Post by TimPig on Aug 24, 2018 19:08:08 GMT
I figured it’d be fun to do the article I suggested Fecta do a couple of seasons ago, but with fewer errors and bias and actual formatting.
1. Charlotte Hornets
Yao Ming - B. Fecta will surely take credit and claim elite GMing status for drafting the clear cut 1.1 for the second year in a row, but I refuse to give an A grade for an obvious pick. Fecta’s big men were horrendous last year, as they have been every year since creation, but fortunately for him he got lucky for the second year in a row in the lottery and was able to grab a 7’6 center with a B inside grade and A- defense grade. The write-up indicates he’ll have excellent strength and be able to block shots off the bat. His C outside grade should be almost all jumper, so some natural growth in rebounding and lab help towards inside should make him an excellent player.
2. Milwaukee Bucks
Jay Williams - B+. I think this was also a pretty obvious pick, though not quite as obvious as 1.1 because Amare Stoudemire was still on the board. With Bamba, Champ, and Fizer all pretty young in the frontcourt, adding some help at guard was the right move. Williams’ B+ outside grade to start, despite what should be a pretty average jumper, means he likely has an excellent 3-point shot. Everything else in the write-up looks like a positive from a scoring perspective. One of his weaknesses states that he is “a little careless with the ball” and “has trouble trusting teammates to do their job.” It’ll be interesting to see if that translates to high turnovers (bad) or lack of willingness to pass (good) - I could see it going either way with his C+ handling grade. The only other factor to consider here is that Williams went to Duke, but I don’t think Druce is going to bust every Blue Devil just because of their alma mater.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
Amare Stoudemire - B. With Yao and Williams off the board, this was the last of our obvious top three. Amare looks like a big who may start slow, but should have excellent physical attributes. His jumping ought to be high and, I’m guessing with B+ inside to start, he probably has good enough inside too. He might need some help in the strength category (profile weakness: not disciplined on defense, doesn't like getting physical in the post), but this is an attribute we often see come up in offseason labs so he might have a way to crank that up without using any of his +25. Like Yao, his C outside grade should mean his jumper isn’t totally broken. There are some question marks but whatever they end up being, they should be easily fixable in the lab.
4. Seattle Supersonics
Dajuan Wagner - A-. Duc is going full-blown 4.0 with two D/R bigs and a point guard who has an elite scoring write-up. His profile strengths had me drooling: attacks the basket, great strength, and tons of potential. His weaknesses are also pretty easy to overlook - doesn’t pass (strength), doesn’t rebound (no big deal for a point guard), and too often goes for steals (strength). I think Dajuan looks like an excellent prospect assuming he isn’t a turnover machine (C- handling grade). Three-pointer should grow naturally, so I bet his upgrades can be split between jumper and one of the inside attributes.
5. San Antonio Spurs
Caron Butler - C-. I could be totally off on Butler, but this is a guy with some major question marks. Nothing stands out except for the A- defense grade, and who knows what that means. Jumper, offensive rebounding, and inside may all be decent, but if that’s the case, it means he’ll need some help on the athletic attributes and we all know what that means. Combine that with his weakness of already reaching his ceiling and I think you’ve got a prospect with major bust potential. High turnovers and poor three-point shooting mean even more reliance on some good training camps to become a player worthy of the fifth overall pick.
6. Golden State Warriors
Nene Hilario - B-. I have to admit, I hated this pick as it happened, but that’s probably due to IRL bias. After reading the write-up, Nene should be very advanced in his athletic attributes, while one of his weaknesses is a strength (goes for blocked shots) and the other two can be fixed with one attribute (jumper). There’s a bit of a red flag surrounding his rebounding abilities as it comes up nowhere in the write-up and is only a C+ to start. Nene will likely need help in inside, jumper, and rebounding, but either way looks like a guy who should at worst be a serviceable third big.
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
Ryan Humphrey - D+.
Ok, that might be a little harsh, but I really, really don’t like this pick. There are guys on the board in the 20s that I would’ve taken above Humphrey. He was a great defensive big in 4.0 and apparently was good in 2.0 (classic Ian living in the past), and might get some Notre Dame love from Druce, but there’s nothing about his grade set that really impresses me. His strength of post defense doesn’t get me excited, and he ought to need improvement in both his inside and athletic attributes.
