Triumph36
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I think two of those players have more upside than Kaun. So why not take a flier on one, keep Kaun overseas another year, and see what happens? They might not turn out, of course, and meanwhile Kaun would be getting even MORE game time experience. But they might surprise people and be the sleeper of the draft.Here's how I see it.
Dallas bought the 25th pick, that was the first pick sold purely for cash. After that, three Centers were taken in the draft.
Daniel Orton
Hassan Whiteside
Solomon Alabi
Now, look at those three guys. All three are multi-year projects. All have red flags, Whiteside is a toothpick with major attitude problems. Alabi never really did anything in college that tends to translate well into the NBA. His scoring won't translate and his bad rebounding will translate...into more bad rebounding.
Orton was the most intriguing of the three prospects because he has a great NBA body..but his stock dropped amid injury and attitude concerns. And let's be real, the dude averaged 3 points and rebounds per game last year.
My question is, are any of these guys clearly better than giving Sasha Kaun an opportunity? If Kaun re-entered the draft, where would he have gone?
I like Orton still, but I can understand being hesitant in getting him. But while talking about all the other stiffs that went in the 2nd round like Whiteside and Pittman and Alabi..I can't help but think we may have a better option, who's already spent an extra year or two developing as a player, already under our control.
I wasn't very high on Whiteside, and taking him would be the biggest risk because if LeBron happens to leave, his attitude problems would almost surely become a major issue. So I guess if you go in knowing this player only has a chance to succeed if LeBron returns...and you think LeBron will likely be back...it would probably be a worthwhile risk.
Orton would have been a solid pick and IMO Orlando will groom him to be one of the best backup centers in the league (much like Gortat, who will probably be moved). His numbers in college weren't amazing. But remember he was playing behind the most dominant big man (maybe even most dominant overall) in college basketball. More exposure would've been very good for him, I think.
I guess we'll see what happens. Maybe we'll bring Kaun over and he'll work out. But maybe not. Hopefully we at least get one of the undrafted players on our summer league team and give him a shot there...