2012 NBA Draft

[fugop]

That draft proposal is absurd. The benefit of finishing 15th instead of 16th is astronomical:

15th: #15 (worst) & #30
16th: #31 & #46

You'd have 7 & 8 seeds trying not to make the playoffs.

[montestewart]

That draft proposal is absurd. The benefit of finishing 15th instead of 16th is astronomical:

15th: #15 (worst) & #30
16th: #31 & #46

You'd have 7 & 8 seeds trying not to make the playoffs.

Something less dramatic, like sandwiching the 14 non-playoff teams into every other pick from 15 onward might work, so #15 moves to #16, #16 moves to #18, #17 moves to 20, etc. Doesn't so heavily punish the borderline teams on one end, and doesn't so heavily reward bordeline teams on the other end.

[theboomking]

There is an interesting article on nbadraft.net about Steven Adams, the 7 foot center out of New Zealand. Adams looks like a very good prospect, likely an eventual high lotto pick. Interestingly, it looks like he could be draft eligible this year.

The interesting thing is that he's actually eligible to declare for the 2012 draft. Had NBA scouts been able to be here to see him, there's an excellent chance he could have been a top-10 pick in the 2012 draft. As it is, he could probably crack the top 20 and possibly the lottery just by working out for teams and through videos.

On Sunday, he absolutely destroyed top-10 senior Kaleb Tarczewski in their match-up with 20 points, 24 rebounds, and four assists to go along with numerous blocked shots.

He held Tarczewski to just 10 points and four rebounds. Kaleb actually didn't seem to play all that poorly; he was just severely outclassed. Tarczewski would gain position on him, only to have his shot blocked by Adams anyway.

Adams's performance really opened eyes among the people in attendance at the camp. Over four games, he averaged 22 points, 16.8 rebounds and two assists. Besides his dominance against Tarczewski, his 37-point, 14-rebound performance against Chris Walker and the 2013 Red team was remakable

http://www.nbadraft.net/steven-adams-kiwi-phenom

[fishercob]

Hollinger and Chad Ford were recently discussing the fate of the 2012 draft, and how the order will be determined. There was talk of simply repeating this years draft order or a league-wide lottery. But it seems like some compromise between the two will emerge. Hollinger floated the idea of of weighting the last 5 years of records (i.e. more recent gets more weight) to come up with the order.

Because I'm a huge nerd I threw all the records into a spreadsheet. I weighted this past year's records by a multiplier of 5, last year's by 4, and so on.

Under such a system the Wizards would pick 4th behind Minnesota, New Jersey, and Sacramento. If they were to do a lottery based on the weighted records, the Wiz would obviously have the 14 highest chance at the top pick and would pick no lower than 7th.

I pasted the full order, but basically any system other than a league-wide equally-weighted lottrry should be pretty good for the Wizards, and we should have the opportunity to add another very talented prospect.

Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets
Sacramento Kings
Washington Wizards
Los Angeles Clippers
Toronto Raptors
New York Knicks
Golden State Warriors
Indiana Pacers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Detroit Pistons
Charlotte Bobcats
Philadelphia 76ers
Oklahoma City Thunder
New Orleans Hornets
Atlanta Hawks
Cleveland Cavaliers
Miami Heat
Houston Rockets
Utah Jazz
Chicago Bulls
Portland Trail Blazers
Phoenix Suns
Denver Nuggets
Orlando Magic
Boston Celtics
Dallas Mavericks
San Antonio Spurs
Los Angeles Lakers

[theboomking]

Jeeeeez. Can you imagine if the Clippers win the 1st overall pick courtesy of Minnesota. Drummond, Gordon, Griffin, and the rest would be a championship core.

Fourth in the lotto though...not bad for us. We could use a little good luck this year. I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, as the Wall lotto was great, but we've generally gotten screwed in the lotto.

Any idea how the slotting would look if they used a 2 or 3 year window? I think it is much more likely that they would look at a 2 or 3 year window than a 5 year window.

FWIW, I can't imagine they give every team an equal shot. There is no way the league lets Miami have a shot at the 1st overall pick. Can you imagine the outcry?

