Who is available as 6th-7th pick

[hrdboild]

Oladipo would be small at the SF position against some teams, it just depends on matchups. But I'm not worried all that much about positions right now. He has skills we need and I think we could find a place in the rotation for him. He could defend some SFs because he's quick on his feet and he's smart but he's going to get overpowered by the Lebrons and Durants in the league. He's probably best used as a defensive stopper for guards and smaller wing players who also doubles as a pretty decent spot-up shooter and occasional alley-oop finisher. He could be the sixth man if there's no place in the starting lineup for him.

It's hard to say right now who will be going in the 6-7 range. It's going to depend on who's drafting 1-5 mainly. We also don't know if Marcus Smart is in the draft or not yet -- there's been a report that he's still undecided. I could see some teams being interested in Burke, Len, or Smart (if he does enter the draft) in the top 5 which could cause Oladipo or Porter to slip a bit. Anthony Bennett is right in that range too. Most people didn't expect Kidd-Gilchrist to go #2 last year --sometimes teams just fall in love with certain players. And even McLemore and Noel could potentially fall out of the top 2 either because of injury concerns or poor workouts/interviews. And then there's the international prospects -- Gobert, Adetokoubo, Saric, Schroeder, Karasev. They're all over the board right now. So basically it's far too early to be narrowing in on specific projections. All of these guys are potentially in play so we've got plenty to talk about pre-draft.

 

[The_Jamal]

As stated, I'm a huge Oladipo fan. Len is, was, hard to get a good read on in some areas. I watched Maryland play a lot, and unfortunately, Maryland was loaded with trigger happy perimeter players that somehow couldn't see Len, at 7'1" standing there. So offensively, its hard to say how good he is at present. Athleticly, I think he's a little above average, and at times a bit mechanical, especially on offense. Defensively, he's a pretty good man defender, and has the length to be an intimidating player around the basket.

The thing with Len is, he's young, and he played better than expected despite little help from his guard. I can easily see him being a very good player down the road. What I can't see is him on the floor with Cousins as a twin tower duo. I could be wrong! As I said, personally, I had a hard time getting a read on him. No such trouble with Oladipo, but he's an entirely different kind of player. I really like Karasev. Watched him for the third time, and I think he has the tools to be a good defender, but even if he's average, all of his other tools far out weigh his deficits.

What I really look for in college prospects is how they work on the defensive end. There are plenty of guys who can score and shoot, but the top prospects that stand out are the great athletes who work their *** off defensively. That's why I was so excited about Robinson, and that's why Len and Oladipo both excite me in this years class. I see that effort and all-out hustle on the defensive end and the willingness to play great defense. Except for the fact that Len and Oladipo are both full-sized players for their positions and won't struggle in the same ways that Robinson did adjusting to the size difference.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

We also don't know if Marcus Smart is in the draft or not yet -- there's been a report that he's still undecided.

The NBA's Early Entry deadline was a few days ago, and Smart did not enter the draft.

 

[hrdboild]

The NBA's Early Entry deadline was a few days ago, and Smart did not enter the draft.

Ah, I didn't know that. I thought it was still a couple weeks away. Thanks!

 

[Darth Divac]

How about Reggie Bullock? He looks like a Shane Battier clone, 6'7 athletic SF/PF who is a great spot-up shooter and defends at a high level.

 

[Dime Dropper]

How about Reggie Bullock? He looks like a Shane Battier clone, 6'7 athletic SF/PF who is a great spot-up shooter and defends at a high level.

I'd be extremely happy with Bullock in the 2nd round. Or if we had a late first rounder. But not where we'll be picking, there'll be better players available.

 

[bajaden]

I'd be extremely happy with Bullock in the 2nd round. Or if we had a late first rounder. But not where we'll be picking, there'll be better players available.

He asked the same question in the prospects fourm, and I gave the same answer you did. Great minds think alike!!!

 

[bajaden]

What I really look for in college prospects is how they work on the defensive end. There are plenty of guys who can score and shoot, but the top prospects that stand out are the great athletes who work their *** off defensively. That's why I was so excited about Robinson, and that's why Len and Oladipo both excite me in this years class. I see that effort and all-out hustle on the defensive end and the willingness to play great defense. Except for the fact that Len and Oladipo are both full-sized players for their positions and won't struggle in the same ways that Robinson did adjusting to the size difference.

As I posted before, I started watching Indiana play to see Zeller, and after a while, I watched Indiana play to see Oladipo, who I think was the best player on that team. Zeller is overrated..

 

[rhythmless]

Just wondering, but would Oladipo work as a 3?

6'5, average frame. Tyreke is also 6'5, but probably longer wingspan, and he was not fit for the 3.

