2024 NBA Draft Thread

[clyde21]

Alex Sarr is the most cucked #1 pick selection

probably the worst #1 pick position since 2013 but who are you taking at #1?

I think Topic could still go #1 if he performs well, now that he's playing again. If Cody Williams shows up with a better body and impresses during pre-draft workouts, I think he could sneak back into the #1 pick conversation.

But yeah, Sarr probably goes #1 otherwise, and I think the team that gets the #1 is going to make a real effort to trade it.

i can't get behind Topic as #1, just don't see the upside there tbh, you might as well just trade down at that point if you can if that's your guy.

look, there are no great choices for #1 in this class unfortunately, but Sarr probably presents the best combination of archetype, physical tools and ceiling to warrant the pick.

[JMAC3]

I don't get the Sarr hate. Lot of overthinking here. He's the draft's best athlete, oh and also he's 7'1", also can handle the ball and dribble up the court at full speed, also is twitchy and mobile, and also has shown passing skills and ability to guard on the perimeter. NBA will open up a lot for him just like LaMelo coming from the NBL. Does he have a lot of work to do, with shooting and adding strength to his frame and defensive awareness? Yes, but this is no Wiseman level prospect. Sarr is several leagues ahead of Wiseman as a pro prospect who went #2 overall.

Sarr played in 24 NBL games this year and failed to score 20 pts just 1 time. The NBL is a solid league, but if you are without a doubt a #1 pick talent you are having some dominant games from time to time.

It's a bit concerning at least to me that he couldn't break into the starting lineup and only played 17 mpg. Giddey for example played 32 mpg. Again this is the NBL, not the Spanish or French league. You are still really drafting him on potential, because what he has shown in the OTE and NBL isn't all that rare.

I still like him, but there are plenty of productivity red flags here.

[JMAC3]

probably the worst #1 pick position since 2013 but who are you taking at #1?

I think Topic could still go #1 if he performs well, now that he's playing again. If Cody Williams shows up with a better body and impresses during pre-draft workouts, I think he could sneak back into the #1 pick conversation.

But yeah, Sarr probably goes #1 otherwise, and I think the team that gets the #1 is going to make a real effort to trade it.

i can't get behind Topic as #1, just don't see the upside there tbh, you might as well just trade down at that point if you can if that's your guy.

look, there are no great choices for #1 in this class unfortunately, but Sarr probably presents the best combination of archetype, physical tools and ceiling to warrant the pick.

Topic isn't just some 1 year wonder in the ABA. He has been dominant in pretty much every single Euro tournament he has played in including leading Serbia to U18 Gold, 49 pt game in the ANGT.. then putting up MVP level numbers in the ABA at 18 yrs old before getting hurt.

I agree upon first watch he isn't blowing you away, but at a certain point the age/production/pedigree stuff is just too much to fade

[King Ken]

I don't get the Sarr hate. Lot of overthinking here. He's the draft's best athlete, oh and also he's 7'1", also can handle the ball and dribble up the court at full speed, also is twitchy and mobile, and also has shown passing skills and ability to guard on the perimeter. NBA will open up a lot for him just like LaMelo coming from the NBL. Does he have a lot of work to do, with shooting and adding strength to his frame and defensive awareness? Yes, but this is no Wiseman level prospect. Sarr is several leagues ahead of Wiseman as a pro prospect who went #2 overall.

But he's not good at anything. He's just extremely talented. The case could be made for Anthony Edwards but he was a rare talent and it was clear, he was an SG. I still think Sarr's best position is the 3 and he's years away from being effective at it. Wiseman maybe better and that's a problem. That said, Wiseman wasn't this talented and Sarr does have elite lateral quickness and he shown he could defend the perimeter.

[babyjax13]

I don't get the Sarr hate. Lot of overthinking here. He's the draft's best athlete, oh and also he's 7'1", also can handle the ball and dribble up the court at full speed, also is twitchy and mobile, and also has shown passing skills and ability to guard on the perimeter. NBA will open up a lot for him just like LaMelo coming from the NBL. Does he have a lot of work to do, with shooting and adding strength to his frame and defensive awareness? Yes, but this is no Wiseman level prospect. Sarr is several leagues ahead of Wiseman as a pro prospect who went #2 overall.

But he's not good at anything. He's just extremely talented. The case could be made for Anthony Edwards but he was a rare talent and it was clear, he was an SG. I still think Sarr's best position is the 3 and he's years away from being effective at it. Wiseman maybe better and that's a problem. That said, Wiseman wasn't this talented and Sarr does have elite lateral quickness and he shown he could defend the perimeter.

