2014 Draft Thread (Early offseason panic edition).

[Sonny Carson]

I'm torn. I kinda want to give all the vets away and sneak tank when no one else is expecting it for Parker. I only would tank for two players in this draft and there's no guarantee to get them.
New York would probably do a trade for nene. They are doing for a big and he had played with melo. Don't see much they can give us back though. Wolves or lakers would do an ariza trade and the flotsam need to be shed in the off season.

And sonny Carson. That's a sneaky cute girl

Teams that get to draft studs stink too long. I would rather see Washington trade for Boogie Cousins.

Drafting a Jae Crowder or Nate Wolters or DeJuan Blair or Jimmy Butler onto s winning Wizards team--like a team with a rebounder like Cousins and with Washington already has on the wings could win-- is what I would like to see.

Winning teams still figure ways to trade to draft guys like Kawhi Leonard.


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I always said Cousins would be a perfect fit with Wall.

[Upper Decker]

Tell me about Julius Randle. I see he's listed at 6'9" and listed college heights are always more than actual. If that's the case haven't we seen this before with Derrick Williams, Michael Beasley, and now Anthony Bennett? Athletically he looks like a freak, for sure, but he still doesn't look very big. Can he play PF in the pro's? Recent history has proven undersized 4's who dominated college really struggle with the transition in the pro's.

[Higga]

I officially want to tank after watching some of yesterday's games. Way too much top tier talent. Wall, Beal, Porter, and one of these young stars would be a contender in the future. Making the playoffs as an 8 seed does us no good long term.

[Rafael122]

Tell me about Julius Randle. I see he's listed at 6'9" and listed college heights are always more than actual. If that's the case haven't we seen this before with Derrick Williams, Michael Beasley, and now Anthony Bennett? Athletically he looks like a freak, for sure, but he still doesn't look very big. Can he play PF in the pro's? Recent history has proven undersized 4's who dominated college really struggle with the transition in the pro's.

Bennett is a 6'9 guy trying to play the three or even a guard spot. Randle is a 6'9 guy trying to become a power forward. He'll probably be a legit 6'10 when he is done growing, but Randle is basically Chris Webber lite. Kid already has an advanced offensive game that will translate well in the pros, great footwork, great combo of finesse and power.

From what I've read, all his troubles come from the defensive side of the ball, lacks fundamentals in that area and I doubt he'll pick up much with a year in college. He's got a long way to go, but just on his offensive game alone, he's already better than anything we have on the roster sans Nene.

[Dat2U]

The tank would have been very easy without Gortat. What a terrible short sighted deal that was.

Right now, we would still need some help (i.e. injuries or an Ernie trade) to be bad enough to sniff the likes of Parker, Wiggins or Randle.

[Dat2U]

Tell me about Julius Randle. I see he's listed at 6'9" and listed college heights are always more than actual. If that's the case haven't we seen this before with Derrick Williams, Michael Beasley, and now Anthony Bennett? Athletically he looks like a freak, for sure, but he still doesn't look very big. Can he play PF in the pro's? Recent history has proven undersized 4's who dominated college really struggle with the transition in the pro's.

Randle didn't look like a tweener to me. He looked like a legit 4. He played big, that's for sure. I doesn't see the tweener concerns with him that Williams and Bennett had. I wouldn't throw Beasley in there, his transition to the pros was only undone by the fact he's a head case.

[go'stags]

The top 10 players from the 2 games last night is a better top 10 than the '13 draft.

Wiggins
Parker
Randle
Harrison
Embiid
Selden
Harris
Cauley-Stein
James Young
Rodney Hood
Payne

Obviously some of those guys are better than others, but last night was the best 2 games of prospects I've seen in a long time. Not to mention guys like Poythress and Jamari Taylor.

Throw in Exum, Smart, Aaron Gordon, Glenn Robinson, international prospects, McGary, and whoever else emerges, and this draft is absolutely stacked. I always have doubts as to whether something as hyped as the '14 draft is can live up to it, but in this case it looks very promising.

[Rafael122]

The tank would have been very easy without Gortat. What a terrible short sighted deal that was.

