Ongoing draft/lottery discussion [OPEN SPOILERS]

[funkykingston]

Am I alone in thinking that WCS is pegged to go way too high?

Here's a guy who does one thing really well: defend multiple positions. He's athletic. He can jump.

Even as a big WCS supporter I can see that argument.

But at the same time Jahlil Okafor is a guy that does one thing really well - he's a big body who scores efficiently in the low post. His rebounding, defense, passing, ballhandling, jump shooting, FT shooting are all average or subpar for a big. But he's a top 3 pick because he has a bankable skill, but I think people are more okay with that because it's scoring and scoring has always been viewed in a different light than other skills.

I don't think the Warriors are playing for a championship this season without Draymond Green. I'm not saying WCS is Green - they are very different players, but both make most of their impact on the defensive end doing a lot of things that don't show up in the box score. Cauley-Stein blocked one out of every 8 shot attempts his sophomore year. Those numbers dropped significantly this season because Kentucky had Towns to help protect the rim and WCS was asked to do more defending on the perimeter and subsequently he led the team in steals.

Yes, he's not a guy I look at as having star potential. And his contributions will be mainly on the defensive end but those contributions will fit one of the Kings major needs like a glove. He'll improve interior defense, perimeter defense, transition defense, pick and roll defense, and be a great help/weakside defender for Cuz on those occasions that he's battling inside against Howard or Jefferson or Pekovic etc. He also gives Karl the option to go small and athletic when Boogie is catching a breather. I wouldn't want to see it for long stretches but Collison/McLemore/Casspi/Gay/Cauley-Stein would be an incredibly quick lineup.

Athletic, defensive bigs routinely get massive contracts in free agency. JaVale McGee was waived by Philadelphia and is still going to make $12 million next season. Tyson Chandler is 32 and made $14.5 million this season. DeAndre Jordan was paid $12 million this year is about to get an absolute monster deal either from the Clippers or possibly elsewhere. Having that type of player locked into a rookie contract is a coup.

If the Kings draft him I think people will be surprised by how much WCS improves the team with the things he does both defensively and offensively. I've been a JT defender but it's the one starting position that I think benefits most from an upgrade, especially because it moves Thompson to a 3rd big role which I think is ideal for him.

 

[206Fan]

Hezonja is the closest thing to Klay Thompson in this draft. I think WCS fills a bigger need but there are a lot of guys I like in this draft and Hezonja is one of them.

That said, I think WCS is going to go #4 or #5. He's the type of athlete that will wow in workouts, especially when he shows better shooting (yes, in an empty gym) than expected.

DeAndre Jordan is making everyone take a second look at WCS. If WCS is drafted at 4, it means Mudiay drops.

I'm starting to think less and less that we'd draft Mudiay. He's not really an immediate need like PF and wing, but he's really talented. It would be interesting to see what the Kings would pull off here.

 

[funkykingston]

I'd only argue that you look at efficiency, especially when a player's minutes and touches are limited, and how this has improved over time. The qualitative aspect is Coach Cal's style; he does an excellent job at putting his players where they're most efficient, as well as hiding their weaknesses. On that note, if WCS had such an excellent or developing jumper, I think he would've received more touches there.

I don't know that anyone would claim he has an excellent jumper, but he has pretty good mechanics to be consistent with it, which is all the Kings need from him. But as for not getting touches, how often did we see Cousins at Kentucky dribbling coast to coast or taking outside jumpers? Calipari is pretty strict with the roles he establishes from his guys and while that helped Cauley Stein develop it also meant he wasn't in a program that let him showcase everything he could do. Heck, check out the latest Draft Express workout video - his ballhandling is even better than I expected. As we discussed yesterday, just because he can do it in workouts doesn't guarantee that it will transfer to games, but I think WCS has more tools than we saw in college and the possibility of developing them on the next level to be an even more useful player.

