Robert Upshaw chatter

[LGC88]

A guarantied contract also means a spot taken away from a more deserving rookie for 3 years.

[saltlover]

I'd still take him in the 2nd round. Low risk, high reward opportunity.

If he is available in the 2nd round.

I firmly believe that teams in the 20's, much more teams with Free Agent Centers will take him there.

I say take him at #16 already.

Frankly, this is idiotic. Every single story about this says "it's not just pot."  Every one.  While the NBA is somewhat forgiving regarding pot (it takes awhile to get yourself suspended for significant periods of time), they are not so forgiving about other drugs.  "Dismissal" from the league is the punishment pretty quickly.  No NBA team in their right mind will use a first round pick on a guy who might very well be kicked out of the league before he even sets foot on the floor.  This is someone who needs to get his life back together and then enter the NBA, and not the other way around.

As someone said, you're either trolling at this point or someone with his head completely buried in the sand.

[D.o.s.]

I'd still take him in the 2nd round. Low risk, high reward opportunity.

If he is available in the 2nd round.

I firmly believe that teams in the 20's, much more teams with Free Agent Centers will take him there.

I say take him at #16 already.

Frankly, this is idiotic. Every single story about this says "it's not just pot."  Every one.  While the NBA is somewhat forgiving regarding pot (it takes awhile to get yourself suspended for significant periods of time), they are not so forgiving about other drugs.  "Dismissal" from the league is the punishment pretty quickly.  No NBA team in their right mind will use a first round pick on a guy who might very well be kicked out of the league before he even sets foot on the floor.  This is someone who needs to get his life back together and then enter the NBA, and not the other way around.

As someone said, you're either trolling at this point or someone with his head completely buried in the sand.

I wouldn't be surprised if he was picked in the first round. I think 16 is still too high (rimshot), though.

[slamtheking]

A guarantied contract also means a spot taken away from a more deserving rookie for 3 years.

not to mention a second round deal offers the flexibility to jettison the player in less time at less cost.  I'm not 100% sure but I think a contract could also be made to be team option after the first year.  someone more knowledgeable on the CBA can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[The One]

Say No to Drugs.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I'd still take him in the 2nd round. Low risk, high reward opportunity.

If he is available in the 2nd round.

I firmly believe that teams in the 20's, much more teams with Free Agent Centers will take him there.

I say take him at #16 already.

Frankly, this is idiotic. Every single story about this says "it's not just pot."  Every one.  While the NBA is somewhat forgiving regarding pot (it takes awhile to get yourself suspended for significant periods of time), they are not so forgiving about other drugs.  "Dismissal" from the league is the punishment pretty quickly.  No NBA team in their right mind will use a first round pick on a guy who might very well be kicked out of the league before he even sets foot on the floor.  This is someone who needs to get his life back together and then enter the NBA, and not the other way around.

As someone said, you're either trolling at this point or someone with his head completely buried in the sand.

How am I trolling? I have been driving this bandwagon ever since, i don't know how long now. I'm not dismissing the red flags, I'm merely saying that we can work with those red flags and keep him in track.

BTW, has anyone here heard of anything lately that suggests that he will be a headcase in the league? Because I haven't. All we're reading and hearing are from the past, there's nothing of late to suggest that he's not going get his life back on track, it's all about what he did in college.

I keep saying that we take him at #16 because I also believe that not only he won't last in the second round, but his potential is worth giving the #16 for. He will fill a need, he has an elite skill that can translate to the NBA, and he has the physical tools to improve and become more than just a shot blocker. Anyone we are picking at #16 may end up being just a guy coming off the bench, and Upshaw has the potential to be a starter.

I see the red flags, but unlike the rest of you, I believe the team and Upshaw can work together to carve that kid a career in the NBA. So if you think me believing that is trolling, then I guess it is.

[saltlover]

I'd still take him in the 2nd round. Low risk, high reward opportunity.

If he is available in the 2nd round.

