2016 Draft: Small Ball Targets

[PhoSita]

A few questions about some of the bigger names in this draft, as well as some of the less heralded guys.


Ben Simmons -- Could he be a point center?

Brandon Ingram -- Playmaking power forward?

Jaylen Brown -- Could he play power forward?


Later in the draft . . . . .

Damontas Sabonis -- Can he be a stretch center?

Taurean Prince -- Can he stretch the floor and switch onto wings and big men alike?

Juan Hernangomez -- Power forward in the NBA? 

Petr Cornelie -- Stretch center?


Some other names to consider in the second round . . . .

Brice Johnson
Jake Layman
Nigel Hayes
Jarrod Uthoff
Dorian Finney-Smith
Pascal Siakam
Perry Ellis



The nice thing about having a lot of draft picks is that Danny can take some risks on some foreign players or some positionally ambiguous NCAA upperclassmen.  Work guys out, see if they look like maybe they could defend 4s and 5s in the NBA and hit spot up threes.


I have a feeling that a lot of teams are going to be looking to find more Draymond Green type players in the coming drafts. 

[Evantime34]

A few questions about some of the bigger names in this draft, as well as some of the less heralded guys.


Ben Simmons -- Could he be a point center?

Brandon Ingram -- Playmaking power forward?

Jaylen Brown -- Could he play power forward?


Later in the draft . . . . .

Damontas Sabonis -- Can he be a stretch center?

Taurean Prince -- Can he stretch the floor and switch onto wings and big men alike?

Juan Hernangomez -- Power forward in the NBA? 

Petr Cornelie -- Stretch center?


Some other names to consider in the second round . . . .

Brice Johnson
Jake Layman
Nigel Hayes
Jarrod Uthoff
Dorian Finney-Smith
Pascal Siakam
Perry Ellis



The nice thing about having a lot of draft picks is that Danny can take some risks on some foreign players or some positionally ambiguous NCAA upperclassmen.  Work guys out, see if they look like maybe they could defend 4s and 5s in the NBA and hit spot up threes.


I have a feeling that a lot of teams are going to be looking to find more Draymond Green type players in the coming drafts.

I can absolutely see the Celtics running some small ball with Simmons at the 5 in their version of GSW's death lineup.

Long term I think Ingram will be able to play the 4, once he fills out but not for a couple years.

Brown has a prototype small ball 4 body. I think there is a good chance that he could play immediately as a small ball 4, where his lack of shooting is less glaring a weakness.

Prince would fit perfect on this team. If Hayes can get his 3 point shooting up he could be a difference maker as a stretch 4.

[Csfan1984]

I hate small ball.

[Evantime34]

I hate small ball.

[dang], you must really have not liked this team the past few years then.

I love me some small ball, especially because when we play more of a traditional lineup our spacing is bad.

[PhoSita]

Hate small ball or not, it seems to be the direction the league is heading.

And just from a pure trade-value standpoint, there's a high demand and a low supply of guys who can play that Draymond type role right now.

Looking around the league, it's hard to find examples of guys who can theoretically cover 3, 4, and 5, do decent work on the boards, and hit a spot up three.  Marvin Williams and Aminu come to mind.  Giannis, if he can learn to hit a three pointer.  Aaron Gordon is on that track.  I'm not sure who else.

If you want players like that, I think you'll have to draft them and develop them.


Obviously, Draymond is a tremendous talent and finding another guy who can do exactly what he can do is not something you can do in any draft.  But there is a void of players who can play that role in a similar way, albeit without the superstar impact.

[Csfan1984]

I hate small ball.

[dang], you must really have not liked this team the past few years then.

I love me some small ball, especially because when we play more of a traditional lineup our spacing is bad.

This is the problem with small ball. Small ball is associated with style but in fact small ball is just going small because you can't match up or your bigs are really bad. C's bigs are bad so I accept it as a must right now. Bring in a legit center and more complete PFs and it will be a better game. Look at Spurs vs Warriors. Warriors rely on speed of their youth and great shooting. Once some of those guys get older they won't be the same team. Spurs been going strong for years and will continue to.

