Exclusive Official 2020 Draft Thread

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I still love Pokusevski, and it seems he’s rising up draft boards. If he’s there at 16, please

https://uproxx.com/dimemag/aleksej-pokusevski-2020-nba-draft-scouting-report/

The intrigue surrounding Pokusevski has risen to the point where he’s widely viewed as a potential top-20 selection. The prevailing thought right now is that he would rather come to the NBA next season rather than remain overseas, affording him access to better resources and maximizing the chances of his physical improvement. His rail-thin frame is a negative, but international scouts have been optimistic about his unusual skill set as a passer and three-point shooter, though granted he has very limited experience against top competition - Jeremy Woo
 
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Scalma said:
I still love Pokusevski, and it seems he’s rising up draft boards. If he’s there at 16, please

https://uproxx.com/dimemag/aleksej-pokusevski-2020-nba-draft-scouting-report/

The intrigue surrounding Pokusevski has risen to the point where he’s widely viewed as a potential top-20 selection. The prevailing thought right now is that he would rather come to the NBA next season rather than remain overseas, affording him access to better resources and maximizing the chances of his physical improvement. His rail-thin frame is a negative, but international scouts have been optimistic about his unusual skill set as a passer and three-point shooter, though granted he has very limited experience against top competition - Jeremy Woo
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Another project big man? Oh joy. We had such success developing Meyers and Collins, I'm sure we will get it right this time!
 
Scalma said:
I still love Pokusevski, and it seems he’s rising up draft boards. If he’s there at 16, please

https://uproxx.com/dimemag/aleksej-pokusevski-2020-nba-draft-scouting-report/

The intrigue surrounding Pokusevski has risen to the point where he’s widely viewed as a potential top-20 selection. The prevailing thought right now is that he would rather come to the NBA next season rather than remain overseas, affording him access to better resources and maximizing the chances of his physical improvement. His rail-thin frame is a negative, but international scouts have been optimistic about his unusual skill set as a passer and three-point shooter, though granted he has very limited experience against top competition - Jeremy Woo
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The kid got the skills but would definitely have to put on weight. I would look at him at 16 as dark horse.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
James Wiseman has legs like Anfernee

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I don't like to mix sports but Jon Jones (MMA) has skinnier legs than that and he is one of the most powerful/strong lower body athletes in any sport outside of NFL linemen which both of his brothers are. On a more concrete note did you see this guy's foot speed and foot work, holy shit I can't think of another 7 footer with his size and that kind of agility, I mean the guy has better feet than AD or Giannis (obviously I don't think he can put the ball on the floor or pass like those guys but still). Wow that workout was impressive.
 
BonesJones said:
That was brutal to read...
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He's probably right on a majority of those but he's most definitely wrong about a handful of them and that's what makes the draft interesting. Edwards, Wiseman and Ball all have a higher upside than this guy is saying but both of those guards do have a really low floor and the guy did identify himself as a misanthrope. Some in here disagree with me on this and obviously this guy does but he's dead wrong about Toppin's jumper, it's solid but he very likely will be a defensive liability his entire career... so I'm probably way too high on him. Other than those guys I don't know if anything he said was inaccurate and as fans, he's right that is where we should set our expectations. We can hope for anything we want but those should be our expectations. GMs can't afford to do that, they have to weed out the pure pessimism and optimism leaving behind just the raw materials and where they will take a player. That's a hard thing to be accurate about but it's a GM and scouting staff's job. One last thing, consider what this guys misanthropic evaluation of Dame would have been coming out of college... it would not have been pretty.
 
blazerkor said:
He's probably right on a majority of those but he's most definitely wrong about a handful of them and that's what makes the draft interesting. Edwards, Wiseman and Ball all have a higher upside than this guy is saying but both of those guards do have a really low floor and the guy did identify himself as a misanthrope. Some in here disagree with me on this and obviously this guy does but he's dead wrong about Toppin's jumper, it's solid but he very likely will be a defensive liability his entire career... so I'm probably way too high on him. Other than those guys I don't know if anything he said was inaccurate and as fans, he's right that is where we should set our expectations. We can hope for anything we want but those should be our expectations. GMs can't afford to do that, they have to weed out the pure pessimism and optimism leaving behind just the raw materials and where they will take a player. That's a hard thing to be accurate about but it's a GM and scouting staff's job. One last thing, consider what this guys misanthropic evaluation of Dame would have been coming out of college... it would not have been pretty.
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Hes very wrong on Toppin and Okongwu (Okongwu having a "low floor" made me lol)
 
Tyrell Terry is the prospect that I’ve settled on (if we don’t trade up).

IMO he’s the most talented offensive player in this draft.

Lou Will potential.
 
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I don't know where we're putting trade rumors but this trade does involve draft picks, so. This motherfucker thinks we can get T.J. Warren

https://ripcityproject.com/2020/09/24/portland-trail-blazers-t-j-warren-indiana-pacers/

To summarize he thinks that we can get Warren for Ariza, Simons and picks or a pick... the guy thinks the starting point is those two guy and two second rounders for Warren. He does concede that we might need to make it a first rounder. If this is even remotely a possibility Ariza, Ant and #16 for Warren would be huge for us. I realize this is fansided so obviously it's an idea not a rumor. If one of you is this Thorne guy that wrote the article, sorry for calling you a motherfucker.
 
blazerkor said:
I don't know where we're putting trade rumors but this trade does involve draft picks, so. This motherfucker thinks we can get T.J. Warren

https://ripcityproject.com/2020/09/24/portland-trail-blazers-t-j-warren-indiana-pacers/

To summarize he thinks that we can get Warren for Ariza, Simons and picks or a pick... the guy thinks the starting point is those two guy and two second rounders for Warren. He does concede that we might need to make it a first rounder. If this is even remotely a possibility Ariza, Ant and #16 for Warren would be huge for us. I realize this is fansided so obviously it's an idea not a rumor. If one of you is this Thorne guy that wrote the article, sorry for calling you a motherfucker.
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Neil will not be trading Simons unless we get a star or lottery pick - which we won't.
 
blazerkor said:
If that's the case Olshey really is a fucking idiot. What do we need with another no defense, score first, small guard.
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Most GMs don't give up on their players so quickly, Neil certainly doesn't. GMs that do are generally considered idiots, and for good reason.
 
