re: check in if you hate the trade

I'll take 22 year old Jrue over 22 year old Conley without question, but that wasn't what was presented. I disagree that, at this moment, Jrue is the 2nd best PG in the Southwest Division. I think Conley is better. He's also 3 years older, though.

I'm really perplexed that people dislike this trade.

He absolutely despised Noel so I think he's ok with it.

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At least Chad ford agreed with me. Gave it a dplus for us.Tight

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B+ actually

No, the reason they didn't like it was because of advanced statistics. You didn't like it because you wanted to overpay for a FA

The draft hmext year is loaded.

Kentucky forward Julius Randle is also highly regarded by scouts. "In a normal, non-Wiggins year, he would easily be the No. 1 pick," said one scout. Randle is another freak of nature, an explosive athlete who stands at 6-foot-9 and weighs 250 pounds. He has the ability to score in the paint and on the perimeter, and plays with an aggressive motor.


William Purnell/Icon SMI
Marcus Smart, who had a stellar freshman season at Oklahoma State, could be the top pick in 2014.
Oklahoma State sophomore Marcus Smart, who would've been the No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft had he declared, is also a potential rival to the throne. Smart decided he wanted another year of experience under his belt and returned to Oklahoma State. He has great size for his position, is ferocious on both ends of the floor and is a natural leader. If he improves his jump shot and tightens his handle, he'll give Wiggins and Randle a run for their money.

And we can't count out Duke's Jabari Parker. For several years Parker was ranked as the top player in his class (until Wiggins reclassified). Parker is already one of the most NBA-ready prospects on our list. He can play the 3 and the 4, has an extremely high basketball IQ and is one of the most skilled players in the draft. The only thing holding him back is a lack of elite athletic ability.

Kentucky point guard Andrew Harrison rounds out the top five. Like Smart, he's a big point guard who overwhelms his opponents on both ends with his size, strength and toughness.

An elite freshman class

Freshmen have always had a huge impact on good drafts. After all, one-and-dones are the true royalty of great drafts.

In the 2008 draft, a record seven freshmen went in the lottery. In 2014, we're projecting another seven freshmen as potential lottery picks. They include Wiggins, Randle, Parker, Harrison, Arizona's Aaron Gordon, Kansas' Joel Embiid and Florida's Chris Walker.

Four other freshmen -- Kentucky's James Young, Dakari Johnson and Aaron Harrison as well as LSU's Jarrell Martin -- are possible first-rounders.

A solid sophomore and junior class

A small number of talented players decided to skip the 2013 draft and return to college. Just about everyone with a shot at the first round threw their hat into the ring. Only one returning college player -- Smart -- ended up cracking our top five.

However, there are a number of interesting returning players in this draft. We're projecting sophomores such as Michigan State's Gary Harris, Michigan's Glenn Robinson III, Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein and Louisville's Montrezl Harrell to be potential lottery picks in 2014.

Several other returning players, including Tennesee's Jarnell Stokes, Michigan's Mitch McGary, Syracuse's Jerami Grant, Wisconsin's Sam Dekker and Kentucky's Alex Poythress, also could work their way into the lottery with excellent seasons.

Another strong crop of international prospects

The 2011 class boasted a number of stellar international prospects. Four international players -- Enes Kanter, Jan Vesely, Jonas Valanciunas and Bismack Biyombo -- went in the lottery. Several others, including Donatas Motiejunas, Nikola Mirotic and Davis Bertans, went in the first round.


Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty Images
Dario Saric, the No. 8 overall prospect of 2014, leads a strong crop of international players.
However, 2012 had the weakest international class. Only one player, France's Evan Fournier, was selected in the first round.

This year's international class bounced back, featuring seven players led by Sergey Karasev, Lucas Nogueira, Dennis Schroeder, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, Livio Jean-Charles and Nemanja Nedovic going in the first round.

And the 2014 class also appears strong. There have been only two international players taken in the lottery in the past three years, but this coming year we could have three: Croatia's Dario Saric and Mario Hezonja, as well as Australia's Dante Exum. Several other international players, including France's Boris Dallo, Spain's Guillermo Hernangomez and Serbia's Vasilije Micic, also could crack the first round.

Lean forward …

In 2014, a whopping nine small forwards and eight power forwards make our top 30.

That's good news for teams that had to suffer through one of the worst power forward drafts ever in 2013. Only three power forwards -- Anthony Bennett, Cody Zeller and Kelly Olynyk -- were selected in the lottery.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have only three point guards and three centers ranked in the top 30 for the 2014 class.

The point guard drought continues to be especially depressing. The 2012 crop was historically weak (one PG in the lottery), while the 2013 crop produced three lottery picks, but none in the top five. In our 2014 list, two of the four are ranked in the top five, but there are only two other PG prospects in the rest of the draft.

Overall, the draft class of 2014 is rounding out to be a once-in-a-decade sort of group. And it could get even better. You also have to factor in that some players who we're not talking about will rise -- they always do.

Stop, just fricking stop, mentioning OKC, ok? We're not going to be one of the bottom 5 teams next year, we weren't going to be bottom 5 even without Holiday. So take a step back and look at this shite rationally.

You would prefer that we take like the 3% chance we get Parker or Wiggins instead of getting a very solid, young point guard?

When our pick is 12-15 next year, we're not going to be missing it too much.


You're also leaving out that if we draft McLemore, we trade Gordon. If we draft Noel, we have a skinny center who can't do anything offensively and has a bad knee.



Now please, go on with your logic.

If we draft noel. He's hurt most of the year. Leaves us with the same team so yeah we are a top 5 pick give Or take two spots and there WILL be an impact player to be had. Which leaves us with a solid young nucleus. The best young nucleus. Now philly has basically swapped places. Now they have 2 lottery picks next year and mcw and noel to build around. I envy their position. Cuz long term they are set

No way this organization can stomach another lottery season. If we want to keep our core group of guys, then we need to win NOW. They will start getting irritated playing for a shitty team. No matter what you say to argue, that alone right there is one of the biggest points of this trade.