ML6

Bucks won't trade Antetokounmpo, and they certainly won't package him with a 1st rounder in this draft. With that said... OH MY GOD PLEASE LET THEM BE THIS STUPID

Except that Harris proved himself to be a far, far superior prospect in terms of actual basketball skill during his time on the court last season. He's a much brighter piece to the core we're trying to build. Don't underestimate the potential for "sneaky tanking" being at play here. I'm sure he's hurt, but don't think the organization doesn't recognize that bringing him back slowly probably gives us our best chance at long-term success.

Smart also nearly cost them the Butler game by forcing it too much down the stretch. He seems to trade off between deferring for a while and then trying to do everything, and sometimes the "do everything" portion gets him into trouble (it also works occasionally, as evidenced by his scoring outbursts so far this year, although I would wager that those were more outliers than the norm). If he can find a happy medium he'll be fine, he's obviously very talented. I agree with Ibn on this and I've posted about it before: if we want a big guard to play PG with a great work ethic, leadership skills, and "intangibles", don't we already have that in Oladipo? What does Smart possess that Oladipo doesn't? Both are big, strong guys with decent handles who currently struggle with TOs and occasional poor decision-making. It just so happens that Oladipo is a better athlete/shooter. Answering this question by saying, "but Smart had a PG next to his name in college and Oladipo had a SG next to his!" is not sufficient, mind you. The position can be learned. If PG is the way we want to go, I personally don't see how you pass on Exum if he's available. Potential is out of this world.

About 5 airballs for Smart tonight Edit: and then 2 turnovers to end the game

Another miserable offensive outing for Wiggins, was very solid defensively though.

I've watched every KU game, as I do every year. What Wiggins has shown thus far is EXACTLY what Maurice Harkless does. He scores primarily off cuts and fast breaks, can't reliably create his own shot (does have 2 moves: a nice spin move -- like Moe, and a one-dribble stepback), loose handle when he puts the ball on the floor. He's long/athletic which allows him to be disruptive on defense. Completely timid offensively. Last night, KU attempted to get the ball to him in the post twice on the same play toward the end of the game. They couldn't enter the ball to him because he was easily bodied off his spot by Villanova's POINT GUARD. I won't make the claim that some of you haven't watched him play, but I do think there is a fair amount of "hype bias" coming into play here. Watch his play and analyze it. Does he have potential -- unquestionably. Has he done ANYTHING to wow anybody thus far playing college ball -- not really. And the argument that Player X played one position while Player Y played another, so they MUST be different, is very flawed. About the same height, same body type, play similarly thus far. They're comparable based of what Wiggins has shown us to date.

Wiggins is basically Harkless at this point.

All the concerns with Smart were evident down the stretch today. Really forcing it -- bad shots, bad TOs, 0-3 FTs in final minute. Really should've been a W for Butler, OKST gave it away.

To be fair, I thought he was pretty clearly hacked on a couple of them and potentially was credited with one that wasn't his fault. 5-6 TOs is still bad, but he had 6 total in the 3 games prior to last night's. He's going to have his ups and downs, still learning a new position and 15 games into his NBA career.

So you aren't on board with a potentially once-in-a-generation offensive talent because he's a few pounds over your own subjective ideal?

I've seen a bunch of posts on here bemoaning Parker's build and athleticism. Some of you act like the guy has the body and vertical leap of Big Baby. His body looks fine, he runs like a friggin' gazelle, and he's converted on some pretty impressive alley-oops so far this season. What more do you guys want?

Bingo, still a lot of work to be done by Smart to get me excited about potentially drafting him.

Could end up being flat-out wrong, but Porter has always screamed "bust" to me. His DraftExpress video features the most embarrassing "Weaknesses" section I have ever seen.

I literally cannot believe some of the things I've been reading on this board recently.

Reminder: he's played 11 NBA games. Also, I don't think a few bad TOs per game for a while will drastically stunt anyone's growth. These guys are professional basketball players, they're responsible for their own personal development and aren't completely reliant on Victor. He will either adequately improve and all will be fine or he won't and will end up an SG. Either way, no one will "suffer" substantially.

Exactly. I didn't truly just read something about Jack Taylor being potentially grabbed for training camp, did I? Like, NBA training camp? As in the National Basketball Association? The coach runs this system to garner attention for the school. Having one guy taking all the shots isn't a very difficult system to employ, especially when the system mandates that one player doesn't play defense, and ESPECIALLY when playing in Division III. I don't truly think it is all that ridiculous to suggest that some people on this board could've put up similar numbers if designated as the "gunner" in a similar system playing against DIII competition.

Parker looks unbelievable as well, skillset seems to be off the charts. Fun night of college basketball tomorrow.

Can't say I've ever understood the obsession with Smart. If you're looking for a big PG who can defend and has leadership skills... isn't that Oladipo? Oladipo is a better shooter and probably not any sloppier with the ball, so what exactly would we be getting? Or is it just because Smart typically has a "PG" next to his name and Oladipo has historically had an "SG" next to his?

Those are the Jumbotron feeds. Hence, many replays. What you are seeing is exactly what the people in the arena are seeing.

TRADE MOE OLADIPO CANT PLAY PG HARRIS SUCKS VUC SUCKS NICHOLSON SUCKS JAMEER SUCKS AFFLALO SUCKS VAUGHN SUCKS PRESEASON!!!

Maybe because he hasn't had the opportunity, as you mentioned, to ever showcase his potential to run PG? That would be one pretty strong reason. Unless you want to pigeonhole him because you've seen him play one way, so that must be the best way! Also, what does a SG "look like"? He's 6'4" so he must be a shooting guard? He kinda resembles Dwyane Wade so he must be a shooting guard? Help me out here.

I like we're already certain about Oladipo's position. Then again, he does have two preseason games and a summer league under his belt, so I guess we can draw pretty solid conclusions.

I certainly wasn't referring to you, if that's what you're saying. I was simply flabbergasted that someone would get worked up over a preseason lineup, which as ?4thewin correctly pointed out, means absolutely nothing.

In my brief 5 minute stint in the chat room last night (I was hoping there might be activity in there and someone might have a link), someone was outraged that Harris wasn't starting and that O'Quinn could potentially be taking his spot. I was informed that "sometimes preseason lineups can reflect a coach's mindset". I left the chatroom.

Which is a perfectly acceptable stance if you prefer misplaced sarcasm and poor attempts at humor over actual substance.