I firmly believe that teams in the 20's, much more teams with Free Agent Centers will take him there.

I say take him at #16 already.

Frankly, this is idiotic. Every single story about this says "it's not just pot."  Every one.  While the NBA is somewhat forgiving regarding pot (it takes awhile to get yourself suspended for significant periods of time), they are not so forgiving about other drugs.  "Dismissal" from the league is the punishment pretty quickly.  No NBA team in their right mind will use a first round pick on a guy who might very well be kicked out of the league before he even sets foot on the floor.  This is someone who needs to get his life back together and then enter the NBA, and not the other way around.

As someone said, you're either trolling at this point or someone with his head completely buried in the sand.

I wouldn't be surprised if he was picked in the first round. I think 16 is still too high (rimshot), though.

If he gets picked in the first round, his agent will have earned every penny of his fee.  It's debatable if a college junior with one half of a (very) productive season against very poor non-conference competition to his name is top NBA draft material to begin with.  Coming out of high school, he wasn't a one-and-done candidate.  Then he stunk as a freshman, and got kicked out of school.  He had to sit out a year, and still got kicked off the team anyway.  And then he had about 15 games where he played well for a decent amount of minutes against one of the 10 weakest non-conference schedules.  And then he had to stop playing yet again.  He's not someone with a track record that screamed can't-miss NBA prospect before he was kicked off his team for the third time (at least, since he also switched high schools his senior year for reasons the Internet wouldn't tel me).  I'm astonished that there's this much excitement over this player.

[celticsclay]

I'd still take him in the 2nd round. Low risk, high reward opportunity.

If he is available in the 2nd round.

I firmly believe that teams in the 20's, much more teams with Free Agent Centers will take him there.

I say take him at #16 already.

Frankly, this is idiotic. Every single story about this says "it's not just pot."  Every one.  While the NBA is somewhat forgiving regarding pot (it takes awhile to get yourself suspended for significant periods of time), they are not so forgiving about other drugs.  "Dismissal" from the league is the punishment pretty quickly.  No NBA team in their right mind will use a first round pick on a guy who might very well be kicked out of the league before he even sets foot on the floor.  This is someone who needs to get his life back together and then enter the NBA, and not the other way around.

As someone said, you're either trolling at this point or someone with his head completely buried in the sand.

How am I trolling? I have been driving this bandwagon ever since, i don't know how long now. I'm not dismissing the red flags, I'm merely saying that we can work with those red flags and keep him in track.

BTW, has anyone here heard of anything lately that suggests that he will be a headcase in the league? Because I haven't. All we're reading and hearing are from the past, there's nothing of late to suggest that he's not going get his life back on track, it's all about what he did in college.

I keep saying that we take him at #16 because I also believe that not only he won't last in the second round, but his potential is worth giving the #16 for. He will fill a need, he has an elite skill that can translate to the NBA, and he has the physical tools to improve and become more than just a shot blocker. Anyone we are picking at #16 may end up being just a guy coming off the bench, and Upshaw has the potential to be a starter.

I see the red flags, but unlike the rest of you, I believe the team and Upshaw can work together to carve that kid a career in the NBA. So if you think me believing that is trolling, then I guess it is.

well i first said it and the reason I said it is because the idea of picking him at 16 has become more and more ludicrous as time has gone by and more information has come out. We have seen multiple reports from people saying he has done drugs other than pot that are very very serious. With some people calling it horrifying and a number of teams saying they just flat our wouldn't draft him. Do you think this is all created by one team? It seems like that would be illegal and ruin their future if that ever came out (spreading false drug and medical rumors about a player).

Furthermore, I just looked at a ton of Mock drafts and not a single one I could find (and these seems like all the reputable ones) have him going higher than 31st with the majority in mid to late 30's. So you are advocating taking him 20 spots higher than anyone else thinks he will go. That is practically an entire round. How much would we get if we traded the 16th pick in addition to the 35th pick?

