Re-Grading D5's 2014 Draft
Mar 28, 2018 2:52:10 GMT
Ian Noble, Mike Krzyzewski, and 3 more like this
Post by Jeremiah Hill on Mar 28, 2018 2:52:10 GMT
In an effort to hammer home the importance knowing when to hold picks, prospects and when to sell I'm going to regrade each draft and also reference any previous grade and maybe an exerpt I gave for a draft if I did.
1. Charlotte Hornets - Andrew Wiggins - B-
Previously gave Charlotte a B- overall for the 2014 draft. He took the guy everyone thought he'd take and I think the grade remains the same for this specific pick. Wiggins puts up numbers but really hasn't put it all together in contributing to winning basketball.
2. Utah Jazz (via HOU) - Jabari Parker - B-
I gave Utah a D- when he did this draft. He's still a 0 on defense however I think I was a bit too harsh. The only thing that justifies my original grade is his injury history.
3. Boston Celtics (via ORL) - Joel Embiid - A++
4. Boston Celtics - Dante Exum - D
Summarizing both of these. I gave Boston an A+ thinking he got the best and 3rd best player with the 3rd and 4th pick. He got the best pick but due to injuries and age the jury is still out on Exum.
5. Memphis Grizzlies (via NOP) - Marcus Smart - B-
He still hasn't found his shot so he's basically a bigger Tony Allen with better passing which is nice but not what I was hoping for. Still he's a very good player on a big time team in real life. Could be an A+ if he had that shot though.
6. Houston Rockets (via MEM) - Julius Randle - C-
"Randle brings skill, rebounding, strength, and quick feet to the table but shoots himself in the foot with poor length, mediocre athleticism, and poor feel for the game. This causes translation concerns and exceptionally slow defensive rotations." That's what I had to say about him in my grade article and Randle was my 22nd ranked player. He's probably higher ranked than that now but not much.
7. Denver Nuggets (via SAS) - Noah Vonleh - D
Hasn't translated his length and rebounding into anything yet. He was my 10th ranked guy at the time and he's clearly lower than that now but he's still quite young so he might still have a chance.
8. New York Knicks (via UTA) - Aaron Gordon - A
"Gordon is young, toolsy, and good at everything except shooting. Unfortunately he is frighteningly bad at shooting, which is a difficult wart to weigh. He's just as athletic as Wiggins but he can pass and has 4 position defensive potential." He's slowly getting that shooting in order and the other stuff remains true. Based on those taken before him and my 4 ranking for him in 2014 this clearly gets an A.
9. Atlanta Hawks - Elfrid Payton - C
Basically my concerns about shooting for Payton (lots of those in this draft) have remained. He's not done but he's really just a bleh player.
10. Houston Rockets (via NYK) - TJ Warren - B+
"I actually like this guy better than I have him rated (28) but is one of the weirdest prospects in the draft, TJ Warren thrives off of his elite floater. An great 2 point scoring wing that lacks athleticism is an exceptionally uncommon mold. It seems unlikely to amount to much, but the stats are good enough for a late 1st gamble." He's still a weird player but considering the next few guys, outside of LaVine he could have picked much worse.
11. Milwaukee Bucks (via WAS) - Doug McDermott - D+
I REALLY hated Dougy as a prospect, I had him at 34 on my board and gave Milwaukee an F for this pick. He's slowly molding into a bit of a Korver type which is promising so clearly not worth that F I gave him but at only 9ppg it's not as good as several players taken after him.
12. Phoenix Suns - Zach LaVine - A
I gave Dan Marjerl an F for this pick who I had ranked 35. Boy was I wrong. Probably my biggest whiff of the draft. Really goes to show how important believing in your picks and prospects is. The long and the short is, if he hadn't had that ACL tear he'd probably have blown up in Chicago by himself (Or likely never be traded from Minnesota). I think next year is gonna be a big year for the guy who proved me wrong.
13. Philadelphia 76ers - Nik Stauskas - F
Kinda lame I gave Philly a B+ for this and had Nik rated 14th. Goes to show that maybe this mid point of the draft shows a bit of a hole in my research as I had a few more misses here than other parts.
14. Charlotte Hornets (via LAC) - James Young - F
I had Young ranked 27th and it's looking like that was a smart idea. He failed to improve markedly even under Brad Stevens even though he had oodles of potential.
15. Atlanta Hawks (via MIL) - Dario Saric - B+
"The one first round international prospect that I’m not lower on than consensus. Waiting 2 years for his services isn’t a big deal, but having less than stellar translated stats with his lackluster physical tools is a big deal. His skill and height may enable him to be a good role player, but I don’t see the star potential." I gave Jay Z a C+ for his 1st round and after looking at it, it kinda averages out that way anyways however I was lower on Saric than most but I was right in that he's a role player. However, that's a great haul in the middle of any draft.
