Post by fason on Jul 13, 2018 21:15:09 GMT
I know people weren’t too excited about this class when it was initially posted, but I don’t think it’s that bad and has a player at the top of the board that would be worth tanking for if it still existed. Also as evident by grades and preseason stats with last class, Druce is much more generous than Odin with grades.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo SF 6'11" 200 19 Greece
Projected Grades: B C+ C+ B- C+ A
This is the easy 1.1, Giannis is the best player irl from this class, he’ll be the tallest SF in the league at 7 feet and he’ll likely start with the highest potential of anyone in this class. From his profile, you have to like his ability to finish inside and block shots as a wing. The only conceivable potential flaws would be his jumper and maybe strength. He’ll probably need +3 to +8 put into his jumper in order to get to the cap and then the rest of his upgrades can be used on his three-point shooting and strength to increase scoring volume.
Player Comparison: Yante Maten (when he plays SF)
2. Victor Oladipo CG 6'4" 200 21 Indiana
Projected Grades: B- C+ C+ B C A
I like Oladipo to go 1.2 because of his long term potential and that he’s a CG, but from the writeup it sounds as though he’ll start as project since he’ll be built to be an elite athlete initially (Incredible athlete. Can jump out of the gym). Because of that high jumping, he’s probably going to need points put into his inside to get the scoring volume up, then also will need points used on his jumper (Struggles somewhat from the freethrow line). Any points left will likely have to go to his handles (Handling can be a little loose at times) to ever make him effective at PG should he gain the eligibility.
Sidenote - If you have the chance to draft Oladipo, you will have the option to trading him for Taurasi should Heebs resign him.
Player Comparison: Butch McRae
3. Skylar Diggins PG 5'9 140 22 Notre Dame
Projected Grades: C B B- C+ D A
I don’t know too much about Skylar Diggins’ game, but I do know she’s very attractive and Druce posted her profile, which is why I think she’ll end up a top 5 player in this class. I wouldn’t worry too much about her size, we’ve had PGs with similar diminutive stature be near HOF quality players (Tyus Edney, Prince, and Kina Grannis). From her profile it sounds as though she’ll start with a very high jumper, probably starts at least a B outside and will put up a high amount of steals as a perimeter defender. All of her weakness were related to inside scoring, scoring volume and strength, so her GM will need to use her points on inside and whatever’s left on strength.
Player Comparison: Hassani Gravett (with better shooting)
4. CJ McCollum CG 6'3" 190 21 Lehigh
Projected Grades: C+ B C+ C+ C- B
I’m a big fan of McCollum’s writeup, he should start with a good jumper and shoot a good percentage from three point range, then he should also be able to average a decent amount of steals. Two of his weaknesses could be considered good signs for his build (low jumping and low passing). The other weaknesses of not being able to guard bigger players and rebounding aren’t that big of a deal for a CG. I like his chances of becoming an effective PG much more than Victor Oladipo’s, because he won’t have as many areas that need points. Like Diggins I think McCollum will need upgrades put into his inside and strength, the rest could be used to turn him into a PG.
Player Comparison: Jalen Brunson
5. Otto Porter SF 6'8" 195 20 Georgetown
Projected Grades: B- B- C C+ C B
Porter sounds like the most sim ready scorer in this class. His profile says he’s very efficient, especially inside and that he’ll have the ability to become a good three point shooter. To me that reads as though he’ll start with a decent inside grade, and a good jumper along with his three point shooting being high enough to eventually get above 40%. His weaknesses of blocking shots and low rebounding make me think he’ll be a future SG all the way since he’s only 6’8. His other weakness of being loose with the ball could easily be addressed with a +5 or +10 if really needed.
Player Comparison: Mustapha Heron (but taller)
6. Ben McLemore SG 6'5" 185 20 Kansas
Projected Grades: B- B C C C- A
McLemore is one of the big boom or bust pick inthis draft, from his profile it sounds as though he’ll start with very high potential and good shooting. His other strength of fantastic leaping ability will be a weakness initially, but will give him good long term potential as a scorer. Due to his lack of hustle he probably won’t ever be a good two-way player, but who cares if you can score 25+ PPG. Because of all of his offensive potential I like him to go in the 5-8 range.
