Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part II

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Looking at the mocks I see the T'wolves have a second 1st rounder down at 26. They have proven to be a willing trade partner for us, and with talks of Flip taking over as GM that pick could be a scenario for us. If there is anyone here that Flip liked such as Vesely, Singleton, Booker, perhaps we could package one of them with our 2nd rounder for the #26 pick if it can net us Withey or Dieng.

That would be awesome.

They do need to transition out of those players. They may well end up being useful someplace else but I don't see it here. Wizards need to bring in a complete new line of young blood that can come to the team as it is knew like Beal did.

Those other players have old Wizards sink on them. For me, Beal is the beginning of the new day. Only Wall and Kevin S should be considered as hold overs but I could see both of them move eventually as well.

The only remaining big question is EG. Does Ted hold onto him one more year ? If he just drafts Otto and brings in some of those players I just listed, it would be hard for him to screw anything up.

But its hard for me to get over that 2011 draft. You just can't screw up that much in a draft. Thankfully we got Beal the next year. I can understand a designed tank so that would happen but how you draft Ves over Nikola V when you wanted Kanter to start. And then you draft Singleton with Tobias Harris and Kenneth Faried still on the board. I mean at least take a swing at M Brooks since Nick was leaving.

I remember after the draft some people making sense of it. They liked Singleton and thought he was a steal at his slot. I didn't get the draft at the time and still don't.

Yeah I was good with Singleton where we got him, although in hindsight Faried clearly was the better pick as CCJ called it. But I REALLY wanted Vucevic at 6, I knew he was being underrated and loved his rebounding and shooting skill, his proven pedigree and work ethic sealed the deal for me. I just don't know how you pass on that for a question mark like Vesely.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6709446

[hands11]

EGs record on the overseas players doesn't seem to be very good.

That is a more complicated move he should probably stay away from.

Its one thing if they are already here. But bringing a young player away from his country is adding to an already complicated formula. Specially when they don't speak English.

Personality of the player has to be very key when doing this. I get the sense Ves is depressed and would rather go home.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1560 ... draft-pick

[AFM]

Nice article on Shabazz
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/02 ... d-20130103

He never wants to lose," says Muhammad's sister, Asia Muhammad.

"Ever," she adds.

Then in high school, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Coach Grant Rice started taking Muhammad out of blowout wins — not to protect Muhammad, but to protect the losing team.

"He wouldn't go out there and go through the motions; he'd go out there and punish them," Rice says.

"When he smells blood, when he smells weakness, he goes right at them."

Says Muhammad: "I'm trying to show no mercy."

Not only would Muhammad go at opponents, Rice says. He would go at his own teammates.

"If they didn't go 100%, they were going to get an elbow to the face or dunked on," Rice says.

This continued at the club basketball level, where Clayton Williams, Muhammad's coach on the AAU team Dream Vision, says Muhammad played that way in part so he had "the right to hold others accountable."

And Muhammad has carried this mentality to UCLA, where coaches and players laud his effort in practice and his drive to stay late at the gym most nights.

"He's a really fierce competitor, with everything we do, everywhere," says his freshman teammate Kyle Anderson.

Adds fellow freshman guard Jordan Adams: "He plays to win. He does not take plays off. He's always aggressive."

He also loves to take big shots that strike a dagger into opponents' hearts, such as the two clutch three-point shots he buried in overtime during UCLA's upset of then-No. 7 Missouri.

Though a freshman, Muhammad has jumped on UCLA teammates whose effort he thought was lacking at times. But Muhammad says he wouldn't do so unless there was a comfort level among them all.

[stevemcqueen1]

For the record, Chad Ford has said that the comps he hears in reference to Porter are a ceiling of a lesser Pippen and a floor of a better Jeff Green. Take that for what its worth. He is also mentioned as the best possible addition to the Wiz if Noel is unavailable, and probably the next highest guy on our boad (supposedly, and thank god, Noel is #1 on our board).