16. Boston Celtics (via IND) - Adreian Payne - F
Ranked him 33, currently not in the NBA.
17. Houston Rockets (via TOR) - Jusuf Nurkic - B-
"How this guy fell is beyond me, he is a really polished offensive guy for someone so young. He's a lot quicker than one would think a guy his size should be as well. Lots of the teams that passed on him needed big men as well." I had Nurkic ranked 5th overall and that was kinda stupid. I think he's done pretty dang well for himself and likely would be in a better spot if not for the Jokic debacle in Denver. We'll see how he does moving forward.
18. Toronto Raptors (via CLE) - Tyler Ennis - D
Boy was I wrong on this ranked 9th player. He just hasn't been able to be as effective as I thought he'd be at the next level.
19. New York Knicks (via SAC) - Rodney Hood - B
I had Hood ranked 57th. He's still garbage on defense but he's a decent offensive role player and that's nice to get in the late teens of the draft.
20. New Orleans Pelicans (via DET) - Kyle Anderson - B
21. New Orleans Pelicans (via BKN) - Jordan Adams - F
I had these two guys ranked 15th and 19th respectively. I really liked Jordan Adams but injuries and apparent allergy to developing players in Memphis derailed his career. Anderson is a weird player in a draft full of weird players, have to give him a B at least for him cause even though he's not blowing anyone away he's clearly effective.
22. Boston Celtics (via DAL) - Shabazz Napier - F+
"I believe The Real Shabazz has potential to be a perfectly decent role player. But he’s old, tiny, and unathletic at the deepest position in the NBA. Hard to buy the round 1 hype when he has such narrow odds of becoming an above average starter." The F is a bit of a joke ranking because he missed out on Bruno Caboclo who was able to be traded approximately 30 times for random assets due to being picked by Colangelo including at least twice by my own team. That said Napier has been able to carve out a sneaky role in Portland.
23. Memphis Grizzlies (via MIN) - Bruno Caboclo - D-
Gets a bonus for being great trade value. Jury is still out on this guy who's still 2 years from being 2 years away.
24. Toronto Raptors (via OKC) - Mitch McGary - F
Seemed poised to be something but he just couldn't stop doing drugs.
25. Orlando Magic (via LAL) - PJ Hairston - F
Washed out of the NBA due to badness, though I did have him ranked 20 so what do I know?
26. Minnesota Timberwolves (via CHI) - KJ McDaniels - D-
Was a per minute beast there for a bit but still managed to wash out. Maybe he was lockerroom cancer or something.
27. Boston Celtics (via DEN) - Jerami Grant - C
Lost his 3pt shot for some reason. I had this to say about him "I don’t see how he has the skill level to thrive in the NBA, but I’ll pay enough respect to his good physical tools and OK enough stats to rate him as an early 2nd. Getting drafted by Philly improves his odds of getting playing time and carving out a spot for himself in the NBA. "
That second part was true and he does have a role and thats fine for this late in the draft.
28. Chicago Bulls (via POR) - Gary Harris - A+
"Vanilla 3 + D combo guard who can’t get to the rim and may be too small to guard SG’s. Stats like him enough to take him in round 1, but he has questionable upside." Even though I only had him ranked 24 I still gave Chicago an A for this pick. Guess my gut knew something. Still weak on Defense but holy crap did the previous like 15 GMs whiff.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (via MIA) - Cleanthony Early - F
Not Walt's fault he got shot with a gun.
30. Atlanta Hawks (via GSW) - Bogan Bogdanovic - B
Needs a spelling correction on the roster page but Bojan is looking like a decent player in his rookie year after Jay-Z waited on him all this time.
Second Round
(Just gonna do a few of these)
##. Team Name - Player Picked
36. Houston Rockets (via SAS) - Clint Capela - A
38. Memphis Grizzlies (via ATL) - Nick Johnson - F
Coulda had Dinwiddie without trading for him.
39. Memphis Grizzlies (via NYK) - Nikola Jokic - A+++
2nd best player in the draft imo and best if you go by VORP. Superstar in the 2nd is awesome. I'll stop gloating.
40. Atlanta Hawks (via WAS) - Spencer Dinwiddie - A
Coulda gotten stuck with Nick Johnson like that idiot in Memphis.
45. Indiana Pacers (via MIL) - Jordan Clarkson - A
Chucker supreme but he's playing disciplined with LBJ and company.
47. Houston Rockets (via TOR) - Alessandro Gentile - D
Playing really well in Europe, probably won't ever come over but its at least neat.
