Well I have 10 minutes before the Warriors game.
Over the last week, in between playoff games I rewatched some of the games i had recorded on my college basketball TV.
NBA released the early entry list, so here is my top 20 draft prospects.
This is my list, not based on what I think execs will do. Obviously the combine, work outs and the lottery will have a big impact but for now:
1. Karl-Anthony Towns - Still the clear #1 IMO. Nothing, outside freak injury, should stop him from becoming a hybrid of Boogie and Brow. Browgie?
2. Justise Winslow - after the performance he had in the tournament, i finally got the balls to put him ahead of Jahlil. I always like guys that improve as the year continues because that shows that they are still getting better and have potential. The combine will be interesting for him. Is he closer to 6'6 or 6'8? Is his wingspan 6'7 or 6'11? I think he can play some minutes as a stretch 4 and if that's true, his value rises by a lot in today's NBA.
3. Jahlil Okafor - still a dominant post player, i was
a little when I compared him to Duncan BUT he can absolutely dominate inside and will be better than the Big Al comparison that gets thrown around. I do worry a bit about injuries because of his size and style of play but otherwise he is as good a number 3 pick as there has been in a draft in a long time.
4. D'Angelo Russell - Talking about this year's draft, it's as good as any draft in the past several years and certainly stronger than last year's overhyped(just my humble opinion) class. Russell at number 4 is a great find. He may need a few seasons because of his skinny frame but he has an absolutely wet stroke and that should help him be more succesful at the next level than someone like Evan Turner
5. Emmanuel Mudiay - 64 year old Marbury is the MVP of the Chinese league for the last 19 seasons, so I don't really have a lot of faith in Mudiays numbers. That being said from what I've seen, he is legit bigger and stronger than John Wall and just as good of an athlete. He still needs to improve at reading the D and of course his outside shot but his ceiling is on par with Towns.
6. Stanley Johnson - I'm a big fan, as he is a guy who I've followed snice he was winning state championship as a sophomore in HS. Another guy who needs to work on a consistent jump shot and bball iq but he is a hard worker who loves to compete and those things will come in time.
7. Mario Hezonja - Somewhat similar to Johnson and it will be interesting to see how both guys measure out at the combine but when it's a toss up, i always give the edge to the college guy. No culture shock plus who knows when Mario will even come to the states. I know people really like him on here though and i don't blame you if you have him top 5. Wouldn't be surprised if the Sixers get him to play with Saric. I'm gonna watch some Barcelona games when I get a chance.
8. Frank Kaminsky - well I'm a big fan and i always say, if you can play - you can play. We know bigs who can shoot are on style, Kaminsky reminds me of a poor man's Gasol with less post moves but more range. He is already better than Olynyk.
9. Kristaps Porzingis - really havent seen him play much tbh. He first started to get hype during European U18 a few years ago, and that's the only 2 full games I saw. I wasn't very impressed, honestly. However, he is putting up big numbers in ACB, which is a league that's arguably on par with the D League and right behind Euro League and of course the NBA.
10. Tyus Jones - Just a pure point, his presence and execution in the half court was huge for the NT winners. Trey Burke is a cautionary tale but I just can't put him any lower, and PGs are always important.
11. Devin Booker - the guy can flat out shoot and is wise beyond his years (he will be the youngest player in this draft) Combine will be big for him as far as measurements and seeing just how athletic he is.
12. Willie Cauley-Stein - I know this might seem kind of low but the guy can not score to save his life. At least DeAndre has good touch around the hoop. Not to mention his length will not be nearly as intimidating in the NBA. Should still be a solid rotation player for defensive purposes though and can catch a couple of alley oops. Maybe doing the D12 superman dunk in the contest next year's all star.
13. Sam Dekker - I wasn't sold on him until the NCAA tournament. He is still gonna have issues with guarding quicker players but on offense the guy just knows how to score from everywhere on the court and plays great under pressure. He is mentally prepared and thats half the battle.
14. Myles Turner - I think
@Malta mentioned how he will be better in the NBA. However at 19, he runs the court and moves around with the speed of 39 year old Tim Duncan. The size and skill is there but he is too passive at times mentally. Seems to drift in and out of games and really struggled against stronger, more athletic competition. This stuff worries me but the potential is there.
15. Kelly Oubre - Xavier Henry's existence scares the shyt out of me but than again Henry showed some improvement but has been constantly hurt. I think Oubre may be closer to a leftie JR Smith. Smith is one of my fav players and I can see myself really liking Oubre as well.
16. Kevon Looney - Long ways to go but when he is playing with a purpose he is as good as anyone in this draft outside the top 4 (as far as pro potential) Unfortunately he disappears for prolonged stretches to the extent I fear that it may be an issue beyond just his youth. Something that may haunt his career.
17. Bobby Portis - Gotta love this guy. A very skilled big man with a nice stroke but isn't afraid to mix it up inside. He can really be a steal if he develops consistent 3 point range but as a whole for someone who just turned 20 and is just a sophomore, he is what he is more or less. I don't see him ever becoming a number one guy on a legit contender but is a very good poor man's Aldridge. The fact that I couldn't find a spot higher than 17, further affirms how strong this draft is.
18. Trey Lyles - Kind of like Bizarro Portis, somewhat similar skill set and size (only 9 months younger than Portis) but is far from a finished product and probably won't be ready to contribute the way Portis will. However down the line his potential is enormous. Is a legit 6'10(taller?) and has a sweet looking stroke. If he adds some muscle and develops an NBA 3, watch out.
19. Cameron Payne - Well stretch 4s and big guys in general are the Big theme in this draft but of course point guards are a huge deal in the league as well. With the success of guys like Curry and Lillard, under the radar mid major PGs are all the rave nowadays. After dominating in the NIT tournament Payne began to get some lottery talk and went on to enter the draft. I've only seen him play twice this year but I do like, if not love, him as a prospect. I'd say he is closer to CJ McCollum than to Curry and I also hear he has grown to almost 6'4 ( from the 5'11 that he was listed his freshman season) and he seems to be a much more natural PG than McCollum. I love CJ and glad he got to show out in the playoffs and while I'm not sure that Payne is at the same level as a scorer, Cam is only 20 years old and seems to have the athletic ability and competitive spirit necessary to succeed at the next level. I do think the lottery talk is somewhat hyperbolic but overall he is solid
20. Jerian Grant - I'm tired of writing, this was supposed to take 10 minutes now I'm way behind on that warriors game. If you are reading this thread you most likely have seen Jerian Grant play. He is very good, my point stands therefore, this draft is very good.
HM: Montrelz Harrell, Rondae Hollis-Jefferon, Delon Wright
I actually had Wright in the top 10 at one point. I do really like him but I was reaching a bit.He can't shoot and is pretty much entering his prime in the next year or 2, so he probably won't get much better as good as he is already though.
Deep Sleeper:
We will have some interesting sleepers in next year's draft (JR's that will be SRs, guys lik Taurean Prince, Gary Payton II and Fred VanVleet)
This year though I love Derrick Marks. He has PG skills but just didn't really use them because his team played him at 2 guard and needed him to score. He completely dominated the Mountain west and that's a solid league with some good athletes over all. I think the guy will be a very good back up and maybe he can even start for some team. He was a senior but is a year younger than Jerian Grant, younger than Cauley Stein and Kaminsky and just a year older than Cameron Payne.
Well like I said this took a lot longer than I thought but I love analyzing the draft so it's all good plus I can now skip all the gay ass commercials in the Warriors game
@Captain_Crunch
