2018 NBA Draft Rankings

*Ranked in terms of having the most successful careers

First of all, this is a really good draft. Teams should be trying to trade for multiple lottery picks, though I doubt any would be willing to give one up easily.

Tier I: Potential HOF

1 Luka Doncic: Barring being drafted by and playing on one of those teams with poisonous cultures, this guy is the real deal.

2 DeAndre Ayton: Does he have the drive to be a legitimate star?

 

Tier II: Top Picks in Most Other Drafts

3. Jaren Jackson Jr.: Almost total package to be a modern day big. Needs a go-to-move to punish smalls on switches.

4.  Mo Bamba: The jump shot is legit. But is he one of those guys who is too smart for his own good?

5. Marvin Bagley: Modern day Amare. The jumpshot will come.

6. Wendell Carter Jr.: Al Horford lite. Highest floor, most likely to have a long career that casual fans will forget about.

7. Kevin Knox: Won’t have to carry the offense in the NBA. Reps on the wings will serve him well. Calipari keeps churning these blue-chippers out.

 

Tier III: Solid Pros

8. Jerome Robinson: It’s going to take time, but highest floor of the wings in this draft.

9. Mikal Bridges: Most ready to contribute on a winning team (Side note: should watch Ray Allen and emulate how he hops into dribble pullups)

10. Collin Sexton: If he keeps his intensity after getting that first big check, he will stick in the league

11. Miles Bridges: Had no space to attack in college

12. Aaron Holiday: Royal blood line

13. Grayson Allen: I believe he is a good kid

14. Trae Young: 2018 Aaron Brooks

15. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Needs to play with a true shooting point.

16. Elie Okobo: Shooters going to shoot

17. Lonnie Walker: Ben McLemore?

 

Went a little bit deeper than I would’ve liked with this ranking. There are definitely guys that I missed.

 

2017 NBA Draft Top 5

  1. Markelle Fultz
  2. Lonzo Ball
  3. Josh Jackson
  4. De’Arron Fox
  5. Jayson Tatum

 

Ranked in terms of having the most successful careers

*Dennis Smith Jr. will be a steal for the team that trades for him in 2-3 years. Kyle Lowry

*Johnathan Issac: can he guard 4s? can he finish against the bigger, stronger players of the NBA?

 

2016 Free Agent Targets for LA Lakers

These players have a realistic chance of switching teams and at market price should be good fits for the rising franchise:

  1. Kevin Durant: Duh
  2. Hassan Whiteside (C, 27): Defensive anchor to erase mistakes made by Lakers’ young core. Should continue to perform well under player’s coach Luke Walton.
  3. DeMar DeRozan (G-F, 26): Max money for this LA native would be a slight overpay, but talent is talent.
  4. Al Horford (C-F, 30): Just turned 30 and finally played two injury-free seasons. Great player but doesn’t fit the trajectory of Lakers’ young core.
  5. Chandler Parsons (F, 27): Coming off major surgeries. Pass if he asks for the max.
  6. Nicholas Batum (F, 27): Great player, but not at the max.
  7. Ryan Anderson (F, 28): Can shoots 3s, post and offensive board = a prototypical stretch 4. Would be good to pair with one of the max guys.
  8. Bismack Biyombo (C, 23): Athletic center that broke-out during playoffs. Going to get more than $16 mil a year.
  9. Festus Ezeli (C, 26):  Older version of Biyombo.
  10. Kent Bazemore (F-G, 26): 3 and D wing. But can’t D the wings that matter (LeBron, KD, Kawhi)
  11. Evan Fournier (G, 23): Klay Thompson lite. Throw 4 years $60mil at him and hope Magic don’t match.

*I did not forget about Mike Conley, Andre Drummond, Dwight Howard, or Bradley Beal. Those guys aren’t coming to LA.

Ranking the 2016 NBA Draft Prospects

Who will have the most successful careers?

