Who should become the first person to be drafted to the pelicans?

Anyone check out that guy Leon Sandcastle?

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Originally Posted by NOLa.

Watched all 3 that he played against UNC (watch every game) and I stick with what I said. Unimpressive for a 7'1 C going against a SF who he outweighs by 40+. The numbers look good but UnC is a poor rebounding team which he did average against. I pass.

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If u have TRULY watched every game then u wouldn't be saying what ur saying. U can't say "he can't outperform mcadoo at the c pos." then turn around n say "oh hes a sf n weighs 40 lbs less" to downplay the fact that Len did in fact outperform him when ur the one who decided to make the comparison between the 2 and yes Len did outperform him. Mcadoo is 6'9 230 and Len is 7'1 255...so not what ur trying to make it but nice try bro lol...also if u truly did watch many games of Len then u would also know the guard play is horrible and they don't give him the ball nearly enough with this last game just shining the spotlight on that matter...5-7 shooting 20 pts...he has the ability to dominate if given the opportunity. He has a nice back to the basket offensive game that is lacking in the nba right now.

He won't make an ounce of impact in the NBA. Can't get mad ecause someone has an opinion on someone who truly isn't any good. The only thing he has is size but he'll get dominated.

Len those other 2 games vs UNC I watched and WHY I'm unimpressed.

10 pts 5 rebs
8 pts 7 rebs

So he had 1 good game. Yeah he's going to be excellent.

Shabazz would be great here but it's still time to see how he performs in the tournament without the kid who got hurt. His scoring potential is just great and we need some pure scoring.

Porter would definitely be a great pick too but will the chemistry work with him? He seems to be almost too much of a role player, a jack of all trades with no exact specialty. Do we really need this on this young team with not much of a offensive or defensive identity?

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Originally Posted by wuggie

Shabazz would be great here but it's still time to see how he performs in the tournament without the kid who got hurt. His scoring potential is just great and we need some pure scoring.

Porter would definitely be a great pick too but will the chemistry work with him? He seems to be almost too much of a role player, a jack of all trades with no exact specialty. Do we really need this on this young team with not much of a offensive or defensive identity? Would he get lost into this mess right now? Some solid ground and direction ground and direction is needed.

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Yeah I think I'm at the point where I just want the best available scorer.

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Originally Posted by wuggie

Shabazz would be great here but it's still time to see how he performs in the tournament without the kid who got hurt. His scoring potential is just great and we need some pure scoring.

Porter would definitely be a great pick too but will the chemistry work with him? He seems to be almost too much of a role player, a jack of all trades with no exact specialty. Do we really need this on this young team with not much of a offensive or defensive identity?

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In the draft you pick the best player available regardless of short term fit. ESPECIALLY in this one-and-done age. The draft is for long term prospects only. Like buying stock. Short term fits are addressed in free agency.

we would have to trade back or secure another pretty early pick somehow, but I will say this.....if you liked Lillard last year, you should be liking McCollum this year....

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Originally Posted by wuggie

Shabazz would be great here but it's still time to see how he performs in the tournament without the kid who got hurt. His scoring potential is just great and we need some pure scoring.

Porter would definitely be a great pick too but will the chemistry work with him? He seems to be almost too much of a role player, a jack of all trades with no exact specialty. Do we really need this on this young team with not much of a offensive or defensive identity?

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This is a great post, that's the same way I feel about Porter a jack of all trades a master of non. That why I want Shabazz the dude can flat out score.

I'm kind of starting to like Noel a little. He reminds me of Larry Sanders, but better, and I think that would be very scary to pair with Davis.

Sanders (Junior in college) - ORtg of 116, DRtg of 90.8, TS% of .563 TRB% of 19.0, BLK % of 9.1
Noel (Freshman in college) - ORtg of 112.8, DRtg of 81.8, TS% of .583 TRB% of 16.6, BLK% of 13.1

So as you can see, Noel fares favorably to Sanders, and he is 2 years younger at that point.

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Originally Posted by luckyman

In the draft you pick the best player available regardless of short term fit. ESPECIALLY in this one-and-done age. The draft is for long term prospects only. Like buying stock. Short term fits are addressed in free agency.

