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Following potential 2015 draftees

orangello said:
That's my point. With his size he should be working on a back to the basket game so that he can take advantage of mismatches that will happen next season.

Jordan, Kobe, Wade, LBJ, Durant, Melo and others use that as part of their arsenal. I think that would be a great way to help Hayward score a couple more points a game and make the offense a little more diverse.
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Agree
 
Thee jazz fan said:
Something that needs more discussion. Part of me wants to just be done with Burke, and since we are fairly deep at other positions it might be good to draft a pg. even if that means staying at 12 and drafting Pain. As I've stated before though. I think Grant and wright are underrated and we could get an extra future pick to give us more building blocks and tools to grab a good vet. Thoughts.
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Unless we trade Exum or don't believe in him I wouldn't draft a PG with the 12. I really like Payne though. We just have too many projects at that spot.

The other argument might be that hey we don't have that spot covered... lets keep getting prospects until we hit pay dirt. If it was any position other than PG I think I'd be fine with that type of strategy. PG is the quarterback of the offense and generally the first line of defense when the ball crosses half court. It is an important position and will hold this team back. I'd rather trade Burke and see if we can get someone a bit more established.
 
Frank is a rich-man's Kelly Olynyk. At worst. Olynyk as the third big on a team is pretty good, but Kaminsky will be better.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
Unless we trade Exum or don't believe in him I wouldn't draft a PG with the 12. I really like Payne though. We just have too many projects at that spot.

The other argument might be that hey we don't have that spot covered... lets keep getting prospects until we hit pay dirt. If it was any position other than PG I think I'd be fine with that type of strategy. PG is the quarterback of the offense and generally the first line of defense when the ball crosses half court. It is an important position and will hold this team back. I'd rather trade Burke and see if we can get someone a bit more established.
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I'd rather get a 3/D wing and have more minutes and possessions for the FOUR OTHER ballhandlers that the Jazz would STILL have.
 
NUMBERICA said:
I'd rather get a 3/D wing and have more minutes and possessions for the FOUR OTHER ballhandlers that the Jazz would STILL have.
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Exactly... that's why I am relatively certain we wouldn't draft a point guard. If we did you know DL would either have a trade in the works or think the guy was that special. I like Payne but I'm not sure he's special.
 
My few thoughts:

* The only concern with Kaminsky is his foot speed and ability to defend the pick-and-roll. His upside is somewhat limited.

* Yes, Trey Lyles is a very good shooter out to 20 feet.

* Looney could be a combo-forward or stretch-4, but I think his shooting is a bit suspect, and I don't like his inability to finish above the rim. RHJ made him look pretty bad in that match up.

* The Stanley-Johnson-can-play-the-4 theory took a hit when he measured under 6'7". Johnson is a candidate to slip out of the top 10 due to measurements and others apparently looking better in workouts so far.

* Portis is good, though not great, at most aspects of the game. He's pretty versatile. The question is how much he can develop.

* The other sleeper here is Dekker, who measured well physically and athletically. If he can shoot more consistently, add strength and add touch inside he could be a good player.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
Anyone an insider and can post what Ford said about Looney today from workouts... said he's raising questions not sure if that is in a good way or bad way.
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Kevon Looney, F, Fr., UCLA
Looney might be the single hardest player in the draft to get a good read on right now. As I noted last week in my latest

Big Board update, some teams have him ranked in the top 10, a few in the 30s.

Nothing myself or the NBA execs and scouts in the gym saw in L.A. on Friday afternoon will likely sway either camp. Looney went through a number of drills led by trainer Chris Farr (the same guy who put Damian Lillard through the single best pre-draft workout I've ever seen).

Looney's workout didn't look like Lillard's (though to be fair, I've never seen another workout that's come close). He shot the ball really well from NBA 3 in warm-ups, but less so in the actual workout. He showed off his versatility handling the ball and shooting off the bounce, which excited many scouts. But he also showed several characteristics that make other scouts leery. While the workout itself was fast-paced, Looney clearly was fatigued at the end.

"I didn't shoot it as good as I wanted to, but that's all right," Looney told ESPN.com. "In my first week, I did terrible [referring to his workouts with Farr] and I almost passed out. But since then, I've been getting better. I love Chris for that. He's getting me into the best shape of my life."

