Houston Rockets select...7'3" Walter Tavares of Spain.

NBA Comparison: Peter John Ramos

Strengths: Standing 7-3, with an astonishing wingspan of 7-9 he has tremendous size, combined with excellent mobility for a big man with his dimensions ... He’s always active on the floor, showing great progresses from a conditioning standpoint, compared to when he arrived on the Canary Islands ... Offensively he’s really effective in pick and roll situations, showing the ability to finish above the rim after the cut with aggressiveness, furthermore his mobility and coordination make him an effective contributor in creating space for his teammates with solid screens, playing a key role in Gran Canarias offense .. Most of his offensive repertoire is based on dunks and put backs after an offensive rebound, but he has shown significant improvements on his hook shot using his right hand ... He has a soft touch and he’s a solid free throw shooter ... Defensively he’s a great pick and roll defender, being able to recover in the painted area after helping on the screen ... Plus with his great size and wingspan he’s definitely a great rim protector. According to those with knowledge of him, he’s a nice, humble guy with a great work ethic ...

Weaknesses: He lacks explosiveness and elite athleticism, furthermore as per all the big man of comparable size, the physical and muscular improvement must be developed carefully, in order to avoid back and structural problems ... Offensively he’s still rather raw, he lacks post moves and struggles to effectively take position in the painted area ... Furthermore his lack of solid ball handling skills makes it difficult for him to create his own shot, often relying on offensive rebounds and assists from teammates ... Despite his size he’s not yet an elite rebounder, since he lacks effective positioning and a natural understanding of the game ... These shortcomings also affect his defensive effectiveness: he jumps on shot fakes too often, committing unnecessary fouls ...

NYKBocker wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:Good pick under rated was hoping to get him at 32-- I was hoping for either Hairston or Clarkson. Im hoping the Knicks if they get a late pick--that Clarkson is high on the list.

What do you think BRIGGS? You like all my picks for Cleveland and Houston? I think I did really well on those 4 picks. Embiid was a no brainer but Jordan Clarkson at 25, Jerami Grant at 33 and Walter Tavares at 42 is pretty damn good. Can we say that I won this game now?

To think I did all this in my office and not in my home office where I could have gone commando. That's right martin...freedom not only helps your head downstairs but helps you think clearly as well.

You'll have to look back in a few years to know the answer!

BRIGGS wrote:Philly takes Russ Smith PG

Continues to be one of my favorite players projected to go late in this draft. I LOVE this kid for us. What can't he do? Speed, athleticism and handle are all top notch, he shoots it well, can score the ball every which way, can go get any shot he wants at any time, plays great defense and he's a criminally underrated passer (good enough passer to play point in the NBA w/o any question in my mind). Oh yeah, and he's a winner...

We've been talking a lot about Patty Mills/Darren Collison lately -- I like Mills & Collison a lot but in terms of available 6'-ish PGs I think this kid, pound for pound, might be an even better talent than either of those guys.

Say we lose out on Mills/Collison, can't get a draft pick high enough to get a Napier or a Dinwiddie etc. and all we did was get a pick in the 40s and grabbed Russ Smith. Then we continued enhancing with league minimum-type FAs like DeQuan Jones, Terrence Williams, BJ Young, Seth Curry, Kalin Lucas, Devin Ebanks, Richard Howell, maybe a skilled 7' like Marcus Cousin (to hopefully go along with Cole Aldrich), etc. even without Melo, that's far from terrible. We could make major upgrades at almost every position going this route...I for one think there could be quite a few jewels here...If this really turns out to be an transition/audition year with or without Melo, I hope they explore it to the fullest. Unturn every stone in a quest for talent -- it's out there. "Shake the tree" as Phil said early on in the process...There are so many talented players out there just waiting for a chance. You can't convince me that we have no shot at adding some nice young talent to the mix, even with zero cap room/picks.