2016 NBA Draft Discussion

My issue here is not that we picked up some young prospects, it's that we picked up too many and didn't address any needs or nab any vets. If they like George at 13 along with the rights to Bogdanovic or whatever, fine, that's great, 2 young prospects to keep an eye on while we try and win now. Then you package up our other remaining picks and try and get some guys that can help us now. Maybe grab Pat Beverley, or another solid guy. But no, instead, we keep all the picks, and have the rights to multiple overseas guys right now. I understand wanting to have some prospects, but it feels like we're walking a weird line between winning and rebuilding now. If you don't go all in on winning, then we're probably not going to win. You can't really play both sides and expect to excel in either.
 
The_Jamal said:
The problem is he looks like a pure C who makes for an awkward fit with Boogie on the defensive end of the floor and a questionable one offensively, even though it looks like he does have somewhat of a jumper. Regardless, he profiles as a guy who wants to patrol the paint, where Boogie already is. He's also not a guy who can help us keep Boogie here long-term. Just isn't room to develop him here and there's no way in hell I'd want to give him time over Kosta or WCS at C.
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He's 5 years out from being a potential high minute guy. He can take Cuz's full back up minutes in 2-3 years then start to increase his role if he pans out. This year I expect little playing time maybe 5-10 min per game when he suits up. He will be coming into his prime just as Cuz exits his prime.
 
The_Jamal said:
The big issue is not really with Papagiannis himself. I think he makes for an intriguing prospect and what I've read about him after saying "Who the hell is that?" a million times, is he looks like a talented guy with a lot of skills who can run the floor with great size. Looks like there's some conditioning issues and defensive issues, but that's expected from a kid so young.

The problem is he looks like a pure C who makes for an awkward fit with Boogie on the defensive end of the floor and a questionable one offensively, even though it looks like he does have somewhat of a jumper. Regardless, he profiles as a guy who wants to patrol the paint, where Boogie already is. He's also not a guy who can help us keep Boogie here long-term. Just isn't room to develop him here and there's no way in hell I'd want to give him time over Kosta or WCS at C.

There's also this:

Blake Ellington ‏@BlakeEllington 3h3 hours ago
Vlade Divac said the Kings had heard rumors that Papagiannis would not be available later in the first round and so they took him.


So did Vlade get juked by smokescreens? Because Papagiannis wasn't on ANYONE's lottery board or even mid-first round pick. Even if he didn't think he'd last to 22 and we absolutely had to draft him, we had the assets to trade up a few spots and get him at 19 or 20.

There just has to be a major trade coming sometime soon. Because this years draft philosophy and what we did last year are two completely different paths that don't compliment each other.
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In an interview Papagiannis said that he had a promise from an NBA team in the first round. Now that was either us at eight, or then someone else. And if it was someone else, then I can see Vlade not wanting to gamble if he really liked the kid that much.
 
Gilles said:
As for philosophy Willie just happened to combine BPA and most ready/best fit last year. This year FO went for the best talent available, but due to weakness of the draft best talent happened to be very raw.


Didn't see the draft past 30s, and just noticed, that Robert Carter, Gary Payton and Finney-Smith went undrafted. Absolutely the best UDFAs. Really hope, Kings snatch them: if anyone want NBA ready, these guys actually are. I don't remember GP II or DFS hitting towns much, so they must be the guys, that Kyler had a crazy rumor about teams asking players to shut down, go undrafted in exchange for guaranteed contracts.
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Gary Payton just signed a three year contract so he's off the board. Would love to have Carter, but with the glut of bigs, I doubt the Kings are interested. Although right now, Carter is more ready to play in the NBA than either Papagiannis or Labrissiere.
 
roasthawg said:
My favorite thing about this draft is how badly I hate all the picks.... Makes me think vlade is seeing things in prospects that us amateurs are missing. The only guy I'm relatively excited about is skal... Reminds me of Drummond's story coming out, high ranked recruited big that was misused and underwhelmed big-time his freshmen year.

These other guys look awful to me, at least from an analytics perspective. Hope we get three of them playing in summer league and see something surprising.
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No, Drummond wasn't that misused. The problem with him was lack of effort at times. He just disappeared in games. He appeared disinterested, and everyone wondered if he really liked playing basketball. No one doubted his talent. Skal''s problem was that he was getting pushed around and getting out rebounded by guys that were 6'7". He shyed away from contact. He had one good game the entire year and that was it. Once again, no one denies his talent, just his heart and toughness. If he turns out to be what everyone thought he would be, then the Kings got a huge steal at 28. He needs to live in the weight room.
 
bajaden said:
No, Drummond wasn't that misused. The problem with him was lack of effort at times. He just disappeared in games. He appeared disinterested, and everyone wondered if he really liked playing basketball. No one doubted his talent. Skal''s problem was that he was getting pushed around and getting out rebounded by guys that were 6'7". He shyed away from contact. He had one good game the entire year and that was it. Once again, no one denies his talent, just his heart and toughness. If he turns out to be what everyone thought he would be, then the Kings got a huge steal at 28. He needs to live in the weight room.
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Kind of like our last draftee Trill huh? His work ethic can be contagious, especially for the rooks.
 
