NBA Draft Grades - Negative (Pelton and Others)

[Justin Jaudon 221]

I'll bet anything that AG & Co E become consistent shooters and at least a 70%FT shooters. These guys don't have it now, but they have the work ethic to get there, as does Oladipo, Harris, and Nicholson. You already see what Harkless has done in just 1 offseason.

 

You can teach shooting, but you can't teach the hustle, passion, work ethic, and love for the game they have.

 

For what its worth, Harkless still can't shoot FT. It's actually way easier, or so it seems, to vastly improve 3-pt% than FT%. I cannot for the life of me understand why.

[Skywise316 211]

I want to know how Junkie got negative votes, because I don't want to be left out of the party. :svgsad:

[KandiKane 136]

For what its worth, Harkless still can't shoot FT. It's actually way easier, or so it seems, to vastly improve 3-pt% than FT%. I cannot for the life of me understand why.

 

Simple, pressure. When shooting FT's time is slowed down, much more thinking and that is where it is much more mental than 3pt shooting.

[bhnole 153]

Pelton's ranking system is awful.

 

The Cavs are ranked last!!!!! They actually did not screw up a draft for once by the player every other expert (other than Pelton) had ranked as the best fit for the Cavs.

[Soul Bro 1,417]

I want to know how Junkie got negative votes, because I don't want to be left out of the party.

There are little dwarf people (think Lord of the Rings) who work for Henny that do it. I've met them at the mod parties at Stuff's house… the one he shares with Little Penny.

[Captain Hi-Top 791]

So, if I got this right, Pelton thinks the Magic had the worst draft in the league last night strictly because of shooting. Lets forget for a second that the Magic came away with 2 top 10 prospects that fill positions of need for this team, the Raptors reached hard for a player that probably would have been available in the middle of the second round. Are you kidding me?

 

It really does feel like Junkie has been subtly trolling this forum for several years.

 

I think you and I have different meanings for the word subtle.

[God Hates Otis Smith 153]

Miller, I'm pretty sure he is referring to me...I didn't use the word idiot but I did say I think Henny made the wrong pick last summer by taking Dipo over Noel....Noel is healthy now and ready to play....I stand by my comments and am looking forward to seeing how that plays out.

 

Also, the only postive grade I could find was Chad Ford's A -.....But even he was criticizing the Gordon pick saying he didn't like the fit...Gave Orlando that grade because he like the Payton pick.

 

I saw USA Today gave the Magic a C -......

 

Maybe Henny wants to tank again and get his rim protector next summer ???...I saw ESPN posted their top 5 already and 4 of the 5 are big guys.

it wasn't just you, there were plenty of people that bashed the magic for passing on noel and mclemore

[LaVar 108]

"I think the Magic, in terms of the culture with those two guys, really hit two home runs in the draft, because those two kids are the kind of kids that can change the culture in terms of just their energy, their disposition, their attitude, their work ethic, their competitiveness," Donovan told the Orlando Sentine

 

 

http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80664488/

[Emory889 353]

So seriously Junkie, you were citing Chad Ford as a credible source of information the entire time leading up to the draft. Are you really going to ignore the fact that he really liked our draft simply because he had a positive outlook on it? You know that is hypocritical, right? If his opinion mattered before the draft it should matter now.

[Air Gordon 156]

Pelton is a joke. Then again, so is the concept of grading and harshly criticizing a draft class before any player has played a second in the league. There's a reason why these guys are analysts and not general managers.

[ball junkie 277]

Here's some criticism from the same site you guys were quoting as positive earlier,,,,USA Today...

 

Orlando Magic

 

Additions: PF Aaron Gordon (No. 4 pick, Arizona), PG Elfrid Payton (No. 10 pick, Louisiana-Lafayette), SG Roy Devyn Marble (No. 56 pick, Iowa).

 

On the surface, Gordon and Payton are very likeable and talented players who fit positions of need for the Magic. But the costs were high. In picking Gordon, the Magic passed over several higher-upside players including presumed No. 4 pick Dante Exum. And Payton cost them a future first-rounder and a future second-rounder, as they had to move up two spots in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers to land him. It's tough not to think the Sixers took advantage of the situation here, and it's tough not to consider that the Magic could have drafted Exum and kept No. 10 pick Dario Saric and potentially been better off. Gordon and Payton give an athletic team even more athleticism, but who other than Tobias Harris is going to score? Marble may help there, but he was a second-tier second-rounder. The players are good. But was the juice worth the squeeze?

 

Grade: C-

 

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/draft/2014/06/27/grades-analysis-eastern-conference-teams/11448021/

 

Even the guys who are giving the Magic good grades are questioning things....Henny passing on better players ???....How do these players fit re; how is the team gonna find scoring next year ???......Giving up to much to get Payton ???....Is Vaughn a good coach ???

 

We can continue to play this game but the bottom line is opinions on the Magic draft have been all over place from the media.

 

I'm not drinking the Henny and Magic Kool-Aid yet and if that bothers people, sorry.

[ball junkie 277]

An article in the Philly Enquirer about Henny getting taken to the woodshed...

 

In Orlando, things were going nicely. Exum and Smart were taken, and no other teams appeared likely to come between the Magic and Payton. Sitting just ahead of them were the Sixers, with rookie of the year point guard Michael Carter-Williams, and the Nuggets, tied firmly to Ty Lawson at that position.

 

And then with the 10th pick in the 2014 NBA draft, the Sixers threw a bird into the punch bowl.

 

The deal offered by the Sixers required the Magic to draft Saric and trade him, along with that missing first-round 2017 pick and a 2015 second-round pick as well, in exchange for Payton. If that seems heavy - a first-round and a second-round pick in exchange for moving two places late in the lottery - well, it was. But Orlando went for it.

 

"The draft's a fluid thing," Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said. "Elfrid's a guy we had targeted. We felt it was worth it to acquire him using some of the assets we had for the future."

 

What's he going to say? We got robbed?

 

It was a robbery, though, of the smooth sort that happens only after carefully casing the landscape and keeping the job a secret. As the man said, you have to be careful people don't know what you're going to do.

 

http://articles.philly.com/2014-06-29/sports/50949283_1_dante-exum-orlando-magic-sam-hinkie

 

Here's the Sentinel's response...

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/blogs/magic-basketblog/os-mbb-orlando-magic-philadelphia-76ers-payton-trade-20140629,0,68609.post

 

Again, not drinking the Kool-Aid yet....Sorry if that's offensive to some people.