The Official NBA Draft/Offseason Thread

[Smithee]

The Pride of Riverside ranked in the top 3 @ age 22.

[capable_keL]

what is with the sudden interest in guy's age? did we forget how old NBA players are? rubio played pro ball at 16, yo!!


OMG jon wall is 21 yo !!

[capable_keL]

Ranking teams by U-25 talent




The Thunder, already a championship contender, are loaded with under-25 talent

The unintended consequence of the new collective bargaining agreement has been the emphasis on asset collection: draft picks, cap space and youth. Players under the age of 25 are coveted more than ever, mostly for their artificially low rookie-scale salaries, but also for the promise of potential yet to be realized.

During my time as an assistant director of basketball operations in the NBA, I considered it a priority to be as knowledgeable as possible about young players on rosters, particularly those in their "First Four" years in the league (you might have read about these types of players during the Vegas Summer League). The under-25 list is a bit more expansive in that it includes players well into their second contracts, but nevertheless is still a good measure of young talent on a roster.

While an inventory of talent under the age of 25 on a roster is not predictive of a franchise's future success (the quality of management decision-making, financial resources, team chemistry, coaching and, of course, luck all play major roles), you'd rather your team have the assets in hand than not have them, all else being equal.

Given the select nature of those players eligible for an under-25 team ranking, here's an overview of guidelines and some brief rules of thumb:

• In order to be eligible for this list, a player must be 24 years old or younger (born on or after Aug. 8, 1988).

• Teams with established superstars get an edge, due to a greater likelihood of return on investment, over teams with multiple "solid" talents (as the adage goes, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"). However, teams with a lot of bushes (a full cupboard of solid talents) may trump teams with a solitary star.

• Added consideration was given to players who made last season's top 25 under 25 list or next 10 list.

• Players considered were only those expected to be on the 2013-14 roster (i.e. no Nikola Mirotic for Chicago, Raul Neto for Utah, etc.).

With the ground rules established, here's our ranking of the top 15 teams in the league based on under-25 talent.

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
Players: Steven Adams (20), Kevin Durant (24), Serge Ibaka (23), Reggie Jackson (23), Grant Jerrett (20), Perry Jones III (21), Jeremy Lamb (21), Daniel Orton (23), Andre Roberson (21), Russell Westbrook (24)

2. New Orleans Pelicans
Players: Al-Farouq Aminu (22), Anthony Davis (20), Tyreke Evans (23), Eric Gordon (24), Jrue Holiday (23), Pierre Jackson (21), Darius Miller (23), Austin Rivers (21), Jeff Withey (23)

3. Utah Jazz
Players: Trey Burke (20), Alec Burks (22), Derrick Favors (22), Rudy Gobert (21), Gordon Hayward (23), Enes Kanter (21)

4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Players: Anthony Bennett (20), Carrick Felix (22), Kyrie Irving (21), Sergey Karasev (19), Tristan Thompson (22), Dion Waiters (21), Tyler Zeller (23)

5. Chicago Bulls
Players: Jimmy Butler (23), Erik Murphy (22), Derrick Rose (24), Tony Snell (21), Marquis Teague (20)

6. Houston Rockets
Players: Isaiah Canaan (22), Robert Covington (22), James Harden (23), Terrence Jones (21), Jeremy Lin (24), Donatas Motiejunas (22), Chandler Parsons (24), Greg Smith (22), BJ Young (20)

7. Golden State Warriors
Players: Harrison Barnes (21), Kent Bazemore (24), Festus Ezeli (23), Draymond Green (23), Nemanja Nedovic (22), Klay Thompson (23)

8. Detroit Pistons
Players: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (20), Andre Drummond (19), Brandon Jennings (23), Tony Mitchell (21), Greg Monroe (23), Peyton Siva (22)

9. Portland Trail Blazers
Players: Will Barton (22), Nicolas Batum (24), Victor Claver (24), Allen Crabbe (21), Meyers Leonard (21), Damian Lillard (23), C.J. McCollum (21), Thomas Robinson (22)

10. Minnesota Timberwolves
Players: Lorenzo Brown (22), Gorgui Dieng (23), Kevin Love (24), Shabazz Muhammad (20), Ricky Rubio (22), Alexey Shved (24), Derrick Williams (22)

11. Washington Wizards
Players: Bradley Beal (20), Otto Porter Jr. (20), Glen Rice Jr. (22), Kevin Seraphin (23), Chris Singleton (23), Jan Vesely (23), John Wall (22)

