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Lucky Lakers
RaceBannon
Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 105,998 
Minnesota will fuck up the first pick taking a bad luck future bust off the bored.
Comments
Either way the Lakers are sitting good. They can't screw this up. It's like when Seattle had the #2 pick and got Durant. There are two really good players in this draft, it is up to the TWolves to screw it up, Lakers just take whoever the TWolves don't take. Just like how Seattle was going to take whoever Portland didn't take between Oden and KD.
I think Mudiay ends up the best player in the draft, went to China for a year instead of SMU. Reminds me of John Wall a bit. He'll go to Philly at 3 or NY at 4.
Front line of Upshaw, Okafor and Randle,
I'll be very surprised if Upshaw doesn't go first round. The contracts are only guaranteed for two years and there are only 5-10 (at most) true impact players in every draft. Upshaw is one of those guys.
Most of the things that he needs to improve on can be fixed with hard work and attention to detail.
Towns is a guy that I could see being a 16-18 point per game, 8+ boards per game but I'm not sure I ever see him as a difference maker. Okafor is a difference maker.
Towns' game fits better in today's NBA. He can shoot and he can play PF or C. He played very well in the tournament against Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
@Tequilla - This Bleacher Report article lays out why Towns is better. Flag for Bleacher Report if you would like, but it has some good stats that show why Towns' is the smarter pick. Towns' defensive rating led the country. He's a two way player, who can shoot FT's. The only thing Okafor does better is score. Towns' is a better rebounder, shot blocker, and he's a better athlete with a higher ceiling.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2474933-la-lakers-should-take-karl-anthony-towns-over-jahlil-okafor-in-2015-nba-draft
The past ten guys who went #11: Doug McDermott (probable bust, role player at best), Michael Carter-Williams (good pick), Myers Leonard (Some skill, but soft), Klay Thompson (All Star), Cole Aldrich (Bust), Terrence Williams (Bust), Jerryd Bayless (Journeyman), Acie Law (Bust), JJ Redick (good pick), Fran Vasquez (who?). If we go further back we get Andris Biedrins, Michael Pietrus, Jared Jeffries, Kedrick Brown, Jerome Moiso, and Trajan Langdon. Biedrins did well enough to get a large 2nd contract before washing out. Pietrus and Jeffries were role players at best.
4 out of the 16 guys listed are/were good NBA players. I'm being generous and considering Biedrins a good player. 25%. Only one is an All Star. I bet it's likely you could do the same thing with most picks outside the top 5.
Early projections don't think that Upshaw won't go lottery, and I don't necessarily believe he will be picked #11, but if a team thinks he can be a starting center and defensive anchor, history shows it would be FS not to pick him, regardless of his baggage.
I'm sure most of those teams thought their picks could be something worthwhile though so I'm not sure thinking Upshaw can be a starting center means it would be FS not to take him. There's probably four or five guys that all those teams think *could* turn into something at that point, the trick is picking the right one.
#10 - Elfrid Payton (Solid so far, but can't shoot), CJ McCollum (Has a chance), Austin Rivers (Role player at best), Jimmer (Bust), Paul George (All Star), Brandon Jennings (good player), Brook Lopez (Good player, borderline All Star), Spencer Hawes (I detest his game and soft bigs in general, but he did have a few decent years), Mohammud Sene (Bust - Forgot the Sonics took this bum), Andrew Bynum (was an All Star), Luke Jackson (Bust)
Most guys picked #10 have been successful.
#12 - Dario Saric (Hasn't played yet), Steven Adams (good player), Jeremy Lamb (Bust so far), Alec Burks (Decent, nothing special), Xavier Henry (Bust), Gerald Henderson (Decent to good player), Jason Thompson (Journeyman), Thaddeous Young (Good player), Hilton Armstrong (Bust), Yaroslav Korelev (Who?, Huge Bust), Robert Swift (lol)
#12 has been a mixed bag. No All Stars, a couple decent players, a couple busts
#13 - Zach Lavine (Raw talent. IMO a probable bust), Kelly Olynk (Decent), Kendall Marshall (Bust), Markieff Morris (good player), Ed Davis (Journeyman to Bust), Tyler Hansborough (Bust), Brandon Rush (Bust), Julian Wright (Bust), Thabo Sefalosha (Role Player), Sean May (Bust), Sebastian Telfair (Bust)
#13 have been mostly busts. No All Stars.
I still stand by saying that if GM's really believe Upshaw is a lottery talent, you might as well take him in the lottery. If he fucks up, he's gone in two years. And at the recent NBA combine, Upshaw did nothing but help himself by having the tallest standing reach and the biggest hands of anyone there.
I kind of see a parallel with Marcus Peters. Peters was considered toxic for awhile, and his dismissal was supposedly going to cost him millions before his talent won out and he got picked about where he should have. He maybe slipped a little, but not too much. I think ultimately that will happen with Upshaw.
Towns doesn't wow me as an offensive player. Okafor does.
You are FS if you think that Okafor has maxed out on his talent. That's the most FS thing I've seen on this bored in a long time.
I would say big guys that can protect the rim, rebound, and stretch the floor are pretty fucking valuable in today's NBA. Towns offers all of those things.
Okafor's not maxed out, but Towns is a better athlete. The general consensus is that Okafor is more polished, but Towns has a higher ceiling and is a better defender.
How does Okafor have more skill? The only thing Okafor does better is score in the post. Towns did everything else better. He rebounded better, he's a better shooter, he blocked more shots, his defensive rating was better. And he's taller with a slightly larger wing snap.
On a 40 minute comparison, Towns wins in most categories. He rebounded better, he blocked more shots, he averaged more assists, less turnovers. Okafor scored more and had a higher FG percentage.
Are we done here or should I keep going?
Why were teams doubling Okafor on the catch almost every single time? Was it because Duke didn't have any other players on their roster?
It's clear that we'll agree to disagree ...
There's a lot of rawness to Okafor's game right now ... but he's got all the skill in the world.
My bet is that Minnesota takes Towns ... and they'll be happy with the pick.
The Lakers will be doing cartwheels with Okafor.