Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part I

[tontoz]

I think the way around that is - While you're correct that it's collectively bargained, it's bargained by the players' union - but he wasn't eligible to join the players' union - so effectively he was not represented in the collective bargaining process.

And he shouldn't be. The Players Union serves current members, not future members.

Greg Oden could have sued over the rule. Durant could have too. They lost a years pay due to the age limit.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

I'd like to reassess the potential fit of Len for this team.

Seems he is getting written off and, maybe because we see him alot here, his negatives are getting focused on. But he really has alot of positives. After recently watching Zeller, who seems to be considered the better player, I came away thinking Len is superior prospect. Noel going down has also led me to reconsider Len.

Trying to focus on the positives of Len, I like the fact he is a local player from Maryland. His combination of size and his athleticism is truly rare and impressive. There is no question he has the physical tools to become a top caliber center at the next level. Zeller, although his effort level will most likely lead to him being effective in the NBA, I'm not so sure if he has the potential vs more physically imposing players. Len on the other hand will be a matchup problem for other teams immediately. I think he will at least be on the level of Hibbert, and could turn out to be better. Again, for his size, he is extremely fluid. He moves well, I've seen him make some nice and surprisingly good passes, runs well, and has the durability, strength and willingness to bang and play physical down low.

I think adding a player like Len to the roster could benefit Vesely. I've heard nothing questionable regarding his attitude or effort. He seems a smart player, and looking at where he already is physically at his age, it seems to me his potential is literally through the roof.

I'm sure all kinds of stats and efficiency numbers can be shown to "prove" me wrong. But IMO he will be a MUCH better pro (as I thought with Hibbert), and has the true potential to be dominant at the next level. I'm just getting a feeling if the Wizards were to pass on Len in the draft they could regret it, as with other bigs I've liked such as Hibbert, Vucevic, M.Gasol.

[Induveca]

If it's only a torn ACL he'll be fine at his age.

Great news, I really liked his game.

Noel should sue the hell out of the NBA however if his career is derailed from this. Their age limit rule wouldn't withstand a case like this. The sure fire #1 being forced to play for free in college, helping Kentucky make millions, and the NBA to have a free farm system.

If there is an age limit, fine.........keep them in the D-League for a year. But pay them.

The age limit was collectively bargained. Any suit would be thrown out immediately.

I think the way around that is - While you're correct that it's collectively bargained, it's bargained by the players' union - but he wasn't eligible to join the players' union - so effectively he was not represented in the collective bargaining process.

Exactly......he's not part of the NBA. He is a college athlete forced into a complete sham.

He's made the NCAA millions, and has been hyped by the NBA marketing machine as well for the upcoming draft.

He'd win a lawsuit with a competent high powered firm. If this was my son, I would have had him playing in Europe.

Playing in the NCAA for a sure-thing lottery pick makes zero financial sense.

[tontoz]

He'd win a lawsuit with a competent high powered firm. If this was my son, I would have has him playing in Europe.

A how powered law firm would show him the door, quickly.

[MikeTheKid]

If Noel waits a year and comes back to UK and goes in 2014 that might be Top 3 most stacked draft classes of all time. But since 2013 is so weak Noel will probably still go #1

[Nivek]

Why would Noel (or a similar player) win a lawsuit? College football players tried and lost. What would make it different in the NBA?

Understand, I'm against the age requirement. I'd make the requirement something like 18 or high school graduation. I think the one-and-done is a waste of time.

[jmrosenth]

Am I really going to be the first to say that if the top 5 teams get scared off, he'd be a steal for the Wizards wherever they pick?

[truwizfan4evr]

Now that noel is injured and out for the season does this news make everyone feel better about us not getting a top 5 pick? How it seems the wizards are out of the running for a top 5 draft pick. should we trade are pick? Or should we draft someone in late teens?

[tontoz]

Now that noel is injured and out for the season does this news make everyone feel better about us not getting a top 5 pick? How it seems the wizards are out of the running for a top 5 draft pick. should we trade are pick? Or should we draft someone in late teens?

