More Likely To Be A Star

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Okay forum. Who has the best chance to be a star in this draft?

While I believe Wiggins' two-way potential and freak athletic skill give him the highest ceiling, I think Parker is more likely to become a star. He's as polished as it gets on the offensive end coming out of college. His skill is rare and better than Wiggins, in my opinion. His mentality and passion for the game is better as well. It's just hard to turn your head completely away from Wiggins because he too is skilled and game-changing, although on a lesser degree than Parker, but his athleticism is breath-taking. Wiggins also has defensive potential on his side.

Would be nice to have an intelligent discussion on these two.

[worldK]

Il take wiggins. Wiggins can be a better version of paul george in my view while parker can be a lesser version of melo. Parker is very good and will be a star and its pretty close between the 2 but il take wiggins for his ability yo impace both ends of the court.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Il take wiggins. Wiggins can be a better version of paul george in my view while parker can be a lesser version of melo. Parker is very good and will be a star and its pretty close between the 2 but il take wiggins for his ability yo impace both ends of the court.

If that's who they both end up to be, I'll gladly take Melo-- err-- Jabari aka Bari. Melo > George

I think the P.G. comparison is a fair one. Wiggins just lacks the killer instinct I like to see in superstars on offense, but also can get too relaxed on defense. He doesn't have that dog in him on defense like Harris or McDaniels (Just using those two because they're also prospects in this class) does all the time. He has all the potential in the world, though.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I see Wiggins ending up being somewhere between Corey Brewer and Russell Westbrook. His relentless energy like Brewer and athleticism on par with Westbrook will make him an awesome fast break player and he should become a lockdown defender. But will he develop the handles and some ability to pass to become a good half-court offensive player? I don't think he has the shooting touch that Paul George has, but I love his motor and athleticism more than George's. Still, I'm always wary of super-athletic guys with question marks regarding their skills. He'll definitely find a place in an NBA rotation, but I'm not sure I see a star there.

For Parker, the Melo comparisons are fair in that they are both SFs with good size who can handle the ball well and score. I think Parker would have to become a really special player to be able to score as much as Melo, but I actually think Parker could be a better all-around player. He sees the floor and passes better, and his handles are better, which is where Paul Pierce or James Harden become the points of comparison, although Parker has better size. Other than LeBron, who's on a whole other level, he'd be one of the most versatile SFs in the league, I'd say, a much better version of Turkoglu in his prime (I mean that as a compliment). He'd fit in with any offense and could play a different roles. I think Parker's skill set and versatility make him more of a sure thing than Wiggins and a smarter pick too. I'm wary of his defense, but for all those reasons I'd go with Parker.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I see Wiggins ending up being somewhere between Corey Brewer and Russell Westbrook. His relentless energy like Brewer and athleticism on par with Westbrook will make him an awesome fast break player and he should become a lockdown defender. But will he develop the handles and some ability to pass to become a good half-court offensive player? I don't think he has the shooting touch that Paul George has, but I love his motor and athleticism more than George's. Still, I'm always wary of super-athletic guys with question marks regarding their skills. He'll definitely find a place in an NBA rotation, but I'm not sure I see a star there.

For Parker, the Melo comparisons are fair in that they are both SFs with good size who can handle the ball well and score. I think Parker would have to become a really special player to be able to score as much as Melo, but I actually think Parker could be a better all-around player. He sees the floor and passes better, and his handles are better, which is where Paul Pierce or James Harden become the points of comparison, although Parker has better size. Other than LeBron, who's on a whole other level, he'd be one of the most versatile SFs in the league, I'd say, a much better version of Turkoglu in his prime (I mean that as a compliment). He'd fit in with any offense and could play a different roles. I think Parker's skill set and versatility make him more of a sure thing than Wiggins and a smarter pick too. I'm wary of his defense, but for all those reasons I'd go with Parker.

