[IlladelphParticipant]

 I came across this article on deadspin:

 

http://deadspin.com/why-is-adrian-wojnarowski-peddling-a-falsehood-about-th-1732225833

 

It’s interesting in that it quotes Woj as saying that only the Cavs had Anthony Bennett as a top 10 draft prospect, when in fact almost every mock draft site (including this one) had him as a top 10 pick.  I wonder why Woj is creating the myth that back in 2013 everyone thought Bennett sucked except for Cleveland who thought he was top 10 material and selected him #1 overall.  I’m sure everyone here remembers that draft as it was only 2 years ago, and so it seems weird that Woj would just make that up.  I remember Bennett as being seriously hyped up right up to the draft.  And I also remember that there was no clear consensus on the #1 pick.

[T Rex]

 The mock draft people aren’t in the NBA. They’re fans, and the Anthony Bennett hype never made any sense at all. I compared him to Bass and nobody would hear it! Blasphemy!

Now he’ll probably never even reach Bass level, and revisionists wanna act like nobody, NOBODY doubted Anthony Bennett.

As if the teams couldn’t possibly have had Bennett outside their top 10s.

As if Bennett was actually a good prospect.

Ya right

 

 

 

 

[T Rex]

 The mock draft people aren’t in the NBA. They’re fans, and the Anthony Bennett hype never made any sense at all. I compared him to Bass and nobody would hear it! Blasphemy!

Now he’ll probably never even reach Bass level, and revisionists wanna act like nobody, NOBODY doubted Anthony Bennett.

As if the teams couldn’t possibly have had Bennett outside their top 10s.

As if Bennett was actually a good prospect.

Ya right

 

 

 

 

[T Rex]

 I said Washington should take Giannis at #3 instead of Porter, and nobody would hear it.

People get these rigid hierarchies in their minds, and then they only compare prospects to those in their exact hierarchy. Byron Scott would appear to be one of them. Dion Waiters, Anthony Bennett, now D’Angelo Russell.

In two years somebody will say I’m re-writing history for saying that I didn’t have D’Angelo Russell or Anthony Bennett in my top 15.

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Bennett was outed as a fraud of a prospect by NBA teams before the draft.

Byron Scott just never seems to get the memo. He probably goes by the mock draft web sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr. HookShotParticipant]

Could you please post the link to the post where you said these kind of things? Just saying “Washington should have … ” is not very convincing, as it’s very easy to be smart in hindsight.

[Mr. HookShotParticipant]

Could you please post the link to the post where you said these kind of things? Just saying “Washington should have … ” is not very convincing, as it’s very easy to be smart in hindsight.

[T Rex]

 I said Washington should take Giannis at #3 instead of Porter, and nobody would hear it.

People get these rigid hierarchies in their minds, and then they only compare prospects to those in their exact hierarchy. Byron Scott would appear to be one of them. Dion Waiters, Anthony Bennett, now D’Angelo Russell.

In two years somebody will say I’m re-writing history for saying that I didn’t have D’Angelo Russell or Anthony Bennett in my top 15.

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Bennett was outed as a fraud of a prospect by NBA teams before the draft.

Byron Scott just never seems to get the memo. He probably goes by the mock draft web sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dmo21Participant]

 Well mock drafts are different than big boards. When I (and I assume most people) make a mock draft, you’re guessing who each team is going to draft. You’re not picking who you would draft or ranking them like in a big board. So saying that sites had him in their mock drafts as evidence of people thinking he was a good prospect is arguable. He was a surprising pick, but there was rumours teams liked him in the top 10, so that’s where people put him.

[T Rex]

 Good point.

[T Rex]

 Good point.

[dmo21Participant]

 Well mock drafts are different than big boards. When I (and I assume most people) make a mock draft, you’re guessing who each team is going to draft. You’re not picking who you would draft or ranking them like in a big board. So saying that sites had him in their mock drafts as evidence of people thinking he was a good prospect is arguable. He was a surprising pick, but there was rumours teams liked him in the top 10, so that’s where people put him.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

He wasn’t top 10 material in my mind, but even the day before the draft, people thought he was going to be in the 5-8 range. First pick overall was definitely a reach. Maybe some scouts thought his outside game would develop. He should have raised concerns when he stated he wanted to be a 3 at the next level.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

He wasn’t top 10 material in my mind, but even the day before the draft, people thought he was going to be in the 5-8 range. First pick overall was definitely a reach. Maybe some scouts thought his outside game would develop. He should have raised concerns when he stated he wanted to be a 3 at the next level.

