Andrew Wiggins is not a lock at #1?

[SlowPaced]

Parker should be the easy number one IMO. He's way too skilled to not succeed. If he can go back down to 225-230 he should lap everyone else (especially considering the fact he only gained weight when injured).

Wiggins reminds me of a Rudy Gay. Super athleticism and defensive potential but hardly a franchise changer like Parker could be.

What? This next draft is too deep and top heavy talented to know who'll be 1/who will emerge. And the majority consensus is that Wiggins is that guy.

What a ludicrous statement, as good as Parker is. (Think he's number 2)

Randle is the only other one in the discussion and his game screams less athletic Derrick Williams. I'll pass.

Randle is a miles better shooter than Derrick Williams and can hit a three. That's why I think he won't be a tweener.

[ManualRam]

Tim Duncan should've slid to the second round. Zero aura factor.

people are getting too hung up on that one word in this thread.
basically what i think the scout was getting at is what vibe does he give off? is he an alpha dog? does he exude confidence and superiority? does he look like he can he just impose himself on his defender if he wants to? do extra defenders tend to gravitate towards him when he touches the ball? does it look like his teammates level of play improve when he's out there?

a guy like duncan might not have played with visible emotion or charisma, but he did play with quiet confidence, demanding the ball because he knew he could make a play with it.

I think people are right laughing at it cause it completely looks like an overreaction article that is trying to say all the controversial things that will draw clicks ie: Wiggins is not as good as you think - based on a few out of context quotes from scouts and a blatant overreaction analysis from Goodman based on a 3 hour practice and a 15 minute interview. The aura thing was just the cherry on top that makes it all the more comical.

And I seriously doubt anyone'd be able to see that quiet confidence in Duncan based on his first ever practice on his first year at Wake Forest and a 15 minute interview with him when he was 18.

these criticisms are nothing new. scouts have observed the same things from wiggins the past couple of yrs. this article is just "louder" because the hype surrounding him is extremely high right now and many people will finally be getting their first real look at wiggins. it has just been accepted that he's a generational talent, a shoo-in as the #1 pick, best basketball player in college, 180 mill contract on the table, best prospect since lebron, etc. expectations are sky high for this kid and goodman is basically saying "people are setting up to be disappointed. temper those expectations," these were not just observations made from 1 practice session either. they were made by multiple scouts and writers from different settings. nothing that was said can be considered controversial either.

[ManualRam]

What? This next draft is too deep and top heavy talented to know who'll be 1/who will emerge. And the majority consensus is that Wiggins is that guy.

What a ludicrous statement, as good as Parker is. (Think he's number 2)

Randle is the only other one in the discussion and his game screams less athletic Derrick Williams. I'll pass.

Randle is a miles better shooter than Derrick Williams and can hit a three.

no he isn't.

[E-Balla]

Randle is a miles better shooter than Derrick Williams and can hit a three. That's why I think he won't be a tweener.

Derrick's shot is wet and he's a three point shooter right now... I stand by my statement.

Also people are acting like this is such a slight to Randle. DWill was supposed to be a David West level guy and that's pretty good. Just not 1st overall good.

[Apollo64]

Just let the guy play and then you can form an opinion. All those draft projections right now are way premature.

[Brauer]

I think Parker will be better as a college player than Wiggins, as his game depends less on athleticism, which's impact is mitigated by the zone defense. However, Wiggins will be the better NBA player.

[Tave]

People worry way too much about this sort of thing. It doesn't matter what spot he goes. Does anyone care that Jordan went number three or Bird went number six?

[EscapoTHB]

A few things: 1. These were pretty much the things I saw in that youtube video someone posted last week of Kansas' first scrimmage. 2. We talkin' bout PRACTICE!? 3. Because of his hype a lot of scouts are going to overly scruitinize his game. Most players they look for why they CAN be great. At this point scouts are looking for why he WON'T be. Which we got some of that with Lebron, with people like Chad Ford saying that Darko should have been drafted over him.

