One of these guards will drop to us. It appears that after the consensus top 2 guys, Bender is being touted as the 3rd pick. With the remaining guys, all have some upside but with some question marks (as usual in most drafts). I think we may see one of the bigs going earlier than all expected. Just takes one big to go earlier than expected to have a shot at Brown, Dunn, Murray, Hield and then there's Valentine. Whatever the pick is, I'm eager to see the new staff develop the player.
We're #8...
- Thread starter parker
- Start date
Much like the head coach search, I believe Vlade will opt for looking at more players rather than focus on just the ones they think will actually be available. And who gives a rat's butt about rumors? And why would the Kings tips their hand by telling agents or anyone else that "they are staying (sic) pat"?
Vlade and crew have done an excellent job so far of plugging the leaks. That's gonna continue. If there are rumors out there, and of course there will be, they'll be educated guesses and not sneaky whispers from inside the front office.
bajaden
Hall of Famer
If there are some leaks from the Kings, they will be intentional leaks to throw up a smoke screen if necessary. An example would be back in the day when word got out somehow that Petrie had his eye on some young kid named Kobe. Jerry West got wind of it and made a draft day deal to jump one spot ahead of the Kings and grab him. In a similar case, you might leak having interest in a player you have no intention of drafting to throw off the other teams. In some ways, it's a fun time listening to all the rumors out there and trying to figure out whats true and what's not.
I hope Vlade doesn't inadvertently leak things by being too blunt. Kind of like last year how he basically said he had no interests in the Zingers because he was too raw[for our win-now]. I have no proof that it wasn't smoke screen, but there's plenty of things that point the he was telling the truth. Immediately drafted the most pro-ready draft prospect... threw all of his assets to a proven vet in Wesley Matthews...didn't work, so went after vets Marco Belinelli, Patrick Beverly, Monta Ellis, Kosta Kofus, Rajon Rondo, etc. The only young player he went after was Seth Curry(already 25 and had lots of rounds with NBA teams).
With this draft, it's hard to see where the Kings will go....mostly because it'll depend on what the first 7 teams do, and there's a gigantic drop off after 7.
In 2015, even after pick 6, there were still elite prospects at each position to pick from. PG: Mudiay, SG: Booker, SF: Winslow & Johnson, PF: WCS & Lyles, C: Turner
Compare it to 2016........... PG: .....,SG: ..... ,SF: ......., PF: Chris????&Ellenson????, C: Poeltl
Do your eyes tell you the same thing it tells me? This draft sucks compared to 2015. I hate comparing drafts, but this one feels extremely underwhelming. While I wouldn't mind nabbing a PF/C, we don't have a huge need for that position.
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
Prior to the 2015 draft, not many of us could come out and confidently say that there would be as many productive rookies as there was in the 15 class, the same could be said about 16. Franchise needs to do their homework and not just bring in talent, but a player that fits in the direction they are looking to go towards....I'm all in favor of building a mammoth sized team, if that so happens to be drafting a big guard or another center, fine by me.
ParniValjak
All-Star
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. This time last year, we were not sure about half the players you listed. Consensus on Zinger was that he WAS too raw and he would take time. Similarly, half the players you mentioned were projects and many of them were no expected to have he sort of impact in their first year that they ended up having.
I think it will be a similar case this time around. I have no doubt that you are right regarding Vlade wanting ready made players so projects at pick 8 will not be our thing. We will use it on a player who can contribute straight away. It won't be one someone like Chriss who could be a couple of years away. I think there is more chance we draft Valentine than there is of us drafting Chriss. I think we are hoping for Dunn but since that is unlikely, then I don't think we will draft a big with our first pick. I think we will either draft a ready made player (Valentine), trade back so that we could get a ready made player (e.g. Baldwin) or trade the pick for a proven vet. Either way, I just cannot see us drafting a player who will not be able to contribute straight away.
I don't think you need to worry about Vlade. He's been dealing with sports politics in Serbia. Our stuff is a walk in the park.
I feel like a lot of people who really studied that draft and watched tapes, saw how good it was. Even if you just watched 1 game of Zingers, you could tell that his shooting+weakside blocking would automatically transfer over to the NBA if nothing else.
I said this about the PorzinGOD in April of last year...
I was a hit/miss on Booker. I thought his ceiling was Klay, and his floor was JJ. I started leaning towards us not drafting him because he just didn't display enough handling ability at Kentucky. The more I watched of him, the more I felt like he was just solid all around and wasn't top 5 pick potential. Of course, the biggest thing I overlooked was his age. Youngest player in the draft at only 18.
