Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part V

[The Consiglieri]

Porter had 30 points against Syracuse in their final Big East game against the Orange at the Carrier Dome. Porter was a Player of the Year Finalist. You can't sit there and say their highs weren't that impressive. Porter was impressive enough to get national attention at the end of the year. You mentioned Bennett and his game against Air Force. Air Force. He dominated his conference, he should have. He's playing teams like Air Force.

Kind of like Porter should have dominated Florida Gulf Coast? What did he do again in that umpteenth consecutive first round loss to an inferior seeded team? Yeah. Squat.

For the record, you make plenty of other solid arguments, though I'd say the point was that Bennett destroyed teams with a game that is NBA dominant. A game that would translate to dominance in the NBA. Porter consistently had good to very good games showcasing a game that could be solid to good at the next level. The difference isn't the highs so much as what the highs displayed.

I love that article on Otto though and his family. Sounds like Beal, sounds like a guy that can start for 10 years and consistently be a great robin. Problem is that we have 3 robin's, if he's a robin, and no Batman.

Bennett may be a Batman. At worst, he should be a lethal scorer with some issues on the defensive end that may or may not be able to be coached up. I see no signs of a crummy attitude and he was perfectly fine in the interview. Felt to me like people were essentially looking for responses to dislike, to paste a rep on Bennett that doesn't exist. He didn't come off as remotely cocky, arrogant, foolish or immature. Just sounded like the 19 year old basketball player he's been.

If Bennett doesn't make any sense here, than why do I keep hearing story after story and source after source suggesting that in a few years, he could be the best player from thsi draft? I've never heard that once about Porter. For the record I also saw that ability from Bennett on the court when he was healthy, never saw it with Porter (though again, i think Porter has a really nice floor, the more i look at him).

[nate33]

Would you guys do #3 + #37 + #54 for Sac's #7 and DeMarcus Cousins? I would even throw in Vesley or Booker to make it work.

Yes

Of course we would, it's an unrealistic trade. If we manage to trade #3 for Cousins, you can be damn sure that we're not also getting the #7 back. Throwing in Vesely or Booker is hardly incentive for Sacramento.

A Cousins trade would probably look more like:

SAC trades Cousins + Salmons
WAS trades Okafor + #3.

[Floater]

If we do draft Porter, more than likely we don't use the MLE on Webster. We could use that or part of it on a backup PG/vet big man

[pancakes3]

For comparison, Beal is exactly the same height without shoes, has only 0.5 inches less in standing reach, same no-step vert, a smidge slower in lane agility, and near identical quarter-court sprints. Dipo did bench 185 7 more times but that's probably due to age.

Physically speaking, there's very little difference between Dipo and Beal. Statistically, Beal was a better rebounder both in RB% (by a lot) and gross totals. Furthermore Beal was a freshman and Dipo a Junior. I'm very suspicious of the claims that Oladipo can consistently play SF even in spot minutes.

[GhostsOfGil]

Wall/CJ McCollum
Beal/Webster
Webster/Ariza
Cousins/Seraphin
Okafor/Nene

Yes please.

[pancakes3]

Would you guys do #3 + #37 + #54 for Sac's #7 and DeMarcus Cousins? I would even throw in Vesley or Booker to make it work.

Why is everybody on board with giving up a LOT in exchange for a rental instead of waiting a season and signing him outright? There's no love lost between Cousins and Sac-town. I understand that it's typically impossibly hard to root a guy from the incumbent team for the first contract but in this case where Cousins is a singular nutcase am I the nutcase for thinking it's doable to lure Cousins here with near-max money, John Wall, and (hopefully) a winning squad?

[Dark Faze]

Would you guys do #3 + #37 + #54 for Sac's #7 and DeMarcus Cousins? I would even throw in Vesley or Booker to make it work.

Absolutely not.

Cousins' best TS% is 52. He has an average ORTG of 99 which is atrocious and a subpar DRTG of 105. He's an absolute net negative and a cancer.

[dobrojim]

My pick would be Porter for all the reasons already discussed...two way player, high IQ, size for his position, work ethic, etc. To me, he is the perfect fit for how this team is trying to be molded.

