Welcome 8th Pick from Brooklyn

[catfish]

I actually think it is a 9-10 man deep draft. It is not clear to me that the guy who goes 9 is worse than the guy who goes 3. I think the top 2 may be elite but after that a bit of a crapshoot.

 

[Mavaliersfan]

With Wendell Carter being that athletic, maybe it's a top 8 draft instead of top 7. If the Magic can't trade Vucevic in time and so draft Trae Young, I'm leaning towards keeping the pick instead of trading it for a Beal/CJ/Dame who will copy Lebron taking plays off on defense because they already have their max money. I want player(s) that make Lebron think he doesn't have to take plays off on defense because that could have a multiplying effect on others on the team like Tristan. The player must have enough upside so no Bridges.

Also watching the Paul George situation, never thought I'd be rooting for Jae Crowder again. If Utah eliminates OKC, Presti can either take on Kevin Love or watch George sign with LA or Philly.

See, I'm torn on taking a Big. There are some great prospects but what are we saying about Zizic if we take a Big? That guy is going to be an absolute stud when given a chance. I have no doubt about it. But if we take a Big, with Nance here and TT not trade-able until 2020, Zizic is going to be the odd man out rotting again on our bench.

I think we need to think about finding our Tatum in this draft. A wing/forward who we can run some offense through and can create his own shot. Someone we can hope develops into a reliable 3rd option.

Here's to me hoping Bagley or Porter slides to us. I wouldn't bat an eye at drafting Trae Young at 8 either.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Bamba would have the same effect defensively (maybe even better), but I don't trust him not to be a total liability on offense. I don't trust his jumpshot, and I don't trust him to put the ball on the floor against NBA defenders...so at best I think he'll just be a garbage buckets offensive rebounder and lob target kind of guy, which is basically just a worse version of what we have already in Nance/Zizic.

Mikal would make sense in a lot of scenarios, but if we trade Love for PG (not that I necessarily think that's likely, but that's what was being proposed), I think we really need another frontcourt player. Can't go into the season with just Nance and Zizic and some random vet minimum guy. Nance is too injury prone and there's no guarantee Zizic is going to be productive in a 30+ mpg role right away.

I think Lebron/PG13/Cedi/Nance can all share minutes at the 4. We can also try to get a cheap stretch 4 like Anthony Tolliver who is going to be gettable or even Marvin Williams, or sign Frye to a minimum deal to fill that need.

I think a lineup of Mikal gives us a tons of options as far as what we can trott out there on the perimeter and how versatile we become as a result defensively at least.

As far as Bamba...sure, at first he is probably going to be a huge lob target, and it's not like he can't still be a positive just being just that. Gobert, Clint Capela, etc can still put up 15-20 points a night jut being either very tall or very athletic. With the space that that we have on PnRs in the NBA he would probably thrive just being a huge and athletic lob target.

Defensively he might get pushed around at first until he fills up. He will probably always have a weak base and lower body as it rarely ever grows compared to the upper body.

I have some issues with him defensively as far as contesting and containing off the dribble.

Anyways, he is such an intriguing and unique prospect.

I gotta tell you...I want to groom Zizic to become our center of the future, so i'm kinda torn on selecting a center that plays only one position most likely.

Do you think Carter will be able to play the 4? cause that changes some stuff. I mean, it's hard to know because he just camped inside the lane on that Duke scheme/zone...just never stepped out to the perimeter.

 

[Derek]

See, I'm torn on taking a Big. There are some great prospects but what are we saying about Zizic if we take a Big? That guy is going to be an absolute stud when given a chance. I have no doubt about it. But if we take a Big, with Nance here and TT not trade-able until 2020, Zizic is going to be the odd man out rotting again on our bench.

I think we need to think about finding our Tatum in this draft. A wing/forward who we can run some offense through and can create his own shot. Someone we can hope develops into a reliable 3rd option.