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

 I have texts saying Bennett should have went 18th Immediately after he got drafted lol. Noel #1 despite injury. Looking back either Noel or Oladipo for this cavs team.

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

 I’ll admit I thought Oladipo would be ok not potentially a really good player.

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

 I’ll admit I thought Oladipo would be ok not potentially a really good player.

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

 I have texts saying Bennett should have went 18th Immediately after he got drafted lol. Noel #1 despite injury. Looking back either Noel or Oladipo for this cavs team.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 He was expected to go anywhere from about the 7-12 range from what I can remember leading up to the draft. I think this site had Alex len going number one overall on draft day. There was no  consensus top pick that year with Noel being injured but Bennett was definitely a shocker. I don’t ever remember a reaction like that when a number one pick was announced.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 He was expected to go anywhere from about the 7-12 range from what I can remember leading up to the draft. I think this site had Alex len going number one overall on draft day. There was no  consensus top pick that year with Noel being injured but Bennett was definitely a shocker. I don’t ever remember a reaction like that when a number one pick was announced.

[IlladelphParticipant]

THe point was made that mock drafts are just predictions and are not based on NBA GM input.  While this is true for some mock drafts, some are known to be fairly informed.  Chad Ford’s mock draft is actually pretty good, and pretty close to the real drafts.  Matter of fact, so is nbadraft.net’s site as well as draftexpress.com’s.  Chad Ford had Bennett #4 on his final Big Board right before the 2013 NBA draft.  To say that nba mock drafts are not reflective of NBA thinking is not accurate.  Most maybe, but not all.  And the ones that do talk to a lot of GMs, and NBA front offices had Bennett in the top 10.

[T Rex]

 Chad Ford probably thought Bennett’s lack of size and defensive instincts, iq, and effort were irrelevant, because his dunks looked so cool when he lifted his legs up.

Same shallow crap that made D Russell a potential superstar just because he can throw a one handed pass with side-spin. What’s defense? Who cares?

 

 

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

 DRuss also was a top 3 scorer, shooter and passer in the best conference in college bball last year, the Big10. Also is only 19 and made huge strides in his game in 1 year. Plus got great size for his position. 

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

 DRuss also was a top 3 scorer, shooter and passer in the best conference in college bball last year, the Big10. Also is only 19 and made huge strides in his game in 1 year. Plus got great size for his position. 

[T Rex]

 Sounds like Stauskas, but without the strength.

Russell is in no way capable of defending NBA point guards. And yet that obvious fact somehow does not seem to matter. Being black doesn’t make a person an athlete. Nor does a cool side-spin pass make a person an athlete.

Russell did a great job of avoiding all competition in the pre-draft process, and the two or three workouts he actually did were solo and carefully choreographed. 

No wonder he looked so shocked and helpless in summer league. Real athletes. Brand new concept for the boy in the bubble.

 

 

[T Rex]

 Sounds like Stauskas, but without the strength.

Russell is in no way capable of defending NBA point guards. And yet that obvious fact somehow does not seem to matter. Being black doesn’t make a person an athlete. Nor does a cool side-spin pass make a person an athlete.

Russell did a great job of avoiding all competition in the pre-draft process, and the two or three workouts he actually did were solo and carefully choreographed. 

No wonder he looked so shocked and helpless in summer league. Real athletes. Brand new concept for the boy in the bubble.

 

 

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

 You literally can say samething about Curry, irving and Lillard when they were rookies. No said Russell was a superior athlete, but can handle that rock, shoot, pass, and is a crafty scorer and has great size. Summer league don’t mean jack. 

[SkalAndJamalParticipant]

 You literally can say samething about Curry, irving and Lillard when they were rookies. No said Russell was a superior athlete, but can handle that rock, shoot, pass, and is a crafty scorer and has great size. Summer league don’t mean jack. 

[T Rex]

 Russell can barely dunk. He has no first step. In the NBA, being a point guard who can "handle the rock, shoot, pass, and be a crafty scorer" doesn’t mean crap if you’re not an explosive athlete.

Why is that concept so hard to understand? D1 and D2 are full of guys with lots of skills who have no chance of making the NBA, because they are non-athletes. No explosiveness.

