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Lonnie entering the draft

SI has LW going to the Wizards with the 15th pick. "The hope would be that he becomes a capable scorer and rotation piece in a couple of seasons."

HoopsHype has him going #20 to the TWolves.
 
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hotshot said:
Total BS. Center was a position where the skill level in the 60s was VERY strong and, with fewer teams, the talent wasn't watered down. Wilt faced guys like Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willis Reed, Walt Bellamy, and Clyde Lovellette.
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You forgot three others. Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Bob Lanier. I'm sure why there was a better period of centers than the 68-69, 69-70, 70-71 seasons. Everybody above plus these three are in the Hall of Fame and desiringly so. All these guys come play today.
 
Pentagon Cane said:
You forgot three others. Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Bob Lanier. I'm sure why there was a better period of centers than the 68-69, 69-70, 70-71 seasons. Everybody above plus these three are in the Hall of Fame and desiringly so. All these guys come play today.
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Yeah, I was trying to keep players off my list who only faced Wilt at the end of Wilt's career. I used Jabbar so, you're right, I might as well have added the others too.
 
hotshot said:
Yeah, I was trying to keep players off my list who only faced Wilt at the end of Wilt's career. I used Jabbar so, you're right, I might as well have added the others too.
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Yeah, but Chamberlain was 21/21, 27/18 and 21/18 those 3 years. Even as a fading star he was still a dominating player. 18 boards would blow away anybody today.
 
I only saw Wilt in person one time, at a pre-season exhibition game against the Knicks in 1960 (prior to the start of his second NBA season). He went on, that year, to average 38 ppg and 27 rpg. If anything was inflated back then it was rebounding figures. The shooters were not as accurate as they are now so there were more rebounds to be had! Thurmond and Russell were about as good as it got in defending against him down low.
 
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BeachCanes said:
Lonnie was one of the top performers in the combine. He will go in the 10-14 range.
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Either that or he'll be a bargain later in the first round. He didn't help himself as a Cane; I guess the Combine may negate his somewhat disappointing UM season.
 
BeachCanes said:
Lonnie was one of the top performers in the combine. He will go in the 10-14 range.
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He tested one of the best, but he was not one of the top performers in the scrimmages. I have read 12-15 different articles and nowhere have I seen state his stock improved much after the combine.

Now Brown, he is out of the 1st almost across the board. Dumb move by BB to leave early.
 
STG said:
He tested one of the best, but he was not one of the top performers in the scrimmages. I have read 12-15 different articles and nowhere have I seen state his stock improved much after the combine.

Now Brown, he is out of the 1st almost across the board. Dumb move by BB to leave early.
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"Walker was one of the top performers during testing at the combine, leaping for a 40-inch max vertical and finishing second in the shuttle run and third in the sprint. His pedestrian numbers at Miami should have something to do with starting late after an offseason knee injury. Walker's tools, athleticism and shot-making point to an NBA 2-guard at baseline, but his room for improvement (similar to Jaylen Brown's out of California) suggests he's a value pick outside the top 10, and someone whose college weaknesses may be worth overlooking." - From Bleacher Report.

Very little stock is put into the scrimmages.
 
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BeachCanes said:
"Walker was one of the top performers during testing at the combine, leaping for a 40-inch max vertical and finishing second in the shuttle run and third in the sprint. His pedestrian numbers at Miami should have something to do with starting late after an offseason knee injury. Walker's tools, athleticism and shot-making point to an NBA 2-guard at baseline, but his room for improvement (similar to Jaylen Brown's out of California) suggests he's a value pick outside the top 10, and someone whose college weaknesses may be worth overlooking." - From Bleacher Report.

Very little stock is put into the scrimmages.
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He is not mentioned in any single article post combine as someone who improved his stock. However, there are 4-6 guys who are.
 