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Great post. I agree with your analogy 100 percent.

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

I'm kind of starting to like Noel a little. He reminds me of Larry Sanders, but better, and I think that would be very scary to pair with Davis.

Sanders (Junior in college) - ORtg of 116, DRtg of 90.8, TS% of .563 TRB% of 19.0, BLK % of 9.1
Noel (Freshman in college) - ORtg of 112.8, DRtg of 81.8, TS% of .583 TRB% of 16.6, BLK% of 13.1

So as you can see, Noel fares favorably to Sanders, and he is 2 years younger at that point.

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I don't think Noel is ready "skillset wise" to enter the league now. With that, his recent injury and the abysmal season UK had, he might just stay another year.

Noel will come out because he will be a top 5 pick, probably top 3.

Noel, Davis front line could be great especially with ryno and smith coming off bench.

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Originally Posted by Nsingh93

I don't think Noel is ready "skillset wise" to enter the league now. With that, his recent injury and the abysmal season UK had, he might just stay another year.

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He's not but he's top 5 and as Barnes learned, you have to come out when you're top 5. He will be hard to keep off the floor with his shot blocking even without a skillset on the offensive end. He'll be like a deandre Jordan coming straight into the league.

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Originally Posted by nolaslim213

I'm kind of starting to like Noel a little. He reminds me of Larry Sanders, but better, and I think that would be very scary to pair with Davis.

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I'm not sure how I feel about that pairing. On the one hand that's a lot of skinny for opponents to push around, on the other hand they've come up with a new defensive stat based on Larry Sanders awesome help defense, so maybe if you have Davis and Noel helping each other them being physically bullied won't be that big of a deal.

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Originally Posted by Nsingh93

I don't think Noel is ready "skillset wise" to enter the league now. With that, his recent injury and the abysmal season UK had, he might just stay another year.

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No way he passes up guaranteed millions to play for UK.

Been saying this for awhile, AD and Noel would be an awesome pairing! Davis is a better off ball help defender but i think noel is a better on ball rim defender than davis honestly, they would create the best frontcourt defensive duo in the league, u dont need noel to score a bunch of points, Davis post and mid range game will be awesome in a couple years, do u really need ur center to have 20-10 games when ur PF is as well? thats just not realistic, if we cant get McLemore Noel is the guy I want, then find a way to trade for wilson chandler and sign al jefferson and DJ augustine

Rivers/Augustin
Gordon/whoever
Chandler/Miller
AD/Ryno
Jefferson/Noel

What about a Bennett/Davis front court?

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Originally Posted by AD23forMVP

What about a Bennett/Davis front court?

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way too small, we already have too many power forwards

is derek williams a free agent? he can shoot rebound and finish, i know he is a tweener but i think he is quick enough to defend the perimeter good enough, if not u have anthony davis and possibly noel behind him anyway, i think he would be a nice person to get for our SF spot maybeeeee

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Originally Posted by HornetGuru

is derek williams a free agent? he can shoot rebound and finish, i know he is a tweener but i think he is quick enough to defend the perimeter good enough, if not u have anthony davis and possibly noel behind him anyway, i think he would be a nice person to get for our SF spot maybeeeee

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I don't think he can be a full-time SF. Perimeter skills aren't good enough.

With AD and Noel. We'll block all the shots. And still lose cuz we can't consistently score in the clutch.

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Originally Posted by Eman5805

With AD and Noel. We'll block all the shots. And still lose cuz we can't consistently score in the clutch.

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I can't really think of too many Centers who are your "go-to" guys in the clutch. The position is dying in that regard, and it's evolving into an athletic rim protector who can run the PnR and get out on the break. Noel checks all of those boxes, and he also has a great passion for the game (reportedly).

By the way, I think Davis can/will certainly develop into a closer for us, paired with Gordon (and maybe Rivers).

Does Aldridge get the last shots for Portland? I'm not talking about the last shot, just down the stretch.

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Originally Posted by Nsingh93

I don't think Noel is ready "skillset wise" to enter the league now. With that, his recent injury and the abysmal season UK had, he might just stay another year.

