Archive for the 'NBA Draft' Category

On Monday I assigned expected values to the top 60 picks in the NBA draft, both in terms of career value and value in their first four seasons, and on Tuesday I looked at some of the biggest draft busts since the merger. Today I am going to turn that around and look at some of the best draft picks in history.

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On Monday I assigned expected values to the top 60 picks in the NBA draft, both in terms of career value and value in their first four seasons. Today I would like to use that information to look at some of the worst draft picks since the merger.

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Hate how the NBA's age limit creates automatic "one and done" situations for colleges? Here is ESPN's Steve Delsohn's report from Monday's Outside the Lines, regarding the impact of the rule on the NCAA game, focusing on how exactly coaches are supposed to deal with players who have great talent but are not in the program for the long haul. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett -- two of the more notable preps-to-pros of the past 15 years -- have led their teams to NBA titles in back-to-back seasons. So does the one-and-done rule make sense for the pros or college? What do you think?

It's draft season, when every team is a contender and every fan hopes (and prays) that their team makes the right pick. But if you're a fan of a team with a lottery pick, how optimistic should you be? How much is that fifth overall pick really worth? By looking at data from past drafts we can get an estimate of how much each pick is worth, and once we have those expected values we can answer any number of interesting questions.

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With the draft swiftly approaching, it's time to examine the specific needs of the teams with the top 10 picks from a statistical perspective. For this exercise, we'll use our various metrics to see the areas in which each squad was a lacking a year ago, we'll see which rotation players the team may lose via free agency, and finally (with a little help from Kenpom.com) we'll look at which prospects in this year's draft may help them where they need it most.

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Continuing his series on the draft, Ed Weiland of HoopsAnalyst breaks down the incoming small forwards in this summer's draft class. It's a hard group to get a read on, but it doesn't exactly look like there are any potential superstars this year.

FYI, I added a little 2009 NBA Draft preview to the draft section. It lists the teams in the order that they will be selecting, the top pros drafted from each spot, and more. Please check it out and let me know if you have any questions or comments.

In anticipation of the upcoming NBA Draft, I have added a Draft Finder to the site. You can create lists of all of the first overall selections, all players drafted from a specific college that played in the NBA, and much more. Please let me know if you come across any bugs.

For those who are still recovering from the NBA Finals, here's a reminder: the NBA Draft is a week from today! Yes, time has flown by for me, too!

Luckily, Ed Weiland of HoopsAnalyst is back for what must be the 5th or 6th year in a row, bringing us what I consider must-read material, hands down the best draft previews available on the entire internet. Ed doesn't succumb to hype or anecdotal analysis; his rankings are strictly by the numbers, and he looks at the key indicators that have predicted success -- and failure -- in the past. Here are the links to Part I of his lengthy preview:

• NBA Draft 2009: Shooting Guards
• NBA Draft 2009: Combo Guards
• NBA Draft 2009: Point Guards

Seriously, everyone out there who's interested in the Draft should read this stuff.