2014 Draft Prospects:

Huge fan of the internationals this year. Jusuf Nurkic has a ton going for him (#1), as does Exum (#6), Nikola Jokic (#10), Clint Capela (#11), Damien Inglis (#15), Moussa Diagne (#24) and Mario Hezonja (#27).

2nd round picks: Klemen Prepelic (#40), Guillem Vives (#42), Dario Saric (#44), Vasilje Micic (#45), Artem Klimenko (#46), Adin Vrabac (#48), Thanasis Antetokounmpo (#54), and Bogdan Bogdanovic (#56)
 
Hezonja isn't entering this year, is he? Have I missed something?

Also I have no idea why you have some of those guys rated ahead of Saric, it just seems bizarre to me. Curious as to whether you've seen them play... Each to their own.
 
Hezonja isn't entering this year, is he? Have I missed something?

Also I have no idea why you have some of those guys rated ahead of Saric, it just seems bizarre to me. Curious as to whether you've seen them play... Each to their own.
Actually, Saric is #32nd now.

He had a great bounce back year, but let's not forget last year when he had an awfully brutal shooting year at the Adriatic League. I also think he's a tad turnover and foul prone, essentially error prone, on top of the issues with shooting both inside and outside of the three point line. Athleticism is somewhat in question. He can pass the ball, but if he can't shoot and if he's turnover prone, that's going to have repercussions with his passing, since they are tied to one another. The only thing I feel comfortable with right now is his rebounding ability. He might be a high IQ player, which means he could figure it out, but I think it will be a process, and I think he's right when he says that he's not sure he's NBA-ready yet. I'd like to see a year of good shooting numbers and reduced turnovers first.
 
I think KJ McDaniels goes much higher than people are projecting him right now. I'd say in the 8-14 range.

Aaron Gordon is high on my list right now if the Kings pick in the 7-8-9 range. The ability to defend guards/wings on switches is a huge need in the NBA right now, and he can do it well. He's unselfish, hustles, and is athletic. High level role player.
 
I think KJ McDaniels goes much higher than people are projecting him right now. I'd say in the 8-14 range.

Aaron Gordon is high on my list right now if the Kings pick in the 7-8-9 range. The ability to defend guards/wings on switches is a huge need in the NBA right now, and he can do it well. He's unselfish, hustles, and is athletic. High level role player.
would you say hes on par with MKG of the bobcats?
 

hrdboild

Hall of Famer
As we get closer to draft day -- it's really just Embiid, Exum, and Wiggins that I feel very comfortable with in the top 10. Parker and Randle are a small step below that for me, though I'd be happy with those guys as well. After those top 5 there are high risk projects like Smart, Vonleh, and Gordon and there are solid roleplayer types like Gary Harris, James Young, Nik Stauskas. Unfortunately I don't see any of them helping us much for the next couple years, though odds are I'm almost certainly wrong about at least one of them (just wish I knew which one).

I'd really like to see us pick up another first round pick somehow or trade down for two lower picks if none of the top 5 players slip (Chicago's 16 and 19 perhaps) and try to take a flyer on some potential sleepers like Elfrid Payton (solid playmaker and defender with no jumpshot) or Clint Capela (the next in a long line of raw but freakishly athletic international big men). In a draft like this where each team's rankings are going to be all over the place it makes sense to target skills which compliment our team philosophy instead of sitting back and taking whatever we end up with. Payton and Capela are long-shots of course, but stashing them on the bench and seeing if we can make one of them a valuable rotation guy might improve our chances of filling a need with this draft pick.
 
Anyone like Sim Bhullar? 7'5" 360 lb guy. No range and agility, but he scores (or more like dunks--30% of his shots are dunks), rebounds and blocks shots at his level.
he'd make the kings famous for sure. famous for getting dunked on! he's slow like an elephant. players are going to want to climb the india mountain and dunk on him.

we'll get the indian shawn bradley if we draft him.
 
What's your opinion on Jerami Grant out of Syracuse? Good upside on defense (7'2 wingspan) could develop behind Rudy next year. I know he is a project, but can he be a longterm solution as a lock-down defender?
 
