The Official 2015 NBA Draft Talk Thread

[NatiboyB]

If they can't get better than Hardaway/filler/no picks for Zeller... they should just fold up shop and call it.

I haven't been tracking Zeller since his rookie season seems to be a good triangle fit.

 

[I.V.]

Aight @tremonthustler1 --

Let's list out the guys in the second round you like/think could be sleepers. That's always my favorite part of the thread. Include late first rounders too, if you want.

 

[Flight]

This dude MJ...

 

[Brozay]

If the Knicks don't jump on this by offering Hardaway and whatever it takes...He's perfect for that triangle shyt.

You realize Cody Zeller was the 4th overall pick 2 summers ago, correct?

 

[NatiboyB]

You realize Cody Zeller was the 4th overall pick 2 summers ago, correct?

yes I do

 

[Brozay]

yes I do

and Tim Hardaway makes sense as a trade partner?

 

[Swagnificent]

Man but how do you know that one of these dudes doesn't reach or eclipse their potential?

easy....its all about numbers. there are only 5 superstars currently in the nba. lebron, durant, westbrook, davis, and curry. 5 years from now, i can see lebron no longer being a superstar.

only guy from the last 2 drafts i can see joining that top 5 is wiggins. and if anyone from this class will be a superstar, it'll be okafor. he's the only guy with a skill that is arguably gonna be best in the league. okafor like curry when it comes to shooting, has the potential to be one of the best low post scorers ever.

 

[NatiboyB]

and Tim Hardaway makes sense as a trade partner?

I said the Knicks better get on the horn....Never know until you offer...His value clearly isn't what it was I doubt it's THjr level but may as well shoot a text.

 

[Swagnificent]

It's too early to tell how bad next year draft will be. This time last year, everybody thought this year draft would be about Okafor and Mudiay. Followed by Cliff Alexander and Levert. Towns was barely top 10 and Russell wasn't even supposed to be one and done. so we don't know yet

Let's see how Labissiere and Jaylen Brown turn out.

look man. you don't get 4 straight good drafts in a row. its simple statistics. we know 2014 was good (even with all the injuries). lots of people are still super high on wiggins, parker, and randle. we know 2015 is also gonna be good. towns, okafor, and russell have chances to be stars. and everyone has been hyping 2017 since forever. Josh Jackson, Dennis Smith Jr., Harry Giles, and Jayson Tatum are already household names and they haven't played their seniors years yet. it just makes sense that 2016 has to suck if 2014, 2015, and 2017 are great.

just look back 10 years ago. 2003 (LeBron/Melo/Wade/Bosh) was a historically great draft. 2004 (Dwight Howard class) was also really good. not many superstars but a ton of really good players who have had long careers as nba starters. 2005 was below average and 2006 was terrible. basically every 4 year span, you get two good drafts, one terrible draft, and a mediocre one. its just the law of averages.

 

[PTBG]

• The Celtics are proving to be the most aggressive team trying to trade into the top 10, league sources say. Boston has the 16th and 28th pick Thursday night, and GM Danny Ainge also is willing to discuss anyone on the roster in a bid to acquire a premium pick. Sacramento (No. 6), Denver (No. 7) and Charlotte (No. 9) could be open to dealing, sources say.

• While the Sixers have targeted D'Angelo Russell and are willing to trade up to avoid losing him to the Lakers, league sources say GM Sam Hinkie also has not closed the door on teams looking to trade up to No. 3. The price of doing such business? An unprotected future first-round pick, said a person who has been in contract with the Philadelphia front office.

• With the third and fourth picks, respectively, the Sixers and Knicks are the two teams in the lottery whose intentions are proving to be most difficult for rival teams to handicap. It's rare to have teams picking back-to-back in the top five that could pick a player at any position and not duplicate a position that's solidified in their starting lineup. (This is true of the Knicks, since Carmelo Anthony can play either small or power forward.)

• Arizona's Stanley Johnson is in the mix for the Nuggets (No. 7), Pistons (No. 8) and Hornets (No. 9), sources say. That's a range where Justise Winslow or Emmanuel Mudiay also figure to go if they're still on the board.

• If the Rockets keep the 18th pick, look for them to select a point guard, with Duke's Tyus Jones at the top of their list, sources said.

