2024 NBA Draft Thread

[clyde21]

final update up at until at least the combine

1 Matas Buzelis
2 Rob Dillingham
3 Alexandre Sarr

4 Stephon Castle
5 Ron Holland
6 Kyle Filipowski
7 Nikola Topic
8 Zaccharie Risacher
9 Reed Sheppard

10 Kel'El Ware
11 Cody Williams
12 Ja'Kobe Walter
13 KJ Evans
14 Jared McCain
15 Oso Ighodaro
16 Johnny Furphy
17 DJ Wagner
18 Isaiah Collier
19 Alex Karaban
20 Dalton Knecht

my top 3 guys this year would not go top 5 last year, fwiw

[azcatz11]

Glad you turned the corner on Matas

[FarBeyondDriven]

there's a lot of depth in this class. Maybe it doesn't have the top high-end talent people seeminly require to like draft classes but imo it'll have more contributors than most classes. The returning class is especially deep. Throughout the 2nd there will be guys making NBA rosters and actually playing which is actually quite rare. I'm willing to be there'll be more #4 through #8 guys than most drafts. All it will need is for a handful of lottery guys to become #3 or higher and it will be impossible to claim it's a weak class.

[XTC]

I haven't seen a ton of Sarr. Would Evan Mobley be a good comparision?

[babyjax13]

I haven't seen a ton of Sarr. Would Evan Mobley be a good comparision?

I don't think Sarr is as strong. I think bigger Claxton with the chance to develop a bad but not abysmal jumper (I could see 30 percent from 3 being realistic). Better passer than Claxton, too.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I haven't seen a ton of Sarr. Would Evan Mobley be a good comparision?

yep, almost identical in every way; Size, length, athleticism, shot blocking, and defense.

[JMAC3]

there's a lot of depth in this class. Maybe it doesn't have the top high-end talent people seeminly require to like draft classes but imo it'll have more contributors than most classes. The returning class is especially deep. Throughout the 2nd there will be guys making NBA rosters and actually playing which is actually quite rare. I'm willing to be there'll be more #4 through #8 guys than most drafts. All it will need is for a handful of lottery guys to become #3 or higher and it will be impossible to claim it's a weak class.

We say this about every class. Every class is soooo deep, the 2nd round is blah blah...

There will probably be the normal 4-6 guys in the 2nd who turn into solid pros, but we constantly try to overrate a bunch of guys in the 30-50 range.

[HadAnEffectHere]

I haven't seen a ton of Sarr. Would Evan Mobley be a good comparision?

He's much worse as a ball handler and passer than Mobley was out of college, but Mobley's ball handling and passing are non-functional in the NBA because of no jumpshot so the comparison is fine at this point.

Both are centers who are disciplined on defense and keep up with ball handlers, but aren't very explosive and are very physically weak as of now. Both suck at shooting, but Mobley never shoots whereas Sarr shoots and misses constantly.

Sarr will be pretty trash in the NBA until he bulks up to 245, but the same is true for Mobley who still sucks 3 years in.

[Big J]

there's a lot of depth in this class. Maybe it doesn't have the top high-end talent people seeminly require to like draft classes but imo it'll have more contributors than most classes. The returning class is especially deep. Throughout the 2nd there will be guys making NBA rosters and actually playing which is actually quite rare. I'm willing to be there'll be more #4 through #8 guys than most drafts. All it will need is for a handful of lottery guys to become #3 or higher and it will be impossible to claim it's a weak class.

Edey wouldn't have been drafted last year, and now he's being talked about by some people as a lottery pick. This year is absolute dog bleep. As a scout I'm advising teams to offload their pics.

[SeattleJazzFan]

there's a lot of depth in this class. Maybe it doesn't have the top high-end talent people seeminly require to like draft classes but imo it'll have more contributors than most classes. The returning class is especially deep. Throughout the 2nd there will be guys making NBA rosters and actually playing which is actually quite rare. I'm willing to be there'll be more #4 through #8 guys than most drafts. All it will need is for a handful of lottery guys to become #3 or higher and it will be impossible to claim it's a weak class.

Edey wouldn't have been drafted last year, and now he's being talked about by some people as a lottery pick. This year is absolute dog bleep. As a scout I'm advising teams to offload their pics.

