2016 NBA Draft

[Shadowlight]

Just a few names to keep an eye on. There are a few more but just a starter kit here.
Dragan Bender - 7-0- I hope the Celtics take this Croat who has been compared to Toni Kukoc a fave of mine back when. Most have him pegged as an exciting future star!
Furkan Korkmaz 6-7 Great hops and terrific shooter from Turkey. Very young which is good.
Jakob Poetl 7-0 Had a terrific two years at Utah, very fluid--not a sure bet star in the NBA but could develop into one.
Jake Layman-6-9 lack of aggressiveness has been a mainstay for this Maryland grad. Very athletic with a 39 inch vertical. If he gets picked it will be in the second round--I think he should get picked but we know the theme in sports today --keep out the athletic white guys---.
Ante Zizic 6-11 Fluid big guy who should get drafted.
Other names we know from college are first round candidates Henry Ellenson and Sabonis from Gonzaga. There is also athletic big man Stephen Zimmerman, Jarrod Uthoff and Ron Baker all second round guys we hope. Baker may not get drafted. Uthoff's play for some reason fell off after SI wrote a glowing article on him and he never really recovered but like Layman he is versatile so there is hope.

 

[Riggins44]

I saw a mock draft recently that had Bender going at 5, Ellenson at 9 and Poetl at 10. Poetl could be a Valanciunis-type center, 12-14 points and 9-10 rebounds a game. A lot of teams would be very happy with production like that from their 5 man. He is a talented player and a very good offensive rebounder.

 

[fernchris55]

Young Bender could use another year overseas to fill into his very good frame. He reminds one of Porzingas, but not quite starting man ready. If he were to come over now, he, depending on who gets him, might end up floundering on the bench when he really needs to continue developing his game. He runs the court even better than Porzingas (like Toni yes) and has incredible lateral and closing speed. Picture a 7 foot Scottie Pippen on defense (not yet offense). He's a giant made to order for Golden State death ball, small ball. The only thing he'd have problems with defensively, is the few and fewer back to the basket ground and pound types which his wide shoulders indicate he could grow to give resistance to when he adds muscle. Offensively he has nice shooting mechanics but is not yet a dead eye shooter compared to, yes, Porzingas. His passing ability is very good and he has a decent ball handle.
He may go earlier than his experience suggests due to the "Porzingas effect."

 

[Phall]

Jarrod Uthoff is a quality NBA-caliber player. I'm surprised he is projecting as low as the mid-50s now despite Iowa's relative fall from grace last year.

A lot of the scouting "knock" on white scorers at a college level is that their shooting prowess does not fully account for their defensive liability, and superlative black athletes drive past them with extra quickness in the NBA. Uthoff defies this stereotype as a shot-blocker and is a unique athlete on the court.

This chart is only within Big Ten conference interplay, which is a pretty solid conference with plenty of pro alumni. Uthoff is a leading shot-blocker, but at 6'10, he is blocking shots at the perimeter rather than at the rim, Mutombo-style. He is an experienced lead-scorer and rebounder a la Kevin Love, but brings a new dimension to the equation with his ability to block and alter swing-forwards' shots. It is hard to believe he could not enter any team's 8-man rotation as a defensive specialist, but chances are decent that he could do much more. How Jarrod Uthoff could possibly fall out of the NBA draft... who knows?

 

[Riggins44]

NBA Draft tonight. So far 7 out of the 24 picks are our guys.

4 - Dragan Bender to Phoenix
9 - Poetl to Toronto. He seems to be a very similar player to Valanciunis so not sure this pick makes sense.
11 - Sabonis to OKC by way of Orlando
13 - Georgios Papagiannis from Greece to Phoenix
15 - Juan Hernangomez from Spain to Denver
18 - Henry Ellenson to Detroit
23 - Ante Zizic from Croatia to the Celtics!

 

[Deadlift]

The draft is being made up of a bunch of players that aren't going to get much playing time as rookies, you can take this to the bank. So, the ROY award will simply be 'given' to raw Ben Simmons, underwhelming Kris Dunn, or maybe one-dimensional Buddy Hield.

 

[celticdb15]

Quite a few black "frenchmen" being picked in 1st rd. Big international draft this year. Zizic to Celtics.

 

[Vanilla_Sky]

NBA Draft tonight. So far 7 out of the 24 picks are our guys.

4 - Dragan Bender to Phoenix
9 - Poetl to Toronto. He seems to be a very similar player to Valanciunis so not sure this pick makes sense.
11 - Sabonis to OKC by way of Orlando
13 - Georgios Papagiannis from Greece to Phoenix
15 - Juan Hernangomez from Spain to Denver
18 - Henry Ellenson to Detroit
23 - Ante Zizic from Croatia to the Celtics!