I don't understand the love at all for Bennett. Tweener PF that doesn't play defense and takes bad shots. No thanks, I've already seen that play with Antawn Jamison. If we aint going to take Porter, I'd rather trade the pick to get a stretch 4 that actually has size to play that position (e.g., Andersen).

I'm tired of drafting "athletic" guys with upside. I want someone that just knows how to play the game, plays both ends of the court, and has a high work ethic. That's Porter, or alternatively Dipo. There is nothing wrong with making the safe pick. Had we taken this approach before, we would not be stuck with Vesely.

I also don't understand people arguing that Porter shouldn't be the pick because he does not have "star" potential. I don't see Porter having any less star potential than any of the other prospects. All of them have huge question marks and that is the reason that this is considered a weak draft.

In the end, my choices would be:

1. Porter
2. Trade the pick for someone like Kanter or Anderson + a lower pick
3. Dipo

+1 BobbyD

My one big question is whether Dipo isn't actually the better choice.
My answer is that Dipo is a 2/3 and Porter is a 3/small 4.
Dipo might have more upside, Porter is a better fit given that
Beal is a keeper.

Webster is a UFA and Ariza is only here one more year guaranteed.
In spite of Nate's argument that SF is OK, it's really only OK for the
very short term. Even if we keep both Ariza and Webster, that merely
allows the luxury of easing OP into the NBA game. I agree that doesn't
make us that much better right away. But we could be good enough
now, if Nene/Ok play in 65-70 games (big if?)to be a team that
could win one playoff series. Another assumption being that we
figure out how to beat the bottom-dwellers. We've already PROVEN
we can beat elite teams.

[nate33]

Would you guys do #3 + #37 + #54 for Sac's #7 and DeMarcus Cousins? I would even throw in Vesley or Booker to make it work.

Why is everybody on board with giving up a LOT in exchange for a rental instead of waiting a season and signing him outright? There's no love lost between Cousins and Sac-town. I understand that it's typically impossibly hard to root a guy from the incumbent team for the first contract but in this case where Cousins is a singular nutcase am I the nutcase for thinking it's doable to lure Cousins here with near-max money, John Wall, and (hopefully) a winning squad?

Because Cousins is a RFA and Sacramento is likely to match any offer rather than let him walk for nothing.

The only way we get Cousins for nothing is if Cousins absolutely refuses to resign with Sacramento and threatens to take the qualifying offer instead. That would be a poor financial decision on his part so I think it is highly unlikely.

[Dark Faze]

lol why do people like cousins

he's a proven net negative, locker room cancer, etc

[nate33]

lol why do people like cousins

he's a proven net negative, locker room cancer, etc

Because he is young, he rebounds a ton, and has real offensive skills (if not great shot selection). His locker room cancer label is overblown. He doesn't have a Derrick Coleman level of jerkiness where he doesn't even care about playing hard. And he doesn't have an Andre Blatche level of laziness where he gets fat, out of shape, and refuses to bang on the low block. Basically, he's a hothead. That's not great, but it's something you can work with and it's something that he'll probably get under control as he gets older.

If he can improve his shot selection, he would be a top 5 big man. Hopefully, that could happen on a team like Washington with John Wall and a bunch of selfless veterans to set the tone. It also helps that we have Nene who wouldn't be intimidated by Cousins in the locker room.

[nuposse04]

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jason-Smith-369/

It is kind eerie how similar Smith and Zeller are athletically.

[DCZards]

I love that article on Otto though and his family. Sounds like Beal, sounds like a guy that can start for 10 years and consistently be a great robin. Problem is that we have 3 robin's, if he's a robin, and no Batman.

Consig, I have had the same thoughts about Beal's and Porter's family background. A lot of similarities when you look at the consistent guidance/support they've both received from parents, uncles and brothers.

I think the Zards do have a Batman--John Wall. I don't know why you would expect Bennett to be any more of a Batman than Wall could turn out to be.

Bennett may be a Batman. At worst, he should be a lethal scorer with some issues on the defensive end that may or may not be able to be coached up. I see no signs of a crummy attitude and he was perfectly fine in the interview. Felt to me like people were essentially looking for responses to dislike, to paste a rep on Bennett that doesn't exist. He didn't come off as remotely cocky, arrogant, foolish or immature. Just sounded like the 19 year old basketball player he's been.

Totally agree here. I don't know why some posters have felt the need to disparage Bennett's attitude, character or smarts...with little or no evidence to back up their claims.

