2014/2015 drafts

 Are you saying who I would draft in the top 10 with 2014/2015 combined? If so…

1. Andrew Wiggins

2. Jabari Parker

3. Karl-Anthony Towns

4. Joel Embiid

5. Jahlil Okafor

6. Dante Exum

7. D’Angelo Russell

8. Emmanuel Mudiay

9. Elfrid Payton

10. Kristaps Porzingis

This is strictly off BPA, I didn’t go into team needs at all.

 Are you saying who I would draft in the top 10 with 2014/2015 combined? If so…

1. Andrew Wiggins

2. Jabari Parker

3. Karl-Anthony Towns

4. Joel Embiid

5. Jahlil Okafor

6. Dante Exum

7. D’Angelo Russell

8. Emmanuel Mudiay

9. Elfrid Payton

10. Kristaps Porzingis

This is strictly off BPA, I didn’t go into team needs at all.

I’ll cheat and use hindsight for last years draft…

1) Wiggins (Career All NBA)

2) Parker (Career All Star)

3) KAT (Career top 10 Big Man)

4) Dangelo Russell (Best guard in the 2 years)

5) Exum – Still 19 years old. Will be 5-8 time All Defense team.

6) Okafor – League is all about pick & roll and away from postups. Limits effectiveness

7) Payton – Similar game to Exum without the upside

8) Porzingas – Upside galore but those ahead are proven commodities. Ceiling Ralph Sampson, Floor Jianlian Yi

9) Embiid – Injuries…No one wants to say Greg Oden 2.0 but I am. A foot that doesnt heal…hmmmm. Someone would take him here though…

10) Justise Winslow – Why the hell did this guy fall to the heat. Hes going to be an All Star.

I’ll cheat and use hindsight for last years draft…

1) Wiggins (Career All NBA)

2) Parker (Career All Star)

3) KAT (Career top 10 Big Man)

4) Dangelo Russell (Best guard in the 2 years)

5) Exum – Still 19 years old. Will be 5-8 time All Defense team.

6) Okafor – League is all about pick & roll and away from postups. Limits effectiveness

7) Payton – Similar game to Exum without the upside

8) Porzingas – Upside galore but those ahead are proven commodities. Ceiling Ralph Sampson, Floor Jianlian Yi

9) Embiid – Injuries…No one wants to say Greg Oden 2.0 but I am. A foot that doesnt heal…hmmmm. Someone would take him here though…

10) Justise Winslow – Why the hell did this guy fall to the heat. Hes going to be an All Star.

 I too will use hindsight.  

1) Wiggins – Was my top choice last year and had a better rookie year than even I expected.

2) KAT – Since I am using hindsight and KAT hasn’t been injured yet I have to go with him above players like Embiid and Parker.

3) Dangelo Russell – Even though I wanted the Lakers to take Okafor because I think he will be real good as the league goes small, Russell if he can overcome his lateral quickness limitations… I believe he will be an exceptional player and playmaker.  On one hand I want to say that he won’t make a ton of all star games because of all the great guards in the Western conference, on the other hand I will say that I think he will be a multiple all star because Laker fans will put him there.

4) Okafor – Passes Embiid for me right now until Embiid is healthy.  Okafor will be able to score from day one.  I also don’t project him as poor of a defender as most, in a few years he should at least been adequate.  

5) Porzingis – I believe he will be good, not justify the misconception about Euro big men.  I also think he will be able to contribute on the offensive end from day one, simply with his ability to shoot.  Everybody complains about his weight, and yeah I get it but he has already been playing against grown men.  

6) Embiid – If I knew he was healthy he would be number one on this list.  Unfortunately I know that he is not healthy and who knows if he ever will be, I almost feel generous for placing him 6th.

7) Parker – Ditto for Jabari, I hate ACL injuries.  He is highly skilled so I think he will be alright but I would have loved to see him without the injury because he would be up a couple spots on this list as well.

