2022 NBA Draft

[Ruzious]

18 year old 6'8" freak athlete with a great feel for the game Kendall Brown looks like a lock lottery pick when the draft roles around. His draft stock during the college season reminds me of Zach LaVine's, only less egregiously underrated.

How does anyone have Johnny Davis rated ahead of Bennedict Mathurin? As a college player? maybe...As an NBA prospect? How? Mathurin compares favorably to many that have found huge success in the pros. Jaylen Brown and Anthony Edwards most recently, Michael Finley as a name from the past.

I'm a huge fan of Kendall Brown's potential. I'd like to see him be given a bigger role - don't know if it's because he lacks that alpha quality or if it's just because he's so young.

It's college...Zach Lavine sat the bench in college and was still a lottery pick.

Minnesota T'Wolves Coach Flip Saunders Blasts Hoosier Loser Steve Alford for Misusing #13-Overall Pick Zach LaVine
https://www.bruinsnation.com/ucla_basketball/2014/6/26/5848306/nba-minnesota-flip-saunders-blasts-hoosier-loser-steve-alford-zach-lavine

Then there are guys like Johnny Davis who are given huge roles in college, people during the season have him as a top 5 pick, but I don't see prodigious enough of an NBA talent to justify that projection... He generally isn't the sort of prospect that I view as lottery material. He may be the most lackluster highest projected SG prospect that I've ever seen. He has skills, but he's a below the rim player that doesn't have range on his jumpshot and isn't a passer. Does he develop in the NBA without having plays called specifically for him? He isn't tall/lengthy for the position, but he already has an NBA body, what happens to him when the defenders are stronger and his strength advantage over college defenders is eleminated? Jaden Springer his freshman season had the same shot distribution Davis has this season. He's averaging 15.4ppg in the G league at 19 years old.

In fairness to Alford, his kid was a heckuva player at UCLA - and more of a PG than Lavine. At the 2, didn't UCLA have a really good scorer named Adams? I remember Lavine's freshman year - he got off to a terrific start, but when the schedule got harder, he fell off quite a bit. UCLA always had a plethora of quality guards back then.

[Duke4life831]

I'm a huge fan of Kendall Brown's potential. I'd like to see him be given a bigger role - don't know if it's because he lacks that alpha quality or if it's just because he's so young.

It's college...Zach Lavine sat the bench in college and was still a lottery pick.

Minnesota T'Wolves Coach Flip Saunders Blasts Hoosier Loser Steve Alford for Misusing #13-Overall Pick Zach LaVine
https://www.bruinsnation.com/ucla_basketball/2014/6/26/5848306/nba-minnesota-flip-saunders-blasts-hoosier-loser-steve-alford-zach-lavine

Then there are guys like Johnny Davis who are given huge roles in college, people during the season have him as a top 5 pick, but I don't see prodigious enough of an NBA talent to justify that projection... He generally isn't the sort of prospect that I view as lottery material. He may be the most lackluster highest projected SG prospect that I've ever seen. He has skills, but he's a below the rim player that doesn't have range on his jumpshot and isn't a passer. Does he develop in the NBA without having plays called specifically for him? He isn't tall/lengthy for the position, but he already has an NBA body, what happens to him when the defenders are stronger and his strength advantage over college defenders is eleminated? Jaden Springer his freshman season had the same shot distribution Davis has this season. He's averaging 15.4ppg in the G league at 19 years old.

In fairness to Alford, his kid was a heckuva player at UCLA - and more of a PG than Lavine. At the 2, didn't UCLA have a really good scorer named Adams? I remember Lavine's freshman year - he got off to a terrific start, but when the schedule got harder, he fell off quite a bit. UCLA always had a plethora of quality guards back then.

Ya that was a pretty stacked UCLA team.

Jordan Adams (soph): 1st team Pac 12
Kyle Anderson (soph)
Norman Powell (Jr)

Then you had LaVine and Alford. Those were their 5 perimeter players that year. And ya LaVine was super raw and inconsistent at the time. I actually think Alford did a hell of a job keeping all of them happy. Those 5 guys were the 5 leaders in FGAs and Adams took the most shots per game with just 12 per game.

