The Daily Fix: Featuring Some Draft-Related Predictions For 2013-14

After another boring night of preseason basketball (preseason scores at the bottom), here is a preseason re-draft. Before any of this year’s rookies take the court (in real games; preseason is bad pickup basketball), I’ll be elaborating on what each team with a top-10 pick should have done in the 2013 NBA draft.

It’s easy to say after the fact that you knew it all along, but actually saying it beforehand helps verify your personal opinions as an analyst. I’ve always been into the NBA Draft (as a kid, it was just so nice to get a taste of hoops in the summer, and now …  it’s pretty much the same thing), so I’m going to iron out my opinions on how each team in the top 10 handled their pick, while providing what I think would be a better alternative (if there was a better alternative).

(Actual pick in parenthesis)

Victor Oladipo would have looked good next to Kyrie Irving in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ backcourt. Photo Credit: NBA.com

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Victor Olapido (Anthony Bennett)
Cleveland messed this up a year earlier, when they took Dion Waiters fourth overall. If they had drafted Andre Drummond, which would have made sense with Anderson Varejao as a sure-thing stopgap. Let’s let that be and focus on Olapido over Bennett. With Tristan Thompson at the 4 and Bennett definitely not being built to play the 3, it’s not an ideal situation. Oladipo and Kyrie Irving would be the best backcourt in the NBA in three years (tops) and with Thompson, they already had an Serge Ibaka-esque (in terms of function) starting power forward to build with. The pick won’t come back to haunt them completely, as Bennett will serve a role, but I think it lowers their ceiling overall.

2. Orlando Magic: Victor Oladipo (Victor Oladipo)
I’ve never seen anything like this done before, so if you’re not understanding how the same guy can get picked twice, think about it a little, which should help you realize that it does make sense (if you still don’t get it, think of it like this: Orlando and Cleveland both could have taken him, so they both should have. Obviously, only Orlando did, which I’m saying was the right move). Olapido is going to be Orlando’s point guard of the future, and he’s going to be a star in this league. He’ll join Damian Lillard as one of the premier up-and-coming point guards in the NBA. Bank on it.

3. Washington Wizards: Otto Porter (Otto Porter)
Washington drafted for need (its most gaping hole was at the 3) and it probably had Porter as the third-best player on its board. I’m not sold on Porter being a top-10 small forward at any point in his career (mainly due to his foot speed), but I think he will be a consistent starter after a year or two. With Porter, Washington filled a hole and found its small forward of the future, which was the right move because its alternatives were a handful of one-off big men.

4. Charlotte Bobcats: Nerlens Noel (Cody Zeller)
Charlotte was in the toughest spot here because Bennett was the best fit. Nobody had Bennett going first and I wouldn’t be surprised if Charlotte had quietly agreed that he would be the selection if available. To me, in a draft like this, as a rebuilding squad like Charlotte, you have to take a risk. They didn’t. They chose a guy who probably won’t ever be a starting 4 (except on a bad team), instead of reaching on a big man with big-time potential (and coming off a big-time injury). I understand the Zeller pick and I’m not totally opposed to it, but Charlotte should have taken a shot. For whatever reason, I have faith in Noel being a decent starter (I see Tyson Chandler), while I see Zeller being an average third big man.

5. Phoenix Suns: Ben McLemore (Alex Len)
Why not? Phoenix is firmly in the cellar, as not one of the spare parts that it has collected is a piece worth building around (it took Len before it got Eric Bledsoe), so why not plug up the 2 next season with a guy like McLemore? He’s got a solid skill set and there’s no one who would benefit more from being a top-two offensive option on an awful team (especially in the Western Conference) for a year. I’m not crazy high on McLemore (I don’t think he ever reaches an All-Star level, but he gets close), but I am crazy low on Len, which factors greatly into the decision. I just don’t see anything positive or hopeful in Len. Sorry Suns fans. Prove me wrong.

6. New Orleans Pelicans: Nerlens Noel (Nerlens Noel)
The Pelicans flipped Noel and a first-round pick in next year’s draft for Jrue Holiday, which wasn’t too bad of a move because of the 2012 draft class. Will New Orleans regret it if they end up winning 28 games this season? You bet they will, but I have no problem with the move. New Orleans went for it this offseason and I commend the Pelicans for it. That being said, I have them 11th in the West still (but also as a team to watch due to all their variables).

7. Sacramento Kings: Trey Burke (Ben McLemore)
I know McLemore dropped and he expected to go higher, but Sacramento needs a change of tune. The Kings have been in the cellar for so long and they were in dire need of a floor general. Why not grab the guy who just led his team to an NCAA title game and who is by all accounts a great leader and person. Burke’s a selfless guy who has a little “it” in him, while McLemore is a shooting guard version of Harrison Barnes (measures great, lacking intangibles). If Greivis Vasquez emerges as a legitimate leader and foundational piece for this team, I’ll be completely wrong, but I feel like they view him as a stopgap, which is exactly what they don’t need.

8. Detroit Pistons: Michael Carter-Williams (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope)
Guys like Brandon Knight, Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Louis Williams, Jerryd Bayless  and Jamal Crawford need to be placed next to a certain type of player in the backcourt if they’re going to start. The idea of Brandon Knight playing the 2 and MCW playing the 1 sounds great to me and even if we fast forward to the Jennings-for-Knight trade, the move would still work. When guys have talent that doesn’t live up to expectations, you need to get creative with them. A long 6’5″ point guard like MC Dubs (that’s what the kids are calling Carter-Williams) might be the perfect candidate to play next to a score-first point guard who’s too undersized to play the 2 outright. Caldwell-Pope will be able to score in this league, but remember, Nick Young could too.

9. Utah Jazz: Trey Burke (Trey Burke)
Utah did exactly what Sacramento should have done by taking Burke. Utah’s going to be awful, but now the Jazz have five young guys that they can start next year, who will win 20 games and get them a top-three pick (that’s just a guess, but they’re going to be bad enough to make it happen). Burke spends a year in Utah without any pressure on him, gets joined by someone like Jabari Parker and then the Jazz go from there. Derrick Favors, Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter have a year to prove themselves as foundational players and a year to get used to playing with Burke. Like I said, Utah will be awful, but don’t let the record fool you; they’re on the up and up (relatively).

1o. Portland Trail Blazers: Michael Carter-Williams (C.J. McCollum)
I know that they already have Damian Lillard, but once again, MCW is 6’5″. Portland could try to play both of them together and if worse comes to worse, MCW is just a 20-minute-per-game guy who comes off the bench (isn’t that what McCollum’s going to be?) Wesley Matthews isn’t exactly the ideal starting 2 as it is (he’s all right, but he’s average), so why not bring in a guy with a high ceiling who could possibly fill that role? A lot of people are high on McCollum, but I’m not sure he’s going to a starting 2 at any point in his career and I think that Carter-Williams will have a very strong career. Once again, I wanted a team to get a little creative and the Trail Blazers chose an easier path (like Charlotte going with Zeller at No. 4).

All of these opinions are debatable and I hope to hear some scathing, poison-tongued arguments against my school of thought.

Preseason Scores

Toronto Raptors 99, Boston Celtics 97

Dallas Mavericks 92, Indiana Pacers 85

Chicago Bulls 96, Detroit Pistons 81

Houston Rockets 108, Orlando Magic 104

Portland Trail Blazers 99, Utah Jazz 92

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