Tag Archives: nerlens noel

Mock Draft, Picks 1-8

Adam Silver will be rollin' phat on Draft night

Adam Silver will be rollin’ phat on Draft night

Eds. Note: This mock isn’t necessarily intended to predict what teams will do, but to spell out what WE would do at each pick. Some of that is likely to map onto what teams actually end up doing on Thursday, some isn’t.  

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1. Cleveland Cavaliers – Nerlens Noel, C, Kentucky

Patrick J: I think the Cavs go with the conventional wisdom here. In a draft without a sure-thing superstar, you go with talent and size, especially when there’s a seven footer with potentially upper upper level shotblocking skills and defensive instincts.

Andy G: Can’t disagree, here. It’s not so much that NERLENS is can’t-miss as much as there’s probably not a sure thing anywhere in this draft and it’s pretty easy to see how his game carries over to modern NBA defense, often times built around roaming paint protectors.

Plus, that flat top.

Moving on…

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Will Kevin Love Draw the Golden Ticket?

kevin-wonka

If the choppy Charlie Bucket photoshopping doesn’t make clear, I’m not devoting much time to this. The draft lottery. It’s tonight. 7:00 on ESPN. Kevin Love will be there, representing the Wolves. I’d guess that Adam Silver or some Ernst & Young executive will announce the results around 7:30.

The reason I’m skimping on the LOTTERY PREVIEW is that it’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Wolves will pick 9th (81.3 percent chance) or 10th (12.2 percent chance). Who knows, maybe that will be a blessing in disguise?  The high end of the lottery has not been very kind to Minnesota. The highest pick in team history, Derrick Williams, was chosen 2nd and will probably not be an NBA starter next season, his third in the league. Third overall, the team has selected Christian Laettner and O.J. Mayo. One never played for the Wolves. The other, well, we wish hadn’t. Fourth overall the Wolves have taken Donyell Marshall and Wesley Johnson. Bust, and… major bust.

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Draft Combine, Part III: The Measurement Edition

NERLENS

Over the weekend we took a look at some of the more interesting youtube interviews of potential draftees at the combine. Part I here. Part II here.

Now we’re wrapping up the DRAFT COMBINE SERIES with a few observations — mostly Timberwolves-related — about the measurements portion of the event. Without further ado…

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NBA DRAFT: What the Prospects Say

Trey Burke: Sewer Hero

Trey Burke: Sewer Hero

Co-authored by Andy G and Patrick J

DraftExpress just posted a bunch of interviews with top prospects who’re possible future Wolves at the NBA combine. Below, Andy and I react to each that was published today. Assuming more are to come–possibly to include Anthony Bennett–we’ll probably hit the wheel on this a second time for comparison’s sake. Full analysis below.

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Draft Talk, Take Two (The Lowered Expectations Edition)

Glenn Robinson II (!) and Glenn Robinson III

Glenn Robinson II (!) and Glenn Robinson III

A couple weeks ago, in anticipation of the NCAA Tournament, we scribbled some preliminary thoughts on NBA Draft prospects. Now that we’re into Sweet 16 territory, and we know a little more about where the Wolves may end up drafting, we thought it about that time to do another quick #lottobound rundown of our current thoughts on potential Wolves prospects we like.

I pass the baton to Andy G to kick this thing off.

Andy G: ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: Ben McLemore: Disappears too often for my taste, certainly if you’re taking him as high as #1(!) I mean, check out his game log (Insider, sorry). I’d like the Wolves to get him but I wouldn’t expect that we’re getting a Durant or Ray Allen as much as a Jason Richardson.

That said, who is #1? My take is, if we somehow win the lottery I think it’s Nerlens Noel or Anthony Bennett.  Gotta get the star power at the top of the draft.

If we don’t win the lotto and take Oladipo, we might be getting a better player than McLemore anyway.  Victor O plays Jrue Holiday-style defense and seems to have the shooting mechanics to become a pretty reliable secondary scorer. It’d be incredible to watch a Rubio-Oladipo backcourt terrorize opposing guards defensively.

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