Mike1989

There were rumors that the 76ers had considered trading MCW and drafting Exum. Not sure it will happen, but if it did then Exum is a decent option to replace him with. Then with #7 and #10 they could address other needs. Also, Nash could be a decent mentor for Exum for a season. Decent deal for the Lakers too. They would need to add a PF and C in free agency, but they could have a competitive line up again if they stay healthy and click: PG: MCW SG: Kobe SF: T Young PF: Melo or LeBron? C: Monroe or Gortat? 6th man: N Young Not a bad line up for the Lakers.

The Bobcats [now Hornets] went out into free agency and brought in Al Jefferson, a guy not known for his defensive prowess. Yet, he was part of a line up that was one of the top five defenses in the regular season. So you can carry a center or power forward with less than stellar defense, if the rest of the line up can make up for it. Right now, I'd rather stick with Vuc than go for Embiid. I can see why Embiid would be an improvement defensively, but his injuries are a big concern.

I think we'd need to package #4 and #12 to get their interest. As let's face it, the 76ers have more assets to move up and by all accounts like Wiggins. So I think we need to put our two first rounders on the table to start talks. It is worth trying because if we could land Parker or Wiggins that would give us a potential star. But it depends what we need to give up.

Not sure I buy the Kings and Hornets passing on Gordon, because arguably both teams need to upgrade the PF position. The Kings already have Gay and Williams for SF, so they have no need to add another; and the Bobcats already have Henderson to start at SG and could acquire a backup SG at #24 or in the second round. Also, I don't think (or at least I hope) we will take Embiid. Our main need isn't another center, especially an injury prone one. I'd rather see us draft Randle or Smart at #4 than go with Embiid.

Just thought I'd post this for a 'laugh'. NBAdraft.net has the top twelve picks being: #1 Wiggins, Cavs #2 Parker, Bucks #3 Embiis, 76ers #4 Smart, Magic #5 Vonleh, Jazz #6 Exum, Celtics #7 Randle, Lakers #8 Gordon, Kings #9 LaVine, Hornets #10 Stauskas, 76ers #11 Harris, Nuggets #12 Hood, Magic http://nbadraft.net/2014mock_draft Got to say, I'm really wanting to know what their justification is on us passing on Exum for Smart, and also why the 76ers would take another center coming off injuries when they already have Noel.

Plus we have Vucevic. He's been pretty durable the past two seasons. He's done well at center for us. So ideally I'd rather we look to find a PF to pair with him, or the future PG at #4 than taking a risk on Embiid. As let's face it, drafting him would mean either dropping Vuc to PF or trading him, and personally I'd rather stick with Vuc because I believe he can get even better.

If Parker and Wiggins go to the Cavs and Bucks, then it will depend on whether the 76ers want to pair MCW and Exum, or get themselves a very athletic and talented PF to put next to their equally talented C in Noel. Potentially the 76ers could decide to grab Vonleh at #3, and then look for a SG at #10, giving them a talented line up. Or they could go for a SF at #10, drop Young to sixth man or trade him, and then pick up a SG in free agency (eg Stephenson?). I suppose we will have to wait and see, but I think us and the 76ers will take Exum and Vonleh.

Afflalo for Terrence Ross? Could be a good move for both parties. It gives them production to slot in next to Lowrey and DeRozan; and it gives us another talent piece to the puzzle. If we could snag their #20 pick as well in the deal, then that would be a nice boost. There's a few players in that range that would be useful additions, most notably someone like Adreian Payne at PF, or some added firepower for the bench like TJ Warren. If we ended up with Exum, Oladipo, and Ross - we would have three very athletic and talented players. The issue would be scoring, but hopefully that area of their game improves and they become more productive. I'm not sure if they'll become 20 ppg+ guys, but they certainly have the ability to develop into a very good core.

I don't think that we would. I still believe that if we have the chance to get Parker or Wiggins at #4, then we will draft them. It is debatable what Parker's ceiling is, but most seem to agree that he has all star ability and potential, and that he could be a 20ppg player from day one. So that would give us a go to scorer that could eventually start scoring even more as he develops. I'd take Parker over Vonleh purely because Parker gives us instant production that we can use, whereas Vonleh gives us a player with a high ceiling that he may or may not hit. From here it depends what we do. Can we get the Kings or Hornets to give up their draft pick for Afflalo, or even the Lakers? If yes, then we could address the PF with the #7, #8, or #9 pick if Gordon or Randle is available; and with #12 (if we keep it), we can address the PG position with Payton, Ennis or LaVine. If we came out of the draft with three lottery players that could feasibly be starters from day one , or two starters and one to develop behind Nelson, then we will have had an excellent draft. PG: Nelson / Payton, Ennis or LaVine SG: Oladipo / Moore / Lamb SF: Parker / Harkless PF: Gordon or Randle / Harris / Nicholson C: Vuc / O'Quinn That line up and rotation is starting to shape up nicely. If Parker is on the board, we should draft him. He will be a nice piece to build around.

