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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    San Francisco

    The Kyrie Irving/Mason Plumlee NBA Draft Vigil

    From time to time, Kyrie's toe thread has slipped into discussion and speculation on his NBA draft prospects and whether his injury might bring him back to Duke next year. I received a negative comment for discussing it in the toe thread because it was off-topic, so thought I'd start the thread that you know will make your head spin between now and the deadline for college players to enter their names in the NBA draft. So many factors are at play here for Kyrie.

    To kick off this thread, Chad Ford put out a mock draft randomizer that has Kyrie going 1 or 2 in the several scenarios I played out. He projects that some teams would take Perry Jones over Kyrie. http://espn.go.com/nba/lottery2011/mockdraft

    Draft Express has Kyrie going #1. http://www.draftexpress.com/

    NBADraft.net has Derrick Williams going #1 with Kyrie going #2. http://www.nbadraft.net/
    "I don't like them when they are eating my azaleas or rhododendrons or pansies." - Coach K

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    The mods have decided that - distasteful as it may be - this topic is fair game.

    However, if anyone has an issue with the decision of a mod, please report the post with your concerns. Please don't get adversarial on the board. That is the path to the Dark Side.

    -jk

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    I have long ago decided that this type of conversation is irrelevant to any current college basketball season.

    Kyrie will or won't play for Duke next year and that is a decision he will make in the offseason. Our speculation on his draft status won't matter in his decision.

    All this discussion does is take away from our enjoyment of THIS season. I hope this thread drops to the second page as fast as possible.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington DC

    Hello Cleveland!

    Team and Wins:
    8 Cleveland
    10 Sacramento
    10 Minnesota
    13 Washington
    13 New Jersey
    17 Charlotte
    17 Clippers

    Hmmm...you'd want to avoid Cleveland and Charlotte, but the rest have substantial building blocks (Cousins/Evans, Love, Wall, Lopez/Favors, Griffin/Gordon).

    Either NJ or LA would seem to be the teams that could use an awesome pg to put them over the top. Minnesota already has Flynn and (ahem) Rubio, who they ought to trade for a pick.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington DC
    Quote Originally Posted by MarkD83 View Post
    I have long ago decided that this type of conversation is irrelevant to any current college basketball season.

    Kyrie will or won't play for Duke next year and that is a decision he will make in the offseason. Our speculation on his draft status won't matter in his decision.

    All this discussion does is take away from our enjoyment of THIS season. I hope this thread drops to the second page as fast as possible.
    I dont think of this as a way to fret over a teenager's decision, rather as a way to think how some NBA teams might be able to improve. The Clippers could get lucky with a top 5 pick and become a 50 win team next year based on their roster. The NBA off season is often as interesting as the season (ie The Decision, Celtics barely missing Duncan and Durant, Anything David Stern can dream up).

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New Jersey
    I'm selfish. I hope the likelihood of a lockout and the thought of teaming up with Austin Rivers keeps Kyrie in Duke Blue. Assuming he doesn't play this season, the idea of having him for only 6 or so games will be very frustrating to me, although I am not oblivious to the notion that I am being selfish for Duke basketball. He seemss like a great kid and I would wish him well in the pros, but I'd love to see him grow up for a full year under Coach K rather than in Cleveland, Sacramento, NJ or wherever.
    Rich
    "Failure is Not a Destination"
    Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Quote Originally Posted by superdave View Post
    Team and Wins:
    8 Cleveland
    10 Sacramento
    10 Minnesota
    13 Washington
    13 New Jersey
    17 Charlotte
    17 Clippers

    Hmmm...you'd want to avoid Cleveland and Charlotte, but the rest have substantial building blocks (Cousins/Evans, Love, Wall, Lopez/Favors, Griffin/Gordon).