[fishercob]

Using three years would probably have around the same result, depending on the weighting. 4 and 5 seasons agao with Wiz hovered around .500, so removing those altogether from the weighting would help in absolute terms. That said, the Clips, Wolves, Kings and Nets have all been pretty putrid over the last 3 seasons too, so i'm guessing we'd end up 4th or 5th.

[Dat2U]

Top 4 or 5 pick would be great but honestly I'm praying for the top 2. Davis or Drummond gives us that potential championship big that barelyawake has been looking for.

Barely would definitely say this is the year to tank.

Harrison Barnes might not be bad consolation prize as a 3rd pick. Especially if the reports are true that his ballhandling has improved greatly this offseason. Admittedly I like his approach & deameanor to the game. His work ethic is apparently beyond reproach and that would certainly fit well with Wall.

After the top 3 there's a drop off although I supposed one of the elite freshman could emerge or a guy like Perry Jones III could take it to another level.

[theboomking]

Top 4 or 5 pick would be great but honestly I'm praying for the top 2. Davis or Drummond gives us that potential championship big that barelyawake has been looking for.

Barely would definitely say this is the year to tank.

Harrison Barnes might not be bad consolation prize as a 3rd pick. Especially if the reports are true that his ballhandling has improved greatly this offseason. Admittedly I like his approach & deameanor to the game. His work ethic is apparently beyond reproach and that would certainly fit well with Wall.

After the top 3 there's a drop off although I supposed one of the elite freshman could emerge or a guy like Perry Jones III could take it to another level.

I don't want to set my hopes high enough to even talk about a top 2 pick, but Barnes wood look great next to Wall. Regardless of Barnes' offensive ceiling, I think he will absolutely be a good two way player, which gives him an immediate advantage over many recent wings, or even prospects like Quincy Miller. Barnes works hard on the defensive end of the floor, has very good instincts, and very long arms. Check out this UNC summer ball video for a look at how much muscle Harrison has put on. Barnes is #12 in a black tank top. Harrison already has an NBA body. He looks like he could cover face up 4's.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xGfCJdi0dw&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Secondarily, I think Barnes' ceiling on offense is higher than generally recognized.Barnes isn't a great first step athlete, but already has a very mature set of moves, a post game, the ability to catch and shoot, and the ability to create a shot off the dribble. His style of play does not remind me of Melo, but his ability to score from any spot on the floor does.

A Wall/Barnes duo is near the top of my wish list. Looking at upcoming RFA, and as long as I'm thinking pie in the sky, Wall, Barnes, and Harden would make an awesome, and perfectly complementary triumvirate. Add in some interior defense, rebounding, and low usage garbage points, and I think that is championship talent.

[go'stags]

I was looking at DX the other day, and they have Thomas Robinson, PF from Kansas, very high at number 4. Their description of him sounds like exactly what we need at PF: An excellent athlete, defender, rebounder (better d-reb % than Faried, second overall reb% after Faried), who uses a quick first step to blow by other big men. They say he also has shown decent form so he could develop a consistent mid-range game. Another player to keep an eye on.

[closg00]

(Jared) Sullinger dropped 20 pounds to get down to 265 and lowered his body-fat percentage from 16.7 to 12.1. OSU coach Thad Matta is eager for Sullinger to be more versatile and mobile, potentially able to avoid some of the pounding he took in the post last season.

Expect some more jumpers, a little more ballhandling and the chance to show off his passing skills when facing the basket. But he will still do much of his work down in the post, where he said he still has the rear end needed to clear space.

“That’s still there. I didn’t lose my best friend,” Sullinger said.

He just added to it by taking some weight away.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/sullinger-dro ... -body-fat/

[Ruzious]

A new Mock, Drummond #1
http://hoopshype.com/draft.htm

I can't believe they have Gilchrist only 15th. I saw him in one of the all-star games and was blown away with how good an all-around player he is.

Maybe the best thing about missing a season is that nobody will see how mediocre a prospect Vesely is, and the Wiz can trade him to get another high pick in the 2012 draft. And use the excuse that we had a logjam at the small forward position. Or use him to trade up to get Drummond.

[theboomking]

A new Mock, Drummond #1
http://hoopshype.com/draft.htm

I can't believe they have Gilchrist only 15th. I saw him in one of the all-star games and was blown away with how good an all-around player he is.

