11.9% chance of winning the draft lottery as of today

[Tr1boy]

While Parker isn't playing the greatest defense in college, he does have the tools to be a very good defender. He has excellent footwork and his lateral movement is very good. He also has elite initial burst forward to close out on people. Physically, he's 6'8", solid and strong with a 7 foot reach means that with work, he should be a very good defender in the right system and with the right coaching.

Yeah.  It's not like Pierce was an amazing defender early in his career.

Pierce was a really good defender as a young player. Got lazy with bad habits as he came into his own as a star till Doc and the rest made him lock in.

Hm.  Well, in any case, I'll take a great scorer with the physical tools to be a good defender over a great defender with the physical tools to become a nice scorer.

Is that what happened with marshon brooks?

What about ibaka known to be a defender really turning heads offensively??

I rather have a guy who plays better defense like leonard and george and hone their offensive skills later.

Jabari Parker & Marshon Brooks aren't in the same hemisphere, c'mon.

Its not that. Just that both have In  common nice offensive capabilities but are poor defenders. Did brooks become a better defender in the nba?

You cant expect parker to be even a mediocre defender in the nba. And you canf bandaid the situation either by zhrrounding him with defensive minded role players.

Why can't you? He has the physical tools and the profile of a great many NBA players is to become better defensively.

Not only that but plenty of teams have built very good team defenses with limited SFs defensively.

If Parker's defense is a deal breaker for you I'm not sure there is any prospect out there you'd like to draft at all because your standards and expectations aren't aligned with reality.

I rather have wiggins. He is a more ready 2 way player. I rather have someone not as talented offensively but gifted defensively In jerami grant. I want a two way talent not melo anthony risk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjlCgQB-rGk

[Fafnir]

I'd rather have Wiggins too.

But you're talking about trading Parker to go down and grab a SF prospect who's a mid to late first round pick right now.

That's a pretty extreme way to value "defense". I think its more you just don't like Parker.

[Tr1boy]

I'd rather have Wiggins too.

But you're talking about trading Parker to go down and grab a SF prospect who's a mid to late first round pick right now.

That's a pretty extreme way to value "defense". I think its more you just don't like Parker.

Parker is unselfish, talented and tries out there. But trying is not enough. The nba is a tough league. I become most upset now how poor our defense is. You hear tommy say at least make the other guy think twice b4 driving in.

You just cant trade baskets and win. U need stops.

Grant is not mid to late prospect. Some have him going 8. He is like a ibaka and is going to get better while already be able to play good defense and on the bonus rebound and block shots better than some pfs in the nba

[nickagneta]

I like Grant but think he's probably going to be there for the Celtics second pick. Grant and Embiid would be an extremely successful draft though one in which the Celtics would be looking to not see major results from those players for 3 years or so. They are that raw.

[Tr1boy]

I like Grant but think he's probably going to be there for the Celtics second pick. Grant and Embiid would be an extremely successful draft though one in which the Celtics would be looking to not see major results from those players for 3 years or so. They are that raw.

Grant wont be avail at 20-26. Raw but too much upside to ignore. Just as gifted athletically as wiggins. Imo can jumper higher.

He is more skilled than ppl think . Has improved his jump shot and ability to drive in. His passing skills has been always good

[nickagneta]

I like Grant but think he's probably going to be there for the Celtics second pick. Grant and Embiid would be an extremely successful draft though one in which the Celtics would be looking to not see major results from those players for 3 years or so. They are that raw.

Grant wont be avail at 20-26. Raw but too much upside to ignore. Just as gifted athletically as wiggins. Imo can jumper higher.

He is more skilled than ppl think . Has improved his jump shot and ability to drive in. His passing skills has been always good

I think you are wrong about when he will be available. His shooting is going to hold him back.

[Tr1boy]

I like Grant but think he's probably going to be there for the Celtics second pick. Grant and Embiid would be an extremely successful draft though one in which the Celtics would be looking to not see major results from those players for 3 years or so. They are that raw.

Grant wont be avail at 20-26. Raw but too much upside to ignore. Just as gifted athletically as wiggins. Imo can jumper higher.

