The NBA Draft Thread

[awwsome]

If we've learned one thing it's to never count against the Suns picking up a PG.

 

[pmatic]

Sixers to explore trades involving Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel

The Philadelphia 76ers will explore trading Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel in the buildup to the NBA draft on June 23, according to league sources.

Sources told ESPN that the Sixers are determined to gauge the trade market for both Okafor and Noel and are increasingly likely to move at least one of them in conjunction with the draft, in which Philadelphia holds the No. 1 overall selection for the first time since selecting Allen Iverson in 1996.

In recent weeks, rival executives have been forecasting Philadelphia to be one of the most active teams this offseason in terms of pursuing trades, with new personnel boss Bryan Colangelo known to be aggressive and openly determined to speed Philadelphia's return to playoff contention.

In an interview with ESPN Radio's "Russillo and Kanell" earlier this month, Sixers coach Brett Brown hinted at the club's desire to be active.

"Think about these types of resources," Brown said during the interview. "We have the first pick. We have the 24th and 26th pick. On our current roster we have Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Jerami Grant [and] Robert Covington. We had a [2014] draft class that effectively redshirted in Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.

"For the first time in my four years, we're going to enter a legitimate approach to free agency."

Colangelo, for his part, told Bleacher Report Radio last week that "everybody is thinking about winning as opposed to prolonging the rebuilding process."

‎Sources describe Okafor, at this early juncture, as the most likely of the two to be moved in the wake of his rocky rookie season off the floor.

But the Sixers are known to be considering a wide range of possibilities, given the prospect of fellow lottery picks Embiid and Saric finally making their Philadelphia debuts next season to add to the Sixers' deep frontcourt and the well-chronicled concerns about whether Okafor and Noel can play together.

After winning the recent draft lottery, Philadelphia is in the process of choosing between LSU's Ben Simmons and Duke's Brandon Ingram with the first overall pick.

Among the options the Sixers have is trying to trade Okafor or Noel for another high pick in the looming draft to address their backcourt needs or building a package around either one in a trade for veteran talent, either in June or in July after free agency starts.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...e-trades-involving-jahlil-okafor-nerlens-noel

 

[nick.]

If we've learned one thing it's to never count against the Suns picking up a PG.

Adding Dunn/Murray to a backcourt that already has Bledsoe, Knight, Booker, & Goodwin is a recipe for disaster. They literally just experimented with 3 PG lineups & it was awful.

Maybe they'll look into trading back.

 

[pmatic]

Deyonta Davis plays like an NBA rim protector. Now he has to talk like one

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2016/5/...is-nba-draft-2016-lottery-pick-michigan-state

 

[carver]

Trading back in a draft in the NBA isn't that great ..even worse in a draft like this. I'd draft whoever I think has the most potential to be a star. At 3-4 maybe someone like Bender

 

[awwsome]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...e-trades-involving-jahlil-okafor-nerlens-noel

 

[Retroballer]

Wonder what it would take to get both Okafor and Noel in the same deal

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Chad Ford Workout News (I can't post insider so here is a summary)

Buddy Heild

- Buddy Heild shot 20-25 from "Steph Curry range" (5 feet beyond 3 point line)
- Working on tightening handle

Kriss Dunn

-went up against Elfird Payton and Nick Johnson, Ulis and Ron Baker and looked was the best defender on the floor
- very competitive, shoots better in the games than in drills

Marquese Chriss

- head at rim level explosiveness
- suns are considering him at 4
- 7-10 is his range.


Henry Elleson

- shot the ball really well in workouts
- looks like a real stretch 4.
-

Jakob Poeltl

Held his own against Towns and Damian Jones and Yabusele
- showed a nice stroke from mid range
- working on extending range


Tyler Ulis

- in the 2 on 2 drills and 3 on 3 he really shined
- rarely made a bad pass
- his team usually won.
- working on getting stronger


Damian Jones, Guerschon Yabusele, Alex Poythress, Ron Baker

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Damian Jones

- 7 footer, Deandre Jordan level athelte
- people were shocked by his shooting; legit shooter, with NBA 3 point range
- scouts are mixed. some mid 1st some think 2nd rounder


Guerschon Yabusele

- really mobile for a 270 pounders
- reminds scounts of a more athletic Sullinger


Ron Baker

- shot the ball really well.
- played tough solid defense against Kris Dunn.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Niiiiiiice

Rooting for ulis to prove you all wrong :]

 

[awwsome]

Chriss getting a lot of buzz.

 

[nick.]

I'm a fan of Chriss & Ellenson.

Hope Timothe Luwawu does his thing too

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Kevin Pelton Analytic Draft Projections



1. Ben Simmons 3.7 WARP
Dragan Bender: 3.4 WARP
2. Brandon Ingram 3.1 WARP

3. Jamal Murray 2.6 WARP
4. Henry Ellenson Consensus: 2.3 WARP
5. Jakob Poeltl Consensus: 2.2 WARP
6. Kris Dunn Consensus: 2.1 WARP
7. Wade Baldwin IV 2.0 WARP

8. Diamond Stone 1.9 WARP
9. Fred VanVleet 1.8 WARP
10. Marquese Chriss 1.8 WARP
11. Buddy Hield 1.8 WARP
12. Denzel Valentine 1.8 WARP
13. Tyler Ulis 1.8 WARP
14. Thomas Bryant: 1.6 WARP

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

15. Deyonta Davis 1.5 WARP
16. Gary Payton II 1.5 WARP
17. Chris Boucher 1.4 WARP
18. Jameel Warney 1.4 WARP
19. Monte Morris 1.4 WARP
20. Ivan Rabb 1.4 WARP
21. Josh Hart 1.4 WARP
22. Patrick McCaw 1.3 WARP
23. Domantas Sabonis 1.2 WARP
24. Caris LeVert 1.2 WARP
25. Taurean Prince 1.1 WARP
26. Ron Baker: 1.1 WARP
27. Grayson Allen: 1.1 WARP
28. Cheick Diallo: 1.1 WARP
29. Jarrod Uthoff: 1.1 WARP
30. Tyler Davis: 1.1 WARP

Who's missing?

