Domantas Sabonis (Class of 2016)

Not a fan of Sabonis' transition unless he's in a very old-school style system next to a legitimate defensive C.

He's a 4 who lacks a perimeter game, or the length/defensive chops to play 5 for anything more than a few minutes. The "classic" 4 is going extinct and for good reason. You have to bring spacing and/or rim-protection in some form in today's NBA. I'm also iffy on Henry Ellenson, but I do see him developing a strong perimeter J, and that'll make him more useful than Sabonis.

I like Chriss and Deyonta Davis in terms of upside. Rabb will be solid, but I don't think he'll be great. That said, I don't even know if PF should be our main target.

Guys that would make (some) sense around #13:
Marquese Chriss | PF | 6'9" 225 | Washington | Fr.
- Has incredible athleticism, a strong/budding skillset and some upside on D.
Deyonta Davis | PF/C | 6'10" 225 | Michigan State | Fr.
- His physical tools, fluidity and learning from Izzo bode well for his development on both ends.
Timothe Luwawu | SF/SG | 6'7" 205 | France | Intl.
- You can never have too many long athletic defensive wings in today's game
Malik Beasley | SG | 6'5" 185 | Florida State | Fr.
- Fantastic shooter with underrated athleticism/IQ. Reminds you a bit of Booker in terms of going under the radar.
Wade Baldwin IV | PG/SG | 6'3" 190 | Vanderbilt | Soph.
- Not sure how great of a PG he is, but has the J, length and defensive upside to possibly work off-ball with Harden.
Demetrius Jackson | PG | 6'1" 195 | Notre Dame | Jr.
- Explosive PG who can shoot, and showed he can play off-ball next to J.Grant a year ago.
Jakob Poeltl | C | 7'1" 250 | Utah | Soph.
- A little too old-school, but I like his defensive instincts, and his size would be be a nice change up from Capela.
Ivan Rabb | PF/C | 6'11" 215 | California | Fr.
- Nothing spectacular, but solid across the board and versatile on both ends for a young big.

Guys I'd steer clear from:
Domantas Sabonis | PF | 6'10" 230 | Gonzaga | Soph.
- Just don't think he makes much sense without range or defensive versatility.
Brice Johnson | PF | 6'9" 205 | North Carolina | Sr.
- I think he has a place as an energy big, but he'll be a liability on D also.
DeJounte Murray | PG/SG | 6'5" 175 | Washington | Fr.
- His size/athleticism/creating ability has some excited, but I don't see the IQ or J for him to ever be a full-time starter.
Diamond Stone | C | 6'10" 260 | Maryland | Fr.
- Another guy who doesn't really fit in today's game. He's an offensive big without rim-protecting ability.
Henry Ellenson | PF | 6'10" 240 | Marquette | Fr.
- I like him a bit more than the rest of these guys, but I'd rather have a spacer who can also bring athleticism (like Chriss) from the 4.
Skal Labissiere | PF/C | 7'0" 215 | Kentucky | Fr.
- In the right place he might eventually become useful as a spacer, but I think this isn't the right place. High bust potential.
Thon Maker | PF/C | 7'1" 220 | Australia | Intl.
- Even higher bust potential than Skal. Needs to land in a perfect situation to develop into a useful NBA player.
Denzel Valentine | SG/SF | 6'5" 225 | Michigan State | Sr.
- Has the IQ and J to find a niche somewhere, but I think his lack of upside on D makes him a poor fit here.

 

I dont know where you picked up that Sabonis cant defend PF's, he defended well in last March Madness and he did the same again in this one. He is the same as DMo a good positional defender, the thing with him is he has also extremely good coordination and knack on getting the rebound. Before the season started Gonzaga coach wanted to try Sabonis in SF, because according to him hes quick enough and has good enough handles to play it. But all that changed once Karnowsky go injured and he was forced to play C. Most players that he played against claimed that hes much faster and stronger than they anticipated before. Dont forget Sabonis on offence is extremely universal, he can score all kinds of differnt ways, even by shooting the 3(he only shot around 0.5 per game, but made 35.7% of them). Ye he got the traditional C skills, but thats not the only thing he got. He can get the rebound and handle the ball himself on fast break just like Green (he did that for his National junior team last season), you would know that if you did your research...

 

Seeing Sabonis in the top 6 now a lot, knew that early mocks were complete rubbish regarding him. No way he's around when it's our turn.

 

DX has been complete trash in the past, only somewhat reliable in the final week or two before the draft.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I think Taurean Prince will be picked ahead of us as well. He would be my second choice at our pick.

 

That's some of Dad's stuff there.

 

Scouts can't ignore the fact that this dude has more experience in professional basketball than any other player in the draft - he played in Spain ACB for 2 years, played in Eurobasket last year for NT, and this year most likely would play in Olympics. Was surrounded by professional players whole life...

 

I knew he would be a lottery pick. No way a big man with his talent goes anywhere outside the lottery. I bet he will go top 10 at least.

 

Yeah!!!

 

I guess i was right, Sabonis is a starter already, and like i said he is able to contribute immediately on D and O. He is still developing his 3pt, but it looks promising shooting something like 40%. He also had 5assist last game, definitely reminding me on Green (wrote about that to).

 

DS just had 15/10 with 4/7 3pt in 30mins. Kid is a beast.

 

He's the European DMo ...