Saric will only play for Celtics or Lakers

[footey]

All I see on him is mainly highlight reels and they don't show the bad stuff.  The D in that league is horrible.   I 've seen high school games with better defenders.  I think he is a poor defender and a poor defender in that league will not be able to stay near guys in the NBA.

We've all seen the highlights here is a video with some downlights.  This one has some negative stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux6G0gedYR4

It says his Weaknesses are :    1) Defense 2) Finish Ability 3) TO prone 4) In consistent shooter 5) Character Questions ( DUI, Poor Body Language, Blames team mates for defensive mistakes and complains to refs ( must be a Lebron fan).

Not my observations but the video creators.   After watching it I would not touch him with a ten foot pole.

I like Dirk, Tony Parker and I think Drazen P. was one of the best ever to lace them up.   I liked Detlef too but this kid is not in that tier of player.    I never have liked Gasol or his brother because of Pau's Laker connection.    BTW Manu is from South American!


I am biased against bad players too.

Your exhibit a as to why he is terrible is the DraftExpress Scouting Report video, in which you only point out the negatives in the report, and completely ignore the positives. Any reasonable person watching the entire report, the good and the bad, would draw a much more positive conclusion about his prospects in the NBA than what you describe.

[NorthernLightning]

I think Europe has pretty much surpassed the US in youth development in many regards.

Our young players would be better served by playing professional basketball with grown men at age 15-17 rather than playing AAU ball and being coddled so much in HS and college.

[footey]

Kelly Olynyk shot over 50% and over 42% from 3 as soon as he finally got comfortable at the NBA level after being named to the All Star festivities.

Dirk has only shot at those %s for a whole season once in his career, and yet those %s from Olynyk aren't even grounds for optimism around here. And the idea that he could be a poor man's Dirk is still laughable.

Any excuse or worst case scenario will do to bash this kid and to be skeptical of his future.

Because he doesn't have the right wingspan to height ratio, above the rim athleticism, and he looks like a dork.

Same underlying reasons why Donald Sterling didn't want to give JJ Reddick a 7 million per year contract.

Here's a helpful piece of advice: bail on the 'covert' implication that we're all bashing Oly because he's a white dude.

Secondly, you can go ahead and cherry pick sample sizes that favor your binky, if you want, but be aware that the rest of us can compare the two players in a whole host of other ways. For example, here's how Olynyk and Dirk compared at the age 22:
http://bkref.com/tiny/wMc5i
 

Let me guess, Olynyk's wingspan and slow feet will prevent him from being a lights out shooter and good scorer in the NBA.

Of course. That is what held back Larry Bird. LOL

[Murta]

I think Europe has pretty much surpassed the US in youth development in many regards.

Our young players would be better served by playing professional basketball with grown men at age 15-17 rather than playing AAU ball and being coddled so much in HS and college.

It may be true that European system has superpassed AAU basketball, but you guys simply have much bigger pool of talent and emphasize youth development. Also, European teams usually get cocky when they have money and think they don't need to go after young guys.

But I'd definitely like to see an experiment with top prospect coming to a youth-friendly coach in Europe. Brandon Jennings was sth like that, but he was raw and stayed only for a year.

[Tr1boy]

Saric will be on dannys radar. Just too much skills

Gordon imo is on the top of the list with randle and smart not too far behind. If gordon is gone I wouldnt be surprised saric gets picked. Then sullinger traded for an athletic center

[footey]

The bias against European players here is astounding. He's a legit, highly touted and highly scouted prospect, yet here most people dump on him. How is he any different or more risky than Exum? Exum is even more unknown IMO.

He's not different for Exum. I wouldn't like picking Exum for exactly the same reasons (although he's at least showed up for the combine, so we know his real size).

I don't consider unwillingness to spend high draft picks for obscure, unproven players "a bias against European players". These are not the same thing.

You would not pick Exum at 6?? Wow.

[BigAlTheFuture]

Lets hope Wiggins, Parker, and Embiid comes out and say the same.

[mmmmm]

not too interested in this guy. we already have scorers who play poor defense. another? we'd have to shuffle pieces assuming he is better than Kelly/Sully.

I'd rather nab TJ Warren at #17, and get a guy who can play both ends and benefit from nearly the same length. Maybe I'm missing the point on Saric but I'm not enthused. . .

I'm a big big fan of Warren and would be very satisfied if we drafted him at 17, but I'd still take Saric if he were available at 17 and agreed to come over.

Saric plays defense at least as well as Warren at the SF, but plays better defense at the 4 because he is 1.5-2" taller and appears to have longer arms as well.

Also, Warren isn't a good passer, even though he is adequate there.

But I think both Saric and Warren would be long term upgrades over Jeff Green.

I would go so far as to say that Warren is a horrible passer - and mainly because he has tunnel vision.  He plays for his own shot and tends to ignore his teammates.   He's a creative and talented scorer from 14 feet-in, but he has a weak 3PT shot (26.7%) and is a lousy team facilitator because he has, imho, poor court awareness.  Not interested.

