Prospect watch 2011

asakkings

asakkings

Bench
#1
#1
Another season of college basketball is starting and it seems like we will have another high pick so lets start talking about some of our favorite prospects.

Honeycutt is looking really solid against Pepperdine right now. I think he's a really solid prospect especially if we end up somewhere in the late lottery. We all know the history of recent UCLA players coming out being really good all around players, especially on the defensive end.
 
Sarunas

Sarunas

G-League
#2
#2
asakkings said:
Another season of college basketball is starting and it seems like we will have another high pick so lets start talking about some of our favorite prospects.

Honeycutt is looking really solid against Pepperdine right now. I think he's a really solid prospect especially if we end up somewhere in the late lottery. We all know the history of recent UCLA players coming out being really good all around players, especially on the defensive end.
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If we don't acquire a PG via trade, I'm keeping my eye on Kyrie Irving from Duke. Unfortunately he will have the Duke curse looming over him in the pro's but he looks like he could be the real deal at PG. The season will provide some insight..

Agreed about Honeycutt. UCLA players have great success translating to the NBA over time, but recently was well...Love, Westbrook, Collison, Afflalo, Mbah a Moute. Almost all from the same team, and all have turned out nicely, largely in part to their defensive ability and commitment as asakings mentioned.
 
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TyrekeGordon24

Prospect
#3
#3
Sarunas said:
If we don't acquire a PG via trade, I'm keeping my eye on Kyrie Irving from Duke.
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Kyrie is the real deal, he's going top 3, unless coach K doesn't give him enough minutes. With the kings bad luck in the lottery it's safe to say were not looking at getting a pick in the top 3 (although from a baseball standpoint "we're due" and we'll get #1 and ill be the first with a Harrison Barnes jersey). Next years draft is going to be front-court heavy at the top with many international prospects going in the first round. If JT can't find playing time its hard to see us drafting another big, so here are our best options (although we might be drafting best available as apposed to need):

1.Kyree Irving- wishful thinking, brandon jennings type game, with a little more size, super quick
2.Terrence Jones- SF, needs to develop 3pt range to help us, but could have the most upside in the draft (tyreke/demarcus)
3.Brandon Knight- 6'3" pg, good size and athletic, could become lock-down defender in the mold of russell westbrook
4.Jordan Hamilton- sg/sf with nba range, still developing into his frame, breakout year, can light-up scoreboard
5.Malcolm Delaney- donte's boy (can chill on the bench together jk FREE DONTE), consistant, experienced, can get to the bucket and knock down open jumpers
Steal of the draft- Jeremy Tyler, went overseas as a junior in high school, becomes eligable this draft. PF, but this guys got skills, if we trade JT maybe petrie wouldn't mind drafting a big.

9 games in and we're already talking draft. SMH
 
S

Smills91

Starter
#4
#4
A late first, early 2nd round favorite of mine is Jimmer Fredette. This kid could be a phenomenal back-up PG in the NBA and fit very well with our roster. One of the most offensively gifted players in the entire NCAA with unlimited range.
 
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Asaf

Starter
#7
#7
TyrekeGordon24 said:
Kyrie is the real deal, he's going top 3, unless coach K doesn't give him enough minutes. With the kings bad luck in the lottery it's safe to say were not looking at getting a pick in the top 3 (although from a baseball standpoint "we're due" and we'll get #1 and ill be the first with a Harrison Barnes jersey). Next years draft is going to be front-court heavy at the top with many international prospects going in the first round. If JT can't find playing time its hard to see us drafting another big, so here are our best options (although we might be drafting best available as apposed to need):

1.Kyree Irving- wishful thinking, brandon jennings type game, with a little more size, super quick
2.Terrence Jones- SF, needs to develop 3pt range to help us, but could have the most upside in the draft (tyreke/demarcus)
3.Brandon Knight- 6'3" pg, good size and athletic, could become lock-down defender in the mold of russell westbrook
4.Jordan Hamilton- sg/sf with nba range, still developing into his frame, breakout year, can light-up scoreboard
5.Malcolm Delaney- donte's boy (can chill on the bench together jk FREE DONTE), consistant, experienced, can get to the bucket and knock down open jumpers
Steal of the draft- Jeremy Tyler, went overseas as a junior in high school, becomes eligable this draft. PF, but this guys got skills, if we trade JT maybe petrie wouldn't mind drafting a big.

9 games in and we're already talking draft. SMH
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Jeremy Tyler is horrible! He played for a second tier Israeli league team and got kicked out because he sucked so bad, and his attitude, well, imagine if all the rumors about cousins were true, multiply that times 10, and you've got Jeremy Tyler. The dude is awful, and he wasn't even willing to try and learn.
 
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Boogie-havoc

Bench
#8
#8
I second that what Asaf said.

The kid was flat out TERRIBLE over here... he got alot of atittude problems aswell not only towards other people but to his teamates aswell, wouldn't want him anywhere near the Kings.
 
