2014 Draft Thread

[RunDogGun]

Words have meaning. As such, words matter.

What's so bad about this word?

It's offensive to any player or coach that go out there and give 100% every game. Its a form of cheating. It hurts the integrity of the game. And lately, it just seems to be used by people, who don't understand it's meaning, or are just trying to sell a story.

[RunDogGun]

Why does NBAdraft.net have us picking eleventh, when we are tied with the eleventh best record right now? We should be picking the fourteenth spot.

Funny they just updated it today. We are picking 13th, 20th, and 30th.

And it was funny to see they have Tarczewski going 13th to us. I just looked there to see where/if they had Brandon Ashley projected and noticed that.

Another thing I noticed was that the UCLA guy mentioned above, Zach Lavine, is projected as the #1 pick in 2015. http://nbadraft.net/2015mock_draft

I didn't get that. Wouldn't we take Gordon over Kaleb?

[bwgood77]

Funny they just updated it today. We are picking 13th, 20th, and 30th.

And it was funny to see they have Tarczewski going 13th to us. I just looked there to see where/if they had Brandon Ashley projected and noticed that.

Another thing I noticed was that the UCLA guy mentioned above, Zach Lavine, is projected as the #1 pick in 2015. http://nbadraft.net/2015mock_draft

I didn't get that. Wouldn't we take Gordon over Kaleb?

Yes, but they just rank players how they see them regardless of teams....I think they finally realized they maybe mis-projected Gordon, and are moving him up. Though they have Zeus too high and Brandon Ashley isn't projected anywhere, even though they have 5 AZ guys getting drafted in the next two drafts.

[EB2]

Words have meaning. As such, words matter.

What's so bad about this word?

It's offensive to any player or coach that go out there and give 100% every game. Its a form of cheating. It hurts the integrity of the game. And lately, it just seems to be used by people, who don't understand it's meaning, or are just trying to sell a story.

The title was made as a joke.

Gees.

[RunDogGun]

Cool, I don't think it is funny. Moreover, when other fans come to our page, and see a stickied thread with a label of tanking, it makes it seem as all of us are in favor of a cheating policy, when many of us are not.

As you can see, once the title was changed, for me at least, it became more about the actual draft, not some joke about losers.

[bwgood77]

Though one thing Run Dog Gun fails to concede or realize is that many people now are referring to tanking as intentionally trading current assets (or players) that would help you now, for future ones (that will help you later).

And that is what we did. That is what Orlando and Philly did. These teams are still trying to get the most out of the players they put on the floor every night, but writers simply called these moves tanking instead of rebuilding. Building for the future because you realize your current ceiling is limited.

[RunDogGun]

Though one thing Run Dog Gun fails to concede or realize is that many people now are referring to tanking as intentionally trading current assets (or players) that would help you now, for future ones (that will help you later).

And that is what we did. That is what Orlando and Philly did. These teams are still trying to get the most out of the players they put on the floor every night, but writers simply called these moves tanking instead of rebuilding. Building for the future because you realize your current ceiling is limited.

I totally understand that many try to change the meaning of the word to fit what they are thinking the team is doing, but that means squat to me.

Sometimes trading even a good to great player opens the door for other players to reach their potential. I don't think Rondo would have progressed as fast as he did, if we had kept him. Getting that starting minutes even on a bad team gave him the time to grow.

Trading Jrue was seen as a "tanking" move, yet that opened the door for MCW to turn into an amazing player. Sometimes coaches and gms actually know more than the fans.

The reason writers do that is because they have become hacks, who seem to care more about people reading their stories, than actually doing the research to make those stories readable. Everyone loves a good conspiracy story, yet when that story is easily explained, they tend to want to go with the CT, because there is more drama. It is getting quite sad.

I hated how fans got on Dudley's twitter telling him that the Suns should be losing games. It makes me sick.

I love the game of basketball, and I have to believe that people that want to do this for a living have somewhat a similar love of the game. It's not like we see a Major League type of moves.

