2014 Draft Thread

[TOO]

HA! Noted. Kid jumps like a young KMart too.

[carey]

Carey is crazy lol, Embiid has been very impressive as a freshman, as has Parker. Many others have shown big time flashes. Chris Walker FINALLY debuted tonight, pre-season I preferred him to than Gordon.

I've yet to see Embiid play. Just don't have the time, but I stand by my statement regarding the ones I have seen. A whole lot of hype and that's all is what I've seen so far. I'm sure I'll feel different this summer after I have the time to look at more footage and torrents.

[DirtyDez]

Carey is crazy lol, Embiid has been very impressive as a freshman, as has Parker. Many others have shown big time flashes. Chris Walker FINALLY debuted tonight, pre-season I preferred him to than Gordon.

I've yet to see Embiid play. Just don't have the time, but I stand by my statement regarding the ones I have seen. A whole lot of hype and that's all is what I've seen so far. I'm sure I'll feel different this summer after I have the time to look at more footage and torrents.

Per-40 between Embiid and Anthony Davis at Kentucky:

Embiid - 20 pts // 14 rbs // 2.4 ast // 5 blk // 64%fg // 67%ft

Davis - 18 pts // 13 rbs // 1.6 ast // 6 blk // 62fg%
// 71%ft

Thing is Davis was an elite defender without fouling. Embiid is more raw and is averaging 3.5 fouls per 23 minutes. AD clearly the better prospect but Embiid will be a beauty when the finished product rounds out IMO. He's 7ft-250 with good athleticism for a 19 year old.

[carey]

Looking at the Kansas game logs, I must have seen him because I saw Wiggins play but I just don't remember him standing out. Maybe it was a game he was in foul trouble? Maybe I was too focused on Wiggins. IDK.

[Moochiefried]

Wiggins has not impressed me much, up to this point. He was billed as this ridiculous athlete coming out of high school, but I just have not seen the type of elite athleticism that people were talking about. I've watched a lot of his games, and he gets more points off of jumpers than he does blow bys. He's got no handles either. I have not once seen him make a move of the dribble and get to the hoop in a half court setting. Scouts were saying it early, he moves mainly in straight lines and doesn't get around defenders easily, I'd have to agree. He's great in transition, is a good defender, and is a freaking pogo stick with a crazy second jump, but I haven't seen a franchise guy in him. He gets the Paul George/T-Mac comparison a lot, but he is nowhere near as smooth as those guys.

My top 5 (as of right now): Embiid, Parker, Exum, Wiggins, Randle

[In2ition]

The Akeem comparisons for Embiid are dead on. If he keeps going at his rate of improvement, he is going to be a can't miss player. The way he moves, how natural everything seems to him, yet you still can see some rawness of inexperience. Definitely the #1 pick, IMO. But there is the possibility that he comes back to Kansas next year, which would make him even better and a chance to play with Cliff Alexander next to him in the front court. BTW, I really like this freshmen class. Maybe too many people had unrealistic expectations of what they were going to see, but this is truly an outstanding class.

[PHX Maniak]

A lot of Kansas that I've watched this season Wiggins hasn't been able to get it going because he doesn't get the ball. Constant possessions where he's off in a weakside corner. Blame that on who you choose.

The thing with Kansas now is they love to simply dump it into Embiid and work it around that because he draws a pretty instant double. Sometimes it will come out to Wiggins but it won't be very opportune for him to drive. Thus he's worked on his midrange pull up which has vastly improved from High School, at least in my opinion. If that's a shot in your arsenal it's one of the scariest, I think. Creates plenty of space and a hand in the fact often won't matter.

Self has run the backdoor alleyoop play that he loved doing with McLemore last year with Wiggins instead and that works quite well.

I think Wiggins needs to better develop his ball handling. I don't think it's criminally as bad as some make it out to be, but if was a step above Kansas would be able to run action with him and Embiid working it through each other, and that'd be the scariest sight in college ball by far.

Though when you have a guy like Wiggins standing off in the corner like '11 LeBron, other teams can't help but smile. Come March maybe Kansas will have a more Wiggins-involved offense.

It's very hard because he's so overhyped and you expect the greatest player ever every time he steps on the court. He's young, athletic, and has shown he's ready to learn and develop his weaknesses into strengths. He has a good attitude and has developed solid chemistry in a short time with maybe the most talent-abundant college team (sorry to the slow-start (17-5 is a slow start? talk about high expectations), underwhelming Wildcats that I couldn't stop hearing buzz about all offseason). Those are all traits I look for in a potential draftee.

Oh, plus Canadian. Can't argue with that.

[kingstyyyle]

I would be sooooooooooo happy if Embiid and some of these other prospects want back for another year of school. It would make that Laker pick that much more valuable and really stick it in their craw.

[thamadkant]

But laker pick is top 5 protected... Embiid is top 5 next year also. He might be better also.

