2013 Draft Prospects

Darth Divac · Apr 11, 2013

My thoughts on the draft:

I think for our defensive shot-blocker, we should try to trade (IT, maybe?) for Gorgui Dieng from Louisville. Great on-ball defender, shotblocker, and can score when needed using his midrange game and finishing ability. Has the lateral quickness to defend PF's, so we can play him there.

For SF, I really like GRIII. He's a lot less of a project than you may think. During the NCAA tournament (and indeed, the regular season) he played off-ball, finishing at and above the rim, hitting open shots, and playing near-lockdown defense. He is truely the wing we've been praying to the Basketball Gods for. Otto Porter would be almost as good, but he's long gone by our pick.

As for PG, I'm not really sold on anyone yet, whether draft, free agent, or current roster, but if Toney D can keep up his current level of play permanantly, then he's our guy at the 1.

Turgenev · Apr 11, 2013

You have to forgive me as I did not read the entire thread and no doubt will add nothing that is new.

But-

My favourite player this year is Otto Porter. I only really watch Georgetown so no surprise. Porter is good though- plays hard, contributes in many ways, fills the box score, finds space around the rim. He is unselfish. He has the perfect game for a starting 3 and the physique to match.

Will he be available for the kings? We don't know the draft order yet. Plus good players slip.

Regardless who is drafted if the kings stay kings the team will become exciting to follow again. All that is needed are a few subtle tweaks.

Arby's Roast Beef · Apr 11, 2013

Re-updated my draft.

Obviously it's just opinion, but here's my summary of my assessment relative to the mocks/hype. A lot to digest, but hopefully this stirs discussion! =)

Even
Surefire lotto picks (agrees with consensus): Nerlens Noel, Marcus Smart, Otto Porter, Cody Zeller, Ben McLemore, Michael Carter-Williams, Alex Len
Surefire mid/late 1st round picks (agrees with consensus): Steven Adams, Allen Crabbe, Sergey Karasev
Non-senior early 2nd round picks: Archie Goodwin, Andre Roberson, Tim Hardaway Jr
Non-senior mid 2nd round picks: CJ Wilcox, Tony Snell
Non-senior late 2nd round picks: Deshaun Thomas

Overrated?
Perhaps more late lotto/early mid-1st talents? : Rudy Gobert, Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke
18-30 type talent? : Glenn Robinson III, Anthony Bennett, Kelly Olynyk, CJ McCollum
Really, really skeptical (2nd round talent?): Gorgui Dieng, Mason Plumlee, Doug McDermott, Jamaal Franklin, Lorenzo Brown, Russ Smith
Really, really, really, really skeptical : Tony Mitchell, Shabazz Muhammad
Worse than their consensus?: Adreian Payne, Phil Pressey, BJ Young, Carrick Felix

Underrated?
Underrated potential lottery talents: Myck Kabongo
Really underrated seniors: Jeff Withey, Ryan Kelly, Nate Wolters, James Ennis, Ryan Broekhoff, Mike Muscala
Other seniors with late 1st round value: Arsalan Kazemi, Matthew Dellavedova, Brandon Paul
Other underrated 1st rounders: CJ Aiken, Lucas Noguiera, Ike Austin
Potential 2nd round steals: Glen Rice (D-League), Markel Brown, Pierre Jackson, James Southerland, Christian Watford, Zeke Marshall

Watch out for these guys next year:
Really watch?: Jordan Adams, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Clint Capela, PJ Hairston, Sam Dekker, Kyle Anderson, Grant Jerrett, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarnell Stokes
Other names: Chris Obekpa, Dario Saric, Jerian Grant, Eric Moreland, Shabazz Napier, Khem Birch, Klemen Prepelic, Greg Whittington
Late 1st rounders?: Gary Harris, AJ Hammons, Ray McCallum, Rasheed Sulaimon, Daniel Theis, Andre Hollins, Bryce Cotton
Overrated?: Willie Cauley

These guys need to wait two more years:
Kyle Wiltjer, Shane Larkin, Jerami Grant, Winston Shepard, Brandon Ashley, Kaleb Tarczewski, Tyrone Wallace, Sir'Dominic Pointer, Chane Behanan, Branden Dawson, Rodney Hood, Montrezl Harrell, Przemek Karnowski, LaQuinton Ross, Wayne Blackshear, Jakarr Sampson, Norman Powell
Select hyped names can't warm up to: Alex Poythress, James McAdoo, TJ Warren, LeBryan Nash, Mitch McGary, Jahii Carson, Rodney Purvis, Rakeem Christmas, Joel James

bajaden · Apr 12, 2013

Turgenev said:

