Weak draft says who!? Some intriguing bigs in the 2013 NBA draft

[PhoSita]

Withey or Olynyk.

We already have one "has tons of size and physical gifts but very little skill" guy.

[Who]

Withey reminds me of Stiemsma

[krook]

timofey mozgov 3.1 million only
nba experienced player

[Smartacus]

The Jajuan Johnson comparisons are a bit strange to me seeing that he was a sensor of Purdue and most of the players we are discussing have yet to come close to his level of  body development.

Austin is nowhere near where he will be in a few years physically and Gobert already posseses a 7 foot 9 wingspan.  I've seen him being discussed by eurobasket fans who say the Alex Ajinca comp doesn't really hold water since he has shown to be more active and embrace a defensive mind set.

My pipe dream is Austin. Of the entire draft I think I'd only take Noel, Len or Smart over him. No idea why a team would take Plumlee over him and even Anthony Bennett looks like he's coming back down to Earth a bit as a prospect.

[bfrombleacher]

Why is Isaiah Austin projected to be so low?

[Smartacus]

Why is Isaiah Austin projected to be so low?

Draftexpress currently has him at 11 but Bleacher Report's "draft guy" had him falling to 19. I think he'll shoot up in workouts. It only takes one team to fall in love with his size and shooting.

I bet he ends up in Dallas, but depending on how much they like Brandon Wright they could pass to avoid redundancy.

To answer the question though Baylor bigs have had limited success translating lately and many worry that he will never put on the necessary muscle mass to stick. He often disappears in Baylor's offense and after a while the lack of playing with a true point guard excuse gets old.

[lightspeed5]

have you watched austin play? he cant hit a jumper to save his life

next, what is with the obsession with 7 footers? we will not draft a 7 footer and expect a good player... 7 footers that are good or have potential DO NOT fall to our draft spot. Im letting you know that.

anyways....you have to be kidding me if you think we will draft a big this go around. this draft has too many good guards to skip... you cant pass on trey burke or cauley-stein or even hardaway jr....

[Smartacus]

have you watched austin play? he cant hit a jumper to save his life

next, what is with the obsession with 7 footers? we will not draft a 7 footer and expect a good player... 7 footers that are good or have potential DO NOT fall to our draft spot. Im letting you know that.

anyways....you have to be kidding me if you think we will draft a big this go around. this draft has too many good guards to skip... you cant pass on trey burke or cauley-stein or even hardaway jr....

Cauley-Stein is one of those 7 footers that you claim could not fall to us. I'd also point out that Nicola Vucevic went 16 in a similar draft not too long ago but thanks for "letting me know that" these type of players are unattainable.

And yea I've seen Austin play since his AAU days and while his jumper doesnt always fall he is averaging 13.6 and 8.8 on a tourney team as a freshman. I'm not saying he's Durant but to suggest he can't develop into a starter caliber strech 4 or 5 isn't outside the realm of possibility.

[LooseCannon]

next, what is with the obsession with 7 footers?

Some people believe that the current Celtics roster has a deficiency in the area of height and want the Celtics to draft for a (perceived) need that may be overrated.

[bfrombleacher]

Why is Isaiah Austin projected to be so low?

Draftexpress currently has him at 11 but Bleacher Report's "draft guy" had him falling to 19. I think he'll shoot up in workouts. It only takes one team to fall in love with his size and shooting.

I bet he ends up in Dallas, but depending on how much they like Brandon Wright they could pass to avoid redundancy.

To answer the question though Baylor bigs have had limited success translating lately and many worry that he will never put on the necessary muscle mass to stick. He often disappears in Baylor's offense and after a while the lack of playing with a true point guard excuse gets old.

have you watched austin play? he cant hit a jumper to save his life

next, what is with the obsession with 7 footers? we will not draft a 7 footer and expect a good player... 7 footers that are good or have potential DO NOT fall to our draft spot. Im letting you know that.

anyways....you have to be kidding me if you think we will draft a big this go around. this draft has too many good guards to skip... you cant pass on trey burke or cauley-stein or even hardaway jr....

Isaiah Austin is projected to go 26 on NBADraft.net.

I don't follow college hoops so, yes, I haven't. I was kind of wondering if he had some kind of major weakness.

[Celtics4ever]

People thought Melo was intriguing too but he has been a project.   This teams needs guys who can contribute not projects.

Willie C Stein will be a nice pick up though.  He has surprising touch for a big.

[Galeto]

have you watched austin play? he cant hit a jumper to save his life

next, what is with the obsession with 7 footers? we will not draft a 7 footer and expect a good player... 7 footers that are good or have potential DO NOT fall to our draft spot. Im letting you know that.

anyways....you have to be kidding me if you think we will draft a big this go around. this draft has too many good guards to skip... you cant pass on trey burke or cauley-stein or even hardaway jr....

Seriously, Austin can't hit a jumper to save his life?  I've seen him hit a bunch of a jumpers.  That's probably the one thing he can do on offense because he's too weak for the post and as much as he likes to show off his handle, he's slow driving to the rim.  He's hit 32 percent of his 3s on three attempts a game.  That's not too bad for a freshman 7-footer.

I'm not too sold on Austin as a prospect because I wish he was a better athlete considering how skinny he is.  He's not an awful athlete and he's relatively smooth but he's mid-tempo and I don't that cuts it you don't have an advantage in quick twitch muscle fiber and reaction time.  His thin frame also doesn't seem like it has a lot of room to grow or it's going to take a long time to get there.  It's hard to see with his lack of strength how he's going to be able to guard anyone or score from anywhere that's not 18 feet from the basket.

[mkogav]

Not 100% certain he is coming out but if he does Willie Cauley-Stein might slip to the Celtics. If he did, that's the big guy I draft. Unreal athlete(he played wide receiver in high school football) for his size(a real 7'0" and 245 lbs of muscle), Cauley-Stein is a major project offensively but has giant upside defensively with some of that coming almost immediately.

I think if he could learn the system fast enough, Cauley-Stein could be giving this team rotation worthy minutes before the end of next year. He would be the rim protector, weak side shot blocker, defensive inside anchor that this team could build around long term, well, along with Rondo, Sully, Bradley and Green, that is. And if he ever untaps his potential as a low post offensive threat, watch out. He could be a star. His athleticism is that good. He runs so naturally, like a sprinter and has good hands and can finish noisily on the break.

My secret desire is that Danny trades up and drafts Nerlens Noel but other than that, I would want Cauley-Stein. He would fit perfectly if he develops as some project. Is he a project? Yes. But I think a more sure bet to invest in than Fab Melo with much much higher upside.

Then again, he would have to fall some for the C's to land him at this point. He's probably gone by 15 or so.

I am down with Cauley-Stein, but I doubt he will be around when the Cs pick. He's been rising up the draft boards pretty quickly. If he makes any noise in either the SEC or NCAA tournaments, he may go top 6 or 8.

Mk

[clover]

Withey or Olynyk.

We already have one "has tons of size and physical gifts but very little skill" guy.

I hear ya.

[CFAN38]

Thought not a center I would add Ryan Kelly to this list. Most mocks have him going in the 2nd but he will end up goin late 1st and will contribute in a Matt bonner like role. Being 6'11 with great range Nice bball iq I could see him in our rotation next season.