Basketball from a
fans perspective
My Lakers
You might remember (or check the earlier addition) I provided 8 names I believed the Lakers would likely make the 25th pick. One of those names was Mo Wagner from
Michigan. Only witnessed him play twice
so I can say very little regarding the pick.
The number 39 pick became Isaac Bonga a 6-foot 10-inch point
guard from Germany, he was a mystery having never heard of him until his name
was announced draft night.
As for Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk that was slightly different the 6-foot 8-inch guard played at Kansas. I witnessed Svi play on several occasions over his 4-years in Lawrence. The Lakers certainly have an international roster with Wagner and Bonga from Germany and Mykhailiuk from Ukraine. As for Bonga it’s reported he will likely remain in Europe for the foreseeable future. The Lakers were not finished, they signed free-agents Malik Newman from Kansas and Joel Berry North Carolina to 2-way contracts, both are expected to play the point.
As for Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk that was slightly different the 6-foot 8-inch guard played at Kansas. I witnessed Svi play on several occasions over his 4-years in Lawrence. The Lakers certainly have an international roster with Wagner and Bonga from Germany and Mykhailiuk from Ukraine. As for Bonga it’s reported he will likely remain in Europe for the foreseeable future. The Lakers were not finished, they signed free-agents Malik Newman from Kansas and Joel Berry North Carolina to 2-way contracts, both are expected to play the point.
Draft notes
I informed several people I
was surprised Michael Porter Jr. dropped so far. At 14 he’s still a lottery pick however many
thought he’d be drafted somewhere between 4 and 8. The back-spasm issue sure affected his stock,
if he’s healthy I maintain the Nuggets got a real quality talented
athlete.
You might have heard this
announced. DeAndre Ayton and Marvin
Bagley III were high school teammates for one year. Ayton chose Arizona while Bagley enrolled at
Duke and they were chosen back to back in the draft, Ayton number one and
Bagley number two.
The Yahoo headline jumped
off the page, “Atlanta taking huge risk
on the ‘next Steph Curry.’ I didn’t
bother with reading the story because I considered it stupid. Give Trae Young and others an opportunity to play. Red flags likely exist on a number of these
rookies, how can we determine they are not NBA ready prior to seeing them in action. That's the only method to determine if they are a bust.
Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo
strong play in the NCAA championship game plus the NBA Draft Combine. The result he would become the 17th
pick in the first round by the Bucks, a guy who was on NOBODIES radar
prior to the start of the collegiate season.
It must be a New York thing,
at the time the name Kevin Knox was announced Knicks fans begin booing
loudly. This was a repeat of 2015 when
Kristaps Porzingis was chosen. Even
funnier the television camera located the booing Porzingis kid on Thursday from
that draft. He was not impressed with
this pick either, by the way a later interview he was sporting a Porzingis
jersey.
I can’t wait until the NBA schedule is available, it appears
war has already been declared. It must
be clear Joel Embiid took exception to DeAndre Ayton’s comparison to his game.
This is the tweet he sent out draft night.
Don’t
compare Ayton to me either... I play DEFENSE
Wow
Puma is making noise again, in
addition to hiring entertainer Jay-Z as president of basketball operations they
continue to sign incoming NBA talent.
The latest prospect to sign with Puma is Michael Porter Jr. This signing becomes the 4th
collegiate player they signed since returning to the “shoe wars.” In addition to MPJ also in the fold are DeAndre
Ayton, Zhaire Smith and Marvin Bagley III.