Maybe the best thing about missing a season is that nobody will see how mediocre a prospect Vesely is, and the Wiz can trade him to get another high pick in the 2012 draft. And use the excuse that we had a logjam at the small forward position. Or use him to trade up to get Drummond.

I really like Gilchrist, but I think he is just as raw as Vesely on offense. I watched Michael in the Nike Hoop Summit, and in the Peach Jam, and in all of his highlight video's, and his handle appears sub-par, and his shooting form is lacking. With all of the talent on Kentucky, I don't think Gilchrist is going to score much this year. On defense however, Gilchrist should become a lock down defender and an excellent team defender. I think he's a lotto pick, and at 15, is an absolute steal.

If, as that mock draft suggests, Gilchrist falls to 15, we better trade in and grab him too. The value is too good. I don't care if we already have 50 PF's on the roster.

[Ruzious]

A new Mock, Drummond #1
http://hoopshype.com/draft.htm

I can't believe they have Gilchrist only 15th. I saw him in one of the all-star games and was blown away with how good an all-around player he is.

Maybe the best thing about missing a season is that nobody will see how mediocre a prospect Vesely is, and the Wiz can trade him to get another high pick in the 2012 draft. And use the excuse that we had a logjam at the small forward position. Or use him to trade up to get Drummond.

I really like Gilchrist, but I think he is just as raw as Vesely on offense. I watched Michael in the Nike Hoop Summit, and in the Peach Jam, and in all of his highlight video's, and his handle appears sub-par, and his shooting form is lacking. With all of the talent on Kentucky, I don't think Gilchrist is going to score much this year. On defense however, Gilchrist should become a lock down defender and an excellent team defender. I think he's a lotto pick, and at 15, is an absolute steal.

If, as that mock draft suggests, Gilchrist falls to 15, we better trade in and grab him too. The value is too good. I don't care if we already have 50 PF's on the roster.

Yeah, the game I saw him in was the US HSers vs the world 18 and unders where he probably had a better offensive game than some of the other allstar games. Both he and Austin Rivers really stuck out to me as much for their demeaner as for their all-around games. They're both very intense competitors.

[fishercob]

Analysts in the know are saying this is the best draft since 2003. That could mean a perennial All-Star even if we pick 7th or 8th. I continue to be very intrigued by Brad Beal and the Ray Allen comparisons. He's supposedly a super high character kid -- just a coach's wet dream, and they're comparing his shooting stroke to Ray Allen's. He's a tad small and slight, but he'll likely grow and fill out a bit.

Looking forward to the college season starting so we can start scouting these dudes.

[dangermouse]

Analysts in the know are saying this is the best draft since 2003. That could mean a perennial All-Star even if we pick 7th or 8th. I continue to be very intrigued by Brad Beal and the Ray Allen comparisons. He's supposedly a super high character kid -- just a coach's wet dream, and they're comparing his shooting stroke to Ray Allen's. He's a tad small and slight, but he'll likely grow and fill out a bit.

Looking forward to the college season starting so we can start scouting these dudes.

I concur about the draft being full of top level talent. I dont think the dropoff in talent is as great as, say, the 2010 draft either.

Anyways, sucks we are loaded with SF talent already, but even so I would def take Barnes. Outside of him, I *think* id take Quincy, have to see wether he looks one dimensional or shows he can play D. I'd take Sullinger too, but i think we'll be picking slightly too high to justify taking him, lets see how he goes this year too.

Somehow getting Barnes and Sullinger would be amazing.

Im also looking forward to college ball, especially now that it looks like we will miss most of the NBA season. Gives me something else to watch apart from the Australian league, which isnt even getting shown live here by our major sports network

[no D in Hibachi]

I'm pretty bullish on Perry Jones this year. Last year was a horrible situation for him to succeed. No PG, Dunn was a surpeme chucker, and the coach wasn't utilizing him apropriate at all. I think he gets a bad wrap on the board because he seems similar to Blatche-and we all know how that's working out. However, alll reports indicate he's mentally the anti-blatche. It's been reported that he's a hard worker, respectful of authority, and a good kid.

