Official 2015 Draft Thread

[DJMase30 1]

A lot of Mario's game remind me of Drazen Petrovic. His demeanor/edge and motor on the court, as well as his outside shot and ability to penetrate. Mario finishes above the time a lot more though!

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

I think he's a slightly better athlete than Melo. Melo has a great first step, but he's not much of a leaper and doesn't have great end-to-end speed.

 

But the more I think about it, the more I can kind of see where you're coming from, especially with the attitude/mental aspect of Hezonja's profile.

 

Body type is too different

[CTMagicUK 1,488]

I think he's a slightly better athlete than Melo. Melo has a great first step, but he's not much of a leaper and doesn't have great end-to-end speed.

 

But the more I think about it, the more I can kind of see where you're coming from, especially with the attitude/mental aspect of Hezonja's profile.

 

Yea another thing I was thinking about was that ability to just heat up. On nights where Melo is on he doesn't even hit the rim and everything he takes goes in. Hezonja has had a couple of games this year where he's shot 5/6 from 3 or even I think an 8/8 from 3 game. You feel like if he got that red hot in the NBA with more minutes and a more advanced role than just "spot up shooter" he could go for 30 points or more.

[NittanyBuc 757]

Body type is too different

Melo wasn't a big guy at Syracuse, though. He weighed in at like 200 lbs. roughly.

 

 

Unless you mean other than weight/build and I'm totally missing the mark here....

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

5. Kristaps Porzingis, PF

Orlando Magic College: Latvia | 6-foot-11, 220 pounds

 

Analysis: The Magic will likely choose between athletic wing Justise Winslowand the skilled 7-foot-1 Porzingis. General manager Rob Henningan already has a bunch of athletes who aren't considered great shooters (Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo). He could use a guy who can make shots, and Porzingis has as much upside as anyone in this draft. He's 19, can score from deep and is also a good athlete.

 

Pick from our NBA executives survey: Porzingis (2), Justise Winslow (2), Willie Cauley-Stein (1)

 

"It makes the most sense to take Cauley-Stein. You can play him and (Nikola) Vucevic together."

 

"I think you're right with Porzingis, especially for what they need. Justise Winslow isn't a great shooter, and I don't know how you add another perimeter non-shooter."

 

 

http://espn.go.com/n...-2015-nba-draft

[HeHateMe 697]

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http://espn.go.com/n...-2015-nba-draft

 

Puke.

[TreyMachine 398]

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http://espn.go.com/n...-2015-nba-draft

 

While I am on the Hezonja train, if I've learned anything from Henny, it's that he wants guys who will play hard on defense and are smart enough to learn good offense.

 

Does Hezonja play hard when it counts and does he have a teachable spirit (some note his arrogance)? I think that, if anything, the teachable spirit and willingness to do the dirty work on plays will be the deciding factor for our choice between Winslow / Hezonja / Anyone else: who wants to win bad enough?

 

For Oladipo, Payton, and Gordon, we know we got 3 of the most competitive guys over the laid-back natures of most players picked after them. They're all hungry. I believe Winslow is hungry and will do anything to win.

 

Will Hezonja?

[Catman 380]

While I am on the Hezonja train, if I've learned anything from Henny, it's that he wants guys who will play hard on defense and are smart enough to learn good offense.

 

Does Hezonja play hard when it counts and does he have a teachable spirit (some note his arrogance)? I think that, if anything, the teachable spirit and willingness to do the dirty work on plays will be the deciding factor for our choice between Winslow / Hezonja / Anyone else: who wants to win bad enough?

 

For Oladipo, Payton, and Gordon, we know we got 3 of the most competitive guys over the laid-back natures of most players picked after them. They're all hungry. I believe Winslow is hungry and will do anything to win.

 

Will Hezonja?

 

I think so. He has had a raw deal and gets the shaft from his team. He has shown tenacity on defense and IMO, just needs to be coached properly and treated fairly.

[Justin Jaudon 221]

Just throwing some thoughts out there for the draft.

