Wing Players in the Draft

[DashGlobal]

I dont really see a wing player worth taking with the top 5.

Im praying we get either the 1st or 2nd pick and get either Anthony Davis or Thomas Robinson.

MKG has a TERRIBLE shot and barely averaged double digits last year. Not worth a top 5 pick imo.

Beal is undersized, didnt shoot great from 3 last year, and didnt really dominate last season. Not worth a top 5 pick imo.

Lamb is a decent prospect but like Beal didnt really dominate like you would want a top 5 pick to.

The only wing player I can slightly justify taking that high is Barnes due to his combination of size, college production, and shooting ability. Im just concerned about his handle though.

With that said, I hope we get either Davis or Robinson and pick up a wing later in the draft. Would be be safer to work out some trade to get back into the 1st due to the chance of one of the good wings not being there when we pick in the 2nd.

Now, lets look at the other wings that are projected to go late 1st - 2nd round. Im gonna list them in order of preference.

1) SF Quincy Miller 6'9 210

PPG: 11.1
FGA: 8.4
FG: 44.7%
3FG: 34.8%
FT: 81.6%


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Id43mA2F4

Didnt live up to expectations but has a ton of potential. Decent outside shoot.

2) SG John Jenkins 6'4 215

PPG: 19.9
FGA: 13.1
FG: 47.4%
3FG: 43.9%
FT: 83.7%


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWmM4fD7P9g

This guy is just a dead eye shooter. Averaged over 40% from 3 every year in college. Averaged almost 20ppg his last two years. Has a nice step back jumpshot and is craft in getting his shots off.

3) SG Doron Lamb 6'4 170

PPG: 13.2
FGA: 9.2
FG: 47.4%
3FG: 46.6%
FT: 82.6%


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMTbaUT4r8g

Good shooter and play maker. Would have def averaged more points if it wasnt for being on a loaded team.

4) SG Kevin Murphy 6'7 185

PPG: 21.1
FGA: 16.3
FG: 44%
3FG: 41.6%
FT: 72.1%


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KSyZuzXeYo

Small school player, but has great size. He can shoot it and put the ball in the basket.

4) SF Kris Joseph 6'7 215

PPG: 13.8
FGA: 10.5
FG: 42%
3FG: 34.5%
FT: 74.5%


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqeE9bcG76k

Solid wing. Not the best shooter though

5) SG Orlando Johnson 6'5 205

PPG: 19.7
FGA: 14.8
FG: 45.1%
3FG: 42.7%
FT: 69.8%


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj4D_B0gT48

Another small school player. Guy was a do it all player for his team and really produced in college. For some reason his FT shooting took a hit his last yr (previous 80%).

I honestly think it will come down to Jenkins or Lamb with our 2nd pick. With the possibility to Quincy Miller and Kris Joseph.

[Plowright]

It's really pointless when people post highlight videos. I always do this but, anyone can look good on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK2ysUYNY8E

But back to your point. I think every GM would bite your hand off for MKG being available at the 4th or 5th pick. Shooting is not everything in the NBA, Bruce Bowen had less scoring ability than MKG and look at his career

[DashGlobal]

That highlight I see a dude that is built like a 12 yr old. Looks completely uncoordinated, with hardly any low post moves. Getting a few easy buckets and blocks against scrubs.

Highlight vids gives you an idea of how a guy plays or what he can do ect. It helps to some degree if you never have watched them play. Obviously you cant just go off a highlight vid because anyone can look good. Which is why I included their stats.

Bruce Bowen was a great 3 point shooter as well as a defender. You couldnt leave him open to go help on people. Did I also mention he was clutch?

Terrible comparison imo.

I just wouldnt want to take a guy that high with such a GLARING weakness.

[SWedd523]

I just wouldnt want to take a guy that high with such a GLARING weakness.
Barnes' complete inability to put the ball on the floor isn't a glaring weakness?

[DashGlobal]

Barnes' complete inability to put the ball on the floor isn't a glaring weakness?

I watched every UNC game last year.