Just as a person who's heavily looked into this draft, I think it's weak for the Kings. Chriss/Ellenson/Poeltl are the most talented after the top 7 guys, but we don't have a real need for them. Draft position was so important.....but the Kings decided to win a bunch of games at the end of the season. We're in "no-man's land" at pick 8.
King Baller
All-Star
Since Porzingis was chosen 4th and Vlade did not have a pick until 6th I don't see your point?
I agree with many that one of the talented Bigs will be chosen 4 through 7 leaving Dunn, Murray, Hield or Brown for the Kings to pick if they choose to.
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
I don't think it's fair to judge a draft class after one season. I say the max amount of seasons to get a relatively good feel on the class is three seasons. That's not the max and that's not the norm by no means, it just gives you a bigger window to evaluate who went where and who developed like they were supposed to or didn't.
ParniValjak
All-Star
Every year there is someone that flies up the draft boards after all the workouts are done and dusted. I would not be surprised at all if one or even two of those guys jump into top 7 leaving one "slider".
As much as we are getting small ball showed down our throats all the time (thank god for OKC who are proving that length and size matter), there is always a team who takes a big early based on their potential. I could see Suns doing this or possibly even New Orleans. It depends a little bit on what Ainge does with pick 3. If he picks up Bender, then I can see Suns picking up a big or trading back to draft one which is where I hope we come in and pick up Dunn.
Jazz' vice-president of player personnel just finished pumping Thon Maker's draft stock: http://espn700sports.com/interviews/walt-perrin-utah-jazz-pre-draft-workouts-5-25-16/
Don't see the reason for that honesty other than attempt to generate buzz and push Maker into top-10, making another good prospect available at #12.
I'm saying that Vlade probably wouldn't have even have considered Porzingis at 6. Not many teams in the top 7 need a big, but who knows. If Dun, Murray, Hield, or Brown are gone.... the Kings are in a terrible place to be. We'd have to pick between a ball dominant SG who can do it all, but will be terrible on defense. OR a PG who can shoot 3s with defensive potential...but that's literally all he can do. OR an undersized PG at 6'1 that can do a little bit of everything, but excels at nothing except athleticism. OR we can pick an even more undersized PG who does a bit of everything well, but is the same height as IT, but over 30lbs skinnier.
The Kings aren't in a great position at 8.
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
So after the first seven picks, no other players in the draft are going to pan out?
This year has been yet another vindication of Capt. Factorial's Draft Law: If your team is picking at N, pre-draft analysis will identify exactly N-1 good players in the draft.
Every year.
I'm actually pretty happy with how this draft is turning out though. There's 4 players I really like for us and only 2 of them are projected to go in the top 7. Of course there's players I really like for us every year that we pass on so it doesn't matter anyway. We've only had one Vlade draft so there's no pattern to project from yet. I think we basically know that Simmons, Ingram, Bender, and J. Murray will be gone by 8. Hield, Dunn, and Brown should be but every year there's at least one unexpected late riser in the top 6 picks so it's a safe bet that one of them will still be on the board at 8 we just don't know which one yet. If you want to go position by position like 206Fan did for last year's draft:At PG Dunn is basically it for the elite prospects but I like Dejounte Murray too as a combo guard. At SG we have Hield and Luwawu. At SF we have Brown. At PF we have Chriss and Labissiere. At C we have Poeltl and Ellenson. That's 9 players in our range who would all be very solid picks for us. There's no guarantee these players will have the same immediate impact that those 2015 players had, but as a group I don't think they're any less talented than Mudiay, Booker, Johnson, Winslow, WCS, Lyles, and Turner (I would add Oubre and Portis to that group too).
biltalent
Starter
Every year.
At PG Dunn is basically it for the elite prospects but I like Dejounte Murray too as a combo guard. At SG we have Hield and Luwawu. At SF we have Brown. At PF we have Chriss and Labissiere. At C we have Poeltl and Ellenson. That's 9 players in our range who would all be very solid picks for us. There's no guarantee these players will have the same immediate impact that those 2015 players had, but as a group I don't think they're any less talented than Mudiay, Booker, Johnson, Winslow, WCS, Lyles, and Turner (I would add Oubre and Portis to that group too).
I agree with you, I like our place at 8 because I like about 10 players for us (+ a few ones if we trade down) so that means there will be at least one of them available when we pick.
I also don't think it is a weak draft either, especially if you compare it to the 2013 draft to gain some perspective:
1. Bennett
2. Oladipo
3. Porter
4. C. Zeller
5. Len
6. Noel
7. Mclemore
8. Caldwell-Pope
Ouch. Now that is a weak draft.