[RunDogGun]

A good example of the opposite of you are saying is "tanking" is either NY or Brooklyn. Both teams seemed to go after win now players, and what are they doing? Not winning now are they? Sometimes it's a gamble, sometimes a good stat player, hurts your team chemistry.

Because of a previous argument, I went through a ton of these "tanking" stories, and they just didn't pan out. Heck, I used to say that SA tanked to get Duncan, but I shouldn't have. They ended with the fourth worst record. There would be no way they would know that that spot would yield the number one pick.

Sometimes moves don't work like people project.

[RunDogGun]

Sometimes in a game of chess, one sacrifices his/her queen, to get the other player in checkmate. At the time, it may look like that player just gave up the game (tanked it), yet in the long run of the game, it was the thing needed to win.

[BurningHeart]

The word "tanking" has a very specific meaning. Trading assets, rebuilding, retooling, or simply being bad does not constitute "tanking."

It's lazy, it's dumb, it's inaccurate, and it's embarrassing.

I can't believe I'm having this **** "tanking" discussion on the message boards of three of my four favorite teams across all pro sports. This **** is so exhausting and it's straight up killing my enjoyment of sports. Sports fans are idiots.

[phrazbit]

They changed the thread title and you guys are still endlessly ranting about it...

The word "tanking" has a very specific meaning. Trading assets, rebuilding, retooling, or simply being bad does not constitute "tanking."

It's lazy, it's dumb, it's inaccurate, and it's embarrassing.

I can't believe I'm having this **** "tanking" discussion on the message boards of three of my four favorite teams across all pro sports. This **** is so exhausting and it's straight up killing my enjoyment of sports. Sports fans are idiots.

Sports fans... media... players... ect ect ect. The term "tanking" in the NBA means something different to you than it does to the vast majority of the people in and out of the sport. And before someone blabs that "saying something wrong enough times does not make it right"... well... that is incorrect. English is a living language. Words can have different meanings to different people and in different situations.

Furthermore... these are freaking sports message boards, if you're going to get over the top anal about semantics then you're in the wrong place.

[thamadkant]

Another thing I noticed was that the UCLA guy mentioned above, Zach Lavine, is projected as the #1 pick in 2015. http://nbadraft.net/2015mock_draft

I think McD will draft him if he declares.

Same reason for drafting Goodwin... The speculation that had he stayed another year he would be a lottery pick in 2014.

LaVine is Mclemore who can dribble... And more athletic.
NBA Draft compares him to Westbrook with a jump shot, but Westbrook is more aggressive to the rim and in traffic.
Which is huge in professional level where getting to free throw line is a values skill.
I think a shorter but better dribbling Gerald Green is an adept comparison too... Especially the current Gerald Green.


Anyways McD should grab him and develop him.
Goodwin, LaVine backcourt could be a thing of beauty... Both athletic, long... One is a penetrator rim attacker... The other is a shooter.... Both puts up highlight reels in transition.

[BurningHeart]

What is this "vast majority" ****? Look in a dictionary. Tanking doesn't mean anything other than what I said.

I'm not in the minority here. People are trying to change the word and it's dumb to do so.

It's not just "freaking sports message boards" that are using this word. Supposedly respectable "expert" sports writers, columnists, analysts, and radio hosts are using the word too and dumbing the sports populace down.

Everyone's got this "if you ain't first, you should be last" garbage mentality, and it's only seemed to foster itself in recent years. I don't know how, I don't know why, but it has. It's a horrible, horrible, horrible thing. It's the wrong message and quite frankly, it's offensive to players. Look at how hard the Suns are playing this year and tell me they're "tanking." You might say we're ridiculous for arguing semantics but words matter. That's just the bottom line.

There is no flexibility on this. The Suns are rebuilding. The Suns are accumulating assets. The Suns are *not* "tanking" as the word actually exists, not what some segment of the sports population apparently wants it to mean.



........ANNNNNNNNNNNYWAY, thank goodness the thread title has changed. For the purposes of these forums, at least to visiting fans, it won't appear that all of us are rooting for the team to lose. That''s what losers want. Save that **** for the Perpetually Worthless franchises and fanbases.

