Jabari Parker will be the best player in the 2014 Draft

[LloydFree]

He hasnt done well against nba level athletes {Wiggins Gordon Ashley]

I saw this too. Both Wiggins and Gordon seemed to outclass him physically, in the 2nd halves of their games. It's like once they figured him out, he couldn't do anything.
I like Parker, but I'm kind of torn on what spot I would take him.

[LloydFree]

It's early, but I'm starting to believe Joel Embiid will be the best player in the 2014 draft. Parker and Wiggins may be fighting for #2.

[Lindecision]

Parker over Wiggins, easily.

[Dr Positivity]

I'm not sold on Jabari's shooting as much as others are. Yes he started out amazing from 3, but he is only low 70s in FT and is 3 for 14 in his last 6 Gs and 0 for 7 in the last 3 Gs from 3pt (in those 3 Gs he's played over 100 minutes total which is a pretty incredible drought). He can clearly shoot but there is a difference between legit 3 point range and a truly exceptional shooter at a position. To take Jabari 1st I would have to be convinced of the latter. Jabari has an elite feel for the game/instincts but I think his actual skill level is overrated right now. I see good but not remarkable ability in shooting, handling, passing, posting

[Dr Positivity]

With such a stacked draft class this year, it's kind of worry-some to draft a guy that is being compared to a player that does have some flaws.

I dunno... To me, in a stacked draft class I have a problem drafting the 'next Melo' 1st overall. But, drafting a player that could be Dirk-esque, or Durant-esque offensively is a pretty easy sell.

To me with Jabari there are three ways the pick can fail if picked 1st

The Derrick Williams: To put it bluntly, he just is a mediocre, bench caliber player despite a huge college career and hyped up draft pick. A disastrous pick no matter what else happens in the draft.

The Rashard Lewis: Jabari becomes a fantastic player and lower level all-star, thanks to his scoring skill and size. Whether this is a good pick depends on where he goes and the quality of the draft. If it's the 2000 draft picking Shard first looks good. But if Jabari becomes Rashard-like at the 1st pick and Kobe and Duncan go in the top 5 after him, the pick absolutely blows enough for our grandchildren to know about it.

The Carmelo Anthony: This is the situation you outlined above. Jabari gets picked 1st and is a top 10 player and franchise player and fringe MVP and best player on a title team talent (if everything goes right). However if a generational player or two like Lebron or Duncan get picked after him it's still a bad pick, albeit not a national embarrassment.

I would say the Carmelo situation is the least likely by far. This draft class is a lot of hype but the chances of any of these guys being superstars is still small to me. There just aren't enough players at a tier above-Melo level, to be that confident in anyone getting there barring a Lebron and Shaq draft situation where it's too obvious. Especially in Jabari's case where he certainly appears less talented than Melo without the dynamic athleticism, nor do any of Wiggins, Embiid, Randle, Smart look flawless (imo), I think we all get by now the Wiggins generational/Lebron hype coming in was dumb

The biggest fear with Jabari 1st is the Rashard one. It's unlikely he all out busts, but if he becomes a good player instead of an elite player the potential for disaster is huge depending on who goes below him. Same goes for the other prospects - Wiggins could be "just" Iguodala and Embiid could be "just" Hibbert and Randle could be "just" David West, but even drafting an all-star caliber player like that 1st/2nd, could be a REALLY bad pick if you pass on the wrong player. That's why this draft is far from can't miss. It's the high roller's table - bigger stakes means bigger winners and bigger losers

[OleSchool]

With such a stacked draft class this year, it's kind of worry-some to draft a guy that is being compared to a player that does have some flaws.

I dunno... To me, in a stacked draft class I have a problem drafting the 'next Melo' 1st overall. But, drafting a player that could be Dirk-esque, or Durant-esque offensively is a pretty easy sell.

To me with Jabari there are three ways the pick can fail if picked 1st

The Derrick Williams: To put it bluntly, he just is a mediocre, bench caliber player despite a huge college career and hyped up draft pick. A disastrous pick no matter what else happens in the draft.

