2015 Draft: your top 20 prospect rank

[loco_91]

Here's my top 10:

Top 4 are clear, but any one of these guys has a case for #1:
1. Towns - 9'5 standing reach + complete 2-way skillset
2. Winslow - hampered by injuries first half of the season, then dominated. Can be both a defensive stopper and a #1 offensive option. Only weakness is midrange shot
3. Okafor - not a fit for many modern teams, but with his unique talent on the block he is worth building a more old-fasioned offense around
4. Russell - As a strength DX lists "swagger"

5 through 9 are really close, especially since int'ls are tough to evaluate:
5. WCS - elite rim protection is extremely valuable, and he can finish around the basket
6. Mudiay - looks great in CBA highlights, but the CBA is the CBA.
7. Hezonja - protypical scoring wing with the tools to play D, too
8. Oubre - awesome athleticism and 7'2 length for a wing - very high upside, he has essentially Kawhi Leonard's tools (but not his skill/BBIQ).
9. Porzingis - cooled on him a bit due to Bargani statistical comparisons, but still a compelling package of athleticism, length and shooting

10. I'd take Kaminsky here but it's a tossup

[MikeJelly]

While I would love it if one of the better players fell to the C's pick, here's my non biased Big board.

1) Karl-Anthony Towns - More Potential, could be what Andrew Bynum wasn't
2) Jahlil Okafor - Could be an all star, lower floor than Towns
3) D'Angelo Russell - Going to be a good scorer in the league, next Damien Lil (Take that to the bank)
4) Emmanuel Mudiay - Seemingly great feel for the game, needs to work on jumper but otherwise exciting player
5) Justise Winslow - Even though Johnson is bigger than Winslow, Winslow has a better feel for the game NOW, Excellent defender, needs to work on J
6) Stanley Johnson - Another high potential wing player, Body is already there, game isnt yet
7) Kristaps Porzingis - The next Dirk? ( Kelly O? LOL ) But I'm very iffy on taking foreign players with top ten picks. High Potential, needs to work on strength
WCS - The next Tyson Chandler (possibly a better on ball defender)
9) Mario Henzonja - another foreign player, very cocky but has all the tools to be an elite player in this league. High Risk = High Reward
10) Myles Turner - Didn't have the best season but he wasnt utilized well at Texas. VERY high potential in shooting and shot blocking but major chance at bust
11) Kelly Oubre - Reminds me of James Young, good shooter, suspect on defense. Good overall player, could be great if he gets his mind on track
12) Jakob Poeltl - BIG kid. Good defensive center. Lower floor but not the highest ceiling. Solid C in the league one day
13) Frank Kaminsky - Reminds me of a more aggressively Kelly O. Stayed 4 years at school so he is already around 22/23 years old.
14) Bobby Portis - More in shape Sully
15) Devin Booker - Going to be the league's next knock down shooter. Maybe Danny Green or maybe even Klay Thompson
16) Tyus Jones - I didn't have him in my top 20 before but after his clutch play bringing Duke the ship I had to
17) Trey Lyles - Very Lanky, pretty Raw in my opinion. Could be a good player in this league if utilized correctly
18) Montrezl Harrell - All heart and grind. Would love to see him in a C's jersey as our PF. Needs to work on offense
19) Jerian Grant - Back up PG on a good team or starting on a rebuilding squad
20) Sam Dekker - Tournament impressed me but I don't believe he could keep those numbers or defense. Excellent high for a SF though.

[action781]

Does anyone know why Myles Turner is sliding on mock drafts?  Is there an issue with his knees or something?  Just curious.

Watched all of his games and attended every home game. He's sliding because of his brutal end of the season (last 4-5 games or so), in which he barely played and frankly looked lost. He mainly fell out of the rotation because he didn't really fit Rick Barnes' system, one that preferred Connor Lammert and got Barnes deservingly fired.

He was a force on the defensive end, but never really lived up to the hype offensively. However, the raw skill (jumper, post turnaround, etc) is there. He really should stay in school, especially with Shaka Smart taking over, but hopefully an NBA coach can get him stronger and improve his post game. He has potential to be an excellent two-way big.

His shooting ability is very interesting.

