Cauley-Stein a versatile defender, but ...

[KeepRondo]

WCS has the potential to be a DPOTY. 'Nuff said.

I agree. If we land a top 3 pick, Ainge has to even consider WCS here over guys like Okafor and Towns.

[spikelovetheCelts]

why are we talking about a player that will be gone long before the Celtic's pick. There is a price to pay for not tanking -- you don't get to salivate over players like WCS.

We have the Assets to get him. He is the Player type we need. Love the Tats too. Kentucky has a better tat plan than Ohio State.

[GreenGoggles]

why are we talking about a player that will be gone long before the Celtic's pick. There is a price to pay for not tanking -- you don't get to salivate over players like WCS.

We have the Assets to get him. He is the Player type we need. Love the Tats too. Kentucky has a better tat plan than Ohio State.

I don't think we have the assets to move up 10-12 draft spots.

[byennie]

I don't think we have the assets to move up 10-12 draft spots.

10-12 spots is a stretch. He has little to no chance of going higher than #6, and our pick range is #9 (miss playoffs) to #16 (7th seed). More realistic I think is we would have to move up 6-10 spots (make the playoffs) or 0-3 spots (miss the playoffs). I'm not saying it would be cheap to do so, but being able to move into the 6-10 range when we own e.g. #15, #23, future picks, Olynyk, Sullinger, Young, is unquestionable IMO. It's just a matter of whether we're willing to pay. If we miss the playoffs, it'll be quite attainable.

[Rosco917]

Rebounding is a relative weakness.  It's a little tough to tell how much tho, because a) he's always played opposite elite rebounders and b) since he's versatile defensively, he's often not under the basket when the shot goes off, as he switches on almost all picks/screens, meaning he's on the perimeter more often than your average big (but for the right reasons).  Kentucky has been the best rebounding team in the country the past two years -- it's hard to imagine you could do that if your center was a liability on the boards.  Still, it is very fair to say he hasn't shown great rebounding skills.  I don't think he'll be terrible at it myself,  but probably no better than average for his position.

An athletic big who blocks shots and can defend the perimeter, sound like what we've been looking for.
Get Monroe, draft WCS.

This would be a great scenario, I just don't think WCS will be there when we draft. If we offered a future number 1, and KO or even Sully, maybe we can move up. Then yes, sign Monroe and we have a front court that is young and has good potential. 

[GreenGoggles]

I don't think we have the assets to move up 10-12 draft spots.

10-12 spots is a stretch. He has little to no chance of going higher than #6, and our pick range is #9 (miss playoffs) to #16 (7th seed). More realistic I think is we would have to move up 6-10 spots (make the playoffs) or 0-3 spots (miss the playoffs). I'm not saying it would be cheap to do so, but being able to move into the 6-10 range when we own e.g. #15, #23, future picks, Olynyk, Sullinger, Young, is unquestionable IMO. It's just a matter of whether we're willing to pay. If we miss the playoffs, it'll be quite attainable.

Good to know if we do end up missing it we have a shot at the 9th, which would put us in much better position to move up. However, I don't want us moving up for WCS, if we are going to try and cash in on some of our more valuable assets I'd like to go after the obvious Towns, Okafor or try and pry Embiid from Philly, all of these are obviously unlikely.

[Sixth Man]

I don't think we have the assets to move up 10-12 draft spots.

10-12 spots is a stretch. He has little to no chance of going higher than #6, and our pick range is #9 (miss playoffs) to #16 (7th seed). More realistic I think is we would have to move up 6-10 spots (make the playoffs) or 0-3 spots (miss the playoffs). I'm not saying it would be cheap to do so, but being able to move into the 6-10 range when we own e.g. #15, #23, future picks, Olynyk, Sullinger, Young, is unquestionable IMO. It's just a matter of whether we're willing to pay. If we miss the playoffs, it'll be quite attainable.

Good to know if we do end up missing it we have a shot at the 9th, which would put us in much better position to move up. However, I don't want us moving up for WCS, if we are going to try and cash in on some of our more valuable assets I'd like to go after the obvious Towns, Okafor or try and pry Embiid from Philly, all of these are obviously unlikely.

Love Towns, but I think we would have to trade up to #2 or #3 to select him, and the price would surely be prohibitive.  Somehow, however, I have a nagging suspicion that D'Angelo Russell is the player this draft will be most remembered for in the future.

[spikelovetheCelts]

I don't think we have the assets to move up 10-12 draft spots.

10-12 spots is a stretch. He has little to no chance of going higher than #6, and our pick range is #9 (miss playoffs) to #16 (7th seed). More realistic I think is we would have to move up 6-10 spots (make the playoffs) or 0-3 spots (miss the playoffs). I'm not saying it would be cheap to do so, but being able to move into the 6-10 range when we own e.g. #15, #23, future picks, Olynyk, Sullinger, Young, is unquestionable IMO. It's just a matter of whether we're willing to pay. If we miss the playoffs, it'll be quite attainable.

