The official 2016 NBA Wizfans draft thread

[Dat2U]

There was an idea thrown out about some our folks on board working together to put a consensus list of prospects for the 2016 draft. Specifically considering how the board has historically out performed Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld (and IMO, quite of few other NBA GMs) in terms of figuring out who to draft and who to avoid at all costs (cough, Vesley), it sounds like a real good idea to put a concerted group effort together to see what we could truly come up with.

I'm completely open to ideas of regarding how to do this. I like the idea of creating a profile for every player we can find video or a scouting report on. Getting as much information as possible to build a profile for each prospect. Then adding in a stats-based element as we get into the meat of the college season. What that profile contains is up for debate. Analyzing their offensive & defensive tools and applying them to different NBA situations? Physical Tools? Mental Tools - how do you measure that other than visual observation? - however it's not something that can be overlooked. Performance (statistics). Work Ethic - something that's even tougher to judge but even NBA teams/scouts struggle with this. However it's usually the difference b/w someone that flames out and one that has a long career. Just thinking out loud here.

The scuttlebutt regarding the 2016 draft is that it's pretty weak, mainly because the 2015-16 college freshman class is regarded as being weak. I know very little outside of Ben Simmons who I've seen a couple of times. Ben is a stud, a consistent jump shot away from being LeBron'ish in his overall ability. Taller, maybe even quicker than the 18 year old LeBron but he is not the unstoppable freight train he is either. He appears just as good off the dribble but at this stage he takes more risks as a passer.

[TheSecretWeapon]

I'm happy to work on the stat side. My approach is pretty labor intensive, but I could update seniors and top underclassmen during the season.

[nate33]

I think it's a great idea. Probably the best way to handle it is to create a thread on the Draft Board for each of the top 25 players. Posters from other boards would probably contribute, and they can either be included or ignored.

Over here, we can elect a panel of, say, 5 draft gurus to hash out a mock draft. They could be their own dedicated thread on the Wizards Board where the 5 gurus discuss their opinions and put together a ranking.

[Ruzious]

I'll be glad to help - more on the visual observations side.

My 1st glance of the draft (which will almost certanly change) - It will be very good through the lottery and then fall off a cliff. As always, watch everyone on Kentucky - and MD has a Diamond or 2.

[FAH1223]

I'll be glad to help - more on the visual observations side.

My 1st glance of the draft (which will almost certanly change) - It will be very good through the lottery and then fall off a cliff. As always, watch everyone on Kentucky - and MD has a Diamond or 2.

I see what you did there.

[fishercob]

I'll help with the laughter from the peanut gallery when Ernie trades the pick after you guys have worked on this for 6 months.

Also, some dick jokes.

[Severn Hoos]

And I'll be glad to participate, although like Ruz, I can only bring my keen eye for talent, charming wit, and rockin' stache. Oh wait, that's Ernie, not me. I just know what I see, peppered in with a dash of analytics to verify, and plenty of homespun truisms that may or not actually be, in fact, true.

As for next year's draft, I'm somewhere between skeptical and disappointed, as I don't think there's much there, even in the Lottery. And given that the Wiz CLEARLY need to be looking for a young Big (BPA be damned!), there's really not much in the cupboard. Plus, in an even further cruel twist of fate, what Bigs are out there in our projected range are more C than PF - OK as a future replacement for Gortat, but not much help in the short term.

Several of the late 1st / early 2nd Bigs are from France - I think a French-speaking Big would be awesome! We should have tried that before...

So, while I'm not much of a Terp fan, maybe we do need to look for that "Diamond" in the rough. Not exactly a Stretch 4, but at least would be a young Big to mold for the future.

Ultimately, I see a trade coming - doubt we actually make this pick when all is said and done.

[Ruzious]

And I'll be glad to participate, although like Ruz, I can only bring my keen eye for talent, charming wit, and rockin' stache. Oh wait, that's Ernie, not me. I just know what I see, peppered in with a dash of analytics to verify, and plenty of homespun truisms that may or not actually be, in fact, true.

As for next year's draft, I'm somewhere between skeptical and disappointed, as I don't think there's much there, even in the Lottery. And given that the Wiz CLEARLY need to be looking for a young Big (BPA be damned!), there's really not much in the cupboard. Plus, in an even further cruel twist of fate, what Bigs are out there in our projected range are more C than PF - OK as a future replacement for Gortat, but not much help in the short term.

Several of the late 1st / early 2nd Bigs are from France - I think a French-speaking Big would be awesome! We should have tried that before...

So, while I'm not much of a Terp fan, maybe we do need to look for that "Diamond" in the rough. Not exactly a Stretch 4, but at least would be a young Big to mold for the future.

Ultimately, I see a trade coming - doubt we actually make this pick when all is said and done.

Yeah, we need a scout covering France to know whether a prospect is the next Capella or the next Seraphin.

Btw, MD might have a diamond in the rough not named Stone - with "polished" skills. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/robert-carter-jr-could-be-the-x-factor-of-maryland-basketballs-title-hopes/2015/06/29/43c1f3fe-19a8-11e5-93b7-5eddc056ad8a_story.html

[stevemcqueen1]

I've heard this year's class is supposed to be bad too, but I doubt it'll be worse than 2013.

Sometimes a class can end up being a lot better than it was billed going into the college season. 2012 and 2015 were both like that.