Poeltl & Pascal - The 2016 Draft

[JamesNaismith]

James, Skal was dominate in HS and in international play and he also missed his senior year do to injury. He played AAU that yr and was dominant. He was projected #1 based on HS, AAU and international play.

I think Giles is coasting to get into the league first and then go from there. If he busts his ass now and gets injured then he's done and doesn't even get the guaranteed rookie contract in the $5m range. I think we will see the real Giles once he gets into the L.

Hmmm I wouldn't say Skal was dominant in highschool...he really started to make a name for himself at the Nike Hoops Summit. He averaged 18.5ppg, 11.0rpg, 2bpg...Giles did 23.9ppg, 12.5rpg and 2bpg in contrast) in their final years...

I mean Drummond in highschool put up 20ppg, 16rpg and 7bpg, KAT did 20.9ppg, 13.4rpg and 6bpg.....and if we really go by what's truly dominant that would be someone like Anthony Davis who averaged 32ppg, 22rpg and 7bpg. But I regress, I think Skal did fairly well but imo he wasn't really dominant as much as he showed good upside. Giles at least statistically seems a bit more on par offensively and rebounding with the other big men. Really I think IF healthy Giles can have a potential something closer to Myles Turner (who I think is massively underrated and is right behind the names I just listed) except Turner is the better shot blocker and Giles would be better offensively.

I really hope for Harry's sake that it is just a matter of him coasting and not risking injury but it's gotta make GMs wonder if he can ever push himself again without risking it. Again Giles to me could be the "Myles Turner" type of pick in this draft which could be a huge steal but the injuries I'm sure are going to scare the hell outta most GMs, personally I wouldn't mind rolling the dice on him but I'd be stunned if Masai had the balls to do so.

[lewro]

Skal avg 26/12/4.5bpg in his senior yr. I thought he was hurt but I doubled checked and he was actually ineligible. Anyway, his numbers were lower but for a weak class he was ranked #1 by the most notable scouting bodies. That's more what I meant by dominant. He's not a dominant guy, more that he dominated the rankings like Giles.
I think Giles could be like Noel in terms of a suspect injury history and also like Brandon Roy as a guy that has a short but awesome career. It's very difficult to translate NCAA to NBA but even more so with HS to NBA. He might be thon maker but I think he's a lot better but I'm not high on maker.

[Bendit]

I'd say based on rumour this may have been true in the case of Bruno but less so in the case of siakam. The bucks had two picks in the 30s and it was known that they wanted to deal (which they did). Celts, rockets and jazz all had multiple 2nd rounders.
I can understand targeting a player and sticking to your board; I just find it hard to believe that we gave some consideration to Davis and Skal at 9 but none at 27. Given our hole at pf and that the draft is a crap shoot (as you said), I could justify adapting to the unexpected fall of Davis and skal at 27 and picking up a 2nd to get siakam. It's a risk but one worth taking imo. Siakam was projected around 45 and I've never heard any rumoured interest from another team. Hypothetically, if we got siakam and Skal then they battle for a job and the loser goes to 905 (which was the projection and need for siakam in the first place). Fall back option, we take uthoff undrafted or another name still on the board like layman. I like siakam but I don't think as much as masai does. I blindly attribute that in part to bwb. If he takes another bwb guy then I will feel more confident in that statement.

While Pascal was slated for the second round we shall never really know who were really interested in him lower in the first round (he was picked 27th so not many to go). Anecdotal info is all we have. Firstly I remember clearly that the last workout held in Buffalo apparently blew Masai away...PS destroyed Skal I understand. I also remember hearing that other teams were on the trail. I have a link below which touches on the other workouts he went to and his own confidence I assume from teams feedback to stay in the draft.

I tend not to get too in depth in drafts simply because one tends to have just a miniscule of the data and knowledge of a player ..especially those beyond eg the first 6-7. I guess with a f/o like the Raptors....might just as well trust their judgement. They also presumably have done oppo intel on other teams' draft interests.

http://www.currentargus.com/story/sp...raft/84919214/

[lewro]

While Pascal was slated for the second round we shall never really know who were really interested in him lower in the first round (he was picked 27th so not many to go). Anecdotal info is all we have. Firstly I remember clearly that the last workout held in Buffalo apparently blew Masai away...PS destroyed Skal I understand. I also remember hearing that other teams were on the trail. I have a link below which touches on the other workouts he went to and his own confidence I assume from teams feedback to stay in the draft.

I tend not to get too in depth in drafts simply because one tends to have just a miniscule of the data and knowledge of a player ..especially those beyond eg the first 6-7. I guess with a f/o like the Raptors....might just as well trust their judgement. They also presumably have done oppo intel on other teams' draft interests.

http://www.currentargus.com/story/sp...raft/84919214/

Here's his article from the players tribune. As I said, he never played vs Skal.
I never heard of any team showing interest in siakam in the 1st Rd? I find it even harder to believe considering Davis, Murray and Skal were still in the green at pick 27.
I agree it's purely speculation. Yes, the pros have first hand experience and much greater data but in the end they're guessing too. I think that's fun but to each his own.

