Anyone else starting to get worried that what we would have loved a month ago is now the worst case scenario? That we're going to get 'stuck' with Okafor because Minny, Lakers, and Sixers realize that you need to play defense in the NBA to win and they draft Towns, Mudiay, and Russell one, two, and three.
Why the Knicks will draft Emmanuel Mudiay: 10 reasons
- Thread starter Paul1355
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SSj4Wingzero
All Star
Is it just me, or does it seem like big men are more likely to bust at the pro level?
Mudiay is a safe pick, honestly. He has athleticism, size, quickness, and good ball-handling. It's hard to mess up as long as you have those traits as a guard.
Mudiay is a safe pick, honestly. He has athleticism, size, quickness, and good ball-handling. It's hard to mess up as long as you have those traits as a guard.
I was just reading that Rubio wants out of MN so maybe the Wolves will grab the best available PG with the 1st pick.
They do seem to have more than their fair share of injuries that cut short their careers, Yao, Oden and even Bogut and Bargnani.
If one of the top 3 throws a curve ball in the picks and Okafor falls to us, you have to take him over Winslow and Mudiay imo.
mafra
Legend
Okafor would be a sopping wet dream; he's a once in a decade post presence (offensively). Footwork is incredible, his arsenal of moves unprecedented for an 18-yr-old... most of all, he is the 1 prospect in this draft we can confidently project stepping in DAY-1 to help Melo/PJAX with their short-term vision of winning in 2015.
His defense is better than some think... We have to remember what he was asked to do at Duke, and that his main emphasis was avoiding foul trouble. NBA allows more contact, as well as an extra foul, so I believe he'll be a more ferocious rim protector than what we saw in college. He'll also rebound... Now, he will struggle coming out and defending the P&R, but that's what coaching is for.
It really all depends on Minny... Mudiay or Okafor? Which way to they go... I believe they grab Okafor over Towns... LAKERS will probably take Towns if he's there... PHI will grab Russell, no matter who else falls... In other words, Knicks will probably... most likely... should be grabbing either Okafor or Mudiay with the 4th pick.
Mudiay will, and can, contribute this season. A tenacious gym rat, he'll step in day-1 and be able to penetrate, work the P&R with Melo... AND DEFEND. After his workout... this will be a no-brainer... All the other names we've heard associated with NYK... that's only if we find a trade partner (or if we have faith in Winslow's outside shooting and athleticism).
I don't think he'll ever be a great defender, just doesn't have the great lateral quickness or pogo stick leaping ability like Jordan or Howard. If you want defense the Knicks should pick WCS and hope he improves his offensive game as much as Okafor needs to improve on the other side of the ball.
I think it'll be up to the Lakers even with reports that Flip likes Okafor's post game, the Wolves in the end will pick Towns. He can learn the post game like most bigs do when they get some coaching and the Wolves can afford to be patient with that young team, though Towns offers plenty even without the refined post-game that Okafor has and can contribute immediately.
Still if he falls to 4th that would be like getting a Benz for the price of a Chevy. Knicks would be insane not to get him at 4.
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SSj4Wingzero
All Star
Yeah, if Okafor or Towns falls to fourth, you take them. You just have to. Big men do bust, but these guys are also once in a lifetime-type of big men.
I think Mudiay is going to be a good player, honestly. He's a hard-working player who is athletic, quick, and has great ball-handling skills, so he'll be able to score very well at the NBA level. He's got size and length, so he has great defensive potential. The only thing that might be a bit of a question with him is his jump shot, but that's something that he can improve on once he gets into the league. You don't worry about that as much because you know he has a pretty good work ethic.
Honestly I think Winslow is going to be a solid player as well. They're both players with tons of potential - only issue with Winslow is that his ball-handling isn't great. Other than that, though, he's a good defender with athleticism and quickness, and his shot will improve. Also seems to be a coachable Duke player. Either of these guys would be a good pick at #4.
The only player I think would be a reach at #4 would be Cauley-Stein. I don't see him developing an offensive game, and if he doesn't, he's basically Birdman with his size, defense, and quickness. You don't draft for defense with the #4 pick...you get an impact player who can change the game. Mudiay is that type of guy. Winslow...could be that type of guy. Cauley-Stein isn't.