• The Heat, needing to preserve flexibility after re-signing Goran Dragic and potentially Dwyane Wade this summer, are open to trading the 10th pick if it means unloading salary. (Josh McRoberts, for example, is owed $17 million over the next three years.) But with a pick that high in a deep draft, it's a gamble that likely will give Pat Riley pause. "It's a tricky balance," one longtime talent evaluator said. "You have to be careful you don't regret it looking back." Johnson or Frank Kaminsky could be in the mix for Miami there, as well as Sam Dekker and perhaps Willie Cauley-Stein.

 

[NatiboyB]

look man. you don't get 4 straight good drafts in a row. its simple statistics. we know 2014 was good (even with all the injuries). lots of people are still super high on wiggins, parker, and randle. we know 2015 is also gonna be good. towns, okafor, and russell have chances to be stars. and everyone has been hyping 2017 since forever. Josh Jackson, Dennis Smith Jr., Harry Giles, and Jayson Tatum are already household names and they haven't played their seniors years yet. it just makes sense that 2016 has to suck if 2014, 2015, and 2017 are great.

just look back 10 years ago. 2003 (LeBron/Melo/Wade/Bosh) was a historically great draft. 2004 (Dwight Howard class) was also really good. not many superstars but a ton of really good players who have had long careers as nba starters. 2005 was average and 2006 was terrible. basically every 4 year span, you get two good drafts, one terrible draft, and a mediocre one. its just the law of averages.

Breh...sometimes I agree with you sometimes I see why your the WOAT...Don't be in here next June talking about Ben Simmons, Skal, and whatever players show out this season.

 

[Th3G3ntleman]

easy....its all about numbers. there are only 5 superstars currently in the nba. lebron, durant, westbrook, davis,

you seem to be forgetting someone.

Spoiler

You see the end of the road breh? Must be why you on Wiggins dikk so much

 

[Swagnificent]

But one person familiar with Okafor said the Lakers shouldn't pass him up, calling him "the best player in the draft."

"I think he's going to be an All-Star. There's really nobody like him," Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski told The Times. "That doesn't mean he's the greatest player of all time but . . . he's going to be a high double-double guy in the NBA.

"I'm not saying he's Duncan but he's got great touch like Duncan. He can use the glass. Very soft shot. He can pass so well from the low post. I would say he's a guy that can get four to six assists during the ballgame.

"I know he would love to be a Laker. I hope it works out that way."

Krzyzewski bristled at the main knock on Okafor — his defense, particularly in pick-and-roll situations.

"I really don't believe he's shown weakness in defense," Krzyzewski said. "What we couldn't afford was to have him be away from the basket, so we didn't have him step in and trap because that's what our opponent would want.

"He's got good feet. It's ridiculous to me for somebody to say he can't defend a ball screen. It's hard for me to imagine. I coach all the U.S. teams. He's a good defender. He's not an amazing shot-blocker but he moves his feet really well."

folks will say this is a coach defending his player but i agree with everything he said. Okafor will not be a top 5 shot blocker, but he can be an adequate to good team defender. I've seen him move his feet well on the perimeter. I saw him guard Mudiay on a switch effectively in the Hoops Summit last year. He's 6'11" and has a 7'5" wingspan. He will NOT be a liability defensively.

and his sublime post skills guarantee that he'll be a career 20ppg guy. i'd take him #2 with no hesitation. in some ways he could end up better than Towns given the fact he has one skill that he's aguably gonna be the best in the nba at.

 

[Swagnificent]

Aight @tremonthustler1 --

Let's list out the guys in the second round you like/think could be sleepers. That's always my favorite part of the thread. Include late first rounders too, if you want.

nobody named jordan clarkson last year. 2nd round picks are just a roll of the dice. doubt anyone will correctly predict any sleepers going in the 2nd.

 

[I.V.]

nobody named jordan clarkson last year. 2nd round picks are just a roll of the dice. doubt anyone will correctly predict any sleepers going in the 2nd.

Shut up.

1) Clarkson was on a LOT of sleeper lists.

And 2) Who cares? It's all speculation -- and it's fun to compare lists -- who do you like as a flier, versus who do I like.