    Either NJ or LA would seem to be the teams that could use an awesome pg to put them over the top. Minnesota already has Flynn and (ahem) Rubio, who they ought to trade for a pick.
    Nice analysis. Like you said, I really hope that Cleveland or Charlotte avoids KI (if he declares, which I think he won't. But that's just me!). I would hate to see him in Sacramento, as Evans needs the ball in his hands to be successful and Cousins is a potential cancer. Minnesota would be a great place, but their recent string of PGs hasn't worked out (Flynn, Rubio); I would just feel that KI wouldn't be in a conducive environment for PG. Washington won't take a PG for the next 10 years or so.

    So, that leaves NJ and LAC. With NJ, Devon Harris is a pretty damn good PG. His career has slid a little lately, but I think that's because he's playing with the Nets. Adding a player like Kyrie could motivate Harris back to potential All-Star status. With Clippers, they have a borderline PG All-Star as well, although he is getting really old. Plus, they drafted Bledsoe, who is vastly inferior to KI as a PG and is more of a combo guard. KI with the Clippers would be awesome as Griffin, KI, and Gordon would form an absolutely sick foundation.

    But I digress. Here's to KI making the best decision come April and hopefully, for a few selfish reasons, pairing up with AR next year!
    Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill

    President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club

  8. #8
    While I would love nothing more than to see Kyrie & Austin Rivers play together next year I will only have best luck for Kyrie in whatever decision he makes.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Deeetroit City
    If Kyrie is considered the best player available and the cadavaliers are licking their chops with the first pick, that alone could convince KI to return!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    San Francisco
    Quote Originally Posted by BD80 View Post
    If Kyrie is considered the best player available and the cadavaliers are licking their chops with the first pick, that alone could convince KI to return!
    If he's THAT scared of going to the Cavs, we may have him for 4 years =). I don't see the Cavs improving much in the near future.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by BD80 View Post
    If Kyrie is considered the best player available and the cadavaliers are licking their chops with the first pick, that alone could convince KI to return!
    That's what I was thinking. If Kyrie is on the fence, the prospect of going to Cleveland could keep him at Duke for another year.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cary, NC
    "Cadavaliers"? I really hope that wasn't a typo, because that is awesome.

    Barring a trade, it's almost a guarantee that a top pick is going to go to a crappy team. There's not really any way around it. I have to say I'm a little surprised guys like Kemba Walker and Jared Sullinger aren't in the discussion for being the top pick.

    Wow, I just ran the draft simulator and it has Harrison Barnes going #5 to the Nets. Really? That Russian billionaire owner must be drinking some serious vodka. I'd like to get my hands on some of that 8-)

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Durham
    Quote Originally Posted by UrinalCake View Post
    "Cadavaliers"? I really hope that wasn't a typo, because that is awesome.

    Barring a trade, it's almost a guarantee that a top pick is going to go to a crappy team. There's not really any way around it. I have to say I'm a little surprised guys like Kemba Walker and Jared Sullinger aren't in the discussion for being the top pick.

    Wow, I just ran the draft simulator and it has Harrison Barnes going #5 to the Nets. Really? That Russian billionaire owner must be drinking some serious vodka. I'd like to get my hands on some of that 8-)
    Yes, Ford has Barnes and Henson as top 10 picks. I guess how well you play in high school is more important than how well you play in college.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Quote Originally Posted by COYS View Post
    If he's THAT scared of going to the Cavs, we may have him for 4 years =). I don't see the Cavs improving much in the near future.
    "I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA Championship before the self-titled former 'king' wins one."

    You can take it to the bank.

    -Jason "The lottery makes trying to figure out which team will draft where nearly impossible" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Quote Originally Posted by RoyalBlue08 View Post
    Yes, Ford has Barnes and Henson as top 10 picks. I guess how well you play in high school is more important than how well you play in college.
    I'm sure Henson is hoping to get drafted by the Knicks. Then he can finally get advice from Ed Curry about how to gain weight.
    Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill

    President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Nashville
    Quote Originally Posted by MarkD83 View Post
    I have long ago decided that this type of conversation is irrelevant to any current college basketball season.

    Kyrie will or won't play for Duke next year and that is a decision he will make in the offseason. Our speculation on his draft status won't matter in his decision.

