2014 NBA Draft

[Kedsy]

Embiid and Noel could spend more time recovering from injuries than playing and Saric stays in Europe so they have very little.

No draft pick is a sure thing. The odds are decent on all three guys.

The Andrew Bynum deal was just awful. I knew it when it was made and it turned out worse than I thought. No idea as to what Doug Collins was thinking.

Yeah, I hated that trade at the time, too. Because it was a terrible trade whether Bynum played or not. The fact that he didn't play even a minute made it seem that much worse, but trading an All-Star (Iguodala), the team's first round pick from the previous year (Vucevic), first round pick from that year (Harkless), and a future first rounder, as well as agreeing to take on one of the worst contracts in the NBA (Richardson) in exchange for a one-year rental (who if he had a good season was highly unlikely to re-sign with the team) is about as bad a trade as you can make.

I think Collins knew his window for success was very narrow and his only chance to compete that moment was to grab a superstar big man, so he was willing to trade the future for even the tiniest chance at a winning ticket.

[greybeard]

I heard an ESPN podcast the other day where draft guru Chad Ford mentioned the following about athletes growing up in Africa and transplanted to the States:

"There is stuff about (bone density), there is some blood issues as well," Ford said. "It is not uncommon for athletes who grow up in Africa to test positive for hepatitis. Not uncommon for their to be anemic issues. There is enough there to scare you a bit."

He went on to say that once they get their diet right, some of the blood and bone stuff gets better. I am sure it is painting with a broad stroke (one size fits all), but I hadn't considered that stuff. Embiid has been in the US for 3-4 years.

Fascinating and well worth knowing. Thanks.

[pfrduke]

Interesting story on Josh Huestis, which explains how it was that he ended up in the first round (a surprise to at least this draft watcher):

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/ok...nd-draft-pick/

The perspectives it offers on the player/management balance and which side this type of arrangement actually favors is an interesting one - I think it favors management overall (creates opportunities to avoid first round draft pick costs that they don't want to bear; fewer players with guaranteed rookie scale money) but may actually be favorable to the individual players who would not otherwise get much NBA front office attention but for this kind of arrangement.

[CDu]

Interesting story on Josh Huestis, which explains how it was that he ended up in the first round (a surprise to at least this draft watcher):

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/ok...nd-draft-pick/

The perspectives it offers on the player/management balance and which side this type of arrangement actually favors is an interesting one - I think it favors management overall (creates opportunities to avoid first round draft pick costs that they don't want to bear; fewer players with guaranteed rookie scale money) but may actually be favorable to the individual players who would not otherwise get much NBA front office attention but for this kind of arrangement.

Wow, I hadn't thought of it this way. It's sort of like the "underslot" drafting that was/is very common in baseball: get a 4th-round talent to agree to take less-than-market-value for a 1st or 2nd round pick so you save money while not completely missing on a prospect.

It's still a bit weird, though. Seems like the Thunder could have avoided any controversy by either trading the pick or drafting a Euro guy to stash overseas. But regardless, with Huestis going WAY before he would have otherwise gone in a wink-wink deal, maybe it's not such a horrid thing done by the Thunder after all.

[awhom111]

Interesting story on Josh Huestis, which explains how it was that he ended up in the first round (a surprise to at least this draft watcher):

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/ok...nd-draft-pick/

The perspectives it offers on the player/management balance and which side this type of arrangement actually favors is an interesting one - I think it favors management overall (creates opportunities to avoid first round draft pick costs that they don't want to bear; fewer players with guaranteed rookie scale money) but may actually be favorable to the individual players who would not otherwise get much NBA front office attention but for this kind of arrangement.

It will be interesting to see if Huestis really benefits long term from this, which will be difficult to assess. This gambit may or may not backfire on the agents who came up with the proposal as I am not sure how future potential draftees will think of their work in this case. Remember that Huestis could theoretically still go against his agents and sign the minimum deal that the Thunder are forced to offer retain his rights. More importantly, there is no reason for him to sign any agreement stating that he will not sign, which would remove his leverage.

Now that we know that the agent initiated this, I blame the Thunder less than I did before. Still, telling a player that you would rather have Hasheem Thabeet on the roster than them is hardly a good method for inspiring confidence. This case seems to be more of a roster flexibility move than a financial one.

[Newton_14]

It will be interesting to see if Huestis really benefits long term from this, which will be difficult to assess. This gambit may or may not backfire on the agents who came up with the proposal as I am not sure how future potential draftees will think of their work in this case. Remember that Huestis could theoretically still go against his agents and sign the minimum deal that the Thunder are forced to offer retain his rights. More importantly, there is no reason for him to sign any agreement stating that he will not sign, which would remove his leverage.

Now that we know that the agent initiated this, I blame the Thunder less than I did before. Still, telling a player that you would rather have Hasheem Thabeet on the roster than them is hardly a good method for inspiring confidence. This case seems to be more of a roster flexibility move than a financial one.

Probably in the minority again, but i think it's a stupid idea. I dont see how this benefits Huestis at all, plus it pushed a deserving 1st Rd pick into the 2nd round, and would it not be better for the Thunder to have Kyle Anderson on their squad rather than Thabeet?? The Thunder could have drafted Rodney Hood and Kyle Anderson. In my opinion they made a mess with their two picks.

[pfrduke]

Probably in the minority again, but i think it's a stupid idea. I dont see how this benefits Huestis at all, plus it pushed a deserving 1st Rd pick into the 2nd round, and would it not be better for the Thunder to have Kyle Anderson on their squad rather than Thabeet?? The Thunder could have drafted Rodney Hood and Kyle Anderson. In my opinion they made a mess with their two picks.

The benefit to Huestis is this: going into the draft, he was a borderline second-round pick, most likely to go undrafted. That leaves him in the world of undrafted free agent where he has to hope that he a) gets on a summer league roster (usually not super hard for someone of Huestis's age and ability); b) attracts enough attention that an NBA squad places him on a D-League team (harder) or gets drafted into the D-League (also hard); or c) sign up overseas and come back next year to re-audition for the show. He's just one of hundreds of people trying the exact same route.

Here, however, he has the attention of an NBA front office, he has a guaranteed spot on a D-League team (not a huge deal but also nothing to shake a stick at), and he's halfway through a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" set up with that front office. Now, there's no guarantee that the front office will scratch back after this year is complete, but there will be some perception pressure on them to do so (by which I mean, Huestis's agents at least, and maybe agents/players more broadly, will be disinclined to trust that front office going forward if they don't honor their half of the bargain). I think Huestis gave himself a better shot at getting an NBA contract than he would have had if he had not done this.

[JasonEvans]

To me, it is unclear what the Thunder promised Huestis. It sounds like they said they will sign him next year if he has improved in his year of playing in the D-League. If he has a middling D-League season, is there some/any presumption that the Thunder will give him NBA money to be the last player on their bench? That seems strange for a guy who was not thought to be a first round prospect.

I 100% agree with Newt about the Thunder bungling their draft picks. If they had come away with Hood and Anderson, they would have 2 guys that many folks felt were easily top 20 talent in a very deep draft. Instead, they got 2 guys that most everyone pegged as 2nd rounders (most mocks had McGary going in the 30s). It looks to me like the Thunder took both their picks a good 10 or more picks before they should have. Huestis really makes no sense as it would not have been at all hard to get him with an early-mid 2nd rounder and acquiring one of those is not at all hard. Heck, if you really don't want that late first round pick, deal it to someone for a future first rounder.

--Jason "Meanwhile, the Spurs are laughing at everyone by picking Kyle Anderson. I'll be shocked if he is not at least a solid rotation player for them in the next two years" Evans