not to nitpick here, but if you are going to play inside you want length, strength/weight, and athleticism/agility. It just doesn't matter whether you are a couple inches shorter/taller from head to toe. I mean I posted that because I was reading an argument about the difference between height measurements barefoot/in shoes. First of all nobody really talks about anybody's height without shoes. The players wear shoes when they play and at the very most we are talking about half an inch that somebody is fudging wearing extra tall shoes. And then it's just not really an important measurement anyways.
There are so many absolutes people are posting here a month and a few days before the draft. "There's no way this team is passing on this player." "This player is not falling out of the top 10." There is so much that could/will still happen in the next month and then during the draft we are always shocked when some player falls or some team seemingly reaches for another player.
I do think it should take something pretty special to pry the Lakers and Timberwolves picks from our hands. Even if they kept Kevin love or get something great in return for him it's hard to imagine Minnesota making the playoffs next year.
At this point I think I worry most about us making a panic move to parlay some of these draft picks into something better. Then in two years we are kicking ourselves because there were so many really good players there to be had if we had just stayed put.
Joe
That's just not the case Joe. It's well documented, there has been more than a two inch discrepancy between how some players measure in shoes versus bare feet. Yes, they all play in shoes but when some players increase by a half inch and others increase by two or more inches, it clouds the picture and has a lot to do with why so many people think height means nothing. There's a good article about this, on ESPN I believe, about Kevin Love and liars in shoes (or something like that).
Like you, I worry about us making a move to parlay some of these picks into something better but I think using the word "panic" is unjustified. I think you can make a mistake without panicking. For some reason, this front office seems convinced that we can't handle three more rookies and they are apparently determined to trade at least one of them away. I disagree with that stance but it's a reasoned move on their part, not one of panic.
As for absolutes, I usually stay away from them. Most of my comments are hedged but I'm pretty confident about one thing in this draft. Randle will not be a bust. I don't know where he's going but some of the teams that pass on him will regret it. I don't think there's another player in this draft that has as high of a floor as he does. I'm not convinced his ceiling matches up with Wiggins, Parker, Embiid or even Vonleh but odds are at least one of those four will bust and Randle won't (barring injury or something off court). He's also one of the youngest players in this draft so even though he already has an NBA-worthy offensive game he has plenty of time to develop. I expect him to battle Parker for ROY.
Steve
