Ongoing draft/lottery discussion [OPEN SPOILERS]

Which draft lottery slot will King's get this evening?


  • Total voters
    54
  • Poll closed .
Just read that Hinkie is leaning to taking Porzingas over Russell at 3 but most people believe Philly is leaking stuff to get Orlando to move up...Orlando loves Porzingas. I think Russell goes 3.....slots well there. It's really up to NY and what they do. If they don't take Porzingas or WCS, then WCS is there for us. I've read several reports that they alternately have WCS or Winslow on top of their board.
For some reason I can't picture Phil Jackson picking WCS or Porzingas.
 
Those long 3s are fun, but 62% of 3s, that he misses, look the same. Has he driven from the arc to the basket more than a couple of times in his career? Otherwise just stick an NBA athlete with some length on him and let Mario shoot over.

It's great, that his stock is rising (would be nice, if buyout situation cleared up before the draft), and it would be fantastic, if Hezonja, Mudiay and WCS were left on the board at #6, so that Kings can sell Mario to Charlotte for Cauley-Stein, while Denver was content picking Manny and wouldn't interfere.
 
I asked for more than 2 times. :D

I remember another drive, that was finished with a layup, which would make it three.

In between allez-oops (somebody was saying Kings don't have personnel to find WCS on cuts or in transition, if I remember correctly) and threes (some are beyond the arc with room to spare or coming off a screen) there are quite a few moves with the ball in Ben's hands, and some of those were facing best NBA defenses, while a few were with him not needing screens to free himself.

 
The more I think about it, the more inclined I am about trading McLemore for another lotto pick. McLemore has a tremendous upside, but so does Stauskas and Hezonja.. I think we should consider all of our options.

Imagine if we had both the 6th and 9th pick.

Hezonja & WCS?
Mudiay & WCS?
Winslow & WCS?
WCS & Turner?
WCS & Payne?
WCS & RHJ?
Winslow & Turner?
Winslow & WCS?

Too many combinations... not sure which one I'd do...
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
IF we draft Hezonja I am absolutely in favor of trading one of Ben or Nik for a pick or a vet.

Otherwise we have a big log jam of talent that needs to be developed but not enough minutes to go around.
 
The more I think about it, the more inclined I am about trading McLemore for another lotto pick. McLemore has a tremendous upside, but so does Stauskas and Hezonja.. I think we should consider all of our options.

Imagine if we had both the 6th and 9th pick.

Hezonja & WCS?
Mudiay & WCS?
Winslow & WCS?
WCS & Turner?
WCS & Payne?
WCS & RHJ?
Winslow & Turner?
Winslow & WCS?

Too many combinations... not sure which one I'd do...
No way Ben gets you the 9th pick.

If someone has lost their mind maybe you get a very late first.
 
No way Ben gets you the 9th pick.

If someone has lost their mind maybe you get a very late first.
The Hornets need a SG desperately. They need shooting overall because their core of Kemba/MKG can't shoot. The entire fan base really likes Mario Hezonja and he's most likely gone before 9. Booker will most likely be the only SG left and Hornet fans do not like him because of his limited ceiling.

McLemore has the tools and athleticism to be a much better player than Devin Booker. Hornet fans would rather trade the 9th pick for McLemore vs. drafting Booker at 9th overall. I'd throw in Ray because they need a backup PG.

I think the Hornets would agree to McLemore+Ray for the 9th pick.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
The more I think about it, the more inclined I am about trading McLemore for another lotto pick. McLemore has a tremendous upside, but so does Stauskas and Hezonja.. I think we should consider all of our options.

Imagine if we had both the 6th and 9th pick.

Hezonja & WCS?
Mudiay & WCS?
Winslow & WCS?
WCS & Turner?
WCS & Payne?
WCS & RHJ?
Winslow & Turner?
Winslow & WCS?

Too many combinations... not sure which one I'd do...
Just curious here but with whom do you think we could trade Ben for another lottery pick?

EDIT: Oops. Sorry. I see that someone else already voiced that comment. You think the Hornets are going to give up their pick for Ben? Seriously? I'm pretty sure they could get a better price for that 9th pick that Ben & Ray. Just wanting to make a deal doesn't make that deal logical.
 
Just curious here but with whom do you think we could trade Ben for another lottery pick?

EDIT: Oops. Sorry. I see that someone else already voiced that comment. You think the Hornets are going to give up their pick for Ben? Seriously? I'm pretty sure they could get a better price for that 9th pick that Ben & Ray. Just wanting to make a deal doesn't make that deal logical.
They desperately need a SG so it depends on who's available on the trading block. They can always go to FA for a SG. Danny Green, Wesley Matthews, and etc.