48. Memphis Grizzlies (via CLE) - Dwight Powell - A
REALLY shoulda held onto him and I forgot who or why I traded him but this was a good pick in the backass of the draft.
49 + Everyone else sucked.
1. Charlotte Hornets - Andrew Wiggins - B-
Previously gave Charlotte a B- overall for the 2014 draft. He took the guy everyone thought he'd take and I think the grade remains the same for this specific pick. Wiggins puts up numbers but really hasn't put it all together in contributing to winning basketball.
2. Utah Jazz (via HOU) - Jabari Parker - B-
I gave Utah a D- when he did this draft. He's still a 0 on defense however I think I was a bit too harsh. The only thing that justifies my original grade is his injury history.
3. Boston Celtics (via ORL) - Joel Embiid - A++
4. Boston Celtics - Dante Exum - D
Summarizing both of these. I gave Boston an A+ thinking he got the best and 3rd best player with the 3rd and 4th pick. He got the best pick but due to injuries and age the jury is still out on Exum.
5. Memphis Grizzlies (via NOP) - Marcus Smart - B-
He still hasn't found his shot so he's basically a bigger Tony Allen with better passing which is nice but not what I was hoping for. Still he's a very good player on a big time team in real life. Could be an A+ if he had that shot though.
6. Houston Rockets (via MEM) - Julius Randle - C-
"Randle brings skill, rebounding, strength, and quick feet to the table but shoots himself in the foot with poor length, mediocre athleticism, and poor feel for the game. This causes translation concerns and exceptionally slow defensive rotations." That's what I had to say about him in my grade article and Randle was my 22nd ranked player. He's probably higher ranked than that now but not much.
7. Denver Nuggets (via SAS) - Noah Vonleh - D
Hasn't translated his length and rebounding into anything yet. He was my 10th ranked guy at the time and he's clearly lower than that now but he's still quite young so he might still have a chance.
8. New York Knicks (via UTA) - Aaron Gordon - A
"Gordon is young, toolsy, and good at everything except shooting. Unfortunately he is frighteningly bad at shooting, which is a difficult wart to weigh. He's just as athletic as Wiggins but he can pass and has 4 position defensive potential." He's slowly getting that shooting in order and the other stuff remains true. Based on those taken before him and my 4 ranking for him in 2014 this clearly gets an A.
9. Atlanta Hawks - Elfrid Payton - C
Basically my concerns about shooting for Payton (lots of those in this draft) have remained. He's not done but he's really just a bleh player.
10. Houston Rockets (via NYK) - TJ Warren - B+
"I actually like this guy better than I have him rated (28) but is one of the weirdest prospects in the draft, TJ Warren thrives off of his elite floater. An great 2 point scoring wing that lacks athleticism is an exceptionally uncommon mold. It seems unlikely to amount to much, but the stats are good enough for a late 1st gamble." He's still a weird player but considering the next few guys, outside of LaVine he could have picked much worse.
11. Milwaukee Bucks (via WAS) - Doug McDermott - D+
I REALLY hated Dougy as a prospect, I had him at 34 on my board and gave Milwaukee an F for this pick. He's slowly molding into a bit of a Korver type which is promising so clearly not worth that F I gave him but at only 9ppg it's not as good as several players taken after him.
12. Phoenix Suns - Zach LaVine - A
I gave Dan Marjerl an F for this pick who I had ranked 35. Boy was I wrong. Probably my biggest whiff of the draft. Really goes to show how important believing in your picks and prospects is. The long and the short is, if he hadn't had that ACL tear he'd probably have blown up in Chicago by himself (Or likely never be traded from Minnesota). I think next year is gonna be a big year for the guy who proved me wrong.
13. Philadelphia 76ers - Nik Stauskas - F
Kinda lame I gave Philly a B+ for this and had Nik rated 14th. Goes to show that maybe this mid point of the draft shows a bit of a hole in my research as I had a few more misses here than other parts.
14. Charlotte Hornets (via LAC) - James Young - F
I had Young ranked 27th and it's looking like that was a smart idea. He failed to improve markedly even under Brad Stevens even though he had oodles of potential.
15. Atlanta Hawks (via MIL) - Dario Saric - B+
"The one first round international prospect that I’m not lower on than consensus. Waiting 2 years for his services isn’t a big deal, but having less than stellar translated stats with his lackluster physical tools is a big deal. His skill and height may enable him to be a good role player, but I don’t see the star potential." I gave Jay Z a C+ for his 1st round and after looking at it, it kinda averages out that way anyways however I was lower on Saric than most but I was right in that he's a role player. However, that's a great haul in the middle of any draft.