Absolutely not! And have never been one to troll on these boards (yikes has it been more than ten years?), but I know I'm in the minority here. Re: his motor, I would check out his game log here as well as some scouting reports on this. When he's locked in, I totally agree. But there's been games where his head has been elsewhere - it shows up in the stats as well as the reports. A big question among draftniks is how locked in he'll be in an 82-game season, as he's already displayed inconsistencies in the NCAA game-to-game.

His first two seasons there were some questions about WCS's motor/effort but more so about his consistency. Maybe I'm optimistic (and bullish on Cauley-Stein) but I chalk that up to young, athletic bigs taking more time than most to develop. I think he'll be just fine, especially since the Kings will likely bring him along slowly with JT likely to be starting at the beginning of the season.

 

[funkykingston]

DeAndre Jordan is making everyone take a second look at WCS. If WCS is drafted at 4, it means Mudiay drops.

I'm starting to think less and less that we'd draft Mudiay. He's not really an immediate need like PF and wing, but he's really talented. It would be interesting to see what the Kings would pull off here.

While I agree that Jordan has probably helped WCS's draft stock the reality is that DJ and the Clippers failed to advance yet again and his poor FT shooting exposed with the Hack-a-Jordan strategy. So I'm not sure GMs are hot for the "next DeAndre" as much as possibly "the next Steph" or especially "the next Draymond".

As for Mudiay, I agree he's not an immediate need. And quite honestly I don't think he'd contribute much as a rookie. Probably not much more than Sessions gave us last season. But if long term the feeling is that he can be a star you have to go that route. I know we're starting to create this collective narrative of "we'd better win this year or Cousins is gone" but DMC is smart. If he saw Mudiay as an all-star in waiting and he had Rudy as his wingman with a bright future (and likely more than this season's 29 wins) I don't think he'd be bullying his way out of Sacramento. He wants to win and if he sees a lot of progress towards the Kings being a very good team I think that will be enough.

Far better than the Orlando model of going out and making moves to appease Dwight Howard that were just enough to make them mediocre while mortgaging their future ability to improve. Trading the pick for a veteran that gets the team to 38 wins isn't nearly as useful as drafting a kid that could be the Robin to Boogie's Batman.

 

[206Fan]

Well I thought I was already on WCS wagon, but then I saw more and more of this Hezonja kid and I find it hard to deny the talent and flare.
I personally think this kid is the best wing in this class because of his handles, flare, perimeter shooting, and not to mention those quick dunks driving to the basket in the face of his opponent.


He's got the SG label at 6'8". But that's actually a legit SF height in the NBA and looking at the playoffs the 2G-2SF-1C has actually been trending lately.
Warriors field Green at 6'7" as PF next to Iggy (6'6"), Klay and Curry. Thunder can do this with Durant at 4. Same with Cavs with LBJ at 4.
Kings can go the same path with Collison-McLemore-Hezonja-Gay-DMC lineup.

If Karl rides this trend to make sure DMC gets enough room down low. My bet is that we Kings would draft this kid over Winslow, WCS, or even Mudiay.

I really like Hezonja too. I think his ceiling is higher than Klay's because he's the better ball handler and has amazing athleticism.

However, the rookie pains we went through with Stauskas and McLemore would be the same for Hezojna. I don't think Hezonja sees much PT his first year. I think his skillset is very similar to Nik's and Ben's already so I could see the team liking Winslow and Johnson more.

 

[206Fan]

While I agree that Jordan has probably helped WCS's draft stock the reality is that DJ and the Clippers failed to advance yet again and his poor FT shooting exposed with the Hack-a-Jordan strategy. So I'm not sure GMs are hot for the "next DeAndre" as much as possibly "the next Steph" or especially "the next Draymond".

