[akhan786Participant]

 

I’ve seen a lot of banter on whether or not Miles should be drafted. One side says "just look at his combine numbers!" and the other side says "just look at his performance in college!"

Both sides make fair arguments but I also think both have to agree that Miles is truly a hard worker, and if given the chance he can be a great hustle player in the league. He’s developed a lot from his freshman year and really gives it his all in practices and work outs. And also brings a level of excitement with his jaw dropping dunks.

It’s a well known fact now that Plumlee almost always excels in combine and practice settings but has never really had it click come game time. Whether or not that proverbial switch turns on…I’m sure some team and coach will fall in love with him and see the kind of effort he brings on and off the court.

He’s a great young man and I’m rooting for him to get an opportunity in the League.

[F_S]

 spurs

[sameolGParticipant]

That was very impressive…

[sheltwon3Participant]

I think Miles will be a better pro than he was a college player but still I don’t see him as a starter but if he goes early second round that would not surprise me.

[Da1potParticipant]

 I think he can be a Nick Collison type if he lands on the right team. I personally am a fan of his game, and think he can be a solid rotation player in the league.

[cycloParticipant]

He’s taller and way more athletic than Nick Collison.  Besides, Collison is a PF.

This guy is a legit C standing 7’0" in shoes.

Better ball handler too.

[xavier328Participant]

Miles didnt get any better from his 2nd to last year at duke….he was the same player for three years….and to draft him in the first round wouldnt be a smart move. amd any Duke fan would tell you that!

[mistapink1Participant]

     well, miles wasn’t the better plumlee and it was difficult to play both guys together as there was too much duplication of skills.  obviously, miles isn’t better than his brother and his minutes and role at duke reflect that.  however, if he was "the man" at center at say yale or illinois, where he plays 30+ minutes a game, do his stats look that much worse than a greg mangano or meyers leonard?  and is he really any more a gamble than andre drummond or fab melo?  the fact is this:  miles plumlee put up 7.1 boards a game in 21 minutes a game.  that’s a very high number (higher per minute average than either fab or drummond.)  the other facts are:  miles scored 6.6 points and blocked less than 1 shot in those minutes.  there are pretty obviously conclusions.  miles plumlee has at least one valulable nba skill (rebounding) which when combined with his great frame and superior athleticism mean that he should be able to contribute something as a pro.  this may just be as an energy guy off the bench but don’t you take that as a 2nd round pick?  the other conclusion is that his offensive skills and shotblocking will forever limit his true ceiling.  unless, he gets a lot less mechanical and a lot more aggressive on the slam taps and blocks, he’s never gonna be more than an energy guy off the bench.  still, as a pistons fan (we have two 2nd rounders) i takes a flier (pun intended) on miles pronto at the later of those 2nd round picks.  

     the truth is this.  with his body and superior athleticism plumlee’s ceiling should be dwight howard.  he can put on the muscle and he already has that kinda bounce.  but because he lacks the beast streak and possibly the work ethic necessary, he’ll be lucky to even be a deandre jordan.  but as a low risk 2nd round pick i take the chance.  he could be a chris andersen.  he could be greg stiesmsa with more bounce.  and let’s face it if stiesmsa had a 40 inch vertical, he’d probably be starting for somebody.  plum could be serge ibaka or deandre jordan.  he could be biedrins or tyson chandler.  he’s a good value 2nd round pick.  plus, his game is so basic, i think it’ll be easy to convince him to become a role player and defender.  and if he can recognize that as his bread-and-butter he can be pretty good, maybe even a starter somewhere.

     frankly, i take the tall athletic guy who isn’t afraid to bang a little inside over a guy like perry jones who’s 6′ 11", athletic, highly skilled and dropping like a rock in the mocks probably because he’s a also a low motor guy who teams have no idea where to put.  a lot of folks here think he’s a 3, which is where his skill set is, but who wants a 6′ 11" three?  guys that tall and athletic should play inside, at least, some of the time.  do you want a face-the-basket 6′ 11" small forward shooting jumpers over a 6′ 6" defender?  maybe if he’s kevin durant and perry jones ain’t that.  perry jones will also go 30 picks or so higher than miles plumlee which makes him inherently riskier.  someone’s going to pick perry jones (maybe my pistons at 9) and you just have no idea what you’re getting.  is he chris bosh or earl clark?  or somewhere in between.  if plumlee’s out of the league in a year or gets cut no one’s gonna care about a guy you take at 44.  bottom line, plum’s a low risk, high reward pick.  will he make it?  i have no idea.  but i roll the dice with a mid to late 2nd rounder without hesitation…

[kobyzParticipant]

Miles Plumlee = Kwame Brown

[B-ball fanParticipant]

Nick Collison averaged 18.5 and 10 as a senior in college.  He is one of the Big 12’s all time leading rebounders.  Their is little chance Plumlee is better than him.  I doubt he even becomes Greg Stiemsma, who was the NBA’s 2nd leading shot blocker on a per-minute basis.

If he played at Illinois and got big minutes, he probably averages 10-10 as a Senior.  Meyers Leonard averaged 14-8 as a sophmore while playing better defense.  I just don’t see what Plumlee brings on the offensive end of the floor.  He isn’t great at creating plays and he isn’t great at finishing plays.  He has mediocre hands, poor touch, is a mediocre shooter, and doesn’t score in the post well.  

