2014 Draft Thread

[A Better DJ & Photographer 461]

i really dont want a grant hill situation. we waited so long to get a player on the court and he never makes it. henni has said in the past you dont take bigs with red flags. he passed on byum and lopez. he will pass on embiid.

 

i see smart or noah in orlando.

 

i just wish noah had more basketball awareness. I see some andrew nicholson in him on defense.

 

He passed on Bynum, Lopez AND Noel!!! He had a chance to draft a damaged big that would be possibly a great shot blocker.

[NittanyBuc 757]

I'd rather go with Embiid at 4 and gamble a bit than go with Vonleh, but that's just me.

[Wilbur 48]

I would not do any deal with Vooch in it. No way am I trading away a double double 7 footer who plays in the post and outside.

 

Vooch is coming very close to a big pay day. He'll likely never have more value than he has now. If you can turn Vooch into Parker I think you have to do it.

 

If you are Cleveland does Vooch, Harris and #12 for Waiters and #1 get your attention? I'd view it as better than Utah's offer. Cleveland would resolve a personality conflict with their current star, have a nice front line rotation of Vooch, Zeller, Bennett and Harris for Irving to feed. They could pick up a shooter like Hood/Stauskus/Harris at 12. It provides cheap replacements that allow Deng and Hawes to walk creating room for the guy from Miami. Besides, Harris/Bennett could be a fall back if they can't convince their former star to come home.

 

We do it because as good as Vooch is, paying him big money doesn't get us where we want to be. He is a nice piece, but he isn't a cornerstone. Parker can be a cornerstone. Like Vooch, Harris is not a cornerstone and will soon get expensive. Besides, Parker makes him redundant.

 

The other reason to make the trade is that it makes 4 a bonus pick. Want to take Embiid, go ahead. If he sits out the whole year, who cares. If you don't want him, there is someone sitting out there in the 6-8 range that may want to take the chance enough to give you something worthwhile while still giving you the opportunity to get the PF/PG you want. You may even be able to move Afflalo to get another pick in the top 8.

 

O'Quinn/Dedmon (Embiid)

Parker/Nicholson/Maxiell (Vonleh/Randle/Gordon)

Harkless/Parker

Waiters/Oladipo

Oladipo/Nelson (Exum/Smart)

 

Pick two of the guys in parens. Those two, Parker and Oladipo would be something to get excited about. Harkless, O'Quinn and Waiters are potentially very good supporting pieces. However, unless we are ready to compete when their rookie deals expire, they are potential salary dumps to fill the missing spot through FA... if Henny hasn't already taken care of it in next year's draft. Maxiell and Nelson get one more year to show these guys how to be a professional.

[Magicman28 295]

Vooch is coming very close to a big pay day. He'll likely never have more value than he has now. If you can turn Vooch into Parker I think you have to do it.

 

If you are Cleveland does Vooch, Harris and #12 for Waiters and #1 get your attention? I'd view it as better than Utah's offer. Cleveland would resolve a personality conflict with their current star, have a nice front line rotation of Vooch, Zeller, Bennett and Harris for Irving to feed. They could pick up a shooter like Hood/Stauskus/Harris at 12. It provides cheap replacements that allow Deng and Hawes to walk creating room for the guy from Miami. Besides, Harris/Bennett could be a fall back if they can't convince their former star to come home.

 

We do it because as good as Vooch is, paying him big money doesn't get us where we want to be. He is a nice piece, but he isn't a cornerstone. Parker can be a cornerstone. Like Vooch, Harris is not a cornerstone and will soon get expensive. Besides, Parker makes him redundant.

 

The other reason to make the trade is that it makes 4 a bonus pick. Want to take Embiid, go ahead. If he sits out the whole year, who cares. If you don't want him, there is someone sitting out there in the 6-8 range that may want to take the chance enough to give you something worthwhile while still giving you the opportunity to get the PF/PG you want. You may even be able to move Afflalo to get another pick in the top 8.

 

O'Quinn/Dedmon (Embiid)

Parker/Nicholson/Maxiell (Vonleh/Randle/Gordon)

Harkless/Parker

Waiters/Oladipo

Oladipo/Nelson (Exum/Smart)

 

Pick two of the guys in parens. Those two, Parker and Oladipo would be something to get excited about. Harkless, O'Quinn and Waiters are potentially very good supporting pieces. However, unless we are ready to compete when their rookie deals expire, they are potential salary dumps to fill the missing spot through FA... if Henny hasn't already taken care of it in next year's draft. Maxiell and Nelson get one more year to show these guys how to be a professional.

 

I like Parker but not for Vuc. If he's worth the big contract, you pay him. Young, healthy, double double 7 footers who score inside and out don't grow on trees.

[God Hates Otis Smith 153]

If we draft him we have to 'Noel' him and give him the entire year to recover. It's a risky move and it's a tough pill to swallow but if he returns healthy it could be well worth it. Of course it could also blow up in our faces and set the franchise back for years.

