[MattHoopsParticipant]

Is anyone else surprised to see Bennett number 2 on the updated Mock? I love this site and respect it.. I just do not see him as anything but a role player…. Is he worthy of a second pick overall? How many successful 6’7 power forwards have there been in this league?

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

Paul Millsap is the only recent one to come to my mind, I think the move has to do with the NBA playing smaller and smaller and the 4 position is really becoming just another small forward

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

Not sure why Bazz is at 4 and Zeller is #3, I will take Bazz over him any day of the week

[ASAP HenryParticipant]

I really really enjoy watching Bennett play this year at UNLV. Just a beast of a player. Too strong, skilled, athletic for most guys in the NCAA. However, I think he is only 6’7” which is too small for the PF position in the NBA. I know the NBA is going more towards small-ball and that’s why I think Bennett can still succeed in the NBA, but as the #2 pick??!!! That’s crazy. The lack of respect Shabazz is getting is mind blowing. Shabazz is a complete offensive player who can play the 2 or the 3 without any problem in the NBA. Bennett is a guy who in reality will be a really good guy to bring off your bench and provide energy and scoring. I like the Millsap comparison, but I think Bennett is even smaller. I think Bennett is def worthy of a first round pick, somewhere in the top 20, but no way no how should he go #2. You will be tragically disappointed by using the 2nd pick on him over a guy like Shabazz, Nerlens, Zeller, etc…

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

Can you imagine Shabazz guarding the 3’s at the next level ? He would get dominated and overpowered by the majority of the likes Joe, Paul, Lebron, Melo, KD, Wallace, Butler and so on.

[juice304Participant]

I think the odd thing about him being moved to #2 is that recently he has been playing a little worse than earlier in the year.

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

He is raw, but I’ll still definitely take Noels over him. He is a defensive game changer that you can funnel anchor your defense. Bennet is a mix between Millsap and Bass both are very good players, but will never be a first option or an all star caliber player for the most part. Shabazz is not a complete player. I have still never seen him put the ball in his right hand, even in highlight videos. I’ve noticed all you have to do is play his left side and he’ll quickly take a jump shot or pass the ball. The majority of his looks are from kick outs and screens. He can’t create for himself or slash towards the rim because of it.

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

The scary thing about bazz is, the negatives you listed about him are somehwat true but he’s still averaging 18.5 PPG which is scary, I think he will be like James Harden where he will come off the bench his first 2 years then explode after that. His scoring potential is extremely high.

[SiggyParticipant]

This site usually moves players up and down due to game to game performance, so I’m not sure why Bennett was moved up. His level of play hasn’t been all that great since conference play started.

He’s good, but what scares me about him is that he’s said in interviews that he sees himself in the future as a 3.
As a 3 his potential is not nearly as high. Also, whether he plays the 3 or the 4, he looks like a liability on defense. I think his poor defensive play is being completely overlooked by mock sites.

[phila9012Participant]

He is a four, derrick williams is sort of comparable to him where they both are short and dont really have the perimeter skills to succeed in the nba at the 3, and they both are better at the 4. He should focus on becoming a better shooter and his defense, then he should be perfectly fine at the PF position and he will come off the bench to start his career and we will see if he develops into a starter, but he should definitely be in a rotation for someone.

[JoeJoParticipant]

I don’t think it really matters if HE sees himself as more of a small forward than a power forward. He’s going to play where his coach puts him. I’d be more worried if he tried too hard to showcase his perimeter skills and didn’t know his strengths and weaknesses. I haven’t seen that from him.

[SiggyParticipant]

I think it matters. To me it says a lot about his mentality as a player. He’s gifted with the bulk, power and explosion to be a physical beast who can move bodies on the interior, yet he sees himself as a 3 in the future? Why is that? Does he want to avoid the physicality in the paint? Does he not want to do the dirty work?
It’s the same mentality that brought guys like Derrick Williams and Michael Beasley to where they are in their careers. Williams was a powerhouse in college, bullying guys in the paint with drives and running hooks, using his body to create space. Beasley dominated the paint as well, putting up some amazing rebounding stats in the process. Yet they still wanted to fashion themselves as SFs in the NBA. Those guys working on their perimeter skills as opposed to their big man skills in an effort to become more perimeter oriented wasn’t their coaches’ choice.