[HadAnEffectHere]

One thing that's really understated about Matas is how absolutely garbage his body language is.

Watch on YouTube

Just constantly moping and not trying.

Also, does he suck so bad at shooting.

[JMAC3]

One thing that's really understated about Matas is how absolutely garbage his body language is.

Watch on YouTube

Just constantly moping and not trying.

Also, does he suck so bad at shooting.

It is really weird to me that he is getting such love right now. Whereas Holland who is virtually the exact same efficiency numbers is getting labeled as inefficient. Matas is getting a bunch positive projections as this off ball guy, which seems the opposite when I look at what he does best. He is at his best in the midrange where he can use 1 or 2 dribbles, that is the opposite of what you want your off ball guys to be doing IMO.

I would rather have a swing swing shooter or a guy that is aggressive attacking closeouts and a threat to the rim. Matas seems like the type of guy that is going to be a bit of ball stopper early in his career if he continues to try and play this style.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Yeah, Matas' entire upside is based on triple threat stuff and back to the basket stuff. He has to be an extremely high usage guy to make up for how bad his defense is and that's clearly what he wants to do. The "plug and play" and "secondary playmaker" stuff feels like pure fantasy. He's an iso scorer only who is currently bad at iso scoring because his tools are bad and his jumpshot is bad.

[JMAC3]

Yeah, Matas' entire upside is based on triple threat stuff and back to the basket stuff. He has to be an extremely high usage guy to make up for how bad his defense is and that's clearly what he wants to do. The "plug and play" and "secondary playmaker" stuff feels like pure fantasy. He's an iso scorer only who is currently bad at iso scoring because his tools are bad and his jumpshot is bad.

That is not to say he can't change into more of a low usage guy, but that feels like you are taking away his strengths. I like his fit more for a team that needs someone like him ala a Wizards, Blazers, Bulls who really lack a young guy that demands the ball.

Less of a fit on Hornets, Pistons, Spurs and Raptors who already have plenty of younger offensive hubs.

[FarBeyondDriven]

there's a lot of depth in this class. Maybe it doesn't have the top high-end talent people seeminly require to like draft classes but imo it'll have more contributors than most classes. The returning class is especially deep. Throughout the 2nd there will be guys making NBA rosters and actually playing which is actually quite rare. I'm willing to be there'll be more #4 through #8 guys than most drafts. All it will need is for a handful of lottery guys to become #3 or higher and it will be impossible to claim it's a weak class.

We say this about every class. Every class is soooo deep, the 2nd round is blah blah...

There will probably be the normal 4-6 guys in the 2nd who turn into solid pros, but we constantly try to overrate a bunch of guys in the 30-50 range.

we? Clearly you haven't been paying attention. The "we" you're referring to are the guys on this board and the "experts" they get their opinions from I make fun of for being wrong every year.

[FarBeyondDriven]

there's a lot of depth in this class. Maybe it doesn't have the top high-end talent people seeminly require to like draft classes but imo it'll have more contributors than most classes. The returning class is especially deep. Throughout the 2nd there will be guys making NBA rosters and actually playing which is actually quite rare. I'm willing to be there'll be more #4 through #8 guys than most drafts. All it will need is for a handful of lottery guys to become #3 or higher and it will be impossible to claim it's a weak class.

Edey wouldn't have been drafted last year, and now he's being talked about by some people as a lottery pick. This year is absolute dog bleep. As a scout I'm advising teams to offload their pics.

nobody worth listening to is talking about Edey as a lottery "pick". If it is such a weak draft class why are so many teams tanking? The Spurs and Wizards tanked from jump. It's not like they didn't have all the information about who was going to be in the draft once the season started. Several teams have started tanking in earnest in the 2nd half to make sure they have a chance at getting lottery picks. If it's such a weak draft class, why would they do that?

[FarBeyondDriven]

Yeah, Matas' entire upside is based on triple threat stuff and back to the basket stuff. He has to be an extremely high usage guy to make up for how bad his defense is and that's clearly what he wants to do. The "plug and play" and "secondary playmaker" stuff feels like pure fantasy. He's an iso scorer only who is currently bad at iso scoring because his tools are bad and his jumpshot is bad.

