OFFICIAL Pre-pre-pre Draft Thread

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It's come to be a tradition that there's a whole slew of international players taken in the bottom third of the first round as teams decide there aren't enough good players to warrant paying full first-round money to so they just want to save money and have a player sit in Europe a while. The people who make mock drafts always get way more excited about college players in the early going and so pack the first round with Americans. Probably what's happening is that word is starting to leak out and internationals are going to creep into the first round on the mocks.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
CBSsports also moved Hernangomez into the first - #26 to the Spurs. Picking him at #23 isn't such a stretch anymore.
Basketball Insiders (Alex Kennedy, Brigham, Kyler) have moved Jonathan Holmes into the first-round ....to Portland.
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Hmm. Maybe if he was a freshman, but he's a senior? Seems a little bit underwhelming. I mean, I like that he seems to be well-rounded, but I'd like well rounded and better.
 
Think Dante Cunningham.

He'd be solid if you can buy a second-rounder.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
Think Dante Cunningham.

He'd be solid if you can buy a second-rounder.
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yeah, this year there seems to be a decent bit of athletic and long PF/C shot blocking/rim defender types that might be at/near our pick that I'd rather take a chance on
 
Rastapopoulos said:
Hmm. Maybe if he was a freshman, but he's a senior? Seems a little bit underwhelming. I mean, I like that he seems to be well-rounded, but I'd like well rounded and better.
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Taking a Junior or a Senior where we draft shouldn't be an issue. I'd personally rather have players who had time to grow into their bodies and develop a better mental side off the game in this part of the draft. That said, I don't know shit about Jonathan Holmes.
 
Wouldn't mind if PA bought a 2nd and gambled on Luis Montero out of JC. 6'7" with a handle and looks to have tons of upside.
 
Hard to say - only scouts have warched him.

Apparently he lied about his age. Claimed to be 18, actually 20 at the time.

If you go this rout I still say you go for Fuzaro.
 
The biggest riser this week is Alpha Kaba - 6'10" PF with a near 7'6" wingspan. Apparently he has actual skill and feel for the game. Still über raw. DX recently moved him up 10 spots - NBAdraft.net moved him into the early second round.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
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Reminds me of Leandro Barbosa, also drafted out of Brazil. The thing that gives me pause is that it's only NBADraft.net that's boosting him, and they're pretty unreliable (and a small operation), whereas DraftExpress that is usually much more reliable doesn't have him at all in their mock.

Fez Hammersticks said:
He can finish at the rim like a boss.
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Rastapopoulos said:
It's come to be a tradition that there's a whole slew of international players taken in the bottom third of the first round...
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Having said this, I thought I better check. Looking at picks 20-30 for drafts since 2008:

2008
20 Charlotte Alexis Ajinca - PF
24 Seattle Serge Ibaka - PF
25 Houston Nicolas Batum - SF

2009
22. Trail Blazers Victor Claver SF
23. Kings Omri Casspi SF
25. Thunder Rodrigue Beaubois PG
30. Cavaliers Christian Eyenga SF

2010
None! But this was an all-time sucky draft.

2011
20. Timberwolves Donatas Motiejunas PF
23. Rockets Nikola Mirotic SF

2012
20. Nuggets Evan Fournier SG

2013
27. Nuggets Rudy Gobert C
28. Spurs Livio Jean-Charles PF
30. Suns Nemanja Nedovic SG

2014
20. Raptors Bruno Caboclo SF
25. Rockets Clint Capela PF
27. Suns Bogdan Bogdanovic SG

Huh. I guess it's not as many as I thought.
(I excluded international players who played at college in the US, like Kosta Koufos, Greivis Vasquez, Fab Melo, Festus Ezeli, Gorgui Dieng, even though one might assume they would get jobs internationally too. Koufos did, didn't he? And Melo is playing in Brazil.)
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
The biggest riser this week is Alpha Kaba - 6'10" PF with a near 7'6" wingspan. Apparently he has actual skill and feel for the game. Still über raw. DX recently moved him up 10 spots - NBAdraft.net moved him into the early second round.
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Talk about damning with faint praise, though:
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Pinwheel1 said:
His release is too low, he will struggle at the next level. :wink:
On a serious note, his shot looks like Dame's
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Exactly what I see too. . .
Too low release, almost off of his forehead - and forward.
Nice shooter, but, will get that blocked into his face in the NBA.
 
