CrushAlot wrote:Posted Wojo's article in the Porzingis workout thread. It sounds like Kristaps is making a run at the 2 spot.

I could see taking Porzingis over Russell... big over small, etc... but to take Porzingis over Okafor? That would take some large cajones indeed.

But getting Russell or Okafor with the 4th would be awesome.

smackeddog wrote:

FistOfOakley wrote:this pick can easily be screwed up... very very easily...

Indeed, feast your eyes on this horror:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/Probballdraft/status/611201147660075008

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/Probballdraft/status/611201438400778240

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https://twitter.com/Probballdraft/status/611201881839374337

lmao at Knicks and Celtics being natural trading partners. I doubt his sources said that. Not only are they in the same division they are both targeting Greg Monroe in FA. I can't imagine a scenario where phil just trades directly out of the top #10 either.

Also by the Celtics #16 in most drafts the players they've worked out are all off the board..... I mean they haven't even scheduled a meeting with Dekker yet but this site thinks they move down 12 spots to draft him lmao.

Nalod wrote:Its great that Kristaps is moving up which gives us a chance to feel decent about him if we pick him (if others want him it sort of confirms) and if he goes in the top 3 then we get a chance at oka4 or Russell.

This kid is not Alex Len or some euro Stiff.

The more we pump this guy up, the better....I think he has star potential, and I never said that about any other Euro player. Even Gallo was decent, but I didn't see superstar potential. And he turned out pretty good, just injury prone.

crzymdups wrote:Chad Ford's latest mock, if anyone cares... I for one pray that Chad is right for once.

1 Karl-Anthony Towns Minnesota Timberwolves COLLEGE: KentuckyHT: 6-11WT: 250POS: C
It's a two-man race between Towns and Jahlil Okafor for the No. 1 pick, multiple sources say, even though the Wolves also have been trying to get in D'Angelo Russell, traveled to Vegas to see Kristaps Porzingis and are bringing in Emmanuel Mudiay. Which guy will they take? General manager and coach Flip Saunders has been an Okafor guy all year, but most of his staff is pushing for Towns, who will be a better fit given Minnesota's personnel. Saunders traveled to Thousand Oaks last week to watch Towns work out. After the workout, I kept getting assured that Flip will ultimately turn Towns' way. But it's not a done deal. Okafor was in Minnesota on Tuesday and Wednesday.

2 Jahlil Okafor Los Angeles LakersCOLLEGE: Duke HT: 6-11WT: 275POS: C
The Lakers will keep crossing their fingers that Towns somehow falls to them. If he doesn't, it sounds like it's down to Okafor versus Russell for No. 2. Both players worked out for the Lakers last week. While neither player necessarily wowed in the workout (Russell was fighting a bug and Okafor struggled a bit with the pace of the workout), neither hurt or separated himself, I'm told. Mudiay also came in for a workout, and while he was impressive in many areas, he didn't shoot the ball as well as he did in other workouts. The Lakers also traveled to Vegas to see Porzingis work out and they interviewed him afterward. They were impressed, but I'm told it's doubtful they'd select him over Okafor or Russell. There are arguments for both players, but I'm told the Lakers fear that getting a quality center via free agency or trade will be much harder than getting a scoring guard. Advantage: Okafor.

3 Kristaps Porzingis Philadelphia 76ers COLLEGE: Latvia HT: 6-11WT: 220POS: PF
We've been hearing both Mudiay's and Russell's name here for months. But in the past few weeks, multiple sources around the league suspect that GM Sam Hinkie may actually be leaning toward Porzingis. He's an odd fit, given the Sixers' abundance of big men (though news that Joel Embiid's foot hasn't healed may change the fit analysis). But Hinkie has always drafted based on the best-player-available strategy. He doesn't draft for need. So while the team needs Mudiay or Russell more, if he believes Porzingis is the best player on the board, so be it. Or, as one rival GM believed, this Porzingis intel is all a smoke screen to get Orlando (who loves Porzingis) to trade up to No. 3 and give Hinkie another coveted asset. I believe Porzingis' camp strongly prefers he land in Orlando.

4 D'Angelo Russell New York Knicks COLLEGE: Ohio State HT: 6-5WT: 193POS: PG
As I wrote on Monday, the Knicks are exploring possibly trading their pick if Towns, Okafor and Russell are all off the board at No. 4. They'd trade down a few spots, grab someone like Frank Kaminsky and get a veteran to help them now. However, in this scenario, I doubt they trade their pick. For all of Phil Jackson's talk about defense, Russell is an almost perfect fit in the triangle. While he could go as high as No. 2, I doubt Russell slides past No. 4.

We can but hope!

http://grantland.com/contributors/andrew-sharp/

newyorker4ever wrote:Here's a good article on M.Hezonja that i'm gonna post the link to but someone will have to re-post it for me cause for some reason this is the only message board out of all the message boards i post links on that doesn't work for me and i do it the same dang way on every dang board so i can't seem to figure out why it doesn't work for me on just this board and it's really p-ing me off.

http://grantland.com/contributors/andrew-sharp/

Detroit might want him.

Agent Arn Tellem is negotiating with Barcelona of Spain to reduce the buyout clause in top-10 prospect Mario Hezonja‘s contract, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The buyout is the equivalent of $2.27MM as it stands, well north of the $625K cap that NBA teams can shell out without it coming out of the player’s salary. Tellem is set to become an executive in the Pistons organization, and Detroit picks eighth.

smackeddog wrote:

FistOfOakley wrote:this pick can easily be screwed up... very very easily...

Indeed, feast your eyes on this horror:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/Probballdraft/status/611201147660075008

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/Probballdraft/status/611201438400778240

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/Probballdraft/status/611201881839374337