'14 Draft Thread - Parker Declares. List your top 4

[mlloyd10]

I actually think Parker fits well between Giannis and Sanders, due to Giannis' unselfishness, and Sanders defense/lack of needing shots. That isn't to say I'd take him #1, but a Giannis/Parker forward combination is interesting offensively. Giannis can guard the better offensive player between SF/PF.

The only thing wrong with this thinking is he's not strong enough yet(maybe never)
West Playoff Teams
Memphis. Giannis cant guard Z-Bo.
Dallas. Giannis cant guard Dirk
LAC. Giannis cant guard Blake
Spurs. Giannis cant guard Duncan
Warriors. Giannis maybe can guard Lee.
Blazers. Giannis cant guard Aldridge
Rockets. Giannis maybe can guard Jones.
Thunder. Giannis maybe can guard Durant.(not good though)

East Playoff Teams
Hawks. Giannis cant guard Millsap.
Pacers. Giannis can guard George.
Bulls. Giannis cant guard Boozer.
Wizards. Giannis cant guard Nene.
Bobcats. Giannis can guard ??.
Heat. Giannis cant guard Jmaes.
Nets. Giannis can guard Pierce.
Raptors. Giannis can guard Demar.

Why can't Giannis guard dirk? or many of the other people on that list. Especially since many of them are declining and Giannis is only going to get bigger and stronger.

Pure size.....and we hope that Giannis gets bigger and stronger.

[White+Purple]

Need to read what he wrote. He said that Giannis can guard the better offensive player....And Parker is the worst defensive prospect of the 4 coming out.

Yeah. I'm not a Parker fan at all, but they DO mesh nicely together.

I think it's mainly due to Giannis' upside rather than Parker's to be honest.

[mlloyd10]

And that's why i truly believe that Parker will be Tobias 2.0 (nothing wrong with that) but not #1 overall. If we drop to 3-4, i'll take him then

[LUKE23]

He'll be a better scorer than Tobias, although I see some similarities. I do think Parker is a better athlete as well.

[LedZepp007]

Parker is already higher than Tobes' ceiling IMO. Sorry Tobias fans.

[emunney]

I am dreading my anxiety level at the moment they announce "And the 4th pick in the 2014 NBA draft goes to..."

Except if the bucks are getting the 4th pick you'll know it before they say it because 3 teams will be missing.

Not if any of the 2-3-4 teams get a top 3 pick.

[emunney]

I actually think Parker fits well between Giannis and Sanders, due to Giannis' unselfishness, and Sanders defense/lack of needing shots. That isn't to say I'd take him #1, but a Giannis/Parker forward combination is interesting offensively. Giannis can guard the better offensive player between SF/PF.

The only thing wrong with this thinking is he's not strong enough yet(maybe never)
West Playoff Teams
Memphis. Giannis cant guard Z-Bo.
Dallas. Giannis cant guard Dirk
LAC. Giannis cant guard Blake
Spurs. Giannis cant guard Duncan
Warriors. Giannis maybe can guard Lee.
Blazers. Giannis cant guard Aldridge
Rockets. Giannis maybe can guard Jones.
Thunder. Giannis maybe can guard Durant.(not good though)

East Playoff Teams
Hawks. Giannis cant guard Millsap.
Pacers. Giannis can guard George.
Bulls. Giannis cant guard Boozer.
Wizards. Giannis cant guard Nene.
Bobcats. Giannis can guard ??.
Heat. Giannis cant guard Jmaes.
Nets. Giannis can guard Pierce.
Raptors. Giannis can guard Demar.

Why can't Giannis guard dirk? or many of the other people on that list. Especially since many of them are declining and Giannis is only going to get bigger and stronger.

Forget that. How are guys like Boozer, Nene, Zach Randolph, and Dirk going to guard Giannis? Or Parker? Giannis can front those first three guys with Larry behind him. If Dirk's hitting his shots, it doesn't matter who's guarding him.

[M-C-G]

Interesting article on "potential"

http://www.canishoopus.com/2014/2/26/54 ... -prospects

Potential as an underlying cognitive trait:

Players who fill up box-scores and show a high level of skill across a variety of traits are often denied access to the ‘high potential' category if they lack impressive athleticism. Just look at how some current NBA stars were viewed entering the league. Draft Express had this to say about Kevin Love in 2008: "... There are serious doubts about how his proficiency will translate to the pro level... there really aren't many players at his height with his lack of athleticism in the pros, and it's tough to guess how high in the draft a team will be willing to take a chance on him." Here are some comments on Marc Gasol "The current leader in efficiency rating in the ACB League, Marc Gasol has built a pretty mistake-free style of game that helps him to emerge as a statistical standout.... How much will Gasol's lack of athleticism get exposed in the NBA? I guess that's the question every single decision maker will be asking himself" before he fell to the second round in 2007. Paul Millsap dropped to the late second round in 2006 in spite of impressive collegiate production. The reason for Millsap's drop is likely captured in NBADraft.net's lowly 7/10, 5/10. And 7/10 ratings for athleticism, size, and potential. Stephen Curry and James Harden both earned a "limited upside?" flag from Draft Express; Curry due to his "frail frame" and "average athleticism, lateral quickness, and wingspan", Harden due to his "average size and athleticism." These are all players I would put on the far right of the ‘raw' to ‘skilled' continuum, yet they moved along faster growth trajectories in the pros than any of their peers. Those growth trajectories are exactly what the concept of potential is supposed to be measuring.

