Dime Dropper
All-Star
Yes. The end goal is championship, not playoffs.
Alright, we got the 8th pick, options...
- Thread starter miltonap
- Start date
Yes. The end goal is championship, not playoffs.
So passing on which of the "consensus" top-8? Gordon? Smart?
Chad Ford had us passing on Randle in the previous mock, with Vonleh, Gordon, Smart going 6,7,8.
Nikolizzle
G-League
Last mock I read had Cavs taking Parker #1, Bucks with Exum #2, Wiggins at 3, Smart to the Magic at 4, Vonleh to Jazz at 5, Embiid sliding to Boston at 6, Lakers taking Randle at 7, us drafting Payton at 8, and Gordon sliding to 10 to Philly's second pick.
roasthawg
Starter
Would not take Payton over Randle... wouldn't take him over any of the top 8 guys. Don't see that one happening. Stauskas over Smart is where I'm at with it at the moment if it comes down to that one... otherwise take the obvious pick at eight.
Chupacabra
Starter
Gordon.
Chupacabra
Starter
I would take Payton over Gordon. I don't want anything to do with Gordon. I hope he makes me look stupid for saying that.
I actually like Payton more than Randle at this point. The 50% from the floor that Randle shot this year is a little worrying for a guy who scores so many of his points from the post. Everyone talks about how Aaron Gordon can't shoot, but his .495 mark is awfully close to Randle's .501. Funny how perception sometimes obscures the results. It's also not in his favor that he averaged nearly as many TOs (2.5) as assists, blocks, and steals combined (2.7). I still think he's a solid pick in the top 10, I'm just not as high on him as some others are.
roasthawg
Starter
Yeah, with Randle your hoping for Z. Randolph... I also think you're expecting Randloph, meaning he looks like a pretty safe pick. He's not a good fit but should be a good player.
Chupacabra
Starter
Gordon doesn't fit into either forward spot.
twslam07
All-Star
You do realize that Randle was constantly double teamed and even triple teamed at times.
Livinthedream
All-Star
I think Payton is a good fit for our team. I also don't think it's a reach if it's what the team feels they need to take another step forward. I would argue that drafting for need is not much different than trading the pick for a style of player that you feel you need.
HereWeBoogie
Hall of Famer
certainly going to be interesting.
Gary
All-Star
Ugh.. That's the last thing I wanted. Well not the last thing, but I think there are better players to be had at #8. If they like him so much then trade down a few spaces.
Gary
All-Star
Yah. I wouldn't want to see him on our team. Probably be too small to guard NBA PFs and too big to guard smaller SFs. He would probably be played at SF though here with some stints at PF depending on how much of an anomaly his 3pt shooting % was this year.
HereWeBoogie
Hall of Famer
I always see a player in College that catches my attention and i get the feeling that he will end up in a Kings Uniform. Last year the first time i saw McLemore in Kansas and i swear i got the sense he would end up on the Kings. This year the player i have always seen ending up on the Kings is Marcus Smart. We'll see
Gary
All-Star
Same.. I watched all the Smart I could get this year. I knew we needed a better PG than IT. Someone who could play D and has size (so people here would stop complaining about the size of our PG). Smart was (and still is) the best PG prospect in this draft IMO
And the last thing I want is Marcus Smart starting for us at PG next year. Seems like every year somebody is unhappy with the draft. We'll see who it gets to be this time.
I do realize that, but Randle isn't the first player to average double-doubles in college while facing double teams either. Guys who come into the league and develop into nightly double-double threats typically finish their college careers with better shooting numbers is all. It's something to consider for a guy who is supposedly such a sure thing. You can't really say his team didn't have other options with arguably the most talented roster in college basketball this year around him. How come he only averaged 1.5 assists against 2.5 TOs while drawing double and triple teams with NBA talent around him? For such a skilled player, why did he have so much trouble finishing in the paint at times this year? (1-7 against South Carolina, 1-7 against Florida, 3-7 against UCONN in the championship game). He started out the season looking great against weaker competition but nothing about his performance in tough conference games says dominant.