    All this discussion does is take away from our enjoyment of THIS season. I hope this thread drops to the second page as fast as possible.
    or, you could exercise your right to ignore it. for me, however, this doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the current season, and this topic is something i'll be curious about regardless of whether or not there's a thread about it. i'd prefer to track the discussion here than at IC.

    also, i don't like it when people suggest we not discuss something because our speculation won't change anything/we don't know as much as coach k, etc. doesn't that pretty much apply to ANYTHING that gets discussed here? people discuss because it's interesting to them, not because they think they'll have an effect on anything.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    nyc
    I think this thread is interesting. I realize it has no bearing on Kyrie's decision. But there are some really fun things to think about. And I don't see why it would detract from our enjoyment of the season. I'd be really happy for Kyrie if he went pro. I'd be thrilled for us as fans if he can back. Don't think the subject needs to be so taboo. Anyway...

    One interesting scenario. Imagine Kyrie and Austin playing on the same team next year, then going pro at the same time, and possibly becoming the first ever #1 and #2 combo? (Is that even true? Have there ever been #1 and #2 picks from the same team? Kentucky was pretty close last year).

    I think it's interesting that Kyrie only had to play 8 games in college to be considered a top 2 pick at this point. I think if the silly NCAA rules didn't exist, he probably would have been a lottery pick right out of high school, regardless, if that's what he wanted.

    It's a testament to Irving's unique talent that he's projected to go ahead of guys like Sullinger that are absolutely killing it this year.

    I'm frustrated that the decision on a lockout will come after kids will have had to decide whether they're entering the draft. And that time was moved up even further this year. Not sure why that happened.

    Hope Kyrie comes back. If he doesn't, hope he truly goes #1.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by RoyalBlue08 View Post
    Yes, Ford has Barnes and Henson as top 10 picks. I guess how well you play in high school is more important than how well you play in college.
    You know, I really wonder about this. Shouldn't it be? Twenty years ago many high-D1 prospects never played with or against similarly talented players before arriving on campus. These days, the top high school players go to prep schools where they are playing against other teams with multiple high-D1 prospects. They play AAU ball against the same or maybe higher quality competition. They attend summer camps with NBA players looking on or even participating. All of this is continually evaluated by coaches and scouts. That's a lot of data, arguably much more informative than a single college season.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by flyingdutchdevil View Post
    I'm sure Henson is hoping to get drafted by the Knicks. Then he can finally get advice from Ed Curry about how to gain weight.
    No dice. Eddy's thousand-year contract runs out after this season. He'd have to take advice from Amar'e Stoudemire. Except for the fact that I doubt the Knicks would pick Henson, as the last skinny, athletic project with more potential than production they picked up -- Anthony Randolph -- is buried down with Curry on the bench.

    Quote Originally Posted by ElSid View Post
    It's a testament to Irving's unique talent that he's projected to go ahead of guys like Sullinger that are absolutely killing it this year.
    Those eight games proved he was too good for the college level, though. He didn't just look like a great college player, he looked like a pro player playing in college. I know Nets fans who would be ecstatic to have Kyrie, a blue-chip talent and hometown guy -- at least until (or unless) they move to Brooklyn -- to build around along with Favors and Brook Lopez. It's a perfect fit.

    Of course, so is Duke, with Austin Rivers. If Kyrie's really enjoying himself, and it appears that he is, we might get him back. I certainly wouldn't rule it out. But I think his father would have something to say about this whole situation, and I suspect he would want him to go.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cary, NC
    Since we're talking about the draft, here's random thought that came to mind. Let's say that as we approach the deadline for kids to declare for the draft, the general public consensus is that there will be a lockout and the NBA season will probably be canceled. So a bunch of college kids decide to stay in school. Then, during the lost year a new collective bargaining agreement is reached in which the one-year rule is revoked (there are rumors that the current NBA players will push for this). If that happened, then the 2012 draft would include kids from three classes - college sophomores who stayed an extra year, college freshmen, and the graduating high school seniors. Not to mention any international guys who came up across two years. Wouldn't that be weird? And how many of the college kids would then decide to stay an additional year in order to avoid a crowded draft?

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