Following 2018 draftees

Status
Not open for further replies.

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I watched Ayton the other night in an exhibition game against Eastern Michigan. I think he ended up with 31 pts and 11 boards and throw in a couple of blocks. He's an impressive athlete with tremendous length. They have him listed at 7'1" with a 7'6" wingspan. He looked every bit the part of that. He runs the floor extremely well, and showed impressive lateral quickness for a man his size. They also have him listed at 250 pounds, and he looks the part of that as well. In short, he already has an NBA body, and a frame that could easily carry another 10 to 15 pounds of muscle. While his 31 points looks impressive, I think the tallest player on the E. Michigan team was around 6'9". So he pretty much had his way with them around the basket. I might also add that every single point he scored in the game came from within 5 feet of the basket. He missed every jump shot he took, which wasn't many.

I will say this, his form on his jump shot looks pretty good. His footwork around the basket, while fairly basic, was fluid and without hesitation. He plays with extreme confidence, and constantly demanded the ball. One thing that bothered me was that he fumbled the ball quite a few times on crisp passes. It could just be an anomaly, early season jitters, or a future problem. Point being, that he wasn't going up against anyone his own size in the game. What happens when he's up against good competition? Something to keep an eye on. He rebounded the ball aggressively, and is an explosive leaper. Defensively he looked a little lost at times, and other times looked all world. I'll excuse the mistakes since he's a college rookie learning a new system, but defensively, he has all the tools to shine almost immediately.

To sum it up, he's an impressive looking prospect who should improve game by game as the season goes on. He's still fairly basic offensively, and I didn't see much of his handles except for a steal where he went the length of the court for a dunk. I'd like to see what his handles look like away from the basket while being guarded. Defensively he looks like he could be a monster. He's quick laterally, and has good timing on his blocks. He did seem a little passive a couple of times, but nothing noteworthy. He certainly looked like a top five pick with a huge upside. I can't wait to see him against good competition.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer

This dude is 7’1-250 just wow between him, Doncic, and Bagley we need to get a top 3 pick. Porter and Bamba are nice consolation prizes as well
I think that any of Doncic, Bagley, Porter, Bamba and Ayton could be the number one pick in the draft. Porter is extremely talented, and I have him ahead of everyone but Doncic right now. That could change of course, but don't think of Porter as a consolation prize.
 
I watched Ayton the other night in an exhibition game against Eastern Michigan. I think he ended up with 31 pts and 11 boards and throw in a couple of blocks. He's an impressive athlete with tremendous length. They have him listed at 7'1" with a 7'6" wingspan. He looked every bit the part of that. He runs the floor extremely well, and showed impressive lateral quickness for a man his size. They also have him listed at 250 pounds, and he looks the part of that as well. In short, he already has an NBA body, and a frame that could easily carry another 10 to 15 pounds of muscle. While his 31 points looks impressive, I think the tallest player on the E. Michigan team was around 6'9". So he pretty much had his way with them around the basket. I might also add that every single point he scored in the game came from within 5 feet of the basket. He missed every jump shot he took, which wasn't many.

I will say this, his form on his jump shot looks pretty good. His footwork around the basket, while fairly basic, was fluid and without hesitation. He plays with extreme confidence, and constantly demanded the ball. One thing that bothered me was that he fumbled the ball quite a few times on crisp passes. It could just be an anomaly, early season jitters, or a future problem. Point being, that he wasn't going up against anyone his own size in the game. What happens when he's up against good competition? Something to keep an eye on. He rebounded the ball aggressively, and is an explosive leaper. Defensively he looked a little lost at times, and other times looked all world. I'll excuse the mistakes since he's a college rookie learning a new system, but defensively, he has all the tools to shine almost immediately.

To sum it up, he's an impressive looking prospect who should improve game by game as the season goes on. He's still fairly basic offensively, and I didn't see much of his handles except for a steal where he went the length of the court for a dunk. I'd like to see what his handles look like away from the basket while being guarded. Defensively he looks like he could be a monster. He's quick laterally, and has good timing on his blocks. He did seem a little passive a couple of times, but nothing noteworthy. He certainly looked like a top five pick with a huge upside. I can't wait to see him against good competition.
His coach is saying he’s never lifted weights I do t believe it but it does look like he could get to 270 he’s already huge. Also the coach said he’s a very good shooter close to Markkennen I believe he said. I believe he’ll be a good shooter with that form.