[INFORMER-93]

I think he just means that will push more quality prospects back to the Laker pick.

[DirtyDez]

But laker pick is top 5 protected... Embiid is top 5 next year also. He might be better also.

Lakers won't be top-5 bad anyway. Kobe will be back with some decent 1-year deal type players...

[JJ13]

Been thinking a lot about this moment in 2008, seeing how fired up Kerr and Griffin were to select Dragic. They took a lot of heat for spending $500K to move up to pick Goran. Gotta give Griffin a lot of credit for seeing what no one else really did. Here is the video link from the war room (pick goes down at 7:52 mark). If the vid link doesn't work it can be found on in the 2nd article link below.

mms://phxsuns.wmod.llnwd.net/a205/o2/draft08_080626.wmv
http://blog.suns.com/kerr-discusses-the ... uns-draft/

Also, here is the ESPN article talking about the pick: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_ ... -in-dragic

I think that whole situation with the Suns investing heavily in Goran early on is a big reason he is still loyal to the organization.

[INFORMER-93]

For anyone contemplating drafting Aaron Gordon in top 10, I have to ask: what does he do at the NBA level? I just don't know how someone can justify drafting this guy in the lottery right now.

[NaturalBuns]

For anyone contemplating drafting Aaron Gordon in top 10, I have to ask: what does he do at the NBA level? I just don't know how someone can justify drafting this guy in the lottery right now.

but
Hes hard to read he obviously lacks range but hes actually a good passer. Hes built good and is super athletic for the SF position. I think the college game does him no justice with all the zone play and how the game is 35 second shot clocks. With a more uptempo game and better spacing I think he can be better. I've watched a few U of A games he reminds me alot of Marion.

Can Block Shots, Get Seals, Rebound well for a wing is a underrated passer and finishes well around the rim.
I hope we some how falls that would be great

[bwgood77]

For anyone contemplating drafting Aaron Gordon in top 10, I have to ask: what does he do at the NBA level? I just don't know how someone can justify drafting this guy in the lottery right now.

What has impressed me the most about him is that he does all of the little things well. He seems to know when to make the right pass, he has hustle, he works hard. Maybe like a little bit of a poor version of Joakim Noah? His comp doesn't totally come to mind. For a second a motivated Boris Diaw with a motor came to mind, but he is probably a little better defender and a little less skilled passer (at least right now, but obviously he could keep improving in that area).

I think he is a really smart player. We won't have a top 10 pick, so I doubt we get him anyway, unless we move up by trading picks, so it probably doesn't matter.

Here are some underrated guys according to some ESPN guys on insider.

4. Which player on the Big Board is getting lost in the freshman hype?

Goodman: Rodney Hood. The Duke standout has had a terrific season, but he's been overshadowed by the freshmen -- including one on his own team in Parker. The long and skilled Hood is every bit of 6-foot-8 and can really shoot the ball. He's made 45 percent of his 3-point attempts, and can also get to the basket and finish above the rim.

Pelton: Ron Baker. I'm going to go off the first round of the Big Board to highlight the star who has led Wichita State to an undefeated start. Baker's combination of shooting range and the ability to play the point has me thinking he's headed up.

Creighton forward Doug McDermott
AP Photo/Nati Harnik
Doug McDermott is having a stellar senior season at Creighton.
Haberstroh: Doug McDermott. The Kyle Korver comparisons are inevitable given the school and -- let's face it -- his appearance, but Korver couldn't hold a candle to McDermott's overall scoring ability. Put it this way: Korver averaged 20.4 points per 40 minutes in his four-year career, and McDermott is currently at 27.0 points per 40 minutes (31.3 this season). In a 3-point crazy NBA, McDermott should go top 10.

Doolittle: Gary Harris. He is projected about where we thought he'd be, but he's made some upgrades as a sophomore that you like to see in a prospect. He's excelled with the ball in his hands, proving he can start a set as well as finish it.

Elhassan: Aaron Gordon. He's also a freshman, but Gordon seems to be falling behind the pack despite Arizona's stellar record. Gordon has been a huge part of arguably the best defensive team in Wildcats history, but his lack of polish on the offensive end seems to have soured many scouts. As with many of these prospects, we have to remember his age (Gordon doesn't turn 19 until September) and that he'll have more time to work on his skills at the professional level.

[INFORMER-93]

For anyone contemplating drafting Aaron Gordon in top 10, I have to ask: what does he do at the NBA level? I just don't know how someone can justify drafting this guy in the lottery right now.

but
Hes hard to read he obviously lacks range but hes actually a good passer. Hes built good and is super athletic for the SF position. I think the college game does him no justice with all the zone play and how the game is 35 second shot clocks. With a more uptempo game and better spacing I think he can be better. I've watched a few U of A games he reminds me alot of Marion.

