The 2015 NBA Draft Thread: Draft Day Is Here

Uggggh at the thought of Frye being compared to Frank. Don't get me wrong, Frye turned out to be a niche player in the league, and stuck around... but Frye was so frustrating to watch at Arizona, I never got that feeling from watching Frank the last two seasons. He just seemed to have the knack for making the right play and like the article stated, could make plays

Hopefully Frank has a long career as well, IMO he is ahead of Frye's trajectory 
 
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Vincent Van Ho said:
Uggggh at the thought of Frye being compared to Frank. Don't get me wrong, Frye turned out to be a niche player in the league, and stuck around... but Frye was so frustrating to watch at Arizona, I never got that feeling from watching Frank the last two seasons. He just seemed to have the knack for making the right play and like the article stated, could make plays

Hopefully Frank has a long career as well, IMO he is ahead of Frye's trajectory 
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imo Frye is closer to his floor than his ceiling.

Frye can't pass the ball and has no post game.
 
D'Angelo Russell tops draft's available point guards, but who else is close?

With less than a month to go before the draft, it's a good time to rank and debate the best players in the draft by position. This week we begin with point guards.

Q: Who is the best point guard in the draft?

Ford: D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State

I think this will be an easier pick for Kevin than it is for me. Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay are neck-and-neck. They have contrasting styles. I think Russell is the most skilled player in the draft. He's an amazing shooter, has a great feel for the game, is an incredible passer and even has some James Harden in him. Given the success of players like Harden and Stephen Curry, I think people believe he's a no-brainer. But I worry about his lack of elite athleticism. He's neither explosive nor quick. Both Harden and Curry, while not elite athletes, are better than Russell.

Mudiay is a powerful athlete. He's not Russell Westbrook explosive, but he's quick and strong for a point guard his size. He's not as skilled as Russell and he lacks a proven jumper, but he's going to excel at getting to the basket at the next level. If he were a better shooter, Mudiay would get the nod. But I also worry about guards in the league who struggle with their jump shot. I think they'll both be very good in the NBA. If Mudiay ever gets a jumper, he'll be the best guard in the draft. But until he does, Russell is my choice.

Pelton: D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State

Yeah, it is pretty easy for me -- which is not a knock on Mudiay but an indication of my confidence in Russell. He's the 10th one-and-done player in my database with a WARP projection better than 3.0 (Karl-Anthony Towns also qualifies this year). Of the previous nine, six developed into All-Stars. Nerlens Noel is too young to evaluate. Greg Oden was unable to live up to his potential because of injuries. The only non-injury disappointment in this group was Michael Beasley. So I think Russell is the best point guard and the second-best player in the draft.

Q: Who is the second-best point guard in the draft?

Ford: Emmanuel Mudiay, Guangdong

That's a great point on Russell. A number of NBA teams I've spoken with also say he sits atop their analytics board. Given they all use different formulas, that's impressive. I feel like I don't have to make much more of a case for Mudiay than I already did in the first answer. I think there's a perception his stock is slipping a bit. But when he gets into workouts, I think that's going to change. He's so big, so quick and I think his jump shot has improved. He'll be a beast in workouts. Remember when people used to debate Chris Paul versus Deron Williams after the 2005 draft? I think we'll have that with Mudiay and Russell for a while.

Pelton: Emmanuel Mudiay, Guangdong

Mudiay is my choice as well. Because he played so little in China, it's hard to read too much into his stat line. At the very least, however, his performance in the Chinese league revealed nothing to suggest that scouts are off in their assessment of him. I might have Kristaps Porzingis ahead of him on my personal board, but I don't think Mudiay can be any lower than fifth overall.

Now is when things start to get interesting, and I suspect we'll diverge.

Q: Who is the third-best point guard in the draft?

Ford: Cameron Payne, Murray State

Yeah. I've grown into a huge Payne fan during the past few months. So have NBA guys. He's quick with the ball, great in the pick-and-roll, excels at getting to the rim, shoots it well enough to keep defenses honest and has great length for his position. I actually think he's a better pure point guard than Mudiay or Russell -- just not quite as skilled as Russell and not as big and athletic as Mudiay. But might be the most well-rounded of the prospects. If he went as high as No. 7 to Denver, I wouldn't blink. I think he can be that good.

Pelton: Delon Wright, Utah

Wow, that would be a startling rise up draft boards for a guy who was considered a mid to late first-rounder a few weeks ago. I like Payne, and depending on team need I think he easily could be the best of this second tier. But independent of need/situation, I like Wright as the third-best point guard in the draft. It seems like most years there's a player who, with the benefit of hindsight, looks like an obvious steal. This year I think Wright is that guy. He was incredibly productive at the college level, he's got the kind of length teams love at the point and he's ready to contribute now. If he lands with a team in need of help at the point that would put the ball in his hands -- Dallas at No. 21 looks ideal -- I think Wright could make a push for rookie of the year. In that case, a year from now we'll all be asking how teams missed on him.