I think that any of Doncic, Bagley, Porter, Bamba and Ayton could be the number one pick in the draft. Porter is extremely talented, and I have him ahead of everyone but Doncic right now. That could change of course, but don't think of Porter as a consolation prize.
I don’t think Porter can be a franchise player like the other 3. His athleticism is overrated he’s more of a straight line athlete and his defense looks bad. However I believe he can and will be a 20-8 guy with average defense very good player next to Bog and Fox.

Doncic: Will be a superstar a 20-7-5 type player I want him bad. He would step in the league and at 18 be a top 10-15 passer and at 6’8-225 he’s not done filling out.

Ayton: 7’0-250 with other worldly athleticism and a good developing shot. The bigs are back in this league look around and not a lot will compare with his body and athleticism. Having a good pg and franchise center and you’re on your way to being a contender. Scouts are comparing him to Towns I think he’ll be a better defender but not the scorer he is.

Bagley: Another franchise level guy you can see Chris Bosh in him. Extraordinary athlete and good developing shot he has one of the best motors and really rebounds. You can easily see a 20-10 good defense guy in him.


Put backcourt is already set and should be good hopefully WCS can get his crap together. Hield should be a good 6th man and Skal hopefully becomes a very good starter Skal would thrive next to Ayton to be honest. Both could space the floor and run while Ayton gobbles all the boards.
 
If and it’s looking like it that Jackson can show that he can be a quality starting SF I’d draft Porter over Bagley for the PF position not SF
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
The thing is, Porter can play both positions, which is a nice value to have. He's a very good athlete, a good passer, a good rebounder, and he can score from anywhere on the floor. I like Bagley a lot, but Porter fits our needs better. However, it's early, so I'll wait to see how they all pan out.
 
If and it’s looking like it that Jackson can show that he can be a quality starting SF I’d draft Porter over Bagley for the PF position not SF
He'll have the full season to prove that he's a future starting SF. One thing I'm worried about is his frame. He has the length to play SF, but I'm not sure he'll ever have the strength to. Jackson can play SG too. Quickness does give him some troubles, but he can slide down there. In this upcoming draft, I don't think the Kings can be picky about position. Take BPA because we currently don't have a franchise player yet.

Moving forward, the only player I can confidently see being a starter on this team 3 years from now is Fox. Other guys have a lot of potential, but they need to start diving into it.
 
If we had the #1 pick I think Vlade would have a hard time passing on Ayton, who I think ends up #1 if he holds serve throughout the season. Any other pick and we take Doncic if he is on the board. He just makes the right basketball play every time, against grown men. They put a smaller guy on him and he takes them to the block, then uses great footwork to get a good shot. He can run the P&R all day, drain it from anywhere, and create his own shot. He’ll make any type of offense so crazy efficient. Doncic and Fox would be a great platform to build a team on; just about any type of player could come in and be utilized by that backcourt.

I’m out on Porter. I just don’t see how he ends up as anything other than Rudy Gay, or a Mike Dunleavy if he never develops his handle
 
Damn damn that would be tough if Ayton keeps it up however what Doncic is doing at 18 is beyond ridiculous. I’d take Doncic 1 and not look back his offense will be elite possible 20-8-5 guy and when he fills out he could be 6’8-240.

Agreed on Porter only take him after Doncic, Ayton, and Bagley are gone.

If we had the #1 pick I think Vlade would have a hard time passing on Ayton, who I think ends up #1 if he holds serve throughout the season. Any other pick and we take Doncic if he is on the board. He just makes the right basketball play every time, against grown men. They put a smaller guy on him and he takes them to the block, then uses great footwork to get a good shot. He can run the P&R all day, drain it from anywhere, and create his own shot. He’ll make any type of offense so crazy efficient. Doncic and Fox would be a great platform to build a team on; just about any type of player could come in and be utilized by that backcourt.