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TyrekeGordon24

Prospect
#9
#9
Asaf said:
Jeremy Tyler is horrible! He played for a second tier Israeli league team and got kicked out because he sucked so bad, and his attitude, well, imagine if all the rumors about cousins were true, multiply that times 10, and you've got Jeremy Tyler. The dude is awful, and he wasn't even willing to try and learn.
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The kid was 16 maybe 17 playing against developed professionals, brandon jennings barely saw the court when he was in europe. I'm not saying he's a lottery pick, or a first rounder, but maybe worth a gamble in the second. We'll see how he does in japan this year
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#10
#10
Boogie-havoc said:
I second that what Asaf said.

The kid was flat out TERRIBLE over here... he got alot of atittude problems aswell not only towards other people but to his teamates aswell, wouldn't want him anywhere near the Kings.
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It should be pointed out that Brandon Jennings didn't exactly tear up the league over there. That aside, this tread is a little early, and usually has the title of 2011 NBA draft. But that can come later. As for the point guard situation, I don't think Kryie will go top 3. This draft is loaded with some great SF prospects and a few PF prospects that could go before a pt guard. Terrence Jones, Harrison Barnes, Perry Jones, Jared Sullinger, and Enes Kanter are all top prospects. Keep an eye on Fab Melo of Syracuse. If I had to pick a sleeper it would be Renardo Sidney of Miss St. He's been a problem child, but this dude is extremely talented. Another kid I like is C.J. Leslie of North Carolina St.

These guys are just freshman. Lest we forget there are other players in college and in europe that aren't shabby. Donatas Motiejanus, Jan Vesley, Marcus Morris and Trey Thompkins just to name a few.
 
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Asaf

Starter
#11
#11
TyrekeGordon24 said:
The kid was 16 maybe 17 playing against developed professionals, brandon jennings barely saw the court when he was in europe. I'm not saying he's a lottery pick, or a first rounder, but maybe worth a gamble in the second. We'll see how he does in japan this year
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No, he was 18 and wasn't willing to learn. On the surface his story seems similar to that of Jennings, but the two cases couldn't be further apart. Jennings played on a Euroleague team, Tyler played on a second-tier Israeli league team. Big difference here. Jennings saw limited minutes. Tyler saw almost no minutes, and in the few that he did, he managed to get ejected after punching a player in the face, and produced virtually nothing else on the floor. Jennings (as far as I know) didn't cause locker room problems, Tyler managed to get on the nerves of all the players that tried to take him under their wing and help him learn and adjust. He was literally the laughing stock of the Israeli basketball world, and believe me, we have a lot to laugh at...
 
Fear the Putin

Fear the Putin

Starter
#12
#12
Just watched Steven Gray of Gonzaga play last night and he looked great. Looks like he is coming into his own this season. Can get a shot off at any time. Doesn't only drive as he can shoot from outside and he plays some solid defense.
 
beb0p

beb0p

Starter
#13
#13
I watched Jeremy Tyler played for Maccabi Haifa, he's very raw. There's one game where he committed three fouls in the first three minutes and went to the bench. He has no positional sense whatsoever (hence the quick fouls), no real offense, and is just, well, raw. But I will say this, the kid looks like he cared, looks like he really wanted to play well and is not afraid of roughing it up. I don't know what transpired in Isreal and not sure how much is because of immaturity or what not, but I think there is hope there. He missed a golden chance to develop his game in college and is probably too raw for any professional team to tolerate him playing through his mistakes to become the elite player that he would have been. I think he's going to be viewed by teams as strictly a big body hustle guy. As such, I don't think he'll be a star but I do think he has a chance to be a Ronny Turiaf type of player.
 
Sarunas

Sarunas

G-League
#15
#15
For me I'm focusing on PG prospects as I think that HAS to be our point of focus drafting in the lottery. I'd prefer to acquire shooting/defensive help via trade/free agency. I dont think there are any PG's out there worth trading or overpaying for that we can REALISTICALLY get (i.e. we're not going to acquire cp3, deron, etc. via trade or FA).
I'm most interested in guys like Kyrie Irving, Josh Selby, Nolan Smith, Brandon Knight. I'm a believer in the Duke NBA curse, but I REALLY like Irving/Smith, I'd be happy with either. Nolan Smith has a great head on his shoulders and is a very very smart kid (we're not a smart team).

Then again if we get the #1 or #2 pick, we take Harrison Barnes or Perry Jones and figure the rest out later.
 
Vlade4GM

Vlade4GM

All-Star
#16
#16
Sarunas said:
For me I'm focusing on PG prospects as I think that HAS to be our point of focus drafting in the lottery. I'd prefer to acquire shooting/defensive help via trade/free agency. I dont think there are any PG's out there worth trading or overpaying for that we can REALISTICALLY get (i.e. we're not going to acquire cp3, deron, etc. via trade or FA).
I'm most interested in guys like Kyrie Irving, Josh Selby, Nolan Smith, Brandon Knight. I'm a believer in the Duke NBA curse, but I REALLY like Irving/Smith, I'd be happy with either. Nolan Smith has a great head on his shoulders and is a very very smart kid (we're not a smart team).