 

To those who think Orlando has to draft either Porzingis or WCS (or pick up a rim protecting 4 in FA) because they absolutely must have a rim protector, I would submit that a rim protector is not quite as much of a must-have as people seem to want to think it is. Atlanta does not have a rim protector. Al Horford is a solid shot-blocker, but I think rim protector is a pretty big stretch. Paul Millsap is not a rim protector either. But their team defense works because they are full of guys (Korver excluded) who can defend multiple positions on the switch. Millsap just guarded LeBron very well for the entire last half of that quarter and they took the Cavs to the last minute in a game in which J.R. Smith hit 8 threes on like 11 shots or something like that.

Defending on the switch is becoming more important than rim protection as this becomes more of a jump-shooting league. Vuc needs to continue to improve as a defender, but quick guys on the perimeter who can defend almost interchangeably can cover him if he can just improve his lateral movement a little bit (something he has consistently improved, if only in small increments, over the last three years). Yes, Orlando played better defensively last year with Dedmon on the floor because of rim protection. But we really have no idea how they would have looked with a more refined AG in the lineup at 4, because we don’t have a more refined AG yet. Comparing the defense with a rim protector to a defense without one and still using Frye as a 4 is unfair.

[Justin Jaudon 221]

At 5, Orlando has a ton of options.

 

I agree with Catman and others that Mario is the best prospect for this team. The guy has an entitled attitude, by all accounts. So does LeBron, Westbrook, Kobe, etc. The first question is does he have the talent-level to back it up. He seems to. In reality, his tools are so translatable to NBA stardom it’s odd that more people aren’t looking at him as a top 3-4 pick. He’s super athletic, a terrific shooter, and capable of being tremendously active when focused. That brings in the real question with this guy, one I’m not sure anyone can answer. How focused is he? If he’s just some dumb kid with a chip on his shoulder, he’s a big risk at 5. But if he has champion focus, he’s the steal of the draft at 5, without question.

 

I think Winslow is the number 2 guy at 5. He shot well from outside in college (I know that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a good shooter, especially with an inconsistent motion to his jump shot, but it means he’s likely capable of hitting threes and possibly able to get good at it). He’s an interesting prospect, with his size, strength, and ability on defense (sounds very familiar, I know). I also love that he’s a willing and capable passer, something I think is a must for Orlando’s team, considering their offensive limitations. It will be interesting to see where his mindset is as a scorer, as I think he could develop into a very good one at the NBA level. But he has to develop as an off-the-bounce shooter, which I think he can do. That mindset is to me the biggest question with him, even including his jump shot. How are his instincts as a scorer going to develop?

 

Porzingis scares the bajeezus out of me. At times he does look like some kind of mix between Bargnani and Paul Gasol (perhaps NBAdraft.net’s best ever NBA comparison), but he also is so thin it’s scary. Not just the lack of weight on him, but the thin shoulders scare me. I’m not saying I don’t see the upside; I’m just scared of his very low floor. He could be a poor man’s Nowitski, or he could be a thinner and weaker Yi Jianlian.

 

I still think Myles Turner is a dark horse prospect. I don’t know as much about him at this point as I will once I’ve spent more time studying him (if he starts to rise), but he seems to have a rare skill set. There are, though, so many questions with this guy. Is he really capable of being a true stretch 4? What is with that limp? Where is his head at? Etc.

 

I don’t think WCS is a good pick for Orlando, unless they are going to let Harris walk and find an elite outside shooter at the 3. I don’t see them replacing Oladipo or Payton for anything less than an established star, and they will need floor spacing. Even if Gordon becomes capable of stretching the floor on offense, I still think they need some spacing (at very least, they will need plenty of it off the bench). I know the UK fans here want a Wildcat on the team so bad, but I just don’t see how it works.

[A Better DJ & Photographer 461]

I like the idea of WCS, but then I keep remembering Daniel Orton. I don't think we should blow #5 on that much risk. We need a 4 that shoots like Frye and defends like Payton and will help Vuc in the paint.

[Justin Jaudon 221]

By the way, does anyone else think Porzingis looks like someone put Detlef Schrempf in a taffy pull, haircut and all.