Cleveland Cavs (2016 NBA Champions)

[tsteele316]

Bobcats considering trading down from No. 2 slot




Bobcats will probably wait till draft day before a move even happens to see what the best possible deal they could get for the #2 spot will be, but I hope to god this happens so we can land Beal...and if we only have to give up #24 to do it? sign me up

this article doesn't make a lot of sense in its message. the bobcats need outside shooting, especially the 3 ball, so they'll trade down and bypass the best shooter in this draft to take one of two guys that don't really shoot well outside?

 

[OH10]

MKG sliding because he can't shoot the NBA 3-pointer and his mechanics are so screwed up that it's going to take a lot of work with him to make him even moderately proficient. He has great character, a strong work ethic, good defensive skills, and is adept at finishing around the rim. But to be a successful perimeter player in the league, you must be able to at least hit an open 3 every once in a while.

 

[tsteele316]

MKG sliding because he can't shoot the NBA 3-pointer and his mechanics are so screwed up that it's going to take a lot of work with him to make him even moderately proficient. He has great character, a strong work ethic, good defensive skills, and is adept at finishing around the rim. But to be a successful perimeter player in the league, you must be able to at least hit an open 3 every once in a while.

kawai leonard had almost the same hitch in his shot. leonard shot worse as a true freshman than mkg, and was about equal as a sophomore. it took the spurs all of two months to fix it. mkg's inability to shoot is extremely exaggerated.

 

[AuTX Buckeye]

kawai leonard had almost the same hitch in his shot. leonard shot worse as a true freshman than mkg, and was about equal as a sophomore. it took the spurs all of two months to fix it. mkg's inability to shoot is extremely exaggerated.

.... All I will say is this... Look at the Spur's track record... and look at the Cavs... who do you trust to fix guys problems? Love the Cavs, but to say they can do what the Spurs do is a stretch at this point, maybe in a couple of years.

 

[OH10]

kawai leonard had almost the same hitch in his shot. leonard shot worse as a true freshman than mkg, and was about equal as a sophomore. it took the spurs all of two months to fix it. mkg's inability to shoot is extremely exaggerated.

I disagree. But to avoid a long-drawn out discussion again, I'll leave it at that.

 

[tsteele316]

.... All I will say is this... Look at the Spur's track record... and look at the Cavs... who do you trust to fix guys problems? Love the Cavs, but to say they can do what the Spurs do is a stretch at this point, maybe in a couple of years.

what track record do you speak of? the current coaching staff has been with the cavs for two years. what young project guys fit the bill? tristan thompson improving his free throws by roughly 20% during last season is about the only real comp there is. this argument doesn't make sense.

 

[tsteele316]

I disagree. But to avoid a long-drawn out discussion again, I'll leave it at that.

which part do you disagree with? the part about leonard having the same shooting hitch, which is true? the part about leonards stats being worse as a freshman and equal as a sophomore to mkg, which is true? or the part that leonard shot the ball quite well for the spurs this year, which is true?

 

[OHSportsFan]

which part do you disagree with? the part about leonard having the same shooting hitch, which is true? the part about leonards stats being worse as a freshman and equal as a sophomore to mkg, which is true? or the part that leonard shot the ball quite well for the spurs this year, which is true?

Kawhi doesn't have nearly the hitch MKG does. His shot actually looks like Stephen Jackson's which has a high release but comes out smooth. Can't debate his poor shooting, but the hitch? Not seeing much.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA1GYjD1yHo"]DraftExpress - Kawhi Leonard Pre-Draft Workout & Interview - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0U9qRFbldw"]Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 2012 NBA Draft Workout - Kentucky Basketball - YouTube[/ame]

*Disclaimer- I want MKG. Have no problem with the hitch as eventually his hard work will make the ball start falling in. If Shawn Marion can make it work, MKG can. He is too tenacious with too much of a winning attitude to not take if Beal is taken already. He will be an elite defender and rebounder for his position and can make a living attacking the rim. As long as he gets paired with a sharp-shooting 2g (Doron Lamb) there won't be any issues.

I was a HUGE fan of Kawhi last year too. Pissed the Pacers traded him for a George Hill rental (who I am a fan of as a hometown kid and good backup PG, but Kawhi can PLAY). And of course, everything the Spurs touch is gold.

 

[AKAK]

MKG sliding because he can't shoot the NBA 3-pointer and his mechanics are so screwed up that it's going to take a lot of work with him to make him even moderately proficient. He has great character, a strong work ethic, good defensive skills, and is adept at finishing around the rim. But to be a successful perimeter player in the league, you must be able to at least hit an open 3 every once in a while.

Tell you what, if we stick at 4... and "get stuck" taking this kid, I'll be pretty happy.

Give me those intangibles... and I almost count the defense as one of them... plus some offense (around the rim) and I'll be happy to take my chances seeing if they can make a shooter out of him.

See: strong work ethic.

 

[tsteele316]

Kawhi doesn't have nearly the hitch MKG does. His shot actually looks like Stephen Jackson's which has a high release but comes out smooth. Can't debate his poor shooting, but the hitch? Not seeing much.

