2024 NBA DRAFT THREAD 3

[CazOnReal]

Topic is back after his knee injury. I know he's been talked about a lot but If Raps crack top 4 , gotta seriously look at Topic as a possible pick. I understand the defense with him and IQ isnt ideal and they would get crushed today , but he will start as our back up where we severely need one. We gotta take BPA anyway. He isn't a distance shooter but high FT % and he masters the pick and roll with constant paint touches to create - both key staples for darko. 6'6" without shoes and 7' wingspan. Very fluid player

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He’s 2nd on my board for the Raps behind Sarr. I really like this kid and think he’s going to be very good in this league for a long time.

Could his ceiling be like Jason Kidd?

I certainly hope he doesn't become a domestic abuser and/or a shi*ty coach - which for some reason everyone ignores Jason Kidd literally is for the former and his continued employment in the NBA baffles me.

[WuTang_OG]

He’s 2nd on my board for the Raps behind Sarr. I really like this kid and think he’s going to be very good in this league for a long time.

I think the shooting will eventually come along but i dont think we’ve seen a player in last few drafts that can master a pick and roll and get in the lane as good as he does. Defense biggest issue

I think another jumbo creator paired with IQ would be great. The Raps need more easy offense, so either elite shooting or elite play-making. In clips it looks like Topic's passes are off the mark, but his teammates are pros so hit the shots. I guess the instincts are there but Reed Sheppard also has them. I guess if Reed was 1 inch taller, he would clearly be ahead of Topic.

PG Topic - 1st pick/JFL
SG IQ - Dick - JFL
SF Barrett - Dick - Ochai
PF Barnes - Olynyk/Barrett
C Poeltl - Olynyk - Chomche

I dont think he'd start right away. They will ease him into it, still only 18 and the defense will be his biggest adjustment, also moving to NA. Topic running a 2nd unit would be fun because it would give us a total different look with someone who can touch the paint with ease and has the vision to make the right pass.

[WuTang_OG]

Draft lottery should be a lot earlier

[CazOnReal]

An aside but it's kind of weird that a team like the Thunder will likely be in the midst of the 2nd round and have 1, potentially 2 lottery picks in this draft.

[billy_hoyle]

Furphy looks like Tristan DaSilva earlier in his career. Maybe at best he's a rich man's DaSilva, at worst a poor man's DaSilva.

I can't speak to Da Silva, but Furphy looks to be laterally quick enough at SF and has that Australian physicality.

These are traits I like to see in role players.

Giddey, Patty Mills and Joe Ingles don't have that Australian physicality...

I'll give you Giddey and Mills. Ingles is pretty physical and gritty for being such a non-athlete (doughboy). I usually come away from his games thinking he should be absolutely dominated physically, but he's just gritty enough to get by IMO.

[TimeForChange]

An aside but it's kind of weird that a team like the Thunder will likely be in the midst of the 2nd round and have 1, potentially 2 lottery picks in this draft.

Having the best GM in the NBA is the reason why the Thunder will be a very successful team for the next decade.

Sam Presti had a plan and he executed it to perfection.

[TimeForChange]

A great video highlighting what Presti has done

Watch on YouTube

[TimeForChange]

Risacher was 5/16 today including 1/5 from 3

[Bruin]

Yikes

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?s=46

[TimeForChange]

Topic is back after his knee injury. I know he's been talked about a lot but If Raps crack top 4 , gotta seriously look at Topic as a possible pick. I understand the defense with him and IQ isnt ideal and they would get crushed today , but he will start as our back up where we severely need one. We gotta take BPA anyway. He isn't a distance shooter but high FT % and he masters the pick and roll with constant paint touches to create - both key staples for darko. 6'6" without shoes and 7' wingspan. Very fluid player

Read on Twitter

here is video of all of his plays, not only his highlights. this is from ABA play.

Watch on YouTube

he was not very good and definitely would not be a top-10 pick in a regular draft.