He is more skilled than ppl think . Has improved his jump shot and ability to drive in. His passing skills has been always good

I think you are wrong about when he will be available. His shooting is going to hold him back.

Have you actually seen him play games?

He is not automatic but he makes more then he misses. Last year he was inconsistent and streaky. So he has improved.

Even without a jump shot , he will get you 10-12 points on putbacks and out jumping you alone. This kid is athletically gifted with a 7'3 wingspan but also has upside and a better than avg bbiq. He is not going to be there at 20-26

[RyNye]

Honest, I'm really down on Jabari. He is the only one of the top prospects I have seen in person (I go to Duke), and I was really unimpressed with his game. Maybe I just caught him on off-nights or something, but to me he smacks of a Rudy Gay 2.0. A talented, athletic player who is too inconsistent/uncommitted to playing good ball and perpetually underachieving.

The games I saw, his positioning was always bad, his shot selection was terrible, and it was mostly the poor defensive instincts of most college players that let him keep getting into the paint. I couldn't help but think that any half decent NBA defense would stop him cold

[VitorSullyandKOFan]

I want Hezonja with the Nets pick he has a lot of talent I don't care if he stays a year or two in Spain.

[fairweatherfan]

I like Grant but think he's probably going to be there for the Celtics second pick. Grant and Embiid would be an extremely successful draft though one in which the Celtics would be looking to not see major results from those players for 3 years or so. They are that raw.

Grant wont be avail at 20-26. Raw but too much upside to ignore. Just as gifted athletically as wiggins. Imo can jumper higher.

He is more skilled than ppl think . Has improved his jump shot and ability to drive in. His passing skills has been always good

I think you are wrong about when he will be available. His shooting is going to hold him back.

Have you actually seen him play games?

He is not automatic but he makes more then he misses. Last year he was inconsistent and streaky. So he has improved.

Even without a jump shot , he will get you 10-12 points on putbacks and out jumping you alone. This kid is athletically gifted with a 7'3 wingspan but also has upside and a better than avg bbiq. He is not going to be there at 20-26

I've watched almost every Syracuse game this year, and Grant has a lot of athletic talent but very little polish.  His shooting percentage is pretty good largely because of all the putbacks and follows he gets from outleaping defenders in the paint.  That's not going to be so easy in the NBA.  He rarely creates his own shots and is frequently invisible on offense until there's a board to be grabbed.  He does have good timing and generally uses his abilities wisely, though.  Plays good D without fouling much, but zone players don't always translate well to NBA defenses.

He could be drafted sooner than later but it depends on how much stock teams place in his athleticism and potential, because he's still very raw.

[Donoghus]

I like Grant but think he's probably going to be there for the Celtics second pick. Grant and Embiid would be an extremely successful draft though one in which the Celtics would be looking to not see major results from those players for 3 years or so. They are that raw.

Grant wont be avail at 20-26. Raw but too much upside to ignore. Just as gifted athletically as wiggins. Imo can jumper higher.

He is more skilled than ppl think . Has improved his jump shot and ability to drive in. His passing skills has been always good

I think you are wrong about when he will be available. His shooting is going to hold him back.

Have you actually seen him play games?

He is not automatic but he makes more then he misses. Last year he was inconsistent and streaky. So he has improved.

Even without a jump shot , he will get you 10-12 points on putbacks and out jumping you alone. This kid is athletically gifted with a 7'3 wingspan but also has upside and a better than avg bbiq. He is not going to be there at 20-26

"Even without a jump shot?"

That's about the last thing I want to hear about now about a potential Celtics target.

[Tr1boy]

I like Grant but think he's probably going to be there for the Celtics second pick. Grant and Embiid would be an extremely successful draft though one in which the Celtics would be looking to not see major results from those players for 3 years or so. They are that raw.

Grant wont be avail at 20-26. Raw but too much upside to ignore. Just as gifted athletically as wiggins. Imo can jumper higher.

