2014 Rookie Draft Re-Do

[emplep7]

Now that we are almost through the entire 2014-2015 season, we have a better look at some of the rookies who came into the CSL from the 2014 Draft. Some have performed up to expectations, while others have far exceeded expectations. With the 2015 CSL Draft looming, lets take one more look at this years crop of Rookies and how I would expect the past draft to go knowing what we know today about how these rookies are shaping up.

2014 Rooke Draft Re-Do

1. Philadelphia - Jabari Parker || Original Pick: Jabari Parker || (0)

There is no doubt that the Sixers made the right call on Jabari here. He is leading all rookies in scoring and does it at a pretty efficient rate shooting 44% from the field and 37% from the 3 point line. He still has room to grow and once he is given the green light to play 32-36 minutes a game, he will be an over 20 point per game scorer and should make the Sixers one of the top teams in the league. He still needs to become a better defender at the next level, but if he offense continues to improve the Sixers won't be all that worried about his defense. Great pick.

2. Utah Jazz - Dante Exum || Original Pick: Dante Exum || (0)

I'm sticking with Exum here based solely on his potential. He is putting up good numbers this season, but coming into the league he has A LOT of room to grow, which is scary. If he ends up reaching his roof, he will end up as the best player in this draft class, which is why I think sticking to him at 2 is the good idea. The Jazz are a young and talented team and if their GM gave them more attention, they might be able to compete in the weak Western Conference.

3. Orlando Magic - Bryce Cotton || Original Pick: Aaron Gordon || (+11)

No offense to Gordon here, but Cotton is the clear pick now. He is one of the best players in this draft and is a true floor general. Add his good defense and this is a player that you can build a team around. Orlando would be in good shape and on the fast track to turning this franchise around if they had landed a player like Bryce. Him, Barnes, and Jonas (along with the 8th overall pick) would have been an amazing foundation that any team would be jealous of.

4. Milwaukee Bucks - Walter Tavares || Original Pick: Nikola Jokic || (+3)

With the recent Jonas trade, this pick doesn't make as much sense, but if they drafted Tavares, they could have kept Giannis and has a great core to build around with him and Tavares. Walter is the best center in this draft and is already a Top 10 center in the league in his young career. He is an amazingly efficient scorer and a good defender in the paint with his size. He would go as high as 3rd overall in this upcoming draft with how weak it is at center and for that, this is a no-brainer move for the Bucks. What a steal for the Lakers at 7.

5. Sacramento Kings - Elfrid Payton || Original Pick: Elfrid Payton || (0)

I stick by the pick here with Payton, who is the best defensive guard/wing behind Okaro White. He could start on a number of teams already, but still has a lot of room to grow. His defense, however, is already top notch and the scary thing is that he is only going to get better on that end of the floor with time. The problem with Payton is that he is stuck behind Jeremy Lin in Sacramento and looks to stay that way with the Kings going to offer Lin big money in the off-season. If he doesn't get the starting gig soon, this with the Kings and Payton could get ugly quick and severely hurt his development.

6. Phoenix - Isaiah Austin || Original Pick: Isaiah Austin || (0)

Pretty boring re-do so far with several of the top guys staying put, but you can't go against production and that is exactly what Austin is giving this season. He needs to put on weight to be an effective interior defender against the bigger PF/C's in the league, but he already is a good shot blocker and a jack of all trades type of player. I expect him to become a solid all around player in the CSL when his career is said and done.

7. Los Angeles Lakers - Nick Johnson || Original Pick: Walter Tavares || (+10)

The Lakers don't have their big man available to them anymore, but get the biggest surprise of the rookie class in Johnson who is a sneaky good player. By far the most all-around player in this draft, he shoots at a great rate for a guard and defends really well on top of that. Johnson could end up being a guy that far outplays his ratings and is someone who could be the heir apparent to Kobe in LaLa Land.

8. Orlando Magic - Richard Solomon || Original Pick: Zach Lavine || (+4)

I know, I know...Gordon is still available and they pass on him yet again. I love what Solomon brings to the table though and I feel he will be the better pro to Gordon. Solomon is the top interior defender in this class as well as the best rebounder and will improve in all areas as he gains experience His offensive game needs some serious work, but with proper preferences he could end up being a better offensive version of Serge Ibaka (minus the blocks). This is a guy I wouldn't mind having on my team.

