Flopi
Bench
It looks like Chad Ford is recycling old news/quotes :
https://twitter.com/okhanSTR/status/864258057089318912
https://twitter.com/okhanSTR/status/864258057089318912
It looks like Chad Ford is recycling old news/quotes :
https://twitter.com/okhanSTR/status/864258057089318912
It looks like Chad Ford is recycling old news/quotes :
https://twitter.com/okhanSTR/status/864258057089318912
I think what it comes down to with Diallo is whether he has a good skill set or not. For that reason, I think his workouts will be more important than for most players. He's the mystery man, but if he can show he can shoot the ball, and has good handles, his stock will rise significantly. His athleticism is a big plus, but skill are equally important. Hard to find a player that athletically gifted who is also very skilled. According to an atricle on the comcast website, Diallo is one of the players that the Kings are bringing in to work out.
Fox: “They just feel like if they’re able to get a point guard, somebody who can run the team, they feel like they could do something special,” Fox told reporters after meeting with the Kings. “But like I said, that division is really hard. You’re going to have to have a point guard that’s ready to play every night to do something in that division.”
Well, as you know, I don't need convincing. I've been touting him for most of the college season. He's very skilled for a seven footer, but what I really like about him is that he plays with an edge. He's mentally tough and a total team guy. I can see him easily playing the stretch four position, and center if needed. I keep asking myself if Skal can play the three? My gut says no, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to experiment in summer league and training camp. Sure would make for a hell of a front line with Willie, Zach, and Skal.
That said, I would prefer Isaac, but there's the possibility that he's gone. Right now, Smith is projected to be available when we pick. But if he starts dazzling people in his workouts, what happens if Fultz, Ball, Smith, and Fox, all go in the top five That would leave Monk, Tatum, Isaac, Ntilikina, and Markkanen. If Tatum and Isaac go next, that leaves us with Monk, Markkanen, Ntilikina, and of course Collins as our choices. At that point, if we really have our heart set on a PG, we have to take Ntilikina at 8, which I think is a bit of a reach. I can't see us taking Monk. I like him but I think he's best suited as a sixth man off the bench, and I think we want more than that at 8. Either way, in that scenario, I see us taking Collins at either 8 or at 10. I think Collins is a better all around player than Markkanen.
I like that quote from Fox. I'm going to assume it was suggested to him by his agent and that he really has paid some attention to what's going on in Sacto.
Agree about Zach, if hes there at 10 I am happy to take him. Ntilikina at 8 also happy with. That's also how nbadraft.net currently has it down. As I said in a past post I like Ntilikina as he can rotate opening up more time for Buddy and Bogdan to facilitate some as well.
I also have wondered about Skall at the 3. I have not had the opportunity to watch him as much as some but he seems to have the speed and ability to score to keep up just not sure about other aspects of his game.
He didn't play in the recent couple of games for the scouts. That's got to be a fairly big negative, especially when you have nothing to go on as far as college games. He did play against excellent competition in practice. I wonder how many times the Kings scouts saw him there? My biggest question is his BBIQ and work ethic. If he's got that, everything should come out fine. If he doesn't, then all those athletic abilities will be squandered.
I've yet to see Skal do anything that could warrant him playing at SF. His lateral quickness seems pretty slow compared to his body size. PFs blew by him quite a bit. He should be able to correct that by anticipating moves better as he gets more experience but it's a different animal at SF. I think he's going to concentrate on PF and bulk up so he doesn't get powered through as much as he did last year. On offense, he doesn't really have a perimeter game other than catch and shoot. He has a similar body to Durant's a few years back but he has none of the guard/small forward type skills that Durant had. Skal is a different type of athletic than most SFs. He's more of a one or two step athletic guy than a perimeter to the hoop type of athletic, if that makes sense. He can receive the ball in the paint and throw it down with authority or use one of his many crafty moves to score but that athleticism is kind of limited to a 5ft bubble around where his feet are set. If you had him step out to the 3 point line and then drive to the hoop off a screen, it wouldn't work out very well. I see him turning out more like a Zach Randolph type player with a better 3 point shot if he can reach his ceiling.
I think he has a tad more perimeter game than you've indicated, but not much more. I think his biggest limitations on his perimeter game is his ball handling. If he can tighten that up, then I think he'll be able to attack the basket more from out there. Still, that doesn't make him a SF. Personally, I doubt he can play the SF position, but I've been surprised before. I worry more about him defensively at that position than I do offensively.
I think it's just funny that there are 32 pages of posts on who we will pick at spots 8 and 10 (or thereabouts), when we don't even know if we will be picking there, if we will even have any picks (I know, very remote chance), whether we will jump into the lottery and be getting Philly's pick instead, whether Vlade decides to make some trades and go up or down in the draft, etc.
People are hyper-focusing on an outcome that may not be there in a few weeks!