Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part I

[pancakes3]

Seeing the way we lost last night...it's the way we always end up losing, just not being able to score those few points that we need to close things out.

Would be hard to look past Shabazz if he's there for us.

Sure, if that's what you're looking for. You could also say that we gave up 23 points off turnovers and they only gave up 9 points off turnovers so we clearly need Nerlens Noel on our team to help generate more turnovers.

[tontoz]

No superstar. One rock solid prospect at C. A bunch of solid role players to be found 2-20. You can get the same quality of player at #12 you can get at #2. Not a deep draft. I don't expect too many 2nd round gems to be found and there will likely be a relatively high number of 1st round busts or disappointments.

Glen Robinson?

[TGW]

McClemore is definitely tier two at least. Dude has an NBA body, athleticism and a jumpshot. That in itself makes him a high pick.

[stevemcqueen1]

McLemore in my opinion is ahead of Shabazz as the top guard in this draft. However let's temper the MJ talk. A handcuffed MJ won the national championship his freshman year with a game winner, then dropped back-to-back 20ppg seasons on 55% shooting. Secondly, McLemore's real red flag is his age. He sat out last season and is essentially a sophomore. Now, he might have Ray Allen-type potential but he's not much more impressive than Beal was last season.

I didn't mean to say he was a potential Jordan. I just meant to say it could take time and opportunity before he grows into "the man" for his team like it did for Jordan. You can't think of a more alpha player than Jordan in his prime. I think it's instructive to remember he wasn't always that way.

I don't think McLemore's age is too much of a problem seeing as how he's a late bloomer. He was playing PF not that long ago, he's got a lot of room left to grow his skills as a guard.

I can see some Ray Allen in his offensive skill set but I think he's on a different level athletically than Allen ever was. Allen is more like Beal in some ways--smooth and graceful with some quickness and bounce. McLemore tears up the court 100 MPH and explodes off the floor almost more like Iverson. His straight line speed and leaping ability are tremendous. Probably his greatest attributes.

I agree that he's not a more impressive prospect than Beal. They grew up playing together and he was never as good a player as Beal. Beal has a totally rounded skill set and is a much meaner and more aggressive player than McLemore. He can make an impact on both ends even when he's not scoring whereas McLemore tends to disappear entirely when he's not getting the ball in transition or at the end of set plays.

I don't have him ahead of Shabazz because I like how diverse Shabazz's scoring tools are and I like his aggressive go to mentality compared to McLemore's. I think he's got a very high floor and has NBA ready size and skills and can make an impact right away as a rookie. But McLemore's upside is probably higher because he's a better athlete.

Right now he's a complimentary player. But if the lightbulb ever comes on for him and if he tightens up his handle and develops an aresenal of dribbles to work himself free into the paint and off the bounce, he could be really good.

[Ruzious]

GR3 is too good for the 2nd round. The only problem with him is - he hasn't played guard, and he's undersized for forward. I love his no-nonsense - yet athletic style of play. His teammate, Hardeway, Jr (TH2) is very compelling and I'm coming around to maybe liking him. He has a tendency to play selfishly and do too much 1 on 1 junk, but he's got some ridiculous athletic ability for a 6'6 guard.

Re Noel, Isaiah Thomas got way too many drives where there was no shot-blocker back to help - including the game-killer. Noel covers more ground than... anyone as a shot-blocker. A strange thing about Noel I've noticed - I haven't seen even one alley-oop to him. Anthony Davis must have gotten a minimum of 2 every game I saw last season. For some reason, that doesn't appear to be part of KY's offense this season. One would think he's tailor made for that play.

Poythress played well last game - getting to play full-time at PF with Cauley injured. But at his size, he's not going to dominate inside at the NBA. I like Bennett better than Poythress. He has more ways to score, and he's just as strong. Bennett can be close to a 20/10 guy - question is - Is he also going to give up 20/10?

[TGW]

Bennett = Zach Randolph without the baggage. That kid can score in a myriad of ways. Nice offensive game.

[stevemcqueen1]

Ruzious, I think Kentucky's guard situation isn't as good this year as it was last year.

It sounds surprising now considering how much he struggled early, but last year Teague was a more mature playmaker than Goodwin or Harrow are and it was a huge help having a wing that could handle the ball and facilitate the offense in MKG. They were a better transition team and a better passing team last year (among other things). Goodwin is almost a pure slasher and scorer at this point.

Noel is tailor-made to catch and throw down oops, though probably not as gifted as AD was. AD had the best hands I think I've ever seen on a big man.

I think Kentucky's guards have struggled to get Nerlens the ball in general. It's only been the past few games they've started to actually feed him on the low block in good spots to let him go and do some work, though part of that could also be Nerlens has just now started to become comfortable as a scorer. I think Len is having similar problems with ineffective guard play at Maryland.

[Knighthonor]

I wonder who will be the "Well I thought they were going to be bad, but turned out to be a star" player int he draft.

[stevemcqueen1]

I wonder who will be the "Well I thought they were going to be bad, but turned out to be a star" player int he draft.

If you knew that, you could probably make a lot of money off of it.

