Two of this mocks, have us passing on Sabonis, not sure about that. A Bender/Sabonis combo would set us at the PF slot in the short and long term, since Sabonis is ready to step up, while Bender hopefully develops into a good-to-great stretch four, pushing Sabonis to the bench, as an above average first big in reserve. Obviously we could be as well drafting a couple of stiffs, but I like to remain positive.
We have Booker, and hopefully Bodgan, why would we take Korkmaz?
NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
I wouldn't mind Bender / Sabonis. I also wouldn't mind taking a gamble on Zhou Qi at 28 or 34.
If Bender isn't there at 4, I'm not sure I want anyone else that high. Generally speaking, I would want to gamble on guys with very high ceilings or move the picks for future drafts.
If Bender isn't there at 4, I'm not sure I want anyone else that high. Generally speaking, I would want to gamble on guys with very high ceilings or move the picks for future drafts.
The league needs heroes, villains... and clowns. -- Aztec Sunsfan
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Know who has a beautiful outside shot for a big man?
[youtube][/youtube]
Someone suggested taking him at #13 over at RealGM and I say why not if you think he'll be better than Skal or Ellenson or whoever is still available there.
[youtube][/youtube]
Someone suggested taking him at #13 over at RealGM and I say why not if you think he'll be better than Skal or Ellenson or whoever is still available there.
Go Suns!
Og Snus!
Og Snus!
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Who is this year's Rudy Gobert or Greek Freak?
"There are 3 rules I live by: never get less than 12 hours sleep, never play cards with a guy with the same first name as a city & never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Everything else is cream cheese."
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
If I knew that I'd have a job with an NBA team. So, no idea.In2ition wrote:Who is this year's Rudy Gobert or Greek Freak?
Go Suns!
Og Snus!
Og Snus!
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Impressive.carey wrote:Know who has a beautiful outside shot for a big man?
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Chriss seems to have shot up mock drafts but have there actually been many GM's on record talking him up?
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
No, but that actually leads me to believe that teams want him high. Some of these mocks actually poll front office personnel, but they tend to leak out false information on purpose. We'll see but I'm starting to think for the Suns it's Bender or Chriss.Danimal wrote:Chriss seems to have shot up mock drafts but have there actually been many GM's on record talking him up?
Go Suns!
Og Snus!
Og Snus!
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
The draft is a week away & this place is as dead as a door nail. Are we already done dissecting prospects to death? No trades to make up? Where is everyone?
Go Suns!
Og Snus!
Og Snus!
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Good question. I was wondering the same thing. I figured it would start to get busy around here.
"There are 3 rules I live by: never get less than 12 hours sleep, never play cards with a guy with the same first name as a city & never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Everything else is cream cheese."
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
It's weird for me because the makeup of the team is weird. Even if we nail the 4th pick, what kind of impact will he have? We have too many guards, a veteran center who may need to be traded and a 4th yr center who hasn't been consistent and has been forced to play the PF spot. Will any of these picks move the needle? It's nice to have draft picks and young players, but we just have too many guys who don't mesh and/or need the ball to effective. We need a franchise PF and a legit answer at the 3spot (not convinced about TJ) but will they even see time or get any shots?
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Big Jake Little Jake
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:25 pm
- Location: Los Angeles
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
I rarely post, but I just want to mention how much I appreciate all the thoughts and opinions you all share. I'd love to contribute more to the conversation, but I don't watch college basketball at all, so I get most of my info by reading all your thoughts on these guys and from other sources around the internet. I really enjoy getting your takes, since this is the only way I learn about all the prospects and their different strengths and weaknesses. So please keep commenting!
It's useful to hear your opinions, since I find a lot those draft express videos to be sort of pointless when they just show guys making shots over and over. I mean yeah, you get a sense of some of the things they're comfortable with, but you can never really see their drive or their tendencies. How aware are they of what's going on around them? How often do they make the right pass? I'm sure you could put together a killer mix of Brandon Knight hitting a bunch of threes, but you'd never really see just how many forced ones he takes or how he "runs" the offense, rarely making the smart pass, often forcing the homerun pass. I worry that these skills aren't really teachable.
As soon as I saw Devin Booker play in summer league, you could tell he could play. He just seemed so effortless out there, making tons of smart moves, that even when he was missing shots you were sure he was going to have an NBA career. There must be guys out there that people can already see that in. Great decision making, comfort on the court (playing at their own speed - whatever that is), not afraid in certain situations. These are skills that will never go away and only make for an improved career. Anyone out there fit that mold?
It's useful to hear your opinions, since I find a lot those draft express videos to be sort of pointless when they just show guys making shots over and over. I mean yeah, you get a sense of some of the things they're comfortable with, but you can never really see their drive or their tendencies. How aware are they of what's going on around them? How often do they make the right pass? I'm sure you could put together a killer mix of Brandon Knight hitting a bunch of threes, but you'd never really see just how many forced ones he takes or how he "runs" the offense, rarely making the smart pass, often forcing the homerun pass. I worry that these skills aren't really teachable.
As soon as I saw Devin Booker play in summer league, you could tell he could play. He just seemed so effortless out there, making tons of smart moves, that even when he was missing shots you were sure he was going to have an NBA career. There must be guys out there that people can already see that in. Great decision making, comfort on the court (playing at their own speed - whatever that is), not afraid in certain situations. These are skills that will never go away and only make for an improved career. Anyone out there fit that mold?
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Good to see you, BJLJ! I am also not posting too much in the draft threads because I don't follow the college players. I like Sabonis and I also think Bender looks good at the #4, but I have been wrong so many times (I loved Kaminsky last year; do I have a BWS fetish?) that I should listen more and bark less when it comes to whom to draft. Heck, I didn't even want us to draft Amare back in the day. What do I know? But I do love reading the posts from those wiser than I.