Had you read the thread, and believe me, I know why you didn't. I wouldn't go through 22 or 23 pages either, but Porter has gotten a lot of love here. He's been one of my favorites all year, and he would be a perfect fit for the Kings. Where he'll fall is anyone's guess. I suspect he'll be gone by the time we pick, but you never know.

bajaden · Apr 12, 2013

Arby's Roast Beef said:

I'm not going to responed to all of your post, but I'll just point out the things I may have a little disagreement with, or that perhaps I think need a slight reajustment. In the one's you can't warm up to, I suspect that next year you'll change your mind about Poythress, and McGary, unless he declares this year.

In the players that need to wait another 2 years, I don't think two more years is going to help Wiltjer's lack of athleticism. I hate to make early judgements on young players, but Tarczewski really disappointed me big time this year. They could barely keep him on the floor. For the most part, he looked like a 7 foot stiff out there. McAdoo is another that showed me very little. However, I agree another two years, some added muscle, and the development of an offensive game, might attract some interest.

In your sure lottery picks, I think you have to include Oladipo. I'll buy you the dinner of your choice at any resturant of you choice if Oladipo isn't a lottery pick. I think Dieng is a sure fire 1st round pick. Like you, I happen to like Withey more, but I think Dieng can be a good role player in the league, and because he's a big with athleticism, he'll go in the first round. But then, I thought Chandler Parsons was a sure fire first round pick. I don't remember Glenn Robinson III declaring for the draft. I'll be surprised if he does. He needs to stay in school another year. Kabongo is going to surprise a lot of people somewhere down the road. He got screwed by the NCAA this year. He's definitely a pass first PG, that has great defensive potential. He needs to get stronger, and develop his offense more, but I really like the kid.

Tony Mitchell is just loaded with potential. When I first saw him play, I saw the potential of another, slightly taller, Kenneth Faried. He has a better offensive game than Faried at this stage of his career, and unfortunately, he spent more time worrying about his offense, than he did just busting his butt the way he did the year before. I wouldn't count him out just yet. In the hands of a good coach, he could become a very good player. The dude is a freak athlete. In the second round, I'd definitely takd a flyer on him. Jordan Adams has the potential to be a star, and because of the talent level in next years draft, he'll probably slide down to a contender like the Spurs or the Thunder. And the rich get richer..

Arby's Roast Beef · Apr 13, 2013

Mitchell's just head scratching as a player because he seriously regressed this year, and on top of that, I'm wondering if he's position-less on offense. He doesn't have the ballhandling ability to do anything on offense, really, and he obsesses over a jumper he can't hit at all. So there's structural limitations, bad shot selection, questionable IQ, headcase issues--I don't think he's worth it. Yeah, I tend to like the 6'8" jumping jacks, and Mitchell amps that up with good rebounding and defensive marks, and can thrive in the NBA's open space, but still, there's quite a few of those, and not all of them pan out. Kind of reminds me of Julian Wright a little, with worse handles.

I still think Oladipo is a very good role player at the next level. He's riding a high with the deep tourney run but at the end of the day I think he operates more as a 6'5" small forward rather than a 6'5" shooting guard. Sure, he'll defend SGs, but offensively he's more like a SF. That's all the more reason I think he's Tony Allen, maybe with a slightly better jumper. Fringe lottery pick talent IMO.

Yeah, I did a 180 on Dieng...I started revising my mock based on the ages of the players. And yeah, Dieng is old and can be beating up on younger players is the general consensus here. With Dieng, I think he's a better rebounding Ekpe Udoh, or a Taj Gibson. I'm not sure, but his real ability might be somewhere in between. Role player, bench guy type?

bajaden · Apr 13, 2013

For those interested in watching stars of the future, the Jordan Brand Classic is on today at 5:00 PM pacific time on ESPN2. The game includes such players as Andrew and Aaron Harrison, with Andrew being the PG, and at the moment, the best PG in the class, and 6'5" to boot. Julius Randle, the 6'9.25" PF who will bring back flashes of C Webb. Andrew Wiggins, the 6'7" SF who is considered by many to be the next big superstar of the future. Jabari Parker, a very solid and well skilled 6'9" SF. James Young, a 6'6.50" SF who has great handles and is very good shooter. Aaron Gordon, a 6'8" PF, who hasn't seen a dunk he hasn't liked. Kasey Hill, a 6'0" PG who has terrific passing skills. And finally Noah Vonleh, another 6'8" PF. And there are others. Any of the top 6 or 7 I listed, would probably be the first pick in this years draft. Just speculation on my part, but these guys are very talented

Vlade4GM · Apr 13, 2013

Is there going to be a replay?