S

SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
It seems as the draft approaches that the most likely scenario is that we'd be drafting a 6th man/role player
If we draft Wiggins/Parker
And we keep Gay/ Ben Mac improves tremendously
Do we start the season with Wiggins/Parker on the bench? LOL
If we draft Embiid, barring no injuries, I see him in the starting lineup off the bat. Exum would be a starter unless Ray Mac/IT showed tremendous improvement. Vonleh/Randle would prolly be starters off the bat. More so Randle but that would be a dumb pick.
Realistically, those guys will be gone when we draft and I don't see any of the other remaining players in the draft starting for us....
So, maybe it would be wise to trade our pick and possibly use this opportunity to offload Landry and create some major cap space for next summer when all the stars are free agents.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
1) McDaniels would be a major steal as a 2nd rounder. That's the problem with exposure in general; does anyone watch Clemson basketball? Kid is athletic. He had 59 dunks this season--easily top ten in all of college--and pads steal and block combinations, hustles and very accurate at tipping in shots off o-boards. Power forward level of handles and sorely needs to improve his jumper, but that's a ton of athletic clay to work with. He's a late lottery pick (14th) in my book.

2) Hairston is 13th in my ranks (also late lotto). Yeah, I get the possible personality baggage, but that's no different from say, a JR Smith, a player that has a pretty high correlation to what Hairston does. Streak jumpshooting-based scorer, essentially. Hairston's not a passer, but interestingly his venture to the D-League saw very efficient shooting inside of the three point line, which pales in the face of his UNC competition. He also passed the ball like PFs, but he brings enough to the table here.

3) McGary--my mock is not a fan. I have him as the last pick of the draft, talent-wise (60th). Yeah, I get the hype--dude is active as a rebounder and gets a ton of steals and blocks, can finish and score efficiently. But with age concerns, injury concerns (also a smaller dunk rate this season too compared to last), a really shady free throw percentage, and a complete inability to draw fouls, I think there's some that work sagainst him. He's known as a heart hustle player with maybe the upside of a Nick Collison, which is what a playoff team wants though, so I wouldn't be surprised if he gets late 1st round consideration. But, there are a ton of questions, perhaps more than what he brings to the table.

4) Napier--33rd (early 2nd rounder). He's been there throughout the season, and frankly, it's finally great to see him get consideration. He isn't athletic (o dunks this season, plus awful finishing numbers) and his jumper at times is hit and miss, but he draws fouls well, has that scoring mentality, and I do think he limits turnovers enough to be a point in this league. He's worth that 2nd round flyer.

5) Daniels--undrafted. You've got to look past this season, and look at prior seasons. He's got power forward handles. I'm thinking Rasual Butler. Not good enough.

6) Brown--Late 2nd rounder (52nd). He handles the ball/has vision like a PF, and he's 6'4"ish. Red flag right there. Scorer

7) Johnson--Unfortunately, undrafted. I have a bunch of Euros that are absolutely littering the 2nd round of my mock, and he's one of the casualties. Dude can dunk, has improved his shooting, can defend, but he's a 6'2" shooting guard. Not even a point. I think he's better than what my mock says, in the same way that McGary is, as teams can crossmatch him and he brings several things to the table at an adequate/good rate. But, those short arms have got to hurt, and I'm not exactly sure if I can really buy into the shooting.

8) O'Bryant. Undrafted. I remember when he was a 218 lb'er---he went to 260 in a flash to become a full time big. He has the shot jacking mentality and frankly accuracy of a Glen Davis. Haven't seen a big shoot 39% from the field at college for a while.

9) Dinwiddie--A personal favorite of mine, perhaps early 20s to late 20s (later in 1st round--22nd). Yeah, I know he isn't an above the rim guy and he can't finish, but he's aggressive, draws fouls and hits threes, while handling the ball well. That's enough to get some looks, but he's not a PG (despite Colorado trying to force that down on us). Eh defender and pretty shoddy defensive playmaker though.

10) Clarkson--59th (right before McGary). We've seen them gunner guards before. Got a lot of transfer hype he didn't live up to.
I think your being a little harsh on McGary making him the last pick in the draft. If not for his back injury, he'd probably be a first round pick, and rightly so. You just sort of threw away the fact that he's a rebounding machine, gets a lot of steals and blocks, and scores efficiently as though none of those things mattered. They are precisely what matters. Yes he fell off a bit this year, but considering he was playing with a bad back, he was still very effective. Its the back that I'm leery of. If he gets a clean bill of health, and you can pick him up in the second round, your getting a steal. Lets us not forget that he was a top ten player coming out of highschool and was one of the most recruited bigs that year. He's a deceptive athlete with much better hops than he would appear to have. He's also taller and just all around bigger than Collison.

