Draft picks - What kind and how many?

[coachx]

I wanted to throw in some comparsons. Its hard to type on iPads.......much easier with a keyboard. I have strong opinions on these guys b/c I saw them all play a minimum of 7 games last year and have watched Whitney and Dieng alot the last 2 years.

Dieng - best case scenerio is Samue Dalembert.....who was quite good in his prime. Very good athlete. The main weakness I see with him are his hands and inability to finish in the paint with contact. Strengths are his shot blocking prowess and unreal wingspan. I think Ferry appreciates "specialists" like him and Whitney.

Whitney - a thin build like Asik but without the superior rebounding. Much more atheltic then Asik and runs the floor much better then Asik but is no where close to him in rebounding. Good athlete, high motor, ability to run the floor, and his excellent defensive anticipation. Weakness is his lateral agility on defense with pick and rolls and lack of bulk. High energy player.

Olynyk - Chris Kaman / Pekovic like game.

Maybe a little wider and not quite as long as Kaman. If he gets a mentality to play physical with his wide body he could be a double / double guy. A lot of risk here due to lack of competition but that low post game is what makes him projected in the lottery. Just a positional defender. Not a rim protector at all. Best ball handling of any center in the draft. Good hands. Average athlete. Weakness is he is a plodder, like Kaman. He does not run the floor well or have much lateral quickness. He can play with his back to the basket or face up with good ball fakes and the ability to put the ball on the floor for a big man. If he has the mentality of a Tarzan he could be a beast on the offensive end.If he is intimated by NBA bigs he will look like Tarzan and play like Jane. Look forwad to seeing what he does vs. Dieng, Adams, and Whitney in workouts. He has to use his size and strength to counter attack their athletic ability. His body reminds me of Pekovic but he has to prove he has that inner warrior.

McGary - Reminds me of a Brad Miller or a poor man's Kevin Love with his passing, BB IQ, wide body, strength, and all around game. Average athlete. Dolfan says he is staying at Michigan.

Adams - tough to really compare a guy as raw as him as he is no where close to a finished product. He should stay at Pitt for his best longterm development. Hish risk / high reward.

[gurpilo]

Whithey will be a shot blocking center on the NBA, I don't like the Asik comparison as he hopefully will block much shots and will get really less rebounds, Assik is one of the best rebounders on the league, he would perhaps be more of a Pryzbilla type of center.

Dalembert would be the top ceiling for Dieng, doubt he reaches that potential and he is not that big and will not be such am imposing presence on the paint, I like a Theo Ratliff comparison for him, I think it's more fair.

About Adams, I think he will be the best rebounder of the 3, probably not the best shot blocker but still a good one and probably the best offensive player of the 3. He is 3 years younger and is the only one that could become a starter on the league. I don't have a good comparison either.

And about Ollynk, he is not the inside presence Kaman or Pekovic are, he probably will be more of a Spencer Hawes type of player without the shot blocking ability.

[TheFuzz]

Agree with most of the analysis so far. I'll chip in I guess.

I don't like Olynyk. He seems soft, doesn't rebound or defend particularly well. More than that he is SLOW. I will admit he's a fluid athlete and outrageously skilled/versatile on offense. He can shoot, post up, pass, handle. The problem is I don't think he can ever be more than a third big. I'd be happy to eat crow on that of course.

Dieng has been covered plenty. I'll just add he passes really well for a big man and seems like a smart, hardworking dude. He has starter potential but doubt he gets much better than a solid starter.

Haven't watched much Withey, but he seems like a solid specialist 3rd/big type.

I'm really high on Adams. I've been really impressed by his rebounding and activity level. He should be a solid shotblocker. By all accounts he's a hard worker so hopefully he can develop an offensive game. I honestly think he's this year's Drummond and has the potential to be much better than Drummond offensively. By far the highest upside of any big in the draft if you ask me (except Noel).

[Brotha2ThaNite]

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2013/

All the good centers in this draft will be gone in the top 10. Rest are projects. We need a starting center not a project, so getting one in FA makes the most sense. Also, the Lakers DO NOT have a lottery pick as they traded that to the Suns in the Steve Nash deal. I agree that every day the possibility of Dwight jumping ship get lower and lower, but I wouldn't say the chances are nil. I think Danny puts a max deal on the table for Dwight and if Dwight passes it up, then Danny will move on to Bynum, Peks, and Jefferson. Bynum wouldn't be a bad deal so long as he is motivated to win more championships. We don't need to sign the guy if he is looking to just ride out the rest of his career. A motivated, injury-free Bynum next to Horf would be dominate. Worse to worse, we resign Z-Pac and stay patient. Resign Teague, sign a big PG for the bench, and get a head coach. Bonuses would be to sign Tyreke Evans who can play 1-3 and a 6'8"-6'10" wingman that'll come off of the bench. Need also a SF, some Deng-like SF or Iggy at $10 mil would be a plus.

