2014 NBA draft/off-season thread

It so figures that the Spurs would pick the best passer in the draft.

 

Uncanny how dialed in Woj is. He tweeted pretty much every pick before it was made.

It's a bit ponderous, though, that about 95% of what he writes/tweets always has to include a variation on the disclaimer "league sources told Yahoo Sports." We get it, dude, you're tight with the Mark Felts of the NBA.

 

The first bad pick of the night. Especially with Vonleh still on the board.

 

That can be a little misleading. Obviously, Woj is tremendously connected, but it's not uncommon in the NFL or the NBA for picks to be known before they're read at the podium. They might get a 2-3 minute headstart.

 

It would make a lot of sense for the NBA to bump the draft back a month. Let free agency go for 3-4 weeks, then teams would have a better idea of what they needs they have to address.

I wonder if TV ratings are the only reason why this doesn't happen.

This is sort of the equivalent of the NFL having its draft in mid-February.

 

It was obvious even to the most casual viewer such as myself that announcements of picks by Silver were being delayed to allow time for ESPN blather about the last pick. I think Orlando's number 12 pick was shown on the graphic as in during some blather, a commercial break, and then more blather before it was announced from the podium. Closer to five minutes than two, I'd say.

 

There was probably even more than that on the Nuggets-Bulls trade.

 

Is it me, or can anyone else see Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel tripping all over each other in the Sixers frontcourt?

 

The same thing was going on during the NFL draft. Mortensen, Schefter and their ilk were tweeting out the picks sometimes 5 minutes before they were announced on TV.

 

Steak, the ESPN and NFL Network guys agreed not to tip picks, so Jason La Canfora was the closest thing to Woj at NFL Draft. And at no point was he on top of picks the way Yahoo was -- live TV was a three-minute stagger behind the info Woj had on Twitter ... Ford had some picks ahead of the podium as well, but it was a good night for Woj.

 

Woj is amazing. The LaCanfora comparison is a good one. I think the NBA probably gets more of a lead time on certain transactions because trades can't be officially announced.

 

That lag time has just about always been there. I went to Pacers draft parties as a fanboi looser in the late 80s, and Donnie Walsh would tell the fans there the pick (or the trade) before it was officially announced by David Stern. (Twitter obviously not a concern then.)