2015 Draft Prospects:
- Thread starter bajaden
- Start date
Vezenkov is too slow to play SF, too weak to play PF. Very talented, crafty and smart, but has no chance playing overseas. At least doesn't make sense for him to try until very late into his career, since he will be a star in Europe very soon.
Someone like Osman (hustling SF in the mold of Casspi), Diagne (next iteration of Ibaka clones) or Buza (scoring SF) makes much more sense in a draft and stash scenario.
Someone like Osman (hustling SF in the mold of Casspi), Diagne (next iteration of Ibaka clones) or Buza (scoring SF) makes much more sense in a draft and stash scenario.
The sprint and all the agility tests are done twice. I've seen players slip at the start and ask for a restart and get it. So for the most part, all the tests are fair. No shocker that a lot of them will only go through the meaurements and physicals. Some will probably pick and choose if they want to participate in any of the individual drills or not.. I remember last year there was one of the PG's that decided to do the sprint, but skipped the agility drills. There are a few guys that may have helped themselves by going through some of the shooting drills etc. A player like Hollis-Jefferson would have benefited from showing he had improved his shot. But then on the other hand, if it hasn't improved, then maybe he's making the wise choice. All these guys are going to doing private workouts anyway, so no big deal.
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It will come down to draft order: Nuggets, Pistons and Hornets are not taking WCS for sure.
Would be great, if Justise, Super-Mario and 'Staps will get hyped up - can maybe trade down, still pick Willie and dump Carl in the process - with cap explosion around the corner some teams, that struggle to attract FAs, might not see his contract as that big of a problem.
As for SHC his knowledge is probably half a step more advanced than Chad's.
Would be great, if Justise, Super-Mario and 'Staps will get hyped up - can maybe trade down, still pick Willie and dump Carl in the process - with cap explosion around the corner some teams, that struggle to attract FAs, might not see his contract as that big of a problem.
As for SHC his knowledge is probably half a step more advanced than Chad's.
Combine measurements
http://stats.nba.com/draftcombine/#!/anthro/?sort=HAND_LENGTH&dir=1
Makes me want WCS even more.
http://stats.nba.com/draftcombine/#!/anthro/?sort=HAND_LENGTH&dir=1
Makes me want WCS even more.
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lol at Dukies - all came with top haircut and thick shoes. Same for Turner and Russell (still, even if you knock an inch off of his reach, it's still 8'5" - good size for NBA SG; and Justise would still be 8'8" in length in half an inch thinner shoes and lean 220 - absolutely fine at SF)
If Harrell came in normal shoes, he'd be with 9'2" reach. Might be able to play center by the end of his rookie contract.
Martin, Ashley and Dawson check out as potential NBA PFs.
Justin Anderson with just SG length.
Treveon Graham with solid length/strength for SF, might sneak into 1st round.
If Harrell came in normal shoes, he'd be with 9'2" reach. Might be able to play center by the end of his rookie contract.
Martin, Ashley and Dawson check out as potential NBA PFs.
Justin Anderson with just SG length.
Treveon Graham with solid length/strength for SF, might sneak into 1st round.
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Low set shoulders I suppose. I still remember Jerry Krause pumping up Elton Brand after the draft by saying he'd play bigger than his height because he had long arms and a very short neck. Measurements can be a funny thing. And only a small part of the whole picture.
Robert Upshaw's measurements pretty much guarantee a team will take a chance on him with a first round pick.
Decent post moves, very good shotblocker and elite standing reach and wingspan. But also booted from two programs and at least part of the issue was drug use/abuse since he spent time in treatment. It will be interesting to see where he goes.
Tyus Jones measured out big enough which helps his stock. I like him as a prospect but in terms of fit for the Kings I'd much rather have Payne.
Lyles has very solid size for a PF. I think he'll end up being a very solid contributor for somebody.
For some reason I thought D'Angelo Russell would measure out taller. At PG he'd have great size but I don't know if he has the quickness to defend 1's. At SG he'll have adequate size, if on the small side.
No surprises with WCS and no change in my thought that barring a top 3 pick or a trade up he should be the Kings pick.
Robert Upshaw's measurements pretty much guarantee a team will take a chance on him with a first round pick.
Decent post moves, very good shotblocker and elite standing reach and wingspan. But also booted from two programs and at least part of the issue was drug use/abuse since he spent time in treatment. It will be interesting to see where he goes.
Tyus Jones measured out big enough which helps his stock. I like him as a prospect but in terms of fit for the Kings I'd much rather have Payne.
Lyles has very solid size for a PF. I think he'll end up being a very solid contributor for somebody.
For some reason I thought D'Angelo Russell would measure out taller. At PG he'd have great size but I don't know if he has the quickness to defend 1's. At SG he'll have adequate size, if on the small side.
No surprises with WCS and no change in my thought that barring a top 3 pick or a trade up he should be the Kings pick.
Different shoulder heights, which is more important than actual height. Probably has something to do with how much of an attempt players make at actually stretching to reach their maximum too. Some players like to sacrafice an inch or two off standing reach in order to make their vertical look more impressive.
I don't know who Vince Hunter is, but apparently he was wearing some pretty ridiculous platform shoes (5'10.75" no shoes, 6'7.5" with shoes...obviously an error somewhere 
).