Cwebb#4 · Apr 13, 2013

I wouldn't be so sure on Zeller. Right now, Tyler is looking the better of the Zeller brothers.

Arby's Roast Beef · Apr 13, 2013

Yeah, next year's HS crew is super talented. Many a team will be tanking for Wiggins. He's tank-worthy. The Harrison twins are interesting too.

I was just looking over my current mock draft and the mock draft I made immediately after the 2012 draft ended, and I'm always amazed at how much turnover there is as the season progresses.

I have to add a major qualifier--this year I started envisioning the position factor based on ballhandling ability, so I revised my mock somewhat significantly. So at first I was super high on Tony Mitchell particularly after an incredible freshman year, but now I've become incredibly negative--it's largely because I have to wonder if the handles are up to snuff. We'll see how this holds up in the league.

Here's a sampling of key names who have completely fallen off my draft radar, with their original rating in parentheses:
Tony Mitchell (5)
Richard Solomon (6)
Reggie Johnson (10)
Mike Moser (14)
Ian Miller (31)
Kevin Parrom (34)
Kenny Boynton (38)
Andre Dawkins (39)
Mouphtaou Yarou (40)
Trevor Releford (42)

Gilles · Apr 14, 2013

Well, looking at PIT boxscores:
1. Travis Releford will probably go undrafted. Looks good in team setting, but free-for-all just isn't for him. To have any chance of being top-60 he must get lucky and bump into some worthy perimeter talent he can lock up and show it in workouts. Might be minor success for some team to pull 7-9th rotational guy out of undrafted FAs.
2. Brian Davies from BYU scored and rebounded effortlessly (shot 19 FTs and got 28 rebounds in 82 minutes of play). Still not talented enough to be drafted, but will be invited in summer camps.
3. Jordan Hulls didn't shot well without more talented teammates drawing attention away from him. Europe is the best he can hope for.
4. Despite heroics against Indiana Khaliff Wyatt is just a good college player.
5. Jared Berggren is another guy with a future in Europe only. Not athletic or long enough, but fundamentally sound stretch center.

He actually defends and cleans up defensive glass.

bajaden · Apr 14, 2013

Arby's Roast Beef said:

Were in total agreement on Mitchell. Regressed with a capital R. I'm not sure what position he plays. Terrific athlete that can jump out of the building, and a great weakside shotblocker. If he could just concentrate on defense, that alone could land him a spot in the NBA. But there are a lot of red flags with him. I see him as a second round pick, and he's probably a good gamble there. But my gut tells me that some team will take a flyer on his athleticism in the bottome of the first round. I wouldn't!

I think a lot more highly of Oladipo than you do. And I never never ever want to see him at SF. He's a SG and thats the position he should play. He's one of the best defensive SG's in all of college. I see him easily as a lottery pick, and hopefully, he won't get past us. I'd take him on my team in a heartbeat. Tough, hard worker, motor that never stops, team player, and great charactor guy to boot. I guess we'll see!

I see Dieng as my fall back guy, and not my first or even second choice guy. Solid player that will never be a star, but will fill a role, and add depth to a front line that needs it. Whether he's a starter or a bench guy is immaterial to me at this point. I seriously doubt he'll be our choice, and I'd still rather go with Withey if I have to choose between the two. Withey has improved every single year, and Dieng has improved, but not at the same rate as Withey. So I believe that Withey has a higher ceiling than Dieng, and is a more likely starter down the road than Dieng. I admit that I'm splitting hairs with the two of them. Just a matter of personal taste.

bajaden · Apr 14, 2013

Vlade4GM said:

I'd check the listings on ESPNU. Many times the games are replayed on that channel. I know the Mac game was...Many times the next day..

bajaden · Apr 14, 2013

Gilles said:

I think Releford has a chance of being drafted in the 2nd round. He had what I would call a disappointing year. But he is talented. I think how he fares at the combine, if invited, and team workouts could decide his future in the draft. Berggren is an interesting guy. A big that spreads the floor. He can hit the outside shot, but isn't bad in the post as well. As you said, he's pretty good rebounder, and a deceptive defender. I like your description as a stretch center. I agree that europe is the likely landing spot for him, at least in the immediate future. You never know for sure when you see guys like Bonner and Novak playing significant minutes in the NBA.

