Phx-Suns.Net

I've shared enough of my ignorance that you all know what I'm thinking. It's weird assessing the draft, because I completely believe that we will be trading assets. But I have no idea which ones we will trade. No clue.

I do like Bender, because he seems to have Pop, Skill, and Motor. But I liked Barniagni(sp), too.

So who does everyone want at 4?

From a pure, who do I think is going to be the best basketball player standpoint, I'd take Buddy Hield. We are overloaded at guard though and need a 4. I'm leaning towards Chriss, with Bender a touch behind.

My preferences:
1. Draft Buddy, trade Knight
2. Draft Chriss
3. Draft Bender

Two things scare me about Chriss from what I've read - one is that he is an absolutely terrible rebounder. Rebounding is a ton of effort mixed with a talent/skill knowing where shots are going to end up. If he isn't putting forth the effort to rebound, then what else isn't he going to put effort into?

From DraftExpress: "At 4.1 rebounds per-40, Chriss ranks among the least prolific power forwards in NBA Draft history according to our database. Among first round picks, only Thaddeus Young (who played mostly SF in college) had a worse defensive rebounding rate in the draft's last 30 years." Uhh...wow.

Second, also according to DraftExpress, he has a serious problem fouling guys and probably won't even be able to stay on the court. So he can't rebound (at all) and seems to have serious problems not fouling, aka, playing good defense.

So what exactly is this guy good at? He's a super athlete who can shoot okay from range (though he seems to have a pretty slow release). I guess that's just not enough for me. It's not like he's built like Amare and is a tank with freakish athleticism and amazing hands where you can overlook some of the other deficiencies. But again, I don't really follow college bball, so I might be missing something. Anyone care to shine light on why this guy could go No. 3?

If we're picking pure potential, freakish athletes, I go Bender. At least the dude can pass.

You can usually tell a big man's basketball IQ by his ability to pass the ball.

Just my own little theory.

Yeah, I'm confuse why Chriss is ranked so high as well. I haven't seen too many fans of him on this board and his rebounding stats are pretty freaking horrible.

Yeah, I'm leaning toward Bender. (No pun intended.)

BJLJ, you've made a convincing argument against Chriss. No way do I want to get a PF that is an atrocious rebounder. Pass.

DraftExpress updated their mock today. Has us taking Chriss at 4, Sabonis at 13 and Zhou Qi at 28. I'm okay with Sabonis and Zhou Qi but I really want nothing to do with Chriss, especially with the 4th pick.

https://twitter.com/paulcoro/status/743548183708475392

Coro has us taking:

4. Bender
13. Dejounte Murray
28. Guerschon Yabusele

Chriss looks like Warrick 2.0. Incredible athlete that is undersized, a horrible rebounder and has terrible BBIQ. I don't care if we're talking about a "traditional" or "modern" game. Best case, he's Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Worst case, he's Tyrus Thomas (also taken very high in a weak draft) or Warrick. High bustability.

Also feel that Brown's personality type is better suited to be an academic or an entrepreneur than a basketball player. If you think too much on the court, you'll overthink and the game just won't slow down for you. There is some merit to Ainge's "brain typing" thing.

Unless there are some very big trades in the works, which would free up space for a combo guard like Murray, I'm in the Bender or trade camp.

Here's the thing about Chriss. He is a poor defensive rebounder but a good offensive rebounder. That tells me his issues have more to do with positioning and technique than effort. Those can be taught. He does foul a lot and that's something he will have to fix. He's only 18 and from what I've read, got into basketball later because he played football when he was younger.

Athletically he's very special and can shoot with range. He really has a lot of similarities to Amare. Admittedly I didn't watch much of him during the season, and he could be a bust, but I've seen nothing of bender and think he could equally be a bust.

Bender is my favorite at 4. Buddy Hield is 2nd. Wouldn't mind dealing it also. I think anything else short of having Ingram or Simmons fall in the upset of all upsets then Those are the scnerios I'd be happy with. No Chriss. No Brown.

