2013 draft revisited

[Joe Green]

How would you rank the top 10 players drafted in hindsight?
Where would you place KO?
Given the order, did Danny do well to grab KO at 13?
Was the draft as weak as it was thought?

Discuss..

I will start
The draft was actually much better than thought, and I can see multiple allstars in the future:

Future Allstar potential:
MCW, Oladipo, Noel, Giannis, Steve Adams

Very Solid Players:
KO, Porter, KCP, Dieng, Gobert, Plumlee, Bennet

Rotation Guys
 Zeller, Burke, McLEmore, Schroeder, Hill

As for our pick... at 13 we had access to
Dieng, Giannis, Gobert, Plumlee

Though Plumlee has a great 1st year, and Gobert has an insane potential I would say the knock on Danny would be not picking Giannis or Dieng

They are actually the polar opposites of each other: Giannis - insane potential but high risk at the time (and could still never put it all together). Dieng was as solid as can be. A defensive Center who cleans the glass with vengeance.

I would trade Dieng for KO as it would bring balance to our lineup and Center is so much harder to find than PF - but the case could be made that KO will be the better player down the road.

As for Giannis, I think KO is a much better player right now, and could still be better down the road. SF is not that hard a position to fill and Giannis has a broken shot - which we all know is could cripple a player's career for ever...

[manl_lui]

How would you rank the top 10 players drafted in hindsight?
Where would you place KO?
Given the order, did Danny do well to grab KO at 13?
Was the draft as weak as it was thought?

Discuss..

I will start
The draft was actually much better than thought, and I can see multiple allstars in the future:

Future Allstar potential:
MCW, Oladipo, Noel, Giannis, Steve Adams

Very Solid Players:
KO, Porter, KCP, Dieng, Gobert, Plumlee, Bennet

Rotation Guys
 Zeller, Burke, McLEmore, Schroeder, Hill

As for our pick... at 13 we had access to
Dieng, Giannis, Gobert, Plumlee

Though Plumlee has a great 1st year, and Gobert has an insane potential I would say the knock on Danny would be not picking Giannis or Dieng

They are actually the polar opposites of each other: Giannis - insane potential but high risk at the time (and could still never put it all together). Dieng was as solid as can be. A defensive Center who cleans the glass with vengeance.

I would trade Dieng for KO as it would bring balance to our lineup and Center is so much harder to find than PF - but the case could be made that KO will be the better player down the road.

As for Giannis, I think KO is a much better player right now, and could still be better down the road. SF is not that hard a position to fill and Giannis has a broken shot - which we all know is could cripple a player's career for ever...

I agree with MCW, Oladipo, Noel and Giannis, but not too sold on Steve Adams as of yet

I would also trade KO for Dieng, maybe even Plumlee. At that time of the trade, I think I wanted Giannis or Schroeder or some sort, was not expecting KO

KO has surprised me and disappointed me at time during his rookie year but overall, I was satisfied by the end of the season considering the position he was picked at

that being said...I think if 2013 had a do over, KO would be a lotto pick

not top 5, but I think probably anywhere between 8 and 10

[Lucky17]

Future Allstar potential:
MCW, Oladipo, Noel, Giannis, Steve Adams

I wonder whether any of these guys will become All-Stars. I suppose they all could, given the right circumstances, but none of them seems to me to be particularly destined to.

[aingeforthree]

Interesting that nobody puts KO in the Giannis category, yet KO shoots better from the field, 3pt, & free throw line, averages more rebounds, scores more, & does it all while getting 5 minutes less per game than Giannis.

[Kane3387]

I was indifferent when we took KO. Last year I thought danny made a mistake early on by missing out on the Greek freak for a guy who I thought would ever start for us.

However I think KO has ability and a unique skill set for a guy his size. I think he could be a top five player from the draft and maybe even the best player from this draft as long he gets stronger, continues to improve his jumper, and quicken his first step.

I'm optimistic about KO this year and in the future. Currently happy with the pick.

On another note I'm highly suspicious about the Greek freaks ability to be an NBA pg.

[Celtics18]

I think the 2013 draft is likely to turn out much better than many expect.

Giannis
Dieng
MCW
Oladipo
Olynyk
Schroeder
Noel
Adams
Porter
and
Plumlee

are all very good prospects.  I wouldn't give up on Ben McLemore or Alex Len just yet.  Tim Hardaway and Ray McCallum are quietly solid prospects as well. 

I'm sure I'm forgetting someone who is going to end up having a solid pro career.  Maybe Nate Wolters or Shabazz Mohammed?  Jeff Withey?

[Csfan1984]

Too early to revisit.  2011 I can see us doing maybe 2012.

[Lucky17]

On another note I'm highly suspicious about the Greek freaks ability to be an NBA pg.

Co-sign. Seems like a disastrous idea to me, one that could derail/stunt his development as an NBA player.

Point-forward? Fine. Point guard? Are you serious? The NBA is no place for novelty acts.

[Beat LA]

I think the 2013 draft is likely to turn out much better than many expect.

Giannis
Dieng
MCW
Oladipo
Olynyk
Schroeder
Noel
Adams
Porter
and
Plumlee

are all very good prospects.  I wouldn't give up on Ben McLemore or Alex Len just yet.  Tim Hardaway and Ray McCallum are quietly solid prospects as well. 

I'm sure I'm forgetting someone who is going to end up having a solid pro career.  Maybe Nate Wolters or Shabazz Mohammed?  Jeff Withey?

I don't understand the hype regarding Steven Adams.  Twilight conventions aside (sarcasm), his only skill, if you want to call it that, is beating people up.  At least, that's what I've seen, anyway.  I'm also not sold on Mason Plumlee - he has no offensive game and is a terrible free throw shooter, not to mention being extremely foul-prone.  His brother, on the other hand, is a much better player.  Don't forget about CJ McCollum, either - that kid can play.