ESP47 said:
We can't trade Koufos. There's no way in hades you run Skal and Big George out there as the main backups. That bench would be absolutely terrible.
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If we were to sign Ryan Anderson, then the Kings would likely go with a three man rotation of Cousins, Willie, and Anderson. That would make Big George the emergency backup center in case of injury. Just saying, although there would be some risk there, it's doable.
 
KingsFan80 said:
Overall I give the draft a C but due to the last three picks. Richardson was a great pickup at 22, Skal at 28 is a no brainer (low risk high reward) and Cousins could be a decent PG. Papaginnis is an absolutely terrible pick. Potentially the worst pick in the history of the Kings Franchise. The Kings would have been better off keeping Chriss at the 8th pick and taking Richardson at 22 or Taking Wade Baldwin at 13. If the Kings do either of those this was a successful draft. Some on this board can stay blinded by Vlade's mistakes but this was a HUGE mistake, even Cousins saw it. We basically gave up a potentially solid PF (Chriss) to draft a C who will probably never contribute and a SG that might never come to the US. Epic Fail.
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Joe Kleine was picked 6th.

I'm curious would you rather have the resurrection of Big Joe, or George & Skal and a future 2nd?
 
Gilles said:
I wouldn't shoot that high. Rich man's Meyers Leonard in terms of style/impact would be my first thought. Georgios is definitely a better athlete than Marc though.
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I'd like to see a growth chart for Papagiannis. He has been playing pro ball since he was 14. (Read: "Vlade has been watching him play for 4-5 years.") How long has he been 7'2"? He sure shows what 7'2" with a 7'6" wingspan can do. Let us not underestimate the length of those arms and what can be done with them. I don't think it will take Big Papa as long to adjust to the NBA as it did Marc. Pappa is almost there now at least physically. Marc was not so physically in shape.

To shorten the babble, this kid is a physical specimen who also has speed and agility. That is a bit freakish. We finally have someone as tall as our GM. :)

The forum has gone through a lot of changes in about 12 hours. There now appears to be optimism with what Vlade did. I think it is safe to say that Vlade did as much as he could. People are relatively happy. Now we are where we were last year at this time where some people were moaning that the team is mismatched. Of course it is and thank goodness the season doesn't start next week. We have a few months to see what this team will look like.
 
IfAt1st said:
I haven't read anyone mentioning one of Vlade's reasons to draft down this year for more picks:
Because next year the Kings lose a pick to Chicago.

So he drafted more kids this year to make up for future year's lost pick(s).
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I don't think anyone is criticizing Vlade trading down for more picks. It's the players he chose with those picks.
 
KingsFan80 said:
Overall I give the draft a C but due to the last three picks. Richardson was a great pickup at 22, Skal at 28 is a no brainer (low risk high reward) and Cousins could be a decent PG. Papaginnis is an absolutely terrible pick. Potentially the worst pick in the history of the Kings Franchise. The Kings would have been better off keeping Chriss at the 8th pick and taking Richardson at 22 or Taking Wade Baldwin at 13. If the Kings do either of those this was a successful draft. Some on this board can stay blinded by Vlade's mistakes but this was a HUGE mistake, even Cousins saw it. We basically gave up a potentially solid PF (Chriss) to draft a C who will probably never contribute and a SG that might never come to the US. Epic Fail.
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If we kept Chriss at 8, then we wouldn't have the 13th pick.
 
Is the sky still falling?



Not my ideal draft, but an absolute load of emotional nonsense being spoken the last 20 hours here.

Big Papa - not who I expected and probably not my top choice, but the guy has potential. I can see him as a more athletic, more skilled version of Mozgov. Huge body. Not as strong yet but can easily get there. That might not sound sexy, but Papa is one massive dude who has surprisingly good quickness and leaping ability. I don't hate the pick, I am absolutely fine with it. People being pissed with the pick because they never heard of him, or because some random guy's draft board didn't have him going that high are ridiculous.

