Post by kobe on May 14, 2020 8:50:00 GMT -8
1. Los Angeles Lakers - Gilbert Arenas PG 6'3'' 191 19 B B C D+ D+ A
The LA Lakers ended up getting the 1st overall projected pick with an overall record of 18-64. They did an impressive job beating out a ton of other tankers, especially out in the West. Not sure exactly what happened with the Lakers creation draft but looks like they traded all of their picks for future firsts because their roster is completely void of any talent right now. Bold move since they literally have not one valuable trade piece on their roster at this point besides Larry Hughes but I'm not very high on him either. So basically the LA Lakers can go any which way they want to with this pick and should just take the best player available on their draft board. The league is pretty split about 70/30 between Gilbert Arenas and Pau Gasol on who should be the #1 overall pick. I don't think they can go wrong either way here but I'm more of a fan of Arenas because of the tremendous scoring potential he posseses as a 19 year old PG with B B scoring and low passing. Arenas obviously has a glaring issue with his defense being D+ but he should still be a 1.5+ spg guy so as long as his perimeter defense isn't an F then I think he will be fine. Turnovers and rebounding not ideal but a guy that is gonna score like Arenas you can make exceptions for and rebounding and turnovers shouldn't really be a long term concern at PG. But the way he is made sort of limits him from being able to play SG imo that's the only issue with the D+ defense and rebounding. Otherwise this is as home run pick and Arenas should be one of the top scorers in the league by the time he is 20 if all goes well and he gets his camps.
2. Orlando Magic - Pau Gasol C 7'0'' 250 21 B C C C+ C+ A
I think it probably works out better for the Magic to get the #2 pick as the big man out of Spain Pau Gasol is probably the safer pick over Agent Zero. I would definitely have liked to have seen B- def or rebounding from Pau given some of these other ratings and that he is 21 but he still has amazing ratings nonetheless and that should mean he has high potential since he's not starting out that great. Pau is exactly what you want in a big man, he has great post moves that help him score on anyone inside while also being able to hit jumpers out to 18-20 feet. He has the potential to become a 25 ppg guy down low and he should thrive in an outside offense too unlike a lot of these big men because he has such a great jump shot. Pau should also be a 2+ bpg guy and turn in to a 10-11 rpg guy pretty quickly as well. Pau will probably have one of the better TCs among the rookies I could defintely see him going up to B-/B- defense/rebounding. And he will get to A- inside eventually and become one of if not the best post scorers in the league. Great centers are hard to find and are going to become a very scarce commodity as soon as next TC since a lot of old dinosaurs are running the league right now. Pau should be the guy to lead the new generations of centers in the league. There is some concern with Pau here since he is 21 and like I've mentioned he doesn't have the best starting ratings but Pau should definitely be the pick here I don't see how you can consider anyone else here just because Gasol has the potential to become one of the best centers in the league. The Magic will need a lot of help going forward and likely are looking at another top 3 pick next season but Pau would be a great guy for them to build around going forward.
3. Phoenix Suns - Gerald Wallace PF 6'7'' 215 19 B C C B- C+ A
I'm a huge fan of Gerald Wallace in this draft and not just because he played for Alabama but because of how great he has the potential to be. He could have been a superstar in real life if he ever got a more consistent jump shot and stopped getting hurt all of the time. And with his great starting ratings it looks like he could turn out to be a real star here if he has good true potential. I love pretty much everything about his game, let's start with his defense which is a B- rating at his current listed position at PF but I'd be willing to bet that it goes up to B at SF. He should be a 2 spg, 1 bpg type guy which is very intriguing since he should be a low turnover guy as well. He also has C+ rebounding rating which will make him a plus rebounder on the wing. Amazing athlete and finisher inside. But it will be interesting to see how much of his outside is jump shot and how much is three point shot that will be the only concern for him. Hopefully he just has a nice jump shot and not much of a three point shot because he's never going to become a great three point shooter so the less three's he takes the better. He should have nice inside scoring and strength for a wing so I like him giving you 15 ppg as a non option in pretty much any offense. And if he has a couple of good TC's to his scoring he has the talent to become a 20+ ppg guy. But also the way he is starting out, if a GM wants to leave him at PF he could develop in to a great PF as well so lots of position versatility with Wallace which is nice. I know most GMs don't have Wallace this high but I'm a huge fan of his in real life and he looks amazing for a 19 year old so I think more people should be looking at him this high if they aren't already.
