2019 NBA Draft Talk

Ranma · Post #161 » by **Ranma** » Thu May 2, 2019 6:07 am

ejftw · Post #162 » by **ejftw** » Thu May 2, 2019 11:16 pm

According to Adam Zagoria, we joined the Mavs yesterday to check out Shamorie Ponds (St Johns) at his workout facility.

Ranma · Post #163 » by **Ranma** » Fri May 3, 2019 12:44 am

ejftw wrote:According to Adam Zagoria, we joined the Mavs yesterday to check out Shamorie Ponds (St Johns) at his workout facility.

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Ranma · Post #164 » by **Ranma** » Fri May 3, 2019 4:57 pm

The Atlanta Hawks have two lottery picks currently projected at 5th and 9th overall as well as three picks fairly early in the second round at 35th, 41st and 42nd overall. The latter lottery pick comes from Dallas and is top-5 protected, so that pick reverts back to the Mavericks if it beats the lotto odds.

I doubt the Clippers would be interested in adding more young players to the team unless it was to fill out roster spots on the cheap unless or they somehow identify someone worth pursuing a la Luka Doncic last year. However, who says we can't acquire more picks to include in a trade for say Anthony Davis?

With this draft being considered a weak class and the Hawks not inclined to add so many young players, maybe we could convince Schlenk to trade the latter of the Hawks' two first-round picks for the 76ers' lottery-protected pick in 2020 acquired from the Tobias Harris trade with some filler added. However, it's more likely that the second-round selections would be available so maybe we can engage in the same present-for-future trade-in concept where Atlanta exchanges their current second-round picks for the future second-rounders from Detroit also acquired from the Harris trade and/or one(s) from the Clippers. Maybe a player like Tyrone Wallace would appeal to the Hawks.

Just spit-balling.

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Post #165 » by **TrueLAfan** » Sat May 4, 2019 1:26 am

It would not stun me if there was a certain player that management was interested in the 5-10 range. And if that player turned out to be available at #6...or even #9, I could see us making a trade of

Rome
Lower of 2020 Clipper pick/Philadelphia pick

For

#6 Atlanta Pick (Add in #35 pick if we go for #9 pick))

I know some people would think that this is giving up to much. But, really, this deal would be like trading a pick in the 20s (which is where I figure the pick should be in 2020) and a low lottery pick for a higher lottery pick. So it’s the kind of trade teams make pretty regularly.

And it’s the kind of trade teams make if they’re overloaded at a position and, like I started with, if there’s a desired player available. Let’s call that player Rui Hachimura for a second. He’s going anywhere from around 5 to 10 in most mocks. Let’s say that the front office liked him because—well, why not? Smart player, can play both forward positions, has range, great attitude, good ceiling, works hard. Thing is, he’d bring that to a position where we need it…even if we get Kawhi. Because…who is our backup SF is we get Kawhi Leonard? Gallo? Then … who is a backup PF? Hachimura solves position issues.

And, look, Rome is our #5 guard. He's part of a position issue. I think he’ll develop into a good player in this league…but, right now, he’s on a team with two better young guards, the league’s best sixth man of the league who plays both guard positions, and an all grit and gut guy that‘s considered the heart of the team. Atlanta has Trae Young and Kevin Huerter—who isn’t a scorer--and Kent Bazemore, who is overpaid and on his final contract year. I mean—Rome could get more burn there. It would help Atlanta. And they’d get the first round pick in next year’s draft.

Like Ranma, just spit-balling.

ejftw · Post #166 » by **ejftw** » Sat May 4, 2019 6:04 pm

I don't give up that Miami pick, and would be hesitant to give up 'Rome, but if we can move up to snag Bruno or Okpala, I'd be all over that. Granted, those two would be available around the 8-12 slots.

Ranma · Post #167 » by **Ranma** » Sat May 4, 2019 7:44 pm

ejftw wrote:According to Adam Zagoria, we joined the Mavs yesterday to check out Shamorie Ponds (St Johns) at his workout facility.

