2023 nba draft thread: starring victor, scoot... and more!

so let's talk about the draft

i want to post about some players i like but in the meantime i was looking back at some of my posts on last year's draft

on jabari:

seems like there's no consensus on the no 1 pick which is pretty interesting, paolo banchero seems like leader in the clubhouse as of now but i see various boards that have other guys at no. 1. he just had prob his best game of the season vs FSU tho, putting up 20-12-7 on 6-11 shooting and making tons of plays down the stretch, nice touch on his passes. i wonder how he'll test athletically, you don't necessarily see overwhelming athleticism in these clips, but he's skilled, poised, and very strong, some real men amongst boys plays. i don't have a great feel for what position ppl think he will play defensively, he's either a positionless fever dream or an exploitable tweener, i can't really tell. if he could passably play center he could be a monster but idk if that's in his future. he's a 34% shooter from deep and shoots 76% from the line, w/ his size the tools are there for a really great offensive player, consistent double-doubles w/ potential for some 20-10-5 type of seasons. feel like ben simmons is a decent comp and what you're giving up in athleticism w/ banchero you gain in overall offensive skill, especially in terms of scoring, as well as just overall oomph on the game. some good clips of his passing in the NC state game from last week, he has a calmness about him in the way that he reads the floor that feels very functional, not preternatural necessarily but if his court vision continues to grow along w/ the rest of his game he will likely be very hard to defend.

i think i talked myself out of liking him as much as i seemed to in this post for whatever reason. based on these games he was showing number 1 scorer type ability. i was worried about his athleticism (in a later post i compared him to bagley and okafor) but that doesn't seem to be an issue. having watched a few magic-heat games... he is huge. even guys like bam have trouble dealing with him. the offensive skill was apparent tho.

on jabari:

jabari smith def seems like a top 3 pick to me, top 5 at absolute worst. if there's any jayson tatum out of the top group it would be him. his spot up shot is a bit slow to me, and the way the ball comes off his hand when he shoots FTs seems a bit weird. he does have a nice fadeaway midrange game tho, and his hands are very active on defense. 7' 2" wingspan. he's another one where i wonder how he tests athletically, you don't see him just killing guys at the rim in his clips... paging jayson tatum. he also only has a season high of four assists this year. i think he's prob below chet and banchero for me

so yeah i don't think jabari smith is going to be jayson tatum. i pegged a number of his weaknesses and did have him rated third which feels right. the arc of his career feels like it's going to be vey wiggins-y to me.

on chet:

chet's shot is so smooth. w/ his defensive potential i feel like he has to go number 1, at worst i feel like you're getting a porzingis type player w/ a better shot and a body potentially less conducive to leg injuries. at best you're potentially getting like karl towns crossed w/ evan mobley. in between maybe he's chris bosh w/ more rim protection. idk

i loved chet! still excited to see him next year for the above reasons. so much for the leg injury stuff but it doesn't feel like a huge deal. i still don't see how he's bad and think he's almost certainly going to be at the very least good.

obviously i mean "on paolo" up top -_-

and some thoughts from the rest of you guys...

everyone seems to have holmgren banchero and jabari smith in some order as the top three, i think i still like holmgren just cause he has that combo of freakish body and great feel for the game that nba stars are made of, smith is your prototypical super athletic very big wing i can def see why teams would be very stoked on him, banchero has the most developed game but maybe lacks some of the elite athleticism length and so forth that could make him an absolute top guy idk

― lag∞n, Friday, January 21, 2022 7:13 AM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

jabari is my #1 bc of the Big Wing thing, thats the most important position in hoops rn, chet worries me bc he just looks like a guy who will miss a lot of time, prove me wrong chet

if the spurs dont launch into the lottery, i like keegan murray from iowa lot. he's older (21 i think) but he's got a pretty nba-ready game from the looks of things

― class project pat (m bison), Friday, January 21, 2022 10:46 AM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

I think Jabari is overrated right now and people are overthinking the chet thing. Players don’t get injured because they’re skinny.

― Matt Armstrong, Friday, January 21, 2022 11:14 AM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

I worry Banchero will turn out to be Michael Beasley

― Matt Armstrong, Friday, January 21, 2022 11:16 AM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

I think Jabari is overrated right now and people are overthinking the chet thing. Players don’t get injured because they’re skinny.

― Matt Armstrong, Friday, January 21, 2022 10:14 AM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I worry Banchero will turn out to be Michael Beasley

i think i would prob pick chet no 1, in the event that you get any of the evan mobley skill set it will prob be worth it

― J0rdan S., Friday, January 21, 2022 1:25 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

the other thought i had when watching banchero was "what if obi toppin was good and didn't move like an abe lincoln impersonator on stilts"

― J0rdan S., Friday, January 21, 2022 1:32 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

lmao

― class project pat (m bison), Friday, January 21, 2022 1:34 PM (one year ago)

yeah i like chet too, with his freakish arms crazy feel for the game and having all the offensive skills he should go 1 imho, you're potentially getting like karl towns crossed w/ evan mobley exactly he pretty clearly has the highest ceiling of the top guys, the reason hes not the consensus #1 right now is prob because hes not really featured on his team cause he plays next to an older player of the year candidate and that evaluators tend to underrate feel for the game being a true baller and so forth due to it being highly intangible

― lag∞n, Wednesday, January 26, 2022 4:09 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

chets got the juice, the it factor

― lag∞n, Wednesday, January 26, 2022 4:09 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

if jabari smith had an off the bounce game i could see the argument... but he doesnt

― lag∞n, Wednesday, January 26, 2022 4:12 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

feel like chet will be one of those guys who have their aggressiveness questioned leading up to the draft drop a couple few spots then just come in and start doing insane things from day one in the nba

― lag∞n, Wednesday, January 26, 2022 4:16 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

i feel like evan mobley is pretty strong proof of concept for chet, almost feels like it's lining up for it to be the perfect year to take a guy like this no 1 overall. chet maybe not as great defensively i mean mobley seems like a phenom but chet is far more developed as a shooter. w/ his shooting form/touch and natural shot blocking ability i just feel like he's the kind of high floor/high ceiling prospect you should be aiming for w/ a no 1 pick. i'm trying to imagine the worst case outcome for him if he has even average health for a big man. myles turner? jarren jackson jr? his overall feel just seems far superior to those guys and he's taller and he's a better shooter etc

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, January 26, 2022 4:22 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

and chet might even be mobley on D, i mean hes a defensive star

― lag∞n, Wednesday, January 26, 2022 4:26 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

People are overthinking this, Chet is clearly the guy. Jabari has a really raw game that requires a lot of projection to see in the nba, Chet can shoot and handle.