Pinwheel1 said:
His release is too low, he will struggle at the next level. :wink:
On a serious note, his shot looks like Dame's
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But he has a crazy 8'8" reach, the tallest of any SG in the league - Klay is at 8'7"

He wont have a problem getting his shot off.
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
But he has a crazy 8'8" reach, the tallest of any SG in the league - Klay is at 8'7"

He wont have a problem getting his shot off.
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Sorry I did not use the green font. I was being sarcastic as a few said the same thing about Dame before we drafted him.
 
The one thing I hate/love about having a pick at 23 is I fall in love with pretty much every bigman who has a very high upside. Really Liking Christian Wood at the moment as well as Kevon Looney. Both seem like projects as they have conditioning concerns but as long as they have good motors you can fix that pretty easily with NBA trainers.
 
Top 11 SF's in the draft:

http://www.oregonlive.com/nba/index.ssf/2015/06/nba_draft_2015_top_11_small_fo.html#0
Anderson is growing on me. I still want someone who can attack the basket, but I must admit I like his size as a SF. ('6.6" 231, 7 foot wing span)
45% from 3 pt seems like someone Stotts would want.

Justin Anderson, Virginia
Cavaliers junior Justin Anderson is another strong defender with an NBA-ready frame and ability to guard multiple positions. Anderson vastly improved his outside shot by his third season, finishing first in the ACC at 45.2 percent from three-point range. He's projected as a late first-round pick.

Height: 6-6
Weight: 231
Wingspan: 6-11 3/4
Standing reach: 8-5
 
Pinwheel1 said:
Top 11 SF's in the draft:

http://www.oregonlive.com/nba/index.ssf/2015/06/nba_draft_2015_top_11_small_fo.html#0
Anderson is growing on me. I still want someone who can attack the basket, but I must admit I like his size as a SF. ('6.6" 231, 7 foot wing span)
45% from 3 pt seems like someone Stotts would want.

Justin Anderson, Virginia
Cavaliers junior Justin Anderson is another strong defender with an NBA-ready frame and ability to guard multiple positions. Anderson vastly improved his outside shot by his third season, finishing first in the ACC at 45.2 percent from three-point range. He's projected as a late first-round pick.

Height: 6-6
Weight: 231
Wingspan: 6-11 3/4
Standing reach: 8-5
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he looks real good for a 23 pick if he's there
 
Rhal said:
The one thing I hate/love about having a pick at 23 is I fall in love with pretty much every bigman who has a very high upside. Really Liking Christian Wood at the moment as well as Kevon Looney. Both seem like projects as they have conditioning concerns but as long as they have good motors you can fix that pretty easily with NBA trainers.
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Seriously. One who has a TON of talent but teams wonder about his 'issues' is Robert Upshaw. 7'0' with a 7'5" wingspan. Since getting dismissed from UW (2nd team he was let go from) he has hired a Personal Coach, distanced himself from the friends that were not putting him in good situations and is working on his game. Defensively he has been watching DeAndre Jordan and offensively, LaMarcus Aldrige's moves.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Robert-Upshaw-6447/

:matrix:
 
Justin Anderson SOUNDS like the ideal 3-and-D player that everybody loves these days. So you'd have to wonder why he'd be available at the 23rd pick. Either he won't, or there are some red flags. What is he bad at?
 
TBpup said:
Defensively he has been watching DeAndre Jordan and offensively, LaMarcus Aldrige's moves.
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Hey, me too!

Where Upshaw gets drafted will depend ENTIRELY on his interviews and psych testing, making it impossible for us to predict.
 
Alpha Kaba:



LaMarcus Aldridge shoutout at 2:24!

I've got to say, I'd take him over Christian Wood, and not just because he's French - he looks a lot sturdier, and has just as ridiculous a reach.
 
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