Now that we know the draft order, who do we draft? (New thread)

Well, it sounds like Philly is kind of deadset at trying Simmons at literal PG on the offensive side. If so, then Monk becomes even more perfect for them, as a great shooter from the 2 who then slips over to guard the 1 on the defensive end (because Simmons will have to switch up). While you can never have too many passers, the Sixers might well be wasting Ball's skills if they want to essentially play him as a 2. But Monk at #3 is probably a bit of a reach, whereas maybe not so much at 5. I don't think Ball will slip past the Lakers, but if he did I can see Philly thinking they don't need him as much as they need Monk + whatever else it takes.

It's the "whatever else it takes" that I'm not sure about - what Philly would demand and what exactly I'd be willing to give up.
The Suns likely dont take a PG, so Sixers pick is pivotal.
 
Ball scares me too! Ball scares me because he's going to be winning games for the Lakers for years to come. THAT scares me!
The Laker hate has worn off with Bryant retiring...for me at least. Back to just another team. Like when they had Van Exel and Ceballos.
Bryant was my numero uno hated. Hated the Jazz for a long time too. Actually right now there are no really hate-worthy teams , for me....
 
I wanted Cauley-Stein, Cousins and Kevin Martin. Outside of those three draft picks the Kings have never drafted the guy(s) I wanted.

I still remember yelling at the TV when they passed on John Wallace for some guy from Greece I'd never heard of . . .
I was shocked when the Kings passed on Ricky Rubio and chose Tyreke. Sometimes I wonder how Rubio would have worked out in Sacramento.
 
The Laker hate has worn off with Bryant retiring...for me at least. Back to just another team. Like when they had Van Exel and Ceballos.
Bryant was my numero uno hated. Hated the Jazz for a long time too. Actually right now there are no really hate-worthy teams , for me....
Not even the Warriors? That's my #1 at the moment. A lot of it is the fact that from when I started watching basketball in the early 90's until about 2012....I can't remember ever seeing a single Warriors fan around Sacramento. I don't remember any Dampier, Jamison, Richardson, Foyle etc jerseys.

But now when I'm out and about, there are far more Warriors fans than Kings fans. It's the bandwagon that bugs me. Plus Draymond is easy to not like (wish we had him) and Durant is now easy to root against since he's obviously a coat tail rider and not a trail blazer (not the team) himself. I have far more respect for Westbrook for trying to do it the right way.
 
I wanted Cauley-Stein, Cousins and Kevin Martin. Outside of those three draft picks the Kings have never drafted the guy(s) I wanted.

I still remember yelling at the TV when they passed on John Wallace for some guy from Greece I'd never heard of . . .
I had heard Petrie refer to Peja as "Larry Bird Lite" so I was OK with that pick.
 
Lakers are also really intent on space for next season. Magic Johnson talked about getting a couple of max FAs next year they have their eye on. If they aren't convinced about Ball, would you take on one or even both Deng/Mozgov to move up to 2 from 5? I wouldn't, as I'm not the biggest Ball believer
 
Lakers are also really intent on space for next season. Magic Johnson talked about getting a couple of max FAs next year they have their eye on. If they aren't convinced about Ball, would you take on one or even both Deng/Mozgov to move up to 2 from 5? I wouldn't, as I'm not the biggest Ball believer
Take one of the and just give up the 5?

Heck yeah I would.
 
I'd honestly rather have Isaac and Ntilikina than Tatum and Ntilikina.
Why though? Tatum is the only guy out of Isaac/Ntilikina who actually shows the offensive skills+aggression to be a franchise player. As of right now, we still don't have one. I'd be extremely disappointed in an Isaac/Ntilkina draft...especially if our pick was at #5.
 
Wow, a trip down memory lane. Let me see. I didn't have Martin on my radar. Obviously I wanted Cauley-Stein. I wanted Cousins, Tyreke, Lillard, Leonard, I really liked Leonard. I had Klay Thompson on my list, and he turned out better than I thought. I did like McLemore that year, but it was a weak draft and I did have some reservations about him and I had McCollum on my list. I wanted Sean Elliot over Pervis Ellison. I was screaming at my TV for the Kings to pick Karl Malone over Joe Kleine. I wanted Kevin Johnson, who I loved over Kenny Smith, although he wasn't a bad choice.