[AWIZZINGBULLET]

I'm glad the Noel or bust bandwagon is filling up. I also just saw that we have 2 second rounders and a draft with a lot of decent prospects in the 2nd round. 2nd rounders of note:

Mike Muscala - Bucknell - Senior - C - 20ppg/11rpg/3apg/3bpg in the patriot league, leading Bucknell to a 16-4 record and almost beat Mizzou earlier this year. He's fundamentally sound and could be the Mozgov to Nerlen's McGee.

Patric Young - Florida - Junior - PF/C - "undersized" bruiser putting up 11/6. I think he's a victim of the system where Florida just jacks 3's and leaves Young to both get the o-board and hustle back on defense. He's a jacked 250 lbs and is basically the defensive version of Seraphin.

C.J. Wilcox - Uconn - Junior - SG - Others have talked about him and I like him also. Volume scoring on good percentages and legit size to boot. Super strong dude and really there's no reason he's a 2nd round pick other than the fact that he's a junior. He's going to be a steal a la Lillard.

Reggie Bullock - UNC - SF - Junior - The Danny Green of this year's draft except bigger, faster, stronger. He was injured his freshman season and got stuck behind the bigger name Barnes but he has the potential to be just as good if not better. He's a better shooter for one, and a better passer for another.

Doug McDermott - Creighton - PF - Junior - Underrated because of the color of his skin, the dude has back to back 20 ppg seasons. Pace adjust per 40 he's putting up 30/10 numbers. You look at the percentages and assume he's Kyle Korver but he's not. He's a scrapper who happens to shoot really well. He's pretty much Trevor Booker with unlimited range and no foot problems.

Erick Green - Virginia Tech - G - Senior - Hurts me to say this but he's really good. 20+ points in every game save 1 this season. Equally as impressive as McCollum to me. I think he's going to pan out as either a less ball-hoggy Jordan Crawford or an equally ballhoggy but more productive Jordan Crawford. As far as 3rd guards go, you can certainly do worse.

Mike Muscala is the guy i'm looking at in the 2nd rd. He's focused, can shoot, has back to the basket game, blocks shots and rebounds. He's nowhere near as athletic as Vesely but I'd rather have him playing the four than Vesely. He could work his way into the 1st round if Bucknell goes deep in the tournament.

Reggie Bullock is a guy I'd hope the Wizards would target in the second rd if they couldn't find their shooter in the 1st.

That's nonsense. How can he be underrated because of his skin shooting the way he is? He's not spoken about as an elite prospect because he isn't explosive or very athletic and is a liability on defense due to his lack of lateral quickness. With all that said, I'm starting to hope McDermott is drafted because the Wizards offense simply needs a guy who has a scorer's mentality but can also shoot. Hopefully the team's overall defense would help cover his limitations. Late first would be my hope, but I could see him going in the lottery.

There's something about Erick Green's game that screams D-leaguer despite his scoring. Not a big fan of him or his personality.

[AWIZZINGBULLET]

Though I still want to see more, I'm also open to the Wizards drafting Willie Cauley-Stein 1st rd. If Nerlens Noel is gone I wouldn't mind a trade down to a team like Phoenix who has two picks and drafting him as the team's big of the future. I've liked the little I've seen of him when my intentions were to catch Noel in game. Could be this year's Andre Drummond.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Add me to the Otto Porter band wagon. Also curious about Glenn Robinson, anyone seen him play?

Outside of Noel, Porter is the only other guy that really interests me right now, and Bennett intrigues me also would like to see more.

Would love to get Withey with that high 2nd rounder.

Patric Young could be a good pickup later in the 2nd round. Haven't seen him this season, but as a freshman my 1st thought seeing him was Ben Wallace.

[stevemcqueen1]

Patric Young seems like a Kendrick Perkins type. Probably not as heavy though.

Anyone watching Nerlens tonight? I just got in midway through the second half and see he's in foul trouble. Also looks like he's having some trouble boxing out that big Ole Miss player.

[stevemcqueen1]

Murphy Holloway is pushing Nerlens off the block and scooping up rebounds. He's got a big strength advantage. Nerlens has some upper body strength but he's got really skinny legs.

He's got 7 or 8 blocks already but foul trouble is keeping him from locking down the paint like usual. Ole Miss went on a 16-0 run after he got his fourth foul.

[stevemcqueen1]

Nerlens finishes with 11 blocks. Five of which came after he picked up his fourth foul. Absolutely ridiculous. He's an even better shot blocker than Anthony Davis was. How bizarre that Kentucky would land those two players in back to back years. Might be another ten or fifteen years before we see another one like them.

[Silvie Lysandra]

It's Kentucky coached by Calipari. It's not even surprising anymore. They're pretty much to basketball what Alabama/LSU are to football, where they just send 3 or 4 first round prospects to the NBA every year.

[miller31time]

Wall
Beal
Webster
Nene
Noel

Wall
Beal
Muhammed
Nene
Okafor

Would crap my pants if either of these came to fruition next season.

[AFM]

Honestly Wall Beal Muhammed Nene Okafor is a godly starting 5. Having Webster and Crawford as our bench is crazy. Wall Beal Muhammed is a tough front court to guard. I really hope to get Shabazz. He is EXACTLY what we need. A #1 option scorer.

[AFM]

Shabazz is a crazy player in that I thought he was a driving athletic dunking SF who lacked an outside game. But I was wrong. He's shooting 50% from 3. He pretty much has a complete offensive game. Very impressed. He proved me wrong.

[closg00]

The Beal injury could be good for the tank.