Jeff Green is a decent comparison, though Porter is better than he was IMO. I thought he was a pretty weak top five pick. Porter is markedly better as a sophomore than Green was as a junior. And Porter is the good kind of tweener--the ability to play one position really well with bonus attributes that give him the ability to steal minutes at another position. With Green it was the bad kind of being a tweener. Lacking the body to be a pure PF and the skills to be a pure SF.

The issue I have with a Pippen comparison is the difference in the levels of athleticism. Porter has that same type of all around game in terms of passing and rebounding and defending, and unlike Pippen at this age, Porter can actually shoot and already has command of the 3 pointer. But Pippen was a sensationally gifted athlete. Porter is nowhere near as fast or explosive and agile as Pippen, nowhere near the leaper. Pippen could play 1-4 with his skills and athleticism. Porter is much more of a front court player by nature, strictly a 3/4.

[stevemcqueen1]

You take Noel without thinking twice about it. Last year I would have done that deal, and drafted Drummond and another player like Lillard or Waiters or Barnes etc. This year Noel is head and shoulders above all the rest in terms of long term upside. He's the only guy I can see in this pile who has a reasonably decent chance of beng better than "good". You don't pass on that opportunity. Historically in all sports, trading away the elite player for several lesser options nearly always blows up in your face, particularly in sports outside of football.

I agree with you. You always trade coins for paper in the NBA. You can find the role players to make it work at almost any point down the line. And I agree Noel is the best long term pick. I think he has franchise big man potential and he's shown the will to dominate the paint. Plus he's also got more offensive game than people realize. He's got a group of baby hooks and running hooks that work for him. And he's also got surprisingly good ball handling skills that you almost never got to see within the games because of how he was used. I think he's going to be a serious threat to drive against NBA bigs much like Blake Griffin.

But I disagree that Noel is the only one with that kind of upside. I also think Shabazz also has the upside of being a #1 option and All Star type player.

[pancakes3]

It'd be great to see some of that killer, fierce, aggressive, no-mercy, no-lose attitude on the defensive side of the court too.

[hands11]

Victor O covering Burke for those that want to watch.

[stevemcqueen1]

SF is still somewhat unstable, with no guarantee Webster comes back, and I don't expect Ariza to be here long term. I need to watch more of Shabazz so I'm not talking out of my a$$, but I am just so high right now on Porter it's hard for me to even consider anyone else...

My top four is probably:
1.) Noel
2.) Shabazz
3.) Porter
4.) Zeller

I don't love any of those picks though, I'm not too high on this class as a whole. Strengths and flaws of each in a nutshell:

Noel good,
- Outstanding athlete
- Outstanding length
- Outstanding IQ
- Oustanding potential, very young
- Solidifies our C position long term with a guy who can be a potential All Star
Bad,
- Body is not NBA ready
- Offensive game is very nascent
- Injury sets him back
- Does little to help us win in the short term

Porter good,
- Smart, takes nothing off the table, easy going and team first personality
- Can shoot, can score from mid range and finish inside in transition and on put backs
- Gets to the FT line
- Tremendous rebounder
- Good passer
- Excellent length, uses it well on defense, solid defensive potential
Porter bad,
- Upside isn't that exciting for a potential top five pick, isn't going to transform the franchise.
- Slow. Straight line speed is ordinary at best for an NBA SF, start and stop ability is lacking, change of direction is lacking.
- Lacks explosiveness, grounded player.
- Ball handling skills are ordinary, not the type to break down defenses or attack multiple defenders off the dribble

Zeller good,
- Legit 7 footer, solidifies long term position at C
- Tremendous feel for the game, super smart for a big man
- Gifted scorer, lots of skills, great feel for the ball, huge array of under the basket finishes
- Good athlete, good leaper, runs the floor extremely well
- Smart positional defender, gets lots of steals too, good PnR defender
- Extremely efficient, commands a lot of double teams and still finds ways to score
Bad,
- lacks strength, body is not NBA ready, gets shoved around by strong college bigs
- mediocre rebounder
- not consistently dominant, becomes a spectator/disappears for long stretches
- Length is limited, will never be a great shot blocker, low release point on his jumper and limited length are an issue

