NBA DRAFT 2014!!!!
I love the draft. All of these years of following high school recruits and watching them play in college. Trying to guess what these players are going to be doing for the next ~10-20 years. All of the drama. Ah, I can't wait for the draft again next year. Anyway, here are my live thoughts as well as some post-draft thoughts toward the end
#1 - Andrew Wiggins
THAT SUIT OH MY GOODNESS. Would actually fit in pretty well in Cleveland. They definitely need his defense.
#2 - Jabari Parker
Rookie of the year, he's an amazing all around offensive player on a bad team, he may be what the Bucks need to turn things around.
#3 - Joel Embiid
Unless they trade this, Philly is definitely tanking again this year
#4 - Aaron Gordon
I was hoping he'd drop to the Bobcats. Interesting fit on the Magic, I don't think the Magic will be making the playoffs this year, but they've got a really solid group.
#5 - Dante Exum
Jazz are probably thrilled Exum dropped here. I don't know a lot about him other than what I've read in some articles, but supposedly he tested off the charts on the mental/intangible test teams gave him. Supposedly he has the killer instinct like Kobe has. He's also supposed to be an amazing athlete moving right to left, able to get around the defense with ease and draw fouls, but vertically speaking his jump may not be as high as say Andrew Wiggins
#6 - Marcus Smart
Boston Celtics, he'll probably be a good fit here, him and Rondo will be a pretty scary back court, I guess he's going to play the 2 guard. Could be Dwayne Wade-esque. They're not going to have a lot of shooting, and I guess Avery Bradley is going to be a 6-man now.
#7 - Julius Randle
I'm sad that I have to start hating on Randle with him going to the Lakers. This is what they tanked for though and while hey may not fill Kobe's shoes, he's going to be at least an above-average PF in the league.
#8 - Nik Stauskas
I was thinking the Hornets might get him. His shooting would fit the Hornets very well, and I think he's going to be good to go from game 1 in the NBA. Not sure where he fits in with the Kings, but at the very least he can be a great 3-point shooter which there's alawys room for.
#9 - Noah Vonleh
A great steal with the 9th pick. Unfortunately the Hornets already used their 4th pick in last years draft on Cody Zeller after taking Bismack Biyombo with the 7th pick a year or two before that, and signing Al Jefferson on a big contract at the Center position. Not so sure how this is going to go, but Vonleh has a ton of potential.
#10 - Elfrid Payton (traded to Magic)
Big surprise here. Philly already has Michael Carter-Williams. I thought they were going to take Dario Saric, but with him signing that 2-3 contract overseas that may have scared them off. With them drafting Embiid already they were probably planning on tanking. MCW and Payton is a TERRIFYING back court though. Good luck to the opposing guards on offense against these guys.
#11 - Doug McDermott (traded to Bulls)
Traded to Chicago from Nuggets for the 16 and 19 picks. I think this is a decent deal for the Bulls, although giving up two picks is pretty steep. If they don't get Melo/LeBron or whatever, this will be great. They desparately need offense, but giving up two picks to get McDermott at 11 may be a little much. He must have had a great work out. I'm excited about him though as a Bulls fan.
#12 - Dario Saric (traded to Sixers)
This kid looks pretty awesome, but I'm confused as to why he signed a 2-3 year contract with his team overseas. It's concerning, but the Magic aren't going to be competing for a playoff spot in the next year anyway so maybe it's probably a good pick. Victor Oladipo + Aaron Gordon + Dario Saric + next years top draft pick is going to be a terrifying team in years to come.
#13 - Zach LaVine
Huge potential pick for the Timberwolves. He did nothing in college, but is crazy athletic. This pick's success will depend on what happens with Kevin Love. He doesn't seem at all excited to get drafted here though. He hasn't proved anything yet so he has no room to be cocky just yet. A solid building block for the potential post-Love T-wolves.
#14 - TJ Warren
I think he's in a fairly ideal situation being on an up-and-down team like the Suns. He's a unique player and doesn't fit into any traditional role in the NBA, but on the right team he could be a Manu Ginobli-type player off the bench right away.
#15 - Adrieian Payne
I thought he would have been a better FIT for the Bulls, but they traded their picks, and with the Hawks I'm not sure how he he fits with Paul Millsap there. I like the guy though I hope he gets some playing team.
Special pick - Isaiah Austin
He was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome and can never play competitive basketball again. How many 7'0 people do you know that aren't playing basketball? He has a fanatastic attitude about all of this and is managing to glorify the Lord through such a tough circumstance. Great touch by the NBA to call him up on the stage even though he couldn't be drafted.
#16 - Jusuf Nurkic (traded to Nuggets
I haven't seen him play much, but he's a big guy who plays "below the rim" which seems like an odd fit for the Denver Nuggets who are typically a fast-break, up-and-down team. They'll have him play overseas for a few years most likely, so they may be different in a few years but he'll probably at least be a solid trade asset
#17 - James Young
I was thinking the Hornets could have potentially picked this guy. Marcus Smart + James Young backcourt is reallly solid for the Celtics. I wonder if they are thinking Rondo is going to leave? Has good size for a SG, don't think he will be a perennial All-Star or anything, but Boston should be excited about their picks.
I'm starting to stop enjoying the draft because I'm trying to keep up with this, so I'm just going to stop and update with a summary of the rest of my thoughts later
Post-draft Update
Note the notes above were live updates, so a lot of the players were traded around. I denoted them with a star but that's it
I fell asleep after the first round sadly. Here is just a list of some thoughts on the rest of the draft.
- I like Tyler Ennis, I hope he somehow gets playing time with the Phoenix Suns.
- Not super excited by the Mitch McGary pick by OKC. Never really care for him or his game that much, but he actually has some pretty solid potential. He'll probably fill Nick Collison's role nicely and may have potential to be a little better
- I'm upset the Hornets helped the Heat get Shabazz Napier, because I think that was good for the Heat, but if they were going to get him anyway, I'm glad the Hornets also got two second round picks in the trade. Either way, I'm thrilled about the P.J. Hairston pick, I would have been happy getting him with a top 10 pick in any other years draft. Getting him at #26 is fantastic. I think he'll fit the team's hard-playing personality and provide some great shooting. After all, Roy Williams said he was the best shooter he ever coached.
- Spurs do it again getting Kyle Anderson with the last pick in the first round. He's probably the closest player to Boris Diaw I've seen. He may not have done that on other teams that would force him into playing a more traditional role, but the Spurs will get the most out of his versatility. -Knicks and 76ers got steals with Cleanthony Early and K.J. McDaniels in the 2nd round. -Sixers had FIVE SECOND ROUND PICKS on top of 2 high first round picks. Wow. They're set to be just as bad if not worse than last years team with their first round picks not playing for anywhere between 6 months and 3 years from now. I was hoping this would be the Hornets' situation going into the rebranding season. I'm happy with where the Hornets, but wow this team's potential is HUGE, although they're at risk of some of those guys never playing.