Basketball from a fans perspective

Only two

It’s apparent promises have been made to Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham regarding the draft. The 6-foot 8-inch point/shooting guard is projected to be the top pick in the 2021 NBA draft next week. Cunningham is working out for only two teams, the Pistons and Rockets. Certainly, makes sense if we think about it, the Pistons have the number one pick while the Rockets have number two. If for some reason he is passed by the Pistons surely the Rockets will select him is his belief.  Many will say he’s arrogant only working out for two teams, I see it as just the opposite. Cunningham is certain the maximum he might drop in the draft is to the number two pick.    

A return to 2013

There were numerous significant events occurring in 2013 in this instance our focus is the NBA draft. With pick 15 the Bucks selected international prospect Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece. Antetokounmpo stood 6 foot 9 and was a rather thin 196 pounds at the time. How about the top pick in 2013, that would be Anthony Bennett chosen by the Cavs? Three NBA teams later and two stints in the G-League he was found to be severely lacking in talent despite being the number one pick that year. What did the media grade the Antetokounmpo pick you might ask? USA Today awarded the Bucks a B grade and the same B grade was given by Bleacher Report?

We are not picking on Bennett alone there were several players drafted ahead of Antetokounmpo with less than stellar NBA careers. As an example, Cody Zeller was chosen with the 4^th pick and Trey Burke was the 9^th pick both still in the league however we could say their NBA careers have only been average. Oh, that Antetokounmpo guy, he grew another 2 inches (6 foot 11) and gained 46 pounds to 242. This is certainly proof scouting is not an exact science, it was believed in 2013 Bennett was a can’t miss prospect while Antetokounmpo was a borderline talent. I uncovered one source from that time containing a huge error, this .com site misspelled his last name. In fairness I double check my spelling every time I write his last name.

Is this a guess?

The NCAA landscape is ever changing however this is believed to still be correct. Prospective talent is limited to 5 official visits, we guess unofficial visits to a school might be unlimited. The question revolves around the ultimate destination, should the travel provide us a hint on this prospects range of possibilities? Currently I have no answer just a thought, what do you think?  Aidan Shaw a 4-star small forward from Branson (MO) is the number 56 prospect in Rivals Class of 2022. His 5 visits are complete among the schools he visited over the summer have been Mizzou and Kansas. The others he stopped at include Iowa, Maryland and Oklahoma State. While nothing is an exact science curious minds wonder how this all works out. 

This is written ahead of time

Members of Nets Nation might look at the 2021 NBA championship and say, “If only.” If only our trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Hardin had been healthy season long, Durant might have been the healthiest of the three. If only James Harden hadn’t suffered a hamstring injury at a crucial time. If only Kyrie Irving hadn’t sustained an ankle injury, we could go on, but this is a stopping point. The Nets acquiring Harden after the season had begun were clear favorites to come out of the east.

Most of the experts had the Nets facing the Lakers for the championship with many crowning the Nets 2021 NBA champions, that was then, this is now. It is interesting neither the Lakers nor Nets were the opponents. It’s too early as this is written to discuss the upcoming season in detail for at least two reasons. Item 1. The NBA draft is yet to be held and Item 2., free agency doesn’t begin until August 1. As for the draft it appears with both their first and second round picks the Nets should be able to draft a quality player. The statement is made because this draft on the surface appears quite lucrative. As for the issue of free agency signing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving plus trading for James Hardin the Nets appear to be a potential destination for talent. The trio can score with the best of them, can they defend effectively?