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Assuming he comes out...

If we wind up in slot #2 and McLemore is the first pick, then I think the no-brainer is selecting Nerlens. I'll probably wind up posting this a trillion times before draft day, but Noel and McLemore are just so much more athletic than everyone else in this class. The others have question marks to the point where you have to wonder how they'll contribute in the NBA. But with McLemore and Nerlens, you know you're getting someone who won't be in over his head physically. Porter is a skilled swingman, Shabazz can score, but Nerlens is a freak athlete big man and that's just rare. The opportunity to pair Davis & Noel I think far, far outweighs any other option on the board. The NBA has evolved into a league where the big man's game is played above the rim; and if we can pair 2 guys who can run and jump like freaks, then I think we've set ourselves up for a situation where we enter every game with a distinct advantage. Hell, the Saints could even trot them out for hail mary situations.

Look back at last year's draft and look how those rookies are doing. The only 2 you can flat out say are future heavyweights in the NBA are Lillard and Davis. A big freak athlete and an athletic as all hell PG. No one foresaw Robinson's struggles, MKG's struggles, or Beal's struggles. Waiters is playing well, but there's no telling how he'll finish. I'm not saying those guys aren't any good, but just that if you redraft, Davis and Lillard are 1 & 2.

Davis and Lillard have the following in common; they were the 2 rookies who athletically were freakish. They possessed explosion + great feet.

So IMO, when in doubt, go with the blockbuster athletes who show good feet. It won't always work out well; if you look at the 2011 draft, you'd say go with the guys who come in skill-ready (Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson). But I standby my original point: Put Davis & Noel on the floor together and you give yourself at least the strength of entering every game with 2 of the most athletic big men to ever walk the earth.

New Orleans = Swat City

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Originally Posted by HornetGuru

way too small, we already have too many power forwards

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I'm not so sure I agree with that. I think anyone can view Davis as a natural 4, but he will get a TON of minutes at the 5 during his career. He's going to be a legit 7 footer in his prime, as well as adding more weight. Bennett may be a little short, but he makes up for it with a fantastic wingspan and athleticism. Not to mention he's a bull, 240 lbs. If some of the other guys are gone, Bennett needs to be the pick.

Bennett is still growing as well right? So he might be undersized now but in the future he could add an inch or two and be a solid 6'9 6'10 pf.

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

Does Aldridge get the last shots for Portland? I'm not talking about the last shot, just down the stretch.

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either him or lillard, but 1. L.A. is a power forward 2. He is a scorer

The way I look at it, the league is becoming a slashing/driving league, the mid range game is dying, all people do it shoot 3's or drive to the basket.
With having AD and Noel you get 2 LONG, athletic, defensive freaks, all u have to do then is get a good point guard who can pass to help the bigs out and the 2 wing positions u put 2 pure scorers, if they get beat they have to make it passed AD and Noel to the rim... Goodluck...
i will say it again find a way to trade for wilson chandler and sign dj augustine and al jefferson

My preferences are now, in this order:

1. Ben McLemore
2. Marcus Smart
3. Otto Porter
4. Shabazz Muhammad
5. Nerlens Noel

Mine are:

McLemore
Noel
Smart
Shabazz
Porter

Mine are
1. Mclemore
2. Smart
3a.Noel
3b. Shabazz(just got hunch about him)
4.Porter
5. Oladipo and possibly Burke if we slip a little.


And all of mine except the first 3 depends on which direction the team is going. BPA would be smart also but it seems that their not much of difference between the 3rd and 8th pick, so you might as well pick what your team needs.

1. McLemore
2. Smart
3. Shabazz
4. Porter
5. Bennett
6. Noel
7. Burke
8. Oladipo

1. Ben McLemore
2. Shabazz Muhammad
3. Otto Porter Jr.
4. Victor Oladipo
5. Marcus Smart
6. Trey Burke
7. Cody Zeller
8. Anthony Bennett
9. Nerlens Noel
10. CJ McCollum

Obviously my preference is for a wing player.