I’m out on Porter. I just don’t see how he ends up as anything other than Rudy Gay, or a Mike Dunleavy if he never develops his handle
 
I'm interested to see what Ayton looks like against some real big man competition. He didn't play the Summit and he looked underwhelming at the McDonalds game.

I'm really excited to see what Kevin Knox can do this year. For him not to be ranked in the top 50 is just stupid. He's got the potential to be a great two way player. I was looking like Shawn Marion Jr. in preseason. PJ Washington also looked good.
 
Oh yeah, I have irrational confidence in Knox becoming a star—cannot really explain it. He’s my dude if we slip to #6, but I’d kick the tires on him at #4.

The big thing with Ayton is he is going to crush it in workouts. Watch his feet; just the way he re-posts is exceedingly rare in today’s game. I know he has focus issues and could plateau, but I just think it would be hard for a guy like Vlade to pass on Ayton, and there is no way he does for anyone other than Doncic.
 
Oh yeah, I have irrational confidence in Knox becoming a star—cannot really explain it. He’s my dude if we slip to #6, but I’d kick the tires on him at #4.

The big thing with Ayton is he is going to crush it in workouts. Watch his feet; just the way he re-posts is exceedingly rare in today’s game. I know he has focus issues and could plateau, but I just think it would be hard for a guy like Vlade to pass on Ayton, and there is no way he does for anyone other than Doncic.
If we are taking Knox 6-8 he has to be a PF not a SF unless he shoots tye ball well
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Watched the Kentucky/Utah Valley game, and it's just one game, so I'm not putting too much emphasis on it. Knox was OK, but that's about it. Just about every young player on the Kentucky team had his moment or two, but they all had some very bad moments as well. This is to be expected when you start five freshmen. There was a lot of confusion on both offense and defense at times. I saw Kentucky go to a zone defense at times, and that's something you don't normally see Calipari teams do, especially when he has a bunch of elite athlete's like he has this year.If there was a player that stood out to me, it was Wenyen Gabriel, a 6'9", 215 lb combo forward. He has the look at minimum, of a 3 and D player.

Gabriel is a sophmore that got lost in the shuffle last season, and was wise enough to stay in school for another year. He's a terrific defender with the athleticism to defend multiple positions. He appears to have a huge wings9pan and is blessed with terrific lateral quickness. He's also a very good rebounder. Although he didn't shoot the ball particularly well in this game, we at least have some history with him to rely on. He has decent to good form on his shot, and he shot just over 33% from the three last year. Against Utah Valley he ended up with just 7 pt's on 3 of 13 shooting, while grabbing 13 rebounds, blocking 3 shots and one steal. What stood out the most was his defense and overall aggressiveness.

The star, if there was a star would likely be Hamidou Diallo, the 6'5" SG. As most know, his athleticism is off the charts. Going into the season, his ability to defend was his biggest plus. The knock on him was his poor shooting. Well, not in this game. Diallo led the team with 18 pts on 8 of 16 shooting while going 2 of 4 from the three. He also added 5 rebounds and 2 assists. If he can continue to shoot the ball that efficiently, (I don't) expect to see him rise up the draft boards.

Another player that stood out, at least with his athleticism was Nick Richards, a 6'11" center/PF. He scored 10 pts on 4 of 7 shooting, all at the basket whiled adding 3 blocks and 1 steal. What he didn't do was rebound the ball. There are a lot of similarities to Willie Cauley-Stein. Richards is a terrific athlete and like Willie, he came to the game of basketball late (age 14). Calipari is using him in a similar way as Willie, sort of like a free safety, plugging holes in the defense where ever they show up. Like Willie, you can see the potential. We'll see where that goes.

I would love to say glowing things about Knox, but unfortunately I can't. He wasn't horrible, but he didn't stand out either. In 37 minutes he scored 12 pts on 3 of 13 shooting while going 1 for 4 from the three. He did add 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block, so he was active defensively. As I said, he wasn't terrible, but if I didn't know who he was, I wouldn't have paid much attention to him.