Let's say we draft Dante Exum at #4 and Dario Saric at #12. Saric decides to play one or two seasons in Europe. Perhaps that isn't ideal, but if we managed to pull off a trade with the Kings or Hornets for Afflalo, that could leave us with: PG: Exum / Nelson SG: Oladipo / ? SF: Harkless / Harris PF: Gordon or Randle / Nicholson C: Vuc / O'Quinn This will give us talent at each position to develop and nurture into future stars and/or role players. Fast forward a season and we land another lottery pick plus two second round picks. Let's say we draft Mario Hezonja around the #10 mark. Not going to guess what we get in the second round. That leaves us with: PG: Exum / Nelson SG: Oladipo / Hezonja SF: Harkless / Harris PF: Gordon or Randle / Nicholson C: Vuc / O'Quinn With the 2014/15 season of development under our players belts, plus the addition of Hezonja and two other draft picks, we will have the base of a talented team that could push on for the 7th or 8th seed. We will have cap space for free agents if desired. Now if Saric comes back after one season, we can add him into the above rotation at SF or PF giving us extra depth and quality. That would be a good situation to come back into, plus he'd have a years worth of development under his belt in Europe. If he stays a second season in Europe during the 2015/16 season, he will hopefully be coming to a team that will have got back into the play offs. So again, he will be coming into a good situation, with more experience and be a contributor. It might not be an ideal pick right now to stash a player, but someone of Saric's talent could be useful a couple of seasons down the line for a run at the play offs. Plus, you never know if he decides to come over straight away if it looks likely he could start from day one, or play major mins.

Exum could still be on the cards if he's seen more as a SG than a PG. If so, pairing him with Smart could work. Vonleh would slot in nicely at PF, and the second first round pick could go on a SG (eg Stauskas, Harris, Young) or a SF (eg Hood, McDermott). For me, I'd say we would go for a Vonleh at #4. And then draft a SG at #12 to rotate with Afflalo, and use Harkless and Harris at SF.

PG: MCW SG: ? SF: Wiggins PF: Randle C: Noel 6th man: Young? Or; PG: MCW SG: Wiggins SF: Young PF: Randle C: Noel Whichever route, they'd have a very talented line up with a ton of upside. It would be pretty enviable that they could come out of the draft with Wiggins and Randle, especially since Randle could be a top three pick in drafts such as last year.

Depends what role they see Oladipo playing. If they see him as a player that can develop into a decent PG, then sure, they can take Exum to play SG. However, if they view Oladipo as a SG and not a PG, then the team has to decide which player they like best to build around at that position - Oladipo or Exum. At that stage I would say the team would pass on Exum and target Smart, or look to Vonleh and draft a PG at #12.

It will be interesting to see if he stays 'loyal', or whether he decides to opt out and find a new challenge elsewhere. Personally if he stays he should have another crack at a title next year, as let's face it, the main challengers to the Heat are the Pacers, and perhaps the Bulls if Rose stays healthy with the likes of Noah and co to support him. But other than that, the trio of Wade-Bosh-LeBron with some good supporting players should be fighting for another finals berth. I think LeBron will stay in Miami.

If we get Durant I think this fan base would be exstatic. The feel good factor would be back, and I'm sure the attendance would go through the roof. Not sure he will leave OKC, but if he did, he will have no shortage of options. I like that line up. The athleticism of Oladipo, Durant and Vonleh would be tremendous. If we took a risk on LaVine, boy would we have four players that could potentially terrorize opposition defenses, and that's without considering what Vuc brings to the table. Whether we go Exum or Vonleh, we will have an attractive team to sell to FAs in 2015 if they hit their potential.

