I'm definitely intrigued by Nurkic with our second pick. The kid doesn't look like he can jump over a sheet of paper, but he's big, he's strong, he's skilled, and he appears to be able to move the feet.
Me too. However, will he still be available at #18?
Danny should take the BPA with both picks, IMHO. We are a long ways off from being a true contender, so I can't imagine why he would trade the higher first-round pick.
I think that, with Willy Cauley-Stein deciding to return to school, that means there is little to no chance that Nurkic slides all the way to #18.
Prior to WCS' decision, that probably had Nurkic going around 12-13. Now, his stock probably just went up a bit, maybe to #10-11 range.
I like Nurkic, but I worry about trading up that high to get him. I think because centers are so scarce, there is a danger of over-valuing the ones that are IN this draft.
A more 'average' draft would have 5 - 7 centers in the top 20. (Yes, that's over representative for the 1 of 5 positions, but bigs tend to get a premium representation.) This draft may have only two centers (Emiid, Nurkic) go in the top 20 unless Capella sneaks into it. Which he might, now.
Capella will maybe still be within reach at #18 -- but again, is he really a #18 pick in a 'normal' draft that might have several more centers? Is he really the 3rd best center in a 'normal' draft?
If the lottery balls go our way, I'd be happy as a clam to bring Embiid home. Or if Nurkic slips and we can get him with our 2nd pick without having to add a bunch to trade up too high, that would be fine, too.
Otherwise, I will be looking for Danny to try to address this need ('rim protecting big man') via trade.
And if that doesn't happen, I'm expecting we may go through one more season of 'development' and look for a center in the 2015 class.