HoopsTalk

June 28th, 2013- Wow. Where do I begin..This years draft was without a doubt one of the most odd yet exciting drafts in a while. First off, I'd like to congratulate all of the draftee's that got selected last night. For the ones who have yet to make it, keep working at it. Players like Jose Calderon, Bruce Bowen, John Starks, and Ben Wallace to name a few were all undrafted players who worked hard to make a name for themselves. Secondly, BIG ups and congratulatory to Canada Basketball with Anthony Bennett being one of the biggest surprises on draft night, being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick (The first Canadian born players to be selected 1st overall), as well as Kelly Olynyk from BC being drafted with the 13th pick to the Boston Celtics via Dallas Mavericks. It seemed to be that the injury of shot blocking giant Nerlens Noel really took a toll on his draft stock. Early in his Kentucky season he was forced to watch from the sidelines with a torn ACL. Nerlens Noel was projected to be the 1st overall pick for months, but with the concern of his ACL, 5 teams had decided to pass on him leaving the New Orleans Pelicans to save him from waiting any longer. Imagine Nerlens Noel AND Anthony Davis playing alongside together, two 7"+ Centers. SWATS SWATS SWATS is all I have to say. Although this pick looked good on paper, it didn't have much strategical sense, which was why Noel was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers (alongside a 2014 top 5 protected pick) in exchange for the 42nd pick in Pierre Jackson of Baylor and wait for it......JRUE HOLIDAY!...I was shocked and devastated to know Jrue had been traded after one of his most successful seasons. You know what they say.. "High Risk, High Reward" and that is definitely what the 76ers decided to forgo.  After the 11th pick, not a lot went down, small trades here and there, notable players such as Tim Hardaway Jr of Michigan, Gorgui Dieng of Louisville, and Shane Larkin of U of Miami were chosen mid to late 1st round. Another stat to look at is that last nights draft consisted of 12/30 international players drafted in the first round. It just goes to show basketball really is taking a toll around the world and becoming more and more international each year. 

June 27th, 2013- Todays the day of the NBA draft, a day that marks the beginning of a new era of young, talented, and 'potential-to-be' one of the greats. Each year, this day brings excitement and uncertainty to every basketball fan, whether it be the players involved, the team, the organization, and even the fans. Today is the day of the top recruits heavily looked at throughout the year(s) of their college basketball careers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the 1st overall pick in todays draft, what they decide to do with it has brought many fans to a nervous state of mind. Many have the Cavs taking highly coveted Nerlens Noel with the 1st pick, but others have the Ukranian Center from Maryland, Alex Len. There have also been many trade speculations that have gone through the media such as the T-Wolves getting an offer for Kevin Love (other players involved) and as well as the Orlando Magic involving Aaron Affalo. This is simply an opinion, but if i were the Cavaliers GM, I would trade down to one of the top 5 teams in exchange for a big man (Okafor assuming he states he'd resign) , that teams pick (3rd pick), and a wing player (Martell Webster perhaps?). The Wizards are giving up a lot in this but the Cavs would most definitely have to include other players for this trade to happen. However, this gives the Cavs 2 bigmen in the paint (Okafor and Varejao) with their young talents who can learn from them (Tristain Thompson and Tyler Zeller), another wing player who has shown potential of holding his own in the 12-13 season, and the 3rd pick to land a SG in either Victor Oladipo or Ben McLemore, as they are very weak depth wise at the SG position with Wayne Ellington and Daniel Gibson under contract this offseason. 

Next up is the Orlando Magic, who have the 2nd overall pick in this years draft.  Just looking at this teams roster on paper seems like they have LOTS of potential to be one of the up and coming surprise teams. With Hedo Turkoglu being a free agent, I don't see the Magic picking up his contract after the "contributions" he's brought to this team. The Magic have shown that they DO in fact have players who can contribute. Although the team finished last in the league, keep in mind, the Magic were without Glen Davis for the majority of the season. With Glen Davis playing, the team was 11-11, a .500 team. Im not saying Orlando would have finished .500+ with Glen Davis playing, but certainly they would have finished the season with a much better record than the 9-51 record they ended with. There have been many trade rumours that the Magic have been trying to deal Aaron Affalo but I just don't see the point in it. He's a great asset to have who has shown he can score for this team, especially now that JJ Redick is gone from taking away from his minutes. The Orlando Magic is one of the young teams to watch for with Jameer Nelson, Affalo, Tobias Harris, Vucevic, and Big Baby starting. The only position their quite weak on is SF, although Tobias Harris has shown flashes of what he can do, their depth at that position is lacking. The Orlando Magic should be looking to draft a SF in this years draft and what better player to draft than Georgetowns Otto Porter Jr.  If Jacque Vaughn can develop these young studs into role players, watch out for the Orlando Magic in the next couple of years.  

The Nations Capital, the Washington Wizards...Oh boy..This team has A LOT of work to do in the coming years. They were lucky to jump up into the top 3 of this years draft. Although they finished 23rd in the league, they need to restart this make-over of a team. The Wizards have a good front court duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal to play with but their backcourt needs to change. Although my belief is that Victor Oladipo should be a top 3 pick, I don't see the Wizards drafting yet another guard when they're so heavy on guards already. The Wizards need to focus on drafting a big man, even though i haven't seen much of UNLV star Anthony Bennett nor Alex Len of Maryland, the Wiz' needs to draft 1 of the 2. Secondly, they need to focus on resigning Martell Webster who could become a free agent this summer, he's shown that he can play, and in my opinion putting him in with Beal and Wall at SF would help this team with a spot up shooter. 

Today is a big day for teams on the rebuild, with quite a bit of talent in this years draft, it is critical for at least the top 10 teams make the right move (obviously). A day where new stars are born, a new era of youths changing this game. Although I had none of these guys picked in the top 3, due to what teams need, the following players have lots of potential and are in my opinion some of the best prospects with futures: Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke, and C.J McCollum.