Right now, we would still need some help (i.e. injuries or an Ernie trade) to be bad enough to sniff the likes of Parker, Wiggins or Randle.

We're 2-6 after tonight, so even with the trade, it doesn't look like it helped much. I think we're destined for another lottery pick and quite frankly, I won't complain.

[Upper Decker]

The top 10 players from the 2 games last night is a better top 10 than the '13 draft.

Wiggins
Parker
Randle
Harrison
EmbiidSelden
Harris
Cauley-Stein
James Young
Rodney Hood
Payne

Obviously some of those guys are better than others, but last night was the best 2 games of prospects I've seen in a long time. Not to mention guys like Poythress and Jamari Taylor.

Throw in Exum, Smart, Aaron Gordon, Glenn Robinson, international prospects, McGary, and whoever else emerges, and this draft is absolutely stacked. I always have doubts as to whether something as hyped as the '14 draft is can live up to it, but in this case it looks very promising.

Topping the 2013 draft, which will go down as historically bad, isn't very difficult. I think 2013 will end up worse than the 2000 draft.

[Dat2U]

The tank would have been very easy without Gortat. What a terrible short sighted deal that was.

Right now, we would still need some help (i.e. injuries or an Ernie trade) to be bad enough to sniff the likes of Parker, Wiggins or Randle.

We're 2-6 after tonight, so even with the trade, it doesn't look like it helped much. I think we're destined for another lottery pick and quite frankly, I won't complain.

Honestly, I think were destined for the 9th seed and no pick. I expect us to pass teams like Boston, Philly & Charlotte sooner or later.

[go'stags]

Wiggins is laser quick. His athleticism stands out on TV, I see what the scouts are talking about in terms of his overall potential. The sky is the limit. Parker is silky smooth, not sure of his limits yet. Stroke looks like butter. Selden has elite body control and I really like his feel for the game. Embiid looks like an interesting project.

I agree about Randle. Absolute monster. Agree with Ruz that there are still questions about his willingness to pass, but I'm not going to judge him in that way after one game. With how hard he was playing, it seems like he wants to win.

The thing about Wiggins is that, as good as he was, he still is very raw-and thats not a bad thing. The sky really is the limit for him.

I don't necessarily disagree that Embiid is a project. But that 7'0, 240 lb 19 year old athletic freak of a project (and may still be growing), in his first game against top competition, totaled 5 assists while coming off the bench. One pass he made from baseline to baseline (underneath the basket) to hit a shooter in stride. And he has everything needed to be a defensive force.

I'm really hopinh from some non-wall-or-beal-injury related tanking this year.

[Ruzious]

Tell me about Julius Randle. I see he's listed at 6'9" and listed college heights are always more than actual. If that's the case haven't we seen this before with Derrick Williams, Michael Beasley, and now Anthony Bennett? Athletically he looks like a freak, for sure, but he still doesn't look very big. Can he play PF in the pro's? Recent history has proven undersized 4's who dominated college really struggle with the transition in the pro's.

Bennett is a 6'9 guy trying to play the three or even a guard spot. Randle is a 6'9 guy trying to become a power forward. He'll probably be a legit 6'10 when he is done growing, but Randle is basically Chris Webber lite. Kid already has an advanced offensive game that will translate well in the pros, great footwork, great combo of finesse and power.

From what I've read, all his troubles come from the defensive side of the ball, lacks fundamentals in that area and I doubt he'll pick up much with a year in college. He's got a long way to go, but just on his offensive game alone, he's already better than anything we have on the roster sans Nene.

Point taken about Bennett - though he measured at 6'7 in shoes. Being short doesn't mean you have skills.

I concur that Randle is more than fine at the 4 physically - though I think he falls shy of Webber - who was the perfect specimen of a PF - both physically and skill-wise. I'll be interested to see how Randle fits in the team structure this season. Not sure I'd want to be his teammate if I was an offensively oriented player, but we'll see.

[nate33]

Honestly, I think were destined for the 9th seed and no pick. I expect us to pass teams like Boston, Philly & Charlotte sooner or later.

