[DunksNJordans23Participant]

 Could Tyler Ulis be a late first round pick?

I know this site (and others) has him going in the middle of the second round somewhere in the 40’s but looking at some of the guys projected to go ahead of him are head scratchers. My thought after playing around with the newly reactivated "my mock draft" feature I found myself slotting Tyler Ulis going to the Chicago Bulls, his hometown (sort of). Why I fit him in that spot is because the Chicago Bulls have Kirk Hinrich, Aaron Brooks, E’Twuan Moore, and the infamous Derrick Rose as their main PG’s. Drafting Ulis would allow them to let go of two of those gaurds (probably Brooks and the less healthy of the other two) and they would have a backup point gaurd that would be under contract on a rookie deal for a few years. I admit, maybe I am a little soft to players having a homecoming of sort when it comes to being drafted but this seems like it would be a good pick if Ulis comes out. Personally I think another year at the University of Kentucky would be great for his development, especially with another good class coming in.

Do you think Ulis could sneak into the end of the first round? Where would he fit best and what role?

 

[BleedingBlueParticipant]

 A 5-9 guard with average athleticism and a 29% 3-point shooting percentage shouldn’t go in the first round. It’s pretty simple.

[BleedingBlueParticipant]

 A 5-9 guard with average athleticism and a 29% 3-point shooting percentage shouldn’t go in the first round. It’s pretty simple.

[PrecociousNeophyteParticipant]

 I bet you think Isaiah Thomas should have gone in the first round right? Isaiah Thomas listed at 5-9 shot 29% from 3 point range his first year at Washington the same age that Ulis is right now. So no, it is not that simple. 

[PrecociousNeophyteParticipant]

 I bet you think Isaiah Thomas should have gone in the first round right? Isaiah Thomas listed at 5-9 shot 29% from 3 point range his first year at Washington the same age that Ulis is right now. So no, it is not that simple. 

[reynolds07Participant]

 If trimble’s still there when bulls are selecting they would be mad to take ullis over trimble. I also see payton, wallace and even isaiah taylor going before ullis.

[reynolds07Participant]

 If trimble’s still there when bulls are selecting they would be mad to take ullis over trimble. I also see payton, wallace and even isaiah taylor going before ullis.

[Hype Machine]

Dude would have to seriously defy the odds to be a solid NBA contributor. 

Ceiling – Backup NBA PG

Floor – Dominate overseas

Realistic – 3rd String NBA PG

 

 

 

 

 

[Hype Machine]

Dude would have to seriously defy the odds to be a solid NBA contributor. 

Ceiling – Backup NBA PG

Floor – Dominate overseas

Realistic – 3rd String NBA PG

 

 

 

 

 

[Taylor Gang MikeParticipant]

 No

[Taylor Gang MikeParticipant]

 No

[DunksNJordans23Participant]

 If you average his 3 point shooting from both years he shoots it at 35%. If you look at a player like Isaiah Thomas who is also 5’9 didn’t shoot much better at 33% in college in three seasons. Thomas is a different player but has the same height and similar shooting %. Watching the games Ulis plays in he obviously has command of the game and is more than capable of running an offense. His basketball IQ seems to be very high.

Again, if shooting % is the breaking point let’s look at DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins is a big man that is shooting 44% and is largely considered an all-star calibur player. Everytime I watch Cousins play it looks like I’m watching an all-star, but that’s just me.

Trimble will be gone, he could be a late lotto pick with a good March. Taylor will probably stay at Texas but I love the Glove II, I just think he is going to be stuck somewhere in the early second.

 

 

[DunksNJordans23Participant]

 If you average his 3 point shooting from both years he shoots it at 35%. If you look at a player like Isaiah Thomas who is also 5’9 didn’t shoot much better at 33% in college in three seasons. Thomas is a different player but has the same height and similar shooting %. Watching the games Ulis plays in he obviously has command of the game and is more than capable of running an offense. His basketball IQ seems to be very high.

Again, if shooting % is the breaking point let’s look at DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins is a big man that is shooting 44% and is largely considered an all-star calibur player. Everytime I watch Cousins play it looks like I’m watching an all-star, but that’s just me.

Trimble will be gone, he could be a late lotto pick with a good March. Taylor will probably stay at Texas but I love the Glove II, I just think he is going to be stuck somewhere in the early second.

 

 

[ExumInfernoParticipant]

 Thomas is the answer.  Hard to pick a prospect that short in the first round.

Nate Robinson, he was different, he had the strength and leaping ability to play shooting guard even at his height.

 

[ExumInfernoParticipant]

 Thomas is the answer.  Hard to pick a prospect that short in the first round.

