With young talent at every position, it's impossible to know what this FO is going to do in the upcoming draft. They have shown a willingness to be aggressive & move up for a player (Burke & Gobert), as well as a willingness to stand pat & draft BPA (Exum & Hood). They've shown a willingness to draft more polished/NBA-ready prospects at positions of need (Burke & Hood), as well as a willingness to draft based on upside/potential even at positions that weren't necessarily considered needs at the time (Gobert & Exum). It's this willingness to adapt philosophies that makes it extremely difficult to predict what they are going to do come draft time. The one consistent trait in those picks is value. Burke, Exum, & Hood were all expected to be selected earlier than they were, as was Gobert (although more so in the eyes of the FO than the rest of the league).
DL said that our biggest need heading into this off-season was shooting & that our biggest priority was to improve without disrupting team chemistry (or something along those lines). It has also been stated (I'm not sure by who) that we have identified three tiers in this draft (totalling 16 players) which seems to indicate that we are comfortable moving up, down, or not at all. Based on recent drafts & statements, it seems like the qualities that we will prioritize in potential draftees are:
(In no specific order)
-Longterm potential
-Character/work ethic/motor
-Potential to develop a consistent 3 pt shot
-Potential to develop into a two-way player (at least average on both sides of the ball)
The last quality is the reason I am somewhat skeptical of our level of interest in Kaminsky (as well as Porzingis to some extent), although I believe they would be willing to make an exception (in both cases) due to their desire to add shooting (especially from a big), as well as their need for a backup C (in the case of Kaminsky). It is also the reason that I believe Booker is at the top of their third tier (or possibly even in the second tier), as his times & measurements seem to indicate that he should become an average defender at minimum. This is also the reason I believe that they may prefer Turner out of the non-1st tier bigs, as well as the reason I believe they covet players such as Hezonja, Winslow, & Johnson.
It will be interesting to see what they do in the draft as it will be a good indicator of how they will approach the rest of the off-season. The only things that seem certain as far as their philosophy come draft night is that they will be opportunistic (if possible), extract what they view as the most amount of value out of the pick(s), prioritize the long-term, & heavily weigh character (& it's potential impact on team chemistry).
