2014 Draft Thread

[MagicFanInNevada 51]

It's funny or me that people are so terrified at us drafting Smart. No player is a sure thing but people on here talk like Exum is going to be the next Penny. For all we know Exum might be a bust a star.

 

I really don't care who we get. I'm going to trust Henny with whoever we get

[HeHateMe 697]

It's funny or me that people are so terrified at us drafting Smart. No player is a sure thing but people on here talk like Exum is going to be the next Penny. For all we know Exum might be a bust a star.

 

I really don't care who we get. I'm going to trust Henny with whoever we get

 

This may be a good stance to have, but it's just not any fun. :)

[Air Gordon 156]

It's funny or me that people are so terrified at us drafting Smart. No player is a sure thing but people on here talk like Exum is going to be the next Penny. For all we know Exum might be a bust a star.

 

I really don't care who we get. I'm going to trust Henny with whoever we get

 

I think 99% of the board would be ecstatic if we traded Afflalo and nabbed Smart with 7 or 8 if we didn't wind up with Exum. Smart at 4 just seems like a reach with a potential better prospect on the board. My ideal draft has one of the "big 3" falling to us at 4 and us trading up for Smart.

[MagicFanInNevada 51]

[/b]

 

This may be a good stance to have, but it's just not any fun. :)/>

 

I get that and I'm not saying it isn't fun to debate on who we like etc. For people to say that Smart at #4 would be a horrendous pick is laughable because we don't obis what kind of player he will be. If Paul George would've been picked top 3 in his draft class at the time fans/analyst would've said it was a reach. Kevin Love at #2 would've been a reach, Michael Carter-Williams in the top 3 would've been a reach, DeMarr Derozan top 3 would've been a reach etc. You may not like a pick and that is understandable, but to say its a bad pick before the person even steps on an NBA court was ridiculous.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

I get that and I'm not saying it isn't fun to debate on who we like etc. For people to say that Smart at #4 would be a horrendous pick is laughable because we don't obis what kind of player he will be. If Paul George would've been picked top 3 in his draft class at the time fans/analyst would've said it was a reach. Kevin Love at #2 would've been a reach, Michael Carter-Williams in the top 3 would've been a reach, DeMarr Derozan top 3 would've been a reach etc. You may not like a pick and that is understandable, but to say its a bad pick before the person even steps on an NBA court was ridiculous.

 

You need to understand probability

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

I think 99% of the board would be ecstatic if we traded Afflalo and nabbed Smart with 7 or 8 if we didn't wind up with Exum. Smart at 4 just seems like a reach with a potential better prospect on the board. My ideal draft has one of the "big 3" falling to us at 4 and us trading up for Smart.

 

#proudtobeinthe1%

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

Exactly, plus the Magic want to replicate the Spurs lineup in which there are multiple ball handlers on the floor.

 

A lot of people think too traditionally, but if you watch OKC, they use RJackson and Westbrook, or Durant and Westbrook or all 3 to initiate offense.

 

The Magic could take Exum and let him and Dipo initiate. It opens up the floor for a lot of unique PnRs that are a lot tougher to cover than traditional 1-5 PnRs.

 

You're assuming Exum will still be there at 4.

 

Sixers management has “bounced around” the idea of trading Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports amid an Insider-only piece he co-authors with Kevin Pelton. The Sixers are high on draft prospect Dante Exum, according to Ford, and while they believe Exum and Carter-Williams could co-exist in the backcourt in spite of their shooting deficiencies, it appears they’re thinking about choosing the guard from Australia over last year’s 11th overall pick.

[Catman 380]

You're assuming Exum will still be there at 4.

 

[/size]

 

Yes, but the scenario in that rumor is a big stretch for a newer GM who tanked hard for a shot at Wiggins or Parker.

[magicblue 315]

You're assuming Exum will still be there at 4.

 

[/size]

 

I don't know if I believe this or not. I can see pairing the two, but why trade the reigning rookie of the year and then draft a guy who's game and measurables are so similar? It just doesn't make sense to me. Is MCW a bad seed or something? Otherwise why would they want this floating around? The whole thing just seems fishy, maybe they're trying to get a team like us to move up in fear of them drafting Exum? I'm trying to make sense of this, anyone got an opinion? I smell smoke.

[ball junkie 277]

From Chad Ford's article....

 

Chad Ford: Exum's one real weakness, shooting, also shows here. But the general feeling among the scouts who have watched him the most is that his shot isn't broken and there's nothing preventing him from improving as time goes on.

 

Pelton: I think Exum's free throw shooting is an issue. He shot 60.9 percent last summer and 66.7 percent at the U-17 championships in 2012, and that's definitely on the low side for a player who will spend so much time at the line.