Assuming we draft in the 5-8 area i think Porter and Bennett might be good picks. I am struggling to come up with other names though.

[rockymac52]

I'd like to either win enough to get past the 10th pick or so, or trade down (or just get a mid 1st round pick), for the sole purpose of drafting either CJ McCollum or Isaiah Canaan. Nothing against Wall, really, but we just desperately need a capable backup PG IMO. I don't know if either of them could play off the ball at the 2 for stretches or not, so I guess that could be a small issue. But really that's only an issue if they turn out to be good enough to demand more than the 14 or so minutes backing up Wall at PG, and obviously that would be a good problem to have, and we can figure it out then. I think both players could have solid careers in the NBA at PG. Not necessarily star potential by any means, but it's always possible I suppose, but more importantly, they're just good at what they do and they seem like fairly safe picks IMO.

[Jay81]

damn..our player is already hurt. Wiz injury curse continues

[Upper Decker]

Someone sell me on Anthony Bennett. I don't get it. Chad Ford has him #2 on his board, which he says is not his opinion, but the collective voices of scouts, GM's, and pro talent evaluators. What am I missing? I want nothing to do with him...

[nate33]

Someone sell me on Anthony Bennett. I don't get it. Chad Ford has him #2 on his board, which he says is not his opinion, but the collective voices of scouts, GM's, and pro talent evaluators. What am I missing? I want nothing to do with him...

He leads all freshmen in PER with a rating of 29.3. (Well, some guy named John Brown out of High Point has him beat.)

[stevemcqueen1]

The NBA would push for a higher age limit if they could. Chuck wants three years but acknowledges 2 is about as high as you could go.

Getting 21 year old rookies would be a lot better for the NBA just like it is good for the NFL. You'll get less draft errors that way for sure. And it'd be good for those rookies to be physically mature enough to actually handle the game. Or closer to it anyway. It takes a long time to grow into a 6'8 + body.

But those players are ready to start making money ASAP.

Problem is, the NBA has guaranteed deals whereas the NFL doesn't. Labor costs are higher and the push for shorter contracts by rule (less team control) is stronger. NBA teams do not have the team control on their rookie deals NFL teams do with their early picks in general, so they need guys to be able to justify their second contract pretty fast. That's part of why you see a lot of NBA rookies contracts migrate teams so much and teams don't get a top 4 pick and hold onto that guy forever like NFL teams will do.

If you got a 21 year old instead of a 19 year old, it would typically be easier to figure out if you want to keep him by the time you lose team control. Good for the league there. Bad for the players.

I don't really have a dog in the fight. I think the one and done rule was somewhat beneficial for the NCAA but I also think it's led to a way of doing business that certainly isn't good for the NCAA. How much fun is it rooting for a guy for 6 months that you know is off to greener pastures the second he's eligible?

I wish the NCAA would just pay the football and basketball players and make a three year age limit for both sports.

[stevemcqueen1]

Someone sell me on Anthony Bennett. I don't get it. Chad Ford has him #2 on his board, which he says is not his opinion, but the collective voices of scouts, GM's, and pro talent evaluators. What am I missing? I want nothing to do with him...

He plays the game with a passion and ferocity of a star player. He has that kind of motor.

Plus it doesn't hurt he's so skilled. I don't agree with putting him at #2 though. I think he's a tweener, and not in the good way. He's slightly limited because of his height.

Now if you think he can be Larry Johnson... yeah #2 ain't too high for him. But I'd caution Larry Johnson was a pretty complete scorer and he also had a better build than Bennett. LJ was a hoss and built like a super hero--broad, muscular shoulders, wasp waist. Bennett is a lot softer looking IMO.

[Dat2U]

Dat, in your attempt at a correction, you described Travis Releford; not McLemore. Releford - not McLemore - got the a layup off of the opening tip. In their first set play, McLemore drove to the hoop for a layup. Maybe you've been getting them confused the whole time - as they are about the same size - and Releford's a pretty good athlete himself. Releford is strictly a jump shooter on offense - and a very good defender. McLemore scores in a very wide variety of ways - as most people who watched - saw yesterday. We've already discussed the age thing - he's 1 year older than other freshmen because he had to sit out last year. Everyone knows that. He's still a freshman playing on a team with upperclassmen, so there was the period of time when he deferred to the upper classmen. That changed yesterday - which is what I was trying to point out.

