OFFICIAL Pre-pre-pre Draft Thread

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There's a lot of really interesting players around where we're going to be drafting this year, at least it doesn't look like we'll get a Nolan Smith.
 
Mid-Major Guards the last 3 years have looked to be steals.. Lillard, McCollum, Payton..
Cameron Payne is going to be the steal of this draft:
Reminds me a lot of Mike Conley.. And I'm not just talking about the fact that he's a lefty and shoots a lot like him.
I wouldn't object to trading up to something like 13 to draft him. I think he could step in and be a big upgrade to Blake and play 20 minutes a game as a rookie. This would allow Lillard to play offball next to a PG who can score and pass (not one or the other like Mo and Blake).
It'd also give you flexibility on what to do with Wes and CJ.. I could see something like

PG Lillard(28)/Payne(20)
SG Matthews(14)/CJ(26)/Lillard(8)
SF Batum (32)/Matthews(16)

Or you do something like sign Deandre and let Wes go

PG Lillard (28) / Payne (20)
SG CJ (30) / FA SG (10) / Lillard (8)
SF Batum (34) / FA SF (34)

23rd, Crabbe and (cash or future 2nd) for a pick around 13..
 
Pinwheel1 said:
Reminds me of a young Stacey Augmon. He has no jump shot right now but 2-3 years from now he could be a really good player.
But then if he does not develop a jump shot then he will just be a average role player.

I bet he falls to the top of the 2nd round.
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MKG is probably a better comp. They both came into the league with above average defense and broken jumpers. RHJ would be a top-10 pick if he had a reliable outside shot.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
MKG is probably a better comp. They both came into the league with above average defense and broken jumpers. RHJ would be a top-10 pick if he had a reliable outside shot.
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Yeah stats wise they are close. But I still think he has a longer ways to go in developing a mid range shot. I would like to draft him, but I think there will be better players available at 23, namely Delon Wright.
 
Pinwheel1 said:
Yeah stats wise they are close. But I still think he has a longer ways to go in developing a mid range shot. I would like to draft him, but I think there will be better players available at 23, namely Delon Wright.
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Fixing a jumper as broke as his will be tough. Rubio/Sergio never corrected theirs.
 


My super obscure sleeper who could be taken a lot higher than many expect.

The Brazilian Ginobli.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
Christmas has a 9'3" reach at 6'8.25"
For his height, he has Rudy Gobert length.
The downside - Rakeem is 23.
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"Rakeem Christmas has more NBA workouts than he can handle"

Don't like this:
DraftExpress said:
Christmas still has an uphill battle in terms of showing he can translate his effectiveness within the confines of Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense to NBA settings, where he won't just be able to park in the middle of the paint for 35 seconds every possession.

Beyond the numbers, his awareness and intensity level still leaves a lot to be desired at times, as he's frequently posted up due to his lack of lower body strength or caught out of position showing lackadaisical effort and poor fundamentals. This shows up in his rebounding numbers as well, where he's just average at the moment, despite having good hands and strong physical tools. Besides learning an entirely new way of playing defense at age 24, Christmas will likely need to move down a position in the NBA as well, as he'd almost certainly struggle having to guard centers full-time, all of whom will be significantly taller and stronger than him.

Christmas has done an excellent job of making substantial improvements as a senior, but there are still significant question marks about how his game will translate to NBA settings. His offensive game remains limited, as he's much more of an undersized center offensively than the type of versatile power forward we're increasingly seeing in today's NBA. Trying to post up NBA big men will likely be very different than backing down college teenagers, and his perimeter game hasn't shown much improvement since he arrived at Syracuse, besides his free throw shooting.

Combine that with the fact that he's the oldest player in our Top-100 rankings by nearly five months (if he were an international player he would have been automatically eligible for the 2013 NBA Draft) and it's fair to question how much upside he still has left to tap into. Christmas is a day older than Brandon Knight for example, who played his last college game four years ago. He is four and a half months younger than Derrick Favors, who is in his fifth season in the NBA. The track record of players in this mold is not encouraging to say the least.
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But then again, they said the same age things about Taj Gibson...

However, I have a longstanding draft rule: better an underachiever as a senior than a guy whose only good year was his senior year. Sudden late improvement never seems to translate, whereas you can have someone like Karl Malone, whose college production actually went down every year, who does fine in the NBA. (You can explain a decline because other teams are keying in on him.)

DraftExpress said:
An underachiever for the better part of three years at Syracuse, Rakeem Christmas came to life as a 23-year old senior.
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Fez Hammersticks said:
Fixing a jumper as broke as his will be tough. Rubio/Sergio never corrected theirs.
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This is true. You really have to excel at something else in order to take a chance on someone like that. Good thing for him that he is an excellent defender.
 
