also very good but he can still make defensive IQ improvement as he tends to be foul prone.
I think that his rebounding can also be improved : he is not terrible at it but I think that he could grab more rebounds given his size.

Mentally, he is focused and the NBA is his goal. He has a personnal cooker for helping him gaining weight. In my opinion, he is a little bit too shy and I would like to see him more agressive.



Mouhammadou Jaiteh is also a very interesting prospect. He is a C/PF and he is playing for Boulogne in Pro B, the second french pro league. It is his first professional season and he is dominating the division (second best efficiency, averaging 16 pts at 62% and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes per game). And here the thing : he is 18 years old (born in 1994) and only began playing basketball at age 13. You could argue that the level competition is not that high but, still, he is a child among men here.
He is very long (6'10'' with a great wingspan) and incredibly mobile. He lacks weight but he has a good frame, so given his age, I don't think there will be any problem adding some muscle.
He is not a leaper as he plays mostly "to the ground". The surprising thing is how fondamentally good he looks like, despite his age and his lack of experience. He doesn't seem to force anything when he plays and he looks very smooth.
Offensively, his main asset is his finishing ability : he does a good job at using his length and his quickness and he has very very good hands. Plus, he has a high BB IQ and it seems he is always at the right place at the right time.
He is also a very good rebounder : despite his lack of strength, he is the second best rebounder in the league thanks again to his length and his quickness.
Defensively, he is ok but not great. There is room for improvement. He is not a shotblocker but he uses very well his quickness on pick and roll situations. His positionning isn't always good but nothing alarming considering his age.
Mentally, he is very mature, humble and known as a hard worker. He is obviously a great kid and very clever.
Again, the thing that impresses me the most is that he seems to be born to play basketball while he plays the game only for 5-6 years. A prospect to look for as I think he has tremendous upside and potential.

 

[bajaden]

For those interested, here is the roster for tomorrows Nike Summit game. The measurements that include the wingspan, are current measurements just taken at the Summit. The height measurements are with shoes.

USA:

Aaron Gordon: PF/SF, 6'9", 212 Lbs, 8'10.5" standing reach, 6'11.5" wingspan.
Aaron Harrison: SG, 6'5", 210 Lbs, 8'4" standing reach, 6'8.5" wingspan.
Andrew Harrison: PG, 6'5", 208 Lbs, 8'4" standing reach, 6'8" wingspan.
Kasey Hill: PG, 6'0", 170 Lbs.
Rondae Jefferson: SF, 6'6.5", 212 Lbs, 8'7" standing reach, 7'1" wingspan.
Demetrius Jackson: PG, 6'1", 165 Lbs.
Jabari Parker: SF, 6'8", 241 Lbs, 8'8" standing reach, 7'0" wingspan.
Bobby Portis: PF, 6'11", 231 Lbs, 8'11" standing reach, 7'1.5" wingspan.
Julius Randle: PF, 6'9.5", 248 Lbs, 8'9.5" standing reach, 6'11" wingspan.
Noah Vonleh: PF, 6'9.75", 242 Lbs, 8'10" standing reach, 7'4" wingspan.

International players: No current measurements as of yet.

Dennis Schroeder: PG, 6'1", 180 Lbs.
Nikola Ivanovic: PG, 6'2", 185 Lbs.
Gabriel Deck: SF/PF, 6'6", 180 Lbs.
Dante Exum: SG, 6'5", 170 Lbs.
Andrew Wiggins: SF, 6'8", 200 Lbs.
Sergey Karasey: SF, 6'7", 205 Lbs.
Mario Hezonia: SG, 6'6", 200 Lbs.
Mouhammadou Jaiteh: PF/C, 6'9", 200 Lbs.
Livio Jean-Charles: SF, 6'8", 210 Lbs.
Karl Towns Jr: PF/C, 6'10", 225 Lbs.
Tomas Dimsa: SG, 6'4", 185 Lbs.
Joel Embiid: C, 7'0", 245 Lbs.