I don't see any world where Sarr develops the mobility, shot, or handle to be a small forward. e.g., that path would be comparing him a bit to Lauri Markkenen who was a far superior shooting prospect and whose best position is still probably power forward. Sarr's 'best' position would probably be power forward if the hypothetical skillset actually develops, but he is probably going to be position-locked as a center for his first few years because his shot just isn't anywhere close to being NBA viable and he has no ability to self-create.

[HadAnEffectHere]

I mean, Sarr doesn't play because he's a horrible offensive player, lol.

He's soft, physically weak, and not explosive, so he isn't great at the rim and his jumpshot and ball handling are extremely bad as of now.

The long-shot hope is that he learns how to shoot threes, instantly turning him into a top 30 player in the NBA (once he puts on enough weight to rebound) and super valuable.

If he can't shoot threes, the hope is that he gets strong and tough enough to score inside well.

[babyjax13]

I mean, Sarr doesn't play because he's a horrible offensive player, lol.

He's soft, physically weak, and not explosive, so he isn't great at the rim and his jumpshot and ball handling are extremely bad as of now.

The long-shot hope is that he learns how to shoot threes, instantly turning him into a top 30 player in the NBA (once he puts on enough weight to rebound) and super valuable.

If he can't shoot threes, the hope is that he gets strong and tough enough to score inside well.

I think Turner is probably the model for his development, but Sarr looks more mobile to me (but that could be his current weight). His first season he was a complete non-shooter from 3 (21%) and since then has hovered between 33-37%. If Sarr can do that - awesome - a team will be very happy. If he can't, you just drafted a center with some pretty big shortcomings (but who should still be useful).

[King Ken]

I don't get the Sarr hate. Lot of overthinking here. He's the draft's best athlete, oh and also he's 7'1", also can handle the ball and dribble up the court at full speed, also is twitchy and mobile, and also has shown passing skills and ability to guard on the perimeter. NBA will open up a lot for him just like LaMelo coming from the NBL. Does he have a lot of work to do, with shooting and adding strength to his frame and defensive awareness? Yes, but this is no Wiseman level prospect. Sarr is several leagues ahead of Wiseman as a pro prospect who went #2 overall.

But he's not good at anything. He's just extremely talented. The case could be made for Anthony Edwards but he was a rare talent and it was clear, he was an SG. I still think Sarr's best position is the 3 and he's years away from being effective at it. Wiseman maybe better and that's a problem. That said, Wiseman wasn't this talented and Sarr does have elite lateral quickness and he shown he could defend the perimeter.

I don't see any world where Sarr develops the mobility, shot, or handle to be a small forward. e.g., that path would be comparing him a bit to Lauri Markkenen who was a far superior shooting prospect and whose best position is still probably power forward. Sarr's 'best' position would probably be power forward if the hypothetical skillset actually develops, but he is probably going to be position-locked as a center for his first few years because his shot just isn't anywhere close to being NBA viable and he has no ability to self-create.

He's way more defensive-based perimeter-wise than Lauri is right now and Lauri then was a way better shooter than Sarr will ever be as a prospect.

He doesn't do anything like a big man to me. Nothing. Kinda reminds of Jon Bender who played with the Pacers. He's like a stick of an extremely talented player but what is he? He's way too reactive defensively. That works on the perimeter but you want instinctive big-man defenders, especially in today's NBA with so many actions.

People say this is positionless but I still think you need a position first.

[zzaj]

Anybody know what is up with Zacharie Perrin? He seems like the type of high floor player that a lot of good teams would want to add in the second round?

[King Ken]

I mean, Sarr doesn't play because he's a horrible offensive player, lol.

He's soft, physically weak, and not explosive, so he isn't great at the rim and his jumpshot and ball handling are extremely bad as of now.

The long-shot hope is that he learns how to shoot threes, instantly turning him into a top 30 player in the NBA (once he puts on enough weight to rebound) and super valuable.

If he can't shoot threes, the hope is that he gets strong and tough enough to score inside well.

I think Turner is probably the model for his development, but Sarr looks more mobile to me (but that could be his current weight). His first season he was a complete non-shooter from 3 (21%) and since then has hovered between 33-37%. If Sarr can do that - awesome - a team will be very happy. If he can't, you just drafted a center with some pretty big shortcomings (but who should still be useful).

Turner even then was a legit shooter. He just had that terrible way he moved and he had to get surgery on that. That changed a lot for him. Turner also was still a big man. He played like a big man. Sarr plays like Bender to me.

[BigGargamel]

Unless Risacher bombs the pre draft process I'd probably just go ahead and take him first. Has the ability to be a solid shooter/scorer. Is athletic and could continue to develop. That's about all you can ask for with the first pick in this draft. Someone has to be taken.

I'd rather have the 5th pick next year than the 1st this year.

