2014 Draft Thread

[thamadkant]

- Henzonja
- Poytress
- Walker
- Young

[Revived]

I think we need to start paying attention to the Harrison twins. I'd bet my left nut that we get at least one of them.

[jcsunsfan]

With the depth of talent on teams like Kansas and Kentucky, there will be some very good players riding the pine who might come out. This is where good scouts earn their money.

[bwgood77]

If we somehow end up with Gordon with our own pick, he's looking like he could probably play the 3 too, and would be big enough to guard guys like LeBron and Durant. Next year a lineup of Bledsoe/Dragic/Gordon/Morris and Plumlee would be nice and in the future, possibly put Goodwin and Len in there instead of Dragic and Plumlee.

A good article about Gordon... http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... p-freshmen

At 6-9, 225 pounds, he looks like a power forward. But he doesn’t play like one.

Gordon has been likened to NBA All-Star Blake Griffin for his ferocious dunks -- and probably based on his complexion, too. But Gordon rejected those comparisons prior to the beginning of his first and only season at the Division I level.

"He’s an incredible player; he’s the No. 1 pick," Gordon told Sporting News in July when asked about the Griffin comparisons. "I can’t be too mad if people are comparing me to a No. 1 pick, but I can play point guard."

Point guard? That sounded like the type of crazy talk that this generation of LeBron James wannabes often spews, failing to recognize the difference between doing a bunch of things and doing a bunch of things well.

But Gordon, like his game, was serious.

Against the Aztecs, Gordon auditioned his outside-the-box skill set.

He began the game by dribbling into a trap.

He made few mistakes after that.

Gordon, ranked fourth in the 2013 recruiting class by RecruitingNation, dribbled up the floor solo, pushed toward the rim, stopped and scored early. He hit a couple of 3-pointers, too. There was also a jump shot in the lane.

In the first half of the first half, Gordon had scored 12 points and made all five of his field goal attempts. Just 10 minutes into the game, it was clear that Gordon was on a different level than everyone else on the floor.

[PumpyFunk1]

I'm liking this Gordon kid. If he's available when the Suns pick, I take him. If they could pick anyone, I like Parker followed by Randle. Still VERY early and more guy's will pop up and surprise.

[phrazbit]

Aaron Gordon from UofA is slotted in the mid 20's right now according the NBADraft.net. His comparison.......Beasley. His stock will probably rise as the season goes on.

That comparison is a joke. Gordon is a player famed for his non-stop motor and half his value comes as a defender. Other than height and complexion the guy is as far from the Sleaze as could be imagined.

[bwgood77]

I think we need to start paying attention to the Harrison twins. I'd bet my left nut that we get at least one of them.

I kind of doubt it. The higher rated one (Andrew) is a pg, and he looked overrated against Mich St. Aaron may not even go first round. They kind of have crappy attitudes too.

[bwgood77]

Aaron Gordon from UofA is slotted in the mid 20's right now according the NBADraft.net. His comparison.......Beasley. His stock will probably rise as the season goes on.

He is listed #5 on DX.

We need to draft Wang Zhelin with our second round pick.

LOL...should have checked DX. I just thought the comparison was rather comical.

Did you see the very first post of this entire thread?

[thamadkant]

What is Gordon's wingspan and verticals??
If grows to 6'9... You have a PF. Although he thinks he is a SF...
Could be a more athletic Jeff Green.


Poythress reminds me of Stoudemire with his finishing.
If he is 6'9 by draft day he could be a top 10 pick.


James Young could be a sharp shooting SF in the NBA... Suns can definitely use him.

Would love to get Young (SG/SF), Poythress (SF/PF) and Hezonja (SF).
Assuming Suns don't sign a FA SF, that's a nice draft night that fits suns future.
May have to package 2 picks to move up to top 10.


But what to do with the clog in PF?
Markieff and Marcus are either kept or traded for a bigger package.


C: Plumlee / Len
PF: Kieff / Poythress / Marcus
SF: Young / Hezonja / Tucker
SG: Goodwin / Green / Tucker
PG: Bledsoe / Dragic / Smith

[jcsunsfan]

What is Gordon's wingspan and verticals??
If grows to 6'9... You have a PF. Although he thinks he is a SF...
Could be a more athletic Jeff Green.


Poythress reminds me of Stoudemire with his finishing.
If he is 6'9 by draft day he could be a top 10 pick.


James Young could be a sharp shooting SF in the NBA... Suns can definitely use him.

Would love to get Young (SG/SF), Poythress (SF/PF) and Hezonja (SF).
Assuming Suns don't sign a FA SF, that's a nice draft night that fits suns future.
May have to package 2 picks to move up to top 10.


But what to do with the clog in PF?
Markieff and Marcus are either kept or traded for a bigger package.


