Why Cody Zeller was a good draft pick for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Why Cody Zeller was a good draft pick for the Charlotte Bobcats.

                I know that a lot of Charlotte Bobcat fans were very mad when Cody Zeller was drafted fourth in the 2013 NBA Draft. I recently saw a video where people where at the Bobcats arena and were having a draft day party. As soon as the Bobcats drafted Cody Zeller from Indiana everybody began to boo. The players that were still available at the number four pick were Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, and Alex Len to name a few. A lot of people wanted for the Bobcats to draft either Nerlens Noel, Alex Len, or Ben McLemore.

                I do not think that would have been such a good idea. I feel like Cody Zeller was a safe pick. Now I will give reasons on why it is smart for the Bobcats to not sign Nerlens Noel, Alex Len, or Ben McLemore.

1. Nerlens Noel-

                A lot of people thought that Nerlens Noel would be the first pick in this draft, but because he was injured in his only college basketball season that put doubt in a lot of general managers minds. Nerlens Noel is an athletic Center who can run the floor. He can block, and is great at help side defense. But he lacks the skills to score. Most of his points from his lone year at Kentucky came from going after offensive rebounds, and scrapping for points. That is good, because it shows that he hustles, but he may not be strong enough to out hustle some of the Centers in the NBA. Also because of his injury he wouldn’t be able to play until around December. And he could possibly never fully recover from his injury. Nerlens Noel is a good player, but he isn’t worth the risk.

2. Alex Len-

                Alex Len has a lot of potential. He is 7”1’ and 255 pounds. He could be one of the best Centers out of this draft class. He can score well and play defense. He isn’t known for blocking the way that Nerlens Noel is, but he can still play solid defense. He also played two years of college basketball at Maryland, giving him more experience over freshmen in this draft. Like Nerlens Noel, Alex Len was injured meaning that he won’t be playing in the summer league. So no one can really see what he can do just yet. He does have the potential to be the best Center out of this draft class, but its best for the Bobcats to not take the risk on him.

3. Ben McLemore-

                Ben McLemore was a phenomenal college basketball player this year with the Kansas Jayhawks. He was great at shooting threes, driving and cutting in the lanes, and dunking! McLemore was known for throwing down some monster dunks. He was also able to defend guards very well. A lot of sports analysist were comparing him to Ray Allen. But Ben McLemore hasn’t lived up to his college hype in the NBA summer league just yet. I know transitioning from the college game to the NBA g me is hard, but a player like McLemore should have done better from the beginning. The Kings lost their summer league opener with McLemore shooting 4 for 23. There was another game where Ben McLemore only had 1 point. But in his past few games he seems to have gotten his shooting stroke back. He seems like a good pick, but the Bobcats don't need him. They already have Gerald Henderson who will be starting at shooting guard for them this season.

4. Why Cody Zeller was the right pick.

                Cody Zeller can run on the open floor. He can score down low on the block, and he can defend well against people his size. He may have trouble starting his NBA career, but most rookies do. He needs to get stronger so that he can defend the bigger Centers in the NBA. Luckily for Cody Zeller since the Bobcats signed free agent Al Jefferson, Zeller won’t have to play the Center position that much. Since Nerlens Noel, and Alex Len have been recovering from injury I haven’t been able see them play at all in the summer league. Since the Bobcats have made bad picks in the past its best for them to take the safest pick. Ben McLemore seems like a good pick for now, but the Bobcats don’t really need a shooting guard. Ben McLemore is averaging 15.8 points, and 5 rebounds in the summer league. Cody Zeller is averaging 16.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in the summer league. So it seems like Cody Zeller is the top option out of the players available.