Official 2013 Draft Thread - Part V

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I don't see any reason to believe that VO is going to be as good or better than Beal...at least at this point. Beal has already proven his NBA metal, imo, while Oladipo hasn't done squat at the next level. EG could end up looking like a fool if he traded one of last year's top rookies (and one of the best young shooters in the game) with the HOPE that Dipo is as good or better.

Of course you're entitled to your opinion, ccj, but this sounds eerily similar to some of your "the Zards should dump Wall" talk. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

Since you went there Kyrie Irving is younger and already an all star, DCZ. Trade Kyrie for Wall? Cleveland would not because they have years before they have to give up a max deal.

Since you went there, Cousins and a pick still is not an absurd offer for Wall.

You like to attack the messenger. That post had a preface and was made lightheartedly. No way Beal gets traded but I think in five years Oladipo could be (even) better than Beal.

What I do believe is Oladipo is going to exceed expectations and might become the best player in this draft bar none.

Dipo couldn't have gone 3rd in last year's draft. Beal is better than him and probably always will be. Beal looks like the best SG in the NBA under 23 and a multiple All Star appearance guy.

But that doesn't mean Dipo won't be the best player out of this class.

This class is far weaker than last year's.

Where you do have a point is Beal went 3rd last season as a freshman. Oladipo was a sophomore then. He didn't make a leap until this season.

What remains to be seen is how much Porter improves as he fills out and matures physically.

[No-Man]

Bazz rip it at Hoop Summit too, and people are off his bandwagon now.

I would seriously consider him at 3 too, at least for a work out against Porter.

[No-Man]

If Oladipo declared last season he would be picked in the late first, or probably second round.

[Severn Hoos]

Greetings from 35000 feet, few low wiznerds. I was at a conference in Vegas and watched the lotto unfold in a crowded sports book. Made quite the scene. I feel foolish for predicting that we'd move up to 2 for so long. What egg on my face!

Greetings - hope you landed safely. What a great night indeed to be a Wiz fan. Last sporting event I watched in Vegas was Game 7, Caps & Habs. So disgusted that the fans were rooting for a team from another country over the one from our nation's capital. Ugh. Glad you have a much better memory to take with you.

Can we figure out a way to cone of our this with one good player and a second upside guy.

For instance: what if mclemore goes 2 and New Orleans is dying to take Burke and fears Utah or someone will move up for him. Would they deal Ryno and 6 for Seraphin and 3. We could still take Len or porter.

Yep, Anderson & 6 for 3 is a no-brainer. He'd be a perfect 3rd big (almost as perfect as Ilyasova!) next to Nene & Okafor, and is on a reasonable contract. Hopefully #6 would be Porter or Dipo, don;t really want Len.

Would Minnesota take Oladipo, nene and a future pick for love?

Hmmm, I'm a big fan of Love in theory (that sounded funny...) but I am afraid that his contribution to winning basketball is less than it would appear. But it's probably a "mute" point, don't think Minny will move him anyway.

Would Milwaukee give 15 (gobert, Adams?), Ilyasova and a future first for mclemore?

This one is very interesting, especially if that future 1st is next year, with no more than top-5 protection. I love me some Ersan, part of me thinks he's worth the #3 all by itself. Add in Dieng and an extra pick next year? Yep, I'm all over that.

I'll be pleased if porter is the pick. I see deng/prince in him -- with stretch 4 potential given his age and ability. For a year, sure we can keep porter, web an Ariza. Might be good for porter to learn from Rza on D.

I'd also be open to dealing Trevor for the right opportunity. Denver has long term money issues. Could we pry gallinari? Paul millsap s&t? Something with Boston to get their pick for taking on some of their longer deals?

We will have many choices to make. Not so confident in who is making them, but hoping the blind squirrel can stumble into a nut or two.

I also like Porter, so would be quite happy if they just stay put. Would have been interested in a #3 for #5 and Gortat, but he's really only a year or two younger than Okafor and also an expiring, so unless the plan was to move Okafor and give his minutes to Gortat, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense either.

