kingsboi
Hall of Famer
I would think with WCS, Cuz, and KK that we have enough defense, size, and length. No?
Sure. How about some size and length from our guard and forward positions?
I would think with WCS, Cuz, and KK that we have enough defense, size, and length. No?
Sure. How about some size and length from our guard and forward positions?
I would think with WCS, Cuz, and KK that we have enough defense, size, and length. No?
Damn, why the passive aggressiveness?
Luwawu reminds me of Pietrus, that's just what I saw when I watched him played. He is a defensive wing with a questionable but developing outside shot. A defensive wing is his calling card in the NBA, if that's stereotyping to you, so be it.
Pietrus was a solid player, so I don't understand the aggressiveness here; it's not like I'm calling him a bust. I don't think he is Sefolosha or DeShawn Stevenson or Dough Christie because I think Luwawu is a more comfortable slasher like Pietrus.
Why do you disagree with that? Why don't you offer your thoughts on Luwawu?
That doesn't exactly explain why he is ranked so high as many big time prospects don't get to sniff the top of the lottery.
I do think part of his appeal is due to Porzingis (at least in the mock draft world) and the evolution of NBA trending towards shooting big men. That doesn't mean he hasn't been hyped since he was very young, it just means perhaps the setting in 2016 gives him a bump.
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We'll have to look at replacing our PG or SG positions for defense. The bigger problem lies on our PG position. Ben is an average defender. Collison is an average defender. However, in today's game with the highlighted importance of PG scoring..... PG is definitely the biggest weakness we'll have to fix.Agreed, if anything it's PERIMETER defense that we need. The NBA of today is dominated by Golden State Warriors type offenses that rely on 3 point shooting guards, we need some guards that can defend.
The only thing I would correct is the premise that Ellenson is soft. Maybe he's not as athletic as one would like, but he's not afraid to get in and bang with the big boys. There's a difference between not trying, and not capable. Ellenson will certainly give you the effort on defense. Unfortunately he's not blessed with great lateral quickness, so he'll struggle against the smaller, quicker PF's in the league, and right now, he doesn't have the strength to hold position against the bigger stronger centers in the league. In a couple of years, maybe?
Watching him play, I have Ellenson listed more as a C in the NBA than a stretch 4 where he was initially projected. He measured out bigger than expected -- 6'11" in shoes with a 7'2" wingspan -- so he's certainly big enough to play center in the NBA. The outside shooting touch is a bonus at either position. Most college C's need to put on muscle when they come into the league. Ellenson and Poetl are both intriguing prospects. I'd probably be more excited about them if we didn't already have a center (a dangerous way to think around the time of the draft!) but I think both are really skilled big men of the type we're always trying to find here around free agency, so it wouldn't hurt to have another quality big on the bench.
I don't think Hield or Murray fall very far. Both can shoot the ball, and shoot it well. I think Hield is more ready and capable right now than Murray is, but then Hield has had four years to hone his game. I know people say that with Hield, what you see is what you get. I don't totally believe that, but even so, what you see is pretty damm good. I believe that if you take Hield from being the number one option, to being the number three or four option, his defense will be more than acceptable. Of course it doesn't matter because unless we trade up in the draft, we won't sniff either of them.
I do think that if one player is going to slide, it might be Bender. Not because he won't live up to expectations, but because no one can agree on what those expectations are? Other than workouts, there's not a lot to go on with Bender except the obvious. Vlade and company are over in Europe right now, and it wouldn't surprise me to see them trade down on draft day and draft a young European player or two. Maybe drop three spots or so and draft a Wade Baldwin or a Furkan Korkmaz and then later, with a newly acquired pick, draft a Petr Cornelie or a Juan Hernangomez.
This isn't a great draft as far as being loaded with potential superstars, or even stars, but it is quite deep with interchangable role players, and possible future starters. As I said in an earlier thread, you can almost swap the 25th pick with the 45th pick, and the talent would be fairly equal.
What is very far as far as sliding?
3 Celtics. Brown due to Kyler feeling confidant about this
4. PHX. Bender? Chriss? I got no feel for them here, but doubt they take Hield...draftexpress has Bender here
5. Minny. Dunn, I feel like they go Dunn here
6. NO.. With Brown off the board, I feel as if they go Murray but maybe it's Hield
7. Denver. Hield or Murray whoever is left
8..Sac?
If Brown goes 3 and not a big, then I'm afraid we miss on those guards. I think the only other landing spot for a big in the top 7, could be NO if they think they could use another big like Poeltl, Skal, Ellenson or Chriss. If Denver thinks they want to move Faried, then a guy like Chris's or one of the other PFs might be a fit along their 2 young centers.
Brown at 3 may mean Wade Baldwin for us at 8.