So that begs the question of you really think everyone is actually way way off, or if you have chosen a position and you are sticking by it just to get a reaction. That is the part where trolling would come in because it is really hard for me to believe that someone seriously thinks we should use a near lottery pick on a guy nobody thinks will go before the second round.

To make a comparison, if I started saying that I thought Greg Jennings was the 8th best receiver in the NFL and nobody else ranked him higher than 30, I think people would think I was trolling to get a reaction after a certain point. That is where I was coming from.

Mock Drafts

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/06/18/mock-draft-second-version/
 ((has him at 36th) )
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/2015-nba-mock-draft--take-4-233313324.html
(37th)
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25219056/nba-mock-draft-who-knicks-take-at-no-4-could-affect-rest-of-draft
(41st)
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13089645/nba-draft-chad-ford-mock-draft-70
(31st)
http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2015/ (37th)

[saltlover]

I'd still take him in the 2nd round. Low risk, high reward opportunity.

If he is available in the 2nd round.

I firmly believe that teams in the 20's, much more teams with Free Agent Centers will take him there.

I say take him at #16 already.

Frankly, this is idiotic. Every single story about this says "it's not just pot."  Every one.  While the NBA is somewhat forgiving regarding pot (it takes awhile to get yourself suspended for significant periods of time), they are not so forgiving about other drugs.  "Dismissal" from the league is the punishment pretty quickly.  No NBA team in their right mind will use a first round pick on a guy who might very well be kicked out of the league before he even sets foot on the floor.  This is someone who needs to get his life back together and then enter the NBA, and not the other way around.

As someone said, you're either trolling at this point or someone with his head completely buried in the sand.

How am I trolling? I have been driving this bandwagon ever since, i don't know how long now. I'm not dismissing the red flags, I'm merely saying that we can work with those red flags and keep him in track.

BTW, has anyone here heard of anything lately that suggests that he will be a headcase in the league? Because I haven't. All we're reading and hearing are from the past, there's nothing of late to suggest that he's not going get his life back on track, it's all about what he did in college.

I keep saying that we take him at #16 because I also believe that not only he won't last in the second round, but his potential is worth giving the #16 for. He will fill a need, he has an elite skill that can translate to the NBA, and he has the physical tools to improve and become more than just a shot blocker. Anyone we are picking at #16 may end up being just a guy coming off the bench, and Upshaw has the potential to be a starter.

I see the red flags, but unlike the rest of you, I believe the team and Upshaw can work together to carve that kid a career in the NBA. So if you think me believing that is trolling, then I guess it is.

Can you please define "of late"?  I mean, he was kicked out of school less than 5 months ago.  That's pretty darn recent.  It's not like he went to the D-League and no one had any problems.  Meeting Bill Walton for an hour doesn't really count as having turned his life around.  The evidence indicates he probably had 7 positive tests in about a 2-year period.  5 months of staying out of the public eye can't erase that.

[tarheelsxxiii]

It's gotta be heroine. Makes the most sense.

"You can't believe what's coming out about this kid" doesn't spell out cocaine to me, but a drug that people are more likely to go "woah" about. Heroine.

College students are poor, cocaine is expensive. Heroine.

Yoki, what if it is heroine (it is)?

I wish we could poll our guesses to later find out what it was. Would be better than an old but great episode of Maury.

[D.o.s.]

It could very well be some kind of opioid, but I don't think he would be on anyone's draft board, and I would also hope that he was receiving some kind of treatment if that were the case, particularly if it was repeated positive tests.

Nasty stuff.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I'd still take him in the 2nd round. Low risk, high reward opportunity.

If he is available in the 2nd round.

I firmly believe that teams in the 20's, much more teams with Free Agent Centers will take him there.

I say take him at #16 already.