4. Portland Trailblazers - Joe Johnson SF 6'7'' 240 20 B- B- C+ C C- A
ISO Joe! Johnson is the best natural wing player in this draft by a pretty good margin as I think there is a pretty big fall off from him to the next group of SGs/SFs. Joe could definitely go higher in this draft and I know most people like him more than Gerald Wallace. And for good reason as Johnson should become one of the best perimeter scorers in the league in a matter of a few seasons so someone like that will be hard to pass up. Already starting with B- inside he should be able to get to B inside no problem and his outside will definitely get up to A- if he has any kind of potential. Good passer and ball handler as well. He does have some concerns on defense though where he will likely never be a great defender but you can overlook that if the guy is averaging 25 points a game. His rebounding is also a little concerning, he will definitely have to get that up to C rebounding which should happen naturally with a few TCs at SF. The Blazers are another one of those Western Conference teams that basically just has one decent player surrounded by scrubs. Richard Hamilton was the only bright spot for the Blazers this year and if they can pair another great wing next to him with Johnson then they will have one of the best young wing duos in the league for a long time. Not sure if Johnson is the best fit with Hamilton since they are both SGs really but Johnson is the best player available here and I wouldn't be able to pass him up. Blazers need a lot of help and just valuable pieces so already having a good SG shouldn't deter them from taking another one in the draft. Especially if they are as good as Joe Johnson.
5. Dallas Mavericks - Tyson Chandler C 7'0'' 240 19 B- D+ D+ B- C+ A
The Mavericks fell a ton of spots in the standings over the last few weeks of the regular season and should get a much better player because of it. They will have a ton of options here at the 5 spot but I think Chandler should be the pick because of his upside to become a defensive anchor in a league when those are gonna be scarce once all of the old dinosaurs are retire or have bad TCs. I had really, really high hopes for Chandler before ratings come out but not gonna lie his ratings are a little disappointing. I wish his inside was lower and his rebounding or defense was higher but it's hard to complain since he's only 19 and potential is through the roof(or should be) I see Chandler being a Camby type player that gets you 1+ spg and 2+ bpg with good post defense and good rebounding eventually. Like I said it would've been nice to see B- rebounding to start but he shouldn't be too far away from that mark and should get to B or B+ rebounding rather fast after a few TCs and his camps. The B- inside is a little misleading, I wouldn't try to focus on making him a good scorer because that inside rating is likely a lot of jumping. Some may not have Chandler this high because he is a little raw but guys like him are so rare that I think someone will take a chance on him pretty early. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Mavericks trade this pick since they are trying to win next year and none of these guys will help much right away. And also the Mavs already have Jermaine O'neal and Kenyon Martin so I could see them going a different way here if they don't trade the pick. Habes probably likes Parker a good bit since he was high on Andre Miller but they have Kidd so will be interesting to see who the Mavs pick if they end up not trading the pick.
6. Seattle Sonics - Zach Randolph PF 6'9'' 250 20 B C C C B- A
I'm a HUGE Zbo fan I think he should be perfect for FBB the way his game is. He should have low jumping so his inside should be mostly inside scoring and strength and he also should become a great rebounder as well which is a very valuable commodity in this league with most of the good big men about to retire soon. Randolph will never be a shot blocker that's the only negative really about him. But everything else about his game is great so it's hard to harp on him too hard for no shot blocking. As long as he gets close to 2 stocks per game and isn't a TO whore then defense won't be a major issue, just put a good shot blocker next to him obviously. Not only will he be able to score in the post with the best of them but he also has a great jump shot that gives him a lot of offensive versatility. He should be a 20 ppg guy pretty easily and even in an outside offense since his jump shot is so high. And like Pau he has the potential to become the best low post scorer in the league. Once again the other thing I love about him is the rebounding which should get to B+ or A- pretty easily with any luck in training camp and some camp love from his GM. Randolph really only has one weakness with his shot blocking, just as long as you don't focus on that then you will fall in love with Zbo. There is also the possibility he could be a great SF I know I would move him there just to see how good he would be because he has the game for it and the rebounding would make him potentially elite there as well. Sonics have a few good wings so they will probably keep Zbo at PF if they get him which is fine I think he will be great there.
