SIMMONS: Chad, this pick makes so much sense that I can only assume you mistakenly thought MKG was Slovenian. Everyone keeps saying there's no "sure thing" in this draft after Davis. Why isn't MKG a sure thing? You know what you're getting — he's the most competitive guy in the draft, he's an incredible athlete, his teams win everywhere he goes, he's the prototypical über-athlete swing guy who can defend three positions, and he could absolutely be the second-best or third-best player on a title contender some day.
I'm judging every lottery pick in this draft by one question: "Could you have played in that insanely athletic 2012 Finals I just watched?" We can't say that's where the NBA might be headed because it's already there — we just saw it. And for MKG, the answer is, "Yes, he would have absolutely fit into that Finals … and maybe even slowed down Durant or LeBron a little." I don't care that he can't shoot yet. He'll figure it out. I agree with you — Pippen is the right comparison here. But it's his competitiveness that really stands out for me. You stick someone on your team who cares that much and everything else will fall into place. Eventually. Naturally, he'll probably drop to fifth because this continues to be the dumbest professional sports league on the planet.