Arby's Roast Beef · Apr 14, 2013

Definitely. I like Withey a lot because he's really a defensive machismo in college. I don't quite get those arguments by some people who think that he's going to suffer defensively in the NBA because he lacks lateral quickness to switch off to quickie guards and the strength to fight against the tree trunk offensive bigs of the league--I guess many people think that he's like Raef LaFrentz defensively. Anyone remember him? He was an excellent weakside shotblocker with long arms but really, really struggled to hold his ground man-to-man, and was pretty average defensively overall and a poor rebounder.

I don't quite get those comparisons. Raef was also a Jayhawk back in the day and operated way more as a scorer and had far inferior shotblocking numbers in college. Withey excels at playing defense and getting a ton of weakside blocks without fouling--that's stuff that should be translatable to the league. And also, based on his college work I'd imagine him to be a far better rebounder than what Raef brought to the table. And even offensively, while he doesn't do much in terms of handles/passing, he's improved is free throw shooting over time and does a good job of drawing fouls, so he's definitely not a hopeless case like some others in the draft.

I actually like him as a pair up with DeMarcus as well. DeMarcus's defense left a ton to be desired this year and he obviously isn't much of a shotblocker. Withey provides that, plus he doesn't need the ball on offense and can just concentrate on being a finisher or an occasional catch-and-shoot guy. He's a perfect fit for our team on both ends, and as a four-year guy he brings the veteran savvy our team sorely needs. I actually think he deserves to be a lottery pick, but obviously most GMs have him in the 20s, so if we can somehow get a 20s pick in there somewhere he'd be an excellent buy. A really excellent buy. Talent+fit works.

As for Oladipo, you and I have had that concentration a ton of times. It's just a (slight) difference of opinion. I've read places where they've even compared Oladipo to Wade and Jordan. Obviously far-fetched. Still think at the end of the day he's at the minimum a dozen year player in the league.

As for Dieng, it's clear he isn't going to be much of an offensive player at the NBA level. Every year in college he's scored around 1 pt per 3 minutes, and at the NBA level where the competition's steeper that often represents a 1 point per 4 minute rate. Meaning that if he's getting 20 minutes a game, he might be lucky to see 5 points per game. He's got OK touch at best but the primary problem is that he really struggles to draw fouls. He has some skills here with some passing ability, but considering he's already very old and he's not much an offensive player, doesn't bode well for him. Defensively is obviously another story because he has a NBA frame with great ability to block shots and rebounds quite well, though. Again, it's likely he'll be a Taj Gibson, probably. I still like him, but if he were doing this born at 1992 rather than 1990, I'd bump him from 34th in my mock to 9th. That's how big two years is to me IMO. He'll probably be somewhere in between 9th and 34th, but that's how big a two year gap represents.

bajaden · Apr 15, 2013

Arby's Roast Beef said:

Definitely. I like Withey a lot because he's really a defensive machismo in college. I don't quite get those arguments by some people who think that he's going to suffer defensively in the NBA because he lacks lateral quickness to switch off to quickie guards and the strength to fight against the tree trunk offensive bigs of the league--I guess many people think that he's like Raef LaFrentz defensively. Anyone remember him? He was an excellent weakside shotblocker with long arms but really, really struggled to hold his ground man-to-man, and was pretty average defensively overall and a poor rebounder.

I don't quite get those comparisons. Raef was also a Jayhawk back in the day and operated way more as a scorer and had far inferior shotblocking numbers in college. Withey excels at playing defense and getting a ton of weakside blocks without fouling--that's stuff that should be translatable to the league. And also, based on his college work I'd imagine him to be a far better rebounder than what Raef brought to the table. And even offensively, while he doesn't do much in terms of handles/passing, he's improved is free throw shooting over time and does a good job of drawing fouls, so he's definitely not a hopeless case like some others in the draft.

