Anthony Bennett

[Derek]

Sarcasm aside, missing one year does not a career make.
If we redrafted last year's draft today...Noel would still look like an attractive option.
As long as I had confidence that my medical staff would take whatever time and steps they needed to fully heal Noel's knee, he still looks a no-brainer of a #1 pick in that particular draft.
I think a lot of teams (including the Cavs) were scared off drafting Noel because they knew it was likely he would miss the entire year rehabbing, and they didn't want to take that chance.

I'm aware. The same logic should be applied to Bennett, and at least he was able to flash some of his potential on the court during his final 20 games last year.

 

[Cashius X]

Sarcasm aside, missing one year does not a career make.
If we redrafted last year's draft today...Noel would still look like an attractive option.
As long as I had confidence that my medical staff would take whatever time and steps they needed to fully heal Noel's knee, he still looks a no-brainer of a #1 pick in that particular draft.
I think a lot of teams (including the Cavs) were scared off drafting Noel because they knew it was likely he would miss the entire year rehabbing, and they didn't want to take that chance.

The fact that Noel slipped to #6 speaks volumes as to the red flags that his knees raised. Noel was my favorite prospect as well but I won't crucify the Cavs for passing on a guy that they knew would have severe health problems down the road.

 

[Kyrieville]

Yeah, Noel looked great last year

Blake Griffin didn't play his rookie year, for the same reason. He seems to be doing pretty well these days. Noel could have played the last month and a half of the season, but the 76ers saw no point. Noel's knee is said to be 100%. He's stronger than ever and can jump higher than ever. Chris Grant allowed Mike Brown to talk him into Bennett... and then Mike Brown didn't even try to develop him. Also, the pressure was on for Chris Grant to make the playoffs, he knew the chances were slim, especially with drafting Noel.

 

[Kyrieville]

The fact that Noel slipped to #6 speaks volumes as to the red flags that his knees raised. Noel was my favorite prospect as well but I won't crucify the Cavs for passing on a guy that they knew would have severe health problems down the road.

This was from about a month ago:

"It's been tough, but it's something we had to do."

Noel suffered a torn ACL in February 2013 as a member of the Kentucky Wildcats. He was taken with the sixth overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA draft, then shipped to the 76ers in exchange for All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday.

Noel was cleared for "limited on-court work" in January, but Philadelphia at the time said he still needed to meet "several benchmarks" in order to play for the team "to ensure a long, productive NBA career."

On Tuesday, Noel deemed his knee "100 percent," saying he's gained over 3 inches on his vertical leap since before the surgery and overall is "stronger and moving around well." He's also overhauled his shot with the help of 76ers coach Brett Brown

"I am very encouraged," Noel said. "Through the past year since I had my injury, I have pushed myself through thick and thin and I've had some struggles and I've just stayed with it.

"I definitely worked my butt off to get where I am at now."

 

[marxus]

Blake Griffin didn't play his rookie year, for the same reason. He seems to be doing pretty well these days. Noel could have played the last month and a half of the season, but the 76ers saw no point. Noel's knee is said to be 100%. He's stronger than ever and can jump higher than ever. Chris Grant allowed Mike Brown to talk him into Bennett... and then Mike Brown didn't even try to develop him.

Derrick Rose was also 100% and stronger than ever. Every case is different, but every athlete says the same thing when they are returning from injuries. I still wish we would have taken him too, but they might know something we don't. The fact that we were set on making the playoffs, as opposed to taking the best player down the road, pretty much eliminated him from the start.

 

[Cashius X]

This was from about a month ago:

I know all about that. I'm saying though, if 4 other teams passed on him because of his health issues I'm not going to shit on the Cavs for doing the same. Something must've looked pretty bad for that many teams to pass on him.

 

[Kyrieville]

Derrick Rose was also 100% and stronger than ever. Every case is different, but every athlete says the same thing when they are returning from injuries. I still wish we would have taken him too, but they might know something we don't. The fact that we were set on making the playoffs, as opposed to taking the best player down the road, pretty much eliminated him from the start.