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Vae Victus · Post #168 » by **Vae Victus** » Sat May 4, 2019 10:22 pm

TrueLAfan wrote:It would not stun me if there was a certain player that management was interested in the 5-10 range. And if that player turned out to be available at #6...or even #9, I could see us making a trade of

Rome
Lower of 2020 Clipper pick/Philadelphia pick

For

#6 Atlanta Pick (Add in #35 pick if we go for #9 pick))

I know some people would think that this is giving up to much. But, really, this deal would be like trading a pick in the 20s (which is where I figure the pick should be in 2020) and a low lottery pick for a higher lottery pick. So it’s the kind of trade teams make pretty regularly.

And it’s the kind of trade teams make if they’re overloaded at a position and, like I started with, if there’s a desired player available. Let’s call that player Rui Hachimura for a second. He’s going anywhere from around 5 to 10 in most mocks. Let’s say that the front office liked him because—well, why not? Smart player, can play both forward positions, has range, great attitude, good ceiling, works hard. Thing is, he’d bring that to a position where we need it…even if we get Kawhi. Because…who is our backup SF is we get Kawhi Leonard? Gallo? Then … who is a backup PF? Hachimura solves position issues.

And, look, Rome is our #5 guard. He's part of a position issue. I think he’ll develop into a good player in this league…but, right now, he’s on a team with two better young guards, the league’s best sixth man of the league who plays both guard positions, and an all grit and gut guy that‘s considered the heart of the team. Atlanta has Trae Young and Kevin Huerter—who isn’t a scorer--and Kent Bazemore, who is overpaid and on his final contract year. I mean—Rome could get more burn there. It would help Atlanta. And they’d get the first round pick in next year’s draft.

Like Ranma, just spit-balling.

Yea i dont see this happening at all. JRobinson has literally no trade value, as so far he's done nothing and that 2020 LAC or PHI is gonna be like 22-26 range at best, so its literally offering ATL scraps for a high value asset. JRobinson doesnt really fit their roster either as they already have someone similar in Huerter. I'm sure they'd rather go get themselves either a long term PG/SF/C prospect with high upside rather than take that package. Now if MIA 2021 was involved instead, id see them intrigued as all hell for the #9 pick and the folks left on the board arent that exciting for them.

Ranma · Post #169 » by **Ranma** » Sun May 5, 2019 1:11 am

Vae Victus wrote:Yea i dont see this happening at all. JRobinson has literally no trade value, as so far he's done nothing and that 2020 LAC or PHI is gonna be like 22-26 range at best, so its literally offering ATL scraps for a high value asset. JRobinson doesnt really fit their roster either as they already have someone similar in Huerter. I'm sure they'd rather go get themselves either a long term PG/SF/C prospect with high upside rather than take that package. Now if MIA 2021 was involved instead, id see them intrigued as all hell for the #9 pick and the folks left on the board arent that exciting for them.

While it remains to be seen what the 2020 draft class will actually look like, it's projected to be better than the 2019 class since this year's crop is considered weak as I've mentioned. One could possibly argue that a mid-to-late 2019 lottery pick would hold similar value to a pick in the middle of the first-round (practically late lottery) to the mid-20's in the projected 2020 class.

Of course, given the uncertainty of the 2020 class, one would argue that a GM would typically prioritize making a pick now rather than waiting to make one later with all things being equal, however, as noted in the tweets above, the Hawks have too many draft picks or at least their GM seems to be implying as much. Now he could be looking to move some of them for veteran players, but it's also not out of the realm of possibility that he'd be open to moving picks for ones later on down the road.

Obviously, Schlenk will attempt to argue a lottery pick in 2019 should be worth at least an unprotected first-rounder anticipated to be in the lottery within the next year or two, but again, that is unlikely to happen with deeper classes coming. The top 10 in the 2020 class already looks more promising than most of what's outside the top 3 in the 2019 class. The 2021 class with the aforementioned unprotected Miami pick looks to be deep and chock-full of 5-star prep prospects while the 2022 class is targeted to be the end of the one-and-done rule where high-school prospects will again be eligible for the draft.