I think the Hornets would prefer to rebuild a bit around a young core. Mo Williams is most likely not back next year. Al Jeff is on the the decline, and it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to trade him for young assets.

They're a young team moving forward with Walker, MKG, Vonleh, and Zeller. I think McLemore sounds right with them if they chose to retool.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Those long 3s are fun, but 62% of 3s, that he misses, look the same. Has he driven from the arc to the basket more than a couple of times in his career? Otherwise just stick an NBA athlete with some length on him and let Mario shoot over.

It's great, that his stock is rising (would be nice, if buyout situation cleared up before the draft), and it would be fantastic, if Hezonja, Mudiay and WCS were left on the board at #6, so that Kings can sell Mario to Charlotte for Cauley-Stein, while Denver was content picking Manny and wouldn't interfere.
The buyout with Hezonja is my biggest concern. The last thing we need is to draft a player, and then have to wait a year or two before he can come over. Probably won't come to that, but I'd have to be sure in advance. Love your idea of selling Mario to Charlotte for WCS.. Get it done...
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
No way Ben gets you the 9th pick.

If someone has lost their mind maybe you get a very late first.
Hmmm, not so sure about that. Remember, Ben was a higher pick, and he now has two years of experience. He's also, rightly or wrongly, a starter in the NBA. One could make the argument that the 9th pick isn't enough for Ben. For some reason we always undervalue our players. I think Ben has value around the league. The question is, do we want two rookies on our roster? Not saying its a bad idea, just asking.
 
The Hornets need a SG desperately. They need shooting overall because their core of Kemba/MKG can't shoot. The entire fan base really likes Mario Hezonja and he's most likely gone before 9. Booker will most likely be the only SG left and Hornet fans do not like him because of his limited ceiling.

McLemore has the tools and athleticism to be a much better player than Devin Booker. Hornet fans would rather trade the 9th pick for McLemore vs. drafting Booker at 9th overall. I'd throw in Ray because they need a backup PG.

I think the Hornets would agree to McLemore+Ray for the 9th pick.

But why would they trade for one of the worst starting SGs in the league two years running? It's not like Ben would give them much of anything above what a bench guy would give if you threw him in he starting lineup.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Hmmm, not so sure about that. Remember, Ben was a higher pick, and he now has two years of experience. He's also, rightly or wrongly, a starter in the NBA. One could make the argument that the 9th pick isn't enough for Ben. For some reason we always undervalue our players. I think Ben has value around the league. The question is, do we want two rookies on our roster? Not saying its a bad idea, just asking.
He may be a starter with the Kings but I don't think that would be the case with virtually any other team. As far as Ben being a higher pick, that's pretty irrelevant at this point. That's like saying they'd take Derrick Williams because he was a higher pick. :p
 
But why would they trade for one of the worst starting SGs in the league two years running? It's not like Ben would give them much of anything above what a bench guy would give if you threw him in he starting lineup.
Well, Hornet fans would do that trade, not sure about their FO
 
This is the danger with undervaluing our own players. The lotteries of the past are littered with guys that have been less productive than Ben, who was a project thrust into a bad situation, already is.
 
He may be a starter with the Kings but I don't think that would be the case with virtually any other team. As far as Ben being a higher pick, that's pretty irrelevant at this point. That's like saying they'd take Derrick Williams because he was a higher pick. :p
I guess another way to look at is you're still getting the same massive upside with Ben as opposed to a Mario/Winslow or Looney type of pick, but with 2 years of NBA experience under his belt. That's pretty valuable if you ask me. So if you're a team like the Hornets who need desperately need a SG fitting Ben's profile, wouldn't it make sense to take use your pick on a guy with:

Massive upside
Drastically improved from year 1 to year 22
Still just 22 years old.

Not saying he'll have this sort of leap in production, but imagine if a team came calling and said "Hey, we'll trade you DeMarcus Cousins in his 3rd season for your lotto pick," I think most of us would like that sort of deal.

Which also begs the question why we would deal McLemore after developing him for 2 seasons. Lets see if we can actually reap the rewards of developing a player for once.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
I guess another way to look at is you're still getting the same massive upside with Ben as opposed to a Mario/Winslow or Looney type of pick, but with 2 years of NBA experience under his belt. That's pretty valuable if you ask me. So if you're a team like the Hornets who need desperately need a SG fitting Ben's profile, wouldn't it make sense to take use your pick on a guy with:

Massive upside
Drastically improved from year 1 to year 22
Still just 22 years old.

Not saying he'll have this sort of leap in production, but imagine if a team came calling and said "Hey, we'll trade you DeMarcus Cousins in his 3rd season for your lotto pick," I think most of us would like that sort of deal.