Yeah, I just edited my previous post right before you finished replying bringing up that point as well. Chris Grant was under pressure to win now and went for the high risk/high reward guy. It would be nice if Gilbert didn't issue these ultimatums. It results in terrible moves, like overpaying Jack, signing Earl Clark, and passing on the most talented guy in the draft because we had to wait for him to heal.

To be fair, Derrick Rose injured his other knee. ACLs aren't a huge deal anymore. It should not have stopped them from drafting him. Noel is a much better fit, long term, for this team than Bennett is anyways. We know Noel will make a big impact defensively. We know Noel has a great work ethic and a high motor. It's unfortunate that we passed him up.

 

[Derek]

He has structural damage in his knees that isn't going to get better. It's like with Bynum, he could have some healthy stretches and be a really good player, but his knees are never going to be totally healed.

 

[Kyrieville]

I know all about that. I'm saying though, if 4 other teams passed on him because of his health issues I'm not going to shit on the Cavs for doing the same. Something must've looked pretty bad for that many teams to pass on him.

I'm not surprised that a bunch of bottom-dwelling teams made a bad draft decision. If his knee was that badly messed up, he wouldn't have been picked in the lottery at all, imo. I think those GMs passed on him for the same reason Grant did. They wanted a player that could make them look good immediately, because, as Chris Grant found out, they could be fired before he ever suits up. Who knows, maybe if Grant drafted Noel, and Gilbert saw how he looked and how determined he was to get back on the court, Grant may still be here.

 

[Kyrieville]

He has structural damage in his knees that isn't going to get better. It's like with Bynum, he could have some healthy stretches and be a really good player, but his knees are never going to be totally healed.

Bynum has a degenerative knee condition. Noel had a ligament repaired surgically... Noel's knees are not arthritic and bone on bone, like Bynum's.

 

[Derek]

The ACL tear isn't the real cause for concern for Noel's knees. It stems back to his growth plate fracture that put him at an increased risk for the ACL tear. It's a bad news situation.

 

[Kyrieville]

The ACL tear isn't the real cause for concern for Noel's knees. It stems back to his growth plate fracture that put him at an increased risk for the ACL tear. It's a bad news situation.

That was just the media trying to make something out of nothing:

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ryan Goodwin has never met Kentucky center Nerlens Noel. He has never examined Noel's injured left knee.

But as a Cleveland Clinic doctor and director of the Center for Pediatric Orthopaedics and Scoliosis Surgery, Goodwin can say that the fact that Noel injured the growth plate in his left knee in high school should not necessarily be a cause for concern in and of itself, and it likely did not lead to the torn knee ligament he suffered last season as a college freshman.

...

"The good thing about growth-plate injuries, is once they heal, they're healed and they're good. There should be no long-term consequences. If I'm in basketball management, a growth-plate injury in high school would probably not turn me off one bit. The ACL would be much more concerning.

"The ACL injury has its own stigma and consequences, and people get their ACLs fixed and they go back to sports afterward and they're pretty darn good. The growth-plate in and of itself does not at all predispose someone to future knee problems.''

 

[oasis05]

I was concerned about Noel's knee but since the cavs passed him up I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[Derek]

No it wasn't just some media hype. There are legitimate and continuing concerns about Noel's knee. His growth plate didn't heal properly because he didn't wait long enough before returning to play.

His knees were red-flagged for a reason.

 

[Zen]

Blake Griffin didn't play his rookie year, for the same reason. He seems to be doing pretty well these days. Noel could have played the last month and a half of the season, but the 76ers saw no point. Noel's knee is said to be 100%. He's stronger than ever and can jump higher than ever. Chris Grant allowed Mike Brown to talk him into Bennett... and then Mike Brown didn't even try to develop him. Also, the pressure was on for Chris Grant to make the playoffs, he knew the chances were slim, especially with drafting Noel.

The revisionist history is getting out of control. Didn't try to develop him? He started the season with a 1.8 PER and still got minutes. If anything Mike went above and beyond where he would have pulled the plug much earlier on other players.

On top of that, everyone likes to laud his improved last 25 games. So which is it?