Just look at Russell’s highlight videos. He moves about 10 steps in the whole videos. Just try to look up "D’Angelo Russell dunk" and see how few, and how unimpressive the search results are.

Even undrafted point guards like Phil Pressey and Ryan Boatwright can dunk between their legs, 360s, you name it.

You can’t just pose and swag out in the NBA at point guard, the most athletic position in the NBA, and perhaps all of sports.

How the F do you expect a non-athlete to move his feet quickly enough to stay in front of Kyrie, Lillard, Westbrook, Wall, Teague, Schroeder, Elfrid, Oladipo, all the way down the line of NBA point guards and combo-guards.

Kendall Marshall was distinctly more explosive than Russell in college, and in summer league, and in the NBA.

It shouldn’t be a difficult concept to understand, but side-spin pass does not equal athleticism, and all the self-confidence and swag in the world isn’t going to make Russell’s feet move any quicker.

Like I said, you guys just lump any black player with swag into the same "good enough athlete" vague category, as if Russell can just will himself into being athletic enough, through the magic of swag.

When Rondo lost most of his explosiveness after his ACL, a lot of people, entranced by Swag, still believed that Rondo was an elite player with excellent defense.

Swag-groupies can talk themselves into anything.

 

 

 

 

[T Rex]

 Russell can barely dunk. He has no first step. In the NBA, being a point guard who can "handle the rock, shoot, pass, and be a crafty scorer" doesn’t mean crap if you’re not an explosive athlete.

Why is that concept so hard to understand? D1 and D2 are full of guys with lots of skills who have no chance of making the NBA, because they are non-athletes. No explosiveness.

Just look at Russell’s highlight videos. He moves about 10 steps in the whole videos. Just try to look up "D’Angelo Russell dunk" and see how few, and how unimpressive the search results are.

Even undrafted point guards like Phil Pressey and Ryan Boatwright can dunk between their legs, 360s, you name it.

You can’t just pose and swag out in the NBA at point guard, the most athletic position in the NBA, and perhaps all of sports.

How the F do you expect a non-athlete to move his feet quickly enough to stay in front of Kyrie, Lillard, Westbrook, Wall, Teague, Schroeder, Elfrid, Oladipo, all the way down the line of NBA point guards and combo-guards.

Kendall Marshall was distinctly more explosive than Russell in college, and in summer league, and in the NBA.

It shouldn’t be a difficult concept to understand, but side-spin pass does not equal athleticism, and all the self-confidence and swag in the world isn’t going to make Russell’s feet move any quicker.

Like I said, you guys just lump any black player with swag into the same "good enough athlete" vague category, as if Russell can just will himself into being athletic enough, through the magic of swag.

When Rondo lost most of his explosiveness after his ACL, a lot of people, entranced by Swag, still believed that Rondo was an elite player with excellent defense.

Swag-groupies can talk themselves into anything.

 

 

 

 

[T Rex]

 Chad Ford probably thought Bennett’s lack of size and defensive instincts, iq, and effort were irrelevant, because his dunks looked so cool when he lifted his legs up.

Same shallow crap that made D Russell a potential superstar just because he can throw a one handed pass with side-spin. What’s defense? Who cares?

 

 

[IlladelphParticipant]

THe point was made that mock drafts are just predictions and are not based on NBA GM input.  While this is true for some mock drafts, some are known to be fairly informed.  Chad Ford’s mock draft is actually pretty good, and pretty close to the real drafts.  Matter of fact, so is nbadraft.net’s site as well as draftexpress.com’s.  Chad Ford had Bennett #4 on his final Big Board right before the 2013 NBA draft.  To say that nba mock drafts are not reflective of NBA thinking is not accurate.  Most maybe, but not all.  And the ones that do talk to a lot of GMs, and NBA front offices had Bennett in the top 10.

[nill650Participant]

 Considering the cavs had taken dion waiters 1 yr previous and still "believed in waiters as the future sg" it did’nt surprise me that they did not go for Oladipo. It was debateable after the Noel injury if Bennett or Porter on paper would fill the biggest need,but I think Bennett,despite the weight and injury concern coming in : STILL even to this day after a terrible rookie season even for the 45th pick and a mediocre sophmore campain marred by trade etc…Bennett is a better prospect than the majority of other players taken after him. What is Porter doing? I’ll tell you, exactly what he did in college he is a glue guy,nothing more. what is Oladipo doing? he is a great defensive guard,nothing much more yet. what is Noels real value if he were on a "good team" yet to be determined,but he certainly will never be able to increase his weight much on that leg…that lessens his future value inside. 

