The Official NBA Draft Day Thread 2014 Edition
- Thread starter Tetsujin
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I think I understand why we picked Stauskas. PDA is a numbers guy, maybe exclusively a numbers guy, and saw Stauskas as a way to improve our weakest position. What I don't understand is why we couldn't just pick up a sg in free agency. If we trade Ben it will be 2 years In a row of trading our top 5 pick.
Re Vonleh, I actually prefer Nik. I have no problem with the pick for the record. I think Nik is going to be a really good player and you have to love his work ethic and confidence. You just know he's going to squeeze out every last drop of potential he has. I'm just confused as to Ben - I don't think they can play together effectively as I don't think Nik can realistically play the one unless it's only for a couple of minutes. Did Malone really say he sees Ben as being able to guard PGs? Because that is madness and borderline delusional.
I'd feel much better about this if Ben was moved for a PG. I'm not comfortable going into next season with IT starting, and we still have a big hole at PF despite having a gluttony of players there. I'll give it time as FA hasn't started and there could be trades, but even though I like Nik and his game, I don't have much faith in the FO to get the right type of players at PF/PG. They don't seem to have a vision or plan and we're still going to suck defensively. Shame we couldn't have flipped Ben/Williams for Rondo, or even Peyton. Then trade for Sanders whose value can't be high.
I'd feel much better about this if Ben was moved for a PG. I'm not comfortable going into next season with IT starting, and we still have a big hole at PF despite having a gluttony of players there. I'll give it time as FA hasn't started and there could be trades, but even though I like Nik and his game, I don't have much faith in the FO to get the right type of players at PF/PG. They don't seem to have a vision or plan and we're still going to suck defensively. Shame we couldn't have flipped Ben/Williams for Rondo, or even Peyton. Then trade for Sanders whose value can't be high.
^This.....there is no way they go into this season with both Stauskus and Ben.....they know rookies tend to struggle with shooting and defense, they just do. Would love to trade Ben for Payton. At some point, you have to add defensive capable players. Maybe we are planning on starting Ray at PG, but if you re-sign IT, that ain't happening. Dennis Schroeder for Ben anyone?
I was expecting us to come out of the draft with a PG or PF. On the PF side I wasn't enamored with Gordon, Randle of Vonleh but I would have been okay with Gordon as a Marion type and would have been happy with Smart or Payton.
I don't mind the Stauskas pick but I wish we would have dealt McLemore for Payton.
Really disappointing to go from envisioning a Rondo/Gay/Josh Smith/Cousins team or even a Payton/Gay/Sanders/Cousins team to basically the same dysfunctional team as last season plus Stauskas. And that's assuming we even resign IT.
I went from hoping we'd get a starting PG that would either replace IT or push him to his ideal role as sixth man to being forced into hoping the front office resigns him just so the team doesn't get worse.
Sheesh.
I don't mind the Stauskas pick but I wish we would have dealt McLemore for Payton.
Really disappointing to go from envisioning a Rondo/Gay/Josh Smith/Cousins team or even a Payton/Gay/Sanders/Cousins team to basically the same dysfunctional team as last season plus Stauskas. And that's assuming we even resign IT.
I went from hoping we'd get a starting PG that would either replace IT or push him to his ideal role as sixth man to being forced into hoping the front office resigns him just so the team doesn't get worse.
Sheesh.
Do you guys all just parrot the same exact insults ("Gerbil" and "Low Hanging Fruit") towards PDA? I just keep reading the same two things over and over in this thread. Very original......get some new material fellas.
You guys can make fun of him all you want and call him a "gerbil", "loser", and say he doesn't know what he's doing. However at the end of the day he's getting paid for a dream job as the GM of a professional sports franchise. Smart and successful people thought he was qualified for the job and thought he could do the job. Maybe they were wrong and made a big mistake (time will tell) but the Kings brass are still going to come out as winners in life while some of the childish members of this forum have to resort to stewing in anger on a forum and calling people "gerbil".
