Official #2 Pick Thread - Ford #7: Parker

[TroyD92]

I'd be really happy with say Parker and Smart too. Some really good options if we can land that #7 pick.

[LUKE23]

Don't know how I feel about Sanders/Knight for #7. I still believe in Sanders as an elite rim protector, and those are really hard to find.

I like Smart and Vonleh if we could get either at #7, but I would hate losing that paint defense.

[Baddy Chuck]

I could live with a Parker/Smart or Wiggins/Vonleh or Embiid/Vonleh or Smart draft with Sanders/Knight for 7. Doubt I'd do it for anything less (Gordon, Saric, Randle etc)

[Matches Malone]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/kc1nyk/status/474272832281911296[/tweet]

[Mink Coat Mason]

I am very high on Vonleh but expect him to be gone by No. 7. If we made that deal and end up with Embiid, Gordon would be exciting at No. 7. If we get an Embiid, Gordon, Giannis front court I might lose it. Then pick up Bogdanovic at 31...

Wolters
Bogdanovic
Giannis
Gordon
Embiid

Bench: Henson (if he isn't dealt), Middleton, veterans [Pachulia, Delfino, Mayo, Radulicja], Micic (36).

[machu46]

Don't know how I feel about Sanders/Knight for #7. I still believe in Sanders as an elite rim protector, and those are really hard to find.

I like Smart and Vonleh if we could get either at #7, but I would hate losing that paint defense.

I honestly still love Larry and would very much like to see him remain a Buck. Having said that, I think I'd be on board with trading him if it meant getting a top 8 pick in return. After the top 4, I think there's another 4 that are on their own tier in Smart, Vonleh, Randle, and Gordon, so if we can get another pick in that top 8, I'd be very happy.

If we were to do that, I'd definitely prefer taking Wiggins at 2 over Jabari (I'm already preferring Wiggins over Jabari, but it would make even more sense if we were to get another top 8 selection, because most likely, whoever we would get with that pick would be a PF, so that player and Jabari would compete with each other for playing time in my books. I'd be very happy if we went into next year with Wiggins, Giannis, and Aaron Gordon as our 2-4. That's an absolute killer defense moving forwards with ridiculous athleticism.

[The Wet Whistle]

Mayo, Knight, Henson for Nash, Sacre, #7

Even though LA would never do this I'm still fantasizing about it

[M-C-G]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/kc1nyk/status/474272832281911296[/tweet]

This just feels like hacks reporting....

Day 1 - Fan suggest to someone with the team, wouldn't it be a good idea to....Team suggest, we are looking at everything as an opportunity to improve
Day 2 - Fan posts what we heard
Day 4 - Woelfel reads what a fan wrote
Day 5 - Woelfel uses words like "whispers" or "rumblings" or "the sense I am getting from the org"
Day 7 - Someone goes on a Ford chat and asks about "rumblings" the Bucks are looking to move up, Ford responds
Day 8 - Fans talk about Fords response
Day 9 - Hack reads Fords response, and tweets "the sense I am getting"

I know this isn't exactly how it always works (obviously very few fans ever get access to the owners), but it just feels like 9/10ths of this tweets are the referenced, inferred, opinion of a suggestion, that may or may not have been a real idea....Then all these hacks take something they read that has no real context to the inner workings of the team, pretend they got it from the team, whose followers than pretend that is their source and perpetuate it as a real idea.

I love rumors, and I love that fans get to post their ideas...My problem is that none of these writers really do any actual digging but rather just reference some other guys, who referenced some other guy, who heard from a guy, that was suggested by a guy on a website, that so and so wouldn't rule that out as a possibility.

Hacks.

[Bernman]

I don't really love the combination of Smart and Parker. They both need the ball in their hands.

I don't agree.

Parker is good in catch and shoot. He can also work well in the post early in the clock instead of just being handed the ball on the perimeter. It would depend on the match-up. I think against 4's he belongs on the perimeters, 3's on the interior.

And Smart has shown to be a guy at Ok St. who is very willing to defer to the hot hand or try and get his teammates to become one. He's an unselfish player. He doesn't work really good off ball because of his lack of reliable jumper as of right now, but that's something that is usually improved significantly over time, which the Bucks will have some off. Smart doesn't need to be perfect off the bat. I think he'd make a positive impact on fans off the bat because of his overall floor game, including of course his elite defense.

I think if I draft Parker at 2, Smart being available is the one and only thing that would prompt me to pull the trigger on that Sanders/Knight for 7 trade. Then we'd have a big 3 core between Parker, Smart, and Giannis who could grow together. If it's Gordon, Saric, Vonleh, Randle, McBuck; we're going to need good luck to get it to work here or in the process make all of them look appealing to become future trade bait.

[Zeezprah]

i'd be shocked if we got another first rounder besides maybe a mid 20 (we swap draft rights to 31 and cash)

[thomchatt3rton]

Id love smart or randle at 7, esp smart, but im loath to give up sanders as of yet.


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[LUKE23]

Smart would be my target at #7 if we were going to do that trade. Vonleh next. Then Gordon. Then Randle.