DraftExpress - Kawhi Leonard Pre-Draft Workout & Interview - YouTube

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 2012 NBA Draft Workout - Kentucky Basketball - YouTube

*Disclaimer- I want MKG. Have no problem with the hitch as eventually his hard work will make the ball start falling in. If Shawn Marion can make it work, MKG can. He is too tenacious with too much of a winning attitude to not take if Beal is taken already. He will be an elite defender and rebounder for his position and can make a living attacking the rim. As long as he gets paired with a sharp-shooting 2g (Doron Lamb) there won't be any issues.

I was a HUGE fan of Kawhi last year too. Pissed the Pacers traded him for a George Hill rental (who I am a fan of as a hometown kid and good backup PG, but Kawhi can PLAY). And of course, everything the Spurs touch is gold.

http://swishscout.com/?page_id=2405

here's a link that discusses it. a youtube video of a predraft workout where he's trying to correct it doesn't really tell the story.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Kawhi-Leonard-5821/

here's a more stat based breakdown of his shooting ability. MKG is superior to him in just about every category while being 2 years younger.

pretty comparable.

 

[Brutus1]

The only way the Cavs pass on MKG is if Beal is available. Hitch? Sure, but he'll definitely fix it enough to hit the occasional three. He offers way to many other positive things, to really be too concerned with his shot.

If they take him at #4, then they need to come back with a sg with their next pick. At this point, I'd be very suprised if that next pick was not before #24.

The guy that's a second round pick in every mock, that could really help the Cavs, is Doron Lamb. That dude can shoot. I'd love the Cavs to get him at #33.

 

[OH10]

If you think the mechanics aren't a legitimate concern for MKG, you're wrong. It may be something that can be fixed or it may not. But it is absolutely a concern if you're taking him that high.

He averaged a little over 11 pts/gm for a loaded UK squad. So I'm not going to hammer him for his production. But he's not shown the ability to score 20+/gm at the next level' especially if teams can back off him like they probably will do.

At the end of the day, your team needs to be able to score. You're not going to win consistently in this if you have to rely on Kyrie to put up 30+/gm while you're defense holds your opponent to 80. With Jamison gone, who on this team besides Kyrie can score? And who on this team can shoot?

I like MKG if we had some perimeter scoring from the 2-guard postion but we don't. He's just not a good fit with Kyrie. We need someone who can shoot and there are 2 guys in this draft who can do just that.

 

[tsteele316]

If you think the mechanics aren't a legitimate concern for MKG, you're wrong. It may be something that can be fixed or it may not. But it is absolutely a concern if you're taking him that high.

He averaged a little over 11 pts/gm for a loaded UK squad. So I'm not going to hammer him for his production. But he's not shown the ability to score 20+/gm at the next level' especially if teams can back off him like they probably will do.

At the end of the day, your team needs to be able to score. You're not going to win consistently in this if you have to rely on Kyrie to put up 30+/gm while you're defense holds your opponent to 80. With Jamison gone, who on this team besides Kyrie can score? And who on this team can shoot?

I like MKG if we had some perimeter scoring from the 2-guard postion but we don't. He's just not a good fit with Kyrie. We need someone who can shoot and there are 2 guys in this draft who can do just that.

1. nobody said mechanics weren't an issue. the point, if you'd actually read the original post, was the degree of this issues has been grossly exaggerated.

2. harrison barnes played on a loaded unc team and still didn't put up better than pedestrian shooting numbers and wasn't anywhere near as statistically efficient as mkg.

3. yes your team needs to score. and to defend. the cavs aren't anywhere near a finished product ready to contend for the playoffs. the thought that they need some prolific scorer right now is a stretch, especially when the guy you want to fill that role hasn't shown to be anything close to such.

 

[AKAK]

Okidokee... we won't be having this tit for tat shit again today.

Thanks.

 

[OH10]

1. nobody said mechanics weren't an issue. the point, if you'd actually read the original post, was the degree of this issues has been grossly exaggerated.

Your argument is based on Kawhi Leonard, who was a role player last year for the Spurs. He wasn't asked to do a whole lot offensively for that team. If MKG turns out to be Leonard, that's not bad. We need him to be more than that.

2. harrison barnes played on a loaded unc team and still didn't put up better than pedestrian shooting numbers and wasn't anywhere near as statistically efficient as mkg.

He shot 37% from the 3-point line while being the only consistent scoring threat they had from the perimeter. And he led UNC in scoring. I'm not asking him to necessarily to be efficient. I'm asking him to occasionally explode offensively when we need it. Barnes has shown the ability to do that.

3. yes your team needs to score. and to defend. the cavs aren't anywhere near a finished product ready to contend for the playoffs. the thought that they need some prolific scorer right now is a stretch, especially when the guy you want to fill that role hasn't shown to be anything close to such.

So we, what, start MKG, Varejao, and Tristan Thompson next year? Poor Kyrie is going to have to score 40. I was wrong.