In the international class I know Towns, Embiid, and of course Wiggins. Towns is a year away from college, but has already commited to Kentucky. Embiid is going to Florida I believe, but don't quote me on it, and Wiggins is still uncommited, but has been rumored to be hanging out with Towns, so make of that what you will. Anyone that has any info on the rest of the international class, feel free to post it. I've heard good things about Schroeder.

 

[bajaden]

Just wanna share my point of vue on 2 fellow french prospects : Rudy Gobert and Mouhammadou Jaiteh.
Being young and international, I think they are flying under the radar a little bit but they are, in my opinion, very interesting prospects.

Rudy Gobert plays center for Cholet in Pro A (french first pro league) for 3 seasons. Cholet is known for developping young prospects (Michael Gelabale, Rodrigues Beaubois, Kevin Seraphin, Nando de Colo are all current NBAers originally from this team).
Gobert is 20 years old (born in 1992) and is a physical specimen (7'1'' without shoes and a 7'9'' wingspan) but he is skinny (107 kg / 235 lbs).
He lacks strenght but he is very mobile for his size and runs the floor very well. Physically, he reminds me Tyson Chandler.
He is still raw in term of basketball skills but he has slowly but constantly progressed during his 3 seasons.
Offensively, he plays within himself and his shots consist in dunks, putbacks and layups under the basket. As a result, he's shooting 72%.
The thing I like is that he is constantly moving around the basket, playing like a true center, ready to get entry passes. He does a good job at catching them and converting into dunks.
He has little post game as he is getting pushed by stronger opponents but, from time to time, he shows a little hook shot with a good form.
Outside the paint, he doesn't shoot at all but he has good shooting form (he's shooting 70% from the free throw line).
As bajaden said, he is probably 1 or 2 years away from contributing but I think that all the bases are here and that he still has a lot of upside.

Defensively he could contribute right now as he is of course a shotblocking machine and a very dissuasive presence, due to his exceptionnal length. He shows good instincts and great timing at blocking shots, helped by his size, his mobility and his good athletic abilities.
His positionning is also very good but he can still make defensive IQ improvement as he tends to be foul prone.
I think that his rebounding can also be improved : he is not terrible at it but I think that he could grab more rebounds given his size.

Mentally, he is focused and the NBA is his goal. He has a personnal cooker for helping him gaining weight. In my opinion, he is a little bit too shy and I would like to see him more agressive.



Mouhammadou Jaiteh is also a very interesting prospect. He is a C/PF and he is playing for Boulogne in Pro B, the second french pro league. It is his first professional season and he is dominating the division (second best efficiency, averaging 16 pts at 62% and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes per game). And here the thing : he is 18 years old (born in 1994) and only began playing basketball at age 13. You could argue that the level competition is not that high but, still, he is a child among men here.
He is very long (6'10'' with a great wingspan) and incredibly mobile. He lacks weight but he has a good frame, so given his age, I don't think there will be any problem adding some muscle.
He is not a leaper as he plays mostly "to the ground". The surprising thing is how fondamentally good he looks like, despite his age and his lack of experience. He doesn't seem to force anything when he plays and he looks very smooth.
Offensively, his main asset is his finishing ability : he does a good job at using his length and his quickness and he has very very good hands. Plus, he has a high BB IQ and it seems he is always at the right place at the right time.
He is also a very good rebounder : despite his lack of strength, he is the second best rebounder in the league thanks again to his length and his quickness.
Defensively, he is ok but not great. There is room for improvement. He is not a shotblocker but he uses very well his quickness on pick and roll situations. His positionning isn't always good but nothing alarming considering his age.
Mentally, he is very mature, humble and known as a hard worker. He is obviously a great kid and very clever.
Again, the thing that impresses me the most is that he seems to be born to play basketball while he plays the game only for 5-6 years. A prospect to look for as I think he has tremendous upside and potential.

Very nice report! Much appreciated. It sort of confirms what I've read about both players.

