2012 Pre-Draft Talk, Because it's never too early. Options

[FromWayDowntown]

Soooooo........who ya got for Da Bulls?

Do we want to do a Mock Draft?

What do you guys and gals think??

[2nd_city_saint78...]

Some people are talking about him at the 3, but I feel like that's a good way to guarantee that he's a horrible flop.

He's a decent ball-handler with good mobility, but the caveat is always "for his size". He's a pretty mediocre shooter too. He's good enough at all of those things to have potential as a stretch 4, but it'd be hard for him to generate offense unless he gets significantly better in those areas.

His best assets are his length, explosive leaping and his very good mobility for a big man. Playing him at the 3 reduces the impact of all of those. There are other issues if he's a 4 (plays soft, lacks aggression and toughness, no real post moves), but those are probably a little easier to fix given his standout physical profile at his position.

Not that I want him on the Bulls or anything I'm just intrigued by a 6-11 SF...Would he be able to guard/keep up with guys like Lebron and Melo?

[rockren]

Not that I want him on the Bulls or anything I'm just intrigued by a 6-11 SF...Would he be able to guard/keep up with guys like Lebron and Melo?

He looks like Thad Young at best to me.....which isn't bad at all.

[ZoomSlowik]

He looks like Thad Young at best to me.....which isn't bad at all.

I don't know, Thaddeus actually hit the college 3 and was always a SF. I'm struggling to think of a good comparison if we assume he's a SF in the pros. Transitioning from a college 4 to a pro 3 is fairly tough, most of the guys I can think of that did it successfully were more natural 3's that played bigger in college.

If you can convince him that he's a 4 and he develops his skills as a stretch 4 (develops at least some post moves, learns to defend the interior at an acceptable level, develop his jumper and driving just a little since he's never going to dominate in the post), he could be a star PF in the mold of Chris Bosh or Lamarcus Aldridge. I don't know how likely that is though, and I struggle to see how he makes an impact as a perimeter player outside of occasionally bothering people with his length.

[rockren]

I don't know, Thaddeus actually hit the college 3 and was always a SF. I'm struggling to think of a good comparison if we assume he's a SF in the pros. Transitioning from a college 4 to a pro 3 is fairly tough, most of the guys I can think of that did it successfully were more natural 3's that played bigger in college.

If you can convince him that he's a 4 and he develops his skills as a stretch 4 (develops at least some post moves, learns to defend the interior at an acceptable level, develop his jumper and driving just a little since he's never going to dominate in the post), he could be a star PF in the mold of Chris Bosh or Lamarcus Aldridge. I don't know how likely that is though, and I struggle to see how he makes an impact as a perimeter player outside of occasionally bothering people with his length.

I agree if Jones wants to be successful he'll need to play like Aldridge or like Bosh use to play.

He just ticked me off watching in college because he was soft....if he was at all physical Baylor could have been elite his two years there.

[madisonsmadhouse]

I agree if Jones wants to be successful he'll need to play like Aldridge or like Bosh use to play.

He just ticked me off watching in college because he was soft....if he was at all physical Baylor could have been elite his two years there.

That whole Baylor team seemed like a bunch of athletes instead of a team of basketball players. There is a lot of untapped potential there, they just need to work on basketball IQ and work ethic.