For the record I question the pick too just because I think they could have drafted Stauskas somewhere in the 10-13 range, so you would think they would have been able to trade down slightly and at least get an additional early 2nd round pick or something while still getting their guy. Stauskas just doesn't seem like as big of an impact player as you would expect to draft in the 8th spot of a deep draft. He was a very "safe pick" to put it mildly.
Like it or not though he does fill a need (on one end). PDA and Malone have been saying for weeks and really even during last season that the team needed help with outside shooting and they just went out and got that. So many people in this thread who are apparently deaf or dumb keep saying that PDA and the Kings don't have a plan.......well when the coach and GM keep saying they need outside shooting over and over and they go out and draft exactly what they have been telling you......how is that not a plan? You may not like the plan and it may very well be the wrong plan but make no mistake they stuck to their plan.
You guys can make fun of him all you want and call him a "gerbil", "loser", and say he doesn't know what he's doing. However at the end of the day he's getting paid for a dream job as the GM of a professional sports franchise. Smart and successful people thought he was qualified for the job and thought he could do the job. Maybe they were wrong and made a big mistake (time will tell) but the Kings brass are still going to come out as winners in life while some of the childish members of this forum have to resort to stewing in anger on a forum and calling people "gerbil".
For the record I question the pick too just because I think they could have drafted Stauskas somewhere in the 10-13 range, so you would think they would have been able to trade down slightly and at least get an additional early 2nd round pick or something while still getting their guy. Stauskas just doesn't seem like as big of an impact player as you would expect to draft in the 8th spot of a deep draft. He was a very "safe pick" to put it mildly.
Like it or not though he does fill a need (on one end). PDA and Malone have been saying for weeks and really even during last season that the team needed help with outside shooting and they just went out and got that. So many people in this thread who are apparently deaf or dumb keep saying that PDA and the Kings don't have a plan.......well when the coach and GM keep saying they need outside shooting over and over and they go out and draft exactly what they have been telling you......how is that not a plan? You may not like the plan and it may very well be the wrong plan but make no mistake they stuck to their plan.
I think this was an outstanding pick for us. Most of the negativity right now comes down to the confusion of what direction we are going. I admit when Vonleh was still on the board I wanted us to take him, however the only information I had was from scouting reports as I had only watched a few games that he played in. The scouting reports looked good, but the more talked the more he bothered me. He wants to be a SF, he wants to be a great 3-point shooter, he wants to be like Kevin Durant, and he wants to be a good scorer off the dribble. What? I thought he had the potential to be a very good defender and rebounder, but it seems that he has other, more selfish goals.
I was kind of excited for the Rondo, SG, Gay, Smith, and Cousins lineup too, it seems like a fun team, but let's be real. That would never work, teams would clog the lane and we would never score. That's not as good a defensive team as it looks either.
I think a lot of people may be surprised as to what our backcourt will look like next season, remember Ranadive's idea of a no position team. They are not trading Ben McLemore, the front office thinks very highly of him. We didn't draft Stauskas with the #8 pick to be a backup. Stauskas has PG skills, shooting, ball handling, passing, creativity, and floor generalship. I think you will see them together and the lack of defense doesn't bother me. Great individual defenders don't make a good defensive team, it's all about team defense and our biggest hole here is at PF, it affects everything.
I was kind of excited for the Rondo, SG, Gay, Smith, and Cousins lineup too, it seems like a fun team, but let's be real. That would never work, teams would clog the lane and we would never score. That's not as good a defensive team as it looks either.
I think a lot of people may be surprised as to what our backcourt will look like next season, remember Ranadive's idea of a no position team. They are not trading Ben McLemore, the front office thinks very highly of him. We didn't draft Stauskas with the #8 pick to be a backup. Stauskas has PG skills, shooting, ball handling, passing, creativity, and floor generalship. I think you will see them together and the lack of defense doesn't bother me. Great individual defenders don't make a good defensive team, it's all about team defense and our biggest hole here is at PF, it affects everything.
it's their execution that's been problematic. many at kf.com were not fans of picking ben mclemore 7th last offseason. now, in an apparent attempt to correct that obvious mistake, the front office has drafted yet another SG with a duplicative skill set. yes, nik stauskas is a superior ball handler when compared to ben mclemore, but, statistically, they had very similar freshman seasons, and both of them figure to impact the game at the nba level in very similar ways should they achieve their potential...