Ultimately, what I'm hoping for - barring a crazy trade scenario from out of the blue - is they draft Porter, re-sign Webster to back up SG & SF, move Ariza (part of a Millsap S&T?), and draft the next Anderson/Ilyasova or an Okafor replacement with their 2nd rounder (or by moving up to the late 1st somehow). Muscala, Murphy, Dieng, Withey would all be on the radar depending upon how high they could get a pick.

[Ruzious]

Sorry if this has been posted.

What about something like Vesely, Seraphin, our 3 picks to Utah for Kanter and picks 14 & 21 ?

Kanter is going to cost more than that. At best, we trade the #3 and one of Ernie's Kids straight up for Kanter. You can forget about getting any picks back.

Then I'd pass. I was probably Kanter's biggest supporter when he was "at Kentucky", but him being 2 years closer to free agency then our pick kills it for me. Same issue would stop me from a Cousins trade.

[stevemcqueen1]

Bazz rip it at Hoop Summit too, and people are off his bandwagon now.

I would seriously consider him at 3 too, at least for a work out against Porter.

That was my introduction to Bazz and it's a memorable thing. I think he scored 30 something and had a ton of rebounds and was totally dominant. Looked like the best American player by far and probably only second to Wiggins in that game. A lot of the best prospects tend to pop at the Hoops Summit. Davis and MKG did the year they were there. Kanter tore it up when he was there. Wiggins has torn it up two years in a row and Aaron Gordon and Julius Randle popped off the screen too.

If that's what good Bazz is capable of doing at the next level in the NBA then he'll be one of the best players from this draft class and could be a future star. But he's had a lot of trouble since then, didn't have as good a year at UCLA as people expected. And he's got some off the court issues with his family background in particular. There was a point when he would have seemed like a bargain at 3 but now he'd be a reach that high and a big risk.

I think the toughest thing about Bazz is that you really have to commit to building around him to get the best value from him. He's like Melo or Kobe in that way. If you don't put the right teammates around him and put him in the right system, then he's going to stop the ball and be inefficient and not contribute to winning basketball. He's a super aggressive and gifted finisher and attacker that will put the ball in the hoop from all over the floor. He must have good facilitators at PG and also probably in the front court who are super unselfish and comfortable as beta players. Guys who are strong at the things he is weak at. Bazz is a specialist.

That contrasts with well rounded players like Porter and Zeller who don't take anything away from the table that you could plug into any organzation and they'd find a role. That's why I think they are a better fit for us, because we already have talented young players we are building around in Wall and Beal.

[No-Man]

I dont think his year was bad if you take every factor under consideration.

He started the season with the injury and eligibility issues, clearly not in shape, he didnt regain his athleticism in the whole year.

He was in a team that had high hopes for the year and was trying to play teamball and win games, he wasnt there just to his game, and he actually adjust to what his coach ask him to do, being aggresive without the ball, finding good looks, crash the boards etc,...

He was playing with two ball dominant players in Drew and Anderson, and with another scoring wing like Adams, UCLA offense also was a bad fit, they run more than other years, but they were still Howland's team.

And with all that concerns he still managed to win the Pac12, scored 18ppg at good efficiency, with good rebounding rate.

Check the numbers of other UCLA's freshmen in the past decade, yea, his right there, at the level of Kevin Love in scoring, way ahead of Holiday or Westbrook.

I'll do a tremendous investigation with Muhammad, checking and rechecking everything, I'm not saying he should be the pick, but if he falls all the way to Detroit, Minnesota, Portland, and turns out to be the second coming of Pierce, or even Caron Butler, and Washington picked Tayshaun Prince at 3, I'll be pretty mad.

I think the Wizards have the right system you mention, he'll be covered on defense and he'll be able to run with Wall, and also he doesnt need that much ball, like Kobe, he can coexist with a great PG, not just a 3&D player like Fisher.

[Nivek]

If Oladipo declared last season he would be picked in the late first, or probably second round.

And he'd have been a tremendous value there. He rated as a late lottery pick each of his first two college seasons in my stuff. He was a good player who took a giant step forward as a junior.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

From Michael Lee and the Washington Post May 16th...

Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim said he would draft Porter first overall and dubbed him the best all-around player ever to come through the Big East — which Porter called “the ultimate compliment.” Porter is projected to be among the top five players selected in the June 27 draft, which would mean that the Washington Wizards would likely have to win one of the top three choices in Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery to have a chance to select him.

The Wizards have the eighth-best odds at winning the top overall choice but could slide as far back as 11th. They still plan to meet with Porter, who is friends with Bradley Beal, a first-team member of the NBA’s all-rookie team for the Wizards this past season and a fellow Missouri native. Beal tried unsuccessfully to recruit Porter to his AAU team in high school but has kept tabs of his career and called him one of the most NBA-ready players in the draft.

“Otto is very versatile,” Beal said recently. “He can rebound his position, score the ball, play good defense. He was definitely at a great system at Georgetown that I think did a great job at preparing him for the next level.”

[Knighthonor]

I would much rather draft Porter, resign Webster, and let Ariza walk/trade him. Porter starts, Webster comes off the bench to shoot the corner 3 for 20 minutes a game.

Yep, I'm in for this

Trade Ariza and Vesely for a Center.

Anyway I'd be open to trade the pick if someone like Horford is available.

Porter wont go nº1, he would be the worst 1st pick of NBA history.

Brown and I am not talking about nfl

[Eoghan]

What's up Wizards' fans? First off, congrats on getting the 3rd pick. I hope you guys get a good player and along with healthy Wall and Nene, and improved Beal, finally climb into the realm of competitive basketball. Hopefully you guys make enough noise to keep Wall happy.

I'm assuming that you all are more knowledgeable of Len than most. Despite my disdain, his name keeps popping up on our board for our 4th pick. Is Len worth a lottery pick? What's the consensus b/c when I watched him I just saw a ho-hum typical Euro center.

[stevemcqueen1]

From Michael Lee and the Washington Post May 16th...

Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim said he would draft Porter first overall and dubbed him the best all-around player ever to come through the Big East — which Porter called “the ultimate compliment.” Porter is projected to be among the top five players selected in the June 27 draft, which would mean that the Washington Wizards would likely have to win one of the top three choices in Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery to have a chance to select him.

The Wizards have the eighth-best odds at winning the top overall choice but could slide as far back as 11th. They still plan to meet with Porter, who is friends with Bradley Beal, a first-team member of the NBA’s all-rookie team for the Wizards this past season and a fellow Missouri native. Beal tried unsuccessfully to recruit Porter to his AAU team in high school but has kept tabs of his career and called him one of the most NBA-ready players in the draft.

“Otto is very versatile,” Beal said recently. “He can rebound his position, score the ball, play good defense. He was definitely at a great system at Georgetown that I think did a great job at preparing him for the next level.”

Wow. I wonder if that's true or if Jim Boeheim is having some selective memory? What about Patrick Ewing?

Either way, it's a huge endorsement. That is definitely something every player would love to hear.

But Porter just isn't going to go #1. It's hard for a perimeter player to go 1. Even Jordan and Bird didn't go 1. Especially hard for a guy who is not an elite athlete with that special explosiveness.

I heard about Beal's connection with him from Porter's combine interview on DX. I hope Beal is in Ernie's ear, telling him how much he wants to play with Porter. I'll be pretty devastated if we pick Len over Porter.

[No-Man]

What's up Wizards' fans? First off, congrats on getting the 3rd pick. I hope you guys get a good player and along with healthy Wall and Nene, and improved Beal, finally climb into the realm of competitive basketball. Hopefully you guys make enough noise to keep Wall happy.

I'm assuming that you all are more knowledgeable of Len than most. Despite my disdain, his name keeps popping up on our board for our 4th pick. Is Len worth a lottery pick? What's the consensus b/c when I watched him I just saw a ho-hum typical Euro center.

he's not, barring injury concerns, he just lack the effort, he's not strong enough and he's a weak finisher.

he's also not so good rebounding and in defense, he cant hold an NBA center, he can put some blocks, but he'll get lost a lot.

I don't think he is a better prospect than MeyersLeonard, he has a better shot, but other than that.... brrr

Extremely risky at top5.

