Otto Porter

[nuposse04]

Not only that but I have trouble understanding why people were so adamantly against the Ersan trade if we all know his ceiling is inferior guys like Prince or Battier.

I think both of those guys are his floor to be honest. My absolute upside for him is a more efficient Deng.

[Nivek]

Ilyasova is already more productive than either Battier or Prince. Not Deng at his peak, maybe, but Deng's best year was at age 21. All Ilyasova does is make his shots, avoid turnovers, rebound decently, and play average defense. He's a good player. And, he'd look awfully good starting at PF alongside Nene at C, Webster and Beal on the wings and Wall at the point.

[hands11]

Ilyasova is already more productive than either Battier or Prince. Not Deng at his peak, maybe, but Deng's best year was at age 21. All Ilyasova does is make his shots, avoid turnovers, rebound decently, and play average defense. He's a good player. And, he'd look awfully good starting at PF alongside Nene at C, Webster and Beal on the wings and Wall at the point.

Ilyasova would have been ok but Nene doesn't want to play center anymore from what I can tell.

I'm fine with a place holder in AH for now. Short cheap contract. No reason to commit to the longer contract of Ilyasova even though it could most likely get moved again.

This year is about about the arrival of Wall and Beal. That's where they are in the rebuild. With them established, I would target an old vet winner like Dirk. That to me is the next step. Milk that for two years as Wall and Beal really get it going and become established stars, then you are all in for KD.

Moves like Ilyasova aren't going to move the needle that much one way or another so I'm not concerned about them making them. AH is fine. Short contract. Cheap. S4 who can even play a small 5. Vocal leader. Good fit for the team. They did well in attracting and signing him. Same with Maynor from what I can tell. The franchise is getting recognition for the rebuilding they have done. They are now a legit playoff contender again.

The offseason has been good. But they probably should have drafted Len instead of Porter ( excluding Zeller because they have a clog at PF )

[nate33]

I'm not worried about Nene not wanting to play center. Nobody wants to play center. Why would anybody want to body up against 270-pound centers when you can body up against 245-pound power forwards instead?

Nene is being paid $13M a year. He'll do what his coaches tell him to do.

[Nivek]

The way Nene plays, there's not much functional difference between him at center or him at PF. He's still going to play mostly inside on offense. He's still going to be a paint protector and box out guy on defense. With a healthy Okafor, Nene would get matched against the smaller of the other team's bigs. With Okafor sidelined, it really doesn't matter a lot what Nene wants or doesn't want -- they need him to play some center.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Yep, it did to me. Mainly because at no point in the draft process did I have Porter over Noel. So while I was not despondent about the choice because I had liked Porter all along, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that I can't get rid of.

When it comes down to it, I don't know how much difference it will make. Porter is likely to be something along the lines of Prince or Battier. Zeller may be Troy Murphy. Noel may be Noah...

I don't think there was an MJ or LeBron in the draft so it's all relative. The main area of debate is probably regarding player positions rather than talent.

I just hope drafting Porter isn't reminiscent of drafting Dixon... seemed like a good idea at the time. Nivek, just out of curiosity, you got how Dixon rated in YODA out of college??

I recall ( maybe incorrectly ) Zeller being ranking pretty well in Yoda.

I think the way you describe it is fair. I think the gem of the draft was VO, but he wasn't even available to us. That said, keep your eyes peeled on CJM. I think he will be a Eric Gordon type. Lets see if he can stay healthier. I also think Burke is going to be a legit good PG. Zeller. I think he will be a work horse. A Hansbourgh motor with outside shooting. Zeller will be a good player. And don't sleep on Len. In 3 years he is going to look real interesting. Big Z Jr v2.0

VO and Burke are the two clear starter types. Zeller could be also. And then there is Len. Len is a 3-5 year project before he is fully established. But so what. Look at Hibbert. Legit centers often take time. Its a tough position to play. Specially if you are going to be the defensive anchor and score. Len will contribute along the way, but as a starter on a good team, 3 year est. I put Noel behind Len and with more injury risk.

Everyone else seems more like 6th man quality. They could start, but not on a good teams or at least not unless they have other stars around them such that they start just as a matter of fit. Otto seems to be at that level. McLemore is an interesting talent, but I question his mind. Doesn't seem like a lead dog and stud SG should have that.

Considering we needed a young C/PF prospects, we should have probably drafted Len or Zeller. I can understand the thinking that they already have a clutter of PF prospects which is why they wouldn't go Zeller ( though they could have and traded Ves for nothing ), but Len would have made sense. Specially with Okafor on the last year of his contract.

I would have been more then fine if they picked Len and tried to resign Trevor A instead of picking Otto. I think that was the better move for a 2-3 year plan.