But wouldn't it make sense to sell Afflalo while his value is high? He has two years left, last of which is a player option. If the plan is to tank for another season, then trade Afflalo for another first round pick. If we are optimistic perhaps the Kings or Hornets will bite and send us #8 or #9; or perhaps we can land one of Chicago's first rounders. If we get the pick off the Hornets, we can land three young players to help build around: Nelson / LaVine (#9) Oladipo / Stauskas (#12) Harkless / Harris Vonleh (#4) / Nicholson / O'Quinn Vuc / O'Quinn Young and talented for another year. Or we could go with: Nelson / LaVine (#9) Oladipo / Stauskas (#12) Harkless / Harris Parker (#4) / Nicholson / O'Quinn Vuc / O'Quinn Either way we'd have a very talented base to build from. I'd like to keep Afflalo, especially if we are trying to improve to the 30 to 40 win type bracket. But ultimately I think we will end up trading him and if that can land us another lottery player then that will be a good thing.

I gave a trade-and-sign deal where we send Afflalo, Nicholson and a second round pick to acquire Bledsoe. Not sure if that would get the deal done, or if that is too much to pay. But that's why he's not in my projected line up :)

Fair point. But Vonleh would slot in immediately, whereas Saric might not come to the league for a season or two. So can we afford a draft and stash at this time? Or do we need to draft a player that can contribute immediately? I don't dispute Saric's talent, but I'd rather draft a player that we can start and develop straight away.

He's intriguing, but he does have his short falls. He's not got a high defensively ceiling. He's not athletic enough to guard SFs, and he's not got the length to guard some of the bigger PFs. So he could struggle on the defensive side to guard SFs and PFS. Offensively he has a decent skill set, but again his lack of athleticism means he's going to have to develop other facets to his game to make an impact. I don't disagree with the notion that he is a talented player with decent upside. As a draft and stash option it is intriguing, but as a rebuilding team with a hole at PG and PF, can we afford to draft such a player that won't come in and make an immediate impact?

I like Bledsoe, but the only issue will be what type of contract he will command. According to reports he is seeking a max contract, is he a max contract PG? Probably, but will Henny be willing to shell out a max contract at this stage? I'm not sure. That said, he would be an excellent addition to the team, it would be a question of what we would have to give up for him, but let's say we throw Afflalo and Nicholson their way and a future second round draft pick - might be enough, might not. That would leave us with a line up like: Bledsoe / Nelson (?) Oladipo / Stauskas (#12) Harkless / Harris Vonleh (#4) / Harris / O'Quinn Vuceivic / O'Quinn I think that line up has the potential to help this team take the next step.

The reason for the Vonleh selection would be to give us a very athletic, high upside, stretch-4 to pair with Vuceivic in the front court. The hope would be that Vonleh would develop into a star player, and would make up for any weaknesses that Vuceivic has in his game. Granted there is a risk at taking a player like Vonleh at #4, but is that any greater than the risk of taking a player like Exum at #4? I don't think so. Like Vonleh, Exum is going to need time to develop into a star player. These high ceiling guys have boom or bust potential. They might become the next big thing, or they might end up being a role player. Now I would be very happy to see Exum become a Magic player, but at the same time, I would be happy to see Vonleh become a Magic player because either guy can fill a hole in this team. It will take time for either player, and both come with risks. As for what could happen if we select Vonleh. We could look to Elfrid Payton or Tyler Ennis at #12, they should be 'safe' selections to play the PG position, and both have enough ability to develop into good players. The wildcard could be Zach LaVine if he falls to #12. He's another of these very athletic, high upside players. He would need time to develop, but with Nelson on the roster, he would have a good couple of seasons to get ready to take over the reigns. If we ended up with LaVine and Oladipo, the sheer athleticism would be amazing. If our line up did end up like you suggested - Victor/Afflalo/Saric/Vonleh/Vuc - then I would tend to agree that it doesn't look like a title contender. I personally don't like the look of it. Saric might not come over for the next couple of seasons, and even when he does, he doesn't really have the athleticism to play SF and guard them, nor the size to guard some of the bigger PFs. And Oladipo would need to really improve his ball handling and distribution. I think a better option would be to take a PG at #12 like Ennis or Payton, if we take Vonleh at #4. That would allow Oladipo to slide back to his natural SG position, and we would also continue rotating Harkless and Harris at SF, which in my opinion, are better options at that position than Saric. For me, Ennis or Payton / Oladipo / Harkless or Harris / Vonleh / Vuc - has the potential to become a good team. In 2015 with another draft and strengthening via free agency, this team should begin to compete in East and be ready to get back into the play offs.

