I can see the Celtics drafting Domantas Sabonis

[Eddie20]

I don't think that it's unreasonable that we could draft both Poeltl and Sabonis. Would be a great haul, I think.

Also, for the younger folks out there who haven't seen Sabonis' daddy play, there's this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18tnToDLHV4

While he was still very good for a stint with the Blazers, its a shame that we couldn't have seen him in the NBA in the 80s before the injuries had taken a real toll on his body.

Absolutely. He gave the Blazers a season of 16/10/3 with a block and a steal at an age of 33(!), injuries and all. And he played 73 games. Just a phenomenal, all-around player.

Those hook passes, behind the back passes.  Not many centers can do this.

Yep, his son is going to be a tough player in the NBA.  He has a heart of a champion. If Gonzaga just had another decent player , they get past Syracuse

Also don't forget he did a good job as a freshman covering Okafor during the tourney game last year.   

A jae crowder pf version in the nba imo

Did you forget about Wiltjer?

What about him?

Mid - late 2nd round prospect

You said if they had another decent player, but that's not accurate. Wiltjier was 3rd team all NCAA last season, and was honorable mention this season, just like Sabonis.

[Evantime34]

“He’s played well and has his body in really good shape,” a Western Conference executive told SheridanHoops. “He was a big part of their run. He’s got his old man’s toughness and that goes a long way.”

Sabonis recorded three straight double-doubles, including one against a potential top-10 pick in Utah’s Jakob Poeltl. He played his best overall game in the loss to Syracuse with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting with 17 rebounds and five blocks.

For the tournament, Sabonis averaged 19.7 points, 14.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.

“He’s huge and young,” an Eastern Conference executive told SheridanHoops. “He has a great bloodline and has good fundamentals. He can make his free throws, too.”

It should be noted that Sabonis shot 66 percent as a freshman and 77 percent as a sophomore from the line.

While Sabonis’ improvement at the stripe is encouraging, he must develop the ability to shoot from the mid-range area more consistently. Furthermore, he will need to develop more than a hook shot with either hand to be a more effective scorer in the paint as a pro.

Sabonis has yet to declare for the draft, but two executives and a scout viewed his range as back of the lottery into the early 20’s should he leave school early.


Read more at http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2016/03/31/scotto-ncaa-tournament-nba-draft-stock-watch-2/#Uzy8ekVmbWBFd2oi.99

[Tr1boy]

Good article. Still only 19.  Kid def has old man toughness

Prob got it from having to practice against his dad (who is also 80 pounds heavier)

We draft Sabonis, we will have three players who has a dad act as a 2nd coach .  a good thing

[Tr1boy]

I don't think that it's unreasonable that we could draft both Poeltl and Sabonis. Would be a great haul, I think.

Also, for the younger folks out there who haven't seen Sabonis' daddy play, there's this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18tnToDLHV4

While he was still very good for a stint with the Blazers, its a shame that we couldn't have seen him in the NBA in the 80s before the injuries had taken a real toll on his body.

Absolutely. He gave the Blazers a season of 16/10/3 with a block and a steal at an age of 33(!), injuries and all. And he played 73 games. Just a phenomenal, all-around player.

Those hook passes, behind the back passes.  Not many centers can do this.

Yep, his son is going to be a tough player in the NBA.  He has a heart of a champion. If Gonzaga just had another decent player , they get past Syracuse

Also don't forget he did a good job as a freshman covering Okafor during the tourney game last year.   

A jae crowder pf version in the nba imo

Did you forget about Wiltjer?

What about him?

Mid - late 2nd round prospect

You said if they had another decent player, but that's not accurate. Wiltjier was 3rd team all NCAA last season, and was honorable mention this season, just like Sabonis.

Nice try. Wiltjer is a successful college player. Can't see much more. So slow

[Eddie20]

I don't think that it's unreasonable that we could draft both Poeltl and Sabonis. Would be a great haul, I think.

