OK, we should get at least one of these cats......right? http://www.nba.com/2013/news/featur...opers-nba-mock-draft-march-21-2013/index.html
dallas sucks, and utah is 2-8 in their last 10, AND we seem to be actually trying to win, so certainly <50% chance we will have a 1st-round pick.
Jeff Withey, Khalif Wyatt, Mitch McGary (if he comes out), and Andre Hollins (if he comes out) have all been great. James McAdoo, on the other hand, sort of needed to have a big tournament if he wanted to come out this year, but he really fell flat today. Also, I keep seeing Gary Harris in all of these mocks as of late, but I don't think he'd come out this year. He's talked in the past about being a four year player, and while that might not be realistic, I don't see him one-and-done.
BTW - This tells me all I need to know about this guy on NBA.Com - Struggled offensively...? Like to the tune of 14.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.5 apg? I wish I could struggle like that. All of Kabongo's numbers went up from his freshman season, and he even dropped 31 on 9-12 shooting in a win over Oklahoma.
Players I saw in the tourney so far that did NOT impress me were Otto Porter, Marcus Smart, Shabazz and Zeller Anthony Bennett looks pretty good as did Victor Oladipo. I still think it is a crap shoot this year. Very few stand out, but there are some decent players.
If we can get Glenn Robinson III take him! If not trade out of the draft Behind the first 8 this draft is pretty weak.
He is projected to go well after 8 so how can everything after #8 be weak? I think he is pretty good, as is Tim Hardaway, and he also is projected way down the line. I think there will be some talent in the top 15.
I'm glad to see opinions of Zeller dropping. I watched him a few times this season and couldn't see anything beyond journeyman level talent. Was wondering what I was missing. His best chance of making an impact is as a power forward, if he goes to the right team. That's a bad sign in a supposedly top pick.
Man I feel old... not only are some of the guys I grew up watching retired, but their SONS are now coming into the NBA. Steph Curry Austin Rivers Tim Hardaway Jr. Glenn Robinson III
I think this year we truly go for best pick available. I think it's unlikely there are any rookie starters in this draft, so we're looking for any talent we can get. Maybe skip over the 6'10 and under PF
Hopefully McAdoo comes out early and we can grab him in the bottom of the lottery. He's clearly not a future #1 for a good team (or any team, probably), but he's a solid player with a great range of skills and we already have our #1 and #2 players. I'm a big fan of drafting top HS players that seemingly stumble in college (see: Thad Young). Also, UNC seems to devalue its individuals a fair bit so I have no problem overdrafting him.
I agree with you that McAdoo has been mismanaged in college. Like I was posting at the start of the season, in the draft prospects thread, I think it would have been good for Roy to develop him at a post position this year. If you watch UNC play, they're pretty helter skelter on offense. They really don't have a definitive style of play, and that leads to McAdoo playing a lot of hero ball, jacking up a lot of shots that he can't make. I've always thought that he should have been developed as a post player, but UNC has just left him in limbo since his collegiate career. He's been sliding down the mocks, but that's mostly due to the way UNC has failed to develop his talents. He's the rare case that should come out early for the sake of his own development. I agree that he'd be a steal in the late lotto, especially when a lot of these mocks have him projected as a late first, but whoever drafts him will have to have a set plan for his development and what role he'll play on their team. It is a weak draft, but there are several undervalued players. Oladipo, for one, is pegged in some mocks in the top 3 and in some he's pegged more towards mid-lotto, but wherever he gets drafted after the combine, he'll be a keeper. The analysts have had some ridiculous comparisons for him, like Wade and Jordan, but I think he plays a lot like Iggy. Regardless of where he winds up, he's a sure-fire good player. His ceiling is just as high as McLemore's and Muhammad's, but you also know that his "basement" is a lot higher than those two as well.
I also want to say that this year is a perfect microcosm for the problems in the one-and-done rule. We have a lot of players that are just playing disinterested basketball (Muhammad) and players committed to the wrong programs, seeking an early NBA exit (Noel, Poythress, McAdoo). We also have players like Oladipo that have legitimately improved their play, yet all of the analysts and experts who project the mocks are scared to consider them high picks, because they don't have the same cache as the "young" and "potential" players.