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
I'm with the last two. I don't have much to contribute in this area. I did want Amare badly but only because of this forum and how he had become the consensus pick.
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Oh, yeah, and it happens one week from today!
My favorite time is when we do draft and I get to learn about our new guys and then watch them perform the very next month in NBA Summer League. BTW, I will be in Vegas doing a poker tournament this year during summer league so I hope to catch a game.
My favorite time is when we do draft and I get to learn about our new guys and then watch them perform the very next month in NBA Summer League. BTW, I will be in Vegas doing a poker tournament this year during summer league so I hope to catch a game.
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
I just received an email invitation from the Suns to Zipps for "Drafts before the Draft" party. I've never been to the Via de Ventura location. Is it very big, or is this going to be a "heads up, we will be trading away our picks for cap space and cash on draft day" type thing?
"There are 3 rules I live by: never get less than 12 hours sleep, never play cards with a guy with the same first name as a city & never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Everything else is cream cheese."
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
Coro is saying that he does not think that we will draft Brown at #4.
https://twitter.com/paulcoro/status/743480374932606976
https://twitter.com/paulcoro/status/743480374932606976
Go Suns!
Og Snus!
Og Snus!
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
I think Gambo was saying the same thing a few days ago.
"There are 3 rules I live by: never get less than 12 hours sleep, never play cards with a guy with the same first name as a city & never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Everything else is cream cheese."
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virtual9mm
- Posts: 2291
- Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:24 pm
Re: NBA Draft Prospects Discussion
I've also learned that Inf, Cap, DC and many others around these parts have far better knowledge of basketball than I do, so I've been content to read rather than contribute. Not much I can say that is meaningful.
That being said, I am watching for several things:
(1) Evidence that Ryan McDonough has grown as a front office manager. We know that he's been pretty good to spectacular as a talent scout. Has he learned that players are human beings with feelings that need to be rationally accounted for, in addition to identifying and maximizing assets? He's been really good at building assets, for instance, by signing IT using cap space and converting him into a first rounder. This example, of course, also highlights how poorly he managed the feelings and expectations of the players.
(2) Evidence that Ryan McDonough has grown beyond his fetish for combo guards that can't distribute. From a strategic perspective, it makes sense to run a 2-PG lineup. Great SGs are rare (i.e. expensive) and combo guards are plentiful (i.e. cheap). The problem is that he is ignoring the multiplier effect. A good PG makes the players around him look better, and increases their value. So, the fetish for a Bledsoe-Knight lineup is actually decreasing the value of the other assets that he has collected. The Brandon Knight fiasco is a perfect case in point -- Knight puts up his numbers and might be a reasonable trade asset (although we would be hard pressed to recoup our initial investment) -- but he's made other potential assets like Len and Chandler look bad and depreciate in value.
(3) Evidence that the Suns are actually interested in building a team. I would think that the Suns are looking good at several positions:
Backcourt: I am with everyone that a Bledsoe + Booker backcourt might work well, because Booker has the ability to be a competent if not exceptional secondary ballhandler and distributor. Let Bledsoe penetrate and dish, and let Booker either put up the J or play the role of a secondary playmaker if that play breaks down.
Frontcourt: I want to see what TJ can do, and I think that Len will only improve either as a face-up center or a low post one. Worst case, Len will be a good defensive and rebounding center, he just needs to be able to pop the 18 footer, and he should get there soon.
Everyone else should be trade bait, especially Chandler, Knight and Tucker.
Not sure if anyone here would disagree with this logic -- let's see if there are small moves to fill holes (i.e. drafting Bender or Sabonis) or a big move to re-shape the team. This isn't anything new. I just want to see what goes down.
That being said, I am watching for several things:
(1) Evidence that Ryan McDonough has grown as a front office manager. We know that he's been pretty good to spectacular as a talent scout. Has he learned that players are human beings with feelings that need to be rationally accounted for, in addition to identifying and maximizing assets? He's been really good at building assets, for instance, by signing IT using cap space and converting him into a first rounder. This example, of course, also highlights how poorly he managed the feelings and expectations of the players.
(2) Evidence that Ryan McDonough has grown beyond his fetish for combo guards that can't distribute. From a strategic perspective, it makes sense to run a 2-PG lineup. Great SGs are rare (i.e. expensive) and combo guards are plentiful (i.e. cheap). The problem is that he is ignoring the multiplier effect. A good PG makes the players around him look better, and increases their value. So, the fetish for a Bledsoe-Knight lineup is actually decreasing the value of the other assets that he has collected. The Brandon Knight fiasco is a perfect case in point -- Knight puts up his numbers and might be a reasonable trade asset (although we would be hard pressed to recoup our initial investment) -- but he's made other potential assets like Len and Chandler look bad and depreciate in value.
(3) Evidence that the Suns are actually interested in building a team. I would think that the Suns are looking good at several positions:
Backcourt: I am with everyone that a Bledsoe + Booker backcourt might work well, because Booker has the ability to be a competent if not exceptional secondary ballhandler and distributor. Let Bledsoe penetrate and dish, and let Booker either put up the J or play the role of a secondary playmaker if that play breaks down.
Frontcourt: I want to see what TJ can do, and I think that Len will only improve either as a face-up center or a low post one. Worst case, Len will be a good defensive and rebounding center, he just needs to be able to pop the 18 footer, and he should get there soon.
Everyone else should be trade bait, especially Chandler, Knight and Tucker.
Not sure if anyone here would disagree with this logic -- let's see if there are small moves to fill holes (i.e. drafting Bender or Sabonis) or a big move to re-shape the team. This isn't anything new. I just want to see what goes down.