I would feel a lot better about Turner if he was a good passer. The shooting + passing would make him a terrific (offense) high post center with good defensive talent.

Turner is the prospect I'm most intrigued by.  He's a guy who might drop out of the lottery yet I think has an outside shot at being the best player from this draft.  I think taking a gamble on him in the pick #12-16 vicinity is a no brainer over taking a low ceiling guy like Kaminsky.  If you want a player like Kaminsky, you can find a guy like him (with veteran experience) for mid level money in free agency.

[Tr1boy]

Okafor is not better than Towns nor Winslow. The team that picks Okafor ahead of these two players will make a mistake

Eddie20 it was not only one game. He barely faced a decent inside presence all season long.  And he was only mediocre in the tourney. Justise Winslow did alot more heavy lifting for Duke in the tourney

I can see the argument Okafor vs Towns but winslow is not on their level as a prospect. This is not to say he isn't a great prospect just his positional value is not the same. Skilled young 6'10 - 7' players are hard to come by. Athletic 6'6 wings are a dime a dozen.

Winslow is not your regular 6'6 sf.

I would be extremely happy to get this guy somehow

[Celtics18]

Does anyone know why Myles Turner is sliding on mock drafts?  Is there an issue with his knees or something?  Just curious.

Watched all of his games and attended every home game. He's sliding because of his brutal end of the season (last 4-5 games or so), in which he barely played and frankly looked lost. He mainly fell out of the rotation because he didn't really fit Rick Barnes' system, one that preferred Connor Lammert and got Barnes deservingly fired.

He was a force on the defensive end, but never really lived up to the hype offensively. However, the raw skill (jumper, post turnaround, etc) is there. He really should stay in school, especially with Shaka Smart taking over, but hopefully an NBA coach can get him stronger and improve his post game. He has potential to be an excellent two-way big.

His shooting ability is very interesting.

I would feel a lot better about Turner if he was a good passer. The shooting + passing would make him a terrific (offense) high post center with good defensive talent.

Turner is the prospect I'm most intrigued by.  He's a guy who might drop out of the lottery yet I think has an outside shot at being the best player from this draft.  I think taking a gamble on him in the pick #12-16 vicinity is a no brainer over taking a low ceiling guy like Kaminsky. If you want a player like Kaminsky, you can find a guy like him (with veteran experience) for mid level money in free agency.

Can you really, though?  I can't think of a lot of guys with the size and skill of Frank Kaminsky that can be gotten for mid-level money. 

[CFAN38]

Okafor is not better than Towns nor Winslow. The team that picks Okafor ahead of these two players will make a mistake

Eddie20 it was not only one game. He barely faced a decent inside presence all season long.  And he was only mediocre in the tourney. Justise Winslow did alot more heavy lifting for Duke in the tourney

I can see the argument Okafor vs Towns but winslow is not on their level as a prospect. This is not to say he isn't a great prospect just his positional value is not the same. Skilled young 6'10 - 7' players are hard to come by. Athletic 6'6 wings are a dime a dozen.

Winslow is not your regular 6'6 sf.

I would be extremely happy to get this guy somehow

I would also be thrilled if the Cs could find a way to land Winslow but given the choice I would take Okafor with out hesitation.

[Who]

Watching highlights of Hezonja ... he reminds me a lot of Peja Stojakovic. Terrific spot up shooter. Excellent coming off screens in catch and shoot situations. Limited shot-creator one-on-one and playmaking ability. It sounds like Hezonja plays some defense too.

Good two way player who can score. Elite shooter.

[Tr1boy]

Does anyone know why Myles Turner is sliding on mock drafts?  Is there an issue with his knees or something?  Just curious.

Watched all of his games and attended every home game. He's sliding because of his brutal end of the season (last 4-5 games or so), in which he barely played and frankly looked lost. He mainly fell out of the rotation because he didn't really fit Rick Barnes' system, one that preferred Connor Lammert and got Barnes deservingly fired.

He was a force on the defensive end, but never really lived up to the hype offensively. However, the raw skill (jumper, post turnaround, etc) is there. He really should stay in school, especially with Shaka Smart taking over, but hopefully an NBA coach can get him stronger and improve his post game. He has potential to be an excellent two-way big.

His shooting ability is very interesting.