Shabazz good,
- Star mentality, tremendous motor and aggressiveness
- Good athlete, good first step and very strong for his position
- Good leaper that posterizes opponents frequently
- Good arm length for his height supposedly
- Versatile and natural scorer. Great instincts, diverse skills
- Decent slashing scorer
- Outstanding post up game for his age, good hook shot, scores well inside the lane
- Good bball IQ, efficient, aggressive while maintaining patience, passes out of doubles and doesn't take a ton of bad shots
- Excellent spot up shooter from everywhere on the court.
- Assertive in crunch time
Bad,
- Off hand is weak, lacks an array of advanced handles
- Poor passer, turns it over a lot
- Mediocre defender at best, doesn't make big plays, the worst defender of the four I mention
- Short for a SF at around 6'5 or 6'6, a tweener because of his height
- Mediocre rebounder for a SF, strictly a wing

To me the best scenario with draft and offseason...

Charlotte gets Noel #1 and he turns out to be another disappointing pick for MJ.

Wizards get Porter as eventual replacement for Ariza. With 2nd rounder, maybe moving up if needed, get a big such as Withey or Dieng... maybe Young, Muscala, Kelly as further possibilities.

Resign Webster ideally as backup SF/SG. Keep Price as well as add another vet G to the mix.

Hope everyone comes back healthy and improved next season, Nene especially, as well as Booker, Wall, etc.

My best scenario would be trading the pick for a good young vet big man probably. But I'm not getting my hopes up for that. Personally, I think Shabazz helps us more in the end than Porter. He's got future 20 PPG scorer written all over him and he can do it efficiently. So much of our problems come from a lack of scoring and we lose a lot of games where the offense stagnates in crunch time. Shabazz has such a valuable skill as a big time scorer.

I also like the mentality Shabazz would bring to the team. He's so hyper competitive and so confident. I think he would be a positive influence on Wall and Beal. I think Bazz would really push them. The three of them would have so much swagger and talent and explosive athleticism. Like the young guys in OKC. I like the idea of them growing up as a team together.

[nate33]

Victor O covering Burke for those that want to watch.

Indiana had definitely oriented their defense towards stopping Burke. They're containing him on every screen and practically abandoning the weakside offensive player to make sure Burke doesn't get any daylight. It really worked in the first half. Burke seems to have figured it out in the second half and has become much more patient. He is keeping his dribble alive and hitting teammates for wide open looks.

[hands11]

Victor O covering Burke for those that want to watch.

Indiana had definitely oriented their defense towards stopping Burke. They're containing him on every screen and practically abandoning the weakside offensive player to make sure Burke doesn't get any daylight. It really worked in the first half. Burke seems to have figured it out in the second half and has become much more patient. He is keeping his dribble alive and hitting teammates for wide open looks.

What a battle. Victor O just hounding him on defense and grabbing 13 rebounds so far along the way. We are talking Victor at 6-5 215 guarding Burke at at 6-0 190.

Burke battling back and putting up 20 pts so far on 5-8 from 3.

Great game.

I still don't see how Zellers game translates to the NBA. He has put up his pts mind you, but I don't see any way the ugly garbage he throw up goes in at the NBA level. I'm still struggling to figure out how they go in at the college level.

[hands11]

WOW

Indiana came back and won it.

Burke misses a 1 and 1 and Zeller scores in the post then the Burke misses on a drive. Put back hangs and even walks on the rim but doesn't go in.

WOW

[Earth2Ted]

Phenomenal finish to the IU- Michigan game. Zeller really came up clutch the last 60 seconds- a couple of inside finishes and 2 big free throws down the stretch, and almost as important, kept his composure after getting called for travelling with about 90 sec to go and his team down 4.

Michigan, OTOH, flat out blew the game at the line.

Definitely a head scratcher trying to come with a comparison for Zeller- whoever said Greg Monroe probably is close as you can get... maybe you sprinkle in a little Antawn Jamison as well.

