2018 NBA Draft - June 21

InBoobieWeTrust said:

Hmm. I just took it from this tweet from Mike Schmitz, who is ESPN's leading draft prospect guy they got with Draft Express. Maybe he's mistaken or maybe he has more up to date info?

View: https://twitter.com/Mike_Schmitz/status/975061347552538625

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In an interview Mikal said he was measured at 7'0.5. I'll definitely take 7'2 though...And it's definitely possible. Besides, I think his standing reach is even better. Doesn't have a wide frame, his arms are freakishly long and has high shoulders.

The Wizard of Moz said:

So in Ayton we have a big who

Can’t defend
Has questionable range
Bad face
Has the competitiveness of a rotting avocado
Has a little pussy wing span for babies

Am I the only one who doesn’t want him?

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Even if he is very good, He is not a bluechip prospect and wanna cheer for him. He is all about the money. Wasn't even sad that they lost.

Let me chee for guys I like and are also good and there are plenty in this draft.

Jackson Hoy has him with a 7'2" wingspan too...haven't found a mistake in his data before, so I'll assume that's the most recent measurement.

Only reason I don't like him is because of his age. Turns 22 this summer, which is old even for a Junior. A player that old would have to be the runaway Wooden Award winner to merit top-5 consideration in this draft, I think. So many uber-talented freshmen to compete with.

Nathan S said:

Jackson Hoy has him with a 7'2" wingspan too...haven't found a mistake in his data before, so I'll assume that's the most recent measurement.

Only reason I don't like him is because of his age. Turns 22 this summer, which is old even for a Junior. A player that old would have to be the runaway Wooden Award winner to merit top-5 consideration in this draft, I think. So many uber-talented freshmen to compete with.

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Yeah I remember you saying that about his age earlier in the thread so there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you, and I think it directly affects the Cavs due to lebrons age

1. If you were to rank the prospects entirely independently of age, where would Mikal be

2. Which prospects do you think would be better than Mikal to plug into the Cavs Solely over the next 2 years. In other words, let’s say in this hypothetical that the NBA is dissolving in 3 years so no need to think about long term value, which prospects do you take over Mikal?

The Wizard of Moz said:

Yeah I remember you saying that about his age earlier in the thread so there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you, and I think it directly affects the Cavs due to lebrons age

1. If you were to rank the prospects entirely independently of age, where would Mikal be

2. Which prospects do you think would be better than Mikal to plug into the Cavs Solely over the next 2 years. In other words, let’s say in this hypothetical that the NBA is dissolving in 3 years so no need to think about long term value, which prospects do you take over Mikal?

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1. Well, this begs the question of what to do with other elite upperclassmen...if I ignore them and just consider the consensus top-10 guys, I'd probably have Mikal second behind Doncic.

2. Certainly Doncic; after that it's quite close between a lot of players. No one else clearly above Mikal in the short term, I think.

Nathan S said:

Jackson Hoy has him with a 7'2" wingspan too...haven't found a mistake in his data before, so I'll assume that's the most recent measurement.

Only reason I don't like him is because of his age. Turns 22 this summer, which is old even for a Junior. A player that old would have to be the runaway Wooden Award winner to merit top-5 consideration in this draft, I think. So many uber-talented freshmen to compete with.

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No idea what Wooden award contention has to do with a player's NBA prospects.

He gets better and better each and every year, and continues to at this dreadful age of 22. The guy didn't shoot a lick when he was a freshman.

The age to skill curve is different for each and every player, it's not something that can be applied equally to any player.

Nathan S said:

1. Well, this begs the question of what to do with other elite upperclassmen...if I ignore them and just consider the consensus top-10 guys, I'd probably have Mikal second behind Doncic.

2. Certainly Doncic; after that it's quite close between a lot of players. No one else clearly above Mikal in the short term, I think.

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I think you catch my drift of asking those questions...

Maybe Mikal doesn’t have the crazy ceiling that some of these young pups have, but if we end up picking 8th and we are able to add a guy that in the short term is only clearly behind Doncic.... I don’t think that’s as much of a doomsday scenario as it’s made out to be, given our penchant to win while LeBron is still the best player in the world

The Wizard of Moz said:

I think you catch my drift of asking those questions...

