Recap – Part One
Last week we dug up the bush on the first five picks for the year 2015 and they were as follows:
1. Karl-Anthony Towns, Center, Minnesota Timberwolves
2. D’Angelo Russell, guard, Los Angeles Lakers
3. Jahlil Okafor, center, Philadelphia 76ers
4. Kristaps Porzingis, forward, New York Knicks
5. Mario Hezonja, guard-forward, Orlando Magic
Top 10 NBA drafts for the year 2015 Part 01 of 02
This week we shall get into the details of the second five –
6. Willie Cauley-Stein, center, Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings have utilized their 6th pick of the 2015 NBA draft and got hold of Willie Cauley-Stein, the Big man from Kentucky University. While many may question this move considering the Kings already have one of the best centers in the business in the DeMarcus cousins, experts believe this was a strategic move since there are trade rumours surrounding the latter. Willie was named ‘SEC’ player of the year in his junior year.
However Cauley Stein has a different style of play to that of the cousins and could end up becoming a defensive corner stone in the NBA. Sacremento will need all that and more from him to improve their record of 29 wins out of 82 games in their previous season. Willie is incredibly fluid, agile and quick for a big and could gel well with the King’s team under George Karl who has grown rather fond of the fast paced game with Daren Collision playing at Point Guard. The strengths of this young star as observed by the Scouts are his physical tools, defensive versatility, offensive rebounding ability and mid-range shooting, all of which would make him a legit 2-way threat.
If he seriously considers playing Pro-Ball at the NBA level he would really have to work on his defensive rebounding ability, consistency and strength. Out of the 3, strength and conditioning will be the main area of concern for him and the Kings fans as it would impact his survival in a merciless league which consists of 82 games in a season with matches sometimes played every single day.
7. Emmanuel Mudiay, guard, Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets have selected Emmanuel Mudiay, the former high school prodigy of Grace Prepatory academy and Prime prep academy. He was born in Zaire now known as Democratic Republic of Congo. Although many experts believed that he would become an easy 1st round of pick after College, Emmanuel had other plans. He decided to opt out of College and signed up with Guandong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.
With Ty Lawson expected to be traded sooner rather than later, Emmanuel is expected to take over as starting Point guard. Although many 19- year olds might be daunted by this prospect, Emmanuel seems to be confident about this. He was one of the few players who played like a true pro during the recently concluded Summer league with impressive stats.
Mudiay has been compared to the Washington Wizards All-Star Point guard John Wall having a combination of great size, speed and athleticism. His ability to generate offense by making plays individually and for his team is truly remarkable. However he will have to really work on both his Mid-range and Long-range shooting, minimize the rash decisions and reduce forcing shots that aren’t there. Pundits predict he’ll be a player with a high number of points and assists but also with a high number of Turnovers. If he does make those adjustments to his game he might well end up becoming ‘NBA Rookie of the year’and in the process help the Denver Nuggets improve their less than 0.5 win percentage and make great strides in the 2015/2016 NBA season.
For SriLankans aspiring to make it to the NBA or other major Basketball leagues around the World someday- Emmanuel Mudiay is someone to really look up to as a boy who made things happen out of his sheer will.
8. Stanley Johnson, forward, Detroit Pistons
With the 8th pick of the draft the Detroit Pistons have chosen Stanley Johnson. He is a product of the University of Arizona who earned an All-American honours in his freshman year. Stanley was the only player from the top 10 drafts to earn an ‘A’ rating from the Summer league performance. He is a Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls), Kwahi Leanard (San Antonio Spurs) type of player who isn’t the number one player in terms of rank right now but is really solid, focused, disciplined and hard working enough to make it among the best in the NBA.
He has an NBA standard body for a small Forward, has good scoring ability and great defensive potential. He has a great back to the Basket game and played as a Power Forward in high school. He is also a highly gifted athlete with a very impressive vertical.
His weaknesses as assessed by the Scouts is his inability to finish at the rim; which has been poor, shooting a meagre 40% inside the paint. Also coaches at the higher level seem to be a little concerned about his decision making ability, perhaps one of the reasons why he has slipped down in rankings. However he seems to have understood it perfectly as he has made reference to his ‘decision making’ and how he has taken measures to improve it in recent interviews. If he does so Stanley might just be the missing piece of the Jigsaw puzzle for the Pistons who had a below par record of 32 wins and 50 losses last season.
9. Frank Kaminsky, forward-center, Charlotte Hornets
With their 9th pick of the NBA draft Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets have chosen the downright Underdog of the draft in Frank Kaminsky. Mainstream media have been really cruel towards Frank often portraying his abilities to be not worthy enough to be in the top 10 of his class. However the former Wisconsin Badgers big man has been one of the most consistent performers out of the top 10 both at the NCCA level and at the Summer league. The problem is although he is a fundamentally sound Basketball player, there is nothing too flamboyant about him and this naturally means he isn’t going to be viewed as great in a league where the ‘Amazing happens’.
Frank’s size and mobility, offensive versatility and great feel for the game are the strengths that he possesses according to the Scouts. However if he is to truly make a statement and prove all his doubters wrong he will have to work really hard on his defense especially his lateral movements which is not easy for a man his size. He would also have to improve his ability to finish at the rim as he will now will be competing against bigger, longer, and bouncier bigs at the NBA level. The Charlotte Bobcats have also been a team that is struggling and are desperately in need for a few players to click. If he does contribute to the team as well as expected he could add the much needed depth to the bench and really help Al-Jefferson, Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd- Gilchrist who are already Star calibre players and help the franchise improve their 33 wins 49 losses from last season and make a push to the playoffs come 2016.
10. Justise Winslow, guard, Miami Heat
With their 10th pick of the 2015 NBA draft the Miami Heat have selected Justise Winslow. This is easily the ‘Steal of the draft’. Many Pundits have their hands over their heads unable to figure out how Justise did not get picked any earlier. He is straight out of Duke University who were the 2015 NCCA champions which make winning nothing new for this kid.
He has good size which will give Heat Headcoach Erik Spoelstra the liberty to play him either as a Shooting guard or a small forward. This would mean he could use Star Dwayne Wade who has suffered a series of injuries over the last couple of years and also starter Loul Deng more sparingly. The NBA scouts have observed that offensive versatility, defense and high Basketball IQ are the positive attributes he brings to the table.
However they have also pointed out that he has to become more consistent offensively, improve his ability to finish against length and really improve his shooting in order to become a better player. The Miami Heat is another team which has a good following in SriLanka, although they are often accused for being Band wagon fans by other fans with the whole ‘LeBron James story’ (The Writer is among the victims! ). However loyal Heat fans will have a lot to celebrate if ‘Justise’ does ‘Justice’ to his reputation, as the Heat will have a team which would be good enough to provide the Cleaveland Cavaliers a legit threat for Eastern conference supremacy with Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Loul Deng, Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside forming a star-studded starting lineup.
Although the Kings, Nuggets, Pistons and Hornets do not have a notable following among the Sri Lankan basketball fraternity, it becomes important to know what they are upto as well, since all those moves will affect the fate of the 2015/2016 NBA season. The class of 2015 in the NBA draft isn’t the most eye popping draft class in my opinion, however there is a lot of promise. And if the rookies live up to those promises they will add more colour to what is already a vibrant league.
Log-in again next week to ThePapare.com to keep yourself updated with the latest events in the World of Basketball. Until then keep calm and keep Balling.
