Welcome 8th Pick from Brooklyn

[K1rieIrving>AllOtherPG's]

If George doesn't come here which as rich outlined takes a George acting in a super specific way then I hope he stays in OKC

I don't think they can do it but I'd love to see the Thunder beat the Warriors one year in the playoffs. That fan base deserves it. Russ deserves it. Adams deserves it. And coward deserves it

I wish the NBA was really rigged so they instruct the refs to give nothing to the Warriors in a series against OKC, the way the Warriors has been shitting on the refs all season and in seasons past is disgusting, Donkey basically said that the NBA should fire all the refs haha.

Funny thing is the refs have all the power to absolutely destroy them in a series if they really wanted to, weird thing is that they keep favoring them in the playoffs for some weird reason, hopefully this season this changes because I agree OKC really deserves it, it'd be poetic

 

[LeeBuckeye]

Ayton: 7’1 250 pounds with 7’5” wingspan and a 43.5 inch vertical is insane. His instincts can’t be that bad to where he gets 1.9 bpg. I’ve watched him get destroyed by a Stanford big but then outplay Robert Williams. He has an elite offensive repertoire but I wonder if he’s either bored or trying not to get hurt on the other end. With those measurable he should be getting 4-5 blocks per game. Midrange shot ahead of schedule and his perimeter defense is really solid with scary good potential. Teams who pass up on him might regret it worse than passing on Drummond and Cousins.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Ayton: 7’1 250 pounds with 7’5” wingspan and a 43.5 inch vertical is insane. His instincts can’t be that bad to where he gets 1.9 bpg. I’ve watched him get destroyed by a Stanford big but then outplay Robert Williams. He has an elite offensive repertoire but I wonder if he’s either bored or trying not to get hurt on the other end. With those measurable he should be getting 4-5 blocks per game. Midrange shot ahead of schedule and his perimeter defense is really solid with scary good potential. Teams who pass up on him might regret it worse than passing on Drummond and Cousins.

Tristan had 3.1 blocks per 40 in college so it's really not good.

 

[RichieRichPaul]

I’ve been watching videos all all star break on the prospects. Doncic is by far and away the best. I wouldn’t touch bagley with a 10 foot poll. Dude is micheal Beasley/Julius Randle. Not in a good way. And i don’t want any part of ayton. Bigs who can’t shoot can’t play defense and can’t block shots don’t belong in today’s game. I don’t care how good he is offensively.

Yup. Ayton is a 7ft tall Wiggins and bagley is Beasley\ derricks Williams. At least randle can defense and is super strong.

 

[FrontPageNews]

Ayton: 7’1 250 pounds with 7’5” wingspan and a 43.5 inch vertical is insane. His instincts can’t be that bad to where he gets 1.9 bpg. I’ve watched him get destroyed by a Stanford big but then outplay Robert Williams. He has an elite offensive repertoire but I wonder if he’s either bored or trying not to get hurt on the other end. With those measurable he should be getting 4-5 blocks per game. Midrange shot ahead of schedule and his perimeter defense is really solid with scary good potential. Teams who pass up on him might regret it worse than passing on Drummond and Cousins.

Should be but he isn’t. Arizona’s defense is horrible and he’s suppose to be the anchor of it. Hes got all the measurables in the world but so have hundreds of draft busts.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Hes got all the measurables in the world but so have hundreds of draft busts.

This is a great point. So many busts happen because people look at physical capabilities, and then extrapolate how the player should perform "with good coaching". Except sometimes you don't get good coaching, and sometimes guys just don't respond to good coaching even when they get it. Michael Olowakandi, Hasheem Thabeet...the list pretty much goes on and on.

A guy who is actually doing what you want him to do is much more valuable than a guy who has the physical ability to do it, but just isn't.

 

[The Wizard of Moz]

This is a great point. So many busts happen because people look at physical capabilities, and then extrapolate how the player should perform "with good coaching". Except sometimes you don't get good coaching, and sometimes guys just don't respond to good coaching even when they get it. Michael Olowakandi, Hasheem Thabeet...the list pretty much goes on and on.

