The (way too early) 2024 Draft thread. Woo! Tanking!

[Hibachi_0]

Now starts the final of the U19 World Cup between France and Spain. Yesterday France eliminated USA. Good oportunity to see Risacher, Almansa or Miller. The one from France I"m liking the most, surprisingly, is not Risacher but Melvin Ajinça.

[gambitx777]

I read a goofy take on the General Board that made me chuckle at first...then had me thinking.

Whatever team takes Bronny (i'm assuming he's going to declare) is going to have a nice trading chip to use if Lebron is serious about playing with his son. With Lebron being a free agent, it would make some sense for a team wanting to sign Lebron to draft his son.

Would it make sense to draft Bronny and use him to gain future assets from a team trying to sign Lebron? Probably not worth it but it would be funny as hell.

I think if anything you could soake some assets off of someone in a trade up. But I really don't see bronny being a top ten pick. In anyway if there wasn't pressure to play with his dad he should be a 2-3 year college guy with nil money making that choice easy.

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[Hibachi_0]

After the U19 World Cup, the player that has surprised me the most is the french Melvin Ajinça (cousin of the former NBA center Alexis Ajinça). He is a strong 6'7" forward playing in the 2nd division in France. Right now, he doesn't appear in any 2024 mock but I'm sure he'll end up being picked. If he falls to the 2nd round, I would go for him 100%. Top 3&D potential.

This tournament he has averaged 19 points and 3 rebs, shooting 59% FG and 49% 3p (3.1/6.4). Defensively, he has shown he can defend the 2/3 efficiently and is strong enough to even defend the 4 in switches. Offensively, his shooting motion (lefty) is fluid off the ball and has shown some upside creating his own shoot (either midrange or three). Going to the basket, he is not "crafty" but has the physical tools to finish through contact. He goes right sometimes but clearly needs to improve. He is not a great passer, but is willing to find his teammates if they are in better position. Overall, he is still raw (he is one month older than Bilal) but has the tools to be a great 3&D.

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[doclinkin]

U19 finals MVP Jan Vide looks like a real player too. He will develop well playing on Real Madrid this year.

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Playing at UCLA for his freshman year.

[pancakes3]

Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn.

[nate33]

Tankathon is already assuming we will have the worst record and top pick, lol

[Rafael122]

The early word on this is that the draft is deep but doesn't have the tippy top talent like Zion, Wemby etc. I'm absolutely fine with trying to win this year and then tank '25 and '26 for the Flagg and Boozer drafts.

[badinage]

Would love to have Matas Buzelis.

Also? Every draft has gems. Every draft.

[verbal8]

I read a goofy take on the General Board that made me chuckle at first...then had me thinking.

Whatever team takes Bronny (i'm assuming he's going to declare) is going to have a nice trading chip to use if Lebron is serious about playing with his son. With Lebron being a free agent, it would make some sense for a team wanting to sign Lebron to draft his son.

Would it make sense to draft Bronny and use him to gain future assets from a team trying to sign Lebron? Probably not worth it but it would be funny as hell.

There will a couple factors there - one where in the draft he is slotted and two who would end up drafting him. If he is a top ten prospect, I think his draft position will almost solely be determined by the draft board for those teams. If he is more a late lotto pick, or just outside - I could definitely see the "Lebron bonus" being a big factor. I also think it would be much more likely for a big market team to actually get a "Lebron bonus" than say the Indiana Pacers.

[NatP4]

Starting to really like DJ Wagner now. Has a really quick first step, shot making/shot creation, really solid PG/passing skills, and great activity level/effort on D. Definitely more athletic than Collier, although doesn’t have the bully ball frame.

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[pcbothwel]

Starting to really like DJ Wagner now. Has a really quick first step, shot making/shot creation, really solid PG/passing skills, and great activity level/effort on D. Definitely more athletic than Collier, although doesn’t have the bully ball frame.

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Love the activity, but Im still concerned about his overall touch/feel/passing.
He's a willing passer, but I dont see the accuracy.
He has a great first step, but I dont see the creativity/touch near the basket.
He needs to slow down, because he has a Beal-like tendency where his mind moves faster than his body reacts and he loses balance/ball handling.