Can Block Shots, Get Seals, Rebound well for a wing is a underrated passer and finishes well around the rim.
I hope we some how falls that would be great

He's not a small forward though. His handle isn't good enough, neither is his jump shot, and he has no scoring ability. He's going to be a 4 at the pro level, but right now, he's a mediocre rebounder for that position. He does have passing ability but not enough to be a true difference-maker. He's role player at the college level, which doesn't say much about his pro prospects.

[NaturalBuns]

For anyone contemplating drafting Aaron Gordon in top 10, I have to ask: what does he do at the NBA level? I just don't know how someone can justify drafting this guy in the lottery right now.

but
Hes hard to read he obviously lacks range but hes actually a good passer. Hes built good and is super athletic for the SF position. I think the college game does him no justice with all the zone play and how the game is 35 second shot clocks. With a more uptempo game and better spacing I think he can be better. I've watched a few U of A games he reminds me alot of Marion.

Can Block Shots, Get Seals, Rebound well for a wing is a underrated passer and finishes well around the rim.
I hope we some how falls that would be great

He's not a small forward though. His handle isn't good enough, neither is his jump shot, and he has no scoring ability. He's going to be a 4 at the pro level, but right now, he's a mediocre rebounder for that position. He does have passing ability but not enough to be a true difference-maker. He's role player at the college level, which doesn't say much about his pro prospects.

You just described Marion.
Marion had below avg handles at the SF position thats what Gordon will be. But a good defender because of his athletic ability and strong body. He is a unselfish player just like Marion. He can't shoot consistently neither can Marion. Its just a player I can compare him to no way hes a Pro PF though. Hes a SF

[bwgood77]

but
Hes hard to read he obviously lacks range but hes actually a good passer. Hes built good and is super athletic for the SF position. I think the college game does him no justice with all the zone play and how the game is 35 second shot clocks. With a more uptempo game and better spacing I think he can be better. I've watched a few U of A games he reminds me alot of Marion.

Can Block Shots, Get Seals, Rebound well for a wing is a underrated passer and finishes well around the rim.
I hope we some how falls that would be great

He's not a small forward though. His handle isn't good enough, neither is his jump shot, and he has no scoring ability. He's going to be a 4 at the pro level, but right now, he's a mediocre rebounder for that position. He does have passing ability but not enough to be a true difference-maker. He's role player at the college level, which doesn't say much about his pro prospects.

You just described Marion.
Marion had below avg handles at the SF position thats what Gordon will be. But a good defender because of his athletic ability and strong body. He is a unselfish player just like Marion. He can't shoot consistently neither can Marion. Its just a player I can compare him to no way hes a Pro PF though. Hes a SF

True he sounds like Marion, but when I watch AZ, I think Brandon Ashley looks exactly like Marion. Great rebounder, finally got the ability to hit the 3, and when someone (or even himself) misses a shot he looks like a pogo stick with the rebound/putbacks. Unfortunately he's out for the year.

[INFORMER-93]

For anyone contemplating drafting Aaron Gordon in top 10, I have to ask: what does he do at the NBA level? I just don't know how someone can justify drafting this guy in the lottery right now.

What has impressed me the most about him is that he does all of the little things well. He seems to know when to make the right pass, he has hustle, he works hard. Maybe like a little bit of a poor version of Joakim Noah? His comp doesn't totally come to mind. For a second a motivated Boris Diaw with a motor came to mind, but he is probably a little better defender and a little less skilled passer (at least right now, but obviously he could keep improving in that area).

I think he is a really smart player. We won't have a top 10 pick, so I doubt we get him anyway, unless we move up by trading picks, so it probably doesn't matter.

Well I wasn't speaking necessarily about the Suns, just in general. I wold say he reminds me more of Shane Battier, the Duke Shane Battier, except without the reliable 3-point touch and more athleticism.

[bwgood77]

For anyone contemplating drafting Aaron Gordon in top 10, I have to ask: what does he do at the NBA level? I just don't know how someone can justify drafting this guy in the lottery right now.

What has impressed me the most about him is that he does all of the little things well. He seems to know when to make the right pass, he has hustle, he works hard. Maybe like a little bit of a poor version of Joakim Noah? His comp doesn't totally come to mind. For a second a motivated Boris Diaw with a motor came to mind, but he is probably a little better defender and a little less skilled passer (at least right now, but obviously he could keep improving in that area).

I think he is a really smart player. We won't have a top 10 pick, so I doubt we get him anyway, unless we move up by trading picks, so it probably doesn't matter.

Well I wasn't speaking necessarily about the Suns, just in general. I wold say he reminds me more of Shane Battier, the Duke Shane Battier, except without the reliable 3-point touch and more athleticism.

Well in that case, Battier was drafted really high, and I think that's a pretty good comp in that he is a smart player. You remember a few years back when the studies had been done and that teams were always much better with Battier on the floor even though it didn't really show up in the box scores? That's kind of how I feel about Gordon.