― Matt Armstrong, Wednesday, January 26, 2022 5:46 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

tbf jabari can shoot good but yeah hes pretty raw

― lag∞n, Wednesday, January 26, 2022 5:55 PM (one year ago)bookmarkflaglink

i hope yall are right abt slenderman

― class project pat (m bison), Wednesday, January 26, 2022 8:02 PM (one year ago)

so anyway onto players i like...

gradey dick (kansas)

possibly the best shooter in the draft at 6' 8" with a pretty well rounded offensive game. even putting the twinkishness aside, he reminds me a lot of tyler herro. can shoot threes standstill and off the dribble, has the mid-range game, and can finish at the rim. like herro he will prob always have issues on defense and is more of a pure scorer/6th man (jordan poole et al) than a true all star level player. also like herro he flashes some playmaking ability and can rebound. unlike herro he is 6' 8" and can probably play the 3, tho in some match ups he's maybe more of a 2 and will never really play 4. before the season he seemed on the fringes of the first round but is now easily pushing into the lottery and possibly the top 10. he has flaws but this kind of shooting and scoring has obvious value in today's game.

26 points on 10-17 shooting, 4-9 from three vs oklahoma st

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J983ETnhKKw

21 points on 7-13 shooting, 5-9 from three vs iowa state

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0I3QN6HeCk

gradey dick (kansas)

possibly the best shooter in the draft at 6' 8" with a pretty well rounded offensive game. even putting the twinkishness aside, he reminds me a lot of tyler herro. can shoot threes standstill and off the dribble, has the mid-range game, and can finish at the rim. like herro he will prob always have issues on defense and is more of a pure scorer/6th man (jordan poole et al) than a true all star level player. also like herro he flashes some playmaking ability and can rebound. unlike herro he is 6' 8" and can probably play the 3, tho in some match ups he's maybe more of a 2 and will never really play 4. before the season he seemed on the fringes of the first round but is now easily pushing into the lottery and possibly the top 10. he has flaws but this kind of shooting and scoring has obvious value in today's game.

26 points on 10-17 shooting, 4-9 from three vs oklahoma st

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J983ETnhKKw

21 points on 7-13 shooting, 5-9 from three vs iowa state

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0I3QN6HeCk

That name sounds like a rejected ILX handle.

minor pynchon character ass name

gradey dick had his worst shooting game of the season last night, though he did have two blocks in the first 5 minutes. in general, yeah, he looks so smooth on offense, beautiful shot, if someone closes out hard on the 3 he can drive past and go to the hoop or pull up, it's been so fun to watch him this year. kansas has never really had anyone like him, and as a fan i'd like to have him back for one more year, but that ship has probably sailed.

even putting the twinkishness aside, he reminds me a lot of tyler herro.

lol, this is an interesting comp. i don't watch miami nearly as much as j0rdan, but i think dick could get to that level of dangerous complementary scorer/borderline star.

kind of a bummer how many prospects i’ve never seen a second of because of the g-league factor. i get it tho, the game is the game

one guy who i like is jalen hood-schifink from indiana, seems to be a true 6’6” with athleticism, a deep bag, and passing ability. they have a great college big and a real point guard, but the offense flows through him

he did just play his worst game of the year against iowa, probably the worst defense in the big ten lol, but that was after dropping 35 on purdue. his 3pt shooting is inconsistent, but he’d be a solid mid-first, late-lottery guy

one guy who i like is jalen hood-schifink from indiana, seems to be a true 6’6” with athleticism, a deep bag, and passing ability. they have a great college big and a real point guard, but the offense flows through him

he did just play his worst game of the year against iowa, probably the worst defense in the big ten lol, but that was after dropping 35 on purdue. his 3pt shooting is inconsistent, but he’d be a solid mid-first, late-lottery guy

― avatár the way of watár (voodoo chili), Wednesday, March 1, 2023 8:15 AM (two weeks ago)

fingers crossed i'll get to see him vs miami in round 2 of the tourney, have not checked him out this year. altho the last time i scouted a player off of their second round tournament performance against miami i became convinced that walker kessler had no chance of surviving in the NBA. so we'll see

hollinger sounding the alarm on scoot

Is there a race for the second pick in the draft? Henderson has been the presumptive No. 2 pick all season, but while Alabama’s Brandon Miller puts together a big season on the court, Henderson’s up-and-down play in the G League has started to raise some eyebrows. I watched him play in College Park on Wednesday night as he scored 17 points in a 131-105 blowout loss; after a 13-point first quarter, he was basically invisible the rest of the night.

First, let’s start with the good news. Henderson is very clearly an elite athlete, and that is going to translate immediately to an NBA floor. Look at this move early in the game in College Park; suffice to say nobody else in the G League is taking two enormous steps from the 3-point line and dunking like this

And yet … when Henderson can’t get a head of steam in transition his play devolves toward ordinary. Opponents go under ball screens and leave him settling for pull-up jumpers, which he takes in bunches but doesn’t convert at a particularly high rate. Henderson also rarely draws fouls, getting to the line just 72 times in 25 games this year. For somebody with his athleticism, that’s shocking. He’s also not much of a 3-point threat, shooting both infrequently and not all that accurately: converting just 22 of his 68 tries on the season

His line on Wednesday was fairly typical — 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting, with five assists and four turnovers. Henderson averages 17.6 points and 6.4 assists on 44.3 percent shooting for the year, so it’s not like I witnessed some wild outlier. Defensively, he wasn’t overtly awful but you wouldn’t say he made an impact either, and at certain junctures he clearly could have done more.