16. Boston Celtics (via IND) - Adreian Payne - F
Ranked him 33, currently not in the NBA.
17. Houston Rockets (via TOR) - Jusuf Nurkic - B-
"How this guy fell is beyond me, he is a really polished offensive guy for someone so young. He's a lot quicker than one would think a guy his size should be as well. Lots of the teams that passed on him needed big men as well." I had Nurkic ranked 5th overall and that was kinda stupid. I think he's done pretty dang well for himself and likely would be in a better spot if not for the Jokic debacle in Denver. We'll see how he does moving forward.
18. Toronto Raptors (via CLE) - Tyler Ennis - D
Boy was I wrong on this ranked 9th player. He just hasn't been able to be as effective as I thought he'd be at the next level.
19. New York Knicks (via SAC) - Rodney Hood - B
I had Hood ranked 57th. He's still garbage on defense but he's a decent offensive role player and that's nice to get in the late teens of the draft.
20. New Orleans Pelicans (via DET) - Kyle Anderson - B
21. New Orleans Pelicans (via BKN) - Jordan Adams - F
I had these two guys ranked 15th and 19th respectively. I really liked Jordan Adams but injuries and apparent allergy to developing players in Memphis derailed his career. Anderson is a weird player in a draft full of weird players, have to give him a B at least for him cause even though he's not blowing anyone away he's clearly effective.
22. Boston Celtics (via DAL) - Shabazz Napier - F+
"I believe The Real Shabazz has potential to be a perfectly decent role player. But he’s old, tiny, and unathletic at the deepest position in the NBA. Hard to buy the round 1 hype when he has such narrow odds of becoming an above average starter." The F is a bit of a joke ranking because he missed out on Bruno Caboclo who was able to be traded approximately 30 times for random assets due to being picked by Colangelo including at least twice by my own team. That said Napier has been able to carve out a sneaky role in Portland.
23. Memphis Grizzlies (via MIN) - Bruno Caboclo - D-
Gets a bonus for being great trade value. Jury is still out on this guy who's still 2 years from being 2 years away.
24. Toronto Raptors (via OKC) - Mitch McGary - F
Seemed poised to be something but he just couldn't stop doing drugs.
25. Orlando Magic (via LAL) - PJ Hairston - F
Washed out of the NBA due to badness, though I did have him ranked 20 so what do I know?
26. Minnesota Timberwolves (via CHI) - KJ McDaniels - D-
Was a per minute beast there for a bit but still managed to wash out. Maybe he was lockerroom cancer or something.
27. Boston Celtics (via DEN) - Jerami Grant - C
Lost his 3pt shot for some reason. I had this to say about him "I don’t see how he has the skill level to thrive in the NBA, but I’ll pay enough respect to his good physical tools and OK enough stats to rate him as an early 2nd. Getting drafted by Philly improves his odds of getting playing time and carving out a spot for himself in the NBA. "
That second part was true and he does have a role and thats fine for this late in the draft.
28. Chicago Bulls (via POR) - Gary Harris - A+
"Vanilla 3 + D combo guard who can’t get to the rim and may be too small to guard SG’s. Stats like him enough to take him in round 1, but he has questionable upside." Even though I only had him ranked 24 I still gave Chicago an A for this pick. Guess my gut knew something. Still weak on Defense but holy crap did the previous like 15 GMs whiff.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (via MIA) - Cleanthony Early - F
Not Walt's fault he got shot with a gun.
30. Atlanta Hawks (via GSW) - Bogan Bogdanovic - B
Needs a spelling correction on the roster page but Bojan is looking like a decent player in his rookie year after Jay-Z waited on him all this time.
Second Round
(Just gonna do a few of these)
##. Team Name - Player Picked
36. Houston Rockets (via SAS) - Clint Capela - A
38. Memphis Grizzlies (via ATL) - Nick Johnson - F
Coulda had Dinwiddie without trading for him.
39. Memphis Grizzlies (via NYK) - Nikola Jokic - A+++
2nd best player in the draft imo and best if you go by VORP. Superstar in the 2nd is awesome. I'll stop gloating.
40. Atlanta Hawks (via WAS) - Spencer Dinwiddie - A
Coulda gotten stuck with Nick Johnson like that idiot in Memphis.
45. Indiana Pacers (via MIL) - Jordan Clarkson - A
Chucker supreme but he's playing disciplined with LBJ and company.
47. Houston Rockets (via TOR) - Alessandro Gentile - D
Playing really well in Europe, probably won't ever come over but its at least neat.
48. Memphis Grizzlies (via CLE) - Dwight Powell - A
REALLY shoulda held onto him and I forgot who or why I traded him but this was a good pick in the backass of the draft.
49 + Everyone else sucked.