I would love to get Gorgui Dieng. If he falls far. Draftexpress have him going to the Buck (1 pick before us).

He has a good mid-range and is a good defender down low.

[Guest]

Wow, now I'm interested about this Adams kid. I wanna check out some film on him. Maybe we should use one of our picks to make a safe pick and the other to role the dice.

[coachx]

Wow, now I'm interested about this Adams kid. I wanna check out some film on him. Maybe we should use one of our picks to make a safe pick and the other to role the dice.

He is very fluid. More so then Dieng. He is from New Zealand. One of the best things about him is he was not poisoned by the American culture and the AAU circuit that has vultures kissing up to teenagers in hopes of future kick backs. He is supposed to be a humble hard worker and played for an old school coach at Pitt. He did under perform at Pitt based on his expectations but there is still plenty of upsie there. Too bad we never got to see him play Olynyk in the2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Cinderalla Wichita St. took them both out.

Dieng is obviously the better player today......but Adams has much more offensive up side. I do think Adams athletic ability is a little over-rated but he is very fluid where Dieng is a little more mechanical.

Here is a box score of their head to head meeting in the Big East on 1/28/2013

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/gameflash/2013/01/28/81512_boxscore.html

Dieng - 39 minutes / 5-7 FGs / 4-6 FTs / 14 pts / 12 rbs / 3 blks / 2 fouls

Adams - 29 minutes / 4-5 FGs / 0-4 FTs / 8 pts / 7 rbd / 1 blks / 1 foul

[coachx]

Whithey will be a shot blocking center on the NBA, I don't like the Asik comparison as he hopefully will block much shots and will get really less rebounds, Assik is one of the best rebounders on the league, he would perhaps be more of a Pryzbilla type of center.

Dalembert would be the top ceiling for Dieng, doubt he reaches that potential and he is not that big and will not be such am imposing presence on the paint, I like a Theo Ratliff comparison for him, I think it's more fair.

About Adams, I think he will be the best rebounder of the 3, probably not the best shot blocker but still a good one and probably the best offensive player of the 3. He is 3 years younger and is the only one that could become a starter on the league. I don't have a good comparison either.

And about Ollynk, he is not the inside presence Kaman or Pekovic are, he probably will be more of a Spencer Hawes type of player without the shot blocking ability.

Whitney / Asik was more of a body type comparison. Pryzbilla probably has 30 pounds on both of them. Pryzbilla was also a very good rebounder per minute. One thing Whitney does better then all of them is run the floor. Pryzbilla was a plodder and was unatheltic. Whitney is much more atheltic and can run the floor very well. Whitney is also a better athelte then Asik or Pryzbilla........with Pryz easily being the worst athlete of the 3 but also the heaviest of the 3.

The Dalembert / Ratliff thing is really grasping at straws. Ratliff was better then Dalembert in his prime. Ratliff made an allstar team and lead the lead in blocks 3 times and averaged 3 or more blocks in 9 different season. I do agree Dalembert is a good comparions to Dieng but I'm not sure he will be quite that elite of a shot blocker..........though I hope he is if we draft him. Dalembert and Ratliff were both 6'10'' and 225 - 230 lbs through their primes......so I don't get why you think Dalembert is / was bigger then Ratliff.

Olynyk may be a dud but he does have a Pekovic type of thick body with a Kaman like skill level. None of the 3 are good athletes and all 3 of them are plodders. Its yet to be dertimined how Olynyk will react to tougher competition and if he will get physical and take advantage of his size. He may flop.......but he may not. Workouts will tell alot about how he handles more athletic players. He has the same skill as Hawes but has alot more weight to throw around. Will initaite contact like Pekovic does and Kaman did......or whill shy away from contact like Hawes ? That is an excellent question you bring up and the same question that leaves most GMs scrathing their heads.

No dount Adams has the most upside due to being 3 years younger...........but he is not the worst today. Hopefully his work eithic translates to improvement after a dissapointing freshman season.

Edited April 12, 2013 by coachx

[gurpilo]

Whitney / Asik was more of a body type comparison. Pryzbilla probably has 30 pounds on both of them. Pryzbilla was also a very good rebounder per minute. One thing Whitney does better then all of them is run the floor. Pryzbilla was a plodder and was unatheltic. Whitney is much more atheltic and can run the floor very well. Whitney is also a better athelte then Asik or Pryzbilla........with Pryz easily being the worst athlete of the 3 but also the heaviest of the 3.

