☆ Official 2017 NBA Draft Thread

[dd24]

I don't think they would have made a promise to anyone yet.

[dd24]

I guess the one scenario I could see them taking Jackson would be if they had another deal in place where maybe they offered Russell and their other 1st round pick to move up so they could get a guy like Dennis Smith. I still feel like that would be rare.

[tamaraw08]

I guess the one scenario I could see them taking Jackson would be if they had another deal in place where maybe they offered Russell and their other 1st round pick to move up so they could get a guy like Dennis Smith. I still feel like that would be rare.

There were concerns about Josh Jackson's ability to shoot from the perimeter, well he shot 38 % from there. Smith Jr shot actually worst at 36%
He is being compared to Steve Francis whom I actually find to be overrated.
according to draft net his weaknesses are

Weaknesses: Questions about attitude, focus and desire have surrounded Smith since his high school days ... Has a tendency to rely on his physical gifts and not pay enough attention to detail in regards to improving as a PG ... As talented as Smith is, he is still learning how to play the position and run a team offense at an optimum level

Inspite of tearing his ACL....he is still explosive...
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/dennis-smith

[tamaraw08]

The issue is that Jackson is not a very good shooter and lacks range too AFAIK. Unless if Ingram improves significantly and Jackson too, I am not sure if it would be a good idea to start both of them together. Add Russell in there too and you have a recipe for disaster potentially with teams stacking the paint. We need to be able to spread the field a bit.

Damn, that's some crappy long range numbers for Fox. Ball is definitely a significantly better shooter from practically everywhere even with a truly odd shooting style.

I read Lakers were bit disappointed by Ball's conditioning in the tryout on Wednesday. Not sure if he was out of shape or what.. I also don't know how much stock to put into these rumors.

Just did a little research.
Both Jimmy Butler and James Harden shot actually worst from the 3pt line at 35% as compared to Josh Jackson's 38%
Did you know that Kawhi Leonard shot a horrible 25% from the(19.7 feet) 3pt area in college? I'm sorry for BEING SO REDUNDANT here. The effect of hiring a top notched shooting coach like the Spur's Chip Engelland is so vital in the success of the Lakers here. Kawhi now is averaging 38% from beyond 23 feet, while current players like Clarkson actually REGRESSED! No improvement from Russell while Ingram STAYED HORRIBLE at 29% even after allstar break were most of their games were blow outs.

[dd24]

I think it's hard to just blame it on coaching. There's a lot of guys who come out of college raw. As a matter of fact the majority of them are since they have only played one or two seasons. The guys have to be willing to put in all that work. From what it looks like so far the young Lakers guys are finally understanding that. I think it's hard to compare them to Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard. Those guys not only fell in the draft but it really put a chip on their shoulder to work a bit harder. They are two of the best success stories in recent drafts. There's a ton of guys we could compare to them and say they ended up better..... Coaching is a part of it, but I feel like you are putting a lot of weight on that certain aspect of things.

[tamaraw08]

I think it's hard to just blame it on coaching. There's a lot of guys who come out of college raw. As a matter of fact the majority of them are since they have only played one or two seasons. The guys have to be willing to put in all that work. From what it looks like so far the young Lakers guys are finally understanding that. I think it's hard to compare them to Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard. Those guys not only fell in the draft but it really put a chip on their shoulder to work a bit harder. They are two of the best success stories in recent drafts. There's a ton of guys we could compare to them and say they ended up better..... Coaching is a part of it, but I feel like you are putting a lot of weight on that certain aspect of things.

Player can put in all the work but if there's a mechanical flaw about their shooting then most likely, they will not improve that much but hey, don't just think it's just me, I actually heard about Chip's value from the emphatic statements of famous shooter Reggie Miller when he serves as a color commentator for NBA games. Google the name of Chip Engelland and you'll see how many articles have been written about him.
One link you should check out is this https://theringer.com/nba-shooting-c...d-8660e9939680

Leonard ranks 16th in 3-point percentage since 2011, when he entered the NBA. The Spurs don’t lock their players in the gym to turn them into shooters, though. There are no magic elixirs, either. They have Chip Engelland, the professor of shooting. Engelland rebuilt the shots of Shane Battier, Grant Hill, Tony Parker, and Richard Jefferson, among others, before getting to Leonard. The changes to Leonard’s shot didn’t require a full teardown and rebuild. “He had a foundation we thought we could work with,” Engelland told the San Antonio Express-News in 2012

The video on the left shows Leonard’s shot prior to the draft (video via Draft Express), and the 3-pointer is from the 2014 NBA Finals. The change is subtle but significant. Leonard relocated his release point from the top of his head, where the ball nearly touched his hair, to in front of his face. After working with Engelland, Leonard’s shot became more compact, with very little motion in the elbow/wrist area. Notice how his elbow is aligned underneath his wrist. It looks as if Engelland took a protractor to Leonard’s elbow and adjusted it to a 90-degree angle.
In 2014, Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer, who had previously been an assistant with the Spurs, hired Ben Sullivan, who was then just a 30-year-old assistant video coordinator with San Antonio. “I learned from Chip Engelland, that’s who mentored and taught me,” Sullivan tells me. “I owe him everything for what he’s done for me.”
Some players owe Sullivan, too. Kent Bazemore had tears in his eyes at his press conference after signing a four-year, $70 million deal to return to the Hawks. He wondered aloud, “Why walk away from something so perfect?” A lot of what made Atlanta perfect had to do with Sullivan. Bazemore calls his shooting coach “a blessing in his life” and “a great friend” off the court.
They worked on technique by taking baby steps, focusing on mechanical stuff like ball, hand, elbow, and hip positioning. “It was almost like working on a golf swing,” Bazemore says. “He also showed me a lot of shots of people throughout the league, of people we liked. We just took a blend of player positioning and body types, athleticism, all these kind of things, and we just kind of meshed it and made it our own kind of thing. It was super technical.”