The Rashard Lewis: Jabari becomes a fantastic player and lower level all-star, thanks to his scoring skill and size. Whether this is a good pick depends on where he goes and the quality of the draft. If it's the 2000 draft picking Shard first looks good. But if Jabari becomes Rashard-like at the 1st pick and Kobe and Duncan go in the top 5 after him, the pick absolutely blows enough for our grandchildren to know about it.

The Carmelo Anthony: This is the situation you outlined above. Jabari gets picked 1st and is a top 10 player and franchise player and fringe MVP and best player on a title team talent (if everything goes right). However if a generational player or two like Lebron or Duncan get picked after him it's still a bad pick, albeit not a national embarrassment.

I would say the Carmelo situation is the least likely by far. This draft class is a lot of hype but the chances of any of these guys being superstars is still small to me. There just aren't enough players at a tier above-Melo level, to be that confident in anyone getting there barring a Lebron and Shaq draft situation where it's too obvious. Especially in Jabari's case where he certainly appears less talented than Melo without the dynamic athleticism, nor do any of Wiggins, Embiid, Randle, Smart look flawless (imo), I think we all get by now the Wiggins generational/Lebron hype coming in was dumb

The biggest fear with Jabari 1st is the Rashard one. It's unlikely he all out busts, but if he becomes a good player instead of an elite player the potential for disaster is huge depending on who goes below him. Same goes for the other prospects - Wiggins could be "just" Iguodala and Embiid could be "just" Hibbert and Randle could be "just" David West, but even drafting an all-star caliber player like that 1st/2nd, could be a REALLY bad pick if you pass on the wrong player. That's why this draft is far from can't miss. It's the high roller's table - bigger stakes means bigger winners and bigger losers

Really like this post, you broke it down really well

[black bart]

We are comparing college players to hall of famers. This is absurd seeing how not any of them are going to come into the league at this stage of their career and score 20+ pts except with jabari parker. I don't think any of them have the ability to score 20+ pts at their stage at the moment. In reality, I see jabari parker as the clear cut #1 pick and embiid, exum, and wiggins in tier 2. You go with the player that is a guarantee franchise player which is jabari parker.

[rockmanslim]

why does duke have a two week gap between games? for academic reasons maybe? anyone know?

[PaperLantern]

We are comparing college players to hall of famers. This is absurd seeing how not any of them are going to come into the league at this stage of their career and score 20+ pts except with jabari parker. I don't think any of them have the ability to score 20+ pts at their stage at the moment. In reality, I see jabari parker as the clear cut #1 pick and embiid, exum, and wiggins in tier 2. You go with the player that is a guarantee franchise player which is jabari parker.

But there aren't any guarantees with the draft, so if I was a GM I couldn't use that logic to take Parker over Wiggins. I don't know if I'd take Wiggins first or Parker first, but we can't say Jabari is a sure thing any more than the other potentially franchise changing players.

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[Okada]

What's with people pointing out a couple of minor flaws and acting like this is any other year? This is the most loaded draft class since '84, but no prospect is perfect.

[Hendrix]

With such a stacked draft class this year, it's kind of worry-some to draft a guy that is being compared to a player that does have some flaws.

I dunno... To me, in a stacked draft class I have a problem drafting the 'next Melo' 1st overall. But, drafting a player that could be Dirk-esque, or Durant-esque offensively is a pretty easy sell.

To me with Jabari there are three ways the pick can fail if picked 1st

The Derrick Williams: To put it bluntly, he just is a mediocre, bench caliber player despite a huge college career and hyped up draft pick. A disastrous pick no matter what else happens in the draft.

The Rashard Lewis: Jabari becomes a fantastic player and lower level all-star, thanks to his scoring skill and size. Whether this is a good pick depends on where he goes and the quality of the draft. If it's the 2000 draft picking Shard first looks good. But if Jabari becomes Rashard-like at the 1st pick and Kobe and Duncan go in the top 5 after him, the pick absolutely blows enough for our grandchildren to know about it.