[Frank Lee]

Draft fever: (Noun) An infectious all consuming mental condition where the inflicted experiences anxiety, disbelief, and depression when their selected team performs better than expected, and thus reducing their draft pick value. The condition affects teens but often has been detected in adults in their twenties and even a few cases have been reported in their thirties. Particularly acute when subject is exposed to mass doses of internet media focusing on draft sites.
Anger, paranoia, and denial generally arise when the infected are confronted with their behavior. It is not uncommon for sufferers to congregate together in a myopic defiance of reality where they can reassure each other. These group gatherings, also known as Stink Tanks, result in escalating the symptoms and usually end with public outbursts demanding the team to lose for the good of the franchise.
The only known cure is acceptance of multiple strategies to improve a team and a mental release perceiving 19 yrs old collegiate blue-chippers as anointed saviors. One known study has achieved positive results by forcefully submitting the afflicted subjects to a complete viewing of the 1975-76 Phoenix Suns season. This often has to be done with physical restraints and medication as the infected are prone to violence when forced to acknowledge a sports world actually existed prior to their inception. This is to be followed by regular doses of the 1993 season, with each session preceded by a breakdown of the trades for Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley. Even with these known breakthroughs in treatment, it is quite easy for the afflicted to relapse resulting in angry retorts of 'I told you so' and 'I want a #1 PICK, dammit'. Research has shown this condition could be a life long struggle and many in the medical field are trying to get 'Draft Fever' classified as a disease.

There is hope.

[EB2]

Draft fever: (Noun) An infectious all consuming mental condition where the inflicted experiences anxiety, disbelief, and depression when their selected team performs better than expected, and thus reducing their draft pick value. The condition affects teens but often has been detected in adults in their twenties and even a few cases have been reported in their thirties. Particularly acute when subject is exposed to mass doses of internet media focusing on draft sites.
Anger, paranoia, and denial generally arise when the infected are confronted with their behavior. It is not uncommon for sufferers to congregate together in a myopic defiance of reality where they can reassure each other. These group gatherings, also known as Stink Tanks, result in escalating the symptoms and usually end with public outbursts demanding the team to lose for the good of the franchise.
The only known cure is acceptance of multiple strategies to improve a team and a mental release perceiving 19 yrs old collegiate blue-chippers as anointed saviors. One known study has achieved positive results by forcefully submitting the afflicted subjects to a complete viewing of the 1975-76 Phoenix Suns season. This often has to be done with physical restraints and medication as the infected are prone to violence when forced to acknowledge a sports world actually existed prior to their inception. This is to be followed by regular doses of the 1993 season, with each session preceded by a breakdown of the trades for Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley. Even with these known breakthroughs in treatment, it is quite easy for the afflicted to relapse resulting in angry retorts of 'I told you so' and 'I want a #1 PICK, dammit'. Research has shown this condition could be a life long struggle and many in the medical field are trying to get 'Draft Fever' classified as a disease.

There is hope.

Come on Frank, some fans actually enjoy talking about prospects/the draft more than others.

Some fans are different than others. It doesn't mean you should make fun of them.

[gaspar]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/JonathanTjarks/status/408132457024602112[/tweet]
I haven't seen him play yet. Is Vonleh really that good?

[bwgood77]

Though one thing Run Dog Gun fails to concede or realize is that many people now are referring to tanking as intentionally trading current assets (or players) that would help you now, for future ones (that will help you later).

And that is what we did. That is what Orlando and Philly did. These teams are still trying to get the most out of the players they put on the floor every night, but writers simply called these moves tanking instead of rebuilding. Building for the future because you realize your current ceiling is limited.

I totally understand that many try to change the meaning of the word to fit what they are thinking the team is doing, but that means squat to me.

Sometimes trading even a good to great player opens the door for other players to reach their potential. I don't think Rondo would have progressed as fast as he did, if we had kept him. Getting that starting minutes even on a bad team gave him the time to grow.

