2022 NBA Draft Talk: Never too soon

[Sephiroth]

Jovic at 19 and Kessler, later in the first round (via trade), would be a perfect draft for me.

[Krapinsky]

Guys I like as potential trade up targets should they fall into the late lottery:

Mathurin -- prototypical wing scorer with plus length. He'll be a 10 plus year starter in the league with all-star upside.
Duren -- I see him as one of the higher upside players in the draft if he can put it all together. Robert Williams is my comp for him.

Guys I like at 19 if we stand put in order of preference:

Jaylen Williams - might be out of our reach post combine since his advanced skill set stood out in that setting. Feels like he's destined to be a Spur.
Kennedy Chandler - I think he's underrated and i'm not sure why. Reminds me of Darius Garland a bit with perhaps a lesser bag of tricks. He's probably the guy we should pick given our current roster construction.
Jaden Hardy - he would be stuck in Ant's shadow and not a great fit, but if he's around in the late first his upside is probably too good to pass up that late int he draft. Reminds me of Eric Gordon.
Nikola Jovic - i'm not entirely sold on him. I think offensively he is more of a face up 3 and defensively he probably needs to be a 4. If he was more of a passer I would be more excited. I can't help but see Kyle Kuzma as his ceiling, but at 19 in the draft that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

Guys I like in the second round:

Wendell Moore -- has good size and a well rounded game for a wing. Doesn't try to do too much like some of the score first wings that populate this draft pool. He can fit on any team and seems like a rare second rounder that could crack a rotation early on.

Iverson Molinar -- not sure what happened to his 3 point shot last year, but if he can revert back to the mean then I like him as a back up point guard with the potential to be a fill-in starter.

Dereon Seabron -- this guy excites me as much as any player in the draft. His fatal flaw is he can't shoot a lick but he fills up the box score and attacks the rim as well as anyone in the draft. I can't help but see flashes of Ja Morant in his game. Worst case scenario he is a microwave scorer off the bench that can play make and rebound.

[Devilzsidewalk]

He has exceptional mobility and agility for 6'10". Not much leaping ability, but that is fine.

Watch on YouTube

Good handle. He sure seems to love the step back jumper.

Yeah he's got some moves doesn't he. McDaniels/Jovic could be a very interesting combo of skill, length, and mobility at forward, I'd just be super concerned about rebounding and defending the paint. It'd make it super hard to guard KAT with forwards anymore though.

[Guidus88]

I would love to trade-up to select Sochan!

[shangrila]

Nice list Krap. Here's mine;

At 19:
EJ Liddell - Just a perfect fit between value and...well, fit. Brings so much that we're currently lacking and his archetype is having a huge impact in the playoffs right now. Worry about his size a little offensively but even if he's never a high % guy around the rim, his shooting and IQ will make him effective on that end.

Kennedy Chandler - Speedy PG that's a pest defensively, would make for a good heir apparent to Bev. Undersized by modern day standards but I think he's fine, especially with a few years of added muscle. He really needs to work on his floater too, especially as a smaller guy, but the feel, finishing and defence are all there, with encouraging signs in shooting too.

Dalen Terry - 6-7 combo guard with an insane AST/TO ratio. Low usage, so maybe not a star, but he's a good defender, excellent playmaker and has enough shooting to play off ball. If we really want to run a switching defence, this is a guy we'd love to have. And his personality is apparently A+, which is always good. Can never have enough hype men.

Tari Eason - I've seen him dropping so I'll throw him here. Can't argue with the numbers, as he had a monstrous defensive season and had the shooting %s to back it up on the other end. I do think he's a bigger project than most are willing to admit; he has no left hand whatsoever, whether dribbling or laying it up, and he's got some real IQ concerns on both ends (his defence is impressive but more instinctual with some bad errors throughout the season). If we buy our development program, and we should given how much they're investing in it, he makes a lot of sense.