  1. Ben Simmons: Offensive versatility of Lamar Odom and Draymond Green.
  2. Brandon Ingram: Does his frame allow him to guard 3s let alone 4s?
  3. Buddy Hield: Shooters with character and decent athleticism almost always have long careers.
  4. Kris Dunn: Incredible story, but was he simply a man among boys?
  5. Jaylen Brown: Athletic and smart players always eventually figure it out. But will it be on the team that drafts him?
  6. Dragan Bender: Will have ups and downs.
  7. Marquese Chriss: Underrated until overrated. Athleticism and shooting stroke intriguing, poor rebounding and basketball feel concerning.
  8. Jamal Murray: Marcus Thornton?

Warriors have no chance, but…

The Oklahoma City Thunder are too long, too fast, too athletic for the Warriors. The Warriors might win Game 5 at home, but they have almost no chance of winning the series. But for Steve Kerr and the rest of the staff, that is thinking too far ahead. To have a chance tonight they have to address the Thunder’s own Death Lineup. The Warriors cannot rely on their small lineup. Instead one of Bogut, Ezeli, or Speights needs to be on the court at all times. This means that Livingston will be unplayable. Barbosa and Igoudala need to soak up all the back-up point minutes. Defensive rebounding will be key.

Tribute to Kobe Bryant

13 April 2016

Kobe Bryant is not our favorite athlete, has never been and never will be.

With him holding the ball for most possessions, the 6302 assists comes as a by-product of his selfishness. He is a control freak. He can’t let go and trust his teammates.  He drives teammates away with his single-mindedness.

These are the reasons why we could not like Kobe Bryant as a basketball player like we do Stephen Curry (who found a better balance between the selflessness of Steve Nash and selfishness of Kobe), but they are also why we admire Kobe Bryant as a human being.

He has every reason to be selfish, to only trust himself at the most crucial moments. Who else has worked on that fade-away hundreds of thousands of times? Who else has practiced that precise footwork every night? Who else is consumed by basketball and the desire to win as much as he is?

It’s not about the five championships that he won, or the number of times he’s been on the all-defensive team, or the Finals MVPs. It’s about his drive to win, his growth through the years, and his desire to be better. Kobe taught us there is no need to be ashamed of the hunger to improve.

While we could never like a basketball player that played so selfishly on the court that does not mean we could not admire the person that Kobe is. ‪#‎ThankYouKobe

#10 Draymond Green

10 April 2016

Yup, dray dray, in the top 10. First time I watched Draymond on live television was that aircraft carrier game, Michigan State vs North Carolina (1) (2). Definitely thought he was a nice player, undersized for the 4, but really good rebounder, real tough. Never thought he would be more than a role player though. Heck, wasn’t even sure if the NBA would see the value in him and give him a roster spot.  Now he is a top 10 player in the NBA (3). Stephen Curry would not be the MVP without Draymond Green (4). Green IS the modern NBA. He unlocks so many different things for the warriors, both on offense and defense. His playmaking and passable 3-point shooting allows Curry to do his thing. His versatility keeps the Warriors switching defense going (5). Top 10. No doubt.

  1. All I could think of while watching that game: “f***, it was the wind”
  2. Harrison Barnes! John Henson! Kendall Marshall! Tyler Zeller! James Michael McAdoo! That team was stacked. That 2011-2012 NBA Lockout College Basketball season was definitely one of the best. Also, three current Warriors in that game!
  3. To a hall-of-fame level GM such as me, who would know how to build around Draymond’s versatility, of course
  4. Or Andre Igoudala, or Klay Thompson, or Steve Kerr. But that’s just being nitpicky
  5. I called this switching revolution at least 4 years ago, for real. Think about it, the shot clock is only 24 seconds; the offense is playing against both the defense and the clock. The defense only has to keep the offense at bay until it becomes that last second one-on-one chuck to beat the buzzer.