And on defense, he isn’t great either.  If he makes it in the league, he will have to establish himself on this end of the floor and I didn’t see that in college.  He grabs rebounds, but he is not an intimidating presence in the lane at all.  To make it in the league, he will need to develop into an excellent post defender, as that is the part of his game with the most potential, other than rebounding.  He needs to put his size to good use.

I see him as a late 2nd rounder, who has the potential to develop into a solid player down the road, but, despite being a Senior, is not ready for the NBA right now.

[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

Miles Plumlee has no business in the NBA.  In 4 years at Duke, he didn’t develop one aspect of his game.  The fact that he is athletic and has a 40 inch vertical is irrelevant.  The guy cannot play basketball. 

[cycloParticipant]

Nick Collison was a good college player but undersized for the C position and not athletic enough to start at PF  or get his shot off consistently in the NBA.  Hence, he averages 4.5 points per game.

Miles Plumlee’s legit C size (7’0" in shoes), rebounding and elite-level athleticism/agility will translate better to the NBA if he gets a shot in some NBA team’s rotation.  I have no doubt he’d be a better NBA player than Collison if given equivalent minutes.

[cycloParticipant]

Plumlee averaged 7.1 rebounds in just 20.5 minutes per game as a Senior.  Tops among all centers in the Draft per minute.  His rebound rate per 40 minutes (pace adjusted) is 13.4.  How does his rebound rate stack up against the other first round C prospects?  As previously mentioned…

Rebounds per 40 minutes (pace adjusted):

Miles Plumlee 13.4

Tyler Zeller 12.4

Andre Drummond 10.8

Meyers Leonard 10.4

Festus Ezeli 10.2

Feb Melo 9.3

And in the pre-draft workouts where rebounding ability isn’t on display, he is showing some real offensive skills (ball handling, shooting) that, under normal circumstances, would belong to a big man ranked much higher.

Just look at his college minutes per game.  It’s not that he didn’t produce.  It’s that he didn’t get the minutes to produce.  At 7’0" in shoes with his athleticism and agility, he’ll translate better to the NBA.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 He’s definitely going in the second round and I could even see someone taking him in the first round. Above someone said he is equal to Kwame Brown. I think that was supposed to be an insult. The warriors game Kwame a $10 million contract to play last season. Now I’ve pointed that out as a joke and a waste of money. But it still means that the league sees Kwame as a starting center. If Plumlee is as good as Kwame and you can take him in the second round and sign him for $700k instead of $10 million, then he would be a huge win for the team who drafts him. 

I think it does come back to how his post defense develops. I don’t recall him getting challenged that much in the post in college since most teams don’t have a scoring center who could go at Plumlee. (I’m sure Zeller and Hansbrough lit him up a few times, but those guys were the exception.) If he can defend the low post, then he can start for either of the current Finals teams since their starting centers can’t score or block shots. He will probably rebound better than Perk or Haslem if his defense allows him to stay on the floor. 

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

"Just look at his college minutes per game. It’s not that he didn’t produce. It’s that he didn’t get the minutes to produce. At 7’0" in shoes with his athleticism and agility, he’ll translate better to the NBA."

I’m sure committing 2.8 fouls in 22.8 minutes in ACC games had nothing to do with him not getting the minutes to produce. The big problem for him is that Presbyterian, UNC Greensboro, and Western Michigan aren’t on an NBA schedule. It would be better for the Bobcats if that was the case, but I don’t see that happening.

[JoeWolf1]

 Collison is such a valuable role player because he has such a high Bball IQ.  He has the polish to score more, but he knows his role and is very much a team player.  He’s not a big scorer because he can’t get his shot off, he’s got a 9 foot standing reach and is a 54% career shooter.  He just sticks to dunks and layins because that’s his role within the team.

Plumlee’s not going to have more success on offense because he can get his shot off.

Plumlee doesn’t have the defensive IQ Collison does.  I suspect he’ll work hard in practice, make players better by giving them a monster to go against every day and he’ll be a 3rd string center in the NBA.  We all knew he was extremely athletic, and I think he’ll be a capable rebounder in the NBA, but I have a hard time believing he’ll be much more than a 3rd center in the NBA.  

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 Yeah, but can anyone really see Plumlee not sticking in the NBA as long as he has those hops? The height, weight and strength aren’t going anywhere. As long as he can move a bit and jump out of the gym. Wolf you might see his ceiling as 3rd string center, but that is probably also his floor. If you can get a lock NBA player in the second round, you take him. A lot of the guys in the second round don’t stick past their first contract. Plumlee will stick in the NBA. 

[cycloParticipant]

Standing approx. 7’0" in shoes with a 34 inch no step vertical and a 41 inch max vertical, Miles Plumlee will have no problem getting his shot off in the paint in the NBA.  He’s strong.  15 reps on the bench press.  His height and length are comparable to Spencer Hawes and Joakim Noah, but Plumlee has more explosion off his feet and tested more agile than both.  In fact, Plumlee has more leaping ability (and agility) than every C in the NBA, according to the athletic testing.  This will help him as a finisher in close.  Think he’ll be able to get his shot off inside better than Nick Collison and Spencer Hawes.  And I think his ball handling ability will surprise people.

It’s been noted that the people with the most dislike of Duke’s Plumlee are fans of bitter rival North Carolina.  Opinions disregarded.

Well worth a second round pick and maybe a late first. 

[Author]

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