C: Plumlee / Len
PF: Kieff / Poythress / Marcus
SF: Young / Hezonja / Tucker
SG: Goodwin / Green / Tucker
PG: Bledsoe / Dragic / Smith

Whatever we do, we are going to have a clog of players. If you add 4 first rounders and a potential free agent, this summer could bring in a crowd. I would much rather trade multiple picks for 1 or 2 impact players.

[King4Day]

And you can't simply apply a dishonest tactic to teams that are just bad.

When I say tank, I am always referring to management. Never the players (so that's clear).

With guys like Durant and LeBron in the league, it's necessary to have a star, or else there's little chance to dethrone them.

The reason the Pacers are in the running is because of George, their great size, and depth.

As nice as it is to see Morris and Bledsoe having big starts, these two are not going to lead us to a title. We need this coming draft to steer the franchise in the right direction long term.

Vague and non-specific DH. How exactly does management tank? Please be specific.

The only way I can think of is to intentionally trade good or great players for average or below average players in order to get really bad and improve your draft position. But if trading good players for bad players is how management tanks and tries to become really bad, then that's hard to understand as the league approves every trade. Stern and Sliver saw the Dudley for Butler, Bledsoe trade and didn't deny the trade on grounds of tanking. All player and draft pick movement is vetted and approved by the league, so if any teams' management is tanking then Stern rarely has a problem with it as he doesn't often cancel trades.

The only recent trade I can think of that was cancelled by Stern was the Chris Paul to Lakers trade. He might have thought the Pelicans (Hornets) were trying to tank by not getting enough back in return for CP3 and forced them to seek another trade partner (Clippers). If so it backfired because the Pels landed the number one pick that year and drafted Anthony Davis.

Other than trading good assets for bad assets how else can management tank? Maybe creating chaos during the year by firing the coach, temp hiring some one non qualified to run the team and creating disorganization. That's a pretty bad way to tank as it didn't work for the Suns very well last year yielding only a #5 pick.

All you pro-losing fans should be able to list a lot of ways management tanks, but hardly anybody ever does. It's always a statement that tanking is occurring as if it self evident, but when a burden of proof is asked for the only sound I hear is....

Crickets

I didn't think it needed explanation.

As you stated. Trade your vets who give you the best chance at winning.

Gortat, Scola, Dudley, gone

Before the season, a starting lineup of Green and Plumlee could have gotten someone fired if the goal was to win.
The goal was to develop young talent and I realize that. But to develop talent, it generally means, lots of losses (see Utah).

The other way is, they can influence the coaching staff to play the rookies more or guys like Ish Smith or Slava. They can tell them it's for 'evaluation purposes'. Like anything 'tanking', we'll never know what goes on behind the scenes. It will always be assumptions just like people assume the lottery is/was rigged.

Coaching would be the other way. They are the ones who decide on who gets what minutes. Don't be surprised if Len gets 15-20 minutes a game when he's ready, even if he's struggling. And he should. If our goal is to develop these guys, why waste a year when a championship isn't realistic this season.

Last season when Dragic sat to 'rest', he said he didn't want to. It was done anyway. It happened to be against a team we were battling for a higher lotto pick if I recall correctly.
Gortat supposedly could have returned with a few weeks left in the season but he was shut down.
Maybe they wanted to preserve him long term, maybe they wanted to land a higher pick.


Regarding the Bledsoe trade, I felt we got the better of that deal from the get-go. We all knew Dudley was a role player we no longer had use for.

Regarding the chaos...I think that was just stupidity on Blanks at the time. You could ask him to tank and he'd be on the sidelines dressed like this:

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4951776355484420&pid=1.7

[King4Day]

What is Gordon's wingspan and verticals??
If grows to 6'9... You have a PF. Although he thinks he is a SF...
Could be a more athletic Jeff Green.


Poythress reminds me of Stoudemire with his finishing.
If he is 6'9 by draft day he could be a top 10 pick.


James Young could be a sharp shooting SF in the NBA... Suns can definitely use him.

Would love to get Young (SG/SF), Poythress (SF/PF) and Hezonja (SF).
Assuming Suns don't sign a FA SF, that's a nice draft night that fits suns future.
May have to package 2 picks to move up to top 10.


But what to do with the clog in PF?
Markieff and Marcus are either kept or traded for a bigger package.


C: Plumlee / Len
PF: Kieff / Poythress / Marcus
SF: Young / Hezonja / Tucker
SG: Goodwin / Green / Tucker
PG: Bledsoe / Dragic / Smith

Whatever we do, we are going to have a clog of players. If you add 4 first rounders and a potential free agent, this summer could bring in a crowd. I would much rather trade multiple picks for 1 or 2 impact players.

I think we'll end up trading 2 of our first along with a Morris. Which Morris would depend on if we get Randle or another top PF with our first pick.

