official 2016 top ten draft order thread

[KeepRondo]

Exum easily outplayed Smart in that summer league game. Dude looked ready to turn the corner before getting injured.

Exum may end up being pretty good.

Do not agree with that.

Smart was great he just missed some jumpers.

Exum looked pretty good for a stretch in that game but he can fade out of games and then he ended up getting hurt.

He does still have potential but I have seen no consistency.  Smart isn't always consistent on offense but his defense is elite.

Exum showed a much better handle. Was a lot quicker and was able to finish at the rim. Pretty much things that Smart has just been mediocre at 'so far'.

Both players can be solid but Exum was showing a lot more potential in that game.

[Ilikesports17]

Exum easily outplayed Smart in that summer league game. Dude looked ready to turn the corner before getting injured.

Exum may end up being pretty good.

Do not agree with that.

Smart was great he just missed some jumpers.

Exum looked pretty good for a stretch in that game but he can fade out of games and then he ended up getting hurt.

He does still have potential but I have seen no consistency.  Smart isn't always consistent on offense but his defense is elite.

Exum showed a much better handle. Was a lot quicker and was able to finish at the rim. Pretty much things that Smart has just been mediocre at 'so far'.

Both players can be solid but Exum was showing a lot more potential in that game.

Sure so exum maybe outplayed smart in a summer league game.

Then a few months later smart definitely outplayed Russell Westbrook in a regular season game. Only a few weeks after he outplayed tony Parker in another regular season game.

[HomerSapien]

Do you know anything about Bender's contract?  I thought I read somewhere that he had signed a 4 or 5 year contract with a buyout.  I'm thinking there is a good chance Bender won't enter this draft or if he does he'll wait to come over for three years until the rookie contract is up.

I found this in DraftExpress from a Feb. 2015 write-up on Bender at the Basketball without borders camp:

Bender, who just turned 17 three months ago, was named the MVP of the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp, after a very unselfish performance where he displayed his impressive versatility for a player his size. Bender played all three frontcourt positions over the course of the weekend, showing terrific ball-handling skills, passing ability and an emerging (albeit) streaky jump-shot. His body looks to be progressing under the careful watch of Euroleague defending champions Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he signed a seven year contract (with comfortable NBA out clauses) this past summer.

Bender is playing 28 minutes per game for Maccabi's second team, Ramat Gan, which competes in the Israeli second division. He's averaging 10 points (51% 2P%, 24% 3P%, 69% FT%), 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers per game on the year. He's expected to join Maccabi Tel Aviv's senior team next season and see minutes in both the Israeli first division and the Euroleague.

While his body and outside shot still have a lot of room for improvement, and he's still in the process of finding his role on the basketball court (particularly defensively) due to his uncommon combination of size and skills, he's one of the most unique prospects in the world in his age group.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/#ixzz3uiXJvDcr
http://www.draftexpress.com

I really hope he decides to enter the 2016 draft.  I'd like there to be as much talent available as possible in a draft where the C's have a boatload of picks.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Now I'm hardly an expert on the Israeli league, but they are usually competitive in the euro league which to me indicates that they are one of the best teams in the world (non NBA division). Isn't the euroleague like the champions league for basketball?

In his draftexpress video I thought he looked to be a good passer which to me indicates a good feel for the game not a bad one.

The reason I like him is because he's really tall and a fluid athlete, much more fluid than Porzingis.

They're actually the team that David Blatt came from.  They are sort of like Galatasaray in soccer, where they play in a bad league but always qualify for the Champions league.  The fact is though that they play a lot of their games in the Israeli league against bad competition and Dragan isn't cracking the rotation not just in the Euroleague games, but also against the bad Israeli teams.  When he does play, he averages 1 basket per 11 minutes. 

There are players from those leagues that are doing well and then bust, like for instance Victor Claver.  It's just I would be a lot happier about drafting Bender if he were actually showing some promise in the actual games.

[Future Celtics Owner]

Chad Ford just follows my posts on Celticsblog and throws my predictions on ESPN. I guess he's learned that FUTURE CELTICS OWNER is his bread and butter and I bet he is shaking in his boots worrying I open my own draft site.....I was close/Chad I still might so knock it off.

[loco_91]

Is anyone else starting to like Ingram > Simmons #1?