TyTy Washington - I'm sort of 50-50 on him, because in a lot of ways he reminds of DLo. There's two main swing factors for me that someone in my position won't be able to know; 1. How much did the ankle injury he played through affect him? and 2. What is his defence like fully healthy? Because offensively we've seen how a guy like DLo can fit, and I'd argue Washington might be an even better fit (he's got similar issues finishing but IMO has a significantly better floater. Similar to Maxey coming out). But if he's got the same issues defensively then there's not much point since he's a little shorter (6-3 with a 6-8 wingspan, VS DLo's 6-5 and 6-10) and offers less positional versatility. But if the defence is there, and I remember his high school scouting reports noted he was a good defender, then he'd be a great piece to put around Ant and KAT.


In the second:
JD Davison/Jean Montero - Similar calibre PG prospects though slightly different stylistically. Both would be good as speedy guards that can get us into sets quickly, which IIRC was the reason given for benching DLo for JMac, while offering some interesting peripheral skills (Montero pull-up scoring, Davison athleticism/rebounding).

Dereon Seabron - Agree with Krap, this guy is weird but fun. Saw him described as a heat seeking missile to the rim and I love that. The rest of his game needs work but if you're in that late 2nd range it's worthwhile gambling on someone with an elite skill and hoping you can round out the rest of their game.

Pat Baldwin Jr - The athletic testing was disastrous but I'd still be willing to gamble on a potentially great 6-10 shooter with a late 2nd.

Max Christie/Caleb Houstan/Josh Minott/Dominick Barlow - All sort of similar archetypes in that they're young, were highly recruited but struggled (or was in OTE in Barlow's case). All worth taking chances on, as Christie seems like an ideal 3&D guy, Houston is similar (though I buy him more as a shooter and less as a defender compared to Christie), Minott is an athletic defensive guy with intriguing flashes offensively and Barlow seems like maybe a 3&D 4.


Guys I'm out on:
Nikola Jovic - Just don't buy the athleticism. Defensively he's likely to be a train wreck and I can't see him improving much, whereas offensively the skill is ok but nowhere near good enough to compensate.

Jaden Hardy - Don't buy the archetype (inefficient high volume guards). He's not fast enough to beat guys off the dribble and is unlikely to be a good defender. He should be a good shooter, but I don't see that being anywhere near enough.

Hugo Besson - Just avoid. Old unathletic guard that's still got stupid turnover and efficiency problems.

And just for fun...Jaden Ivey and AJ Griffin - Ivey is an athlete and little else. I don't buy the shooting, his passing is non-existent (anyone that calls him a PG is looking at his height rather than his game) and his defence is horrific. He's a poor man's Morant and I'm that's not a valuable player.

Griffin brings nothing aside from the shooting, which is great to be fair. But his defence, playmaking and self-creation just aren't there. Mainly due to his athleticism issues, which he might be able to turn around depending on how much the knee was still affecting him. If not though I expect he'll have a long career on a long list of different teams. And that's fine for him, but sucks for whichever team drafts him top 10.

[minimus]

Jovic at 19 and Kessler, later in the first round (via trade), would be a perfect draft for me.

Yeah, it would be perfect!

[minimus]

He has exceptional mobility and agility for 6'10". Not much leaping ability, but that is fine.

Watch on YouTube

Good handle. He sure seems to love the step back jumper.

Yeah he's got some moves doesn't he. McDaniels/Jovic could be a very interesting combo of skill, length, and mobility at forward, I'd just be super concerned about rebounding and defending the paint. It'd make it super hard to guard KAT with forwards anymore though.

I like this type of thinking. We are looking sometimes too much in weaknesses of prospect how have unique skills. Especially non lottery picks. Let's say Jokic can hit 3s with average NBA efficiency AND play within our high paced offense, e.g. run, shoot. Towns, Ant, MCD and Jovic will be unstoppable.

In this particular case how opponent can stop two oversized wings who can shoot over average wings and run better than average big.

[Devilzsidewalk]

Nice list Krap. Here's mine;

At 19:
EJ Liddell - Just a perfect fit between value and...well, fit. Brings so much that we're currently lacking and his archetype is having a huge impact in the playoffs right now. Worry about his size a little offensively but even if he's never a high % guy around the rim, his shooting and IQ will make him effective on that end.

Kennedy Chandler - Speedy PG that's a pest defensively, would make for a good heir apparent to Bev. Undersized by modern day standards but I think he's fine, especially with a few years of added muscle. He really needs to work on his floater too, especially as a smaller guy, but the feel, finishing and defence are all there, with encouraging signs in shooting too.