8. Cleveland Cavaliers
Marcus Haislip - B+. A nice pick by the compuEric Cavs. Haislip’s only real weakness might be turnovers, as the other two in his write-up should enhance his shot-blocking and lower his irrelevant drive defense. Great athletic attributes, great offensive rebounding, and great shot-blocking. The low defense grade is probably a mirage due to the poor drive defense and high shot-blocking. Crank up that inside and the Cavs should have a player on their hands.
9. Toronto Raptors
Chris Wilcox - B. Wilcox looks a lot like Nene and Haislip as an athletic big, but he’ll probably need help in both inside and jumper, which may limit his scoring potential. The Raptors have some excellent wings in Mobley and Bridges, and Zeller might be a decent project inside. Big was the obvious move here, and I don’t think Breauxcaine made the wrong choice in grabbing Wilcox. His rebounding is already a B and his low defense grade shouldn’t matter as Wilcox was a very good shot blocker.
10. LA Lakers
Skylar Diggins - C. Who knows what to expect from Diggins? I think I see a good three-point shooter but low volume due to poor inside and poor strength. This was a Druce prospect, though, so I could see potential being pretty high. However, Druce also forgot to make Diggins a couple of times in previous classes, so perhaps she’s not as favored as one might initially think. An A- handling grade makes Diggins look like a steady IRL PG prospect, but that’s not really what we’re interested in here in TMBSL. The Lakers need tons of help and I think there were safer bets to go after here. Because Smush Parker was still available, this grade gets lowered.
11. Minnesota Timberwolves
Smush Parker - A. Ian redeemed himself with his third lottery pick, grabbing Smush Parker and his C+/B- scoring grades at 1.11. Handling shouldn’t be an issue starting at B-, jumper is his listed strength, and C rebounding out of a point-guard eligible player is excellent. We’re not really sure what it all means without an actual write-up, but the grades are all at a really nice starting point. Alongside Williams and Wagner, I think this class has three point guards I would’ve really liked to have drafted.
12. Washington Bullets
Nikoloz Tskitishvili - D-. I think Kn had his 4.0 blinders on here as Niko looks pretty terrible based on his write-up. He’ll be restricted to playing C or PF (unlike 4.0 where he was a very good SF), and all of his strengths are not things you really care to see out of a big - handling, 3-point shooting, and passing. Poor strength, poor inside, and poor rebounding have me thinking Niko is out of the league after Kn declines the final two years on his rookie deal. His grades seem to be in line with his strengths and weaknesses, so I don’t see how this guy becomes anything but a bust.
13. Golden State Warriors
Kareem Rush - C+. This is another guy that slipped my radar, and one who looks very questionable to me. The C+/B- scoring grades are fine - nothing great, but probably workable. His B- defense grade is enticing, but it looks like much of that grade will be made up by his strength of perimeter defense. Lots of question marks around this guy, but I think Taco’s pretty set with Shabazz and Okobo and still has hope for Miles, so a shooting guard who might have the potential to hit some threes makes sense.
14. Denver Nuggets
Luis Scola - C-. I’m glad Mike didn’t pull a Heebs homer pick here and trade all of his future picks to snag Scola, who should be a solid rebounder and have good strength. Poor jumper and nothing about his inside game raises questions about his scoring potential. Looking strictly at his grades, the only one that really stands out is his B+ rebounding, but there were five guys on the board with A- rebounding grades, so that can’t really be the argument for taking Scola here. If I’m Mike, I am taking Udonis Haslem here without question if I want a big. Scola should have a poor jumper, so he looks like another Kenyon or Gobert, but without the defense. I don’t really see how he fits into the Nuggets plans.
15. Miami Heat
Tayshaun Prince - B-. It’s pretty clear what Tayshaun is going to be, I think, as his entire write-up is devoted to his ability to block shots and jump, while not having any strength or inside scoring ability at all. A lot of his C+ inside grade should come from jumping, with strength and inside keeping it down. But for the Heat, they have an abundance of volume scorers, so adding a wing who can block shots and won’t shoot may have been the right move. At 6’9, Prince can’t play small forward, and at only 185 pounds and with low strength and a write-up stating he’ll get pushed around down low, I don’t see him ever being a suitable power forward either.
