[KDThunder35Participant]

Derrick Williams is still number 1 on this site….I know Derrick had a great tournament, he actually blew me away from time to time.  I just don’t see the number 1 pick in this guy with Kyrie as an option on the board.  I don’t see him being an allstar at any given point in his career in the NBA due to his size and lack of a "true" position.  The hardest position in the league for a tweener is the slot between the 3 and the 4.  I just feel he would be extremely exposed if he played a 3 on the defensive end (I mean he would have to guard LeBron, I know anyone guarding LeBron is a mismatch but can you picture Derrick Williams guarding him?).  Let me know your thoughts.  Thanks.

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 Well of course he can’t Lebron quite yet. Most SF in the league have trouble guarding that good of a player. And actually Williams can play better defense than this site suggests. The comparison that this site has for him is a little off. Personally, I think he is more of a cross between Antwan Jamison and Danny Granger. He will play the 3 at the next level and he will not be exposed there at the next level. He would be exposed if he played the 4 because of his height but when he plays the 3 he’ll be the just fine and on another level athletically. He has a great work ethic and is willing to rise above any and all oppostion people may say about him. He’s got heart, and a passion for the game that scouts will just love. 

On the other hand, Irving while he is talented and probably the better prospect overall, was only healthy for 8 games this season! That’s not very much to evualate a player. Now he did play superb during those 8 games but that was 3 or 4 months ago. Who knows how much rust he will have on him. If Irving really wanted to solidify his status as the #1 pick then he would have not quit in that Arizona game and won it for them probably leading Duke to a 2nd championship. 

Williams may not go necessarily #1 though. A lot will depend on the lottery because there is no clear cut #1 in this draft. But he will be in the top 3 along with Irving and Barnes.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 I know people talk about his lack of size, but I think it depends a lot on if that 3 point shooting is for real. The guy shot 56% from three. I think no one thinks his shooting is really that good, but if he can keep up being deadly from that distance then it would seem like the sky’s the limit. 

[M-DYMESParticipant]

With the clutch D he showed in the tourney combined with his overall domination offensively and on the boards, IMO he by far deserves to go #1 if the team is in need of a SF or PF.  Kyrie is overhyped IMO.  I think he will be a great starting guard, but everyone saying hes the next Chris Paul is a bit over the top.  Dude played 8 game up until the tourney and Nolan Smith was still the starter when it mattered.  Williams carried Arizona and proved to me that he is the real deal.  He reminds me of a cross between a few players.  He can play the weak side D with the athleticism of a Kenyon Martin at times, can shoot the 3 as a SF/PF like Beasley, but then he does have a decent mid range game and a few post moves like Jamison.  He is very versatile, and if you are looking for a defender amongst the elite in this class, he isn’t bad when you consider all you are gettin in the package.

[KDThunder35Participant]

Derrick did shoot a ridiculous percentage from 3 this year in college.  He would be a good perimeter shooter in the league, but the NBA three is a different kind of shot.  I also don’t see him beating 3’s in the league off the dribble often.  He did showcase his handle a little in the tournament, but that was against college bigmen.  How is he going to react when Shane Battier is in his grill not giving him an inch to breathe? I just am skeptical with him as a 3.

As far as Irving goes ward12.  I just think Duke was out of sync against Arizona.   Nolan Smith was use to being the primary ball handler and creator for the majority of the season with Kyrie out.  He didn’t know how to handle being the secondary option, and you could tell he seemed flustered.  Also, Kyrie made the Plumlee’s look a lot better than they are.  If you watched the first 8 games with Kyrie, Mason looked like a lottery lock because Kyrie put him in the best position to score, and with scoring comes confidence in other aspects of the game (Rebounding, shot blocking, etc.).  I don’t think Kyrie quit on them in the Arizona game as much as it was Duke being out of sync.  If Kyrie came back during the ACC tournament, I think this NCAA tournament would have ended up a little different.

Thanks for the feedback though.

[ghettosermonParticipant]

The Wizards and Warriors are two teams in the lottery that absolutely wouldn’t draft Kyrie if they won the lottery, so you can’t say that the #1 pick is Kyrie regardless.

[JoeWolf1]

I think he is a legit canidate to go #1 in the year’s draft depending on who draws the #1 pick, but I feel it’s more beacuse of this draft.  I don’t feel if last years’ top 5 were in this draft, that he would over any of them, but thats not a knock on him.  I’ve been aware of Williams for a long time and was skeptical of him being a top 5 pick, but he’s changed my mind and in this draft I think he is one of the top 3 players and he can contribute right away.  He’s not a guy to turn around your franchise, but this year he’s the best most NBA ready forward in the draft.

[omphalosParticipant]

I’d never seen Williams play until the tournament, but he really impressed me. He has that winning mentality. The game against Duke was remarkable, he willed them to that victory.

As an aside, anybody know why Barnes is off the mock again? He hasn’t said he’s definitely staying yet so it strikes me as odd they’d take him out.

[The lake show2]

Relax its just this sites opinion. Every site has a opinion of who should be number one every year.

[HitsterParticipant]

Noticed that Barnes has been moved over probably just Aran’s opinion at the moment and no doubt the mocks will be adjusted once the Final 4 is over and we know who is doing what. If Derrick can take his 3 point range to the NBA then he offers nice options at 3 or 4 for teams looking for perimeter scorers. He has a nice size advantage over a fair few NBA SF’s and could use his range against more inside orientated PF’s as well.

Until we know the outcome of the draft lottery it is impossible to say who goes where because as ghettosermon rightly says the Wizards and probably the Warriors would be highly unlikely to draft Irving given their current PG’s. If they do come up in the draft lottery then one could well favour Williams as top pick but if they came out 1 and 2 then there are issues.

If the player you really want is likely to go first do you look to trade down and take a slightly lesser player hoping for some sweetner for a team to move up. But unless say the team drafting 3 was absolutely desperate for say Irving they might just play hard ball trying to force the hand of the team maybe drafting 2nd. You then may have all sorts of deals being looked at if other teams want to trade up or move All Star talent for a younger star.

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