Even if Oladipo can get into the 6'6 range with shoes, he will still be one of the shortest SFs as a starter. 6'7" is acceptable, 6'8" is the preferred prototype. He'd be giving up size almost every night, and it would negate a lot of his defensive ability at the 3. Just like Tyreke's defensive abilities were nullified there. Could you do it? Sure. Would it work? Not if you want to win. Is it smart? No. Is it Smart? Yes.

 

[bajaden]

6'5, average frame. Tyreke is also 6'5, but probably longer wingspan, and he was not fit for the 3.

Even if Oladipo can get into the 6'6 range with shoes, he will still be one of the shortest SFs as a starter. 6'7" is acceptable, 6'8" is the preferred prototype. He'd be giving up size almost every night, and it would negate a lot of his defensive ability at the 3. Just like Tyreke's defensive abilities were nullified there. Could you do it? Sure. Would it work? Not if you want to win. Is it smart? No. Is it Smart? Yes.

Oladipo, like Tyreke, has a very large wingspan. However, I don't want to see him as our starting SF. I can see him guarding the other teams SF on occasion, but his best position is SG. I can promise you this. If we draft him, he'll be the best overall defender on the team. Put him at SG and I'm willing to go with Tyreke at PG again. I think Tyreke has learned a lot in the last four years, and would, with a good head coach, be much better this time around, especially if we play some sort of motion offense like the triangle or princeton.

 

[The_Jamal]

I'd be willing to see Tyreke get burn at the PG spot again, but we'd need to see near instanteous improvement with his ball-movement. We can't have the offense starting 12 seconds into the shot-clock

 

[Gilles]

Doesn't matter who's PG, how about players movement? Whoever brought up the ball often had 9 other guys on the floor staring at him for quite some time. While 5 of those are supposed to, other 4 were picking their noses. And not just some running around like chickens with their heads cut off. How about cuts and screen play or maybe, we can dream, even staggered screens. Team play on both end of the floor this past season was somewhere around 1,5 if you put Spurs at 10.

 

[Kingster]

I'm very unsure about who we are going to pick. But I'm certain about one thing: The Kings aren't going to be selling their second round draft picks for cash in the upcoming draft!

 

[rhythmless]

Oladipo, like Tyreke, has a very large wingspan. However, I don't want to see him as our starting SF. I can see him guarding the other teams SF on occasion, but his best position is SG. I can promise you this. If we draft him, he'll be the best overall defender on the team. Put him at SG and I'm willing to go with Tyreke at PG again. I think Tyreke has learned a lot in the last four years, and would, with a good head coach, be much better this time around, especially if we play some sort of motion offense like the triangle or princeton.

Not sure if it came across clearly, but I agree with you. Oladipo and tyreke are horrible at the 3 spot. I'm not sure tyreke is a good enough game manager to overcome his lack of instinct in the set up game, but he has shown improvement on running the break this season. If you put tyreke at the 1, I think you need at least one more strong setup guy. If you want to run the triangle, then you're also asking DMC to increase his patience on the block for it to be successful. All doable things, but require everyone to put in a lot of effort individually as well as together.

Still, seeing as how everyone I want will be gone when we draft, I am fine with oladipo att 6th.

 

[Anthony1]

Is Geoff Petrie guaranteed to be the GM for this draft ?

If so, it's Cody Zeller all the way, lol.

 

[gunks]

I'd be willing to see Tyreke get burn at the PG spot again, but we'd need to see near instanteous improvement with his ball-movement. We can't have the offense starting 12 seconds into the shot-clock

A coach with more than 3 brain cells could fix that. Easily.

All our guys are going to blossom under a legit coach. It'll be a fun season.

 

[bajaden]

It was reported today that Sloan is ready to return to coaching in the right situation. He used the term, and I paraphrase, I'm ready to get your team back in shape. Which can also mean, turn your team around. One thing is for sure, Sloan would bring respect. He certainly knows how set up a rotation. He's knows how to coach big's and PG's. His teams know how to play defense, and he won't put up with BS. He's not my first choice, but he'd certainly be a giant step in the right direction.

 

[Gary]

I'd be willing to see Tyreke get burn at the PG spot again, but we'd need to see near instanteous improvement with his ball-movement. We can't have the offense starting 12 seconds into the shot-clock

nooooooooooooooooo... Tired argument..


As for who's available at the 5-9 picks? Well we most certainly could trade down and get MCW or trade up (or if we get lucky and he falls, or we get better draft position) we could get Burke. I am not sure if the front office will even have enough time so I expect that we will probably draft Zeller or Muhammad.

 

[The_Jamal]

nooooooooooooooooo... Tired argument..


