Frye was almost traded

[JDLAW]

My thoughts are similar to BW's, but I believe that Gordon will stay unless the Cats win the whole thing. He comes a good middle-class background where money does not have the same driving force and he is changing positions. At least this is what I am hoping.

As far as the others,

Exum will go to school for a year. Again he is coming from an Australian/international background that values an education (or at least some edu) and he needs some seasoning. Most of the Aussie NBA players do attend college at least for a year or two.

Smart will declare - he came back and improved his game. I am hoping other prospects will see how the extra year has helped him.

Parker will go on an LDS mission - just like Shawn Bradley did - will decide whether to go back to school or the NBA after he finishes his mission.

I'd like to say that Wiggins will come back as he needs a boost in his motor and he is not cash strapped, but his father was a pro and I think Wiggins will come out.

I think Randall will likely come out, but he is another that could use seasoning.

There are a lot pushing Embiid - some saying he might be the 1st pick if he comes out, but he is very raw and I hope he stays and develops an offensive game, otherwise I see a lot of Thabeet in him.

[bwgood77]

I get the feeling many nba fans feel that if they can get a guy like Jabari Parker, that he will immediately turn their team into a playoff contender, when the guy is having trouble leading Duke to wins against teams like Clemson.

Well I think fans are smart enough to know that going from the lottery to the playoffs depends on a variety of factors. And the Clemson comment is a little weak.

I think most all of the top prospects should go back for another year.

Really?! Randle, Parker, and Wiggins are all ready to give meaningful contributions at the pro level.

I think you can never be sure how long it is going to take a player to acclimate to the NBA level. Steven Adams and Giannis Antetokoumnpo both looked incredibly raw, and yet they're making immediate impacts. The Morris Twins had three years of college and they've struggled to be regular contributors. Marcus couldn't do anything in his rookie season, where as Markieff hada great first month and then went down the drain until this season.

We don't really know if Randle, Parker or Wiggins could give meaningful contributions though. People said the same thing about MKG or Shabazz. I think they probably can, but you never know. I just enjoyed it more when guys like Webber and Shaq played for a couple of years even though they were far more ready than these guys to play immediately. But I love watching the college game too, and think it would be interesting to see these guys play longer in college, gain more experience, come in with more maturity, etc. A guy like Damian Lillard just seems so much more ready to fit into a team than so many of the others with fewer years.

The Greak freak and Adams look far better than expected, but had they played another year in college, I imagine they would make a much greater impact when becoming pro.

Overall I'm a big fan of the draft, but it would be even more fun (for me) if we had REALLY seen all these guys play 2-3 years on college, like when Jordan played with Worthy at NC, etc. I think there would be far fewer busts too.

[Ring_Wanted]

I've seen very little, but my opinion is that the only one who looked really ready was Parker.

Wiggins has athleticism, but he seems like he doesn't really take advantage of it. I've read others say that this is because he is so gifted that everything looks efortless (TMac bla bla), but I don't know if I really buy it. On the bright side, I was impressed by an ability to be in the right place at the right time. I don't see him taking the league by storm, but who knows.

Randle seems to suffer from the opposite dissease. He looks like he'll have a lot of trouble against NBA defenders in the paint. I am not confident in that tricky shot he pulls when he is falling, but we'll see. For all I know it could become his signature move, and looks like he has some all around talent on offense so, we'll see. His best case scenario doesn't seem to be as high as others'. They say rebounding translates well, but I don't know what's his rebounding rate.

Embiid Right now he is #1 in the hype machine, and people really like to say 'he's been playing only since he was 1X', etc. His physical gifts are obvious. He could be the next Hakeem or the next Olowokandi, or Biyombo, or whatever, but I think it's safe to say that he won't be Thabeet.

I know nothing about Exum other than he is a teenager 6'6 feline with handles and who supposedly can't shoot. Alleged defender too. Upside off the charts, etc.

Never seen a Smart game but they say he's ready. Zack Lavine's name came up recently for 2014 and have seen only highlights. He's supposedly a very athletic 6'5 combo guard whose shot reminds me of Martin's, but quicker release.

As a profane, I find it hard to believe most of those players will turn around a team in their first season, but if it indeed happens, more power to those who hit the jackpot.

[INFORMER-93]

We don't really know if Randle, Parker or Wiggins could give meaningful contributions though. People said the same thing about MKG or Shabazz.

No they didn't. Shabazz Muhammad got a lot of hype coming out of high school, but once the scouts saw him at UCLA, they cooled considerably on him. That's why he went from a projected top 3 pick coming out of school to being drafted in the teens.