unfortunately, there are consequences to that redundancy: 1) it drives the price down for ben mclemore in any subsequent trades, and 2) it increases the urgency to potentially overpay isaiah thomas, otherwise the kings are left with only ray mccallum at PG. i maintain that drafting a guy like elfrid payton or trading the 8th pick for veteran help were vastly preferable options to picking up another SG (the least essential position in the contemporary nba, in my opinion) who can't play defense. hell, a veteran dead-eye SG like anthony morrow could be had on the cheap in free agency this offseason, likely for less than the MLE...
unfortunately, there are consequences to that redundancy: 1) it drives the price down for ben mclemore in any subsequent trades, and 2) it increases the urgency to potentially overpay isaiah thomas, otherwise the kings are left with only ray mccallum at PG. i maintain that drafting a guy like elfrid payton or trading the 8th pick for veteran help were vastly preferable options to picking up another SG (the least essential position in the contemporary nba, in my opinion) who can't play defense. hell, a veteran dead-eye SG like anthony morrow could be had on the cheap in free agency this offseason, likely for less than the MLE...
After pondering my own feelings of disappointment on this draft, I've concluded that my dissapointment doesn't lie in the picking of Stauskas. At #8, I like the pick. Like others, I thought of Stauskas when we first discussed PDA's comments several weeks ago about wanting a versatile shooter. So what happened from the time we were all talking about Stauskas and now? A lot of hype is what happened. The obscure transparency of this regime has created rumors, hopes, scenarios, and excitement. Now at the end of the draft we stand where we began - with Stauskas. More than anything it tells me that this organization should shut the heck up. Petrie kept his mouth shut for a reason. The self aggrandizing publicity-seeking GM needs to put a sock in it until something actually happens. Secondly, the schizophrenia of this organization is starting to grate on my sensibilities. Case in point: Josh Smith. This is an organization that from its inception preached they wanted to change the culture. So of course they want to ponder bringing in Josh Smith to change it. Really? There are instances where the apprarent contradictions may be just paradoxes to the uninformed. But I can't for the life of me see how even contemplating Josh Smith is congruent with their game plan of changing the culture of this organization. Some apparent contradictions are just that - contradictions.
I have slept on it and I still have the same thoughts as last night.
This pick makes no sense unless we plan to move BMac and get a PG. If we go by what was said last night at the press conference then we're screwed. Spending 2 lottery picks on 2 SGs in back to back years is just idiotic. I really hope they weren't serious about playing Mac and Stauskas at PG/SG. That's a disaster waiting to happen.
This pick makes no sense unless we plan to move BMac and get a PG. If we go by what was said last night at the press conference then we're screwed. Spending 2 lottery picks on 2 SGs in back to back years is just idiotic. I really hope they weren't serious about playing Mac and Stauskas at PG/SG. That's a disaster waiting to happen.
here's one of those rare occasions where i agree with you; in a vacuum, i suppose i don't mind the stauskas pick so much. but, with the necessary context, the last few weeks have been one massive head-scratcher capped off with a draft day selection that would appear exceedingly redundant if not for ben mclemore's historically inept rookie season. the only hope i'm allowing myself right now is in recognizing that there's still a month remaining in which major offseason acquisitions typically occur. there's still so much work to be done, but i'm not holding my breath that the make-up of this roster will have improved considerably when it's all said and done...
McLemore and Stauskas both play the same position, but I think it's unfair to say the two are that similar outside of that. I watched just about every Michigan game over the past two seasons and his improvement from his freshman and sophomore years is probably the most impressive thing about him. In his freshman year he was the 4th or 5th option on that team, a spot-up shooter from the corner, a 3-point specialist, that was about it. The next year Burke and Hardaway Jr. were drafted, Robinson III underachieved, and McGary got hurt. How much do you expect from a guy like Stauskas in a horrible scenario like that? Probably not much. However all he did was add a ton of new elements to his game, became the star of that team, won the Big 10 Player of the Year award, and was one late 3-pointer away against Kentucky from taking his team to the Final Four. He had to play almost every minute because when he left the game things almost always went bad.