Dalen Terry - 6-7 combo guard with an insane AST/TO ratio. Low usage, so maybe not a star, but he's a good defender, excellent playmaker and has enough shooting to play off ball. If we really want to run a switching defence, this is a guy we'd love to have. And his personality is apparently A+, which is always good. Can never have enough hype men.

Tari Eason - I've seen him dropping so I'll throw him here. Can't argue with the numbers, as he had a monstrous defensive season and had the shooting %s to back it up on the other end. I do think he's a bigger project than most are willing to admit; he has no left hand whatsoever, whether dribbling or laying it up, and he's got some real IQ concerns on both ends (his defence is impressive but more instinctual with some bad errors throughout the season). If we buy our development program, and we should given how much they're investing in it, he makes a lot of sense.

TyTy Washington - I'm sort of 50-50 on him, because in a lot of ways he reminds of DLo. There's two main swing factors for me that someone in my position won't be able to know; 1. How much did the ankle injury he played through affect him? and 2. What is his defence like fully healthy? Because offensively we've seen how a guy like DLo can fit, and I'd argue Washington might be an even better fit (he's got similar issues finishing but IMO has a significantly better floater. Similar to Maxey coming out). But if he's got the same issues defensively then there's not much point since he's a little shorter (6-3 with a 6-8 wingspan, VS DLo's 6-5 and 6-10) and offers less positional versatility. But if the defence is there, and I remember his high school scouting reports noted he was a good defender, then he'd be a great piece to put around Ant and KAT.


In the second:
JD Davison/Jean Montero - Similar calibre PG prospects though slightly different stylistically. Both would be good as speedy guards that can get us into sets quickly, which IIRC was the reason given for benching DLo for JMac, while offering some interesting peripheral skills (Montero pull-up scoring, Davison athleticism/rebounding).

Dereon Seabron - Agree with Krap, this guy is weird but fun. Saw him described as a heat seeking missile to the rim and I love that. The rest of his game needs work but if you're in that late 2nd range it's worthwhile gambling on someone with an elite skill and hoping you can round out the rest of their game.

Pat Baldwin Jr - The athletic testing was disastrous but I'd still be willing to gamble on a potentially great 6-10 shooter with a late 2nd.

Max Christie/Caleb Houstan/Josh Minott/Dominick Barlow - All sort of similar archetypes in that they're young, were highly recruited but struggled (or was in OTE in Barlow's case). All worth taking chances on, as Christie seems like an ideal 3&D guy, Houston is similar (though I buy him more as a shooter and less as a defender compared to Christie), Minott is an athletic defensive guy with intriguing flashes offensively and Barlow seems like maybe a 3&D 4.


Guys I'm out on:
Nikola Jovic - Just don't buy the athleticism. Defensively he's likely to be a train wreck and I can't see him improving much, whereas offensively the skill is ok but nowhere near good enough to compensate.

Jaden Hardy - Don't buy the archetype (inefficient high volume guards). He's not fast enough to beat guys off the dribble and is unlikely to be a good defender. He should be a good shooter, but I don't see that being anywhere near enough.

Hugo Besson - Just avoid. Old unathletic guard that's still got stupid turnover and efficiency problems.

And just for fun...Jaden Ivey and AJ Griffin - Ivey is an athlete and little else. I don't buy the shooting, his passing is non-existent (anyone that calls him a PG is looking at his height rather than his game) and his defence is horrific. He's a poor man's Morant and I'm that's not a valuable player.

Griffin brings nothing aside from the shooting, which is great to be fair. But his defence, playmaking and self-creation just aren't there. Mainly due to his athleticism issues, which he might be able to turn around depending on how much the knee was still affecting him. If not though I expect he'll have a long career on a long list of different teams. And that's fine for him, but sucks for whichever team drafts him top 10.

I'm interested in Davison - I think that's a great gamble. I like the idea of taking a high pedigree HS player that might still be good, but maybe wasn't quite ready to flash. Maybe needs a little longer to develop the right work ethic or whatever.