It's a weighted comparison. I think that's where Dime Dropper is coming from because I had a similar reaction to it. Pietrus was a raw but athletically gifted player with a shaky jumper who never really met his potential in the NBA. Making him Luwawu's ceiling is basically the same thing as saying you don't think he's going to make it as a starter in the NBA. You could easily make his comparison Jimmy Butler instead -- a raw but athletically gifted player with a shaky jumper who was drafted late in the first round and carved out a nice career for himself first as a defensive role-player and then as a go-to scorer and one of the better two-way guards in the league. Pietrus was actually underrated as a 3 and D threat in the prime of his career when he was a key contributor for an Orlando team that made it all the way to the Finals. If a "ceiling" is meant to be a player's absolute peak potential though, Pietrus is setting the bar pretty low.
Personally, I don't have a problem with the comparison itself -- that may be who Luwawu is. But I've seen enough of his games that I think his peak potential is much higher. He's a physical defender who moves his feet well and anticipates passes, he's not a great ballhandler right now but he flies in the open court and has pretty good court-vision for a wing. His pull-up jumper is all over the place but he's much more consistent spotted up. I wouldn't make him a starter right away, but give him a few seasons off the bench to see what he can grow into.
The reason I like him so much for us is that we project to be a physical defensive squad under Joerger's leadership and that means we need rangy wing defenders to pressure the ball. Who do we have right now that fits the bill? Rudy Gay if he does a 180 on his defensive effort and that's about it. McLemore is a bouncy athlete but he hasn't been able to put on enough strength to impact the game defensively. Belinelli has never been a defender. Omri gives effort and hustle but he's actually better equipped to guard smallball 4s. We're going to need an influx of quick-footed, long-limbed wings in the next couple of years as we move up the ranks in defensive rating and Luwawu could be one piece of that puzzle.
Interestingly, the Celtics brought in Jamal Murray last week for a workout, and were amazed when he hit 79 out of 100 three point shots. Some sort of new record for a Celtic workout. So wonder how they feel now, that today, when they worked out Buddy Hield, he hit 85 out of 100 three point shots?
I didn't use Jimmy Butler as a comparison because Luwawu is very different from Butler coming out of college. Butler was a very efficient scorer (over 50% FG) who was not considered overly athletic (you can say his athleticism was under estimated but it was not obvious like Luwawu's). Luwawu is an athletic freak who is very inefficient at scoring (below 40%). The closest comparison is Pietrus, right down to the athleticism, style, and erratic offense.
You seem to imply Pietrus is an unspectacular player but then you proceed to say he was underrated. Can you make up your mind? You're basically accusing me of underrating Luwawu by comparing him to Pietrus, but then completely override what you've just said by saying essentially, "Pietrus was a pretty good player at his prime."
You've basically just described Pietrus.
I like defensive wing, but don't tell me that is the best we can do with a #8 pick.
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It will go like this
PHI - Simmons
LAL - Ingram
BOS - Chriss
PHX - Brown
MIN - Bender
NOP - Murray
DEN - Hield
SAC - Dunn
Book it.
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I didn't use Jimmy Butler as a comparison because Luwawu is very different from Butler coming out of college. Butler was a very efficient scorer (over 50% FG) who was not considered overly athletic (you can say his athleticism was under estimated but it was not obvious like Luwawu's). Luwawu is an athletic freak who is very inefficient at scoring (below 40%). The closest comparison is Pietrus, right down to the athleticism, style, and erratic offense.
You seem to imply Pietrus is an unspectacular player but then you proceed to say he was underrated. Can you make up your mind? You're basically accusing me of underrating Luwawu by comparing him to Pietrus, but then completely override what you've just said by saying essentially, "Pietrus was a pretty good player at his prime."
You've basically just described Pietrus.
I like defensive wing, but don't tell me that is the best we can do with a #8 pick.
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They probably told their staff to start manufacturing the Brandon Ingram jerseys!![]()
Weren't there reports earlier that both LA and Boston are shopping their picks very aggressively? Who Boston and LA like at the top of the draft may not actually be relevant. It seems that Simmons is solidly #1 and Ingram is most likely #2, but after that who knows. I've seen 6 different players mocked into that #3 spot already and the draft is still 10 days away.
That would be awesome if it happened.....I'm going to say though the Chriss falls past us.It will go like this
PHI - Simmons
LAL - Ingram
BOS - Chriss
PHX - Brown
MIN - Bender
NOP - Murray
DEN - Hield
SAC - Dunn
Book it.
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Don't know, what kind of rims they have in Boston for 79/100 to be amazing, cause great shooters routinely get above 90. Korver and Redick did it for sure.Interestingly, the Celtics brought in Jamal Murray last week for a workout, and were amazed when he hit 79 out of 100 three point shots. Some sort of new record for a Celtic workout. So wonder how they feel now, that today, when they worked out Buddy Hield, he hit 85 out of 100 three point shots?