It's interesting that the "shoe" height in this one seems by eye to be a bit lower, as if not so many kids were wearing their "tall" shoes to fudge the measurements. Of course, then there's D'Angelo Russell and Tyus Jones busting out their 1.75"ers!
).It's interesting that the "shoe" height in this one seems by eye to be a bit lower, as if not so many kids were wearing their "tall" shoes to fudge the measurements. Of course, then there's D'Angelo Russell and Tyus Jones busting out their 1.75"ers!
At 6'3.25" barefoot, he's still very tall for a PG. I never really thought that his height was the major attraction - given his game it's just a bit more of a bonus. In fact, at some point I would have begun to worry that he had outgrown his ability to guard the point, which would be problematic. He's going to be a very good shooter, but I think he absolutely needs to be a lead guard to be a star.
I think with Russell you wanted to see a good wingspan because he'll need it to contain opposing PGs given his less than stellar lateral quickness. And Russell is quite long as it turns out. While not as tall, he's got a longer wingspan than Michael Carter-Williams and coming into the league is much less of a black box defensively since there's plenty of tape of him in a more NBA style defensive scheme as opposed to Syracuse's zone.
And I'd agree, DR pretty much needs to play the point to be a top 3 pick. Playing him off the ball (especially if he's alongside a ball dominant PG) reduces a lot of what potentially makes him special. If Russell ends up being a SG I don't think he's worth a top 3 pick. If he ends up being a PG the questions will be whether he (1) can run an NBA team full time at a high level and (2) if he can defend opposing PGs well enough. Is he a poor man's Steph Curry or is he more of a slightly smaller, not quite as athletic Brandon Roy type player?
Either way, kind of interesting that just in terms of measurements DraftExpress says his closest recent comparison is Victor Oladipo.
And I'd agree, DR pretty much needs to play the point to be a top 3 pick. Playing him off the ball (especially if he's alongside a ball dominant PG) reduces a lot of what potentially makes him special. If Russell ends up being a SG I don't think he's worth a top 3 pick. If he ends up being a PG the questions will be whether he (1) can run an NBA team full time at a high level and (2) if he can defend opposing PGs well enough. Is he a poor man's Steph Curry or is he more of a slightly smaller, not quite as athletic Brandon Roy type player?
Either way, kind of interesting that just in terms of measurements DraftExpress says his closest recent comparison is Victor Oladipo.
Speaking for myself, I like Lyles more than the other two. Lyles would seem to have the most limited athleticism, but I think he has the best talent baseline. He was forced to play SF at Kentucky a lot of the time, but I think he's better as a PF with limited stretch potential - good jumper but not too deep right now, definitely able to play in the post. His defense will never touch WCS's, but he'll be a better offensive creator. Turner has the top ceiling here, tons of athleticism, but he's really raw and got jerked in and out of the game by Barnes in Texas. Again I think people like his offensive potential - he could be a better defender than Lyles but WCS should still come out ahead on that end. For Lyles/Turner it's the age-old dilemma - lower ceiling/high floor vs higher ceiling/potential bust. Portis comes in at least a tier lower for me - a solid guy, but never seemed to be a game-changing talent.
I wonder, how Turner is going to be a better offensive creator than WCS? Willie is a better ballhandler and passer, which makes his faceup game much more ready. He might not have confidence in it at the moment, and shut down paint he saw all season, might have killed it for now, but glimpses of it he's shown as a sophomore were really encouraging.
Turner is only ahead in jumpshooting, though his advantage seem to be very big at the moment. But Turner's shot is pretty slow, which coupled with his inability to shoot effectively from range in college casts a shadow on readiness of his offensive game. His ability to post is rather irrelevant at C spot, where he will lack strength for a few years.
Portis is solid prospect in the mold of Terrence Jones - skilled across the board without dominance and always plays hard.
Lyles is someone in the mold of Drew Gooden, but Gooden never worked hard and had problems with motivation and intensity. Lyles seems to have those traits.
Turner is only ahead in jumpshooting, though his advantage seem to be very big at the moment. But Turner's shot is pretty slow, which coupled with his inability to shoot effectively from range in college casts a shadow on readiness of his offensive game. His ability to post is rather irrelevant at C spot, where he will lack strength for a few years.
Portis is solid prospect in the mold of Terrence Jones - skilled across the board without dominance and always plays hard.
Lyles is someone in the mold of Drew Gooden, but Gooden never worked hard and had problems with motivation and intensity. Lyles seems to have those traits.
I think barring injury that Lyles will be a productive roleplaying PF for years and years. He's got good but not great size, plays within himself and seems like the type of player that will get the most out of his abilities. He reminds me of a Juwan Howard type player though I don't see Lyles putting up the kind of scoring numbers that Howard did his first few seasons.
Being forced to play out of position at the 3 has definitely helped his face up game. If the Kings don't luck into the top 3 and if WCS is taken before Sacramento's pick a trade down that netted Lyles and another asset or two (and/or let's them dump Landry) would be good with me.
Being forced to play out of position at the 3 has definitely helped his face up game. If the Kings don't luck into the top 3 and if WCS is taken before Sacramento's pick a trade down that netted Lyles and another asset or two (and/or let's them dump Landry) would be good with me.