2020 NBA Draft

[daddywags]

Deni has a questionable shot.

I think Okongwu may be the most NBA ready guy in this draft. He looks to be able to contribute immediately as sort of a better offensive version of TT.

Same view of Okongwu - a better offensive version of TT. Don't know if he's the most NBA ready guy, but he should be able to contribute as a decent bench big off the bat.

 

[WorldFreeB]

Deni has a questionable shot.

I think Okongwu may be the most NBA ready guy in this draft. He looks to be able to contribute immediately as sort of a better offensive version of TT.

Yeah lets not mess this up,,when I see Okongwu's tape he looks like a shot blocking beast to me,,,and with our crappy perimeter defense we need a guy like that.
He will protect the paint better than Drummond in my mind. He looks like he's a quick leaper to me as well,,,Tristan was never really that....he always had to gather himself to leap. When I look at Deni he looks like he could bust to me,,,but I'm not expert and you guys spend a lot more time checking this stuff out than I do.
But If someone has a good analysis on Okongwu point me in the direction of it, I'd like to check it out.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Same view of Okongwu - a better offensive version of TT. Don't know if he's the most NBA ready guy, but he should be able to contribute as a decent bench big off the bat.

I should add that he already is better offensively than TT. Se he's definitely got an upside potential.

 

[Los216]

We shouldn’t draft players because they cover for our current players deficiencies. We should draft the players with the best combination of talent and potential. I’m not drafting Okongwu because our guards are atrocious defenders. That’s what Free Agency is for. Sign a guy to fill a role for that. You draft players to do more than cover for your current players deficiencies. You draft them because of their overall talent and potential.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

We shouldn’t draft players because they cover for our current players deficiencies. We should draft the players with the best combination of talent and potential. I’m not drafting Okongwu because our guards are atrocious defenders. That’s what Free Agency is for. Sign a guy to fill a role for that. You draft players to do more than cover for your current players deficiencies. You draft them because of their overall talent and potential.

Who says he isn't talented though? I think he is quite talented.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Onyeka Okongwu is comfortably in my top five.

He has a few legit criticisms:

At his height, he needs to develop a face up game and a jump shot. People asked why it took Montrezl Harrell a few years to break out. Harrell had the same style of game and on a good team, he was just a 10 minutes a game backup until he could shoot and pass a little. His turnovers were high when he was outside of the paint.

However, the advantage of playing with legitimate playmakers in high school really comes out when assessing his strengths. His offensive rebounding is a plus, and we are talking about a guy who played power forward in college. He can bang and find his spots to attack the rim. Near the basket, he is efficient getting the ball in the bucket.

Defensively, he doesn't have much to add. His primary role for years was to mask bad perimeter defenders sharing the court with him.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

We shouldn’t draft players because they cover for our current players deficiencies. We should draft the players with the best combination of talent and potential. I’m not drafting Okongwu because our guards are atrocious defenders. That’s what Free Agency is for. Sign a guy to fill a role for that. You draft players to do more than cover for your current players deficiencies. You draft them because of their overall talent and potential.

Totally agree with that. I think that a mobile big guy who blocks shots, can move his feet on the perimeter, and seems to have good bbiq is a valuable commodity in today's NBA. Obviously, I'd prefer a stud 2-way wing with superstar potential, but I think that if there is such a guy in this draft, it's a crapshoot as to who. Okongwu does enough things at the NBA level already that he's pretty much a can't miss contributor, with the potential to be much more if his offensive game develops.

Again, you can't be sure of that development. But unlike some other guys, his shot isn't broken, and he's strong from the line for a big man.

 

[Nathan S]

I should add that he already is better offensively than TT. Se he's definitely got an upside potential.

Hate to be "that guy" but if 28 year old TT played in the PAC-12 last year he would've put up video game stats. I'm on record as a Tristan hater, and I generally buy Okongwu's upside, but it's a bit too much to say unequivocally that Okongwu's already better offensively.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Onyeka Okongwu is comfortably in my top five.

He has a few legit criticisms:

At his height, he needs to develop a face up game and a jump shot.

Combine measurements may be more important for him than for some others. He's a lanky, springy looking guy so you hope he can play a legit 5.

His shot actually doesn't look bad to me. I haven't studied him in great detail, and I'm not under any delusions that I'm a scout, but his shot looks pretty natural to me, and I like that FT%. And he seems to be the kind of guy who likes doing the dirty work. We absolutely need a young big man like that.

 

[Los216]

Who says he isn't talented though? I think he is quite talented.

He is talented but there are more talented players available. I think when that’s the case people try to argue on how said player will makeup for what one of our current players lack and that’s where it’s starts to be too much.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

I think Okoro is simply the better player, if we are assuming the Cavs can fix a player's jumpshot.

I ultimately think I'm team Vassell because he is such a good, lanky, effective defender. Being that mobile and long also helps a lot for versatility. I love Okoro's ability to drive, but I'm afraid of getting Hunter'd where he just has little impact as a defender.

I'm not sure we talk enough about Vassell as a wing shot blocker, to be honest.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Hate to be "that guy" but if 28 year old TT played in the PAC-12 last year he would've put up video game stats. I'm on record as a Tristan hater, and I generally buy Okongwu's upside, but it's a bit too much to say unequivocally that Okongwu's already better offensively.

He'd get his share of bully, offensive put-back type shots from out-muscling college kids, but in terms of offensive skills, that's it. His shooting is still terrible skill-wise. He's a career 61% FT shooter, and has never shot even 70%. Last year, he shot 61.5% from the line. Even last year, he was below 50% on every single shot type except dunks. Including lay-ups, on which he shot a blistering 43.5%.

Tristan Thompson 2019-20 Shooting | Basketball-Reference.com

Get Tristan Thompson's 2019-20 Shooting Stats on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

So maybe I'll rephrase that from saying that Okongwu is a better offensive player than TT -- because that would includes TT's man-sized ability to muscle up put-backs,, to saying he's more offensively skilled, which I think is actually true only because TT's skill game is pretty non-existent.

 

[Los216]

I think Okoro is simply the better player, if we are assuming the Cavs can fix a player's jumpshot.

I ultimately think I'm team Vassell because he is such a good, lanky, effective defender. Being that mobile and long also helps a lot for versatility. I love Okoro's ability to drive, but I'm afraid of getting Hunter'd where he just has little impact as a defender.

I'm not sure we talk enough about Vassell as a wing shot blocker, to be honest.

Vassell is a SG.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

Vassell is a SG.

He can probably play SF as well. He has a near 7' wing span.

 

[Los216]

He can probably play SF as well. He has a near 7' wing span.

I don’t know if you want him playing there primarily though. I know people are gonna make the argument for position less basketball but position less basketball only works on teams that have players who can star at more than one position and guys who can guard multiple positions. Cavs aren there yet. We need a legit wing. Vassell looks more like a guard to me. I don’t know if he’s strong enough to play the 3. His handle is a little weak to me too.