The NBA Draft Thread

[ballinsam23]

No young team is knocking off the warriors. Not anytime soon.

 

[B Sox]

I still think Lonzo ends up in LA when all is said and done, and he'll be a good player, but the idea that other prospects are more appealing than him isn't farfetched. He has some really polarizing weaknesses.

 

[whiplashtw03]

No young team is knocking off the warriors. Not anytime soon.

2020 is the soonest I see any "young" team knocking them off their perch. A key injury or two to the Warriors' main guys would also help slow them down.

But we'll see at least 2-3 more years of Warrior dominance before they "take a break."

 

[whiplashtw03]

The fact that Lonzo's defense isn't a strong suit, couple by Lakers' concerns of his conditioning, will lead to his demise.

Lonzo can do all that talk about wanting to be the "leader" of this young Lakers' team but LAL can easily find their leader by trading Russell and a couple other pieces for a proven All-Star such as PG13 or Jimmy Butler.

Lakers need to draft a player who is a two-way player who can be strong at both ends of the court and has the athleticism and skill set to keep up with today's NBA game. Fox and Jackson are best suited for this style.

As the NBA Finals showed, being a liability on defense ain't gona get it done. Which is why Russell and Lonzo are not gonna cut it.

Do you see Lonzo and Russell playing aggressive trapping defense the way Curry and Klay were scrapping on D during tonight's game and throughout the playoffs? 

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Whip dropping gems [emoji]127775[/emoji]

 

[lovehateself]

Trade the core for a leader only to get bounced out in the first round


Nah, I'd rather develop the kids...it's worked out 2 out of the last 3 seasons for a team
Not saying the lakers are headed in that direction anytime soon

 

[whiplashtw03]

Whip dropping gems [emoji]127775[/emoji]

You got yourself a courtesy rep

 

[essential1]

Trade the core for a leader only to get bounced out in the first round


Nah, I'd rather develop the kids...it's worked out 2 out of the last 3 seasons for a team
Not saying the lakers are headed in that direction anytime soon

Even if Lakers did trade them for this "leader" like suggested, they are still nowhere close to the Warriors..

For 3 years at the very least, all other Western Conference teams are "in the conversation" in the same way the kids table is part of Thanksgiving dinner.. Sure you've made it to the dinner, but you're not actually there.

 

[whiplashtw03]

 

Trade the core for a leader only to get bounced out in the first round


Nah, I'd rather develop the kids...it's worked out 2 out of the last 3 seasons for a team
Not saying the lakers are headed in that direction anytime soon

Even if Lakers did trade them for this "leader" like suggested, they are still nowhere close to the Warriors..

For 3 years at the very least, all other Western Conference teams are "in the conversation" in the same way the kids table is part of Thanksgiving dinner.. Sure you've made it to the dinner, but you're not actually there.

That's sad if you think the table with the kids ain't part of the family dinner. 

Remember, the kids can eat the big piece of Turkey too...if they can finish off what they start eating.

And when it comes to building teams with proven All-Stars via trade or free agency, the Lakers have proven time and time again they can finish what they start.

 

[P C H]

I'm not even trying to be funny or make a joke about LAL,but winning 30, 35 games first with this core should be a bit more of a goal than building a team that can compete with GSW.

I mean really, next year will be 2018. Things change fast, for sure. But they aren't even close to a playoff spot right now. Going from where they are now, to competing with the damn Warriors is IMO ludicrous unless multiple guys become good enough to either 1) Be perennial AS level talent or 2) Be good enough to bring back AS level talent via trade.

 

[MVP]

Ball next week...try and win 30-35 games
PG13 next summer...make the playoffs
Summer of 2019...another free agent start to contend

That's the roadmap

 

[P C H]

 
The fact that Lonzo's defense isn't a strong suit, couple by Lakers' concerns of his conditioning, will lead to his demise.

Lonzo can do all that talk about wanting to be the "leader" of this young Lakers' team but LAL can easily find their leader by trading Russell and a couple other pieces for a proven All-Star such as PG13 or Jimmy Butler.

Lakers need to draft a player who is a two-way player who can be strong at both ends of the court and has the athleticism and skill set to keep up with today's NBA game. Fox and Jackson are best suited for this style.

As the NBA Finals showed, being a liability on defense ain't gona get it done. Which is why Russell and Lonzo are not gonna cut it.

Do you see Lonzo and Russell playing aggressive trapping defense the way Curry and Klay were scrapping on D during tonight's game and throughout the playoffs? 

