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Official Draft Thread 3.0

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He is already 216. You are referencing his weight from a month ago. He was asked to lose weight for surgery.He will play at around 225-230. Why? He will get bigger via focused NBA training and he is not even 20 yet.

 

Garnett and Larry Sanders were 217 their first season.

 

Noel doesn't have the frame to put on 20 lbs of functional weight. He's got slender shoulders.

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And to add, it is lazy to compare Noel to Thabeet.

 

Noel has far more athleticism. He has the talent to develop an NBA offensive game. Watch him go coast to coast in his KY highlights. He has great ball handling skills for a big. He has shown rapid development on his 15 foot jumper this summer.

 

He also is very adept at getting steals...not many bigs have that skillset.

 

I disagree that Bennet is lazy. I believe he was a product of the run n gun system of UNLV. He was looking for that fast break too much. I really like him as a prospect if you need some post offense. We need the opposite, so Noel makes much more sense.

 

Noel or Bmac or trade down. That's what Im hoping to see.

yes it was lazy, Noel obviously has more offensive upside. but I don't see him being an all star. I used Thabeet because he makes me laugh. Tyrus Thomas is probably a more apt comparison lol.

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yes it was lazy, Noel obviously has more offensive upside. but I don't see him being an all star. I used Thabeet because he makes me laugh. Tyrus Thomas is probably a more apt comparison lol.

 

I'm high on Noel. I went with a B version of Garnett. Yes, I went there because Noel has an awful lot of talent that he can develop on the offensive side.

 

I think he will have that nice KG jumper in a few years.

 

He is much more talented than Tyrus Thomas - a guy who had to be close to the rim to make anything happen.

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I'm high on Noel. I went with a B version of Garnett. Yes, I went there because Noel has an awful lot of talent that he can develop on the offensive side.

 

I think he will have that nice KG jumper in a few years.

 

He is much more talented than Tyrus Thomas - a guy who had to be close to the rim to make anything happen.

For his sake, I hope you're right, but I just don't see it.

 

InThis scouting report below, you can pretty much replace Thomas' name with Noel's.

I know they are not the same player, and people laud Nerlen's "guard skills" , but I don't see him being any better long term than thomas.

 

 

 

Tyrus Thomas NBA Draft Scouting Report

March 26, 2006

Strengths

In terms of physical attributes, there are few players in the NBA right now who can match Thomas’ combination of length and athletic ability. His leaping ability is something that has to be seen in person to truly comprehend. Beyond the fact that he has a 40+ inch vertical leap, runs the floor like a guard and explodes off the ground like he has a trampoline at all times at his personal disposal, he uses that athleticism to the fullest extent, which separates him even further from the Stromile Swifts and Tyson Chandlers of the world.

 

The majority of Thomas’ strengths right now revolve around his defense and rebounding skills, along with the occasional havoc he can create on the offensive end.

 

Thomas can truly change a game with his shot-blocking ability, using not only his outstanding physical attributes, but also his mind and instincts to get the job done. Thomas possesses excellent timing on his vertical leap along with a great feel for anticipating; getting better and better all the time in terms of not biting on pump-fakes and doing exactly what he needs to keep possessions alive by tapping the ball gently or sending it off the glass rather than swatting it to the 2nd row. Throughout the year he has shown to be equally adept at blocking shots both coming from the weak-side as well as straight up on the man he’s guarding. Even when he gets caught biting on a pump-fake, he is quick enough to recover in the blink of an eye and get the block on the 2nd attempt when his man thinks he clearly has him beat. It’s the same way in transition as if he’s anywhere within a 10 foot radius of the ball with a running start, no basket is safe in the hoop until is actually goes down because of the sheer speed in which he covers ground and pounces off the floor.

 

For every shot he blocks he alters countless others with the intimidation factor he establishes early on; forcing players to travel, throw shots high off the glass and always sneak a peek from the corner of their eye to see whether Thomas is lurking somewhere in the background. Unlike most freakish athletes, he has an innate understanding of how to utilize his tools as well as an outstanding motor and activity level, making him absolutely relentless going after anyone that dares enter the paint. For a player his age he is surprisingly good at staying out of foul trouble for someone as raw as you’d think he’d be. He only fouled out of 1 game all season long and reached 4 fouls on only 5 out of 30 games despite the drive he plays with.

 

Thomas doesn’t come from the Theo Ratliff or Samuel Dalembert school of shot-blocking, meaning he doesn’t risk his position to pad his stats and will rarely be called for goaltending. He is capable of playing outstanding man to man and team defense all over the floor when he’s not intimidating around the hoop, showing a lot of pride in this part of his game. He’s quick and effective stepping out to hedge the pick and roll and recovers beautifully getting right back into the post. If his man is trying to post him up on the block calling for the post-entry pass, Thomas will sometimes just outsmart and outquick him by going around him and coming up with the steal when the ensuing pass comes. Lazy passes are the kind of things he feasts on as he has the instincts and explosiveness to get right into the passing lanes with his wingspan and take the ball the length of the floor for the slam.

 

Thomas is also a terrific rebounder despite his lack of bulk, coming up with 8 rebounds or much more in every game this year in which he played over 25 minutes except one (in which he had 7). He’s extremely active on the glass and once again uses his combination of outstanding length, instincts, leaping ability, tenacity, hands and timing to simply outquick and outjump almost anyone he’s going up against. He regularly goes out of his area to come up with an important rebound for his team and will get his hands on a couple of balls every game that most would not in order to keep possessions alive for his team. His excellent hands help him out greatly in this area, as you’ll rarely see him bobble anything or lose control of a ball if strength is not a factor.

