The Official Draft Thread 2: Judgement Day

[JMac1]

Phoenix Suns show interest in Mississippi State's Moultrie
Mississippi State's Moultrie impresses team in 2nd workout, visit


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/ar ... z1yv2BveyF



NO, please NO.

With an extra pick?

[Fo-Real]

I heard an audio clip with Blanks discussing the draft on KTAR briefly yesterday. The statement I heard that made me wonder is when he said "If we keep the pick". Did anyone hear the rest of the response from him?

[bwgood77]

I heard an audio clip with Blanks discussing the draft on KTAR briefly yesterday. The statement I heard that made me wonder is when he said "If we keep the pick". Did anyone hear the rest of the response from him?

It explains it in depth in the two links rsavaj posted...check out valleyofthesuns.com

Basically it sounds like they will definitely keep it, but he said something along the lines of "if we had 12 guys on our board and all of them were gone, we could consider trading the pick" and I inferred that if that would be the case (which is unlikely...they haven't even completed the draft board yet) that it would mean they would trade down and pick up another pick.

For example, say all the shooting guards were gone and they realized they could trade down with Boston (13 for 21 and 22) and get a sg and pg, like Will Barton and Marquis Teague or Tony Wroten. Although I'm guessing if they might end up going Moultrie or Nicholson with one of those picks in such a case since they worked them out.

[ATTL]

Seems like the past 3-4 years we've took one of the brothers that entered NBA. Lopez, Griffin and Morris. So, something tells me we're on our way to pick another this draft. But who?

Zeller?

His younger Brother is better than him, and pulled out of the draft so he wouldnt knock Tyler out of the Lotto.

That crap NBA draft preview with Sam Mitchell had us taking Zeller .... I
d be fine with him if we had picks like the Rox do.

But I'd still like Moultrie if we had picks to gamble with

http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/ ... t-moultrie

My eyes started bleeding as they touted the merits of Zeller for the Suns. I've seen this player before countless times and he hasnt succeeded in the NBA.

[bwgood77]

From Chad Ford's article today....

5. Austin Rivers: The next Kobe Bryant or the next Jerryd Bayless?
I don't think there's a more polarizing player in the draft than Rivers. Fans and scouts tend to love him or hate him. I know that several teams have him ranked in the top 10 on their big boards. I know several others that have him in the second round. How's that for a draft range?

Rivers does model his offensive game after Bryant's -- for better and for worse. He's a superaggressive scorer. He has a killer crossover, has mastered the fadeaway J and wants the ball in his hands at the end of close games. He loves himself some hero ball.

Again, for good and for bad, Rivers also has modeled his off-the-court behaviors to emulate Bryant's. He works hard. He's tough. He's superconfident. However, he also has a rap as a selfish player who bristles at teammates and doesn't know how to share.

Factor in Rivers' pedestrian shooting numbers, poor free throw shooting and poor assist-to-turnover ratio, and suddenly he looks very un-Kobe-like.

But the real concern for Rivers is that he physically doesn't hold a candle to Bryant. He's not as big, not as long and not as explosive as Bryant was when he entered the league. Take away Bryant's size, length and explosiveness, and Kobe isn't Kobe. That's why, in some respects, Rivers looks a lot like Raptors combo guard Bayless.

Whichever team takes Rivers will take a risk. It could pay off big time or blow up in a team's face.

6. Who is the most underrated player outside the lottery?
[+] Enlarge

Scott Sewell/US Presswire
Quincy Miller could be a steal in the late first round.
Three players stand out to me -- Baylor's Quincy Miller, Washington's Tony Wroten and Michigan State's Draymond Green.

There couldn't be three more different players than Miller, Wroten and Green. And I think NBA GMs may regret letting all three guys slide into the late first round.

Miller was widely regarded as a top-10 pick coming into Baylor last season as a freshman. However, the effects of an ACL injury suffered the previous spring, combined with a shifting role at Baylor once Perry Jones returned to the lineup, led to a fairly mediocre freshman campaign.

However, a number of things suggest Miller could be much better as he matures. He has great size for his position and can really score the basketball from anywhere on the floor. Once his ACL injury is healed (remember, it can take up to two years to fully recover), I think he'll look more athletic than he showed as a freshman. In addition, John Hollinger's Draft Rater (which every year outperforms what actual GMs are doing in the draft) had Miller ranked as a top-10 pick.