I actually like him as a pair up with DeMarcus as well. DeMarcus's defense left a ton to be desired this year and he obviously isn't much of a shotblocker. Withey provides that, plus he doesn't need the ball on offense and can just concentrate on being a finisher or an occasional catch-and-shoot guy. He's a perfect fit for our team on both ends, and as a four-year guy he brings the veteran savvy our team sorely needs. I actually think he deserves to be a lottery pick, but obviously most GMs have him in the 20s, so if we can somehow get a 20s pick in there somewhere he'd be an excellent buy. A really excellent buy. Talent+fit works.

As for Oladipo, you and I have had that concentration a ton of times. It's just a (slight) difference of opinion. I've read places where they've even compared Oladipo to Wade and Jordan. Obviously far-fetched. Still think at the end of the day he's at the minimum a dozen year player in the league.

As for Dieng, it's clear he isn't going to be much of an offensive player at the NBA level. Every year in college he's scored around 1 pt per 3 minutes, and at the NBA level where the competition's steeper that often represents a 1 point per 4 minute rate. Meaning that if he's getting 20 minutes a game, he might be lucky to see 5 points per game. He's got OK touch at best but the primary problem is that he really struggles to draw fouls. He has some skills here with some passing ability, but considering he's already very old and he's not much an offensive player, doesn't bode well for him. Defensively is obviously another story because he has a NBA frame with great ability to block shots and rebounds quite well, though. Again, it's likely he'll be a Taj Gibson, probably. I still like him, but if he were doing this born at 1992 rather than 1990, I'd bump him from 34th in my mock to 9th. That's how big two years is to me IMO. He'll probably be somewhere in between 9th and 34th, but that's how big a two year gap represents.

To compare Oladipo to Wade or Jordan is ridiculous. I don't know what those guys are smoking. If I were to make a comparison it would be to Iguodala, or height aside, Luol Deng. Thats the type of player I see. He's capable of guarding all three perimeter positions, and call him what you want on offense, but I just see a SG. Coming off the bench, you could move Tyreke over to the PG position and Oladipo to the SG position. On offense he can help spread the floor, because he's made himself into a very good spot up shooter, and on defense, you'd have one hell of a defensive front court. Probably not going to happen, but its still a good idea.

I'm still upset that we didn't draft Chandler Parsons. I knew he was a better player than Honeycutt, why didn't the Kings know that? By the way, it shows what can happen when a team has a good player development program. Greg Smith has come a long way from his college days.

Dime Dropper · Apr 15, 2013

I'd be very happy with Oladipo. I think he's bigger than advertised which may make him able to play SF, especially with his length and athleticism, although I do agree that he's primarily a SG. Him and Tyreke in the backcourt would be overwhelming defensively. Oladipo is going to be one of the best defenders in the NBA, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that. Tony Allen is a solid comparison that's often made, but I think he's going to be a very rich mans Allen. Iguodala might be a better comparison as mentioned above, although he's unlikely to be quite as good offensively.

hrdboild · Apr 15, 2013

bajaden said:

I'll stick with my "less aggressive" Russell Westbrook comparison for Oladipo. He's not the playmaker that Westbrook was even in college but he's a better shooter at the same point in his career and he has good size for the SG position. Watching Westbrook play at UCLA I thought he had more defensive specialist in him than 20+ point per night scorer. Clearly I was wrong but I can see Oladipo developing into the player that I expected Westbrook to become and that's probably a better fit for us anyway, at least it is if Tyreke stays. After Noel it's a tossup for me between him and McLemore who I would take next. And that's only because I think McLemore should develop into a solid defender in his own right. Porter is fourth on my list and then it gets hazy.

Cwebb#4 · Apr 15, 2013

My list always starts with Noel, he has the potential to be a Hakeem Olajuwon-type center if he bulks up and learns some offense, which I completely believe he can do. Even if he can't, he's already the same player as Dikembe Mutombo.

Mclemore, if we didn't have Reke, would be a craving of mine. Even so, he's still high on my list. He's basically Ray Allen but with defense and athleticism leaps and bounds ahead. Great shooter, capable defender, extremely athletic,perfect size for a 2 guard. The only thing holding him back is his attitude and consistency. He isn't aggressive enough on the court and he (very occasionally) disappears from the game and clears out for his teammates. Otherwise we could be looking at comparisons to, er, some great SG of the past.

Kingster · Apr 15, 2013

bajaden said:

Sometimes it makes you wonder. Reynolds thinks Parsons is a lot better than anybody in this draft. But then again, Reynolds thinks you never know how these guys are going to turn out and it's all just a crap shoot. You can't have it both ways.

