NBA Scouts Say Next Year's Draft Will Be Horrible, Teams Should Try To Trade Their Picks No Matter What

Said one anonymous scout:

"I don’t think this is a good draft. This is the year you should consider trading your draft pick – no matter where it is."

That's bad news for the league's worst teams, which won't have the chance to land a franchise-changing player until at least 2014.

So why is the draft so bad?

One scout said it was because of the NBA's rule that players must attend college for at least one year. He said that rule has caused prospects to jump to the NBA immediately rather than stay in school, telling the Observer, "Now they think one season is the ceiling, not just the floor."

There are clear exceptions to this rule. Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving — probably the two best draft picks since 2011 — were both one-and-done guys. But there are also a ton of players (DeMarcus Cousins, Derrick Favors, etc.) who have spent the early part of their careers basically learning how to play basketball.

We could also be experiencing the cyclical nature of talent in the NBA. There was a huge talent boom between the 2003 Draft (LeBron, Carmelo, Wade, Bosh) and the 2008 Draft (Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love), and now we're in a leaner period.

There is no real consensus No. 1 pick this year. UCLA Shabazz Muhammad, Indiana's Cody Zeller, Kentucky's Nerlens Noel, and UNLV's Anthony Bennett are all in the running, but it could come down to the needs of whatever team gets the #1 pick.