The year of the power forward

I wrote this for a general draftnik audience, if the tone sounds different:

The year of the power forward

Cauley Stein can defend power forwards every bit as well or better than Anthony Davis or Nerlens Noel. Trill is 15-20 lbs stronger than those guys. And his offense isn't any worse than Noel's. And Stein's much better built for playing as many minutes at center as needed, unlike Noel, or even Davis.

Kaminsky - borderline All Star in the making, at his much more natural PF position in the pros. 230 lbs is just fine for PF with his 9'1" vert reach. Will be a Paul Milsap level borderline all star.

Turner - freakish length, sweet shot, positional versatility, so young.

Bobby Portis - 6'10.5" in shoes, 9'0.5" standing reach, lean 246 lb body, versatile scorer, good I.Q. A very rare combination indeed.

Christian Wood - 9'3.5" standing reach. All-Time Elite length for PF. Highly skilled versatile scorer, and a natural rebounder and natural shot blocker. Arguably a better prospect than WCS. Chris Bosh written all over him, with better measurables. Just quick enough to defend NBA small forwards at an average overall level, because of his elite length. Shades of Greek Freak, and shades of Anthony Davis.

Trey Lyles - Great size for PF, both length and strength. Not to mention a natural feel for the game. Shades of Zach Randolph, but weaker and more defensively versatile.

Kevon Looney - Already a good rebounder and defender, Looney showed he has top notch length when he measured in at a centeresque 9'2" standing reach. Shades of Lamar Odom, with more heart and less passing skills.

Sam Dekker - Plenty of stretch 4 potential down the road. A less talented, more athletic version of Dario Saric. In a couple years PF could be his best position where his athleticism advantage would really stand out.

Jarell Martin - Proved he's plenty tall, plenty long, and plenty strong enough to trive at PF in the NBA. There's no obvious downside. High basement, sky high ceiling.

Montrezl Harrell - His measurements today remind me of Ben Wallace, former DPOY. Harrell isn't that kind of defender, but he brings similar intensity. He's also a lot more gifted offensively, showing hints of even a mid-range jump shot. Not bad for perhaps the what, 10th best PF in the draft... Did I mention he has center length with a 9'1" standing reach? Did I mention the shoes he was wearing for that were 3/4" shorter than normal? I guess I didn't mention that he has center strength as well...

Cliff Alexander - 9'1.5" standing reach, which is average. For a Center. 240 lbs already, plenty room on that frame to add enough strength to win most physical battles in the NBA. Don't mess with this dude. And don't sleep on him either. Even if he is the 11th best power forward in this epic class.

Chris McCullough - 9'3.5" standing reach, an inch and a half higher than Nerlens Noel. 3.5" higher than Anthony Davis. Like Noel, McCullough was injured for his weigh in, and came up way short. 199 lbs compared to Noel's 206 or something. But McCullough has a two way game that Noel will never have, which puts him in rare company. Poor man's Anthony Davis. Trust me, that 3.5" standing reach advantage is more like a 5.5" reach advantage over average PFs.

Now we see Rakeem Christmas measuring out much better than expected, crowned by his 9'2.5" standing reach. Poor man's Amare, will be a killer scorer off the bench at two positions. 13th PF in the draft. The mind boggles. David Lee potential. In the second round.

I don't think we've ever seen a position with this much depth in one draft, especially at a position of scarcity like PF.

Noah Vonleh wouldn't even get drafted before 4-7 of these guys.

Too bad we're already up to our eyeballs in 4s. Then again, nobody is safe when Trader Danny is stalking the sidelines with a cellphone.


bob


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bobheckler wrote:Too bad we're already up to our eyeballs in 4s.  Then again, nobody is safe when Trader Danny is stalking the sidelines with a cellphone.


bob


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I think we actually could use an upgrade at PF, including starting PF. Sully may not come in morbidly obese, and he may not gain a pound a day after media day weigh in, like he basically did last year, but he's on the last year of his contract, and he's a below average defender. Attitude wise he's not a safe long term bet either, not to mention his odds of staying healthy and less than obese.

Between Sully being in the last year of his contract, Bass, Jerebko, and Crowder being free agents, and KO looking like he played much better at center last year (according to the advanced stats), I'd say PF is a need. And what a year to have that need!

Even if we draft at another position at 16, there's still going to be multiple PFs available at 28 that have easy starter potential and outstanding physical tools.