Digging through my old notes here. I had Bobby Hurley, Allan Houston, and George Lynch on my list in that draft. I had Jalen Rose, and ouch, Yinka Dare on my list. I had Bob Sura and Michael Finley over Corliss. The year we drafted Peja, who I had never heard of. I wanted Kobe, based solely on rumors out of LA, and the Kings front office, or Steve Nash or Ilgauskas, who Peja apparently destroyed in an individual workout. I prayed that the Kings didn't draft John Wallace.

I desperately wanted Tracy McGrady to slide to us and he almost did. I had no idea who Olivier Saint-Jean was. I had both Vince Carter and Jason Williams on my list, and sadly, I was in love with Michael Olowokandi, who went number one in that draft. I had never heard of Hedo Turkoglu, and wanted Jamal Crawford, who I loved, but knew he would probably be gone before we picked. My choice that year was Deshawn Stevenson. I wanted Jason Thompson in what was a weak draft.

Finally, I had Joakim Noah at the top of my list, and Spencer Hawes second. We almost got him. I won't even mention Quincy Douby, wait, I just did. In fairness to Petrie, that was a very weak draft to be drafting that low. Unfortunaely for Petrie, one of his biggest steals went and killed himself. One can only wonder how good Ricky Berry might have been. More recently, I did have Nik Stauskas as my choice. Still haven't given up on him. Come on Nik, don't make me look bad.
Wow lots of hits Baja! Impressive repertoire. I'm still not sure how Stauskas has ended up as bad as he has.... I just don't know. Kings must've destroyed the crap out of his confidence...
 
Not even the Warriors? That's my #1 at the moment. A lot of it is the fact that from when I started watching basketball in the early 90's until about 2012....I can't remember ever seeing a single Warriors fan around Sacramento. I don't remember any Dampier, Jamison, Richardson, Foyle etc jerseys.

But now when I'm out and about, there are far more Warriors fans than Kings fans. It's the bandwagon that bugs me. Plus Draymond is easy to not like (wish we had him) and Durant is now easy to root against since he's obviously a coat tail rider and not a trail blazer (not the team) himself. I have far more respect for Westbrook for trying to do it the right way.
I can't stand what I perceive as vanity/arrogance/poor-sportsmanship in Sports - mostly why I couldn't stand Bryant. Used to dislike Rick Fox and to a lesser degree O'Neal (when on the Lakers). Green is a little bit much but I think he's just having fun and being fiery. And Durant pulled a Karl Malone, although I think they win this year. Everyone's looking forward to the Finals again as a foregone conclusion. The Celtics are punching above their weight, and the Spurs are too banged up. I still don't mind or am neutral about the Warriors (unless they play the Kings) - I think they're fun to watch.
I liked them better when they beat Dallas as an 8 seed quite a few years ago. When you're picking up Andre Igoudalas as a bench player, you know things are going well. Livingston is also big for them. He made the game winning play for the nail-biter WCF game 1 this year.

For example though with the NFL I still have hated teams (players). It just takes one particular player for me.
Seahawks with Sherman, or Brady on New England. Although the Superbowl with Seahawks and Patriots was a great game, it was horrible watching 2 teams I didn't want to win, highly irritating.

I understand Supersonics fans disappointment. Teams move away and allegiances fade. Some people like organizations for the home team, or once the home team. People themselves move and pick up the home team after they move.....anyway I'm blabbering....
Bandwagon fans are funny folks...Seahawks have a bunch of loyal fans, but the bandwagoners have come out of the woodwork too there. Fairweathers are Fickle and cannot stand watching teams fail to the point where they jump-ship. Or they love watching winning teams and jump from win to win to always "be" with a winner. Loyalty is a pretty big attribute imo. What fun is always cheering Goliath? If all things are neutral I often go underdog.
 
