Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part I

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I like Olynyk's skills but he looks painfully slow and deliberate to me.

+1

I'm not crazy about him. If you ask me McDermott is much better than Olynyk, whose main attribute is "tall".

[Benjammin]

It's like some players are mobile on offense and immobile on defense. They're athletic when it comes to scoring and stiff when it comes to defending. It's a conundrum.

Bing, bing, bing! Jamison was like that. I always found it funny that Jamison was either incapable of bending down to get a loose ball or simply unwilling to do so.

[Dark Faze]

Eh, a vast majority of NBA PF's are bad defenders. Athleticism alone doesn't mean you can defend the PNR well, imo lateral speed is way overrated in regards to that, its more important to put your body in the right place--which is 90% of PNR defense. Case in point is Javale McGee.

I'm just hesitant on passing on a guy with advanced stats that are that good. I'm not saying to take him with our pick, but I'd think about acquiring him if we had another lottery selection.

[Ruzious]

Interesting observations, Ruz. DX's describes him as having "excellent mobility" and says he moves his feet well for his size. But then says he lacks lateral quickness.

It'll be interesting to see what his combine numbers look like.

When I add in the age adjustment, he drops a few spots. Still a good YODA rating, though.

I think the DX scout was attempting to say that Olynyk moves well in transition. He can keep up and get to the rim on a fast break. However, he does not have the kind of lateral quickness needed to defend pick and roll. Olynyk does not hedge and recover well. He is a good offensive player but he's going to be a liability on defense. He doesn't play the passing lanes well or block shots well. So, he runs fast enough but he's not very agile or quick.

I wonder if he's just more motivated on offense when it comes to scoring? A lot of guys don't move well until somebody passes them the ball.

Yeah, I think there's something to that. A switch goes on - it's like your comfort zone is triggered, and your muscles relax - making you able to do things easier. But the switch goes off when you have to do things that you're not comfortable doing - you get tense, and it gets harder to move fluidly. There's also a defensive and offensive mindset. Offense requires aggression. Defense requires reaction. And there's also first step quickness - like the kind a third baseman needs - and multiple step quickness you look for in a shortstop.

[Nivek]

Yeah, I've known and seen a lot of guys who ran downhill to offense and uphill to defense. No idea whether Olynyk is one of those guys. I'll get a chance to see him play at some point, I'm sure.

[popper]

What about Erick Green as a combo guard with one of our second round picks? Also DX has Porter as the 15th selection which sounds ridiculous to me as I think he goes 4-7. Am I crazy?

[popper]

It's interesting when I look at potential centers on the draft boards a common denominator is "lack of post moves" ..... lack of "back to basket moves". Why is this so difficult for big men? It would seem to me you (1) get in position down low (2) prepare to execute a set pattern of necessary footwork (3) execute footwork and (4) fling the ball at the basket. I know I'm oversimplifying this but shouldn't they be learning 3 or 4 basic post moves in high school?

[Ruzious]

Another really impressive game from Miami's improving sophomore Shane Larkin (son of Gary). Unfortunately, he's small, but he's becoming a special player with a great feel for making the right plays.

[Severn Hoos]

Ruz, does Barry know about that? I think he might be upset to find out, especially on a message board like this.

Actually, it was a very impressive game. And he killed my Cavaliers last week. I wouldn't expect him to come out now (not as if he's a "hardship" case, as they used to call it in the old days), maybe next year. But if he did, he'd probably be a mid- to late 1st rounder. And I'd absolutely do whatever it took to move up to get him.

[Ruzious]

Barry won't mind if he's a Far Side fan. It's a mix of Gary Larson and Barry Larkin. No?

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Ok, I really hope we get Otto Porter. 2OT win over UConn, Porter was again outstanding! Throughout the game, making plays, defending, getting steals, going for loose balls, playing smart & picking his spots with precision.

He's got it all, the total package. The mentality to lead in a way that promotes "team" like a Tim Duncan, at one point he made a hook shot over a defender in the low post the announcer referred to as Hakeem Olajuwan-esq. Down the stretch he drops an NBA 3, then follows that with a drive splitting 2 defenders for the game winning shot.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Another really impressive game from Miami's improving sophomore Shane Larkin (son of Gary). Unfortunately, he's small, but he's becoming a special player with a great feel for making the right plays.

Larkin is the quickest player I've seen play live. They played over here for a Christmas Tourney. Larkin has unbelievable anticipation and quickness.

He's very tiny or else he would be a lock 1st round pick.

