Portis

[Jferrari401]

For me Portis is a no brainer at 16. Kind of amazed he hasn't risen on draft boards. Seems like he is at least decent at all categories of the game and plays with tremendous energy. He sounds like the opposite of our current power forwards and a much better fit with our overall team identity. I've even heard his on court intensity compared to Garnett (which is ridiculous) but it at least gives a good idea of what type of guy he is.

Pick 27 is a lot more up in the air for me. Depends on who drops. I like Hunter, RHJ and Harrell but I doubt they will be available. Hunter is my favorite of those three and I wouldn't mind using our second rounders to trade up; this team could really use some more shooters. If we stay at 27 I think Justin Anderson and Dakari Johnson are our best bets. Both are pretty safe picks but I don't see any high upside player at the end of the draft that I really love. Upshaw doesn't seem like the type of risk that would pan out.

[Celtics18]

Nice post.  I've liked Portis at sixteen since I first started studying this year's draft picks.

A lot of folks seem to be down on him saying he has a limited ceiling.  They want to take the big gamble on Upshaw instead. 

[Ilikesports17]

I've even heard his on court intensity compared to Garnett

Wasnt it Bobby Portis who made that comparison?

Everywhere Ive seen lists him as a low ceiling guy and the few times I watched him in college he was thouroughly unimpressive(I was more impressed by qualls)

That being said, Ainge is a big fan of sophomores and Jimmy Butler was said to have the same upside issues.

Portis put up huge numbers and has nice size, but it seems to me he is destined to be a decent Power Forward in this league. The type who can start on a bad team and come of the bench on a really good one. Basically he projects to be in the KO/Sully range, except instead of lots of frustrating moments with flashes of all star potential he will just be the average of the goods and bads of KO and Sully.

Id rather RHJ or Booker

Its worth noting I only saw probably 2 Arkansas games all year so this is mostly based of DraftExpress and other posters oppinions of him.

[Jferrari401]

I've even heard his on court intensity compared to Garnett

Wasnt it Bobby Portis who made that comparison?

You may be right on that, I just knew that I had heard it somewhere. I wouldn't put too much stock in that, just thought it was worth mentioning.

That being said, Ainge is a big fan of sophomores and Jimmy Butler was said to have the same upside issues.

Portis put up huge numbers and has nice size, but it seems to me he is destined to be a decent Power Forward in this league. The type who can start on a bad team and come of the bench on a really good one. Basically he projects to be in the KO/Sully range, except instead of lots of frustrating moments with flashes of all star potential he will just be the average of the goods and bads of KO and Sully.

I like the Jimmy Butler comparison, not for their games obviously, but I think that in the past a lot of the "low upside" guys who were good in college turn out to be much better than people think. Butler, Draymond Green and even Jae Crowder come to mind as a few examples. I definitely agree that theres potential that he is just a role player but I think that's more of his floor than his ceiling.

Its worth noting I only saw probably 2 Arkansas games all year so this is mostly based of DraftExpress and other posters oppinions of him.

I too only saw a couple of his games and was slightly disappointed, but it's impossible to judge based on that small a sample. There are definitely prospects I like better but our options are fairly limited at 16. I also like Hollis Jefferson but I think he is a little redundant with Crowder, who i'm very high on. Booker I don't know too much about so I will have to do a little more research.

[I told you so]

Bobby Portis has much in common with Jimmy Butler in that they both endured extremely traumatic circumstances in their formative years.  After being deserted by his father at an early age, Butler was actually thrown out of the house by his own mother at age 13.  Portis grew up in an extremely bad section of Little Rock, and his mother was abused by a series of boyfriends. Against all odds, both  emerged from their childhood experiences as young adults with a burning desire to succeed.

This might be called the "survival of the fittest" syndrome, where the survivors of the most brutal environments are few, but having survived are more likely to perform beyond expectations than the normal individual.

Portis likens his angry intensity to that of Kevin Garnett's.  Here's his description of how he mentally prepares for a game:

From MassLive's Jay King:

The conversation started with Portis saying he tries to play with similar passion and energy to Kevin Garnett. A follow-up question came: Are you as crazy as he was on the court?

"I'm very crazy," Portis said. "I play angry. I play mad. I play very angry because every game, I sit in the locker room and I envision that the other player on the team slapped my mom. That's why I get mad, and now I've gotta get you because you slapped my mom."

Remarkably, Portis plays with a controlled intensity.  Despite playing an extremely physical style, he has a low personal foul ratio and he makes few of the mistakes one would expect from a high motor player.  He was burdened with the responsibility of being Arkansas' team leader as a sophomore and lived up to expectations in every respect.

Portis is downgraded on draft boards because he lacks the above-the-rim athleticism expected of NBA superstars.  Another knock on him is that although he is above average in most offensive and defensive skills, he has no exceptional single attribute.

This assessment overlooks the unmeasurable "Jimmy Butler" attribute: the overwhelming drive to ascend from the very bottom of the ladder to the top when the odds suggest impossibility.  Everything I read about Bobby Portis suggests he has this intangible asset.  While there is a general consensus that Portis will be a solid NBA role player at the very least, I would say there is reason to think he can follow Jimmy Butler's path to stardom.

[Jferrari401]

Bobby Portis has much in common with Jimmy Butler in that they both endured extremely traumatic circumstances in their formative years.  After being deserted by his father at an early age, Butler was actually thrown out of the house by his own mother at age 13.  Portis grew up in an extremely bad section of Little Rock, and his mother was abused by a series of boyfriends. Against all odds, both  emerged from their childhood experiences as young adults with a burning desire to succeed.

This might be called the "survival of the fittest" syndrome, where the survivors of the most brutal environments are few, but having survived are more likely to perform beyond expectations than the normal individual.

Portis likens his angry intensity to that of Kevin Garnett's.  Here's his description of how he mentally prepares for a game:

From MassLive's Jay King:

The conversation started with Portis saying he tries to play with similar passion and energy to Kevin Garnett. A follow-up question came: Are you as crazy as he was on the court?

"I'm very crazy," Portis said. "I play angry. I play mad. I play very angry because every game, I sit in the locker room and I envision that the other player on the team slapped my mom. That's why I get mad, and now I've gotta get you because you slapped my mom."

Remarkably, Portis plays with a controlled intensity.  Despite playing an extremely physical style, he has a low personal foul ratio and he makes few of the mistakes one would expect from a high motor player.  He was burdened with the responsibility of being Arkansas' team leader as a sophomore and lived up to expectations in every respect.

Portis is downgraded on draft boards because he lacks the above-the-rim athleticism expected of NBA superstars.  Another knock on him is that although he is above average in most offensive and defensive skills, he has no exceptional single attribute.

This assessment overlooks the unmeasurable "Jimmy Butler" attribute: the overwhelming drive to ascend from the very bottom of the ladder to the top when the odds suggest impossibility.  Everything I read about Bobby Portis suggests he has this intangible asset.  While there is a general consensus that Portis will be a solid NBA role player at the very least, I would say there is reason to think he can follow Jimmy Butler's path to stardom.

Great post. I had heard that story about Butler but not Portis. The last paragraph really sums up the reason I would take him. It is the same reason that I loved Marcus Smart coming out of college. Players with that strong of a will to succeed often exceed expectations.