[CFAN38]

Ben Simmons -- Could he be a point center? I think he can play center in a D Green type role.

Brandon Ingram -- Playmaking power forward? With time his length will allow him to play the 4 with out much issues, strength will take time but even if he only bulks up to 210-215 he should be ok.

Jaylen Brown -- Could he play power forward? typical new age small ball slashing 4, just not sure his skills at the 3 will warrent the high pick he is projected at.


Later in the draft . . . . .

Damontas Sabonis -- Can he be a stretch center? I dont see much stretch there, can he play some center, Yes

Taurean Prince -- Can he stretch the floor and switch onto wings and big men alike? Prince is a perfect role player for the modern game, should be able to play 3-D at the 2,3 and 4.

Juan Hernangomez -- Power forward in the NBA? No Idea

Petr Cornelie -- Stretch center? No Idea



Brice Johnson lacks the perimeter skills to really be a "small ball" player, will get by as an undersized center at times. I see him as a T Thompson/Faried type 4/5

Jake Layman well rounded enough to find a niche at the 3/4

Nigel Hayes perfect physical profile for a small ball 4 and maybe even a 5, needs to show the fire to compete against bigger guys and rebound

Jarrod Uthoff 6'10 and can shoot so he will find a spot on a bench somewhere to provide floor spacing

Dorian Finney-Smith nice physical profile, has the tools to be a guy everyone is kicking themselfs for skipping over a few years from now. Has the tools to play a H Barnes style 4

Pascal Siakam no idea

Perry Ellis a well rounded player but already undersized at his natural PF position, I really cant see the small ball appeal.


I really think the "Small Ball" trend is here to stay. With the rules handcuffing physical defense teams are better of playing fast and spread out. The idea of targeting multi positional athletes and not your traditional position players is the new norm in the NBA. When it become clear that AB was not a PG I thought it was a NBA death sentence and years ago it may have been but he has proven that the traditional norms are going out the window. With that in mind I really do think it is important that DA start taking more shots on long athletic wings in order to keep this team versatile. Where I have no issue with the past draft and trust that DA has Rozier ranked a tier above everyone else available I still have this worry that RHJ in particular will have Cs fans kicking themselves in years to come ( I would also place J Anderson and Dekker in that just at a lesser extent). Players in the mold of RHJ offer so much defensive versatility that with an average 3pt shot they can become indispensable. The Previously mentioned Taurean Prince along with Tomothe Luwawu maybe two of these type of player in this draft.   

[PhoSita]

I hate small ball.

[dang], you must really have not liked this team the past few years then.

I love me some small ball, especially because when we play more of a traditional lineup our spacing is bad.

This is the problem with small ball. Small ball is associated with style but in fact small ball is just going small because you can't match up or your bigs are really bad. C's bigs are bad so I accept it as a must right now. Bring in a legit center and more complete PFs and it will be a better game. Look at Spurs vs Warriors. Warriors rely on speed of their youth and great shooting. Once some of those guys get older they won't be the same team. Spurs been going strong for years and will continue to.

I think the lesson is that you should do whatever you can to get your best players on the floor.

That, combined with the truisms that the more shooting you have on the floor the easier it is to score, and there are generally more talented players around 6'5'' - 6'9'' than above that, means that small-ball is a great option for most teams.


You can still succeed with big players, teams are just realizing that it doesn't make much sense to play unskilled bigs just because certain positions on the floor have traditionally been manned by big guys.

[PhoSita]

With that in mind I really do think it is important that DA start taking more shots on long athletic wings in order to keep this team versatile. Where I have no issue with the past draft and trust that DA has Rozier ranked a tier above everyone else available I still have this worry that RHJ in particular will have Cs fans kicking themselves in years to come ( I would also place J Anderson and Dekker in that just at a lesser extent). Players in the mold of RHJ offer so much defensive versatility that with an average 3pt shot they can become indispensable. The Previously mentioned Taurean Prince along with Tomothe Luwawu maybe two of these type of player in this draft.

