2014 NBA Draft: Joe Gilbert’s Top Five Small Forwards
June 24, 2014Browns and Gordon still waiting, with no appeal date set
June 24, 2014
It’s not quite Nerlens Noel versus Alex Len, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly undecided on who they will be taking with the No. 1 pick during this Thursday’s NBA Draft. ESPN.com is citing multiple sources who say that the team is split as to who—either Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins or Duke’s Jabari Parker—will be the next player added to their roster. “They met for three hours, and all they talked about was those two guys,” said one source.
The Cavaliers, as led by general manger David Griffin, were reportedly set on drafting Kansas center Joel Embiid with the first-overall pick, but the 7-footer was found to have a stress fracture in his foot that will require four-to-six months of rehabilitation.
[Related: 2014 NBA Draft: Joe Gilbert’s Top Five Small Forwards]
Parker, by all accounts, is the most NBA-ready player from an offensive standpoint, a kid who can be added to any NBA roster and provide 15-20 points on a given evening. He is thought to be a better fit for head coach David Blatt’s offense due to his high IQ and ability to convert catch-and-shoot scenarios. Unfortunately, the Duke product arrived to Cleveland last week tipping the scales at 20 pounds larger than his typical playing weight and was thought by at least one source to have “tanked” his workout. Defensively, he is thought by some to be a risk at the small forward position—his physical condition will only serve to hinder this even further.
Wiggins, conversely, came into Cleveland last Wednesday and reportedly shot the ball extremely well despite this being labeled as a weakness. Wiggins also reportedly wowed ownership in the workout due to his athleticism and the way he conducted himself within his interview.
“You can’t base everything on one one-on-none workout,” a source said. “But Wiggins was great and Jabari wasn’t. It makes an impact. It makes you go back and reassess everything you saw during the year.”
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Photo: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
21 Comments
Noel vs Len?…we took Bennett. What are we talking about here?
I had the same thought.
I have always found the “Wiggins can’t shoot the ball” critiques a bit hyperbolic. Compared to Parker, yes, Wiggins is the worse shooter. But MKG he is not.
So we are not drafting Wiggins or Parker?
The days leading up to last year’s draft were all Noel-Len. Sure, some had hopes of Porter or Oladipo, but the talks largely focused around the big men, regardless of who they ended up taking.
https://waitingfornextyear.com/2013/06/nba-draft-cavs-leaning-toward-noel-and-len-per-chad-ford/
https://waitingfornextyear.com/2013/06/nba-draft-rumors-cavaliers-down-to-len-or-noel-but-still-open-to-trade/
S O U RC E S
Zach Lavine just to completely throw everyone off.
Holy crap, Griffin can’t control blatant leaks to “multiple sources” of private discussions?! He’s supposed to be able to trust his guys! Guess when the owner makes you hire his little brother Fredo no matter how many times you tell him to shut his yap you just can’t keep family business in the family. And that “industry source” – we’ll find who that is, trust us.
But Griffin, c’mon baby – stop reading all the blogs and pondering, there’s barely twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go. Go with the gut, baby. Or the player with the smaller gut. Or whatever. Just stop thinking out loud, newbie, or people will think you’re soliciting deals in case some team’s owner has truly lost his mind.
[Aaah, that fragrant silly season …]
Thank you. Wiggins can definitely shoot, Parker just has exquisite form making his shot higher and more consistent.
Also, it bugs me when people claim Wiggins doesn’t fit in a Princeton offense, while Parker does. Parker can catch-n-shoot better, yes. But, Wiggins can cut, pass, and drive better. And, he is a decent catch-n-shoot guy. I actually think the Princeton offense is a bad one for Jabari. He’ll be better in a traditional pick-n-roll offense that will get him some isolations in the post too.
I have unconfirmed confirmation on the source of the leaks
http://getwittedsports.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/nick-gilbert-cavs.jpg
Bingo. The tie is bugged.
Draft guy who wants to be here or draft guy who doesn’t want to be here?
Tough choice.
Let’s take Wiggins. We need some help on defense, and we have plenty of scorers….
Wiggins also has a very hard time going left. He just has far more to work on then does Parker which is why besides being perimeter orientated I favor Parker.
You really don’t have a lot of scorers.
I have a source that says Nick is not the source of the leaks. However after talking to Optimus Prime, I HAVE FOUND THE TRUE SOURCE OF THE LEAKS. (and all other sports rumors for that matter)
http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/51daf28cecad04ec35000028/hackers-have-figured-out-how-to-take-over-your-toilet.jpg
Who does LeBron want?
You did notice that Parker got pulled in the Mercer game as a defensive sub correct? Offensively, yes, Wiggins has a lot to work on. But Parker has just as much to learn defensively as Wiggins does offensively.
good point that isn’t getting mentioned enough. Cavs already have guys who can score. they need guys who can play D.
I’ll wanna be sedated if they take the Afflalo deal.
maybe not. but they have nobody who plays D. Varejao is always hurt so he doesn’t count.