Ford 7.0

[Tr1boy]

Starting to hate this draft outside top 2.

Yup, me too.

I think there will be 2 to 3 really good players, maybe even stars. Separating them from the busts seems extra difficult this year.

I disagree

This is a "wildcard" draft imo

Outside of 1st two, for example someone from the 2nd round could turn out to be a marc gasol or IT. I didn't see that in the 2013 draft

Skal might turn out to be amazing. Has the frame to fill out. And if he can,  well.... Also someone like zimmerman. Both top rated high school prospects

Lots of freshman's and international prospects in this one

In 2-3 years

[Tr1boy]

Kay Felder a 2nd round prospects is like an IT. Demetrius Jackson

[Celtics4ever]

Bender could drop a lot further, according to Chad.

Makes sense, he does not dominate overseas, how do people expect him to do so in the NBA.

[walker834]

I think we get a top pick and take simmons or trade it for an established player and then try to move up and get a player that slides.

Simmons, Bender and Brown are my 3 favorite players in this thing.

Ingram, Hield and a couple others like Sabonis and Murray are worth looking at but everyone else makes very little sense for us.

I'm not even sold on any of those guys at all.  Poeltl maybe but who knows.  I dont think we addressed much if we come out of this draft with Sabonis or Poeltl.

Hield would be a bit of a shocker as well.  Murray is ok but eh. Good players.  We need shooting and scoring but Hield shoots a lot.  Murray I'm not sure what he solves for us besides giving us another player like isaiah.  They are actually kind of similar how they play but Murray has more size and is an off guard.  It doesn't really make sense to me.

[libermaniac]

If we don't get 1 or 2, trade the pick.  If we do, ask Durant if he wants to play with a rookie, or trade it. ;-)

[Eddie20]

Bender could drop a lot further, according to Chad.

Makes sense, he does not dominate overseas, how do people expect him to do so in the NBA.

He's also 18, which means he would be a High School senior.

[Roy H.]

Starting to hate this draft outside top 2.

Yup, me too.

I think there will be 2 to 3 really good players, maybe even stars. Separating them from the busts seems extra difficult this year.

I disagree

This is a "wildcard" draft imo

Outside of 1st two, for example someone from the 2nd round could turn out to be a marc gasol or IT. I didn't see that in the 2013 draft

Skal might turn out to be amazing. Has the frame to fill out. And if he can,  well.... Also someone like zimmerman. Both top rated high school prospects

Lots of freshman's and international prospects in this one

In 2-3 years

What part of my statement do you disagree with?

That there will be 2 or 3 stars beyond Simmons and Ingram, or that they're harder to identify this year?

Your post seems to be about "upside" and guys who "might" succeed. I agree. Each one of those guys also seem to have pretty high bust potential.

[nickagneta]

Its funny. There is literally only minutesbof highlight tapes on Bender but lots of write ups from draftnik web sites. Based on this fans on this site have made definitive decisions on the future of Bender based on this limited video and in many ways uninformed opinions.

Suddenly you start reading that scouts arent as high on Bender as some,ofbthese web sites and that someone like Ford comes out and says Bender could drop big time and the fans on this site get all defensive about how good Bender will be. Maybe, just maybe people should stop putting so,much stock in these draft site opinions and realize they dont have the info the NBA teams will have in making these draft decisions.

This is especially true with foreign players. Lets just realize that this is a fluid situation and that in many ways, everything that leads up to the draft is a sales pitch and little else. Dont get so attached to these teenagers and form such definitive opinions. There is too many variables in play to get so up in arms about how good or not good these,players really are.

[walker834]

There is tons of footage out there on bender. As much as any prospect.  I don't read draftnik sites much at all.  More articles and listen to different opinions.  Just youtube him or any other prospect.  I can't stand the media in general for that reason because a lot of people are bandwagon jumpers or agenda driven. I just form my own opinions on whoever.

You can watch full games of his just like any other prospect though. That's the best footage imo.