He can certainly put the ball on the floor and score. Saw him do it a ton of times.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd_hMlNZmuM&feature=related

That isnt his strong suite though due to his shacky handle.

On the other hand MKG is just a down right TERRIBLE shooter. Play off him and pack the lane and you completely shut him down in the half court.

[SWedd523]

Congratulations, I've seen every UNC game for about the past 5 years.


Can he put the ball on the floor, one-two dribble and pull up for a fadaway? Sure. Can he beat his man off the dribble on a consistent or even semi-consistent basis? Not a chance. Barnes is completely dependent on a PG who can get him the ball with his feet set and he showed as much by playing bad ball before Kendall Marshall took over as the full time PG and then again when Marshall went out and the team needed Barnes to step up.


Bullock and possibly Hairston have better NBA futures than Barnes

[SuperKemba]

Beal may not be 6' 7" but he has ridiculously long arms and that will most certainly help him succeed in the NBA. Beal is by far the most talented wing in the draft (IMO) and among the youngest. I don't just look at stats, I look at shooting mechanics, IQ (def and off), and overall skills and creativity. Beal can pass, score off the dribble and catch and shoot better than any other wing I've seen in this draft. I'd rather have Bradley Beal than Harrison Barnes anyday.

[DashGlobal]

Congratulations, I've seen every UNC game for about the past 5 years.


Can he put the ball on the floor, one-two dribble and pull up for a fadaway? Sure. Can he beat his man off the dribble on a consistent or even semi-consistent basis? Not a chance. Barnes is completely dependent on a PG who can get him the ball with his feet set and he showed as much by playing bad ball before Kendall Marshall took over as the full time PG and then again when Marshall went out and the team needed Barnes to step up.


Bullock and possibly Hairston have better NBA futures than Barnes

I guess you closed your eyes every time he beat his man off the dribble for a layup or dunk or some fade away close the basket?

You dont know what your talking about bro. Barnes can and did beat people off the dribble / put the ball on the floor, whatever you want to call it.

[SuperKemba]

Went back and finished reading what was originally posted and I see that the players you're looking at are players we could possibly draft late in the first round or early second round.

[SWedd523]

I guess you closed your eyes every time he beat his man off the dribble for a layup or dunk or some fade away close the basket?

You dont know what your talking about bro. Barnes can and did beat people off the dribble / put the ball on the floor, whatever you want to call it.
Okay Harrison, whatever you say

bro

[DashGlobal]

Beal may not be 6' 7" but he has ridiculously long arms and that will most certainly help him succeed in the NBA. Beal is by far the most talented wing in the draft (IMO) and among the youngest. I don't just look at stats, I look at shooting mechanics, IQ (def and off), and overall skills and creativity. Beal can pass, score off the dribble and catch and shoot better than any other wing I've seen in this draft. I'd rather have Bradley Beal than Harrison Barnes anyday.

Beal is not a good of shooter as he is hyped up to be. 33% from three is very average. He is small 6'3 - 6'4 and doesnt have elite athleticism. Doesnt posses an ELITE handle. He didnt dominate in college as he only averaged 14ppg.

Im not saying he is a scrub, he just isnt a top 5 pick.

It isnt a given that he is better than Doron Lamb....

[Plowright]

Dash Global, your basically saying every person who has any idea about mock drafts out there is wrong? I didn't know you had all this inside info. Okay so, if these wing players are not top 5 picks who should be? I bet i can find a hell of a lot more weaknesses in Jared Sullinger and Perry Jones. Please tell me your top 5 and I will analyse them. Swedd, feel free to join me

[ohara831]

I have a whole lot more confidence in Beal than I do in Barnes.

[DashGlobal]

Dash Global, your basically saying every person who has any idea about mock drafts out there is wrong? I didn't know you had all this inside info. Okay so, if these wing players are not top 5 picks who should be? I bet i can find a hell of a lot more weaknesses in Jared Sullinger and Perry Jones. Please tell me your top 5 and I will analyse them. Swedd, feel free to join me

This draft class is just weak with ELITE talent. Where as its deep with solid talent.