He is more skilled than ppl think . Has improved his jump shot and ability to drive in. His passing skills has been always good

I think you are wrong about when he will be available. His shooting is going to hold him back.

Have you actually seen him play games?

He is not automatic but he makes more then he misses. Last year he was inconsistent and streaky. So he has improved.

Even without a jump shot , he will get you 10-12 points on putbacks and out jumping you alone. This kid is athletically gifted with a 7'3 wingspan but also has upside and a better than avg bbiq. He is not going to be there at 20-26

I've watched almost every Syracuse game this year, and Grant has a lot of athletic talent but very little polish.  His shooting percentage is pretty good largely because of all the putbacks and follows he gets from outleaping defenders in the paint.  That's not going to be so easy in the NBA.  He rarely creates his own shots and is frequently invisible on offense until there's a board to be grabbed.  He does have good timing and generally uses his abilities wisely, though.  Plays good D without fouling much, but zone players don't always translate well to NBA defenses.

He could be drafted sooner than later but it depends on how much stock teams place in his athleticism and potential, because he's still very raw.

I agree with majority of what you said of grant. He can also use 10-15 pounds of muscle.

He is raw and not a go to guy. If he had that capability we be talking about the top three as embiid , wiggins , grant

Grant now is like a paul george, leonard, ibaka without as polished offense. Though imo he will get better and improve like ibaka has throughout his career but at a faster rate

[Tr1boy]

I like Grant but think he's probably going to be there for the Celtics second pick. Grant and Embiid would be an extremely successful draft though one in which the Celtics would be looking to not see major results from those players for 3 years or so. They are that raw.

Grant wont be avail at 20-26. Raw but too much upside to ignore. Just as gifted athletically as wiggins. Imo can jumper higher.

He is more skilled than ppl think . Has improved his jump shot and ability to drive in. His passing skills has been always good

I think you are wrong about when he will be available. His shooting is going to hold him back.

Have you actually seen him play games?

He is not automatic but he makes more then he misses. Last year he was inconsistent and streaky. So he has improved.

Even without a jump shot , he will get you 10-12 points on putbacks and out jumping you alone. This kid is athletically gifted with a 7'3 wingspan but also has upside and a better than avg bbiq. He is not going to be there at 20-26

"Even without a jump shot?"

That's about the last thing I want to hear about now about a potential Celtics target.

What I meant was even if he didnt have a jumper. He does have one. He can make 18 ft shots

His ft shooting has improved since last year and close to 70 per this season

[sofutomygaha]

Again, as we follow this countdown, we should keep in mind that we have a 80-90% chance of picking in the top 5, and about a 20% chance of that player we draft in the top 5 being an all-star or better.

Huh... actually that works out to about a 15% chance of "winning" the draft. =)

[nickagneta]

I like Grant but think he's probably going to be there for the Celtics second pick. Grant and Embiid would be an extremely successful draft though one in which the Celtics would be looking to not see major results from those players for 3 years or so. They are that raw.

Grant wont be avail at 20-26. Raw but too much upside to ignore. Just as gifted athletically as wiggins. Imo can jumper higher.

He is more skilled than ppl think . Has improved his jump shot and ability to drive in. His passing skills has been always good

I think you are wrong about when he will be available. His shooting is going to hold him back.

Have you actually seen him play games?

He is not automatic but he makes more then he misses. Last year he was inconsistent and streaky. So he has improved.

Even without a jump shot , he will get you 10-12 points on putbacks and out jumping you alone. This kid is athletically gifted with a 7'3 wingspan but also has upside and a better than avg bbiq. He is not going to be there at 20-26

Have I seen him play? My son goes to Syracuse and I have watched 90% of their games. Have you seen him play as you appear to be quoting directly from his DraftExpress page regarding his shooting?

He has a PF game and a SF body. He's terrific in the paint because of his athleticism but has zero true outside game and very little game to get open for his 15 foot jumper that seems to be falling over the last couple weeks. He will be a terrific defender and above average rebounder but unless he is in transition or being successful with his inside game on less athletic SFs, he will struggle offensively in the NBA without that good outside shot.