At the end of the day, Wiggins draft position will get decided on the court in actual games. Just like everyone else. This right now is just people trying to get web hits.

[Bubstubbler]

He could be taken over by his teammate, Embiid. 7'0" center with crazy athleticism and a Hakeem post game. Deadly.

^^^ this

Watching footage from KU practices/drills has been shocking to me. His top-end potential is pretty amazing, maybe a Duncan-like defensive anchor with the offensive game of Aldridge.

[QRich3]

people are getting too hung up on that one word in this thread.
basically what i think the scout was getting at is what vibe does he give off? is he an alpha dog? does he exude confidence and superiority? does he look like he can he just impose himself on his defender if he wants to? do extra defenders tend to gravitate towards him when he touches the ball? does it look like his teammates level of play improve when he's out there?

a guy like duncan might not have played with visible emotion or charisma, but he did play with quiet confidence, demanding the ball because he knew he could make a play with it.

I think people are right laughing at it cause it completely looks like an overreaction article that is trying to say all the controversial things that will draw clicks ie: Wiggins is not as good as you think - based on a few out of context quotes from scouts and a blatant overreaction analysis from Goodman based on a 3 hour practice and a 15 minute interview. The aura thing was just the cherry on top that makes it all the more comical.

And I seriously doubt anyone'd be able to see that quiet confidence in Duncan based on his first ever practice on his first year at Wake Forest and a 15 minute interview with him when he was 18.

these criticisms are nothing new. scouts have observed the same things from wiggins the past couple of yrs. this article is just "louder" because the hype surrounding him is extremely high right now and many people will finally be getting their first real look at wiggins. it has just been accepted that he's a generational talent, a shoo-in as the #1 pick, best basketball player in college, 180 mill contract on the table, best prospect since lebron, etc. expectations are sky high for this kid and goodman is basically saying "people are setting up to be disappointed. temper those expectations," these were not just observations made from 1 practice session either. they were made by multiple scouts and writers from different settings. nothing that was said can be considered controversial either.

If he was saying that I could definitely agree with him, what he's saying though is that he dissapears, takes possessions off, misses most of his jumpers and he's barely ever one of the best players on the floor. And then he proceeds to quote two people who call him "average" and "just another player". And mention his aura. I don't think he's a sure bet to be at the level of Lebron, but there's a whole range between that and an average NCAA player.

[thug-lyfe]

He could be taken over by his teammate, Embiid. 7'0" center with crazy athleticism and a Hakeem post game. Deadly.

Glad someone brought him up

I personally think he'll be a stud and should be included in the top draft prospects in 2014

Wiggins, Randle, Exum, Parker, Gordon, Smart, Harrison, Embiid

Plenty for all the tanking teams

[eliasrapp98]

He could be taken over by his teammate, Embiid. 7'0" center with crazy athleticism and a Hakeem post game. Deadly.

^^^ this

Watching footage from KU practices/drills has been shocking to me. His top-end potential is pretty amazing, maybe a Duncan-like defensive anchor with the offensive game of Aldridge.

All he needs to do is 12/9/3/2.5 and he gets taken first. In a league with only a few offensive centers a two way player like this is SUPER intriguing. He has Drummond athleticism, but with the offense every Pistons' fan wished he had.

[nicnac215]

He could be taken over by his teammate, Embiid. 7'0" center with crazy athleticism and a Hakeem post game. Deadly.

^^^ this

Watching footage from KU practices/drills has been shocking to me. His top-end potential is pretty amazing, maybe a Duncan-like defensive anchor with the offensive game of Aldridge.

All he needs to do is 12/9/3/2.5 and he gets taken first. In a league with only a few offensive centers a two way player like this is SUPER intriguing. He has Drummond athleticism, but with the offense every Pistons' fan wished he had.

He reminds me of Drummond size and athleticism with Monroe footwork and skillset.

[ManualRam]

He could be taken over by his teammate, Embiid. 7'0" center with crazy athleticism and a Hakeem post game. Deadly.

