2017 NBA Draft Prospect Discussion

[In2ition]

In hindsight, how horrible was that pick? Marshall had a high bball IQ, and could pass, but how did we not insist that all his other limitations were going to absolutely sink his career in a quick way?

A total garbage pick. Kendall Marshall wouldn't even be the most athletic dude on the court during pickup games at Lifetime Fitness.

True

[Shabazz]

Jayson Tatum is growing on me.

[TOO]

Jayson Tatum is growing on me.

Yesss. His ability to get himself a good shot is elite.

[Superbone]

Jayson Tatum is growing on me.

There's an ointment for that.

[carey]

Jayson Tatum is growing on me.

https://theringer.com/jayson-tatums-old ... .fnfgunvf2

My problem is that I don't know that we need another guy who excels at the mid-range game unless they are automatic. HIs ppp on ISOs seems to be excellent.

Other than Tatum, the most effective isolation scorers on this list — guys like Smith, Monk, and Ball — are elite athletes. They can get around their initial defender as if they aren’t even there, and they create enough separation off the dribble to get wide-open looks without much trouble. Tatum has to score in different ways. Craftiness is not a choice for him; it’s a necessity. He has already mastered the floater, a shot few 6-foot-8 players have in their arsenal, and one that gives him the ability to score over the top of much longer and bigger defenders. It’s a much harder shot than it looks, but Tatum has the body control and the touch around the rim to utilize it in traffic.

[Split T]

To me, Tatum is a better version of TJ, he's a fine prospect but I like quite a few guys more.

[Bruiser]

Ball's shooting form really bothers me. He makes shots and has confidence, but I think that form will catch up with him in the NBA and I can't see him being an off the dribble threat. Still, if he's in a backcourt with a dominant scorer like Booker, maybe it won't matter. Right now I'm leaning towards Fultz.

This. I agree 100%. Shooting is one of the most important skills in this league. To me this is a no-brainer. Fultz over Ball any day.

Scout No. 3 suggested a franchise already equipped with scorers would be the most likely to consider Ball at No. 1. That could mean the Phoenix Suns (projected to pick No. 2), who have two players averaging 20-plus points. Or even the Los Angeles Lakers, who don't have a single player on the roster dishing out five assists per game. (Especially since current Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell mostly played the 2 in college.)

Please, no. :/

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2692 ... ick-debate

[Shabazz]

Jayson Tatum is growing on me.

https://theringer.com/jayson-tatums-old ... .fnfgunvf2

My problem is that I don't know that we need another guy who excels at the mid-range game unless they are automatic. HIs ppp on ISOs seems to be excellent.

Other than Tatum, the most effective isolation scorers on this list — guys like Smith, Monk, and Ball — are elite athletes. They can get around their initial defender as if they aren’t even there, and they create enough separation off the dribble to get wide-open looks without much trouble. Tatum has to score in different ways. Craftiness is not a choice for him; it’s a necessity. He has already mastered the floater, a shot few 6-foot-8 players have in their arsenal, and one that gives him the ability to score over the top of much longer and bigger defenders. It’s a much harder shot than it looks, but Tatum has the body control and the touch around the rim to utilize it in traffic.

Right. He's not as natural of a fit as a guy like Jackson, but as a prospect he's putting up very similar numbers despite being a full year younger.

I also like his potential to improve his 3 point shooing more than Jackson's because his shot mechanics are a lot more natural.

[Bruiser]

My plan:
1. suck for this year and 3 more
2. draft Fultz (2017), Ayton (2018), Bagley Jr. (2019), Cassius Stanley (2020)
3: Rule the 2020s

0. Hire Hinkie.

I do actually like MCD but I would be okay with that.

That is because at one point in time MCD must have been in love with Knight in a way that can only be compared to the love Vivec must be feeling for Buddy Hield right now. That and the IT trade were his biggest blunders to date and looking at the upcoming draft and the Celtics makes it rough for Suns fans to forgive these failures of judgment. The problem is that both trades did not even seem like a good idea at the time they happened and the Tyler Ennis pick was also a little head-scratcher. MCD is such a controlled guy that I cannot believe that his decisions get clouded by his emotions but somehow this seems to be the case from time to time. That or Robert Sarver is sometimes pushing him to do crazy things.