Just look at Beal. Living off his hype from HS. Didnt set the world on fire in college and is projected way ahead of a player that arguably just as good (Doron Lamb).

You can throw in Drummond also. Another guy living off his hype from HS. Although to Beal's credit he played well in college where as Drummond was a complete disappointment.

Whats my top 5 or 10?

1) Anthony Davis
2) Thomas Robinson
3) Harrison Barnes
4) MKG
5) Andre Drummond (huge risk / solely potential)
6) Jared Sullinger
7) Damian Lillard
8 ) Bradley Beal
9) Jeremy Lamb
10) Kendall Marshall

[SuperKemba]

Beal is not a good of shooter as he is hyped up to be. 33% from three is very average. He is small 6'3 - 6'4 and doesnt have elite athleticism. Doesnt posses an ELITE handle. He didnt dominate in college as he only averaged 14ppg.

Im not saying he is a scrub, he just isnt a top 5 pick.

It isnt a given that he is better than Doron Lamb....

33% means nothing when u have great mechanics and overall shooting ability. It's fairly easy to see he has the potential to be an outstanding shooter in the NBA. The dude has a quick release and versatility as a scorer.

[DashGlobal]

33% means nothing when u have great mechanics and overall shooting ability. It's fairly easy to see he has the potential to be an outstanding shooter in the NBA. The dude has a quick release and versatility as a scorer.

Means nothing?!? lmao That made me chuckle.

So he is a great shooter because he has good form, fug his 33% average from deep!

Having good form and mechanics doesnt automatically correlate to shooting a high %.

I am not saying Beal isnt a good player or that he cant improve his shooting but to completely ignore his shooting numbers is just ignorant.

[SuperKemba]

Means nothing?!? lmao That made me chuckle.

So he is a great shooter because he has good form, fug his 33% average from deep!

Having good form and mechanics doesnt automatically correlate to shooting a high %.

I am not saying Beal isnt a good player or that he cant improve his shooting but to completely ignore his shooting numbers is just ignorant.

I don't care about college stats, what I care about is how his shooting ability will translate to the NBA. When you have great form and fundamentals, your potential becomes limitless in that regard. Shooting mechanics are more important than just regular stats from one bad season.

[Bosnian-Bobcats-Fan]

Beal isnt compared to ray allen by some for no reason...the guy can shoot ask any scout the first thing they'll talk about is beals ability to shoot the ball...Barnes can't consistently put the ball on the court and take it to the rim...dont got the elite athleticism....and we saw in the tourney w/o marshall he looked somehwat lost....like swedd said...MKG might not have a shot but you act like he can't develop one...His defense is top notch he's a great athlete plays with a ton of heart and passion and has a high motor....it's your opinion what you said but im just sayin what everyone else already knows

[DashGlobal]

Beal isnt compared to ray allen by some for no reason...the guy can shoot ask any scout the first thing they'll talk about is beals ability to shoot the ball...Barnes can't consistently put the ball on the court and take it to the rim...dont got the elite athleticism....and we saw in the tourney w/o marshall he looked somehwat lost....like swedd said...MKG might not have a shot but you act like he can't develop one...His defense is top notch he's a great athlete plays with a ton of heart and passion and has a high motor....it's your opinion what you said but im just sayin what everyone else already knows

Beal didnt live up to all the "Ray Allen" hype he had coming out of HS.

While Barnes isnt the best at putting the ball on the floor, he certainly can do it. Did it atleast a few times every game last year.

Most people dont go from being a TERRIBLE shooter with god awful form to being a good shooter. Thats a long shot imo. Which is why I am very hesitant on drafting a guy with such a glaring weakness in the top 5.

It will be alot more easier for Barnes to improve his handle than for KMG to develop even an average jump shot. He would have to completely alter his shooting motion.

[VJ singh]

DashGlobal I am confused MKG not worth a top 5 pick yet you put him at no.4 in your top 10????

[Veteran_Picksetter]

The Draft--- Nobody excites me after Anthony Davis. I'd be content with two low lottery picks and the 31st vs. the number 2 pick and the 31st.