This is pretty much how I see it as well. Good thoughts, Drew.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I go with Wiggins. He was an elite defender in college and can defend the 2 and 3 right out of the gate man on man. Parker is not going to be able to defend anybody good with his size at the 3. Wiggins has a good looking shot. He has a very quick release and gets off the floor quickly making him virtually un-blockable on the perimeter which would be dangerous if he developed some consistency. He also has the hops and length to help him score at the rim. We'll see how good he is at creating looks with more space to work with in the NBA. The only argument that I have really seen against him has been his lack of killer instinct. The guy I saw in play in college was able to score 17 a night and you wouldn't even know it because of how much he plays within the team concept. He's not selfish and more importantly, he's not a black hole. That is going to be huge for him to make an impact in the short and long-term.

Meanwhile Jabari is going to be big for a 3 and I'm not sure how he is going to handle the quicker defenders at this level. Can teams really afford to post him up as a 3 all the time? He was able to make a lot of garbage in college around the rim that I'm not sure will be there if he tries to go to the hole against NBA rim protectors. That won't be a problem against everyone because not everyone has a good rim protector, but the good teams have guys that come from the weak side and clean those attempts up. Parker's advantage in college was his efficiency of movement and having good footwork. He wasn't blowing by guys with pure quickness, so I don't know how his driving skills translate. Sure he'll be able to score, but in today's game you need more than just scoring from your top players. In the end, defense wins games and any team Parker is on is going to need to surround him with defenders to be successful which isn't the case for Wiggins.

At the end of the day, Parker only outscored Wiggins by 2 PPG whereas Wiggins is already way more than 2 PPG better on the defensive end than Parker. I think you always go for the better defense if the offense isn't a huge gap which I don't see how you can say it really is given that Parker didn't outscore Wiggins by leaps and bounds in college. The fact that Wiggins could score that much without a very big offensive arsenal just shows how big his potential is whereas Jabari is already polished on the offensive end and only managed a bucket more per game.

[The Rage Monster [enjin:8010341]]

I can't believe the best player wasn't mentioned, I see it more as a three man race between those 2 and Nik Stauskas.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

khans, I'd agree with what you've said too, playing into the belief that Wiggins has the highest ceiling. Parker's game is leaps and bounds more polished right now, though, and there's a good possibility that Wiggins never reaches Parker's ability in the halfcourt. I saw Parker disappear in maybe two games last year whereas I saw Wiggins go Kevin Martin in plenty. That goes towards mentality as well.

What do you see Wiggins potential being? Paul George as well?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I can't believe the best player wasn't mentioned, I see it more as a three man race between those 2 and Nik Stauskas.

Would it be that big of a surprise if Utah took him at five?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I don't see Wiggins having a match honestly. His body type is like a slightly shorter Durant (wiry and long). His athleticism is unmatched if he has a 44 inch vert. He needs to get much stronger and he needs to get a consistent jumpshot. I think his potential is higher than Paul George because he is just flat-out more athletic and his jumping ability and length will make him very difficult to guard offensively. I saw him in a game get a finger-roll layup attempt when jumping from the free throw line while having a couple defenders around him. How do you defend that? He's going to be one of the few guys who can flat out just jump over a defender to get the look he wants. I don't really have a comparable because there isn't one. Lebron out-muscles his defenders while also using his quickness to make them not be able to get the position needed to put up a fight defensively. The Durantula uses his ridiculous length and height to get whatever shot he wants. I don't think I've ever seen a guy be able to create any shot just because he can jump high which is why I find it hard to find a comparable for him. I think his ceiling is top 5 player in the league. I think Jabari is in the Melo zone of never really being considered top 5 for an extended period of time except for a couple years where he just scored too much for anyone to care about the defense. I think Jabari's ceiling is top 6-10 because of his scoring, but I just can't put someone in the top 5 who isn't also a good defender. You won't find many All-NBA first teamers who can't defend. I think Jabari could make a few, but I think Wiggins is setup to make more consistently once LBJ is out of the league.