As for Mudiay, I agree he's not an immediate need. And quite honestly I don't think he'd contribute much as a rookie. Probably not much more than Sessions gave us last season. But if long term the feeling is that he can be a star you have to go that route. I know we're starting to create this collective narrative of "we'd better win this year or Cousins is gone" but DMC is smart. If he saw Mudiay as an all-star in waiting and he had Rudy as his wingman with a bright future (and likely more than this season's 29 wins) I don't think he'd be bullying his way out of Sacramento. He wants to win and if he sees a lot of progress towards the Kings being a very good team I think that will be enough.

Far better than the Orlando model of going out and making moves to appease Dwight Howard that were just enough to make them mediocre while mortgaging their future ability to improve. Trading the pick for a veteran that gets the team to 38 wins isn't nearly as useful as drafting a kid that could be the Robin to Boogie's Batman.

I think next season the Kings organization wants to win. They have a lot at stake if they put out a crappy product next year. Let's all be honest, the Kings have an extremely small fan base compared to the rest of the NBA(nothing wrong with that at all). Most die-hard fans are already fed up with the FO for last season. If they can't put out a winning product this year, I think a lot of "loyal" fans will leave after almost a decade of irrelevance. Average fans will be in the middle, but the ESC could still be half empty. I'm not questioning the loyalty of this fan base, but I do believe there are certain fans who would quit on this team if we have a below .500 season and rumors about DMC being unhappy comes out.

The ownership has a lot in stake. If fans are unhappy following the ESC opening, it'll look really bad for the NBA.

Mudiay could be a very good player, or he could be a poor man's Evans. I think Mudiay will fall along the lines of Kemba Walker, Brandon Jennings, MCW, and etc. It honestly all depends on coaching. If he becomes a better playmaker and facilitator, he can be a top 15 pg. If he becomes a shooter, top 10.
He does have huge star ability so it would be hard to pass up on that.

 

[miltonap]

I'm on the Hezonja bandwagon if WCS is off the board. That guy's got a shot, strength, athleticism, smarts, and swag. The only thing he might be lacking from what I've seen is consistency and maybe lateral quickness.

 

[Gary]

I really like Mudiay based on what I have seen from his clips playing in China. He seems to be a decent ball handler, and a good passer. He can and probably will be elite defensively, and he has the ability to hit 3pt shots. Someone here compared him to Evans, and I kind of agree, that his ceiling is Evans with an outside shot and better passing (sees the floor better). He can basically become what we had wanted Evans to be.

I don't think Mudiay would improve the team as much as WCS though in the short term, because I don't believe Mudiay would be much better than Collison (if at all) in his first year. WCS gives us pretty much everything we don't have and would have a bigger impact right away.

Let's hope WCS falls to us, but Mudiay would be an awesome consolation prize.

 

[swisshh]

Watched the Cameron Payne DX videos.

-Looks, thinks like a PG. Not a scorer who tries to involve teammates. Not a small shooter. Actual PG style play and instincts.
-Looks comfortable running things.
-Unorthodox shooting style. His shots either drop like rain or they miss, and sometimes miss badly. Looks like the type of shooter who has to find the rim and net each time out before he starts hitting shots.
-Might have a lot of trouble if he can't drain shots. Not particularly fast or athletic, and doesn't deal with physicality that well. Will struggle to be a scoring threat unless he adapts to size or becomes a real shooting threat.

 

[Letsgokings13]

More from Chad Ford draft chat.


Tay (Sacramento)


I know our front office is about as disorganized as possible, but have you heard any word on who the main targets are for the Kings at 6?

Chad Ford
(1:39 PM)


So tough to get a read there. So many voices. And so many voices that think they'll be the voice. At the end of the day, I think Vivek Ranadive decides and honestly, I don't know what he's thinking. I hear Willie Cauley-Stein's name there consistently and I think he's a very good fit. If Mudiay was there, he'd be another great fit. Cameron Payne is a dark horse I'm told. I could also see trades coming. Lots of teams are pursuing DeMarcus Cousins. Vivek has been adamant that he doesn't want to trade him. Let's see if they get an offer that blows them away. I think Vlade, himself, is open to the idea.