I guess when it is all said and done, Bennett is certainly a "bust" being taken at #1 overall,since he has’nt done squat. I don’t have a reputation in the media to worry about so i will just say it; I don’t think he is by any means finished …he is only 22 yrs old, and had a great run in canadian national play. What would be hillarious is if the cavs pick him up once he clears waivers and he actually plays well because who doe’snt play well when the King is on the team?

 

 But comparitively speaking there really wasn’t anyone else out side of Giannis that would have been more of a risk reward pick,IM sure the cavs are wishing they would have had the cahunas for the latter.

 

[T Rex]

 Oladipo was obviously better than Waiters, who Cleveland had no reason to still be so high on after a year.

With Noel, they probably would have won the title last year. With Len, there would have been no need to trade two first rounders for Mozgov, and they could have used one or two of those first rounders to trade for IT4, Ty Lawson, or some other super-sub behind Irving.

Literally any of those other guys would have been better, even Porter, another terrible need pick in the top 3.

But neither had any business in the top 10.

 

 

[nill650Participant]

 ok man easy for you to say now… but I disagree completely that Oladipo is better than Waiters as far as who i would rather give the ball to and expect them to carry my team., Len I never liked,still don’t see the value.

Yes Bennett has alot to prove to ever surpass the undervalued picks that have actually had some success already like  Giannis,MCW and even Steven Adams or Gobert,but I don;t understand how anyone can put Bennett out of the league already… if that is what you are suggesting. the wolves don’t need him and never had a fit for him with their roster before getting Townes,and now they certainly don’t. He can and i think will now get mad and more determined from this rejection and become better than the majority of "prove it or quit" attitudes spewing hate towards him ever could possibly have imagined.

 

[nill650Participant]

 ok man easy for you to say now… but I disagree completely that Oladipo is better than Waiters as far as who i would rather give the ball to and expect them to carry my team., Len I never liked,still don’t see the value.

Yes Bennett has alot to prove to ever surpass the undervalued picks that have actually had some success already like  Giannis,MCW and even Steven Adams or Gobert,but I don;t understand how anyone can put Bennett out of the league already… if that is what you are suggesting. the wolves don’t need him and never had a fit for him with their roster before getting Townes,and now they certainly don’t. He can and i think will now get mad and more determined from this rejection and become better than the majority of "prove it or quit" attitudes spewing hate towards him ever could possibly have imagined.

 

[T Rex]

 Oladipo was obviously better than Waiters, who Cleveland had no reason to still be so high on after a year.

With Noel, they probably would have won the title last year. With Len, there would have been no need to trade two first rounders for Mozgov, and they could have used one or two of those first rounders to trade for IT4, Ty Lawson, or some other super-sub behind Irving.

Literally any of those other guys would have been better, even Porter, another terrible need pick in the top 3.

But neither had any business in the top 10.

 

 

[MopgrassParticipant]

 I have to admit, I was just as wrong as the Cavs. I had Bennett going 1st (nothing to brag about). He seemed to have so many good moves, so much quickness, ways of getting around defenders, and what looked like a solidly developing 3 point shot. He’ll never be what I hoped, but he could still end up really solid if he goes to a team where he can get playtime. 

[MopgrassParticipant]

 I have to admit, I was just as wrong as the Cavs. I had Bennett going 1st (nothing to brag about). He seemed to have so many good moves, so much quickness, ways of getting around defenders, and what looked like a solidly developing 3 point shot. He’ll never be what I hoped, but he could still end up really solid if he goes to a team where he can get playtime. 

[rich.homie.mitchParticipant]

 Oladipo averaged 18 points last year with 4 boards and 4 assists. His 3pt shot is suspect at 34% but he was 82% at the line last year. Saying Oladipo is only  a defensive player is ignorant, I think Oladipo could be a future All-Star guard, 

[rich.homie.mitchParticipant]

 Oladipo averaged 18 points last year with 4 boards and 4 assists. His 3pt shot is suspect at 34% but he was 82% at the line last year. Saying Oladipo is only  a defensive player is ignorant, I think Oladipo could be a future All-Star guard, 

[nill650Participant]

 I never said he was ONLY a defensive player..but that is and was his greatest selling point..the premise for valuing him over waiters who they had and picking oladipo at 1 in that draft would have been for his defense at the time and not much else.He has been given a lot of freedom in Orlando and has done well with it,I’ll give you that and I like the direction Orlando is going with payton and hezonja looking like long term solutions, but at the end of the day I still like waiters underated game and think he can be a huge factor for OKC and has maybe his last big chance to prove it more this yr…at this point both players stats are really about the same with oladipo slighly ahead due to more minutes played.