The Carmelo Anthony: This is the situation you outlined above. Jabari gets picked 1st and is a top 10 player and franchise player and fringe MVP and best player on a title team talent (if everything goes right). However if a generational player or two like Lebron or Duncan get picked after him it's still a bad pick, albeit not a national embarrassment.

I would say the Carmelo situation is the least likely by far. This draft class is a lot of hype but the chances of any of these guys being superstars is still small to me. There just aren't enough players at a tier above-Melo level, to be that confident in anyone getting there barring a Lebron and Shaq draft situation where it's too obvious. Especially in Jabari's case where he certainly appears less talented than Melo without the dynamic athleticism, nor do any of Wiggins, Embiid, Randle, Smart look flawless (imo), I think we all get by now the Wiggins generational/Lebron hype coming in was dumb

The biggest fear with Jabari 1st is the Rashard one. It's unlikely he all out busts, but if he becomes a good player instead of an elite player the potential for disaster is huge depending on who goes below him. Same goes for the other prospects - Wiggins could be "just" Iguodala and Embiid could be "just" Hibbert and Randle could be "just" David West, but even drafting an all-star caliber player like that 1st/2nd, could be a REALLY bad pick if you pass on the wrong player. That's why this draft is far from can't miss. It's the high roller's table - bigger stakes means bigger winners and bigger losers

So, you don't see a single possibility that he becomes like Dirk or Durant offensively? Aka, better than Melo?

is 25-30ppg on .580ts% - .600ts% not even possible? I dunno, I think if you are going to take him 1st overall you have to atleast consider it a possibility. I mean, I guess I disagree with his ceiling (in so far as I think he can be better than Melo), and the talent of the other prospects. Imo Wiggins, Embiid, and Smart do have the posibility of becoming elite generational players.

[Casey Jonas]

I could see Parker being the best scorer in the draft, no doubt. But Wiggins looks like he's going to be a two-way force. Parker can't guard in the post or the perimeter....

[sunless01]

It seems like 'Melo' has been thrown around a lot with Jabari. Melo's name kind of carries a negative connotation with it, that includes being selfish, and not overly efficient. Career .545ts% is good but not great. With such a stacked draft class this year, it's kind of worry-some to draft a guy that is being compared to a player that does have some flaws.

I'm wondering if offensively he could be more like Durant or Dirk than Melo though. What sets Dirk and Durant apart from Melo offensively is that they can/could throw up 25-30ppg on a super efficient .600ts%.

It looks like Jabari has all the 'moves' in his repetoire. It's just a matter of if he can take/make efficient shots (eg. getting to the line a lot, shooting efficiently from 3).

If you just kind of make a quick comparison of college scoring #'s on a pro-rated basis per 40 minutes, and take a look at some fficiency numbers...

Jabari- 28.4 points, 63ts%, 57% from 2, 46% from 3, 7.3 fta's,
Melo- 24.4 points, 54ts%, 49.6% from 2, 33.7% from 3, 6.8 fta's
Durant- 28.8 points, 59ts%, 50% from 2, 40% from 3, 8.2fta's.


Obviously scoring stats in college need to be taken with a grain of salt, and there is a lot of season to be played yet.

But, what I'm trying to say is that Jabari's ceiling may be higher than Melo. Perhaps he could be like Dirk, and Durant on offense by scoring a ton, and doing it on extreme efficiency. It looks like the biggest thing that sets Durant and Dirk ahead of Melo in terms of efficeincy is that over their career's, Durant and Dirk take/make a lot more 3's. So far it looks like Jabari is going to be able to shoot a lot of 3's at a high %, and get to the line. I'd say those are the best indicators of scoring efficeincy.

I dunno... To me, in a stacked draft class I have a problem drafting the 'next Melo' 1st overall. But, drafting a player that could be Dirk-esque, or Durant-esque offensively is a pretty easy sell.

parker is compared to melo because of their similar size. dirk and kd are in another stratosphere because of their size/length. so unless he grows another 3 inches or so i just dont see parker ever getting to that level.

[black bart]

What's with people pointing out a couple of minor flaws and acting like this is any other year? This is the most loaded draft class since '84, but no prospect is perfect.