Ron (Sacramento) [via mobile]


Doesn't a trade involving Ty Lawson and/or Faried for the Kings pick etc make sense for both teams?Kings want immediate help Nuggets need to blow it up and go young

Chad Ford
(1:43 PM)


I think there'd be interest in both players for the Kings and George Karl, as you know, coached both of them. And I get the strong impression from Denver that both players are very available. But I doubt they trade both just for the 6th pick in the draft. They'll want, need more. Faried or Lawson for the 6th pick? Sure. But I doubt they'd do both for that. As far as the Nuggets drafting, I think either Hezonja or Winslow would be an obvious pick. If they got a second first rounder, I hear they like Cameron Payne and Tyus Jones. If they move Lawson, they'll want another point guard.

 

[Kingster]

More from Chad Ford draft chat.


Tay (Sacramento)


I know our front office is about as disorganized as possible, but have you heard any word on who the main targets are for the Kings at 6?

Chad Ford
(1:39 PM)


So tough to get a read there. So many voices. And so many voices that think they'll be the voice. At the end of the day, I think Vivek Ranadive decides and honestly, I don't know what he's thinking. I hear Willie Cauley-Stein's name there consistently and I think he's a very good fit. If Mudiay was there, he'd be another great fit. Cameron Payne is a dark horse I'm told. I could also see trades coming. Lots of teams are pursuing DeMarcus Cousins. Vivek has been adamant that he doesn't want to trade him. Let's see if they get an offer that blows them away. I think Vlade, himself, is open to the idea.

That doesn't sound good at all. Before the PDA demotion and the Vlade hire I would have expected that kind of quote. Not after.

 

[Dime Dropper]

I really doubt Ford knows anything though. People give too much credence to these "insiders".

I seriously doubt Vlade is the one who would be open to trading DMC, if anyone at all is.

 

[Letsgokings13]

I really doubt Ford knows anything though. People give too much credence to these "insiders".

I seriously doubt Vlade is the one who would be open to trading DMC, if anyone at all is.

Yeah, he seems like the type to continue a narrative because he doesn't want to dig at all. hopefully not true though.

 

[Gilles]

I'm sure, Ford doesn't talk to Vlade, or at least Vlade doesn't tell him anything relevant, plus Ford started Sacramento's part with "I think" - yeah Chad, we know, you're a thinker. Denver would like to get 6th pick out of Lawson though.

 

[hrdboild]

This is why Mudiay would be a good idea...

All season people were saying Collison is playing better than expected, but his limited ceiling means we're still shopping for a PG even if it's no longer a priority. Going with George Karl as the head coach means we have an offensively creative leader who's shown in the past that he's willing to adapt to the personnel at his disposal. If you give George Karl an elite center and an elite PG along with a very good wing scorer and a decent bench I feel like he's going to lead you very far into the playoffs. Having DeMarcus, Rudy, and Ben on the team simplifies the role for an incoming PG tremendously. They're not going to be expected to lead the offense like Evans was as a rookie, they simply need to learn the plays and get the ball where it needs to be. Even if Mudiay isn't ready for a major role as a rookie (and I wouldn't underestimate the head start he got by focusing exclusively on basketball for the past year) his size and athletic profile make him a better fit as the first guard off the bench than the journeymen and fringe NBA players we've been plugging into that role the past few years.

There is a certain argument to be made that our starting five early this season was so good that you should allow them more time to develop chemistry and build around that core. Had we kept Mike Malone I can understand that argument, but so much has changed since that point, it's almost irrelevant now. The offensive and defensive schemes we ran under George Karl are so far from what Mike Malone wanted to do, you might as well forget about what our starters did for the first month of the season. That's a "what if" scenario that's gone forever. Fact is, regardless of the reasons, we were 18-40 after Malone was fired which is a 31% winning percentage. We need a lot more help than just a defensive PF. Drafting an elite PG prospect allows us to build toward a more competitive future and might turn Collison into a valuable trade chip sometime soon. It also doesn't prevent us from pursuing other options at PG on the free agent market if we want to. You can draft high ceiling prospects to develop and also sign vets to off-set their lack of experience.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

When Chad Ford, a lying cheater who has been caught retroactively changing his draft rankings to make himself look better, says he's hearing "so many voices", he is most likely referring to the ones that he made up in his own head.

