Official 2013 Draft thread

Yeah, I agree. Kind of a dumb argument. His elite speed is what will help him overcome his 5'11" height.

 

http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2013/...d-satisfaction-with-kentavious-caldwell-pope/

 

Not a Pope fan. I wonder why so many people like him as a lottery pick.

 

Well, this may not be the nicest thing to say but if you want facts, the Warriors had much more success with Lee sidelined.

 

Oladipo vs. Schröder:

 

Good article from Wages of Wins on Kawhi Leonard.
Wages of Wins ranks this year's top prospects (Olynyk suspiciously high)

Full disclosure: this was the site that LOVED Will Barton last year.

 

Re: Ezeli. I must say I didn't follow the Warriors much, but whenever I checked in he seemed to be in and they seemed to be going on a run. I see that he averaged just over 11 mpg. Paltry, yes, but he was drafted THIRTIETH in this year's draft. For comparison, check out the players picked before him:

Code:

23.    Hawks        John Jenkins    SG 
24.    Cavaliers    Jared Cunningham    SG 
25.    Grizzlies    Tony Wroten Jr.    PG 
26.    Pacers        Miles Plumlee    PF 
27.    Heat        Arnett Moultrie    PF 
28.    Thunder        Perry Jones    PF 
29.    Bulls        Marquis Teague    PG 
30.    Warriors    Festus Ezeli    C

The point is, he was low-rated because he's got no offense, but his defense gets ignored. Dieng is much better than Ezeli on O AND D.

 

Believe that was the site you kept going to last year that also said they would take Jae Crowder in the lottery.

 

To be fair Jae Crowder played a lot better this year than a lot of players taken in the lottery.

I think Wage of Wins is almost like the bible of the draft. Pretty legit.

 

Yes, that's right. Now go ahead and list 12 players from the last draft that are better than Crowder.

 

I like 'em because they're contrarians. They absolutely hated Drummond and Barnes last year, though.

 

They weren't alone. I'm not sold on Drummond and I still think Barnes has Richard Jefferson in his prime type of ceiling.

 

Better in that they made an immediate impact? Or that you'd still want them for their upside, even if they might be a year away? Crowder was someone who could come in and play a mediocre role immediately. You don't take guys like that in the lottery when the upside is fairly limited.

But I'd happily take Davis, Drummond, Lillard,Barnes, Beal, MKG, Leonard, Henson, Harkless, Fournier, Jenkins over him as better players right now and would still take Ross, Lamb, Marshall, Nicholson, Waiters and likely a few others over him.

 

For all the hype that Barnes got he was still just an 11 PER rookie.

 

What makes you think Crowder is a finished product? Because he's undersized?

 

Everything i'm reading about Victor Oladipo makes me really hope we move up to get him. The guy doesn't have "star" written on him but he is reminding me a lot of Loul Deng, a player who isn't a star but might make a few all-star games but is tough and a physical defender who will top 10 at his position and be your starter for years and years. Would love to pair him next to Lillard for the foreseeable future.
I'd still like to move the pick for a good center not named "McGee or Jordan" but i'd be just as happy to move up and nab Oladipo.

 

I didn't say finished product, just limited upside. He can improve a bit, just don't see him having a big role. 8th man type. And while there's little risk in taking him, because he has an ok floor, you can also find those guys in round 2 or undrafted often enough that I wouldn't use a lottery pick on him. He just doesn't stand out to me a someone you use a lottery pick on when you can get some portion of him by going with a guy like Draymond Green in 2. I'd rather gamble on upside in the lotto and be wrong than use a lotto pick on him. Just my opinion.

 

Those are... pretty good choices!
I wouldn't put Leonard, Harkless, Jenkins in your first group, and I'd say it's too early to tell with your second group.

Okay, so who was more right about Crowder: Wages of Wins who overrated him, or NBA GMs who had him drop out of the first round entirely?

And can any of those guys do THIS?
[video=youtube;NW2YMYMzUnQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW2YMYMzUnQ[/video]

 

Barnes benefited hugely from the attention paid to Thompson and Curry. He's a bog-standard Ariza type (dunks and three pointers, tries hard on D, doesn't do much else), when he was supposed to be a Paul Pierce.

 

Barnes will be 100x the player Ariza is.

Barnes played his best basketball in the playoffs, averaging 16pts/G on 44% shooting as a 20-year-old rookie. He had a better showing in the playoffs than Klay Thompson.

David Lee going out gave him more opportunities. Hard to get those behind Curry/Klay/Lee/Jack/Landry in the regular season.

Barnes will shine.