Draft Prospects Discussion

[AUSSIE_PELICAN]

No not at all, I just think that whiteside has more natural instincts when it comes to defense. He always seems to be in the right place, when I see Drummond on defense he looks either out of place at times, making the wrong reads, or focusing more on trying to get the rebound.

Let me ask you genuinely why do you believe Drummond is the better defender?

IMO (eye test)
Drummond is better team defender.
Whiteside is a better ISO defender.

Just look at who Whiteside has covering for him.
Dragic, Wade, Deng and Bosh who are all above average defenders.

Drummond has nobody....except for maybe Pope.

If I had to pick who I'd want next to AD I'd go Whiteside, but only because there is about a 5% of that happening compared to Drummond at 0%.

Oh and Drummond is ******** house at free throws and you can't play him at the end of games.

[HornetGuru]

IMO (eye test)
Drummond is better team defender.
Whiteside is a better ISO defender.

Just look at who Whiteside has covering for him.
Dragic, Wade, Deng and Bosh who are all above average defenders.

Drummond has nobody....except for maybe Pope.

If I had to pick who I'd want next to AD I'd go Whiteside, but only because there is about a 5% of that happening compared to Drummond at 0%.

Oh and Drummond is ******** house at free throws and you can't play him at the end of games.

That's why I like Whiteside with AD though, Whiteside is a better post defender and AD is a better help defender.

And yeah thats another reason I like whiteside, he can hit a FT. His eFG% blows drummonds out the water. Which is good, I don't need a center who takes too many shots and cant hit a FT next to AD.

[GuardianAngel25]

Whiteside is absolutely the better defender and not just because of blocks. He literally alters how players are going to the hoop just like AD in college. His length gives the guy who he's guarding fits. Surprisingly the player who has been most succesful on Whiteside has been Jefferson but with his offensive skills in the post it's not that surprising. Drummond is a good defender but definitely nothing special. You don't see players changing how they go to the hoop and doesn't give the guys he's guarding fits like Whiteside. A guy with his strength, length, and athleticism should be leading the NBA in blocks but he doesn't and guess who does?

If anybody has watched Whiteside they would know his post game is very impressive as well. Put AD next to Whiteside and he would be even more dominant. The best thing about Whiteside is he is a clone to AD in college. He doesn't have to touch the ball or score a point to have a huge impact on a game. He scores very efficiently and isn't a liability at the FT line. Isn't a ball dominant big man like Cousins who AD has to learn how to share the ball with which is great. Davis/Whiteside is hands down the best big man duo in the NBA on both sides of the ball. Could arguably be the best defensive duo the NBA has seen in a long long time. Teams would have some serious trouble matching up with those two. That is a big man duo you can win a championship with and would be my priority #1 for realistic FAs we can sign.

[Paul Overt]

People - Luwawu will be lottery pick. Not 39-40th...

For 2nd round I will be happy with any of Brice Johnson, Bembry, Brogdon, Selden, Layman (mostly Seniors)

In Nbadraft.net, he is at 32th http://www.nbadraft.net/2016mock_draft

[pawel]

in DE he is 12th
in tankathon is 10th
in espn he is right after lottery

I would love to have him available in second round...

[pawel]

Philly has nice draft possibilities in this year.

They have best odds for No1 (mathematically)
They can receive Lakers pick if it will fall from top 3.
AND they have right to swap picks with Sacto. Which means that if Sacto will climb to top 1-2 (low probability, but still) of the lottery - Phila can swap picks...

And they have 24th and 26th pick (I would love to trade for one of those - f.e. Reke for a pick which have about 1% chance of probability)

[GuardianAngel25]

Yea I can definitely see Philly offering some of those end of the 1st round picks. I don't see them wanting that many young guys on the team but you never know. If I was them I would keep all the picks hoping I find that steal at the end of the draft.

[carpo]

IMO (eye test)
Drummond is better team defender.
Whiteside is a better ISO defender.

Just look at who Whiteside has covering for him.
Dragic, Wade, Deng and Bosh who are all above average defenders.

Drummond has nobody....except for maybe Pope.

If I had to pick who I'd want next to AD I'd go Whiteside, but only because there is about a 5% of that happening compared to Drummond at 0%.

Oh and Drummond is ******** house at free throws and you can't play him at the end of games.

Bosh and above avergae defender in the same sentence?

[UNO Gracias]

Drummond is still only 22, so he has time to be a better all around player than Whiteside, but as has been stated, we have a better chance of signing Whiteside than we do Drummond.

[pelicanchamp]

Drummond is still only 22, so he has time to be a better all around player than Whiteside, but as has been stated, we have a better chance of signing Whiteside than we do Drummond.

I like Whiteside but he will command 20mil a year. Right? How much money do we have to spend on FA?

[tthier2]

Whiteside will be expensive but I wonder if we can work out a sign and trade with Miami since they may not want to pay him much but still need a center then we can off load asik. I know it's asking a miracle but in essence he would really be a 2 year rental.

[Mythrol]

We have bigger needs than a C in Free Agency.

[pelicanchamp]

How would y'all feel if we drafted Dragan Bender?

[frankatank109]

How would y'all feel if we drafted Dragan Bender?

Depends, if Hield, Murray, or Brown are still around I'll be pissed, but if they're all gone and there are no good offers to trade down, then he would really be the only option. He's a decent fit next to AD, but they both want to play PF, so drafting him when we have so many other needs would be very stupid.

[704Pelicanfan]

How would y'all feel if we drafted Dragan Bender?

I've been wanting him for some time now.

[Lelicans]

2 weeks till lottery day!