33. Jaylen Brown 0.9 WARP

67. Skal Labissiere

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Thought experiment:



What is Tyler Ulis better than Fred Valn Vleet at?

 

[awwsome]

Thought experiment:



What is Tyler Ulis better than Fred Valn Vleet at?

Scoring, shot better with more usage.

He's also 20 compared to 22, the question should really be why Vanvleet wasn't that much better than Ulis despite having two more years of experience against lesser competition.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Depends if you're comparing ulis and van fleet as sophs or both head to head now

van fleet always reminded me of Jordan farmar without even looking at their numbers

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Scoring, shot better with more usage.

He's also 20 compared to 22, the question should really be why Vanvleet wasn't that much better than Ulis despite having two more years of experience against lesser competition.

Career USG is very close, with Fred's being slightly higher.

I would argue Fred WAS better.

Wtichita State was neck and neck with Kentucky in Ken Pom rankings which adjust for qualiy of competition.
Fred had worse teammates, and his squad was basically just as good as a Ulis led Kentucky team with multiple 1st rounders.


and if you go back to his age 20 season he was just as good if not better, with .614 TS% on an undefeated WSU team.


also

Fred is almost 40 pound heavier, and was the same weight when he was 20.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Its tough for me to get why Ulis is a lottery pick and Fred is going in the second round and might go undrafted.


if I'm going to bet on some 5'11 I might go Fred over Ulis.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Don't know if ulis deserves to be a lotto pick but I'm picking him before van fleet. If nothing else because of the foot speed and quickness

Ulis is the better scorer, at least in college already at a younger age. His body is a problem though no doubt

 

[frshstunna]

Its tough for me to get why Ulis is a lottery pick and Fred is going in the second round and might go undrafted.


if I'm going to bet on some 5'11 I might go Fred over Ulis.

Kentucky vs witchita state is the difference ...I wouldn't want my team to draft Ullis in the lottery

 

[woody2626]

Fun Fact: Damian Jones was majoring in engineering science and interned in high school at a chemical plant.

20 year old junior, has all the physical tools. Needs some guidance to sharpen his post moves. Kid is gonna be successful in the league and I'm not sure how some scouts are seeing him drop to the 2nd round.

 

[addict4sneakers]

Where are you seeing these projections at? Draft express has uliss going 24 and big out of vandy at 14

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Where are you seeing these projections at? Draft express has uliss going 24 and big out of vandy at 14

its not a mock draft its kevin pelton rankings based on his draft projection system.

an analytic model that translates college production to NBA production.



STL%
OREB%
USG%
FT%
FTA


all tend to translate really well to the NBA

3P%
2P%

don't translate as well.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Wonder what it would take to get both Okafor and Noel in the same deal

No chance Philly moves both before embiid plays a season

 

[awwsome]

Ulis not going lottery.

 

[brandon3000]

View media item 2047243

In his workout in Anaheim, California, on Tuesday, Hield certainly looked the part as a shooter. He rarely missed shots, regardless of where he was on the floor. When the NBA 3-point line became boring (a line that is typically intimidating for college shooters, regardless of their skill), he was comfortable stepping back another five feet and hitting 20-of-25 from "Curry range" in one drill. And Hield did it with all the confidence that he showed at Oklahoma last season. He believes he can be special; great shooters need that level of confidence.

His confidence and quick release make him arguably the best shooter in this draft. In a league desperate for shooters, that only makes him a more attractive lottery pick.

He also knows that the Curry comparison isn't a perfect fit. Curry is an elite ball handler with crazy good court vision. Hield's handle and court vision have been criticized by scouts. And while Curry isn't an all-NBA defender, his effort on that end clearly surpasses Hield's right now.

Of course, when Curry entered the league, virtually every scout worried about similar things: Is he a point guard? Can he defend anyone?

Hield hears the criticism and has been spending most of the past six weeks tightening up his handle and working on his explosiveness in an effort to improve his lateral quickness. He has even received some on-court tutoring from Kobe Bryant.

Both efforts are coming along nicely. Hield looked terrific in a number of ball handling drills, and while I didn't get to see him play defense (he was in a one-on-none workout), he seemed confident he was going to address his defensive deficiencies in the NBA.

"My freshman year I was a good defender," Hield said. "My sophomore, junior and senior year I turned into a scorer. I took a step back the last three years.

"But if you want something you go and get it. I know in the NBA there will be a lot of 2-guards coming at me. I know I have to stop them to stay on the court. Defense comes from your heart inside. ... I have a lot of heart.

"I'm not going to let anyone take advantage of me. That's how it's always been for me growing up. So I'm going to do what I have to do when I get there and I don't think defense will be a problem for me."