How deep is this draft compared to the last 6 or 7? Is there a chance that the player we get, would have been a lottery pick in recent years?
I truely believe that all around, this is the deepest draft I've seen in the last 10 years. It will be hard to find another draft with the value we have in the mid to late first round this year. The 98'draft with Bibby, Jamison, Carter, Pierce, Dirk, Harrington, Lewis, Mobley etc. was probably the deepest one I can remember in the last 10 years (99' is a close second). This draft should be even better.
don't know about a lottery pick... I think that this draft only has 3-4 guarenteed impact players, but it is very deep for NBA caliber talent ...i.e. isn't not going to be like 83, but its also not going to be 2000 basically, anyone drafting after 7 is going to be taking best available, since all the players(7-30) are basicallly Horrys and Cassells
"Deep draft" is another way of saying: Nobody stands out as a franchise player. Basically most players fall into the category of "good players with some potential". Just because you can get a decent player at 24 this year, it doesn't mean that you'll get a big time impact player. There are no Vince Carters, Nowitzkis ot Pierces in this draft
Contending teams that have their franchise players already, like the Rockets, will find this an important draft and, as said before, you can find your Horrys and Cassells that could make a difference in a playoff run and being a contender for a long time. Sure there aren't too many franchise players in this draft, but it's considered deep in terms of how many potential good role payers that can come from this draft.
Agreed there are no obvious LeBrons or Duncans this year, but if you look at the last several drafts, guys like those two are rare. How "deep" or "good" this draft is will be determined in the future. Somewhere in this mishmash of players I betcha there is a VC, Dirk or Pierce. Just like every year, a team or two will hit a home run and others will strike out. The depth of next year's draft could be pretty sorry because none of the HS prospects like Gerald Green, Martell Webster, Andrew Bynum and Andray Blatche will be eligible.
Every draft is filled with role players. The only reason that this draft is getting more attention for role players is that there are not any marquee names. If you don't any players of the caliber of Lebron, Carmelo, Wade, Yao, Stoudemire, Dwight Howard you have to focus on parity and how many "good players" there are. Could you get somebody better with the 24th pick this year than you could a couple of years ago? Sure, however there are not many differencemakers-as JVG likes to call them-in this draft.
Quick anwers: Yes, this is a particularly good year to have a pick as low as #24. No, no player we get at #24 would've been a lottery pick in recent years. Except in 2000. That was about the worst draft ever.
Not only will a late first round pick not be a lottery pick in previous years, but a lottery pick this year will not have been a lottery pick in previous years. Stoudemire, Yao, Wade, Lebron vs ?, ?, ?, ?
The only bad thing about this year's draft is that the Rockets don't have a second rounder. This would've been a good year to have a shot to find something productive in the second round. Especially with being able to send them to the NDBL until they're ready or needed. Wonder if they're looking to pick up at least one.
It's not like Yao, LeBron, Stoudamire and Wade were all considered can't miss prospects. Those players all had quite a few question marks about them during their drafts. For all we know, Bogut may be the next Yao, Marvin Williams the next Stoudamire, Chris Paul the next Wade, and Gerald Green the next LeBron.
IMHO I think macfan is being a little overly negative about this draft's potential, but I definitely see where he's coming from... fewer sure-fire impact players than usual, definitely. And honestly, of the guys mentioned: Yao: There were definitely doubts, but he had two things over Bogut. He was 7'6, and he had killed the US Olympic Team (when our Olympic team was still good). Lebron: Come on, he's the most celebrated high school player ever besides maybe Wilt. Stoudemire: There were doubts about him as a player, yes, but at least nobody doubted he had Karl Malone-like physical gifts. Wade: Yeah, Wade came out of nowhere, you're right on him (and I go to Marquette, too!).
as far as the last 2 drafts this one is much further behind them. there are a handful of players who will have an impact in the league and possibly become all-stars but not much after that. i believe after the top 35, no one else really should make an nba roster. of course they will but they won't be on one very long. overall, i'd say this class grades as a "C"