[WuTang_OG]

Topic is back after his knee injury. I know he's been talked about a lot but If Raps crack top 4 , gotta seriously look at Topic as a possible pick. I understand the defense with him and IQ isnt ideal and they would get crushed today , but he will start as our back up where we severely need one. We gotta take BPA anyway. He isn't a distance shooter but high FT % and he masters the pick and roll with constant paint touches to create - both key staples for darko. 6'6" without shoes and 7' wingspan. Very fluid player

Read on Twitter

here is video of all of his plays, not only his highlights. this is from ABA play.

Watch on YouTube

he was not very good and definitely would not be a top-10 pick in a regular draft.

He was good for being off 3 months. The skill is undeniable.

[TimeForChange]

Topic is back after his knee injury. I know he's been talked about a lot but If Raps crack top 4 , gotta seriously look at Topic as a possible pick. I understand the defense with him and IQ isnt ideal and they would get crushed today , but he will start as our back up where we severely need one. We gotta take BPA anyway. He isn't a distance shooter but high FT % and he masters the pick and roll with constant paint touches to create - both key staples for darko. 6'6" without shoes and 7' wingspan. Very fluid player

Read on Twitter

here is video of all of his plays, not only his highlights. this is from ABA play.

Watch on YouTube

he was not very good and definitely would not be a top-10 pick in a regular draft.

He was good for being off 3 months. The skill is undeniable.

he is a good passer. he cannot defend and is a poor finisher at the rim. I don't even think he is a Masai guy with a 6'6" wingspan.

again, in a normal draft he is not a lotto pick. in this draft, sure he goes top 10.

[CazOnReal]

An aside but it's kind of weird that a team like the Thunder will likely be in the midst of the 2nd round and have 1, potentially 2 lottery picks in this draft.

Having the best GM in the NBA is the reason why the Thunder will be a very successful team for the next decade.

Sam Presti had a plan and he executed it to perfection.

I would wait for the Thunder to make a Conference Finals appearance before congratulating them on a successful rebuild - especially when upcoming cap decisions that'll need to be made are what led to Presti's biggest failure as a GM by breaking up the trio of Harden/Westbrook/Durant around a decade ago.

Yes, they're the 1 seed right now but as the 2018 Raptors demonstrated, that doesn't mean you're guaranteed any playoff success, and it certainly doesn't guarantee a championship. Hell, the last game was a close one against a Pelicans team that lacked Zion/had a not great Brandon Ingram game.

Yes, they have a lot of assets but while I do trust Presti more than, say, the 76ers series of blundering GMs to make use of them, the way he plans to use them as cheap depth rather than potential trade fodder to get them the final piece for a bonafide contender could backfire if they miss out on grabbing someone who could push them in to that category in favor of an "organic" approach to teambuilding via the draft.

[WuTang_OG]

here is video of all of his plays, not only his highlights. this is from ABA play.

Watch on YouTube

he was not very good and definitely would not be a top-10 pick in a regular draft.

He was good for being off 3 months. The skill is undeniable.

he is a good passer. he cannot defend and is a poor finisher at the rim. I don't even think he is a Masai guy with a 6'6" wingspan.

again, in a normal draft he is not a lotto pick. in this draft, sure he goes top 10.

There's not one player that can run a PandR like him in the last few drafts. Also shoots 68% at the rim which is high. He's an easy top 10 in prior drafts. SA is going to be all over him this year. Biggest issue with him is the defense but a jumbo guard is actually the type of player Masai been looking for years.

[CazOnReal]

Topic's biggest problem to me - if he was added to this Raptors squad - is the defense.

Even if you assume Quickley's defense is going to bounce back to the impact he normally made on the Knicks, Nikola is a poor defender for his size and his playmaking/shooting potential off-ball don't project to make up for his defensive deficiency. Unless the plan is to have him be our 6th man a la Mathurin on the 2022/23 Pacers, I don't see him being our choice. And if he is our choice, we need to get a 4/5 that can start (I like Dunn but his shooting makes it really hard to put him in that spot alongside Poeltl at the 5)

I'll say it again: If his name didn't remind people of the Joker, he wouldn't be a consensus Top 10 pick in this draft.

[Rapsfan07]

I don't think the right path is to shoot for the moon.