The surprise of the game to me was the minutes that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got at the point. Alexander is a 6'6", 180 lb combo guard, who Calipari apparently plans to have run the point. I thought going into this season that Quade Green, the highly recruited PG would get that job. But apparently Alexander has out played Green in practice. Once again, as I'm getting tired of saying it, Alexander is a very good defender with a very good wingspan. He played 36 minutes and had 13 pts on 5 of 9 shooting while going 1 for 2 from the three. He added 4 steals, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Not a bad first outing for the freshman.

To summarize, Kentucky has a long way to go if they plan on making a splash in the tournament. They have a lot of talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball, which will be their calling card. But they have to get everyone on the same page. Despite Kentucky's defensive talent, Utah Valley continued to break down their defense far too often. There were times when Kentucky looked like the Keystone Cops. A team like Duke would have killed them. Of course that's what these games are for. Calipari goes through this every year, but this year may be his biggest challenge. While he has a lot of very talented players, only one, Kevin Knox is a top ten player, and it's unprecedented to start 5 freshmen. It should be an interesting ride. Keep your eye on Gabriel and Richards as dark horses during the year.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
By the way, for those interested in Michael Porter Jr. in his first game, I did record it and I did watch it. Unfortunately, after scoring a basket, around two minutes into the game he tweaked his hip, and they held him out for the rest of the game. So, there you have it, two minutes, one shot and one basket. Much ado about nothing.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
By the way, for those interested in Michael Porter Jr. in his first game, I did record it and I did watch it. Unfortunately, after scoring a basket, around two minutes into the game he tweaked his hip, and they held him out for the rest of the game. So, there you have it, two minutes, one shot and one basket. Much ado about nothing.
Apparently Cuonzo Martin said that Porter told him right before tip-off that his hip was feeling off but that he couldn't pull him from the starting lineup because he was already in the scorebook. So he let Porter play to the first stoppage and then shut him down. Anyway, it sounds like he didn't do anything in-game to tweak the hip, but discomfort before the game starts is a bit worrisome.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
I saw Kentucky go to a zone defense at times, and that's something you don't normally see Calipari teams do, especially when he has a bunch of elite athlete's like he has this year.
Did you see Cal's interview after the game? When the reporter asked him about playing a zone, he said "Yeah, this team might just end up being a zone team" and then literally stuck his finger down his throat pantomiming a gagging motion. Hilarious.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Did you see Cal's interview after the game? When the reporter asked him about playing a zone, he said "Yeah, this team might just end up being a zone team" and then literally stuck his finger down his throat pantomiming a gagging motion. Hilarious.
Yeah, that has to be hard to swallow (play on words) for Cal. He never, ever plays a zone. So it really surprised when they went to it. He certainly has the athlete's to play man to man, but wow, are then raw? A lot of confusion on the defensive side of the ball. He may have to start Gabriel, who knows his system better, so he can direct traffic. I watched your UCLA team as well, Next! Thanks for the info on Porter. That makes more sense now.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Ok, I also watched the UCLA/Georgia Tech game. Not much to report other than I think UCLA is going to have a rough year overall. It didn't help to have three of three of their players under house arrest by the Chinese. One being a member of the infamous Ball family. First Jalen Hands. He's a lightning quick 6'3" PG, who in my opinion, played more like a SG in this game. Like Fox, he can turn on the afterburners and fly down the court. Unlike Fox, who always seemed under control, Hands has a very loose handle at times and seems on the brink of constantly being out of control. He played 28 minutes and scored 14 pts on 4 of 11 shooting. Only one assist though. He did add 4 boards and 2 steals. He does show some defensive potential. He's a very good athlete.

The two best players in my humble opinion were Aaron Holiday, (6'1" PG) yes the brother of a couple of NBA players, and Kris Wilkes, (6'7" SF) no relationship that I know of to another famous UCLA Wilkes, Keith, who later became Jamaal Wilkes. While Aaron didn't shoot the ball particularly well, he did a good job of running the team after taking a backseat to Lonzo last season. In 35 minutes he scored 11 pts, on 3 of 9 shooting going 0 for 4 from the three. He added 7 assists, 1 blk and 1 steal. Wilkes played 30 minutes and scored 18 pts on 6 of 12 shooting, going 4 of 6 from the three. He added 4 rebounds and 1 steal.