[sfam]

What's up Wizards' fans? First off, congrats on getting the 3rd pick. I hope you guys get a good player and along with healthy Wall and Nene, and improved Beal, finally climb into the realm of competitive basketball. Hopefully you guys make enough noise to keep Wall happy.

I'm assuming that you all are more knowledgeable of Len than most. Despite my disdain, his name keeps popping up on our board for our 4th pick. Is Len worth a lottery pick? What's the consensus b/c when I watched him I just saw a ho-hum typical Euro center.

Most here really liked Len at #8, but not so much at #3 or #4. The problem is there's just too much risk. He might be great, or he may not care enough about his game, or he'll have ankle problems. I think you want a more solid pick at the #4 like an Oladipo or Bennett for instance, or Porter if he's still there.

[nuposse04]

I think the odds of landing a capable big in this draft in 2nd round are probably better than a capable SF. There are some option as a stretch 4 or interior players in the early 2nd round (which i imagine we'll try to move up to) then SFs that could come in and compete for playing time.

I think most signs point to Porter unless Utah or Sac shows any interest in moving up for something.

An ideal offseason at this point looks like:

Porter, Muscala in the draft.
Resign Webster and Price unless someone better feels like comin.

Trade Ariza+Booker+singleton+future 2nd in a S&T to Utah for Milsap (I'm not sure if that is actually do-able cause of rules so someone correct me if I'm wrong there.

try to roll with:

Wall/Price-or someone else
Beal/Webster/Tomas
Porter/Webster
Milsap/Jan/Nene
Nene/Okafor

make it happen Ernie.

[stevemcqueen1]

#1 - Cleveland - Nerlens
Makes too much sense for Cleveland to pass on him. BPA, Varejao is unreliable, and Tyler Zeller isn't a high quality long term option as a starter.

#2 - trade - Phoenix - McLemore
Makes a lot more sense for Phoenix at 2 than Orlando. He gives them their exciting franchise player to build around.

#3 - Washington - Porter
Makes a ton of sense for us, pairs fabulously with Wall and Beal.

#4 - Charlotte - Oladipo
Looks like a great fit with Kemba and MKG, really athletic and tenacious group of perimeter players they'll have built. Zeller is another great option here.

#5 - trade - Orlando - Burke
They've got their big man and their SF and Afflalo is a solid SG when healthy, go get your PG.

IMO, that's how the top five should go with each team taking their optimal guy.

[hands11]

Maybe we should trade our 3 picks to a team with 2 1st rounders, like ATL, maybe some team that wants Burke. Instead of 1 good player, we can come out with something like McCollum & Adams, or Dieng & Bullock for example.

Trade down for two picks . Sign McCollum and Muscala.

That would be nice. Add some Erik Murphy in there if possible.

That were I was a one of my early projections and it still works in my book.

[doclinkin]

David Faulk basically dropped a nuke bomb on the Wizards organization earlier last season. Does the fact that he's Porter's agent play into what the Wizards do at all?

He cast doubt on Wall's ability, but if anything the front office would thank him. Post-Falk the motivated version of John Wall straight ruined anyone he faced after that. But honestly why would anyone care what David Falk thinks. Either you like his client or not but his opinions have nothing to do with your analysis of a prospect.

[No-Man]

Looks like a great fit with Kemba and MKG

For real man?

Where do you think you're going with that perimeter? unless you've got O'Neal inside, that lineup is terrible.
And there are like 0 big Center prospects for the next years, the best one seems to be Cauley-Stein so...

And... next year most of the guys are wings, you can Draft Wiggins or Parker and put them with MKG, even if both of them are SF they can play together do to MKG versatility on defense and the other guys ability to handle and create, then you have Smart, that can play SG there too, or Andrew Harrison...

The only guy that can fit is Randle, I dont know, If Charlotte drafts Oladipo and finish with another top3, they're going to, they have less options if they have picked in the past 2 years in the top4, two wings.

It's Zeller or Bennett at 4, unless McLemore falls.

[hands11]

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.

More of a Rasheed Wallace type