1. Charlotte HornetsYao Ming - B. Fecta will surely take credit and claim elite GMing status for drafting the clear cut 1.1 for the second year in a row, but I refuse to give an A grade for an obvious pick. Fecta’s big men were horrendous last year, as they have been every year since creation, but fortunately for him he got lucky for the second year in a row in the lottery and was able to grab a 7’6 center with a B inside grade and A- defense grade. The write-up indicates he’ll have excellent strength and be able to block shots off the bat. His C outside grade should be almost all jumper, so some natural growth in rebounding and lab help towards inside should make him an excellent player.
2. Milwaukee BucksJay Williams - B+. I think this was also a pretty obvious pick, though not quite as obvious as 1.1 because Amare Stoudemire was still on the board. With Bamba, Champ, and Fizer all pretty young in the frontcourt, adding some help at guard was the right move. Williams’ B+ outside grade to start, despite what should be a pretty average jumper, means he likely has an excellent 3-point shot. Everything else in the write-up looks like a positive from a scoring perspective. One of his weaknesses states that he is “a little careless with the ball” and “has trouble trusting teammates to do their job.” It’ll be interesting to see if that translates to high turnovers (bad) or lack of willingness to pass (good) - I could see it going either way with his C+ handling grade. The only other factor to consider here is that Williams went to Duke, but I don’t think Druce is going to bust every Blue Devil just because of their alma mater.
3. Minnesota TimberwolvesAmare Stoudemire - B. With Yao and Williams off the board, this was the last of our obvious top three. Amare looks like a big who may start slow, but should have excellent physical attributes. His jumping ought to be high and, I’m guessing with B+ inside to start, he probably has good enough inside too. He might need some help in the strength category (profile weakness: not disciplined on defense, doesn't like getting physical in the post), but this is an attribute we often see come up in offseason labs so he might have a way to crank that up without using any of his +25. Like Yao, his C outside grade should mean his jumper isn’t totally broken. There are some question marks but whatever they end up being, they should be easily fixable in the lab.
4. Seattle SupersonicsDajuan Wagner - A-. Duc is going full-blown 4.0 with two D/R bigs and a point guard who has an elite scoring write-up. His profile strengths had me drooling: attacks the basket, great strength, and tons of potential. His weaknesses are also pretty easy to overlook - doesn’t pass (strength), doesn’t rebound (no big deal for a point guard), and too often goes for steals (strength). I think Dajuan looks like an excellent prospect assuming he isn’t a turnover machine (C- handling grade). Three-pointer should grow naturally, so I bet his upgrades can be split between jumper and one of the inside attributes.
5. San Antonio SpursCaron Butler - C-. I could be totally off on Butler, but this is a guy with some major question marks. Nothing stands out except for the A- defense grade, and who knows what that means. Jumper, offensive rebounding, and inside may all be decent, but if that’s the case, it means he’ll need some help on the athletic attributes and we all know what that means. Combine that with his weakness of already reaching his ceiling and I think you’ve got a prospect with major bust potential. High turnovers and poor three-point shooting mean even more reliance on some good training camps to become a player worthy of the fifth overall pick.
6. Golden State WarriorsNene Hilario - B-. I have to admit, I hated this pick as it happened, but that’s probably due to IRL bias. After reading the write-up, Nene should be very advanced in his athletic attributes, while one of his weaknesses is a strength (goes for blocked shots) and the other two can be fixed with one attribute (jumper). There’s a bit of a red flag surrounding his rebounding abilities as it comes up nowhere in the write-up and is only a C+ to start. Nene will likely need help in inside, jumper, and rebounding, but either way looks like a guy who should at worst be a serviceable third big.
7. Minnesota TimberwolvesRyan Humphrey - D+.
Ok, that might be a little harsh, but I really, really don’t like this pick. There are guys on the board in the 20s that I would’ve taken above Humphrey. He was a great defensive big in 4.0 and apparently was good in 2.0 (classic Ian living in the past), and might get some Notre Dame love from Druce, but there’s nothing about his grade set that really impresses me. His strength of post defense doesn’t get me excited, and he ought to need improvement in both his inside and athletic attributes. 8. Cleveland CavaliersMarcus Haislip - B+. A nice pick by the compuEric Cavs. Haislip’s only real weakness might be turnovers, as the other two in his write-up should enhance his shot-blocking and lower his irrelevant drive defense. Great athletic attributes, great offensive rebounding, and great shot-blocking. The low defense grade is probably a mirage due to the poor drive defense and high shot-blocking. Crank up that inside and the Cavs should have a player on their hands.