Player Comparison: Miles Bridges (with worse defense and rebouding)
7. Anthony Bennett PF 6'8" 250 20 UNLV
Projected Grades: B C+ C- C B- B
Bennett is the other boom or bust pick of this draft, because of his disastrous irl career. His profile writeup isn’t terrible and somewhat promising, sounds as though he should start with very good strength, solid rebounding, decent inside and jumper, then the ability to shoot beyond the arc. The bad is that he’s going to be a bad defender that doesn’t block shots and he may have some turnover issues. He also will be locked in to PF which really hurts because of his lack of defense. He’ll be good option in the back half of the lottery as an offense only type of big.
Player Comparison: Poor Man’s Cameron Parker
8. Nerlens Noel C 6'11" 205 19 Kentucky
Projected Grades: C+ D C B+ B- A
Can we take a moment to admire the absurd 4.4 BPG and 2.1 SPG that Noel averaged during his one year at Kentucky, what a freak. From his writeup, he should be a decent rebounder, a good defender (he’s worth will depend on the stocks) and then a mess on offense. I like Noel to be the best D/R big in this class and think he has an outside shot to be the best player in this class if the players at the top bust and if Druce makes him similar to who I compare Noel to below. With how D/R bigs have been valued so far in 5.0, it will be interesting to see how high Noel and the other D/R bigs go in this draft.
Player Comparison: Catfish
9. Rudy Gobert C 7'1" 240 21 France
Projected Grades: C D C- B B- B
I’ve got Gobert as the second best D/R big. From his profile writeup, it sounds as though he’ll be a very good post defender, good rebounder, then decent-good shot blocker depending on how generous Druce is with the attribute. He’ll be a disaster offensively, hopefully he only takes enough shots to average 4-5 points a game on a decent FG% and likely terrible FT%.
Player Comparson: Christ Koumadje (with more blocks)
10. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope SG 6'5" 195 20 Georgia
Projected Grades: C B- C B C B
Caldwell-Pope sounds like sim’s version of a 3 and D type of wing. His profile has him as a lockdown defender with good speed and a nice jumper. His weaknesses of low shot blocking and rebounding aren’t too big of a deal for a 5.0 SG. His other weakness of preferring to avoid driving to the paint, makes it sound like he’ll need close to +25 put into his inside/strength to get the volume up. That would make him a project, but a good pick starting around 1.8 – 1.10.
Player Comparison: Mikal Bridges
11. Steven Adams C 7'0" 250 20 Pittsburgh
Projected Grades: C+ D- D B- B A
Another D/R big! There isn’t really anything I can say about Adams that I haven’t already said about Noel and Gobert. His worth will come down to how many shots he blocks. I’m hoping as a curveball Druce makes one of these three pretty good-good offensively. I feel like if he were to do that it would be Adams.
Player Comparison: Sagabe Konate
12. Jerome Moiso PF/C 6'10 240 23 UCLA
Projected Grades: B- D+ D+ B- C+ B
You’d think he’d suck based on his irl career, college stats and profile which has him sucking on offense. But I think Druce may go out of his way to make Moiso good since he’s the first player that went back to school and I think Druce may want to make those players be important and stand out. I could easily see Moiso being one those bigs that averages 15 PPG on decent shooting percentages, with 8-10 RPG and 2.5 BPG.
Player Comparison: Donta Hall
13. Trey Burke PG 6'1" 185 21 Michigan
Projected Grades: C B- B C D B
I’m including Burke on this list because he was the top PG prospect going into this draft irl and he should have decent starting grades, but the writeup isn’t very kind and he’ll probably be a project. It’s not a completely hopeless situation as he’s starting with a good jumper and good handles, but his other strength of being a good passer is not an ideal strength. And his weaknesses of low inside, strength, and possibly quickness will make it tough for him to ever become a PG that can be a scoring option. He may be the type of PG that is only good as a floor general type for an inside focused offense. Not a bad option to take in the 10-15 range if you're desperate for a PG to groom and you missed out on Diggins, Oladipo and McCollum.
Player Comparison: Trevon Duval (that can shoot threes)
14. Keyon Dooling CG 6'3 196 20 Missouri
Projected Grades: C C+ B- B- D A
Dooling was the forgotten man from last year’s class, he’s another project PG because it sounds like he won’t be much of a scorer initially (Not a very polished scorer from either inside or outside at this point). His strengths say he should start with good defense and handles, which isn’t horrible because it means all of his upgrades can used to fix his scoring issues. And maybe Druce tries to make him good as apology for forgetting about him last season.
Player Comparison: Meadowlark Lemon (with PG eligibility)
Dennis Schroder PG 6'2" 165 20 Germany
Projected Grades: C C B B- C- A
Another project PG, okay now I know why people aren’t excited about this draft. His profile reads pretty similar to Keyon Dooling’s except Schroder is immediately PG eligible. I could see him being given very high potential, but he’s going to need a lot of help with his scoring.
