Official Draft Thread Part 2

[Jamaaliver]

What guy would you give up the 2 picks for to trade up?

Nerleans Noel
Ben McLemore
Otto Porter
Alex Len
Victor Oladipo
Trey Burke
Cody Zeller
Kentavious Caldwell Pope ?
Steven Adams ?

Not sure if Pope and Adams are worth 2nd pick to move up, but is their anybody i'm missing?

Shabazz Muhammad looks like he is going to be the Perry Jones of this draft.

McLemore
Len
Burke
KCP
Oladipo

I think these are the top players in the draft who could have serious impact on a franchise.

[mattlanta]

I'd love for us to take a shot at Giannis Adetokunbo with one of our 2 first round draft picks (if he is there). You'd be hard pressed to find more upside/potential than in Adetokunbo at that point of the draft... And with our second first round pick, I'd like us to grab a big man. Someone that can contribute right away like a Gorgui Dieng.

I honestly wouldn't mind some of these other euro prospects like Karasev... Although he seems an awful lot like a pure shooter, and I think we have one of those in Jenkins already... Or Gobert... But from what I've seen and read, he may need some more experience abroad for him to develop a bit more and like I said, I'd just rather draft a big man that can really contribute right away considering how bare our roster is already (and God knows how difficult it is to find big men in the free agency).

[ATL Boy]

I'd love for us to take a shot at Giannis Adetokunbo with one of our 2 first round draft picks (if he is there). You'd be hard pressed to find more upside/potential than in Adetokunbo at that point of the draft... And with our second first round pick, I'd like us to grab a big man. Someone that can contribute right away like a Gorgui Dieng.

I honestly wouldn't mind some of these other euro prospects like Karasev... Although he seems an awful lot like a pure shooter, and I think we have one of those in Jenkins already... Or Gobert... But from what I've seen and read, he may need some more experience abroad for him to develop a bit more and like I said, I'd just rather draft a big man that can really contribute right away considering how bare our roster is already (and God knows how difficult it is to find big men in the free agency).

100% agreed. I think we have to take a shot at Giannis, he could be just what this franchise needs. Then I think Gorgui would be a great pick at 18. Although if we know for sure that Dwight would come (somehow) then we should get Gobert.

[mattlanta]

In the case that we believe we have a big shot at landing CP3 & Dwight... I don't think Nogueira will be there when we draft, but if he is, I think the perfect case scenario would be to go with Adetokunbo and Nogueira as they both have a great deal of upside and potential and would still be eligible to be "stashed away" in the case that we land those 2 big FA's.

[Jamaaliver]

In the case that we believe we have a big shot at landing CP3 & Dwight...I think the perfect case scenario would be to go with Adetokunbo and Nogueira as they both have a great deal of upside and potential and would still be eligible to be "stashed away" in the case that we land those 2 big FA's.

That's an awful lot of not contributing for the next couple of years from those two. My fear is that we could have a championship level team, but zero output from an entire draft class for years.

If I knew D12 and CP3 were coming, I'd be drafting immediate contributors who fit we'll next to those guys today! Like Dieng, Bullock, Karasev, Franklin.

[mattlanta]

In the case that we believe we have a big shot at landing CP3 & Dwight...I think the perfect case scenario would be to go with Adetokunbo and Nogueira as they both have a great deal of upside and potential and would still be eligible to be "stashed away" in the case that we land those 2 big FA's.

That's an awful lot of not contributing for the next couple of years from those two. My fear is that we could have a championship level team, but zero output from an entire draft class for years.

If I knew D12 and CP3 were coming, I'd be drafting immediate contributors who fit we'll next to those guys today! Like Dieng, Bullock, Karasev, Franklin.

The idea in having players who can potentially stay overseas for a year or two is to free up more cap space to sign those 2.

[Jamaaliver]

In the case that we believe we have a big shot at landing CP3 & Dwight...I think the perfect case scenario would be to go with Adetokunbo and Nogueira as they both have a great deal of upside and potential and would still be eligible to be "stashed away" in the case that we land those 2 big FA's.

That's an awful lot of not contributing for the next couple of years from those two. My fear is that we could have a championship level team, but zero output from an entire draft class for years.

If I knew D12 and CP3 were coming, I'd be drafting immediate contributors who fit we'll next to those guys today! Like Dieng, Bullock, Karasev, Franklin.

The idea in having players who can potentially stay overseas for a year or two is to free up more cap space to sign those 2.

Understood. But the point of using all our cap space on Dwight and Chris is to win a title...or two...or three.
Seems like a waste to allow valuable assets that could assist in that goal go to waste.