"I had so many workouts with so many NBA teams that they all blend together. Except the one with the Raptors.
Toronto was holding a workout in Buffalo. When I walked into the gym, I saw Skal Labissière and Jakob Poeltl, who were both ranked really highly on most draft boards. I was psyched... I was going to dunk on Skal. I was going to block Poetl. I was going to dominate this workout and show the Raptors that I was just as good as those big names.

I walked onto the court, pumped up, when a coach stopped me.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, “Jakob and Skal are doing solo workouts. You’ll be working out with another group.”

Well, now I was pissed. That was my chance to show them what I could do against the best! I took that frustration and anger and used it in my workout against the other group (which was full of guys I didn’t know). I’m telling you, I’ve never had energy like that before. It was through the roof. That was my best workout of the summer. But since I didn’t get to work out with the other “top” guys, I didn’t think the Raptors would be very interested."

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thep...-cameroon/amp/

[JamesNaismith]

Skal avg 26/12/4.5bpg in his senior yr. I thought he was hurt but I doubled checked and he was actually ineligible. Anyway, his numbers were lower but for a weak class he was ranked #1 by the most notable scouting bodies. That's more what I meant by dominant. He's not a dominant guy, more that he dominated the rankings like Giles.
I think Giles could be like Noel in terms of a suspect injury history and also like Brandon Roy as a guy that has a short but awesome career. It's very difficult to translate NCAA to NBA but even more so with HS to NBA. He might be thon maker but I think he's a lot better but I'm not high on maker.

Fair enough, I actually just found his senior year stats which was 25/12/4 (http://www.courier-journal.com/story...team/21575397/) although I think it should be noted that he did NOT play in a top prep league like most other high profile recruits and in fact, it's believed that his team was "created" by his legal guardian just so he could play a senior year after being out his junior year with a back injury. Also when his team did play top level prep teams they got destroyed but whatever. While I would argue playing (for the most part) against lower level schools that his stats were inflated (ala Siakam in college) but I guess time will tell....but I still believe he does have a more potential than Siakam although Deyonta is the one I would have taken.

As for Giles, I would say even that scenario will likely scare the crap out of GMs. Noel has not been impressive at all and his injuries do seem to be taking a toll on his play and unlike Roy, Giles is yet to show that potential. Roy was a senior that actually really didn't flourish that much until his final year.

Also tbh I don't really recall Roy having a history of injuries prior to the NBA, it was after he got there that they found out he had degenerative knees which was more a condition. Whereas Giles has blownout his knees a couple of times (his left ACL and his right ACL, MCL and meniscus) already which sounds like Derrick Rose, except Rose did that in the NBA -- that's very troubling and he hasn't shown any flashes of that highschool phenom yet. Again I hope you're right about him but I just didn't think him and Skal were a like comparison and while I think Giles' potential is higher so to is his risk.

[lewro]

I'm just comping Skal/Giles/Noel as former #1 recruits with injury history. Obviously they're are not the same person so they don't have the exact same histories.
The Roy comp was more about potential impact (short career all star) than the type of injury. You're right tho, it makes a difference. My point was more that maybe a guy that has short but high impact is useful in the Lowry window. Just a thought. There's a number of good prospects to consider this yr.

[lewro]

Skal 32/11 on 15 shots

[The Great One]

Skal 32/11 on 15 shots

He was still on the board with our 2nd pick smh.

[tDotted]

Skal 32/11 on 15 shots

Masai should be burned at the stake

[JamesNaismith]

Skal 32/11 on 15 shots

FML, it's happened again....we pulled another "Drummond" lol

[blackjitsu]

FML, it's happened again....we pulled another "Drummond" lol

Looks like the team is slowly beginning to see him as their leader. Question: Is it the lack of Boogie, or Gay being sidelined?

Also, that Siakim pick is making less and less sense. If the Serge trade from OKC was reasonable, is he even on this roster? Right now I would rather have Toupane than Siakim. I still think Siakim is an NBA player eventually. But, if this is a win now team having both he and Bruno makes no sense. If this is a team still building Skal was a better gamble in the first round.

It would be interesting to learn what the red flags Skal had that made Raps say no twice to him

[Hotshot]

It would be interesting to learn what the red flags Skal had that made Raps say no twice to him

Lets not forget that 27 other teams also said no to him.

It appears that he was mentally weak in college and as a result may not have had it. There are plenty of players who ended up being a bust for just being mentally weak.

I hope that Pascal will turn out well cause if we missed another star player because we decided to go for the safer pick, well the Drummond and Skal picks just showed you that you can't always play it safe in the NBA, sometimes you got to roll the dice which is why we have Bruno lmao

Masai may want to have a discussion with Watson the IBM computer and the draft department....

[golden]

Skal 32/11 on 15 shots

Faaaaahk. This just ruined my day. Somehow this is Casey's fault.

[JimmyGetsBucketss]

Lol most of the forum wanted us to draft skal but we went ahead and drafted sikam. It is Caseys fault hahaha.

[Axel]

Poeltl & Pascal - The 2016 Draft

Siakam has never looked like anything more than a long athletic guy who hustles; so it's not surprising that at least one of the high upside guys drafted after him would surpass him, and in fact it was always probable; the question was always "which" high upside guy would do it.