Remember Thomas Robinson had better numbers the year before the draft and very similar measurements with a longer wingspan. That was as a junior, but theoretically he should have been even more prepared to step in and have an impact. He led a less talented team to the championship game where he put up 18 and 17 in the loss. Robinson, by the way, also shot 39% on 93 shots in the tournament that year and we all ignored it. I'm not saying I don't like Randle at all, I think he's a very talented player. But the "can't miss" status is a little overblown at this point I think. There are legitimate questions to be asked about how his scoring abilities will translate at the next level.
Last edited:
Gary
All-Star
I just think that Smart would make more of a difference for this team. It would allow IT (if retained) to play a 6th man role and give us a good punch off the bench and it will give us better ball distribution in the starting lineup. Not to mention better defense (by a wide margin).
Gordon (if starting) wont give us much more than what JT gives us (if at all) and he wouldn't give us much more than Landry could off the bench. I think it could be a good pick down the road but I just don't see it really improving our team at all this year.
Gordon (if starting) wont give us much more than what JT gives us (if at all) and he wouldn't give us much more than Landry could off the bench. I think it could be a good pick down the road but I just don't see it really improving our team at all this year.
I agree about Gordon (and for that matter, Randle and Vonleh as well) not improving us much next season. All of them played one year in college and have a lot to work on still before they can contribute what a veteran like JT contributes. They're long-term upgrades potentially but you're going to have to be patient while they get there. And we could certainly use a big upgrade at PG. I think Payton is pretty comparable to Smart in most regards and from the games I've seen, not only do I like Payton better as a PG (Smart's ballhandling abilities are probably better than Payton's but his playmaking is still a work in progress) but I like him better as a defender as well. He's not as strong as Smart but he's got great instincts in the passing lanes and he smothers ballhandlers.
Beyond that though, I'm not sure why people think we need to trade up for Smart and trade down for Payton when they're such similar players. Same age, similar measurements, similar production this year, both are very good defenders, both lost in the first round of the tournament, both played on the same U19 USA team in 2013 and put up similar numbers there. How much of this is about Oklahoma State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette and ESPN hype?
Last edited:
Mass
Starter
I think I read somewhere that PDA is willing to buy a second round pick. I'm pretty sure some teams are going to sell their picks, for example the 76ers. They have 5 second round picks, I don't see them keeping all those picks. Also the Suns could sell their second round. They have 3 first round picks and a second round.
I believe we will end up with a second round pick, if we are really willing to buy one.
I believe we will end up with a second round pick, if we are really willing to buy one.
ParniValjak
All-Star
Even if Embiid slides, which is still doubtful but if he does, there is absolutely no way he slides past the Lakers!
What's the bet Lakers pick him and he has a HOF career?!
Sac.Kings
All-Star
As if the Lakers need any more luck.. I hope he gets picked right at 6th so the Laker fans can feel some anguish. On a side note, I feel confident that we will trade the 8th pick, drafting just does not make any sense for us after repeatedly saying we want to win now.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
It really is all lined up perfectly for them. D'Antoni idiocy by the new Buss in town, the Lakers have ALWAYS been about/had the great big men. They normally steal somebody else's, but as with Bynum now another one can fall right to them in the draft. Perfect for that franchise in every way except that Kobe is still trying to call the shots in his final year and is going to try to press them to be shortsighted so he can go out a winner.
Hadlowe
Starter
85%. Kobe will take him to magical German doctors to get him healthy. Embiid isn't a headcase like Bynum, so the only question is whether his lower body can get and stay healthy.
chasen4r1
Starter
Smart is who i'm pulling for. Except my fear is he's going to end up on the Lakers and I'll have to force myself to no longer like him
twslam07
All-Star
Your changing your argument here. You compared his FG% to Aaron Gordon's FG% like it was an apples to apples comparison. All I did was disprove your point. Then you go on about comparing him to other players who have averaged double doubles while getting constantly double teamed. That's not the argument we were having, but it's natural to backpedal and start down a new path when you have nowhere to go.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
if for some reason embiid slides to 8, do we take him with all his injuries???
Similar threads
- Locked
- Poll
