2014 LB Community NBA Draft Big Board #5: Dante Exum And Big 4 Off Board

Dante Exum ran away with the 4th selection in the LB community big board, earning 69% of the 837 votes cast.  Exum was the last of the "big 4" draft prospects to be selected, as LB has now gone Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker, and Dante Exum, in that order.

The selections now either get interesting or boring, depending on your perspective.  It would be a huge surprise if any of the next 5 were in play for the Sixers 3rd overall pick, which is where most of our attention has been focused.  But that doesn't mean that these selections don't have meaning.

There's the chance that, with 4 already selected and 5 in the poll, one of these 5 could fall to 10,   While the person that the LB community selects may not have a great chance of falling to 10, decisions made by NBA front offices on draft day have puzzled me for years.  If Noah Vonleh is your 5th prospect, I may not see a situation where he falls to 10 right now, but keep hope alive, dangit.

Perhaps an even better reason to still have interest in this part of the draft is Sixers General Manager's Sam Hinkie's penchant for pulling off the unexpected.  As a community, we didn't spend too much time discussing Nerlens Noel last year.  And perhaps those type of moves were more a product of situation -- inheriting a club, led by a player whose offensive game is based around an inefficient style of basketball, who was at the apex of his value -- rather than what we can expect to be Sam Hinkie's modus operandi.  But it sure was effective in getting us ready for the unexpected.

This is the part of the draft where mayhem could ensue.  Where consensus begins to break down, picks could be moved, and guys could unexpectedly fall.  Even if the Sixers aren't a part of the process, it should be fun to watch.

The group is made up primarily of big men: Noah Vonleh from Indiana, Julius Randle from Kentucky, Aaron Gordon from Arizona, all freshman, joined by newcomer Dario Saric, fresh off dominating the Adriatic league at the tender age of 19.  Marcus Smart, the sophomore from Oklahoma State who turned down being a potential top 5 selection at last years draft, joins the big men as the lone guard.

Which way do you go?  The bruising physicality of Randle?  The great versatility and physical profile of Vonleh?  The athleticism and defensive aptitude of Gordon?  The offensive skill of Saric?  Or the defense and physicality of Smart?

Measurements

And basic statistics from their last season:

LB Community Big Board

1. Andrew Wiggins (55%)

2. Joel Embiid (66%)

3. Jabari Parker (76%)

4. Dante Exum (69%)