2014 NBA Draft Discussion Thread

[TwinTower14]

If you think Smart has a chance to be Wade, just Wade, not even Wade-lite or a poor man's Wade and you still have him in the 6-10 range, what do you think of the prospects rated above him.  Is Wiggins going to be Lebron?  Who knows?  Embiid going to be Bill Russell.  People weren't kidding in touting this draft I guess.

Sure, let's play the projected ceiling game with some of the other prospects. No matter what this is difficult and risky to do with freshmen. Players make so many improvements... Or get stuck in bad habits, as they progress from teenagers to young twenty something pros.

Embiid - i am going to give him a young player ceiling of Demarcus cousins. They both have great 7 foot bodies that look like they were built in a lab for the NBA. Both players showed some sophisticated offense and agility for centers that were so young. I refuse to compare Embiid to Olajuwon until Embiid learns how to be an effective shot blocker, and shot changer. Olajuwon didnt pick up the finesse moves until later in his career. They are very different.

I would take a player like that number one though. I also have hope that cousins will become an all star year after year. He has the talent. I think he just needs a better environment.

Wiggins - if you showed me only footage of Mcgrady right out of high school on the raptors, and footage of wiggins right out of high school on the jayhawks, i would have guessed that wiggins would be the better player in their futures. Both could drift, get lost. Both are supreme athletes. Wiggins already has a great looking outside shot. But does wiggins have the inner fire to become one of the best wings in the nba? I have no idea. I still feel safe projecting him as being similar to Mcgrady in the end,  i would be shocked if he didn't make at least a couple all star games.

Parker - he is kind of like a Carmelo Anthony, in size, rebounding ability, competitiveness, and to some degree scoring. Anthony was a much better scorer coming out of Syracuse though. I dont see the same shooting touch with Parker. Both players dont do much on defense. Parker might not be as good as Anthony. But i expect him to be better than the next tier of small forwards: Leonard, batum and deng.

Exum is a total unknown. People talk about him as a big hybrid guard like penny hardway. Maybe he is more carter-Williams or devin Harris. I haven't seen any of his games, only the highlights.

Julius Randle - he is hard to nail down. But the one skill has has that is elite is rebounding. In the very least i would think he could rebound like Horace grant or Charles Oakley, maybe have some Anthony mason, Antoine Walker sprinkled in, and give you at least some scoring. If he really wants to score 20 a night he will need to work on his right hand and show some outside shooting.

Noah vonleh looks like a poor man's al horford or Chris bosh. The biggest difference i have seen is that he doesn't run the floor like those 2.

Aaron Gordon - the poor mans Kirilenko. He has a ways to go to bring his scoring ability up to andrei's level.

I am on board with Wiggins right now - Self finally got through to him, a lot more aggressive than he was.  He is attacking the rim, trying to dunk on people and had a nice step back jumper on Smart the other day.  Him playing with a guy like Rondo would do wonders for his career...

[Smokeeye123]

If you think Smart has a chance to be Wade, just Wade, not even Wade-lite or a poor man's Wade and you still have him in the 6-10 range, what do you think of the prospects rated above him.  Is Wiggins going to be Lebron?  Who knows?  Embiid going to be Bill Russell.  People weren't kidding in touting this draft I guess.

Sure, let's play the projected ceiling game with some of the other prospects. No matter what this is difficult and risky to do with freshmen. Players make so many improvements... Or get stuck in bad habits, as they progress from teenagers to young twenty something pros.

Embiid - i am going to give him a young player ceiling of Demarcus cousins. They both have great 7 foot bodies that look like they were built in a lab for the NBA. Both players showed some sophisticated offense and agility for centers that were so young. I refuse to compare Embiid to Olajuwon until Embiid learns how to be an effective shot blocker, and shot changer. Olajuwon didnt pick up the finesse moves until later in his career. They are very different.

I would take a player like that number one though. I also have hope that cousins will become an all star year after year. He has the talent. I think he just needs a better environment.

Wiggins - if you showed me only footage of Mcgrady right out of high school on the raptors, and footage of wiggins right out of high school on the jayhawks, i would have guessed that wiggins would be the better player in their futures. Both could drift, get lost. Both are supreme athletes. Wiggins already has a great looking outside shot. But does wiggins have the inner fire to become one of the best wings in the nba? I have no idea. I still feel safe projecting him as being similar to Mcgrady in the end,  i would be shocked if he didn't make at least a couple all star games.

Parker - he is kind of like a Carmelo Anthony, in size, rebounding ability, competitiveness, and to some degree scoring. Anthony was a much better scorer coming out of Syracuse though. I dont see the same shooting touch with Parker. Both players dont do much on defense. Parker might not be as good as Anthony. But i expect him to be better than the next tier of small forwards: Leonard, batum and deng.

Exum is a total unknown. People talk about him as a big hybrid guard like penny hardway. Maybe he is more carter-Williams or devin Harris. I haven't seen any of his games, only the highlights.