Everyone knew MKG didn't have a jumper, and that his game would need considerable work. That was hardly a secret. But his stock was so high because he had athleticism and an incredible motor and work ethic. Everyone loved/loves his attitude, and those intangibles is why he was projected to be a success.

There are a lot pushing Embiid - some saying he might be the 1st pick if he comes out, but he is very raw and I hope he stays and develops an offensive game, otherwise I see a lot of Thabeet in him.

While I agree that Embiid isn't ready, I think he can develop just fine at the NBA level. And I really don't see any similarities to Thabeet. Embiid has already shown more skill in this young season than Thabeet showed his entire career. There were plenty of red flags with Thabeet, as he would have plenty of games when he wasn't a factor on the boards and would get bullied by other players. Whereas scouts had visions of Mutombo with Thabeet, Embiid in invoking more comps to Hakeem Olajuwom. Two very different players.

[INFORMER-93]

Wiggins has athleticism, but he seems like he doesn't really take advantage of it. I've read others say that this is because he is so gifted that everything looks efortless (TMac bla bla), but I don't know if I really buy it. On the bright side, I was impressed by an ability to be in the right place at the right time. I don't see him taking the league by storm, but who knows.

I think Wiggins is a rich man's Trevor Ariza.

[bwgood77]

We don't really know if Randle, Parker or Wiggins could give meaningful contributions though. People said the same thing about MKG or Shabazz.

No they didn't. Shabazz Muhammad got a lot of hype coming out of high school, but once the scouts saw him at UCLA, they cooled considerably on him. That's why he went from a projected top 3 pick coming out of school to being drafted in the teens.

I know there was still hype on Shabazz as late as the beginning of conference play last year, because people were talking about it in his first game at Arizona. Sure, his hype wasn't nearly at the level as the people this year overall, but still went from everyone hoping they could get him at #1 to going in the mid teens and still being kind of a bust at that slot. Part of that was due to him lying about his age as well.

I do expect these guys to be good players at the top. I just don't think these guys are going to be LeBron or Durant, as people were saying....I don't even see them being as impactful as AD.

I think Jabari could possibly be a Melo type player. Wiggins may end up being a Paul George type, but probably not for a few years. Not sure about Randle and Exum.

I do like Smart. I think he could be a Bledsoe type player.

Embiid could turn into a stud, but of course he wasn't even originally one of the people with a ton of hype before the season began, but I think because of the fact no one else has taken college basketball by storm, that there is much more focus on him, partially due to default, but also partly due to solid play.

[YFZblu]

Frye is very inconsistent and the fact that when he tries to shoot his way out of slumps instead of posting up and trying to get easy buckets

Huh? Posting up is not Frye's game at all, those wouldn't be considered easy buckets for him. Being tall doesn't mean he can automatically post opposing PF's up. In fact I've seen him fail to post point guards up many times before.

Forget about his height. Offensively, Frye is a shooter - it's what he does. Just like Gerald Green is a shooter.

[Ring_Wanted]

Wiggins has athleticism, but he seems like he doesn't really take advantage of it. I've read others say that this is because he is so gifted that everything looks efortless (TMac bla bla), but I don't know if I really buy it. On the bright side, I was impressed by an ability to be in the right place at the right time. I don't see him taking the league by storm, but who knows.

I think Wiggins is a rich man's Trevor Ariza.

Rich in what sense? Skill or athletic wise? If you play D and have an accurate 3pt shot plus other abilities, it doesn't sound half bad, but is still far from the franchise player many have been envisioning.

He looks the part, tho I was not particularly impressed by his ball handling or shooting, yet one thing that could help his case is that from what I've seen, he doesn't seem to be the main focal point on O, unlike Parker, for instance. He absolutely needs to land on a fast pace team, in my opinion.

[BurningHeart]

Bottom line is nobody in college is a guarantee. We seem to forget this every year, we get reminded it of it every year, then by the time the next year rolls around, we fall for it again.

We as in sports fans.

[INFORMER-93]

Rich in what sense? Skill or athletic wise? If you play D and have an accurate 3pt shot plus other abilities, it doesn't sound half bad, but is still far from the franchise player many have been envisioning.

I don't think Wiggins has to be a franchise player to be a huge difference-maker. And I think that's the case with all these guys. I'm not looking for the next Kevin Durant or LeBron James. I'm just looking for a guy that can be a top 3 player on a championship contender.

I what I meant by "rich" is that I expect Wiggins to be more consistent, smarter, and slightly more skilled than Trevor Ariza. Basically, those games Ariza delivers about 8-10 times a season that make you say wow, I think Wiggins delivers that on a regular basis.

[INFORMER-93]

Bottom line is nobody in college is a guarantee. We seem to forget this every year, we get reminded it of it every year, then by the time the next year rolls around, we fall for it again.

