2014 Draft Prospects Thread

[Badd_Intentions]

Yea, true....I feel better somehow sitting in the 3-4 range rather than 1st or 2nd worse. Not to mention, someone in the organization has to have like a 10 yr kid that wears glasses to sit on the stage on lottery night for us.

[No-Man]

As everybody stand now

Chicago (with Rose healthy they'll be the best in RS)
Miami (they'll rest their vets)
Indiana (solid team, could improve bench)
NYK (solid, improved bench)
Brooklyn (new rookie coach, have to figure it out how to click the pieces)
Washington (easily the best roster out of the top5)
Atlanta (solid team, they'll sign some useful guys)
Detroit (they'll overpay and everybody else will tank)
Boston (unless they trade Rondo)
Cleveland (no defense whatsoever, too many young guys)
Milwaukee (treadmill)
Toronto (will get rid of some big contracts, new GM, and tank for Wiggins)
Orlando (nice roster, balanced and will improve defense)
Charlotte (unless you sign somebody, and it'll be stupid)
Philadelphia (they're terrible, worst for sure)

Top5 in my mind, with top5 consensus players.

Philadelphia, Wiggins
Phoenix, Randle
Charlotte, Parker
Orlando, Smart
Sacramento, Harrison

[JMAC3]

Are 3 worst teams in my mind....
1. Sixers
2. Suns
3. Magic

Next
4. Utah- completely rebuilding with young core. inexperienced and used to be depth, now starting. How does this translate into not losing???

5. Raptors- seems like new GM is going into Tank Mode!!!

Wait and See teams after FA
Bucks
Celtics
Hawks

Any one of these teams could turn the corner this year in my mind....but I bet most do not...
Wizards
Pistons
Kings
Cavs
Bobcats

[BJefferson]

Are 3 worst teams in my mind....
1. Sixers
2. Suns
3. Magic

Next
4. Utah- completely rebuilding with young core. inexperienced and used to be depth, now starting. How does this translate into not losing???

5. Raptors- seems like new GM is going into Tank Mode!!!

Wait and See teams after FA
Bucks
Celtics
Hawks

Any one of these teams could turn the corner this year in my mind....but I bet most do not...
Wizards
Pistons
Kings
Cavs
Bobcats

Agree with everything but Toronto. All Ujiri did was get rid of a bad player/contract for a pick and some solid bench guys. The lineup they'll roll out is solid.
Lowry/DeRozan/Gay/Amir/Valaciunas

[MasterIchiro]

If we tank next year here is my wish list for the 2014 draft...

Bobcats pick - Julius Randle - PF

Will we win pick 1, 2 or 3?

Pistons pick - James Young - SG

Will he last to pick 9 or would we have to include the POR pick? Or if Detroit pick carries over to top-1 protection in 2015 would we cash in for someone like James Young?

Portland pick - Willie Cauley Stein - C

A long shot at 13 but if Portland pick carries over or LMA gets traded or both would we cash in early for Willie Cauley Stein?

[BeesWax]

If we tank next year here is my wish list for the 2014 draft...

Bobcats pick - Julius Randle - PF

Will we win pick 1, 2 or 3?

Pistons pick - James Young - SG

Will he last to pick 9 or would we have to include the POR pick? Or if Detroit pick carries over to top-1 protection in 2015 would we cash in for someone like James Young?

Portland pick - Willie Cauley Stein - C

A long shot at 13 but if Portland pick carries over or LMA gets traded or both would we cash in early for Willie Cauley Stein?

I like your first pick. After that I think you consider going WCS he would be value at 9 depending on how he plays next season and you have Hairston, Warren and Harris at the SG/SF spot that will be there at 13 and all are ready to play now. Hairston has a NBA ready body for a SG and hit right at 40% from three on the season after a horrible start to the season.

[MasterIchiro]

If the Bobcats don't tank:

2013-2014

Kemba Walker/Sessions
O.J. Mayo/Henderson/Gordon
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Taylor
Cody Zeller/Biyombo
Al Jefferson/Biyombo

DET pick top-8 protected in 2014 draft use for Cauley-Stein
POR pick top-12 protected in 2014 draft carries over
CHA pick to Bulls

2014-2015

Kemba Walker/Sessions
O.J. Mayo/Henderson
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Taylor
Cody Zeller/Biyombo
Al Jefferson/Cauley-Stein

+POR pick unprotected 2016

If the Bobcats tank:

2013-2014

Kemba Walker/Sessions
Gerald Henderson/Gordon
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist-Taylor
Cody Zeller/McRoberts/Biyombo
JJ Hickson/Biyombo