^^^ this

Watching footage from KU practices/drills has been shocking to me. His top-end potential is pretty amazing, maybe a Duncan-like defensive anchor with the offensive game of Aldridge.

All he needs to do is 12/9/3/2.5 and he gets taken first. In a league with only a few offensive centers a two way player like this is SUPER intriguing. He has Drummond athleticism, but with the offense every Pistons' fan wished he had.

if he gets that line he'd have to do it off the bench. i doubt he comes close to that line.
and i disagree that he has drummond athleticism. laterally he's not as quick. actually he's just not as quick in general and doesn't run the floor like drummond either

[Tave]

Embiid has nowhere near Drummond's athleticism, and while he possesses nice touch and footwork around the basket, his moves are brutally slow.

No lift, no power, no speed.

[Tave]

A few things: 1. These were pretty much the things I saw in that youtube video someone posted last week of Kansas' first scrimmage. 2. We talkin' bout PRACTICE!? 3. Because of his hype a lot of scouts are going to overly scruitinize his game. Most players they look for why they CAN be great. At this point scouts are looking for why he WON'T be. Which we got some of that with Lebron, with people like Chad Ford saying that Darko should have been drafted over him.

At the end of the day, Wiggins draft position will get decided on the court in actual games. Just like everyone else. This right now is just people trying to get web hits.

Excellent post, and to add to your last point, anything can happen leading up to the draft. You never know if a GM is going to fall in love with a guy, or a team decides to draft for fit instead of BPA, or they sour on a dude, etc...

Labeling a guy a "bust" because he goes #4 or #6 instead of #1 is a fool's errand. The draft doesn't determine a player's worth. It doesn't really even mean anything to anyone other than the players and agents who are compensated more for a higher pick.

Once the draft happens, players start from scratch all over again, and they either sink or swim.

[nicnac215]

Embiid has nowhere near Drummond's athleticism, and while he possesses nice touch and footwork around the basket, his moves are brutally slow.

No lift, no power, no speed.

Power will come with maturity and with his footwork he is plenty fast. His vertical is a little low but Drummond measured at 6'9.75" barefoot and Embiid looks much taller than that.

[Tave]

Embiid has nowhere near Drummond's athleticism, and while he possesses nice touch and footwork around the basket, his moves are brutally slow.

No lift, no power, no speed.

Power will come with maturity and with his footwork he is plenty fast. His vertical is a little low but Drummond measured at 6'9.75" barefoot and Embiid looks much taller than that.

He doesn't have a bully-build. That's not his game. And no, his footwork and release are both glacier-slow. He's just an extremely soft player all around. It's his height and coordination that intrigue people, but he has huge questions around him as a professional athlete. He does move okay laterally and looks to be a plus-defender.

He's a 2-3 year college project, IMO, I think coming out right now would do him a disservice. He looks like a guy who could really use a year or two of more moderate competition before he has to play grown men every day. Maybe he matures a lot physically through this year who knows.

[nicnac215]

Embiid has nowhere near Drummond's athleticism, and while he possesses nice touch and footwork around the basket, his moves are brutally slow.

No lift, no power, no speed.

Power will come with maturity and with his footwork he is plenty fast. His vertical is a little low but Drummond measured at 6'9.75" barefoot and Embiid looks much taller than that.

He doesn't have a bully-build. That's not his game. And no, his footwork and release are both glacier-slow. He's just an extremely soft player all around. It's his height and coordination that intrigue people, but he has huge questions around him as a professional athlete. He does move okay laterally and looks to be a plus-defender.

He's a 2-3 year college project, IMO, I think coming out right now would do him a disservice. He looks like a guy who could really use a year or two of more moderate competition before he has to play grown men every day. Maybe he matures a lot physically through this year who knows.

Have you seen Embiids east bay dunk? Non athletic guys cannot do that. He is far from slow and maybe you think his footwork in the post is slow, but I see it more as patient. A center does not need to be Derrick Rose quick, look what Hibbert the slowest guy in the nba did to the heat.

[brackdan70]

Sounds like a scouting report I heard back in 1984