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Originally Posted by AD23forMVP

1. McLemore
2. Smart
3. Shabazz
4. Porter
5. Bennett
6. Noel
7. Burke
8. Oladipo

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You've been moving bennett and shabazz up the list lately.

1. McLermore
2. Smart
3. Bazz
4. Porter
5. Noel
6. Oladipo
7. Bennet

Bennett over Noel is ludicrous to me. He would be 8th on my list behind the top 5 above, Burke, and Zeller.

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

You've been moving bennett and shabazz up the list lately.

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I have. The more I watch this team, the clearer it becomes this team needs guys that can put the ball in the goal rather than guys who are good at everything but not great at anything. I think you could argue Porter will be a better pro, and I would not argue against it, but I think Shabazz will be a better scorer in the NBA. Which is what this team needs, imo. Same goes for Bennett. And neither of those guys are one way players, they both have defensive potential.

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Originally Posted by AD23forMVP

I have. The more I watch this team, the clearer it becomes this team needs guys that can put the ball in the goal rather than guys who are good at everything but not great at anything. I think you could argue Porter will be a better pro, and I would not argue against it, but I think Shabazz will be a better scorer in the NBA. Which is what this team needs, imo. Same goes for Bennett. And neither of those guys are one way players, they both have defensive potential.

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Shabazz also brings the "oh, I'm not getting the ball...then I'll check out of the game."

After typing that, I'm sure Shabazz won't be a Pelican. I can't see Monty wanting to deal with another SG who needs baby-sitting.

meh

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Originally Posted by Primetime

Shabazz also brings the "oh, I'm not getting the ball...then I'll check out of the game."

After typing that, I'm sure Shabazz won't be a Pelican. I can't see Monty wanting to deal with another SG who needs baby-sitting.

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Have you seen him actually check out of a game bc he's not getting shots? Or are you basing this all off of that one game where he didn't cheer his teammate on after not getting to take the game winner?

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Originally Posted by AD23forMVP

I have. The more I watch this team, the clearer it becomes this team needs guys that can put the ball in the goal rather than guys who are good at everything but not great at anything. I think you could argue Porter will be a better pro, and I would not argue against it, but I think Shabazz will be a better scorer in the NBA. Which is what this team needs, imo. Same goes for Bennett. And neither of those guys are one way players, they both have defensive potential.

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I agree.I had an initial reaction to Oladipo but the more I think about it the more I think Bazz is a good fit along with Burke and Smart. Those 3 are on my wish list. I'm pretty certain with our recent dip in the standings our pick would be a little high for Burke. I haven't see Bennett play much, but i'm pretty against having a guy his size with the intent he will play the 4.

The elite scorers tend to behave like they deserve every big shot. We need scorers in the worst way.

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Originally Posted by NOLa.

He won't make an ounce of impact in the NBA. Can't get mad ecause someone has an opinion on someone who truly isn't any good. The only thing he has is size but he'll get dominated.

Len those other 2 games vs UNC I watched and WHY I'm unimpressed.

10 pts 5 rebs
8 pts 7 rebs

So he had 1 good game. Yeah he's going to be excellent.

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Bro I'm not arguing he will be EXCELLENT...but I'm just pointing out the flaws in ur logic when ur downing his play. U put the stats out there for him in the other 2 games but go look how many times he actually shot or got the ball. Like I said the guard play is horrible at Maryland and it has everything to do with his low output at times. Why don't u go check games where he played top competition like ur boy Noel. Do u know how that game went?? Or do u just go off recent talk of everyone else?? Here I'll give it to u..Len 10-18 23 pts 12 rb 4 blks..Noel 4 pts 9 rbs 3 blks ...so what's the excuse to downplay that performance?? Duke game he had 8pts 10 rbs 2 blks but was 3-6 from field...guess what tho the guards were a combined 12-45 that game..so the next time they play duke he has a 19 pt 9 rb 3 blk game on 6-8 shooting and his guy plumlee had 4 pts 3 rb 0 blk..His guards were 13-25 that game...got him involved that game n u see the results??..I'm not saying this kid is going to be the next shaq but what I am saying is you are obviously mis judging this kids talents as a true 7 footer that is very efficient and will just get better. He DOMINATED Noel. Now that's when u can use that word not like when u falsely used it vs mcadoo. I am not even saying draft him cause I'm on board with smart mclemore or a sf. But if we were to go big man this guy would be much better to pair with Davis than Noel. Noel is inept at offense. I don't want a lob city team. I want an efficient scoring team. We need a center that can post up and be a threat to score with his back to the basket. So the defense will collapse on him and he can then kick it out or find ad cutting. I just don't get how all u guys can miss this element of the game that we so desperately need. I respect ur opinion bro and ur entitled to it but I can't just let u keep throwing empty stats and statements out there about this kid when u haven't obviously watched him play much. When he is involved in a full game offensively the kid is a force and efficient scoring the ball. Period.