Point being, McLemore is more potential, Stauskas also has potential, but he has proven that he can deliver when having to shoulder the load. He can step up. Now I hope McLemore can too and I believe that he will.
Now in terms of skill sets. Right now McLemore is a catch and shoot player who could be a successful penetrator if he chose to do it more, please finish with layups instead of dunks right now though. Stauskas can run an offense. His ball handling, passing, and ability to see the floor are excellent. Defensively he does have work to do and is a bit slow laterally, but I don't care as much about individual defense as team defense and his team defense will be fine, he is a competitor with a high basketball IQ. Now I hope both McLemore and Stauskas can do well and I think they can, but they are not the same style of player and Stauskas brings way more to the table than Anthony Morrow.
Point being, McLemore is more potential, Stauskas also has potential, but he has proven that he can deliver when having to shoulder the load. He can step up. Now I hope McLemore can too and I believe that he will.
Now in terms of skill sets. Right now McLemore is a catch and shoot player who could be a successful penetrator if he chose to do it more, please finish with layups instead of dunks right now though. Stauskas can run an offense. His ball handling, passing, and ability to see the floor are excellent. Defensively he does have work to do and is a bit slow laterally, but I don't care as much about individual defense as team defense and his team defense will be fine, he is a competitor with a high basketball IQ. Now I hope both McLemore and Stauskas can do well and I think they can, but they are not the same style of player and Stauskas brings way more to the table than Anthony Morrow.
I didn't see this until after I last posted. I think this is where we are at right now, confused as to the direction. It would be nice to get some clarity about this. We may not know about Isaiah Thomas for awhile, it's all about how long it takes him to negotiate with other teams. Do we still have a mid-level to offer or does that not apply anymore? Outside of this I'm not sure how much ability we have to make moves, not a lot of assets to trade.
it should be noted that i'm not comparing the two players' talent and skill level side-by-side; i'm comparing the ways in which they will have an impact on the game at the nba level, provided each reaches his full potential...
both mclemore and stauskas are going to make their living beyond the 3-point line. of course there will be other areas of the game that they impact, but those guys are out there to shoot the ball, plain and simple. mclemore's elite athleticism will help him get to the rim on occasion in spite of his lack of ball handling ability, and stauskas' ball handling ability will help him get to the rim on occasion in spite of his lack of elite athleticism. i don't expect either to become an elite defender, though there's certainly room for both to become adequate defenders. but again, more than anything, mclemore and stauskas will be on the court in order to get buckets, to spread the floor so that guys like cousins and gay can work more effectively in the post...
stauskas certainly appears to have a higher basketball IQ than mclemore, and i grant you that he's likely to be a better playmaker than mclemore, but i do not believe the differences in their game are enough to justify picking SG's in back-to-back drafts. let me put it this way: if ben mclemore has even an average rookie season in which he's not costing the team wins with his utter lack of production, do you think nik stauskas is even on the kings' radar? and if he is in that instance, i genuinely question what this new regime is attempting to accomplish...
both mclemore and stauskas are going to make their living beyond the 3-point line. of course there will be other areas of the game that they impact, but those guys are out there to shoot the ball, plain and simple. mclemore's elite athleticism will help him get to the rim on occasion in spite of his lack of ball handling ability, and stauskas' ball handling ability will help him get to the rim on occasion in spite of his lack of elite athleticism. i don't expect either to become an elite defender, though there's certainly room for both to become adequate defenders. but again, more than anything, mclemore and stauskas will be on the court in order to get buckets, to spread the floor so that guys like cousins and gay can work more effectively in the post...
stauskas certainly appears to have a higher basketball IQ than mclemore, and i grant you that he's likely to be a better playmaker than mclemore, but i do not believe the differences in their game are enough to justify picking SG's in back-to-back drafts. let me put it this way: if ben mclemore has even an average rookie season in which he's not costing the team wins with his utter lack of production, do you think nik stauskas is even on the kings' radar? and if he is in that instance, i genuinely question what this new regime is attempting to accomplish...
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