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Following potential 2014 draftees

Its official Julius Randle declares for the draft.



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Calipari gets it. Of course he does - he had a front row seat to the show. He saw Randle getting doubled (he calls it "Shaq'd") 90% of the time, still the best player on his team and still putting up better numbers than Wiggins, Gordon and Parker, who were rarely, if ever, doubled.

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He's a real interesting prospect. Cal's right, he won't get abused/doubled every night like he did in college. I also question whether he'll be physically superior enough to just bully everyone en route to a double-double every night in the NBA. I really don't know what to make of him, I'll be curious to see who he's matched up with in workouts and how he performs.

I'll peg him 5-7.
 
He's a real interesting prospect. Cal's right, he won't get abused/doubled every night like he did in college. I also question whether he'll be physically superior enough to just bully everyone en route to a double-double every night in the NBA. I really don't know what to make of him, I'll be curious to see who he's matched up with in workouts and how he performs.

I'll peg him 5-7.
That's my concern. And he has a pretty short wingspan for his height. He'll be a solid player, perhaps not a dominant one, though. At least there are very good players all the way down to #7 (if Utah were truly unlucky in the lottery). I really didn't want Utah to have a pick in the #9-12 range and come out of this draft with someone like McDermott. Jazz need to get a starter-quality player.
 
That's my concern. And he has a pretty short wingspan for his height. He'll be a solid player, perhaps not a dominant one, though. At least there are very good players all the way down to #7 (if Utah were truly unlucky in the lottery). I really didn't want Utah to have a pick in the #9-12 range and come out of this draft with someone like McDermott. Jazz need to get a starter-quality player.

If he can become dependable from 18 + feet he is going to be tough to stop. He is quick enough and skilled enough to get to the rim against a 4 and should be able to bully a 3 on him. I just worry he won't extend his game and will be stuck being a less efficient undersized backup 4.
 
I think we do whatever it takes to get in the position to draft Embiid. Depending on the lottery results, if it takes our trading up a spot or two then we need to do it. If it takes our trading Kanter or a pick to move up then I think we need to do it.

I would love to have a starting front line with Embiid and Favors. Both Burke and Burks driving and dishing lobs to Embiid would be fun to watch.
 
Chad Ford's latest Mock:

1. Burks: Wiggins
2. 76ers: Jabari
3. Magic: Exum
4. Jazz: Embiid

Analysis: Jazz fans want Parker in the worst way, but their team likely will have to win one of the top two spots in the lottery to get their hands on him. With the players left on the board, the Jazz face a quandry. They can go with the guy with the most upside (Embiid), or they can go with a player who can help them right away (Julius Randle). Assuming Embiid is healthy, I think he's the pick here. Pairing him on the floor every night with Derrick Favors would give the Jazz an unbelievable defensive front line. Landing him also might free up the team to explore Enes Kanter trades over the summer. While the Jazz love Kanter, if they have to pay big dollars to Gordon Hayward this summer in free agency, they might not be able to afford to pay him what he wants next summer.

23. Jazz: Elfrid Payton

Analysis: The Jazz drafted a pretty small point guard in Trey Burke last year. Now they add a player who has size and length and the explosive athletic ability that Burke lacks to back him up. Payton isn't a great shooter and needs to add strength, but he's my sleeper of the draft and a great get for the Jazz at No. 23.
 
Calipari gets it. Of course he does - he had a front row seat to the show. He saw Randle getting doubled (he calls it "Shaq'd") 90% of the time, still the best player on his team and still putting up better numbers than Wiggins, Gordon and Parker, who were rarely, if ever, doubled.

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He gets doubled a lot because the nature of his game. His spins, fakes, up and unders, etc are necessary to get his shot off against his primary defender. That is the life of a PF with a 6'11" wingspan. The 2 seconds he spends doing those moves is an eternity for help defenders to come over. It will be further magnified on the NBA level. It's no different than Kanter trying to score on true centers in the post. Sometimes he impresses, but at the end of the day his TS% doesn't justify him really being down there.
 
Chad Ford's latest Mock:

1. Burks: Wiggins
2. 76ers: Jabari
3. Magic: Exum
4. Jazz: Embiid

Awesome.

Im hopinh exum goes top 3 and pushes on of the real top 3 down to us.
 
Embiid + Payton would be a filthy draft. I don't think there's any way that Embiid is on the board at 4 though.

His back is the wild card. Just 2 months ago he was somewhat of a clear-cut #1. He had that run in Big 12 play where he was unstoppable.
 
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