I don't care for Noel at all, but Noel has interesting potential to be even better at defense than Larry Sanders. I just can't see what would separates Len as a dominant big man in the leaue where he just reminds me of Andrew Bogut at best who I feel is overrated (my best comparison I can think of because I'm watching the game now lol).

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Originally Posted by AD23forMVP

I have. The more I watch this team, the clearer it becomes this team needs guys that can put the ball in the goal rather than guys who are good at everything but not great at anything. I think you could argue Porter will be a better pro, and I would not argue against it, but I think Shabazz will be a better scorer in the NBA. Which is what this team needs, imo. Same goes for Bennett. And neither of those guys are one way players, they both have defensive potential.

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We are an above average offensive team and nearly the worst in the league in defense. What makes you say we need a scorer above a guy like Porter, who I think we both will admit is more of a two-way player?

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Originally Posted by NOLa.

I don't care for Noel at all, but Noel has interesting potential to be even better at defense than Larry Sanders. I just can't see what would separates Len as a dominant big man in the leaue where he just reminds me of Andrew Bogut at best who I feel is overrated (my best comparison I can think of because I'm watching the game now lol).

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I think Bogut has looked pretty great tonight really.

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

Have you seen him actually check out of a game bc he's not getting shots? Or are you basing this all off of that one game where he didn't cheer his teammate on after not getting to take the game winner?

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No, not that just one game. He repeatedly has body language that says "oh, you're not looking for me...then I'm not gonna go hard today." I personally don't care about him not cheering on the buzzer beater. He could just be a chill guy.

I can understand the argument that would say "he was out of shape, he's not gonna be able to go hard all the time." But something tells me the Hornets front office doesn't feel the same way after dealing with Eric Gordon.

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

I agree.I had an initial reaction to Oladipo but the more I think about it the more I think Bazz is a good fit along with Burke and Smart. Those 3 are on my wish list. I'm pretty certain with our recent dip in the standings our pick would be a little high for Burke. I haven't see Bennett play much, but i'm pretty against having a guy his size with the intent he will play the 4.

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Well like I said, with his wingspan, his athleticism, and his strength I don't think the fact that he's 6'8 really matters all that much. Like someone said earlier, he's only 20 so he could grow to 6'9 or 6'10. And honestly what does it matter? What's the difference between 6'8 and 6'9? Take away that number and you wouldn't even know the difference. Give him a little extra padding in his shoes and he'll be good lol

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Originally Posted by NOLa.

I don't care for Noel at all, but Noel has interesting potential to be even better at defense than Larry Sanders. I just can't see what would separates Len as a dominant big man in the leaue where he just reminds me of Andrew Bogut at best who I feel is overrated (my best comparison I can think of because I'm watching the game now lol).

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I also feel bogut is overrated but Len is young and already has a polished back to the basket offensive game. He is not just a big body. I've watched him play LOTS this year. When they get him involved good things always happen. If u notice when he has low outputs it's not like he's shooting 30% or sumn. He always goes 50% or better whether he's just 3-6 or 2-4 on nights when those trash guards just jack up shot After shot. He can get better and would make more of an impact on the offensive side of the ball than Noel while still being that shot blocking presence on defense. I understand Noel is athletic n all but I'm good on having another deandre Jordan on this team. We need more than a slam dunk lob guy to man the center position. IMO