[M-C-G]

Interesting take away about steals, blocks and rebounding

These traits are something a player either has or does not have. Do not expect a prospect who cannot block, steal, or board to figure out how once he enters the NBA (not that this never happens of course). Instead, these traits should be viewed as a part of the baseline a player has to work from, much as height and leaping ability are popularly understood.

[Newz]

The idea that Parker's athletic ability is going to stop him from being a star is, IMO, false. I do think it's fair to say he will never be an elite defensive player and thus will never be a true impact player on both ends... much like Kevin Love, James Harden and Steph Curry are not. But he could be those guys and if he is, then he'd be a good pick. Odds are that he will struggle mightily on the defense end to start and even as he improves, average is probably his upside on D.

But the article names a bunch of guys with limited athletic ability that turned out to be very good players, while ignoring a lot of guys who lacked athletic ability that were total scrubs or turned out to be role players as well.

I wouldn't mind Parker in the 4-8 range. I just wouldn't take him over some of the other guys available because I think that guys like Embiid and Wiggins could be even better than guys like Love, Curry and Harden if they hit their upsides. They could be true two-way impact players and those are very, very rare.

[ReasonablySober]

Is Parker the next Melo?

I missed this last month. Sorry if it's been posted.

Interesting stuff and worth a read.

[LUKE23]

I'm sticking to my "between Big Dog and Melo in production and a better teammate/chemistry guy than both" prediction for Parker.

[mlloyd10]

I'm sticking to my "between Big Dog and Melo in production and a better teammate/chemistry guy than both" prediction for Parker.

And the only thing wrong with that is neither guy was able to carry his team alone. That's my fear.

[mcfromage]

Is Parker the next Melo?

I missed this last month. Sorry if it's been posted.

Interesting stuff and worth a read.

Great read. This dude appears to be an impressive analyst. His Wiggins criticisms should have us all worried.

[LUKE23]

Melo has been the top guy on multiple 50 win teams, but I agree he's not a guy that guarantees anything beyond that.

[mcfromage]

http://deanondraft.com/2014/03/24/ncaa- ... d-fallers/

Andrew Wiggins: Wiggins likely hurt his stock more than anybody else in the tourney. He simply had the worst stat line of any expected 1st rounder en route to his team getting upset. 4 pts 1-6 FG 4 rebs 2 assists 4 TOV’s is not what people want to see out of a top 3 pick. Stanford did a great job of getting back in transition and showing a variety of defensive looks to take away Wiggins’ driving ability, and Wiggins predictably disappeared. If anybody has wondered why I have been harping on his half-court splits and poor skill level so loudly this is why. Wiggins leans heavily on transition opportunities and free throws to get his points, and those both translate poorly to higher level of defenses. Once Stanford took those away, Wiggins was relegated to an OK but not great jump shooter, and Kansas finished with just 57 points on 67 possessions in the loss.

Aside from his deficiencies being on full display, this also dispels the notion that he suddenly discovered how to fulfill his potential around the West Virginia game. Further, Kansas struggled mightily without Joel Embiid. They blew out hapless TCU and mediocre Texas Tech at home, but those were their only good performances without their starting center. They lost @ West Virginia by 6 as 5.5 pt faves, they needed OT beat a banged up + tired Oklahoma State team as 3 pt faves, they lost by 11 to Iowa State as 5 point faves, they struggled a large portion of the Eastern Kentucky game and only won by 11 as 13 pt faves, and they lost to Stanford by 3 as 6.5 pt faves. Overall they went 1-3 against KenPom top 70 teams in spite of being clear faves in all 4 games, with the sole win coming in overtime. Joel Embiid was comfortably the best player on that team, and his team’s performance without him helps cement that notion.

[Max Green]

I'm sticking to my "between Big Dog and Melo in production and a better teammate/chemistry guy than both" prediction for Parker.

And the only thing wrong with that is neither guy was able to carry his team alone. That's my fear.

Other then Lebron, Chris Paul and KD, there is nobody else in the league who can carry their team alone.

[DanoMac]

I am dreading my anxiety level at the moment they announce "And the 4th pick in the 2014 NBA draft goes to..."

This so much. If it's not us at 4, the commercial break before they announce the top 3 is going to be grueling.

[paulpressey25]

You realize that Giannis isn't comparable to those two

Which two are you talking about. I was equating Giannis with Harden and Curry, as two guys who didn't do much as rookies versus Jennings and Tyreke, who exploded as rookies but then actually regressed.

[DanoMac]

I am dreading my anxiety level at the moment they announce "And the 4th pick in the 2014 NBA draft goes to..."

Except if the bucks are getting the 4th pick you'll know it before they say it because 3 teams will be missing.

So for us to get 4, 3 teams from 4-14 would have to jump us?