[King Ken]

Unless Risacher bombs the pre draft process I'd probably just go ahead and take him first. Has the ability to be a solid shooter/scorer. Is athletic and could continue to develop. That's about all you can ask for with the first pick in this draft. Someone has to be taken.

I'd rather have the 5th pick next year than the 1st this year.

Risacher doesn't have much upside but he's the clear #1 overall pick. No one else makes sense.

[RyugaFan]

Risacher doesn't have the upside but he also doesn't possess the athleticism to be an uber 3-D player like Wiggins and Anunoby.

[RyugaFan]

Can someone make the case against Cody Williams? I'm really high on him and want to get opposing perspectives.

[HadAnEffectHere]

But he's not good at anything. He's just extremely talented. The case could be made for Anthony Edwards but he was a rare talent and it was clear, he was an SG. I still think Sarr's best position is the 3 and he's years away from being effective at it. Wiseman maybe better and that's a problem. That said, Wiseman wasn't this talented and Sarr does have elite lateral quickness and he shown he could defend the perimeter.

I don't see any world where Sarr develops the mobility, shot, or handle to be a small forward. e.g., that path would be comparing him a bit to Lauri Markkenen who was a far superior shooting prospect and whose best position is still probably power forward. Sarr's 'best' position would probably be power forward if the hypothetical skillset actually develops, but he is probably going to be position-locked as a center for his first few years because his shot just isn't anywhere close to being NBA viable and he has no ability to self-create.

He's way more defensive-based perimeter-wise than Lauri is right now and Lauri then was a way better shooter than Sarr will ever be as a prospect.

He doesn't do anything like a big man to me. Nothing. Kinda reminds of Jon Bender who played with the Pacers. He's like a stick of an extremely talented player but what is he? He's way too reactive defensively. That works on the perimeter but you want instinctive big-man defenders, especially in today's NBA with so many actions.

People say this is positionless but I still think you need a position first.

Sarr is extremely far behind Taylor Hendricks offensively and Hendricks projects to be a below average PF on offense.

He is not a PF.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Can someone make the case against Cody Williams? I'm really high on him and want to get opposing perspectives.

1. He's a ball handling PF and his ball handling is rudimentary. He dribbles with his back to the action and with his head down and his handle is super loose. This made his handle and offense non-functional once he got scouted.

2. He cannot shoot pull-up jumpshots at all

3. He is extremely physically weak

4. He is extremely slow and cannot closeout on shooters at all.

5. He has zero explosion and thus can't rebound or block shots.

He has basically nothing going for him other than paint scoring and you need to project massive athleticism gains despite him needing to also put on around 30-40 pounds of muscle. Even after that, you need to project huge skill growth for him to one day be Pascal Siakam.

[Catchall]

Can someone make the case against Cody Williams? I'm really high on him and want to get opposing perspectives.

Lack of explosion off the dribble and lack of vertical pop. Doesn't always get all the way to the hoop on his drives. He needs to use more craft and finish with touch, similar to guys like Ingram or Shai-Gilgeous. The other criticism is that he doesn't shoot off the dribble much at all. I'm not sure why that is. Let's say part of it is how effective he is as a driver and finishing with his floater.

However, he's still very young and he looks like he's growing into his body. He's a guy who could be physically solid after a couple years of development. He has enough of a frame to work with.

Depending where he goes, he could be the guy that everyone looks back on and wonder why he wasn't drafted higher.

[Catchall]

I mean, Sarr doesn't play because he's a horrible offensive player, lol.

He's soft, physically weak, and not explosive, so he isn't great at the rim and his jumpshot and ball handling are extremely bad as of now.

The long-shot hope is that he learns how to shoot threes, instantly turning him into a top 30 player in the NBA (once he puts on enough weight to rebound) and super valuable.

If he can't shoot threes, the hope is that he gets strong and tough enough to score inside well.

I think Turner is probably the model for his development, but Sarr looks more mobile to me (but that could be his current weight). His first season he was a complete non-shooter from 3 (21%) and since then has hovered between 33-37%. If Sarr can do that - awesome - a team will be very happy. If he can't, you just drafted a center with some pretty big shortcomings (but who should still be useful).

I see some similarities between Sarr and Derrick Favors entering the league. Back in 2010, Favors was considered primarily a PF, but fast forward til today and I think Favors would be considered a center prospect all along. Sarr shows enough handle and body control to be effective in some face-up situations. Otherwise, he's a fairly versatile defender and rim presence on both ends.

Sarr will also be able to step into a 15-18 ft jump shot anytime he wants (a bit similar to Embiid). Just not sure how many of those he'll make. I'm not expecting Sarr to be a consistent shooter on 3PAs, at least not anytime soon.

[MemphisX]

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[zzaj]

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That clip shows us that he should have had 2 more assists...if his teammates could make easy buckets.