Q: Who is the fourth-best point guard in the draft?

Ford: Jerian Grant, Notre Dame

So I didn't see Wright coming -- though maybe I just didn't pay close enough attention to your Big Board. I thought Tyus Jones would get the nod from you. Wright this high is interesting for a number of reasons. One, he's old (23). Two, I wouldn't call him a shooter (yes, he shot 35 percent from 3-point range, but on a pretty limited sample size). Those two knocks against him seem to have scared most teams off from taking him anywhere but in the late first round. With that said, I'm taking a guard who is also old (22) and also comes with questions about his shooting ability. However, Grant's superior athleticism, ability to execute the pick-and-roll and his ability to play both the 1 and the 2 make him a better choice. I just see him as a solid backup guard who could be a Jamal Crawford-type player in the league.

Pelton: Tyus Jones, Duke

Like I said, it's close. If you asked me to rank the point guards in this year's draft in four years, I think Jones will be better than anyone but Russell and Mudiay. His combination of skills, basketball IQ and leadership gives him the chance to overcome his stature in my mind. At the same time, I have to acknowledge the risk that Jones' lack of size and elite athleticism keeps him from translating his skills to the NBA, and I think Wright will offer more immediate contributions. As you note, the same could be said about Grant. I feel like the gap between Grant's upside and his downside is relatively small. He's likely to be a good backup point guard but unlikely to be more than that.
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http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2015/in...t-dangelo-russell-tops-available-point-guards
 
Mudiay is lookin better & better the more video i watch of him...hope he's there at 4.
 
Russell is legit but I feel like his offense is too predictable sometimes and that Mudiay can be a better defender in the long run. Cmon Knicks. Don't mess this one up.
 
If we had awesome shooters on the wings then I would be down for Mudiay but Russell just seems like the no-brainer with Embiid and Noel down low.
 
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Based Jesus said:
Russell is legit but I feel like his offense is too predictable sometimes and that Mudiay can be a better defender in the long run. Cmon Knicks. Don't mess this one up.
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- draft one of Mudiay, Russell, or Winslow
- trade it for Cousins

it's almost impossible to screw it up :lol:
 
Vincent Van Ho said:
What makes you say this? Sounds pretty arbitrary, considering we don't even know who is going to go top 4 for certain

If you're assuming Towns, Okafor, Russell and Mudiay I would disagree with you
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Sorry. Meant top 4 ranked prospects. Towns, Okafor, Russell, and Mudiay. Just think Mudiay has lowest floor.
 
BOStoIAH said:
Sorry. Meant top 4 ranked prospects. Towns, Okafor, Russell, and Mudiay. Just think Mudiay has lowest floor.
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Don't see how a 6'6 two way athlete with real pg skills who's going to be a mismatch from day 1 has the lowest floor.

I'd say Jahlil does but I haven't really agreed with any of your prospect analysis anyway.

Two way prospects always have a higher floor, Okafor and Russell are big ?'s on D.
 
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I see low bust potential with all of the top 4 prospects. All of them should be studs.
 
If Thunder miss out on Devin Booker, I think they should really get Dekker. He's the perfect guy off the bench to replace KD or even play spot duty at the other positions

I hope the Thunder don't draft a PG. There's too many other prospects at other positions that would help them out more. I always see Cameron Payne to the Thunder in mock drafts, I think the Thunder NEED to go with a 2 or 3. I don't think they've ever had a decent back up for KD

I feel like they could either keep Augistine or get a veteran backup PG
 
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awwsome said:
Not really sold on Dekker, I'd like him a lot more if he was a consistent 3pt shooter.
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Which is why I think he would need to go to a team like OKC. I think he'd thrive as a role player, defending multiple positions and doing the little things on both ends of the floor

You can't expect him to be a star but being a valuable role player at pick #14 is all you can ask for
 
I'd be a lot higher on Mudiay if I believed in his athleticism more. From what I've seen, I could be wrong, he seems like a good athlete with elite size for his position. Not anywhere the elite athlete that would make him a potential star player. More Tyreke than Russell or Wall.
 
Doesn't have the explosive speed like Wall

Doesn't have the explosive leaping ability like Rose

But somewhere in-between the 2 is his ceiling IMO
 
I think Mudiay's 0-60 acceleration and wiggle make up for the fact that he isn't the pure BEAST athlete that Westbrook/Wall/Rose are

However, I'm not about to devalue his physical tools that much, I think he may possess a bit more ability than we're giving him credit for. We will see. I don't take the the clips from China to heart on the good and the bad. He was hurt and also you never know what other factors you're dealing with when you're playing in another country at that age
 
when i saw mudiay play at prime prep his game is more john wall than derrick rose nice handle speed and strength when going into the paint...i hope hometown homie goes to orlando where they can have a 3 guard rotation even play oladipo at the 3 i dont think the knicks triangle works for him but where ever he goes dallas does well in nba
 
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