2017-2018 Tank

[taowave]

Unfortunately,you are spot on....

We have a ton of question marks,and not many definitive answers

[Don Che]

if the best player is a guard...id be ok with taking a guard

but knowing this draft...i highly doubt it.

Only guard projected higher than 9 that might slip....is Trae

otherwise...you take the guy that you think is the best regardless of position.

[shakespeare]

I just saw a mock that had us taking Mikal Bridges.

Although unpredictable as they come, I just can’t see New York drafting a point guard with their the 1st round pick.

[Mike1989]

I just saw a mock that had us taking Mikal Bridges.

Although unpredictable as they come, I just can’t see New York drafting a point guard with their the 1st round pick.

I could see them passing on Sexton if they feel he's not going to be able to develop consistent shooting, especially if they plan to move Ntilikina to shooting guard. They can't really afford two ok but not great shooters in the backcourt. However, I could see them taking Young if he's on the board at 9 because the kid can shoot and rack up the assists. He's in a bit of a slump but he's got a ton of upside and has all star potential. I think Young and Ntilikina as a pairing could work because both players can make up for the others weaknesses.

I think if Young is there at 9, we'll take him and say thank you very much. However, if we move up in the draft to let's say 6 and he's on the board but so is Bamba or Mikal, then that's a different story because we could pass on him and grab a stud center prospect to pair with KP or grab the 3 and D wing we need to slot in at SF. With that said, even in that scenario passing on Young's upside would be difficult.

[taowave]

Are you good with Hardaway at the 3,or off the bench?

[Don Che]

Young's athleticism/size/turnovers don't worry you Mike?

[Rusty La Rue]

I just thing there are to many good Cs and Fs in the draft for us to be picking up a PG... Of course if we end up at 9 and and no other team has picked up either Sexton or Young we might have to consider it... But I stil believe the Magic are picking a guard unless they end up in the top 3...

[taowave]

KP is healing,Troy Williams is our SF,and Kanter could opt out..We have Mudiay, Burke and Frank.Unless we are drafting the next Westbrook/Curry/Jordan,we are going big...er

[Don Che]

well Trae is being compared to Curry...just sayin

and i still see Mikal is a 2 there really aren't any SF's in this lottery except maybe Knox and Miles....maybe

and when i say this i dont mean players like mikal cant play that position but what i mean is they wont be maximized at that position.

[taowave]

If we dont draft a 3-5,I will be very suprised.....

Hardaway is our 2...

I have to(want to ?) to believe that Frank or Mudiay(hopefully) can be a decent one....

well Trae is being compared to Curry...just sayin

and i still see Mikal is a 2 there really aren't any SF's in this lottery except maybe Knox and Miles....maybe

and when i say this i dont mean players like mikal cant play that position but what i mean is they wont be maximized at that position.

[Don Che]

oh nah i completely agree but im just seeing how much Mikal is rising...along with sexton. and for every player that is rising the board...the only projected top 7 i see slipping is Trae.

we havent even gotten to the combine and private workouts...i think Knox/Robert Williams/Daniel Gafford rise their stock as well.


so overall...i just think its possible that Trae or sexton MAY be there.

[NewlyKnicked]

just saw that the Sooners got a #10 seed in the tournament playing Rhodes Island in the first round... not sure how that happened, but we may be able to see a bit more of Trae

[Don Che]

the more GMs see him...id assume the higher chance he gets taken before us

[taowave]

Simple,the NCAA is a bunch of 2 faced dirtbags who care about one thing..MONEY..

No way Trae should be in March Madness..They collapsed in their final 10 games. Disgusting

just saw that the Sooners got a #10 seed in the tournament playing Rhodes Island in the first round... not sure how that happened, but we may be able to see a bit more of Trae

[nazrmohamed]

KP is healing,Troy Williams is our SF,and Kanter could opt out..We have Mudiay, Burke and Frank.Unless we are drafting the next Westbrook/Curry/Jordan,we are going big...er

Did you just list Troy as a .....as anything we should make decisions based on?

[Mike1989]

Are you good with Hardaway at the 3,or off the bench?

I have no major issue with Hardaway playing the 3 next season. In an ideal world he would start at the 2 and that is possibly his best position, however he would only start at that position if we manage to upgrade the 3 through the draft, free agency, or a trade.