Why though? Tatum is the only guy out of Isaac/Ntilikina who actually shows the offensive skills+aggression to be a franchise player. As of right now, we still don't have one. I'd be extremely disappointed in an Isaac/Ntilkina draft...especially if our pick was at #5.
My concern with Tatum is whether he can be as effective as a scorer in the NBA. He definitely struggled when matched up with guys his size who had similar or greater athleticism. As a guy who makes his living as an iso scorer that worries me. I like Tatum a lot, but I have a different view than most experts who call him a very safe pick. I think he's much more boom or bust. Either he's a go-to scorer for a team or he struggles to find his niche. But that's just my view.

Unless his workouts really blow people away I would be disappointed taking Isaac at 5 too. I think if Fultz, Ball, Jackson and Fox go 1-4 I'd probably want the Kings to take Dennis Smith Jr and just hope in the NBA that he can play with a consistent motor and competitiveness.
 
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Would be more surprised with Bledsoe, although I haven't been following - he injured?
Bledsoe had knee soreness and they shut him down for the last 14 games. To me that was an obvious sign of a tank. I think if the games mattered Bledsoe would have played through it.

Of course, not staying healthy has been the tough thing with having Bledsoe as your starting PG. It's why I fear the Suns could go after Fox.

But I think right now it's most likely that they take the SF that is left out of Tatum and Jackson at 4 and Fox falls to the Kings. Assuming Philly doesn't trade back for a team that wants to go up and get Fox.
 
Bledsoe had knee soreness and they shut him down for the last 14 games. To me that was an obvious sign of a tank. I think if the games mattered Bledsoe would have played through it.

Of course, not staying healthy has been the tough thing with having Bledsoe as your starting PG. It's why I fear the Suns could go after Fox.

But I think right now it's most likely that they take the SF that is left out of Tatum and Jackson at 4 and Fox falls to the Kings. Assuming Philly doesn't trade back for a team that wants to go up and get Fox.
As far as I'm concerned if Tatum gets picked in the first 3 by chance, its pure gravy for the Kings who hopefully would get either Fox or Jackson. This assumes Ball doesn't slip. Smith Jr would be fine with me too. I think most fans here like Fox and Isaac. I wouldn't mind Fox and Collins/Markannen either. Jackson and Frank would be great too as you get 2 defensively focused players to round the roster better. Defense is infectious especially in basketball with the tight spacing. In that case Kings might want to resign Collison more for offense. The Kings arguably have the best draft prospects of any team this year thanks to the Cousins trade. If the guys aren't there that they want, why not trade down and stock a late 1st next year with mid-teens player and go after Juwan Evans....that would be a backup plan.
 
I think Fox could end up being the best player in the draft.. Sadly, I think he'll end up going higher than people think.
I think the Suns take him. Fultz and Ball are locks for the top 2 picks. Brett Brown has said multiple times he plans to play Simmons at the point. Fox has shown he needs the ball in his hands to really be effective. Doesn't make much sense for the 76ers to take him. If you look at their roster their only glaring need is shooting guard. I honestly think they reach and take Malik Monk. He makes the most sense next to Simmons, but he completely goes against the 76ers past history of drafting bpa. The Suns have Bledsoe at point, but I can easily see them deciding to move on from him. A Fox and Booker back court. will probably be too much for the Suns to pass up. Plus TJ Warren has looked solid at small forward. I actually think the top 10 picks will play out like this barring any trades.

Celtics - Fultz
Lakers - Ball
76ers - Monk
Suns - Fox
Kings - Jackson
Magic - Tatum
Wolves - Isaac
Knicks - Smith Jr
Mavericks - Markannen
Kings - Ntilikina
 
Jackson is my dream. He's an amazing athlete and a really good defender but he's much more than just that. He flashes great offensive potential albeit inconsistently. He makes some really wow type of plays and I'm not just talking about dunks. I may be crazy but part of me wants Vlade et al. to try and trade up for him.
 
