2013 Draft Thread Part 4

[Gorilla Warfare]

Nobody in this draft is an absolute stud, they will all have to "work hard" to even be great role players on their respective teams. I honestly don't see any player in this draft being an All Star in their first 5 years in the league. McLemore has the chance but he is playing for arguably the worst franchise in the NBA that nobody pays attention to, Noel is such a huge risk with that knee and if we red-flagged him with the best training staff in professional sports that doesn't sound good for him, he could be the new Oden.

[gaspar]

The only answer I can think of as to why the Suns didn't want McLemore is that he would have made us too good too soon. Len, Burke etc would help us suck a lot for these next few years while they develop cause they likely won't make a big impact anytime soon. Getting McLemore would mean that he makes an impact right away and the Suns lose out on top 5 picks in the next few drafts cause McLemore wouldn't help us suck as much as Len and Burke would.


Their thinking long term only.

I'm sorry but really?

Fans might think like that, not GM's... Why is McLemore a sure thing now? He was considered by many the #1 prospect from a talent standpoint yet 6 teams passed on him. There were concerns about his entourage and effort-level that probably turned some teams off. LaCava said something about the Suns not touching him before the draft. We will see but the fact we had Burke rated higher speaks volumes, IMO...

IIRC McDonough said that they have some conditioning drill at the end of their pre-draft workouts and some players couldn't even finish the drill. If McLemore was one of those guys, that's a red flag.

[gaspar]

And Lopez isn't white, c'mon man just look at that last name and then look at his hair, he's far from it.

Neither was Lampe or Tsakalidis (or, for that matter, Len) technically. Come on, everyone knows what I meant....

What? Len isn't white?

[Kerrsed]

And Lopez isn't white, c'mon man just look at that last name and then look at his hair, he's far from it.

Neither was Lampe or Tsakalidis (or, for that matter, Len) technically. Come on, everyone knows what I meant....

What? Len isn't white?

nope, he's cock-asian.

[JMac1]

Neither was Lampe or Tsakalidis (or, for that matter, Len) technically. Come on, everyone knows what I meant....

What? Len isn't white?

nope, he's cock-asian.

[Revived]

What is it with Phoenix and white centers?

Neil Walk
Dennis Awtrey (the original Robin Lopez)
Alvin Adams
Joe Kleine
Luc Longley
Jake Tsakalidis
Jake Voskul
Maciej Lampe
Pat Burke
Robin Lopez
Alex Len

You forgot THE THORTAT!

And Lopez isn't white, c'mon man just look at that last name and then look at his hair, he's far from it.

Neither was Lampe or Tsakalidis (or, for that matter, Len) technically. Come on, everyone knows what I meant....

Also, here's the link to the press conference, if anyone is interested:
http://www.nba.com/suns/draftlive

Update: Lon was just holding some jerseys. I couldn't tell if they looked new or not. Hhm... we'll find out shortly.

Man, Len was asked why he didn't get more touches in college and why his team was bad and he replied saying that its cause spacing sucks in college. And then the next reporter asked him "Well spacing could suck in the NBA too, so how would you adjust to that" and Len just looked plain dumb and muttered his way out of the question......

I sure hope the Suns plan on putting all shooters around this kid.

[Revived]

I have high hopes for Len, and am still pretty bummed about not getting McLemore. I just really wish where McLemore was on our big board and why he was so low. If I had a good answer, I'd at least be somewhat satisfied. Especially since Jude LaCava said before the draft he knows one thing, that we WON'T be drafting McLemore, and Gambo says we would have taken Trey Burke if Len was gone.

Reading stuff like this makes me cringe a little bit:



And then this worries me about Len, the fact that not only does he have an ankle injury now, but that he battled one all season as a freshman also:

The only answer I can think of as to why the Suns didn't want McLemore is that he would have made us too good too soon. Len, Burke etc would help us suck a lot for these next few years while they develop cause they likely won't make a big impact anytime soon. Getting McLemore would mean that he makes an impact right away and the Suns lose out on top 5 picks in the next few drafts cause McLemore wouldn't help us suck as much as Len and Burke would.


Their thinking long term only.

I'm sorry but really?

