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Following potential 2014 draftees

Fran Fraschillo (sp?) raves on and on about Exum. He was saying his top two prospects are Embiid (if his back pans out) and Exum. He believes those are the only two with "superstar" potential. He said Parker and Wiggins could be very, very good, but not on LeBron or Durrant's level. But Embiid and Exum could be.

Interesting.

He's also a homer for foreign players.

I really like both guys but I think he undervalued Parker and Wiggins.

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John Crottys take on the upcoming draft prospects listed in my ranking ....

1. Andrew Wiggins - You cannot teach the elite aestheticism he brings. IMO he wasn't able to shine because of the NCAA games being able to be muddied up. He will translate to the NBA game much better than the college one. I don't like how he seemed content to stand back at times, but I would put some of that on the coach. I like that he put up very comparable numbers to Jabari despite not having the offense run through him and being much more raw offensively that Parker. Will need to learn to be the man rather than be a secondary player, if he figures that out the league better watch out. I never saw him stopped by a defense or defender, I only saw him stop himself.

2. Jabari Parker - I love his fundamentals and his feel for the game. You can tell he wants to be the man and will try and be a go to guy from day one. I see a lot of Carmelo in his game minus the poor attitude. I did see him struggle to get his shot off too much when going up bigger defenders. The NBA is full of guys that will be big and quick enough to keep him from getting where he wants to go. For that reason I think he will be a much better 2nd option than a #1 guy. His defense is god awful also.

3. Joel Embiid - The strides he took in just 1 year are insane. It seemed like every game he was discernibly better than the last. A little light, gets pushed around a bit, but that is something that can be fixed. If he keeps up on this trajectory he will be the best player in the draft. His injury history is obviously a huge concern and that is why he is not #1.

4. Dante Exum - Long, athletic, smart, skilled .... Michael Carter Williams if MCW was better at everything. I am worried that his lack of elite competition in Australia might have him over valued, but from everything I've seen he looks like a stud. Might be 2 years off from really developing physically to play in the NBA though.

5. Julius Randle - I love his skill, strength and his tenacity, I am worried about his length and his average athleticism. If he can translate his game to 15-18 feet I think he will be very very good, if he is going to be a down low bruiser I think he might just be solid. I don't see him being a main piece on a good team. I do think he will put up numbers in the NBA, just likely on a bad team.

6. Aaron Gordon - I was not nearly as high on him coming into the season but he really impressed me with his basketball IQ, he is a smart player, a good passer, a very good rebounder .... he really really needs to work on his shot, but I don't see any reason he can't be a Shawn Marion type glue guy for a long time in the league.

I could go on and on and probably will at a later date. But I think Wiggins is the best player in the draft, people compare him to Parker and say he is so much worse offensively, but he put up very similar %'s and #'s to him. So if Jabari is so developed and is Wiggins is right on him but is so so raw then his ceiling is sky high. Like I said I never saw anyone control Wiggins, I saw it happen to Parker a few times. Just my 2 cents.
 
Its official Julius Randle declares for the draft.

@UKCoachCalipari
I truly believe that @J30_RANDLE will be an even better pro than a college player. He was Shaq’d all year – in every way.

julius-randle.gif
 
Its official Julius Randle declares for the draft.



julius-randle.gif

Calipari gets it. Of course he does - he had a front row seat to the show. He saw Randle getting doubled (he calls it "Shaq'd") 90% of the time, still the best player on his team and still putting up better numbers than Wiggins, Gordon and Parker, who were rarely, if ever, doubled.

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He's a real interesting prospect. Cal's right, he won't get abused/doubled every night like he did in college. I also question whether he'll be physically superior enough to just bully everyone en route to a double-double every night in the NBA. I really don't know what to make of him, I'll be curious to see who he's matched up with in workouts and how he performs.

I'll peg him 5-7.
 
He's a real interesting prospect. Cal's right, he won't get abused/doubled every night like he did in college. I also question whether he'll be physically superior enough to just bully everyone en route to a double-double every night in the NBA. I really don't know what to make of him, I'll be curious to see who he's matched up with in workouts and how he performs.

I'll peg him 5-7.
That's my concern. And he has a pretty short wingspan for his height. He'll be a solid player, perhaps not a dominant one, though. At least there are very good players all the way down to #7 (if Utah were truly unlucky in the lottery). I really didn't want Utah to have a pick in the #9-12 range and come out of this draft with someone like McDermott. Jazz need to get a starter-quality player.
 
That's my concern. And he has a pretty short wingspan for his height. He'll be a solid player, perhaps not a dominant one, though. At least there are very good players all the way down to #7 (if Utah were truly unlucky in the lottery). I really didn't want Utah to have a pick in the #9-12 range and come out of this draft with someone like McDermott. Jazz need to get a starter-quality player.

If he can become dependable from 18 + feet he is going to be tough to stop. He is quick enough and skilled enough to get to the rim against a 4 and should be able to bully a 3 on him. I just worry he won't extend his game and will be stuck being a less efficient undersized backup 4.
 
I think we do whatever it takes to get in the position to draft Embiid. Depending on the lottery results, if it takes our trading up a spot or two then we need to do it. If it takes our trading Kanter or a pick to move up then I think we need to do it.

I would love to have a starting front line with Embiid and Favors. Both Burke and Burks driving and dishing lobs to Embiid would be fun to watch.
 
