The 2015 NBA Draft Thread: Draft Day Is Here

[big j 33]

I won't be disappointed if they get Okafor... but man.. I'm feeling nervous that Towns ends up being the better player.

I know Okafor's offensive skillset is great, but I'm partial to the defensive guy.

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

I won't be disappointed if they get Okafor... but man.. I'm feeling nervous that Towns ends up being the better player.

I know Okafor's offensive skillset is great, but I'm partial to the defensive guy.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...outing-Karl-Anthony-Towns-Willie-Cauley-Stein

 

[pmatic]

Knicks open to trading first-round pick?

Sure, the New York Knicks lost their 49th game of the season on Saturday night. But in a big-picture sense, the night couldn’t have gone better for Phil Jackson’s club.

Two of their biggest competitors for a top pick in June's draft earned improbable wins.

The Philadelphia 76ers (14-49) beat the Atlanta Hawks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves improved to 14-47 with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

So, thanks to a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, New York (12-49) gained an edge in the race to the bottom of the NBA standings.

This is significant because the team with the worst record in the league has a 25 percent chance to get the top pick in the draft. It is also guaranteed a top-four pick. ,

At this point in the season, the draft and free agency are the only things left worth talking about when it comes to the Knicks.

Jackson hopes to rebuild the team this summer with a top pick in the 2015 draft and plenty of money to spend in free agency.

To that end, Jackson has been scouting some of the top college prospects in person recently. He attended an Ohio State game to watch D'Angelo Russell earlier this month and later went to Kentucky to see the Wildcats' top prospects.

But those counting on seeing Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns or Duke's Jahlil Okafor in a Knicks jersey next season might want to temper expectations.

In an interview on ESPN New York's "The Robin Lundberg Show," ESPN NBA reporter Brian Windhorst said the Knicks are at the very least considering their options when it comes to trading their first-round pick.

Specifically, Windhorst said the Knicks are looking into "opportunities" to see "what they could possibly get if they trade their draft pick."

Of course, it's wise for Phil Jackson and the Knicks to at least gauge the market for the pick.

The trade market for their selection won't really materialize until New York finds out where it picks. That will happen in late May after the NBA's draft lottery.

Then, New York will have a clearer idea of what it can get back in a trade of the pick.

Due to NBA rules, the Knicks can't trade the pick prior to making a selection, but they can agree to select a player for a team and then trade the player after making the pick.

So, in theory, the Knicks can acquire an impactful player by trading their draft pick. They can then use their cap space, which is expected to be at least $25 million, to sign a premier free agent.

This scenario would give them two established players to play alongside a soon-to-be 31-year-old Carmelo Anthony.

This option might be more palatable than wasting another season or two of Anthony's prime waiting for a 19-year-old prospect to develop into a star.

Obviously, there are plenty of reasons for the Knicks to hold onto the pick.

For one, the Knicks will have the player they drafted under contract for four seasons at below-market value. The franchise would also have the option to extend the player's contract and possibly match offers other teams make to the player when he is a restricted free agent.

So there are compelling reasons to trade the pick and compelling reasons to hold onto it. Jackson will have an interesting decision to make between now and late June.

Knicks eyeing Kentucky player? League sources say the Knicks have had either a front-office member or scout at approximately 20 of the past 30 Kentucky practices and games. This confirms a New York Daily News report that stated that no team has watched Kentucky play more than the Knicks this season.

The Knicks' regular attendance at Kentucky practices and games is an interesting development. It could be taken as a sign that the Knicks have significant interest in taking Towns with their first-round pick. It could also be an indication they are doing their homework on Willie Cauley-Stein in case they fall out of the top two slots.

Question: Do you think the Knicks should trade their first-round pick?

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-kn...s-open-to-trading-first-round-pick?src=mobile

 

[brendasdeadbaby]

Watch them do something stupid and trade the pick for drose

 

[johnnyredstorm]

Can't go into s full rebuild when we don't own next years pick.

Just draft Towns and trade Hardaway.

 

[kingfoamnyc]

Trade for Cousins

 

[ValarMorghulis]

Maybe the most intriguing guy not in the top four to me:

How Picking The Wrong Coach Hurts Draft Stock

Before they started their college careers, Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns and Myles Turner were widely seen as the three best freshmen big men in the country. All three were near 7’0 and all three were blessed with a rare combination of size, skill and athletic ability. In the week of practices leading up to the McDonald’s All-American Game, the 1-on-1 showdowns between the future NBA big men were the talk of the camp. But while Okafor (Duke) and Towns (Kentucky) went to two of the marquee programs in the country, Turner wound up staying close to home and playing for an embattled coach at Texas.

Before he signed Turner, Rick Barnes was fighting for his job in Austin. He made his name by bringing in a wave of high-profile recruits in the mid 00’s - TJ Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant - but he had never been able to get past Bill Self and win an undisputed conference championship in the Big 12. Things began to go south in 2010, when a team that started the season 17-0 and was ranked No. 1 in the country wound up collapsing down the stretch and losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The program bottomed out in 2013, when they finished below .500 and missed the Tourney for the first time under Barnes.
.