7. San Antonio Spurs - Tony Parker PG 6'2'' 185 19 B- C C B- D+ A
Tony will probably get pushed up a little higher than this pick since the PG talent in the league right now is really scarce and this draft falls off big time after him when it comes to the PG position. But I'm not a fan of C outside PG's at all. Not saying they can't be good, but it just limits their potential since he will never be a three point shooter. And I don't think his B- inside is very high at all and it's always a concern with PGs that inside could go down since pretty much everything else goes up. The inside rating and defensive rating is probably a lot of quickness too because he wasn't a high steals guy in real life. D+ rebounding nothing to get excited about either. The only positive here for me is that Spence said in draft notes that Parker should have good handles. If he can be a 2 tpg guy then he will be valued just because of the low quality of PG play in the league right now. I know I've mostly shit on this pick but if Tony can have a good TC and his inside scoring+jump shot is high enough then he will be a good non option type PG given the major need for PGs around the league. But if the league was already inflated with good PGs like it will be soon then I don't think too many people would be excited about Parker. Spurs already have a PG in House so they might not be looking at Parker here but I'm not a big fan of Eddie so I would just be taking best player/value available and that's probably Parker at this point.
8. Atlanta Hawks - Samuel Dalembert C 6'11'' 255 20 C+ C- C- B C+ B
Dalembert is one of my favorite players in this draft and I would definitely be targeting him if I had a top 10 pick. He starts out with that B defense which is really sexy considering the other centers defensive ratings in the draft. Dalembert avg 2.6 bpg and 11.5 rpg per 36 for his career so if he was made correctly then he should be a beast and exactly what everyone is looking for with the shot blocking and rebounding. The way Spence described him in the notes may lead some to believe that his potential may not be very high but he's only 20 so he should have at least one good TC in him. And if his shot blocking is already high then he really just needs to get to B- rebounding in TC then camped to B rebounding and he will be a starting level big in this league already. Also I like the C- outside that means he has a decent jump shot and won't be totally inefficient on the offensive end which is great if a guy is one of the best shot blockers in the league. I wouldn't be surprised if Dally went a little higher, I know I would take him over Parker, but the potential concerns about his actual potential may cause some to drop him down their draft board. But he's one of my favorite players in the draft and Dally is also a great fit with the young Hawks as they have a good young PG and a couple of wings so adding a big man like Dally to their core would be perfect for them. Would be surprised if the Hawks took anyone else here if this is how the board fell. The Hawks would just need to add a PF and they would have one of the best young cores in the league with Francis, Jackson, Johnson and Dalembert.
9. Milwaukee Bucks - Desagana Diop C 7'0'' 300 19 C D+ D B- C+ A
This is where the draft starts to fall of a bit for me here as you either have to decide between a guy with high upside and low ratings or a guy with better ratings but lower upside. With the Bucks being where they are after having to replace their GM mid-season and looking to be heading towards a long rebuild, I think they go with a guy with high upside here and I like Diop a lot. He's a similar prospect to Chandler the way ratings came out because I think Chandler's inside is all jumping so scoring for either won't be a strong suit. And Diop should be just as good of a shot blocker as Tyson and may even be a better shot blocker than Chandler is honestly since Chandler wasn't a high bpg guy in real life. But Diop is extremely raw and will need high potential and his camps to become a good starting big. But it's definitely within range for him if he starts with a high shot blocking rating because then he will really just need to get his rebounding up to a B which shouldn't be too hard if that's all you focus on. So some may be scared off by his ugly ratings but as long as he has high shot blocking that's all that matters! And rebounding starts off high enough to where it shouldn't be hard through TC and RCs/ACs to get him to B rebounding at all especially since he's only 19. The only thing that could help Diop back is the unknown of what his true potential could be. It should be pretty high though since he's young and starts out really raw. Bucks could go a lot of different directions here as they are probably in the midst of a long rebuild. But Diop probably has the most potential of anyone left so he makes sense here
10. Washington Wizards - Eddie Griffin PF 6'10'' 220 20 C+ C D+ B- C+ B
The Wizards will probably be looking for a big man here since they are pretty set on the wing and they would probably prefer to get someone like Dalembert here but I like Eddie Griffin a lot too. If Spence made him anything close to the college stats he put up which were like 18 ppg, 11 rpg, 4+ bpg his senior year then Eddie could be really nice. Looks like he has a high jump shot and hopefully he doesn't have a turnover issue. The only question then will be potential and that is the big question with a lot of these guys since it's just a guessing game at this point on what these guys potential could be. But Griffin was one of the first players Spence made and he mentioned that he was pretty high on him in one of the draft discussion threads. Griffin is only 20 so his potential and chance of having a good TC or two should still be pretty high even though he has only B scouted potential which will worry some GMs but I really don't care. If Griffin is a great shot blocker then his actual defensive rating won't matter that much so he really just needs to get that rebounding up to B- in TC then once he's camped to B rebounding he will be a starting player if he's a 3 bpg guy. Also has some potential on offense and maybe a move to SF(if his rebounding never improves) since it looks like he's starting out with a nice jump shot. Should get to B inside or at least a high B- pretty easily just through a few TC's so he should be able to get you an efficient 13-15 ppg as a non option in outside offense as well which is always nice from your bigs if they are great shot blockers as well.
