How Great is the 2017 draft class?

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Josh Jackson has been suspended for their opening game in Big 12 conference tournament. It's tied to a recent car accident where Jackson backed into another car and didn't even leave a note.

God bless it! Why does the guy I want to draft when we don't get #s 1 or 2 have to end up being a total douchebag?!?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Listen to you two old b*stards (lol) - he's a kid for crying out loud!

He's looking more like a spoiled athlete with low morals. When I was 17 I hit a parked car. I didn't even do much damage. I waited until the owner came out and apologized and showed what I did. And I didn't have a multimillion dollar contract waiting for me.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

What does it mean "he's dealt with it?" Does it mean he got busted on camera and HAD to deal with it or that he somehow came forward of his own volition bc it was the right thing to do? Makes a difference.

 

[Russ Smith]

What does it mean "he's dealt with it?" Does it mean he got busted on camera and HAD to deal with it or that he somehow came forward of his own volition bc it was the right thing to do? Makes a difference.

Yeah I don't know the answer to that. I assumed it meant he made contact with the owner and arranged to pay for it but the article I read didnt' elaborate. Self is the one that said Jackson had already dealt with it before he told Self it happened, which does make you wonder if he found out it was on tape and he better tell Self before someone else does.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yeah I don't know the answer to that. I assumed it meant he made contact with the owner and arranged to pay for it but the article I read didnt' elaborate. Self is the one that said Jackson had already dealt with it before he told Self it happened, which does make you wonder if he found out it was on tape and he better tell Self before someone else does.

Yeah you don't get credit in my book for doing the right thing if you're compelled or you know you're caught. I'd like more details on that front.

 

[sunsfan88]

It's an interesting connection. The Warriors would likely have to do a trade to get it done. However, they have limited assets to trade beyond Curry, Thompson, Green and Durant.

Shouldn't be hard to get a 2nd rd pick. Most teams often buy them straight up for cash and then rights to some player they drafted 10 years ago only because trades can't done officially just for cash. That's why I said the 2nd rd picks we got for Tucker don't have much value to us (cause we could've always just bought those picks if we wanted someone available in the 2nd rd) but Sarver can sell those and get millions so it certainly has more value to him.

 

[Mainstreet]

Shouldn't be hard to get a 2nd rd pick. Most teams often buy them straight up for cash and then rights to some player they drafted 10 years ago only because trades can't done officially just for cash. That's why I said the 2nd rd picks we got for Tucker don't have much value to us (cause we could've always just bought those picks if we wanted someone available in the 2nd rd) but Sarver can sell those and get millions so it certainly has more value to him.

I was talking to Russ Smith about Allonzo Trier. He is slotted by NBADraft.net in their mock to go in the 1st round. I still think he goes in the 1st round or early second round. I think most NBA teams would be unwilling to sell early second round picks for cash and the rights to an obscure player unless that player has value. I especially think this holds true in the 2017 draft.

Those second round picks that were sold in the recent past were usually mid to late second round picks. I'm not sure how much of this is going on now as primarily a cash transaction.

I think the second round picks acquired in the Tucker trade have some value especially for draft and stash players or they can be used in trade like they were for Tucker. With the new salary cap, I think most teams should not be hard pressed to sell second round picks.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I know Russ has talked about this before but seriously, if Fultz is so clearly the best talent in this class why is that team pretty much the same with and without him? They lost to USC without him tonight 78-73 and they lost 82-74 when Fultz played. They lost to UCLA by 43 with him and 32 without him. They lost to Utah by 24 without him and 12 with him. And so on.

He scores his points but he just doesn't seem to be all that impactful especially for someone considered to be a transcendent player. And especially not for someone who mostly controls his own destiny on the court as opposed to, for example, a star center that might need a PG to show his worth.

 

[slinslin]

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best fit for the Suns no doubt.

We need better shooting on the perimeter from the small forward position and Tatum is the full package beyond that.

 

[GatorAZ]

Tatum isn't a good shooter but he seems to do everything else really well. That spin and up & under move shows he's past the foot injury.

If you fast forward a couple years I could believe him being similar to Paul George.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Tatum isn't a good shooter but he seems to do everything else really well. That spin and up & under move shows he's past the foot injury.

If you fast forward a couple years I could believe him being similar to Paul George.

That other and one layup was pretty damn sick too. Definitely a very gifted player on the offensive end of the floor.

 

[slinslin]

Tatum isn't a good shooter but he seems to do everything else really well. That spin and up & under move shows he's past the foot injury.

If you fast forward a couple years I could believe him being similar to Paul George.

If Tatum is not a good shooter than the other prospects must all be terrible shooters. 88% from the line, 35% from 3, was over 40% but he had a bad streak from 3 over the last 4 games, on almost 5 attempts per game.

Tatum projects one of the best shooters from this draft along with Monk and Markkanen.

 

[sunsfan88]

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best fit for the Suns no doubt.

