Pre 2011 NBA Draft Lottery Chat

[Mike]

Boo. Want Enes Kanter. Chances he's available at 5?

[Shoalzie]

And for the most part, the top college programs are still the top college programs...As long as colleges like: Duke, UNC, UCONN, KAN etc. have the money, prestige and history they will get their guys, and that has not changed.

For most part, that is still true...but gone are the days of invincibility amongst the have and the have nots. To keep these programs from being the machines they used to be is to have guys only stay with the program for a single season so the coach has to interegrate new players every year. A team like Butler, they rise up because they keep their players for 3 or 4 years and they win by virtue of experience and continuity. In the case of a North Carolina, they get the top recruits but they had a down year in 2010 because of too many early departures from the 2009 title team. The big programs that take chances on a 1-and-done player have to replace the player after one year. John Calipari has acknowledged that he's will to take on these players. He seemingly has a different team each year...albeit very talented but it's a one time deal. He had only one year to win with Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe, et al. Coach K will usually pass over 1-and-dones...Irving was the exception to the rule. On the other hand, he'll keep a guy like Kyle Singler or Nolan Smith for all 4 years.

As for the money thing...yeah, the NBA does have a slotted system for salaries for the NBA but a motivation to get into the league sooner is that they're closer to free agency to get more money. And it's not like the NBA is paying these rookies peanuts. The other catch with this year's class...does an underclassman declare with the possibility of a lockout looming? Same could be said for an NFL prospect this year. The NBA is going to have some major issues to work out before next season (whenever that will take place)...but that's another subject for another time.

[bma]

Boo. Want Enes Kanter. Chances he's available at 5?

Unlikely.

[bma]

The NBA needs a hard cap and the MLB needs some sort of friggen cap.

[MSP4LYFE]

For most part, that is still true...but gone are the days of invincibility amongst the have and the have nots. To keep these programs from being the machines they used to be is to have guys only stay with the program for a single season so the coach has to interegrate new players every year. A team like Butler, they rise up because they keep their players for 3 or 4 years and they win by virtue of experience and continuity. In the case of a North Carolina, they get the top recruits but they had a down year in 2010 because of too many early departures from the 2009 title team. The big programs that take chances on a 1-and-done player have to replace the player after one year. John Calipari has acknowledged that he's will to take on these players. He seemingly has a different team each year...albeit very talented but it's a one time deal. He had only one year to win with Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe, et al. Coach K will usually pass over 1-and-dones...Irving was the exception to the rule. On the other hand, he'll keep a guy like Kyle Singler or Nolan Smith for all 4 years.

No arguments here, I agree with these comments 100%.

As for the money thing...yeah, the NBA does have a slotted system for salaries for the NBA but a motivation to get into the league sooner is that they're closer to free agency to get more money. And it's not like the NBA is paying these rookies peanuts.

Granted, but the payout is not even comparable between the top draftees, and unlike with the NBA, college ball players (MLB) can negotiate for even more money by threatening to return to college, and improve their draft stock. You also have to consider that the majority of NBA draftees jump right into the NBA, so you are paying for an asset that will help you know, in baseball you won't see any picks on the big club for on average, 3-4 seasons, and in most cases, never. You also have to consider that the top players in baseball make more than just about any athletes in pro sports.

The other catch with this year's class...does an underclassman declare with the possibility of a lockout looming? Same could be said for an NFL prospect this year. The NBA is going to have some major issues to work out before next season (whenever that will take place)...but that's another subject for another time.

The obvious answer is no, we have already seen: Jared Sullinger, Perry Jones ( ), and Harrison Barnes stay an extra year, and each of them were ranked top 5 by a majority of scouting agencies.

[MSP4LYFE]

Boo. Want Enes Kanter. Chances he's available at 5?

Cleveland has a hole in their front court, so it seems unlikely he falls past four.

Given the needs of the teams ahead of us, as well as our own needs, I would be shocked if Bryan Colangelo drafted anyone but Brandon Knight, Biyombo Bismark or Terrence Jones.

[bma]

Boo. Want Enes Kanter. Chances he's available at 5?

Cleveland has a hole in their front court, so it seems unlikely he falls past four.

Given the needs of the teams ahead of us, as well as our own needs, I would be shocked if Bryan Colangelo drafted anyone but Brandon Knight, Biyombo Bismark or Terrence Jones.

Cleveland has has holes everywhere

[MSP4LYFE]

Boo. Want Enes Kanter. Chances he's available at 5?

Cleveland has a hole in their front court, so it seems unlikely he falls past four.

Given the needs of the teams ahead of us, as well as our own needs, I would be shocked if Bryan Colangelo drafted anyone but Brandon Knight, Biyombo Bismark or Terrence Jones.

Cleveland has has holes everywhere

Assuming they select Kyrie Irving #1 they will be pretty well set up in the back court moving forward. But even ignoring that, it seems that the NBA is trending back towards a big mans game, every team remaining in the playoffs, save for Miami has a strong 4-5 combo:

Dallas (Chandler - Nowitzki)
Chicago (Noah - Boozer)
Oklahoma (Perkins - Ibaka)

And expanding to teams who made the playoffs:

Memphis (Randolph - Gasol)
Los Angeles (Gasol - Bynum)
San Antonio (Blair- Duncan)
Portland (Aldridge - Camby/Odom)
Orlando (Turkoglu- Howard)
Indiana (Granger - Hibbert)
Boston (Garnett - O'Neill)
New Orleans (West - Okafor)
Atlanta (Smith - Horford)

[Scott]

Tree Hockey is fucking terrible..

[Arian The Insider]

terrence jones took his name out of the draft and i can see utah taking knight because of their big man depth so we might have to choose from vessely, valanciunas, or walker..

[MSP4LYFE]

terrence jones took his name out of the draft and i can see utah taking knight because of their big man depth so we might have to choose from vessely, valanciunas, or walker..

Shit...I didn't even know about that.

I agree that Utah needs a guard after dealing Deron Williams, but it would be a stretch for anyone to take Brandon Knight in the top 3, I just can't see it happening.