11. Boston Celtics - Shane Battier SF 6'8'' 220 23 C B C- B C- B
Not sure what the Celtics plan on doing next after the worst possible season they could have had but Shane Battier is the best player available here so they should probably just go with him. At this point it's hard to grade these guys because we have no idea what their potentials are. But Battier already has really nice base ratings and shouldn't need a ton of potential to become a solid player. I love Battier's defense he should be a 1.5 spg and 1 bpg guy if he was made correctly and low turnovers as well which is a sexy combo with those steals and blocks. The C- rebounding is a bit concerning but hopefully after TC and maybe an RC to strength he will move up to C rebounding because that will be needed for him to be able to play SF. Battier starts out with C B scoring ratings which is pretty good for him since he was just a 8-10 ppg for his career. With those starting ratings he actually has a chance to become a decent scorer if he can just have one positive TC where he goes +1 inside. His outside should get to A- pretty easily. Not unfathomable to see him becoming C+ inside with a high A- outside and with his great defense and low turnovers he can definitely be a starter at either wing position if he gets that rebounding up to C. Battier should be a nice fit next to AI and Bibby. If both Bibby and Battier can have good TCs then the Celtics might be on to something.
12. Toronto Raptors - Troy Murphy PF 6'11'' 245 21 C B D+ C B B
Hot take alert! This will probably surprise a lot of people but I'm a huge fan of Murphy for a few reasons and at this point all of these guys have pretty similar grades without knowing any of their real potentials. The first thing to like about Murphy is that he is the best rebounder in the draft and with a likely move to SF he will give you a big advantage there right away. The other thing I really like about him is that he was drafted by the Warriors in real life and we all know that is Spence's favorite team! So I wouldn't be surprised if he showed Murphy a little extra love here. Murphy really just needs a good TC for his scoring and then someone dedicated to +24'ing his scoring then I think he could become a really nice player. If he can just get that inside up to a high C+ or B- then it should't be hard to get that outside up to A- and if everything goes right with his move to SF he could end up close to C+ A- C- B- B+ ratings after a TC or two and all of his camps. He should go up to C+ defense at SF and get up to at least B- eventually and give you close to 1 spg and 1 bpg and not be a turnover guy. He may not ever be a very high volume guy but with his all around game, he will be a very nice starter in an outside offense with just a little help from TC and love from his GM. I love Murphy but I know a lot of GMs won't be looking at him this high, will be interesting to see where he falls!
13. Portland Trailblazers(76ers first) - Bobby Simmons SF 6'7'' 210 21 C+ B- C- B C B
Portland traded for this pick during the frenzy and was hoping it would be a little higher but I think they will still get a very good player here so they shouldn't be too upset. Bobby Simmons is a very safe prospect and starts off with some of the better ratings of anyone in the draft. While he may never become a superstar, he is already a very good player and really just needs help with his scoring to become a real contributor. Simmons will be a plus defender and rebounder at SG where I would move him to and he should get to B- inside after the first TC or two and an RC and maybe AC to his inside scoring. Outside shooting always gets up to B+ for wings pretty easily as long as they start at B- outside at least and have decent potential. So shouldn't be hard to get him to A- outside at all and that's all the GM that drafts him needs to be focused on. He doesn't really have any weaknesses in his game which is a really big positive for me as I like guys that don't have any weaknesses besides their scoring because you can pump a lot of camps in to their scoring to improve it a lot. Bobby will just need a dedicated GM that will put the time and effort in to writing ACs and getting the RCs to camp him. If he gets all of his camps to his scoring and just has one good TC then he will be a good starter in this league. Portland could maybe go with someone with higher potential here in Jason Richardson, Kwame Brown or Eddy Curry but Simmons is the safer pick and has nice upside as well in my opinion.
