The Official 2014 NBA Draft Talk Thread
- Thread starter tremonthustler1
- Start date
Dante Exum
Scout 1: I’m not putting my nuts on the line for this guy. I’m not drafting the next Tskitishvili. Now, the guys that saw him in Prague, if they’ve seen enough, then fine, but I can’t do it. There is no frame of reference. He’s going top five or six. But if you think it’s a lock to Orlando, they like [Marcus] Smart too.
You can look like a hero or get fired taking this kid, that’s who he is. There are a lot of sexy things there. I’ve seen him practice, mostly against other Euros. I’ve seen Wiggins 15 times.
It’s very hard for me. I didn’t go to Prague. I’m a Hoop Summit guy. It’s basically drafting a high school kid out of Australia. Not debating his athleticism. He’s a hard worker, smart. His dad played, so that helps with the transition if you are worried about that. It reminds me of Nikoloz Tskitishvili [drafted no. 5 in 2002] a little, but obviously not the same player.
Here’s how that went down:
We had a good relationship with [Mike] D’Antoni, Tskitishvili’s coach at Benetton. At the time, we weren’t in on him. Teams were coming in to watch him practice, and I mean just limited practices. The vets on the team didn’t even take the court. So scouts would watch him go one-on-zero, and D’Antoni couldn’t believe how excited teams were. Mike was like, I’m not even playing the guy and teams are talking lottery. Now, Mike talked him up and helped the kid out, but this is what scares me about Exum.
Scout 2: He’s riding the wave, like Dion Waiters. Same agent. It’s all mystery and intrigue. He did enough at the Hoop Summit to be in the conversation. Everyone else, we have seen the film, we know the positives and the negatives. Embiid, injuries; Parker, body; Wiggins, shot. [The process] exposes the flaws. It’s all positives for Exum. We haven’t seen much, so we all think he’s great. With the other guys, we built them up pre-draft, then spent months picking them apart. Exum avoided all of this.
I think he’s a high-turnover guy, and he can’t shoot. We talk about Wiggins’s shot … well, it’s better than Exum’s.
Here’s the deal: At the time, when Russell Westbrook wasn’t thought to be a PG, Oklahoma City was ahead of the curve. That’s what Orlando was thinking with [Victor] Oladipo. Same thing. Re-create that model. Exum is the closest thing to this.
Where our league is going now, no one is a true PG anymore. You are either really good with the ball, as a shooter — Curry, Lillard, or Kyrie — or no one can stay in front of you — Westbrook, Wall, and Rose. There aren’t any Chris Pauls anymore.
He’s not a top-three pick, but talentwise, he’s ahead of Parker. Watching him five minutes, it doesn’t take long for him to stand out in the group. I saw him at the Adidas camp, versus the Harrison twins; he was better than them.
Smart is a better shooter than Exum. They hid Exum in workouts, and part of it is to keep the mystery. The other part is, I think they want him to fall to the Lakers. Not going to happen.
Scout 3: I have no comparisons for him. None.
Unless you are some super-scout that saw him on some JV vocational team in Australia, you have only seen him live twice in like 14 months. The workouts give you nothing; we already know he’s big and an athlete. It’s a risk, but last time we saw him at the under-19 he dominated.
It’s all upside, but he’s never played against men. He has all the physical skills, great feel for the game, so that is where you start when you think about position in the NBA. We project PG will be his primary position.
To think he’s the third pick in the draft, and hasn’t played in 12 months … man, that is impressive.
Russillo: I swear we should just replace the word “upside” with the phrase “we don’t know how bad he could be.” Like everyone else, I’m not sure. He is a product of human nature; we don’t know enough about him, so we assume he is going to be good.
If he had played in the States this year and were listed as a shooting guard who can’t shoot, would we be as excited? Because that is what he looks like.
He gets to the hoop and has all the size you would want, but it’s going to take a patient coach to let him learn how to run an offense.
These teams that are talking about taking him — Philadelphia, Orlando, maybe Utah — all drafted point guards last year. Maybe Orlando moves Oladipo to the 2, and that would be scary length to play against. We are either going to see the next Westbrook-type PG — limited as a playmaker but athletically dominant — or he will be a punch line in five years. I don’t know.
- League sources say that the Cavaliers are weighing three options: Andrew Wiggins,Jabari Parker, and Dante Exum. Mannix notes that Exum is a wild card; if Cleveland ultimately walked away with Exum on draft night, I think it’d be plausible to imagine that they’d trade down to select him.
Surely he doesn't fall that far....Westbrook/Reggie/Dinwiddie rotation would be
tremonthustler1
aka bx_representer
I'm still working on it, but yeah, he can sneak in. A healthy Dinwiddie coulda won Pac-12 POY and had Colorado right up there with Kansas. The shooters are very undervalued in this draft besides the Stauskases and McDermotts.Surely he doesn't fall that far....Westbrook/Reggie/Dinwiddie rotation would be
954UAlreadyknow
All Star
I agree with what one of them that said just off the lack of comp ALONE dude shouldnt be a top 5 pick
Recca Gatsby
LWO
LMAO how? What they say to those fakkits?
He's played against a few of them before at Adidas nations and U19. But he's really being projected as a lotto pick just off a few games last year. I think he's really talented though man from the little I've seen.
tremonthustler1
aka bx_representer
well most of the time they just try to get Bilas and JVG's attention, but I have heard them shout out MULTIPLE SOURCES!!!! to Broussard while he tries to eat, general heckler shyt.
tremonthustler1
aka bx_representer
I can honestly see the Kings being the first team that makes a pick that makes everyone go 
I can honestly see the Kings being the first team that makes a pick that makes everyone go
If Smart is there at 8 they should run to the podium and take him.
The Embiid injury really won't mean that much to Philly for mainly two reasons:
1) The Sixers aren't planning on contending for at least for another 2-3 years so there is no expectation to win now or right away. Philly probably plans on being a high lotto team again next year also.That gives Embiid plenty of time to adjust to the NBA.
2) We already have a rookie in Nerlens Noel who was basically redshirted last year who will come in and debut along with the 10th pick. That will be what they sell the fans and buy the team some more time while Embiid recovers.
1) The Sixers aren't planning on contending for at least for another 2-3 years so there is no expectation to win now or right away. Philly probably plans on being a high lotto team again next year also.That gives Embiid plenty of time to adjust to the NBA.
2) We already have a rookie in Nerlens Noel who was basically redshirted last year who will come in and debut along with the 10th pick. That will be what they sell the fans and buy the team some more time while Embiid recovers.
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from actually watching a few full games( 4 in total) on Exum
- terrible on defense,
- has no clue what he's doing off ball, needs the ball constantly in his hands to score offensively
- he's sorta soft, gets knocked around a few times and just takes it.... can't get around a screen to save his fukking life. scouts say " lack of strength!!" but really I would argue he isn't trying. Though he isn't afraid of contact when going for a layup
- looks like he has trouble handling full court press
- terrible on defense,
- has no clue what he's doing off ball, needs the ball constantly in his hands to score offensively
- he's sorta soft, gets knocked around a few times and just takes it.... can't get around a screen to save his fukking life. scouts say " lack of strength!!" but really I would argue he isn't trying. Though he isn't afraid of contact when going for a layup
- looks like he has trouble handling full court press
