2015 First Round Steals

At fist Ive to say its a pretty early analysis. Some potentials should still not be accurate. Like always they are changing in the first year with every stats update, at least thats what I noticed. But for now I thought I will use my last free day to get my first league article for the upcoming season. I will try to be as objective as possible, though there will be different opinions and like you all know, the Boston scouts arent the best ones in the league. So may I see some potentials wrong (Im sure I do). Nevertheless I hope you will enjoy reading it.
Later in the day I will submit my "busts" and Celtics TC improvements.




#1, Rasheed Sulaimon, SG, Toronto Raptors, Pick 15




Some said Gary Harris will be the 1a SG of the draft followed by Rasheed as the 1b. Looking at his actual potentials Rasheed looks like a "can do all" shooting guard. Some would call him a 3&D guard, but I believe he could develope into more than that. 
Given two or three seasons to develope he will be a decent ball handler, decent scorer and should provide some great secondary playmaking beside his strong defense and 3ball.
He wont rack up as many steals as Harris will, but a stat line 14 Points, 2.5 Rebounds, 4 Assists with only a few turnovers and some threes should be possible for him. To be honest, I like that guy, great work bt.

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#2, Adreian Payne, Power Forward, Miami Heat/Brooklyn Nets, Pick 30




No idea how Payne did fall that far. Maybe because of his age, but he looks like work horse, so he should be able to reach his ceiling. For me Payne looks like the second best power forward of the draft, right behind the as an upcoming star hyped fifth overall pick Julius Randle. Adreian looks like a Young-lite edition and should be able to rack up blocks and should be able to grab a solid amount of boards. Some would call Perry Ellis the second best power forward of the draft, but thats a matter of taste, if you like defensive minded fours, like I do, Payne will be your choice. If you like scoring fours, Perry is your man.
Anyway, it has to be questioned if the McAddo - Payne trade was worth it. McAdoo looks like a combination of Ellis and Payne and should end up being the best power forward of those three. Maybe he could even be able to challenge Randle.
Anyhow Payne is a steal at #30.

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#3 Vasilije Micic, Points Guard, Boston Celtics, Pick 13



Last year Dennis Schröder got selected with the 13. pick and was considered being a steal. This year another european point guard got selected at pick 13, Vasilije Micic from Serbia. Micic looks like a decent floor general and will follow the footsteps of other european guards like Ricky Rubio or Dennis Schröder. Vasilije may not lead any category, but it looks like he could do all. His passing (88), handling (77), IQ (100) combination should allow him to dish out a great amount of assists, not as many as Rubio will, but Ricky is just not from earth. On top his DI (82), defense (70), steal (65) combination should allow him to be a decent defender too. 
Overall Vasilije looks like a great all around point guard who will always prefer to set up mates instead of getting the bucket himself. Micic should be able to average 12 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds with only a few turnovers while being a decent defender. Thanks got Micic didnt land in Orlando to team up with Andew Wiggins.

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#4 Ondrej Balvin, Houston Rockets, Pick 26

Balvin has to duck his head to get through the door


"You cant teach height" - 7'2'', 261lbs watch out Nerlens, Ondrej is coming for you. Again a nice move by our reigning GM of the year Willy. Ondrej is just a monster. No idea what would happen if he adds even some lbs. Maybe he would bulldozer Orlando on its own.. Anyway, lets take a look at his potentials. Size is great, but without skill, size is worth nothing. To be honest, this kid got skill. Given some time to develope he will be a solid inside scorer, a decent rebounder and a decent defender. What I like most is his ability to defend, to block shots plus his awesome combination of IQ (83) and DI (89). Maybe Balvin will never be a full time starter, but he will be a great addition for the second unit.

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#5 Jahii Carson, Boston Celtics/Sacramento Kings, pick 6



Could a 6. pick be considered as a steal? I dont know, but in my opinion he's a steal. Looking at what Thomas did with Miami you have to be frightened if Sac-town just added a future allstar to their team. Comparing size, potentials and preferences Jahii looks like a Isaiah Thomas double with higher ceilings. To be honest I like Jahii even more than Randle or Harris..
At this point I question myself why I traded him for Bazz and Abrines. To be honest I hit myself a few times while seeing JC skillset. Not saying Bazz and Abrines are bad, they arent, but I just gave up a steal.
Good move Dylan, good move.

