Did the Lakers make a mistake in selecting Russell?

Ford: Given the situational qualifiers we spoke about, do you think the Lakers made the right choice by selecting Russell at No. 2?

While NBA folks had him rated No. 2 on my Big Board, I wrote the Lakers should've taken Porzingis in my Grade A Mock the week before the draft. Based on the very early returns, I'd stand by that -- especially given the Lakers' current personnel. Many of these situational issues would've gone away had they selected Porzingis.

Pelton: I think I'm inclined to agree. You mentioned in last week's discussion that Porzingis was underscouted, and that was certainly the case for me. Though Porzingis and Russell had nearly identical WARP projections, I rated Russell higher on my subjective rankings in part because I was more familiar with his strengths and how they would translate to the NBA than Porzingis' game.

I don't think Okafor or Mudiay would look much better in the Lakers' system than Russell. (Can you imagine Okafor as the last line of defense behind the L.A. guards?)

Porzingis, however, has shown he can be effective without the ball thanks to his size and offensive rebounding. Given that NBA performance tends to be more predictive than pre-draft projections, I would lean Porzingis over Russell if we redrafted today.

The Lakers HC is not known as one who gets along with his PGs. He and Kidd did not see eye to eye; as well as, CP

nixluva wrote:I had WCS as my top guy mainly for his defense and really I was only hesitant about KP because they had made him sound like he was 3-5 years away from contributing. IMO this is where the analysts did us all a disservice! We all knew that KP was talented. I had no idea that KP would be this good defensively before the draft. Sure I thought he was agile and quick and could block some shots but this rebounding is insane. I didn't see that coming this early. This is why you have to give tons of credit to the Knicks scouts and Phil really keeping their true feelings close to the vest. Remember Phil wasn't even letting people know about all the workouts they had. It was radio silence from the Knicks. Phil did this franchise a huge favor in what he did on draft night. Aside from Towns I can't think of a better fit for us than KP.

I agree. You and I were probably the only two who wanted WCS as our big; mainly because we all knew Russell was not going to be available at 4. I didn't know ANYTHING about KP, because he has not dominated at any level.

nixluva wrote:I had WCS as my top guy mainly for his defense and really I was only hesitant about KP because they had made him sound like he was 3-5 years away from contributing. IMO this is where the analysts did us all a disservice!

We have to do ourselves a service by recognizing a majority of pro sports analysis is just people repackaging what they're hearing. I don't mean that critically. It just is what it is.

That said, Porzingis played and played effectively for a European league arguably superior to NCAA competition. He was no less prepared than any other 20 year-old in the draft.

The 'xx years away' thing was strictly a perception about his height/weight, the white-Euro stigma, and a lack of understanding about European pro ball.

We all should have recognized those things.

Knicks1969 wrote: I didn't know ANYTHING about KP, because he has not dominated at any level.

Teenagers don't dominate in top European leagues. They simply don't get the court time or usage. It is just the culture of how they play ball there. Has little to do with ability.

nixluva wrote:

bigbasketballs wrote:

nixluva wrote:I had WCS as my top guy mainly for his defense and really I was only hesitant about KP because they had made him sound like he was 3-5 years away from contributing. IMO this is where the analysts did us all a disservice!

We have to do ourselves a service by recognizing a majority of pro sports analysis is just people repackaging what they're hearing. I don't mean that critically. It just is what it is.

That said, Porzingis played and played effectively for a European league arguably superior to NCAA competition. He was no less prepared than any other 20 year-old in the draft.

The 'xx years away' thing was strictly a perception about his height/weight, the white-Euro stigma, and a lack of understanding about European pro ball.

We all should have recognized those things.

Also it was IMPOSSIBLE to know the HEART that KP has. Who could know that he was so fully dedicate himself to the diet and conditioning program and come back from Summer League a much improved player physically. KP made HUGE strides physically and in his mental approach to his role. Look at the massive improvement in just the few months after Summer League to now. These were things we as fans couldn't know but Phil had much more contact and direct talks with KP and could get a better idea of what the kid was like. It was more than just KP's potential but his ability to mentally handle NY as well. This was a great job by Phil and his staff in terms of thoroughly vetting KP as a prospect as well as their other picks.

Which is a sound argument for keeping our opinions in perspective. Of course as fans we're going to have our own draft boards, but we should also recognize that's what's already more of an art than a science, we simply don't have the tools.

OK4 was more NBA ready, and I didn't think he would be available at 4. So it was between WCS, Mudiay and KP.

I thought the best pick would be KP. and the pick all fans would've loved was Mudiay.

But I mentioned this before the draft. Fisher winning those 2 out 3 last few games might have been a bleshing. It put us in KP range, who may be the best player in the draft.

This was my pre draft prediction. I even created a thread about it, just not UK savy enough or have the time to find it.

But I thought if KP had WCS defensive potential (who I originally liked at 4) based on KP's lateral movement for a 7'3 big. Then we all saw his offensive weapons, scoring from all over the court in his scouting videos and real time games. I thought KP was the perfect triangle type of big Phil would love. Did know he had the balls to pick.