Thomas Welsh, bless his heart did what he does every game. He played 37 minutes and scored 10 pts on 5 of 7 shooting. He also grabbed 8 boards and blocked 3 shots. Despite the rantings of Bill Walton, I seriously doubt that Welsh will ever play in the NBA, and if so, it will be as a backup center. Nothing against him personally, and he can shoot the three, which may save him, but I just don't see it.

My disappointment of the night was Prince Ali, a 6'3" SG. He played 20 minutes and you wouldn't have known he was on the floor. He has an opportunity this year, so he needs to step up. It didn't help UCLA to be missing two of their freshmen big's due to a shoplifting charge in China. Both Cody Riley and Jalin Hill were under house arrest (confined to their hotel rooms) Both players had played well in exhibition games and in practice. LiAngelo Ball is also included in that charge. Heaven only knows when they'll be released or if they will. It isn't a good idea to run a foul of the law in another country. Different rules over there The team is flying back without them. I hope they avoid jail time and have learned their lesson.
 
Watched the Kentucky/Utah Valley game, and it's just one game, so I'm not putting too much emphasis on it. Knox was OK, but that's about it. Just about every young player on the Kentucky team had his moment or two, but they all had some very bad moments as well. This is to be expected when you start five freshmen. There was a lot of confusion on both offense and defense at times. I saw Kentucky go to a zone defense at times, and that's something you don't normally see Calipari teams do, especially when he has a bunch of elite athlete's like he has this year.If there was a player that stood out to me, it was Wenyen Gabriel, a 6'9", 215 lb combo forward. He has the look at minimum, of a 3 and D player.

Gabriel is a sophmore that got lost in the shuffle last season, and was wise enough to stay in school for another year. He's a terrific defender with the athleticism to defend multiple positions. He appears to have a huge wings9pan and is blessed with terrific lateral quickness. He's also a very good rebounder. Although he didn't shoot the ball particularly well in this game, we at least have some history with him to rely on. He has decent to good form on his shot, and he shot just over 33% from the three last year. Against Utah Valley he ended up with just 7 pt's on 3 of 13 shooting, while grabbing 13 rebounds, blocking 3 shots and one steal. What stood out the most was his defense and overall aggressiveness.
Gabriel is a fun player to watch. He's from my hometown, he went from unknown high school kid to being recruited by all the major D1 schools basically overnight. I agree with you I'm glad he stayed another year. He's athletic, has great size, and a nonstop motor. He has a chance to be a nice versatile nba player.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Watched the Kentucky/Vermont game, and Kentucky won by the skin of their teeth. What the hell does that mean anyway? Anyway, although Kentucky has the players to be a top defensive team, right now their being exposed on defense. Vermont is a team that loves to shoot the three, so what did Kentucky do, they let them shoot the three, and it almost cost them the game. Gotta give props to the Vermont team. They have some deadly sharpshooters on that team. But a win is a win I guess.

If I had to pick out a star, or a couple of stars on the Kentucky team it would P. J. Washington and Hamidou Diallo. The knock on Diallo was his outside shot, and so far this season, he's shooting the ball very well. Washington stepped up with solid rebounding, and inside scoring. Knox is struggling with his outside shot right now. He rebounded fairly well, but got lost on defense a few times. The whole team needs to get on the same page. It's going to take a while.
 
Watched the Kentucky/Vermont game, and Kentucky won by the skin of their teeth. What the hell does that mean anyway? Anyway, although Kentucky has the players to be a top defensive team, right now their being exposed on defense. Vermont is a team that loves to shoot the three, so what did Kentucky do, they let them shoot the three, and it almost cost them the game. Gotta give props to the Vermont team. They have some deadly sharpshooters on that team. But a win is a win I guess.

