Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part II

[Ruzious]

Hmm, would a Vesley+#10 overall pick for Jared Dudley deal make sense for both sides? Dudley has a great contract, is an excellent 3 point shooter, and can allow the Wiz to shop Ariza for a stretch 4. The Suns are going nowhere and might as well prefer to get another lotto pick (even in this horrible draft). If the Wiz don't like any of the bigs when they pick, perhaps this deal could be made on draft night.

Edit: Looked at Dudley's contract and he can opt out after 2 more years. Too big a risk to trade a lotto pick for a deal that expires in 2 years.

And Dudley's awfully slow.

[Ruzious]

Cory Jefferson is a player I'd really study if I were a GM. I just read DX's report on him written on 1/30/13. It says he came to Baylor at 170 lbs and he's rumored to have bulked up to 215. To me, he looks over 240, and I'm usually good at guessing weights. Maybe they got him confused with Austin. He's a player that the measurements are going to be crucial - not just his weight - he's got long arms. He could shoot way up if he measures well. I think he's simply a very overlooked player. People watched Baylor just to check on Austin, but Jefferson's the better player.

[hands11]

Cory Jefferson is a player I'd really study if I were a GM. I just read DX's report on him written on 1/30/13. It says he came to Baylor at 170 lbs and he's rumored to have bulked up to 215. To me, he looks over 240, and I'm usually good at guessing weights. Maybe they got him confused with Austin. He's a player that the measurements are going to be crucial - not just his weight - he's got long arms. He could shoot way up if he measures well. I think he's simply a very overlooked player. People watched Baylor just to check on Austin, but Jefferson's the better player.

And Pierre

Cory Jefferson was a non-factor his first 3 years at Baylor. Now he ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in PER.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2OjWc1wjP
http://www.draftexpress.com

More of an athlete than a basketball player until this year, Jefferson's sizable increase in both minutes and role has to this point been a nice surprise, albeit one met with guarded optimism. His scoring average has increased from 13.3 points per 40 minutes pace adjusted to 17.2, and he has been doing so at an efficient 63% true shooting percentage.

==

Not sure he is a best for the list I posted for the first 2nd round pick but he is on the list. Depends on who is available. In a way he is a little like a Ves project only a lot cheaper with a lot lower expectations given where he would get picked.

[BruceO]

do you guys think anthony bennet can play the 3 spot? i think we are likely to draft one of these players: bennet, len, oladipo, porter, zeller, bazz or olynyk

[Ruzious]

Other pace adjusted per 40 minutes stats for Jefferson are 11.2 boards, 2.8 blocks, and 1.2 turnovers.

He's the next best player to Brittany Griner at Baylor.

[Benjammin]

do you guys think anthony bennet can play the 3 spot? i think we are likely to draft one of these players: bennet, len, oladipo, porter, zeller, bazz or olynyk

Unfortunately, no. Chunky, tweener forwards rarely can play the 3 effectively, at least on defense. I would include Trey Burke to your list if the Wiz are picking around 9 or 10.

[nate33]

I just finished watching several Norvel Pelle youtube videos. He has to be trouble. Otherwise, he would have played somewhere. Leave him alone is my gut feeling. Let him prove himself in the D-League.

In round two there are two many proven players who earned the right to be drafted. Pelle is tall and he can dunk, but something doesn't add up with him IMO.

He bounced around to so many schools in high school that he was ineligible for college. It could be bad management from his parents and/or AAU coach, or maybe he's just a bad apple and everyone wanted to get rid of him. On the other hand, he's 7-0 tall and is athletic and coordinated. Or course for every Durant and Garnett, there's a Stromille Swift and a Jan Vesely. The right mental makeup is necessary if you want to play in the NBA with a wiry frame.

I wouldn't rule him out until I did the background research. Why did he bounce around from school to school? How does he perform in interviews? Heck, how does he perform on the court? I've seen videos that show he moves well, blocks shots, and has nice handles, but I have no idea how he impacts his team.

Physically, he looks like he has real talent. He has star potential. He'd also fit our team well as a long, athletic and skilled big man with perimeter range. We have the veteran depth in the front court to bring a prospect along slowly. And as a #11 or so pick, there won't be as much hype or pressure.

[Rafael122]

If we keep both 2nd round picks, I would not be surprised if we picked up a guy like CJ Leslie. Went to high school and was a teammate of John Wall and I believe I read something last week that he was at the game and left the arena with Wall. Too early to speculate, workout scan push him into the first round, who knows at this point.