Big picture, it’s another wobbly data point for the G League Ignite program. Henderson’s numbers haven’t improved at all (PER 14.9 this year versus 15.2 last year, shooting 44.3 percent versus 44.9 percent), and his most obvious weakness, perimeter shooting, hasn’t shown any real improvement either.

On the other hand, Henderson’s own work ethic seems exemplary, and might actually be part of the issue: a staffer told me he was already on the arena floor practicing at 3 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game, which would have meant he worked out for over two hours on a game day. (He wasn’t just lobbing free throws, either.) When I got there they were actually trying to pull him off the floor for a media hit and he was continuing to work. Seeing him dominate the first quarter before fading, I’m wondering if he was spent by halftime.

Overall, my takeaway is that watching Henderson is similar to watching Derrick Rose or Anthony Edwards in college, where you have to take the results with a grain of salt and understand the freakish athleticism underlying his game. That said, he’s going to have to develop a reliable jump shot to justify being the second pick in the draft, and he also needs to put more genuine pressure on the rim. Given that he already represents a player archetype – high-scoring, shoot-first guard who generates headlines but isn’t very valuable unless it’s accompanied by high efficiency — he no longer feels like a no-brainer to go second.

Of course, Henderson’s most likely rival for that spot, Alabama’s Miller, has his own obvious questions to answer. Nonetheless, Henderson’s play has left the door open.

well maybe ultimately comparing a guy to ant edwards and derrick rose isn't exactly sounding the alarm

kevin pelton talking about his projections having miller over scoot on the latest windhorst podcast

windhorst also mentions an executive told him he has miller over scoot

would imagine this narrative will continue to build especially if miller has a strong tournament

if it were me i prob wouldnt select miller due to the murder situation

the miller situation is just so patently grotesque I just don’t know what to think…like it would seem that if alabama had some exculpatory evidence they’d at least...mention it? maybe there are legal constraints on what can be said? it’s inexplicable to me that for all the conversation the past decade about the different legal vs extralegal burdens of proof wrt like campus sexual assault that this guy is still playing when he was party to an actual murder of a classmate. I just don’t know what to think

its outrageous

yeah i just try to ignore it because it's so awful and dumb

yet i just saw an article about how he's traveling with an armed guard who wears alabama gear, so that's very normal and good

personally if my team drafted the murder guy well i'd have an issue with that

what he did was stupid but he’s very young, i don’t think it should make him undraftable

the situation has scummy cover up vibes but that’s on the coach and people running the university not the 20 year old

its much worse than stupid

maybe it’s worse. i dunno about much worse. in any event i don’t think it makes him unemployable or an indefensible draft pick

yeah i mean someone asks for a gun you give it to them and then they do a murder whatre you gonna do

i know the police have said hes not a suspect and its unclear exactly what happened but its certainly not hard to imagine him picking up some sort of charge here

and that pat down dance he did my god your actions directly lead to someone getting murdered and thats what you do i would not want anything to do with him

the league has made its standards for conduct pretty clear with the ja stuff

does the nba have an official gun manufacturer yet?

the smith and wesson midseason tournament presented by the suns owner property management group

“We knew about that. Can’t control everything everybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out, Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Wrong spot at the wrong time,” Oats said.

truly sick stuff

sucks to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time and then you give a gun to someone who commits murder with the gun

the story theyre telling about him not having any idea what was going on strains credulity so to speak

is that an actual quote k3vin? that's messed up

i saw koc was dabbling with moving miller above scoot on his board and was just smh at koc being koc. didn't know pelton was doing it too. it's like the curse of analytics, if there's no way to quantify it the "journalists" don't know how to factor the possibility of a charge as an accessory to MURDER into their uh draft rankings. it is absurd.

he'll probably just go top 3 because this is not a business that ha smuch patience for ethics and morals in its calculus. but if he actually falls down the draft at all, what's sad is that the farther he falls the greater the narrative gets that the team that takes him got a steal, they're edgy and brash! willing to take a risk where no one else would. like MPJ going to the nuggs... only this is accessory to murder, not a bad back. just smh all around

i cld def see him falling like even if a team doesnt care about character or whatever and a lot of teams genuinely do the possibility that your player might go to jail has to be factored in, tho maybe theyll have more clarity on the legal stuff by then maybe they already do idk

the alabama coach has apologized for that quote saying he didnt know all the facts and didnt mean to come off like that fwiw i personally dont think its worth much

fair. but the way they have circled the wagons around him is definitely gross

its crazy i cant believe the ncaa is letting him play

sicko fuckin organization

i don't think the NCAA has the power to suspend a player for something like this... i don't think the NCAA has gun rules. plus this gun was legally owned (tho not by miller). also the NCAA is an insanely slow moving bureaucratic body, they'd never be able to investigate & levy punishment when he was still in school. they're completely useless. it really falls on alabama to take the initiative but...... we're talking the SEC here. those schools are not in the business of voluntarily suspending their best players for not committing a crime (in the state of alabama). so idk

no investigation nothing throw college athletics in a hole

it is hard to argue w/ that point...

or peltons stats are or both

The top player in Kevin Pelton's statistical projections for this year's draft is UConn's backup center who won't even be in the draft.

College basketball is a ridiculous enterprise.

— Robert Williams 🩹🩹🩹 Truther (@dangercart) March 16, 2023

pelton uses a blend of his projections w/ the givony espn draft rankings to prevent thing like above ^^ i don't have insider but he said on windhorst's pod that his top 3 are 1. victor 2. miller 3. scoot ... so the same as everyone else's

cowardly, he shd stand by his stats

Considering how the NBA is fast-tracking Ja's apology tour, I'm sure that a team would be willing to spend a high lottery pick on Miller and then do what they can to shield him from legal repercussions.

this is so much worse than the ja sitch tho there was a murder

I mean even by big time college sports' amoral and demented standards the way this has been handled is crazy

a lot of it will prob come down to how much teams think he was really involved in it and whether thats reflective of his typical behavior or he just got swept up in a bad situation, the pat down dance was really bad if youre looking for some sort of barometer, if he ends up in legal jeopardy thats obvs very bad and maybe he doesnt get drafted at all

i think it's worth reading the big espn story on the incident. first off there's multiple instances where the police/prosecutors and defense disagree on what happened (most pertinently which side fired the first shot) & i think we won't have a set of established facts until the trial. maybe i'm a sucker but i read this and feel like miller prob thought he was bringing the gun for his friend's self-protection. which i don't think is a horrible awful outlier decision for someone to make. stupid and dangerous yes, obviously, but not egregious. it seems crazy to me that the other player from bama (darius miles) was charged w/ murder... miles' friend (the shooter) seems like the real bad guy who instigated all of this, to me