Nevevertheless I will still support MCD and I will continue to believe that he can and will do great things for us. After all he has that great background from Boston and he just seems to be such a smart guy that I cannot imagine him not being able to figure it out. There is still a decent chance that he has learned from his past mistakes as a rookie GM and I am willing to judge him more based on his upcoming actions than on his previous misses. Right now, there are only a hand full of GM's that I would prefer over Ryan but I guess only the upcoming drafts and trade deadlines will tell us what he is really made of. Interesting times ahead.

[JCSunsfan]

My plan:
1. suck for this year and 3 more
2. draft Fultz (2017), Ayton (2018), Bagley Jr. (2019), Cassius Stanley (2020)
3: Rule the 2020s

0. Hire Hinkie.

I do actually like MCD but I would be okay with that.

That is because at one point in time MCD must have been in love with Knight in a way that can only be compared to the love Vivec must be feeling for Buddy Hield right now. That and the IT trade were his biggest blunders to date and looking at the upcoming draft and the Celtics makes it rough for Suns fans to forgive these failures of judgment. The problem is that both trades did not even seem like a good idea at the time they happened and the Tyler Ennis pick was also a little head-scratcher. MCD is such a controlled guy that I cannot believe that his decisions get clouded by his emotions but somehow this seems to be the case from time to time. That or Robert Sarver is sometimes pushing him to do crazy things.

Nevevertheless I will still support MCD and I will continue to believe that he can and will do great things for us. After all he has that great background from Boston and he just seems to be such a smart guy that I cannot imagine him not being able to figure it out. There is still a decent chance that he has learned from his past mistakes as a rookie GM and I am willing to judge him more based on his upcoming actions than on his previous misses. Right now, there are only a hand full of GM's that I would prefer over Ryan but I guess only the upcoming drafts and trade deadlines will tell us what he is really made of. Interesting times ahead.

Knight was fools gold. He looked good in the beginning. He was injured, so they figured he would be better. He didn't fit well beside Booker, but if he came off the bench maybe he just score. Then his efficiency drops like a rock. He has talent. His speed and ability to get to the rim are stellar. But he plays with such tunnel vision it is frustrating. By this time, he is untradeable. They can't include him in deals without killing the deal. But it does not make sense to give up assets to move him since they are below the salary floor. So, they just keep him. Its the only thing they can do.

[In2ition]

My plan:
1. suck for this year and 3 more
2. draft Fultz (2017), Ayton (2018), Bagley Jr. (2019), Cassius Stanley (2020)
3: Rule the 2020s

0. Hire Hinkie.

I do actually like MCD but I would be okay with that.

That is because at one point in time MCD must have been in love with Knight in a way that can only be compared to the love Vivec must be feeling for Buddy Hield right now. That and the IT trade were his biggest blunders to date and looking at the upcoming draft and the Celtics makes it rough for Suns fans to forgive these failures of judgment. The problem is that both trades did not even seem like a good idea at the time they happened and the Tyler Ennis pick was also a little head-scratcher. MCD is such a controlled guy that I cannot believe that his decisions get clouded by his emotions but somehow this seems to be the case from time to time. That or Robert Sarver is sometimes pushing him to do crazy things.

Nevevertheless I will still support MCD and I will continue to believe that he can and will do great things for us. After all he has that great background from Boston and he just seems to be such a smart guy that I cannot imagine him not being able to figure it out. There is still a decent chance that he has learned from his past mistakes as a rookie GM and I am willing to judge him more based on his upcoming actions than on his previous misses. Right now, there are only a hand full of GM's that I would prefer over Ryan but I guess only the upcoming drafts and trade deadlines will tell us what he is really made of. Interesting times ahead.

Knight was fools gold. He looked good in the beginning. He was injured, so they figured he would be better. He didn't fit well beside Booker, but if he came off the bench maybe he just score. Then his efficiency drops like a rock. He has talent. His speed and ability to get to the rim are stellar. But he plays with such tunnel vision it is frustrating. By this time, he is untradeable. They can't include him in deals without killing the deal. But it does not make sense to give up assets to move him since they are below the salary floor. So, they just keep him. Its the only thing they can do.