Agreed, if Parker falls to #4 then we should no hesitate to take him. He has the ability to be a 20 ppg guy right out of the gate, and he has the talent to become a prolific scorer and star player. He's as ready as they come, so I would love to see him fall to us. As for trading up with the Lakers, I like that scenario. At that point we could go with Smart, it would certainly give us two very talented defensively minded players. But potentially we could fill the PF hole at #7 with Aaron Gordon or Julius Randle, either guy should be available at this stage. At #12 we could address the PF position, but it would mean taking a risk on Dario Saric coming over, or reaching for a talented guy like Adreian Payne. The other scenario is to go with a PG and look at Zach LaVine, Elfrid Payton or Tyler Ennis. My favored option would be to take a risk on LaVine, because if that kid reaches his potential, then we will have three extremely athletic starting players LaVine, Oladipo, and Gordon to build around. That would also make up for Jabari Parker and Vuceivic not being the most athletic players. A line up like: LaVine / Oladipo / Parker / Gordon / Vuceivic Or if you want a safer scenario, or LaVine is gone: Payton or Ennis / Oladipo / Parker / Gordon / Vuceivic I'd like either of those two line ups being the base going forwards. That said, if we do come out of this draft with Parker, Smart and another player like a Stauskas or Young to add some fire power for the bench, then that would be a very good haul. If we did go with your suggested route, then we would have an excellent base going forwards: Smart / Nelson Oladipo / Stauskas Parker / Harkless Harris / Nichloson Vuceivic / O'Quinn Granted we would have to upgrade the PF position at some point in the future, but we will have the cap space in 2015 to fill that hole if there is a player available. Or we could make a trade using some of the assets that we've acquired. Either way, we should have a talented base going forwards.

http://www.nj.com/sixers/index.ssf/2014/06/2014_nba_mock_draft_sixers_pass_on_jabari_parker_for_noah_vonleh.html Here's an interesting one. The 76ers pass on Jabari Parker in favor of Noah Vonleh. Let's say for arguments sake that the first three off the board are Embiid, Wiggins and Vonleh. Who do you take at #4, Parker or Exum?

The issue with that scenario is Smart could already be off the board: #1 Embiid, Cavs #2 Wiggins, Bucks #3 Parker, 76ers #4 Vonleh, Magic #5 Exum, Jazz #6 Randle, Celtics #7 Smart, Lakers Potential landing spots for Exum and Smart could be the 76ers, Jazz, Celtics and Lakers. Now granted each of those teams have existing PGs, but both guys should end up on one of those teams. The 76ers could pair Exum and Carter-Williams, which could form a very athletic back court. Or if rumors are true they could trade Carter-Williams and replace him with Exum. In Utah, they could pair Exum with Trey Burke, and that could be ideal if they let Gordon Hayward walk. Or if they keep hold of Hayward, then Burke (PG), Exum (SG) and Hayward (SF) could be a good core to build around. The Celtics could see Exum or Smart as their replacement for Rondo if he is traded; and the Lakers could use a PG because Steve Nash hasn't stayed healthy and is 40 years old. So it is possible that both guys are off the board by the number #8 pick. That would leave the team needing an alternative option. That could be Zach LaVine if the team wanted to 'reach' for him, or they could look at one of those guards that you mentioned at #8, and then select Ennis, Payton, LaVine or Napier at #12. For me, if we pass on Exum or Smart at #4, we need to make sure that we are drafting above the Celtics and Lakers because they could be the two teams that could snap them up.

I like the look of that team. I think we have potential and depth at each position. The question would be what offense threat that team could ultimately bring, but with a years worth of development, that could be addressed in free agency if the team decided to upgrade the small forward position. The alternative if Smart is gone, could be to go with a combination like McDermott at #8 and Ennis/Payton at #12. That would give us a PG to nurture into Nelson's long term replacement, and a player capable of scoring either from the bench or as a down the road starter. The main problem with this scenario is that we would then we left with the problem of finding enough minutes for McDermott, Harkless and Harris - especially if Vonleh and O'Quinn are rotating the PF position. But we would have depth and talent at both forward positions, and potentially valuable future trade assets if the team wants to make moves to acquire players at other positions. The other problem is the depth at SG, though could that be addressed in free agency? The other route could be to take on the project that is Zach LaVine at #8. He has top tier athleticism and the potential to become a very good player. The issue is that he is raw, but he could sit behind Nelson for a season or two while he learns his trade, and that would allow the team to draft Harris, Stauskas or Young at #12 giving us the shooting guard to back up Oladipo and give the team scoring power from the bench. That could a decent line up as well, because if LaVine utilizes his potential, then him and Oladipo in the back court could be scary.