Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part VI

[sfam]

More and more I'm really beginning to like Alex Len. To be clear, I'd be a bit uneasy about us picking him at 3, and I'm not advocating that. I think we should take Porter, and I think we will take Porter, no questions asked. But if we somehow acquired another pick in the top ten, I'd be looking at Len, and I'd like to find a way to make that happen.

Someone was saying a few pages back that Len has poor lower body strength... I'd just like to add that that's absolutely ridiculous. Len's lower body strength is actually a plus in my book, especially compared to a lot of the other big men in this draft.

I don't think Len is going to be a superstar or anything, but I think he is fairly ready for the NBA, and still has a ton of room to grow. I think he's very good on both sides of the ball, and is capable of developing both his offense and defense into very good skills in the NBA over time. I like his versatility on offense, and his mid range jumper looks sweet, so I think that's something that will develop into a legitimate threat after a few years in the league. We're in a perfect situation to pick him up if we can get another pick, as he can come off the bench behind Okafor for the next year or two (if we re-sign Okafor), while still getting plenty of minutes and practice while he transitions to the NBA game and further develops his body, and then he could be ready to take over right when Okafor is beginning to fall off.

I know a lot of people hate on Len around here, but I don't think it's justified.

The only real justified hate in Len is his ankles. That's just really scary in the top 10.

[rockymac52]

More and more I'm really beginning to like Alex Len. To be clear, I'd be a bit uneasy about us picking him at 3, and I'm not advocating that. I think we should take Porter, and I think we will take Porter, no questions asked. But if we somehow acquired another pick in the top ten, I'd be looking at Len, and I'd like to find a way to make that happen.

Someone was saying a few pages back that Len has poor lower body strength... I'd just like to add that that's absolutely ridiculous. Len's lower body strength is actually a plus in my book, especially compared to a lot of the other big men in this draft.

I don't think Len is going to be a superstar or anything, but I think he is fairly ready for the NBA, and still has a ton of room to grow. I think he's very good on both sides of the ball, and is capable of developing both his offense and defense into very good skills in the NBA over time. I like his versatility on offense, and his mid range jumper looks sweet, so I think that's something that will develop into a legitimate threat after a few years in the league. We're in a perfect situation to pick him up if we can get another pick, as he can come off the bench behind Okafor for the next year or two (if we re-sign Okafor), while still getting plenty of minutes and practice while he transitions to the NBA game and further develops his body, and then he could be ready to take over right when Okafor is beginning to fall off.

I know a lot of people hate on Len around here, but I don't think it's justified.

The only real justified hate in Len is his ankles. That's just really scary in the top 10.

I'll admit I haven't fully read up on his ankle issues. I know that stress fractures in knees can be career-threatening sometimes, so I'm sure ankles can be severe too. If they're a chronic problem, that could be a huge red flag. More ammo for why he wouldn't be a good pick at 3, for sure. But for a pick in the 7-10 range? I'll take my chances.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

we're arguably off track here in discussing Faried but I wonder if despite
the totally impressive stats Dat posted about Faried if he isn't an example
of the kind of player some here have long argued against having, that is a
player who can't be a starter on a championship team. He was a great value
for where he was taken but I'll ask again, can he really match up against
legit sized 4s? I'm not sure he can.

The lesson I hope others learned with Faried is one of the validity of an NCAA body of work over height, weight, conference, etc.

When a guy breaks records set by the likes of Tim Duncan it should mean something. At Morehead St. Faried destroyed Florida's big men and Kansas' big men. He more than held his own against Cousins and Orton of Kentucky. The NCAA tourney game where he blocked a shot to beat Louisville should have punched his ticket into the lottery, How there was such doubt when I said he's lottery-good shocked me. I wondered why so many just didn't see it.

This draft's Faried is likely Nate Wolters.

He put up 34 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists against Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten. The opposing coach said it was the best PG performance he had seen since Jason Kidd.

http://seattletimes.com/html/huskybaske ... men19.html

He's had some other eye-opening performances such as a 53 point game. The following game he scored 36 points. Wolters had 30 points against Alabama. What separates him is his elite ballhandling skill. I think he's going to have a lot of success in the NBA.

Here's a nice SI article by Luke Winn. He likes Otto Porter and Nate Wolters. (Win likes Olynyk as well--and so do I)

http://m.si.com/2957294/6ecc7fbf/

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

So who's the last highly drafted tweener that was a success?

Any recent top 10 picks?

Kawhi Leonard was considered a tweener, he could have been selected in the top 10.

Thank you! That's the type of answer I was looking for.

Leonard is an A+ low usage role player who developed a 3 pt shot after he left school to become the prototypical 3&D guy in today's NBA. Prior to the draft, I was wondering if Kawhi would have to switch to the 4 because of his lack of shooting in college.