Then again if we get the #1 or #2 pick, we take Harrison Barnes or Perry Jones and figure the rest out later.
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Like always, we should take the best player available, regardless of position.
 
KingsInBrazil

KingsInBrazil

G-League
#18
#18
Sadly, I cant watch College Basketball since I live in Brazil so I dont get the chance to see any of those prospects but I do believe is a little too early to go into that discussion lol
 
Vlade4GM

Vlade4GM

All-Star
#19
#19
bajaden said:
Ditto!!. Barnes looked pretty good today. As did Perry Jones. Its a long way to the end of the season. I'm not about to proclaim anyone our pick. they've hardly played yet.
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Barnes would be perfect for us, but I'm not going to get my hopes up for a top pick. Plus, it's time for us to do better record wise.
 
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Asaf

Starter
#20
#20
Vlade4GM said:
Barnes would be perfect for us, but I'm not going to get my hopes up for a top pick. Plus, it's time for us to do better record wise.
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Well, we can always strive to be the exact opposite of Utah. Instead of a deep playoff team composed almost entirely of second-round picks, we can be an eternal lottery team made up exclusively of top 5 picks... And all we have to do is exactly what Utah did - keep the same coach for 25 years...
 
Vlade4GM

Vlade4GM

All-Star
#21
#21
Asaf said:
Well, we can always strive to be the exact opposite of Utah. Instead of a deep playoff team composed almost entirely of second-round picks, we can be an eternal lottery team made up exclusively of top 5 picks... And all we have to do is exactly what Utah did - keep the same coach for 25 years...
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LOL, that's harsh dude.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#24
#24
Vlade4GM said:
I'm pretty intrigued by Terrence Jones. Does anyone know if he has given any hint as to whether he'll be a one and done or not?
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The only thing I have to go on is comments from the local newspapers and campus blogs. Something along the lines of, Kentucky will once again have a contending team that will probably have to get it done this year because once again its made up of several one and done players. No names are mentioned, but I assume they're talking about Knight and Jones. I really like Jones from what I've see so far. Kentucky is playing on ESPNU tonight immediately following the North Carolina/Minnesota game that comes on at 5:30 PM PST.
 
Vlade4GM

Vlade4GM

All-Star
#25
#25
bajaden said:
The only thing I have to go on is comments from the local newspapers and campus blogs. Something along the lines of, Kentucky will once again have a contending team that will probably have to get it done this year because once again its made up of several one and done players. No names are mentioned, but I assume they're talking about Knight and Jones. I really like Jones from what I've see so far. Kentucky is playing on ESPNU tonight immediately following the North Carolina/Minnesota game that comes on at 5:30 PM PST.
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I wish I had ESPNU :(
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#26
#26
Vlade4GM said:
I wish I had ESPNU :(
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Wow! Bummer... Comes standard on most of the providers. I think! I guess it probably depends on which package you purchase. Too bad, they carry a lot of college basketball games and usually reshow most of them if you miss them the first time around. The game is probably on one of the fox sports channels as well. I havn't done a search but if I find another source I'll let you know.
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#28
#28
DeMoN said:
If we don't trade for a playmaking PG, then draft one. I don't want us to overpay a FA, but i would be willing to do it if we dont find one via draft. IMO its our biggest need atm.
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That's just not going to happen. It just isn't.

A combo point is possible. Beno class, but more dynamic in some way. A pure point that needs the ball to do his thing? Not going to happen. Not only would be wasted in a future offense largely built around Reke's one on one abilities and Cousins post abilities, but would actively be in the way if he was taking the ball out of those guy's hands. If you could find some magical pure PG who was great at all the things other than playmaking -- defending, rebounding, spot shooting etc. -- and so would be useful on the 2/3 of the plays when his playmaking skills wouldn't be in use, sure. But there is no such player. If a guy's big thing is playmaking, then most of the time the other parts of this game are less. Its really not too much different that suggesting that the Lakers should go get a pure playmaker. No they shoudln't. Not only do they not need one, that player would actually be in the way or at the very least not be able to function in his normal capacity in their offense. Gary Payton was completely lost in that system. So would JKidd have been if Kobe had goten his petulant wish a few years back. The post players handle things there, the dominant SG.

What we need going forward are more good/willing passers at various positions, but not some sort of pure PG center the offense around him guy. Cousins will be a part of that with his ability to not only post, but really pass out of the post. Great step forward. Reke is a very good passer for a big time scorer. Part of the Kobe/LeBron/Wade class of scorer/creaters. Now you need probably two of the other three starters to be ball movers too, and it would be helpful if one of them had a little nifty in him. But its only going to be used here and there, and so it can't be what they are about.
 
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Heuge

Heuge

Starter
#29
#29
Bricklayer said:
If you could find some magical pure PG who was great at all the things other than playmaking -- defending, rebounding, spot shooting etc. -- and so would be useful on the 2/3 of the plays when his playmaking skills wouldn't be in use, sure. But there is no such player.
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Doug Christie!
 
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