9. Toronto RaptorsChris Wilcox - B. Wilcox looks a lot like Nene and Haislip as an athletic big, but he’ll probably need help in both inside and jumper, which may limit his scoring potential. The Raptors have some excellent wings in Mobley and Bridges, and Zeller might be a decent project inside. Big was the obvious move here, and I don’t think Breauxcaine made the wrong choice in grabbing Wilcox. His rebounding is already a B and his low defense grade shouldn’t matter as Wilcox was a very good shot blocker.
10. LA LakersSkylar Diggins - C. Who knows what to expect from Diggins? I think I see a good three-point shooter but low volume due to poor inside and poor strength. This was a Druce prospect, though, so I could see potential being pretty high. However, Druce also forgot to make Diggins a couple of times in previous classes, so perhaps she’s not as favored as one might initially think. An A- handling grade makes Diggins look like a steady IRL PG prospect, but that’s not really what we’re interested in here in TMBSL. The Lakers need tons of help and I think there were safer bets to go after here. Because Smush Parker was still available, this grade gets lowered.
11. Minnesota TimberwolvesSmush Parker - A. Ian redeemed himself with his third lottery pick, grabbing Smush Parker and his C+/B- scoring grades at 1.11. Handling shouldn’t be an issue starting at B-, jumper is his listed strength, and C rebounding out of a point-guard eligible player is excellent. We’re not really sure what it all means without an actual write-up, but the grades are all at a really nice starting point. Alongside Williams and Wagner, I think this class has three point guards I would’ve really liked to have drafted.
12. Washington BulletsNikoloz Tskitishvili - D-. I think Kn had his 4.0 blinders on here as Niko looks pretty terrible based on his write-up. He’ll be restricted to playing C or PF (unlike 4.0 where he was a very good SF), and all of his strengths are not things you really care to see out of a big - handling, 3-point shooting, and passing. Poor strength, poor inside, and poor rebounding have me thinking Niko is out of the league after Kn declines the final two years on his rookie deal. His grades seem to be in line with his strengths and weaknesses, so I don’t see how this guy becomes anything but a bust.
13. Golden State WarriorsKareem Rush - C+. This is another guy that slipped my radar, and one who looks very questionable to me. The C+/B- scoring grades are fine - nothing great, but probably workable. His B- defense grade is enticing, but it looks like much of that grade will be made up by his strength of perimeter defense. Lots of question marks around this guy, but I think Taco’s pretty set with Shabazz and Okobo and still has hope for Miles, so a shooting guard who might have the potential to hit some threes makes sense.
14. Denver NuggetsLuis Scola - C-. I’m glad Mike didn’t pull a Heebs homer pick here and trade all of his future picks to snag Scola, who should be a solid rebounder and have good strength. Poor jumper and nothing about his inside game raises questions about his scoring potential. Looking strictly at his grades, the only one that really stands out is his B+ rebounding, but there were five guys on the board with A- rebounding grades, so that can’t really be the argument for taking Scola here. If I’m Mike, I am taking Udonis Haslem here without question if I want a big. Scola should have a poor jumper, so he looks like another Kenyon or Gobert, but without the defense. I don’t really see how he fits into the Nuggets plans.
15. Miami HeatTayshaun Prince - B-. It’s pretty clear what Tayshaun is going to be, I think, as his entire write-up is devoted to his ability to block shots and jump, while not having any strength or inside scoring ability at all. A lot of his C+ inside grade should come from jumping, with strength and inside keeping it down. But for the Heat, they have an abundance of volume scorers, so adding a wing who can block shots and won’t shoot may have been the right move. At 6’9, Prince can’t play small forward, and at only 185 pounds and with low strength and a write-up stating he’ll get pushed around down low, I don’t see him ever being a suitable power forward either.