I like Oladipo and his BBIQ and defensive potential, but he's certainly not a creative scorer. He'll be good after a while, but not a franchise turner arounder type of guy.

Tyeke and Oladipo backourt would be problematic. It would be worse than looking at paint dry. More like looking at slow drying cement in which your own feet are planted.

I haven't seen all these guys as much as you, but I'd put Trey Burke right behind Porter, and then McLemore after Burke. 1,2,3. Noel seems like a crap shoot because of his knee. Oladipo seems like a 7-10 guy to me.

hrdboild · Apr 15, 2013

Kingster said:

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.

King in England · Apr 16, 2013

Not sure if this has been mentioned anywhere else but with Detroit's recent good run they've managed to propel themselves above us in the standings. I don't understand the thinking of hoping your own team loses but I don't mind cheering on the teams around us i suppose.

We now have the 6th worst record.

hrdboild · Apr 16, 2013

King in England said:

Yeah, I've been keeping an eye on Detroit. They also have need of a good second guard and small forward and Dumars loves good defenders so slipping them in the draft order could be big for us. Then again the rumor today is that Dumars is on the block so maybe it doesn't matter. They've had a weak schedule at the end but 4 wins in a row for a bottom-feeding team is still nothing to sneeze at. That's a pretty solid core they've put together consisting almost entirely of our draft-day misses (Monroe, Drummond, Knight). Actually, positioning themselves right after us in the draft has been working out for them so far so maybe it was intentional.

Darth Divac · Apr 16, 2013

Tell me about it. Here's our last few drafts summed up in one image:

bajaden · Apr 16, 2013

Kingster said:

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?

Darth Divac · Apr 16, 2013

I have a feeling that they will be. Mclemore, if he becomes more aggressive, can become Michael Jordan (yes, I actually said that!). That is a mountain-sized IF, but the potential is there.

Noel, if he fills out his frame, can be a Hakeem Olajuwon-type player. Even if he doesn't, he is already the same player as Dikembe Mutombo.

I don't believe Smart has franchise potential. He can be a great floor general, but he's not a game changer.

One guy who I believe has franchise potential is Anthony Bennett. He's a PF at 6'7, but his game is so much like Toby Harris's that I think it'll work for him. He's got all and much more of the strength, reach, and athleticism of a great PF that I believe he can do well in the NBA.

Capt. Factorial · Apr 16, 2013

Darth Divac said:

I don't see it. I so don't see it that I'm going to go on record as saying that I don't see it. I think McLemore ends up as a minor disappointment. I strongly doubt he gets to the "Ray Allen" comparison being made. I can't see him even sniffing "Michael Jordan".

Mutombo was 7'2" - does Noel measure out at 6'10" or 6'11"? And does that count the Kid 'n Play? And his 215 pounds has a long way to go to get to Dikembe's 260. I get the similarity in the game, but I think size may really be an issue here.

Barkley was smaller than Bennett and was an All-Star PF. You put that factoid together with Bennett's athleticism, strength, offensive game, and vacuum hands and I think Bennett might be able to overcome the height thing. I don't know if I would pull the trigger around 6-7 where we figure to land, but if we did I wouldn't panic.

hrdboild · Apr 16, 2013

Capt. Factorial said:

The problem then being how you get by defensively with Cousins and Bennett as your frontcourt. Cousins is pretty good usually at guarding other post players but the timing and instinct to protect the basket as a shotblocker just isn't there. I'm not saying I wouldn't draft Bennett, but if we did I wouldn't pencil him in there as a starter yet until I saw how he played alongside Cousins.

Bricklayer · Apr 16, 2013

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab...y-nba-teams-turning-pro-172046878--ncaab.html

?

bajaden · Apr 16, 2013

Bricklayer said:

I was just about to post about Pelle. I remember him in highschool. He was around 6'8" or 6'9" in highschool. He was recruited by St. Johns, and then ruled ineligible by the NCAA accademicly. The one thing I remember about him was his shotblocking. Apparently he's grown to 6'11" to 7 foot now, and is working hard on his game. He just declared for the draft, and he's certainly an interesting prospect. He has good handles for a big man, and very good court speed. Here's a little video of him.

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

2013 Draft Prospects

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Moloch in whom I dream Angels!

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Moloch in whom I dream Angels!

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Moloch in whom I dream Angels!

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ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!

Don't Make Me Use The Bat

Hall of Famer