I would feel a lot better about Turner if he was a good passer. The shooting + passing would make him a terrific (offense) high post center with good defensive talent.

Turner is the prospect I'm most intrigued by.  He's a guy who might drop out of the lottery yet I think has an outside shot at being the best player from this draft.  I think taking a gamble on him in the pick #12-16 vicinity is a no brainer over taking a low ceiling guy like Kaminsky.  If you want a player like Kaminsky, you can find a guy like him (with veteran experience) for mid level money in free agency.

Crazy. Just crazy.

List me players in the nba that is 6-11 and taller that can handle the ball and shoot like kaminsky

[SHAQATTACK]

After the first six picks .   For me the rest is a guess....crap shoot. 7-10 might be useful.

Since C's will pick I predict 12 th

We'll either get .....Portis , Kaminsky , Poleti  at 12 th ..or he trades the pick away ?

Danny might trade a draft pick or assets and try to pick up WCS  if he falls as far as 8th

The one player that I would be happy to,see DA trade up for is Winslow . 

If we loose tonight ....the chance of getting a better player goes up a bit.

I give up .....trying to predict ......I was on the White and fab Mello band Wagons .....LOL ....totally busted

[Atzar]

I don't know enough about some of these players to make a real top 20 list.  So I'll just talk about the ones I do know.

Both Okafor and Towns have effort concerns to me.  Towns disappears far too often, frequently against teams that have no answer for him.  As high as Okafor's IQ is on offense, that intelligence and awareness seem to evaporate on defense - he reminds me of a certain Duke freshman phenom from last year in that regard. 

Having said that, there's no way IMO that you don't take these guys 1 and 2 in some order.  Both of these guys have good shots at being franchise-caliber players at the NBA level.  Okafor is the most talented 18-year-old post player I've seen since I started following basketball closely - he was the best offensive weapon in the country this year and it wasn't close.  He does his best work when he gets down the floor and establishes post position before the defense sets up, so I don't know why some of you think he's an immobile stiff - I've seen him do that too many times to think it can't be a part of his game.  Conditioning and defensive awareness are absolutely present issues for him, yes.  His talent is so great that I take him at 1 or 2 anyway and trust my coaching & training staffs to get him through his deficiencies.

Towns could be an elite force on both ends of the floor.  Highest potential in the draft.  I question his motor and tenacity.  I've seen him let stupid things take him out of the game mentally - a couple of fouls or a bad call by the ref is all it takes sometimes.  So he needs to mature.  But again, he's so talented at his size that you can't let him slip out of the top two picks.

I've been impressed with Russell whenever I watch him.  Looks like a ball-handling wing at the next level, like a Tyreke Evans or an Evan Turner, but he shoots much better than either of those guys.  Another guy with All-Star potential.

Really like Winslow.  Great defensive player, good rebounder, can drive a little bit.  Needs to work on that jumpshot.  Poor man's Kawhi Leonard if he can develop it to a reliable level.  MKG if he can't.  I like him somewhere in the middle of the lottery.  7-10ish range.

I like Kaminsky off the bounce, but I did notice in the championship game that he couldn't post Okafor up - putting him on the perimeter on offense was scheme, but it was also necessity.  He lacks the strength to consistently establish position in the paint against centers.  I worry that his inability to defend either 4s or 5s at a high level may relegate him to a bench role on a good team.  Still, he's skilled enough that he'll contribute somewhere.

WCS gets compared to Tyson Chandler a lot, and it makes sense.  I think he's even worse as an offensive player, and I think he's even better on defense - he has the quickness and length to guard ANYBODY, and that's something you can't teach.  I still wonder why Calipari didn't just glue him to Kaminsky for the entire game instead of using Towns. 

Sam Dekker reminds me a lot of Jerebko.  That's not necessarily a compliment.

Dakari Johnson reminds me of Perk.  Again, not a compliment, especially in today's game. 

Trey Lyles reminds me of Tobias Harris with more length.  That IS a compliment.

Kevon Looney is a guy I'd happily take a flier on.  Stretch four, but without the defensive and rebounding limitations that the term implies - very good energy and effort.  I don't like his footwork or strength in the post on either end of the floor, but if he improves those then he could be an eventual NBA starter.