[sitlbitoParticipant]

 Oladipo has actually not been that good defensively in the NBA.

[sitlbitoParticipant]

 Oladipo has actually not been that good defensively in the NBA.

[nill650Participant]

 I never said he was ONLY a defensive player..but that is and was his greatest selling point..the premise for valuing him over waiters who they had and picking oladipo at 1 in that draft would have been for his defense at the time and not much else.He has been given a lot of freedom in Orlando and has done well with it,I’ll give you that and I like the direction Orlando is going with payton and hezonja looking like long term solutions, but at the end of the day I still like waiters underated game and think he can be a huge factor for OKC and has maybe his last big chance to prove it more this yr…at this point both players stats are really about the same with oladipo slighly ahead due to more minutes played.

[nill650Participant]

 Considering the cavs had taken dion waiters 1 yr previous and still "believed in waiters as the future sg" it did’nt surprise me that they did not go for Oladipo. It was debateable after the Noel injury if Bennett or Porter on paper would fill the biggest need,but I think Bennett,despite the weight and injury concern coming in : STILL even to this day after a terrible rookie season even for the 45th pick and a mediocre sophmore campain marred by trade etc…Bennett is a better prospect than the majority of other players taken after him. What is Porter doing? I’ll tell you, exactly what he did in college he is a glue guy,nothing more. what is Oladipo doing? he is a great defensive guard,nothing much more yet. what is Noels real value if he were on a "good team" yet to be determined,but he certainly will never be able to increase his weight much on that leg…that lessens his future value inside. 

I guess when it is all said and done, Bennett is certainly a "bust" being taken at #1 overall,since he has’nt done squat. I don’t have a reputation in the media to worry about so i will just say it; I don’t think he is by any means finished …he is only 22 yrs old, and had a great run in canadian national play. What would be hillarious is if the cavs pick him up once he clears waivers and he actually plays well because who doe’snt play well when the King is on the team?

 

 But comparitively speaking there really wasn’t anyone else out side of Giannis that would have been more of a risk reward pick,IM sure the cavs are wishing they would have had the cahunas for the latter.

 

[PulseGlazerParticipant]

 The Cavs have been a poorly run franchise. They blew nearly every high pick they had besides Kyrie, who was consensus #1.  Waiters and Bennet are straight busts, while Tristan is way overdrafted at 4.  There were better and more highly touted prospects there.  They decided to try and outsmart everyone then took guys who weren’t good enough and didn’t develop nearly enough.  If Lebron wasn’t from Ohio and this team didn’t have preposterous draft luck, they’d be absolutely terrible.

[PulseGlazerParticipant]

 The Cavs have been a poorly run franchise. They blew nearly every high pick they had besides Kyrie, who was consensus #1.  Waiters and Bennet are straight busts, while Tristan is way overdrafted at 4.  There were better and more highly touted prospects there.  They decided to try and outsmart everyone then took guys who weren’t good enough and didn’t develop nearly enough.  If Lebron wasn’t from Ohio and this team didn’t have preposterous draft luck, they’d be absolutely terrible.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 It could’ve been worse. They could have took Derrick Williams over kyrie. 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 It could’ve been worse. They could have took Derrick Williams over kyrie. 

[nill650Participant]

the other thing is despite passing on jonas for thompson and the other thompson, i think at the end of the day tristan thompson is every bit worth 80 million they offered him, and he is never hurt like irving and love,so that has to play a role in the decision of wether to pay him what he wants…but it does seem a bit high for a player with no outside shot.

 

 yeah the year they took waiters,most thought huh? what about drummond or barnes…but it was byron scott remember. waiters is not a bust imo, that term is used way to loosely these days. bennett is a bust, but certainly not done and should not be deemed forever resigned to the end of bench, this isnt thabeet or even darko.