Nate Robinson, he was different, he had the strength and leaping ability to play shooting guard even at his height.

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 When it comes to players under 6 foot they have a lot to compensate for to make it in the NBA. They need to be great perimeter scorers, and have good core strength and athleticism. He is a fiery competitor that defenitely deserves a shot but he has to improve his skill and shooting from the outside and have a great floater game to make it in the NBA.

[OhCanada-Participant]

 When it comes to players under 6 foot they have a lot to compensate for to make it in the NBA. They need to be great perimeter scorers, and have good core strength and athleticism. He is a fiery competitor that defenitely deserves a shot but he has to improve his skill and shooting from the outside and have a great floater game to make it in the NBA.

[OaktownWarriorsParticipant]

 No and homeboy should play all fours at Kentucky!

[OaktownWarriorsParticipant]

 No and homeboy should play all fours at Kentucky!

[UncledrewParticipant]

Best comparison for Ulis is Phil pressy…high Iq guard but very undersized with limited athleticism. Tough competitor and good floor general but overall low nba potential

[UncledrewParticipant]

Best comparison for Ulis is Phil pressy…high Iq guard but very undersized with limited athleticism. Tough competitor and good floor general but overall low nba potential

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Not all guys in the late first round project to be NBA starters.  Some/lots aren’t even in the league after a few years.

With point guards going the way of NFL running backs (beaten up NIGHTLY, less durable, above average depth across the league), why not stockpile a couple (or three) solid point guards on every roster?

D Rose and Conley are banged up this year.  Point guard questions will drastically affect both team’s upside/downside.

Even Steph Curry is banged up a bit right now.

Russ is doing well this year, but he has been banged up and injured in the past.

Your team can live without a true small forward or even a true 4, BUT if you don’t have one legit point guard on your roster, YOU’RE SUNK.

Teams NEED point guard depth, possibly now more than ever.

It MIGHT be even more important that backup center.

I actually think there are more solid backup center types right now than solid backup point guards.

You obviously don’t look to build a team around a backup point guard but other than your Core, your 6th man, some 3 and D wings off the bench, and a few extra bigs, you need to look at point guard depth.

So, after guys who project as core players off the board (10 to 15 guys tops?) then you start to fill in other needs.  Namely, depth.  I would argue that from about 20 to 30 a team should STRONGLY look at going after 6th men types.  Guys who can maybe not move the needle with the starting rotation, but do a good job moving the needle off the bench against the other team’s backups.

Now, if you are a team that has a first rounder aUnd a second rounder in this year’s draft, and you absolutely lack a backup point guard, AND you don’t even LOOK at drafting a point guard then you are pretty dumb.

After about 20 in this draft, not a whole lot of names excite me.  Perry Ellis?  Does nothing for me.  Tyler Ulis is a guy who you can understand.  Or a stick figure shooter like Kyle Wiltjer.  You know what he (supposedly) does.  You know he is limited and will probably be a deep bench guy at best.  But, he at least gives you ONE THING.  Ulis is kind of like that.  He gives you ONE THING.  Which is pretty important if you don’t have it.

I am not even sure that a good 3 and D guy falls past 20 or 25.  Those guys are valuable now.  I doubt you can get a good value on a 3 and D guy now.  Athletic stretch four’s are probably a bit overvalued.  A guy like Skal who has pretty much showed close to nothing this year is still in the 1st round (or even late lotto) conversation.  

You can still draft for VALUE if you focus on backup point guard types (like Ulis) and backup shot blocker types (like the Big Anteater guy or Amida Brimah at 6’10, or Tacko Fall if he comes out and falls in the draft).

Now, we know that Ulis can run a team pretty well.  I actually thought Kentucky should have used him more last year.

BUT, if the guy can show some flashes as a decent scorer off the bench, then that would help him, too.  

Probably the third best value in the draft now would be a legit combo scoring guard off the bench.  These kind of guys do some 6th man type scoring, and can ALSO handle the ball.  

This is the year where point guard play/health/depth could really shape the NBA title chase.  The only thing in the way of a Warriors repeat is Steph’s shins.  Cleveland will only go as far as Kyrie Irving takes them.  I don’t think they can win the title without a healthy Kyrie.  The Bulls’ upside is limited if D Rose goes out of commission.  The Thunder obviously need Westbrook at 100% if they want to win a title.  The Spurs would also prefer that their top point guard options (Tony Parker and Patty Mills) are healthy going into the playoffs.

Point guard play matters.

At worst, Ulis projects as NBA point guard depth.  At best, he can probably fill in every now and then as a starting point guard.  You might not be able to do much more than that in the late first round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Not all guys in the late first round project to be NBA starters.  Some/lots aren’t even in the league after a few years.