If I had to pick out a star, or a couple of stars on the Kentucky team it would P. J. Washington and Hamidou Diallo. The knock on Diallo was his outside shot, and so far this season, he's shooting the ball very well. Washington stepped up with solid rebounding, and inside scoring. Knox is struggling with his outside shot right now. He rebounded fairly well, but got lost on defense a few times. The whole team needs to get on the same page. It's going to take a while.
Diallo's shooting is still really suspect to me. One thing I'm really looking forward to seeing is whether or not Diallo can play off-ball. I feel like when he has the ball in his hands, he gets way too reckless. He gets tunnel vision and tries to force up poor shots. Through 2 games, playing off-ball hasn't been a problem at all. Diallo might need to step up and be the #1 guy, and in that case, you'd like to see his shot selection go up.

Knox has disappointed, but it isn't surprising. His lack of polish in the 1/2 court really limits him. If he continues to struggle creating and knocking down the jumpshot, he'll need to bulk up to play PF. Try to take on an Aaron Gordon role. Not much to be impressed by, but he does run in transition well. He's a nice finisher when he gets there. Problem is, he struggles getting there on his own.
 
His coach is saying he’s never lifted weights I do t believe it but it does look like he could get to 270 he’s already huge. Also the coach said he’s a very good shooter close to Markkennen I believe he said. I believe he’ll be a good shooter with that form.



I don’t think Porter can be a franchise player like the other 3. His athleticism is overrated he’s more of a straight line athlete and his defense looks bad. However I believe he can and will be a 20-8 guy with average defense very good player next to Bog and Fox.

Doncic: Will be a superstar a 20-7-5 type player I want him bad. He would step in the league and at 18 be a top 10-15 passer and at 6’8-225 he’s not done filling out.

Ayton: 7’0-250 with other worldly athleticism and a good developing shot. The bigs are back in this league look around and not a lot will compare with his body and athleticism. Having a good pg and franchise center and you’re on your way to being a contender. Scouts are comparing him to Towns I think he’ll be a better defender but not the scorer he is.

Bagley: Another franchise level guy you can see Chris Bosh in him. Extraordinary athlete and good developing shot he has one of the best motors and really rebounds. You can easily see a 20-10 good defense guy in him.


Put backcourt is already set and should be good hopefully WCS can get his poopoo together. Hield should be a good 6th man and Skal hopefully becomes a very good starter Skal would thrive next to Ayton to be honest. Both could space the floor and run while Ayton gobbles all the boards.
You forget about Giles. Ayton and Giles at the 4 would be imposing.
 
He'll have the full season to prove that he's a future starting SF. One thing I'm worried about is his frame. He has the length to play SF, but I'm not sure he'll ever have the strength to. Jackson can play SG too. Quickness does give him some troubles, but he can slide down there. In this upcoming draft, I don't think the Kings can be picky about position. Take BPA because we currently don't have a franchise player yet.

Moving forward, the only player I can confidently see being a starter on this team 3 years from now is Fox. Other guys have a lot of potential, but they need to start diving into it.
I’m not even convinced about Fox. He has the tools but has to learn how to run a team. Right now Mason is better than that.
 
I’m not even convinced about Fox. He has the tools but has to learn how to run a team. Right now Mason is better than that.
There's a ton of holes in Fox's game, and I don't think he's anywhere near a franchise player, but I think he can be a future starting PG. He's going to get better with time.
I'm drafting BPA regardless how they fit anyone in this roster. There's no one who's shown enough production for me to take in consideration of fit. Only position I know we don't have to worry too much about is PG.
SG: Bogdan/Buddy are older and inconsistent. They're closer to their ceilings than most, so they need to start producing at a higher level
SF: Jackson has been ok for a rookie, but physically weak for a SF. Doesn't show much as a franchise SF.
PF: Skal needs way too much work in terms of bball IQ
C: WCS has a motivation problem and he's older. As soon as we get a starting C, he needs to be benched

For the Kings, I've been really looking at Ayton and Bagley III. Ayton is a physically dominant post-scoring C. Bagley is a bouncy energy big with good touch around the rim.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.