2023 NBA Draft (1 Viewer)

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What if I told you I prefer Scoot Henderson over Webanyama
 
What is the link to that evaluation?
I'd like to see what he has to say about John Butler.... I don't personally have much hope for Butler turning into an NBA player.

It’s at ESPN+ (paywalled)

Here’s what I could find for Butler.

The most unique physical profile in Chicago belonged to John Butler, who measured a massive 9-4 standing reach despite weighing just 174 pounds at 4.7% body fat. Few players in our database have the ratio between height and weight that Butler does, ranking him in the 99th percentile in that category among thousands of measurements. The fact that Butler registered just a 28.5-inch max vertical with such a narrow frame further adds to his unorthodox set of physical tools. Despite the narrow, thin frame, Butler did some interesting things in live action, shooting 39% from 3 while using his length and timing to block six shots in just 50 minutes.
 
What if I told you I prefer Scoot Henderson over Webanyama
You may prefer Henderson over Wembanyama, but if you were an NBA GM would you draft Henderson over Wembanyama?
You would get a pass if Wembanyama turns out to not to be as successful as Scoot Henderson, but you definitely would not get a pass if Wembanyama turns out to be better.
 
You may prefer Henderson over Wembanyama, but if you were an NBA GM would you draft Henderson over Wembanyama?
You would get a pass if Wembanyama turns out to not to be as successful as Scoot Henderson, but you definitely would not get a pass if Wembanyama turns out to be better.

I’d probably take the size. I just think it’s a guards league. Big men are a bonus in this league. Unless, Embiid or Jokic prove me otherwise.

I think guards and long wings are essential. Big men are a bonus
 
I’d probably take the size. I just think it’s a guards league. Big men are a bonus in this league. Unless, Embiid or Jokic prove me otherwise.

I think guards and long wings are essential. Big men are a bonus

We have guards, what we need is a center.......is what we said in 1984 (and to a certain degree in 2007)
Sure injuries were a factor in those past scenarios but nonetheless, I don't discount what you are saying.
 
We have guards, what we need is a center.......is what we said in 1984 (and to a certain degree in 2007)
Sure injuries were a factor in those past scenarios but nonetheless, I don't discount what you are saying.
Best player available.
And that is still Wembanyama. And this is also just a thought exercise, since we are not getting the 1st pick.
 
Wemanyama might be BPA but my god would it be fun to watch a Scoot/Shaedon tandem. I want to be a fast paced and high flying team for a change.
 
I’d probably take the size. I just think it’s a guards league. Big men are a bonus in this league. Unless, Embiid or Jokic prove me otherwise.

I think guards and long wings are essential. Big men are a bonus
Webanyama essentially plays like a long wing.
He's definitely not a 'traditional' big.
 
Wemanyama might be BPA but my god would it be fun to watch a Scoot/Shaedon tandem. I want to be a fast paced and high flying team for a change.
Trade Dame and Knicks pick to Houston for their pick. Win top 2 picks. Get Scoot and Wemby.

Scoot
Shaedon
Thybulle
Reddish
Wembanyama
 
Trade Dame and Knicks pick to Houston for their pick. Win top 2 picks. Get Scoot and Wemby.

Scoot
Shaedon
Thybulle
Reddish
Wembanyama
Yeah the Rockets aren’t doing anything with Dame. BUT, winning the #2 pick would put us in an interesting situation. We could trade Ant and draft Scoot. Or we could trade down, like adding some 2nds with #2 to trade down and grab both ORL lotto picks. That way, we could draft two top tier wings in the draft and maybe trade the NY 1st to CHI to free up our picks.
 
Wow. I’m even more sold on tank now. We can still get to 5th. I still root for us to win cuz I can’t help it but a unilateral decision from Dame, Jody, and Joe to tank would not upset me at all.
That would be a trilateral decision, but yes. Tank baby! I want Sharpe playing 36+ minutes with UNLIMITED shots.
 
Yeah the Rockets aren’t doing anything with Dame. BUT, winning the #2 pick would put us in an interesting situation. We could trade Ant and draft Scoot. Or we could trade down, like adding some 2nds with #2 to trade down and grab both ORL lotto picks. That way, we could draft two top tier wings in the draft and maybe trade the NY 1st to CHI to free up our picks.

There would be a lot of handwringing but Portland should ‘not’ get cute and just draft Scoot.
 
Still a lot of guys to dig into, but here are my random thoughts on the draft as it stands....

Wemby/Amen/Ausar and a sizeable drop to me for high end blazer fits (why there's not scoot in that obviously)

Ausar seems like the better fit of the twins. Not quite the athlete Amen is but better ballhandler and shooter.

If we don't move up, Jarace Walker would be cool, but definitely would be bummed. Should be a really good role player at worst. Too big, skilled and smart not to be. Would be more excited about him if I thought he was a bulletproof defensive prospect but he has a some athleticism quirks that have me wondering what his ideal role is. Moves like a small ball 5 at times.

Derek Lively has looked pretty damn good lately. Not asked to do much offensively, but the passing has looked very good for a big his age and still has 50+ dunks on very low usage. 13.1% blk, 6.6 DBPM, both leading numbers for all freshman by a wide margin. Passes the eye test defensively as well. Likely not there at the Knicks pick though.
 
Still a lot of guys to dig into, but here are my random thoughts on the draft as it stands....

Wemby/Amen/Ausar and a sizeable drop to me for high end blazer fits (why there's not scoot in that obviously)

Ausar seems like the better fit of the twins. Not quite the athlete Amen is but better ballhandler and shooter.

If we don't move up, Jarace Walker would be cool, but definitely would be bummed. Should be a really good role player at worst. Too big, skilled and smart not to be. Would be more excited about him if I thought he was a bulletproof defensive prospect but he has a some athleticism quirks that have me wondering what his ideal role is. Moves like a small ball 5 at times.