I think Mudiay is going to be a good player, honestly. He's a hard-working player who is athletic, quick, and has great ball-handling skills, so he'll be able to score very well at the NBA level. He's got size and length, so he has great defensive potential. The only thing that might be a bit of a question with him is his jump shot, but that's something that he can improve on once he gets into the league. You don't worry about that as much because you know he has a pretty good work ethic.
Honestly I think Winslow is going to be a solid player as well. They're both players with tons of potential - only issue with Winslow is that his ball-handling isn't great. Other than that, though, he's a good defender with athleticism and quickness, and his shot will improve. Also seems to be a coachable Duke player. Either of these guys would be a good pick at #4.
The only player I think would be a reach at #4 would be Cauley-Stein. I don't see him developing an offensive game, and if he doesn't, he's basically Birdman with his size, defense, and quickness. You don't draft for defense with the #4 pick...you get an impact player who can change the game. Mudiay is that type of guy. Winslow...could be that type of guy. Cauley-Stein isn't.
Minesota T.Wolves are not going to miss out on selecting a growing 19 yr old 6.11 low-post scorer Jahlil Okafor.
Keven Garnett went back to a lottery Minesota T.Wolves on the deadline for a reason .. I doubt if it was for Mudiay or a guard in the draft.
The Lakers has been a lottery team the past two seasons having a $25M per Kobe Bryant on the roster.
Kobe couldnt mix well with Nash/Blake/Lin/and Dwight Howard.
Will Kobe Bryant in his final season want Lakers management to sign a experience postseason starter PG FA (Rondo) for the 2015-16 season. I do not see Lakers management selecting Russell or Mudiay with their 2nd pick ..
look for the Lakers to select a bigman .. Towns/Kaminsky/Kristaps Porzingis
The 76ers traded their young 2nd season 6.6 PG Michael Carter-Williams on the trading deadline, plus refused to take a young 3rd season 6.3 PG Brandon Knight as part of the trade. Makes u wonder does the 76ers really have interest in selecting one of the 19 yr old PG with their 3rd pick? or do the 76ers look to trade the 3rd pick or 7.0 rookie Joel Embiid?
The Knicks selecting Russell or Mudiay with the 4th pick to run the point for ISO-Melo in a triangle-offense, will be the same as the 2006-7 Boston Celtricks 24 win season of Pierce and rookie Rondo. If the Knicks had a SG & SF that co-exist on the court, then drafting the best skilled PG with the 4th pick would be a asset.
Keven Garnett went back to a lottery Minesota T.Wolves on the deadline for a reason .. I doubt if it was for Mudiay or a guard in the draft.
The Lakers has been a lottery team the past two seasons having a $25M per Kobe Bryant on the roster.
Kobe couldnt mix well with Nash/Blake/Lin/and Dwight Howard.
Will Kobe Bryant in his final season want Lakers management to sign a experience postseason starter PG FA (Rondo) for the 2015-16 season. I do not see Lakers management selecting Russell or Mudiay with their 2nd pick ..
look for the Lakers to select a bigman .. Towns/Kaminsky/Kristaps Porzingis
The 76ers traded their young 2nd season 6.6 PG Michael Carter-Williams on the trading deadline, plus refused to take a young 3rd season 6.3 PG Brandon Knight as part of the trade. Makes u wonder does the 76ers really have interest in selecting one of the 19 yr old PG with their 3rd pick? or do the 76ers look to trade the 3rd pick or 7.0 rookie Joel Embiid?
The Knicks selecting Russell or Mudiay with the 4th pick to run the point for ISO-Melo in a triangle-offense, will be the same as the 2006-7 Boston Celtricks 24 win season of Pierce and rookie Rondo. If the Knicks had a SG & SF that co-exist on the court, then drafting the best skilled PG with the 4th pick would be a asset.
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mafra
Legend
I read over at theknicksblog that one Western Conf exec predicts Minny grabs Towns, LA takes Russell, Phi snags Winslow... Okafor falls to NYK. I hope this wasnt Phil's wife making a joke.