The Dalembert / Ratliff thing is really grasping at straws. Ratliff was better then Dalembert in his prime. Ratliff made an allstar team and lead the lead in blocks 3 times and averaged 3 or more blocks in 9 different season. I do agree Dalembert is a good comparions to Dieng but I'm not sure he will be quite that elite of a shot blocker..........though I hope he is if we draft him. Dalembert and Ratliff were both 6'10'' and 225 - 230 lbs through their primes......so I don't get why you think Dalembert is / was bigger then Ratliff.

Olynyk may be a dud but he does have a Pekovic type of thick body with a Kaman like skill level. None of the 3 are good athletes and all 3 of them are plodders. Its yet to be dertimined how Olynyk will react to tougher competition and if he will get physical and take advantage of his size. He may flop.......but he may not. Workouts will tell alot about how he handles more athletic players. He has the same skill as Hawes but has alot more weight to throw around. Will initaite contact like Pekovic does and Kaman did......or whill shy away from contact like Hawes ? That is an excellent question you bring up and the same question that leaves most GMs scrathing their heads.

No dount Adams has the most upside due to being 3 years younger...........but he is not the worst today. Hopefully his work eithic translates to improvement after a dissapointing freshman season.

I was thinking more on the Ratliff we saw at Atlanta, not the Ratliff on his prime to be honest, a Center with lack of size, a decent defensive big but limited offensively, that is what I remembered from him and the way I see Dieng, then checked the stats and saw he was averaging 9ppg, 7 rpg, 3 bpg (WOW), on 30mpg I wouldn't expect that 3bpg but the rest of the stats seems about right with the same time. Dalembert is 6'11" and I see him like a really imposing presence on the paint, I doubt Dieng really achieves that impact. When given 30mpg he has averaged 11ppg, 10rbgg, 2bpg and has really protected the rim, I wouldn't expect that kind of production and impact from Dieng.

About Withey, true non of them are good comparisons I cannot find who could be, then I checked Nbadraft and they throw Travis Knight, not bad.

Ollynk is soft, does not rebound or defend well, slow, I don't see him becoming a presence on the paint like Pekovic or Kaman, has less faith on him than you, that's why I through the Hawes comparison without shot blocking, not a presence on the paint, a jump shooter big but with some talent.

The player I like is Adams, I think he can become a really special player, all the rest are not more than backup bigs.

[coachx]

I was thinking more on the Ratliff we saw at Atlanta, not the Ratliff on his prime to be honest, a Center with lack of size, a decent defensive big but limited offensively, that is what I remembered from him and the way I see Dieng, then checked the stats and saw he was averaging 9ppg, 7 rpg, 3 bpg (WOW), on 30mpg I wouldn't expect that 3bpg but the rest of the stats seems about right with the same time. Dalembert is 6'11" and I see him like a really imposing presence on the paint, I doubt Dieng really achieves that impact. When given 30mpg he has averaged 11ppg, 10rbgg, 2bpg and has really protected the rim, I wouldn't expect that kind of production and impact from Dieng.

So you thinking of Dalembert in his prime but the Ratliff with the hip injury ? Ok well that makes sense, I guess.

Taking career averages from a player who played until he was 38 and comparing them to a player who only is 31 is not a good comparison sample.

Take Ratliff's averages for 30mpg up to the age Dalembert is (31) for an apples to apples comparison. Ratliff was the better shot blocker by a wide margin. Ratliff was the better defensive presence. Ratliff averaged over 3 bpg in 9 different season. Dalembert never averaged more then 2.4 bpg and only averaged over 2 bpg in 3 seasons. Ratliff was also a slightly better scorer.....with Dalembert being a slightly better rebounder.

Ratliff and Dalembert were 1'' difference in height but Ratliff had an ungodly reach. In reality they were both a little undersized and skinny.

I would say all 3 of them are a good comparison for each other.All 3 are undersized in weight but not in length. Dieng is reported to have a 7'6'' wingspan. With that wingspan I would bet his standing reach is 9'3'' or better. For comparisons sake.......Horford's standing reach is only 8'11''.

[Kimsey]

You all shouldn't get your panties in wad with preferred prospects. The combine usually tells the tale and it should be an epic center vs. center workouts along with some 4s thrown in there. Might just subscribe to some hack draft site just to read it all up.

The problem now is the Sprockets came stop winning and Drew trying to mess up our draft standing on his way out.

[gurpilo]

That's true but is also true that sometimes some players begin to climb on the list due to some measurements and private workouts and we forget about the numbers, sensations when they play and that this is about playing basketball, i.e. Thabeet.

I don't think I will change my opinion from now to draft day and still think Adams would be the best prospect for us in terms of upside, fit, and impact on our time between him, Whithey, Dieng or McGary.