It also depends on the people's need above us. I think we can get WCS without giving up to much. If not We have plenty of assets to make Draft night fun again. I am hoping for a Jordan trade myself.

[saltlover]

WCS has the potential to be a DPOTY. 'Nuff said.

I agree. If we land a top 3 pick, Ainge has to even consider WCS here over guys like Okafor and Towns.

I've been on the WCS bandwagon for about 15 months, but I think this is crazy-talk.  Okafor and Towns are hands-down the better prospects.  If we win the draft lottery, Ainge could consider trading down for WCS if they price was right, but the price should be pretty steep in addition to getting Cauley-Stein.

[jpotter33]

WCS has the potential to be a DPOTY. 'Nuff said.

I agree. If we land a top 3 pick, Ainge has to even consider WCS here over guys like Okafor and Towns.

I've been on the WCS bandwagon for about 15 months, but I think this is crazy-talk.  Okafor and Towns are hands-down the better prospects.  If we win the draft lottery, Ainge could consider trading down for WCS if they price was right, but the price should be pretty steep in addition to getting Cauley-Stein.

I agree. Towns has the potential to be just as good defensively as WCS, while being twice the offensive player he is. I'm a big WCS guy, but his role and ceiling is very defined, i.e. Tyson Chandler in his prime maybe with a bit better offense. I wouldn't pick him in the top 5, but I'd love to have him anywhere from 6 on.

[KeepRondo]

WCS has the potential to be a DPOTY. 'Nuff said.

I agree. If we land a top 3 pick, Ainge has to even consider WCS here over guys like Okafor and Towns.

I've been on the WCS bandwagon for about 15 months, but I think this is crazy-talk.  Okafor and Towns are hands-down the better prospects.  If we win the draft lottery, Ainge could consider trading down for WCS if they price was right, but the price should be pretty steep in addition to getting Cauley-Stein.

I've only seen about 4 Kentucky games, but in each of the games it was clear that WCS was the far superior athlete between him and Towns. It looked like Towns was not as quick side to side and didn't have the same recovery speed.

I'm just not entirely sold on Towns. I get he has the higher ceiling, but I'm taking the sure thing here and going for WCS. WCS is a lock to be an elite defender.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

WCS has the potential to be a DPOTY. 'Nuff said.

I agree. If we land a top 3 pick, Ainge has to even consider WCS here over guys like Okafor and Towns.

I've been on the WCS bandwagon for about 15 months, but I think this is crazy-talk.  Okafor and Towns are hands-down the better prospects.  If we win the draft lottery, Ainge could consider trading down for WCS if they price was right, but the price should be pretty steep in addition to getting Cauley-Stein.

I've only seen about 4 Kentucky games, but in each of the games it was clear that WCS was the far superior athlete between him and Towns. It looked like Towns was not as quick side to side and didn't have the same recovery speed.

I'm just not entirely sold on Towns. I get he has the higher ceiling, but I'm taking the sure thing here and going for WCS. WCS is a lock to be an elite defender.

Towns is a better offensive player at this point, but Cauley-Stein is definitely quicker than Towns, and a better leaper and just plain more athletic all around.

[saltlover]

WCS has the potential to be a DPOTY. 'Nuff said.

I agree. If we land a top 3 pick, Ainge has to even consider WCS here over guys like Okafor and Towns.

I've been on the WCS bandwagon for about 15 months, but I think this is crazy-talk.  Okafor and Towns are hands-down the better prospects.  If we win the draft lottery, Ainge could consider trading down for WCS if they price was right, but the price should be pretty steep in addition to getting Cauley-Stein.

I've only seen about 4 Kentucky games, but in each of the games it was clear that WCS was the far superior athlete between him and Towns. It looked like Towns was not as quick side to side and didn't have the same recovery speed.

I'm just not entirely sold on Towns. I get he has the higher ceiling, but I'm taking the sure thing here and going for WCS. WCS is a lock to be an elite defender.

Towns is a better offensive player at this point, but Cauley-Stein is definitely quicker than Towns, and a better leaper and just plain more athletic all around.

I don't expect Towns to test at the combine.  If he did, I think you'd be surprised how well he compares to WCS.

The question is this: If you had the chance to build a franchise around Tyson Chandler or LaMarcus Aldridge, which would you pick?  Towns has the potential to be an elite two-way player.  He's pretty much the only player in the draft who offers that potential from the F/C spot.  It's why I won't be surprised if he goes number 1, and will be shocked if he goes below 2.  He's two years younger than WCS to boot -- WCS as a freshman might have gone in the second round had he come out.  While WCS may be the better player currently, the gap between he and Towns today is much much smaller than the gap in their potential.  And I'm not convinced WCS is even better, today.