But I think you're overselling that point. In actuality, there are never guarantees in anything, be it trade, free agency or draft. But you can make educated projections, and they come true more times than you're implication.

I mean the Lakers add Dwight Howard and start planning championship parades. Oops. The Rockets assemble a Big 3 of Olajuwon, Pippen, and Olajuwon. Contender? I think not.

I think we have 4 or 5 really safe bets at the top of this draft, and I think any team that gets them will be better for it.

[jcsunsfan]

While I like Frye, and I think he is underrated, I would have no problem trading him for the right piece. We cannot forget that we are still in building mold and Frye is not a top 3 piece. If trading him is a part of getting a top 3 piece, I am fine with it.

[Ring_Wanted]

Rich in what sense? Skill or athletic wise? If you play D and have an accurate 3pt shot plus other abilities, it doesn't sound half bad, but is still far from the franchise player many have been envisioning.

I don't think Wiggins has to be a franchise player to be a huge difference-maker. And I think that's the case with all these guys. I'm not looking for the next Kevin Durant or LeBron James. I'm just looking for a guy that can be a top 3 player on a championship contender.

I what I meant by "rich" is that I expect Wiggins to be more consistent, smarter, and slightly more skilled than Trevor Ariza. Basically, those games Ariza delivers about 8-10 times a season that make you say wow, I think Wiggins delivers that on a regular basis.

Would be a really nice player, but I am not sure if that's what the team who drafts his will expect, or be satisfied with. Of course, unreasonable expectations and hype is one's own problem if you buy it, but that's exactly the point of this talk, isn't it?

[INFORMER-93]

Of course, unreasonable expectations and hype is one's own problem if you buy it, but that's exactly the point of this talk, isn't it?

I think it's only part of the point.

[INFORMER-93]

I'm came into the college season really high on Jabari Parker and Julius Randle, but very skeptical about Andrew Wiggins. In general, I didn't subscribe to all the talk that this would be one of the best drafts ever, just like I wasn't down on the 2013 draft as much as everyone else.

At this point in the college season, my opinion on Parker is relatively unchanged, of soured a bit on Randle, and my opinion on Wiggins has probably risen a bit.

While I don't think you point to this and expect all-time greats to come out of it, I do feel teams are completely justified in looking at the top 5 to 7 prospects as considerable difference-makers.

[Christine-In-AZ]

Do not believe a word that moron, Lowe, says. Frye was not almost traded!!!

When Frye was coming back at the start of this season, he had no trade value. As the Suns took off, he became an integral part of the team on a good contract and there was no incentive to trade him. When Houston started really shopping Asik, in early to mid December, Frye was playing well and the Suns were in the midst of a 10-3 month. There was no incentive for the Suns to trade Frye and disrupt that. The Suns might have received a call from the 76ers (or another team) trying to acquire Asik to suck the Suns into some wonky 3-team trade to get Frye for the Rockets as incentive for giving up Asik, but McDonough and Hornacek were not about to bust the team up to give the Rockets a needed piece, while downgrading their position.

Like he often does, Lowe is simply picking this crap up out of behind.

Lowe is a fraud. Just as Ford, Bucher, Berger and Broussard are. It is way too easy to make up something and attribute it to sources. The whole scam is to increase circulation or hits to the website. More hits = more advertising dollars and more money in their pockets. It is nice you have respect for him, but I have nothing but contempt for them.

Couldn't disagree with more on Zach Lowe's value as an NBA writer. I find his work very informative and entertaining. Hyperbole doesn't seem to be much of an element to his writing and opinion. And his speculations always comes with a healthy dose of foundation. I think he's great, and one of the few writers that I will take the time to read when he posts articles. A "moron" and a "fraud"? Really!? Who do you consider as good NBA reporters and writers?

Specific on the Frye as an Asik trade "element"? Lowe's report/speculation? It made sense to me, and I've seen the link made in a couple other write-ups that date back many weeks. All he wrote was that the Suns considered Frye in play as a chip in some Asik trade scenarios. The $ numbers and Frye's position in the Suns (particularly before the season got going) future made plenty of sense. Lowe did not just pull this out of his arse as you're suggesting.

[JDLAW]

I am pleased you're happy with him. I think he is a fraud and offers nothing of substance. I also live in Phoenix and keep a very close eye and ear on what is going on with this team as i have since its inception. I have heard nothing from any reliable source that the Suns had talked about Frye in any proposed transaction concerning Asik. In fact, have heard no substantive discussions about Frye treads at all. Have not seen anything on Hoopshype, or Twitter about him from sources around the country and in my travels, I have not heard anything about him in the various local press. Fans on message boards throwing out hypothetical trades do not count as reliable sources.