Vlade is in charge. Vlade is making the pick. Anybody who tries to tell you differently is selling something. (In Ford's case, he's selling you on the idea that he actually knows something that he doesn't.)

 

[Letsgokings13]

I'm happy with Mario, WCS, Stanley Johnson, Mudiay, or Winslow

 

[miltonap]

yea, I don't buy anything that Ford is saying. We know more about our situation than he does, for sure.

 

[funkykingston]

I think next season the Kings organization wants to win. They have a lot at stake if they put out a crappy product next year. Let's all be honest, the Kings have an extremely small fan base compared to the rest of the NBA(nothing wrong with that at all). Most die-hard fans are already fed up with the FO for last season. If they can't put out a winning product this year, I think a lot of "loyal" fans will leave after almost a decade of irrelevance. Average fans will be in the middle, but the ESC could still be half empty. I'm not questioning the loyalty of this fan base, but I do believe there are certain fans who would quit on this team if we have a below .500 season and rumors about DMC being unhappy comes out.

The ownership has a lot in stake. If fans are unhappy following the ESC opening, it'll look really bad for the NBA.

Mudiay could be a very good player, or he could be a poor man's Evans. I think Mudiay will fall along the lines of Kemba Walker, Brandon Jennings, MCW, and etc. It honestly all depends on coaching. If he becomes a better playmaker and facilitator, he can be a top 15 pg. If he becomes a shooter, top 10.
He does have huge star ability so it would be hard to pass up on that.

I agree that the Kings can't afford to make more horrible mistakes this summer because they'll lose more casual fans and possibly Cousins. So the draft carries a lot of importance. But what turned me off this season wasn't the losing - it was the rudderless way the franchise was being mismanaged. Firing Malone was the straw that nearly broke this camel's back. It was inexplicable. I can understand Stauskas not meeting expectations. It's unfortunate but at least I saw the rationale for it. But when I feel like the team I root for is just blatantly self-sabotaging that's when I stop caring.

Sure, another losing season might push more fans away but in all honesty those are the same fans that would likely come back in force if the Kings start winning again. And I don't think it's playoffs or bust this season for Cousins either. I think he wants to feel like he CAN win in Sacramento. That the organization is giving him the help he needs.

The Kings need to increase their talent level and the team's trajectory going forward, both for this season and beyond.

 

[funkykingston]

I'm sure, Ford doesn't talk to Vlade, or at least Vlade doesn't tell him anything relevant, plus Ford started Sacramento's part with "I think" - yeah Chad, we know, you're a thinker. Denver would like to get 6th pick out of Lawson though.

I'd much rather see the Kings trying to trade for Denver's 7th pick (fat chance given the lack of assets) than the Kings trading their pick to Denver.

 

[swisshh]

The Cousins trade rumors stop when the Kings FO stops looking like they're screwed up enough to trade Cousins. Good organizations don't have their top tier player in trade rumors because nobody thinks they're dumb enough, bad enough or desperate enough to do so.

That's just how it's going to be no matter what Vlade or anyone says. When the team functions and wins, the rumors will fade as the rumors will have no place to fester.

 

[Livinthedream]

This is why Mudiay would be a good idea...