Interestingly, the Celtics brought in Jamal Murray last week for a workout, and were amazed when he hit 79 out of 100 three point shots. Some sort of new record for a Celtic workout. So wonder how they feel now, that today, when they worked out Buddy Hield, he hit 85 out of 100 three point shots?
http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/stor...-five-top-things-watch-2016-nba-draft-combineAnd what is the least desirable team in the NBA right now? It’s the Sacramento Kings. Based on my conversations on Wednesday, it looks like the Kings will struggle to get any players in the top 10 in for workouts.
Am I the only one getting worried about the lack of pre-draft workouts? Say what you want about agents holding draft camps or whatever..........but loads of teams have had them. Check out the Raptors who pick 9:
Demetrius Jackson, Henry Ellenson, Damian Jones, Domantas Sabonis, Diamond Stone, Stephen Zimmerman, Brice Johnson, AJ Hammons, Chinau Onaku, Jake Layman, and Gary Payton II.
I mean come on.... the Kings haven't even brought in real NBA prospects yet. I'm not talking about top 10 guys, I'm talking about guys who would actually be able to make any 15 man squad.
Here's what Ford said about the Kings in one of his pieces mid May.... http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/stor...-five-top-things-watch-2016-nba-draft-combine
I guess I don't blame teams. 3 years ago, we drafted McLemore and put him through a barrage of coaches and haven't been able to develop him. The year after, we draft a guy at that same very position.....put him through 3 coaches in his rookie year, then decided to trade him for absolutely nothing before his 2nd season. WCS wasn't so bad, but a lot had to do with the fact that he was a lot more developed than Ben/Nik...and already 22.
It's been 2 weeks since our last workout. I'm thinking that players personally don't want to be here. It's not like the Kings are preoccupied with other things..we didn't make the playoffs. We don't have to focus on resigning an important FA. We aren't candidates for a big FA. We got our coach a month ago...so what's the hold up? Leads me to think that agents and players don't want to be here.
oh, did I mention that the draft is 10 days away?
Akis Yerocostas @Aykis16
I don't put too much stock into draft workouts but it's still concerning to me Kings haven't got a top 60 prospect in 1 week before draft
Am I the only one getting worried about the lack of pre-draft workouts? Say what you want about agents holding draft camps or whatever..........but loads of teams have had them. Check out the Raptors who pick 9:
Demetrius Jackson, Henry Ellenson, Damian Jones, Domantas Sabonis, Diamond Stone, Stephen Zimmerman, Brice Johnson, AJ Hammons, Chinau Onaku, Jake Layman, and Gary Payton II.
I mean come on.... the Kings haven't even brought in real NBA prospects yet. I'm not talking about top 10 guys, I'm talking about guys who would actually be able to make any 15 man squad.
Here's what Ford said about the Kings in one of his pieces mid May.... http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/stor...-five-top-things-watch-2016-nba-draft-combine
I guess I don't blame teams. 3 years ago, we drafted McLemore and put him through a barrage of coaches and haven't been able to develop him. The year after, we draft a guy at that same very position.....put him through 3 coaches in his rookie year, then decided to trade him for absolutely nothing before his 2nd season. WCS wasn't so bad, but a lot had to do with the fact that he was a lot more developed than Ben/Nik...and already 22.
It's been 2 weeks since our last workout. I'm thinking that players personally don't want to be here. It's not like the Kings are preoccupied with other things..we didn't make the playoffs. We don't have to focus on resigning an important FA. We aren't candidates for a big FA. We got our coach a month ago...so what's the hold up? Leads me to think that agents and players don't want to be here.
oh, did I mention that the draft is 10 days away?
See, I was thinking that...but I realized top 15 guys were still doing workouts... I saw that the Raps were bringing in top guys still.I've been wondering the same thing. I know teams have attended specific players individual workouts. Maybe the days where top 10 prospects get workouts like we are used to with two or three other players are done. Either that or this is a sign of things to come, which is the Kings are looking to trade the pick for immediate help.
See, I was thinking that...but I realized top 15 guys were still doing workouts... I saw that the Raps were bringing in top guys still.
Jazz who pick at 12 have also brought in: Denzel Valentine, Domantas Sabonis, Demetrius Jackson, Thon Maker, Dejounte Murray, Malachi Richardson, Gary Payton II, Dorian Finney-Smith, Pascal Siakam, Zach Auguste, Tyrone Wallace, Marcus Paige, and Jarod Uthoff.
I guess prospects don't want to be in Sacramento...or Vlade is doing something wrong. Could be that the Kings are looking to trade the pick, but there's no real trades I could think of right now.