Frankly, this is idiotic. Every single story about this says "it's not just pot."  Every one.  While the NBA is somewhat forgiving regarding pot (it takes awhile to get yourself suspended for significant periods of time), they are not so forgiving about other drugs.  "Dismissal" from the league is the punishment pretty quickly.  No NBA team in their right mind will use a first round pick on a guy who might very well be kicked out of the league before he even sets foot on the floor.  This is someone who needs to get his life back together and then enter the NBA, and not the other way around.

As someone said, you're either trolling at this point or someone with his head completely buried in the sand.

How am I trolling? I have been driving this bandwagon ever since, i don't know how long now. I'm not dismissing the red flags, I'm merely saying that we can work with those red flags and keep him in track.

BTW, has anyone here heard of anything lately that suggests that he will be a headcase in the league? Because I haven't. All we're reading and hearing are from the past, there's nothing of late to suggest that he's not going get his life back on track, it's all about what he did in college.

I keep saying that we take him at #16 because I also believe that not only he won't last in the second round, but his potential is worth giving the #16 for. He will fill a need, he has an elite skill that can translate to the NBA, and he has the physical tools to improve and become more than just a shot blocker. Anyone we are picking at #16 may end up being just a guy coming off the bench, and Upshaw has the potential to be a starter.

I see the red flags, but unlike the rest of you, I believe the team and Upshaw can work together to carve that kid a career in the NBA. So if you think me believing that is trolling, then I guess it is.

Can you please define "of late"?  I mean, he was kicked out of school less than 5 months ago.  That's pretty darn recent.  It's not like he went to the D-League and no one had any problems.  Meeting Bill Walton for an hour doesn't really count as having turned his life around.  The evidence indicates he probably had 7 positive tests in about a 2-year period.  5 months of staying out of the public eye can't erase that.

Can I define "of late"? Sure, i meant anything happened AFTER he got kicked out.

All we heard and read from a lot people are issues that got him kicked out. We haven't heard anything in the 5 months AFTER to suggest that he will revert back to his immature ways. We've also read and heard that he hired a life coach, checked into rehab and we haven't heard a single issue since (outside of the heart condition of course, which has been cleared already).

Check out this quote from his coach (in Washington) from this article on FOX Sports.

http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/nba-draft-washington-huskies-robert-upshaw-believes-he-s-worth-the-risk-061915

"The fact he wasn't able to finish at two universities, I don't know what category people place him in there, but he's not a thug," Romar told me. "He's not that. He has a lot of gifts. And they're not all on the basketball floor. He's engaging. He has a great sense of humor. That's why, as frustrating as this situation can get, and as frustrated as we were at times with him, that's why you're still able to root for him."

That's also a pretty interesting read as to why he's worth the risk.

We are in a very good position to make this gamble. We have a lot of picks coming in so striking out on a player who could very well be a good NBA starter in the future should not be franchise killing risk. The dude has star potential. He made mistakes and is dealing with it right now. He's still a boom or bust kind of a pick. All I'm saying is let's not pass on that potential simply because we're not willing to risk even though we could, or we're not willing to work to make sure he stays in track.

He's a better prospect that anyone that could be slotted at #16, let's take him, work with him and reap the benefits.

[celticsclay]

It's gotta be heroine. Makes the most sense.

"You can't believe what's coming out about this kid" doesn't spell out cocaine to me, but a drug that people are more likely to go "woah" about. Heroine.

College students are poor, cocaine is expensive. Heroine.

Yoki, what if it is heroine (it is)?

I wish we could poll our guesses to later find out what it was. Would be better than an old but great episode of Maury.

I was thinking heroine was possible also but felt too slimy typing out a hypothesis. Now that someone else has though it is free game!

[tarheelsxxiii]

Well, if we take him at 16, there better be a clause in his contract that he is to pick up after himself (e.g., needles) in the locker room. We will have to lay down the law quickly.

[SHAQATTACK]

Meh.....

I want to see the evidence


...could be anything or nothing ......a tweet .....right.....



Could be  people trying to frighten GMs away

No telling

I still risk at least our second pick ......at minimum