Agreed. As things look there doesn't appear to be much value in the 5-10 range. That could change but as of now I see Shabazz, McLemore & Noel as decent value in the top 5.
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I wouldn't trust anything a member of the media has to say about our FO thoughts or dealings. Even Bald-nell is wrong way more often than not.
The doors have been notoriously closed and more often than not, a FO move is completely out of the blue. Remember when EVERY expert had us drafting Robinson because we loved him so much? Didn't work out so well. Saying we like Bennett is just him trying to make an obvious statement to sound like he knows what's going on. "It's clear they need a scoring big, so I'm going to bet they really like Bennett"
BTW, not saying we aren't really interested in him. Just that it's probably best to take whatever they say with a grain of salt.
Hit the 18 footer and then some. Guard a player up to 6'10," not so much. He has the girth and muscle and the arms but it's not ideal. His post game is pretty good (for a freshman big this day and age).
Bingo. I think Len, Gobert, Austin, Adams, and Plumlee will be available by our second pick. Some of those dudes will slip there, and some of those dudes will be reached on before us. Just the way the draft always is. But I'd like to grab a potential big like Adams and just stash him for trade bait.
Just wanted to cover a couple of things. First of all you were talking about Len struggling against state. I think it's fair to say that Len is not even halfway through his first season of getting real minutes. The rest of this season and a summer in the weight room can make a big difference. And no way is he there with the Portland pick. As far as Bennett, i don't believe there's any proof our front office is big on him. I agree with Swedd on that. I'm sure our scouts are looking at players but i doubt anyone in our front office has really sat down with them to start discussing the draft at this point in the season. I honestly don't see the hype with Bennett. He's a tweener and there's no evidence that he would be an upgrade over Warrick honestly. Just like it's hard for me too see Zellar or Noel being big enough upgrades over Mully or Biz to warrant high picks. Our first pick needs to be Mclemore or Muhammed or i say trade it. If we get the Porland pick i would take a chance on Gobert,Austin, or Adams in that order.
Len struggled against Leslie who might be a mid-1st rounder at best and Howell who is probably a 2nd rounder at best. Then he turned around and sucked mucho against McAdoo who is definitely more of a tweener than Bennett. That's my point, how does Len fare against likely fellow draft picks? So far, not that well. If that continues as the season goes on, he'll definitely hover around to where the Portland pick might be. I wouldn't consider Len a lock for top 10 at all at this point.
So far, I think Shabazz, McLemore, and Bennett occupy the first tier then drop off a bit to Noel and Zeller and so on. All I'm saying is we have to acknowledge that the lottery balls don't fall our way and we could end up with the 3rd or 4th pick, so McLemore or Muhammad might not even be available and we're stuck looking at a 'tweener or a project big.
Noel impresses me more and more every time I watch him play. As much as I like McLemore, I really want Noel. He is going to be a star in the NBA.
I just wish Noel had any discernible offensive game. I'm watching him tonight and its more of the same throwing and tossing the ball at the rim instead of shooting. It's like he doesn't even bother putting any touch on the ball.
Can be a serious game changer on the defensive end though, which is nice. But we already get that in Bismack so I'm going to have to see some offensive flashes before I can get comfortable with drafting Noel.
Noel is great playing post defense 1 on 1. And he has the length, instincts, timing, and mobility to play solid defense on stretch 4s. Those are a couple things that Biz doesn't have. He also has a knack for stealing the ball that I've never seen out of a big man before. Biz is a good rebounder and a good help blocker. Outside of that he can't do much of anything.
On offense, I would say they are about even right now. However, Noel is a good passer as well. Not to mention, he doesn't get goaltending calls every game.
Btw, this is from a Biz supporter.
If only it was possible to get both McLemore and Noel...
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Noel also has that great eye for steals.
A good vote to do on here would to see who was the better prospect: Noel or Biyombo