The curse of the defensive talent coming into the draft. It's so hard to sell the idea that you're drafting a player solely for their defensive talent. People tend to think that defense can't be a talent but that's not true. Great defenders aren't just guys who play hard. There's reason why there are so few truly great defensive players. It takes defensive talent to allow a player to become an elite defender just like offensive talent.

WCS is not the most well developed offensive player but he does have an impact on offense. His mere presence is a problem for teams because he's so mobile, quick and athletic that he's a threat to dunk at all times. You have to keep a defender near him or in his way. The good thing about our offense is that it's all about ball and player movement and also spacing. It's not overly reliant on PnR or ISO. It's hard to defend a moving target.

WCS also opens up your transition game. He's as fast as a guard from end to end. He finishes at 72.5% at the rim. He's improved his FT shooting up to 61.7%. He already has some basic moves with a Jump Hook and Mid Range Jumper. WCS also has a very quick 1st step and can drive to the hole against slower Centers. In the NBA he'll have more space to actually do some things offensively. I think he'll score enough at the next level if he stays aggressive.

crzymdups wrote:I'll put it another way - Danny Ainge isn't trying to trade up to 4th to select Frank Kaminsky. He's trying to get Willie Cauley Stein.

WCS has a highly valued skillset and fills a huge demand position in the league.

Every single good team in the playoffs has a defensive anchor at center, even if they play this spread offense. Stein is a defensive anchor and he's going to have a long NBA career and will be highly sought after.

Are you saying that the Knicks are in the same situation as a team as the Celts at this point?

They are shopping for trim...we are still trying to build a frame and have not even gotten the walls up yet. (Heading over to Home Depot, soon)

crzymdups wrote:

WaltLongmire wrote:

crzymdups wrote:I'll put it another way - Danny Ainge isn't trying to trade up to 4th to select Frank Kaminsky. He's trying to get Willie Cauley Stein.

WCS has a highly valued skillset and fills a huge demand position in the league.

Every single good team in the playoffs has a defensive anchor at center, even if they play this spread offense. Stein is a defensive anchor and he's going to have a long NBA career and will be highly sought after.

Are you saying that the Knicks are in the same situation as a team as the Celts at this point?

They are shopping for trim...we are still trying to build a frame and have not even gotten the walls up yet. (Heading over to Home Depot, soon)

The Celtics have a foundational superstar they're building around? I must have missed that.

The Knicks on the other hand, do have a foundational superstar they're building around. Carmelo Anthony.

Whether you like him or not, they are building the team around him. Willie Cauley Stein is a piece. But he's a very good piece and he's a piece that fits next to Melo and makes up for some of Melo's deficiencies. Just like Melo's exceptional offensive skill will offset some of Stein's deficiencies.

Let me put it to you like this - who did Melo look better playing next to? Tyson Chandler? Or Amar'e Stoudemire? Some on this board would say Tyson has no offensive game blah blah, Amar'e is a 20ppg 8rpg STUD it's a no-brainer. How'd that actually work out on the floor.

I want to build a team. Willie Cauley Stein is an exceptional defender, he covers for a ton of this whole roster's problems. You add a guy like DeMarre Carroll to the perimeter and this team suddenly has a much improved defense, making Melo's scoring prowess all the more valuable. Add Monroe's scoring prowess and Carroll's shooting and you've got the makings of a very good team, with cap room coming in 2016 to add some better guards.

EXCELLENT post! This is what some seem to be missing. We have to build a roster that makes sense together and that can win games. We can't keep building teams that can't defend at a high level. If we draft WCS that plugs a HUGE hole. We can certainly afford Monroe and Carroll or Danny Green and that would make the defense much better at the same time. We actually have a few defenders already who will be even better when you add WCS and maybe Carroll to the mix.