2012 NBA Draft Discussion

[The Big Squeezy]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

I pray to anyone and everyone that the Barnes thing is just a smokescreen.

[Chrisksaint]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

According to an NBA.com guy the Hornets will listen to trade offers for the 10th pick if someone also agrees to take on Ariza or Okafor contract

[DukeC]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

Who are you guy's top 3 at every position? Mine's looking like:

PG: Kendall Marshall/ Tony Wroten/ Damian Lillard
SG: Jeremy Lamb/ Bradly Beal/ Austin Rivers
SF: MKG/ Harrison Barnes/ Quincy Miller
PF: Anthony Davis/ Thomas Robinson/ Sullinger
C: Myers Leonard/ Andre Drummond/ Festiz Ezeli

PG:

Marshall reminds me of Andre Miller. They are both PG's you can depend on to get you at least 10-12 PPG and around 5-7 APG.

Tony Wroten reminds me of Tyreke Evans....except with a worse jumpshot and even worse shot selection. Despite that, he's 6'5 and displays extraordinary vision...his decision making just sucks right now.

Damian Lillard reminds me of Mike James. Don't scoff. Mike James averaged 20 PPG and 6 APG when he was with Toronto during the 05-06 season. I think Lillard can reach that potential.

SG:

Jeremy Lamb reminds me of Evan Turner (Who I still think has the potential to be an All-Star) in his ability to make plays and that both are expected to become solid defenders because of their length. The one thing he has going for him over Turner is that he's a much better shooter, even without the impending adjustment to the NBA range.

Bradly Beal reminds me of Ben Gordon. Both can put up 20+ points in a hurry if their feelin it from deep. Both are a bit on the short end from what you want from a shooting guard (Beal being 6'4, Gordon being 6'3).

Austin Rivers reminds me of JR Smith. Both have terrible shot selection and both take way too many 3's. Contested ones at that.

Anyone find anything wrong with the first two position assessments?

[RedSceptile]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

Yeah at this point Lillard is the best PG prospect and Beal best SG prospect.

[da ThRONe]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

According to an NBA.com guy the Hornets will listen to trade offers for the 10th pick if someone also agrees to take on Ariza or Okafor contract

And if so it would be a huge failure. This is why teams like the Hornets will always be poor(minus the occasional once in a generation superstar like CP3). Instead of giving picks away we should be trying to add some in a draft like this that's deep, but minus any clear cut superstar.

We are going to trade away a pick to free up cap space in a awful FA offseason. Then at some point we'll be force to over pay a guy drastically just to save face. We are a team that has to plan for the distant future if we want titles. Instant success is a pipe dream for us.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

Terrance Ross is better than Rivers. I would have Moultrie over Sully. And Meyers Leonard would not even come close to my top 3 at center.

IMO

PG Marshall by far/Wroten/Lillard
SG Beal/Lamb/Ross
SF MKG/Barnes/Harkless
PF Davis/Robinson/Moultrie
C Drummond/Ezeli/Zeller

[DukeC]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

Terrance Ross is better than Rivers. I would have Moultrie over Sully. And Meyers Leonard would not even come close to my top 3 at center.

IMO

PG Marshall by far/Wroten/Lillard
SG Beal/Lamb/Ross
SF MKG/Barnes/Harkless
PF Davis/Robinson/Moultrie
C Drummond/Ezeli/Zeller

Hrmm. I went by current ability, then potential. I don't see Zeller getting any better than he is now while Leonard is still fairly young. Zeller might be like Wesley Johnson. What you see is what you get. He's not going to make any significant improvements. Although he does have the best post game out of all the Centers.

IMO, Lamb and Beal is a toss-up with Lamb having more potential.

MKG is BY FAR the best SF in this draft. Frankly, it's not even close. Barnes reminds me of Luol Deng to be honest. I don't know if he has the defensive intensity Deng has though.

Eh, I think Sully can develop into an Elton Brand type PF. If he can get his weight to around 265-270 he'll be around Brand's playing weight when Brand was a top 5, top 10 PF in the league.