Wargames
Starter
It doesn't worry you that Okafor falls to NY at 4 and Phill still doesn't take Mudiay at 3 if Russell is gone?
Mudiay really might not be the top 4 player in this draft. If he slides past NY he could end up anywhere between 6 and 10
Same could be said of Okafor or Towns in what if scenarios with Winslow or say Kaminsky being potentially impressive in workouts.
mafra
Legend
2 years ago, PHI grabbed MCW ahead of The Greek Freak & Dennis Schroeder. MIN once took Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry. Teams miss all the time, so I wouldn't fret over another front office's evaluation of a player.
Most importantly, EVERY REPUTABLE HS recruiting ranking agency had Mudiay ranked #2, behind only Okafor. We aren't children... out of sight isn't out of mind. Don't buy into the last year...
NO WAY MUDIAY slips past SAC. At latest, he goes 6th.
Thinking this way would be akin to passing on Okafor b/c MIN-LAK-PHI passed him over.
mafra
Legend
Found this over at zasblog:
Amid all this speculation, Okafor has defended his defensive abilities.
?I know I?m going to get better,? Okafor told Alex Kennedy of BasketballInsiders.com of his defense. ?I can get better at everything I do, and I always improve. I don?t think my defense was as bad as people made it out to be. We did win a national championship and all of my coaches were extremely happy with the way that I played on both ends of the floor. Also, I couldn?t get in to foul trouble and with the way our defense was set up, I wasn?t really in rim-protecting situations.
?Honestly, that is one of my flaws that I can improve on, but I can also improve on the offense end. Luckily, I?m 19 years old and I think I have a lot of time to improve my game. ? I think a lot of people forget that a lot of us are still 18 or 19 years old. We?re put under the microscope and expected to be perfect, on the floor and sometimes even off the floor. Oftentimes, I do think people forget how young we actually are.?
Sounds very mature. He has flaws, FT shooting and his D being two of them but he has far less chance of being a bust than Justise Winslow. If they're both there at 4 when the Knicks pick you have to get him.
Wargames
Starter
If you look at high school rating they mean nothing at the college level and we're so bad on the NBA level due to the players being under developed the league themselves pushed for players to have at least 1 year in college. So teams could see if those skills would translate at a NBA level.
A perfect example of this would be Josh Selby. He was the #1 High School player in the nation due to how athletic he was in HS and he never made a single dent in the league. In that same draft Victor Oladipo who was ranked #177 in High School is likely going to be a future All Star and a cornerstone of the Magic for multiple season.
Mudiay has to show out at these workout especially at his weak spots and so far all we've heard reporters say is his shot is clunky. With Mudiay's reply "I came to show off my athleticism" at the workouts a even bigger red flag. You got guys who have no outside shot in games at all like WCS and Okafor hitting more 3's in these videos.... This kid is just as likely to end up a Tyreke Evans type player more than anything else and if the knicks take him at #4 and that is what he is will all be really disappointed.
I haven't seen any top prospect shoot it smoothly in real workouts yet and I've posted videos of Mudiay, Russell, and Okafor so far.
Wargames
Starter
I watched it live on periscope but one of the new Okafor at the Lakers video should show him making shots and same for WCS. The most worrisome part of the mudiay video wasn't the misses. It was the fact he was taking a step in on the 3 pt line to make them. He was missing long 2's
Naaaah that recent Okafor video I posted showed a very clumsy and poor mechanics on shot. He missed quite a bit. Not that he'd be taking too many of those I'd hope not but sorry the video did no justice to him with jump shot. Sounds like you're trying to see what you want to see. What I stated if fact. I've yet to come across a smooth shooting top prospect legit workout. If you've seen any please post them in the draft thread or here.
Wargames
Starter
before you replied i clarified where I saw it. Its shut down now but here is the link
https://www.periscope.tv/w/aEcrojM4NTU3MDB8MjA2NzI5MjPpbG1s2oQ-bJx1VdQep0DHInsCx2QN2-7K1Z2mK4EIKQ==
Your right it wasn't smooth but he was making those shots at a high clip than Mudiay. Which is worrisome because Mudiay needs to make those shots in game.