 

[Dime Dropper]

In the international class I know Towns, Embiid, and of course Wiggins. Towns is a year away from college, but has already commited to Kentucky. Embiid is going to Florida I believe, but don't quote me on it, and Wiggins is still uncommited, but has been rumored to be hanging out with Towns, so make of that what you will. Anyone that has any info on the rest of the international class, feel free to post it. I've heard good things about Schroeder.

I like the same guys as you Baja, but Karasev is my favourite on that team (excluding Wiggins). Will be interesting to see how he does in this game, but the guy is very talented and could turn out to be a very good NBA player. Lets hope Wiggins playing the same position as him doesn't limit his minutes, because he's easily one of the most talented players on the international team. He's a great scorer, but he's not one dimensional. I'm a big fan.


EDIT: Quoted wrong post.

 

[Gilles]

For those interested, here is the roster for tomorrows Nike Summit game. The measurements that include the wingspan, are current measurements just taken at the Summit. The height measurements are with shoes.

USA:

Aaron Gordon: PF/SF, 6'9", 212 Lbs, 8'10.5" standing reach, 6'11.5" wingspan.
Aaron Harrison: SG, 6'5", 210 Lbs, 8'4" standing reach, 6'8.5" wingspan.
Andrew Harrison: PG, 6'5", 208 Lbs, 8'4" standing reach, 6'8" wingspan.
Kasey Hill: PG, 6'0", 170 Lbs.
Rondae Jefferson: SF, 6'6.5", 212 Lbs, 8'7" standing reach, 7'1" wingspan.
Demetrius Jackson: PG, 6'1", 165 Lbs.
Jabari Parker: SF, 6'8", 241 Lbs, 8'8" standing reach, 7'0" wingspan.
Bobby Portis: PF, 6'11", 231 Lbs, 8'11" standing reach, 7'1.5" wingspan.
Julius Randle: PF, 6'9.5", 248 Lbs, 8'9.5" standing reach, 6'11" wingspan.
Noah Vonleh: PF, 6'9.75", 242 Lbs, 8'10" standing reach, 7'4" wingspan.

International players: No current measurements as of yet.

Dennis Schroeder: PG, 6'1", 180 Lbs.
Nikola Ivanovic: PG, 6'2", 185 Lbs.
Gabriel Deck: SF/PF, 6'6", 180 Lbs.
Dante Exum: SG, 6'5", 170 Lbs.
Andrew Wiggins: SF, 6'8", 200 Lbs.
Sergey Karasey: SF, 6'7", 205 Lbs.
Mario Hezonia: SG, 6'6", 200 Lbs.
Mouhammadou Jaiteh: PF/C, 6'9", 200 Lbs.
Livio Jean-Charles: SF, 6'8", 210 Lbs.
Karl Towns Jr: PF/C, 6'10", 225 Lbs.
Tomas Dimsa: SG, 6'4", 185 Lbs.
Joel Embiid: C, 7'0", 245 Lbs.

In the international class I know Towns, Embiid, and of course Wiggins. Towns is a year away from college, but has already commited to Kentucky. Embiid is going to Florida I believe, but don't quote me on it, and Wiggins is still uncommited, but has been rumored to be hanging out with Towns, so make of that what you will. Anyone that has any info on the rest of the international class, feel free to post it. I've heard good things about Schroeder.

American players are useless for this year's draft, as are Exum,only 17 years old, Wiggins, Towns and Embiid, all going to US colleges, and Hezonja, who's just not declaring or playing in this game .
World team was first to measure actually:
Dennis Schroeder
Height w/Shoes: 6'2
Weight: 168
Wingspan: 6'7.25

Livio Jean-Charles
Height w/Shoes: 6'9
Weight: 217
Wingspan: 7'2.25

Mouhammadou Jaiteh
Height w/Shoes: 6'11
Weight: 249
Wingspan: 7'4

Joel Embiid
Height w/Shoes: 7'0
Weight: 240
Wingspan: 7'5

Sergey Karasev
Height w/Shoes: 6'7
Weight: 197
Wingspan: 6'9.25

Andrew Wiggins
Height w/Shoes: 6'8
Weight: 195
Wingspan: 7'0

Dante Exum
Height w/Shoes: 6'6
Weight: 188
Wingspan: 6'9.25

Gabriel Deck
Height w/Shoes: 6'7
Weight: 228
Wingspan: 6'8.5
Nikola Ivanovic
Height w/Shoes: 6'3
Weight: 193
Wingspan: 6'3.75