I agree with you on both McDaniels and Hairston. Both in all likelyhood will go in the first round. I saw a couple of mock drafts that had them in the second round, so I included them. I disagree on Dinwiddie. I think he goes in the second round, and I like him. But he's coming off an injury and his lack of athleticism will hurt him.
 
I think your being a little harsh on McGary making him the last pick in the draft. If not for his back injury, he'd probably be a first round pick, and rightly so. You just sort of threw away the fact that he's a rebounding machine, gets a lot of steals and blocks, and scores efficiently as though none of those things mattered. They are precisely what matters. Yes he fell off a bit this year, but considering he was playing with a bad back, he was still very effective. Its the back that I'm leery of. If he gets a clean bill of health, and you can pick him up in the second round, your getting a steal. Lets us not forget that he was a top ten player coming out of highschool and was one of the most recruited bigs that year. He's a deceptive athlete with much better hops than he would appear to have. He's also taller and just all around bigger than Collison.

I agree with you on both McDaniels and Hairston. Both in all likelyhood will go in the first round. I saw a couple of mock drafts that had them in the second round, so I included them. I disagree on Dinwiddie. I think he goes in the second round, and I like him. But he's coming off an injury and his lack of athleticism will hurt him.
Yeah Baja. I'm torn here. My mock kind of values upside players, and McGary's not it. But hey, that didn't hurt Taj Gibson (and won't hurt Adreian Payne either--I really like that guy with my eye test, even though my mock hates him). I think McGary is Nick Collison. An excellent at-rim finisher, defensive machismo, active hands. He's not a shotblocker, but when paired with a shotblocker, he'll find a good role. He's ideal for a playoff team for those reasons. Age is less of a concern, he brings ready-made attributes, won't be asked to play outside that box, so he'll get great looks into the 20s.

Dinwiddie's ACL tear will have to be investigated, but I can see him as a spot-up three point shooter with some savviness to draw fouls on drives while limiting turnovers. With question marks on other guys, I'm higher on him than most.

As for Bhullar, I remember reading a 2011 Sports Illustrated article talking about Asian behemoth who would carry the torch from Yao. But watching him, man. Stiff. Everything is based virtually on height with him, but to be fair he seems productive at his level. A lot of things won't translate--remember Hamed Haddadi? Dude actually produced in limited minutes--finishing, rebounding--but he had apparent stamina issues/run-the-court defense issues that undercut all that. I think Bhullar is like Haddadi--will produce in limited doses, but he won't last. And that's the problem.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Yeah Baja. I'm torn here. My mock kind of values upside players, and McGary's not it. But hey, that didn't hurt Taj Gibson (and won't hurt Adreian Payne either--I really like that guy with my eye test, even though my mock hates him). I think McGary is Nick Collison. An excellent at-rim finisher, defensive machismo, active hands. He's not a shotblocker, but when paired with a shotblocker, he'll find a good role. He's ideal for a playoff team for those reasons. Age is less of a concern, he brings ready-made attributes, won't be asked to play outside that box, so he'll get great looks into the 20s.

Dinwiddie's ACL tear will have to be investigated, but I can see him as a spot-up three point shooter with some savviness to draw fouls on drives while limiting turnovers. With question marks on other guys, I'm higher on him than most.

As for Bhullar, I remember reading a 2011 Sports Illustrated article talking about Asian behemoth who would carry the torch from Yao. But watching him, man. Stiff. Everything is based virtually on height with him, but to be fair he seems productive at his level. A lot of things won't translate--remember Hamed Haddadi? Dude actually produced in limited minutes--finishing, rebounding--but he had apparent stamina issues/run-the-court defense issues that undercut all that. I think Bhullar is like Haddadi--will produce in limited doses, but he won't last. And that's the problem.
Yeah, I'm not too excited about Bhullar. The only similarity between him and Ming, is height. Ming was very skilled and Bhullar isn't. Ming was also a much better athlete. Maybe a couple of years in the D-League might make him useful to an NBA team. He's certainly not going to solve any of our problems.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
What's your opinion on Jerami Grant out of Syracuse? Good upside on defense (7'2 wingspan) could develop behind Rudy next year. I know he is a project, but can he be a longterm solution as a lock-down defender?
You inadvertently posted in last year's draft prospect thread. I've moved your post here for you...
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
Yeah, I'm not too excited about Bhullar. The only similarity between him and Ming, is height. Ming was very skilled and Bhullar isn't. Ming was also a much better athlete. Maybe a couple of years in the D-League might make him useful to an NBA team. He's certainly not going to solve any of our problems.
And weight. :) Just the same, he would be a lane clogger and I'd like to see him on the roster of the Bighorns.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
I want absolutely no part of Napier. He thinks he's far better than he is, which is the reason he was a good college player, but it won't fly at the next level. He's fearless and has very active hands defensively, but I don't like him.

