NBA Draft thread

[Dawg61]

First two picks are locks. Townes #1 Okafor #2 and Russell should go #3. Some very good players in this draft.

[msstate7]

Do we have anyone getting drafted tonight?**

[messageboardsuperhero]

Do we have anyone getting drafted tonight?**

Bloodman expected to come off the board late in the first round.

[Dawg61]

Russell goes #2, that's surprising and risky imo. Okafor is damn good.

[Dawg61]

Knicks fans crying and booing their #4 pick Kristaps Porzingis. Brutal fans! Guy didn't bat an eye. He's about 4" taller than Durant and 20-30 lbs heavier. Can really stroke it. Very interesting pick. Best shooter in the draft and he's 7'1!! Wow

[msstate7]

Nicks fans crying and booing their #4 pick Kristaps Porzingis. Brutal fans! Guy didn't bat an eye. He's about 4" taller than Durant and 20-30 lbs heavier. Can really stroke it. Very interesting pick. Best shooter in the draft and he's 7'1!! Wow

Who did they want?

[Dawg61]

Who did they want?

Justice Winslow big tough guard from Duke. Kristaps is a freak though so they might like the pick soon.

[msstate7]

I can't wait to actually be interested in the nba draft again. Hoping we start putting a player in it every year

[Rayburn8]

Miami with the steal of the draft, in my completely unbiased opinion.

Pg-Dragic
Sg-Wade(I hope)
Sf-Winslow
Pf-Bosh
C-Whiteside

GG NBA

[DistrictDawg92]

Kentucky's team this year might have been the most talented college basketball team ever. 4 of top 13 picks. That's unbelievable

[RDawg90]

Russell, Johnson, and Mudiay the best 3 picks of the draft in my opinion…. Lyles and Booker are great fits as well. I think Okahfor is going to be a good pro, but it was a pointless pick for the 76rs with Noel and Embiid already on the roster.

[DudyDawg]

Russell goes #2, that's surprising and risky imo. Okafor is damn good.

No need for okafor. They freed up space for Kevin love or lamarcus Aldridge. Zero risk in this pick. Get a great scoring guard who gets Kobe to teach him before retiring.

[HSVDawg]

Kentucky's team this year might have been the most talented college basketball team ever. 4 of top 13 picks. That's unbelievable

And yet they still couldn't win it all or even play for the title. Goes to show that Cal's coaching acumen is directly tied to his recruiting. He's like Stansbury on steroids. If he was anywhere near Coach K, Roy Williams, or Bill Self's X's and O's ability he'd be the next John Wooden but instead he gets to just play the role of pimp for the one and dones.

[RDawg90]

And yet they still couldn't win it all or even play for the title. Goes to show that Cal's coaching acumen is directly tied to his recruiting. He's like Stansbury on steroids. If he was anywhere near Coach K, Roy Williams, or Bill Self's X's and O's ability he'd be the next John Wooden but instead he gets to just play the role of pimp for the one and dones.


John Calipari is so much better than Bill Self… Not even close.

[msstate7]

And yet they still couldn't win it all or even play for the title. Goes to show that Cal's coaching acumen is directly tied to his recruiting. He's like Stansbury on steroids. If he was anywhere near Coach K, Roy Williams, or Bill Self's X's and O's ability he'd be the next John Wooden but instead he gets to just play the role of pimp for the one and dones.

How many titles have self and Williams won? I'm not a cal fan, but the dude is one hell of a coach. How many final fours have umass and Memphis been to since he left?

[RDawg90]

How many titles have self and Williams won? I'm not a cal fan, but the dude is one hell of a coach. How many final fours have umass and Memphis been to since he left?


I think Roy Williams is better than Cal… He has a long track record of being an elite coach and recruiter. But to suggest that Bill Self is better than Cal is laughable. Plus I really don't think people understand how hard it is to get basically a brand new team to come together, swallow their pride, accept smaller roles than they would get ANYWHERE else, and win at the highest level in a matter of months… And Cal does that year after year.