If it looks like that situation is a possibility, I figure we'll just tank the last 6 games or so and make sure we slip down to 10th or 11th. Indeed, it's pretty likely that the 9th seed in the East is going to be a bottom 12 team anyhow. I figure the 9th and 10th seeds in the West will have a better record than the 9th seed in the East.

So we'll either end up with the #10-12 pick or the 7th/8th seed in the East.

[Jay81]

only an idiot would trade a pick in next years draft when the team he is managing is bad to mediocre.

[DANNYLANDOVER]

I knew I was right about seeing Ernie at the games in Chicago last night. It was just confirmed on BulletsForever. Do you guys think Ted might extend him? Otherwise, why is he scouting future draft picks? I have a feeling EG will be our GM for life. Ted also had an interview, that was posted on BF, where he seems to be relenting on his "playoffs or bust" mandate.

[Rafael122]

I knew I was right about seeing Ernie at the games in Chicago last night. It was just confirmed on BulletsForever. Do you guys think Ted might extend him? Otherwise, why is he scouting future draft picks? I have a feeling EG will be our GM for life. Ted also had an interview, that was posted on BF, where he seems to be relenting on his "playoffs or bust" mandate.

He still has a job to do while he still has it. Just b/c there's a rumor that he might get canned doesn't mean he should stop trying NOT to get fired.

[DANNYLANDOVER]

I knew I was right about seeing Ernie at the games in Chicago last night. It was just confirmed on BulletsForever. Do you guys think Ted might extend him? Otherwise, why is he scouting future draft picks? I have a feeling EG will be our GM for life. Ted also had an interview, that was posted on BF, where he seems to be relenting on his "playoffs or bust" mandate.

He still has a job to do while he still has it. Just b/c there's a rumor that he might get canned doesn't mean he should stop trying NOT to get fired.

I agree...I just think that if he's not going to meet the "lofty expectation" of making the playoffs this season, he should be let go before the end of the season, so a new GM will have time to do the scouting.

[DANNYLANDOVER]

I knew I was right about seeing Ernie at the games in Chicago last night. It was just confirmed on BulletsForever. Do you guys think Ted might extend him? Otherwise, why is he scouting future draft picks? I have a feeling EG will be our GM for life. Ted also had an interview, that was posted on BF, where he seems to be relenting on his "playoffs or bust" mandate.

He still has a job to do while he still has it. Just b/c there's a rumor that he might get canned doesn't mean he should stop trying NOT to get fired.

Also, I don't think there's a rumor that he's gonna get canned. Ernie is bulletproof, that's what frustrates me the most.

[Upper Decker]

I concur that Randle is more than fine at the 4 physically - though I think he falls shy of Webber - who was the perfect specimen of a PF - both physically and skill-wise. I'll be interested to see how Randle fits in the team structure this season. Not sure I'd want to be his teammate if I was an offensively oriented player, but we'll see.

Webber was the greatest PF prospect of all time. He had every skill, measurable, and ability to be a top-10 player in history. He's the ultimate 'what if' player, I guess besides Bias, which is why I've always been extremely fascinated by CWebb. What if he never called the time out in the championship game? That clearly affected him his entire career. What if the Magic just took him and played him with Shaq? Not a stretch at all to think they'd be the best PF / CE combo in history and their games perfectly complimented each other. What if he just sucked it up with Nellie and played the small ball CE in GS? He would have accelerated the modern game as we know it today. What if he gave a crap in DC like he did in Sacto?

He severely impacted the fate of 4 franchises: Orlando, GS, Washington, Sacramento.

[bjack18]

Give me Parker who's being compared to Melo or GHill, Randle who Jalen Rose compared to Derrick Coleman minus the immaturity issues and I'll be very happy...on the other hand, Wiggins I have a feeling is gonna be a disappointment much in the same way that Harrison Barnes has been, remember Barnes was being compared to Kobe coming out of HS and hes a pretty good player maybe even a possible 1 or 2 time all star but hes no Kobe...Wiggins comp is TMac but I just don't know, still very raw...the wild card is Embiid, he could be another Drummond and as much as we love Beal Id rather have the big fella...