stevemcqueen1 wrote:Let's make some predictions before the draft. Use these categories if you don't mind:
The ROTY:
The guy who actually ends up being the best player in the class:
The Kevin Love - the guy who goes way higher than people expected, but we really should have expected it:
None
The Tristan Thompson - the guy who totally surprises people with how high he goes because it only takes one team:
Sergey Karasev
The Russell Westbrook - the "holy crap I did not expect this!" guy:
Lucas Nogueira, he's climbed about 15 slots in the last three weeks.
The Kawhi Leonard - the guy who fell way too far and it was obvious on draft night:
Cody Zeller (could go 4, will go 10th)
The Avery Bradley - the guy who fell way lower than he should have but it wasn't so obvious at the time:
There are 3.
1. Anthony Bennett, will be a stud and make a lot of people here not want to talk about it.
2. Tony Mitchell, nobodies talked about him here, and he's easily the most valuable, and best speculation investment in the draft if he lasts into the 20's as expected. I have him as a top 10 prospect.
3. Shabazz Muhammad. He's hated by 99% of the posters here, and down the road he's going to prove to be one of the best five or six picks in the drafts, and will be like Mitchell, one of the highest value selections in terms of where he would be redrafted at, 3 years later.
Honorable mention: Rudy Gobert, years away, but he could be a monster and has supposedly slipped back to the bottom of the teens or early 20's.
The Donatas Montiejunas - the guy who fell further than expected because of something hidden off the court:
No idea.
The Ekpe Udoh - the highly drafted "WTF? Who? That was a dumb pick!" guy on draft night who you were right about:
None (I think Giannis has fallen like a rock because supposedly he doesn't want to be stashed and he's raw as hell).
The Paul George - the highly drafted "that was a dumb pick" guy on draft night who makes you look dumb:
Zeller, I already feel wrong about him. I can really picture him just filling it night in and night out as a stretch 4 and I hated him for us for a long long time. At least I've changed my mind for now.
The Jimmer Fredette - the over-drafted guy who ends up being a huge disappointment and the warning signs were plain as day:
Inside the top 10, probably Len and Burke. Len because he has never shown what he's been drafted for on even a remotely regular basis and Burke because almost everything I love about him and why I rank him top 6, could be negated by the athleticism and length issues.
Related to the Jimmer Fredette but it doesn't have to be an over-drafted player,
I'd name the award after Marcus Morris just because I owned ripping him his draft year. I believed he was just a ridiculous choice, and felt it was absurd he was even being considered in the top 25. The best examples this year would be:
Mason Plumlee, Tim Hardaway Jr and Allen Crabbe.
Plumlee shouldn't go top 45, but will probably only drop into the early 20's because he's seen as a role player that can fulfill a need. A mark madsen idiot pick, only good for a hysterical chant recorded for posterity at a lakers championship parade.
Before I was a student at Cal, my childhood fav schools were Michigan because of the X-Men comic book, FSU because I was a redskin fan, and Hawaii because of the rainbows. As such I've watched a ton of Michigan games. Hardaway Jr is a big time bricklayer who lacks the athleticism to make up for his hot and cold shot. He plays hard, and plays D, and he's smart, but he is nothing like his uber talented dad. He'll probably stick, but be a huge disappointment if taken in the top 20.
Crabbe can only catch and shoot. That's it. No other skill. Maybe that's worth a pick in round 1 to some, not to me.
The Fab Melo/Perry Jones III - the guy(s) we talked ourselves into that were a disappointment(s) and we should have known better:
I actually still love PJIII and think he was a steal. I believe you have to wait 2-3 years to get a good view on guys.
Olynyk and Zeller, both of whom I hated and now kinda like as there slotting has sunk a bit (though Zeller's is perking up).
Also maybe Carter Williams, who I hated when I watched him but kind of like now, and McLemore who is throwing off a super star, and uber bust stink at the same time.
The Bismack Biyombo - the guy(s) who snookered folks into thinking they could be something solely because they're the devil you don't know:
Giannis
The Wesley Johnson - the "damn, really didn't see that coming" bust:
I saw that coming.
The Rudy Gay - the seven years later and we still don't know if he was under-drafted or over-drafted guy:
Shabazz Muhammad, I think he will be a value, but I think there will be a lot of debate as to the relative value of a legit scorer who can fill it but not do a ton of other things.
The Nazr Mohammed - future journeyman who will always have a job but is always getting upgraded at the first opportunity:
Zeller and Olynyk. I think there lack of D, and athleticism will make them liabilities that teams are always frustrated with (im really mixed on Zeller).
The Marc Gasol - the best second rounder:
Currently I'd argue that guys like Bullock and Wolters will look good early, but Adonis Thomas potentially could be massive. Ranked top 5-10 in his recruiting class '11, he's now fallen out of the top 40 in most charts. He is athletic as hell and has a great body, but hasn't put together a great BB game as yet.
The Scott Machado - everyone's favorite second round steal who goes undrafted:
Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly.
The Wesley Mathews - the guy who goes from being majorly underrated to majorly overrated in the blink of an eye:
V. Oladipo
The Goran Dragic - the "who in the world is that?" on draft night pick who actually ends up being pretty good:
Dennis Schroeder.
The Nemanja Bjelica - the guy who will obviously never play a minute in the NBA:
random Euro name inserted here in late round 2.
The Solomon Alabi - the "it must be nice to be 7 feet tall" guy:
I called that bust six months before that draft

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Could be Gobert who will either be a massive steal, or a hilarious epic bust built entirely on freakish athleticism.
Do you mind if I use this super fun template in an article I write? It was fun to fill that out.