 

Beyond that, the biggest concern is simply the limited data.

 

I checked Dipo's stats since I didn't watch the boring Magic a lot last year and the dude shot less than 33% from the arc....Exum would be easy to guard, just back off him and encourage him to shoot negating his ability to get to the hole.

 

Of course the one postive from drafting a backcourt that can't shoot is the Magic sucking again....Next years draft is gonna beast with with big men....At least from UK that is.

 

Lastly, Magic Fan in Fresno....Man makes a lot of sense....I like your thought process.

 

You're on the clock Henny....All your boys in this Forum say they trust you to get the job done....Guess we'll see.

[Capo d'Orlando 85]

I think 99% of the board would be ecstatic if we traded Afflalo and nabbed Smart with 7 or 8 if we didn't wind up with Exum. Smart at 4 just seems like a reach with a potential better prospect on the board. My ideal draft has one of the "big 3" falling to us at 4 and us trading up for Smart.

 

It seems that a lot of people are in favor of trading Afflalo to move up a few spots from 12. Just wondering why? I'm not saying it's a terrible idea or anything, but has anyone considered that he might be just as valuable to our team as any of the other lottery teams that we assume would want him and our 12th pick? Disclaimer, I don't claim to know what I'm talking about, just had a few thoughts and wondering if anyone agrees.

 

First, Afflalo seems to be just the type of guy we should want to keep around. He plays solid on both ends of the floor, I think he's been known to adapt well to whatever role a team has needed him to play, I haven't been in the Magic locker room before (could've gone in about 15 years ago when they played a game in Utah, but that's a story for another time) but I imagine he provides a solid veteran presence, and looking around the league, his $7.5mil contract doesn't seem unreasonable at all, especially where our salary situation is starting to look less and less like it did when we made lists that included the Lakers, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and the Yankees.

 

Second, sure, Afflalo has a player option at the end of the year and he could hit the market next summer, but why not try to keep him around as a solid contributor on a team that will hopefully be making noise in the playoffs a couple years from now? If he really wants to leave next summer, perhaps a sign and trade? While it might be great to move up and grab Gordon or whoever else is on that second tier, rookie contracts are going to expire, guys will be up for big raises, and, assuming our accumulation of youth starts reaching the potential we hope it will, we won't be able to keep everyone (James Harden). I know that many look to OKC and San Antonio and how they've been able to build through the draft, but they're the exception not the rule. One of those teams has had Gregg Popovich to bring out the absolute best in players, and both teams have had their share of luck.

 

Unless we feel like we're going to land, or have already landed, the next Tim Duncan/Tony Parker/Manu Ginobili or Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook/Serge Ibaka combo (we won't, and we haven't), we need to start keeping some proven guys around and looking to free agency as opposed to moving up in the draft. (Yes, we once drafted our own Shaq and Penny combo, but let's not press our luck like we've done with Pat Williams the last two draft lotteries.)

 

Finally, with respect to free agency, the Summer of 2015 could potentially have several big names available, and I'm assuming our management will be looking to spend. I think we'll need more than just cap space and a lack of state income tax to be players. I think FAs considering us and some other team with cap space (and possibly no state income tax) will be a lot more enticed by a team that, in addition to all the youth and potential, has a proven guy like Afflalo (assuming he exercises his player option in a summer where, although yet to be determined, he'll likely be nowhere near the top of the FA class), as opposed to a team that, in addition to all the youth and potential, just has more youth and potential, like Gordon, etc.

 

I want to land two studs in this draft as much as anyone else, but I'm just not sold that trading Afflalo and the 12th pick to move up a few spots will really benefit us much in the grand scheme of things.

[Soul Bro 1,421]

NBA.com's writeup on Randle:

 

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS – For a freshman, Kentucky’s Julius Randle comes into the 2014 NBA Draft process with one of the more accomplished bodies of work – leading the Wildcats to the National Championship game while rewriting the record books in Lexington. The rugged power forward was a third-team AP All-American, first team All-SEC and the Conference’s Rookie of the Year. He surpassed the mark for double-doubles (24) by a freshman – eclipsing DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis and falling just one short of Dan Issel’s mark set in 1970. For the season, the Naismith finalist averaged 15.0 points and 10.4 boards per contest.

PLAYER COMPARISON – In terms of measurable, Randle compares to Kevin Love, with a sturdy 6-9, 250-pound frame but with an average wingspan and below-average standing reach. Being a lefty who doesn’t play above the rim, the comparisons to Zach Randolph are only natural. He’s also been likened to Golden State’s David Lee and to the No. 1 overall pick in the previous Draft – Cleveland’s Anthony Bennett.

http://www.nba.com/c...t-randle-140528