 

if i redrafted i would have taken barnes at 4

I would have taken jonas at 4 

i would have taken steven adams or Bennett at 1 

etc

 

 

 

 

 

[nill650Participant]

the other thing is despite passing on jonas for thompson and the other thompson, i think at the end of the day tristan thompson is every bit worth 80 million they offered him, and he is never hurt like irving and love,so that has to play a role in the decision of wether to pay him what he wants…but it does seem a bit high for a player with no outside shot.

 

 yeah the year they took waiters,most thought huh? what about drummond or barnes…but it was byron scott remember. waiters is not a bust imo, that term is used way to loosely these days. bennett is a bust, but certainly not done and should not be deemed forever resigned to the end of bench, this isnt thabeet or even darko.

 

if i redrafted i would have taken barnes at 4

I would have taken jonas at 4 

i would have taken steven adams or Bennett at 1 

etc

 

 

 

 

 

[nick5354Participant]

Although Kyrie was in a lot of people’s minds the best talent, there was the very real possibility Cavs would not take him. At the time Caves had both the 1st and 4th pick, and so I remember there was a very real chance of taking Derrick Williams no 1 and then take their future PG Knight at 4.

Also many people were hesitant to take him no 1 due to injury and only playing relatively few college games.

 

 

[nick5354Participant]

Although Kyrie was in a lot of people’s minds the best talent, there was the very real possibility Cavs would not take him. At the time Caves had both the 1st and 4th pick, and so I remember there was a very real chance of taking Derrick Williams no 1 and then take their future PG Knight at 4.

Also many people were hesitant to take him no 1 due to injury and only playing relatively few college games.

 

 

[-Aria-Participant]

 Thats a fat load of Bull Crap…

Woj has lost his bloody mind…  I will admit openly that I BELIEVED THAT Bennent would be the best player of his draft, I didn’t expect him to go first, but man I honestly thought he’d be a beast…

and like you guys said HE was highly regarded by everyone… Woj is losing his bloody mind…

 

he’s just trying to create drama for more clicks and stuff…. amazing journalism 

 

 

 

 

 

[-Aria-Participant]

 Thats a fat load of Bull Crap…

Woj has lost his bloody mind…  I will admit openly that I BELIEVED THAT Bennent would be the best player of his draft, I didn’t expect him to go first, but man I honestly thought he’d be a beast…

and like you guys said HE was highly regarded by everyone… Woj is losing his bloody mind…

 

he’s just trying to create drama for more clicks and stuff…. amazing journalism 

 

 

 

 

 

[GBeeParticipant]

 There’s probably some embellishment on Woj’s part but I don’t really care.  He’s still one of the more credible insiders that covers the NBA.  This doesn’t change that.

As for Bennett, it is unfathomable to me how an NBA level scout could pour over college footage of Bennett and come to the conclusion that he was their guy.  If you just isolate his play over the course of the season, there were red flags all over the place. I mean the dude couldn’t work out and he isn’t much of an interview (delusional, said he could see himself playing SG in the future), so all they had was scouting tape.  The only criticisms that I really heard were that he had tweener size and that he was bad defensively, but his weaknesses and bad attributes went WAY beyond that.  He wasn’t just bad defensively, he was horrible defensively.  Zero awareness, lack of effort, poor reactions, bad conditioning, zero leadership qualities, bad body language and he was extremely soft.  People just assumed that because he was 240-250 with a big frame that he was physical and tough when in fact is/was neither.  He got worse over the course of the season and shrunk in the few big moments that his team actually had.  

A lot of those traits extended to the offensive side too: lazy, didn’t work for position, low iq, poor passer, didn’t even know how to set a proper screen and had bad shot selection.  On top of that, he was old for his class and late to the game.  Also if you looked at his recent history dating back to his junior year, you’d see that he had a tendency to be injury prone to go along with a bad body type that saw him put on weight in recovery.  Him putting on bad weight after his frosh season ended was not the first, nor the 2nd time that has happened. He’s naturally a heavy dude who has to be active and really on top of his sht to be fit. He also has asthma and sleep apnea too which can impact his conditioning.

There HAD to have been some group think that went on when people were deciding where to place Bennett in mocks. All it takes is one rumor either legitimate or floated out by an agent to create a snowball effect, but still, it was unconscionable to me that a scout could analyze Bennett’s game, going over hundreds of hours of footage, coming away thinking he was number 1 pick caliber.  Even before we’ve gotten to see how his career has panned out early on, he was THE worst prospect I have ever seen and probably will see get selected 1st overall.  The fact that he was taken there gives the average Joe hope that he too can become a scout, or possible NBA FO decision maker.