 

Offensively, Thomas is absolutely dynamite in the open floor and shows some small important sparks that lead you to believe he has more in him than he’s currently showing. On the fast break or even in half-court sets his teammates have learned that if they are in trouble they can just throw the ball to the general area at the top of the square on the glass and Thomas will go get it and usually throw it down emphatically too. Most of his points come off lobs of these sort as well as tip-ins on offensive rebounds, but against weaker opponents he’s shown some signs of raw footwork in the post, a mid-range jump-shot and a little jump-hook shot he can go to. It’s fair to call him raw offensively, but he’s also a little more difficult to gauge since he is usually his team’s 4th or 5th option on the floor and has probably had a handful of plays called for him all season long.

 

He’s an unselfish player and is not as much of a liability as you would think handling the ball on the perimeter and making post entry passes. He shows a good feel for the game here too, as well as reasonable ball-handling skills in the open floor on a number of occasions.

 

Thomas’ frame isn’t huge, but it looks good enough to make us think that he won’t have any problems putting on the 15-20 pounds of bulk he will need in the NBA.

 

Thomas is generally an extremely aggressive player, noticeably being more concerned with helping his team get wins rather than get on a highlight reel. He is a humble and very intelligent player both on and off the court, and is said to be an excellent student in the classroom and a highly coachable player in LSU’s practices. On the court he is surprisingly poised and focused for a player with such little basketball experience, not making many mistakes and generally showing an outstanding court demeanor amongst his teammates. His relentless attitude is an attribute that is both rare in a player of his mold and impossible to teach. Being a 6-6, 190 pound player in high school made him have to work much harder than anyone else to succeed in the post and this attitude has translated over at his current height of 6-9 and 215 pounds. From interviews with him you can tell that he has a chip on his shoulder, and you can only hope that he keeps it once he makes the NBA. Right now he goes after everything that is even remotely in his area and never gives up on any play. Despite his lack of bulk he uses the strength he has very cleverly, challenging players who are bigger and stronger than him with no fear and no regard for his own personal safety.

 

It would not be a stretch to say that he has a higher ceiling that any other player in this draft class considering his physical attributes and how long he’s been playing basketball, but his intangibles lead you to believe that he also has what it takes to actually realize that potential as well.

 

Weaknesses

Thomas is a late-bloomer in every sense of the word, only having started to play organized basketball in his junior year of high school. Like many players who have late growth spurts (he was still growing as of last summer), he has yet to fully grow into his frame and is probably lacking the strength to play a huge role in the NBA until he can add some weight. He struggled with conditioning problems earlier on in the year, but as the season progressed he’s shown no problem playing 30 or more minutes a game.

 

Offensively, Thomas is fairly limited and gets most of his points right now through offensive rebounds and in transition. He doesn’t really have any type of back to the basket game to speak of, and probably lacks the strength to score this way even if he did as he has trouble at times holding his spot on the block. He’ll have to add some go-to moves to become a consistent scorer in the NBA, as well as better footwork in the post. Almost his entire offensive game at the moment revolves around dunks, although as mentioned already, he did not get much of a chance to show otherwise.

 

Thomas has shown sparks of being able to hit the mid-range jump-shot at times, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he could still improve his touch from the perimeter, as well as from the free throw line where he shoots 66%. His mechanics look a bit awkward here and he would be well served to better utilize his leaping ability to get better lift on his shot. In half-court sets Thomas’ ball-handling looks like it could use some serious refinement.

 

Beyond his bulk, his size also isn’t 100% ideal for an NBA power forward, although his terrific length and athleticism helps him out greatly in this area.

 

Defensively he has a tendency at times to rely a little too much on his athleticism, and might be developing bad habits we often see big men form in their time in the NCAA. It’s not rare to see him give up deep position in the paint to the man he’s guarding, often due to his lack of strength, thinking that he’ll be able to just spring up off the ground to block his shot once it goes up. This works for him against NCAA big men, but NBA power forwards will have a field day on him if he lets them get within a few feet of the hoop. Pump-fakes were a problem for Thomas early on, but as the season progressed and he’s learned his opponents’ tendencies better through scouting reports and just by trial and error, he’s improved here as well.

 

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2XLD2omVc'>http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2XLD2omVc

http://www.draftexpress.com

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Okay my last and final big board:

 

McLemore

Len

Noel

Oli

MCW

 

If Cleveland goes Len or Noel I think we take McLemore barring a trade down and I'm confident in that. Now if a trade down happens I would want to target:

 

McClloum

Schoeder

Zeller

Caldwell-Pope

Shabazz

Steve Adamas

 

The odds are we stay right were we are and I'm not for trading down unless we get 2 top 15 picks somehow.

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I can't remember a draft ever being this up in the air. Picks 1-5 and 6-13 are completely interchangeable. That makes this both exciting and terrifying thinking how many teams 5 years from now will be the team that was one slot away from selecting player A the all-star, and player B the 3 years and out bust.

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I watched a lot of Thomas back in the day, and his game was more like a Tyson Chandler than Noel. Noel has a lot more ball skill.

 

If Noel somehow falls to us ( I doubt this), the Magic will grab him.

 

If not, I hope it is BenMac.

 

If we take Oladipo, I wouldnt be stunned if we traded him to Minny for 2 picks.

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