[stevemcqueen1]

I'm having a hard time making up my mind about Len. Watched him last night and was so impressed with his frame and his athleticism. He's got so much potential. He's reminds me a lot of what I liked about Jonas Valanciunas.

In a draft like this, picking where we will likely pick, if Len is on the board, I think you take him. Swing for upside. He can ride the pine for a while behind Okafor and Nene so there isn't going to be a rush to develop him quickly.

[Floater]

How do we feel about Deshaun Thomas from OSU? If we grab a big man in the 1st, I'd love to grab Thomas at the top of the 2nd round to play SF.

[fishercob]

I'm having a hard time making up my mind about Len. Watched him last night and was so impressed with his frame and his athleticism. He's got so much potential. He's reminds me a lot of what I liked about Jonas Valanciunas.

In a draft like this, picking where we will likely pick, if Len is on the board, I think you take him. Swing for upside. He can ride the pine for a while behind Okafor and Nene so there isn't going to be a rush to develop him quickly.

At the end of the day, it all depends on what kind of kid -- what kind of worker -- you think Len is. He's clearly not ready now, but he's got some great tools. The same could be said of Javale McGee when the Wizards drafted him. Vale never got serious about addressing his shortcoming and is now best known as star of Shaqtin' a Fool; he's not appreciably different than he was when he came into the league.

I've seen names like Ilgauskas and Rik Smits thrown out as potential Len comparables. Both guys were two years older than Len as rooks. Whether or not he spends hours working tirelessly on his game will be the difference between Len being a key cog like a Smits/Z or an afterthought like Alex Ajinca or Pavel Podkolzine.

The Wizards should have plenty of intel on Len's makeup to properly make that call. One thing that could work in his favor is his familiarity with the area and the fact that that might somewhat ease his transition to the pros.

[nate33]

How do we feel about Deshaun Thomas from OSU? If we grab a big man in the 1st, I'd love to grab Thomas at the top of the 2nd round to play SF.

Thomas is a straight up gunner. The man can get a shot off and does a pretty good job of putting it in the basket. Unfortunately, he doesn't do much else all that well. He's too slow to guard SF's and not strong enough to guard PF's. At best, I think he can be Antawn Jamison without the defensive rebounding. It's more likely that he'll be unable to score quite as efficiently as Jamison, so he'll be a break-even player on offense and a bad defender. Basically, the tweener forward version of Jordan Crawford.

[Dark Faze]

Olynyk TRB and DRB%'s are better than Zellers and only slightly inferior to Noel.

I just don't see what the marks against him are.

[deneem4]

Since the new yr hit...okafor has been the most consistent player on the roster...if anything nene has to go...we can get some depth for him from a younger team...

[zardsfan]

Like to see Zards bring Norvel Pelle in for a workout before the draft... maybe try to bring him in at the same time with one of the other bigmen from college that is projected to go somewhere around #10-12 or where ever the Zards end up picking. Be nice to see him go one on one with a similar prospect from college.

Too bad Norvel didn't catch on with a college team so he could display his game. It is obvious he can dunk, block shots and has that 7'2" wingspan that you can't teach; but knocking down jumpers in the gym doesn't mean jack... Vesely knocks down tons of jumpers unguarded in workouts but it hasn't translated to success in games. Worth a look though.

[nate33]

Olynyk TRB and DRB%'s are better than Zellers and only slightly inferior to Noel.

I just don't see what the marks against him are.

He's a 4-year senior who turns 22 in 4 weeks, putting up those numbers against mid-major competition. Zeller is 18 months younger, has 2 years less college experience, and is posting those numbers in the best conference in college basketball. Noel is even younger with even less experience.

[nate33]

Since the new yr hit...okafor has been the most consistent player on the roster...if anything nene has to go...we can get some depth for him from a younger team...

Perhaps. Much of this is a medical decision. Nene has been playing hurt all season. If this is a permanent condition, then, yes, Okafor is probably the better player to have going forward. But if the docs think Nene can recover once he actually gets some rest, then I'd prefer Nene.

Nene, when healthy, is definitely a better and more versatile player than Okafor. He also provides decision-making and offensive-creation that are much harder to replace. There are only 8-10 bigs in the league through whom you can run an offense. Okafor's grunt work, although valuable, is comparatively easy to find. You see guys like that turn up every year (Larry Sanders, Omar Asik, etc.) who were acquired relatively late in the draft. Guys like Dieng, Adams and Withey could probably fill his role after a year of grooming. They probably won't be as good right away, but they could be close.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Olynyk TRB and DRB%'s are better than Zellers and only slightly inferior to Noel.