In other news...It appears Denzel Valentine's Knee has been flagged by a few people and he could fall because of it. Interesting. I'm not as big a fan of his as some others on this board, but he was in the mix for me at 13. If he somehow takes a dive into the 20s because of this he'd make for a great gamble. Remember the fall Dejuan Blair had on draft night because of injuries..

Superbone wrote:Coro has us taking:

4. Bender
13. Dejounte Murray
28. Guerschon Yabusele

I'm not an expert on Dejounte Murray, but I think their are better prospects on the board at 13. Seems like a reach for him.

Split T wrote:Here's the thing about Chriss. He is a poor defensive rebounder but a good offensive rebounder. That tells me his issues have more to do with positioning and technique than effort. Those can be taught. He does foul a lot and that's something he will have to fix. He's only 18 and from what I've read, got into basketball later because he played football when he was younger.

Athletically he's very special and can shoot with range. He really has a lot of similarities to Amare. Admittedly I didn't watch much of him during the season, and he could be a bust, but I've seen nothing of bender and think he could equally be a bust.

I'll take your word for it. Although I've seen how Marion was a good offensive rebounder but not a good defensive one, as he relied on athleticism rather than positioning.

Sunsfan4life wrote:Bender is my favorite at 4. Buddy Hield is 2nd. Wouldn't mind dealing it also. I think anything else short of having Ingram or Simmons fall in the upset of all upsets then Those are the scnerios I'd be happy with. No Chriss. No Brown.

In other news...It appears Denzel Valentine's Knee has been flagged by a few people and he could fall because of it. Interesting. I'm not as big a fan of his as some others on this board, but he was in the mix for me at 13. If he somehow takes a dive into the 20s because of this he'd make for a great gamble. Remember the fall Dejuan Blair had on draft night because of injuries..

He may fall into the 2nd round

Would love to see Henangomez there at 28. He reminds me of a teletovic who can rebound though. Could be a nice stretch 4.

virtual9mm wrote:

Split T wrote:Here's the thing about Chriss. He is a poor defensive rebounder but a good offensive rebounder. That tells me his issues have more to do with positioning and technique than effort. Those can be taught. He does foul a lot and that's something he will have to fix. He's only 18 and from what I've read, got into basketball later because he played football when he was younger.

Athletically he's very special and can shoot with range. He really has a lot of similarities to Amare. Admittedly I didn't watch much of him during the season, and he could be a bust, but I've seen nothing of bender and think he could equally be a bust.

I'll take your word for it. Although I've seen how Marion was a good offensive rebounder but not a good defensive one, as he relied on athleticism rather than positioning.

He also could just be bad, I wouldn't trust my opinion too much, I'm no expert. I also fall in love with Elite athletes too easily and probably give them too much leeway in other areas.

Split T wrote:

virtual9mm wrote:

Split T wrote:Here's the thing about Chriss. He is a poor defensive rebounder but a good offensive rebounder. That tells me his issues have more to do with positioning and technique than effort. Those can be taught. He does foul a lot and that's something he will have to fix. He's only 18 and from what I've read, got into basketball later because he played football when he was younger.

Athletically he's very special and can shoot with range. He really has a lot of similarities to Amare. Admittedly I didn't watch much of him during the season, and he could be a bust, but I've seen nothing of bender and think he could equally be a bust.

I'll take your word for it. Although I've seen how Marion was a good offensive rebounder but not a good defensive one, as he relied on athleticism rather than positioning.

He also could just be bad, I wouldn't trust my opinion too much, I'm no expert. I also fall in love with Elite athletes too easily and probably give them too much leeway in other areas.

I guess that it comes down to the head he has on his shoulders. Is he coachable? Indeed, was he poorly coached, and can he be taught how to box out and become a position rebounder? I would guess that the front office has a handle on these things...

The latest draftexpress mock has us taking Chriss at #4 passing up Hield, Murray, Bender and Brown

I anybody else starting to think that Murray might be the best prospect over the long term while Hield will make the bigger impact right away?