Your right, I got the play mixed up, McLemore attacked the rim from the corner on two dribbles. But again, I just don't see any developed ball handling skills and right now, there isn't a clear example of a guard in the current NBA with limited handles that's successful enough to justify McLemore's lofty draft status.

He's not creating off the bounce against NBA defenders, I've seen nothing to indicate he can. We were questioning Beal's handle during the 2012 draft and while it's not great by any means, it's far more advanced than McLemore and McLemore is 6 months older.... Even a pure shooter like Ray Allen had the ability to create shots for himself.

He's a lot like one of his predecessors, Brandon Rush. A better athlete. Maybe a better version of him. That's not a guy I'm really wanting to draft at a position that we've already got filled.

[rockymac52]

Someone sell me on Anthony Bennett. I don't get it. Chad Ford has him #2 on his board, which he says is not his opinion, but the collective voices of scouts, GM's, and pro talent evaluators. What am I missing? I want nothing to do with him...

He plays the game with a passion and ferocity of a star player. He has that kind of motor.

Plus it doesn't hurt he's so skilled. I don't agree with putting him at #2 though. I think he's a tweener, and not in the good way. He's slightly limited because of his height.

Now if you think he can be Larry Johnson... yeah #2 ain't too high for him. But I'd caution Larry Johnson was a pretty complete scorer and he also had a better build than Bennett. LJ was a hoss and built like a super hero--broad, muscular shoulders, wasp waist. Bennett is a lot softer looking IMO.

I haven't seen him play much at all, but from all the stats and scouting that I've read on him, he seems like the real deal.

Synergy stats love him. They make him out to be a dominant force offensively, a guy who can run, shoot, attack the rim, and score from the post. Really sounds like he has it all offensively. Seriously, the only area where he's not awesome offensively is as the pick and roll man, which seems strange considering he's great at literally everything else. I would suspect it won't really hold him back, or he could easily learn and improve there. And then defensively, he's pretty damn good too. Not as dominant as he is on offense, but he gets it done, especially defending spot up shooters. I feel like I don't even need to read a scouting report on this guy to make the blind assumption that he's an athletic freak with a lot of natural gifts. Sounds to me like a guy who is oozing with potential, and the best part is, he already is playing at an elite level, remaining potential be damned.

Maybe he's the stretch 4 we've all been dreaming of But honestly, I think him being a capable but not deadly stretch 4 threat is his floor. The kid seems like he can play inside and out, and on both sides of the court. Alright, I'm sold.

[Upper Decker]

Someone sell me on Anthony Bennett. I don't get it. Chad Ford has him #2 on his board, which he says is not his opinion, but the collective voices of scouts, GM's, and pro talent evaluators. What am I missing? I want nothing to do with him...

He plays the game with a passion and ferocity of a star player. He has that kind of motor.

Plus it doesn't hurt he's so skilled. I don't agree with putting him at #2 though. I think he's a tweener, and not in the good way. He's slightly limited because of his height.

Now if you think he can be Larry Johnson... yeah #2 ain't too high for him. But I'd caution Larry Johnson was a pretty complete scorer and he also had a better build than Bennett. LJ was a hoss and built like a super hero--broad, muscular shoulders, wasp waist. Bennett is a lot softer looking IMO.

Sounds exactly like Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams. Both are tweeners and neither are especially long, which is true of Bennett, and neither are super explosive athletes, which is also true of Bennett. Bennett isn't exactly a sharp shooter, which Williams sort of was in college, but that hasn't translated at all in the pro's. Neither is Bennett a JYD type rebounder, like Beasley was in college. All the red flags are there with Bennett.