Chad Ford's latest Mock:

1. Burks: Wiggins
2. 76ers: Jabari
3. Magic: Exum
4. Jazz: Embiid

Analysis: Jazz fans want Parker in the worst way, but their team likely will have to win one of the top two spots in the lottery to get their hands on him. With the players left on the board, the Jazz face a quandry. They can go with the guy with the most upside (Embiid), or they can go with a player who can help them right away (Julius Randle). Assuming Embiid is healthy, I think he's the pick here. Pairing him on the floor every night with Derrick Favors would give the Jazz an unbelievable defensive front line. Landing him also might free up the team to explore Enes Kanter trades over the summer. While the Jazz love Kanter, if they have to pay big dollars to Gordon Hayward this summer in free agency, they might not be able to afford to pay him what he wants next summer.

23. Jazz: Elfrid Payton

Analysis: The Jazz drafted a pretty small point guard in Trey Burke last year. Now they add a player who has size and length and the explosive athletic ability that Burke lacks to back him up. Payton isn't a great shooter and needs to add strength, but he's my sleeper of the draft and a great get for the Jazz at No. 23.
 
Calipari gets it. Of course he does - he had a front row seat to the show. He saw Randle getting doubled (he calls it "Shaq'd") 90% of the time, still the best player on his team and still putting up better numbers than Wiggins, Gordon and Parker, who were rarely, if ever, doubled.

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He gets doubled a lot because the nature of his game. His spins, fakes, up and unders, etc are necessary to get his shot off against his primary defender. That is the life of a PF with a 6'11" wingspan. The 2 seconds he spends doing those moves is an eternity for help defenders to come over. It will be further magnified on the NBA level. It's no different than Kanter trying to score on true centers in the post. Sometimes he impresses, but at the end of the day his TS% doesn't justify him really being down there.
 
Chad Ford's latest Mock:

1. Burks: Wiggins
2. 76ers: Jabari
3. Magic: Exum
4. Jazz: Embiid

Awesome.

Im hopinh exum goes top 3 and pushes on of the real top 3 down to us.
 
Embiid + Payton would be a filthy draft. I don't think there's any way that Embiid is on the board at 4 though.

His back is the wild card. Just 2 months ago he was somewhat of a clear-cut #1. He had that run in Big 12 play where he was unstoppable.
 
Embiid + Payton would be a filthy draft. I don't think there's any way that Embiid is on the board at 4 though.

His back is the wild card. Just 2 months ago he was somewhat of a clear-cut #1. He had that run in Big 12 play where he was unstoppable.

A back problem, especially one thats rumored to be chronic, especially in a 7 footer, is especially a huge cause for concern.
 
Chad Fords mock is meaningless. Jazz are getting the #1 pick. Messina will represent them on draft lottery night and scream excitedly in Italian.
 
John Crottys take on the upcoming draft prospects listed in my ranking ....

1. Andrew Wiggins - You cannot teach the elite aestheticism he brings. IMO he wasn't able to shine because of the NCAA games being able to be muddied up. He will translate to the NBA game much better than the college one. I don't like how he seemed content to stand back at times, but I would put some of that on the coach. I like that he put up very comparable numbers to Jabari despite not having the offense run through him and being much more raw offensively that Parker. Will need to learn to be the man rather than be a secondary player, if he figures that out the league better watch out. I never saw him stopped by a defense or defender, I only saw him stop himself.

2. Jabari Parker - I love his fundamentals and his feel for the game. You can tell he wants to be the man and will try and be a go to guy from day one. I see a lot of Carmelo in his game minus the poor attitude. I did see him struggle to get his shot off too much when going up bigger defenders. The NBA is full of guys that will be big and quick enough to keep him from getting where he wants to go. For that reason I think he will be a much better 2nd option than a #1 guy. His defense is god awful also.

3. Joel Embiid - The strides he took in just 1 year are insane. It seemed like every game he was discernibly better than the last. A little light, gets pushed around a bit, but that is something that can be fixed. If he keeps up on this trajectory he will be the best player in the draft. His injury history is obviously a huge concern and that is why he is not #1.

4. Dante Exum - Long, athletic, smart, skilled .... Michael Carter Williams if MCW was better at everything. I am worried that his lack of elite competition in Australia might have him over valued, but from everything I've seen he looks like a stud. Might be 2 years off from really developing physically to play in the NBA though.

5. Julius Randle - I love his skill, strength and his tenacity, I am worried about his length and his average athleticism. If he can translate his game to 15-18 feet I think he will be very very good, if he is going to be a down low bruiser I think he might just be solid. I don't see him being a main piece on a good team. I do think he will put up numbers in the NBA, just likely on a bad team.

6. Aaron Gordon - I was not nearly as high on him coming into the season but he really impressed me with his basketball IQ, he is a smart player, a good passer, a very good rebounder .... he really really needs to work on his shot, but I don't see any reason he can't be a Shawn Marion type glue guy for a long time in the league.

I could go on and on and probably will at a later date. But I think Wiggins is the best player in the draft, people compare him to Parker and say he is so much worse offensively, but he put up very similar %'s and #'s to him. So if Jabari is so developed and is Wiggins is right on him but is so so raw then his ceiling is sky high. Like I said I never saw anyone control Wiggins, I saw it happen to Parker a few times. Just my 2 cents.



I agree with all this, and I really think Exum could be great playing off of Kanter and Favors.
 
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