🏀 KuBuckets Archive

The NBA draft will go down on Thursday.

Guess we should talk about it since I don't have whopper tomato stories from my garden yet.

Guesses on when Kelly goes? What about Cliff? Will he even make it in the second round?

Who goes #1? Okafor? Towns?

Will the squid go and talk it up about how many guys he got drafted? Guess it had nothing to do with the players' own talents that they brought with them to UK....

Is this a strong draft? Or a weak one?

I always focus in on point guards... who goes when... any of them make it to the lottery picks?

Timberwolves have the first pick. Who will they pick to play with Andrew, or will they trade their pick for a combo package?

Kelly has been asked to be in the Green Room with the projected Lottery picks.

@wrwlumpy my guess is Kelly goes in the teens but out of the lottery because of the international players

My guess is Kelly goes between 12 and 18. Once you get past the elite big men in this draft, you run into a bunch of wing guys. After Winslow and Johnson, those wings are strong on one end or the other, but with questions. Some can shoot but can't defend. Some can defend but can't shoot. Some can shoot and defend but can't handle. The thing is, Oubre is a top notch athlete, so he has a chance to fulfill his potential.

The worry with some guys (Anderson from Virginia, Dekker) may have already reached their ceilings because of their age. If that is the case, you have a guy that can contribute at the NBA level, but won't be much more. On the other hand, Oubre still must grow. That means that he could struggle initially, but could ultimately become a star.

A lot of projections have him going to OKC, which would be perfect for both him and for them. He wouldn't have to be an elite scorer immediately because of Durant and Westbrook, but he would have a chance to start out in the same way that Kawhi Leonard did, as the third or fourth best player on a good team.

As for Alexander, I think a saavy team at the end of the first round grabs him. Alexander benefits from not being in the lottery where a team will need him to come in and star immediately. He could end up with Golden State, Cleveland, Chicago, San Antonio, Portland, etc. as a project with a chance to learn on a good team.

My prediction is that Oubre ends up in OKC and Alexander goes to Chicago in the first round or Houston early in the second.

@drgnslayr Thanks for reminding me I won't have to check and see what's on ESPN Thursday nite.

Oubre is now somewhere between 10-13 and I will guess he will be a lottery pick. Alexander is borderline first round but could easily slide to the second; not playing at the end of last season hurt his stock greatly.

@JayHawkFanToo

I think his knee injury hurt him as well in workouts?? I think he slides into the 2nd round but remember the Lakers & Celtics both have late 1st round picks that they are openly shopping to get rid of that guaranteed money situation. Cliff could fall to a team that trades for those picks or be traded as part.

Oubre should be in the lottery somewhere, I'm guessing 11-14 is his real range. Winslow & the Euro are guaranteed to go before him. After that Johnson, Oub's & Dekker are all going to be drafted by which team likes which better. Hopefully a team was sold on Kelly's potential in this workout process

@BeddieKU23

Hard to tell what NBA teams will do. They have been know for making mind boggling picks that leave everybody shaking their heads...Kristaps Porzingis, the stretch power forward seems to be the latest "next great player," much like many Euro players that did not pan out.

@JayHawkFanToo

"Hard to tell what NBA teams will do."

I've always been shocked by NBA picks. It often seems like an owner who knows nothing about basketball overrides management and coaches.

@drgnslayr said:

I've always been shocked by NBA picks. It often seems like an owner who knows nothing about basketball overrides management and coaches.

The teams that do this are the ones that struggle. The good teams are the ones where the ownership stays out of the way and let's the basketball people take care of the basketball side of things. When ownership tinkers with on court stuff, things tend to fall apart.

@JayHawkFanToo

agreed, I think Hezonja has the chance to be a good NBA player but Porzingis is years away because he's rail thin. I find it hard to believe a team in the top 7 is going to pick Porzingis with the understaning he's going to play from Day 1 and contribute. I think that's reaching a whole lot passing up on players with NBA ready games already.

After watching the draft night disappointments of several KU players (Simien, Arthur, Chalmers...) I'm not wagering any five dollar bills on the good fortunes of Oubre or Alexander. Kelly still appears to be borderline lottery. For the benefit of KU Hoops, I hope his gamble pays off.

@REHawk

"I hope his gamble pays off."

It is a pity it has to be this way. But it seems like our guys get so nicked up in a season that the risks are high for staying in D1, too.