 

Now for the best Draymond mix on youtube (from one of the best mixmakers, Mayo Highlights):

Top 10 NBA players Countdown

10 April 2016

Since the regular season is coming to an end this week, it is prime time to do a top 10 player countdown. This list assumes that the player is healthy and 100% (1). The best player is the player that you would want to build a new team around with (2). In other words, if I have Stephen Curry as my number 1, it means that I think Curry, as a foundation piece, gives the franchise the best chance of winning a chip (3) (4).  To make things simpler, this would be for winning one season, so the player’s age and development is disregarded (5).

 

 

  1. At least as hundred percent as a player like Derrick Rose can be… (Hold-on… I’m not saying he’s in the top 10…). This means that injury history is still a concern.
  2. You, I am assuming, are a hall-of-fame GM, not Doc Rivers.
  3. Does this mean I have Curry as #1? I’m giving it away, or am I?
  4. Yes, poor Sam Hinkie, the best chance to win a chip, not the lottery.
  5. Hey, trying to not think like Doc is already hard enough.

Could This Rocket Team Win a Championship?

This Rocket team closing (1) the 2015-2016 season and the one finishing 2014-2015 isn’t that different. There’s Patrick Beverly and Jason Terry at point. The controversial (2) James Harden at the 2 (but really point). Trevor Ariza and the greyhound, Corey Brewer, (being a game-changer one game then bricking away the next five) at the 3 (3). Donatas Motiejunas (Donuts!)/Terrence Jones/Josh Smith/Michael Beasley at the 4. Dwight Howard and Clint Capella at the 5.  Only difference would be at the 4, where the T Jones and J Smoove duo is replaced by the even funkier Donuts/ Beasley duo.  Also, for today’s win over the Thunder, KJ McDaniels got some burn as well (4).

So we can say that the team in 2015 over-performed and this one in 2016 is underachieving (5).  If we can somehow replay the last two years multiple times, would the Rockets win the chip in any of these parallel universes? In other words, is this roster closer to being a championship contender or a dreaded perennial 9th place finisher (that the Rockets were before the Harden trade)?

I would say they are not even “a piece away” from contending.  They are good when fully engaged (6), but only second-round in the playoffs good. The Ty Lawson experiment obviously failed, but that’s not what I am talking about here. A team with James Harden as the alpha needs stability and the right type of characters.  I have more respect than most for guys like Dwight, J Smoove, Beasley, and Lawson, but even I wouldn’t accuse them of being high character, grounded athletes.  Harden is ‘special’ and special people are needed to build around him. Not JaVale McGee ‘special’, but Andre Igoudala, Shane Battier special (7).

Time to blow it up, Rockets.

 

—The Loose Ball—

Up next: More rant on the importance of character

 

 

  1. To be more colorful: Limping, crawling, squirming, writhing…
  2. I guess he is no longer controversial to most. Lazy on defense, ball hog on offense, burns the entire shot clock then then toss the ball to whichever unfortunate teammate. But to me Harden is still captivating. Why? Maybe later.
  3. C’mon Daryl Morey, get an actual NBA wing to backup Harden and Ariza please.
  4. Again… Morey, get a real wing please!
    1. Footnote for footnote: A real wing- defined as an athletic human being between 6’5” and 6’10” that can shoot the NBA 3 (and make them… sometimes… unlike Brewer or McDaniels), that understands the game.
      1. Footnote for footnote for footnote: Understanding the game- defined as being able to pump fake when a defender is closing out, make the one-dribble pull-up or straight line drive with either hand, and kick to the next wide-open shooter. Simple…
  5. For various combination of reasons. 2015: Caught teams off-guard, better chemistry/flow/excitement. 2016: Freshness wearing off, distractions, Dwightmare part 3 or is it 4.
  6. which, with their set of characters, can’t be done for a full season
  7. Sorry Daryl, your days of cutting corners were over three years ago. It’s no longer about getting the most value for your assets, it’s about building around Harden. You’re stuck with him, might as well make the most out of it.