Where there's trade smoke there's possibly fire

[AHF]

Not me. Maybe Smart if he's there but I have no problem passing up PF's to take a very talented wing. NBADraft.net has mocked LaVine in the 9th spot in their current mock so it's not like it's a stretch.

I don't think LaVine will do much more than Schröder did last year next season. He may be the right guy but there is a big development curve ahead of him. Heck, he barely averaged 20 minutes per game in college last March and scored a total of 47 points over 9 games.

All the talk on LaVine is that he will play PG in the NBA and he won't get that chance here. The measurables are very excited but I am a little wary of him.

[Admin]

I don't think LaVine will do much more than Schröder did last year next season. He may be the right guy but there is a big development curve ahead of him. Heck, he barely averaged 20 minutes per game in college last March and scored a total of 47 points over 9 games.

All the talk on LaVine is that he will play PG in the NBA and he won't get that chance here. The measurables are very excited but I am a little wary of him.

What do his stats in March have any bearing on? Why limit him there when he had a whole season of stats to use? Look at his PER 40 stats as a freshman vs those of James Young.

I don't see him playing PG. He's 6'6 and has elite athleticism and very good shooting ability. Sounds like a prototypical SG to me.

[NBASupes]

I don't think LaVine will do much more than Schröder did last year next season. He may be the right guy but there is a big development curve ahead of him. Heck, he barely averaged 20 minutes per game in college last March and scored a total of 47 points over 9 games.

All the talk on LaVine is that he will play PG in the NBA and he won't get that chance here. The measurables are very excited but I am a little wary of him.

In all fairness, via preseason, SL, and the first couple of games, we expected Dennis to be our backup for Jeff.

[AHF]

What do his stats in March have any bearing on? Why limit him there when he had a whole season of stats to use? Look at his PER 40 stats as a freshman vs those of James Young.

Lavine PER40.png

Young PER 40.png

I don't see him playing PG. He's 6'6 and has elite athleticism and very good shooting ability. Sounds like a prototypical SG to me.

The March numbers raise a red flag for me because he wasn't hurt. His coach didn't want him on the floor.

For position, he is definitely promoting himself as a PG:

UCLA's LaVine determined to make a point about playing point

LaVine is trying to prove he is a point guard after all.

"I definitely see myself as a point guard," LaVine said. "I played there my whole career."

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/05/15/nba-draft-uclas-zach-lavine-point-guard-or-shooting-guard-chicago-combine/

There are a million other articles on him promoting himself as a PG in an effort to raise his draft stock but that is one off of nba.com.

[Admin]

The March numbers raise a red flag for me because he wasn't hurt. His coach didn't want him on the floor.

For position, he is definitely promoting himself as a PG:

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/05/15/nba-draft-uclas-zach-lavine-point-guard-or-shooting-guard-chicago-combine/

There are a million other articles on him promoting himself as a PG in an effort to raise his draft stock but that is one off of nba.com.

Where are you getting that his coach didn't want him on the floor? Who knows what the reasoning behind that is or if there wasn't an undisclosed injury or off the court issue. Maybe whomever was playing ahead of him was just playing better than him. It's not unusual for a freshman to not get a ton of minutes or to not be trusted either.

Even better that he thinks he can play PG as having he, Anderson and Teague would be tremendous together and very dangerous to defenses. But I highly doubt any NBA teams are going to make his primary position be PG when he shoots as well as he does and has the athleticism that he has.

[NBASupes]

Where are you getting that his coach didn't want him on the floor? Who knows what the reasoning behind that is or if there wasn't an undisclosed injury or off the court issue. Maybe whomever was playing ahead of him was just playing better than him. It's not unusual for a freshman to not get a ton of minutes or to not be trusted either.

Even better that he thinks he can play PG as having he, Anderson and Teague would be tremendous together and very dangerous to defenses. But I highly doubt any NBA teams are going to make his primary position be PG when he shoots as well as he does and has the athleticism that he has.

Since when did we draft Anderson and Levine?

I hope you don't think Levine will be a better player than Dennis?

I hope you don't think that. Levine is just as raw without a position.

[Admin]

Since when did we draft Anderson and Levine?

I hope you don't think Levine will be a better player than Dennis?

I hope you don't think that. Levine is just as raw without a position.

?? We haven't drafted anyone.

I don't compare LaVine to Schröder in any way. I see LaVine as a SG.

[Guest]

Where are you getting that his coach didn't want him on the floor? Who knows what the reasoning behind that is or if there wasn't an undisclosed injury or off the court issue. Maybe whomever was playing ahead of him was just playing better than him. It's not unusual for a freshman to not get a ton of minutes or to not be trusted either.

Even better that he thinks he can play PG as having he, Anderson and Teague would be tremendous together and very dangerous to defenses. But I highly doubt any NBA teams are going to make his primary position be PG when he shoots as well as he does and has the athleticism that he has.

I heard his coach Steve Alford favored his son over LaVine and that's why he didn't get time on the floor.

[hawkman]

LaVine is a shooting guard no matter what he's saying now. He has shown absolutely nothing except ELITE athleticism and a great shooting stroke. Add in that he's 6'6" and he's a SG all the way. At least Westbrook showed some passing ability in college to justify his being projected as a PG. LaVine will take some time, but he adds the athleticism on the wing Ferry was talking about. I could see him becoming a fan favorite once he gets his game together.

[Guest]

I think that is likely but not certain.

Here is Chad Ford's latest mock with Smart at #8:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/mock/?season=2014&version=6&source=Chad-Ford-Mock-Draft

(He has Gordon going #6 to Boston).