Julius Randle - he is hard to nail down. But the one skill has has that is elite is rebounding. In the very least i would think he could rebound like Horace grant or Charles Oakley, maybe have some Anthony mason, Antoine Walker sprinkled in, and give you at least some scoring. If he really wants to score 20 a night he will need to work on his right hand and show some outside shooting.

Noah vonleh looks like a poor man's al horford or Chris bosh. The biggest difference i have seen is that he doesn't run the floor like those 2.

Aaron Gordon - the poor mans Kirilenko. He has a ways to go to bring his scoring ability up to andrei's level.

That take is more negative than realist. At least one of these guys will probably bloom into a HOF player or close to.

[Tr1boy]

Hairston is going to play himself into the late lottery, if he does well on the one on one interviews...- averaging 22.6 ppg, 4 rpg, 44% and 89% from the line...ideal 2 guard in the NBA...

imo i don't think so. Look at What Glen Rice Jr. did last year in the d league as a rookie and still was drafted in the 2nd round. Not sure even sure where he is today

last year he did 13ppg and this year 19ppg, I can see what you are saying but Hairston is a better talent than he ever was...

But hairston is only a 6'4 sg which also doesnt help his stock. Not a big fan of his game. He can shoot and can get hot but is also kind of a hog

[Mr October]

If you think Smart has a chance to be Wade, just Wade, not even Wade-lite or a poor man's Wade and you still have him in the 6-10 range, what do you think of the prospects rated above him.  Is Wiggins going to be Lebron?  Who knows?  Embiid going to be Bill Russell.  People weren't kidding in touting this draft I guess.

Sure, let's play the projected ceiling game with some of the other prospects. No matter what this is difficult and risky to do with freshmen. Players make so many improvements... Or get stuck in bad habits, as they progress from teenagers to young twenty something pros.

Embiid - i am going to give him a young player ceiling of Demarcus cousins. They both have great 7 foot bodies that look like they were built in a lab for the NBA. Both players showed some sophisticated offense and agility for centers that were so young. I refuse to compare Embiid to Olajuwon until Embiid learns how to be an effective shot blocker, and shot changer. Olajuwon didnt pick up the finesse moves until later in his career. They are very different.

I would take a player like that number one though. I also have hope that cousins will become an all star year after year. He has the talent. I think he just needs a better environment.

Wiggins - if you showed me only footage of Mcgrady right out of high school on the raptors, and footage of wiggins right out of high school on the jayhawks, i would have guessed that wiggins would be the better player in their futures. Both could drift, get lost. Both are supreme athletes. Wiggins already has a great looking outside shot. But does wiggins have the inner fire to become one of the best wings in the nba? I have no idea. I still feel safe projecting him as being similar to Mcgrady in the end,  i would be shocked if he didn't make at least a couple all star games.

Parker - he is kind of like a Carmelo Anthony, in size, rebounding ability, competitiveness, and to some degree scoring. Anthony was a much better scorer coming out of Syracuse though. I dont see the same shooting touch with Parker. Both players dont do much on defense. Parker might not be as good as Anthony. But i expect him to be better than the next tier of small forwards: Leonard, batum and deng.

Exum is a total unknown. People talk about him as a big hybrid guard like penny hardway. Maybe he is more carter-Williams or devin Harris. I haven't seen any of his games, only the highlights.

Julius Randle - he is hard to nail down. But the one skill has has that is elite is rebounding. In the very least i would think he could rebound like Horace grant or Charles Oakley, maybe have some Anthony mason, Antoine Walker sprinkled in, and give you at least some scoring. If he really wants to score 20 a night he will need to work on his right hand and show some outside shooting.

Noah vonleh looks like a poor man's al horford or Chris bosh. The biggest difference i have seen is that he doesn't run the floor like those 2.

Aaron Gordon - the poor mans Kirilenko. He has a ways to go to bring his scoring ability up to andrei's level.

That take is more negative than realist. At least one of these guys will probably bloom into a HOF player or close to.

I think those top three guys have a solid chance at becoming  HOF players. Tracy Mcgrady was awesome. Carmelo Anthony is hall of fame bound, and Parker projects right below him, even though i am only judging a teenager! I would like to see cousins go to a better team, and unlock his all star potential, possibly becoming a hall of famer.

Wiggins, Parker and Embiid are on that path. But there are no guarantees. who is content to just collect their big checks and do just enough to get paid, and fit in? Who gets injured?

I really like these guys and will be super happy if the celtics land in the top 3 picks.

And certainly some guy picked at number 4 and beyond is going to be an all star. There is always a diamond in the rough later in the draft, with your odds getting slimmer as the draft goes on.

[PhoSita]

Really appreciate the in-depth descriptions, Mr. October.