Papagiannis is going to the Kings via trade. Apparently the Raptors drafted Poetl with the intention of developing him into a back up big behind Valanciunas, with the belief being that Biyombo will sign elsewhere.

 

[Freethinker]

The Orlando Magic got 2 very athletic players who's games should be well suited for the NBA, Stephen Zimmerman and Jake Layman. If I'm not mistaken, these were the only American Whites taken in round 2. The biggest snub was Jarrod Uthoff. He would be a solid addition to any team as he's ready to contribute right away. Hopefully he signs with the right team. I'm sure he can make it.

 

[Vanilla_Sky]

Final results"

FIRST ROUND:
4) Phoenix Suns - Dragan Bender PF Croatia
9) Toronto Rapers - Jakob Poeltl C Utah/Austria
11) Oklahoma City Thunder (via Orlando Magic) - Domantas Sabonis PG Gonzaga/Lithunia
13) Sacramento Kings (via Phoenix Suns) - Georgios Papagiannis C Greece
15) Denver Nuggets - Juan Hernangomez PF Spain
18) Detroit Pistons - Henry Ellenson PF Marquette
23) Boston Celtics - Ante Zizic C Croatia
26) Philadelphia 76ers - Furkan Korkmaz SG Turkey

SECOND ROUND:
31) Los Angeles Lakers - Ivan Zubac C Serbia
35) Boston Celtics - Rade Zagorac SF Serbia
41) Orlando Magic - Stephen Zimmerman C UNLV
47) Orlando Magic - Jake Layman F Maryland
48) Chicago Bulls - Paul Zipser SF Germany


One of the lower years for our guys. Also drafted were two Chinese players, an Egyptian, and one ambiguous French player (Isaia Cordinier)

 

[celticdb15]

Was hoping Uthoff and Baker would get selected but this isn't my first rodeo and realistically expected them to be snubbed.

PS Milwaukee DWFs are getting weirdly excited over the team drafting "Aussie" Thon Maker. Most common phrases I've seen thrown out describing him: "upside" "potential", and "athletic." I hope he's a BUST. Jason Kidd has proved to be about as anti white as any coach in the league. Several years ago Milwaukee had one of the whitest teams in the league...

 

[Freethinker]

Was hoping Uthoff and Baker would get selected but this isn't my first rodeo and realistically expected them to be snubbed.

PS Milwaukee DWFs are getting weirdly excited over the team drafting "Aussie" Thon Maker. Most common phrases I've seen thrown out describing him: "upside" "potential", and "athletic." I hope he's a BUST. Jason Kidd has proved to be about as anti white as any coach in the league. Several years ago Milwaukee had one of the whitest teams in the league...

It is being reported that Ron Baker had signed a partially guaranteed contract with the NY Knicks. The Knicks were not very strong at SG so I like this as a landing spot.

 

[Riggins44]

The Orlando Magic got 2 very athletic players who's games should be well suited for the NBA, Stephen Zimmerman and Jake Layman. If I'm not mistaken, these were the only American Whites taken in round 2. The biggest snub was Jarrod Uthoff. He would be a solid addition to any team as he's ready to contribute right away. Hopefully he signs with the right team. I'm sure he can make it.

I'm particularly surprised about Uthoff. At the beginning of the year he was a POY candidate. And he's got a lot of skills. He could certainly help a lot of teams out. He is without a doubt a potential NBA starter.

 

[Shadowlight]

The Orlando Magic got 2 very athletic players who's games should be well suited for the NBA, Stephen Zimmerman and Jake Layman. If I'm not mistaken, these were the only American Whites taken in round 2. The biggest snub was Jarrod Uthoff. He would be a solid addition to any team as he's ready to contribute right away. Hopefully he signs with the right team. I'm sure he can make it.

Yeh both have tremendous athletic abilities. I believe Layman ended up in Portland. They probably both suffer from white man syndrome which translates to the basketball court as know your place don't take over things. Layman was very passive at times at Maryland and do we really expect to see a genuine ball hog white player at the NBA level these days? It is an unwritten law after Larry Bird left the game that white guys need to stay in the shadows. Their black brothers are not about to put up with a white guy taking the lead so to speak. Yeh a white Russell Westbrook type player would be nearly impossible due to the fact the guy holds the ball 80 % of the time. Grayson Allen of Duke has some of that but lets see if and when he gets to the NBA if that is shaken out of him? This is a huge problem for white players especially the smaller players. We will have to wait and see if these two guys can develop.
As for Uthoff I feel bad. They put up a nice SI article and he kind of went downward ever since. all and all an ok but nothing special draft I give it a B-.