Karl Towns
Height w/Shoes: 7'0
Weight: 243
Wingspan: 7'3.5

 

[bajaden]

American players are useless for this year's draft, as are Exum,only 17 years old, Wiggins, Towns and Embiid, all going to US colleges, and Hezonja, who's just not declaring or playing in this game .
World team was first to measure actually:
Dennis Schroeder
Height w/Shoes: 6'2
Weight: 168
Wingspan: 6'7.25

Livio Jean-Charles
Height w/Shoes: 6'9
Weight: 217
Wingspan: 7'2.25

Mouhammadou Jaiteh
Height w/Shoes: 6'11
Weight: 249
Wingspan: 7'4

Joel Embiid
Height w/Shoes: 7'0
Weight: 240
Wingspan: 7'5

Sergey Karasev
Height w/Shoes: 6'7
Weight: 197
Wingspan: 6'9.25

Andrew Wiggins
Height w/Shoes: 6'8
Weight: 195
Wingspan: 7'0

Dante Exum
Height w/Shoes: 6'6
Weight: 188
Wingspan: 6'9.25

Gabriel Deck
Height w/Shoes: 6'7
Weight: 228
Wingspan: 6'8.5
Nikola Ivanovic
Height w/Shoes: 6'3
Weight: 193
Wingspan: 6'3.75

Karl Towns
Height w/Shoes: 7'0
Weight: 243
Wingspan: 7'3.5

Thanks for the measurements Gilles.. Somehow I missed those... I'm really interested in seeing Schroeder play.

 

[bajaden]

Read this morning that Schroeder is throwing his name into the draft. So now I'm more curious about him. Anyone out there seen him play?

 

[Dime Dropper]

Read this morning that Schroeder is throwing his name into the draft. So now I'm more curious about him. Anyone out there seen him play?

I've only seen a little of him, it's quite difficult to watch German basketball unless you watch it online. From what I have seen it's pretty clear he's very talented. He's extremely quick, good defensive potential, high IQ and a good shooter. He doesn't really have any holes in his game, apart from lack of experience and playing against questionable competition. But he's 19, talented and has a lot of potential. He should definitely go in the first round IMO. He's not one of the best known Euro prospects, but he could easily end up one of the best from the class.

 

[bajaden]

I've only seen a little of him, it's quite difficult to watch German basketball unless you watch it online. From what I have seen it's pretty clear he's very talented. He's extremely quick, good defensive potential, high IQ and a good shooter. He doesn't really have any holes in his game, apart from lack of experience and playing against questionable competition. But he's 19, talented and has a lot of potential. He should definitely go in the first round IMO. He's not one of the best known Euro prospects, but he could easily end up one of the best from the class.

Watched Schroeder play yesterday. Some quick observations one time through (I usually watch a game several times and just concentrate on a single player or players each time). As you said, Schroeder is very quick and has the ability to change speeds, which makes him seem even quicker. Very good passer. Nothing fancy, just effective, similar to Rondo in that area. He's definitely, based just on this one game, a pass first PG. Doesn't look for his own shot much, but will do enough offensively to make the defense pay attention to him. Very good at getting into the lane, and making difficult passes in traffic.

He seemed to finish at the basket well in this game, but he does look a little on the thin side, and probably needs to get into the weight room. To be honest, I didn't detect any glaring weaknesses. He has good handles, and appears to have good court vision and BBIQ. Just based on this one game, I'd say he's definitely worth a first round pick somewhere middle to bottom. I saw nothing not to like.

