Good question. He has nothing to gain by staying as far as the NBA is concerned, although he seems to like playing college ball and may well return. Some are saying MSU's Jaren Jackson is a first-five pick, and Mo is way better offensively at this point, so not crazy that Mo could be a lottery pick. Wherever he's picked he's going to be very wealthy.
I would think he's more like a 2nd round pick, or maybe late 1st round at best. Though I also though Lauri went too early, and he's turned out alright thus far. I worry about defensive viability for both of them though. Also ability to penetrate against NBA defenses. Not sure he is strong enough either - in general Michigan seemed to get outmuscled by Nova yesterday.
Lauri is a much better athlete than he appears. He is not especially fluid but he can move his feet on switches against smaller players and he will get stronger. And he has had some highlight dunks this year as well. I could be wrong but I don't think Wagner is nearly as athletic.
Eh I saw one that was literally updated after the championship and looked better than most in terms of the projected top 10 being up to date / accurate, and it still had him mid 2nd round. He may slip into the late 1st round, but it doesn't look like people view him as anything approaching a lottery pick.
I don't get the love for either of these guys. Jackson in particular is WAY overrated. Athletes, but not really ballers.
Funny you'd say that, Fitz. I've been thinking the exact same thing about Jackson, whom I've seen going to the Bulls in a couple of mocks. I've seen nothing about him that screams "NBA star", but I figured that was just my untrained eye more than anything. So apparently I'm not the only one who doesn't get what the buzz is about with him. If he does go to the Bulls, here's hoping we're wrong.
Lauri has really shown a lot on offense. Probably more than the most bullish fans expected of him. I think we may have a star player in him.
Mo seems to me to be like Kevin Love.
First Lauri Markanen, now Kevin Love, who is next Kevin McHale?
I don't think Mo is nearly as good offensively as Trae. Also, it's hard for me to tell whether Trae's defensive liability is a lack of effort thing (which it frequently looked like at OK, maybe because he was their entire offense on the other side) or a lack of ability thing (certainly his size and possibly durability is an issue). Neither one is good, but if it's the former maybe it's more fixable. But I think Trae has a bit of an attitude problem too which is an issue - which became apparent at times in the second half of their season when they were struggling.
I see Young and Wagner going about where you project as well. I hope the Bulls get a better player than Young with the 7th pick and a better player than Wagner with their second pick. I think Young will be a good pro and will score like crazy. I think Wagner is an off the bench guy. I know you think otherwise.
I realized by 'latter' I suggested that "lack of ability" on defense would be more fixable than "lack of effort"... I meant the opposite (have fixed now).
I think both are decent role players rather than multi-year all stars. Also, unfortunately in the modern super-team NBA you really need 2+ superstars rather than just a collection of good to very good players (unless you are coached by Gregg Poppovich). But hey, I'd be happy to be wrong, I guess time will tell.
Markkanen has worse defensive stats than all the other notable bigs on our roster- RoLo, Portis, Felicio. He is useful on offense, but you need two-way players in the modern NBA. He could get somewhat better on D but given his natural abilities or lack thereof in some areas (quickness and strength) I think he will be a useful role player - a starter but not a star.
I think you guys are making the mistake of substituting offensive numbers for value to a team. Look at something like BPM instead, it is far from perfect but at least it considers both sides of the ball. Garnett was a gangly HS grad (yes Lauri isn't much older), and his value in his early years was on the defensive side of the floor. He gradually developed his offensive game over a number of years. If Lauri can develop his defensive abilities in the same way that KG developed his offense, then yes he will be a star. I don't see it happening though. But I doubt I will convince you, so fair enough.