-Both are quick and explosive, but not out of this world athletic. Ingram is 2" longer, Simmons is 40lb heavier. To my eye Ingram is a bit quicker laterally, while Simmons is more explosive vertically - probably a reflection of weight difference.
-Both have an excellent handle for a forward
-Both have a lot of potential on defense due to tools, but need to work on fundamentals. Ingram also has questions about his motor.
-Simmons has elite passing and feel for the game, an area where Ingram is average. Ingram is clearly rawer on both ends.
-Ingram is almost a full year younger, so the difference in feel might be smaller than it seems
-Ingram is a shooting threat from midrange and college 3, with excellent mechanics and a quick release. This could become his primary weapon in the NBA, and at worst he'll keep defenses honest. Simmons struggles as a shooter, although it's too early to say his shot is broken.
-Simmons seems like a more competitive, high-motor player.

3pt shooting is extremely valuable for a modern wing player. Simmons risks being a rich man's Evan Turner - point forward who is very good at a lot of things, but whose shot limits his offensive value. Ingram is a safer bet on offense, as he can certainly be a good role player on that end. But Simmons with his higher motor and strength advantage seems like a better bet on defense.

It's very close, but I slightly prefer Ingram. I also love Bender, but I'm not ready to put him in the #1 conversation yet.

[tazzmaniac]

Is anyone else starting to like Ingram > Simmons #1?

-Both are quick and explosive, but not out of this world athletic. Ingram is 2" longer, Simmons is 40lb heavier. To my eye Ingram is a bit quicker laterally, while Simmons is more explosive vertically - probably a reflection of weight difference.
-Both have an excellent handle for a forward
-Both have a lot of potential on defense due to tools, but need to work on fundamentals. Ingram also has questions about his motor.
-Simmons has elite passing and feel for the game, an area where Ingram is average. Ingram is clearly rawer on both ends.
-Ingram is almost a full year younger, so the difference in feel might be smaller than it seems
-Ingram is a shooting threat from midrange and college 3, with excellent mechanics and a quick release. This could become his primary weapon in the NBA, and at worst he'll keep defenses honest. Simmons struggles as a shooter, although it's too early to say his shot is broken.
-Simmons seems like a more competitive, high-motor player.

3pt shooting is extremely valuable for a modern wing player. Simmons risks being a rich man's Evan Turner - point forward who is very good at a lot of things, but whose shot limits his offensive value. Ingram is a safer bet on offense, as he can certainly be a good role player on that end. But Simmons with his higher motor and strength advantage seems like a better bet on defense.

It's very close, but I slightly prefer Ingram. I also love Bender, but I'm not ready to put him in the #1 conversation yet.

I like Ingram a lot and I don't see Simmons as being the next Lebron.  However I'm not ready to say I'd take Ingram over Simmons.  I want to see how they look in conference play.  If the lottery gods gave me a guaranteed #2 pick right now in exchange for giving up any chance at the #1 pick, I would definitely take it. 

Pretty much agree with your breakdown but I don't think Ingram has a motor issue.  He's active offensively and defensively.  Even though he's a young freshman, he shows no hesitancy in taking a big shot but he's a good team player.  Amile Jefferson being out is going to be a challenge since Ingram will have to play PF a lot but I think it is going to help his development.  Simmons has a lot of very good abilities but his shooting is a significant issue.  The lesser teams LSU is playing are already starting to back off and daring him to shoot.  He usually turns down the shot and passes instead (often a very good pass).  I expect SEC teams will force him even more to take jump shots. 

[wiley]

I am officially interested in Kris Dunn, though it would likely signal the end of Rozier in Boston.  And I like Roze I think he has potential as a big game big moment shot maker.  But Dunn is a pure point and has great size and that's what I'm interested in.

He's moved up to 4th on both draft express and nbadraft net.

Dunn, IT
Smart, Bradley


Small ball:  Dunn/IT,  Bradley, Smart, Crowder, X

[Quetzalcoatl]

Is anyone else starting to like Ingram > Simmons #1?

http://thebiglead.com/2015/12/22/2016-nba-mock-draft-ben-simmons-jamal-murray-brandon-ingram/#slideIdslide-1

Here is a somewhat ballsy draft prediction article that has Jamal Murray going second overall.  I like this one though, because it has us getting Brandon Ingram 3rd with the Nets' pick, Furkan Korkmaz with our pick and Stephen Zimmerman with the Dallas pick.  That would be a nice haul with some promising players.

It would also be funny to see the Lakers with a core of Murray/Russell/Randle, they'd be like the Wizards West.   That whole list though is a mess though, they have Melo Trimble going in the high lottery so it's kind of hard to take stock in it.