Loaded in hype only. 2012, and 2008 seem to have better prospects than this draft. I don't know if Julius Randle would be a lottery pick in either of those drafts.

[Hendrix]

It seems like 'Melo' has been thrown around a lot with Jabari. Melo's name kind of carries a negative connotation with it, that includes being selfish, and not overly efficient. Career .545ts% is good but not great. With such a stacked draft class this year, it's kind of worry-some to draft a guy that is being compared to a player that does have some flaws.

I'm wondering if offensively he could be more like Durant or Dirk than Melo though. What sets Dirk and Durant apart from Melo offensively is that they can/could throw up 25-30ppg on a super efficient .600ts%.

It looks like Jabari has all the 'moves' in his repetoire. It's just a matter of if he can take/make efficient shots (eg. getting to the line a lot, shooting efficiently from 3).

If you just kind of make a quick comparison of college scoring #'s on a pro-rated basis per 40 minutes, and take a look at some fficiency numbers...

Jabari- 28.4 points, 63ts%, 57% from 2, 46% from 3, 7.3 fta's,
Melo- 24.4 points, 54ts%, 49.6% from 2, 33.7% from 3, 6.8 fta's
Durant- 28.8 points, 59ts%, 50% from 2, 40% from 3, 8.2fta's.


Obviously scoring stats in college need to be taken with a grain of salt, and there is a lot of season to be played yet.

But, what I'm trying to say is that Jabari's ceiling may be higher than Melo. Perhaps he could be like Dirk, and Durant on offense by scoring a ton, and doing it on extreme efficiency. It looks like the biggest thing that sets Durant and Dirk ahead of Melo in terms of efficeincy is that over their career's, Durant and Dirk take/make a lot more 3's. So far it looks like Jabari is going to be able to shoot a lot of 3's at a high %, and get to the line. I'd say those are the best indicators of scoring efficeincy.

I dunno... To me, in a stacked draft class I have a problem drafting the 'next Melo' 1st overall. But, drafting a player that could be Dirk-esque, or Durant-esque offensively is a pretty easy sell.

parker is compared to melo because of their similar size. dirk and kd are in another stratosphere because of their size/length. so unless he grows another 3 inches or so i just dont see parker ever getting to that level.

The difference is that Dirk, and Durant can score on .600+ts%, while Melo scores at a lesser rate. You don't need to be 6'10"- 7'0" to score .600ts%.

[EMG518]

Was thinking about the guys at the top of the draft a bit. My only concern for Parker is his defense. Guarding 3/4s might be problematic for him. This might be a crazy idea but does anyone think he can run the point. I dont think there is a more skilled guy his size outside of Lebron. Putting him at the 1 could mask those defensive inefficiencies pssibly and what ever team he was on would be able to cause alot of matchup problems depending on how the lineup is set. So my question is could anyone see him running the point a la Lebron James.

[GANGSTERDOG]

Was thinking about the guys at the top of the draft a bit. My only concern for Parker is his defense. Guarding 3/4s might be problematic for him. This might be a crazy idea but does anyone think he can run the point. I dont think there is a more skilled guy his size outside of Lebron. Putting him at the 1 could mask those defensive inefficiencies pssibly and what ever team he was on would be able to cause alot of matchup problems depending on how the lineup is set. So my question is could anyone see him running the point a la Lebron James.

If Hedo Turkoglu did it I'm sure Jabari can

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[ManualRam]

Was thinking about the guys at the top of the draft a bit. My only concern for Parker is his defense. Guarding 3/4s might be problematic for him. This might be a crazy idea but does anyone think he can run the point. I dont think there is a more skilled guy his size outside of Lebron. Putting him at the 1 could mask those defensive inefficiencies pssibly and what ever team he was on would be able to cause alot of matchup problems depending on how the lineup is set. So my question is could anyone see him running the point a la Lebron James.

him running the point on offense would have little to do with who he'd have to defend.
he'd still defend whoever his coach assigns him to defend.

[CablexDeadpool]

Parker dominated as usual.

[WatermelonMan]

Yip