Personally, if I had too many draft picks and could unload the 9th overall pick in this upcoming draft for future unprotected first-round picks, I'd do it as long as one of those future picks was in the 2022 class and the other in the 2021 class, depending on the team(s) whose native picks belong to. With most having the top 3 prospects on their own tier(s) in terms of talent/value, the 5th and 9th picks should hold fairly similar value. In fact, one could argue that the 9th pick has possibly more value by selecting a similar or even better talent at a lower draft slot and paying him less. Of course, teams have their own draft boards and value prospects differently, but like I said, the current consensus opinion has little differentiation with picks outside of the top 3 but within the top 10.

Things could and likely will change once pre-draft camp opens and more evaluation is employed to distinguish prospects from each other. Teams might be wowed by the workouts of Cam Reddish, Nassir Little and/or Romeo Langford to vault them back up draft boards since those prospects underperformed from a production standpoint this season and that will likely happen for at least one of them given their respective skill sets work better in a workout environment.

Having said that, I agree with you that Jerome Robinson's trade value is at a low point right now, but that doesn't mean that he literally has no trade value. Like TrueLAfan said, he was a rookie stuck behind others on a roster loaded with guard depth. We know the kid can shoot and it's only a matter of confidence for him. An off-season of workouts after having a taste of what it takes to make it as a pro first-hand should do wonders for his adjustments for next season. Rome has similar upside to Landry Shamet, who certainly has value in this league, especially given that teams are always looking to add capable shooters to their roster.

Also, the Clippers reached for JR late in the lottery precisely because the Nuggets, Wizards and Bucks had given him strong consideration with their respective selections in the teens of the 2018 draft. Our front office saw something in him and I would assume those aforementioned teams still do given that they understand the circumstances for him this season. At the same time, Rome likely has more value to the Clippers right now than he does to other teams.

Plus, the Hawks and Clippers considered swapping the 12th or 13th overall pick for the 19th and 30th overall selections last year until it became apparent that Rome wasn't going to be available at 19th overall, so the front offices are familiar with each other in terms of draft-day negotiations. A deal between the Hawks and Clippers may not go down exactly as TrueLAfan prescribed but it certainly is a possibility IMO. Honestly, I don't think his proposal is that far-fetched given what the Clippers almost pulled off in a deeper class.

Just think where guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Mikal Bridges would be picked in the 2019 class based on their 2018 standings. Similarly, Zhaire Smith and Lonnie Walker would have easily cracked the lottery in 2019.

Quake Griffin · Post #170 » by **Quake Griffin** » Sun May 5, 2019 2:28 am

How annoying that would be if we ended up trading into the first round of this draft after all.

Unbelievable.

Post #171 » by **TrueLAfan** » Sun May 5, 2019 2:11 pm

I think Rome has value for the reasons Ranma said in his excellent post, so I don’t think offering him and a future pick likely to be in the 20s for a mid to low lottery pick is a huge reach. I also think that both Huerter and Bembry will continue to get a decent amount of minutes at SF, which means Atlanta’s guards are Trae Young and Bazemore. (I personally think Bazemore will get traded for … something.) And neither Huerter nor Bembry are really scorers so—again—I think Rome helps a positional need for them. I could totally be wrong, but it’s not a crazy thought. Again, spit balling.

My main point is that, if there’s somebody that the FO is really interested in, we could find a way to get that person. I don’t think it’s super likely since, as others have noted, this draft isn’t a particularly good one (especially below the top 10 players). But it could happen. And I really don’t think a pick in the 20s this year would help or have helped us much; it’s not just that this is a fairly weak draft, it’s that we have a logjam at PG/SG, which takes 40%+ of players off the table. If we really want to go that route, I’d be (much) more interested in a high second round pick … like that #35 from Atlanta. One of the guys projected in the 20s will drop down there and will be worth a camp invitation and a potential non-guaranteed deal as opposed to a rookie scale deal.