A guy who is actually doing what you want him to do is much more valuable than a guy who has the physical ability to do it, but just isn't.

but on the other side of this, Giannis was almost all physical ability and projection and it looks like he will be the best player in the NBA at some point. I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, but guys with all the potential in the world sometimes DO fulfill it. I think a lot of it has to do with character. Giannis by all accounts is a great teammate and great worker

 

[FrontPageNews]

but on the other side of this, Giannis was almost all physical ability and projection and it looks like he will be the best player in the NBA at some point. I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, but guys with all the potential in the world sometimes DO fulfill it. I think a lot of it has to do with character. Giannis by all accounts is a great teammate and great worker

Giannis is a hard comparison. There wasn’t a bunch of film on him so no one knew if he could play defense or shoot or block shots or anything. But we’ve seen it ayton. We know he can’t protect the rim or shoot. Sure he could develop but how many bad defenders in college end up becoming good defender in the pros? He might develop a jumper though. Seems like most bigs have. Though it’s gonna take a while.

 

[Heej]

One thing that may be a market inefficiency when scouting Ayton and looking at his numbers is that he's playing out of position at the 4 so there's less opportunities for him to block shots. He may also be one of those guys that looks better in the spacing of the NBA a la Jaylen Brown

I don't think his work ethic is there from what I've heard. I'll still take Doncic over him

 

[Nathan S]

One thing that may be a market inefficiency when scouting Ayton and looking at his numbers is that he's playing out of position at the 4 so there's less opportunities for him to block shots. He may also be one of those guys that looks better in the spacing of the NBA a la Jaylen Brown

I don't think his work ethic is there from what I've heard. I'll still take Doncic over him

Part of the issue though is that he's playing the 4 by his own choice. So if a team wants to draft him and play him at center, they first have to convince him that he's a center (which may be a major hurdle in its own right), and then they have to start from ground zero basically teaching him how to defend the position and be a rim protector.

 

[Heej]

Part of the issue though is that he's playing the 4 by his own choice. So if a team wants to draft him and play him at center, they first have to convince him that he's a center (which may be a major hurdle in its own right), and then they have to start from ground zero basically teaching him how to defend the position and be a rim protector.

Oh yea I remember you mentioning that. This is all true, so it will delay his learning curve. I'm just saying our valuation of his ceiling may actually be depressed due to him playing out of position. I still wouldn't touch him though. He feels very Willie Cauley-Stein-esque to me. My gut tells me he's not gonna be the best player or possibly even big in his draft class

 

[Nathan S]

Oh yea I remember you mentioning that. This is all true, so it will delay his learning curve. I'm just saying our valuation of his ceiling may actually be depressed due to him playing out of position.

I agree his ceiling is plenty high, but I have a bit of a problem with the idea of "ceilings" in general. If you'd have said Draymond Green's ceiling was DPOY at the 2012 draft, you would've gotten laughed at. Same goes for Marc Gasol and Ben Wallace before him. Probably 90% of center prospects have DPOY ceiling if they actually use their bodies to their maximum potential, but 99% of them don't end up using their bodies to their maximum potential.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Low work ethic combined with question marks in his game makes an easy pass for me.

If we get #1, it's Doncic. If we fall outside #1, I have my fingers crossed for JJJ. After him, it's Porter and Bamba. I want two-way players.

 

[The Wizard of Moz]

I agree his ceiling is plenty high, but I have a bit of a problem with the idea of "ceilings" in general. If you'd have said Draymond Green's ceiling was DPOY at the 2012 draft, you would've gotten laughed at. Same goes for Marc Gasol and Ben Wallace before him. Probably 90% of center prospects have DPOY ceiling if they actually use their bodies to their maximum potential, but 99% of them don't end up using their bodies to their maximum potential.

I know you’ve been higher on Young than most. What are your thoughts on his recent struggles? And how do you think he would fit in our offense?

 

[RchfldCavRaised]

Low work ethic combined with question marks in his game makes an easy pass for me.

If we get #1, it's Doncic. If we fall outside #1, I have my fingers crossed for JJJ. After him, it's Porter and Bamba. I want two-way players.

I pray we dont get #1 then