Maybe Mikal doesn’t have the crazy ceiling that some of these young pups have, but if we end up picking 8th and we are able to add a guy that in the short term is only clearly behind Doncic.... I don’t think that’s as much of a doomsday scenario as it’s made out to be, given our penchant to win while LeBron is still the best player in the world

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Mikal is not a doomsday scenario... Knox is and MPj is a sneaky trap if he falls and Mikal takes his place inside the top6.

Sir'Dom Pointer said:

Mikal is not a doomsday scenario... Knox is and MPj is a sneaky trap if he falls and Mikal takes his place inside the top6.

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So then do we really have a Doomsday scenario?

I guess if the Nets finish 9th (which I view as highly doubtful) and the 3 lotto winners are from 10-14 then we would pick 12th. That’s the absolute, couldn’t get any worse than this scenario and it has like a 0.003% chance of happening. It’s extremely likely we pick top 9. I doubt we have to worry about Knox...

3 Ball...GOT IT said:

No idea what Wooden award contention has to do with a player's NBA prospects.

He gets better and better each and every year, and continues to at this dreadful age of 22. The guy didn't shoot a lick when he was a freshman.

The age to skill curve is different for each and every player, it's not something that can be applied equally to any player.

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I just think if he's really a superstar level talent, college basketball should be a playground for him by now. Late-bloomer superstars exist, but they're fairly rare. There's a reason you don't typically see upperclassmen go top-5, even in weak drafts.

The Wizard of Moz said:

I think you catch my drift of asking those questions...

Maybe Mikal doesn’t have the crazy ceiling that some of these young pups have, but if we end up picking 8th and we are able to add a guy that in the short term is only clearly behind Doncic.... I don’t think that’s as much of a doomsday scenario as it’s made out to be, given our penchant to win while LeBron is still the best player in the world

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Completely agree.

Nathan S said:

I just think if he's really a superstar level talent, college basketball should be a playground for him by now. Late-bloomer superstars exist, but they're fairly rare. There's a reason you don't typically see upperclassmen go top-5, even in weak drafts.

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It is.

The Wizard of Moz said:

So then do we really have a Doomsday scenario?

I guess if the Nets finish 9th (which I view as highly doubtful) and the 3 lotto winners are from 10-14 then we would pick 12th. That’s the absolute, couldn’t get any worse than this scenario and it has like a 0.003% chance of happening. It’s extremely likely we pick top 9. I doubt we have to worry about Knox...

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No doomsday scenario, especially with Sexton and Carter sneaking in. Obviously I would rather get the most valuable pick available as it would give us more options to either trade down and get more assets(especially in such a deep draft) or to trade the pick for a superstar and of course the ability to pick almost whomever we want.

Picking 8th is definitely not the end of the world, but it does consierably lowers our ceiling in the short term and long term.

It also increases the possibility of trading the pick without getting a superstar or a high level all star in return as it's not as nearly valuable enough , and Lebron and maybe the Cavs would be skeptical of drafting a difference maker in this range. I would okay with trading it for a very very good player, but it would sting if we traded it for Kemba and I'm still all about developing our own players if possible.

3 Ball...GOT IT said:

It is.

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It is? He's not putting up the super-dominant performances that say he's on a different level than the other 9 guys on the floor. No 30-point games. Double digit rebounds a couple of times. Five assists a couple of times. Everything about him says roleplayer to me...elite roleplayer, but roleplayer nonetheless.

OK so I'm starting to come round to the idea that Marvin Bagley might end up being the best player in this draft class. I've been catching up on march madness and it dawned on me that if i am so worried about all the intangible red flags on Ayton then i probably should weight them more in the favour of the players that display them. Marvin is good at everything you cant teach. It is pretty typical for players to improve defensively and improve their shooting. Some even manage to develop a dribble drive game. It is incredibly rare for a player to increase their motor and touch around the rim to an elite level. Now think about how many elite prospects have been hindered by either of those 2 skills and then think about how many player with that combination who have not been effective.

I've been massively underrating him and i tihnk once workouts start he will be dominating others in the one on ones. As far as bigs i have him behind JJJ now and above ayton and bamba