Player Comparison: Cecil Exum
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo SF 6'11" 200 19 Greece
Projected Grades: B C+ C+ B- C+ A
This is the easy 1.1, Giannis is the best player irl from this class, he’ll be the tallest SF in the league at 7 feet and he’ll likely start with the highest potential of anyone in this class. From his profile, you have to like his ability to finish inside and block shots as a wing. The only conceivable potential flaws would be his jumper and maybe strength. He’ll probably need +3 to +8 put into his jumper in order to get to the cap and then the rest of his upgrades can be used on his three-point shooting and strength to increase scoring volume.
Player Comparison: Yante Maten (when he plays SF)
2. Victor Oladipo CG 6'4" 200 21 Indiana
Projected Grades: B- C+ C+ B C A
I like Oladipo to go 1.2 because of his long term potential and that he’s a CG, but from the writeup it sounds as though he’ll start as project since he’ll be built to be an elite athlete initially (Incredible athlete. Can jump out of the gym). Because of that high jumping, he’s probably going to need points put into his inside to get the scoring volume up, then also will need points used on his jumper (Struggles somewhat from the freethrow line). Any points left will likely have to go to his handles (Handling can be a little loose at times) to ever make him effective at PG should he gain the eligibility.
Sidenote - If you have the chance to draft Oladipo, you will have the option to trading him for Taurasi should Heebs resign him.
Player Comparison: Butch McRae
3. Skylar Diggins PG 5'9 140 22 Notre Dame
Projected Grades: C B B- C+ D A
I don’t know too much about Skylar Diggins’ game, but I do know she’s very attractive and Druce posted her profile, which is why I think she’ll end up a top 5 player in this class. I wouldn’t worry too much about her size, we’ve had PGs with similar diminutive stature be near HOF quality players (Tyus Edney, Prince, and Kina Grannis). From her profile it sounds as though she’ll start with a very high jumper, probably starts at least a B outside and will put up a high amount of steals as a perimeter defender. All of her weakness were related to inside scoring, scoring volume and strength, so her GM will need to use her points on inside and whatever’s left on strength.
Player Comparison: Hassani Gravett (with better shooting)
4. CJ McCollum CG 6'3" 190 21 Lehigh
Projected Grades: C+ B C+ C+ C- B
I’m a big fan of McCollum’s writeup, he should start with a good jumper and shoot a good percentage from three point range, then he should also be able to average a decent amount of steals. Two of his weaknesses could be considered good signs for his build (low jumping and low passing). The other weaknesses of not being able to guard bigger players and rebounding aren’t that big of a deal for a CG. I like his chances of becoming an effective PG much more than Victor Oladipo’s, because he won’t have as many areas that need points. Like Diggins I think McCollum will need upgrades put into his inside and strength, the rest could be used to turn him into a PG.
Player Comparison: Jalen Brunson
5. Otto Porter SF 6'8" 195 20 Georgetown
Projected Grades: B- B- C C+ C B
Porter sounds like the most sim ready scorer in this class. His profile says he’s very efficient, especially inside and that he’ll have the ability to become a good three point shooter. To me that reads as though he’ll start with a decent inside grade, and a good jumper along with his three point shooting being high enough to eventually get above 40%. His weaknesses of blocking shots and low rebounding make me think he’ll be a future SG all the way since he’s only 6’8. His other weakness of being loose with the ball could easily be addressed with a +5 or +10 if really needed.
Player Comparison: Mustapha Heron (but taller)
6. Ben McLemore SG 6'5" 185 20 Kansas
Projected Grades: B- B C C C- A
McLemore is one of the big boom or bust pick inthis draft, from his profile it sounds as though he’ll start with very high potential and good shooting. His other strength of fantastic leaping ability will be a weakness initially, but will give him good long term potential as a scorer. Due to his lack of hustle he probably won’t ever be a good two-way player, but who cares if you can score 25+ PPG. Because of all of his offensive potential I like him to go in the 5-8 range.
Player Comparison: Miles Bridges (with worse defense and rebouding)
7. Anthony Bennett PF 6'8" 250 20 UNLV
Projected Grades: B C+ C- C B- B
Bennett is the other boom or bust pick of this draft, because of his disastrous irl career. His profile writeup isn’t terrible and somewhat promising, sounds as though he should start with very good strength, solid rebounding, decent inside and jumper, then the ability to shoot beyond the arc. The bad is that he’s going to be a bad defender that doesn’t block shots and he may have some turnover issues. He also will be locked in to PF which really hurts because of his lack of defense. He’ll be good option in the back half of the lottery as an offense only type of big.