To me it's got to be hybrid. Especially if we keep the lottery pick. Half big swings, half safe and hope we hit on both and hope at least one hits.

That's kind of what I'm saying.

What I don't want us to do is take big swings with all of our picks. The reason I don't mind swinging for the fences at the top is because at that part of the draft, there isn't much consensus at who is going where. Everyone except probably Sarr and Dillingham have significant holes in their game so you might as well take the guy you like the best, who you think has the easiest flaws to fix and the shortest path to being a star. For me, that guy is Ron Holland. Even if he doesn't become a star, he's a 3pt jumpshot away from being a starting quality two way wing in this league, which is great value in this draft at #6.

However, as you get down later into the draft, there seems to be a few players who look like they could carve out important roles in an NBA rotation. Since we have to pay Quickley this summer and Barnes the next, while being on the hook for Poeltl and Barrett already, I would value guys who have the highest chance at becoming solid two way role players over guys who have a small chance at breaking out as stars. Because for me at this stage, it's far more important that we're hitting on picks than hitting big on picks. We just can't afford to walk away with nothing is what I'm really trying to say.

[Rapsfan07]

Spurs Topic makes too much sense

Yep. Pretty damn sure he ends up a Spur. They're in desperate need of a PG and an international one in the hands of Pop who can spam the PnR with Wemby is a no brainer.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Topic's biggest problem to me - if he was added to this Raptors squad - is the defense.

Even if you assume Quickley's defense is going to bounce back to the impact he normally made on the Knicks, Nikola is a poor defender for his size and his playmaking/shooting potential off-ball don't project to make up for his defensive deficiency. Unless the plan is to have him be our 6th man a la Mathurin on the 2022/23 Pacers, I don't see him being our choice. And if he is our choice, we need to get a 4/5 that can start (I like Dunn but his shooting makes it really hard to put him in that spot alongside Poeltl at the 5)

I'll say it again: If his name didn't remind people of the Joker, he wouldn't be a consensus Top 10 pick in this draft.

That last sentence is possibly the worst take in this thread.

[Hansari]

Topic's biggest problem to me - if he was added to this Raptors squad - is the defense.

Even if you assume Quickley's defense is going to bounce back to the impact he normally made on the Knicks, Nikola is a poor defender for his size and his playmaking/shooting potential off-ball don't project to make up for his defensive deficiency. Unless the plan is to have him be our 6th man a la Mathurin on the 2022/23 Pacers, I don't see him being our choice. And if he is our choice, we need to get a 4/5 that can start (I like Dunn but his shooting makes it really hard to put him in that spot alongside Poeltl at the 5)

I'll say it again: If his name didn't remind people of the Joker, he wouldn't be a consensus Top 10 pick in this draft.

I do not like Topic and would not want us to draft him under any circumstances but come on bro, do better.

[bballsparkin]

I would wait for the Thunder to make a Conference Finals appearance before congratulating them on a successful rebuild - especially when upcoming cap decisions that'll need to be made are what led to Presti's biggest failure as a GM by breaking up the trio of Harden/Westbrook/Durant around a decade ago.

Yes, they're the 1 seed right now but as the 2018 Raptors demonstrated, that doesn't mean you're guaranteed any playoff success, and it certainly doesn't guarantee a championship. Hell, the last game was a close one against a Pelicans team that lacked Zion/had a not great Brandon Ingram game.

Yes, they have a lot of assets but while I do trust Presti more than, say, the 76ers series of blundering GMs to make use of them, the way he plans to use them as cheap depth rather than potential trade fodder to get them the final piece for a bonafide contender could backfire if they miss out on grabbing someone who could push them in to that category in favor of an "organic" approach to teambuilding via the draft.

I was thinking recently while pondering that OKC team, Presti should have traded Westbrook. Imagine the haul. Trade him to the Knicks or something. Build around Harden and KD with Ibaka. I like that trio much better. Perhaps too much hindsight in play.

Also, Presti can only do what he does with the consent of ownership. Not every GM can do that.

They're set pretty nicely though. True star: check. True sidekicks: seems so especially if Chet fills out and stays healhty. Plus all those assets. Not bad at all.