Fans might think like that, not GM's... Why is McLemore a sure thing now? He was considered by many the #1 prospect from a talent standpoint yet 6 teams passed on him. There were concerns about his entourage and effort-level that probably turned some teams off. LaCava said something about the Suns not touching him before the draft. We will see but the fact we had Burke rated higher speaks volumes, IMO...

6 teams passed on him because none of those 6 teams had a need for him. The Cavs already have the young Waiters who they just drafted top 5 like a year or two ago, the Wizards have Bradley Beal whose looking like a bright young future star, it would be stupid to draft McLemore for them when they have a huge need at SF, and then the Bobcats are the freaking Bobcats, they picked Zeller of all people and they also have Gerald Henderson who isn't that bad. The Magic took Oladipo cause they need defense more than offense at this point and Oladipo may very well turn out to be better than McLemore too and had CLE taken Oladipo #1 then ORL would have probably taken McLemore at #2.

There are very valid reasons why the 4 teams before the Suns passed on McLemore so don't even for a second try to turn this into "Well McLemore has a big problem that's why 4 teams before us passed on him."

[Gorilla Warfare]

What is it with Phoenix and white centers?

Neil Walk
Dennis Awtrey (the original Robin Lopez)
Alvin Adams
Joe Kleine
Luc Longley
Jake Tsakalidis
Jake Voskul
Maciej Lampe
Pat Burke
Robin Lopez
Alex Len

Because black centers like Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaq, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were all overrated...

[ATTL]

And because the suns lost the coin flips for two of those centers you listed. Thanks Stern.

[RunSunRun]

And because the suns lost the coin flips for two of those centers you listed. Thanks Stern.

Further salt in the wounds,

I just hope Len has a solid career and we don't look back in 5ish years and regret not taking Noel/McLemore, but knowing the Suns luck...yeah.

[SunsFanSSOL]

And because the suns lost the coin flips for two of those centers you listed. Thanks Stern.

Further salt in the wounds,

I just hope Len has a solid career and we don't look back in 5ish years and regret not taking Noel/McLemore, but knowing the Suns luck...yeah.

Stern wasn't commish for the Kareem coin flip.

[Revived]

I know that we didn't even have the chance to draft him but man I wish Oladipo slipped to us. Kid seems like a real cool kid and a very good baller.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/28/44703 ... ogle-glass

[Gorilla Warfare]

And because the suns lost the coin flips for two of those centers you listed. Thanks Stern.

Further salt in the wounds,

I just hope Len has a solid career and we don't look back in 5ish years and regret not taking Noel/McLemore, but knowing the Suns luck...yeah.

Stern wasn't commish for the Kareem coin flip.

But we all know he was there is spirit.

[Kerrsed]

Shams Charania: Suns never were able to research medical reports of Nerlens Noel before draft and Noel's ACL is progressing strongly, source tells RealGM.

[DirtyDez]

Kareem wanted out of Milwaukee in his prime. Probably would've spent his whole career here. Phoenix is close enough to LA he could've done his crappy movies easily and make it back for warmups.

A single coin-flip altered our franchises' legacy.

[Revived]

I was just confused that they said they would plan on him playing pg...but maybe that was just a rumor..who said that?

It was mentioned last night when we took him, Horny said this (from http://valleyofthesuns.com/2013/06/27/a ... nba-draft/)

“Obviously he’s going to need to learn the game better,” Hornacek said when Phoenix worked out Goodwin. “He’s used to being a scorer. He can still be a scorer but he’s going to have to be, more the mental part of the game … a point guard. Really see the game, see how it develops, not only for himself but for his teammates. When you got a young kid like that, those are the guys you can kind of train. You can tell he has a feel.”

So maybe they are thinking of keeping him at SG, but having him be a ball handler at times as well, which would suit his strengths. Just think it would be a mistake to try to have him just being a primary PG.

This is what was said about that quote

The context of that thought was that Goodwin needed to think more like a point guard; not that Goodwin would play point guard. He should fit fine alongside the duo of Goran Dragic and Kendall Marshall. Goodwin is 6-foot-5 in shoes and with a 6-foot-9.5 wingspan measures up to be just fine at the shooting guard spot.

Read more: http://valleyofthesuns.com/2013/06/27/a ... z2XbINXFtV

So looks like Hornacek actually didn't mean that Goodwin will play PG.