Jarell Martin out of LSU reminds me a ton of another PF that came out of LSU, Brandon Bass.  If he comes out, I think he's a very good value pick near the end of the first round.

I love Montrezl Harrell's energy and toughness.  I don't love his lack of size or offensive ability.  Not sure what his role is at the next level. 

[sofutomygaha]

Does anyone know why Myles Turner is sliding on mock drafts?  Is there an issue with his knees or something?  Just curious.

Watched all of his games and attended every home game. He's sliding because of his brutal end of the season (last 4-5 games or so), in which he barely played and frankly looked lost. He mainly fell out of the rotation because he didn't really fit Rick Barnes' system, one that preferred Connor Lammert and got Barnes deservingly fired.

He was a force on the defensive end, but never really lived up to the hype offensively. However, the raw skill (jumper, post turnaround, etc) is there. He really should stay in school, especially with Shaka Smart taking over, but hopefully an NBA coach can get him stronger and improve his post game. He has potential to be an excellent two-way big.

His shooting ability is very interesting.

I would feel a lot better about Turner if he was a good passer. The shooting + passing would make him a terrific (offense) high post center with good defensive talent.

Turner is the prospect I'm most intrigued by.  He's a guy who might drop out of the lottery yet I think has an outside shot at being the best player from this draft.  I think taking a gamble on him in the pick #12-16 vicinity is a no brainer over taking a low ceiling guy like Kaminsky.  If you want a player like Kaminsky, you can find a guy like him (with veteran experience) for mid level money in free agency.

Crazy. Just crazy.

List me players in the nba that is 6-11 and taller that can handle the ball and shoot like kaminsky

Olynyk, Bargnani, Motiejunas, Ryan Kelly, Dirk... it's rare, for sure. So is an extra thumb-- the question is how useful it really is.

There are tons of guys 3 inches shorter who can handle the ball and shoot like Kaminsky. If you can't play defense or rebound, what good is being seven feet tall?

I'm not saying Kaminsky can't do those things, but none of the guys on that list can. Dirk is the only one who makes up for it, and his shooting skill is positively legendary.

[Celtics18]

Does anyone know why Myles Turner is sliding on mock drafts?  Is there an issue with his knees or something?  Just curious.

Watched all of his games and attended every home game. He's sliding because of his brutal end of the season (last 4-5 games or so), in which he barely played and frankly looked lost. He mainly fell out of the rotation because he didn't really fit Rick Barnes' system, one that preferred Connor Lammert and got Barnes deservingly fired.

He was a force on the defensive end, but never really lived up to the hype offensively. However, the raw skill (jumper, post turnaround, etc) is there. He really should stay in school, especially with Shaka Smart taking over, but hopefully an NBA coach can get him stronger and improve his post game. He has potential to be an excellent two-way big.

His shooting ability is very interesting.

I would feel a lot better about Turner if he was a good passer. The shooting + passing would make him a terrific (offense) high post center with good defensive talent.

Turner is the prospect I'm most intrigued by.  He's a guy who might drop out of the lottery yet I think has an outside shot at being the best player from this draft.  I think taking a gamble on him in the pick #12-16 vicinity is a no brainer over taking a low ceiling guy like Kaminsky.  If you want a player like Kaminsky, you can find a guy like him (with veteran experience) for mid level money in free agency.

Crazy. Just crazy.

List me players in the nba that is 6-11 and taller that can handle the ball and shoot like kaminsky

Olynyk, Bargnani, Motiejunas, Ryan Kelly, Dirk... it's rare, for sure. So is an extra thumb-- the question is how useful it really is.

There are tons of guys 3 inches shorter who can handle the ball and shoot like Kaminsky. If you can't play defense or rebound, what good is being seven feet tall?

I'm not saying Kaminsky can't do those things, but none of the guys on that list can. Dirk is the only one who makes up for it, and his shooting skill is positively legendary.

I know it's not a huge sample, but I recently watched him hold his own defensively against Karl Towns and Jahlil Okafor.

[Eddie20]

Does anyone know why Myles Turner is sliding on mock drafts?  Is there an issue with his knees or something?  Just curious.