Robinson really reminds me of JJ Hickson. (Much) Smarter than JJ at this point, and his athleticism is equal to his. If he can extend his range out to 21-22 feet (Where Kevin Garnett takes most of his jumpers/Practically 3 point range) I think that would make him that much more dangerous in the pick and roll game. I also think he's the only big man aside from Terrence Jones who's capable of extending it that far.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

Hickson with brains and a consistent jumpshot is a top 20 player in the NBA.

As for the Leonard vs Zeller thing, I just really do not like Meyers. He is the prototypical recent center, and I don't mean that in a good way. All potential, lacks any real skills. Zeller will at least be a solid rotational guy.

After Drummond, this center class is pretty sad, IMO. Next year will be incredible, if the other Zeller comes out.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

You guys like Wroten over Dion Waiters? I think Waiters is gonna be a bust, but he seems to be getting a lot of hype and a lot of people think he might sneak into the top 10-14.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

You guys like Wroten over Dion Waiters? I think Waiters is gonna be a bust, but he seems to be getting a lot of hype and a lot of people think he might sneak into the top 10-14.

Absolutely.

Wroten has the potential to be a better player than Waiters. Not a huge fan of Waiters, myself.

[MachineGunLotto]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

As a Celtics fan, if that trade rumor is true, id hope they make a trade for that tenth spot. I wouldnt mind having Okafor or Ariza on my team as a bench player. But who'd we trade for it is the question. I doubt they'll take anyone for it since our good guys are old minus Rondo n Bass.

[DukeC]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

Hickson with brains and a consistent jumpshot is a top 20 player in the NBA.

As for the Leonard vs Zeller thing, I just really do not like Meyers. He is the prototypical recent center, and I don't mean that in a good way. All potential, lacks any real skills. Zeller will at least be a solid rotational guy.

After Drummond, this center class is pretty sad, IMO. Next year will be incredible, if the other Zeller comes out.

Yeah. This year's PF/SG class is deep. Davis, Robinson, Jones. They all have the potential to be a Top 10-15 PF in the league. Rivers, Ross, Beal, Jenkins, and Lamb are all going in the Top 20 this year. Jenkins is probably the best shooter in the draft.

You guys like Wroten over Dion Waiters? I think Waiters is gonna be a bust, but he seems to be getting a lot of hype and a lot of people think he might sneak into the top 10-14.

God no I don't like Waiters.

Have you seen how big Wroten is?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/77KHufejD1Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The only knock(s) is, his decision making sucks, and he can't shoot. Like, worse than Rondo level bad. I've seen him AIRBALL COLLEGE 3 pointers. Multiple times. But, I do like his mentality as he relentlessly attacks the basket because he recognizes he has a mismatch (On just about everyone as he stands at 6'5). Just wish he was better finishing.

[Rocky]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

Someone brought up an interesting point about Barnes/MKG on another forum...and I somewhat agree. If Barnes would've been coming off his freshmen season this year, he would be the consensus best SF in the draft and the likely the #2 pick.

Thoughts?

[MachineGunLotto]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

All I gotta say is I bet people are glad Barnes n Sullinger(last year's 2 of potential top 3 picks) decided to stay back another year last season. Barnes is good but not a top 5 pick imo. But Sullinger I bet they're happy as hell he stayed to see him downgrade. Still a good player but not as good as they made him to be last year.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: 2012 NBA Draft Discussion

Someone brought up an interesting point about Barnes/MKG on another forum...and I somewhat agree. If Barnes would've been coming off his freshmen season this year, he would be the consensus best SF in the draft and the likely the #2 pick.

Thoughts?

If he would have come out last year, he easily would have been a top 3 pick because of how bad that class was. Freaking Williams went 2 and he is probably a 6 man in the NBA.

Barnes isn't a bad player by any stretch of the imagination, just doesn't have the sky high ceiling. He tops out as Danny Granger, IMO.