[Revived]

Can someone with ESPN insider please post what was said in this article about the Suns

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft201 ... ers-losers

[Kerrsed]

Can someone with ESPN insider please post what was said in this article about the Suns

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft201 ... ers-losers

I dont have insider, but im sure it says we are a winner, as in another Chad Ford article, this is what was said about us:

Suns Grade: B-

"Analysis: The Suns have blown the draft in most recent years, as the names Earl Clark, Markieff Morris and Kendall Marshall demonstrate. This year, Suns president Lon Babby hired one of the best scouts in the business, Ryan McDonough, as his new general manager. But the first draft pick of the McDonough era, in some ways, looked a lot like the draft picks the Suns have been making.

Len has upside, but he's also coming off of stress fracture surgery, and in two years of Maryland, he showed only flashes of greatness -- he rarely could sustain it. Len was the riskiest pick of the consensus top six, and Phoenix passed on two better prospects -- Nerlens Noel and Ben McLemore -- to take him.

With the No. 29 pick, things got a little better. The Suns wisely overlooked Goodwin's so-so freshman performance and saw the potential he has. If he ever gets a jump shot, or learns what a good shot is, he could be special.

As for Oriakhi, I think there were better players on the board, but I can't quibble too much. At No. 57, there wasn't going to be a difference maker and he does bring length and toughness."
Here's some validation of my Robin Lopez comparison statistically:

[Revived]

Can someone with ESPN insider please post what was said in this article about the Suns

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft201 ... ers-losers

I dont have insider, but im sure it says we are a winner, as in another Chad Ford article, this is what was said about us:

Suns Grade: B-

"Analysis: The Suns have blown the draft in most recent years, as the names Earl Clark, Markieff Morris and Kendall Marshall demonstrate. This year, Suns president Lon Babby hired one of the best scouts in the business, Ryan McDonough, as his new general manager. But the first draft pick of the McDonough era, in some ways, looked a lot like the draft picks the Suns have been making.

Len has upside, but he's also coming off of stress fracture surgery, and in two years of Maryland, he showed only flashes of greatness -- he rarely could sustain it. Len was the riskiest pick of the consensus top six, and Phoenix passed on two better prospects -- Nerlens Noel and Ben McLemore -- to take him.

With the No. 29 pick, things got a little better. The Suns wisely overlooked Goodwin's so-so freshman performance and saw the potential he has. If he ever gets a jump shot, or learns what a good shot is, he could be special.

As for Oriakhi, I think there were better players on the board, but I can't quibble too much. At No. 57, there wasn't going to be a difference maker and he does bring length and toughness."
Here's some validation of my Robin Lopez comparison statistically:

Nah I heard that in the other article it talked about how Len is such a bad fit for the Suns style and such. I wanna know his reasoning behind saying that.

[MathiasPW]

Can someone with ESPN insider please post what was said in this article about the Suns

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft201 ... ers-losers

I dont have insider, but im sure it says we are a winner, as in another Chad Ford article, this is what was said about us:

Suns Grade: B-

"Analysis: The Suns have blown the draft in most recent years, as the names Earl Clark, Markieff Morris and Kendall Marshall demonstrate. This year, Suns president Lon Babby hired one of the best scouts in the business, Ryan McDonough, as his new general manager. But the first draft pick of the McDonough era, in some ways, looked a lot like the draft picks the Suns have been making.

Len has upside, but he's also coming off of stress fracture surgery, and in two years of Maryland, he showed only flashes of greatness -- he rarely could sustain it. Len was the riskiest pick of the consensus top six, and Phoenix passed on two better prospects -- Nerlens Noel and Ben McLemore -- to take him.

With the No. 29 pick, things got a little better. The Suns wisely overlooked Goodwin's so-so freshman performance and saw the potential he has. If he ever gets a jump shot, or learns what a good shot is, he could be special.

As for Oriakhi, I think there were better players on the board, but I can't quibble too much. At No. 57, there wasn't going to be a difference maker and he does bring length and toughness."
Here's some validation of my Robin Lopez comparison statistically:

Nah I heard that in the other article it talked about how Len is such a bad fit for the Suns style and such. I wanna know his reasoning behind saying that.

He thinks Len is not fit for an uptempo style, offense-based style. If you watch Len's scouting video, it says he can run, but he really can't. And the reporter also assumes Phoenix will just maintain the SSOL system, which is not true. Horny clearly stated that he sees balance between offense and defense as key to success.