[Dr Positivity]

It's interesting when I look at potential centers on the draft boards a common denominator is "lack of post moves" ..... lack of "back to basket moves". Why is this so difficult for big men? It would seem to me you (1) get in position down low (2) prepare to execute a set pattern of necessary footwork (3) execute footwork and (4) fling the ball at the basket. I know I'm oversimplifying this but shouldn't they be learning 3 or 4 basic post moves in high school?

I think part of it is post play requires multiple skills. Establishing position, the moves and countermoves, dbribbling, touch to finish. Just missing it in one area screws the all of the player's post potential.

I also believe you almost need a high feel for the game to be a post player. You don't see hatchet players aesthetically posting up, it's the smooth and controlled ones. So plus strength, feel and touch is needed before the moves are added. It ends up like wing defense where the athletic or IQ tools have to be there for a player to have a shot at standing out

Finally even the no post play bigs, probably kick ass in the post against regular people. It's like the players where shooting and handling are weaknesses. In reality they're probably damn good at shooting and handling, just not all world good at it which is what it takes to be plus in a skill in the NBA

[nate33]

Ok, I really hope we get Otto Porter. 2OT win over UConn, Porter was again outstanding! Throughout the game, making plays, defending, getting steals, going for loose balls, playing smart & picking his spots with precision.

He's got it all, the total package. The mentality to lead in a way that promotes "team" like a Tim Duncan, at one point he made a hook shot over a defender in the low post the announcer referred to as Hakeem Olajuwan-esq. Down the stretch he drops an NBA 3, then follows that with a drive splitting 2 defenders for the game winning shot.

He needs to stop playing so well. I want him to be available if we get stuck picking 8th or so.

[Upper Decker]

That ship has sailed, Nate. He's going top 5 for sure, perhaps top 3. Wiz need to address PG more than SF in the draft anyways.

[tontoz]

That ship has sailed, Nate. He's going top 5 for sure, perhaps top 3. Wiz need to address PG more than SF in the draft anyways.

The Wizards have the 3rd worst record and Wall seems keen to keep the tank on track.

[nate33]

That ship has sailed, Nate. He's going top 5 for sure, perhaps top 3. Wiz need to address PG more than SF in the draft anyways.

You may be right. But for now, Draft Express has him 15th. NBAdraft.net has him at #7. Hoopsworld has him at #17. SportingNews has him #3. CBSSports has him at #8.

Overall, I think we will be in fairly good shape if we pick anywhere in the top 7 or so. I figure Zeller, McLemore, Smart definitely go in the top 7. At at least one or two among Lin, Shabazz and Bennett go in the top 7. I don't want any of them. That'll leave at least one of Noel, Porter or Oladipo available at #8. Those are the guys I want.

And we're probably going to pick 5th or 6th, not 8th.

The guy I really want at PG is Trey Burke. If he's available in the teens, we need to move heaven and earth to acquire a mid-first round pick and draft him.

[Ruzious]

That ship has sailed, Nate. He's going top 5 for sure, perhaps top 3. Wiz need to address PG more than SF in the draft anyways.

You may be right. But for now, Draft Express has him 15th. NBAdraft.net has him at #7. Hoopsworld has him at #17. SportingNews has him #3. CBSSports has him at #8.

Overall, I think we will be in fairly good shape if we pick anywhere in the top 7 or so. I figure Zeller, McLemore, Smart definitely go in the top 7. At at least one or two among Lin, Shabazz and Bennett go in the top 7. I don't want any of them. That'll leave at least one of Noel, Porter or Oladipo available at #8. Those are the guys I want.

And we're probably going to pick 5th or 6th, not 8th.

The guy I really want at PG is Trey Burke. If he's available in the teens, we need to move heaven and earth to acquire a mid-first round pick and draft him.

Yup, even if it means trading a future 1st.

I think Noel still goes #1, but there will be a very good front court player available with the Wiz pick. Bennett is still worth seeing how he does in measurements (particularly standing reach) and even how he impresses teams in workouts. He's a compelling talent - though I wonder if he's injured - based on his stats from the last 2 games.

[Jay81]

we may need to draft a starting point guard

[tontoz]

Yup, even if it means trading a future 1st.

I think Noel still goes #1, but there will be a very good front court player available with the Wiz pick. Bennett is still worth seeing how he does in measurements (particularly standing reach) and even how he impresses teams in workouts. He's a compelling talent - though I wonder if he's injured - based on his stats from the last 2 games.

He has a shoulder injury which has apparently been bothering him for awhile.