Also, for the younger folks out there who haven't seen Sabonis' daddy play, there's this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18tnToDLHV4

While he was still very good for a stint with the Blazers, its a shame that we couldn't have seen him in the NBA in the 80s before the injuries had taken a real toll on his body.

Absolutely. He gave the Blazers a season of 16/10/3 with a block and a steal at an age of 33(!), injuries and all. And he played 73 games. Just a phenomenal, all-around player.

Those hook passes, behind the back passes.  Not many centers can do this.

Yep, his son is going to be a tough player in the NBA.  He has a heart of a champion. If Gonzaga just had another decent player , they get past Syracuse

Also don't forget he did a good job as a freshman covering Okafor during the tourney game last year.   

A jae crowder pf version in the nba imo

Did you forget about Wiltjer?

What about him?

Mid - late 2nd round prospect

You said if they had another decent player, but that's not accurate. Wiltjier was 3rd team all NCAA last season, and was honorable mention this season, just like Sabonis.

Nice try. Wiltjer is a successful college player. Can't see much more. So slow

No one said Wiltjier is going to be a good NBA player, or even drafted for that matter, but to act as though Gonzaga is a one man team when Wiltjier, not Sabonis, was the team's leading scorer (20.4 ppg to 17.4 ppg) is flat out wrong. Either you're purposely omitting him, or you have no clue what you're talking about.


Are you purposely trying to contradict yourself?

You- If Gonzaga just had another decent player , they get past Syracuse

Me- Did you forget about Wiltjir?

You- Wiltjer is a successful college player. Can't see much more. So slow.

[Tr1boy]

I don't think that it's unreasonable that we could draft both Poeltl and Sabonis. Would be a great haul, I think.

Also, for the younger folks out there who haven't seen Sabonis' daddy play, there's this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18tnToDLHV4

While he was still very good for a stint with the Blazers, its a shame that we couldn't have seen him in the NBA in the 80s before the injuries had taken a real toll on his body.

Absolutely. He gave the Blazers a season of 16/10/3 with a block and a steal at an age of 33(!), injuries and all. And he played 73 games. Just a phenomenal, all-around player.

Those hook passes, behind the back passes.  Not many centers can do this.

Yep, his son is going to be a tough player in the NBA.  He has a heart of a champion. If Gonzaga just had another decent player , they get past Syracuse

Also don't forget he did a good job as a freshman covering Okafor during the tourney game last year.   

A jae crowder pf version in the nba imo

Did you forget about Wiltjer?

What about him?

Mid - late 2nd round prospect

You said if they had another decent player, but that's not accurate. Wiltjier was 3rd team all NCAA last season, and was honorable mention this season, just like Sabonis.

Nice try. Wiltjer is a successful college player. Can't see much more. So slow

No one said Wiltjier is going to be a good NBA player, or even drafted for that matter, but to act as though Gonzaga is a one man team when Wiltjier, not Sabonis, was the team's leading scorer (20.4 ppg to 17.4 ppg) is flat out wrong. Either you're purposely omitting him, or you have no clue what you're talking about.


Are you purposely trying to contradict yourself?

You- If Gonzaga just had another decent player , they get past Syracuse

Me- Did you forget about Wiltjir?

You- Wiltjer is a successful college player. Can't see much more. So slow.

Wiltjer is strictly a college player.  20 PPG while impressive on paper , we need consider that he did most damage against low level teams. He is also a senior. 

March madness is a good indicator if your "NBA"  ability will pull through.  And while he was decent he was no Sabonis who carried them in March Madness.  If you saw the game vs Syracuse he was helpless (lack of standout NBA skills).