Harrison Barnes--- My brother knows the game, watches about every UNC game, and he says the same as Swedd: Don't ask Barnes to do much beyond a catch-and-shoot/1-2 dribbles. That said, MAYBE he could develop moves. Maybe he can benefit from pro hand-checking rules. But there's no guarantee of that. I would not be happy with getting JUST Barnes in this first round. Barnes and somebody else? Sure.

Bradley Beal--- One thing to like is his offensive efficiency. 1.39 points per shot versus 1.24 pps from by Harrison Barnes. Beal's freshman shooting% stacks up pretty well to Barnes's freshman shooting%. I also read that Beal played with a chucker of a PG. Can anybody confirm this??

Beal appears broad and long in a similar way to 6'3" Eric Gordon. His height will likely not be an issue, but we'll have to verify this with the pre draft length measurements. The fact that he rebounded so well tells me he has enough of a vertical/size presence to be an NBA 2-guard.

[Plowright]

Beal is athletic enough to make up for his lack of height (which is slight in my opinion). Yes I can confirm Erving Walker (Florida's pg) is a chucker. People say Marshall helped Barnes, well I will say the opposite for Walker and Beal

[SWedd523]

Beal had to play with Walker and Boynton, both notorious chuckers. Beal played a lot of his time at the three checking (and being checked by) larger opponents.


Beal also got better as the year progressed as eventually took over as the team's #1 option in the tournament and thrived in that role as they played very well. Barnes fell apart when he didn't have Marshall hand feeding him the ball and shot...... 33% in the tournament. If you want to talk about somebody not living up to their hype, Barnes is the poster child.

Beal is the better rebounder, better passer, better ball handler, and will be a better defender and shooter in the NBA. The only thing Barnes has as an advantage over Beal is his prototypical size for his position.

[MadBOBCATfanUK]

Jeremy Lamb had to play with Boatright and Napier who are both worse chuckers than those listed above well probably Napier anyway, but he's fallen from top5 pick to mid-late lottery. To be honest with a bit of muscle he could be every bit as good and even better than Beal.

[DashGlobal]

DashGlobal I am confused MKG not worth a top 5 pick yet you put him at no.4 in your top 10????

Generally speaking he isnt worth that. Which is why I said if we dont get the 1st or 2nd pick (hell even Robinson has some height issues) we are gonna have to really be reaching taking a guy with a glaring weakness. A true top 5 player in my mind is pretty solid all across the board. ie good size, rebounding and lowpost scoring for a big, solid handle and good shot for a wing, great handle and passing for a pg.

MKG - terrible shot
Beal - undersized, average shooter, average ppg (drafting off of highschool hype and potential)
Barnes - shaky handle
Drummond - complete disappointment ( drafting off of 100% potential)

Like I said there is only ONE elite player in this draft class and even he (Davis) is not a finished product by any means. He needs to fill out a ton!

[dnbman]

A true top 5 player in my mind is pretty solid all across the board. ie good size, rebounding and lowpost scoring for a big, solid handle and good shot for a wing, great handle and passing for a pg.

Is it possible you're overestimating top 5 picks?

It's pretty rare these days to find a prototypical player at any position. One of the reasons for this is that picks often have the skills but not NBA athleticism or NBA athleticism with raw skills. Finding guys that are solid across the board, at least in my mind, appear much less frequently than 5 times a draft. In most drafts, you've got one or two elite guys, a few probably starters, and everyone else is a crap-shoot. Suffice to say, they almost always have questions after the top couple of elite guys.

[SWedd523]

Jeremy Lamb had to play with Boatright and Napier who are both worse chuckers than those listed above well probably Napier anyway, but he's fallen from top5 pick to mid-late lottery. To be honest with a bit of muscle he could be every bit as good and even better than Beal.
the combo of Walker/Boynton is way worse than Napier/Boatright but you're correct, those two knuckleheads played a large part in why UConn didn't have a better season.


