Official 2012 NBA Draft Thread

[Elite]

I'd rather have Beal. I just see him as a guy who's going to give you 20+ a night on good percentages for the majority of his career.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Who would you take if you're Cleveland at #2?

 

[elcheato]

I've been on the Beal bandwagon before he played a game at Florida, so I'd take him over anyone but AD. My only pause would be wondering if two high scoring guards could work but it's just a small worry, simply because of how efficient Kyrie is.

 

[Yankees2772]

I think Beal is going to be an excellent defender too. I've been on his bandwagon since HS too and am upset he's climbing so high because now I can't claim him to be "my guy".

 

[Elite]

When the only weaknesses that Chad Ford can come up with on you are...

• Undersized for the two guard position
• May be a bit of a tweener

...I want you on my team.

 

[elcheato]

One thing that always puzzled me with him was the poor 3PT% last year. He's got everything though.

 

[Yankees2772]

Yeah it's a bit puzzling, but I'm not super concerned. I like how he still excelled considering he played with a bunch of ballhogs at Florida, should bode well for his maturity and being able to be a great team player.

 

[elcheato]

Florida was hard to watch, considering how much I like Beal and even Patric Young. Boynton and Erving Walker are just terrible.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

I love how MKG would fit with Cleveland though. I think Washington might be the ideal fit for a guy like him, but him and Irving have a lot of chemistry together from HS and I know that combination would work out nicely if it happened.

 

[elcheato]

It's hard not to find a great fit with Kyrie because of how versatile and complete a player he is.

We really can't go wrong as long as we get a top 3 pick, and depending on people's opinions of Andre Drummond (mine being very high on him) we can't go wrong if we get top 4.

 

[elcheato]

I like Tony Wroten as a late round pick as well. Think he could be a really good player.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Drummond is definitely the most talked about player in the draft. I think with a lot of players in this draft, you kind of know what you're gonna get, but not with Drummond. He is either going to be a big hit or a big miss. Personally if I was a GM, I would pass.

Wroten's biggest problem is his jumper. If he had one, he'd be the best PG in the draft.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

I'm undecided on MKG. I don't think he's nearly as safe of a pick as some people believe.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

I think he's a safe pick because no matter how bad of an offensive player he could be (Gerald Green, Darius Miles, whatever), he's still going to make an impact on his team as a defensive player and a leader. The kid does everything right.

 

[elcheato]

Has nothing to do with 2012, but interesting for 2013:

Cody Zeller is reportedly approaching 7-feet and has added 15 pounds since arriving at Indiana.

Former Indiana assistant coach Dan Dakich ran into Zeller a few weeks ago at a tournament in Bloomington.

"And he looked big," Dakich said. "I mean, big. You know how some guys, when you get around them, they're not as big as you think? And then other guys, you get around them and you're like, 'Oh my god!' I've never done this before -- never asked a kid how tall he is like I'm a fan in an airport. But I was like, 'How tall are you? Have you grown?'"

Tom Crean confirmed Danich’s assessment.

"Cody is bigger," Crean told me. "And better."

Zeller, who was projected as a lottery pick in the upcoming draft before deciding to return for his sophomore season with the Hoosiers, was listed at 6-foot-11, 230 pounds last season.

"The improvement is gonna be with the way he shoots the ball because he can really shoot the ball, but he lost some confidence last season," Dakich said. "He shot an airball against Butler from the free throw line, and I think he really lost confidence [after that]. He and I talked about it, and he's been working on it. But he can really shoot. Like really, really shoot. And that's what you're gonna see this year -- an improved and more versatile offensive game."

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Perry Jones workout review by Chad Ford

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog/_/name/nba_draft/id/7971202/2012-nba-draft-scouts-gms-split-opinions-baylor-perry-jones

 

[RipCity32]

Don't have insider

 

[RipCity32]

I'm so excited for the lottery so I can be disappointed as fuck when we pick where projected again

 

[Elite]

Don't have insider

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- On Thursday I made the trip up the California coast from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to take in the BDA sports group workout.