From everything I've read, seems to me that LW is very highly regarded in NBA circles but -- as a player who will definitely need a couple years to reach his high potential.
 
hotshot said:
From everything I've read, seems to me that LW is very highly regarded in NBA circles but -- as a player who will definitely need a couple years to reach his high potential.
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He'll be making 7 figures to develop his game to the point that he's NBA ready.
 
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From NBADraftNet:
Weaknesses: Lacks defensive intensity, especially off the ball, as he has a habit of floating around the court instead of remaining engaged ... Looks lost at times on offense when the ball isn’t in his hands ... Needs to have the ball in order to be a threat offensively, but likely won’t be the primary option on offense, will need to develop his off the ball game. Staying more active and using teammates to run his defender off screens to create open looks ... Has a narrow shot base on his jumper, which makes it easier for him to find himself off balance on jump shots ... Has a tendency to settle for jump shots instead of probing the defense ... Focuses on scoring and as a result will sometimes force his offense or miss passing to an open teammate ... Needs to improve his court vision, especially in drive and kick opportunities ... Needs to ensure that he plays hard all the time, sometimes appears to be trying to conserve energy for the offensive end ... Not an efficient scorer, projects more as a volume scorer ... Should get to the free throw line more than he does, but will need to improve his free throw percentage to feel comfortable going to the charity stripe often ...

Outlook: Walker looks to be a prospect that fits better at the NBA level than he did at the collegiate level ... He has all of the physical tools needed to be a 3 and D guy and play a major role for an NBA team, but will have to learn to embrace that role ... He will likely need time to adjust to not having the ball in his hands ... He was more productive and a bigger part of the offense at Miami after Bruce Brown got injured, but will need to get more accustomed to picking and choosing his opportunities to attack offensively ...

This analysis pretty clearly says to me that Lonnie would not have benefited from another season at Miami.
 
hotshot said:
From NBADraftNet:
Weaknesses: Lacks defensive intensity, especially off the ball, as he has a habit of floating around the court instead of remaining engaged ... Looks lost at times on offense when the ball isn’t in his hands ... Needs to have the ball in order to be a threat offensively, but likely won’t be the primary option on offense, will need to develop his off the ball game. Staying more active and using teammates to run his defender off screens to create open looks ... Has a narrow shot base on his jumper, which makes it easier for him to find himself off balance on jump shots ... Has a tendency to settle for jump shots instead of probing the defense ... Focuses on scoring and as a result will sometimes force his offense or miss passing to an open teammate ... Needs to improve his court vision, especially in drive and kick opportunities ... Needs to ensure that he plays hard all the time, sometimes appears to be trying to conserve energy for the offensive end ... Not an efficient scorer, projects more as a volume scorer ... Should get to the free throw line more than he does, but will need to improve his free throw percentage to feel comfortable going to the charity stripe often ...

Outlook: Walker looks to be a prospect that fits better at the NBA level than he did at the collegiate level ... He has all of the physical tools needed to be a 3 and D guy and play a major role for an NBA team, but will have to learn to embrace that role ... He will likely need time to adjust to not having the ball in his hands ... He was more productive and a bigger part of the offense at Miami after Bruce Brown got injured, but will need to get more accustomed to picking and choosing his opportunities to attack offensively ...

This analysis pretty clearly says to me that Lonnie would not have benefited from another season at Miami.
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I'm not sure almost anyone benefits more from staying in college versus practicing every day with NBA talent and getting coached by the best while earning money and getting closer to possible free agent contract
 
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tcgrad1014 said:
I would be surprised if Brown Jr. goes first round.
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Ugh. Such a diametrical opposite of Walker here. As you said, Lonnie is going to get millions to develop his game and the NBA is fine with being patient (and paying) guys that get drafted where he is going to go.

Brown on the other hand is in very dangerous territory if he drops so far. This isn't the NFL. There is no front office attachment- financial or reputational to 2nd round picks. This kid could find himself playing in Bumfuk in the G League or in Israel or Asia sooner rather than later all because he couldn't wait one more year here to try to play himself at least into the late 1st round. Fingers crossed that he ends up with a team that really loves his game.
 
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