Article: NBA Wakes to find 2014 Draft Not All That

[BleedGreen1989]

Deep as this draft class is, its star quotient is another question. Setting aside comparisons to LeBron James and Durant, who are beyond anyone on the horizon, no one in this class is as highly regarded as No. 1 picks Anthony Davis (2012), Kyrie Irving (2011), John Wall (2010), Blake Griffin (2009) or Derrick Rose (2008).

“If you called the Pelicans, the Cavs or any of those teams and offered this year’s first pick for their guy, they’d fall over laughing,” says a Western Conference personnel guy.

Parker, a 6-8 forward, has clearly been the best player with good size, great skills and, unlike Wiggins, a star’s commanding on-court presence. However, also unlike Wiggins, Parker isn’t an uber-athlete; he’s more like ‘decent,’ a limiting factor (if not a disabling one; think Magic Johnson, Larry Bird).

The 7-0, 240-pound Embiid—that’s two i’s, not “il” or “li”–is the raw one with the monster upside. A native of Cameroon who started playing at 16, he has strength, grace and is coming so fast, scouts dare to compare him to another late bloomer, Hakeem Olajuwon. “The people who went to Kansas practices to see Wiggins,” says the Eastern personnel guy, “emerged liking Embiid more.”

The 6-9 Randle is a powerhouse inside but that height in college usually means 6-7 1/2 in stocking feet at the pre-draft camp.

The 6-6 Exum is a more athletic version of Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams, this season’s runaway rookie of the year leader, with shooting ability as uncertain.

Wiggins, a 6-8 small forward, is blessed with fabulous athleticism and length but often drifts, or as scouts say, “Motor?” He has a “loose handle” with a high dribble and drives in straight lines, making it hard to get past defenders (“doesn’t beat you off the bounce”) and create his own shot, a make-or-break skill for NBA superstardom.

Not posting the whole article but its a great read. Check it out...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markheisler/2014/01/12/nba-wakes-to-find-andrew-wiggins-and-entire-class-of-14-arent-that-good/

[nickagneta]

I have been downplaying the quality of this draft for months. These are kids with unreal expectations being thrown upon them. There are no Lebrons or Durants or Hakeems or Karl Malones in this class. Some of these kids will turn out to be good, real good, but its not the Lebron, Wade, Melo class all over again.

[droopdog7]

Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing for a while.  There is no virtual sure HOF in this draft (e.g., Lebron, Shaq, Duncan, etc.).  Embid could be it but he is a bigger than risk than those guys.  And Wiggins has fallen off.  And Parker I think will be good but not a franchise guy.  And I don't like Randle.

So, there may be some nice potential in this draft.  And some might be great.  But I would not be too sure.

Now depth, I think is defintely there.

[rondohondo]

I have been downplaying the quality of this draft for months. These are kids with unreal expectations being thrown upon them. There are no Lebrons or Durants or Hakeems or Karl Malones in this class. Some of these kids will turn out to be good, real good, but its not the Lebron, Wade, Melo class all over again.

so this draft doesn't have players as good as Lebron or Durant? You mean the best two players in the world? What a shocker.

It still has top end talents. I could easily see Parker being as good as Melo, Embiid on Anthony Davis' level, and Randle being as good as Bosh , Wiggins a Paul George type.

What's wrong with that, its still top 20 nba talent if they reach their potential.....

[Boris Badenov]

I still think this is a possible positive for the Celts. If we fall in the 5-10 range, and there's lots of ambiguity about who the best guys are, we stand a better chance of having one of the best players in the draft fall to us. I trust Danny's ability to scoop up the BPA.

Alternatively, if there's someone in the top 3 Danny really likes, lower expectations for that group will make it easier for Danny to trade into that range if he wants to.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I have been downplaying the quality of this draft for months. These are kids with unreal expectations being thrown upon them. There are no Lebrons or Durants or Hakeems or Karl Malones in this class. Some of these kids will turn out to be good, real good, but its not the Lebron, Wade, Melo class all over again.

so this draft doesn't have players as good as Lebron or Durant? You mean the best two players in the world? What a shocker.

It still has top end talents. I could easily see Parker being as good as Melo, Embiid on Anthony Davis' level, and Randle being as good as Bosh , Wiggins a Paul George type.

What's wrong with that, its still top 20 nba talent if they reach their potential.....

Yeah I don't get it either.  Even if Wiggins is just an Igoudala type, you're adding a premier SF for like $1 million a year on the salary cap.  Having one of these guys is such a huge advantage and there are about 5 guys with the potential to be top 25 players within a few years. 

New Orleans wouldn't trade the Brow for Parker, but if the Cavs wouldn't trade Kyrie for Embiid it's just because they have no clue how to run a team.

[D.o.s.]