Derek Lively has looked pretty damn good lately. Not asked to do much offensively, but the passing has looked very good for a big his age and still has 50+ dunks on very low usage. 13.1% blk, 6.6 DBPM, both leading numbers for all freshman by a wide margin. Passes the eye test defensively as well. Likely not there at the Knicks pick though.
Brandon miller should also be on that list. Taylor Hendricks is probably the best PF in the class, even better than Walker in my opinion. Anthony Black would be perfect for this team. He’s an elite defender. A good passer. Solid rebounder. Draw a lot of fouls. His only weakness is really his shooting but that seem to be improving. He’s also 6 foot 7 so he can easily play small forward. A guy I’m gonna do some research on who could be a good fit is Cam Whitmore. Dereck Lively is very easily my favorite player to pick with the Knicks pick
 
Brandon miller should also be on that list. Taylor Hendricks is probably the best PF in the class, even better than Walker in my opinion. Anthony Black would be perfect for this team. He’s an elite defender. A good passer. Solid rebounder. Draw a lot of fouls. His only weakness is really his shooting but that seem to be improving. He’s also 6 foot 7 so he can easily play small forward. A guy I’m gonna do some research on who could be a good fit is Cam Whitmore. Dereck Lively is very easily my favorite player to pick with the Knicks pick
Yeah Miller is probably the 4th guy on that list, albeit a tier below the twins. Honestly might be a bit safer than both, but I'll bet on the better athlete, passer and defender most of the time. Hard to not be impressed by Miller though. Very smooth, good shooter and should be at least an average passer and defender at 6'9". Only thing that really holds me back on him is whether his handle/quicks on ball and his shooting mechanics will translate into him becoming a star. Does create a ton of separation and seems to only be comfortable shooting when he's pretty square and feet are organized.

You're higher on Anthony than me. He's kind of like Jarace but a tier below where he's likely too big, smart and skilled not to stick, but I don't see the outlier skill or physical advantage for me to be really high on him.

Taylor Hendricks is intriguing as well. His skills seem to be a little more concentrated. The feel is bit behind on both ends, but his shooting and rim protection stand out for sure. Looks like he might have a chance to develop into big wing too. Really interesting perimeter movement skills at his size.
 
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Draft Room mock draft has the Blazers picking at #7 and taking Anthony Black.
A 6-7 PG that is compared to Josh Giddey. Hmm that seems like a decent fit but what to do with Ant? They already have Sharpe?

Then they have the Blazers getting the Knicks pick at #22 and are saying Maxwell Lewis.
A 6-7 SF from Pepperdine that can shoot but seems to have fallen off a bit recently. Compared to Trey Murphy who by coincidence just lit the Blazers up for 41 points.

Not sure Jarace Walker isn't a better option at #7 but i guess we will see?

The biggest thing I'm seeing is the only player over 6-9 in the first 20 picks is Wembanyama. It's well into the late first round and early second before a number of bigger players are projected. My thinking is the Blazers could easily get into position to get bigger with a few simple moves. Leonard Miller (G league Ignite) and a guy named Kyle Filipowski (Duke) could be ways to get some length.

What do the Blazers actually have in Badji and Butler is another big question? What can they do with Nurk?
 
What do the Blazers actually have in Badji and Butler is another big question? What can they do with Nurk?

Both of those guys are aliens, my guess is that Badji might get his NBA deal after the Blazers make a big move and have a spare roster spot at the end of the bench. The team seems high on his potential but he might still be a year or two away.

Similarly Butler might not figure in the rotation for a while. I watch him play and I struggle to imagine him in an NBA rotation.
 
Both of those guys are aliens, my guess is that Badji might get his NBA deal after the Blazers make a big move and have a spare roster spot at the end of the bench. The team seems high on his potential but he might still be a year or two away.

Similarly Butler might not figure in the rotation for a while. I watch him play and I struggle to imagine him in an NBA rotation.
Stick-figure Butler's only value is for Nurk or Badji to pick him up, flip him over, and use him as a mop.
 
Who's the Jalen Williams of this draft? You know, not getting that much hype but just an all-round baller? I guess we'll find out when we see who Sam Presti drafts.
 
Who's the Jalen Williams of this draft? You know, not getting that much hype but just an all-round baller? I guess we'll find out when we see who Sam Presti drafts.
If you talking about who the most like Jalen Williams, it’s probably Jalen Hood-Schifino. But I don’t know too much about his game. But if you’re talking about who’s an underrated guy who can make an instant impact probably Hendricks. Maxwell Lewis is also intriguing, I’m getting Trey Murphy vibe from him
 
I want to see the Blazers draft someone who is ready to contribute. Seems like the last several years it is draft someone with high upside but who won't be able to truly contribute for several years.
 
Both of those guys are aliens, my guess is that Badji might get his NBA deal after the Blazers make a big move and have a spare roster spot at the end of the bench. The team seems high on his potential but he might still be a year or two away.

Similarly Butler might not figure in the rotation for a while. I watch him play and I struggle to imagine him in an NBA rotation.
Yah, Butler is not an NBA player... He may be able to eek out a year or two more in his career, but not much more.
 
Anyone think Brandon Miller would slide down to where we’re at with everything surrounding him?
 
I know a lot of people are going to shun the OTE’s competition, but I’ve been loving what I see from Ausar Thompson.

When I watch him right now, I see Cal Jaylen Brown. Ausar probably has a better handle at this stage than Brown did. He’s not a good shooter yet, but his 3 ball had gotten remarkably better as the season went on. I think he’s going to surprise some people with his shooting. He’s also going to be a plus defender sooner rather than later.

The idea of pairing Sharpe with another super athletic 3-D guy has me salivating.
 

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