.

And it's not just the Spurs who is benefiting from a careful guidance of a shooting coach. Miami now has one and it's very hard for me to ignore the strides of their shooters.
But behind Miami’s recent shooting success is a face that usually goes unnoticed — shooting coach Rob Fodor. Spoelstra added Fodor to his coaching staff before this season.
http://http://heatzone.blog.palmbeac...ach-rob-fodor/

Fodor, who is known as “The Shooting Guy,” is the Heat’s first full-time shooting coach in franchise history. Known for being able to make small tweaks to a jump shot that produce big results, Fodor has been working closely with Miami’s shooters behind the scenes this season.Now, Heat players are experiencing that same ‘aha moment’ with Fodor. Goran Dragic (42.1 percent), James Johnson (34.0 percent) and Waiters (39.3 percent) are having career-best seasons from 3-point range Maybe even more impressive is Miami’s gradual improvement throughout the season. Over the Heat’s current 20-4 stretch, Luke Babbitt is shooting 50.6 percent from three, Dragic is shooting 45.3 percent, Waiters is shooting 44.9 percent, Wayne Ellington is shooting 41.9 percent, and Rodney McGruder is shooting 41.1 percent.

[OG LeeTSkeeT]

There were concerns about Josh Jackson's ability to shoot from the perimeter, well he shot 38 % from there. Smith Jr shot actually worst at 36%
He is being compared to Steve Francis whom I actually find to be overrated.
according to draft net his weaknesses are

Inspite of tearing his ACL....he is still explosive...
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/dennis-smith

supposedly he had the rare case of having 2 ACL's....athletic freak like Adrian Peterson. i wouldnt mind Jackson tbh. Fox is gonna be a great point guard but his shot scares me. It'll prove but I'm not sure if it'll ever be a threat. It's gonna be a hard choice between Ball and Jackson.

[bladefd]

I think tamaraw makes a very valid point.

One of the biggest offensive issues Lakers have is streaky shooting, no question about it. It makes it very difficult to not only spread the field and to consistently put points on the board but to simply maximize each possession. We don't have any career shooters so we do need to maximize what we do have. I am sure the Lakers could afford a solid shooting assistant coach to work with some of the guys, perhaps change some of their shooting styles slightly. I wouldn't mind it tbh.

[bladefd]

supposedly he had the rare case of having 2 ACL's....athletic freak like Adrian Peterson. i wouldnt mind Jackson tbh. Fox is gonna be a great point guard but his shot scares me. It'll prove but I'm not sure if it'll ever be a threat. It's gonna be a hard choice between Ball and Jackson.

Do you ever truly heal 100% after an ACL tear though? Don't you permanently lose a little bit of burst and explosiveness off one of the legs?

[bladefd]

It looks like Lakers are focusing a lot on the shooting for Ball, Jackson and Fox workouts. I think they realize the importance of shooting in modern nba.. The guy they choose will be someone who they believe can be an elite shooter. The numbers show that Ball is the best shooter out of the 3 from all over the court.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like Lakers are going to draft Ball. They are just doing their due diligence at this point to make sure there is no one else out there under the radar.

[dd24]

Another article on the Ball vs. Jackson debate.
http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2...a-kansas-split

It makes good points. That length and athleticism on D would be awesome with Jackson/Ingram. A Ball/Russell back court could be pretty awesome too. It's definitely a tough decision.

[tamaraw08]

I think tamaraw makes a very valid point.

One of the biggest offensive issues Lakers have is streaky shooting, no question about it. It makes it very difficult to not only spread the field and to consistently put points on the board but to simply maximize each possession. We don't have any career shooters so we do need to maximize what we do have. I am sure the Lakers could afford a solid shooting assistant coach to work with some of the guys, perhaps change some of their shooting styles slightly. I wouldn't mind it tbh.

I am actually struggling at the thought on why they can't even attempt to lure a guy like Chip Engelland join them. If there are contractual issues, they should be able to afford to buy that contract out. If not, find the next available one, Miami found one.
I find it a bit odd why there were concerns about Josh Jackson's ability to shoot when he shot a decent 38% from the 3pt(better than most prospects) area but I guess scouts have learn from that myopic thinking of just solely basing one's prowess from that area alone.
Here's a link to that concern.
[QUOTE]On the other end, Jackson

[dd24]

I don't see any chance of the Lakers drafting Jackson now. Paul George officially said he won't resign with the Pacers and prefers to be on the Lakers. I would imagine that kind of forces the Lakers hand to draft Ball. You can't have Ingram, Jackson, and George on the same team. Plus with the slight chance you could add Lebron all of them can't play together. It's definitely Lonzo Ball now. Ball, Russell, George, Ingram, Zubac is a pretty nice starting lineup.

[bladefd]

I don't see any chance of the Lakers drafting Jackson now. Paul George officially said he won't resign with the Pacers and prefers to be on the Lakers. I would imagine that kind of forces the Lakers hand to draft Ball. You can't have Ingram, Jackson, and George on the same team. Plus with the slight chance you could add Lebron all of them can't play together. It's definitely Lonzo Ball now. Ball, Russell, George, Ingram, Zubac is a pretty nice starting lineup.

I prefer Ball's game too tbh as long as he is in good shape.

[kkinchen]

Lonzo Ball and Jordan Bell.

Randle, Nance Jr, and Bell could be something special in today's NBA. Combine them with Lonzo Ball, Ingram, and PG13 and we're gonna be offering a look the league has never seen.