Thank you for your analysis of all of the guys mentioned in my original post.  I haven't spent much time watching or analyzing most of these guys, I'm just going off the basic draft profile on DraftExpress.


Prince looked like the real deal to me in the tournament.  Based on his rant about REBOUNDS I have a feeling he could have the mentality to play down low in the NBA. 

[Evantime34]

I hate small ball.

[dang], you must really have not liked this team the past few years then.

I love me some small ball, especially because when we play more of a traditional lineup our spacing is bad.

This is the problem with small ball. Small ball is associated with style but in fact small ball is just going small because you can't match up or your bigs are really bad. C's bigs are bad so I accept it as a must right now. Bring in a legit center and more complete PFs and it will be a better game. Look at Spurs vs Warriors. Warriors rely on speed of their youth and great shooting. Once some of those guys get older they won't be the same team. Spurs been going strong for years and will continue to.

The Warriors are an all time good team that plays a lot of small ball. Even San Antonio often plays Kawai at the 4 in a small ball lineup.

I don't agree that playing a more traditional lineup makes San Antonio more likely to have extended success. Their sustained success comes from having some excellent pieces at the top and adding guys that fit with those pieces at the top.

[Csfan1984]

I hate small ball.

[dang], you must really have not liked this team the past few years then.

I love me some small ball, especially because when we play more of a traditional lineup our spacing is bad.

This is the problem with small ball. Small ball is associated with style but in fact small ball is just going small because you can't match up or your bigs are really bad. C's bigs are bad so I accept it as a must right now. Bring in a legit center and more complete PFs and it will be a better game. Look at Spurs vs Warriors. Warriors rely on speed of their youth and great shooting. Once some of those guys get older they won't be the same team. Spurs been going strong for years and will continue to.

The Warriors are an all time good team that plays a lot of small ball. Even San Antonio often plays Kawai at the 4 in a small ball lineup.

I don't agree that playing a more traditional lineup makes San Antonio more likely to have extended success. Their sustained success comes from having some excellent pieces at the top and adding guys that fit with those pieces at the top.

Couldn't you say the same for warriors' short term success?

[nickagneta]

Remember the days when Doc would get eviscerated on this site for playing too much small ball? Ahhh, good times!!

[rollie mass]

I hate small ball.

[dang], you must really have not liked this team the past few years then.

I love me some small ball, especially because when we play more of a traditional lineup our spacing is bad.

i loved small ball with dave cowens -there was definitely something wrong with that guy

This is the problem with small ball. Small ball is associated with style but in fact small ball is just going small because you can't match up or your bigs are really bad. C's bigs are bad so I accept it as a must right now. Bring in a legit center and more complete PFs and it will be a better game. Look at Spurs vs Warriors. Warriors rely on speed of their youth and great shooting. Once some of those guys get older they won't be the same team. Spurs been going strong for years and will continue to.

The Warriors are an all time good team that plays a lot of small ball. Even San Antonio often plays Kawai at the 4 in a small ball lineup.

I don't agree that playing a more traditional lineup makes San Antonio more likely to have extended success. Their sustained success comes from having some excellent pieces at the top and adding guys that fit with those pieces at the top.

Couldn't you say the same for warriors' short term success?

[Csfan1984]

OK so now that I got the hate out.

Elleson, Rabb, Warney, Auguste, Bolomboy, Carter and Lab could be small ball Centers of course most are still down the road.

Simmons should be able to right now play small ball center. It just depends on if other team goes small.

Murray, Beasley, Selden, Korkmaz SF like Smart.

Prince, Finn-Smith, Poythress , Ellis could be PFs.

[aingeforthree]

Tyler Ulis is my small ball target.  Dude can ball.

IT 2.0.

IT at the 1, TU at the 2.  lol