I just don't see what the marks against him are.

He's a 4-year senior who turns 22 in 4 weeks, putting up those numbers against mid-major competition. Zeller is 18 months younger, has 2 years less college experience, and is posting those numbers in the best conference in college basketball. Noel is even younger with even less experience.

DX has updated mock up with Wizards now down at #10. They have Zeller as the #3 prospect, and he should be long gone by the Wizards pick.

I'm still holding out hope for Porter. Being a local player, I think his hype was bigger in this area than nationally. And I could see him drop after disapointing postseason performances. Also, he's a guy that may not work out as well as some others, not being the most explosive athlete, his strong suit is really his intelligent team play which won't be the focus in individual workouts.

I still like a Porter/Muscala draft for the Wizards. A couple smart team oriented players that will fit in well with this team. I think they both have skillsets that will benefit this team. The way the Wizards are playing now, I like the idea of adding a couple players like this that can seamlessly work their way in to the team's present chemistry. Also they are safe picks, although I do also think they both have solid upside, which this team needs after taking a chance and missing so badly on Vesely.

[Rafael122]

Olynyk TRB and DRB%'s are better than Zellers and only slightly inferior to Noel.

I just don't see what the marks against him are.

He's a 4-year senior who turns 22 in 4 weeks, putting up those numbers against mid-major competition. Zeller is 18 months younger, has 2 years less college experience, and is posting those numbers in the best conference in college basketball. Noel is even younger with even less experience.

DX has updated mock up with Wizards now down at #10. They have Zeller as the #3 prospect, and he should be long gone by the Wizards pick.

I'm still holding out hope for Porter. Being a local player, I think his hype was bigger in this area than nationally. And I could see him drop after disapointing postseason performances. Also, he's a guy that may not work out as well as some others, not being the most explosive athlete, his strong suit is really his intelligent team play which won't be the focus in individual workouts.

I still like a Porter/Muscala draft for the Wizards. A couple smart team oriented players that will fit in well with this team. I think they both have skillsets that will benefit this team. The way the Wizards are playing now, I like the idea of adding a couple players like this that can seamlessly work their way in to the team's present chemistry. Also they are safe picks, although I do also think they both have solid upside, which this team needs after taking a chance and missing so badly on Vesely.

Just because a prospect has a certain rank doesn't mean that's where he's going to go. And the mock draft doesn't take into account team needs. I will say this, however. If the Wizards do go with Trey Burke in the first, and Kabongo in the draft then that's pretty excellent.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Since the new yr hit...okafor has been the most consistent player on the roster...if anything nene has to go...we can get some depth for him from a younger team...

Perhaps. Much of this is a medical decision. Nene has been playing hurt all season. If this is a permanent condition, then, yes, Okafor is probably the better player to have going forward. But if the docs think Nene can recover once he actually gets some rest, then I'd prefer Nene.

Nene, when healthy, is definitely a better and more versatile player than Okafor. He also provides decision-making and offensive-creation that are much harder to replace. There are only 8-10 bigs in the league through whom you can run an offense. Okafor's grunt work, although valuable, is comparatively easy to find. You see guys like that turn up every year (Larry Sanders, Omar Asik, etc.) who were acquired relatively late in the draft. Guys like Dieng, Adams and Withey could probably fill his role after a year of grooming. They probably won't be as good right away, but they could be close.

I really like both players, and the way they play together. Bigs can usually be effective long into their career if healthy. Look at a guy like Camby. I don't see any reason to rush these guys out. IMO they both have a good 4-5 years left at a high level. I am hopeful a full offseason will give us a healthy and revitalized Nene next season.


I like the solid veteran play these 2 give us inside. The question we have is not with them, but the depth behind them. The collection of Vesely, Seraphin, Booker, Singleton doesnt' seem to hold the solution. Of the grou Booker is my favorite, but he is best suited as a spark off the bench guy. Seraphin can come in and get you some buckets inside. But neither is going to challenge the starter, or be effective if called upon for extended playing time.

I'd like to see the Wizards explore a trade of Vesely and Seraphin, maybe in a package with our 2nd rounders and/or Singleton for someone like Splitter or Derrick Williams. Use these assets in a quality for quantity deal if possible.