I was also impressed with Karasey. He's definitely a true SF, and offensively, he was very good. Has a very high arching shot, thats hard to block. Looks a little weird, but it goes in. He impressed me with his passing ability. He see's the floor very well, and made several no look passes, and made some difficult cross court passes look easy. His handles look more than adequate for the position. All in all, he's your typical, very skilled european, or should I say Russian player. From the small sampling, he appears to be a good athlete, and showed a nice cross over dribble, and jab step with a step back shot. Meaning, he showed the ability to create his own shot. Not sure about his defense, or how all this will translate to the NBA, but he looks like a 1st round pick to me.

Lastly, for now, the other impressive player, and I'm not sure exactly what he is just yet, is Livo Jean-Charles. Very active around the basket, and appears to defend pretty well. I didn't see much away from the basket, but he's certainly got a big motor. I'll get to the USA players later.

 

[Flopi]

Lastly, for now, the other impressive player, and I'm not sure exactly what he is just yet, is Livo Jean-Charles. Very active around the basket, and appears to defend pretty well. I didn't see much away from the basket, but he's certainly got a big motor.

I was surprised with Livio Jean-Charles performance at the NHS. At 19 years old (born in 1993), he is currently playing his second pro season with ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne in Pro A League (french 1st pro division).
I said I was surprised because, although he is considered as a big talent with a lot of upside, he is far from being a finished product.
Actually, he is a big project for his team who does a good job at developing him. Last season, he played mainly with the second team in a parallel developpment league. This season, his minutes increased with the first team and he became a regular starter since last december. Currently, he is rather a roleplayer averaging 4.75 pts at 50% and 4.25 rebounds in 21 minutes as a starter.

His main assets are his physical abilities and his energy level : he is long (6'8'' without shoes and a huge wingspan), very athletic and plays with a very big motor, always hustleing hard. He is also a good rebounder and a very willing defensive player.
He is also a good kid with a great work ethic.

His main problem is that he is currently a tweener : he is too skinny to play inside and lacks skill to play the 3 position.
The developping program his team established aims at making him a full small forward.
So, again a not-ready-yet-with-upside prospect to look for. In 1 or 2 years, he could be compared to Kahwi Leonard if he improves his shooting and dribbling skills (and I agree it's a big IF).

 

[bajaden]

I was surprised with Livio Jean-Charles performance at the NHS. At 19 years old (born in 1993), he is currently playing his second pro season with ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne in Pro A League (french 1st pro division).
I said I was surprised because, although he is considered as a big talent with a lot of upside, he is far from being a finished product.
Actually, he is a big project for his team who does a good job at developing him. Last season, he played mainly with the second team in a parallel developpment league. This season, his minutes increased with the first team and he became a regular starter since last december. Currently, he is rather a roleplayer averaging 4.75 pts at 50% and 4.25 rebounds in 21 minutes as a starter.

His main assets are his physical abilities and his energy level : he is long (6'8'' without shoes and a huge wingspan), very athletic and plays with a very big motor, always hustleing hard. He is also a good rebounder and a very willing defensive player.
He is also a good kid with a great work ethic.

His main problem is that he is currently a tweener : he is too skinny to play inside and lacks skill to play the 3 position.
The developping program his team established aims at making him a full small forward.
So, again a not-ready-yet-with-upside prospect to look for. In 1 or 2 years, he could be compared to Kahwi Leonard if he improves his shooting and dribbling skills (and I agree it's a big IF).

You confirmed my first impression. He has the body and size of a SF, but I didn't see many skills that lent themselves to that position. So at the moment, he strikes me as a stretch 4 with no stretch. However, he's still young. I like his motor, and nose for the ball. Seems to be an above average athlete. So who knows, he could develop into something in the next couple of years.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

I'm not sold on Schroeder at all. I think he's striking when the iron is super hot, being buoyed by the Nike Hoop Summit (wasn't that the same venue that elevated Saer Sene's stock?). I think the biggest issue I have with Schroeder is I don't think he's a PG in the NBA. I've been hearing a lot of reports saying that he's excelling with the floor more spaced and he's getting into the lane and making the right passes, but I'll take a season's slate of games rather than just several games of inspired play. I know the quality of his teammates were pretty poor with the Phantoms, but he was awfully reckless with the basketball and didn't even show much SG passing, much less PG passing. At the end, he kind of reminds me of Rodrigue Beaubois--I think he'll be drafted high because someone will be tantalized with his physical tools, and he'll have some key games where he's scoring and playing defense. But he's still raw particularly with the passing, so I think he'll hit a cap as a role player.