Here's to me hoping Bagley or Porter slides to us. I wouldn't bat an eye at drafting Trae Young at 8 either.

pssst

Bagley is a big

 

[KB]

Carter can play the 4 and looks like he should be able to step outside, he took about a 3 a game last year and was at 40% (19 of 46 iirc) and was about 72% from the line (at 6'10 260 I'd use him as a 5 who can stretch to the corners / top of key)

 

[czvo]

I think he's more athletic than some people give him credit for...he's very comfortable finishing above the rim, and notched a 39" max vert last summer (video: View: https://twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/884800274392653824/video/1
), which is elite for a big man. His combination of muscle mass (260 pounds with good definition) and hops is pretty rare in a big his age.

I think it's pretty obvious at this stage that Love is better off defensively at PF, and Carter seems like a natural center, so I don't understand what the issue is playing those two together. Would Jackson be an even better fit? Yeah...sure...Jackson's a total freak who could fit next to virtually any big in the NBA. But we shouldn't hold that against Carter, except to say that we'd like Jackson even better if he somehow slides to us.

Boris Diaw could out-jump Amare on this thing. It's not about how high they can jump just to jump. It's about how they use it in games.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Carter can play the 4 and looks like he should be able to step outside, he took about a 3 a game last year and was at 40% (19 of 46 iirc) and was about 72% from the line (at 6'10 260 I'd use him as a 5 who can stretch to the corners / top of key)

I meant defensively...I know he has a potential to play the 4 on offense.

I have no idea how quick his feet are on the perimeter and how much value he loses on the defensive end if he isn't inside the lane to protect the rim. I'm really not sure about his ability to protect the rim from the weakside either, so it's not like he is going to have the ability to be an elite rim protector like Serge Ibaka for example...he isn't that type of big, I don't think.

Even in general, I'm still not 100% sure how good of a rim protector he is at the NBA. Like he isn't long or has a high leaping ability jumping off two feet...I have seen good college rim protectors not translate into good NBA rim protectors. In that sense, I really believe in Bamba... he has the length and athletic ability to be even better than Gobert. Bamba's ability to recover and make ground from the weakside is what intrigues me.

What I do like about Carter really how diverse and versatile he is on ther offensive end. High rate of assists, good ft and 3pt percentage, almost ambidextrous, good repertoire and counter moves in the post...just really balanced. The only thing really lacking for me is length, and it bothers me because I see how it might hinder him a bit going up against legit 5's in the post. If he is fit to play the 4 that changes things.

This is what fucking bugs me with Duke. They fucking suck...you have no idea how good or bad their prospects really are.

I thought about it, but what about a more agile David West with 3pt range? West is a 4 and he can defintiely keep up defensively nowadays and even excel in that area. I think there is similarities between the two...even when you look at their college numbers.

 

[CTownSportsFan]

I agree the Cavs should absolutely pass up on BPA is he’s going to block Zizic’s path to the HOF .

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

I agree the Cavs should absolutely pass up on BPA is he’s going to block Zizic’s path to the HOF .

BPA is Jevon Carter so no issue there.

And just so you know,
Agree means :
to have the same opinion, or to accept a suggestion or idea

Disagree means:to have or express a different opinion from someone else

I just see too many times that you say that you agree with someone, but you actually mean the opposite...it's super confusing.

 

[LeeBuckeye]

Wendell Carters gets Al Horford as an NBA comp as frequently as Bamba does Gobert. Al Horford has anchored several elite defense at the NBA level without having the frame or wingspan of Carter, although he does possess better agility than Carter.

 

[Nathan S]

I think Lebron/PG13/Cedi/Nance can all share minutes at the 4. We can also try to get a cheap stretch 4 like Anthony Tolliver who is going to be gettable or even Marvin Williams, or sign Frye to a minimum deal to fill that need.

I think a lineup of Mikal gives us a tons of options as far as what we can trott out there on the perimeter and how versatile we become as a result defensively at least.