[No-Man]

If they go through the "potential" route with Bennett, I'd dump Nenê, it's the best time to do it with a great FA coming in 2014 and the Nets desperate to improve their team, grab Humphries and a 1st and run.

If they want to go to PO now, they'll grab Porter, re-sign Webster and find a deal for Ariza+Vesely during the RS.

That's the 2 choices, right there.

[dobrojim]

Mike Wise:

"The truth: Grunfeld can’t take a chance on this June’s No. 3 pick not being a key contributor this upcoming season. He has one year remaining on his contract with the team. He can plan for the future all he wants, but that’s a fact. Don’t trade the pick to save your job, trade it for a fan base that hasn’t seen the playoffs in five years."

He is so stupid.

I also disagreed with his column today. He seems to be starting with the
premise that we won't make the playoffs next year unless we draft or
trade for a definite contributor. I just don't think that's true.

[truwizfan4evr]

Would anyone want to draft Shane Larkin in second round? He did well in draft combine.

[tontoz]

Not only is Bennett a big time talent but he could also be a good fit on this team as a stretch 4 who can attack the basket with authority. He would be scary running pick and rolls with Wall.

[JAR69]

Capologists - can you tell me if this is right? It looks like moving from 8 to 3 adds about $1.4 million in salary in year 2, which would be the amount of reduced cap room in 2014.

[Dark Faze]

people never learn lol

Guys like Derrick Williams and Beasley...everything guys are saying about Bennett were said about them. "At worst he'll be a lethal scorer".

No. At worst his shooting doesn't translate to the pros and he's so bad defensively at PF that they try to get him to slim down to play some SF...like D-Will and Beasley, both who had much better college campaigns than Bennett and are probably going to still be better players despite their shortcomings.

lol why do people like cousins

he's a proven net negative, locker room cancer, etc

Because he is young, he rebounds a ton, and has real offensive skills (if not great shot selection). His locker room cancer label is overblown. He doesn't have a Derrick Coleman level of jerkiness where he doesn't even care about playing hard. And he doesn't have an Andre Blatche level of laziness where he gets fat, out of shape, and refuses to bang on the low block. Basically, he's a hothead. That's not great, but it's something you can work with and it's something that he'll probably get under control as he gets older.

If he can improve his shot selection, he would be a top 5 big man. Hopefully, that could happen on a team like Washington with John Wall and a bunch of selfless veterans to set the tone. It also helps that we have Nene who wouldn't be intimidated by Cousins in the locker room.

Dude, good players don't average 50% TS after three seasons. PERIOD. End of story. Nothing else to say about it. Put 4 guys off the street around Shaq and he isn't averaging 50%TS.

Cousins issues are overblown? Lmao, they requested for him to get counseling and psychological help. Cousins apologized to his teammates and they said they've heard it before from him.

"When he apologized to the team, two players stood up and said, 'We've heard this bull[bleep] before,'" the source said. "'You're either going to be with us, or you're not. We don't want to hear any more excuses.'"

Cousins has skills, but you can't fix a broken brain.

[dobrojim]

I would not trade the 3rd overall pick for a top 3 protected 2014 pick. You'd probably end up with something in the late lottery if you did that.

I still think Zeller is going to go way earlier than 10ish. I would much rather we pick the guy we want at 3 even if it's a reach than trade down to the mid/late lottery and have to settle for what's left and try and shoe horn them into our construction.

Yeah, if they don't trade the pick, I would go with Zeller - assuming Noah isn't there. He had a bad NCAA tournament, so fans are down on him, but his combo of size, skills, athleticism, and work ethic are rare. Quality bigs are very hard to find - especially ones that play both ends of the court. Porter is probably as good a 3 as Zeller is a 4/5, but quality 3's are nowhere near as difficult to find. And the Wiz need to add 2 quality bigs for the long term, imo. If they add zero this offseason, it puts them in a bind for the future.

I would still favor a trade with Utah - getting Kanter and the 14th pick - and taking the BPA regardless of position (other than a guard who can play only 1 position) with that pick.

I agree with your premise that all other things being equal, draft the bigger player.
Not as convinced that Zeller is going to pan out as I am about OP. Or Dipo.
Dipo could maybe have D-Wade potential.