As for who I like in the 2nd round - Vasilije Micic, Jokic (may go much earlier), Bogdanovic, Markel Brown, Damien Inglis, Mitch McGary (big fan of his if he's there in the 2nd just for value), KJ McDaniels. May even take a flyer on Isaiah Austin even though I'm not his biggest fan.
I'm down with that perspective of Napier. I saw too much show-boaty stuff in the NCAAs, signalling that he did in fact think he thought he was pretty hot stuff when in fact he wasn't all that.
 
S

SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
Actually, Saric is #32nd now.

He had a great bounce back year, but let's not forget last year when he had an awfully brutal shooting year at the Adriatic League. I also think he's a tad turnover and foul prone, essentially error prone, on top of the issues with shooting both inside and outside of the three point line. Athleticism is somewhat in question. He can pass the ball, but if he can't shoot and if he's turnover prone, that's going to have repercussions with his passing, since they are tied to one another. The only thing I feel comfortable with right now is his rebounding ability. He might be a high IQ player, which means he could figure it out, but I think it will be a process, and I think he's right when he says that he's not sure he's NBA-ready yet. I'd like to see a year of good shooting numbers and reduced turnovers first.
Actually, he'll probably be late lottery.
He had an amazing finish to his season.
Give him a year or two and he will be a star.
If you're looking for a perfect fit next to Cousins, this is the guy. Hard worker, quiet and stays out of your way.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I'm down with that perspective of Napier. I saw too much show-boaty stuff in the NCAAs, signalling that he did in fact think he thought he was pretty hot stuff when in fact he wasn't all that.
Well, we are talking about a second round pick. He may be a bit cocky, but it shows he has confidence in himself. Plus, he's a winner. Not saying he did it all on his own, but what exactly has Marcus Smart won? Yet Smart gets all the hype. Look, I'm not a big fan of Napier's. But I have to give credit where its due, and he just led his team to a national championship.
 
Well, we are talking about a second round pick. He may be a bit cocky, but it shows he has confidence in himself. Plus, he's a winner. Not saying he did it all on his own, but what exactly has Marcus Smart won? Yet Smart gets all the hype. Look, I'm not a big fan of Napier's. But I have to give credit where its due, and he just led his team to a national championship.

Your views on Smart are just becoming warped at this stage, Baja. We get that you're not a fan, but lets not get irrational. There's no comparison between Smart and Napier as Sophomores, nor is there one when it comes to physical tools. You're better than this.
 
Your views on Smart are just becoming warped at this stage, Baja. We get that you're not a fan, but lets not get irrational. There's no comparison between Smart and Napier as Sophomores, nor is there one when it comes to physical tools. You're better than this.
I'm not a fan of Smart's game and I don't really like his fit next to Cousins, but he definitely has the physical tools and the drive to be a good player. The issue for me is that I doubt his ability to be a distributor/facilitator and that makes me wonder if he's really a PG on the next level.

That's part of my frustration with this year's draft. There's a very good chance IT is gone this offseason so PG should be an area to target. And as I've said many times, even if IT is retained I think he is best served being an elite sixth man if a starting PG could be acquired that would facilitate the offense more. But looking at this draft I don't know which PG prospect that would even be.

Smart has size, tools and reportedly a work ethic and strong desire to improve. He's also a scoring guard with a poor shot who might end up being a SG.

Exum likely won't be available for the Kings to draft but he seems a lot more like a ball dominant SG than a PG. And he scares me anyway. He's the type of player that I think will either be a star or a bust. His playing style is so predicated on him controlling the action and being given the green light that if he isn't a stud on the next level I would guess it would take him a long time to readjust to life as a role player.