There is no way to know for certain how good any of these guys will be.  Especially from just watching tape.  There are some that are more sure things.  Bender is a bit more of a gamble but has a lot of upside.

I don't see the risk on him over any other player though really.  He's not playing.  A lot of teams just aren't going to draft a guy they can't see or don't want to see play. Would you? 

The GM's in the know are going to know who is good and who isn't.  A lot of players slide because of questions. Or just stupidity to even ask them.

[footey]

Starting to hate this draft outside top 2.

Yup, me too.

 You guys are only saying that because there is no clear cut #3 choice which is normal. There are really good players available there, but it's probably a really good guard.

But that's why I hate it; the best guys outside top 2 seem to be guards.Dearth of good small forwards or centers, which are our biggest weaknesses.

[footey]

Trade it to the 76ers and let them gamble on a guard of their choosing.

For Joel Embiid?

If there's another pick coming back, I'd really do this deal.

You're dreaming, right?

[footey]

I think I get particularly disappointed with the look of this draft because it comes on the heals of last year's draft, which featured 4 really good prospects, the first 4 guys taken.  We have a decent shot of landing a top 4 pick (nearly 70%, I think).  I'd be much more pumped if we had those odds going into last year's draft.  C'est la vie.

[loco_91]

Always interesting to see what Ford has to say. Two weird things from my perspective:
-How can you take Ellenson over Poeltl? Is it because Ellenson might possibly one day develop a 3 point shot? Give me a defense-first center who also scores efficiently + prolifically in the paint any day over a maybe-stretch-4 who will be a liability on defense, and who doesn't score efficiently from anywhere.
-Guards who measure under 6'2 always get underrated, and Demetrius Jackson is the latest example. What people usually forget to mention is that he isn't just athletic, he's the most athletic player in the draft. He gets to the rim and draws fouls at will. He is also one of the best shooters in the class, he has good strength+length for his height, and his on-ball defense is excellent. How do you pass on him in the lottery?

I think 3. Murray 4. Dunn 5. Bender is reasonable, though if the C's are drafting 3 I think we need to take Bender.

[jambr380]

I think I get particularly disappointed with the look of this draft because it comes on the heals of last year's draft, which featured 4 really good prospects, the first 4 guys taken.  We have a decent shot of landing a top 4 pick (nearly 70%, I think).  I'd be much more pumped if we had those odds going into last year's draft.  C'est la vie.

Fwiw, there is a decent chance we can parlay our pick into one of those prospects (Okafor). But I am not sure that is really what you meant. I also would rather have a top 4 pick in last year's draft. All bets are off if we are in the top 2, though. It would hold a lot of value to us and as a trade chip.

[KG Living Legend]

Always interesting to see what Ford has to say. Two weird things from my perspective:
-How can you take Ellenson over Poeltl? Is it because Ellenson might possibly one day develop a 3 point shot? Give me a defense-first center who also scores efficiently + prolifically in the paint any day over a maybe-stretch-4 who will be a liability on defense, and who doesn't score efficiently from anywhere.
-Guards who measure under 6'2 always get underrated, and Demetrius Jackson is the latest example. What people usually forget to mention is that he isn't just athletic, he's the most athletic player in the draft. He gets to the rim and draws fouls at will. He is also one of the best shooters in the class, he has good strength+length for his height, and his on-ball defense is excellent. How do you pass on him in the lottery?

I think 3. Murray 4. Dunn 5. Bender is reasonable, though if the C's are drafting 3 I think we need to take Bender.

 Loco, good point on Ellenson/Poeltl, but Jackson is not the most athletic player in the Draft. That would be Jaylen Brown. He scores a 97 out of 100 on my unofficial/official eye test.

 Athletically ID take Simmons over DJ as well, you have to factor in Big Ben's size 6'10" 240 pounds, and he's got a 40" vertical. That's amazing.

 I would bet Simmons beats him in the 3/4 court sprint test coming up as well, Simmons can really move.