As far as I'm concerned if Tatum gets picked in the first 3 by chance, its pure gravy for the Kings who hopefully would get either Fox or Jackson. This assumes Ball doesn't slip. Smith Jr would be fine with me too. I think most fans here like Fox and Isaac. I wouldn't mind Fox and Collins/Markannen either. Jackson and Frank would be great too as you get 2 defensively focused players to round the roster better. Defense is infectious especially in basketball with the tight spacing. In that case Kings might want to resign Collison more for offense. The Kings arguably have the best draft prospects of any team this year thanks to the Cousins trade. If the guys aren't there that they want, why not trade down and stock a late 1st next year with mid-teens player and go after Juwan Evans....that would be a backup plan.
I'm very high on Evans but I don't know if he can be a starting level PG in the NBA. He measured out with a slightly bigger wingspan than I expected so that's a plus. He's also probably the best playmaking guard in this draft after Ball.

Depending on who is taken at 5 and who is left at #10 I could see trading back with Portland (if they want #10) for #15 & 20 or #26 and targeting Evans.

Or if the Kings end up with a SF at #5 (Jackson, Tatum, Isaac) and land Ntilikina at #10 then trading up using their 2nd rounder and another asset to get back in the late 1st for Evans makes a lot of sense too. Evans could be a nice change of pace guard to pair with Ntilikina.
 
I think the Suns take him. Fultz and Ball are locks for the top 2 picks. Brett Brown has said multiple times he plans to play Simmons at the point. Fox has shown he needs the ball in his hands to really be effective. Doesn't make much sense for the 76ers to take him. If you look at their roster their only glaring need is shooting guard. I honestly think they reach and take Malik Monk. He makes the most sense next to Simmons, but he completely goes against the 76ers past history of drafting bpa. The Suns have Bledsoe at point, but I can easily see them deciding to move on from him. A Fox and Booker back court. will probably be too much for the Suns to pass up. Plus TJ Warren has looked solid at small forward. I actually think the top 10 picks will play out like this barring any trades.

Celtics - Fultz
Lakers - Ball
76ers - Monk
Suns - Fox
Kings - Jackson
Magic - Tatum
Wolves - Isaac
Knicks - Smith Jr
Mavericks - Markannen
Kings - Ntilikina
The Sixers taking Monk at #3 would be ideal. I think in that scenario that the Suns jump on Jackson but even if they did take Fox it would still mean the Kings get a guy I really like.

But I think it's more likely that if Philly wants Monk they trade down to do it. They know it's unlikely that the Suns take him so there'd be little risk in a trade down with the Kings. They'd probably ask for #5 & #10 but I don't think I'd do that just to guarantee Fox or Jackson.

I WOULD do it if somehow Ball slipped to #3
 
My concern with Tatum is whether he can be as effective as a scorer in the NBA. He definitely struggled when matched up with guys his size who had similar or greater athleticism. As a guy who makes his living as an iso scorer that worries me. I like Tatum a lot, but I have a different view than most experts who call him a very safe pick. I think he's much more boom or bust. Either he's a go-to scorer for a team or he struggles to find his niche. But that's just my view.

Unless his workouts really blow people away I would be disappointed taking Isaac at 5 too. I think if Fultz, Ball, Jackson and Fox go 1-4 I'd probably want the Kings to take Dennis Smith Jr and just hope in the NBA that he can play with a consistent motor and competitiveness.
Tatum reminds me of a less athletic Rudy. While the NBA has trended away from ISO ball, I think Tatum will still be able to find a spot somewhere. I think the Kings really need to find a go-to scorer in this draft. At #5, I think the realistic options could be(in no order); Monk, DSJ, Fox, and Tatum.

I really like Isaac too, but not at #5. I think he has one of the highest upsides, but his lack of scoring aggression doesn't warrant the 5th overall pick for me. Especially when there's 4-5 other talented players who have better chances at becoming a #1 or #2 scoring option.
 
Not even the Warriors? That's my #1 at the moment. A lot of it is the fact that from when I started watching basketball in the early 90's until about 2012....I can't remember ever seeing a single Warriors fan around Sacramento. I don't remember any Dampier, Jamison, Richardson, Foyle etc jerseys.