Based on all of the above, I have to say that Wiggins sounds the most exciting, though Embiid sounds like a great pick as well.  I really like what I've seen from Parker, but it sounds like his ceiling may be lower.

I remain a fan of Smart, based in large part on the "it" factor that has been mentioned. 

[Mr October]

Really appreciate the in-depth descriptions, Mr. October.

Based on all of the above, I have to say that Wiggins sounds the most exciting, though Embiid sounds like a great pick as well.  I really like what I've seen from Parker, but it sounds like his ceiling may be lower.

I remain a fan of Smart, based in large part on the "it" factor that has been mentioned.

Thanks. I have been soaking in a ton of college bball this year. That tends to happen when the celtics are lottery bound, 

The coolest thing about this draft is that in addition to the talent, all these lottery players come with tales of having great attitudes and good work ethics. That gives them a big projection jump on other lottery draft classes.

And then i like that this draft is about 25 players deep. I think the celtics have a really good chance at picking at least a good role player around 18.

[BleedGreen1989]

Really appreciate the in-depth descriptions, Mr. October.

Based on all of the above, I have to say that Wiggins sounds the most exciting, though Embiid sounds like a great pick as well.  I really like what I've seen from Parker, but it sounds like his ceiling may be lower.

I remain a fan of Smart, based in large part on the "it" factor that has been mentioned.

Between Wiggins, Parker, and Embiid, it's like asking me if I want a Ferrari, Bugatti, or a Mercedes CL. I can nitpick all I want but I'd be ecstatic with any of them.

Agree on Smart too. I remain a fan of his intangibles big time.

[CFAN38]

Another intruiging big man prospect on the radar - Walter Tavares.

7'3" with massive 7'9" Wingspan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM0bRMlZKSE

Would like to see more of him, as I've seen this before and as of now, it hasn't panned out.

See Gobert, Rudy.

It was well known prior to the 2013 Draft that Gobert was a project pick and is widely considered not NBA-ready.

Good Comparison though, both are similar in height and wingspan although Tavares is 30 lbs heavier and to Gobert's credit his family has a basketball background(father is a basketball player) while Tavares only started to play basketball on 2010.

noticed he is averaging 6.6rb 1.9blk playing 20min per in the ACB. His size and those numbers in such a strong league makes him look more and more like a 1st round pick to me. Watching him on highlights he seems to move similar to hibbert. Doesn't look to have the lower body strength of hibbert but seems to have good natural defensive instincts.

[boscel33]

New ESPN mock has Orlando taking Exum at 3 and Parker to the C's at 4.  That would be awesome!

[Smokeeye123]

New ESPN mock has Orlando taking Exum at 3 and Parker to the C's at 4.  That would be awesome!

Why would they do that? Jabari fits a need for them and is the better player. (Not that I know a lot about Exum)

[slamtheking]

New ESPN mock has Orlando taking Exum at 3 and Parker to the C's at 4.  That would be awesome!

Why would they do that? Jabari fits a need for them and is the better player. (Not that I know a lot about Exum)

agreed - would have to see that actually come to pass to believe it

[Evantime34]

New ESPN mock has Orlando taking Exum at 3 and Parker to the C's at 4.  That would be awesome!

Why would they do that? Jabari fits a need for them and is the better player. (Not that I know a lot about Exum)

I think it makes sense, him and Oladipo would make a good backcourt, I think the Magic have more of a need in the backcourt than they do at the 3. They need a point guard to replace Jameer Nelson.

[Galeto]

I'm liking Clint Capela more and more.  He is extremely ambidextrous.  If I never saw him take a jumpshot or free throw, I would've figured he was lefthanded.  It seems like he finishes mostly with his left and when he goes up for rebounds or blocks, he seems to favor his left side not unlike Joel Anthony for instance.  The most unique thing about his ambidexterity, as far as his position goes, is his ability to pass with both hands.  The number of bigs who can execute a nifty pass with either hand is extremely limited.  Even if it doesn't mean he's going to average 4 assists or anything, it shows a nice feel for the game.

As far as comps, I think he could be a Bismack Biyombo who can actually finish around the basket and also pass the ball.  That would be a very good player.  It wouldn't surprise me if he climbs up all the way to the 7th pick by draft time.  I wouldn't say he's any more riskier than players like Vonleh or Gordon because he's producing at a high level in a good professional league.  He's only one year older, bigger and has more physical ability.   

[BleedGreen1989]

Great article where a scout gives his take on Parker, Wiggins, Embiid, Exum, Smart, Randle, and Vonleh...

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-saturday-scouts-take-on-2014-draft/

[Tr1boy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj_FiHkeP7o

Scouting report on voleh is that he is not explosive but an ok athlete. Watching the clip above validates this report. Not encouraging to see him getting stuffed a few times under the basket. Also looks more like 6'9 with a long neck. Has narrow shoulders. Body similiar to Bosh but not explosive
Plays like a C but has a body like a pf