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/35777040/how-former-alabama-basketball-player-friend-ended-charged-death-jamea-harris

guy who can teleport is prob a pretty safe #1

Putback dunk off his own stepback 3 🤯 https://t.co/ARkuLYGsAI pic.twitter.com/fXgjzrIAmO

— NBA (@NBA) April 2, 2023

his game is unarguable. (but he maybe shouldn't be so much of a dribbler when he goes to the nba)

why even do all those moves when you can just shoot over everyone

I feel fairly confident in saying that missing a step back 3 —> putback dunk is something that has never happened in the history of basketball

in the wide view of the play it even looks pretty normal, but its not lol

yeah you need the angle that follows the ball, where wemby coming back in the frame like that just does not compute, in order to appreciate how insane it is

dink pate

NEWS: Dink Pate, a five-star recruit in 2024, has signed a two-year deal with G League Ignite, he told ESPN. Pate, who is graduating high school at 17, becomes the youngest-known American professional basketball player ever.

STORY: https://t.co/rSVQ8IJpKC pic.twitter.com/6tXyZBonvZ

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 17, 2023

tough draw for wiz

Here's how the Wembanyama odds shifted from each lottery ball reveal (14-5-8-2) in the drawing room

(re-posting b/c of Excel formatting hating percentages) pic.twitter.com/kFqa69i3eN

— Ryan Bernardoni (@dangercart) May 17, 2023

wow! lmao

man him going to washington would've been really bad

so if i'm reading this right, not only did the spurs win the lottery but by the end of the draw they won the lottery despite having an equal chance as 4 other teams all of which were behind a fifth team that had a 54% chance? crazy

Wemby was happy Houston didn’t get the 1st pick 😅 pic.twitter.com/PhF1xyckSd

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 17, 2023

their chances got worse along the way but then they pulled it out in the end, clutch draw by the spurs

haa wemby knows whats up

that ol popovich magic

oh yes forgot the Bulls don't have a pick now, thanks to the Lonzo stuff.

Does Pops have enough juice to get the Spurs back to the top? He hasn't coached a good team in a few years now. Obviously he's a tremendous dude and has a great track record but he's no spring chicken.

i wonder the same thing

is there a particular assistant there whos well suited to be his successor?

brett brown haha

chase buford

pop has definitely mellowed out in recent years...he had said he was going to retire when tim did, but the title window was still open with kawhi and he had made commitments to lamarcus to get him to come to sa. when his wife passed, i think retirement would've taken away a sense of purpose. plus i think he's just in love with hoops. he can't quit it. he'll die cussing out a ref.

I would say Becky Hammon but https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/becky-hammon-suspension-wnba-aces-1.6845099

jfc becky

it isn't great

tomorrow night we flood this thread with Content

i want for the record to say that kobe bufkin will be a solid nba pro

yeah i would love for us to use this thread tomorrow just so we can take a look back down the road :)

haa

Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak said today at a pre-draft press conference that final say on who Charlotte selects at No. 2 on Thursday night -- Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson -- will belong to outgoing owner Michael Jordan.

More NBA from me: https://t.co/A6ycVmnrjq

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 21, 2023

hmm

getting one last kick in on his way out the door

thx for the video, seems like the comps are pretty obvious -- rose, wall, westbrook, ja etc. he looks like he'll be fun to watch. being undersized and not really shooting or playing defense is a bit of a red flag for me, though of course he could get better, by all accounts he seems to be a hard worker. I'm not saying it would be wrong to take a guy like that second, when it comes down to it the draft is really just a crapshoot, but to me that's not the type of player that you're seeing on a lot of championship contending teams

― k3vin k., Wednesday, June 21, 2023 12:42 PM (three minutes ago

posting this here so i can be dunked on in the future

i want for the record to say that kobe bufkin will be a solid nba pro

― slai gorgeous-alexander (m bison), Wednesday, June 21, 2023 11:26 AM (thirty-three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i'm glad that he and jett howard have basically switched draft stocks this offseason because kobe did all the little things right, while jett completely lost focus whenever the ball wasn't in his hands. pretty astounding how terrible of a rebounder he was, and he was somehow even worse of an off-ball defender. his jumpshot is silky tho

bufkin was a great engine of offense on a ramshackle team, lots of crafty moves to get to the basket and great court vision. he's not unathletic, but that's not really his game. he's smart, and has been one of the best players in his age group (he was a sophomore, but is younger than many of the one-and-done freshmen), with lots of room to develop.

kobe bufkin sounds like a tim robinson character name

guys i like as a watcher of college ball:
- kobe bufkin - explained above
- jarace walker - incredibly strong, great on defense, powerful on offense. better footwork and handles than you might expect.
- jalen hood schifino - great size for pg position, really good at everything but inconsistent at scoring efficiently. when his shot falls, he is a force.
- jordan hawkins - best shooter in the college game, doesn't need much room. not amazing at much else, but his shooting is good enough to play anywhere.
- trayce jackson-davis - a tweener, played center in college, where he's too small in the nba, but an underrated athlete with a deep bag of offensive moves.
- jaime jaquez - hard to believe he won't grab a bench role somewhere, great rebounder and defender

kobe bufkin sounds like a tim robinson character name

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, June 21, 2023 12:12 PM (twelve minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

little buf boy

seems like the comps are pretty obvious -- rose, wall, westbrook, ja etc. he looks like he'll be fun to watch. being undersized and not really shooting or playing defense is a bit of a red flag for me, though of course he could get better, by all accounts he seems to be a hard worker. I'm not saying it would be wrong to take a guy like that second, when it comes down to it the draft is really just a crapshoot, but to me that's not the type of player that you're seeing on a lot of championship contending teams