Player Comparison: Poor Man’s Cameron Parker
8. Nerlens Noel C 6'11" 205 19 Kentucky
Projected Grades: C+ D C B+ B- A
Can we take a moment to admire the absurd 4.4 BPG and 2.1 SPG that Noel averaged during his one year at Kentucky, what a freak. From his writeup, he should be a decent rebounder, a good defender (he’s worth will depend on the stocks) and then a mess on offense. I like Noel to be the best D/R big in this class and think he has an outside shot to be the best player in this class if the players at the top bust and if Druce makes him similar to who I compare Noel to below. With how D/R bigs have been valued so far in 5.0, it will be interesting to see how high Noel and the other D/R bigs go in this draft.
Player Comparison: Catfish
9. Rudy Gobert C 7'1" 240 21 France
Projected Grades: C D C- B B- B
I’ve got Gobert as the second best D/R big. From his profile writeup, it sounds as though he’ll be a very good post defender, good rebounder, then decent-good shot blocker depending on how generous Druce is with the attribute. He’ll be a disaster offensively, hopefully he only takes enough shots to average 4-5 points a game on a decent FG% and likely terrible FT%.
Player Comparson: Christ Koumadje (with more blocks)
10. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope SG 6'5" 195 20 Georgia
Projected Grades: C B- C B C B
Caldwell-Pope sounds like sim’s version of a 3 and D type of wing. His profile has him as a lockdown defender with good speed and a nice jumper. His weaknesses of low shot blocking and rebounding aren’t too big of a deal for a 5.0 SG. His other weakness of preferring to avoid driving to the paint, makes it sound like he’ll need close to +25 put into his inside/strength to get the volume up. That would make him a project, but a good pick starting around 1.8 – 1.10.
Player Comparison: Mikal Bridges
11. Steven Adams C 7'0" 250 20 Pittsburgh
Projected Grades: C+ D- D B- B A
Another D/R big! There isn’t really anything I can say about Adams that I haven’t already said about Noel and Gobert. His worth will come down to how many shots he blocks. I’m hoping as a curveball Druce makes one of these three pretty good-good offensively. I feel like if he were to do that it would be Adams.
Player Comparison: Sagabe Konate
12. Jerome Moiso PF/C 6'10 240 23 UCLA
Projected Grades: B- D+ D+ B- C+ B
You’d think he’d suck based on his irl career, college stats and profile which has him sucking on offense. But I think Druce may go out of his way to make Moiso good since he’s the first player that went back to school and I think Druce may want to make those players be important and stand out. I could easily see Moiso being one those bigs that averages 15 PPG on decent shooting percentages, with 8-10 RPG and 2.5 BPG.
Player Comparison: Donta Hall
13. Trey Burke PG 6'1" 185 21 Michigan
Projected Grades: C B- B C D B
I’m including Burke on this list because he was the top PG prospect going into this draft irl and he should have decent starting grades, but the writeup isn’t very kind and he’ll probably be a project. It’s not a completely hopeless situation as he’s starting with a good jumper and good handles, but his other strength of being a good passer is not an ideal strength. And his weaknesses of low inside, strength, and possibly quickness will make it tough for him to ever become a PG that can be a scoring option. He may be the type of PG that is only good as a floor general type for an inside focused offense. Not a bad option to take in the 10-15 range if you're desperate for a PG to groom and you missed out on Diggins, Oladipo and McCollum.
Player Comparison: Trevon Duval (that can shoot threes)
14. Keyon Dooling CG 6'3 196 20 Missouri
Projected Grades: C C+ B- B- D A
Dooling was the forgotten man from last year’s class, he’s another project PG because it sounds like he won’t be much of a scorer initially (Not a very polished scorer from either inside or outside at this point). His strengths say he should start with good defense and handles, which isn’t horrible because it means all of his upgrades can used to fix his scoring issues. And maybe Druce tries to make him good as apology for forgetting about him last season.
Player Comparison: Meadowlark Lemon (with PG eligibility)
Dennis Schroder PG 6'2" 165 20 Germany
Projected Grades: C C B B- C- A
Another project PG, okay now I know why people aren’t excited about this draft. His profile reads pretty similar to Keyon Dooling’s except Schroder is immediately PG eligible. I could see him being given very high potential, but he’s going to need a lot of help with his scoring.
Player Comparison: Cecil Exum