By contrast, when you watch Saric play, one thing that really jumps out is his ability to see the court and make passes in motion.

[mmmmm]

All I see on him is mainly highlight reels and they don't show the bad stuff.  The D in that league is horrible.   I 've seen high school games with better defenders.  I think he is a poor defender and a poor defender in that league will not be able to stay near guys in the NBA.

We've all seen the highlights here is a video with some downlights.  This one has some negative stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux6G0gedYR4

It says his Weaknesses are :    1) Defense 2) Finish Ability 3) TO prone 4) In consistent shooter 5) Character Questions ( DUI, Poor Body Language, Blames team mates for defensive mistakes and complains to refs ( must be a Lebron fan).

Not my observations but the video creators.   After watching it I would not touch him with a ten foot pole.

I like Dirk, Tony Parker and I think Drazen P. was one of the best ever to lace them up.   I liked Detlef too but this kid is not in that tier of player.    I never have liked Gasol or his brother because of Pau's Laker connection.    BTW Manu is from South American!


I am biased against bad players too.

Your exhibit a as to why he is terrible is the DraftExpress Scouting Report video, in which you only point out the negatives in the report, and completely ignore the positives. Any reasonable person watching the entire report, the good and the bad, would draw a much more positive conclusion about his prospects in the NBA than what you describe.

Not to mention that that particular scouting report is well over a year old.  It was prepared for when Saric was considering declaring for the 2013 draft.   He was very young in most of that vid.

He's improved his game dramatically since then.

Saric has been scouted by NBA teams since he was a mid-teenager.

[kozlodoev]

Your exhibit a as to why he is terrible is the DraftExpress Scouting Report video, in which you only point out the negatives in the report, and completely ignore the positives. Any reasonable person watching the entire report, the good and the bad, would draw a much more positive conclusion about his prospects in the NBA than what you describe.

Given that all of his weaknesses (limited lateral quickness, little elevation, lack of a polished go-to inside move) are glaringly obvious from the section that's supposed to discuss his strengths, I don't see what surprises you so much.

[footey]

Even after watching Olynyk shoot lights out with extreme consistency after the all star break, and aggressively using his good handles to get where he wanted to go, Celtics fans - Celtics Fans - still doubt that he can get his shot off and create his own offense going forward.

If Olynyk wasn't 7 ft, and Saric wasn't 6'10, they would have much more of a point, but at that height they are among the tallest trees in the forest and good/great ball handling goes a loooooong way at that height.

And Saric is much more mobile than Olynyk, fyi.

I like Aaron Gordon more at the 6th pick because his elite athleticism and defense would better cover up the defensive shortcomings of KO and Sully, but Saric definitely has a more fearless scoring mentality while still being a pass first player and a darn good one who always hits the open man or gets the hockey assist.

Gordon is a good ball handler and dribbler as well, but his scoring mentality is much less developed right now than Saric's, as are his scoring moves.

I wouldn't blame Danny for taking Saric and putting him right into that Paul Pierce role of Point Forward/go-to scorer, which he could do from both the 3 or the 4.

And given that KO and Sully might not ever make a good frontcourt, regardless of any freak athlete at SF alongside them, taking Saric and finding a real rim protecting center might be a good way to go.

My sentiments are similar.  I would take Gordon over Saric or any of the other "Next Four", with the exception of Vonleh, maybe (just don't have a good read on him, especially interior defense).  But I worry that Saric would not blend in well with a starting line up featuring both Kelly and Sully, for defensive purposes.  I would love the idea of Saric and Gordon coming in together, but that is not possible; seriously doubt Saric drops to 17. 

[footey]

I wonder if Charlotte is interested in #6? Seems to me that if Danny wants Saric the perfect scenario is swap 6 for 9 and 24, draft Dario then either have extra pick or package with 17 to move up for a guy like Stauskas.

That's a great point.  My guess is that if the guy he wants at 6 is gone (e.g., Gordon, Smart), he will try to do that. 

[footey]

I think the real solution is to hold the draft exactly one week after the draft lottery, so that we don't all blow up at each other with anticipation in the meantime.

I second that.

[footey]

not too interested in this guy. we already have scorers who play poor defense. another? we'd have to shuffle pieces assuming he is better than Kelly/Sully.

I'd rather nab TJ Warren at #17, and get a guy who can play both ends and benefit from nearly the same length. Maybe I'm missing the point on Saric but I'm not enthused. . .

I thought Warren was weak defensively?

[kozlodoev]

I think Europe has pretty much surpassed the US in youth development in many regards.

Our young players would be better served by playing professional basketball with grown men at age 15-17 rather than playing AAU ball and being coddled so much in HS and college.

And somehow, the system doesn't produce more players capable to function in the NBA than the NCAA. Arguably, it probably produces less, given that the large majority of high European draft picks since, say, 2005, have been flops.