Do you guys remember when Marion worked hard all offseason to put on weight and muscle that he felt he needed when he was going against the PFs? He wasn't nearly as good at the things that made him so damn good when he added that extra weight/muscle. Once he trimmed it down he went back to being the Matrix we knew and loved, but it took him some time during the season to get back to that. I wonder if that's a little of what happened to Knight. I know he added muscle this off-season, because he felt like he needed it to play off the ball more, but it might have been affecting him big time this season. Just a thought. I still never liked his game though.

[Bruiser]

Maybe MCD knew everything all along and just wanted us to really suck in order to get a fantastic pick.
Maybe we needed to acquire BK and get rid of IT in order to have the best shot at Fultz.
Maybe we get lucky and end up winning the lottery.

http://www.tankathon.com/mock_draft

Maybe doing too many mock drafts made me delusional.

[n4th4n]

The Ringer published a really good piece today on Kansas which focused largely on Josh Jackson's defensive versatility:

https://theringer.com/kansas-jayhawks-b ... .y7biiicup

The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that Jackson should be #2 on our big board after Fultz. Jackson is a phenomenal athlete with a high motor, great instincts for the game, and the defensive potential to one day be mentioned in the same breath as Draymond and Kawhi. And frankly, I am terrified of adding another poor defender to our young roster. Without question, shooting is his weakness; although, he is shooting 36% from 3 at the moment. I would categorize him as... an inconsistent to poor 3-point shooter with plenty of potential for improvement.

Of course, if we are thinking about drafting Jackson, we need to think about how he would fit in the greater context of our roster. Currently, he is excelling as a small ball powerwing playing at the 4 spot. However, on a roster with Len/Bender/Chriss (& I guess Chandler - but we should be thinking long term), he likely wouldn't find himself playing many minutes as PF. Instead, he would spend most of his time playing as SF. So how would that impact his game and his upside?

Obviously, his lack of shooting becomes more significant if he is spending most of his time as a small foward. If you are playing a traditional center and a wing who can't shoot, suddenly spacing becomes a major issue. But then, as we look up and down our roster, what initially felt like a non-ideal fit beings looking like a pretty picture indeed. We are blessed with two PFs who project to be excellent floor spacers. As Bender/Chriss develop, add strength, and (hopefully!!) improve as rebounders, they may even be able to spend time as centers. Well well well, it looks like we may just have the type of roster on which an inconsistent 3-point shooter would fit perfectly.

Here is where we can see how last year's draft has set us up so well for the future. Drafting Bender and Chriss, assuming (hoping) that they reach their potential, has given us so much roster flexibility.

So anyway. Ya. Team Fultz #1 Jackson #2!

[JCSunsfan]

I would be thrilled to get Jackson in this draft. Fultz/Ball #1-2 (not sure which). Jackson #3.

[Split T]

So anyway. Ya. Team Fultz #1 Jackson #2!

Welcome to the team!

[In2ition]

I like Jackson also. I've seen him compared to Scottie Pippen. Can any of you see this in him?

[Split T]

I like Jackson also. I've seen him compared to Scottie Pippen. Can any of you see this in him?

Interesting. Pippen was a DPOY level defender and a legit point forward. I'm not going to claim Jackson can reach those levels, but he does have point forward skills and projects to be a plus defender. So, similar skill set to pippen, but I wouldn't count on him reaching the same level of play as Scottie. He's on the Pippen Spectrum somewhere though.

[In2ition]

I would LOVE to see the Suns somehow get Ball and Jackson together in the draft. Of course, without giving up Booker or some of the other youngins.

[n4th4n]

I would LOVE to see the Suns somehow get Ball and Jackson together in the draft. Of course, without giving up Booker or some of the other youngins.

If only there would have been a way for us to have 2 top 5 picks in this incredibly loaded draft. IF ONLY THAT HAD BEEN POSSIBLE.

[JCSunsfan]

I would LOVE to see the Suns somehow get Ball and Jackson together in the draft. Of course, without giving up Booker or some of the other youngins.

If only there would have been a way for us to have 2 top 5 picks in this incredibly loaded draft. IF ONLY THAT HAD BEEN POSSIBLE.

Don't go there. Just don't.