 

[Phall]

It is being reported that Ron Baker had signed a partially guaranteed contract with the NY Knicks. The Knicks were not very strong at SG so I like this as a landing spot.

The Knicks still hold the rights to Jimmer Fredette, who resigned with their D-League team after Kurt Rambis refused to acknowledge him last season during his 10-day contract. I was hoping that new coach Jeff Hornacek would give Jimmer an actual chance. He and Baker are both on the shorter side for shooting guards. If the Knicks "play it safe" and resign mediocre free agent Langston Galloway (also undersized) to be a rotation player, it's one less roster spot for Baker and Fredette to fight over.

Kyle Wiltjer signed with the Rockets for three years. Multi-year deals for undrafted players usually include a partial-guarantee for the first year but nothing else, so if Wiltjer were to stick rather than be waived, he'd be locked in at about the league minimum for a total of three years. Baker's one-year deal is considered better for the player.

Uthoff's agent has claimed that they discouraged several teams from drafting Uthoff with the intent to "stash" him in Europe or the D-League and instead are shopping for the right NBA roster.

 

[white lightning]

Great write ups guys. I enjoyed the draft. I was happy that we had around 1/3 of our guys in the first round. Not great but not horrible either.

As for the Knicks, I do believe if anyone gives Jimmer a shot it will be Hornacek. Also guys like Phil Jackson can only help
to get some of these guys careers back on track. Jackson even told the Lakers to take Porzingas but they ignorred him. Their loss is his gain.

I really like the team Orlando is putting together. Denver and Phoenix look ok as well as a few other teams.

 

[fernchris55]

Phall,
I'd like to see Jimmer go to the Spurs D-league team and/or the Spurs tryouts this summer. He may have tried out with them before but I know the PAFTO there always keeps an open mind unlike that absolute proven loser of a coach Kurt "the lost at birth Hanson brother" Rambis.
He actually looks like he could replicate the role Patty Mills has, as an instant offense back up point guard. Against 2nd units and being hidden in the Spurs advanced defensive schemes, he could be effective without being exposed for his liabilities on defense. His role as the primary distributor isn't necessary in a Spurs lineup since he'd only be expected to advance the ball quickly and safely into half-court where other folks like those 2 point forwards Boris Diaw and Anderson are the tip of the spear.
I hope he sticks with it as I admire his toughness and grit.
Good to hear that Uthoff was being considered by teams and rebuffed only because he's not interested in being Euro-stash.

 

[newguy]

Actual the 20 plus nba draft percent is relatively poor considering that a good percent from yeAr to year are from Europe. About 15 - 20 years ago that was around the percent of white players drafted without European players. The influx of white European players should have brought the percent of white players drafted every year to about 35 percent a year instead of the 20 to 25 percent drafted nowadays.

The promotion of black athletic superiority in America has destroyed the development and opportunities for many white athletes over the years especially in basketball and football.

 

[Vanilla_Sky]

Actual the 20 plus nba draft percent is relatively poor considering that a good percent from yeAr to year are from Europe. About 15 - 20 years ago that was around the percent of white players drafted without European players. The influx of white European players should have brought the percent of white players drafted every year to about 35 percent a year instead of the 20 to 25 percent drafted nowadays.

The promotion of black athletic superiority in America has destroyed the development and opportunities for many white athletes over the years especially in basketball and football.

The percentage has been around 30% drafted the last few years I have covered the draft. The reason that is hasn't drastically affected the league's demographics are 1) European prospects are more common but at the expense of a decline in white American prospects 2) many (I would estimate as much as 50%) of Europeans drafted, especially the "draft and stash" players of the second round opt to stay in European leagues and never make the transition to the NBA, and those that do often stay for a very short duration.

However, I would make the argument that league's demographics are changing. It's closer to a 75:25 whereas in the early 2000s it was probably closer to 80:20. There is also a slow influx of more Arab and Asian players.

 

[Phall]

Uthoff is signed on to play summer league ball with the Sacramento Kings. He'll be free again to sign with any NBA team after the six-game "season," so probably no more news from him until the end of July. If he gets passed over yet again, I believe he can sign directly with the D-League and play while waiting for an in-season call-up from any team.

 

[Riggins44]

Jared Uthoff got called up from the D league and scored 5 points for Dallas last night. So he will get to play a few games in The Show as a rookie.

 

[celticdb15]

Zubac has shown some flashes for LA down the stretch, another good young Euro.