― k3vin k., Wednesday, June 21, 2023 12:42 PM (three minutes ago

between his athleticism, build & wingspan it seems like he has the tools to be a good defender at the position. but unless you're either a jrue holiday type defender or a trae young type defender, your defense at PG prob isn't that important at the end of the day. it seems like a lot of it will come down to the shooting development

i think you can look at the very recent history of champions and say that a key component to winning is having a grossly overpaid 3 and D wing who hasn't lived up to his pre-draft hype on your team... but it's hard to reverse engineer the situation in that way. when rose, westbrook & to a lesser extent wall were healthy in their primes they were mvp, all nba level players on teams that were right in the thick of the top 4 seeds in their conferences. off the court stuff on ja aside he's another guy at that same level.

the scoot/miller situation feels kinda like fultz/tatum in terms of the positional value argument except maybe w/ the talent flip flopped. but maybe it will end up being the same thing all over again

Dink Pate can't be real

ive said it elsewhere, but i do not buy brandon miller as a #1 scoring option or paul george type. im not saying he'll bust or anything, but a guy who cant finish at the rim at his size is going to have trouble doing much anything besides camping out on the perimeter of teams scheme against him.

when rose, westbrook & to a lesser extent wall were healthy in their primes they were mvp, all nba level players on teams that were right in the thick of the top 4 seeds in their conferences. off the court stuff on ja aside he's another guy at that same level.

this is true, but to me, this is the model for the most overrated type of player of the past 10 years or so. rose and westbrook were probably the 2 worst MVPs of the past 20 years. ja’s reputation has outpaced his actual production too imo. wall…we’ve disagreed on him in the past too but ultimately injuries derailed his career. my sense, and this could just be my bias, is that these are floor raisers but not necessarily ceiling raisers, and players who are at risk of having shorter production windows. these are the types of guys you’re ultimately going to offer the supermax, but are you super thrilled about that?

you def need another star to balance a strong scoring pg in this mode, true. longevity thing is a question too, but not as big a concern when theyre 19, more a concern for if theyre getting supermaxed

all those things might be true but ultimately the question is is there anyone else you like more

a: no

well, wembanyama, but hes taken tyvm

amen is the only one i think has a higher ceiling besides scoot (and besides vic) but there are several ifs to get there, mostly 'if u learn to be an average jumpshooter ever'

my draft prediction is that with the number one pick the spurs will select victor wembanyama of france

thats what i love about ilh, it's is the place for bold takes

you def need another star to balance a strong scoring pg in this mode, true. longevity thing is a question too, but not as big a concern when theyre 19, more a concern for if theyre getting supermaxed

― slai gorgeous-alexander (m bison), Wednesday, June 21, 2023 6:16 PM (twenty-one minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

all those things might be true but ultimately the question is is there anyone else you like more

― lag∞n, Wednesday, June 21, 2023 6:20 PM (seventeen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

you’re both right and I’m probably overemphasizing the long-term ceiling, if he pans out he’s probably great value over his first 1.5-2 contracts. I can just see the argument for a guy like miller if you’re truly talking about a franchise cornerstone, though his floor is probably lower

these are the types of guys you’re ultimately going to offer the supermax, but are you super thrilled about that?

― k3vin k., Wednesday, June 21, 2023 6:01 PM (thirty-seven minutes ago)

this is a tricky game to play because how many players are really actually worth the supermax? like, 5? if you take westbrook as an example i think the thunder were happy to pay him his second and third deals and were still able to trade him for value

d rose & john wall are diff stories bcuz of the injury stuff but if they have just standard injury careers i do think both of those teams would have been happy paying those guys their third deals too

as far as the basketball part of ja morant goes, i think memphis would be happy paying him the supermax too

were any of these teams title winners? no, but that is a very high bar to clear. you could go down the positional ladder and ask how badly you wanna be paying guys like brandon ingram, jaylen brown, joel embiid that money too

i don't think your point is invalid, and you may end up being right. but if brandon miller is the next andrew wiggins well... that was a highly negative contract that the wolves had to take a bath on in order to move. so it's all a matter of degrees

if you went by the the last two seasons i'd say the following players are "worth" the supermax

jokic
giannis
luka
steph
butler
tatum
booker

lots of ppl would throw embiid on there, i think there's a great case for leaving him but off but that's beside the point. by definition there's 15 all NBA spots so the number of players available to be supermaxed far outstrips the number of players who should be supermaxed. but that's the whole NBA salary structure

one thing that's crazy is that for the purposes of the supermax all nba first team is no different from all nba third team. it certainly benefits the players & i think the owners thought it benefited them too bcuz it allows you to grossly overpay your third tier homegrown "star" if he has one great season but that's not actually a benefit at all

supermax was a horrible miscalculation.

i don't think your point is invalid, and you may end up being right. but if brandon miller is the next andrew wiggins well... that was a highly negative contract that the wolves had to take a bath on in order to move. so it's all a matter of degrees

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, June 21, 2023 6:50 PM (thirty-two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah this this the rub, for arguments sake say you have ja morant in hand but a certain percent chance the other guy turns into the best version of paul george vs andrew wiggins (or worse), it’s tough! from a fit perspective it seems like miller is better for charlotte too

plus I’m sure the gun laws in north carolina are more favorable

on the lowe podcast from today givony says that plenty of teams in the NBA have miller over scoot & that charlotte isn’t picking miller just bcuz of fit. but if they had brandon ingram on their team instead of lamelo they’d be picking scoot let’s not kid ourselves

he also says that in miller’s first work out with charlotte his conditioning and effort weren’t good and he was basically told if he wants to be the second pick he needs to show it. so then the second workout he showed up and was better. i’m sure there’s no way such stories will come back to haunt this franchise

what they told him he needed to get better at basketball and he did it

the old wiggins gambit

also tbf to your argument k3v we do have to account for even the small possibility that miller is a 5 time all star type wing or whatever in which case he’s prob more valuable than scoot no matter how good scoot is

i’m bringing up all star comps for scoot and disappointing but still good role players for miller but there is some upside with miller even if ppl don’t see it athletically or whatever

insofar as lots of great players including most of the very best players in the league have far exceeded the “upside” they were ascribed prior to the draft

the thing you want to do if possible is draft a guy during a taco bell commercial

that's why everyone's trading down to the mid-second round where greatness lies

the mid-second round aka the baja blast

The three-team talks on a Porzingis-Brogdon deal with Celtics, Wizards and Clippers have fallen apart, sources tell ESPN. Sides are moving on. https://t.co/WoNkOcTYe5