I guess you could apply that to Baldwin too, but I just have a hard time finding that athletic gear that MPJ has, which is the comparison people want to make. MPJ came up as a high flyer with a jump shot. He was a wing at all times. Baldwin plays more like a stretch 4 as far as I can see. I'm not super optimistic about his shot-creation. He looks more like Kyle Anderson than MPJ. Maybe not quite slo-mo, but medium-mo.

[shangrila]

The idea that Baldwin could be anything like MPJ at this point should be forgotten. He's (hopefully) a 6-10 guy that can hit 40% of his 3s. That's interesting enough to take a gamble on at 48/50, but I wouldn't have any hope of him being more than that. He's got no self-creation or defence, nor is he much of a rebounder.

And Davison could be nuts if he developed properly, yeah. Athleticism like that makes him a one man fast break potentially. But he's still so raw that he's probably a 2-3 year project at minimum.

[KGdaBom]

He has exceptional mobility and agility for 6'10". Not much leaping ability, but that is fine.

Watch on YouTube

Good handle. He sure seems to love the step back jumper.

Yeah he's got some moves doesn't he. McDaniels/Jovic could be a very interesting combo of skill, length, and mobility at forward, I'd just be super concerned about rebounding and defending the paint. It'd make it super hard to guard KAT with forwards anymore though.

I'm actually not a fan of the step back jumper. If we select him I hope we can get him to use it less frequently.

[jpatrick]

EJ Liddell only scares me because of length. He’s 6’5.5” without shoes, 6’7” with shoes. 6’11” wingspan, which isn’t bad, but only 8’7.5” standing reach. That’s more SG reach than PF. Even Grant Williams, who people are comparing Liddell, had a slightly higher reach (8’8.5”). Im just not sure Liddell can be a starting PF with those measurements unless he compensated by being a knock down shooter, but last year was the first he made more than 1 three per game (1.4) and was at 37%. Not bad. But not knockdown.

I wouldn’t hate the pick because at 19 everyone has warts. I just might like others more.

[KGdaBom]

EJ Liddell only scares me because of length. He’s 6’5.5” without shoes, 6’7” with shoes. 6’11” wingspan, which isn’t bad, but only 8’7.5” standing reach. That’s more SG reach than PF. Even Grant Williams, who people are comparing Liddell, had a slightly higher reach (8’8.5”). Im just not sure Liddell can be a starting PF with those measurements unless he compensated by being a knock down shooter, but last year was the first he made more than 1 three per game (1.4) and was at 37%. Not bad. But not knockdown.

I wouldn’t hate the pick because at 19 everyone has warts. I just might like others more.

Sir Charles was shorter and he did OK at the PF, but yeah I'm with you. Not many like Sir Charles.

[Dewey]

I like Jovic - especially if he’s there at 19 (unlikely). I’m a big Bird fan and does some bird-like things IMO, but at the same time, he’s no Bird. He just seems like a player that sees and anticipates… things the lessor athletes need to have to succeed. I’d trade up for him if necessary. Not a silver bullet but a dam good ball player.

[jpatrick]

I like Jovic - especially if he’s there at 19 (unlikely). I’m a big Bird fan and does some bird-like things IMO, but at the same time, he’s no Bird. He just seems like a player that sees and anticipates… things the lessor athletes need to have to succeed. I’d trade up for him if necessary. Not a silver bullet but a dam good ball player.

I would be shocked if Jovic is gone before 19. I’ve seen him mocked in the second round quite a few times. To me I don’t see any way he has the agility to stay in front of modern PFs and will be horrific on defense, which we can’t afford with a non-rim protector at center.

[Dewey]

I like Jovic - especially if he’s there at 19 (unlikely). I’m a big Bird fan and does some bird-like things IMO, but at the same time, he’s no Bird. He just seems like a player that sees and anticipates… things the lessor athletes need to have to succeed. I’d trade up for him if necessary. Not a silver bullet but a dam good ball player.

I would be shocked if Jovic is gone before 19. I’ve seen him mocked in the second round quite a few times. To me I don’t see any way he has the agility to stay in front of modern PFs and will be horrific on defense, which we can’t afford with a non-rim protector at center.