Which also begs the question why we would deal McLemore after developing him for 2 seasons. Lets see if we can actually reap the rewards of developing a player for once.
I don't specifically have a problem with what you've said (other than the part where you're comparing a deal involving Ben with a deal involving DMC), but I still do not think McLemore is as good as some of you seem to think he is/will be. I would love to be proven wrong.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
This is the danger with undervaluing our own players. The lotteries of the past are littered with guys that have been less productive than Ben, who was a project thrust into a bad situation, already is.
There's also a prevailing trend w3ith some people around here to overvalue our own players. Just sayin'...
 
There's also a prevailing trend w3ith some people around here to overvalue our own players. Just sayin'...
Fine, but I don't see a lot of people claiming Ben is a great sg. Rather, that he's young, showed upside and that unless there is a real upgrade he isn't worth selling low on. The "Ben is the worst starting sg in the league" thing and "no one would trade anything of value for him" gets tossed around all the time. There are probably 10 teams where Ben is as good or better than their starting SG and the list of the 20 that are better than him are mostly unatainable.
 
I don't specifically have a problem with what you've said (other than the part where you're comparing a deal involving Ben with a deal involving DMC), but I still do not think McLemore is as good as some of you seem to think he is/will be. I would love to be proven wrong.
Obviously that was an exaggeration, but the point I was making is that Ben's 2 years NBA experience+ still having big time upside is absolutely worth a mid lottery pick. Especially if you're the Hornets, Winslow and Mario will very well likely be off the board. And if you need that SG upgrade as badly as the Hornets do, is gambling on a prospect like Looney who is a few years away contributing at least worth more than what Ben can bring in his 3rd year in the NBA?

Personally, if we went that route, I'd hope we target a WCS-Kaminsky or WCS-Stan Johnson sort of pick combo and heavily go after a vet SG in FA.
 
The more I think about it, the more inclined I am about trading McLemore for another lotto pick. McLemore has a tremendous upside, but so does Stauskas and Hezonja.. I think we should consider all of our options.

Imagine if we had both the 6th and 9th pick.

Hezonja & WCS?
Mudiay & WCS?
Winslow & WCS?
WCS & Turner?
WCS & Payne?
WCS & RHJ?
Winslow & Turner?
Winslow & WCS?

Too many combinations... not sure which one I'd do...
I'm still waiting for someone to show me this tremendous upside Stauskus has. Why not trade Stauskus for that 9th pick with all his upside? I'll tell you why. Because as some have pointed out that they don't think Ben is worth a 9 pick, it's even crazier to suggest Nik is worth a 9 pick in this draft. Which, using logic, would suggest that Ben is the better player with more upside and has value.

I'm not going after you specifically. Because it's quite a few people who seem to throw logic out the door when evaluating our sg situation.

I'll leave this piece out there that no one seems to be able to reconcile. How does THE worst sg guard in the league have any trade value whatsoever? WHO trades for the worst SG in the league? Makes no sense.
 
I'm still waiting for someone to show me this tremendous upside Stauskus has. Why not trade Stauskus for that 9th pick with all his upside? I'll tell you why. Because as some have pointed out that they don't think Ben is worth a 9 pick, it's even crazier to suggest Nik is worth a 9 pick in this draft. Which, using logic, would suggest that Ben is the better player with more upside and has value.

I'm not going after you specifically. Because it's quite a few people who seem to throw logic out the door when evaluating our sg situation.

I'll leave this piece out there that no one seems to be able to reconcile. How does THE worst sg guard in the league have any trade value whatsoever? WHO trades for the worst SG in the league? Makes no sense.
Are you referring to Ben? If so, he has trade value because he isn't the worst starting sg in the league, he's 22, shown improvement, is on a rookie deal and has good natural skills.
 
It's pretty clear to me niks potential. Might never get there but he reads the game, the court, the pick and roll very well. He handles the ball well he has good mechanics he's a hard worker. His IQ is high, poor defender but has the potential to keep people honest at least.

Ben doesn't read the game well, is a poor passer, can't handle the ball at all, is an erratic decision maker, low iq, but can leap out of the gym. Ben is also a sleepy defender who is torched night after night from three, has potential to be an ok defender but it's between the ears where he struggles.

Ben is fools gold for me. Obviously hope I'm wrong but if you can get him out for a pick or a role player I'm happy.

Maybe if you took back a crappy contract you could nab a late lotto pick for Ben.
 
Lol, Stauskas was worthless as a rookie, same as Ben the year before, but somehow he comes out of it with the same reputation he had a year ago coming out of college, but Ben is still treated as if massive improvement in his sophomore season hasn't happened. Trey Burke was perceived similar to Nik coming out of Michigan, and after 2 years we are still waiting on him.
Ben is worth mid-teens pick currently, while Stauskas might fetch late 1st rounder.