Myles Turner was in the wrong place at the wrong time, an unwitting victim of the slow-motion collapse of Rick Barnes program, one that has been years in the making. For as much success as the Longhorns have had in Barnes' 18-year tenure in Austin, he has had trouble adjusting to the modern game and the growing importance of spread offenses, which you can see in his far more talented team losing two games to Fred Hoiberg’s Iowa State program this season.

Barnes philosophy has always been to recruit as many elite athletes as possible, yell at them within an inch of their lives to get them to play high-level defense and then score going from defense to offense. Spacing the floor and running crisp offensive sets has never been a huge part of his identity as a coach. But while he has one of the biggest and most athletic teams in the country this season, their inability to generate consistent offense in the half-court has been their downfall in conference season, when opposing coaches intimately know all of your strengths and weaknesses.



Turner could not be in a worst position to succeed. He doesn’t start because he is playing behind three 6’8+ upperclassmen - Cam Ridley, Connor Lammert and Jonathan Holmes - who all have an outside shot at the NBA. When he gets in the game, he is generally sharing the floor with two big men who can’t stretch the floor and clog up the lane and two guards who can’t shoot 3’s and who have no idea how to control tempo, run half-court sets and get the ball into the paint.

this kid is the real deal man... complete **** show.

FIRE RICK BARNES!

 

[you go boy]

trade the pick for westbrook or steph curry

 

[430AM]

trade the pick for westbrook or steph curry

GS wouldnt trade Curry for Lebron right now. Dude aint going anywhere.

 

[jumpman ii]

trade the pick for westbrook or steph curry

Yea that's how it works

 

[pmatic]

Wisconsin v Ohio State getting ready to tip off.

 

[pmatic]

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Who yall have: Russell or Mudiay?

I'm taking Russell at this point no doubt

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

Who yall have: Russell or Mudiay?

I'm taking Russell at this point no doubt

Russell....for now.

 

[keel252]

i feel like such a prophet and a proud fan, i seen it so long ago.

really would like to see the kid in NYC...and i got no love for the Knicks.

 

[pmatic]

 

[pmatic]

 

[awwsome]

Who yall have: Russell or Mudiay?

I'm taking Russell at this point no doubt

Depends on my needs, for instance if I'm the Wolves and Towns/Okafor are gone, definitely going Russell because he's going to flirt with 40% from 3, can be the primary ball handler when Rubio sits and just fits perfectly in their high paced offense.


If I'm the Knicks? Probably Mudiay because you can't be anything close to a competent NBA team with Galloway, Calderon and Larkin as your PG's. Mudiay has a shot at being a truly transcendent talent as long as his skills keep up with his natural ability.

The kid is a giant at PG and is still growing, he could realistically top out at 6'6 6'7 with a 6'9 wingspan. Elite athlete and has real PG skills, the jumper is coming and is better than people think.


Also him already having pro experience in an environment as crazy and foreign as China is going to bode well for his adjustment to the L.

 

[frshstunna]

Who yall have: Russell or Mudiay?

I'm taking Russell at this point no doubt

Depends on my needs, for instance if I'm the Wolves and Towns/Okafor are gone, definitely going Russell because he's going to flirt with 40% from 3, can be the primary ball handler when Rubio sits and just fits perfectly in their high paced offense.


If I'm the Knicks? Probably Mudiay because you can't be anything close to a competent NBA team with Galloway, Calderon and Larkin as your PG's. Mudiay has a shot at being a truly transcendent talent as long as his skills keep up with his natural ability.

The kid is a giant at PG and is still growing, he could realistically top out at 6'6 6'7 with a 6'9 wingspan. Elite athlete and has real PG skills, the jumper is coming and is better than people think.


Also him already having pro experience in an environment as crazy and foreign as China is going to bode well for his adjustment to the L.

Scouts been saying be's been really impressive in handling the off the court stuff and adjusting to pro life..that experience could be a big benefit to him if he ends up on a team with little to no leadership

 

[dman14]

in my opinion, if muiday was playing college ball, no doubt in my mind smu is a legit top 5 team. dude would definitely get that buzz.

russell's game is so smooth

 

[Arthur Shelby]

If the Timberwolves lands Karl Towns or Emmanuel Mudiay :x

 

[pmatic]

If not Towns, I'd like to see Stanley Johnson in Minnesota.

I think the backcourt is set with Rubio and Wiggins. I don't like the Russell fit (especially if you believe in LaVine, meh) and Pekovic and Dieng already occupy the center position.

 

[awwsome]

I like Oubre a lot as well, phenomenal athlete, 7'2 wingspan, shoots the 3 well and will improve.


He's not really creating off the dribble yet but shows potential, gonna be a 3 and D guy almost immediately with the right coaching.

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

If not Towns, I'd like to see Stanley Johnson in Minnesota.

I think the backcourt is set with Rubio and Wiggins. I don't like the Russell fit (especially if you believe in LaVine, meh) and Pekovic and Dieng already occupy the center position.

How about at PF.

Porzingis? Turner? Lyles?


They have nobody at that position going forward.

 

[awwsome]

If not Towns, I'd like to see Stanley Johnson in Minnesota.

I think the backcourt is set with Rubio and Wiggins. I don't like the Russell fit (especially if you believe in LaVine, meh) and Pekovic and Dieng already occupy the center position.

Rubio/Wiggins/Stan would be one of the most athletic backcourts in the L.