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023

feel like brogdon prob shouldn’t cancel his movers tho

*placing finger to my ear*

The Wizards are still working on ways to get Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics in an opt-in and trade scenario, but it won't be in a three-way with the Clippers, sources tell ESPN. Porzingis still has the ability to decline his $36 million player option and become a free agent.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023

well there goes the couple hours i spent thinking about this trade

there you have it just in under the wire he had until midnight to opt in

The Boston Celtics are finalizing a deal to acquire the Washington Wizards’ Kristaps Porzingis, sources tell ESPN. Porzingis is opting into his $36M contract for 2023-2024 and getting his trade to the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/tRVEfI8nnI

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023

what no wtf

The Celtics are trading Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies as part of deal, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023

whoaaaaa

celts get back into the 1st round with that trade, i guess they feel comfortable starting white or brogdon

marcus smart is an old school grizzlies-type player too

im mad

;_;

just realized this is the draft thread lol

sorry that was my fault….

scooting up

Sources: Scoot Henderson is gaining serious momentum at No. 2 with the Charlotte Hornets in tonight’s NBA draft. Hornets have been torn over the last week between Henderson and Brandon Miller. Team has final meetings today to settle on decision.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2023

the hornets are really funny gotta say

whats their deal no one even knows

mb their front office was set on miller then jordan drunk on the golf course calls them and says scoot who knows

also he already sold the team lol

it's because miller's been dissing jordan all week

apparently MJ is still making the final decision on the selection so he has a chance to go out on top (one final franchise killing draft pick)

gotta find this years adam morrison

nba draft is crazy

The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring the 40th pick from the Indiana Pacers for No. 47 and cash, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023

Have not heard his name at all until right now, from several sources, that Golden State is actively engaged in trade conversations regarding Jordan Poole.

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 22, 2023

poole trade seems inevitable

that's one of those ones you read and are just like "yeah i bet they are"

im honestly gonna miss him if he gets traded. what a wild ride.

and what a ride it was!

ESPN Sources: The Washington Wizards are finalizing a deal to send Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors for a package that includes Jordan Poole and future draft assets. pic.twitter.com/kpNkhqFicp

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023

im SICK wtf get this clown off my team

wait i fucked this up again lol taking this to the offseason thread

i cannot cheer for chris paul i just cant

Waaaaait we're throwing picks along with Poole for Paul's desiccated corpse?

feeling good about my tyler herro comp…

Gradey Dick’s NBA draft fit 😮‍💨

(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/n6iGt1Rtb7

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 22, 2023

he looks like a mcpoyle

all that glitters...

Lol

it's time for this

sir this is a wemby's now lets goooooooo

2/3 will be interesting how it falls

I see shams is doing his spoiling again lol

i accidentally saw a shams' RT for #2, thinking i may mute him

mj rides agaiinnnnnnnn

any good alternate streams this year

espn's "best fit" thing is annoying "instead of the guy you should take here's some rando that fits better for reasons"

Rough week for me with uncertain near future, tell me that the Warriors at least have at least secured their future by trading CP3 for Wemby or something.

REBOOT WITH SCOOT ((TM) CLAY 2023)

Scoot's jacket at least fits him, looking at you, DICK.

sir this is a wemby's now lets goooooooo

― slai gorgeous-alexander (m bison), Thursday, June 22, 2023 8:14 PM (nine minutes ago)

23/24 regular season thread title please

i'd be ok with this as well

gr80e80 8===D 2023/2024

lol mookie

Amen Thompson: “[Ausar Thompson] got to keep the PS5, I gotta buy me one…I’m losing everything, it’s like a bad divorce.”

Thompson twins on dividing up their assets 😭

pic.twitter.com/oTAQ9cS1MO

— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) June 22, 2023

should be allowed to draft twins as a duo like ice climbers in smash bros

agreed

back2back bros

Wemby's dreams came true today 🥹 pic.twitter.com/JVcuotOdsp

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 23, 2023

new crying jordan just dropped

this home schooling sports dad shit is so dire

i know i could really lose the parent interviews

gonna be embarrassing for the rockets if they got the evil one

they seem like super serious kids, hopefully they’re nice and low maintenance

they do both have good vibes

anthony black in orlando...suggs gotta be looking over his shoulder

orlando will have so much size at so many positions between black, banchero, and wagner

interesting pick, could be good playing off paolo doing passing and defense

i've reached a certain age because some of these kids (anthony black) look like middle schoolers to me

what a wonderful capstone to the MJ era

The reaction at Pinhouse when the Hornets picked Miller pic.twitter.com/pauFZAsSXO

— The Crown Club 👑 (@CrownClubCLT) June 23, 2023

orlando has a bunch of guys i like now hope they coalesce into something

this home schooling sports dad shit is so dire

― lag∞n, Thursday, June 22, 2023 8:41 PM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i know i could really lose the parent interviews

― call all destroyer, Thursday, June 22, 2023 8:41 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

lol they just said theres a more basketball focused broadcast on espn i was watching some sicko shit on abc

whoaaaaaa first big reach by indy

stephen a smith yelling about wonderful families my god that was tough

adding a non shooting guard to orlando is not really a sensible fit but they should just be taking the best player

bison is right about my guy suggs tho

i’m on espn and they’re interviewing the goddamn dads over here too!

yeah i couldn't find a dadless stream

*ahem* AS A FATHER i do not mind the family interviews

Much rejoicing in Charlotte

coulibaly's family is pretty charming at least

i am a father too and i say stfu and give the kids their moment

They should be interviewing moms

whoaaaaaa first big reach by indy

― slai gorgeous-alexander (m bison), Thursday, June 22, 2023 7:49 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

scratch that, by washington

funny i was thinking in my mind indy would grab jarace since they don’t really have forwards