I've been high on Beal since the start of the year, before just about anybody knew who he was. I'm also very high on Lamb and think he has by far the most potential of any wing player in the draft. He is the closest thing in the draft to being an explosive scorer, and he's a great defender to boot. If UConn didn't fall apart then he'd still be a top 4 candidate. He'll probably move back up boards closer to draft night.

If I were the GM and had the second pick, I'd seriously consider him

[dav7z]

Ill just say this if we don't land A Davis . I really think Barnes fits our team needs best . Considering position, size , Scoring abilitys , But im not saying hes the 2nd best player in this draft. I JUST THINK HE WOULD FIT WELL WITH US?

[Veteran_Picksetter]

Ill just say this if we don't land A Davis . I really think Barnes fits our team needs best . Considering position, size , Scoring abilitys , But im not saying hes the 2nd best player in this draft. I JUST THINK HE WOULD FIT WELL WITH US?

He fits positionally, yes. And we need someone who can knock down some NBA 3's, which he will eventually do.

But we also need a more efficient scorer who can break people down off the dribble and get to the line.

So I would say that Barnes fits our core in an incomplete fashion.

I wouldn't want just Barnes in this first round. I'd be happy with him and another guy if we traded down.

[dav7z]

[QUOTE=Veteran_Picksetter;212954]He fits positionally, yes. And we need someone who can knock down some NBA 3's, which he will eventually do.

But we also need a more efficient scorer who can break people down off the dribble and get to the line.

So I would say that Barnes fits our core in an incomplete fashion.

You guys have to addmit he fits need better than MKG , Drumond, , Beal , Sullinger . If we land up at two i would love to trade with NO take Barnes and Sullinger , Lamb , Rivers who think is a home run , Barnes and Rivers would be a great draft.

[SWedd523]

What's our biggest need though, dav?


In my mind, our biggest, most desperate need irrespective of position is TALENT. We need the best possible NBA players we can get our hands on, so it would be a bad idea to take one subpar player just because he "fits" better.

You remember Bismack? high energy, athletic, shot blocking big man. That sounds nearly exactly like the guy we just gave a big contract to--Tyrus Thomas. Looking at it, Bismack wasn't a very good fit like one of the wing players like Morris were. Yet now Bismack is looking like the best piece for our future team. That's how quickly things can change.

Barnes is probably about the 8-10th or so player I'd take in this draft

Davis
Lamb
Beal
Robinson
Gilchrist
Drummond
Sullinger

then you have guys like Lillard, Marshall, Henson, Perry Jones, Henson, Zeller, Leonard, who are on that same tier as Barnes

[dav7z]

What's our biggest need though, dav?


In my mind, our biggest, most desperate need irrespective of position is TALENT. We need the best possible NBA players we can get our hands on, so it would be a bad idea to take one subpar player just because he "fits" better.

You remember Bismack? high energy, athletic, shot blocking big man. That sounds nearly exactly like the guy we just gave a big contract to--Tyrus Thomas. Looking at it, Bismack wasn't a very good fit like one of the wing players like Morris were. Yet now Bismack is looking like the best piece for our future team. That's how quickly things can change.

Barnes is probably about the 8-10th or so player I'd take in this draft

Davis
Lamb
Beal
Robinson
Gilchrist
Drummond
Sullinger

then you have guys like Lillard, Marshall, Henson, Perry Jones, Henson, Zeller, Leonard, who are on that same tier as Barnes

From other post i can tell you not 2 big on Barnes . See i guess im putting Barnes on the same teir as MKG , Drummond, Sullinger , Robinson and Beal . Beal can hit a open jumper but i don't see enough athletic ability two be on the top teir. A Rivers will have a better pro carer. Lamb will all so.
MKG . Big motor plays good defence but can't hit the jumper , But GW is not bad to be compared two.
Drummond , could be real good or real bad? I JUST DON'T THINK WE CAN TAKE ANOTHER ?

Robinson , Would be a solid pro , good on the boards , decent offence. A poor mans Horford is not bad.
Sulinger , good offence but will have big truble against bigs in the pros . Stronger players in college slowed him quit a bit.