Richardson, I don't love that pick. I would have taken Luwawu/Korkmaz/Jackson and probably a couple others over him easily. I can see the reasoning, and I do think he has some talent. I'm just not convinced. I would have 100% taken Luwawu over him, without an a single doubt. So this one stung a bit. Still, Richardson can do a little of everything offensively, has potential defensively, and seems like a smart/confident kid. His BBIQ wasn't great but I think he is smart enough off the court to improve that significantly.

Skal - no-brainer at this point. In terms of talent and upside, I'm not sure we could have done better. Highly touted recruits who underwhelm at the collegiate level, and then fall in the draft, typically have a good track record once they make it to the league. Sounds odd, but it's true. That doesn't mean he's a guarantee - the kid clearly has a huge amount of work to do. But the shooting stroke, length, size, athleticism, shot-blocking, those cannot be taught. People are so harsh to judge kids as mentally weak, but I can't imagine what I would have felt like under the scrutiny of the world on national TV as an 18 year old. Not all kids develop that confidence as the same stage. I believe Skal can be a very good player with time and coaching, and life experience.

Forget what the national media say, they jump on the Kings regardless of what we do. We need three years to judge how this draft was, and I think we'll all feel a lot better about it then. People complaining that we didn't draft for need are the exact people that would complain if we passed on an unheralded star for the safer pick. You cannot have it every way. The draft is not how you fill holes for immediate impact, his has been demonstrated year after year. People never learn. At this point, the success of this draft boils down to Vlade's ability to recognise talent. We won't know the answer for a few years.
 
AND BY THE WAY!!!

Bogdan Bogdanovic - might end up being the biggest piece of this deal. Not a star, but the guy is a baller and scrappy as f**k. He's the type of guy who will make bombs when the game is on the line and scream in your face. He is super competitive, has a well-rounded game and is improving rapidly. He actually reminds me of Drazen Petrovic although probably not as good a ball-handler. Very solid passer though and can obviously shoot. He is crafty getting to the rim and while not a fantastic defender, he competes. Honestly, I cannot wait for Bogdan to come over. I really belive the guy is going to be a good rotational player. Watch some of his games - he has the mentality of one of those old-school guys who will get in your face and doesn't give a single f**k. The more you scream back the more he will punish you. I love it. The guy is a cold blooded killer when there is pressure, it's very impressive for a young kid.

Here's a pretty decent small feature on him for people who want to learn a bit more about him:
 
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Dime Dropper said:
AND BY THE WAY!!!

Bogdan Bogdanovic - might end up being the biggest piece of this deal. Not a star, but the guy is a baller and scrappy as f**k. He's the type of guy who will make bombs when the game is on the line and scream in your face. He is super competitive, has a well-rounded game and is improving rapidly. He actually reminds me of Drazen Petrovic although probably not as good a ball-handler. Very solid passer though and can obviously shoot. He is crafty getting to the rim and while not a fantastic defender, he competes. Honestly, I cannot wait for Bogdan to come over. I really belive the guy is going to be a good rotational player. Watch some of his games - he has the mentality of one of those old-school guys who will get in your face and doesn't give a single f**k. The more you scream back the more he will punish you. I love it.
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He's going to be a good player. However, he'll be a 25yearold rookie. Same age as Bojan Bogdanovic when he came into the league. Bojan for the Nets is already 27 while going into just his 3rd NBA season.
 
206Fan said:
He's going to be a good player. However, he'll be a 25yearold rookie. Same age as Bojan Bogdanovic when he came into the league. Bojan for the Nets is already 27 while going into just his 3rd NBA season.
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Kind of irrelevant though, we traded for him to be a contributor from day one. Which is what we will probably get, even if it takes a season or two for him to fully adjust. I don't think anyone would trade for him thinking he is a long term project, least of all Vlade. Bogdan should be ready to contribute immediately.
 
Dime Dropper said:
AND BY THE WAY!!!

Bogdan Bogdanovic - might end up being the biggest piece of this deal. Not a star, but the guy is a baller and scrappy as f**k. He's the type of guy who will make bombs when the game is on the line and scream in your face. He is super competitive, has a well-rounded game and is improving rapidly. He actually reminds me of Drazen Petrovic although probably not as good a ball-handler. Very solid passer though and can obviously shoot. He is crafty getting to the rim and while not a fantastic defender, he competes. Honestly, I cannot wait for Bogdan to come over. I really belive the guy is going to be a good rotational player. Watch some of his games - he has the mentality of one of those old-school guys who will get in your face and doesn't give a single f**k. The more you scream back the more he will punish you. I love it. The guy is a cold blooded killer when there is pressure, it's very impressive for a young kid.