The Lakers didn't even win 30 games last year, you're setting the bar wayyyy too high for them. You're really asking if Russell and Ball can defend at a level of CURRY AND THOMPSON IN AN NBA FINALS MATCHUP

Jesus christ.

 

[P C H]

Ball next week...try and win 30-35 games
PG13 next summer...make the playoffs
Summer of 2019...another free agent start to contend

That's the roadmap

I think 30 to 35 games is definitely an achievable goal for the Lakers.

Not sure about the other parts of the roadmap though.

 

[MVP]

I think 30 to 35 games is definitely an achievable goal for the Lakers.

Not sure about the other parts of the roadmap though.

Just wait on it. Timeline could be accelerated a year if they did decide to pull the trigger on a PG13 trade this summer.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Lonzo has some really great instincts on d. things you can't teach...and at 6'6 he has the size to makeup for the lateral quicks he may lack.

 

[buc em]

The Lakers can go sign PG, Westbrook, AD, whoever they want...just wait til next summer and suck one more year.

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Lonzo has some really great instincts on d. things you can't teach...and at 6'6 he has the size to makeup for the lateral quicks he may lack.

What do you think about his shooting motion at the pro level? Seems to me that it's too slow before release.

 

[buc em]

One note on the Sixers...

They haven't even worked out any of the top prospects yet. Only guys they've worked out as far as I've seen are late 1st/2nd round/undrafted guys. I would not hold it past Colangelo to flip the pick and other assets for PG, Butler, etc. He wants to win right now and I could see him gambling on something like that paying off. I know we were one of the teams in on PG at the trade deadline but they wanted too much at the time. We made them a legitimate offer too, I forget what it was exactly.

 

[Moheezy]

I trust Colangelo with draft picks and he has a healthy history but absolutely not with trades.

PG doesn't make sense given his age.
Butler is a diva and a bad influence for the young team.
We have not seen this team play at full health to make proper decisions.

I hope the Sixers stay patient and make the right moves without trying to take shortcuts.

If we need to make any trades, it would be trading Oak but I doubt we will get much in return given his skillset and us basically getting nothing for Noel.

I just hope we don't trade our way into second round exits. We should be taking the course similar to OKC and Golden State by drafting right and developing the right talent. That is what the process is about.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

What do you think about his shooting motion at the pro level? Seems to me that it's too slow before release.

quickness isn't the problem, the release is plenty quick, i think the sports science guys measured it as above average.

the problem is the versatility, bringing the ball up so far on the left side of his body might prevent him from generating clean looks from three.



can pull of the dirbble going to his right? he rarely did it in college, always went step back with the ball in his left hand.

can he sprint going right off a screen, 1-2 stop and turn in the air to shoot? I think he did it like 4 times in college, looked awkward even though it went in.



the form wil probably prevent him from being a high usage guy.

 

[100027]

One note on the Sixers...

They haven't even worked out any of the top prospects yet. Only guys they've worked out as far as I've seen are late 1st/2nd round/undrafted guys. I would not hold it past Colangelo to flip the pick and other assets for PG, Butler, etc. He wants to win right now and I could see him gambling on something like that paying off. I know we were one of the teams in on PG at the trade deadline but they wanted too much at the time. We made them a legitimate offer too, I forget what it was exactly.

That would be a horrible idea

 

[nick.]

New DX mock:

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2017/

 

[buc em]

I trust Colangelo with draft picks and he has a healthy history but absolutely not with trades.

PG doesn't make sense given his age.
Butler is a diva and a bad influence for the young team.
We have not seen this team play at full health to make proper decisions.

I hope the Sixers stay patient and make the right moves without trying to take shortcuts.

If we need to make any trades, it would be trading Oak but I doubt we will get much in return given his skillset and us basically getting nothing for Noel.

I just hope we don't trade our way into second round exits. We should be taking the course similar to OKC and Golden State by drafting right and developing the right talent. That is what the process is about.

He's gonna make some bold moves this offseason to expedite the rebuilding process. Literally right after the draft lottery was over the interview that Colangelo gave he said it was good to finally see what our assets look like for this summer in regards to making moves/trades. Even if it's not trading for PG I guarantee he makes some type of pretty big moves.

 

[ill steelo]

I wouldn't even hate his form if he was more creative/crafty off the bounce

If he had a lil wiggle he'd be iight with that form.

 

[addict4sneakers]

I wouldn't even hate his form if he was more creative/crafty off the bounce

If he had a lil wiggle he'd be iight with that form.