[fullcourtpress]

Could this happen ???????????

after looking at this draft extensively, I'd rather trade back and maybe even trade up a little after that. I understand and agree that trading back in the NBA draft is generally stupid. It's not the NFL draft and only a handful of prospects make it; hence, the earlier choices have a much better chance

but after the top 2, the players ranked in the lottery aren't hat much better than a couple of first rounders taken later

if we traded back with the Celtics and got picks 16, 23, and 31; to go along with our 39 and 40 we could come out with a nice harvest

these may seem unrealistic, but according to recent mock's, they have Luwawu, Benbry, Jackson all in the 2nd (won't happen)

despite this, after getting picks 16, 23 and 31- we can then use 16, 23, 31,39, 40 to move around/ for instance packaging picks 31, 39, 40 to move way up to the mid twenties

I think any of these hauls that I simply threw together would have more value to a Pelicans team with many holes to fill

Timothe Luwawu
Taurean Prince
Diamond Stone
Melo Trimble

Marquese Chriss
Taurean Prince
DeAndre Bembry
demetrius jackson

Henry Ellenson
Denzel Valentine
Timothe Luwawu
tyler ulis

[pawel]

NBA published list of participants for the Draft Combine.

Here is the list

Ron Baker Wichita State
Wade Baldwin Vanderbilt
Cat Barber North Carolina State
Malik Beasley Florida State
DeAndre Bembry St. Joseph's
Ben Bentil Providence
Jaron Blossomgame Clemson
Joel Bolomboy Weber State
Malcolm Brogdon Virginia
Jaylen Brown California
Robert Carter Maryland
Marquese Chriss Washington
Elgin Cook Oregon
Isaiah Cousins Oklahoma
Deyonta Davis Michigan State
Cheick Diallo Kansas
Kris Dunn Providence
Henry Ellenson Marquette
Perry Ellis Kansas
AJ English Iona
Kay Felder Oakland
Dorian Finney-Smith Florida
Michael Gbinije Syracuse
Daniel Hamilton Connecticut
AJ Hammons Purdue
Josh Hart Villanova
Nigel Hayes Wisconsin
Buddy Hield Oklahoma
Brandon Ingram Duke
Demetrius Jackson Notre Dame
Justin Jackson North Carolina
Brice Johnson North Carolina
Damian Jones Vanderbilt
Skal Labissiere Kentucky
Dedric Lawson Memphis
Jake Layman Maryland
Marcus Lee Kentucky
Caris LeVert Michigan
Thon Maker Orangeville Prep/Athlete Institute
Patrick McCaw UNLV
Isaiah Miles St. Joseph's
Jamal Murray Kentucky
Malik Newman Mississippi State
Georges Niang Iowa State
Chinanu Onuaku Louisville
Marcus Paige North Carolina
Gary Payton II Oregon State
Jakob Poeltl Utah
Taurean Prince Baylor
Zhou Qi Xinjiang (China)
Malachi Richardson Syracuse
Wayne Selden Kansas
Pascal Siakam New Mexico State
Diamond Stone Maryland
Caleb Swanigan Purdue
Melo Trimble Maryland
Tyler Ulis Kentucky
Jarrod Uthoff Iowa
Denzel Valentine Michigan State
Isaiah Whitehead Seton Hall
Troy Williams Indiana
Kyle Wiltjer Gonzaga
Stephen Zimmerman UNLV

Mostly internationals were not invited (f.e. Bender, Luwawu etc)
Still little surprised (tweet below) - but if You will check who is the agent of first two (Rich Paul) it is not a big surprise

NBA draft combine participant list released. Key omissions: Ben Simmons and Dejounte Murray (both repped by Rich Paul) and Domantas Sabonis.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) 5th May 2016

Players invited to the NBA combine were determined by lists submitted from every NBA team. If not invited, odds not in favor being drafted.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) 5th May 2016

There were 5 players drafted a year ago that did not get invited to the NBA combine. Can happen, but again -- odds not in favor.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) 5th May 2016

[pawel]

Sounds like first-round prospect Furkan Korkmaz will take NBA draft-and-stash route.

— David Pick (@IAmDPick) 11th May 2016

Draft and stash

Teams with multiple picks miht be interested in this way

btw - good decision by Korkmaz

[Pelifan]

Sounds like first-round prospect Furkan Korkmaz will take NBA draft-and-stash route.

— David Pick (@IAmDPick) 11th May 2016

Draft and stash

Teams with multiple picks miht be interested in this way

btw - good decision by Korkmaz

Pretty much guarantees Denver takes him.

[pawel]

Another great Bobby Marks article about Pre-Draft Workouts

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/front-o...174438874.html

btw - today is deadline when underlassmen may come back to school after testing the NBA waters...

some have returned but most decided to stay. there are some undecided (like Trimble)

[gdf22]

Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame announces he will withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to school.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) May 25, 2016

[NMThreeMVP]

Read this article on Jaylen Brown:
http://theundefeated.com/features/ja...naissance-man/

I wouldn't be disappointed at all if the Pelicans pick him.

[Impose]

Read this article on Jaylen Brown:
http://theundefeated.com/features/ja...naissance-man/

I wouldn't be disappointed at all if the Pelicans pick him.

So he's smart, athletic, and likely to ask 'Why?' to everything we do while missing jumpshots. I'm not so convinced,

[HornetGuru]

Read this article on Jaylen Brown:
http://theundefeated.com/features/ja...naissance-man/

I wouldn't be disappointed at all if the Pelicans pick him.

He's who I want is Hield and Dunn are gone. Would much rather him over Murray.

His jumpshot has great mechanics, it just didn't fall. But it's only 1 season, with his form I have no doubt he will improve and he has the 3rd highest ceiling the draft IMO.