John Wall wants to draft "A four man that can pick and pop"

[Snarly]

I'd say it's more mentality than ability. LeBron wasn't the defender he is now even 5 years ago. Shane Battier was a very good man defender in his prime and he was never a great athlete.

J.J. Riddick agrees with you.

[BallSoHard]

The more I look at this draft I honestly have no idea where we go.

Say Noel, McLemore, Bennett, Oladipo, and Porter are gone. Where do we go?

You could say PG, but I think the team thinks much more highly of Rivers than any of us do. You have Burke, but I just don't see Monty or Dell wanting to add another poor perimeter defender, especially with a lottery pick. You have MCW, but I think they may question some of his offensive abilities.

You could say SF, but if Porter is gone who really is left? You may say Saric but 6 may be a bit too early for him.

And then C? Alex Len? I just can't get behind that.

I think Caldwell-Pope may be at the top right now, assuming we trade Gordon.

We either go big, or we go home. I heard Dell say it.

[HornetGuru]

To be honest, Rivers still isn't a good defender right now. He's improved, especially against PGs, but struggles overall including against shooting guards due to his inability to fight off screens and lack of length and overt athleticism.

rivers' handled kobe defensively

[Snarly]

There's a difference doing it in spurts vs doing it the entire game. Rivers shown the potential but he isn't quite there yet. But that exceeded most people's expectation because people didn't think he could defend at all.

[BallSoHard]

To be honest, Rivers still isn't a good defender right now. He's improved, especially against PGs, but struggles overall including against shooting guards due to his inability to fight off screens and lack of length and overt athleticism.

The problem IMO about the comparison about River's D is; it was supposed to be his weakness. Instead it turned into one of his better qualities on the floor (because everything was so miserable for awhile) so it may be getting slightly overrated after he did an outstanding job on Kobe (Once let's not overblow it TWSS). He's better there than anticipated. I think Rivers realized or Monty told him, if his shot isnt falling he needs to bring other qualities to the floor or he would be yanked. It's like having a 3 point specialist with the shanks, what's the point of playing him. So Rivers was smart enough to heed this advice and focus the energy he needed to on that side of the ball where i'm not sure that was the case at Duke, he was going to play no matter.

Also, sorry for being so sporadic in this paragraph lol.

[AUSSIE_PELICAN]

We either go big, or we go home. I heard Dell say it.

Did he really say this?

[BallSoHard]

Did he really say this?

Lol no.

[da ThRONe]

Guys like Rivers and Paul aren't the norm. There are a ton of guys who were poor defenders and poor defenders in the NBA. If you aren't a good defender in college more time than not you won't magically become one in the NBA.

Where Burke compares to both Paul(who is an overrated defender) and Rivers is they both had to run the offense. Which probably lead to the lack of defensives effort. It's true guys don't always become better, however most players aren't leaned on as much as Burke was to carry the offense.

[flyPelican]

I don't think even Jordan could make a pick that bad, although I certainly I hope he does.

you obviously don't know Jordan the GM

[HornetGuru]

Where Burke compares to both Paul(who is an overrated defender) and Rivers is they both had to run the offense. Which probably lead to the lack of defensives effort. It's true guys don't always become better, however most players aren't leaned on as much as Burke was to carry the offense.

exactly how I felt, which is why u saw kobe play lazy defense for a long time then all of a sudden when he wanted to or went up against top notch competition he went hard!

[Snarly]

you obviously don't know Jordan the GM

But Jordan isn't the GM.

[PelsFan2313]

If the draft goes Noel, McLemore, Bennett, and Oladipo at 1-4, who do you see PHX taking?

And if they skip on Porter, is there any way we pass on him too?

I say no, even with Burke available.

[Eman5805]

Coin flip is how I'd choose. I like them both too much.

I still predict someone is going to go way higher than we anticipate.

[Pelicans78]

The problem IMO about the comparison about River's D is; it was supposed to be his weakness. Instead it turned into one of his better qualities on the floor (because everything was so miserable for awhile) so it may be getting slightly overrated after he did an outstanding job on Kobe (Once let's not overblow it TWSS). He's better there than anticipated. I think Rivers realized or Monty told him, if his shot isnt falling he needs to bring other qualities to the floor or he would be yanked. It's like having a 3 point specialist with the shanks, what's the point of playing him. So Rivers was smart enough to heed this advice and focus the energy he needed to on that side of the ball where i'm not sure that was the case at Duke, he was going to play no matter.

Also, sorry for being so sporadic in this paragraph lol.

Better than being diplomatic.

[iNolaNightmare]

I know they have Dragic and Marshall, but with Hornacek coming in, I could see Phoenix taking Burke. I think it's also a strong possibility Utah trades up to get him or CJ Mac. But I really expect Phoenix to blow things up this summer.

[PelsFan2313]

Coin flip is how I'd choose. I like them both too much.

I still predict someone is going to go way higher than we anticipate.

Same here. Someone always rises, and in turn, someone always falls. Hopefully the latter is Porter.

[tdcreator]

I'm really liking Pope with a trade down which could net us a prospect like CJ Leslir. I also think if you can put Mason at the 3, I'm sure you can put Pope there since he is 6'6.

[jdmcuc]

What happened to Ricky Ledo? People were saying he would be a late lottery/teen pick but he has since dropped to an early second round according to several mocks.

[Snarly]

What happened to Ricky Ledo? People were saying he would be a late lottery/teen pick but he has since dropped to an early second round according to several mocks.

Struggled at the combine, mediocre hops, 4 bench press, character red flags, out of basketball for an entire year, 10% body fat... etc.. His showing wasn't good.

[Smow-]

Hey I didn't know Chris Wall had a say in the draft room as well. Oh wait...