[pcbothwel]

The early word on this is that the draft is deep but doesn't have the tippy top talent like Zion, Wemby etc. I'm absolutely fine with trying to win this year and then tank '25 and '26 for the Flagg and Boozer drafts.

Im not big on tanking in the literal sense. I.E. Purposely jettison high character guys that can show young prospects how to be a pro, in hopes that you lose another 2-3 games.
The Rockets & Pistons tried that very clearly over the last two years, and both missed out on Paolo/Chet & Wemby/Miller/Scoot.

So long as we finish in the bottom 5-6, then you are in as good a position as anyone. To me, I'd much rather Bilal & Co have better teammates with respect to culture, preparation, practice, etc... than to lose an extra 3-4 games and have a few more ping pong balls.

[NatP4]

Very true. Don’t see the advanced feel for the game. Has some wild attempts once he gets to the rim, and sometimes looks like he’s playing hot potato with the ball, as opposed to creating open looks for teammates. Very much plays sped up, sometimes looks like Bones Hyland out there.

I’m trying to find the A level/blue chip lead guard prospect, and I don’t see anyone as of now. Collier has good feel for the game, but also looks floorbound, and simply stronger than most other high school kids. Already almost 19 years old.

Only guy I’m certain about so far, is Buzelis. Ridiculous talent. His feel for the game is off the charts. Looks like a Lithuanian KD out there.

[nate33]

Starting to really like DJ Wagner now. Has a really quick first step, shot making/shot creation, really solid PG/passing skills, and great activity level/effort on D. Definitely more athletic than Collier, although doesn’t have the bully ball frame.

Watch on YouTube

Love the activity, but Im still concerned about his overall touch/feel/passing.
He's a willing passer, but I dont see the accuracy.
He has a great first step, but I dont see the creativity/touch near the basket.
He needs to slow down, because he has a Beal-like tendency where his mind moves faster than his body reacts and he loses balance/ball handling.

Yeah, I wasn't all that impressed. He has a pretty poor handle for a PG and didn't do a good job of finding his teammates when he got into the paint. About the only thing I saw that was impressive was his first step. But that's not going to be a weapon until he can figure out how to finish around the rim or make passes to his teammates in tight spots.

On the other hand, he is just high school kid playing against what looked to be college-aged Germans. We will see how he develops at Kentucky.

[NatP4]

Castle is fun to watch. 6’9 wingspan. NBA body/NBA scoring ability, but I’ve yet to see any highlights of him actually passing the ball. Can score in isolation against anyone. Sometimes he looks like he could be SGA, but SGA has legit playmaking and was solid defensively. TBD

Reminds me of the Sensabaugh from last year.

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[NatP4]

Wagner also just turned 18 years old and weighs like 170 lbs, and is going against really good competition there. I was simply encouraged by his activity level defensively, and the first step, and off the dribble shotmaking.

There’s some upside, but he’s gotta get much stronger, and develop finishing ability, and the game needs to slow down a ton for him, but he was 17 years old a couple months ago.

[Dat2U]

Kentucky recruit Zvonimir Ivisic looks like a top 3 pick on tape so why is not getting at least some buzz as a top 10 pick???

[nate33]

Kentucky recruit Zvonimir Ivisic looks like a top 3 pick on tape so why is not getting at least some buzz as a top 10 pick???

Sounds like he was named by a random password generator lol.

His highlights are indeed impressive. The guy is huge, agile, has great fundamentals on his shot, and shows some pretty good basketball awareness. It'll be interesting to see how his defense holds up once he goes against bigger, stronger guys.

[barelyawake]

The early word on this is that the draft is deep but doesn't have the tippy top talent like Zion, Wemby etc. I'm absolutely fine with trying to win this year and then tank '25 and '26 for the Flagg and Boozer drafts.

Commissioner: For the second pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the reality algorithm has ironically selected (for would be savior of the nation’s capitol) a dude named Flagg.

[closg00]

Casey has click-bait titles, but I enjoyed his take on Flag, Boozer, and over-hyping young prospects.

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