[tcorbin]

#17 and #18 for the #2....?

Magic Working On Trading Down From No. 2

The Orlando Magic are considering trading down out of the second overall slot in the draft, according to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

The Magic are studying players that are projected to be selected late in the lottery and the middle of the first round.

The Magic are expected to select Nerlens Noel if the Cleveland Cavaliers don't pick him with the first overall pick.

Robbins reports that the Minnesota Timberwolves could be a trade partner.

The Hawks don't have a lottery pick. I don't know if the Magic would take it into consideration. I'm starting to think that GMs don't see that much of a gap between guys like Nerlens Noel, Cody Zeller, Alex Len, and guys like Steven Adams, Gorgui Dieng, and Allen Crabbe

[Jamaaliver]

Olynyk in ATL today for a workout. Jeff Withey also reported as a part of the workout.

I prefer Dieng to Olynyk but either big could be a valuable piece going forward.

[parson]

Olynyk in ATL today for a workout. Jeff Withey also reported as a part of the workout.

I prefer Dieng to Olynyk but either big could be a valuable piece going forward.

Interesting. Don't know if we're looking at Olynyk or Withey. We could be trying to see if Withey can move laterally well enough to defend a talented and quick big man.

[Jamaaliver]

Olynyk in ATL today for a workout. Jeff Withey also reported as a part of the workout.

I prefer Dieng to Olynyk but either big could be a valuable piece going forward.

Interesting. Don't know if we're looking at Olynyk or Withey. We could be trying to see if Withey can move laterally well enough to defend a talented and quick big man.

If only we could combine them into one player!!!

One with Withey's offense and Olynyk's defense....wait.
We could call him:

Mason Plumlee.

[GrimeyKidd]

3 picks!

[tcorbin]

It's being reported that Karasev has received a promise in the 1st round - likely in the 14-24 range (RealGM Excerpt From Woj on Front Page). I don't think that team would be us unless we decided that trade up scenarios just didn't work out for us or that it became clear that we couldn't use both 1sts to trade up.

I don't see any connecting the dots between 2 international players (Karasev and Schroeder) being promised in our area though. International players have leverage in that they can pull out of the draft much easier than NCAA prospects so NBA teams that like a player would need to go ahead and promise him to ensure he stays in the draft. In fact, another International (Giannis) also is rumored to have a promise although I'd guess his would be a little further down the list than our area. If one team promised both, then I'd guess it'd be more coincidence than anything substantive. Still, IF someone did promise both, it's more likely to be UTH instead of us. I just can't see us promising a PG and a wing with so many Cs littering our area - you just never know how the draft boards will fall on D-Day to predict which one would actually be available.

If Ferry is planning to max out the team's cap with super star players, i can see him using both draft pick on international players so that he doesn't have to pay them this year. let them stay over seas for a year or two, and then bring them over. it could be a good move, because rookies never contribute on a championship team.

The problem there is that, once the pick is exercised, then you have the cap hold in your pursuit of FAs so you're not really saving any money when it matters. If we're using our cap room to land a championship team, then the picks would be cheap talent to compete with vet mini types for rotational minutes. I can't see how that competition would make us a worse team.

The "rookie don't contribute to championship teams" is overblown. The fact is that a rookie who is good enough to contribute immediately to a championship team is generally drafted higher than a championship team would be selecting. If you change the selection bias to teams that were playoffs team that somehow had a high draft pick, then we'll see more teams that had contributions from rookies. For example, Magic Johnson did well in the 1st 5 games of the NBA Finals before dropping 42 in the title clincher his rookie year against Dr. J and the 6'ers (IIRC, he also started at C in that game due to an injury to Abdul-Jabbar). The only recent example that pops to mind of players who'd fit this selection bias would be DET's selection of Darko, but Darko was a bust. I'd think that Melo, Bosh, or Wade would still have found a significant role on the team - they actually had a very short rotation that could have use the breather another body would have provided.

Ferry just did it, i called it. he selected two international players in the first round.

[Years80HAWKS]

Both players can stay overseas or come here and contribute. While the guard is a much more done player, Nogueira still lacks a lot of things to play in the L, although his improvement from last season has been amazing. He has played consistently in our Spanish ACB in a small club.

Now let's see whether we take the braves's road to greatness, or we try to go our way and build a team with some pieces not so much known.

Louis seems to be recovering in a good way, as per Ferry's words.

[ATL Boy]

Great picks imo taking a player with Star potential and another player with Dikembe Mutombo potential.

Another successful draft thread. You can unsticky this if you want mods, I'll make a part 3 draft thread after FA so that this one doesn't get too clogged