[OhCanada-Participant]

Over the past few years Ive noticed alot of bigs have entered the league. Theres alot of talent emerging as true PF’s, stretch PF’s and C’s.Im leaving guys like Nikola Mirotic, Nerlens Noel off the list until they play pro ball. Also didnt add SF/PF tweeners like Bennett or Derrick Williams. Decided to reflect on the last 4 Drafts Big Men (not including 2014) whrre they were selected and thier current value. Interesting post, also very opinion based. Ill rank them all in the morning.

 

 2010 Draft Class

 

Derrick Favors-2nd Overall

 

DeMarcus Cousins-5th Overall

 

Greg Monroe-7th Overall

 

Ed Davis-13th Overall

 

Patrick Patterson-14th Overall

 

Larry Sanders-15th Overall

 

Trevor Booker-23rd Overall

 

Rankings

 

#1- Cousins

 

#2- Monroe

 

#3- Favors

 

#4- Sanders

 

#5- Patterson

 

#6- Davis

 

#7- Booker

 

Notes

 

-I remember thinking anybody that passed on Cuz for anyone but Wall was crazy and debating on why Boogie Smooth should go 1st ahead of John Wall. Still today there is no clear cut better player but Walls team has made the playoffs so Id think he gets the edge.

 

-Ed Davis (UFA) hasnt gotten the oppurtunity to play signifigant minutes. In Toronto he shared minutes with Amir Johnson. When given starter minutes he produced at a starter level. If given oppurtunity this year he could move up high on this list.

 

– Trevor Booker (RFA) is my favourite player on this list not named Demarcus Cousins. He played an important role on Washington as an extremely energetic garbage guy that does what his team needs. I loved watching him play at Clemson with so much energy I instantly became a fan and knew he would find an NBA niche.

 

– I think Sanders is a little overrated but still put him ahead of Patterson, Davis, and Booker because when hes playing at his best his defence wins games and has a huge impact on the game.  

 

– Patterson has really lived up to his NBA Ready expectations as a draft prospect. He plays his role to perfection.

 

 

2011 Draft Class

 

Enes Kanter- 3rd Overall

 

Tristan Thompson- 4th Overall

 

Jonas Valanciunas- 5th Overall

 

Bismack Biyambo- 7th Overall

 

Markieff Morris- 13th Overall

 

Nikola Vucevic- 16th Overall

 

Kenneth Faried- 22nd Overall

 

Rankings

 

#1- Valanciunas

 

#2- Vucevic

 

#3- Morris

 

#4- Kanter

 

#5- Faried

 

#6- Thompson

 

#7- Biyambo

 

Notes

 

– The Valanciunas Vucevic debate will likely carry on for a while as each player progresses. Ill go with the better defensive presence in this case considering Valanciunas still scores at a similar rate with a much lower usage rate.

 

-This class is very hard to rank and is very close from 3 to 6

 

-Morris scored at the highest rate but on a team with great playmaking gaurds, the team also won 48 games with him as a huge contributor.

 

-Kanter has shown to be a solid rebounder and great in the low post. Hasnt fit in defensively next to Favors at all but still is great offensively.

 

– Faried is a great energy player who scores with excellent effieciency with til ins dunks and layups. Great in transistion as well. Not much of a developed offensive game and not the greatest defender but an excellent rebounder and a guy that will get you extra possessions.

 

– Thompson has not lived up to expectations from Cleveland but I wouldnt call him a bust. He has fulfilled expectations of most of the users on this site in his short time in the league. Good on ball defender which isnt shown in stats. Cavs expected him tl be an impact help defence type guy but he has not shown any reason to believe he will be.

 

2012 Draft Class

 

Anthony Davis- 1st Overall

 

Thomas Robinson- 5th Overall

 

Andre Drummond- 9th Overall

 

Meyers Leonard- 11th Overall

 

John Henson- 14th Overall

 

Tyler Zeller- 17th Overall

 

Andrew Nicholson- 19th Overall

 

Jared Sullinger- 21st Overall

 

Kyle Oquinn- 49th Overall

 

Rankings

 

#1- Anthony Davis

 

#2- Andre Drummond

 

#3-John Henson

 

#4-Jared Sullinger

 

#5- Thomas Robinson

 

#6-Tyler Zeller

 

#7-Meyers Leonard

 

#8-Kyle Oquinn

 

#9- Andrew Nicholson

 

Notes

 

-The unibrow has a chance to be an alltime great. This kid is good

 

-Drummond is an absolute force rebounding and defending on and off the ball. He could end up being one of the biggest draft steals of all time and he only slipped to 9th.

 

-Henson deserved more minutes on that pityful Bucks team last year. I think he has huge upside as a PF but shouldnt be expected to play C even know Milwaukee will try to mould him into that position with Parker and Anetekoumpo on the roster.

 

-Sully only shot 43% last year but Boston was grooming his perimeter play. 