All along, the entire Charlotte Hornets organization has been all-in on Brandon Miller -- ownership, front office, scouts, coaches. They see him as a perennial future All-Star player.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023

i am elated portland did not get miller for a bunch of reasons but that charlotte bar video really seals the deal

the absolute agony of being in that fanbase

i like jarace for indy, should be a good glue guy

Yup. I thought the blazers'd get stuck with Miller and am happy they took Scoot. Now they have to pick a direction and make the trades that take 'em there.

well based on that at&t ad scoot will not be starring in any feature films anytime soon

i honestly think the blazers are gonna say that scoot is a star and we wanna pair him with dame

man if i was orlando or dallas i would be taking gradey dick with the quickness

I moved from Charlotte to Atlanta right before the franchise was born. I could’ve been one of them. Now I’m a hawks fan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtv019uEXhQ mostly "analysis" but interview free, and Trey Parker being occasionally funny.

xp yes i maintain their ideal outcome is to get dame to ask for a trade

i’m on espn and they’re interviewing the goddamn dads over here too!

― call all destroyer, Thursday, June 22, 2023 8:49 PM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

it was so much worse they has a whole feature on the thompson twins home schooling vision board sports dad who had them lifting weights when they were seven

Now I’m a hawks fan

I'm sorry, man

my best guess is blazers move simons/nurk and 23 for whatever is out there, take a long look at it, and if it isn't working shop dame to a contender at the deadline

taylor hendricks was not even a top 70 player in his high school class last year & is now a one and done from UCF. crazy story

cam whitmore is slidiiiiiiiing

taylor seems great, could be a really fun frontcourt in utah

does simons actually have value across the league this question has never been adequately answered in my estimation

simons is young enough that teams could talk themselves into unlocking something from him in the right situation

so the mavs just traded back to salary dump bertans?

damn it’s gotta be tough to be 3 inches shorter than your twin brother

dallas asset management never is trustworthy (d.a.m.n.i.t.)

simons avg'd 21-4-3 on 45-38-90 splits last year playing next to dame, he's gonna be a scorer for someone but b/w dame and scoot and sharpe he's the odd man out

dallas asset management never is trustworthy (d.a.m.n.i.t.)

― slai gorgeous-alexander (m bison), Thursday, June 22, 2023 9:07 PM (forty-one seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

hahahah well done

Mavs just traded their pick that they tanked for lol.

lol at the fans booing silver then cheering when announced a trade

okc getting cason is good, though i guess they are planning for him to be a backup for a while

seems like a very okc guy

The Mavericks are trading No. 10 and Davis Bertans to the Thunder for No. 10, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023

picturing woj blind typing this as he’s on the air

seems like a pretty fair trade

woj was on russillo's pod and said he was going to try to lay off tweeting except for trade stuff. that's how quick the muscles can atrophy.

tbh dumping bertans’ deal to move down from 10 to 12 is a pretty good move, the difference in expected value between picks 10 and 12 is basically nil

the fashion stuff is tough too a bunch of kids with the same stylist and different favorite colors

maybe cason wallace will be amazing but okc’s “guys” in the draft often suck lol

tbh dumping bertans’ deal to move down from 10 to 12 is a pretty good move, the difference in expected value between picks 10 and 12 is basically nil

― J0rdan S., Thursday, June 22, 2023 9:12 PM (sixteen seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah particularly if they’re targeting someone they figure will still be there

tbf theyve drafted like 20 guys in the last 5 years, a bunch of them will suck

xp

wow hollinger had jett howard ranked in like the 50s lol

lmao orlando!!!

orlando going for the nepo baby backcourt with cole anthony

reaches are almost as cool as trades

tbf theyve drafted like 20 guys in the last 5 years, a bunch of them will suck

xp

it’s crazy gradey dick is falling this far teams never learn

vecenie had him 25, yikes

it took him forever to get to the stage bc he was way in the back lol

rough scene when your hype tape is narrated with "your dad was in the nba and was good so thats gotta rub off on him right?"

*his dad, whatever

cam whitmore is slidiiiiiiiing

― slai gorgeous-alexander (m bison), Thursday, June 22, 2023 8:04 PM (fourteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

did something bad come out in his medicals or something? this is weird.

probably medicals yeah

allegedly hes not great in interviews (shy boi), and also he never passed in college (averaged 0.7 apg last year lol)

Cason Wallace can take criticism

yeah whitmore apparently has a weird game too

By shedding Davis Bertans, the Mavericks now project to be able to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and bi-annual exception.

Dunc'd On Prime subscribers can see our cap sheets, which we're updating throughout the night:https://t.co/z1h4ONoXOa

— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) June 23, 2023

okc probably gotta hit the salary floore

i like lively he’s obv going to be a complete menace on the defensive end. but my god the mavs are absolutely obsessed with centers what is their deal

hollinger was a big fan of lively's defense both as a rim protector and switch guy

cubes is an alpha and respects the height-based status hierarchy

sometimes i think about how the mavs made the west finals by essentially playing small forwards at center & then think about everything they’ve done after and wonder if i was part of some sort of mass public hallucination

i mean when you can get a center that can't score or rebound you gotta do it

do the celtics have a late 1st now i forget

they have #25

howard can shoot but that’s it, really an atrocious rebounder for his side, incredibly slow and non-focused on defense

duke is one of the only teams i saw like 5+ times this year, i came away really impressed by lively. he seems like a much better athlete than a lot of the bigs that have come out of there lately

Jett thanks all the people who doubted him!

did cuban write presti a $2 million personal check under the table

Mavs will now have the full midlevel exception, as well as a $17M trade exception. Full MLE should be particularly useful in adding a rotation player.