All season people were saying Collison is playing better than expected, but his limited ceiling means we're still shopping for a PG even if it's no longer a priority. Going with George Karl as the head coach means we have an offensively creative leader who's shown in the past that he's willing to adapt to the personnel at his disposal. If you give George Karl an elite center and an elite PG along with a very good wing scorer and a decent bench I feel like he's going to lead you very far into the playoffs. Having DeMarcus, Rudy, and Ben on the team simplifies the role for an incoming PG tremendously. They're not going to be expected to lead the offense like Evans was as a rookie, they simply need to learn the plays and get the ball where it needs to be. Even if Mudiay isn't ready for a major role as a rookie (and I wouldn't underestimate the head start he got by focusing exclusively on basketball for the past year) his size and athletic profile make him a better fit as the first guard off the bench than the journeymen and fringe NBA players we've been plugging into that role the past few years.

There is a certain argument to be made that our starting five early this season was so good that you should allow them more time to develop chemistry and build around that core. Had we kept Mike Malone I can understand that argument, but so much has changed since that point, it's almost irrelevant now. The offensive and defensive schemes we ran under George Karl are so far from what Mike Malone wanted to do, you might as well forget about what our starters did for the first month of the season. That's a "what if" scenario that's gone forever. Fact is, regardless of the reasons, we were 18-40 after Malone was fired which is a 31% winning percentage. We need a lot more help than just a defensive PF. Drafting an elite PG prospect allows us to build toward a more competitive future and might turn Collison into a valuable trade chip sometime soon. It also doesn't prevent us from pursuing other options at PG on the free agent market if we want to. You can draft high ceiling prospects to develop and also sign vets to off-set their lack of experience.

I'll make it more simple. Name a top Western Conference team that doesn't have a pg that you would take over Collison? Playoff teams are there because of pg play. Give me a star pg and a star C and you'll get your playoff spot.

Collison is talking about keeping the core together because HE is on the hot seat. If Collison gets traded, he's probably no longer a starter.

We're working out Payne because that pg spot is critical to success. You can win with an average SG these days, but not an average PG. I've said it before, but don't ve surprised if we pass on WCS in search of that star PG.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

I'm happy with Mario, WCS, Stanley Johnson, Mudiay, or Winslow

I have a feeling that you will be happy with the results of the draft. I'm going to guess that those five guys are pretty much our wheelhouse. At least three (possibly four if Porzingis or another surprise goes early) will be available. I guess we could shock the world and grab Payne (at #6 though?), or Kaminsky or Lyles (whom I think DX is sleeping badly on). Porzingis doesn't seem to offer enough short-term benefit for us to go that direction. So one of those five guys (and maybe 4 excluding Johnson as the least likely of the bunch) is probably our pick if we stay at #6.

 

[Gilles]

I'll make it more simple. Name a top Western Conference team that doesn't have a pg that you would take over Collison? Playoff teams are there because of pg play. Give me a star pg and a star C and you'll get your playoff spot.

Collison is talking about keeping the core together because HE is on the hot seat. If Collison gets traded, he's probably no longer a starter.

We're working out Payne because that pg spot is critical to success. You can win with an average SG these days, but not an average PG. I've said it before, but don't ve surprised if we pass on WCS in search of that star PG.

Right now I wouldn't take PGs from Spurs, Rockets, Pels, Blazers or Mavs to replace Collison for various reasons (age, health, contract, really bad D, shooting).

 

[206Fan]

This is why Mudiay would be a good idea...

All season people were saying Collison is playing better than expected, but his limited ceiling means we're still shopping for a PG even if it's no longer a priority. Going with George Karl as the head coach means we have an offensively creative leader who's shown in the past that he's willing to adapt to the personnel at his disposal. If you give George Karl an elite center and an elite PG along with a very good wing scorer and a decent bench I feel like he's going to lead you very far into the playoffs. Having DeMarcus, Rudy, and Ben on the team simplifies the role for an incoming PG tremendously. They're not going to be expected to lead the offense like Evans was as a rookie, they simply need to learn the plays and get the ball where it needs to be. Even if Mudiay isn't ready for a major role as a rookie (and I wouldn't underestimate the head start he got by focusing exclusively on basketball for the past year) his size and athletic profile make him a better fit as the first guard off the bench than the journeymen and fringe NBA players we've been plugging into that role the past few years.