Other draftees I'm high on:
Mehmet Okur C 6'11'' 249 22 C+ B D+ C C+ B
I'm really, really high on Okur and expect him to come off the board pretty early here after the lotto if any GMs are smart. I know a lot of GMs don't like this philosophy but might as well take advantage of it and move him to SF where his defense will likely go up and he is a much better natural fit for FBB. He should be 1 spg, 1 bpg and 8+ rpg guy at SF and starting with C+ B scoring he should be able to get to B- A- pretty easily. The only concern with that move will be his positional defense but I think he will be fine at SF especially after he has a few TCs there. Starting with C+ B scoring once he is moved to SF he should get up to B+ outside pretty easily through TC and maybe an RC or two. So it really won't take much to get him to A- outside. I'm worried his inside is a little low but as long as he can get to B- then that would be amazing.
Vladimir Radmanovic PF 6'10'' 227 21 C+ B D+ C+ C B
Vlad Rad! Was always a fan of his in real life and he has some really nice ratings and his defense will most likely go up to B- or B at SF. Great size and rebounder once he is moved to SF and shouldn't have a turnover problem. If Vlad can just get that inside up to B- then it shouldn't be that hard to get him to A- outside since he's still pretty young at 21. He can be just as good as someone like Simmons or Battier so Vlad should be a good value pick if he ends up dropping a bit which could happen because not every GM will want to move him to SF. But that should definitely be the move as he has C rebounding and likely no shot blocking so he is made more like a SF even though he has PF size. I would take Vlad top 15 range depending on how the board fell.
Eddy Curry C 7'0'' 295 19 B D+ D C C A
I know most GMs aren't a fan of this guy especially after Spence's draft notes hinted at him possibly being a bust with his weight concerns but I like Eddy a lot and think he can be really good. For starters he should have really high inside scoring and strength so that alone will make him a nice bench scorer. And he should have no jumping or quickness which is a good thing for FBB and why his defensive and rebounding ratings look so bad. I think he will be a 2 bpg and 10 rpg guy after a few TCs if he has decent potential so I'm not as concerned about his ratings as other might be. He'll play above his ratings so if he can just get to B-/B- defense/rebounding then he will be fine. But of course if his potential is shot then he won't have much of a chance at all of becoming a good player. We'll see what happens, Eddy is always a fun player to watch in these leagues.
Draftees that I'm not high on:
Jason Richardson SG 6'6'' 220 20 B- B- C C D A
I was not a fan of Richardson at all when I saw his ratings and the D rebounding and then his draft notes confirmed that for me when Spence said he had high jumping. He's not a terrible rebounder in real life so not sure why it's so bad here but yea that's a huge turn off for me. Some GMs will probably have Richardson higher on their board just because he most likely has higher potential than some of the rest of these guys but you really only need 1-2 good TCs from some of these other wings like Battier, Radmanovic, Simmons, Murphy and Okur. B- B- scoring is always nice looking for a 20 year old SG and if he has nice potential and gets camped correctly then he might become a nice scorer but I wouldn't be looking to draft him especially around the area he will end up going.
Kwame Brown C 6'11'' 270 19 C+ D+ D+ C+ C+ A
It seems like Kwame Brown always goes lotto in these leagues and he always turns out badly. And I don't see this time being any different for Kwame unless Spence just wants to troll us. Best case scenario is Kwame has really high potential and has a couple of great TCs to become a good player so that will intrigue some GMs, but even if he does have high potential I still think it's far from a guarantee that he becomes a good player. Not a good shot blocker or rebounder and will probably have a bit of a turnover issue. Just nothing really to like about Kwame here besides the possibility that he could have A real potential. I'm sure a gambling GM with a long term rebuild in sight will take a chance on him in the top 20 or maybe even the lotto but I wouldn't touch him at all.
Jamaal Tinsley PG 6'3'' 195 23 C C+ B B- D+ B
Tinsley has really nice ratings and will probably go pretty high just because he is the 3rd best PG in this draft but I'm not a fan of his at all after the draft notes came out and Spence said that he had high passing and would have turnover issues. That's an immediate no-no for me and I would just not take a PG in this draft if it came down to Tinsley. He's not a scorer or good rebounder to make up for the turnover issue but he does have B- defense so there is a chance high stealing could save him since he got a lot of steals in real life. Tinsley is also 23 which means he won't have great potential especially since his starting ratings are pretty nice so I would just stay away from him. He will end up going top 20 but hard pass for me.