I think he'd be a mixed fit for us- good offensively, not so good defensively. Question is, can intelligence and toughness overcome alligator arms and lack of muscle.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Watching the Indiana-Michigan game I'm just a little confused when I inquired about Robinson as a prospect the only response I got was we're not interested because he's a SG, when there has been alot of suggesting Oladipo can play SF, and seeing them side by side GR3 was clearly a good bit bigger and longer than him.

I don't know if he'll be in this draft, but if he is he could be a sleeper IMO. He's definitely skilled.

[Severn Hoos]

So is Mike Tobey now a Lottery prospect?



(Sorry, Terps fans. I know how you feel. We've had a brutal year finishing games we should have won. Now go take out Duke in the tourney!)

[Severn Hoos]

So, are you saying I'm guilty of grand larkiny?


Btw, comic sections aren't any good nowadaze without Gary whathisname and Berkley Breathed.

You can say that again. I miss Bill the Cat.

And of course, Bill Watterson. The 80s really were the Golden Age of newspaper comic strips.

[Ruzious]

Watching the Indiana-Michigan game I'm just a little confused when I inquired about Robinson as a prospect the only response I got was we're not interested because he's a SG, when there has been alot of suggesting Oladipo can play SF, and seeing them side by side GR3 was clearly a good bit bigger and longer than him.

I don't know if he'll be in this draft, but if he is he could be a sleeper IMO. He's definitely skilled.

Oladipo continues to play his heart out game in and game out, while Robinson....

...disappears most of the time.

At this point, I'd take Oladipo over a dozen GR3's - regardless of position. Maybe that will eventually change, but GR3 ain't even close to being ready for the NBA, imo.

Amen to those who said that was a great game. As long as college basketball can still put out games like that, it's still a great sport.

[hands11]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1560740-early-recommendation-for-washington-wizards-2013-first-round-nba-draft-pick

Seems like he would be a really easy fit for the team. I like a high pick to be a complete player that doesn't have huge questions marks like, he can defend but he has no offense or he has offense but he doesn't defend. Or worse, he is athletic but has no skills yet.

Noel looks interesting but for me, I want to see the Wizards add in other places. I think they can add the center help they need later in the draft and in other ways. If I was able to see him in March Madness, that could change my mind, but a freshman big who is injured so you really can't see him against the best ? Kind of risky.

Ben McLemore is going to be a really nice piece for the team that takes him but I would take Beal over him
Shabbazz will be an interesting player for sure, just not sure he is the right player for the Wizards.
Victor O - I have been a huge fan but can't see us using such a high pick on him.
Burke - He is great, but to high a pick. We have Wall.

And on down the line.

Otto is the cleanest right fit. Then you fill it out with players that can be had cheaper.

The B list
Pierre PG, Withey C, Gorgui Dieng C, Doug McDermott PF-S4, Ryan Kelly - PF, Cory Jefferson - PF, etc

Pierre to me is going to be the biggest surprise piece of gold if he goes in the second or undrafted. I so want this guy on the team. He just does everything right as a PG. Every moment he make is so spot on and at 22, he could show Wall a thing or two about playing PG. Dude is awesome.

I would give up on Price, Singleton, Booker and Ves for players on the B list.

The key is ... who are the B list will go in the 2nd or undrafted. Draft X doesn't even have Pierre, Cory Jefferson or Ryan Kelly listed.

[tontoz]

Hornets just beat the Blazers.

[hands11]

Phenomenal finish to the IU- Michigan game. Zeller really came up clutch the last 60 seconds- a couple of inside finishes and 2 big free throws down the stretch, and almost as important, kept his composure after getting called for travelling with about 90 sec to go and his team down 4.

Michigan, OTOH, flat out blew the game at the line.

Definitely a head scratcher trying to come with a comparison for Zeller- whoever said Greg Monroe probably is close as you can get... maybe you sprinkle in a little Antawn Jamison as well.

I think he'd be a mixed fit for us- good offensively, not so good defensively. Question is, can intelligence and toughness overcome alligator arms and lack of muscle.

I say no. Dude needs his arms operated on.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2323419/