There is a player in this draft who also could turn into a sneaky good NBA player if he can develop a shot: Andre Roberson.

He has the rebounding chops, along with Jamaal Franklin, to exceed expectations. Guys who get the ball have a way of helping teams win. The Spurs traded George Hill just to get the rights to Kawhi Leonard.

I hope the Wizards can trade Seraphin for some talented player who can help, regardless of position.

[rockymac52]

Quick thought on the Wizards' overall approach to the draft:

We've heard Ernie say recently that we don't want 3 rookies again, which indicates that we might have other plans for one of our 2nd round picks, probably the latter. This pissed a lot of us off, because history has proven that there's plenty of very good talent in the 2nd round, even in the last 10 picks of the drafts sometimes. So a lot of us would prefer to take a shot at somebody with that late pick, even if it doesn't pan out, because there's really nothing to lose and plenty to gain. But that's not the point I'm getting at here...

I'm more concerned with what we do with that 3rd pick. Some people seem to think we might trade it for cash, in the likes of $1-2 million. Obviously it's not our money, and it's incredibly easy as fans to say we should keep the pick and that $1-2 million is nothing when you own an NBA team. But the fact of the matter is, even if we could use the cash to offset the money we're spending on Blatche or whatever other area we'd like to put that money into (better medical staff or more front office hires, for example), it's probably just not that much of an addition. That's why we'd like to see us keep the pick.

I also understand not wanting 3 rookies on a team that we hope will be a playoff contender. I honestly am inclined to completely agree with that premise. However, I don't think that means we need to sell the pick.

It is a perfect opportunity to "draft and stash." Plenty of us have said this. Take a flyer on a guy and we don't even have to pay him for a few years, if ever. It makes sense. But I think a lot of us are only thinking about drafting and stashing a European player (or rather, International, I suppose). That's fine and dandy, and I'd be okay with drafting and stashing a Euro, but I don't think it's necessarily the best or the only option.

I am advocating drafting and stashing an AMERICAN player. Really all that matters to me is that we draft and stash the BEST player, I don't care if he's American or Italian or Chinese, as long as he's the best. But the key is that we seem to forget we can draft and stash an American. He doesn't even have to play in the D-League.

Look at what the Spurs are doing with Marcus Denmon, for example. Draft an American player at 59, but he's not quite ready to positively contribute to an NBA team, so they sent him overseas to France to develop his game. Then in 2-4 years or so, they'll revisit that draft pick. They'll see if Denmon has developed how they envisioned, and if he has, they'll bring him over. He hasn't cost them a dime up until the point that they bring him over, and they only bring him over if they are confident that he's ready to play in the NBA. It's a great long-term strategy. We need to do more of this.

My main point is DON'T FORGET THAT WE CAN DRAFT AND STASH AMERICAN PLAYERS.

[tontoz]

The only real justified hate in Len is his ankles. That's just really scary in the top 10.

His weak motor also has to be a major concern. At times he looked like he was just going through the motions on both ends.

[rockymac52]

The only real justified hate in Len is his ankles. That's just really scary in the top 10.

His weak motor also has to be a major concern. At times he looked like he was just going through the motions on both ends.

Is there any big man prospect in this draft whose motor hasn't been questioned? I mean, seriously. Yes, Len looked like he didn't have a completely 100% consistent focus, and it allowed opposing centers to get good position and easy buckets on him sometimes. But I'm seeing moments like that with all of the big men prospects I've scouted. I think that's a very fixable issue, and after making it to the NBA and practicing with a group of coaches who demand focus, especially defensively, I think he'll fix that quickly and easily. I'm not concerned. I'd only be concerned if he constantly looked lazy and unfocused, which is not the case here.

EDIT: not to mention, even LeBron James isn't 100% focused every single play. Guys get caught napping, so to speak, with regularity in the NBA. You don't expect every one of your players to be banging with the guy they're guarding trying to defend the ball every single possession. It's not realistic.

[sfam]

The only real justified hate in Len is his ankles. That's just really scary in the top 10.

His weak motor also has to be a major concern. At times he looked like he was just going through the motions on both ends.

Well, every player in this draft has concerns, but that's a minor concern in comparison to whether his ankles break down. Yes, Len's motor might be a reasonable reason to not draft him at 3 as compared to say, Porter, but I don't think you concern yourself as much with that in picks 5-10.

[tontoz]

How much did you guys actually watch Len? The more i watched him the less interested i was.

[80sballboy]

More and more I'm really beginning to like Alex Len. To be clear, I'd be a bit uneasy about us picking him at 3, and I'm not advocating that. I think we should take Porter, and I think we will take Porter, no questions asked. But if we somehow acquired another pick in the top ten, I'd be looking at Len, and I'd like to find a way to make that happen.

