NardDogNation wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

Knixkik wrote:So completely gamble everything and place the franchise entirely on the shoulders of a rookie with a bad back and feet? Sounds cool.

Precisely! All jokes aside, I'm not saying gamble everything but I think we can trade into the draft and then trade up to get him with a few of the assets we have from dealing Melo and Chandler. Let's presume we managed to trade for Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, you wouldn't package them both, Jimmy Butler (Melo trade), the 16th (Elfrid Payton) and 19th (Adrien Payne) picks for Steve Nash and the 7th pick to select Embiid?

I'm in on Embiid, but 7 still isn't high enough to grab him. There would have to be another player available for me to pick in order to hedge my bets. To be honest, I don't feel as strongly about grabbing Smart or Randle. If Embiid did drop that far, I would roll the dice on draft night.

Embiid, in my opinion, is the best of the bunch when healthy but him being healthy has become a big stretch. Considering the strength of the talent in the top 8 (all of whom project to be all-star like players), I can't see any team with a top 7 pick wanting to pick him, aside from maybe the Celtics. But with them in the hunt to get Kevin Love, I fully expect that pick to be moved to a rebuilding Wolves team. And if you're the Wolves, would you really want to take the risk on Embiid with Pekovic and Dieng already in play? I think there is a good chance he falls to 7th and I think the Lakers, with Phil's boo running the show, would be willing to move down if they were able to move Nash's contract and replace it with productive veterans. It's all speculation on my part though but it would be great if it were true.

Even after the news, many mocks have him in the top 4. If he drops, I have to believe Utah is in play. Why grab another PF when you can upgrade at center. Yeah, there's a slight chance Embiid will drop to 7, it's not a given. So if you're willing to do that deal, you also have to prepare for the possibility that you're going to be drafting Marcus Smart instead. Also, Jeanie Buss might love Phil, but Jim Buss hates his guts. Don't expect the Lakers to do us any favors.

NBA.draft had Nerlens Noel going to the Hornets at 4 last year and Brook Lopez going to the Sonics/Thunder at 4 in the '08 draft, on draft night. And yet, due to concerns about their health, they fell to 6th and 10th in their respective drafts. Considering the wealth of talent in this draft, I feel like this effect could be magnified that much more. I don't see Embiid falling out of the lottery but I could easily see him falling out of the top 10, all things considered.

And yeah, I don't see the Lakers doing us any favors but I think from 7-17, the talent falls off dramatically. I could easily see them taking picks 16th and 19th, along with solid veterans, considering the value present at their current spot. Again, just speculation on my part but I'd trade down if I were them.

P.S., as for the Jazz, I still see them trading up to select Jabari Parker. There is no way they let the Stormin' Mormon go. With their 5th pick, a potential sign and trade of Gordon Hayward or Enes Kanter, I could see the Bucks more than obliging.

BigDaddyG wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

Knixkik wrote:So completely gamble everything and place the franchise entirely on the shoulders of a rookie with a bad back and feet? Sounds cool.

Precisely! All jokes aside, I'm not saying gamble everything but I think we can trade into the draft and then trade up to get him with a few of the assets we have from dealing Melo and Chandler. Let's presume we managed to trade for Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, you wouldn't package them both, Jimmy Butler (Melo trade), the 16th (Elfrid Payton) and 19th (Adrien Payne) picks for Steve Nash and the 7th pick to select Embiid?

I'm in on Embiid, but 7 still isn't high enough to grab him. There would have to be another player available for me to pick in order to hedge my bets. To be honest, I don't feel as strongly about grabbing Smart or Randle. If Embiid did drop that far, I would roll the dice on draft night.

Embiid, in my opinion, is the best of the bunch when healthy but him being healthy has become a big stretch. Considering the strength of the talent in the top 8 (all of whom project to be all-star like players), I can't see any team with a top 7 pick wanting to pick him, aside from maybe the Celtics. But with them in the hunt to get Kevin Love, I fully expect that pick to be moved to a rebuilding Wolves team. And if you're the Wolves, would you really want to take the risk on Embiid with Pekovic and Dieng already in play? I think there is a good chance he falls to 7th and I think the Lakers, with Phil's boo running the show, would be willing to move down if they were able to move Nash's contract and replace it with productive veterans. It's all speculation on my part though but it would be great if it were true.

Even after the news, many mocks have him in the top 4. If he drops, I have to believe Utah is in play. Why grab another PF when you can upgrade at center. Yeah, there's a slight chance Embiid will drop to 7, it's not a given. So if you're willing to do that deal, you also have to prepare for the possibility that you're going to be drafting Marcus Smart instead. Also, Jeanie Buss might love Phil, but Jim Buss hates his guts. Don't expect the Lakers to do us any favors.

NBA.draft had Nerlens Noel going to the Hornets at 4 last year and Brook Lopez going to the Sonics/Thunder at 4 in the '08 draft, on draft night. And yet, due to concerns about their health, they fell to 6th and 10th in their respective drafts. Considering the wealth of talent in this draft, I feel like this effect could be magnified that much more. I don't see Embiid falling out of the lottery but I could easily see him falling out of the top 10, all things considered.