[bwgood77]

Wow, Gottlieb, while announcing the AZ/SDSU game just predicted Arizona to win the national championship. Also predicted McDermott to win player of the year. Aaron Gordon looking good, but a ton of players for AZ in foul trouble, and although AZ has been leading by a decent margin the whole game, SDSU is closing the gap near the end. It sounds like he thinks Gordon could be every bit as good as the other big names in the draft.

Also mentioned that the other night Randle did nothing in the first half, and that he blossomed in the second half mostly because he was being guarded by a 6'5 guy because Payne was sitting with foul trouble.

It's too bad the dumb new rules plus incompetent MWC refs limited Gordon/Ashley from truly dominating tonight. Both will have special seasons and probably declare. Hopefully Tarc sticks around.

Cats will probably be a more perimeter oriented team next year. They will be loaded with guards and wings, with McConnell, Nick Johnson as seniors, Gabe York as a junior, Hollis-Jefferson a soph, and new top 10 phenom Stanley Johnson, who signed today as another stud. So yeah, hopefully Tarc and/or Ashley stick around or the Cats will go back to what they usually are (before last year)..a team lacking size...

Though if they make a final four run, I could see the entire frontcourt and Nick Johnson declaring.

About Stanley Johnson...

Five-star wing Stanley Johnson of Southern California announced he will play basketball for Arizona today, boosting the Wildcats toward a third straight powerhouse recruiting class in 2014.

Johnson announced the decision during an ESPN recruiting special today by pulling out a pair of red and blue shoes with the Arizona “A” on the tongues. He wore a dark tie and a wide smile.

“I’m a big sneaker head,” he said. “I love shoes.”

Johnson, who has been targeted by the Arizona staff since his freshman year at Mater Dei High School, chose UA over USC and Kentucky.

Arizona “coaches have been up front with me,” Johnson said. “It was the genuine nature of the coaches and the family feeling. When I was there with my parents they showed me the best.”

While Johnson is a close friend of UA freshman Aaron Gordon, his former teammate on the Oakland Soldiers travel team, he wasn't optimistic the two would play together in Tucson.

"Nah," Johnson said, laughing. "He is probably long gone."

A 6-foot-6 forward from Mater Dei High School who is rated among the Top 10 players in the class of 2014, Johnson made his announcement at an Orange County television studio, where it was relayed on ESPNU’s recruiting special. Three other Top 10 players announced on the show: Cliff Alexander, Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones.

Okafor and Jones chose Duke while Alexander opted for Kansas. Both Okafor and Alexander also considered Arizona earlier in their recruitments.

The Wildcats now have a four-player class so far in 2014, with Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College guard Kadeem Allen, Los Angeles Loyola High School guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright and New Orleans Augustine forward Craig Victor.

Victor signed his letter-of-intent on Wednesday while Allen was scheduled to today. Jackson-Cartwright said he will sign his Saturday.

Arizona coach Sean Miller said earlier this week that he expected to sign “four or five” players in the class of 2014, between the fall and spring signing periods.

The Wildcats have only three scholarships open for 2014-15 as of now but they are bracing for multiple early departures that will open up more scholarships.

Johnson is likely to become the sixth high school all-American that UA coach Sean Miller has signed in the past three recruiting classes, along with Kaleb Tarczewski, Grant Jerrett, Brandon Ashley, Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

http://azstarnet.com/sports/blogs/pasco ... 963f4.html

[JMac1]

Whatever we do, we are going to have a clog of players. If you add 4 first rounders and a potential free agent, this summer could bring in a crowd. I would much rather trade multiple picks for 1 or 2 impact players.

This is exactly what is going to happen. I would bet that we are going to draft someone with or pick, package the others to trade for really good young player if we are a late lottery team. If we are outside the top three in the lottery we could use all of those picks and ours to trade up in the draft maybe from 8-12 to 4-7...It really depend on who is available.

[bwgood77]

Whatever we do, we are going to have a clog of players. If you add 4 first rounders and a potential free agent, this summer could bring in a crowd. I would much rather trade multiple picks for 1 or 2 impact players.

This is exactly what is going to happen. I would bet that we are going to draft someone with or pick, package the others to trade for really good young player if we are a late lottery team. If we are outside the top three in the lottery we could use all of those picks and ours to trade up in the draft maybe from 8-12 to 4-7...It really depend on who is available.

I don't think anyone will trade down (definitely not out of he top 6 or so). We will likely add a bunch of guys like Houston did (for Harden) or Boston (for KG) did and possibly use them to trade for a solid vet. Chances are, at least 1 of the 4 picks will be a bust, and one or two can play in D league or one could be drafted overseas and play there a year before coming over (like Hezonja maybe). There is still a good chance we only have three picks this year anyway.