Livio Jean-Charles is another guy who's really striking due to these workouts. In game settings for Villeurbanne, he was a poor shooter with very little elusiveness and very few handles/court vision. Basically a 6'8" PF. In fact, his athletic markers were quite poor too--he's a pretty poor rebounder and didn't make many defensive plays, so if he's to eke a living as a defensive stopper, he might have to do it as a contain guy. But there's very little NBA talent IMO. I thought he was a 2015 prospect even. He'll probably toil in Europe at the end.

 

[Dime Dropper]

I'm not sold on Schroeder at all. I think he's striking when the iron is super hot, being buoyed by the Nike Hoop Summit (wasn't that the same venue that elevated Saer Sene's stock?). I think the biggest issue I have with Schroeder is I don't think he's a PG in the NBA. I've been hearing a lot of reports saying that he's excelling with the floor more spaced and he's getting into the lane and making the right passes, but I'll take a season's slate of games rather than just several games of inspired play. I know the quality of his teammates were pretty poor with the Phantoms, but he was awfully reckless with the basketball and didn't even show much SG passing, much less PG passing. At the end, he kind of reminds me of Rodrigue Beaubois--I think he'll be drafted high because someone will be tantalized with his physical tools, and he'll have some key games where he's scoring and playing defense. But he's still raw particularly with the passing, so I think he'll hit a cap as a role player.

Livio Jean-Charles is another guy who's really striking due to these workouts. In game settings for Villeurbanne, he was a poor shooter with very little elusiveness and very few handles/court vision. Basically a 6'8" PF. In fact, his athletic markers were quite poor too--he's a pretty poor rebounder and didn't make many defensive plays, so if he's to eke a living as a defensive stopper, he might have to do it as a contain guy. But there's very little NBA talent IMO. I thought he was a 2015 prospect even. He'll probably toil in Europe at the end.

What are you talking about Arby? I know you have opinions that are a little out there when it comes to prospects as you like to go against the grain, but please don't tell me you regularly watched German basketball. You've just been looking at his stats, which is fair enough, but that never tells the whole story. He does need to cut down the TOs, but he's 19. He has a good IQ, he'll be fine. His passing and vision is more than good enough for a PG in the NBA. I literally have no idea why you think it's not good enough for a PG, never mind a SG. I'd be interested to hear why you think this, rather than just "this is what I think." It's awfully difficult to rack up stats of any sort in Europe, with assists being one of the most difficult due to both rule differences and style of play (Rubio averaged a whopping 3.6 assists in his last year in Europe and his passing is just fine). So I don't mean to be condescending at all, but I think that's where you're going wrong by looking at his stats.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

This is going to be an interesting draft. It's wide open after the top two.

And there will be a few stars outside the top 2. There are a lot of people calling this a weak draft based on the somewhat bad college year, but man - it feels like a lot of the over seas guys are smartly coming out this year, and some of them WILL pan out. It's just a matter of finding out which ones are legit.

I am a little bias here, but I really like Adetokumbo. Granted he is the guy I know the most about largely because he has played in Greece and I am Greek. A few relatives over there have been in my ear about him the past few months. Especially when they found out Danny Ainge was at a game of his a few weeks ago.

Its so early to talk about 'team needs' or 'fit' when the guy is only 18 years old. Some people think he is a point guard. That's not happening in the NBA, but we need an SF long term, and that is the position I think he ends up at.