Watched all of his games and attended every home game. He's sliding because of his brutal end of the season (last 4-5 games or so), in which he barely played and frankly looked lost. He mainly fell out of the rotation because he didn't really fit Rick Barnes' system, one that preferred Connor Lammert and got Barnes deservingly fired.

He was a force on the defensive end, but never really lived up to the hype offensively. However, the raw skill (jumper, post turnaround, etc) is there. He really should stay in school, especially with Shaka Smart taking over, but hopefully an NBA coach can get him stronger and improve his post game. He has potential to be an excellent two-way big.

His shooting ability is very interesting.

I would feel a lot better about Turner if he was a good passer. The shooting + passing would make him a terrific (offense) high post center with good defensive talent.

Turner is the prospect I'm most intrigued by.  He's a guy who might drop out of the lottery yet I think has an outside shot at being the best player from this draft.  I think taking a gamble on him in the pick #12-16 vicinity is a no brainer over taking a low ceiling guy like Kaminsky.  If you want a player like Kaminsky, you can find a guy like him (with veteran experience) for mid level money in free agency.

Crazy. Just crazy.

List me players in the nba that is 6-11 and taller that can handle the ball and shoot like kaminsky

Olynyk, Bargnani, Motiejunas, Ryan Kelly, Dirk... it's rare, for sure. So is an extra thumb-- the question is how useful it really is.

There are tons of guys 3 inches shorter who can handle the ball and shoot like Kaminsky. If you can't play defense or rebound, what good is being seven feet tall?

I'm not saying Kaminsky can't do those things, but none of the guys on that list can. Dirk is the only one who makes up for it, and his shooting skill is positively legendary.

I know it's not a huge sample, but I recently watched him hold his own defensively against Karl Towns and Jahlil Okafor.

I didn't see that at all. I saw a player that constantly gave up great positioning inside.

Here is video of the positioning Towns had on Kaminsky, which starts at the 6 minute mark.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Frank-Kaminsky-41066/

I think comparing him versus Okafor and Towns, simply because he's in their draft class is a mistake. Those two are 19 year olds and the development made by bigs that young, especially from the ages of 19 to 22 is immense. Instead, these are some of the bigs that are in Kaminsky's, who is 22, age range (21-23) and currently in the NBA. That's why his upside, and rightfully so, is constantly questioned.

Gobert
Kanter
Valanciunas
Sullinger
Olynyk
Favors
Drummond
Davis

[chambers]

My biggest issue with Kaminsky is his lack of strength and getting his shot off in the NBA against decent defenders and defending quicker, stronger athletes.

If Kaminsky was playing as an NBA PF (which he'll have to, he's way to thin/weak to play Center), he would be facing very different types of defenders than as an NCAA C. Will he be able to pin smaller guys like Paul Millsapp and Blake Griffin on his back? Will he be able to get around bigger guys like Serge Ibaka and LaMarcus Aldridge on the perimeter? We already know he's not guarding any of them. Here is what makes the NBA so tough - if he can consistently do those things and be a 15-20 point a night scorer, teams will start to throw a steady diet of 6'8+ combo forwards at him, who will try to get into him on defense and not give him any room to breathe off the dribble.

It doesn't really matter what his defensive stats are in college because Wisconsin isn't playing many teams who have the personnel to attack him. If he's a starting C in the Western Conference, he has to defend Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins and Nik Pekovic four times. In the East, it's guys like Brook Lopez, Al Jefferson and Nik Vucevic.


So he's obviously going to have to be a stretch four poor man's version of Dirk, because when he's playing PF, you're going to need a serious rim protector to make up for his weaknesses.

The very first time they played last year, on the very first 1v1 play of the game between them, Okafur (at 18 years old), sealed and posted Kaminsky, and then took 2 dribbles and backed him down WITH EASE and scored. This is an 18 year old vs a 22 year old.


I'm just not convinced he can compete physically with grown men in the NBA.
It's one thing to beat up on 18 year olds as a 4th year senior, experienced under the bright lights. It's another thing to go night in, night out against the biggest, best athletes in the world and hold your own on BOTH ENDS of the floor.


Taking Frank with a top 10 pick would be a huge mistake to me.
Just my opinion.

[Celtics18]

Fair enough.  You all make some valid points about Kaminsky.   I still think his skill set will help him overcome some of his deficiencies at the next level.

Time will tell.