With point guards going the way of NFL running backs (beaten up NIGHTLY, less durable, above average depth across the league), why not stockpile a couple (or three) solid point guards on every roster?

D Rose and Conley are banged up this year.  Point guard questions will drastically affect both team’s upside/downside.

Even Steph Curry is banged up a bit right now.

Russ is doing well this year, but he has been banged up and injured in the past.

Your team can live without a true small forward or even a true 4, BUT if you don’t have one legit point guard on your roster, YOU’RE SUNK.

Teams NEED point guard depth, possibly now more than ever.

It MIGHT be even more important that backup center.

I actually think there are more solid backup center types right now than solid backup point guards.

You obviously don’t look to build a team around a backup point guard but other than your Core, your 6th man, some 3 and D wings off the bench, and a few extra bigs, you need to look at point guard depth.

So, after guys who project as core players off the board (10 to 15 guys tops?) then you start to fill in other needs.  Namely, depth.  I would argue that from about 20 to 30 a team should STRONGLY look at going after 6th men types.  Guys who can maybe not move the needle with the starting rotation, but do a good job moving the needle off the bench against the other team’s backups.

Now, if you are a team that has a first rounder aUnd a second rounder in this year’s draft, and you absolutely lack a backup point guard, AND you don’t even LOOK at drafting a point guard then you are pretty dumb.

After about 20 in this draft, not a whole lot of names excite me.  Perry Ellis?  Does nothing for me.  Tyler Ulis is a guy who you can understand.  Or a stick figure shooter like Kyle Wiltjer.  You know what he (supposedly) does.  You know he is limited and will probably be a deep bench guy at best.  But, he at least gives you ONE THING.  Ulis is kind of like that.  He gives you ONE THING.  Which is pretty important if you don’t have it.

I am not even sure that a good 3 and D guy falls past 20 or 25.  Those guys are valuable now.  I doubt you can get a good value on a 3 and D guy now.  Athletic stretch four’s are probably a bit overvalued.  A guy like Skal who has pretty much showed close to nothing this year is still in the 1st round (or even late lotto) conversation.  

You can still draft for VALUE if you focus on backup point guard types (like Ulis) and backup shot blocker types (like the Big Anteater guy or Amida Brimah at 6’10, or Tacko Fall if he comes out and falls in the draft).

Now, we know that Ulis can run a team pretty well.  I actually thought Kentucky should have used him more last year.

BUT, if the guy can show some flashes as a decent scorer off the bench, then that would help him, too.  

Probably the third best value in the draft now would be a legit combo scoring guard off the bench.  These kind of guys do some 6th man type scoring, and can ALSO handle the ball.  

This is the year where point guard play/health/depth could really shape the NBA title chase.  The only thing in the way of a Warriors repeat is Steph’s shins.  Cleveland will only go as far as Kyrie Irving takes them.  I don’t think they can win the title without a healthy Kyrie.  The Bulls’ upside is limited if D Rose goes out of commission.  The Thunder obviously need Westbrook at 100% if they want to win a title.  The Spurs would also prefer that their top point guard options (Tony Parker and Patty Mills) are healthy going into the playoffs.

Point guard play matters.

At worst, Ulis projects as NBA point guard depth.  At best, he can probably fill in every now and then as a starting point guard.  You might not be able to do much more than that in the late first round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ChrispyParticipant]

I can see him having a Darren Collison-esque career. Backup PG, good change of pace player who moves the ball up the court ahead of the play, and simply comeptes. That is worth a late 1st/early 2nd in my book. Agree with everything Memphis said above. 

[ChrispyParticipant]

I can see him having a Darren Collison-esque career. Backup PG, good change of pace player who moves the ball up the court ahead of the play, and simply comeptes. That is worth a late 1st/early 2nd in my book. Agree with everything Memphis said above. 

[GBeeParticipant]

 Slightly off topic, but on the sneak Yogi Ferrell is having a fantastic season.  If a team needs a back up point and the only thing stopping them from drafting Ulis is his height then they should probably look at Yogi, who IMO has a similar game. Pesky defense, floor generalship, quickness, plus slightly better size and better shooting.  If he stays shooting at this rate, this will be his 3rd year in a row shooting > 40% from 3.

[GBeeParticipant]

 Slightly off topic, but on the sneak Yogi Ferrell is having a fantastic season.  If a team needs a back up point and the only thing stopping them from drafting Ulis is his height then they should probably look at Yogi, who IMO has a similar game. Pesky defense, floor generalship, quickness, plus slightly better size and better shooting.  If he stays shooting at this rate, this will be his 3rd year in a row shooting > 40% from 3.

[Author]

Posts