No discount as to him being a "piece" of the success but you be serious if you think he was carrying gonzaga this season

I was talking about "help" as in someone who has a shot to be drafted and make an impact in the nba

[Tr1boy]

Whatever the case is sabonis passed the test(MM, vs Syracuse double team)with flying colors. He did his part plus some

Danny draft the kid (I would be happy with Ellenson and if Zimmerman likes him)

[Tr1boy]

I hope we come out with Sabonis one way or another from this draft.   Kid is going to be good in the nba

2016 season highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqtbx0wZgBA

[Sixth Man]

I hope we come out with Sabonis one way or another from this draft.   Kid is going to be good in the nba

2016 season highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqtbx0wZgBA

I'd love to see us draft him too, but I rather doubt he will still be on the board for pick #16.  It would be pretty cool to see his father at Celts games, especially for those of us who saw him play during his prime, before the Achilles injuries and late stint with Portland.

[Tr1boy]

I hope we come out with Sabonis one way or another from this draft.   Kid is going to be good in the nba

2016 season highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqtbx0wZgBA

I'd love to see us draft him too, but I rather doubt he will still be on the board for pick #16.  It would be pretty cool to see his father at Celts games, especially for those of us who saw him play during his prime, before the Achilles injuries and late stint with Portland.

Was Danny and Sabonis ever teammates before?

[Sixth Man]

I hope we come out with Sabonis one way or another from this draft.   Kid is going to be good in the nba

2016 season highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqtbx0wZgBA

I'd love to see us draft him too, but I rather doubt he will still be on the board for pick #16.  It would be pretty cool to see his father at Celts games, especially for those of us who saw him play during his prime, before the Achilles injuries and late stint with Portland.

Was Danny and Sabonis ever teammates before?

Not to my knowledge.  Sabonis first appeared in the NBA in 1995 with the TrailBlazers.  Danny was long gone from Portland (1992).

[crimson_stallion]

I'm not too sure about Sabonis.

He has a lot of positives (inside scoring, rebounding, defensive mobility, basketball IQ). 

He is however fairly lacking in both length (6'10" wingspan) and athleticism which leaves me somewhat concerned about whether he is going to be able to finish (and defend) against NBA competition.

Defensively he reminds me a bit of Kelly Olynyk in that Olynyk is a very smart (and actually quite mobile) defensive player, but he does struggle at times against guys who are either particularly quick (e.g. Thadeous Young), particularly strong (e.g. Demarcus Cousins) or particularly long (e.g. Lemarcus Aldridge).  He's quite good against everybody else.  I could see Sabonis having a bit of that same problem.

I see it similarly on the offensive end too.  One of Olynyk's biggest strengths in college was his inside / post game.  He was a pretty dominant post scorer in college because his size (7'0" and 230 or so) gave him a big advantage against most college competition.  Now that he's in the NBA he is still a very good finisher around the basket, but when he does get inside points it's usually off drives, offensive rebounds / putback, or catch & finish plays.  His post game just hasn't translated at all because his lack of length / strength means it's hard for him to get an advantage against NBA competition.  I could really see this being an issue for Sabonis too.

Then there is his lack of a strong jumper - if he develops that he'll be fine, but if he doesn't I think he'll struggle.  It takes a pretty impressive physical talent to score at the PF/C spots these days without a jump shot - I'm talking guys like Drummond, Deandre, Dwight, etc).  If his shot never develops, I'm not sure Sabonis has the tools to become a capable scorer in the NBA.

I kinda think of Sabonis as Jared Sullinger with a better motor, better conditioning, and no jump shot.  I wonder if the motor and conditioning adds enough to make up for the subtraction of the jump shot.

I wouldn't hate it if we picked up Sabonis with the Mavs or (even better) Celtics pick, I'm just not sure his game will translate as well to the NBA as people seem to think.

[crimson_stallion]

Opinions

How high could Sabonis go in the draft? How low?

Ppl OK with Sabonis replacing sully?

I think he could go in the late lottery. Hard for me to see him cracking the top 10 unless some new info comes out, like he grew 2 inches or something.