 

-I really like Robinsons game he reminds me of Faried but just doesnt get the minutes to make the same impact. He is one of the best rebounders in the league and I think that would show with an expanded role. Hate to say Id like to see him traded again whoch would be his 4th team but longterm in Portland it doesnt look like he gets much PT unless Aldridge leaves.

 

-Meyers Leonard has amazing tools and needs to be developed. I dont like what Portlands doing with him but I understand he cant play next to Aldridge if he doesnt bang at that size and doesnt rebound. Huge upside and great offensive big "now".

 

-Zeller and Oquinn are guys advanced stats guys would love. Both guys just dont get the run they deserve due to Anthony Bennett being selected 1st Overall and Nicholson selected 19th. They have been giving minutes in the feontcourt to try to justofy those investments.

 

-With the failed attempt at becoming a stretch four last year and the signing of Channing Frye it looks like Nicholson maybe on his way out of the league if he doesnr play better soon.

 

2013 Draft Class

 

Cody Zeller- 4th Overall

 

Alex Len- 5th Overall

 

Kelly Olynyk- 12th Overall

 

Steven Adams- 13th Overall

 

Gorgui Dieng- 21st Overall

 

Mason Plumlee- 22nd Overall

 

Rudy Gobert- 27th Overall

 

Ranking

 

#1-Plumlee

 

#2-Adams

 

#3-Dieng

 

#4-Olynyk

 

#5-Zeller

 

#6-Gobert

 

#7-Len

 

Notes

 

-Also a very tough class to rank. Mainly due to the fact that they still have bot developed. Also because each serves completely different roles.

 

-Plumlee showed me the most longterm upside. He shot 66% showed good defence on weak side and on the ball for his position, showed he can play both sides of the pick and roll, showed midrange jumpshot touch, decent ft shoorer, good post offence and defence. He is an elite athlete for his position as well and well coached. I really think he is the future in Brooklyn Im very high on him and feel he will one day be one of the beat C’s in the league.

 

-Adams wont blow you away statistically but if you watch him play and you really love the sport he will put a smile on your face. He sets screens and picks with brute force and is extremely tough but always composed and playing within the rules. He really ticks off apposing teams with solid steong play and always keeps poise. 

 

-Diengs stats may be padded by being on a bad Minnesota team but averaging a doublw double with 2 blocks per 26 minutes is fantastic however you look at it. He will be a good player in this league for a while.

 

-Zeller didnt ever fit into the stretch PF role he was convincing wveryone he could play predraft. Ended up shooting a very low percentage for a 7’footer and struggled playing his role despite consistantly getting oppurtunity albeit limited oppurtunity.

 

-Len had a nightmare season that he will look to improve with a full Sumner League, Training Camp and Preseason this year.

 

 

 

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

I hate when I double post.Comment in the other one so this can fade away./p>

[OhCanada-Participant]

I hate when I double post.Comment in the other one so this can fade away./p>

[IhateusernamesParticipant]

 I remember Alex Len’s reverse dunk against Duke in college and going what the fuk did I just see !!!???

It’s only a handful of 7’2" guys in the history of the world who could’ve done that. I’m still very excited for his upside. 

Meyers Leonard is another who made my jaw drop constantly at Illinois, but he was very immature, not in a spoiled way, but in an aw shucks country boy kind of way. Athletically he is in Andre Drummonds class. Hopefully he is ready to do away with some of the joking and cackling and unlock his immense potential.

[IhateusernamesParticipant]

 I remember Alex Len’s reverse dunk against Duke in college and going what the fuk did I just see !!!???

It’s only a handful of 7’2" guys in the history of the world who could’ve done that. I’m still very excited for his upside. 

Meyers Leonard is another who made my jaw drop constantly at Illinois, but he was very immature, not in a spoiled way, but in an aw shucks country boy kind of way. Athletically he is in Andre Drummonds class. Hopefully he is ready to do away with some of the joking and cackling and unlock his immense potential.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

I’m not sure how you ranked players.

For example, Kanter WILL get better, but right now he does not contribute more than Thompson or Faried. The same could be said about John Henson. He’s shown flashes of good basketball, but right now he’s not better than Sullinger.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

I’m not sure how you ranked players.

For example, Kanter WILL get better, but right now he does not contribute more than Thompson or Faried. The same could be said about John Henson. He’s shown flashes of good basketball, but right now he’s not better than Sullinger.

[ropeParticipant]

It seems like these lists taper off into servicable role players pretty quickly.  Not sure it means there has been a resurgence in big men yet.  Someone on the team has to be tall and more than a few of them are going drafted for this reason.

Let’s see how the next couple of draft crops play out.  There seem to be some pretty good prospects in college right now, but it is a long way from heralded recruit to impact player in the league.

[ropeParticipant]

It seems like these lists taper off into servicable role players pretty quickly.  Not sure it means there has been a resurgence in big men yet.  Someone on the team has to be tall and more than a few of them are going drafted for this reason.

Let’s see how the next couple of draft crops play out.  There seem to be some pretty good prospects in college right now, but it is a long way from heralded recruit to impact player in the league.

[Author]

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