[BeardoMSU]

how hard it is to get basically a brand new team to come together, swallow their pride, accept smaller roles

And playing both sides of the court. It's tough getting that many blue-chippers to buy into playing D.

[HSVDawg]

John Calipari is so much better than Bill Self… Not even close.

Overall, I mostly agree. They have the same number of national titles though despite Calipari having far more talent to work with over the past 7 years, and Self beat Cal head to head for his. Regardless, my point was more about how much Cal relies on using the UK network and Nike connections to land unreal talent to build his legacy. Nothing he does on gameday is even remotely special. The fact that he only has one title with the teams he has put together since 09 is pretty damn underwhelming.

[msstate7]

I think Roy Williams is better than Cal… He has a long track record of being an elite coach and recruiter. But to suggest that Bill Self is better than Cal is laughable. Plus I really don't think people understand how hard it is to get basically a brand new team to come together, swallow their pride, accept smaller roles than they would get ANYWHERE else, and win at the highest level in a matter of months… And Cal does that year after year.

Williams took over an established Kansas program after Larry brown and then unc.

Umass and Memphis were no where close to those level programs, yet cal took them to final 4's. Cal is every bit the coach Williams is imo

[RDawg90]

Overall, I mostly agree. They have the same number of national titles though despite Calipari having far more talent to work with over the past 7 years, and Self beat Cal head to head for his. Regardless, my point was more about how much Cal relies on using the UK network and Nike connections to land unreal talent to build his legacy. Nothing he does on gameday is even remotely special. The fact that he only has one title with the teams he has put together since 09 is pretty damn underwhelming.


In all fairness to Cal's recruiting ability, he did sign Tyreke Evans and Derrick Rose at Memphis, and John Wall, Boogie Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe were on their way to play for the Tigers as well…. Say what you want, but Cal is 190-38 at Kentucky. I don't care what kind of talent you have, winning 83% of your games when you have a new roster year after year is pretty damn impressive to me. Not to mention the Four Final Fours, a national runner up, and the national title he's accumulated at Kentucky in six years.

[msstate7]

I know you can't judge entirely on this, but here's winning %'s...

Cal -- .773
K -- .767
Self -- .753
Williams -- .788

[Dawg61]

76ers did a fantastic job of ruining their draft. They had six picks and I've only heard of two of them (Okafor, Tokoto). All besides Okafor are projects not ready to play next year. Wtf are the 76ers doing? They drafted four other PF/C after already drafting Noel and Embiid previously and now Okafor. I love the Okafor and Tokoto picks but the other four they wasted I think.

Here's who they could have drafted instead.

Josh Richardson Tennessee
Pat Connaughton Notre Dame
Joseph Young Oregon
Andrew Harrison UK
Branden Dawson Mich St.
Arron Harrison UK

they wouldn't get all these players but I think they did a horrible job with their six picks besides Okafor

[RDawg90]

I think there is a 50/50 chance that Embiid plays less than 2 seasons in the NBA.

[Dawg61]

I think there is a 50/50 chance that Embiid plays less than 2 seasons in the NBA.

Certainly leaning in that direction right now which is a shame cause Embiid is a special talent. He runs like a deer. I hope he gets fully healthy.

[RDawg90]

Okafor is probably a good pick considering that… Him and Noel are a nice C/PF combo to build on in the eastern conference. Embiid, Turner, and Carter-Williams were wasted picks for them. They should be picking in the lottery next year. If they can grab a good point (Melo Trimble) or a nice combo guard (Malik Newman, Antonio Blakeney, Jaylen Brown, Caris Lavert) they would be playoff contenders.

[MzTerry]

Kentucky's team this year might have been the most talented college basketball team ever. 4 of top 13 picks. That's unbelievable

Devin Booker will be such a bust at 13

[Brad Stevens]

I think Roy Williams is better than Cal? He has a long track record of being an elite coach and recruiter. But to suggest that Bill Self is better than Cal is laughable. Plus I really don't think people understand how hard it is to get basically a brand new team to come together, swallow their pride, accept smaller roles than they would get ANYWHERE else, and win at the highest level in a matter of months? And Cal does that year after year.