Maybe I'm grossly over-generalizing this, but I think for a tweener-forwards to succeed in the pro’s they need to have one of the following characteristics; 1) incredibly long arms / wing-span comparatively to their height, 2) be exceptionally athletic for their size, or 3) have one sensational skill that is their meal ticket in the NBA whether it’s rebounding, a rifle shot, a deft post-up game.

I don’t see any of these traits with Bennett. Then even if a players has one, or all of those skills, you’ll need to make it a team effort mask their deficiencies. I hope some other team falls in love with Bennett before the Wizards selection and enables someone to drop.

[Dat2U]

Someone sell me on Anthony Bennett. I don't get it. Chad Ford has him #2 on his board, which he says is not his opinion, but the collective voices of scouts, GM's, and pro talent evaluators. What am I missing? I want nothing to do with him...

He plays the game with a passion and ferocity of a star player. He has that kind of motor.

Plus it doesn't hurt he's so skilled. I don't agree with putting him at #2 though. I think he's a tweener, and not in the good way. He's slightly limited because of his height.

Now if you think he can be Larry Johnson... yeah #2 ain't too high for him. But I'd caution Larry Johnson was a pretty complete scorer and he also had a better build than Bennett. LJ was a hoss and built like a super hero--broad, muscular shoulders, wasp waist. Bennett is a lot softer looking IMO.

Sounds exactly like Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams. Both are tweeners and neither are especially long, which is true of Bennett, and neither are super explosive athletes, which is also true of Bennett. Bennett isn't exactly a sharp shooter, which Williams sort of was in college, but that hasn't translated at all in the pro's. Neither is Bennett a JYD type rebounder, like Beasley was in college. All the red flags are there with Bennett.

Maybe I'm grossly over-generalizing this, but I think for a tweener-forwards to succeed in the pro’s they need to have one of the following characteristics; 1) incredibly long arms / wing-span comparatively to their height, 2) be exceptionally athletic for their size, or 3) have one sensational skill that is their meal ticket in the NBA whether it’s rebounding, a rifle shot, a deft post-up game.

I don’t see any of these traits with Bennett. Then even if a players has one, or all of those skills, you’ll need to make it a team effort mask their deficiencies. I hope some other team falls in love with Bennett before the Wizards selection and enables someone to drop.

I couldn't have said it any better. If he's going to play PF he's got to have the length to play the position. His measurements will be crucial.

[Dat2U]

I'd like to reassess the potential fit of Len for this team.

Seems he is getting written off and, maybe because we see him alot here, his negatives are getting focused on. But he really has alot of positives. After recently watching Zeller, who seems to be considered the better player, I came away thinking Len is superior prospect. Noel going down has also led me to reconsider Len.

Trying to focus on the positives of Len, I like the fact he is a local player from Maryland. His combination of size and his athleticism is truly rare and impressive. There is no question he has the physical tools to become a top caliber center at the next level. Zeller, although his effort level will most likely lead to him being effective in the NBA, I'm not so sure if he has the potential vs more physically imposing players. Len on the other hand will be a matchup problem for other teams immediately. I think he will at least be on the level of Hibbert, and could turn out to be better. Again, for his size, he is extremely fluid. He moves well, I've seen him make some nice and surprisingly good passes, runs well, and has the durability, strength and willingness to bang and play physical down low.

I think adding a player like Len to the roster could benefit Vesely. I've heard nothing questionable regarding his attitude or effort. He seems a smart player, and looking at where he already is physically at his age, it seems to me his potential is literally through the roof.

I'm sure all kinds of stats and efficiency numbers can be shown to "prove" me wrong. But IMO he will be a MUCH better pro (as I thought with Hibbert), and has the true potential to be dominant at the next level. I'm just getting a feeling if the Wizards were to pass on Len in the draft they could regret it, as with other bigs I've liked such as Hibbert, Vucevic, M.Gasol.

Good post. I agree Len may be getting a bit overlooked. UMD's PG situation is simply regrettable. I think he's a solid prospect and at the moment I have him above Zeller as well. I can clear see and identify Len's skill set & physical tools and how they'll work on the next level, I can't say the same for Zeller. The numbers say Zeller will be productive, but it's not as clear as to how.