We need better shooting on the perimeter from the small forward position and Tatum is the full package beyond that.

I agree with you that we need it but he hardly took any 3s in the clip you just posted.

 

[sunsfan88]

Tatum isn't a good shooter but he seems to do everything else really well. That spin and up & under move shows he's past the foot injury.

If you fast forward a couple years I could believe him being similar to Paul George.

I think his ceiling is Paul George and his floor is Tobias Harris. Which is a really, really good thing because I would gladly even take a Harris type player for us at Sf.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Okay, that's it for me. I just finished watching my 13th game of the day (thanks to my DVR) and I'm going to try and get a few hours sleep before I do it all over again in 5 hours or so. This is my favorite 2 weeks of the year, all these conference tournaments and then the first week of the dance itself.

 

[Russ Smith]

I know Russ has talked about this before but seriously, if Fultz is so clearly the best talent in this class why is that team pretty much the same with and without him? They lost to USC without him tonight 78-73 and they lost 82-74 when Fultz played. They lost to UCLA by 43 with him and 32 without him. They lost to Utah by 24 without him and 12 with him. And so on.

He scores his points but he just doesn't seem to be all that impactful especially for someone considered to be a transcendent player. And especially not for someone who mostly controls his own destiny on the court as opposed to, for example, a star center that might need a PG to show his worth.

Yeah I didn't watch the game but I saw Pac 12 net this morning and 2 different guys were saying UW took them to the wire without Fultz and then KO said something like "they would have lost with Fultz too but they seem to play harder without him."

Weird, Romar is a terrible coach and by all accounts Fultz is a quiet humble kid, but it almost seemed that way to me when UCLA played them too. Like they played harder without him. To be fair Dime didn't play in the 43 point win with Fultz and did play in the 32 point win without Fultz(against UCLA) but he wasn't that great, they just seemed to quit in the first game.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm still wondering why Fultz is not falling in the mock drafts since he is not playing.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I'm still wondering why Fultz is not falling in the mock drafts since he is not playing.

I think he will when they get serious. Right now everyone is just re-cycling the same information and nobody watches Washington play anyway. Sooner or later someone will mention his knee and the bottom will fall out for him until medical evals clear him or scare everyone further away. I can't see him dropping very far but I don't think he'll go in the top 2 come draft day.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think he will when they get serious. Right now everyone is just re-cycling the same information and nobody watches Washington play anyway. Sooner or later someone will mention his knee and the bottom will fall out for him until medical evals clear him or scare everyone further away. I can't see him dropping very far but I don't think he'll go in the top 2 come draft day.

This will likely happen... Fultz falling in the draft.

However, I'm surprised it hasn't already happened. He missed 5 out of the last 7 games for the Huskies. I would think there would already be some question marks as he is projected for the first pick in the draft.

 

[AzStevenCal]

This will likely happen... Fultz falling in the draft.

However, I'm surprised it hasn't already happened. He missed 5 out of the last 7 games for the Huskies. I would think there would already be some question marks as he is projected for the first pick in the draft.

Like I said, no one is really paying attention to Washington anymore and they all rely on the same recycled info. They'll catch up soon.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Tarheels are handling a pretty good Miami team fairly easily. That's a good UNC team, I'm kind of surprised none of their players end up in the high lottery conversation.

 

[GatorAZ]

If Tatum is not a good shooter than the other prospects must all be terrible shooters. 88% from the line, 35% from 3, was over 40% but he had a bad streak from 3 over the last 4 games, on almost 5 attempts per game.

Tatum projects one of the best shooters from this draft along with Monk and Markkanen.

Monk and Markkanen are much better shooters. Tatum might be a better prospect though.

 

[hsandhu]

Tatum just dropped 25 vs Louisville.... his ceiling is paul george. I'm just hoping we don't fall below the 6 or 7 range to get him, issac or monk.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Tatum just dropped 25 vs Louisville.... his ceiling is paul george. I'm just hoping we don't fall below the 6 or 7 range to get him, issac or monk.

Barring a bad break from the lottery, I think we're safely locked into the 3 to 5 range. We have a stretch right now of some winnable games but we close out with a very tough sequence of opponents. We have a 2 game cushion on Orlando which might be in jeopardy but hopefully that's the worst that will happen. But when teams really start checking Fultz out, Tatum might end up moving into that 3rd spot behind Ball and Jackson.

 

[hsandhu]

Barring a bad break from the lottery, I think we're safely locked into the 3 to 5 range. We have a stretch right now of some winnable games but we close out with a very tough sequence of opponents. We have a 2 game cushion on Orlando which might be in jeopardy but hopefully that's the worst that will happen.

Hope so, not sure though. Sacramento is coming strong, Sacramento, orlando, philly (full tank) would push us to 6, which is still ok.

Worried about new orleans, playing like trash since the trade, and knicks always may fall apart.