[JoeJoParticipant]

The guys you cited, Beasley and Williams, I don’t think mentality has been why they haven’t met expectations. Beasley has more than enough skill to be a small forward. He has the handle, the ability to shoot off the dribble and drive to the basket as well as the necessary quickness and athleticism. His shortcomings have been more of bad shot selection and an unwillingness to take the physical contact necessary to get to the line. He was never going to be able to bully his way around the basket like he did as a college 4.

With Williams, I’m not entirely shocked that he’s struggled. Just like in college, he’s struggled to finish drives in traffic because he’s a shockingly terrible one-foot jumper. Since he’s also struggled to shoot like he did in college (which may have been a fluke season anyway), he doesn’t have a lot of skill. He can’t drive, no post game, a so-so pick and pop, spot up option. Mentality hasn’t been his issue.

Bennett has a better chance to make it as impact undersized four because he has the power/strength that Beasley and Williams both lack to go with good shooting ability.

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

I see him being a very good role player. Manu and Harden both could score, but the things that separate them is being able to create for them self and everyone around them. I just don’t see Shabazz having that ball handling ability even down the road.

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

Did you watch James harden his first 2 years in the league? He was very inconsistent. Ball handling can improve through drills and practice but you can’t teach the natural ability and instinct to score.

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

Being honest I didn’t get the chance to watch him much, but I knew about him and kept up looking at stuff online and and reading about him. I looked up highlight videos of Harden in college and this is the first one I saw. He showed way more promising ball handling skills in college then Shabazz.

[BasketballJunkie224Participant]

i think hes awesome and i love watching him and cant wait to see him in the NBA but if he goes in the top 3 on draft night i will change the channel

[For_Never_EverParticipant]

Some players even with practice and drills just don’t have it in them to be good ball handlers. There is a video of Harden in HS and it showed to me at least, that he was a better dribbler then Shabazz even when he was HS then Bazz is now. I just think this is a major Achilles heel from being a good role player to a great player if defenders don’t have to respect your dribble drive game.

[JM40Participant]

What’s even crazier is that at one point there was some chatter about Bennett going #1.

[JM40Participant]

I like Bennett, but over Noel, Muhammad, or Len…..no way.

[thunderjerkParticipant]

To answer your question about successful, shorter power forwards, both Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman were 6′ 6″.
Millsap is solid, but not on the same level.

[Ghost01Participant]

I think all of you are sleeping on Bennett. I have heard from numerous non nbadraftnet sources that he’s in contention to be a top 3 pick. He is an athletic freak, can handle the ball, run the floor and shoot. And what most of you are overlooking is that although he isn’t that tall, he has an old school legitimate low post game. I don’t see him as a role player at all, and personally I think he’s the best player in this draft. The love over Shabazz Muhammad is odd to me, this guy is a 2 guard who can do nothing except score, sure, he’ll be a solid NBA player, but I don’t see any window where he becomes an elite player. I think when you look at the direction the league is going, athletic guys are taking over, teams are going small more and more often, a guy like Bennett could be such a unique asset for a team. Shabazz is just like all of these other swingmen. I think McLemore is slightly better, and I’m not saying Zeller should be that high, but lets not hop too high on Muhammad bandwagon.

[Ghost01Participant]

And please, stop with THESE arguments:

Player A reminds me of Player B. Remember when Player B was inconsistent? Player A will definitely blossum into Player B.

Its simply not true. James Harden and Muhammad are similar in terms of they are both lefties, both good scoring shooting guards. But just because Harden’s game got much better in his 3rd or 4th year in the league doesn’t mean anything.

This was especially a problem when people were saying “LOOK AT TIM DUNCANS FRESHMAN STATS, ANTHONY DAVIS WILL BE BETTER THAN HIM!!!” Its just dumb.

[khaled_a_dParticipant]

I have Bennett as top 6 pick ,I would say McLemore,Noel,Shabazz, Zeller are above him in no particular order,may be Len too
but doubt he will be 2nd pick tbh
PS:Is it me or the site just changed the mock draft and Bennett is 4th while Noel is 2nd?

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