I could not disagree more with this post and your previous post. Yes, Cal is THE elite recruiter, and yes he does a good job of getting kids to buy into less playing time. However, his actual game planning and in-game coaching is not great (and it doesn't have to be with the talent he acquires year after year).

Do you realize Bill Self has won 11 straight Big 12 regular season championships? That's unheard of in any conference in any sport. If you give me the same set of players and tell me to pick a coach to prepare them and then provide in-game coaching, I take Self 10 times out of 10.

[msstate7]

I could not disagree more with this post and your previous post. Yes, Cal is THE elite recruiter, and yes he does a good job of getting kids to buy into less playing time. However, his actual game planning and in-game coaching is not great (and it doesn't have to be with the talent he acquires year after year).

Do you realize Bill Self has won 11 straight Big 12 regular season championships? That's unheard of in any conference in any sport. If you give me the same set of players and tell me to pick a coach to prepare them and then provide in-game coaching, I take Self 10 times out of 10.

What if someone asked you to put together a team to coach? A huge part of being a college coach is putting together a team.

I think if you gave the same team of players to nick saban and Gary pinkel that pinkel could probably do a better job. Would I argue pinkel is a better coach? Heck no

[HSVDawg]

I could not disagree more with this post and your previous post. Yes, Cal is THE elite recruiter, and yes he does a good job of getting kids to buy into less playing time. However, his actual game planning and in-game coaching is not great (and it doesn't have to be with the talent he acquires year after year).

Exactly. Overall (and by overall I mean in terms of recruiting, motivation, and game day coaching), Cal is definitely a top 5 coach nationally. I don't think anyone would dispute that. However, compared to the other elite coaches he is weak as a game day X's and O's guy, and probably average as a motivator. That weakness has come back to bite his Memphis and UK teams when the stakes have been the highest.

Look no further than this past year's NCAA tournament as evidence. In the Sweet 16 game against West Virginia it was inherently obvious that UK was by far and away the most talented team in the country (maybe ever) by a WIDE margin, and that no one could beat them when they were clicking on all cylinders. But where was that performance against Wisconsin? And where was the coaching game plan to contain Dekkar and Kaminsky when most of UK's team was having an off night offensively? Simply put, Cal doesn't have that innate ability to make the moves needed to squeeze out victories when his teams are not playing up to their potential against other talented teams. He relies on talent and talent alone to get him through. Fortunately for him, he always has plenty of it.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

You can't just go by winning national championships as the only measuring stick in college basketball. 1 40min game where you're not at your best can end your season. The best team in college basketball doesn't always win bc of the craziness & unpredictability of the tourney. All the coaches that have been named in this thread have fell victim to this on multiple occasions in the tourney. Cal is a damn good coach people just don't like him bc he doesn't try to hide behind the college is for education BS like a lot of other coaches do. He's straight up about getting his kids to the NBA. He just says in public what Roy, Self, & K tell kids in private.

[msstate7]

You can't just go by winning national championships as the only measuring stick in college basketball. 1 40min game where you're not at your best can end your season. The best team in college basketball doesn't always win bc of the craziness & unpredictability of the tourney. All the coaches that have been named in this thread have fell victim to this on multiple occasions in the tourney. Cal is a damn good coach people just don't like him bc he doesn't try to hide behind the college is for education BS like a lot of other coaches do. He's straight up about getting his kids to the NBA. He just says in public what Roy, Self, & K tell kids in private.

If guys are gonna hate cal for the 1-and-dones, how much more should they hate Williams for the scandals at unc?

[cheewgumm]

Just discount any Kentucky win. They'll be vacating them in 3 years anyway. Or maybe he just did that stuff at the crappy schools .