It's the inevitable kickback on any issue from positive to negative.

Consider: Many of them are not scouts, or GMs, or people who depend on the accurate depiction of players to feed their families. They have nothing at stake when they toss out an article, other than it generate page views. I could write a piece tomorrow about how the 2014 NBA draft class has actually been the worst of the last decade, and people would read it, and it would generate discussion, but there's no one that was really in the know who would take it seriously.

I'd liken the whole thing to how 9,581 of 9,582 climate scientists believe in human-influenced climate change, and that there really isn't a huge debate inside the real community and that all the discord is manufactured... but I know there are "Climate change is a crock" CB'ers, too.

[Emmette Bryant]

The media creates these guys and then they b*tch about them.

Imagine that.   

[wdleehi]

The longer players play, the more the "experts" start knocking them.




Especially a "GM" who may want to "undervalue" this draft class in the hope of "stealing" another pick or player.




When a player gets knocked for being "Magic or Bird" like...Anyone else laughing?

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I have been downplaying the quality of this draft for months. These are kids with unreal expectations being thrown upon them. There are no Lebrons or Durants or Hakeems or Karl Malones in this class. Some of these kids will turn out to be good, real good, but its not the Lebron, Wade, Melo class all over again.

so this draft doesn't have players as good as Lebron or Durant? You mean the best two players in the world? What a shocker.

It still has top end talents. I could easily see Parker being as good as Melo, Embiid on Anthony Davis' level, and Randle being as good as Bosh , Wiggins a Paul George type.

What's wrong with that, its still top 20 nba talent if they reach their potential.....

Took the words righout of me. TP.

There is no probably no LeBron or Kevin Durant or DWade or possibly Derrick Rose (when healthy)  or even Paul Georg in this draft, but there is still plenty of talent coming in.

Jabari Parker may not end up a top 5 player but he could certainly be top 30.

Andrew Wiggins may and I think is NOT the next superstar, but he has the potential to be a multiple time all NBA defender with his gifted athleticism. Or he can be a DeMar DeRozan, whos a very good player.

Julius Randle may not become the best PF in 10 years, but he may have Zach Randolph type of impact on the floor.

Marcus Smart may not come close to Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo or Stephen Curry, but he can have a Jrue Holiday like career (impact wise, not style of play).

Joel Embiid may not become a top 3 center, but if he gives a Milwaulkee version Andrew Bogut impact on a team (pre injuries of course), it could be huge.

And there are still a few more names I havent mentioned. They may not be franchise players, but ithey could be key piecrs for a championship team.

And also, theres still that potential that maybe, just maybe, a couple of these guys pan out and surpass expectations.

This draft is loaded with talent. As compare to the last few, this class is miles ahead. Its definetely not 2003, but its better than a few more classes.

[Emmette Bryant]

When a player gets knocked for being "Magic or Bird" like...Anyone else laughing?

I assume that the irony was unintentional. 

[hwangjini_1]

I still think this is a possible positive for the Celts. If we fall in the 5-10 range, and there's lots of ambiguity about who the best guys are, we stand a better chance of having one of the best players in the draft fall to us. I trust Danny's ability to scoop up the BPA.

Alternatively, if there's someone in the top 3 Danny really likes, lower expectations for that group will make it easier for Danny to trade into that range if he wants to.

right now, currently, at present, today....the consensus seems to say that the top 6 talents are well above average/all star types. if you throw in gordon, that category MIGHT stretch to 7.

after those 7, most reports say the quality of the players is very good, but not as good as the top 6.

there will always be exceptions and this is a very imprecise art form. however, if ainge gets a pick in the top 7 i have no worries about whom the celtics get. after that, more of a crap shoot, but again, i trust ainge to make good choice.

heck, if the celtics sit at #10, maybe he trades further down (#14, 15, etc.) to get another pick?

this will be an interesting draft.

[Eddie20]

Griffin, Irving, and Wall weren't as highly regarded #1 overall picks as the article makes them out to be. It's revisionist history to suggest otherwise.

[BigAlTheFuture]

Okay, now this draft class is starting to become really underrated. It might not have 8 superstars like many predicted but to say there will be none? I think Parker will be a better player than Carmelo by the time his career ends. I also think we will see Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid make numerous all star games. Wiggins may never be Lebron, but it wouldn't surprise me to see him end up being the best player from this draft class, as well as a top 5 player in the league one day.

The only player listed that I would not trade for one of Embiid, Parker, or Wiggins is Anthony Davis.

[lon3lytoaster]

Griffin, Irving, and Wall weren't as highly regarded #1 overall picks as the article makes them out to be. It's revisionist history to suggest otherwise.

I'm just saying; I'd probably risk taking Embiid over all three of those guys. But yeah , mostly revisionist history.