I like Sabonis a lot, and I thought he'd be a really good option at around #16. Now that the Mavs pick is likely to be 12 or 13, I'm guessing there will be better options. DX has Labissiere, Jackson and Luwawu 10-11-12 right how, and I'd prefer any of them over a talented but not well-rounded prospect like Sabonis. Especially Demetrius Jackson looks like an awesome option - he's just sooooo athletic, and he could be a knockdown shooter if he doesn't have to create every shot for himself (113/139 FTs this year). He's pretty redundant with Rozier, though.

He is 6'11 in shoes.  That is more than a good height for a PF.  Plus strong like an ox and he is considered skinny. 

How is it that Poeltl is rated to go 7-12 and Sabonis later?  To me that is laughable.  Sabonis torched him in their meeting in the sweet sixteen game.   These are the kind of games that are the better indicators as to how one will perform at the next level vs beating up on lower level schools/players

also  Labissiere over Sabonis??  Yeah on paper you take him.  Because he has the wingspan, leaping ability etc.  Per actually performance, IQ, etc.  Sabonis wins

In a full season, stress situation, consistent performance, grinding situations Sabonis wins

Sabonis is 6'10" in shoes and 231 pounds with a 6'10" wingspan.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Domantas-Sabonis-62889/

Poetlyl is 7'1" in shoes and 242 pounds with a 7'1" wingspan.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jakob-Poeltl-63039/

To put that into perspective, Sabonis has the same wingspan as Kelly Olynyk and Poetlyl has the same wingspan as Al Horford.

From what I've seen they are both pretty mobile for their position.  Sabonis is a significantly better rebounder, Poetyl is a significantly better rim protector.  Both are pretty good passers, but Sabonis turns the ball over at a higher rate.  Both are the same age.

Both seem to be quite physical and neither is afraid to battle inside.

I feel that they are pretty closestly matched in terms of ability, but if I'm choosing between the two I would go for Poetyl based on the fact that he is 3 inches taller, 3 inches longer and 10 pounds heavier.

Either guy will probably struggle to defend the freaks like Cousins and Aldridge (Both 6'11" with a 7'5" wingspan).  However I could see Poetyl coping just fine with somebody like Greg Monroe (6'11" and 250 pounds with a 7'2" wingspan), who I think Sabonis would really struggle against. 

If you want positive indications about Sabonis' ability to contribute in the NBA, then I guess you could look at Julius Randle.  Like Sabonis, Randle lacked height, length and a jumpshot and was a beast in the post and a beast on the boards.  He's translated pretty well to the NBA in every area except his defence - but Randle was never a capable defender (even in college) so his struggles as an NBA defender are expected.  If Sabonis could be like Julius Randle with better defence, he could be a nice prospect.

Poetyl might be more like a Plumlee type? 

I'm not sure either guy is ever going to be an NBA star, and I'm not sure if either will ever be even an NBA starter.  But I think both guys should be a pretty safe bet as a quality NBA role player, and if we can get a solid backup C/PF with the Mavs pick I'm kinda ok with that. 

I'm a little more partial towards Poetlyl though simply because I think his length, height and shotblocking ability are things we really need on this team...wheras Sabonis would be just ANOTHER skilled but undersized PF. 

[crimson_stallion]

Whatever the case is sabonis passed the test(MM, vs Syracuse double team)with flying colors. He did his part plus some

Danny draft the kid (I would be happy with Ellenson and if Zimmerman likes him)

I actually don't mind Ellenson too.  Not in love with him, but I feel like he could be (for the most part) a better version of Jared Sullinger - perhaps more accurately, a second coming of David Lee. 

If Danny picks a wing player with the Nets pick (e..g Hield, Brown, etc) then I'd be pretty ok with him using the Mavs pick on either one of Ellenson / Sabonis / Poeltyl.

[greenhead85]

Two bigs I want us to acquire in the 1st round are Bender and Thon Maker. Athleticism, skill, above average physical attributes, quickness and talent are what they possess.