When it was our turn to select, and before Danny had traded our pick to Dallas for Olynyk, I thought that Hardaway JR. was the bpa, but he's turned out to be much better than I thought.  Who knows, perhaps the class of 2013 is one of late-bloomers.   

[Beat LA]

On another note I'm highly suspicious about the Greek freaks ability to be an NBA pg.

Co-sign. Seems like a disastrous idea to me, one that could derail/stunt his development as an NBA player.

Point-forward? Fine. Point guard? Are you serious? The NBA is no place for novelty acts.

Ditto.  He's an excellent passer and playmaker, but he's not a point guard.  Seriously, what goes on inside the mind of Jason Kidd lol?

[D.o.s.]

On another note I'm highly suspicious about the Greek freaks ability to be an NBA pg.

Co-sign. Seems like a disastrous idea to me, one that could derail/stunt his development as an NBA player.

Point-forward? Fine. Point guard? Are you serious? The NBA is no place for novelty acts.

Ditto.  He's an excellent passer and playmaker, but he's not a point guard. Seriously, what goes on inside the mind of Jason Kidd lol?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ejyHzz3XE

[aingeforthree]

I was indifferent when we took KO. Last year I thought danny made a mistake early on by missing out on the Greek freak for a guy who I thought would ever start for us.

However I think KO has ability and a unique skill set for a guy his size. I think he could be a top five player from the draft and maybe even the best player from this draft as long he gets stronger, continues to improve his jumper, and quicken his first step.

I'm optimistic about KO this year and in the future. Currently happy with the pick.

On another note I'm highly suspicious about the Greek freaks ability to be an NBA pg.

Not only does KO have the unique skill set, it looks like he's got the work ethic to become great as well.  I really like what he did with his body over the offseason and that leads you to believe he actually cares about getting better.

With those qualities, sky's the limit for this player.  Great pick.

[rondohondo]

I was indifferent when we took KO. Last year I thought danny made a mistake early on by missing out on the Greek freak for a guy who I thought would ever start for us.

However I think KO has ability and a unique skill set for a guy his size. I think he could be a top five player from the draft and maybe even the best player from this draft as long he gets stronger, continues to improve his jumper, and quicken his first step.

I'm optimistic about KO this year and in the future. Currently happy with the pick.

On another note I'm highly suspicious about the Greek freaks ability to be an NBA pg.

Not only does KO have the unique skill set, it looks like he's got the work ethic to become great as well.  I really like what he did with his body over the offseason and that leads you to believe he actually cares about getting better.

With those qualities, sky's the limit for this player.  Great pick.

he is a really weak defender . I see him as a role player . Sully has more upside IMO

[Joe Green]

For those enamored by the Greek Freak - take a look at his numbers. He is still a bad basketball player, a terrible shooters and has not put together too many good games. Yes, he is tall, long and athletic. Yes, I would love to have him for upside - but be warned, he may never put it together.

Length and athleticism do not equal basketball (Darius Miles, Perry Jones III)...

As for the Adams doubters - take a look at his preseason. The guys is big, very long arms, strong as a bull and very soft hands. All he does is rebound and score around the basket - but guess what, those two skills have a high premium in today's NBA. I think of him as Asik with a higher offensive potential.....

BTW, here are Adams' measurement from 1 yr. ago 7.0" in shoes, 7"4.5  wing, 255 lbs and 6.7% body fat. I would take those number over Giannis (who I still love). This guy is a BEAST...

[chambers]

I'm fine with KO as the pick.
For those hating on Giannis, he's probably the most valuable trade chip/asset out of all those 2013 picks.
If we'd had Giannis to offer with Sullinger, we'd have been much closer to getting Kevin Love.

And the reason they want to play him at point is so he can develop his ball skills and understanding of the offense- to me it's a brilliant move. He'll literally exhaust any defender that has to guard him and come fourth quarter he'll be scoring at will if that jumpshot+3 pointer starts falling at a decent clip.

He was 17 or 18 when he was drafted wasn't he?
He's at least 3 years younger than Olynyk and he just grew to 6'11" or 7 feet over the off season. He may not become an All Star but he may very well become one. As I said, he's the most valuable trade chip of that entire draft as we speak and he's only getting better.

I'm assuming the plan is to just build up his passing and ball skills, (which are already insanely good for someone with that age, size and length and athleticism). This is because he doesn't have the shooting touch of Nowtizki, nor the size/bulk of Lebron, so if he can become a superior ball handler that can get to the rim at will, he'll be a 25 ppg player from free throws alone ala Dwayne Wade.

Remember that Lebron couldn't really shoot a lick from the outside for his first 8 or 9 seasons in the NBA- but he could get to the line and in the paint at will by freight training his way through offense. Giannis in theory should be able to do the same but with less force and more agility.

He's 5 and a bit years away from being 25 years old. That's some very juicy potential that's already started out on the right foot.

Years 1: let him play and run, work out what he's best at and what he needs to work on.

Year 2: develop particular skills. We know he can match it athletically with anyone in the NBA. He can run the floor faster than pretty much anyone, and that's with a ball in his hands. Get those ball skills up to an NBA level. Get his defense to an NBA level. Defense+balls skills= rock solid foundation.

Year 3,4,5 develop his shooting with the above and hopefully by year 5 you've got an All Star that's potentially a franchise player.

year 6: run to the bank and cash in all that potential and development time as Lebron is gone and Durant is fading.
Giannis vs Anthony Davis in epic 7 game playoff action.