Now that we're halfway into the season, what are your thoughts on this past years draft class? The only person that has remotely stood out is Damian Lillard, he's definitely going to be a star in the next few seasons. I feel like Anthony Davis will end up with a career similar to Marcus Camby, productive but nothing special. More could blossom as the season goes on, like Kidd-Gilchrist and Bradley Beal have shown promise. 1. Anthony Davis 2. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 3. Bradley Beal 4. Dion Waiters 5. Thomas Robinson 6. Damian Lillard 7. Harrison Barnes 8. Terrence Ross 9. Andre Drummond 10. Austin Rivers 11. Meyers Leonard 12. Jeremy Lamb 13. Kendall Marshall 14. John Henson 15. Moe Harkless 16. Royce White 17. Tyler Zeller 18. Terrence Jones 19. Andrew Nicholson 20. Evan Fournier 21. Jared Sullinger 22. Fab Melo 23. John Jenkins 24. Jared Cunningham 25. Tony Wroten 26. Miles Plumlee 27. Arnett Moultrie 28. Perry Jones 29. Marquis Teague 30. Festus Ezeli
I think you're selling Davis short. He's played really well when he's been healthy, but that just hasn't been often this season. Dude will be a stud. Franchise Studs: Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard Surprise Players: Andre Drummond (for being so productive so early), Michael Kidd Gilchrist (thought he'd have a hard time adjusting to the NBA and being a go to player early in his career), John Henson (already a pretty consistant double-double threat), Dion Waiters (thought he was a huge reach at 4 but is really playing well) Disappointments: Austin Rivers (no explanation needed), Meyers Leonard, Kendall Marshall (didn't have high hopes, but hasn't been worth a lottery pick at all), Thomas Robinson (struggling hard, but dysfunctional organization), Royce White (no explanation needed), Bradley Beal (only mildly, but was expecting much more),
Lillard has shown thus far to be a stud and franchise player. I think Davis is a franchise player as well regardless of the injury/slow start. I still think Jeremy Lamb is going to be a really good player in this league when he gets his opportunity. I also like Terrance Ross a lot, he needs to improve 3 things and they're 3 of the hardest things to do but I think he will. 1) Handles/create own shot on regular basis. 2) Basketball IQ. 3)Consistency. This comes with time and it's difficult for almost all rookies. I just see something special with Ross though. It's still way too early though. Especially for the glut of guard/wing players. I'm not going to count out any of the guys especially guys like Beal, MKG, Marshall, Waiters and even Rivers (who's looked horrendous). They're all so young and usually it takes time for them to develop. I think a prime example is James Harden who is 20 and put up like 10/3/2 his rookie season. Not bad but not great. In now his 4th year nobody knew he was going to be this good though. Not even us Rockets fans. He showed flashes his 2nd year and signs of greatness last year but he put it all together this year. Other examples are Paul George who's in his 3rd year and he seems on the path to becoming a supertar. Evan Turner had 3 years of college and he was thought of as someone as being NBA ready from day 1 and even he got off to a slow start but now in his 3rd year he's developing into a really nice player. Point is it's too early to write off any of these guys even after the season ends and even next year. We don't know how this draft will be remembered because were barely 30 or so games in.
Way, way too early. Plenty of NBA superstars had slow rookie seasons. Also, Anthony Davis will be a top 5 player at some point in the next 5-7 years. Book it.
It takes big men longer to develop. Also Davis is having a pretty good season, especially coming off that injury. 13.7 pts (49% FG, 77% FT), 8.3 rebs, 1.9 blks is solid for a rookie.
A lot of players from this draft are developing in the D-League or are in a bad situation as far as playing time goes, so I feel like it's too early to say for anyone out of the top 10.
How dare you! Everyone knows this was the strongest NBA draft in the last couple of centuries and that Morey should have given up our entire roster for a shot at picking somewhere between 7 and 10!! Seriously, you can't judge a draft these days after less than a year. Since so many players are one-and-done at the college level, you have to look back after 3-5 years to properly judge a draft class.