DX has him as the 11th overall pick of the 2016 draft, so I don't think he is that "Under the Radar" though.
Following potential 2015 draftees
- Thread starter Dr. Jones
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Okafor vs Towns
Who are you guys taking?????
Who are you guys taking?????
Okafor.
Towns with more upside and Okafor more sure thing.
The one area of Towns game that is surprising me is blocks. Averaging 6.33/36.
I really like Vezenkov's game. He shows great game character on the court, definitely a winner type of player with a great understanding of the game. He will be a very very good player in Europe at the least. There were rumors that several Turkish teams were after him as well. Ivkovic wanted him for Efes but I don't know why it didn't happen, maybe his contract with Aris was an obstacle. But I want him for Fener the next season, I bet he would like to play for Obradovic.
In my opinion, he should play mostly SF as long as he stays in Europe although he would do good as a PF as well. But I'm really not sure about what he could do in the NBA. He probably cannot play SF in the NBA and I'm still not convinced about his size and strength as a PF in the NBA. He looks decent as a 6-8ish with Euro measurements but I don't know for sure if he measure up to 6-9+ in shoes. If he does, I think he can have a place for himself in the NBA too. He definitely can be one of those Millsap-like players who consistently prove that the game requires more than size and athleticism.
Porzingis is no doubt one of the best Euro prospects right now with his unique traits but I expect more from him. He is still far from having NBA ready body(not even close), he still doesn't posess anything resembling of a post game, he still cannot pass the ball. His rebounding isn't impressive either and his blocking is a bit overrated. I think whichever team drafts him will need to stash him for quite a time and hope that he will pan out to his potential. Because if he does, he can be a really special strecth-big man.
Jedi Osman is a special player and he will be talked about much more as the draft days get closer. I think he will be a first round pick and even a top 20 if he continues to his current play. Actually there is a very familiar comparison for him to the Jazz fans. It's non other than our precious Gordon Hayward. Both are extremely baby-faced, huge bodied and very talented kids. Jedi posesses the same versatility of Hayward at 6-8ish height and he has the same unexpected athleticism from a white player. Any NBA team that wants a similar player to Hayward should strongly consider and closely follow this kid. One thing that make him very special is the fact that he turned out to be an exceptionally good defensive player for his age. He effectively defends all 1-2-3 positions in Euroluague level despite being only 19 and I believe he can be an above average defender in the NBA too.
I think it's way too early to talk about Furkan Korkmaz. His potential is exciting. There are very few Euro players possessing killer shooting combined with athleticism. Plus he's another all around player who can do a little bit everything. But his shooting is his best skill without a doubt. He's just a pure shooter. I like him better than both Garcia and Mykhailiuk but like I said it's way too early to speak about him. He needs to develop his body and get much stronger in order to be able to play in the NBA. He really struggles in Euroleague level physically but it's expected since he is only 17 years old.
I agree about the Hezonja disappointment. But I hope it will be good for him in the long run. He definitely needs to understand that he is not a star player until he plays at the stars' level.
I'm not surprised about Diop's recession either. Something is missing with him. He has great length and a solid frame with adequte skills and touch but that thing I feel he lacks makes me hesitant. I will be on hold about him for now.
Do you think Towns can be an elite defender? To me that's what is holding me back on him more than the offense which hasn't been great so far. I've seen some flashes of skill in defense this year that I didn't know he possess. The thing is... I really really don't want us to miss on the next great defensive big who can pass and be good offensively... He seems to be a great passer and I've always had a thing for bigs who have elite passing ability... I think if he figures stuff out defensively he can be an awesome player...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlm3GSYEj6o
This is the 3&D guy in the draft. Buy(trade for) a pick and draft this guy.
This is the 3&D guy in the draft. Buy(trade for) a pick and draft this guy.
Okafor seems like he's a pretty good passer himself as well.
He seems much improved passer out of the post, I'm still not totally sold on his passing being on elite level. Also... the most important part of the description I gave above is really the defensive part. At this point I can't see Okafor ever being elite defender. Offensively, to me it looks more like Okafor is the ultimate consumer. He's the finisher with polished post game(think Big Al). Towns looks more like a guy who can be part of an offensive system in a more broad capacity rather than just finishing the attacks.
Okafor is undersized for a center as far as height goes (from the measurements available) but he does have an elite wingspan. He seems to be about the same size as Favors. Hard to be an elite rim protector when you are undersized. Seems like the best defensive centers, as far as rim protection goes, are huge or similar size to Favors/Okafor with much quicker feet.
I am not necessarily concentrated on rim protection alone. I'm thinking more about overall defense, pick and roll defense, help defense, switches, a bit of rim protection(not necessarily elite), not allowing the opponent to establish good position to attack near the basket before the pass, etc. Think Noah, Marc Gasol, Bogut(although Bogut is actually elite rim protector, he does the other things pretty well too)...
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Ohh, dang! I jinxed it. Just read that Cedi Osman had an ankle injury yesterday. He'll be out for at least two weeks but I'm afraid it might be more serious. They say there might be fracture in his ankle.
https://www.sportando.com/en/europe...sman-to-miss-a-couple-of-weeks-of-action.html
Is Okafor less athletic than Demarcus Cousins? His game is more polished than Cousins' was and he doesn't look to be a headcase. His measurables are almost as good. I think a team can take Okafor without worry.
I agree with Cy that he's a center. He's not really undersized, but not an elite rim protector. His standing reach is a couple inches better than Kanter's and a couple inches short of Cousins'.
Gasol is pretty lazy on pick n roll defense, Grizzlies defensive schemes are just great though and Conley makes up for Gasol's greatest defensive deficiency. I would say Gasol in an elite rim protector because he is just a brick wall down low. Very hard for anyone to post up and rotates well and uses his strength to hold his ground and his length to create a wall to shoot over. Smaller players can't do that as well because they aren't as big.
Undersized might not be the best word for Okafor/Favors, but they aren't ideal center size and neither of them have elite foot speed for the position.
This is a good question for PKM as he has seen Cousins in person. My guess is the answer is "yes". Also I think Cousins is a legit 7 footer and is longer IIRC.