Hands, Len was probably the most tempting player to me in the draft based on upside. I was pretty high on him as well. The stress fracture in his foot was what cooled me on him leading up to the draft. But to get a center prospect like him, he may of been the best choice. It will be interesting to see how what he does.

CJM was another I definitely liked alot as well...

But seeing that Porter's been sidelined with injuries and his slight build, it will be our luck that not taking Len or Noel because of injury concerns if Porter turns out to be the most injury riddled of them all.

[Ruzious]

I recall ( maybe incorrectly ) Zeller being ranking pretty well in Yoda.

I think the way you describe it is fair. I think the gem of the draft was VO, but he wasn't even available to us. That said, keep your eyes peeled on CJM. I think he will be a Eric Gordon type. Lets see if he can stay healthier. I also think Burke is going to be a legit good PG. Zeller. I think he will be a work horse. A Hansbourgh motor with outside shooting. Zeller will be a good player. And don't sleep on Len. In 3 years he is going to look real interesting. Big Z Jr v2.0

VO and Burke are the two clear starter types. Zeller could be also. And then there is Len. Len is a 3-5 year project before he is fully established. But so what. Look at Hibbert. Legit centers often take time. Its a tough position to play. Specially if you are going to be the defensive anchor and score. Len will contribute along the way, but as a starter on a good team, 3 year est. I put Noel behind Len and with more injury risk.

Everyone else seems more like 6th man quality. They could start, but not on a good teams or at least not unless they have other stars around them such that they start just as a matter of fit. Otto seems to be at that level. McLemore is an interesting talent, but I question his mind. Doesn't seem like a lead dog and stud SG should have that.

Considering we needed a young C/PF prospects, we should have probably drafted Len or Zeller. I can understand the thinking that they already have a clutter of PF prospects which is why they wouldn't go Zeller ( though they could have and traded Ves for nothing ), but Len would have made sense. Specially with Okafor on the last year of his contract.

I would have been more then fine if they picked Len and tried to resign Trevor A instead of picking Otto. I think that was the better move for a 2-3 year plan.

Hands, Len was probably the most tempting player to me in the draft based on upside. I was pretty high on him as well. The stress fracture in his foot was what cooled me on him leading up to the draft. But to get a center prospect like him, he may of been the best choice. It will be interesting to see how what he does.

CJM was another I definitely liked alot as well...

But seeing that Porter's been sidelined with injuries and his slight build, it will be our luck that not taking Len or Noel because of injury concerns if Porter turns out to be the most injury riddled of them all.

The player I predict Alex Len's career will be most similar to is... drumroll please... Kwame Brown. With all the talent he has... he's got obvious weaknesses that are going to stop him from being a dependable player. The first one is consistency. He's going to have 1 in probably 10 games where people who don't watch him on a regular basis will say Wow - he good, he really good. But no matter how talented you are, if you're not consistent, you hurt your team at least as much as you help it. Second is - he doesn't have a knack (call it aggression, instinct, hands, skill, all of em) for catching the ball. Teammates are going to get sick of getting to's because he doesn't do what it takes to catch and convert their passes. He'll do it on occasion - but not consistently. Kwame... Brown...... Eventually, he'll be a defense/rebounding guy who's a solid backup type making too much money.

[hands11]

I say there is zero chance he is a Kwame brown.

Len is much more driven to be good then Kwame was. Kwame also had small hands. Kwame also had mental confidence, esteem issues. MJ did what he thought was tough love. Well that doesn't work on everyone. It didn't help Kwame at all. It crushed him.

Also, keep in mind, Len was playing on that fracture and he also came to a country and didn't speak the language.

So no. Len isn't going to be a Kwame Brown. Len has a lot more drive and defined skill.

[Durins Baynes]

I hate the Otto Porter pick as much as I liked the Beal one. I think 2-3 years from now Wizards fans are going to be borderline suicidal over this pick. Even moreso than the decision to pass on Kawhi Leonard maybe.

[Ruzious]

I say there is zero change he is a Kwame brown.

Len is much more driven to be good then Kwame was. Kwame also had small hands. Kwame also had mental confidence, esteem issues. MJ did what he thought was tough love. Well that doesn't work on everyone. It didn't help Kwame at all. It crushed him.

Also, keep in mind, Len was playing on that fracture and he also came to a country and didn't speak the language.

So no. Len isn't going to be a Kwame Brown. Len has a lot more drive and defined skill.

Zero change? Relax, if you need a few quarters for the vending machine, it's on me.

Another prediction I feel pretty sure about - you're going to be making excuses for him year after year after Blatche - and saying see I told ya he's gonna be a star after most of those 1 in 10 big games.

[The Consiglieri]

And I think you might be right that, if anyone, Zeller will be the one that haunts us more. But very few people liked Zeller over Porter prior to the draft. This was a year when the top seven had almost no separation between them prior to the draft.