Someone was saying a few pages back that Len has poor lower body strength... I'd just like to add that that's absolutely ridiculous. Len's lower body strength is actually a plus in my book, especially compared to a lot of the other big men in this draft.

I don't think Len is going to be a superstar or anything, but I think he is fairly ready for the NBA, and still has a ton of room to grow. I think he's very good on both sides of the ball, and is capable of developing both his offense and defense into very good skills in the NBA over time. I like his versatility on offense, and his mid range jumper looks sweet, so I think that's something that will develop into a legitimate threat after a few years in the league. We're in a perfect situation to pick him up if we can get another pick, as he can come off the bench behind Okafor for the next year or two (if we re-sign Okafor), while still getting plenty of minutes and practice while he transitions to the NBA game and further develops his body, and then he could be ready to take over right when Okafor is beginning to fall off.

I know a lot of people hate on Len around here, but I don't think it's justified.

Did you watch him play? Just wondering because he has a long ways to go. Maryland fans probably saw him 40-50 times. It starts with attitude and bringing it every night. He certainly didn't do that in college.

[80sballboy]

How much did you guys actually watch Len? The more i watched him the less interested i was.

+1

[Wizardspride]

How much did you guys actually watch Len? The more i watched him the less interested i was.

I've seen every game he's played as a collegian and I'm confident in his ability.

[jivelikenice]

Plumlee's visit is interesting. He's obviously not going to be there in round 2 and even his agent wouldn't think he's a real option at 3. So why would his agent agree to this workout unless he thought there was a chance we may have a a second first rd pick...???

[rockymac52]

This draft's Faried is likely Nate Wolters.

He put up 34 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists against Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten. The opposing coach said it was the best PG performance he had seen since Jason Kidd.

http://seattletimes.com/html/huskybaske ... men19.html

He's had some other eye-opening performances such as a 53 point game. The following game he scored 36 points. Wolters had 30 points against Alabama. What separates him is his elite ballhandling skill. I think he's going to have a lot of success in the NBA.

Here's a nice SI article by Luke Winn. He likes Otto Porter and Nate Wolters. (Win likes Olynyk as well--and so do I)

http://m.si.com/2957294/6ecc7fbf/

I just started giving Wolters a good, honest look in the last half hour. I'm officially intrigued, but not convinced. For starters, I have serious doubts about his ability to defend at the NBA level. Serious doubts. But putting that aside, his offense really intrigues me.

His ball-handling skills look phenomenal. His floater looks fantastic. His jumper looks great as well. He appears to be a very good finisher at the basket, even with contact.

However, I'm skeptical of a few things offensively. First, I'm not convinced he's ready to play POINT GUARD in the NBA. It's okay to be more of a scorer than a pass-first type in the NBA, even though some people might not like that. But at the same time, I have my concerns there. Watching game tape, it often appears like he approaches the game as him vs. the other team. How is HE going to score? Sometimes he'll make a nice pass to the hoop or kick it out, but it always seems like his plan B. To be fair, he was playing at South Dakota State, so I'm willing to bet he didn't have that much of a supporting cast, so any NBA caliber player on that team would reasonably look to score first and carry the load offensively.

I'm also concerned about his quickness. Like I said earlier, his ball-handling skills are elite, and he has a very nice first step to go with them, but even in college he wasn't able to blow by many defenders. He'd often get a great first step, but then fail to keep his momentum going, and he'd go step for step with the defender afterwards. Since he was so good at finishing at the hoop, he was able to get a lot of baskets despite this lack of quickness. But I think it's going to be considerably harder in the NBA. He might not even be able to get that first step. And even if he does, NBA caliber defenders are going to be able to recover and stay in front of him, and likewise, get a hand up and disrupt his shot at the basket.

Some aspects of his game look very polished, but some leave a lot to be desired, and I think they could spell trouble for him at the NBA level. Granted, he's a 2nd round pick, and no 2nd round pick is without his blemishes, so all things considered, he seems like a quality choice with the 38th pick, and I'm inclined to give him a shot. I'll have to keep scouting the handfuls of other sleeper PGs likely available in the 2nd round in order to truly compare him.

[sfam]

This draft's Faried is likely Nate Wolters.

He put up 34 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists against Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten. The opposing coach said it was the best PG performance he had seen since Jason Kidd.

http://seattletimes.com/html/huskybaske ... men19.html

He's had some other eye-opening performances such as a 53 point game. The following game he scored 36 points. Wolters had 30 points against Alabama. What separates him is his elite ballhandling skill. I think he's going to have a lot of success in the NBA.

