Rookie/sophomore watch thread

[Danimal]

Caught some wolves warriors a few days back. Towns looks quite the unit. Wiggins shows flashes of brilliance but some of his iSo work seemed a bit forced/soft finishes at times. I'm sure that will be fixed though. Quite the young core they have there. I'm sure the big market teams are circling

[ShelC]

What was that about Towns' unit?

[Ring_Wanted]

Jahil Okafor is a force. The only two games where he scored less than 18 were against the Utah and OKC. So he's basically dropping 20 on you unless you have elite shotblockers. By the way, speaking of blocks, he is getting more than Noel (1.8 vs 1.2).

You'd be vomiting if he was playing for the Lakers.

[Sunsfan4life]

So envious of these teams that have young stud players. I love Booker and Warren and I like Len, but we don't have anybody who's going to go nuts like a Drummond, a Greek Freak, an Okafor.

Okafor can't guard a chair. He's got a long way to go defensively, but he can score for sure.

Philly is my local team. It's interesting, because Noel and Okafor clearly don't fit together and almost certainly 1 will be moved down the road. Prob Noel. I get Hinkie drafting BPA, but it is well speculated around here they desperately wanted Russel instead of JA and the fact the Lakers took Russel set them back a little.

Saric might be their best prospect though.

[Sunsfan4life]

Caught some wolves warriors a few days back. Towns looks quite the unit. Wiggins shows flashes of brilliance but some of his iSo work seemed a bit forced/soft finishes at times. I'm sure that will be fixed though. Quite the young core they have there. I'm sure the big market teams are circling

Always the problem with teams like that. Not drafting, but keeping their young players. Remember how depressed Lavine looked when Minny drafted him instead of us? Also, Sam Mitchells rotations are terrible. e's playing guys like Andre Miller 40mins a night when Rubio is hurt n KG has ben getting more run then Shabazz on night he plays.

[Ring_Wanted]

Okafor can't guard a chair. He's got a long way to go defensively, but he can score for sure.

Philly is my local team. It's interesting, because Noel and Okafor clearly don't fit together and almost certainly 1 will be moved down the road. Prob Noel. I get Hinkie drafting BPA, but it is well speculated around here they desperately wanted Russel instead of JA and the fact the Lakers took Russel set them back a little.

Saric might be their best prospect though.

Interesting. Don't you think D'Angelo would have suffered the same way MCW did? All alone offensively, but at least MCW could defend.

As for Okafor and Noel, ideally you'd want to put a defensive stretch 4 next to Okafor, although I believe they'd be a viable combo if Noel developed a reliable midrange shot.

Saric is all around very talented but there is merit to the Bodiroga comparisons for being too slow. I could be wrong but I can't image him being a better NBA player than guys with skills as well defined as Noel and Okafor.

[pickle]

i'd love to get noel... i think his size and energy on defense are incredible. his offense is a work in progress, admittedly, and he would not be able to fit next to len, but ... wow.

i'm still not buying into the minnesota hype yet. if rubio is as brittle as he has been the last few seasons, i don't see that team making playoff noise. he alone has been a stabilizing force for them.

[Sunsfan4life]

Okafor can't guard a chair. He's got a long way to go defensively, but he can score for sure.

Philly is my local team. It's interesting, because Noel and Okafor clearly don't fit together and almost certainly 1 will be moved down the road. Prob Noel. I get Hinkie drafting BPA, but it is well speculated around here they desperately wanted Russel instead of JA and the fact the Lakers took Russel set them back a little.

Saric might be their best prospect though.

Interesting. Don't you think D'Angelo would have suffered the same way MCW did? All alone offensively, but at least MCW could defend.

As for Okafor and Noel, ideally you'd want to put a defensive stretch 4 next to Okafor, although I believe they'd be a viable combo if Noel developed a reliable midrange shot.

Saric is all around very talented but there is merit to the Bodiroga comparisons for being too slow. I could be wrong but I can't image him being a better NBA player than guys with skills as well defined as Noel and Okafor.

You hit the nail on the head Ring, except Noel's outside game is pretty bad right now. Maybe he can develop it, but right now he is lost offensively next to Okafor.

I loved D'Angelo as a prospect and leading up to the draft the rumor was so did Hinkie. I know he has struggled a bit so far this year, but I still think he'll be a better player then Okafor when its all said and done and the type of lead guard you want your team to have. He had the "it" factor in college and I think, like others have said, Scott is not a good coach for developing players.

[Sunsfan4life]

i'd love to get noel... i think his size and energy on defense are incredible. his offense is a work in progress, admittedly, and he would not be able to fit next to len, but ... wow.

i'm still not buying into the minnesota hype yet. if rubio is as brittle as he has been the last few seasons, i don't see that team making playoff noise. he alone has been a stabilizing force for them.

I wanted us to draft Noel over Len....jury is still out over who will be better, but right now it looks like we missed on that one.

[Danimal]

Portzingus currently with 27 and 10 versus the hornets. Mind you, that would be the front court to do it against

[pickle]

I wanted us to draft Noel over Len....jury is still out over who will be better, but right now it looks like we missed on that one.

i feel like len can be a solid anchor on defense, but he's not likely to be a superstar. or even an all star at that, which is a bit disappointing for a 5th overall pick. we as a team don't get too many of those, in our eternal quest for mediocrity.

i don't know what noel will become as he develops more. from the games i watch, he seems full of energy and bounce and explosiveness but can't shoot to save his life. i feel like len has a decent shooting stroke from at least free throw range.