I agree that very few strongly preferred Zeller over Porter. Did anybody in this forum actually rank Zeller higher than Porter on their draft board?
I won't get upset of Zeller outperforms Porter. I'll be real upset if Noel does though.

<raises hand> I had 1. Noah 2. Zeller 3. Porter. I didn't make a big stink about picking Porter, because I didn't want to whine about getting a qulity player - even if he wasn't the one I would have picked. They picked 3rd and got the 3rd best player. Basically, I rationalized.

Yeah, there were a few for sure. I was not one of them, but they were present, and at least 2 or 3 were quite vociferously pro-Zeller. I was excited about his prospects heading into '12-'13, and was incredibly disappointed in his season and dropped him about 8 slots down my board (in as much as I had one).

[Nivek]

Here was the top of my "board" from this year's draft:

1. Oladipo
2. Zeller
3. Noel
4. McLemore
5. Porter
6. Adams
7. Bennett
8. Burke

McLemore, Porter, Adams, Bennett and Burke were all rated about the same.

[GhostsOfGil]

Here was the top of my "board" from this year's draft:

1. Oladipo
2. Zeller
3. Noel
4. McLemore
5. Porter
6. Adams
7. Bennett
8. Burke

McLemore, Porter, Adams, Bennett and Burke were all rated about the same.

I remember I was intrigued by Zeller only because he ranked so well in your system. Wasn't Len 4?

[Nivek]

Here was the top of my "board" from this year's draft:

1. Oladipo
2. Zeller
3. Noel
4. McLemore
5. Porter
6. Adams
7. Bennett
8. Burke

McLemore, Porter, Adams, Bennett and Burke were all rated about the same.

I remember I was intrigued by Zeller only because he ranked so well in your system. Wasn't Len 4?

Nope. In YODA, Len rated as a 2nd round pick.

[Dat2U]

The top five on my board from this year's draft.

1. Noel
2. Oladipo
3. Porter
4. Olynyk
5. Zeller

[Upper Decker]

Here was the top of my "board" from this year's draft:

1. Oladipo
2. Zeller
3. Noel
4. McLemore
5. Porter
6. Adams
7. Bennett
8. Burke

McLemore, Porter, Adams, Bennett and Burke were all rated about the same.

I remember I was intrigued by Zeller only because he ranked so well in your system. Wasn't Len 4?

The thing that was facinating about Zeller leading up to the draft was that he measured out as an athletic freak. Well at least in the run and jump categories and wasn't nearly as limited in length as we originally thought. He reminds me a lot of Chris Bosh coming out. Between Noel and Zeller I see no possible way Wizards fans look back and say EG, ahem, cough, cough, Ted, made the right pick in this draft.

[pineappleheadindc]

.

If you are not already an Otto Porter fan, you should be. The link, below, is a must-read.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ ... story.html

#WizardsForLife

[nuposse04]

.

If you are not already an Otto Porter fan, you should be. The link, below, is a must-read.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ ... story.html

#WizardsForLife

I know it has nothing to do with basketball, but that is just good character right there. I'm sure many guys in the NBA do charity work...but the cynic in me wonders if they do it cause they feel good when doing it...or they just want to improve their brand image. Considering the completely random act of kindness Porter did here, I don't think I'll have to be too cynical regarding his future charitable contributions to the community.

[popper]

.

If you are not already an Otto Porter fan, you should be. The link, below, is a must-read.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ ... story.html

#WizardsForLife

Fills my heart with joy. Bravo to Otto.

[The Consiglieri]

im willing to imagine im wrong about zeller, one of my hard and fast rules with drafting, is always buy low on a formerly highly thought of prospect who only had one disappointing year. You usually get a massive steal once every other or third time. Notice Alshon Jeffery this past weekend? Jeffery was ranked top 5-6 overall heading into the fall '11 season at South Carolina, then he got fat, timed slow, and underwhelmed in his final season for spurrier. Fell from top 6 ranking, to 40-75 ranking overall heading into the draft in '12. While we were hoping Hankerson would turn into a WR, and planning on wasting a third round pick on Josh LeRibeus, Chicago was deciding to overdraft a WR formerly holding a top 6 ranking who'd fallen to a third round grade a round early.

18 months later Jeffery produces a 10-218-1 line against the saints (quality D ranking after 4 weeks), in 5 games his line: 28-429-2, projects to 89-1429-6.

I had a feeling the bears got a steal and was pretty bitter when he was selected in '12, despite the claims by many dc based fans that he was a fat slug not worth considering.

18 months down the line, and the philosophy of buying low on athletes who previously had sky high stock is a very, very wise strategy on draft day, especially if the fundamentals so to speak, are still, in place.

Which is the one reason I was not quite as confident if my zeller hating as I may have appeared.