To top it off, most NBA scouts and GMs I spoke with felt Miller would have been a top-10 pick in 2013 had he remained in school. The talent is there for a team that uses it the right way.

Wroten, on physical tools and skills, is one of the four or five most talented players in the draft. He has elite size for his position and is a terrific athlete. He also is a special passer and can really get to the basket, and he can be a lockdown defender. However, Wroten's broken jump shot, tendency to play out of control and reputation as a team chemistry killer have damaged his stock.

Wroten has very real obstacles to overcome and could be Lance Stephenson 2.0, but with so much raw talent there, he also has the potential to be a Gary Payton-esque player in the NBA someday. If he matures and fixes that jumper ... wow.

Green isn't anything like Wroten. He is not a great athlete, plays questionable defense and doesn't really have a position in the NBA. However, he's an excellent scorer both inside and outside, rebounds the basketball, has a super high basketball IQ and is a winner.

On top of that, every advanced statistic I've seen suggests Green one of the top players in the draft. Although it's clear that he has limitations, he's just a basketball player -- the type of glue guy who helps good teams win and stays in the league far longer than anyone expects. I get why teams wouldn't take him in the top 10. But after that, if I were a GM, he'd be fair game.

7. Which prospect do NBA GMs fear most?
Baylor's Perry Jones.

Teams are afraid to take him in the lottery. However, they're equally afraid not to take him in the lottery.

No one is really sure what to do with Jones. He's a freak athlete with elite size and skills to play three positions on the floor. However, he's been tagged with the dreaded "soft" label. Teams worry he has no motor, and the position he favors at the next level, small forward, is the position he's furthest from being ready to play.

If you haven't read the excellent blog post on TrueHoop about Jones and his questionable motor, pause and do it right now.

Now you're confused, too, right?

If Jones went at pick No. 5, I could defend it. If he went at pick No. 20, I could defend that, too.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog/_/n ... -questions

[Revived]

Ugh Utah has had 4 lotto picks the last two drafts, Portland has 2 lotto picks this draft, New Orleans has 2 top 10 picks this draft, Houston has 3 top 20 picks this draft, Golden State has 2 1st rd picks this draft....Suns have 1.

Every other borderline playoff team in the West is improving itself except for the dum**ss Suns.

Ugh seriously make some god damn trades and acquire another 1st instead of ruining this damn team!

[jredsaz]

Ugh Utah has had 4 lotto picks the last two drafts, Portland has 2 lotto picks this draft, Houston has 3 picks this draft, Golden State has 2 picks this draft....Suns have 1.

Every other borderline playoff team in the West is improving itself except for the dum**ss Suns.

Ugh seriously make some god damn trades and acquire another 1st instead of ruining this damn team!

We would have been able to get that had we traded Stat/Nash before their free agency.

[rsavaj]

Ugh Utah has had 4 lotto picks the last two drafts, Portland has 2 lotto picks this draft, Houston has 3 picks this draft, Golden State has 2 picks this draft....Suns have 1.

Every other borderline playoff team in the West is improving itself except for the dum**ss Suns.

Ugh seriously make some god damn trades and acquire another 1st instead of ruining this damn team!

I think acquiring 1st round picks is a lot harder than you think it is.

We were getting craptacular offers for Amare, and nobody will offer anything worthwhile for Nash.

Besides...bad teams usually don't get better through the draft: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_ ... -even-work

[jredsaz]

Ugh Utah has had 4 lotto picks the last two drafts, Portland has 2 lotto picks this draft, Houston has 3 picks this draft, Golden State has 2 picks this draft....Suns have 1.

Every other borderline playoff team in the West is improving itself except for the dum**ss Suns.

Ugh seriously make some god damn trades and acquire another 1st instead of ruining this damn team!

I think acquiring 1st round picks is a lot harder than you think it is.

We were getting craptacular offers for Amare, and nobody will offer anything worthwhile for Nash.

Besides...bad teams usually don't get better through the draft: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_ ... -even-work

We could have acquired a first for Amare the year before our WCF run. Second, I understand what Hollinger is saying in the blog but you need to acquire assets in order to rebuild into a championship caliber team. The Suns did it drafting Marion, Stat, trading for JJ, and signing FA Steve Nash. Celtics are a good example of turning draft pics and draft related assets into a champion. It starts in the draft.

[Fo-Real]

Hindsight is 20/20 as always.

[jredsaz]

Hindsight is 20/20 as always.