12. Los Angeles Clippers
Players: Reggie Bullock (22), Blake Griffin (24), Byron Mullens (24), Maalik Wayns (22)

13. Indiana Pacers
Players: Paul George (23), Solomon Hill (22), Orlando Johnson (24), Lance Stephenson (22)

14. Sacramento Kings
Players: DeMarcus Cousins (22), Jimmer Fredette (24), Ray McCallum (22), Ben McLemore (20), Patrick Patterson (24), Isaiah Thomas (24)

15. Charlotte Bobcats
Players: Bismack Biyombo (20), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (19), Jeff Taylor (24), Kemba Walker (23), Cody Zeller (20)

16-30 | http://es.pn/149yS0e

16. Toronto Raptors
Players: Quincy Acy (22), Dwight Buycks (24), DeMar DeRozan (24), Terrence Ross (22), Jonas Valanciunas (21)

17. Orlando Magic
Players: Maurice Harkless (20), Tobias Harris (21), Doron Lamb (21), E'Twaun Moore (24), Andrew Nicholson (23), Kyle O'Quinn (23), Victor Oladipo (21), Romero Osby (23), Nikola Vucevic (22)

18. Phoenix Suns
Players: Michael Beasley (24), Eric Bledsoe (23), Archie Goodwin (18), Malcolm Lee (23), Alex Len (20), Kendall Marshall (21), Markieff Morris (23), Marcus Morris (23), Miles Plumlee (24)

19. Philadelphia 76ers
Players: Lavoy Allen (24), James Anderson (24), Michael Carter-Williams (21), Justin Holiday (24), Arsalan Kazemi (23), Arnett Moultrie (22), Nerlens Noel (19), Tim Ohlbrecht (24), Evan Turner (24), Royce White (22)

20. Atlanta Hawks
Players: Jared Cunningham (22), John Jenkins (22), Shelvin Mack (23), Mike Muscala (22), Lucas Nogueira (21), Dennis Schroeder (19)

21. Boston Celtics
Players: Avery Bradley (22), MarShon Brooks (24), Jordan Crawford (24), Colton Iverson (24), Fab Melo (23), Kelly Olynyk (22), Phil Pressey (22), Jared Sullinger (21)

22. Denver Nuggets
Players: Kenneth Faried (23), Evan Fournier (20), Danilo Gallinari (24), Jordan Hamilton (22), J.J. Hickson (24), Quincy Miller (20), Anthony Randolph (24)

23. Milwaukee Bucks
Players: Giannis Antetokounmpo (18), John Henson (22), Brandon Knight (21), Khris Middleton (21), Larry Sanders (24), Nate Wolters (22)

24. Memphis Grizzlies
Players: Jerryd Bayless (24), Ed Davis (24), Jamaal Franklin (22), Kosta Koufos (24), Jon Leuer (24), Willie Reed (23), Tony Wroten (20)

25. San Antonio Spurs
Players: Cory Joseph (21), Kawhi Leonard (22), Patty Mills (24), Deshaun Thomas (21)

26. New York Knicks
Players: Tim Hardaway Jr (21), C.J. Leslie (22), Iman Shumpert (23), Jeremy Tyler (22)

27. Brooklyn Nets
Players: Mason Plumlee (23), Toko Shengelia (21), Tyshawn Taylor (23),

28. Miami Heat
Players: Norris Cole (24), James Ennis (23)

29. Dallas Mavericks
Players: Jae Crowder (23), Shane Larkin (20), Ricky Ledo (20)

30. Los Angeles Lakers
Players: Ryan Kelly (22), Robert Sacre (24)

[an-also]

[alpha]

When is mirotic gonna come over to the bulls?

[capable_keL]

those pants tho

[T Rav]

Kobe's only injured with a torn achiles for a few months and this motherfucker's gonna jack his fashion style!?!?! Get em, Big Breeze!

[Hayzoos]

When is mirotic gonna come over to the bulls?

Seriously

[naturalborn103]

The best 9-category fantasy season of all time was Larry Bird's 86-87 season.

28.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 1.8 steals, .9 blocks, 1.2 3p/g, .525 fg%, .400 3p%, .910 ft%

[capable_keL]

Kobe's only injured with a torn achiles for a few months and this motherfucker's gonna jack his fashion style!?!?! Get em, Big Breeze!

[Reason]

[naturalborn103]

I like Pek, but 5 year 60 mil is too much.

