SameOldNudityDrew wrote:If we get Wiggins, I think I'll be a little sorry the Cavs didn't draft Parker. I think Parker's ultimately going to be a better player than Wiggins, though I always love defensive-minded players.
Yeah, when the two matched up, it definitely seemed like Parker had more of a pure scorer's mentality. Wiggins does not seem like the alpha dog type.
bleedspeed177 wrote:What happens with our 2015 pick? Does it go to the Suns? Would it be crazy to land Kristaps Porzingis in next years draft?
Our pick is something like top 12 protected. It's another reason to trade Love now because if we make the playoffs and he leaves, we'd also not have a first round pick and we'd still have hardly any cap space to work with. We'd be really limited in how we could rebuild after a loss like that.
I also think Parker has better handles, court vision, and passing, but yeah, it's kind of a mentality thing. When I watch Parker, I see another Paul Pierce or Carmelo or Harden, but all with somewhat better passing. When I see Wiggins, I see somebody more like a stronger, more athletic and quicker Corey Brewer defensively with a better offensive game but a guy who will rely on others to create opportunities for him more than Parker will and a guy who won't create a ton of opportunities for others. That's an awesome player, and of course it would be great to see Rubio on the run with Wiggins, but I think Parker looks like he'll be a better player overall. But that's just my opinion. So often we're wrong about this stuff.
Terrific take, misty...Wiggins, Rubio and Dieng would be something special to watch defensively. Still hoping they can get it done.
I'm a little surprised at the idea that LaVine's ceiling could be higher than Wiggins'. I'm excited about LaVine, and was really pleased with how he played in SL, but we're getting way ahead of ourselves in comparing him to Wiggins. Wiggins has been under the microscope for several years, being by far the best player in his age group, and the experts have not been able to identify significant faults. While their offensive performances in SL were not discernibly different, they are miles apart on the defensive side of the ball, and it's difficult for me to imagine Zach closing the gap in this area. Wiggins really impressed me on defense. And even though they didn't perform very differently on offense in SL, we had an entire year to analyze both of them in college. Wiggins was silky smooth in averaging 20 points a game his final month, while LaVine struggled to get minutes and was almost shut out in the NCAAs.
They are both incredible athletes, and LaVine might even be the more athletic of the two. But Wiggins has been called by many as the most promising prospect since LeBron, and I'm not ready to compare their upsides yet. But if we land Wiggins, I'm really going to enjoy watching these guys develop.
LST, The "most promising prospect" stuff needs to get thrown out the window for the most part once a kid gets regular D-1 college minutes. Obviously Wiggins was still highly thought of after his year at KU, but let's face it, the bloom has come off a bit. Compare his Freshman year to Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, or even Eric Gordon. He comes down to earth pretty quickly. KU exposed his limitations as a ball handler, playmaker, and alpha dog scorer.
Look at guys like OJ Mayo, Harrison Barnes, and Shabazz Muhammed. All three were at one point considered high school phenoms that were near consensus #1 picks in mock drafts a year out from their senior years. Yet once they all hit college, their flaws started to show and things cooled off a bit. Yet they were still all drafted too high, mostly because the glow of their high school prospects hadn't faded yet.
Now I'm not suggesting that Wiggins doesn't have more upside than the aforementioned other three guys, but I certainly don't view him the same way I did before KU. It's just very tough to see him become the next NBA superstar.
I don't see him even close to being the "most promising prospect" since Lebron. Anthony Davis is way ahead of Wiggings imo. How about Durant, Westbrook, Harden, CP3, Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin. Pretty short sighted comment from where I am standing.
The guy can score 18 in the flow of an offense and defend very well on the perimeter and on the weak side. He has a good looking jumper and has a couple moves to get good looks (he already has a good step back jumper). He is a more strength away from being a very good to elite defender. Do you want the guy to apologize for being a team player and not trying to take over the offense and force it? He knows how to play off the ball as a result of his team play in college which is more important for a SF than the ability to setup teammates. Given how much better he is going to be on defense than Parker, I don't get how Parker is going to be a better player. Parker has a higher floor, but lower ceiling. I think Wiggins is a classic case of a guy being over-analyzed. Cleveland wouldn't have put up this much of a fuss with the Love trade if he was such a flawed prospect.
This tends to be Q's sweet spot. He is very good at projecting college talent to the pros. So he has me wondering about what Wiggins will turn out to be. I have been a Bucks fan since before the Wolves became a franchise. So I had a real interest in Parker during the SL. I have to be honest, I think i'd take Wiggins over Parker right now. To me Wiggins can be Grant Hill, and Parker is more like Glen Robinson the 2nd. I'm not sure Parker is athletic enough to score against the better defenders and sophisticated defenses of the NBA. At least not as much as the consensus seems to be. Wiggins weaknesses might be the easiest to overcome. But the jury is going to be out for at least a couple years I think Wiggins has a chance to be elite, but for every Kevin Durant that actually arrives, there are 10 Derrick Williams that don't live up to the hype.
I agree with Cam that LaVine seems to be a better prospect than Wiggins based on his total skill package and swagger. I also agree with Drew that Parker will be better than Wiggins in both the short term and long term. Not to say Wiggins can't or won't be really good. I think he definitely has all-star potential as a terrific two-way player.
Cool - I can't see Wiggins being a bust like Derrick Williams and I know you weren't suggesting that. But I don't see Wiggins on par with Grant Hill. Hill was a much better ball-handler than Wiggins coming out of college and had a much more advanced overall skill set. I see Wiggins as a potential Paul George if he works really, really hard on his ball-handling and adds a lot of muscle to his frame.
