2014 Draft Thread

[Justin Jaudon 221]

Just watched the presser I was surprised one question didn't get asked.

 

Elfrid after you were originally drafted by Philly ESPN had a short interview with MCW, he seemed really chapped. What did he say to you when you came off the stage?

 

MCW: I'm the reigning ROY, son. You better respect that.

 

Easy E (shyly bobbing his head): I got picked a spot earlier than you did in a much better draft, from ULL when you went to Syracuse. I don't have to respect ****. I just hope you can play the 2. (sits down and doesn't give Michael Carter Williams another thought)

[Justin Jaudon 221]

This might be the wrong place for this, but I thought it was relevant.

 

I was looking at some of Dwyane (what kinda spelling is that? we gotta stop letting women all doped up on pain killers set up these kids' birth certificates before they're right again!) Wade's stats his rookie year. All of the advanced stats (discounting win shares, of course, seeing as Wade was on a borderline playoff team) are freakishly similar to Oladipo's, except that Dipo showed some ability to hit three's with a modicum of regularity. I think maybe Rob went for great role players in this draft because he feels he already has his star. Dipo's numbers project really well for a rookie. I'm excited to see how far he'll progress next year in his natural position without competition for minutes. Like, really optimistic!

[Ace Penguin 0]

If Elfrid turns out to be a defensive force like I think he will then I think a cool nickname that for him would be "The Oven Mitt". This writer (My link) uses it as a knock on his scoring but I think it will be more applicable to his ability to stop his opponents heating up. It highlights his blue collar play and similarity in style to Gary "The Glove" Payton.

[Aussie Magic fan 18]

When does Anthony Davis come out of contract?

[Aussie Magic fan 18]

The way I look at it is, do we have a player on the roster that can eventually become what Tim Duncan is right now. Not Tim at his best, just what he is right now, a guy who averaged 15 and 10 in the finals with decent defense. Do we have a guy who can eventually be Tony Parker right now, Ginobli right now etc. If the answer to those questions is yes, then maybe, as you suggest, our team is set or close to being set. That team dismantled Miami, a team full of "superstars".

 

I'd gladly take a team of SOLID players, 1-12, than a top heavy team with no depth. This "super team" nonsense is just a cycle, maybe the Spurs opened some eyes, and a new cycle is about to begin. A cycle where teams stop obsessing with one or two stars, and team ball becomes more of a priority.

 

 

Maybe you're right...But don't forget that, that "Super team" made 4 consecutive finals and won 2 of them.

[Miller4Prez66 545]

The way I look at it is, do we have a player on the roster that can eventually become what Tim Duncan is right now. Not Tim at his best, just what he is right now, a guy who averaged 15 and 10 in the finals with decent defense. Do we have a guy who can eventually be Tony Parker right now, Ginobli right now etc. If the answer to those questions is yes, then maybe, as you suggest, our team is set or close to being set. That team dismantled Miami, a team full of "superstars".

 

I'd gladly take a team of SOLID players, 1-12, than a top heavy team with no depth. This "super team" nonsense is just a cycle, maybe the Spurs opened some eyes, and a new cycle is about to begin. A cycle where teams stop obsessing with one or two stars, and team ball becomes more of a priority.

 

That's a horrible comparison because while those guys on the Spurs aren't necessarily elite, they are veterans who have TONS of playoff and championship experience. Our team is the polar opposite, incredibly young with almost no playoff experience.

 

Here is the list of playoff games for the guys on our roster:

Jameer Nelson - 44

Jason Maxiell - 35

Ronnie Price - 28

E'Twaun Moore - 9

Nikola Vucevic - 1

 

That's a total of 117 playoff games, Duncan has exactly twice as many playoff games as that (234) by himself. I agree you don't necessarily need a superteam to win a title, but the Spurs are a rare breed of veteran guys who play at a high level. It would be hard to recreate that.

[CTMagicUK 1,488]

My wife and I just finished watching the press conference and I couldn't be more excited. I really think Gordon is going to be a special player, by that I mean a superstar, and Elfrid has a skill set that translates well to the NBA. We are going to hate ourselves for being disappointed we took Aaron, even if it was only for 5 minutes. I really believe that.

 

I know what you mean. As I watched that press conference and just started liking the guy more and more with every answer he gave I felt guilty about my initial reaction to us drafting him.

 

Also I think there's a chance Payton becomes a special player too.

[~O~ 565]

Well i guess I'm going to be the last one to watch the presser on the back end days of the work week.

[~O~ 565]

And who is the last guy we drafted. I have no freaking idea.

[Miller4Prez66 545]

They are also a rare team in the sense that they play unselfishly, that's all I'm saying. Playoff experience helps, obviously, but that just means our team has to grow up together and gain that same experience. Miami had a ton of playoff experience too, what did that get them? An ass whooping. Experience was a wash, as both teams had plenty of it. Unselfish play and depth are why San Antonio won that series so convincingly, not experience.

 

We're talking about 15+ years of experience, several of which saw Duncan as a top player in the league. The only real starless team to win a ring in recent memory was Detroit. Teams like the Celtics and Spurs have won with aging stars who have enough brains and skills to overcome their loss of athletic ability. We won't be a team to have that kind of position for a long, long, long time. Our #1 focus should remain finding a centerpiece player who will play his prime years here.

[ball junkie 277]

Junkie, you are MIGHTY quiet tonight!!!!! Just admit that you're excited now. It's okay.

 

In Jacksonville with my son...He's running in the state AAU track meet this weekend...Speaking of kids, great job Nyce !!!...I've hung out with Nyce before...Dude looks like an athlete....I can already tell you his kid is either gonna be a professional athlete or a professional GM, j/k....Seriously, being a dad/father is the greatest job in the world !!...My life ain't been the same since....

 

Soul, I'm stunned by the 42% thing....I'm reading on this thread saying he's gonna be a superstar !!...The Magic homerism here is sickening and I didn't wanna spoil all the love going on until you called me out and forced me too....Blake Griffin, Gary Payton, lol....

 

Soul, you know my son won the state ft championship as an 11-year old shooting 90% in five rounds....Gordon better be able to gaurd 5 guys at the same time because when the Magic have the ball our opponents aren't even gonna have to gaurd him...Can you say hack a gordon ????....Seriously, Dwight and Shaq both were better at the line than him.

 

Also, when we talked on the phone after the Magic picks I kept asking you who is gonna score for this team ???....I mean, the defense is gonna have to be spectacular or we might not win a game....I'm still waiting for your response about scoring because you didn't answer me then either, lol.

 

I'm like Pelton....We shall see....

[CTMagicUK 1,488]

Well some of us form our opinions on more than just the gospel of Kevin Pelton.