NBA Draft

Submitted by bronxblue on

http://www.espn.com/nba/draft/live

NBA draft is about to kick off.  Recent draft scuttlebutt has Mo Wagner possibly going late in the first round, a pretty significant uptick in his prospects compared even to when he declared, let alone this time last year.  So stick around for that, and as a bonus you can play at home to figure out how many millions of dollars Miles Bridges cost himself coming back to MSU for his second season.  

bluebyyou

June 21st, 2018 at 8:29 PM ^

 I have zero love for MSU but I find it hard to get joy out of seeing a 20 year old kid drop down in the draft relative to what would have occurred last year.

Honker Burger

June 21st, 2018 at 9:00 PM ^

Completely agree with you bluebyyou. Bridges is the antithesis to somebody like Draymond Green...well respected, not unlikable, from all reports is just a good kid and stayed because of the love for college and his school. I despise MSU but don't really understand the satisfaction some get from him dropping. At the end of the day he is still the #12 overall pick.

rob f

June 21st, 2018 at 8:48 PM ^

Two players in the top 12 selected after getting embarrassed against a Syracuse team that didn't even deserve a spot in the NCAA Tournament?  Little Tommy ought to get fired!

Ty Butterfield

June 21st, 2018 at 9:44 PM ^

The “find a new team” comment from Izzo should have received more press, but the Detroit media gives him a pass as usual. I can certainly understand why MSU basketball fans are pissed. MSU was owned by Michigan twice, still got basically a home game in the NCAA tournament, and found a way to completely shit the bed. Beilein outcoached Izzo twice. There is no way around it. If you switched the teams seasons I would have the same opinion. Hard to want to buy a Big Ten Champs shirt after the way they played in the tournament.

bronxblue

June 21st, 2018 at 9:10 PM ^

I looked at last year's thread and it ended with around 70 comments.  And with no Pistons pick, I'm not expecting a lot of non-Mo discussion here.

That said, it's been quiet around here.  My guess is the app really did drive some traffic here the new redesign hasn't quite captured.

stephenrjking

June 22nd, 2018 at 12:34 AM ^

There's no question that the changeover has had an initial response cost.

But I think a lot of that is that the new interface (both on desktop and on mobile) just makes things a bit less convenient. I never used the app on my tablet, for example, but I was so accustomed to using it that even though the interface was inconvenient I posted stuff from there with some frequency. I have yet to do so on 3.0 simply because it's unfamiliar.

I have a strong confidence that this will pass. Today, when I've sort of been working but have also been laid up sick, has been the most I've posted on the board by far since the changeover, and it has been... just fine. 

The problem is that there isn't a lot to talk about now. What we're losing is dozens of threads and hundreds of comments about not much at all. Not that I disliked the comments or the threads, but big-deal stuff will still make waves.

I expect things to be humming again during football season. 

pz

June 22nd, 2018 at 8:26 AM ^

Fair point - I generally agree with your analysis, though I do wish things were more active. Seems pretty apathetic for the moment.

A second thought - do you think SkyPanther is being paid to create all of these posts to help fill space?

Member for 3 months, suddenly super-active - must say that the content is interesting / discussion-worthy for the most part and the posts are high quality.

Not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere but curious to get your thoughts.

ST3

June 21st, 2018 at 10:18 PM ^

Ah, dammit. After living in LA for 21 years, I guess I finally have to start rooting for the Lakers. Go Mo, go Pelinka. 

bronxblue

June 21st, 2018 at 10:19 PM ^

Lakers getting a little interesting.  I do wonder if he gets traded as part of a bigger package, but that's not a bad place for a guy like Moe who can stretch the floor a bit.

HireWayne

June 21st, 2018 at 10:22 PM ^

Known Michigan hater Jay Bilas criticized Mo more than praising him.  What a douchebag.  Stop holding a grudge because your boyfriend Amaker got fired for failing here. 

bronxblue

June 21st, 2018 at 10:32 PM ^

Bilas really does seem to have a general distaste for Michigan players, which is weird since Beilein runs a really clean program and seems to embody a lot of the ideals Bilas otherwise approves of.

I agree that Wagner isn't a great athlete and that will be a limitation, but you look at big men being picked at the tail end of the first round and they all have questions.  Robert Williams, the PF from A&M who went a couple of picks after Mo, had a con of "Doesn't have a consistent means of scoring. "  That's sort of a problem in the NBA.  If Wagner was more athletic, he'd have been a top-5 pick.  But considering Wagner went from barely on the radar to a first-rounder in a year, and his continued maturation as he ages (he's still not even 21), you'd think a guy like Bilas would recognize the potential a bit more.

stephenrjking

June 22nd, 2018 at 12:39 AM ^

Does Bilas care about clean programs? He appreciates good coaches, of course, but he seems to spend a lot of his energy grousing about NCAA hypocrisy and stuff. I gather that he's not all that upset that some guys are getting paid to drive profits for a multi-billion dollar business.

I mean, that's a fine position. I just don't think he's that concerned about programs that aren't clean. 

ST3

June 22nd, 2018 at 12:41 AM ^

Mo is a great athlete. He was 2nd among the centers at the combine in the lane agility and shuttle run drills. But he was only 13th in wingspan and that is all Bilas cares about. 

The odd thing is I saw Mo interviewed by Bilas and another guy on Saturday and Bilas really seemed to like him. Then tonight he trashed him. 

ToledoWolverine

June 22nd, 2018 at 12:01 AM ^

Jay Bilas is an insufferable twat. He will always hate Michigan because they helped with the whole “everyone hates Duke” movement. Fuck that guy, fuck his overrated douchebag idol, coach K, and most of all, Fuck Duke. 

 

Rant over

 

god i hate duke and anyone who played/s/will play there. 

rob f

June 21st, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^

I've been monitoring the draft most of the evening and wondering when Mo would make the "Bilas Best Available" list of yet-undrafted players and Mo never showed up on that constantly evolving list of 10 players

Then that POS Bilas, when describing Mo and his game once he was drafted, called Mo "not very athletic" and gave him an overall lukewarm description.

Here's to hoping Mo proves Bigmouth Bilas completely wrong!!!