[pickle]

does whiteside count as a sophomore in this space? looks like that guy finally has his head screwed on straight. 10 blocks. holy shit.

[Indy]

I wanted us to draft Noel over Len....jury is still out over who will be better, but right now it looks like we missed on that one.

i feel like len can be a solid anchor on defense, but he's not likely to be a superstar. or even an all star at that, which is a bit disappointing for a 5th overall pick. we as a team don't get too many of those, in our eternal quest for mediocrity.

i don't know what noel will become as he develops more. from the games i watch, he seems full of energy and bounce and explosiveness but can't shoot to save his life. i feel like len has a decent shooting stroke from at least free throw range.

How many guys taken in top 5 of the last 5 years are all-stars?

[Ring_Wanted]

Since 2010: Cousins, Kyrie, Davis. Outside the top5 picks: Paul George, Klay, Jimmy Butler, Lillard.

The problem was the lack of star punch of that 2013 draft. Prospects like Shabazz, Cody Zeller, McLemore, Noel were hyped at one point as #1 overall during that college season. Close to the draft, Oladipo or Len himself were discussed too.

Having the #5 overall pick in 2013 was not an enviable situation. A high amount of decent to good role players but no real trascendent talent at the top, and to our disgrace the best prospects in hindsight went #15 and #27 plus Schroder at #17, who imo is the next big thing at PG.

[Split T]

I wanted us to draft Noel over Len....jury is still out over who will be better, but right now it looks like we missed on that one.

i feel like len can be a solid anchor on defense, but he's not likely to be a superstar. or even an all star at that, which is a bit disappointing for a 5th overall pick. we as a team don't get too many of those, in our eternal quest for mediocrity.

i don't know what noel will become as he develops more. from the games i watch, he seems full of energy and bounce and explosiveness but can't shoot to save his life. i feel like len has a decent shooting stroke from at least free throw range.

How many guys taken in top 5 of the last 5 years are all-stars?

since 2010 there are 4 so far. Cousins, Wall, Irving, and Davis.

Guys that will probably get there at some point, Beal, Wiggins and Towns.

Too soon to rule out, Jabari, Okafor, Russell, Portzingis, Hezonja, Embiid, Exum, Gordon, Oladipo

[pickle]

How many guys taken in top 5 of the last 5 years are all-stars?

i guess i kind of touched upon a topic that i didn't intend to with that comment. i'm not so disillusioned to think that every top 5 pick needs to be an all-star. i guess for us phoenix fans, be it the small-market team thing, be it sarver's insistence on making a profit every year, whatever it is, #5 overall picks are far and few in between for us. i started following the team in 1990, and this may very well have been the highest pick in my time as a suns fan. iirc, the highest before that were the two #9 picks, which netted us STAT and the matrix. so ... i was simply indulging my homerism in wishing that our #5 pick would give us an all star caliber player. and i'm not actually all that into the accolades; i could care less about the awards our players are given, but i sure as hell would like for this #5 pick overall to net us a player who had a significant, game changing impact when he is on the floor.

looks to me like right now len is a solid player, but it's not particularly promising that he'll reach that level of impact.

[JCSunsfan]

i watched the knicks bucks game today. porzingis is for real... if he can stay injury free, this kid is going to be absolutely amazing. he's not dirk, but he can shoot it from 3. he isn't really a post presence right now, but he sure can run and jump. i'm not sure who i would compare him to... he is listed as a PF but i think he has SF game, though maybe he's not quite fast enough for that position.

and the greek freak is amazing. he's no longer taking ill-advised 22 footers, and his length is just overwhelming. sigh.

Not sure who you could compare him to. Has the league ever had a run/jump 7-2 sharpshooter. Dirk has to be the closest thing. Maybe he is a bigger slightly Durant.

That stat line of 29 points, on 58% shooting and 2-2 from 3, 7-7 from the line, 11 rebounds, 1 block and only 2 fouls for a 20 year old rookie. Yikes. Phil Jackson is looking good in NY right now.

There are some quality young players developing. KAT is the real deal. Okafor seems to be as well. Too bad the Lakers have been swinging and missing on their picks. 3 players look like stars in the first four picks of this last draft, and the Lakers got the other one.

Oh, and by the way. This is next year's Porzingis. The team that drafts this player will not only get a decent young prospect, but a billion new fans.

[Mori Chu]

Oh, and by the way. This is next year's Porzingis. The team that drafts this player will not only get a decent young prospect, but a billion new fans.

Pass. I remember Yi Jianlian all too well.

[ShelC]

KPs a little Dirk, a little Pau, a little Sampson, a little KD, a little Smits, a little....Zarko?

He pulled out a Dream Shake last night that was a thing of beauty. Just a good basketball player in a 72 frame and a good kid too. He'll be really easy to root for.

[pickle]

Oh, and by the way. This is next year's Porzingis. The team that drafts this player will not only get a decent young prospect, but a billion new fans.

Pass. I remember Yi Jianlian all too well.

yeah... no... say no to this kid please. i'm somewhat plugged into the chinese sports scene and most people think of him as a novelty, not a star... maybe it's early yet, but playing in china/cba is not the same as playing professionally in europe starting at age 13...