Here's a nice SI article by Luke Winn. He likes Otto Porter and Nate Wolters. (Win likes Olynyk as well--and so do I)

http://m.si.com/2957294/6ecc7fbf/

I just started giving Wolters a good, honest look in the last half hour. I'm officially intrigued, but not convinced. For starters, I have serious doubts about his ability to defend at the NBA level. Serious doubts. But putting that aside, his offense really intrigues me.

His ball-handling skills look phenomenal. His floater looks fantastic. His jumper looks great as well. He appears to be a very good finisher at the basket, even with contact.

However, I'm skeptical of a few things offensively. First, I'm not convinced he's ready to play POINT GUARD in the NBA. It's okay to be more of a scorer than a pass-first type in the NBA, even though some people might not like that. But at the same time, I have my concerns there. Watching game tape, it often appears like he approaches the game as him vs. the other team. How is HE going to score? Sometimes he'll make a nice pass to the hoop or kick it out, but it always seems like his plan B. To be fair, he was playing at South Dakota State, so I'm willing to bet he didn't have that much of a supporting cast, so any NBA caliber player on that team would reasonably look to score first and carry the load offensively.

I'm also concerned about his quickness. Like I said earlier, his ball-handling skills are elite, and he has a very nice first step to go with them, but even in college he wasn't able to blow by many defenders. He'd often get a great first step, but then fail to keep his momentum going, and he'd go step for step with the defender afterwards. Since he was so good at finishing at the hoop, he was able to get a lot of baskets despite this lack of quickness. But I think it's going to be considerably harder in the NBA. He might not even be able to get that first step. And even if he does, NBA caliber defenders are going to be able to recover and stay in front of him, and likewise, get a hand up and disrupt his shot at the basket.

Some aspects of his game look very polished, but some leave a lot to be desired, and I think they could spell trouble for him at the NBA level. Granted, he's a 2nd round pick, and no 2nd round pick is without his blemishes, so all things considered, he seems like a quality choice with the 38th pick, and I'm inclined to give him a shot. I'll have to keep scouting the handfuls of other sleeper PGs likely available in the 2nd round in order to truly compare him.

If we could find a serviceable sub to Wall with our 2nd round pick, that would be stellar. In the second round, everyone will have more than a few knocks. If Wolter's knock is he doesn't have good D, but can score in volume even if he doesn't know how to use a good supporting cast yet, he's definitely worth a chance. Worse case he becomes in instant offense option.

[Wizardspride]

Len was inconsistent in his two seasons at Maryland, but part of that, NBA types believe, wasn't his fault. He played with guards who struggled to get him regular touches in the paint, and wings who couldn't take pressure off of him consistently with jumpers.

"The thing with Len is, staying at Maryland wasn't going to help him, because they weren't going to throw him the ball," a Northwest Division scout said. "They didn't throw him the ball when they could see both of his numbers in the post."

But Len flashed enough to justify his likely Lottery status. He outplayed both Noel and Willie Cauley-Stein in the Barclays Center Classic in November, going for 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in Maryland's 72-69 loss, making them "look like kids," as one scout put it. He had five more double-doubles on the season, led the ACC in blocked shots (78) and acquitted himself well in three meetings against Duke.

"If he doesn't have that game against Kentucky, I'm not sure you're talking about him as a top-seven, top-eight pick," a Western Conference Director of Scouting said. "But he did have that game, so you have to take that into consideration. The point guard was horrendous in the games I saw him. I saw him play very well against Mason Plumlee. He just physically has a lot of work to do with the lower part of his body. He does shoot it and I think he's got a competitive fire, and he's still young. But when you have a young guy with a lower leg issue, that's real scary."

Scouts believe Len will be able to step out enough on the perimeter to be an effective pick-and-pop player.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Strange Zeller and Green declined to workout for the Wizards???

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/6/6/ ... s-from-csn

[keynote]

Strange Zeller and Green declined to workout for the Wizards???

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/6/6/ ... s-from-csn

Man, that stinks. I wanted the Wizards to get an up-close look at Zeller's urban legend of an outside jumper.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

I know it's far from a perfect comparison, but Jamison as a tweener undersized PF could be an indication of Bennett's potential. Jamison, like Bennett, was a very good 3-pt shooter, and a good rebounder despite his size. He was an offensive oriented player who could score inside and out, and was a liability on defense. He was a college player of the year, an all-star, and a guy who could give you 20 and 10. He certainly was not a bust.

He didn't have Bennett's power or explosiveness. But Jamison had strength and finesse, and was also a savy player who reached that level being an extremely dedicated and hard working professional, and also very durable healthwise.

[TGW]

Strange Zeller and Green declined to workout for the Wizards???

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/6/6/ ... s-from-csn

Man, that stinks. I wanted the Wizards to get an up-close look at Zeller's urban legend of an outside jumper.

Just like Zellers "legendary" athleticism that never really was apparent in actual games.