And yeah, I don't see the Lakers doing us any favors but I think from 7-17, the talent falls off dramatically. I could easily see them taking picks 16th and 19th, along with solid veterans, considering the value present at their current spot. Again, just speculation on my part but I'd trade down if I were them.

P.S., as for the Jazz, I still see them trading up to select Jabari Parker. There is no way they let the Stormin' Mormon go. With their 5th pick, a potential sign and trade of Gordon Hayward or Enes Kanter, I could see the Bucks more than obliging.

Yeah, but Embiid was considered a better prospect than Noel and Lopez. We'll have to wait and see. I don't think Kanter or Hayward will be enough to pry away Milwaukee's pick. Why pay Hayward when you have chance of getting a quality wing with more potential gonna rookie deal? Utah may have to kick in Favors.

Milwaukee has always had a hard time having guys take their money. It isn't exactly an exotic location, which is why I think they'd be more inclined to trade for multiple assets since a Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker could easily leave ala LeBron, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, CP3, and a soon-to-be, Kyrie Irving. Hayward, Favors/Kanter and the 5th might be enough to build a foundation for the coax's players into staying long-term.

NardDogNation wrote:...if we trade Tyson and Melo for assets? The guy is reportedly going to drop in the draft ala Nerlens Noel, Alex Len, Brook Lopez and Andre Drummond before him. If we were able to somehow consolidate the 16th and 19th picks, as well as assets for a higher pick, would you want to take the risk on a guy that is more injury prone than Greg Oden at the same age? I definitely think I would because I'm a sucker for talent. I see Embiid's peak as being something comparable to a Kevin Garnett.

I would , we are due for something good to happen for this franchise. Shelve him till 2015 we will be awful get another top 5 pick to pair with him , tons of cap room now we would be building a competitive "TEAM". Of course this is dependent on who else is on the board at the time

NardDogNation wrote:

VCoug wrote:I can't imagine even with the injury that Embiid could slide past Philly at 3. And I don't think there's any combination of moves that could get us in the top 5 of the lottery, let alone the top 3.

Even with the sure-fire talent of the remaining top 7 players? It'w because of how good they are that I see Embiid dropping to around 7th or 8th.

Pretty much everyone in the lottery is going to be very, very good but Embiid's the only guy that a team might be able to build a title contender around. I'm guaranteeing it right now, as long as nothing major happens with Embiid this week he won't make it past Philly at 3.

NardDogNation wrote:

VCoug wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

VCoug wrote:I can't imagine even with the injury that Embiid could slide past Philly at 3. And I don't think there's any combination of moves that could get us in the top 5 of the lottery, let alone the top 3.

Even with the sure-fire talent of the remaining top 7 players? It'w because of how good they are that I see Embiid dropping to around 7th or 8th.

Pretty much everyone in the lottery is going to be very, very good but Embiid's the only guy that a team might be able to build a title contender around. I'm guaranteeing it right now, as long as nothing major happens with Embiid this week he won't make it past Philly at 3.

Bold statement! For his sake, I hope you're right. Do you think he and Noel can play together?

Maybe, but I don't think it matters. I don't think Philly would just trade one of them if they thought it wouldn't work out.

BigDaddyG wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

VCoug wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

VCoug wrote:I can't imagine even with the injury that Embiid could slide past Philly at 3. And I don't think there's any combination of moves that could get us in the top 5 of the lottery, let alone the top 3.

Even with the sure-fire talent of the remaining top 7 players? It'w because of how good they are that I see Embiid dropping to around 7th or 8th.

Pretty much everyone in the lottery is going to be very, very good but Embiid's the only guy that a team might be able to build a title contender around. I'm guaranteeing it right now, as long as nothing major happens with Embiid this week he won't make it past Philly at 3.

Bold statement! For his sake, I hope you're right. Do you think he and Noel can play together?

I'll be honest, outside of Embiid, Parker, Wiggens and Vonlieh are the only ones who I would say have the talent to be definite all stars. That's not to say that everyone else can't develop into a superstar. I'm just saying that those guys are the only sure things. Exum is a tall combo guard with so, so athleticism. It's not a given that he'll be able to play point guard and his shot looks like it needs work if he's going to play two guard. Randle will be solid, but I'd don't see him being number one option. Marcus Smart and Gordon are on the same level as Randle. That's why I can't see Embiid dropping that low. The kid is still young and they were able to catch the injury early. It sounds like he didn't even know there was a stress fracture until Cleveland finished its physical.

I'm not going to lie, I've had a few doubts about the players you mentioned (particularly Smart) but with Embiid's injury history, that has created a lot of doubt in my mind as well. Even so, his talent is hard to ignore so maybe he doesn't fall as much as I'd expect.

GustavBahler wrote:I was surprised to hear that Parker showed up overweight for his session with the Cavs and shot poorly. Wiggins wowed the Cavs brass when he did his workout. Don't know if its enough to rule out Parker at 1, but you never know. I would take Parker. The Cavs want to win now and Parker looks the most NBA ready.

Parker seems to have been carrying around baby fat since his playing days at Duke. Factor in everyone's Freshmen 15 and I think it'd be easy to see him become overweight after not playing organized ball since early March. I think the kid can ball, either way. Guys like Paul Pierce and Melo have had problems with their weight at the same age and turned out fine.