Getting Payne that late in the draft probably is the steal of the draft.

Looking at both Cauley and DeShaun for me, neither are really impressive. Disappointed about that.

I think Jahii Carson will be a stud!

Voted Payne who incredibly slipped to #30.

Definitely pleased with how Balvin looks and projects to develop and was glad to get him but don't feel like he was the steal.

Micic was my fave player in the draft as I scouted him the most though can't say for sure he's a steal at #13 since that's lotto pick.

WillyJakkz (HOU) wrote:Voted Payne who incredibly slipped to #30.

Definitely pleased with how Balvin looks and projects to develop and was glad to get him but don't feel like he was the steal.

Micic was my fave player in the draft as I scouted him the most though can't say for sure he's a steal at #13 since that's  lotto pick.

Yeah, they are "steals". Just compared guys picked before with them and thought if we redraft Carson and Micic would be taken higher.
They are no real steals, no doubt about that.

Micic gets my vote hands down

DennisJ (BOS) wrote:

WillyJakkz (HOU) wrote:Voted Payne who incredibly slipped to #30.

Definitely pleased with how Balvin looks and projects to develop and was glad to get him but don't feel like he was the steal.

Micic was my fave player in the draft as I scouted him the most though can't say for sure he's a steal at #13 since that's  lotto pick.

Yeah, they are "steals". Just compared guys picked before with them and thought if we redraft Carson and Micic would be taken higher.
They are no real steals, no doubt about that.

Yeah no doubt, ratings-wise we'll have to see as none have actually played yet. After tonite etc I could make a more concrete conclusion cause you know me, I'm more of a results guy.

With that said though I definitely agree, I thought Micic was gonna be the 1st or 2nd PG taken but quietly hoped he'd drop to me somehow (#26) though that was a wish but once I saw you lining up for him I attempted to move up to draft him to no avail.

Not sure how you'll work him and Schroder.

Send Micic or Schroder here and you have no more problems

WillyJakkz (HOU) wrote:

DennisJ (BOS) wrote:

WillyJakkz (HOU) wrote:Voted Payne who incredibly slipped to #30.

Definitely pleased with how Balvin looks and projects to develop and was glad to get him but don't feel like he was the steal.

Micic was my fave player in the draft as I scouted him the most though can't say for sure he's a steal at #13 since that's  lotto pick.

Yeah, they are "steals". Just compared guys picked before with them and thought if we redraft Carson and Micic would be taken higher.
They are no real steals, no doubt about that.

Yeah no doubt, ratings-wise we'll have to see as none have actually played yet. After tonite etc I could make a more concrete conclusion cause you know me, I'm more of a results guy.

With that said though I definitely agree, I thought Micic was gonna be the 1st or 2nd PG taken but quietly hoped he'd drop to me somehow (#26) though that was a wish but once I saw you lining up for him I attempted to move up to draft him to no avail.

Not sure how you'll work him and Schroder.

Yeah it was just rating-wise. I believe no rookie will be able to make serious damage during their rookie campaign, except of Wiggins of course, so its only possible to rate them via their potentials. 

Yeah it will be tough to manage Schröder and Micic. Vasilije will play some minutes at SG. It seems Ive to decide who to keep during the season.

My vote for Payne. +7 in inside shooting after TC.

Good read. I'm stuck at the airport waiting for a flight and haven't been able to get the file but I've got an hour and will need to take a look.

Payne and Micic look much better than I expected them to. Both are nice pick ups.

As far as Carson goes, if he can be the stud all you guys are making him out to be (lol) then I'd be thrilled. If I just got Isaiah Thomas 2.0, maybe a little better, I'm more than happy. Will go a long way in what's going to be a very long process.

My scouts must suck because all of those 5 look average to me.

bt (TOR) wrote:My scouts must suck because all of those 5 look average to me.

Just compared the potentials with a few guys and they differ a lot!
I believe the potentials you see for your own guys are the most accurate ones. Seems we have to wait for the first stats update during the season to have a better knowledge about the draft.

My scouts also arent impressed by any of these guys that much.  Balvin actually looks like the biggest steal for his draft position, but still nothing special. 

We will see what happens though as the season progresses.