The other factor here is that next season is likely to be a struggle due to KP's injury unless something unexpected happens. With that in mind we can afford to keep Hardaway at the 3 for next season then evaluate where he fits long term. If we do draft Trae Young or Colin Sexton, I would say pairing them with Ntilikina is ideal because it allows us to continue their development and we can use Burke and Mudiay off the bench. If that back court clicks, we can either keep Hardaway at the 3 long term, move him to the bench or trade him if we manage to find an upgrade the 3. Even if we draft a player like Wendell Carter, I would still argue that we need to start Mudiay and Ntilikina or Burke and Ntilikina while continuing to use Hardaway at the 3 because it allows our young guards the most time to develop and show whether they have a long term future.

Young's athleticism/size/turnovers don't worry you Mike?

The question marks over his athleticism and size do not concern me. He has the skill set to make up for those deficiencies and we have seen other players with similar question marks have success. Having borderline to elite athleticism and size has not helped Emmanuel Mudiay make an impact, whereas CJ McCollum has made an impact despite lacking ideal athleticism and size. The best talent can make up for deficiencies in their game.

With that said, his turnover stat doesn't concern me enough to pass on him if he's available at #9. At that point in the draft you almost have to accept the talent are going to have question marks. If he can get himself into the same turnover range as Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry, they average 3 per game over their career, then that is acceptable. However, it is not the end of the world if he averages a handful of turnovers per game as long as the other areas of his game make up for it. Last season the MVP in the league was Russell Westbrook, he averaged 5.4 turnovers per game and his career average is 4 per game. The runner up in the MVP voting was James Harden, he averaged 5.7 turnovers per game and his career average is 4.4 per game in Houston. So if those two guys can ascend to the top of the league and be turnover prone, then Trae Young can still be successful if his current average is mirrored in the pros (it's currently 5.2) as long as the other areas of his game make up for it.

I just thing there are to many good Cs and Fs in the draft for us to be picking up a PG... Of course if we end up at 9 and and no other team has picked up either Sexton or Young we might have to consider it... But I stil believe the Magic are picking a guard unless they end up in the top 3...

KP is healing,Troy Williams is our SF,and Kanter could opt out..We have Mudiay, Burke and Frank.Unless we are drafting the next Westbrook/Curry/Jordan,we are going big...er

Currently the only starting player's names written in pen on our team sheet are Hardaway and Porzingis (when healthy). That means we have a need at three starting positions. Yes we have a young trio of guards on the books but none of them have taken the 1 or 2 guard spots and made it theirs and until they do we should keep our options open when it comes to the player we select in this year's draft. We are in talent acquisition mode. As such we should take the best player available at #9 and not worry about the current players on our roster. Obviously if we draft a big we need to account for their fit next to Porzingis, so if player A with a borderline all star ceiling fits better next to him than player B with an all star ceiling, then you have to make a choice between the best fit or the best player. But outside of that type of choice the team should be just getting the best talent whether they are a big or not.

[nazrmohamed]

well Trae is being compared to Curry...just sayin

and i still see Mikal is a 2 there really aren't any SF's in this lottery except maybe Knox and Miles....maybe

and when i say this i dont mean players like mikal cant play that position but what i mean is they wont be maximized at that position.

Well draft him anyway, we can maximize him later. However I do believe he looks a bit stockier than I last saw. Never know. Players go through transformations in the predraft process. Dude has more length than many 6'8 SFs

[Don Che]

good analysis and i agree Mike i just wanted to get an idea that i wasnt crazy for thinking the same thing.

would i put Trae inthe Harden/Westbrook category? no but i had more questions about Harden out of college than i did about Trae.

i just think he's the riskiest pick and as a franchise we tend to be risky with 30 year olds not 19 year olds.

and while i totally understand why Tim and KP are seen as starters as it stands...and i think as long as we are bad that makes sense but i hope that its Frank that ends up being either a part of the 3 other starters or him and KP are the starters and you have Tim be the 6th man on a good team. but building with Tim/KP or Frank/KP or Frank/Tim/KP is still similar. a big next to KP and a lead playmaker are the major issues. Having a defender with talent to be a scorer is a need also but i think the first 2 i listed are our main priority(unless we really think Kanter is the answer then you throw the defender/scorer as the 2nd priority)

Trae would be our main playmaker and having a foundation of Trae at the 1 and KP at the 5...you can make one of the best shooting teams in the NBA. also fast.

Its a risky decision but its def a consideration.

[rebound]

Bulls vs Knicks will be the difference between the 8th worst record or 9th.

[nazrmohamed]

The tank will not be stopped