As for who's available at the 5-9 picks? Well we most certainly could trade down and get MCW or trade up (or if we get lucky and he falls, or we get better draft position) we could get Burke. I am not sure if the front office will even have enough time so I expect that we will probably draft Zeller or Muhammad.

If Jerry Sloan or JVG comes in and immediately says they think Tyreke can play PG, then who the hell are we to question their basketball opinion?

 

[Gary]

If Jerry Sloan or JVG comes in and immediately says they think Tyreke can play PG, then who the hell are we to question their basketball opinion?

I guess me, and all the other fans that don't want to see Evans at PG? I would rather draft Burke or MCW.

Evans showed he can improve his outside shot. It wasn't great but it was a lot better in the second half than in the first. I think he could thrive in a "Doug Christie" role on the Kings.

 

[bajaden]

I guess me, and all the other fans that don't want to see Evans at PG? I would rather draft Burke or MCW.

Evans showed he can improve his outside shot. It wasn't great but it was a lot better in the second half than in the first. I think he could thrive in a "Doug Christie" role on the Kings.

I'm not sure why you have so much love for Michael Carter-Williams. I have a lot of problems with him. He simply can't shoot the ball for one. He shot only 39% overall for the season, which is horrible, and only 29% from beyond the arc. He started out the season like a ball of fire as far as assists go, but as the season wore on, his assist totals started to drop. He started having games with only 1 or 2 assists, like his final game against Michigan. But the worse thing he has going for him is that he plays for Syracuse. A school that has turned out more busts than successes. Sorry, but I'm very gun shy when it comes to players from Syracuse.

Let me put it this way. If he was sitting there in the second round, I'd draft him. If I was picking at the lower half of the first round, I might draft him. But at number 6, where we currently reside, there's no way in hell that I'd draft him. Nor would I draft Zeller or Muhammad. Especially Muhammad! Muhammad might well turn out to be a good basketball player. But when a player can go a couple of games in a row and not pass the ball once it gets to him, I want no part of him.

 

[Gilles]

Well, it never gets old

 

[Gary]

I'm not sure why you have so much love for Michael Carter-Williams. I have a lot of problems with him. He simply can't shoot the ball for one. He shot only 39% overall for the season, which is horrible, and only 29% from beyond the arc. He started out the season like a ball of fire as far as assists go, but as the season wore on, his assist totals started to drop. He started having games with only 1 or 2 assists, like his final game against Michigan. But the worse thing he has going for him is that he plays for Syracuse. A school that has turned out more busts than successes. Sorry, but I'm very gun shy when it comes to players from Syracuse.

Let me put it this way. If he was sitting there in the second round, I'd draft him. If I was picking at the lower half of the first round, I might draft him. But at number 6, where we currently reside, there's no way in hell that I'd draft him. Nor would I draft Zeller or Muhammad. Especially Muhammad! Muhammad might well turn out to be a good basketball player. But when a player can go a couple of games in a row and not pass the ball once it gets to him, I want no part of him.

I wouldn't use our pick on MCW, at least not where we are at right now (6th-8th?). It would be something that we would trade down to do.

Also, I don't want Muhammad or Zeller either. I am just thinking that's who we will probably end up with since we really don't have much time to scout players.

I REALLY want Burke, and hope he falls to us. But that's probably not going to happen.

McCollum on the other hand..... With the success of guys like Curry, Lillard, Westbrook and Gordon I might take a chance on a shooter and see if he's willing to pass the ball a bit. Only if the option was him vs. Zeller or Muhammad.

 

[Agent23]

I guess me, and all the other fans that don't want to see Evans at PG? I would rather draft Burke or MCW.

Evans showed he can improve his outside shot. It wasn't great but it was a lot better in the second half than in the first. I think he could thrive in a "Doug Christie" role on the Kings.

If he was to play "Doug Christie" for us, he's gone. The value of that role isn't what the kind of money he's gonna get thrown at him during free agency. Tony Allen, as great as he is at defense (i would assume you would think he's in the Doug Christie mold) will be lucky to get 6 mil a year in the open market. Whether you agree or not, Tyreke is gonna get at least 10 mil a year in his next contract.

 

[Gary]

If he was to play "Doug Christie" for us, he's gone. The value of that role isn't what the kind of money he's gonna get thrown at him during free agency. Tony Allen, as great as he is at defense (i would assume you would think he's in the Doug Christie mold) will be lucky to get 6 mil a year in the open market. Whether you agree or not, Tyreke is gonna get at least 10 mil a year in his next contract.

He's not worth 10mil on this team.. Maybe on another team his is though, but SGs typically don't get that kind of money for the stats Evans puts up.