But now when I'm out and about, there are far more Warriors fans than Kings fans. It's the bandwagon that bugs me. Plus Draymond is easy to not like (wish we had him) and Durant is now easy to root against since he's obviously a coat tail rider and not a trail blazer (not the team) himself. I have far more respect for Westbrook for trying to do it the right way.
I lived in the Bay before they won their chip. I don't think I EVER seen anyone wearing GSW gear.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
The Laker hate has worn off with Bryant retiring...for me at least. Back to just another team. Like when they had Van Exel and Ceballos.
Bryant was my numero uno hated. Hated the Jazz for a long time too. Actually right now there are no really hate-worthy teams , for me....
I really would like for the rivalry to be renewed. I just want the Kings to beat them in every meaningful contest of the rivalry.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
I agree. I can squint hard and picture a scenario where Thibs sees Markkanen as plug and play and a much needed floor spacer while thinking Isaac is too raw for his liking but u don't think that's realistic.

I think Isaac is too talented and a great fit for what Thibodeau wants to do defensively.
After this past year, I think Thibs hates all rookies. I'm still looking for a trade where he gets veteran help.
 
There's just no way I want Ball on the Kings. We took a chance on an uber-talented kid with baggage before and I personally am just not ready to go through all the drama again...and I think we can all agree there WOULD be drama. Ball belongs in LA where drama is a way of life. I wish him well, but I truly hope the only time he steps foot in G1C is to play against the Kings twice a year.
The only way you could justify it is by endorsing the fact that it is Ball's family and not the kid himself that is bringing the noise. Im sure Vlade wont go there but he has a way of twisting his words and justifying things beyond reason.

Im glad the Lakers are taking a liking to Ball. He and his family fit well in LA but id much rather see him end up elsewhere for a good laugh. Ainge could deal the first pick to a team who promises to take Ball. That would be a hoot.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
You said about Ball: " He's got funky shot, the inability to turn the corner or penetrate consistently, struggles to guard quick PGs and hasn't shown that he can be nearly as effective in the half court and running the pick and roll.....Now you say you'd trade #5 and #10 for him?!? :eek: What am I missing?!?

If you would be willing to make this deal (two Top 10 picks in loaded draft, potentially Fox and Collins) then you are projecting Ball as All-Star to justify your valuation. But you also just said you don't know if he will a star or solid pro? Your logic is all over the place, i.e. illogical. You either need to go all-in on Ball and project him as transcendent talent or reconsider how many assets you would hypothetically give up for him.

Among the reasons I am down on Ball since I first started to scout him (before he got schooled in tourney) is because he is lanky player. He has a higher center of gravity. His lateral mobility is compromised. Now he does use quick choppy steps but smaller guards are going to blow by unless his defensive anticipation is consistently extraordinary.

He has some separation ability with juke moves but he has a high dribble and junk to his game. I saw a player vs Kentucky who was SCARED to expose his dribble to Fox or else get picked. Ball gives up his dribble too soon instead of maintaining dribble under pressure and deep penetration into lane. Then if you watch his highlight clips you will see that a lot of plays are under little to NO ball pressure. This is because of quality of opponent AND the attention his teammates demanded.

Where does this leave us? Talented passer. Good court vision. Ricky Rubio-esque with more range on his shot. But with that corkscrew jumper are you going to trust that shot? I don't trust it. Now maybe I am wrong. But I don't think so. All you can do when drafting is bet probabilities. It is probable Ball maxes out as Rubio with a better shot and poorer defender, a 8/10/5 with average efficiency. That's near bust relative to being picked Top 5 and certainly not someone you'd relinquish 5th and 10th pick. I will bet my reputation Fox will be the better pro next year and rest of their careers.

If you can get Fox at #5 vs Ball at #3 plus #10, then you are effectively trading for the lesser player AND giving away the 10th pick for free! Sorry that does not jive.
I hate guys with weird corkscrew shots. I hate the way it looks. I hate everything about it. Except when the ball goes in. Then for some strange reason I forgive the guy with the weird shot, guys like Jamaal Wilkes, Reggie Miller, Kevin Martin, even Larry Bird. I couldn't stand the way they shot the ball. It's rude, it's unsymmetrical, it's just ugly. Eventually, I learned to live with it.