Have you even watched him play? He's almost exclusively an off-ball 3 and D wing with the ability to drive on closeouts and on occasion ISO against mismatches. I've also seen plenty of evidence that he has promise as a defender with a knack for blocking shots. His issue at Ignite is that he is likely a 3/4 like Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, Tatum and had trouble (like they do) staying in front of quicker wings which happened a lot since he almost exclusively played the 3. If he plays the 4 this won't be as much of an issue. He'll need to put on muscle to be able to defend the 4 but it's doable. The point is, he has enough promise on defense as a switchable 3/4 it could lead to him becoming a starter which is why he's in the lottery mix. Worrying about defense from a 20 y/o 6'2" guard with a weak wingspan is one thing, worrying about it from a 19 y/o 6'9" wing with good wingspan is another. The draft is all about tools and potential for half the prospects. The others it's about filling specific needs as role players.

[Big J]

there's a lot of depth in this class. Maybe it doesn't have the top high-end talent people seeminly require to like draft classes but imo it'll have more contributors than most classes. The returning class is especially deep. Throughout the 2nd there will be guys making NBA rosters and actually playing which is actually quite rare. I'm willing to be there'll be more #4 through #8 guys than most drafts. All it will need is for a handful of lottery guys to become #3 or higher and it will be impossible to claim it's a weak class.

Edey wouldn't have been drafted last year, and now he's being talked about by some people as a lottery pick. This year is absolute dog bleep. As a scout I'm advising teams to offload their pics.

nobody worth listening to is talking about Edey as a lottery "pick". If it is such a weak draft class why are so many teams tanking? The Spurs and Wizards tanked from jump. It's not like they didn't have all the information about who was going to be in the draft once the season started. Several teams have started tanking in earnest in the 2nd half to make sure they have a chance at getting lottery picks. If it's such a weak draft class, why would they do that?

No idea why teams are tanking. Maybe they think they can trick a dumb team into trading for their pick if it lands top 3.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Yeah, Matas' entire upside is based on triple threat stuff and back to the basket stuff. He has to be an extremely high usage guy to make up for how bad his defense is and that's clearly what he wants to do. The "plug and play" and "secondary playmaker" stuff feels like pure fantasy. He's an iso scorer only who is currently bad at iso scoring because his tools are bad and his jumpshot is bad.

Have you even watched him play? He's almost exclusively an off-ball 3 and D wing with the ability to drive on closeouts and on occasion ISO against mismatches. I've also seen plenty of evidence that he has promise as a defender with a knack for blocking shots. His issue at Ignite is that he is likely a 3/4 like Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, Tatum and had trouble (like they do) staying in front of quicker wings which happened a lot since he almost exclusively played the 3. If he plays the 4 this won't be as much of an issue. He'll need to put on muscle to be able to defend the 4 but it's doable. The point is, he has enough promise on defense as a switchable 3/4 it could lead to him becoming a starter which is why he's in the lottery mix. Worrying about defense from a 20 y/o 6'2" guard with a weak wingspan is one thing, worrying about it from a 19 y/o 6'9" wing with good wingspan is another. The draft is all about tools and potential for half the prospects. The others it's about filling specific needs as role players.

?

One of Matas' main issues is that... his arms are not long?

https://eurospects.com/player/matas-buzelis/

[NO-KG-AI]

there's a lot of depth in this class. Maybe it doesn't have the top high-end talent people seeminly require to like draft classes but imo it'll have more contributors than most classes. The returning class is especially deep. Throughout the 2nd there will be guys making NBA rosters and actually playing which is actually quite rare. I'm willing to be there'll be more #4 through #8 guys than most drafts. All it will need is for a handful of lottery guys to become #3 or higher and it will be impossible to claim it's a weak class.

Edey wouldn't have been drafted last year, and now he's being talked about by some people as a lottery pick. This year is absolute dog bleep. As a scout I'm advising teams to offload their pics.

nobody worth listening to is talking about Edey as a lottery "pick". If it is such a weak draft class why are so many teams tanking? The Spurs and Wizards tanked from jump. It's not like they didn't have all the information about who was going to be in the draft once the season started. Several teams have started tanking in earnest in the 2nd half to make sure they have a chance at getting lottery picks. If it's such a weak draft class, why would they do that?

Because high picks have more trade value and have higher chance of producing good players than low picks do, no matter the draft? Is this a real question? Lol.