Trading Jrue was seen as a "tanking" move, yet that opened the door for MCW to turn into an amazing player. Sometimes coaches and gms actually know more than the fans.

The reason writers do that is because they have become hacks, who seem to care more about people reading their stories, than actually doing the research to make those stories readable. Everyone loves a good conspiracy story, yet when that story is easily explained, they tend to want to go with the CT, because there is more drama. It is getting quite sad.

I hated how fans got on Dudley's twitter telling him that the Suns should be losing games. It makes me sick.

I love the game of basketball, and I have to believe that people that want to do this for a living have somewhat a similar love of the game. It's not like we see a Major League type of moves.

Hey, I agree with you in that I think the real meaning of tanking is intentionally losing. I just think some misinterpret the word or use it incorrectly. I don't really take that personally. If people or writers are stupid, sorry for them. I personally hate when the word is associated with the Suns and I really hate reading a Chad Ford article about what different teams he feels need to embrace tanking. It is absolutely ridiculous, especially when he thinks 9 or 10 teams should do it. Even if they followed his suggestion, then half or probably more would have thrown away their season for squat because only a handful of those teams would get a top 3 pick, and those top picks might not even pan out anyway.

[bwgood77]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/JonathanTjarks/status/408132457024602112[/tweet]
I haven't seen him play yet. Is Vonleh really that good?

I haven't either, but I sure have heard a lot about him. All good if these guys all live up to the hype and players like him and LaVine come out. I understand this happens every year to some extent, but it really seems like this draft is really deep at the top of half of the first round, and to some extent the entire first round, which bodes very well for us with all of our picks. It sure seems to be a nice year to have multiple first round picks.

[thamadkant]

Draft fever: (Noun) An infectious all consuming mental condition where the inflicted experiences anxiety, disbelief, and depression when their selected team performs better than expected, and thus reducing their draft pick value. The condition affects teens but often has been detected in adults in their twenties and even a few cases have been reported in their thirties. Particularly acute when subject is exposed to mass doses of internet media focusing on draft sites.
Anger, paranoia, and denial generally arise when the infected are confronted with their behavior. It is not uncommon for sufferers to congregate together in a myopic defiance of reality where they can reassure each other. These group gatherings, also known as Stink Tanks, result in escalating the symptoms and usually end with public outbursts demanding the team to lose for the good of the franchise.
The only known cure is acceptance of multiple strategies to improve a team and a mental release perceiving 19 yrs old collegiate blue-chippers as anointed saviors. One known study has achieved positive results by forcefully submitting the afflicted subjects to a complete viewing of the 1975-76 Phoenix Suns season. This often has to be done with physical restraints and medication as the infected are prone to violence when forced to acknowledge a sports world actually existed prior to their inception. This is to be followed by regular doses of the 1993 season, with each session preceded by a breakdown of the trades for Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley. Even with these known breakthroughs in treatment, it is quite easy for the afflicted to relapse resulting in angry retorts of 'I told you so' and 'I want a #1 PICK, dammit'. Research has shown this condition could be a life long struggle and many in the medical field are trying to get 'Draft Fever' classified as a disease.

There is hope.

Come on Frank, some fans actually enjoy talking about prospects/the draft more than others.

Some fans are different than others. It doesn't mean you should make fun of them.

Yeah, I just don't support other fans trying to alienate and profile people who doesn't go same the direction as them.
Live and let live I say.

The draft is the MAIN entrance to the NBA every year.
It's the formal method of collegiate (and high school in the past) players entering the professional level.

The DRAFT is part of the NBA.

Also "speculating" is a natural human trait, it's a powerful thing. A lot of people love to speculate and the draft is portion of the NBA where speculation rule.

[bwgood77]

Speaking of speculating about the draft, I was just looking in the mock draft forum here and the first two I looked at (in December 3rd updates on threads) had Jahii Carson going in the lottery.....once as high as 8th. viewtopic.php?f=38&t=1259278