Post by DERRENMATTS on Jun 25, 2016 3:45:03 GMT -5
Took my a day to finally find time to jot down my thoughts, and here they are. Overall, I am really happy with the players we've drafted, and oddly enough, the only one who didn't get my nod of approval was our very first pick, [HASH]3, Jaylen Brown. But anyways, here are my thoughts on who we drafted:
Jaylen Brown. This was the guy who I did not want us to draft; anyone but him. And of course, he's the one we took. But listening to Ainge and Brad talk about Brown, I've softened my stance. They talked glowingly about him in ways I wasn't thinking about. I was keying on isolation and attacking the basket on dribble penetration -- but they beamed about his versatility and how important it is to be able to play and guard multiple positions. They talked about how effective he is in transition. They also pointed out that he's a better shooter than what we saw at Cal. What these all tell me is that Jaylen's impact will be on the defensive end, where he can guard, not only ball handlers, but also both forward positions (the wing and the swing). And his ability to be a big factor in transition will open up our fastbreaks, giving us more opportunities to get easy buckets. And maybe, just maybe, in 3 - 5 years, he might turn out to be a special offensive player, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Is this worth the 3rd pick? We'll see. But you can be sure I'll be sighing if Bender does better than Jaylen.
Guerschon Yabusele. Now here's a guy I wanted, and it didn't bother me taking him at 16. 6'8", 275 lbs (of muscle and power, and not lard like Sullinger) and moves very well. Not only is he a threat to put the ball on the floor and finish with a slam, but he's a perimeter threat too. Can guard the 4 and 5. But I would like to see him lose 15 lbs to have even greater mobility.
Ante Zizic. Another guy I was happy to grab (though I was hoping Furkan Korkmaz would have slid further down). The next Steven Adams. Everything about Zizic reminds me of Adams -- attitude, motor, toughness.
Demetrius Jackson. A bit shorter than I'd like (listed at 6'1"), but long wingspan and excellent vertical. Solid all around PG. Again, another pick that I was happy with, especially falling this far into the second round.
Ben Bentil. The rave nowadays is a PF who can play like Draymond Green. And aside from the defense, Bentil is in that mold (in that he's a big body who can jack up three's). Questions about his defense and rebounding are there, but there's always room on the team for a Marreese Speights type role too.
Abdel Nader. This late in the draft, you're just trying to find a player who can fit in with what your team does, and I guess Nader has that one (or two) redeeming qualities Brad wants -- versatility and perimeter shooting. Nader's built like a tweener forward, but I doubt he's quick enough to guard quick 3's, or strong enough to guard strong 4's. He's a very long shot to make the team, IMO.
Jaylen Brown. This was the guy who I did not want us to draft; anyone but him. And of course, he's the one we took. But listening to Ainge and Brad talk about Brown, I've softened my stance. They talked glowingly about him in ways I wasn't thinking about. I was keying on isolation and attacking the basket on dribble penetration -- but they beamed about his versatility and how important it is to be able to play and guard multiple positions. They talked about how effective he is in transition. They also pointed out that he's a better shooter than what we saw at Cal. What these all tell me is that Jaylen's impact will be on the defensive end, where he can guard, not only ball handlers, but also both forward positions (the wing and the swing). And his ability to be a big factor in transition will open up our fastbreaks, giving us more opportunities to get easy buckets. And maybe, just maybe, in 3 - 5 years, he might turn out to be a special offensive player, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Is this worth the 3rd pick? We'll see. But you can be sure I'll be sighing if Bender does better than Jaylen.
Guerschon Yabusele. Now here's a guy I wanted, and it didn't bother me taking him at 16. 6'8", 275 lbs (of muscle and power, and not lard like Sullinger) and moves very well. Not only is he a threat to put the ball on the floor and finish with a slam, but he's a perimeter threat too. Can guard the 4 and 5. But I would like to see him lose 15 lbs to have even greater mobility.
Ante Zizic. Another guy I was happy to grab (though I was hoping Furkan Korkmaz would have slid further down). The next Steven Adams. Everything about Zizic reminds me of Adams -- attitude, motor, toughness.
Demetrius Jackson. A bit shorter than I'd like (listed at 6'1"), but long wingspan and excellent vertical. Solid all around PG. Again, another pick that I was happy with, especially falling this far into the second round.
Ben Bentil. The rave nowadays is a PF who can play like Draymond Green. And aside from the defense, Bentil is in that mold (in that he's a big body who can jack up three's). Questions about his defense and rebounding are there, but there's always room on the team for a Marreese Speights type role too.
Abdel Nader. This late in the draft, you're just trying to find a player who can fit in with what your team does, and I guess Nader has that one (or two) redeeming qualities Brad wants -- versatility and perimeter shooting. Nader's built like a tweener forward, but I doubt he's quick enough to guard quick 3's, or strong enough to guard strong 4's. He's a very long shot to make the team, IMO.