This draft is reminding me of the CJ draft where the picks projected at the bottom of the first look better (and certainly safer) than the mid-first round. Trading down makes more sense than trading up. (Remember: if we'd've swapped with Atlanta we could've got Schroder and Rudy Gobert in one draft).

I think if we keep our pick we should/will take a draft and stash (like George Lucas de Paula) because I have a feeling Olshey wants as much cap flexibility as possible for this Summer.
 
It would be nice to do the Crabbe Grab of a top second round pick to get someone like Richaun Holmes who could be useful for 10 mpg next season.
 
People who watch the Pac-12: what about Norman Powell? Seems like he's Russell Westbrook without the offense. But we could use uber-athleticism and defense in the backcourt...couldn't we?
 
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Rastapopoulos said:
People who watch the Pac-12: what about Norman Powell? Seems like he's Russell Westbrook without the offense. But we could use uber-athleticism and defense in the backcourt...couldn't we?
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I forgot about Norman Powell... That guy is interesting. 4 years in college but he is athletic and long. I'm probably gonna get killed for this but he could be a D-Wade-esque type player on the right team.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
People who watch the Pac-12: what about Norman Powell? Seems like he's Russell Westbrook without the offense. But we could use uber-athleticism and defense in the backcourt...couldn't we?
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I was all for him until I saw he was measured at 6'3". He plays bigger around the basket. I thought for sure he was 6'4" or 6'5". He played well this season, but since we already have CJ at a similar size I would not go that route.
 
Id support trying to get another late first rounder and possibly a second round pick. I'd expect a combination of Frazier, Crabbe, future 2nd, and cash..

Or send our 23rd, 2018 first round pick, Crabbe and cash to Boston for 16 and 33... Why not move up and down at the same time? Could see if Upshaw falls to 33 or pick the Brazilian point guard. At 16 your in play for Dekker, Payne and Oubre if he falls.

I just want to see them try and set themselves up so that if LA leaves they have a couple good young guys from this draft to jumpstart the rebuild *shudders*. If he stays then hourly were smart enough so that these same guys could address lack of depth. Oubre or Dekker at backup SF, Payne at backup PG. And then once free agency hits you can go get a better veteran at the bench spot you didn't fill
 
Pinwheel1 said:
I was all for him until I saw he was measured at 6'3". He plays bigger around the basket. I thought for sure he was 6'4" or 6'5". He played well this season, but since we already have CJ at a similar size I would not go that route.
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I don't think height is as important as reach. And I'm interested in him because he's supposed to be one of the best guard defenders in college - so he and CJ have different skillsets. He sounds Avery Bradley-esque. [Edit: except an inch taller and 35lbs heavier!]
 
BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94 said:
I forgot about Norman Powell... That guy is interesting. 4 years in college but he is athletic and long. I'm probably gonna get killed for this but he could be a D-Wade-esque type player on the right team.
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Not saying he's similarly talented, but here's how they compare, measurement wise:

Name, height w/o shoes, weight, wingspan, vertical

D-Wade (2003): 6' 3.75", 212, 6'10.75", 35"
N-Pow (2015): 6' 3", 215, 6'10.75", 40.5"
 
NBAdraft.net has moved Fuzaro from not listed to early second round.

Quite the leap.
 
I just looked to see if any team had a surfeit of second round picks that maybe they'd want to part with:
Philly has 5!
35, 37, 47, 58, 60

I'm sure they'd be willing to give up the last two, but you're pretty close to the kid going undrafted at that point. I wonder if they'd give up either 35 or 37? The only thing Sam Hinkie likes more than picks, though, is more picks.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
NBAdraft.net has moved Fuzaro from not listed to early second round.
Quite the leap.
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And they've got the Brazilian PG that everyone else is talking about (George Lucas de Paula) down at second-from-last pick, which seems very unlikely.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
My super obscure sleeper who could be taken a lot higher than many expect.
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This guy is a lot less obscure, but I think he'll be taken in the first, and in fact, if we're going the draft-and-stash route (to save money for free agency), he's my choice for the Blazers' pick (well, until my next Basketball crush)

Alexander Vezenkov



...if he doesn't withdraw his name from the draft, that is. If he doesn't, passing on him will be like passing on Mirotic. (Montrezl Harrell v Vezenkov is like Faried v Mirotic. So who's the Nolan Smith we'll actually take?)
 
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Fez Hammersticks said:
...Fuzaro...
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Did you know he's already played against a bunch of this draft's (and last's) lottery picks?

Small_BRA495.JPG
 
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