Led by agents Bill Duffy, Kevin Bradbury, Todd Ramasar, Rade Filipovich, Calvin Andrews, David Mondress and Ugo Udezue, BDA has a number of clients in this year's draft training at the University of California at Santa Barbara. On Thursday they invited more than 80 NBA GMs and scouts to witness a three-hour workout of their clients.

I was on hand to both watch the workouts and to talk to the GMs and scouts in attendance.

Here's what I learned:

The two biggest enigmas in the draft are Connecticut Huskies big man Andre Drummond and Baylor Bears forward Perry Jones. I'll see Drummond in New York early next week.

Jones was the headline attraction Thursday. Whether his performance answered the questions NBA teams have about him is open to interpretation.

The workout featured Jones as a wing -- a smart move to validate NBA scouts who believe that Jones was miscast as a center in Baylor's offense the past two years. While Jones has the size of an NBA center, he's a perimeter-oriented big man who shies away from contact in the paint. He always looked more comfortable with the ball in his hands facing the basket than he did backing down a defender in the paint.

Thursday's workouts capitalized on Jones' strengths and featured him in a number of drills alongside other wings like the Vanderbilt Commodores' Jeff Taylor and UC Santa Barbara's Orlando Johnson.

Jones wowed early. He's unusually quick and fluid for a player his size. While he's not a lights-out shooter, he's got a nice stroke and knocked down 7-of-15 from NBA 3-point range in one drill. He's also a solid ball handler for his size and looked very comfortable running all the drills on the perimeter.

What was most impressive was his explosiveness in the paint. When Jones hit the lane, he blasted off the ground for a number of thunderous, highlight-reel dunks.

In many ways he reminded me of another unusually big wing -- Paul George. George measured 6-foot-10 in Indiana Pacers training camp and played the 2 and 3 all season for Indiana. Both are excellent athletes who are comfortable putting the ball on the floor and pulling up for jumpers. Both players were accused of not dominating the game during their two seasons in college. George didn't even make first-team All-WAC as a sophomore.

While George's numbers were slightly better across the board, he was allowed to play the wing in college. Jones, on the other hand, played the 4 and 5 the entire season.

After the workout, some things were clear. Others were not.

Jones is going to look terrific in individual workouts. There are very few players in this or any draft who can do the things he does at his size. A team could easily fall in love with his potential and make him a top-5 pick. George fell all the way to No. 10 on draft night and virtually every team that passed on him now regrets it. If we were to do over the 2010 draft today, he'd be the second or third player off the board.

What is less clear is whether a position change will improve Jones' motor and overall mental toughness. He disappeared for long stretches during Baylor's season and shied away from contact. Was Jones just unhappy with his role at Baylor and therefore not as engaged as he could've been? Or is there something deeper in his personality that saps the competitive edge out of him?

In speaking with Jones on Thursday, he's aware of what teams are concerned about and said he's working on improving his mental toughness and body language. He specifically said he's trying to improve his attitude when his shot doesn't fall early.

As for the GMs in the room? Everyone I spoke with came away with a different opinion. Here were two of the most representative:

"That sort of talent doesn't come along very often," one GM said. "As I was watching the workout, I thought you finally got to see what a freed-up Perry Jones could do if a coach just lets him be himself. He could be a dominant, and I mean dominant, forward with his size, athletic ability and skill set. I think he's a hard worker and will be a much better contributor if you give him the chance to be himself. I'd have no concerns drafting him in the top five. He could be a home run of a pick."

And the other side ...

"Of all the guys that are in your top 10, I'd have the hardest time taking him," another GM said. "I know he wants to be a 3, but I don't think he does anything that we ask our 3s to do that is special. He's not a great shooter. He doesn't have a great handle. He's not an aggressive defender. He's got great size and athleticism, but he's not skilled enough. That means he'll end up being a stretch 4, which is a euphemism for a guy who doesn't have a position.

"Could he be great? Sure. But I think he's a major project and a major risk. There are safer picks in the top 10 with very good upsides. I think there's a good chance that he slides in the draft as people continue to wrestle with who he is."

I wish I could tell you which camp I'm in. Both seem right, paradoxically.

 

[Pugz]

I'm so excited for the lottery so I can be disappointed as fuck when we pick where projected again

i was just telling my friend idk why im so excited we aren't moving up lol