What player trait(s) are you willing to give up on for pick #23?

It's not obvious that others will grow ahead of him. Your quibble is PART of the same reluctance potential Brandon Roy drafters had (beside his knee). Many thought that he wasn't "athletic" and had leveled off. He showed them, and it's not obvious other 4-year players also continue to grow significantly.

But... I still like Upshaw. I just think that if he didn't have all of these drug issues he'd be in the top 5 conversation (I could be wrong about this of course )

 

I do think one of the overrated qualities are...
"pro body" (Martel Webster)
"sweet-looking shot" (Martel Webster, again)

 

I've never thought that was a fair thing to do, some players bloom later than others. Honestly the majority of the young guys that dominate aren't using basketball skill as much as pure athleticism.

 

Work ethic and a good head on his shoulders are pretty non-negotiable with me.

 

Yes, but:
1. Roy was amazing and unusual.
2. It did not end well.

You can always find some examples that go against the trend. But if it's still a trend then the odds are against you.

It does seem like there will be a LOT of choices this year. Is it that this is a deep draft, or is it just that we can always convince ourselves that everyone we like is a star in the making? If you want to dampen your enthusiasm, go look at past drafts and notice how few players actually break through from each draft. What if this year is like 2010?

1 Washington Wizards John Wall PG, 6-4, 195 Kentucky
2 Philadelphia 76ers Evan Turner SG, 6-7, 214 Ohio State
3 New Jersey Nets Derrick Favors F, 6-10, 246 Georgia Tech
4 Minnesota Timberwolves Wesley Johnson F, 6-7, 195 Syracuse
5 Sacramento Kings DeMarcus Cousins C, 6-11, 290 Kentucky
6 Golden State Warriors Ekpe Udoh F, 6-10, 240 Baylor
7 Detroit Pistons Greg Monroe F, 6-11, 240 Georgetown
8 Los Angeles Clippers Al-Farouq Aminu F, 6-8, 210 Wake Forest
9 Utah Jazz Gordon Hayward F, 6-8, 200 Butler
10 Indiana Pacers Paul George F, 6-9, 185 Fresno State
11 New Orleans Hornets Cole Aldrich C, 6-11, 245 Kansas
12 Memphis Grizzlies Xavier Henry G, 6-6, 210 Kansas
13 Toronto Raptors Ed Davis F, 6-9, 215 North Carolina
14 Houston Rockets Patrick Patterson F, 6-8, 223 Kentucky
15 Milwaukee Bucks Larry Sanders F, 6-9, 205 Virginia Commonwealth
16 Minnesota Timberwolves Luke Babbitt (traded to Portland) F, 6-7, 215 Nevada
17 Chicago Bulls Kevin Seraphin F, 6-9, 265 France
18 Oklahoma City Thunder Eric Bledsoe G, 6-1, 190 Kentucky
19 Boston Celtics Avery Bradley G, 6-3, 180 Texas
20 San Antonio Spurs James Anderson G, 6-6, 195 Oklahoma State
21 Oklahoma City Thunder Craig Brackens F, 6-10, 230 Iowa State
22 Portland Trail Blazers Elliot Williams G, 6-5, 180 Memphis
23 Minnesota Timberwolves Trevor Booker F, 6-7, 240 Clemson
24 Atlanta Hawks Damion James (traded to New Jersey) F, 6-7, 225 Texas
25 Memphis Grizzlies Dominique Jones (Traded to Dallas) G, 6-4, 215 South Florida
26 Oklahoma City Thunder Quincy Pondexter F, 6-6, 225 Washington
27 New Jersey Nets Jordan Crawford (Traded to Atlanta) G, 6-4, 195 Xavier
28 Memphis Grizzlies Greivis Vasquez G, 6-6, 210 Maryland
29 Orlando Magic Daniel Orton C, 6-10, 260 Kentucky
30 Washington Wizards Lazar Hayward F, 6-5, 225 Marquette

31 New Jersey Nets Tibor Pleiss (Traded to Atlanta, then Oklahoma City) C, 7-1, 220 Germany
32 Oklahoma City Thunder Dexter Pittman C, 6-11, 303 Texas
33 Sacramento Kings Hassan Whiteside C, 7-0, 235 Marshall
34 Portland Trail Blazers Armon Johnson G, 6-3, 195 Nevada
35 Washington Wizards Nemanja Bjelica F, 6-10, 223 Serbia (Red Star Serbia)
36 Detroit Pistons Terrico White G, 6-5, 200 Mississippi
37 Milwaukee Bucks Darington Hobson F, 6-6, 205 New Mexico
38 New York Knicks Andy Rautins G, 6-5, 190 Syracuse
39 New York Knicks Landry Fields F, 6-7, 210 Stanford
40 Indiana Pacers Lance Stephenson G, 6-5, 225 Cincinnati
41 Miami Heat Jarvis Varnado F, 6-10, 210 Mississippi State
42 Miami Heat Butler F, 6-7, 225 West Virginia
43 Los Angeles Lakers Devin Ebanks F, 6-8, 210 West Virginia
44 Milwaukee Bucks Jerome Jordan C, 7-0, 235 Tulsa
45 Minnesota Timberwolves Paulao Prestes C, 6-10, 275 Brazil
46 Phoenix Suns Gani Lawal F, 6-9, 230 Georgia Tech
47 Milwaukee Bucks Tiny Gallon F, 6-10, 302 Oklahoma
48 Miami Heat Latavious Williams F, 6-8, 205 Tulsa 66ers (NBDL)
49 San Antonio Spurs Ryan Richards F, 6-11, 230 England
50 Dallas Mavericks Solomon Alabi (traded to Toronto) C, 7-1, 240 Florida State
51 Oklahoma City Thunder Magnum Rolle C, 6-11, 225 Louisiana Tech
52 Boston Celtics Luke Harangody F, 6-7, 240 Notre Dame
53 Atlanta Hawks Pape Sy F, 6-7, 225 Senegal
54 Los Angeles Clippers Willie Warren G, 6-4, 200 Oklahoma
55 Utah Jazz Jeremy Evans F, 6-9, 190 Western Kentucky
56 Minnesota Timberwolves Hamady Ndiaye C, 6-11, 235 Rutgers
57 Dallas Mavericks Ryan Reid F, 6-8, 235 Florida State
58 Los Angeles Lakers Derrick Caracter F, 6-9, 280 Texas-El Paso
59 Orlando Magic Stanley Robinson F, 6-7, 210 Connecticut
60 Phoenix Suns Dwayne Collins F, 6-8, 238 Miami (Fla.)

 

I wouldn't give up athleticism, toughness and the desire to get better.

 

Shrug. The trend is that 80% (total guess) of players drafted don't make it past their rookie contract. So, categorizing is useless? The trend is all categories fail. One of the reasons I enjoy your posts is that you don't do the s2 "everyone sucks" and then feel smug when people fail.

Back to my point: being a 4 year guy isn't a death sentence.

 

Doctors just diagnosed Robert Upshaw with a heart condition, so he is suspending all workouts...

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...-has-issue-with-heart-has-suspended-workouts-

 

This. What is the average length of time a player stays with the team he is drafted by? The only time age should come into the discussion is if two players are similar in talent but one is 3-4 years younger. In that case you taken the young player. But Damian is a great example of why drafting seniors is a plus.

 

Check out this related article on the 7 most common nba draft mistakes:
http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-pm-draft-mistakes-gms-make/