Wizard Mentor said:
Most GMs don't give up on their players so quickly, Neil certainly doesn't. GMs that do are generally considered idiots, and for good reason.
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TJ Warren! The guy plays both ways, can shoot the three, can put the ball on the floor and can play the 3 or the 4. How would that be giving up on Ant when we have two guys with an almost identical skill set playing in front of him that already hurt each other's game. Dame and CJ are redundant so we should not trade the potential for another redundant and talented player for a guy who has already shown so much more than Ant? I wouldn't amnesty Anfernee Simons but I sure as shit wouldn't have him as a deal breaker if we can get a guy like Warren at a position of need.

The better option than trading Ant is to keep him and trade CJ who has more value. That being said, I think that it's important to understand that as long as we have Dame, Ant's only effective role on this team will be as a backup.
 
blazerkor said:
If that's the case Olshey really is a fucking idiot. What do we need with another no defense, score first, small guard.
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He didn't trade Meyers for years, Neil is known for being loyal to "his" guys. After hyping up Simons i can not imagine that he will trade his "golden boy", he talked about him like he's going to be better than Dame.
 
Wizard Mentor said:
It takes multiple years to evaluate a player.
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https://fadeawayworld.com/2017/11/09/top-10-best-late-bloomers-in-nba-history/

1) the best example of a late bloomer has to be John Stockton, a top 3 point guard in the history of the game that stayed 4 years in college and then struggled to get some playing time until his fourth season, when he was 24 years old and was able to hold onto the starting point guard gig until he decided to retire.

Stockton is alongside Magic Johnson the best passer in the history of the game, and even if you take away his last 6 NBA seasons, he’d still be the league’s All-Time leader in dimes with 15806 helpers throughout his career. Averaging 14.9 points, 11.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game, Stockton made his way to 5 All-Defensive teams, 10 All-Stars and the Hall of Fame.

2) Rodman was perhaps the latest bloomer of them all, as he even grew 10 inches at age 20 and reached his prime when he was 34 years old, becoming the perfect complement for Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen during their second three-peat, and he wasn’t even a starter until age 28 after entering the league at 25 years old.

Still, Rodman will go down as one of the best defenders and rebounders in the history of the game, even though he became an elite rebounder at age 30 as well. Love it or hate it, you’ve got to give it to The Worm for his durability and hustle, winning 2 DPOYs and 5 NBA Championships, as well as leading the league in boards in 7 straight seasons.

3) It’s pretty crazy to think that Steve Nash was almost left out of a college basketball program after over 30 schools shut the door on him until he finally got to Santa Clara where he stayed through 4 seasons and became the team’s all-time leader in assists, free throw percentage and made three-pointers.

And things didn’t get much quicker for Nash when he arrived in the league at age 22, as it wasn’t until his fifth NBA season that he actually became an important part of the Mavericks rotation. The rest, as we know, is history, as the two time MVP averaged 15.1 points and over 8 dimes per game, and he’s one of the few members of the 50-40-90 club.

4) Nobody ever thought Ben Wallace was going to win 4 Defensive Player of the Year awards (tied 1st with Dikembe Mutombo), especially considering how late he started his NBA career after going undrafted out of a small program and playing in Italy.

Wallace was very undersized to play the center, but that didn’t stop him from locking down even some of the most dominant guys like Shaquille O’Neal. Just like other aforementioned players, Wallace peaked at age 26, leading the Pistons to the Championship alongside Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince as the second coming of the Bad Boys.

5) Bowen had a very long stint in college, going all 4 years before being undrafted in his class, so he had to settle for some tenures overseas before the Miami Heat gave him the chance to prove his worth as a defensive standout in the Association.

Still, his best years in the NBA came even further, where he played with the San Antonio Spurs from age 30 until he finally retired, and he’ll go down as one of the best wing defenders in the history of the league and a huge factor in all 3 Championships he won under Pop’s command.
 
Nesmith is rising and IMO there’s no chance that he falls to our pick.

Take Tyrell Terry at #16 and buy into the second round for Tyler Bey or Pritchard.
 
Buffalo Custard said:
Why would admiting a mistake and moving to correct it make you an idiot? In my book, people who won't admit mistakes and just keep repeating them are the idiots!
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I have to say that giving up on Ant right now would not be wise. Getting what other GMs around the league that like Ant's game see as good value for Ant would not be giving up. The whole problem is and I know I'm preaching to the choir, that Ant doesn't fit here and Olshey doesn't seem to (I may be wrong) have a realistic view of who Ant is as a player. So it would be stupid to just pawn Ant off for a second rounder or have it set in stone that we're not going to pick up his fourth year regardless of his performance going forward but again if we could get a sure fire thing like TJ Warren for an unproven Ant, an aging Ariza and two second rounders like the guy in the admittedly amateurish article suggests... that would hardly be giving up on Ant and would be stupid to pass up.
 
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