Ennis is a pure PG but Syracuse's system (offensively and defensively) hides weaknesses and accentuates strengths. He's a facilitator who always has his head up and has good but not elite court vision. He hits the open guy and makes the right pass but he doesn't seem to have that sense of anticipation that you see from guys like Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Rubio, even early JWill. In football terms he doesn't "throw guys open". I do like how he plays the pick and roll which is something we've never done enough with Cuz. He's a decent shooter but is he a good enough athlete to succeed on the NBA level? Can he guard opposing PGs? He seems like a better fit for the Kings at #7 but would they regret passing on Smart who could be much better if he puts it all together?

Some sites list LaVine as a PG and compare him to guys like Westbrook and Rose. I just don't see it. He looks like a SG to me.

I really like Elfrid Payton but his shot is busted. It will have to be broken down and rebuilt completely or it will severely limit his ability on the next level. I worry about his penchant for being sloppy (which surprises me since he's pretty solid with his fundamentals on D) but I think that will get fixed on the next level.

I like Napier as a backup PG but with the team already having McCallum I don't think I'd use a 2nd on him. Neither guy seems like the starting PG for a good team but both should be good backups.
 
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He hits the open guy and makes the right pass but he doesn't seem to have that sense of anticipation that you see from guys like Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Rubio, even early JWill. In football terms he doesn't "throw guys open".
I like that term "throw guys open".

I'm not a big fan of Ennis, or I should say enough that I'd pick him over Smart or Gordon. I really wasn't that high on Smart at first (freshman season) but there is something about him - beyond the stats - that I can envision him making huge plays in crunch time, whether it be a steal, dive for a loose ball, take a charge that decide games. I'm not too worried about his shooting, some guys actually improve in the NBA with more spacing, but yeah, it's a concern. My biggest concern with him is if he has the quickness to play opposing NBA PG's.

Ennis will make a team happy late lotto, although I think years down the road. Just don't see enough quickness to deal with the NBA speed.

With all of these question marks I still have Gordon as my pick for the Kings. You get a hustling, athletic, defensive minded player who has enough quickness to guard on the perimeter. Plus I think his offensive game will develop too...eventually.
 
I like that term "throw guys open".

I'm not a big fan of Ennis, or I should say enough that I'd pick him over Smart or Gordon. I really wasn't that high on Smart at first (freshman season) but there is something about him - beyond the stats - that I can envision him making huge plays in crunch time, whether it be a steal, dive for a loose ball, take a charge that decide games. I'm not too worried about his shooting, some guys actually improve in the NBA with more spacing, but yeah, it's a concern. My biggest concern with him is if he has the quickness to play opposing NBA PG's.

Ennis will make a team happy late lotto, although I think years down the road. Just don't see enough quickness to deal with the NBA speed.

With all of these question marks I still have Gordon as my pick for the Kings. You get a hustling, athletic, defensive minded player who has enough quickness to guard on the perimeter. Plus I think his offensive game will develop too...eventually.
I think Ennis will figure out the game and eventually be an Andre Miller type player, though Miller was SO much more polished coming out of Utah so I do think it will take a while. I think it's likely Ennis will disappoint in his rookie year.

I like Gordon, I just have a hard time envisioning his role on the Kings or how well his game will translate.
 
I like that term "throw guys open".

I'm not a big fan of Ennis, or I should say enough that I'd pick him over Smart or Gordon. I really wasn't that high on Smart at first (freshman season) but there is something about him - beyond the stats - that I can envision him making huge plays in crunch time, whether it be a steal, dive for a loose ball, take a charge that decide games. I'm not too worried about his shooting, some guys actually improve in the NBA with more spacing, but yeah, it's a concern. My biggest concern with him is if he has the quickness to play opposing NBA PG's.

Ennis will make a team happy late lotto, although I think years down the road. Just don't see enough quickness to deal with the NBA speed.

With all of these question marks I still have Gordon as my pick for the Kings. You get a hustling, athletic, defensive minded player who has enough quickness to guard on the perimeter. Plus I think his offensive game will develop too...eventually.
reminds me of a player we took 2 drafts ago... undersized, hustling, athletic, defensive minded, great work ethic