DET pick top-8 protected in 2014 draft used to draft James Young
POR pick top-12 protected in 2014 draft carries over
Charlotte pick – need 1,2 or 3 used to draft J. Randle

2014-2015

Kemba Walker/Sessions
James Young/Henderson
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Taylor
Julius Randle/Zeller
Bismack Biyombo/Hickson

+POR pick unprotected 2016

If the Bobcats don't tank you end up with:

Mayo
Jefferson
Cauley-Stein

+No pick owed to Bulls

If the Bobcats tank you end up with:

James Young
Randle
Hickson

+Pick owed to Bulls

[BeesWax]

I would not go Young with the pick but I like the second group better. We could take the best guy there at the DET pick and Randle, Wiggins or Parker at our pick if we are top 3.

[MasterIchiro]

I would not go Young with the pick but I like the second group better. We could take the best guy there at the DET pick and Randle, Wiggins or Parker at our pick if we are top 3.

I like this group better

Mayo
Jefferson
Cauley-Stein

+No pick owed to Bulls

vs.

James Young
Randle
Hickson

+Pick owed to Bulls

Both groups keep the team young.
Both groups leave room for upside with the improvement of the same surrounding pieces

The tank group has more upside but the non-tank group will win more sooner and still has upside.

And that assumes when we tank we can get Randle, which is a longshot.

[BeesWax]

I would not go Young with the pick but I like the second group better. We could take the best guy there at the DET pick and Randle, Wiggins or Parker at our pick if we are top 3.

I like this group better

Mayo
Jefferson
Cauley-Stein

+No pick owed to Bulls

vs.

James Young
Randle
Hickson

+Pick owed to Bulls

Both groups keep the team young.
Both groups leave room for upside with the improvement of the same surrounding pieces

The tank group has more upside but the non-tank group will win more sooner and still has upside.

And that assumes when we tank we can get Randle, which is a longshot.

You know I hate the Mayo decision and Jefferson will cost way more than he is worth with his defense. I would rather let Biyombo and other young players get the court time and see how they develop with our new high quality coaching staff. The second group cost less than a third the upper group and leaves us with young talent and room to grow, along with playing time to use to develop the young guys.

[MasterIchiro]

I would not go Young with the pick but I like the second group better. We could take the best guy there at the DET pick and Randle, Wiggins or Parker at our pick if we are top 3.

I like this group better

Mayo
Jefferson
Cauley-Stein

+No pick owed to Bulls

vs.

James Young
Randle
Hickson

+Pick owed to Bulls

Both groups keep the team young.
Both groups leave room for upside with the improvement of the same surrounding pieces

The tank group has more upside but the non-tank group will win more sooner and still has upside.

And that assumes when we tank we can get Randle, which is a longshot.

You know I hate the Mayo decision and Jefferson will cost way more than he is worth with his defense. I would rather let Biyombo and other young players get the court time and see how they develop with our new high quality coaching staff. The second group cost less than a third the upper group and leaves us with young talent and room to grow, along with playing time to use to develop the young guys.

But the second group still owes a draft pick to the Bulls which has a value attached to it because you will have to buy the player you didn't draft with the loss of the pick. So even though the first group costs alot of money it can still add 2 cheap players with our own pick not owed to the Bulls and the Portland pick. Plus Jefferson and Mayo could be moveable pieces. Your second group is highly leveraged on Randle, in other words you're gambling on a low probability situation, and even if you win the lottery your second group is way behind in wins and possibly 2-3 years away from playoff contention. The upside is enticing but can ownership afford it? I say no but your guess is as good as mine.

[BeesWax]

I like this group better

Mayo
Jefferson
Cauley-Stein

+No pick owed to Bulls

vs.

James Young
Randle
Hickson

+Pick owed to Bulls

Both groups keep the team young.
Both groups leave room for upside with the improvement of the same surrounding pieces

The tank group has more upside but the non-tank group will win more sooner and still has upside.

And that assumes when we tank we can get Randle, which is a longshot.

You know I hate the Mayo decision and Jefferson will cost way more than he is worth with his defense. I would rather let Biyombo and other young players get the court time and see how they develop with our new high quality coaching staff. The second group cost less than a third the upper group and leaves us with young talent and room to grow, along with playing time to use to develop the young guys.

But the second group still owes a draft pick to the Bulls which has a value attached to it because you will have to buy the player you didn't draft with the loss of the pick. So even though the first group costs alot of money it can still add 2 cheap players with our own pick not owed to the Bulls and the Portland pick. Plus Jefferson and Mayo could be moveable pieces. Your second group is highly leveraged on Randle, in other words you're gambling on a low probability situation, and even if you win the lottery your second group is way behind in wins and possibly 2-3 years away from playoff contention. The upside is enticing but can ownership afford it? I say no but your guess is as good as mine.

