NBA Draft

NBA Draft 2015: Top 60

January 8, 2015 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

My first top 60 is never in precise order and this one is no exception. With only numbers from the easy non-conference schedule to use, it’s difficult to separate the players on a hot streak from the ones who are the real deal. For that reason rather than a strict ranking of prospects 1-60, I rank the prospects in groups that (hopefully) will be sorted out into a more traditional Top 60 a month from now. Each group is ranked in order of value. For example a freshman center is generally more … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2015: Top 60

Early Look at the Freshmen

November 10, 2014 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

What I do here is pretty simple. I take the stats from the 3 major High School all-star games and form an early opinion on the freshmen. Like everything that happens before the conference games start, this opinion is going to be considered very fluid and likely to change dramatically in some cases as the year progresses and these players develop or fade. All-star games aren’t the best forum for a player showcasing his skills. They are played at a fast pace, aren’t terribly competitive and are … [Read more...] about Early Look at the Freshmen

2014 Draft: Grades

June 28, 2014 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

I grade the drafts on a curve. That means 3 As, 6 Bs, 12 Cs, 6 Ds and 3 Fs. I do this because the teams are competing against each other. In talent-rich draft like this it isn’t that big a deal to improve, because several teams have improved. In evaluating draft grades I give the most weight to how much the player(s) drafted will help a team. If a team with a couple of lottery picks makes a nice haul I also consider what was given up for the pick and how much he gave the team. I also give … [Read more...] about 2014 Draft: Grades

NBA Draft 2014: Final Top 60

June 26, 2014 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

As much fun as all this analysis has been, the real fun will start when we find out exactly how legendary this draft is. I suspect it will look more like the underrated 1985 draft than anything. That was a deep draft featured a franchise center in Patrick Ewing and 9 other all-stars including Karl Malone. I feel the 2014 edition will be heavy on all-stars as well. The question is who are the future all-stars? This list is my best guess from most likely to least likely. Joel Embiid, C … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2014: Final Top 60

NBA Draft 2014: Ranking the Centers

June 26, 2014 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

What had been a class with one super prospect and not much else was further weakened by Embiid’s foot injury and the sad news about Isaiah Austin having to give up the game. Most of this piece is me urging the Cavs to forge ahead and draft Embiid. I still believe he’s going to be special, whether it is in Cleveland, Milwaukee or some other lucky city where the brain trust has enough foresight to take a chance on him. Here are the numbers: Center … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2014: Ranking the Centers

NBA Draft 2014: Ranking the SFs

June 25, 2014 by Ed Weiland Leave a Comment

There have been a lot of good SFs come into the league since LeBron and Carmelo headed the 2003 draft class. This group has a chance to be as good as any SF class ever. It is a deep, diverse group that features a lot of potential stars. The SFs are what makes the 2014 draft so deep and potentially a historically good one. In addition to the depth of this group, what should make them a fun group to watch develop is there is no clear cut best prospect in the group. There is no LeBron James or … [Read more...] about NBA Draft 2014: Ranking the SFs