 

[Agent23]

He's not worth 10mil on this team.. Maybe on another team his is though, but SGs typically don't get that kind of money for the stats Evans puts up.

For the role you're envisioning him in, he's absolutely not worth that. You and I differ in the role we want him in.

 

[Gary]

For the role you're envisioning him in, he's absolutely not worth that. You and I differ in the role we want him in.

Fair enough.

 

[bajaden]

I wouldn't use our pick on MCW, at least not where we are at right now (6th-8th?). It would be something that we would trade down to do.

Also, I don't want Muhammad or Zeller either. I am just thinking that's who we will probably end up with since we really don't have much time to scout players.

I REALLY want Burke, and hope he falls to us. But that's probably not going to happen.

McCollum on the other hand..... With the success of guys like Curry, Lillard, Westbrook and Gordon I might take a chance on a shooter and see if he's willing to pass the ball a bit. Only if the option was him vs. Zeller or Muhammad.

Not sure which Gordon your talking about, Ben or Eric, but either way they're the only one's I'd compare McCollum to. McCullum isn't a PG, and doesn't really play the point. He's a 6'3" SG. So essentially, he'd be very similar to Thornton. However, I'd say that McCullum is a more consistent shooter than Thornton. I just don't see him at the point.

To be honest, we can't really have a good conversation about anyone at the point until we know who the coach is, and what kind of system he's going to use. If we end up playing a motion offense, similar to what we used to play, then we don't really need a conventional PG since all he does is bring up the ball, and start the offense. Bibby played mostly off the ball, coming off screens and back door cuts. Which is way he didn't put up great assist numbers at the time. But if we run a system where the PG is responsible for creating shots for others, aka Steve Nash, then we need someone capable of doing that.

I've never gotten into the Tyreke is or is not a PG discussion, because frankly, I didn't care. However, I think a lot of Tyreke's problems came from first being a blank check by Westphal to basicly do what he wanted, to being very restricted, and probably confused, by Smart. In many ways, part of his four years here were wasted by poor direction and instruction from the coaching staff. I'd like to see what he can do with a good coach at the helm. If a new coach decides that SG is his best position, then I'm fine with that as well.

 

[Agent23]

Not sure which Gordon your talking about, Ben or Eric, but either way they're the only one's I'd compare McCollum to. McCullum isn't a PG, and doesn't really play the point. He's a 6'3" SG. So essentially, he'd be very similar to Thornton. However, I'd say that McCullum is a more consistent shooter than Thornton. I just don't see him at the point.

To be honest, we can't really have a good conversation about anyone at the point until we know who the coach is, and what kind of system he's going to use. If we end up playing a motion offense, similar to what we used to play, then we don't really need a conventional PG since all he does is bring up the ball, and start the offense. Bibby played mostly off the ball, coming off screens and back door cuts. Which is way he didn't put up great assist numbers at the time. But if we run a system where the PG is responsible for creating shots for others, aka Steve Nash, then we need someone capable of doing that.

I've never gotten into the Tyreke is or is not a PG discussion, because frankly, I didn't care. However, I think a lot of Tyreke's problems came from first being a blank check by Westphal to basicly do what he wanted, to being very restricted, and probably confused, by Smart. In many ways, part of his four years here were wasted by poor direction and instruction from the coaching staff. I'd like to see what he can do with a good coach at the helm. If a new coach decides that SG is his best position, then I'm fine with that as well.

The way I see it, if Russell Westbrook can be "taught" to be a PG, why not Reke? Russell Westbrook is as much a PG as Reke is. He was allowed to learn on the job. I still feel like if the team had let Reke learn on the job AND given proper guidance, we would have one of the biggest mismatches in the game in our favor. Alas, the time for Reke at PG has sailed, but he can still be maximized at SG if he is allowed to handle the ball a majority of the time within a set halfcourt offense.

 

[Turgenev]

I'm not sure why you have so much love for Michael Carter-Williams. I have a lot of problems with him. He simply can't shoot the ball for one. He shot only 39% overall for the season, which is horrible, and only 29% from beyond the arc. He started out the season like a ball of fire as far as assists go, but as the season wore on, his assist totals started to drop. He started having games with only 1 or 2 assists, like his final game against Michigan. But the worse thing he has going for him is that he plays for Syracuse. A school that has turned out more busts than successes. Sorry, but I'm very gun shy when it comes to players from Syracuse.

I am in agreement with you re Carter Williams. I saw a few Syracuse games during the big east season. He was close to invisible. Not a first round pick for me.

Re Syracuse producing duds.

Boeheim recruits well for Syracuse. His players are well coached college players. They do well in their own system but not outside of it. There does seem to be a big gap between success at Cuse and success in the NBA.