But the first group does not win that many more games. Let say you don't get Randle but you end up with the 7th pick. There is still talent there that is not far off Jefferson, remember he has a lot of miles on him and can't play D. At this point you don't have Mayo possibly dragging down team chemistry and you don't have Jefferson killing your cap with his bloated contract. The pick you owe to the Bulls likely becomes a 9 or later pick as we improve and grow with our young core. The top group sucks all the life out of our rebuild and we destroy our cap flexibility we have built up. If we spend large sums of cap money it needs to be on game changers and not treadmill guys who can't play defense or have mental problems. If you are going to go all in for something at least pick up a star with mental issues not a mid tier guy who will want bank and fall apart on you.

[MasterIchiro]

That's all fine but what if ownership can't afford to tank again?

And if you get pick 7 in the tank, who is better than Jefferson (18/10)?

And if this mystery player at 7 has upside greater than 18/10, how many years before he sees it?

And without Mayo and with pick 7 spent on the above mystery player who is the leading scorer on your team and who is your shooting guard? And how many years before you get someone more productive than Mayo?

It's easy to call the young hungry playoff contender non-tank version a complete nightmare with Mayo and Jefferson and WCS and Kemba, Henderson, Zeller and Biyombo plus our own pick in 2015 plus a POR 2016 unprotected but who exactly are you comparing this crew to?

I've laid out exactly who is who in my version.

Who is in your version?

Otherwise you are attacking concretes behind the guise of hypotheticals. You have essentially set up a moving target while attacking my version which is up front, direct and out there for everyone to see.

[Stun704]

I want Mayo but not Jefferson.

[BeesWax]

Your version has Mayo a negative.
Your version has Jefferson and at his likely price a negative.

My version:
Resign McRoberts and Henderson
Along with the draft picks and what we have.
You could bring in JJ Hickson on a cheaper contract than Jefferson

Now I have a 12 and 10 guy and a 15 ppg guy and both on cheaper contracts. They are 24 and 25 respectively and both have ties to the region. I have probably paid them $7 mil less per year in total than you spent on yours. Both are young and can grow with the team we have right now. Neither has a history of killing chemistry and both are local guys that will get support from college fan bases here. Next season our team may be slightly worse that yours. Then you add even more pieces in the draft. With the extra minutes our young guys get and the lack of locker room problems we have compared to your team we close the gap the next season and pass you in three when Jefferson starts to become to big a defensive liability and Hickson has passed him production wise. Will a lot have to go right for my way to work? Sure but a lot has to go right for yours as well.

[MasterIchiro]

My version inludes Henderson

2013-2014

Kemba Walker/Sessions
O.J. Mayo/Henderson/Gordon
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Taylor
Cody Zeller/Biyombo
Al Jefferson/Biyombo

DET pick top-8 protected in 2014 draft
POR pick top-12 protected in 2014 draft

2014-2015

Kemba Walker/Sessions
O.J. Mayo/Henderson
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Taylor
Cody Zeller/Biyombo
Al Jefferson/Cauley-Stein

POR pick unprotected 2016
+ no pick owed to Bulls

[BeesWax]

So you are going to tie up that kind of money in one position. We are going to have to resign Kemba at some point and if Biyombo improves him as well. Then you are wasting money on a guy like Mayo who is going to want way more than he is worth and Jefferson when you can get a younger guy like Hickson who is a better rebounder and better on defense. Hickson is really coming along and is a double double guy. I am spending less money and keeping the quality very close. Your team is slightly better than mine with a much larger chance to self destruct and is much more limited cap wise. My version keeps some flexibility and has greatly improved and still has room to improve more. My oldest starter is 25 and I have tons of youth on the bench too.

[MasterIchiro]

This is your version. I will leave open the blanks so you can fill them in and then we will compare.

2013-2014

Kemba Walker/Sessions
Henderson/Gordon
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Taylor
Cody Zeller/McRoberts
JJ Hickson/Biyombo

2014-2015

Kemba Walker/Sessions
??? DET or CHA PICK/Henderson
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Taylor
Cody Zeller/Biyombo
??? DET or CHA PICK/Hickson

+POR pick unprotected 2016
-pick still owed to Bulls

[penquin11]

next years draft isnt only about Wiggins, it has Randle, Parker, Gordon, ect.... A top 5 pick in next years draft might as well be a #1 pick in any other...

[MasterIchiro]

Bledsoe to the Suns and Caron Butler. That hurts their tank just a little. They've added Len + Bledsoe + Butler.