[GBeeParticipant]

 There’s probably some embellishment on Woj’s part but I don’t really care.  He’s still one of the more credible insiders that covers the NBA.  This doesn’t change that.

As for Bennett, it is unfathomable to me how an NBA level scout could pour over college footage of Bennett and come to the conclusion that he was their guy.  If you just isolate his play over the course of the season, there were red flags all over the place. I mean the dude couldn’t work out and he isn’t much of an interview (delusional, said he could see himself playing SG in the future), so all they had was scouting tape.  The only criticisms that I really heard were that he had tweener size and that he was bad defensively, but his weaknesses and bad attributes went WAY beyond that.  He wasn’t just bad defensively, he was horrible defensively.  Zero awareness, lack of effort, poor reactions, bad conditioning, zero leadership qualities, bad body language and he was extremely soft.  People just assumed that because he was 240-250 with a big frame that he was physical and tough when in fact is/was neither.  He got worse over the course of the season and shrunk in the few big moments that his team actually had.  

A lot of those traits extended to the offensive side too: lazy, didn’t work for position, low iq, poor passer, didn’t even know how to set a proper screen and had bad shot selection.  On top of that, he was old for his class and late to the game.  Also if you looked at his recent history dating back to his junior year, you’d see that he had a tendency to be injury prone to go along with a bad body type that saw him put on weight in recovery.  Him putting on bad weight after his frosh season ended was not the first, nor the 2nd time that has happened. He’s naturally a heavy dude who has to be active and really on top of his sht to be fit. He also has asthma and sleep apnea too which can impact his conditioning.

There HAD to have been some group think that went on when people were deciding where to place Bennett in mocks. All it takes is one rumor either legitimate or floated out by an agent to create a snowball effect, but still, it was unconscionable to me that a scout could analyze Bennett’s game, going over hundreds of hours of footage, coming away thinking he was number 1 pick caliber.  Even before we’ve gotten to see how his career has panned out early on, he was THE worst prospect I have ever seen and probably will see get selected 1st overall.  The fact that he was taken there gives the average Joe hope that he too can become a scout, or possible NBA FO decision maker.

[bimirudParticipant]

Pro basketball is the only sport where they don’t even try to develop their players. They’re reluctant to send them down to the D-League, it’s considered some kind of purgatory.

NBA refuses to deal with the NCAA to draft and stash players in college. And when a rookie enters the greatest league in the world where you have to play against future Hall of Famers you’re considered a bust if you can’t cut it on Day 1.

It’s not fair. Change the system to give players who arean’t ready, a real chance to get ready like Bennett finally got by playing for Canada this summer.

[bimirudParticipant]

Pro basketball is the only sport where they don’t even try to develop their players. They’re reluctant to send them down to the D-League, it’s considered some kind of purgatory.

NBA refuses to deal with the NCAA to draft and stash players in college. And when a rookie enters the greatest league in the world where you have to play against future Hall of Famers you’re considered a bust if you can’t cut it on Day 1.

It’s not fair. Change the system to give players who arean’t ready, a real chance to get ready like Bennett finally got by playing for Canada this summer.

[morestealsthanscoresParticipant]

 it was a bizarre pick at the time, and things are playing out as most people expected (by not having them in their top 5).

personally, I had Bennett falling to OKC at number #12 and thought that would be a steal for them – but most sites had him in the 6-9 range.

 

 

[morestealsthanscoresParticipant]

 it was a bizarre pick at the time, and things are playing out as most people expected (by not having them in their top 5).

personally, I had Bennett falling to OKC at number #12 and thought that would be a steal for them – but most sites had him in the 6-9 range.