There is a certain argument to be made that our starting five early this season was so good that you should allow them more time to develop chemistry and build around that core. Had we kept Mike Malone I can understand that argument, but so much has changed since that point, it's almost irrelevant now. The offensive and defensive schemes we ran under George Karl are so far from what Mike Malone wanted to do, you might as well forget about what our starters did for the first month of the season. That's a "what if" scenario that's gone forever. Fact is, regardless of the reasons, we were 18-40 after Malone was fired which is a 31% winning percentage. We need a lot more help than just a defensive PF. Drafting an elite PG prospect allows us to build toward a more competitive future and might turn Collison into a valuable trade chip sometime soon. It also doesn't prevent us from pursuing other options at PG on the free agent market if we want to. You can draft high ceiling prospects to develop and also sign vets to off-set their lack of experience.

Mûdiay is a very interesting prospect. He has potential to be a star, but so does Hezonja, Winslow, Johnson, and Porzinigis.

If Mudiay falls to us, we would have to look at PFs through free agency. I really hope we can get a 2nd rounder for JP Tokoto. Great defensive wing with a good iq. Great passing ability, but he lacks shooting. He's a similar player to Iggy.

 

[Spike]

Yet, PG really isn't a position of need. It probably isn't one of our top three issues (considering we can probably fix 2 issues at best). Wasting a pick on a PG with potential means Cousins is one step closer out the door.

 

[Gilles]

Mûdiay is a very interesting prospect. He has potential to be a star, but so does Hezonja, Winslow, Johnson, and Porzinigis.

If Mudiay falls to us, we would have to look at PFs through free agency. I really hope we can get a 2nd rounder for JP Tokoto. Great defensive wing with a good iq. Great passing ability, but he lacks shooting. He's a similar player to Iggy.

Tokoto is rather thin, can't really stay in front of smaller guys, and can't score in half-court.

 

[hrdboild]

Yet, PG really isn't a position of need. It probably isn't one of our top three issues (considering we can probably fix 2 issues at best). Wasting a pick on a PG with potential means Cousins is one step closer out the door.

Any time you can add a potential star, at any position, I wouldn't call that a wasted pick. We don't need a SF either, but I'd still take Stanley Johnson if he's the top player on my board when the pick comes around because we can find him minutes if he deserves them. Realistically we have an MVP caliber starting center, a borderline All-Star at SF, a solid starting PG who's probably in the 15-25 range at his position, and a couple of SGs who are more potential than production right now. We have no bench. All of our PF options are terrible. Our backup PG is 39. Our backup SF is a minimum contract vet. Both those guys are free agents. We have no backup C. What I don't want to see is a situation where we look back in 2 years and think "wow, we really missed on that guy -- we'd be in the playoffs right now if we'd drafted him". I don't care about positions, I just want the best talent on the board. We can find minutes for an All-Star level player at any position. You don't fix issues with the draft at the #6 pick, you take the most talented player you can get and move on from there.

 

[randymoss1881]

I'll make it more simple. Name a top Western Conference team that doesn't have a pg that you would take over Collison? Playoff teams are there because of pg play. Give me a star pg and a star C and you'll get your playoff spot.

Collison is talking about keeping the core together because HE is on the hot seat. If Collison gets traded, he's probably no longer a starter.

We're working out Payne because that pg spot is critical to success. You can win with an average SG these days, but not an average PG. I've said it before, but don't ve surprised if we pass on WCS in search of that star PG.

Payne won't be a star pg if he's taken over WCS I will be pissed.

 

[Livinthedream]

Payne won't be a star pg if he's taken over WCS I will be pissed.

And yet....we're working him out.

If we took Payne, I would anticipate it would be through trading down.