I think we need a special assistant that does nothing but plate our players with body armament. The technology in that area is growing rapidly and we should desire to be cutting edge. If we can build lavish suites for players to live in, we can afford the very best protection for their bodies!

Okay, okay... I'll take the job! Below is an illustration of how our guys will look this fall...

!17789301032011045041.jpg ↗

Imagine being able to play with that stick?!

@BeddieKU23 said:

I think Hezonja has the chance to be a good NBA player but Porzingis is years away because he's rail thin. I find it hard to believe a team in the top 7 is going to pick Porzingis with the understaning he's going to play from Day 1 and contribute. I think that's reaching a whole lot passing up on players with NBA ready games already.

There are only a handful, maybe 10 guys in a really good year, that are ready to contribute from day 1 to an NBA team. Most of the time, guys just aren't ready to go from day one because the jump in talent/ athleticism/ preparation is so big whether coming from Europe or coming from US colleges.

In this draft, I see four guys that can contribute right away - Towns, Winslow, Okafor and Mudiay. I see probably six more that will contribute during their rookie years - Stanley Johnson (defensive monster), Cauley-Stein (ditto), Kaminsky (stretch 4), DeAngelo Russell (athletic PG), Trey Lyles (matchup nightmare) and Montrezl Harrell (rebounding madman).

But what makes this draft so strong is the fact that a full dozen other guys will probably contribute in year 2 - Oubre, Alexander, Booker, Myles Turner, Rashad Vaughn, Cameron Payne, Delon Wright, RJ Hunter, Dekker, Jerian Grant, Porzingis and Hezonja. All of these guys will probably struggle as rookies because they need to round out their game, but will make a huge leap after a year in the League.

There are probably a couple other sleepers out there as well - Hollis-Jefferson, Bobby Portis, Justin Anderson, Jordan Mickey, Jarrell Martin, Tyus Jones - that could end up being solid guys outside the lottery.

That's a good draft class. Not as much star power, but when you have maybe two dozen guys that could end up being starters/ rotation guys on good teams, that's a strong draft. Probably none of these guys ends up a star - maybe Towns, Okafor or Mudiay - but it's likely that 10 of these guys are starting their second year.

@BeddieKU23

I agree, I have seen Porzingis projected as high #3...nuts!

!image.jpg ↗

!image.jpg ↗

Oubre's on the rt.

@Crimsonorblue22

Sooooo... house slippers are now dress shoes? I guess in a world where underwear is outerwear it really should not be surprising... :(

@JayHawkFanToo

The ultimate is when guys wear pajama bottoms and pull them half way down their undies. Got to go with plaid undies.

I'm not even going to pretend I understand. I guess our parents thought we were nuts with our bell bottom pants and platform shoes! I miss those shoes!

So will Self be sporting these shoes for late pm? Wonder what Cliff is wearing? I just pray the best for these 2. They could have picked other schools, good or bad, they did choose KU! RCJH!

@Crimsonorblue22

Spoken like a true mom :) :) :)

@Crimsonorblue22 That's ridic.

Oubre to my Wizards... Yisssss!

@approxinfinity Hopefully he has more of an impact in the NBA. More than one year playing would help.

Kelly's gamble did not exactly pay the dividends he anticipated. Ever so close, but not quite. Came to Lawrence unprepared to play defense. Departed unprepared to impress lottery selectors. That pretty much sums up his current situation: a promising player with good upside; but not quite yet ready. He could have used more seasoning, a la Kaminsky, Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, and the midmajor Murray State soph. He hasn't yet established the impressive dominance or stats of fellow frosh Townes, Okafor, Russell. Now it's going to be touch and go for extended contracts, esp. if early injury should hamper his NBA career. He and we could have benefitted from his presence in the WUG and the 2015-16 Big 12 race. But, hey, we are all moving on, opening new chapters.

@REHawk

Not a lot of difference between .lottery pick #14 pick and #15. Link here... ↗

@JayHawkFanToo My understanding is that the lottery picks get a 3 year guaranteed contract and income. Beyond the #14 pick, no 3 year guarantee, just one year and hope for no major injury or disappointing progress to curtail tenure. If so, that's a huge load for Kelly to bear. He's got the tools to do well. And the talk: I'm a jewel and a steal. Now he must immediately walk the talk.

@REHawk

You might well be right. However and depending on how the contract is structured, the non-lotto player might able to opt out, if he is playing well, and sign a much larger contract...I am just guessing here...