5 years ago Brandon Roy, who came to the league as a 22 y.o. senior and with his knee problems already well-known, was indisputably considered top guard in 2006 draft. So how far is Kyle Lowry, drafted at #24 as 20 y.o. sophomore, from Roy in terms of his career achievements? Work ethic, attitude and overall personality mean just as much as the skills, that player starts his NBA career with.
If Kings want the best possible contributor next season out of their draft choice, they should just trade the pick. Willie made sense, since he was ready to play a role and was still under-developed. It's unlikely, that Kings will get similar opportunity at #8 this season.
That draft had good players later, it's just nobody managed to draft them in the lottery. Oladipo and Giannis are likely all-stars, while Porter, Noel, CJ Mccollum, Gobert, maybe KCP might sneak into one under the right circumstances. Certainly not 2000 draft.
bajaden
Hall of Famer
There are going to be surprises in every draft. There are so many variables you have to consider. Who drafts the player and how that player is used. Does the player get minutes, or is he playing behind a veteran and plays mostly garbage minutes. Does the scheme the team runs utilize the strengths of the player. What's the work ethic of the player, and what is his feel for the game. If you manage to draft a player with the 30th pick in the draft, and he turns out to be an all star, are you a brilliant judge of talent, or are you lucky? Probably a little bit of both. You can't really judge a draft until three or so years later.
On that note, its nice to see Malik Newman transfering out of Miss St. He rather sit out a year than play another year under Ben Howland. Howland excells at recruiting top talent and teaching them to underachieve. I don't know how he keeps getting coaching jigs.
Gargamel
Starter
OMG! Gargamel!!!! One of my two favorite Laker fans from the olden times. So glad to see you drop by.
Don't be a stranger. Laker fan or not, God help me I like you.
VF!!!11 You know what's funny? Back in like 05 and earlier, you probably remember that I used to defend Kobz and his injuries tooth n nail. After that, I started to progressively sour on his antics. We've finally reached a consensus this many years later, VF, pal o mine. Give Kobz the slightest chance to drama queen it up and he'd take it. Can't lie. Liked his final game and was happy for him, but I didn't like that last effin contract and the length of his stay. It delayed a true rebuild which is just finally beginning now. Waste of 2-3 years, not that the string of idiots coaching us were all that helpful. I never thought the dipsh Buss kids would rectify the coaching situation at all. Gift from Heaven. Drafting Luke Walton finally pays dividends. Don't get me wrong on Kobe, he was a true superstar in his prime and he was a 1A, a 1B, and a 2 on 5 title teams, depending on the year you're talking about, so it's easier now that he's gone to relinquish a lot of the tension that had built up in me and many other LA fans (trust) from 2011-14. You could say that's convenient because they stopped winning and Lakerfans are spoiled. Guilty as charged if you wanna lob that'n. He was injured a lot and I do salute him greatly for coming back from an Achilles tear (because that ended Isiah Thomas in 94, for example), but he was very erratic from 2013-16. There was a game against NO where he went like 1-15 and kept shooting stupid looks. It was disgusting. That kind of performance began to severely grate on my patience. He would do that stuff, get criticized, get pissy about it, and then start passing to a fault. Even at fault, he was a better player than a gunner with no ammo. Then he would revert back to gunning whatever he wanted to throw up and there were beefs with Howard, etc. I think Dwight Howard is an absolute pinhead and overrated, but still. Looking back, Kobe was definitely the kind of superstar who was best on a legit title contender (for the MOST part, 2004 was bad, but he was goin' crazy over that Eagle situation, he was cracking). In the seasons where he was supposed to wanna lead and guide, those were tough, until the surrounding talent was suddenly good again. Pau for Kwame. I'd like to see a trade like that again. In 2005 with Smush? He ate alone, wouldn't talk to em. Then he would try to get into the camera frame and support Smush when he made a good play, but Smush wouldn't even look at him. Reminds of stories of David Lee Roth in early Van Halen. All the other members said Diamond Dave did the same thing: sullen in background and suddenly your best friend on stage. Kobe had Lead Singer Syndrome.
Gargamel
Starter
Lakers fans don't age as well as Kings fans.
Hey, Brick! I (bleepin) feel that way getting out of bed most AMs. I remember that name being the very first thing that popped in my mind as a username, God knows why. I might've had Smurfs goin in the background, I dunno. I used to watch them when I was a tyke. However, now it's starting to be a name that actually makes sense. I feel like Kareem in that heated blanket in my avvy. He had his drama moments too. I guess all superstars have ego, some are better than others at tucking it in.
YOU Bricklayer, are a superstar at KingsFans. Do you have any Superstar tendencies I should know about???
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