Ya he’s not gonna be a lockdown defender but he’ll handle zone in space if he wants minutes … I’d bet you the tab at the local tavern he’ll be adequate. But again, he still leaves us needing that interior defensive bigger version of Vandy

[jpatrick]

Just had an Arizona game on in the background while working. Wanted to see Dalen Terry. He’s the type of player I really want to love. Was hoping to get Dyson Daniels vibes from him.

Don’t hate him. Very long guard. Clear defensive potential. Plays unselfish. Isn’t going to be a creator. Shot went in during this game but stroke isn’t pretty. Actually both the stroke and his game give me strong Culver vibes. I wouldn’t be shocked if he had gone back for another year, he’d break out as a college player. He’s young for a sophomore. Just didn’t love him. I don’t see the shot translating. Didn’t see him breaking anyone done with his handle. Good but not elite athlete.

Another guy that wouldn’t hate at 19 but not going to pound the table for him either.

[Klomp]

Everyone is so focused on the swing forwards and bigs because that's arguably the biggest current team need, but I like the idea of projecting ahead for future team needs and allowing guys to grow into their roles rather than pushing them ahead before they're ready.

A lot of people say we don't need guards because of the volume of depth at the moment, but I'm just not sure any roles are cemented long-term except Edwards. I think guards and wings absolutely need to be on the target radar.

[Baseline81]

Everyone is so focused on the swing forwards and bigs because that's arguably the biggest current team need, but I like the idea of projecting ahead for future team needs and allowing guys to grow into their roles rather than pushing them ahead before they're ready.

A lot of people say we don't need guards because of the volume of depth at the moment, but I'm just not sure any roles are cemented long-term except Edwards. I think guards and wings absolutely need to be on the target radar.

It's why a week or so ago I asked about the two PG prospects. Any chance Chandler can be a smaller Garland?

[jpatrick]

Everyone is so focused on the swing forwards and bigs because that's arguably the biggest current team need, but I like the idea of projecting ahead for future team needs and allowing guys to grow into their roles rather than pushing them ahead before they're ready.

A lot of people say we don't need guards because of the volume of depth at the moment, but I'm just not sure any roles are cemented long-term except Edwards. I think guards and wings absolutely need to be on the target radar.

It's why a week or so ago I asked about the two PG prospects. Any chance Chandler can be a smaller Garland?

I mean anything’s possible but I don’t see it. Garland was considered the best high school shooter in that class, had a tight handle, and some PG skills. But his calling card was shooting. He was injured early in his freshman year, but in the ten or so games he did play, he shot nearly 50% from three on nearly five attempts per game.

I sense Chandler is a better athlete than Garland. And while he shot well as a freshman, neither his volume nor percentage indicates he’s the same shooter as Garland. He seems more like a slightly bigger JMac with maybe a better jumper. That’s a good player. Is it a starting PG at 6’, I’m not sure.

[NebWolvesFan]

Everyone is so focused on the swing forwards and bigs because that's arguably the biggest current team need, but I like the idea of projecting ahead for future team needs and allowing guys to grow into their roles rather than pushing them ahead before they're ready.

A lot of people say we don't need guards because of the volume of depth at the moment, but I'm just not sure any roles are cemented long-term except Edwards. I think guards and wings absolutely need to be on the target radar.

It's why a week or so ago I asked about the two PG prospects. Any chance Chandler can be a smaller Garland?

I mean anything’s possible but I don’t see it. Garland was considered the best high school shooter in that class, had a tight handle, and some PG skills. But his calling card was shooting. He was injured early in his freshman year, but in the ten or so games he did play, he shot nearly 50% from three on nearly five attempts per game.

I sense Chandler is a better athlete than Garland. And while he shot well as a freshman, neither his volume nor percentage indicates he’s the same shooter as Garland. He seems more like a slightly bigger JMac with maybe a better jumper. That’s a good player. Is it a starting PG at 6’, I’m not sure.

I like Chandler and think he will play in the league a long time, but he's probably a back-up point guard - like a Brunson. I wouldn't use a first for a player that's unlikely to be a starter on a playoff team - at least not for a few years at least. If he drops to 40 because of his size or falls far enough that Minnesota can trade a couple seconds to get him, I would be excited.