My Crazy Mock 2014

[gutshot]

Payne is going to be a quality player. He may "only" be 6'9 but his 7'4 wingspan makes him play bigger than that listed height.

I think he deserves to go in the lottery.

Problem with Payne is he is 23.4 years old.

[Thorpesaurous]

Problem with Payne is he is 23.4 years old.

I think if you're a good team that won't matter much. So the tail end of the lottery where teams are starting to think about making the playoffs next year, or some of the playoff teams that are drafting there, the age won't matter much. You're getting a rotation guy with definable skills.

Most of the younger upside guys there, like say Lavine, aren't going to be good enough to crack your good rotation anyway, and you'll just have to roll the dice when it comes time to re-up him. Your better off with the guy who can help now IMO if you're one of those teams.

[Jailblazers7]

Kind of hoping the Sixers are forced to choose between Exum and Embiid. I'd love to see them try to make the twin towers set up or the big PGs work. I've also heard a lot of great things about Exum as a competitor but we will see. Chad Ford said that a scout told him that Exum is the closest thing he has seen to Kobe as a prospect on the BS report. I've convinced myself that Embiid's issues have more to do with a confluence of factors centered around his recent intro to basketball and rapid growth but then again I'm not betting my job on this choice.

On the Payne thing, if I'm picking late lotto, I'd rather take him than someone like Lavine. If I'm Charlotte, Minny, or Pheonix, I'd rather take Payne now and get a contributor for a playoff run than get a younger pick with a higher ceiling. By the time that player is a contributor of Payne's caliber it will probably be 2016, the kid will be 21-22, and he will only have a year or two left on his rookie deal. Lavine seems like a Lance Stephenson situation waiting to happen. Only difference is that Lance didn't require a top 10 pick.

[RonSwanson]

Okay so I've been doing research on this Dante Exum kid, and I'm totally SHOCKED at what I've seen. This dude shouldn't even go top ten. Yea he's a 6'6 PG but he moves like a snail and has mediocre athelticism. MCW, a similar build, blows this guy outta the way in every aspect of the game: shooting, athleticism, playmaking, literally everything. Whoever picks this bum in the top 5 is going to be fired in less than 2 years.

EDIT: I'll explain a bit more.

Athleticism:
His max vert is a mere 34.5 inches. He is slow as sh!t despite a really good first step. Absolutely no use of the left hand as he still shoots across his body with the right on his left-sided layups. I also don't believe in anything I saw that he dunked, although that doesn't mean all that much.

Shooting:
FIBA U19 Stats were .446 FG%, .333 3FG%

[Jailblazers7]

That's the same pre-draft vert as Iggy and there is really zero quality Youtube stuff out there on the kid. None of us really know but the Sixers have 30+ game tapes and Aussie connections.