If it came down to it I'd pick LaVine over Gordon. I just don't want to pass up on an explosive Russell Westbrook clone. Gordon reminds me of a poor mans Blake Griffin. Who knows though. I actually hope a team falls in love with Gordon.

[NBASupes]

If it came down to it I'd pick LaVine over Gordon. I just don't want to pass up on an explosive Russell Westbrook clone. Gordon reminds me of a poor mans Blake Griffin. Who knows though. I actually hope a team falls in love with Gordon.

Westbrook was a much better player out of the draft than LaVine but LaVine might have more potential than even Westbrook. That's scary.

I hate to say it but LaVine is not as skilled at this point than Cunningham was out of the draft. We all seen how raw Cunningham is but LaVine is a much better athlete.

Edited June 3, 2014 by nbasupes40retired

[ATLHawks3]

If it came down to it I'd pick LaVine over Gordon. I just don't want to pass up on an explosive Russell Westbrook clone. Gordon reminds me of a poor mans Blake Griffin. Who knows though. I actually hope a team falls in love with Gordon.

Gordon has no position! He isn't strong enough to be a PF and he doesn't have a consistent jumpshot to be a SF. To me, he has bust written all over him, and he may not even have a better NBA career than Derrick Williams, another overly hyped player out of Arizona.

[Diesel]

Gordon has no position! He isn't strong enough to be a PF and he doesn't have a consistent jumpshot to be a SF. To me, he has bust written all over him, and he may not even have a better NBA career than Derrick Williams, another overly hyped player out of Arizona.

He's Josh Smith all over. His athleticism will carry him far. The question is his mentality...

[AHF]

Where are you getting that his coach didn't want him on the floor? Who knows what the reasoning behind that is or if there wasn't an undisclosed injury or off the court issue. Maybe whomever was playing ahead of him was just playing better than him. It's not unusual for a freshman to not get a ton of minutes or to not be trusted either.

Even better that he thinks he can play PG as having he, Anderson and Teague would be tremendous together and very dangerous to defenses. But I highly doubt any NBA teams are going to make his primary position be PG when he shoots as well as he does and has the athleticism that he has.

If it wasn't you, I would think you were trying to bait me on this because I haven't folllowed LaVine closely but the stuff about his issues with the coach is all over the place. It definitely was not an injury and those minutes he was benched added up to DNP-CD (i.e., the coach cut his time but didn't actually bench him for entire games). There may be good reasons for that such as the coach favoring his son but that is a red flag when you are one of the 10 most talented players in college basketball and your coach cuts your minutes down the stretch instead of expanding them.

[NBASupes]

Gordon has no position! He isn't strong enough to be a PF and he doesn't have a consistent jumpshot to be a SF. To me, he has bust written all over him, and he may not even have a better NBA career than Derrick Williams, another overly hyped player out of Arizona.

I think it's about system with Gordon but if he has a PG, sky is the limit. I really think Boston could be a great fit for him if they don't flip it for Love then Minny would be a great fit. Gordon actually has forward skills. Williams wasn't as skilled as ppl think. His athletic ability is great though. I could see him falling to Denver as well.

[Guest]

If it wasn't you, I would think you were trying to bait me on this because I haven't folllowed LaVine closely but the stuff about his issues with the coach is all over the place. It definitely was not an injury and those minutes he was benched added up to DNP-CD (i.e., the coach cut his time but didn't actually bench him for entire games). There may be good reasons for that such as the coach favoring his son but that is a red flag when you are one of the 10 most talented players in college basketball and your coach cuts your minutes down the stretch instead of expanding them.

I don't think it's a red flag when Alford did it for his own blood. Alford is an egotistic little prick. Living in the Bay Area I remember him playing for the 1988 Warriors. I remember some games when he would throw a fit, have a bad attitude and act like he was better than Mullin and Richmond. It was a joke. I think he just wanted to play favorites and give his son more burn.

[skimaskway23]

I don't think it's a red flag when Alford did it for his own blood. Alford is an egotistic little prick. Living in the Bay Area I remember him playing for the 1988 Warriors. I remember some games when he would throw a fit, have a bad attitude and act like he was better than Mullin and Richmond. It was a joke. I think he just wanted to play favorites and give his son more burn.

this is correct. Lavine's father was displeased with the fact lavine didnt even get to run the 2nd unit and that the coach was grooming his son for next season's starting pg duties. Rather than transfer, his father felt it was best to head to the nba

[ATLHawks3]

He's Josh Smith all over. His athleticism will carry him far. The question is his mentality...

Raw athleticism can only get you so far in this league. For Gordon, thats the only thing that's going well for him. I still don't see why he's even being considered in the top 10. What signs show that he will have great potential?

[skimaskway23]

Raw athleticism can only get you so far in this league. For Gordon, thats the only thing that's going well for him. I still don't see why he's even being considered in the top 10. What signs show that he will have great potential?

his workout vid left me very unimpressed. I cant see him shining on the perimeter nor will he be a good post up option. Only way I see him blossoming is if he's running alongside a "rondo" and finds a niche as a lockdown defender. I cant see him avg 20 points ever.

[ATLHawks3]

his workout vid left me very unimpressed. I cant see him shining on the perimeter nor will he be a good post up option. Only way I see him blossoming is if he's running alongside a "rondo" and finds a niche as a lockdown defender. I cant see him avg 20 points ever.

Too me, he has the potential to be a high energy role player on a championship team. Has no signs of being able to command double teams, or be the team's go to scorer. That's why I wonder why people are so infatuated by considering him a top 10 pick.

Edited June 4, 2014 by ATLHawks3