9. Milwaukee Bucks - Aaron Gordon || Original Pick: Dario Saric || (-6)

The fall of Gordon stops at the Bucks, where they get the 3rd head of their amazing front court. Giannis - Gordon - Tavares would be the top defensive front court in the league in a couple years and would be a great base to build this franchise around. If they could somehow find a way to add a good point guard to that mix and a scoring off-guard, they would have set themselves up to be a dominant team for years to come. If only...

10. Cleveland Cavaliers - Okaro White || Original Pick: Damien Inglis || (+12)

Could you imagine a lock down defender on the Cavs right now playing next to Kyrie Irving? Lets all be glad that this is pretend time and we don't have to see this in the league for real. White is the perfect glue guy who is the best wing defender in this class (and possibly the league soon). He is the kind of player you can put on the opposing teams top scorer and he will shut them down game in and game out. He's only going to get better, which is good news for the Pelicans and bad news for the rest of the West.

The Rest of the First Round
11. Charlotte (via Portland) - Roy Devyn Marble (+16)
12. Sacramento (via Toronto) - Adrien Payne (+18)
13. Philadelphia (via New Orleans) - Nikola Jokic (-9)
14. New Orleans (via Houston) - Shabazz Napier (+2)
15. Los Angeles (L) (via Chicago) - Jusuf Nurkic (+5)
16. Minnesota - Bogdan Bogdanovic (-5)
17. San Antonio - Zach Lavine (-9)
18. Boston - Damien Inglis (-8)
19. Sacramento (via Golden State) - Mitch McGary (+1)
20. Miami - Tyler Ennis (-2)
21. Charlotte (via Detroit) - Doug McDermott (-6)
22. New Orleans (via Memphis) - James Young (-10)
23. Sacramento (via Denver) - Jordan McRae (+2)
24. Phoenix (via Washington) - Vasilje Micic (0)
25. Chicago (via Charlotte) - Kyle Anderson (-2)
26. Portland (via Oklahoma City) - James McAdoo (+2)
27. New York (via Atlanta) - Jordan Clarkson (+7)
28. Boston (via Los Angeles (C)) - Dario Saric (-19)
29. Phoenix (via Indiana) - KJ McDaniels (-3)
30. Philadelphia - Jarnell Stokes (+7)

Notable Risers
Bryce Cotton (+11)
Nick Johnson (+10)
Okaro White (+12)
Adrien Payne (+18)
Roy Devyn Marble (+16)

Notable Fallers
Dario Saric (-19)
James Young (-10)
Nikola Jokic (-9)
Zach Lavine (-9)

After looking through this, what do you think about the new order and how it could/should have gone?

[Rizzo]

What I would give to have Okaro on my team... *drool*

[KW]

I missed out on some great young talent when I traded my 1st last year. Bryce Cotton was taken with my pick, and that was with guys like Okaro White, Nick Johnson, Doug McDermott, Walter Tavares (imagine him backing up Dwight!), and Shabazz Napier still on the table. Of course, I had no idea that we would implode and my pick ended up being #14, when I thought it would be in the mid-20s. Can't complain with what I've got right now, but it could've been a lot better had I opted to keep my pick.

[GreenBear]

I missed out on some great young talent when I traded my 1st last year. Bryce Cotton was taken with my pick, and that was with guys like Okaro White, Nick Johnson, Doug McDermott, Walter Tavares (imagine him backing up Dwight!), and Shabazz Napier still on the table. Of course, I had no idea that we would implode and my pick ended up being #14, when I thought it would be in the mid-20s. Can't complain with what I've got right now, but it could've been a lot better had I opted to keep my pick.

Well Tavares was long gone by the time #14 came around, but valid point regardless.

[GreenBear]

This was a really fun article. Missed out on Cotton, but otherwise I'm pleased with Austin. Once I figured out his shooting woes, he's been a huge boost to my offense. He had the defense already.

Not in my wildest dreams did I think Nick Johnson would be this good. What a pick by the Spurs. Exum may not be in the rookie of the year running, but I agree that he should still be #2. He'll be the best player in this draft if he reaches his potentials.

Dario Saric slid quite a bit.

