I have a confession to make and some repentin to do.
My draft board has been pretty consistent: wiggins, parker, embiid, randle, exum, vonleh, Gordon, smart.
Well, I have seen wiggins, parker, embiid, randle, and smart play quite a few times.... never really saw vonleh or Gordon play so I was just going off stats, highlights and things I had heard about them.
I finally watched Gordon play last night and realized how wrong I have been about him. I always heard that his best attribute was his athleticism. His athleticism is amazing but I felt like his number 1 quality is his incredible motor. I believe he has an elite motor, elite athleticism, elite defense, possibly elite bbiq, and elite intangibles (I love his personality/attitude)
This is all basically from watching one game (and some highlights) but I think he has extremely low bust potential.
I had always heard about his poor outside shot and poor free throw shooting and lack of offense and that is mostly what had me hatin. (I love offense much more than defense)
Watching him go to the line last night I expected to see an ugly shot but was surprised to see really good form and a nice release and good arch and everything. Yet he missed them and his percentage cant be ignored. I have to think he will improve ALOT from the line because his mechanics are sound.
Even if he never becomes a good free throw shooter or outside shooter, his motor is so high and his bbiq, athleticism, attitude, and defense will make him a quality starter for any team who drafts him...... I was also worried about what position he would play, but because of his elite strengths to his game I think he is one of the rare cases where its a luxury to be a "tweener" because you can move him around in your lineup depending on where he is needed defensively.
Add in the fact that he is the youngest of the freshman, and I believe he his body will develop really nicely, and you have an even better and likely more polished player rather quickly.
To summarize....... I confess that I hated without actually watching his Airgordoness play, and I repent for my sin of hatin.
My new draft board:
1. Wiggins (just what the jazz need position wise, defensively, for excitement and publicity, and highest ceiling in the draft)
2. Embiid (if his back is good to go then he has the second highest ceiling and the jazz need to swing for the fences)
3. Parker (I believe he will be the best stretch four that the league has seen and he will be the most marketable to the jazz fan base for selling tickets and jerseys)
4. Gordon (stud, aint gonna bust, Highest motor/work ethic in this draft, great defensively, great attitude, will provide fans with lots of highlight dunks and blocks)
5. Randle (A beast of man already with a nice offensive skillset. Bully with some nastiness that the jazz need)
6. Exum (never seen him play. Putting him here due to the "experts" opinions of him)
7. Vonleh (only seen highlights of him but he is big and long and seems to already be able to shoot and defend pretty well)
8. Smart (don't want another dude to come and take minutes from burks.... also don't love his size regardless of his wingspan. Need to be an elite shooter to be effective imo.... if he could shoot like eric Gordon then I would have him a lot higher... but alas, he cant.)