Here's a pretty decent small feature on him for people who want to learn a bit more about him:
Click to expand...

I'm pretty excited about Bogdanovic as well. Petrovic is a good comparison. I was going to say Sarunas Marciulionis, but I'd be happy with either of those guys. Good analogy on the draft pics as well. Three years from now if Papagiannis is on the 2nd team all defensive team no one will be complaining. I'm a little higher on Richardson than you are. All he needs is some discipline to his game and I think he can be pretty good. He had carte blanche to shoot anytime he wanted last season and as a result he took some very bad shots. Despite that, he still shot 35% from the three. I believe over 60% of his shots came off the dribble with a hand in his face or off balance. Correct those things and you have a plus 40% three point shooter, who could be a decent to good defender. Won't happen overnight of course.
 
The_Jamal said:
Relying on FA is complete folly for us and always has been. Rondo is the biggest "name" FA we've had in nearly 20 years and the only reason we got him was because he had next to 0 value after what he did in Dallas.
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I agree. The only way they bring in a good new vet is via trade.
 
The_Jamal said:
This is an outstanding post. People who are praising this draft as it currently stands are completely ignoring the fact that we're operating on a limited time window with Cousins. And the 2 depth charts above show exactly how we did absolutely nothing to make this team better in the short-term, which is by far the biggest issue our team faces with Cousins contract coming up within the next 2 seasons. This draft has the potential to be an absolute home-run... but we won't get to see it come to fruition before we have to make a decision about Cousins future.

Baldwin, Murray, and Luwawu without a doubt would help us win more games next season, would have filled filling needs, and its not like these 3 guys are devoid of any upside whatsoever.
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If we ended with either Baldwin, Murray or Luwawu counting on them playing 20-25 min this season, that would mean that we have failed this off season.

Since the NBA ready folks were gone before #8, and we did not manage to swing #8 for a vet or to go higher, this draft was all about the future (when we are facing scarcity of the draft picks).
Did we pick the best for the future, time will tell.

The free agency and trades are the way to address 2 starting guards we need this season.
 
bajaden said:
I'm pretty excited about Bogdanovic as well. Petrovic is a good comparison. I was going to say Sarunas Marciulionis, but I'd be happy with either of those guys. Good analogy on the draft pics as well. Three years from now if Papagiannis is on the 2nd team all defensive team no one will be complaining. I'm a little higher on Richardson than you are. All he needs is some discipline to his game and I think he can be pretty good. He had carte blanche to shoot anytime he wanted last season and as a result he took some very bad shots. Despite that, he still shot 35% from the three. I believe over 60% of his shots came off the dribble with a hand in his face or off balance. Correct those things and you have a plus 40% three point shooter, who could be a decent to good defender. Won't happen overnight of course.
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I hated to compare him to Petrovic because I hate nationality/physical lookalike comparisons, but in this case it's actually apt. Even their stories are a little similar. I think Bogdan is a bad-ass old-school player. He has balls of steel, he is a typical Serb. Those guys are mentally tough. Their games are similar and they are both obsessed with making it in the NBA. Bogdan is not going to be a star, but I think he can be a good rotational player and a fan favourite. Bogdan brings it every night and he is a really good guy off the court.

I may not be fair to Richardson. I've warmed more to the pick after watching interviews with him, which I give a lot of weight to. I haven't seen one star in the NBA who seems dumb/lacking in confidence. And Malachi seems like a very smart and confident kid. I agree that his weaknesses are very correctable and not crippling. He has the basis for a lot of different skills. He is shifty, deceptively quick, gets to the rim, can get his shot off both off the dribble and spotting up. And he played very well in the tourney which is a good sign. I am hoping he does well for us. I think he was very disappointed to be drafted by us which was disappointing, bu I think he will be fine when he meet the guys and sees the new arena we'll be in, as well as the fans. Perception is not always reality. Here's to hoping.
 
The main thing I take from all this, and maybe the most important thing is, how is Cuz's brother going to get any minutes on our summer league team? He might want to consider playing for another team. His chances of winning a spot on our team just went from zero, to minus zero. :rolleyes:
 
bajaden said:
The main thing I take from all this, and maybe the most important thing is, how is Cuz's brother going to get any minutes on our summer league team? He might want to consider playing for another team. His chances of winning a spot on our team just went from zero, to minus zero. :rolleyes:
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Okay, I haven't read the thousands of other comments, so I may be misunderstanding...

We didn't draft DMC's brother Jaleel. We drafted Isaiah Cousins who, to my knowledge, is no relationship to Demarcus. Am I missing something?
 
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