A huge aspect of the deal would be how much Henson improves defensively. Right now he's pretty good at the rim, but terrible everywhere else. He doesn't have the lateral movement speed of Sanders to cover up a lot of perimeter mistakes. If he could develop that skill, he'd offer a far better pivot scoring option, and Smart-Giannis-Henson would be a formidable trio defensively. Then you either have Wiggins at the 2 or Parker at the 4. Pretty exciting core. In terms of developing a long-term winner though, Henson would be on the major hot seat, because he is nowhere close to Sanders as a defender right now, and elite paint defense is really damn hard to find.

Smart-2nd rounder or trade up-Giannis-Parker-Henson would be an exciting team however you slice it.

[Bernman]

Wolters
Bogdanovic
Giannis
Gordon
Embiid

I'm not sure about Wolters being penciled into the starting lineup for the future. He's still not particularly good on anything, and I think because he was a rookie we presume major improvement, which with him probably won't come due to his lack of tools. More likely we'd probably address the point guard spot next draft, where Mudiay and Jones are out there. Otherwise in free agency with seemingly a lot of cap space, not having to pay anyone for a few years, and this destination looking more appealing with all that talent growing together.

But that would be a hell of a passing team, maybe Spurs' esque. Because Embiid, Gordon, Giannis, Bogdanovic, and Wolters all move the ball. It could be fun to watch in the interim, and a whole is greater than the sum of its parts thing because of passing and great frontcourt defense at least.

[raferfenix]

Help me understand how in the world TWO teams could pass on Wiggins? he's the best player in the draft!
Chad Ford
(1:21 PM)

He's No. 1 on our Big Board and probably will stay there for the rest of the draft. He has elite physical tools for his position -- both from a size standpoint and athletically. That gives him a huge edge in the NBA. From a skills standpoint, he's a work in progress, but has no fatal flaws right now. His dribble is too high and his three-point jump shot is just OK. But both of those things are going to improve. You can teach those things ... you can't teach what Wiggins does well. And he's already an elite defender. So I think he, along with Embiid, have the most upside in the draft AND I think Wiggins is ready to play now. Maybe not ready to score 20 ppg, but ready to be on the floor and help a team now. So yeah, I think he's a good compromise between Embiid and Parker. With that said, there are teams that worry about his aggressiveness. Worry whether he's hungry. Worry that he plays too upright. Worry that the jump shot might not improve. I can make good arguments for both Embiid, Parker and even Exum No. 1 too. But as of now, Wiggins is No. 1 on our Big Board.

My main concern with Wiggins is that he won't be able to handle well enough to create.

Ford doesn't seem to have that concern...which makes me feel better about him.

[Baddy Chuck]

My main concern with Wiggins is that he won't be able to handle well enough to create.

Ford doesn't seem to have that concern...which makes me feel better about him.

I think it depends on what you feel "creating" is. A guy like DeRozan might not even be able to dribble through cones but gets to the line nearly 8 times a game and scores over 20 points a game.

[raferfenix]

My main concern with Wiggins is that he won't be able to handle well enough to create.

Ford doesn't seem to have that concern...which makes me feel better about him.

I think it depends on what you feel "creating" is. A guy like DeRozan might not even be able to dribble through cones but gets to the line nearly 8 times a game and scores over 20 points a game.

Good question!

Main distinction I see initially is creating for yourself or creating for others.

Will Wiggins' handle be good enough so that he can split defenses to get to the hoop to create for himself?

And if he can split defenses, will he be able to find the open teammate after the defense adjusts?

[Badgerlander]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/474293995053387778[/tweet]

[Baddy Chuck]

Good question!

Main distinction I see initially is creating for yourself or creating for others.

Will Wiggins' handle be good enough so that he can split defenses to get to the hoop to create for himself?

And if he can split defenses, will he be able to find the open teammate after the defense adjusts?

I'd be lying if I said I ever thought he'd be a good distributor off the drive. I think he's got solid vision before he makes his move but when he makes that move he's pretty tunnel visioned. Don't confuse that with me thinking he's a DeRozan/Maggette level ballhog though.

[Mink Coat Mason]

Wolters
Bogdanovic
Giannis
Gordon
Embiid

I'm not sure about Wolters being penciled into the starting lineup for the future. He's still not particularly good on anything, and I think because he was a rookie we presume major improvement, which with him probably won't come due to his lack of tools. More likely we'd probably address the point guard spot next draft, where Mudiay and Jones are out there. Otherwise in free agency with seemingly a lot of cap space, not having to pay anyone for a few years, and this destination looking more appealing with all that talent growing together.

But that would be a hell of a passing team, maybe Spurs' esque. Because Embiid, Gordon, Giannis, Bogdanovic, and Wolters all move the ball. It could be fun to watch in the interim, and a whole is greater than the sum of its parts thing because of passing and great frontcourt defense at least.

I guess I was just talking about next season. Maybe we pick up someone in free agency this year but since the owners have alluded to not spending much I was presuming we'd trot out Wolters in that scenario to see what we truly have.

Like many here, I think his role is going to be as a backup down the line. Mudiay would be great in 2015.

If the draft did play out that way, it seems unlikely the Bucks would start three rookies (especially if Drew is coach). Just was posting my ideal starting five next season if that is how things unfold.

[DanoMac]

Here's DraftExpress' video of that Parker workout. A lot of the same things, but some new footage as well

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HBHECUFLHA[/youtube]