8) Mudiay – I have him as the better prospect than Exum and it’s not really that hard of a decision for me.  I think his athleticsm is overrated, but paired with his size it is elite.  Good passer and creator, the jump shot will come with time.

9) Exum – Yes he’s right after Mudiay, but I consider this a significant drop off.  I believe he is going to be good, especially on the defensive end.  I don’t see him as ever being a 20 ppg scorer like all the guys above.

10) Payton – This was a tough one but Payton kind of gets it by default.  I wanted to put Jordan Clarkson here but I didn’t want to sound homerish.  Payton should have a couple of years with 10 assists per game, which of course would be exceptional.

Honorable mention:  Jusif Nurkic, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, Winslow.

I didn’t think about this list before I made it, I tried to do it as I went.  For that reason I am surprised that I went with more players from 2015.  Part of it is recency bias, I haven’t had the chance to see them fail, and they haven’t been injured.  2014 class was robbed of injuries, hopefully they can all bounce back because if all are healthy these two classes could be great basketball.  And the best part about this group, all of the guys mentioned seem to be high character.  Embiid might be the lone exception but not in my eyes, I love his humor.

 I too will use hindsight.  

1) Wiggins – Was my top choice last year and had a better rookie year than even I expected.

2) KAT – Since I am using hindsight and KAT hasn’t been injured yet I have to go with him above players like Embiid and Parker.

3) Dangelo Russell – Even though I wanted the Lakers to take Okafor because I think he will be real good as the league goes small, Russell if he can overcome his lateral quickness limitations… I believe he will be an exceptional player and playmaker.  On one hand I want to say that he won’t make a ton of all star games because of all the great guards in the Western conference, on the other hand I will say that I think he will be a multiple all star because Laker fans will put him there.

4) Okafor – Passes Embiid for me right now until Embiid is healthy.  Okafor will be able to score from day one.  I also don’t project him as poor of a defender as most, in a few years he should at least been adequate.  

5) Porzingis – I believe he will be good, not justify the misconception about Euro big men.  I also think he will be able to contribute on the offensive end from day one, simply with his ability to shoot.  Everybody complains about his weight, and yeah I get it but he has already been playing against grown men.  

6) Embiid – If I knew he was healthy he would be number one on this list.  Unfortunately I know that he is not healthy and who knows if he ever will be, I almost feel generous for placing him 6th.

7) Parker – Ditto for Jabari, I hate ACL injuries.  He is highly skilled so I think he will be alright but I would have loved to see him without the injury because he would be up a couple spots on this list as well.

8) Mudiay – I have him as the better prospect than Exum and it’s not really that hard of a decision for me.  I think his athleticsm is overrated, but paired with his size it is elite.  Good passer and creator, the jump shot will come with time.

9) Exum – Yes he’s right after Mudiay, but I consider this a significant drop off.  I believe he is going to be good, especially on the defensive end.  I don’t see him as ever being a 20 ppg scorer like all the guys above.

10) Payton – This was a tough one but Payton kind of gets it by default.  I wanted to put Jordan Clarkson here but I didn’t want to sound homerish.  Payton should have a couple of years with 10 assists per game, which of course would be exceptional.

Honorable mention:  Jusif Nurkic, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, Winslow.

I didn’t think about this list before I made it, I tried to do it as I went.  For that reason I am surprised that I went with more players from 2015.  Part of it is recency bias, I haven’t had the chance to see them fail, and they haven’t been injured.  2014 class was robbed of injuries, hopefully they can all bounce back because if all are healthy these two classes could be great basketball.  And the best part about this group, all of the guys mentioned seem to be high character.  Embiid might be the lone exception but not in my eyes, I love his humor.

1. Wiggins
2. Towns
3. Russell
4. Parker
5. Embiid
6. Okafor
7. Payton
8. Hezonja
9. Porzingis
10. Smart

1. Wiggins
2. Towns
3. Russell
4. Parker
5. Embiid
6. Okafor
7. Payton
8. Hezonja
9. Porzingis
10. Smart