 

[bajaden]

What are you talking about Arby? I know you have opinions that are a little out there when it comes to prospects as you like to go against the grain, but please don't tell me you regularly watched German basketball. You've just been looking at his stats, which is fair enough, but that never tells the whole story. He does need to cut down the TOs, but he's 19. He has a good IQ, he'll be fine. His passing and vision is more than good enough for a PG in the NBA. I literally have no idea why you think it's not good enough for a PG, never mind a SG. I'd be interested to hear why you think this, rather than just "this is what I think." It's awfully difficult to rack up stats of any sort in Europe, with assists being one of the most difficult due to both rule differences and style of play (Rubio averaged a whopping 3.6 assists in his last year in Europe and his passing is just fine). So I don't mean to be condescending at all, but I think that's where you're going wrong by looking at his stats.

Other than some youtube videos, the only time I've seen Schroeder in a game situation is the Nike Summit game. But this wasn't just an all star game like the Jordan classic, it was highly contested. True it was just one game, but please don't tell me that Schroeder isn't a good passer (And I know you aren't). I watched him make some very difficult passes in the key, as well as some passes that you can only make if you have good court vision. So I don't quite understand the negativity. By no means do I think he's god's gift to the PG position, but I so think he's talented enough to play in the league. How good he'll be is up for grabs. As I said before, he needs to get stronger. But he certainly quick enough to run with anyone.

 

[bajaden]

This is going to be an interesting draft. It's wide open after the top two.

And there will be a few stars outside the top 2. There are a lot of people calling this a weak draft based on the somewhat bad college year, but man - it feels like a lot of the over seas guys are smartly coming out this year, and some of them WILL pan out. It's just a matter of finding out which ones are legit.

I am a little bias here, but I really like Adetokumbo. Granted he is the guy I know the most about largely because he has played in Greece and I am Greek. A few relatives over there have been in my ear about him the past few months. Especially when they found out Danny Ainge was at a game of his a few weeks ago.

Its so early to talk about 'team needs' or 'fit' when the guy is only 18 years old. Some people think he is a point guard. That's not happening in the NBA, but we need an SF long term, and that is the position I think he ends up at.

I've watched the Summit game a few times now, and one international player stands out the most to me, and thats Sergey Karasev. He's very impressive. When I could watch an entire game and just watch him, I saw things I didn't see before. He's a better defender than I first believed. Twice he was in isolation at the baseline, once against Randle, and another time against Harrison, and both times he kept his man in front of him and both times shots were missed. But his passing ability impressed me the most. He's like having another PG on the floor. He made difficult passes look easy, and he showed great court vision.

He's a very smart player who knows how to play the game. He does like to shoot the ball, but he's also unselfish with the ball and doesn't seem to force anything. I know some of you know more about him than I do, so I'm interested in hearing others opinions. I don't know what his shooting percentages are, so maybe someone can help me with that.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I've watched the Summit game a few times now, and one international player stands out the most to me, and thats Sergey Karasev. He's very impressive. When I could watch an entire game and just watch him, I saw things I didn't see before. He's a better defender than I first believed. Twice he was in isolation at the baseline, once against Randle, and another time against Harrison, and both times he kept his man in front of him and both times shots were missed. But his passing ability impressed me the most. He's like having another PG on the floor. He made difficult passes look easy, and he showed great court vision.

He's a very smart player who knows how to play the game. He does like to shoot the ball, but he's also unselfish with the ball and doesn't seem to force anything. I know some of you know more about him than I do, so I'm interested in hearing others opinions. I don't know what his shooting percentages are, so maybe someone can help me with that.

Well, Draft Express has his Eurocup stats (11 games) 16 points on 12 shots 41% on 2's and 49% on 3's. Other numbers are OK for that positions (I'm calling him a 3).

In my less than expert opinion, Karasev feels like one of the more 'NBA ready' euros this year despite being only 19. If I am comparing him to Adetokumbo, I'd say Karasev is closer. I think Karasev has more of a primary position, and better body for that position. Some of the euro bigs really need to add some weight, and Adetokumbo is kind of a tweener right now. I can see some teams trying to play him at PF, and his body is just not ready for that.

Karasev is also playing in a much better league than Adetokumbo, and he can shoot. Shooting usually translates, in my opinion.

So I wouldn't have a problem with Karasev. I think he's a fine prospect, and I certainly wouldn't be upset if he was our pick.