As far as Bamba...sure, at first he is probably going to be a huge lob target, and it's not like he can't still be a positive just being just that. Gobert, Clint Capela, etc can still put up 15-20 points a night jut being either very tall or very athletic. With the space that that we have on PnRs in the NBA he would probably thrive just being a huge and athletic lob target.

Defensively he might get pushed around at first until he fills up. He will probably always have a weak base and lower body as it rarely ever grows compared to the upper body.

I have some issues with him defensively as far as contesting and containing off the dribble.

Anyways, he is such an intriguing and unique prospect.

I gotta tell you...I want to groom Zizic to become our center of the future, so i'm kinda torn on selecting a center that plays only one position most likely.

Do you think Carter will be able to play the 4? cause that changes some stuff. I mean, it's hard to know because he just camped inside the lane on that Duke scheme/zone...just never stepped out to the perimeter.

With Bamba, I worry that if he's just a huge lob target it makes it harder to put him on the floor with Zizic or Nance because he'll take away space from them (not to mention take away driving lanes for LeBron and our guards).

As for Carter, I don't think he'll ever be at his best playing the 4, but I do think he could work offensively at least with Zizic or Nance. Those two are similar to Bagley in a lot of ways offensively, and I think Carter would easily develop chemistry with them. On defense Carter and Zizic is obviously tricky as one of them will have to roam around on the perimeter. I think physically Zizic is up to the task...his apparently slow-footedness on defense is more a result of him adjusting to the pace-and-space nature of the NBA game than a fundamental lack of athleticism, IMO.

Boris Diaw could out-jump Amare on this thing. It's not about how high they can jump just to jump. It's about how they use it in games.

Totally agree with you on this point. I'm just making clear that Carter isn't going to be some hopelessly floorbound dinosaur in the NBA. He's definitely athletic enough to hang.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Wendell Carters gets Al Horford as an NBA comp as frequently as Bamba does Gobert. Al Horford has anchored several elite defense at the NBA level without having the frame or wingspan of Carter, although he does possess better agility than Carter.

I'm really not sure that Horford was really more agile than Carter. He got quicker in the NBA imo.

Also, he was strictly a post player in Florida.

I think that carter is far ahead of Horford at the same age/stage...he just turned 19 for crying out loud. He is one of the youngest top prospects in this draft.

That reminds me...how crazy it is that Jontay Porter is only 18.4? even Knox at 18.7 is pretty damn young, so even Knox might even turn out to be good. Who knows.

 

[daddywags]

Just a drive-by opinion here, but I like both Carter and Bamba. If given a choice, I'd take Bamba because I think he has the ceiling of an elite defensive center. OTOH, Carter's ceiling, IMO, is Tristan Thompson with brains and shooting ability, which is pretty good.

 

[Nathan S]

I'm really not sure that Horford was really more agile than Carter. He got quicker in the NBA imo.

Also, he was strictly a post player in Florida.

I think that carter is far ahead of Horford at the same age/stage...he just turned 19 for crying out loud. He is one of the youngest top prospects in this draft.

That reminds me...how crazy it is that Jontay Porter is only 18.4? even Knox at 18.7 is pretty damn young, so even Knox might even turn out to be good. Who knows.

Is there any way Jontay doesn't become at least a decent 3-point shooter and an above-average passer for an NBA big? If you look at NBA bigs who were/are both of those things...it's basically a who's who of offensive superstar bigs. I think he's seriously underrated.

 

[Lee]

Boris Diaw could out-jump Amare on this thing. It's not about how high they can jump just to jump. It's about how they use it in games.

Its about how quickly you can get to your max, not what your max vert is.

Amare had a quick jump. I like Wendall Carter, but he is a slower to max guy. The 39 inch is a bit fools gold for that reason.

But at 260lbs with a good 3 point shot, if he was a 40 inch quick vertical guy, he would maybe go 3rd overall. Perfect prospects do not drop to 8th overall in any draft, but very good ones can.