Similarly with Derrick Williams, I think PJIII got his feet wet his freshman year and will dominate NCAA his soph year. He's evey bit as skilled as Williams, but he's 6'10/11". I really think he'll settle in as the 4th best prospect of the draft and may be top thee is Davis doesn't showb well.

[theboomking]

Check out Uconn's midnight madness dunk contest. Drummond is obviously an athletic freak, but that dunk by Lamb really shows his length and athleticism. He looks like Paul George.

Lamb is already a good shooter and defender, has a nice short to mid game, including a floater, and is a very good athlete. If we are picking after Barnes, Drummond and Davis, Lamb might not be a bad choice.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyjUe-GWW1A&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[REDardWIZskin]

Andre Drummond is the truth

[theboomking]

Terrence Ross sounds a bit like NY in his off ball ability. There are going to be some decent replacements for Young in this draft if we choose not to resign Nick. I'd initially rank them:

(1)Jeremy Lamb
(2)Brad Beal
(3)Austin Rivers
(4a/b)Terrence Ross
(4a/b)Dron Lamb

re Ross:

Strengths: Good athlete with a very natural shooting ability ... Smooth leaper that can get off the ground quickly, whether he's elevating for a jump shot or finishing in transition ... Quick first step ... Easy target for lob passes ... Understands how to move without the ball ... Always a threat to cut backdoor ... Very creative in finding ways to finish around the hoop, often using the rim to protect the ball from defenders ... Excellent hang-time and body control ... Not afraid to dunk over the top of players … Good frame that should be able to hold a good amount of muscle ... Measured 6'7", which gives him ideal size for a shooting guard ... Has a solid (though unadvanced) ball-handling ability ... Prefers just one or two quick dribbles to create enough separation from his defender to get off a quality shot ... Does most of his damage on the perimeter ... Great-looking jumper, with a quick release and smooth mechanics ... Confident shooter that displays no hesitation when firing ... Likes to camp near the corners and let his teammates set him up ... Already has range out to the NBA three-point line ... Is a natural catch-and-shoot player ... Often seems unfazed by defenders who are closing-out on him when he is shooting ... Shows a willingness to compete on the glass, especially on put-back opportunities ... Has the length and lateral quickness to be an effective defender … Unselfish player that doesn't need to dominate the basketball to be an effective teammate ...

Weaknesses: Needs seasoning ... Was regulated to a role-playing shooter in his freshman season, and didn't get many chances to show what else he can do ... Has yet to prove that he can consistently create offense for himself ... Can beat defenders at this level with his speed but doesn't possess the ability to break players down with his ball-handling skills ... Not the defender he could be, but should improve in time with added experience and strength ...

Overall: Terrence Ross will look to build on what was a very respectable freshman campaign ... He's primed for a breakout season in 2011-2012, and should be a first round pick whenever he comes out ...

Notes: Measured 6'7 (in shoes) 197 lbs, with a 6'7 wingspan at the 2011 Kevin Durant Skills Academy.

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/terrence-ross

5. Terrence Ross, Washington

Ross is one of the most intriguing prospects at the position this year. He has more prototypical (6’6”) size for the two guard position than many of his rivals. Ross also has a smooth, well-rounded game that will translate well to the professional level: he is an excellent shooter with range, a tough defender willing to make a consistent effort on that side of the floor, and a good athlete with a first step and leaping ability. The main concerns with Ross remain that he can be reckless and needs to improve his shot selection. Additionally, his ball-handling remains average and, if it does not improve, this could reduce his offensive creativity and turn him into a spot up shooter without the ability to create plays from the two guard spot.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2012-nba-draft- ... ing-guards

Upon further review, Ross shot .443 with a .352 3PP and a .758 FG%. Respectable, but not astounding. I like him in the teens or twenties if we lose NY and want to buy a pick to groom at SG.

If you want a pure shooter, Doron Lamb hit .497 from the field and .486 from 3 point range last year.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Doron-Lamb-5213/

[Ruzious]

Andre Drummond is the truth

Yup. Next to Dwight Howard, he might be the player I'd most want to have playing with Wall. Then add water and 3 guys who can hit 3's and defend and rebound a little.