(I double-checked with @BobbyMarks42 before tweeting.) https://t.co/MEIqQnhhBK

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 23, 2023

xp ty i will watch through that pick then

sigh, the best shooter in the draft falls right into masai’s lap

they’re saying this guy has a great basketball IQ

we know what that means!

pronounced ick

Don't forget the "want-it factor"

lonzo and lamelo get traded to toronto asap

lol

we are entering the bufkin zone

spurs need to get that kobe

Jesus Christ Stephen A is annoying tonight

can you watch on espn?

love to see a casual ray allen comp thrown out there

aside, i went on a work trip this week and was chatting with an older coworker of mine who likes to chat nba, we were talking trades and he said his first move is to go home, put on first take, and see what stephen a thinks of anything that happens. obv i let that pass without comment.

some ppl act like ray allen was just the miami version, some c&s role player, that man's bag was deep in his prime

xp

xp i think ppl love to hear confident men talk

he looks like he is hosting the 76th annual hunger games pic.twitter.com/gBRAR8Dzgs

— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) June 23, 2023

undercover cop ass posture

kobe's back baby

bufkin time

Normies love their hot take talking heads no doubt xps

so inspiring to learn each families lil grindset slogan

I know nothing of bufkin

Mavs did a smart move! Well I’ll be

you know kobe hes like that mixed with bufkin

Has anyone heard from pop since the season ended? Bison have you checked in?

he and i havent talked much lately, no

i think the heat are gonna take hood-schifino that’s a heat ass player there

3 straight picks coming up from actual playoff teams

JHS would fit well in miami for sure

rip cam whitmore wtf

Has anyone heard from pop since the season ended? Bison have you checked in?

― Spottie, Thursday, June 22, 2023 9:48 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

saw a pic of him checking out a wemby mural from his car

This interview with Wemby has made me a fan - seems really smart and self-aware.

getting drafted by the lakers is like winning the lottery of the lottery

is it? lebron is already thinking about trading u for ish smith as soon as u get there

well you get to be on the lakers

damn I kinda wanted jaquez for the nuggets

adam driver/serj tankian hyrbid going to miami

I love his look too best dresser of the drafted dudes so far

jaquez to the heat is a sensible one

i swear if the dubs get whitmore and hes actually good sheeeeeeesh

this dude is one of the most LA looking guys ever

been awhile since we've had a baller who was pirate-adjacent in look

jaquez seems like he'll be a massive pain in the ass if he can hang with nba athletes

adam driver/serj tankian hyrbid

Guess I need to do some research on Brandin Podziemski

Kobe Beefkin

podziemski's dad is a real, uh, character

so does cam whitmore need an urgent amputation or…

i bet he wants to fuck the flag

xp

Jaime Jaquez has been one of my favorite players to watch for the last 3 years. Plays hard, has worked to expand his game so much. Defends. Fights hard every second.

Remember in his first year, all UCLA would talk about was how he was already a lead-by-example guy as a freshman.

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) March 26, 2022

v v interesting how so many of these guys are going with Hard Worker as a personality when the world's least grindesetted superstar just won

obvious move there for the rockets

the nightmare is over

honestly they were rumored to be interested in him at #4, kinda of crazy to get him AND amen

can anyone think of precedents for a projected top 5 pick who fell out of the lottery and then was still good in the NBA? i feel like this happens in football especially with QBs but i’m drawing a blank on any basketball examples

maybe not top 5 prospect, but dejounte was projected in the lottery and fell to 29

didnt rob williams fall pretty far

was hoping clowney would fall to 23

gotta be leonard miller

MPJ?

oh yeah MPJ is a good one

he may have still been in the lottery but certainly counts in spirit

it’s understandable that matt armstrong stopped posting on ILH given his demanding job as GM of the mavs

The Kings are trading Richaun Holmes and No. 24 to Dallas, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023

olivier-maxence prosper is such a good name

it’s been a huge night for the french

celtics taking that pick they got for marcus and trading right out of the first round

The Celtics will get No. 31 in the trade, per source. https://t.co/DHxLqCuLlc

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023

dammit i need to stay awake for 6 more picks

Celtics should be in range to use the $5M Taxpayer MLE after they trade Marcus Sasser to the Pistons and drop out of the #25 pick.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 23, 2023

lol yeah they are keeping me up

Pacers are keeping No. 26 and eyeing a mid-major riser on boards.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023

i didn't know there are multiple kobes

one day the league will be only kobes

come on

Hearing the Celtics are trading down yet again from No. 31. Swapping with the Hornets for picks Nos. 34 and 39.

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 23, 2023

lol i figured this would happen

has he been talking to belichick

is brad evil now

im telling u, bad stevens

Bad Stevens

sure why not

Celtics are trading Colby Jones to the Kings for No. 38 and a future second rounder, sources said. https://t.co/YIIMaQyl3d

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2023

our long nightmare is over i have no idea who either of these guys are

Celtics have taken Jordan Walsh at No. 38 and Mouhamed Gueye at No. 39.

— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) June 23, 2023

they also picked up 3 future 2nds lol

they got their gueye

lol

who knows what a 2nd is worth you can get brad beal for six but also you can get five for the 25th pick

nuggets seem to be targeting guys who have size and can shoot it. I can’t say I’ve ever seen any of these dudes play, but I like the type of player they’ve gotten, their bench minutes have been such a black hole

ok whatever idc

Per source, Jordan Walsh is headed to the Celtics and Mouhamed Gueye is not.

— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) June 23, 2023

I’m a little surprised they didn’t take jackson jr, he seemed like a nugget

guy from ucla gets drafted and emerges from the crowd wearing a suit with no shirt

so they kinda just forfeited one of the firsts they got from washington? i’m sure it a cap thing but i thought they could have actually used a new young guy

yeah

they also picked up 3 future 2nds lol

those are good to have because they can trade them for six 2nds even further in the future. and they can trade those six and turn them into 12. eventually, in 2040 or so, the c's will own every pick in the entire second round. which they will package to trade back into the 2041 1st round, at #27.

weird saga

Sources: The Cleveland Cavaliers are selecting Emoni Bates at No. 49.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2023

apparently he had a 27 inch vertical at 179 pounds at the combine

https://lede-admin.defector.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2023/06/Screen-Shot-2023-06-22-at-10.00.23-PM.jpg

My favorite part of going to the NBA Draft last week was when they showed all of Gradey Dick’s pets on the Jumbotron for some reason. pic.twitter.com/OGQ5LKAz3c

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) June 27, 2023

I havent caught a ton of raptors minutes this year, but I’m taking a look at gradey dick’s stat line…

not greaty

seems bad that the guy who was brought in to become a shooter is putting up 27/24/100 splits

apparently he’s kinda been a mess in the g league too. might not have the athleticism