[RDawg90]

I could not disagree more with this post and your previous post. Yes, Cal is THE elite recruiter, and yes he does a good job of getting kids to buy into less playing time. However, his actual game planning and in-game coaching is not great (and it doesn't have to be with the talent he acquires year after year).

Do you realize Bill Self has won 11 straight Big 12 regular season championships? That's unheard of in any conference in any sport. If you give me the same set of players and tell me to pick a coach to prepare them and then provide in-game coaching, I take Self 10 times out of 10.


Just don't ask him to beat Northern Iowa in the NCAA Tourney.

[War Machine Dawg]

Not a big fan of the Grizzlies pick at 25. I know Z-Bo isn't getting any younger, but we took Jarnell Stokes last year. We were bottom 3 in 3-point shots made this season, meaning there is a GLARING need for a shooter if we want to get deeper than the second round of the playoffs. I just don't understand why you take a big there. Hopefully there's a trade in the offing.

[Dawg61]

Not a big fan of the Grizzlies pick at 25. I know Z-Bo isn't getting any younger, but we took Jarnell Stokes last year. We were bottom 3 in 3-point shots made this season, meaning there is a GLARING need for a shooter if we want to get deeper than the second round of the playoffs. I just don't understand why you take a big there. Hopefully there's a trade in the offing.

Grizz just added Matt Barnes

[War Machine Dawg]

Grizz just added Matt Barnes

Not overly excited about that move. Hoping Jordan Adams steps up, but I'm not holding my breath. He barely played this past season. I still say we ****ed up by passing on Hood.

[Dawg61]

Not overly excited about that move. Hoping Jordan Adams steps up, but I'm not holding my breath. He barely played this past season. I still say we ****ed up by passing on Hood.

Barnes is a very good player and he's tough as nails. I love this add by the Grizz. As far as the draft goes I really like what the Timberwolves and Hawks did and I'm curious about the Celtics. The Celtics are loaded with guards.

Avery Bradley
RJ Hunter
Phil Pressey
Terry Rozier
Marcus Smart
Isaiah Thomas
Marcus Thornton (rookie not LSU one)
Evan Turner

[smootness]

76ers did a fantastic job of ruining their draft. They had six picks and I've only heard of two of them (Okafor, Tokoto). All besides Okafor are projects not ready to play next year. Wtf are the 76ers doing? They drafted four other PF/C after already drafting Noel and Embiid previously and now Okafor. I love the Okafor and Tokoto picks but the other four they wasted I think.

Here's who they could have drafted instead.

Josh Richardson Tennessee
Pat Connaughton Notre Dame
Joseph Young Oregon
Andrew Harrison UK
Branden Dawson Mich St.
Arron Harrison UK

they wouldn't get all these players but I think they did a horrible job with their six picks besides Okafor

I'm only counting 5. And four of those were 2nd round picks, 3 in the second half of the 2nd round...so fairly meaningless.

Also, I'm not sure what you're saying...are you saying these are the 6 players they could have ended up with? Meaning one of them would be taken 3rd?

I just don't see much to ruin.

[Dawg61]

I'm only counting 5. And four of those were 2nd round picks, 3 in the second half of the 2nd round...so fairly meaningless.

Also, I'm not sure what you're saying...are you saying these are the 6 players they could have ended up with? Meaning one of them would be taken 3rd?

I just don't see much to ruin.

I'm not talking about the Okafor pick. That's a great pick. I'll even say the Tokoto pick is decent but the other four picks were brutally bad. I'm of the type that likes proven players. If they would of drafted just two to three of the ones I listed I think they would see much faster improvement. They basically wasted four picks on players they won't sign. I hate when teams do this. It happens a lot more in the MLB draft obviously but it still happens some in the NBA. I wish the 2nd round was guaranteed contracts too. You'll never convince me some teams don't waste their 2nd round picks.

[Dawg61]

Grizz traded for Aaron Harrison. Nice add. I think the Harrison twins are very underrated.