[KW]

I missed out on some great young talent when I traded my 1st last year. Bryce Cotton was taken with my pick, and that was with guys like Okaro White, Nick Johnson, Doug McDermott, Walter Tavares (imagine him backing up Dwight!), and Shabazz Napier still on the table. Of course, I had no idea that we would implode and my pick ended up being #14, when I thought it would be in the mid-20s. Can't complain with what I've got right now, but it could've been a lot better had I opted to keep my pick.

Well Tavares was long gone by the time #14 came around, but valid point regardless.

Oops, read the list wrong. Either way, the other 3 could have helped us out big time.

[Sky]

Great read and the idea is nice..

I'm a fan of Payton and Exum's game versatile yet can play hard nose defense, Gordon, is a very intriguing player his consistency sometimes can be a suspect but overall a very nice piece to include in a good core. I remember before that I was on the verge of getting Gordon and JVal.

[bt]

Nice work.

I'm looking forward to Payton's development and love Solomon's upside from the preference point of view. With that scoring rating and the right preferences, he should become pretty solid.

[Dennis]

Awesome work! Plenty time needed for it I believe.. Cotton had to be a top3 pick, no doubt. Okaro is top10 talent too. You cant deny, NOP did a very good job last draft. Same for the Kings. Salomon, Nurkic, Payton all are very good pick ups. Payne at 30 was crazy. No idea how I missed him and picked McAdoo at 29 instead =D..

If available at 18 I would have picked Doug instead of Inglis. Im just not sure about Damien. So far he looks like a bust. Marble is a bit too high. Solid talent but developed and thats the reason he is doing that good already.

[Chilikonkarne]

Milwaukee got #13 and #28 with pick 4 and 9.
Probably difficult to swallow but would be interesting to see this ranking in 5/7 years when everyone will have reached his potential. Some guys may not be in the top10 anymore (injuries, playing time...) since 9 out of 10 are playing for non-playoffs team.

Really nice article, enjoyed the reading!

[emplep7]

Thanks to everyone for commenting. Definitely was hard picking some of these guys for some teams, especially since it was a pretty good class and the players picked at the end of the round could be picked anywhere between 10-30 depending on that teams direction.

Some teams definitely hit on this draft with the Kings, Philly, and New Orleans being some of them. We'll see how this draft goes for some of those guys.

[Rizzo]

The Cavs taking Inglis is killing me lol.

[emplep7]

The Cavs taking Inglis is killing me lol.

Hah, he could turn into Nick Batum 2.0 if he develops also the way, but man am I glad you got him instead of some of the guys available afterwards.

[orangeparka]

Great read. What a crazy deep draft.

[WillyJakkz]

Very nice draft re-do article, however... I feel it is a prisoner of the moment article (which I'm working on a rebuttal) as Magic rookie Aaron Gordon has now been receiving equal playing time in comparison to the other top listed rookies and his numbers stand out briliantly.

[andrei]

this draft is so crazy - you got a rebounding stud like Stokes still going at the end of the first...

[emplep7]

this draft is so crazy - you got a rebounding stud like Stokes still going at the end of the first...

And to think he went in the 2nd round.

Tyler Stone is another guy who is a top rebounder in the league that was one of the last picks in the draft. Sim Bhullar is in the same situation. He would easily be a 1st round pick in this draft.

[WillyJakkz]

Gordon is averaging 14.7pts 5.7rebs 1.4asts 1stl 1.6blks with increased playing time, 30+ mins which is now equal to his rookie peers.

Not sure what his PA/SF or Stop% is currently but it was very good earlier during the initial ROY runnings. I could see a case being made for him going higher than 9.

[Chilikonkarne]

Gordon is averaging 14.7pts 5.7rebs 1.4asts 1stl 1.6blks with increased playing time, 30+ mins which is now equal to his rookie peers.

Not sure what his PA/SF or Stop% is currently but it was very good earlier during the initial ROY runnings. I could see a case being made for him going higher than 9.

79,5% STP and 0,9 PA/SF so I will aslo see him higher

[andrei]

this draft is so crazy - you got a rebounding stud like Stokes still going at the end of the first...

And to think he went in the 2nd round.

Tyler Stone is another guy who is a top rebounder in the league that was one of the last picks in the draft. Sim Bhullar is in the same situation. He would easily be a 1st round pick in this draft.

Totally agree. Both Stokes and Stone are elite rebounders and both picked so late...

I was considering Bhullar with 23rd but eventually traded the pick. Was then desperately trying to get into mid-second when I noticed that he was still available...