[capable_keL]

i have no problem with the money. if you can get Love & Pek to play together for the next 5 years you do it. Perfect complimentary guy for the rubio-love dynamic. hopefully i can see them all play together

[Reason]

I like Pek, but 5 year 60 mil is too much.

i dunno. david lee got 80 million. i don't overwhelmingly like this deal, but i got no beef with it

[peanut butter]

Yeah a guy like that is gonna cost a lot just in general. When you consider his age, skills and upside, I think its a really fair deal.

For context:
- Emeka Okafor makes $14.5 mil
- Al Jefferson makes $13.5 mil
- Nene makes $13 mil
- Bogut makes $13 mil
- Horford makes $12 mil
- Jordan makes $11 mil
- Okur makes $11


PEACE

[naturalborn103]

Comparing it to Lee's horrible contract just shows its not as bad as one of worst there is.

Its the length of the contract that is huge not the amount per a year. Also, it is a new game with new CBA. Can't really compare it to contracts handed out before lockout.

4/36 Splitter
3/25 Asik
3/41 Jefferson
5/60 Pek

[Reason]

Comparing it to Lee's horrible contract just shows its not as bad as one of worst there is.

Its the length of the contract that is huge not the amount per a year. Also, it is a new game with new CBA. Can't really compare it to contracts handed out before lockout.

4/36 Splitter
3/25 Asik
3/41 Jefferson
5/60 Pek

i mean i think you just proved my point. pek is exactly that much better in money and length than those 3 guys you mentioned

[naturalborn103]

I would rather Asik or Splitter over Pek.

[Shade Tree]

Comparing it to Lee's horrible contract just shows its not as bad as one of worst there is.

Its the length of the contract that is huge not the amount per a year. Also, it is a new game with new CBA. Can't really compare it to contracts handed out before lockout.

4/36 Splitter
3/25 Asik
3/41 Jefferson
5/60 Pek

i mean i think you just proved my point. pek is exactly that much better in money and length than those 3 guys you mentioned

I'd certainly take him over Splitter and Jefferson, but in my mind Asik is a better player with a significantly better contract. That's not least because of Asik's much better durability (Pekovic misses a lot of games with nagging injuries) and because the gap between Asik and Pek on D looks bigger to me than the gap on O.

Pek is by all accounts a good team guy, and it gets some goodwill with Love and his agent for the Wolves (and Asik is an unhappy motherfucker at the moment). But that's a lot of money to sink into a guy who is an injury-prone sub-par defender on a team full of them. I mean, it's Minnesota, and obviously the goal is not so much a championship as no longer being a joke, and there is some serious potential here for solid Superman villain jokes and karaoke videos. But that's a lot of cap flexibility to throw away and Noah-type money for a guy who tops out as a replacement All Star.

[Reason]

asiks contract is better i guess but ur talking aboit a guy who can't finish games because he is a free throw liability and routinely misses or puts up awkward shots otherwise. i guess my point is ill take wilt over russell in today's game because wilts are even rarer than russells these days

[Reason]

i.e. putting the ball in the basket to open shit up for three point shooters

asik gets lots of offensive rebounds partially bc he literally does nothing on offense but set picks and is not paid attention to by the defense

[naturalborn103]

While Asik is far from good on offense, he got MUCH MUCH better as the season went along. Especially at finishing. I have it:

Asik > Splitter > Pek > Jefferson

Pek is a menacing fuck, but he really lacks a lot on the defensive side. That, combined with the injuries shade tree mentioned, is a scary guy to invest 5 years into. Of all positions a good defensive center is the most important. You don't have that you better have some Tony Allen type defenders for your wings.

[peanut butter]

In 2012-13, Cuttino Mobley made $9.5 million from the Clippers. That's more than guys like Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Mike Conley and James Harden.



PEACE

[Tweak Da Leak]

[naturalborn103]

Y! Sources: Milwaukee nearing completion of a 4-year, $44 million-plus extension with center Larry Sanders.

[Shade Tree]

Y! Sources: Milwaukee nearing completion of a 4-year, $44 million-plus extension with center Larry Sanders.

Much better deal than Pek's.

[naturalborn103]

Y! Sources: Milwaukee nearing completion of a 4-year, $44 million-plus extension with center Larry Sanders.

Much better deal than Pek's.

Yep. Also better then Asik, Splitters, and, of course, Jeffersons.

[Smithee]

[naturalborn103]

Talking about Noel to 76ers trade.

the trade had been in place since before the draft, and it was dependent on one of three guys dropping: Nerlens Noel, Anthony Bennett, and Victor Oladipo.

[naturalborn103]