[JMac1]

Whatever we do, we are going to have a clog of players. If you add 4 first rounders and a potential free agent, this summer could bring in a crowd. I would much rather trade multiple picks for 1 or 2 impact players.

This is exactly what is going to happen. I would bet that we are going to draft someone with or pick, package the others to trade for really good young player if we are a late lottery team. If we are outside the top three in the lottery we could use all of those picks and ours to trade up in the draft maybe from 8-12 to 4-7...It really depend on who is available.

I don't think anyone will trade down (definitely not out of he top 6 or so). We will likely add a bunch of guys like Houston did (for Harden) or Boston (for KG) did and possibly use them to trade for a solid vet. Chances are, at least 1 of the 4 picks will be a bust, and one or two can play in D league or one could be drafted overseas and play there a year before coming over (like Hezonja maybe). There is still a good chance we only have three picks this year anyway.

You wouldn't trade back a from 4-6 for 7-9 and another first? The draft is top heavy with three elite guys then a crap shoot on the other guys whom will all be good at least through the top 8-10

[bwgood77]

This is exactly what is going to happen. I would bet that we are going to draft someone with or pick, package the others to trade for really good young player if we are a late lottery team. If we are outside the top three in the lottery we could use all of those picks and ours to trade up in the draft maybe from 8-12 to 4-7...It really depend on who is available.

I don't think anyone will trade down (definitely not out of he top 6 or so). We will likely add a bunch of guys like Houston did (for Harden) or Boston (for KG) did and possibly use them to trade for a solid vet. Chances are, at least 1 of the 4 picks will be a bust, and one or two can play in D league or one could be drafted overseas and play there a year before coming over (like Hezonja maybe). There is still a good chance we only have three picks this year anyway.

You wouldn't trade back a from 4-6 for 7-9 and another first? The draft is top heavy with three elite guys then a crap shoot on the other guys whom will all be good at least through the top 8-10

There are likely six elite guys (Wiggins, Randle, Parker, Exum, Smart, Gordon) and after that it might drop off quite a bit. Maybe if a team isn't high on Gordon and already has a pg for the future would rather trade down, but that is probably the best bet. And in that case, we already have a pg for the future (unless we wanted to think about drafting Smart or Exum and possibly trade Bledsoe for other assets) or if we were especially high on Gordon (moreso than whoever holds that pick).

Teams just don't generally trade out of the top 5, and in this draft, I would guess that would even be less likely. And if we were going to move up, it would probably cost us the Wiz pick (assuming it is mid teens) and our own pick...we wouldn't be able to do it with a pick in the 20s. We could possibly trade like the 11th and 16th pick to move up to 8 or 9 if we wanted.

[Revived]

I don't think Gordon is quite an "elite" prospect just yet.

[bwgood77]

I don't think Gordon is quite an "elite" prospect just yet.

Yeah, some don't think so, but some GMs do....from Chad Ford's big board

How deep is this draft? I have several GMs who swear that Gordon should be a top-three pick in June, but he's No. 7 on this list in November. His combination of explosive athletic ability and energy is so attractive. He opened his collegiate career with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. He followed that up with a 14-point, 10-rebound performance Monday. If he can prove he has a reliable perimeter game, he has All-Star potential at the next level.

That was before his best performance at SDSU Thursday night.

It may still be early to declare anyone an elite prospect since they season just got underway, but Gordon definitely can play with those guys. He was MVP of the McDonald's game.

[JMac1]

I don't think anyone will trade down (definitely not out of he top 6 or so). We will likely add a bunch of guys like Houston did (for Harden) or Boston (for KG) did and possibly use them to trade for a solid vet. Chances are, at least 1 of the 4 picks will be a bust, and one or two can play in D league or one could be drafted overseas and play there a year before coming over (like Hezonja maybe). There is still a good chance we only have three picks this year anyway.

You wouldn't trade back a from 4-6 for 7-9 and another first? The draft is top heavy with three elite guys then a crap shoot on the other guys whom will all be good at least through the top 8-10

There are likely six elite guys (Wiggins, Randle, Parker, Exum, Smart, Gordon) and after that it might drop off quite a bit. Maybe if a team isn't high on Gordon and already has a pg for the future would rather trade down, but that is probably the best bet. And in that case, we already have a pg for the future (unless we wanted to think about drafting Smart or Exum and possibly trade Bledsoe for other assets) or if we were especially high on Gordon (moreso than whoever holds that pick).

Teams just don't generally trade out of the top 5, and in this draft, I would guess that would even be less likely. And if we were going to move up, it would probably cost us the Wiz pick (assuming it is mid teens) and our own pick...we wouldn't be able to do it with a pick in the 20s. We could possibly trade like the 11th and 16th pick to move up to 8 or 9 if we wanted.

Didn't Love and Mayo get exchanged?