Then you will love this. Its a Bill Simmons article from 08 explaining how we squandered a dynasty, primarily through terrible decisions related to the draft. I hope the current FO takes the time to remember the past mistakes of this franchise. Its just so funny, when all laid out, how ass backwards the decision making was in pursuit of their goal.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... s%2F080501

[JohnVancouver]

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/bask ... ition=also

6'6" shooting guard, deadly form three.

guys like this are why you always ask for second rounders in a deal, IMO

[JohnVancouver]

Fo-Real wrote: Hindsight is 20/20 as always.

Looking back, in hindsight I have agree with this ....

[ATTL]

Hindsight is 20/20 as always.

Then you will love this. Its a Bill Simmons article from 08 explaining how we squandered a dynasty, primarily through terrible decisions related to the draft. I hope the current FO takes the time to remember the past mistakes of this franchise. Its just so funny, when all laid out, how ass backwards the decision making was in pursuit of their goal.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... s%2F080501

That still makes me so mad. It's disgusting what our inept management has done the past decade.

[bwgood77]

It's a little tough to blame the current regime for too much too, because our assets are so depleted that it's not like we have the resources to make deals like many other teams do. Unless Sarver buys a draft pick each year or we strike gold in free agency or the draft (all fairly unlikely) it will probably be a very slow rebuild.

If Dwight Howard (and/or Deron Williams) lands in the west, it's gonna make it that much tougher to get anywhere. Especially since Anthony Davis is going to land in the west too.

[Sun Scorched]

What I wish our FO had remembered is quite simple: Draft picks are already a salary reducing tool.

You don't need to trade them to reduce salary - you keep them to reduce salary. That's one more player that has the potential to crack the rotation for less than $2-3M. It saves from the signings of guys like Banks, Diaw, Childress, Warrick, etc.

[JohnVancouver]

The more I see of Kendall marshall, the more I think he'll be a very good point guard in the NBA

[Dragic13]

The more I look over and review the draft prospects the more picks I want.

Im not satisfied with 1 pick!

We must move Gortat!

Maybe to the rockets?

14+16+Marcus Morris for Gortat

Or something like that...

Celtics?

21+22+Avery Bradley for Gortat?

76ers?

15+45+54 for Gortat

IDK....not sure what the best value is or how many picks a team woulg cough up....

[rsavaj]

Ugh Utah has had 4 lotto picks the last two drafts, Portland has 2 lotto picks this draft, Houston has 3 picks this draft, Golden State has 2 picks this draft....Suns have 1.

Every other borderline playoff team in the West is improving itself except for the dum**ss Suns.

Ugh seriously make some god damn trades and acquire another 1st instead of ruining this damn team!

I think acquiring 1st round picks is a lot harder than you think it is.

We were getting craptacular offers for Amare, and nobody will offer anything worthwhile for Nash.

Besides...bad teams usually don't get better through the draft: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_ ... -even-work

We could have acquired a first for Amare the year before our WCF run. Second, I understand what Hollinger is saying in the blog but you need to acquire assets in order to rebuild into a championship caliber team. The Suns did it drafting Marion, Stat, trading for JJ, and signing FA Steve Nash. Celtics are a good example of turning draft pics and draft related assets into a champion. It starts in the draft.

You make good points, but if we had traded Amare, then we wouldn't have had that glorious WCF run, now would we? I wouldn't trade that season for a 1st rounder.

[bwgood77]

What I wish our FO had remembered is quite simple: Draft picks are already a salary reducing tool.

You don't need to trade them to reduce salary - you keep them to reduce salary. That's one more player that has the potential to crack the rotation for less than $2-3M. It saves from the signings of guys like Banks, Diaw, Childress, Warrick, etc.

I know....and I think it started the summer Sarver bought the team...when they traded their pick (and Colangelo was behind this) so it wouldn't eat up salary and they could sign Q and Nash. That was a mistake (signing Q instead of drafting Iggy) but since we won the west that year, I think Sarver just believed it. And then D'Antoni felt the same way, but coaches are almost always going to prefer to get established nba players over rookies, because we all know rookies are a crapshoot, and with coaches, their job could depend on a rookie being a bust. That's why coaches should never be GMs.

Every decision made since Sarver bought the team has been short term with no long term outlook. You'd think by now he would have learned his lesson but I'm not entirely sure he has since he is still trying to compete for the 8th seed when we probably have around the 13th most talent in the west even with Nash.