 

I think Henny is a risk taker (I could see him taking Exum first overall for instance) but not when it comes to injuries. We are in a hell of a spot now. If we do draft Embiid I think it almost forces us to deal AA for a lotto pick in the 7-9 range. Doing so would allow us to leave this draft with say Embiid/Randle/and Payton and gives us some added talent for the upcoming year while Embiid recovers and potentially sets us up to be very competitive in 2015-16. Randle would be a perfect next to Embiid and allow us to sign and trade Vuc if we want to try and make a splash in FA next summer also. I mean this whole situation is completely crazy, we could literally go any direction at this point.

embiid is the best chance at a franchise player we will have, assuming he falls. we did not tank this year to get marcus smart, IMO you have to take the risk, and allow embiid most, if not the entire season off to heal. address PG with payton, be it at 12 or trying to trade up.

 

i don't get the vonleh love, yeah he had a high 3 point % but that was a small number of attempts, he is slow off his feet and i haven't seen anything that suggests he's a plus passer on the block

[Tough Break There 96]

Obvious risk, but you'd have to take a shot at Embiid @ 4. He is not Noel (aka Stromile Swift 2.0). Embiid is a franchise player, sub injury. With Exum/Parker/Wiggins gone, there's no one else you can say that about.

 

Not impressed with Vonleh and Smart at all, and don't worry, we'll be back in the top 5 to pick similar players next year. Smart was barely a top 3 player in last year's draft. Vonleh is a major project.

 

Gotta roll the dice.

 

Also: the Oden comparison. Clearly the injury issues are a link, but Oden was never going to be a NBA all-star anyhow. Never had the set of skills that Embiid has and can develop. Over-hyped, Big 10. Ohio State should have a patent on that or at least a school motto.

 

Just my basketball opinion. 5 days left.

[Tough Break There 96]

embiid is the best chance at a franchise player we will have, assuming he falls. we did not tank this year to get marcus smart, IMO you have to take the risk, and allow embiid most, if not the entire season off to heal. address PG with payton, be it at 12 or trying to trade up.

 

i don't get the vonleh love, yeah he had a high 3 point % but that was a small number of attempts, he is slow off his feet and i haven't seen anything that suggests he's a plus passer on the block

 

 

GHOS, we almost posted the same thing at the same time. Couldn't agree more.

[ILoveOrlandoMagic 12]

I would not be too happy if Magic traded up to get Exum or Vonleh when the Magic could get either player at #4

[Ibn Battuta 127]

Vooch is coming very close to a big pay day. He'll likely never have more value than he has now. If you can turn Vooch into Parker I think you have to do it.

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We do it because as good as Vooch is, paying him big money doesn't get us where we want to be. He is a nice piece, but he isn't a cornerstone. Parker can be a cornerstone. Like Vooch, Harris is not a cornerstone and will soon get expensive. Besides, Parker makes him redundant.

 

 

 

I've been saying this for ages. Actually I've been wanting to make a thread about it. Everyone on this board is irrationally infatuated with Vucevic. We rip Kevin Love all the time and he puts up gaudy stats; why does it change when we talk about our own players? Vuc puts up nice stats on a losing team. He is a nice piece but he's expendable because he'll never be a first option for us, never will be a franchise player, never the player we can give the ball to and say "take us home." Parker could be that player, Wiggins, Embiid, etc. and I would gladly move Vuc if it meant getting those guys.

[MagicFanInNevada 51]

Julius Randle shows off his shooting ability. IMO he has a pretty good mid range jumper

 

[Trey Time 186]

I would not be too happy if Magic traded up to get Exum or Vonleh when the Magic could get either player at #4

 

Except they can't get Exum at #4.

[God Hates Otis Smith 153]

An injury that has cut short several careers is a huge risk, one I'm not sure Rob is willing to take given how important this draft is. Throw in the potential back issues and I can't help but think Rob has already crossed his name off the list. If we can't move up and the top three players chosen are Wiggins/Parker/Exum, I expect to see us trade down and let someone else deal with Embiid, while still staying within range for someone like Randle and possibly Smart.

 

One idea that might be worth looking in to is grabbing the 5th and Favors from Utah. They would have to be on board with taking Embiid, but we have the pieces to make them a pretty good offer if we wanted to. That would gives us our PF and allow us to take Smart as well.

 

Remember Embiid has been the number 1 player in the draft for a while, his upside is a franchise changer. I think you have to take that risk and allow him all the time he needs to properly recover. none of these other guys that could be there at four(assuming wiggins/parker/exum are gone) are franchise changers or even solid bets to be all star level players.

 

i see the reasoning for going vonleh @ 4 and payton or smart later, but how good does that make us? again i am saying this as someone who watched vonleh and saw someone who doesn't get off the ground fast.