 

 

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 There is Nothing going on in sports – B/c Sports media have come to realize that there are people – like us – who LUV the Draft they began covering it like crazy & when there are lots of good stories it’s great… But b/c web sites (like this one) have filled that space to fill a need & people basically know who the top picks are these media companies must create NEW content – otherwise we don’t log on or watch that channel… Think about it – they are not going to just say hey there are no new or fresh stories this year, we’ll just have to lose that advertising money this year – No Ucking way is that going to happen! – Last year was a Great example – EVERY scout on planet Earth said from Spetember STRAIGHT thru to June that Jahlil Okafor & Karl Anthony Towns are By Far the top 2 prospects…. So come May, when they have that hole they plan to fill w/ NBA Draft content – they come up w/ "narratives" they tear down existing top propects & build up others… Technically it’s not lying – every prospect has "strengths" & "weaknesses" so the well known prospects have their "weaknesses" highlighted & they build stories around that & lesser known prospects have their "strengths" highlighted to cause some conjecture & it then they can flash headlines using "anonymous" sources – for example GM says Mudiay or Russell could be the #1 pick & then the talking heads like Jeff Goodman will say "Steve Adams – In My Opinion – is a Better prospect than Nerlens Noel 7 a future Star in this League!" – It’s all a guessing game, so you can’t hold their feet to the fire – I wouldn;t be surprised if Wojo honestly doesn’t remember b/c they sling so much B.S. during those Two weeks….

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 There is Nothing going on in sports – B/c Sports media have come to realize that there are people – like us – who LUV the Draft they began covering it like crazy & when there are lots of good stories it’s great… But b/c web sites (like this one) have filled that space to fill a need & people basically know who the top picks are these media companies must create NEW content – otherwise we don’t log on or watch that channel… Think about it – they are not going to just say hey there are no new or fresh stories this year, we’ll just have to lose that advertising money this year – No Ucking way is that going to happen! – Last year was a Great example – EVERY scout on planet Earth said from Spetember STRAIGHT thru to June that Jahlil Okafor & Karl Anthony Towns are By Far the top 2 prospects…. So come May, when they have that hole they plan to fill w/ NBA Draft content – they come up w/ "narratives" they tear down existing top propects & build up others… Technically it’s not lying – every prospect has "strengths" & "weaknesses" so the well known prospects have their "weaknesses" highlighted & they build stories around that & lesser known prospects have their "strengths" highlighted to cause some conjecture & it then they can flash headlines using "anonymous" sources – for example GM says Mudiay or Russell could be the #1 pick & then the talking heads like Jeff Goodman will say "Steve Adams – In My Opinion – is a Better prospect than Nerlens Noel 7 a future Star in this League!" – It’s all a guessing game, so you can’t hold their feet to the fire – I wouldn;t be surprised if Wojo honestly doesn’t remember b/c they sling so much B.S. during those Two weeks….

[mgreener_34Participant]

 While this is a BS quote, I think there is some merit to it, and people are over rating the hype that surrounded Bennet before the draft. Anyone who didn’t think that Olidipo and Noel were the two best prospects in that draft are delutional, and they should have gone 1 or 2 respectably, and probably would have if Noel didn’t get injured. Taken away that injury and all of a sudden Bennet doesn’t look like a sure fire bet at the top 10. Look at the teams in the lottery. Look at how they draft. Zeller would still go #4, Porter #3, McLemore #7, Adams #12 and the only team in the top 10 that needed a PF, just happened to draft Anthony Davis the year before and want him to exclusively play PF…Maybe Philly takes a chance on him at #11, but that’s really it. 

Bennett was not seen as a can’t miss prospect, and with his conditioning being a red flag and terrible performance in the NCAA Tourny, he did NOT have much rising stock. The only reason he got any sort of hype was because the 2013 draft was a hit or miss draft, and most of the prospects were high risk/high reward like Giannis, Shroader, Len, MCW, Adams, and Bennett himself. 

[mgreener_34Participant]

 While this is a BS quote, I think there is some merit to it, and people are over rating the hype that surrounded Bennet before the draft. Anyone who didn’t think that Olidipo and Noel were the two best prospects in that draft are delutional, and they should have gone 1 or 2 respectably, and probably would have if Noel didn’t get injured. Taken away that injury and all of a sudden Bennet doesn’t look like a sure fire bet at the top 10. Look at the teams in the lottery. Look at how they draft. Zeller would still go #4, Porter #3, McLemore #7, Adams #12 and the only team in the top 10 that needed a PF, just happened to draft Anthony Davis the year before and want him to exclusively play PF…Maybe Philly takes a chance on him at #11, but that’s really it. 

Bennett was not seen as a can’t miss prospect, and with his conditioning being a red flag and terrible performance in the NCAA Tourny, he did NOT have much rising stock. The only reason he got any sort of hype was because the 2013 draft was a hit or miss draft, and most of the prospects were high risk/high reward like Giannis, Shroader, Len, MCW, Adams, and Bennett himself. 

[Author]

Posts