Looney's been focusing heavily on conditioning, including daily yoga sessions, to gain more flexibility, after drawing some criticism from NBA teams for sometimes seeming winded when he was out there. He has a better excuse than some. Last year, Looney injured his right hip flexor and was unable to practice with the UCLA team right up until the start of the 2014-15 season. The injury not only kept him from working out, but it also took away some of his flexibility, making him appear a little more stiff than he actually was. His agent also said Looney suffers from a form of "sports asthma" that requires him to use an inhaler before games (something easily treated in the NBA, several GMs told me). Considering all of that, perhaps Looney's perceived lack of energy and the criticism from scouts all season was a bit unwarranted.

"It affected me a lot," Looney said in reference to his hip injury. "When I got to UCLA, I couldn't practice with the team and learn a new system. And I couldn't come into the season in game shape. At the beginning of the season, it was still sore. I had to miss a lot of practice. I had to try to play my way into shape. I did extra running throughout the season, but it's hard when your body starts breaking down. As the season went on, I felt stronger and more confident."

Teams will take a close look at Looney's hip after receiving the results of the medical examinations at the NBA draft combine. While they refused to go into detail or to express how concerned they were until their doctors had more closely examined the details of the report, there was concern that the hip never fully healed. Looney's agent, Aaron Goodwin, said that the hip won't be an issue in the long run. "It's being treated and is getting better and stronger."

Interestingly, flexibility has proved to pose another issue for Looney and his draft stock.

Looney played point guard for his high school team and power forward in his only season at UCLA. That's quite a range and one of the questions that has followed him. What position, exactly, does Looney play?

His numbers this season suggest power forward is the way to go. He led all freshmen in the NCAA in double-doubles and nearly averaged a double-double for the season. But his thin frame and perimeter skills suggest maybe the 3 is his best position. That's partly why NBA teams are having a hard time getting their arms around him.

"It's always been hard for me to answer, too," Looney said. "In high school, I would've said small forward for sure. But since this year, I say power forward now. Especially since I've been playing power forward for the whole year and haven't had a chance to play against elite wings."

The one thing Looney does bring to the table now? Rebounding. And rebounding, it turns out, is one of the few stats that typically translates from college to the pros.

"I've always loved [rebounding]," Looney said. "Being a skinnier guy, in high school the bigs would always try to punk me. I took pride in going over them, getting rebounds and putting in putback dunks on them."

After the workouts, the opinions from multiple NBA folks I spoke to remained divided.

"What does he do that translates?" one NBA scout said. "He can't run, he can't shoot and he has no motor. No thanks."

"I think he's getting in a lot better shape," one NBA exec said. "He didn't hit a lot of his shots today, but I think with a little tweak on his form, he's going to be a good shooter. No one's going to be able to block it. He's a really good kid. Everyone raves about him. He'll be a hard worker, and in a couple of years, when he gets things figured out, people will regret letting him slide."
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stitches said:
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Also tried to rep. This article confirmed some of my fears on him... The games I watched he seemed tired often times was the last one to cross half court... It was something that threw me a bit because I was expecting a high energy fast paced big.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
Also tried to rep. This article confirmed some of my fears on him... The games I watched he seemed tired often times was the last one to cross half court... It was something that threw me a bit because I was expecting a high energy fast paced big.
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Yep, I've noticed the exact same thing - he has moments when he is beasting on the boards and in defense, and then he has moments when he seems out of it. Until now I didn't put the blame on exhaustion, but it makes sense in retrospect. If he's medically cleared, conditioning should be one of the easiest things to fix with NBA-coaching and training. Remember Dante in Summer League last year?
 
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Handlogten's Heros said:
Also tried to rep. This article confirmed some of my fears on him...
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And I thought the article assuaged fears on him. Given that it explained why during the year he appeared winded at times. Although Ford said in the workout he got winded too, and mentioned that inhaler he takes before games. Shrug. This draft I'm perpetually shrugging.
 
I think both Lyles and Dekker are serious candidates at 12 if someone major doesn't slip.

Looney is a plus-rebounder and a versatile defender. Shooting is obviously key for him. His movement and his ball handling also looked a little clumsy to me. He could have helped himself if he did the vertical testing at the combine, but he skipped it.
 
BENTLEY said:
And I thought the article assuaged fears on him. Given that it explained why during the year he appeared winded at times. Although Ford said in the workout he got winded too, and mentioned that inhaler he takes before games. Shrug. This draft I'm perpetually shrugging.
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It confirmed my fears in that this is a real issue and not something I just thought up based on watching a couple of his games.

Its nice they think they have it figured out... not sure if the asthma will be a bigger issue here in Utah though... I guess he'd eventually acclimate. I would not pass up Frank for him and I think he'd be available later if that is the guy we wanted. I really think we may trade down and get one of the Lyles/Portis/Looney group. Based on the interview with DL I think trading down is more of a possibility than trading up.
 
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