I most definitely think Kendall Brown still goes in the lotto. You take a guy with that size and athleticism in the lotto. Just like you take someone like LaVine in the lotto based off the physical talent alone. But ya I was pretty high on Brown and still am because of his potential. But ya hard to overlook the complete lack of production from him. Just from the combination of size/athleticism/minutes he should be putting up better production, regardless of role.

[SelfishPlayer]

I'm a huge fan of Kendall Brown's potential. I'd like to see him be given a bigger role - don't know if it's because he lacks that alpha quality or if it's just because he's so young.

It's college...Zach Lavine sat the bench in college and was still a lottery pick.

Minnesota T'Wolves Coach Flip Saunders Blasts Hoosier Loser Steve Alford for Misusing #13-Overall Pick Zach LaVine
https://www.bruinsnation.com/ucla_basketball/2014/6/26/5848306/nba-minnesota-flip-saunders-blasts-hoosier-loser-steve-alford-zach-lavine

Then there are guys like Johnny Davis who are given huge roles in college, people during the season have him as a top 5 pick, but I don't see prodigious enough of an NBA talent to justify that projection... He generally isn't the sort of prospect that I view as lottery material. He may be the most lackluster highest projected SG prospect that I've ever seen. He has skills, but he's a below the rim player that doesn't have range on his jumpshot and isn't a passer. Does he develop in the NBA without having plays called specifically for him? He isn't tall/lengthy for the position, but he already has an NBA body, what happens to him when the defenders are stronger and his strength advantage over college defenders is eleminated? Jaden Springer his freshman season had the same shot distribution Davis has this season. He's averaging 15.4ppg in the G league at 19 years old.

In fairness to Alford, his kid was a heckuva player at UCLA - and more of a PG than Lavine. At the 2, didn't UCLA have a really good scorer named Adams? I remember Lavine's freshman year - he got off to a terrific start, but when the schedule got harder, he fell off quite a bit. UCLA always had a plethora of quality guards back then.

It's college basketball, I'm not invested. I just recall during November of that season looking at prospects projected to go in the lottery two years into the future. I clicked on freshman Zach Lavine, looked at one highlight and instantly knew that he was coming out that draft. No one at the time had him anywhere in the upcoming draft. The same thing is being done with a guy like Moussa Diabate. I only know about him by seeing him flash in a video unrelated to him. He looks like a first round talent. Draft websites too frequently totally exclude a few prospects every year mostly based upon "we don't think he's entering the draft."

[NYPiston]

Josh Hart is the name that I think of most with Davis. Davis appears to be a little bigger than Hart and a little more on ball oriented than Hart. But Hart leaving Villanova was an 18ppg guy. Not an elite defender, but a solid versatile defender. Not a great athlete but a solid one. Not a consistent shooter (ya I know Hart had some good 3pt seasons at Vill, but his FT shooting was the better indicator of his shooting ability). Now I think Davis is better with the ball in his hands, but again Im just not sold on how effective he will be as an ISO scorer against NBA competition. But I think his floor is a solid energy guard. Just not sure what his ceiling is and how likely he will hit it.

Again Ill admit Im most likely in the minority on this one with me mostly just being meh on him. Also to be clear, this isnt me saying I wouldnt draft him. Just not seeing a lotto talent with him. Probably roughly 18 and on is where I can see taking a shot on him.

I don't see the Hart comparison. Davis is a lot more versatile offensively than Hart was. Hart's scoring was beefed up at Villanova because of that high level ball movement/motion offense that Jay Wright runs which gets open shots for a lot of guys. Davis has a much bigger offensive burden to bear at Wisconsin in a slower tempo offense and draws a lot of defensive attention because he is THE focal point which is probably a part of the reason why his efficiency tends to come and go.

If I'm thinking of an average athlete that can score at all levels and also has that "dog" mentality, Devin Booker is the name that comes to mind. Booker is a better long range shooter but I see similarities in their movements, with that herky jerky way of creating shot separation, and shot making from all areas of the floor. Not saying he'll be as good as Booker but that's the comparison I see with Davis.
I don't know, something about Davis screams of a guy that will be a big NBA scorer. Whether or not it's as a "chucker" or more in the flow of the offense as a more efficient scorer remains to be seen.

[SelfishPlayer]

TyTy Washington is a Calipari point guard I'd skip. He has Markelle Fultz's body type and similar inability to create out of isolation. I've never seen his stock seriously questioned. I've only ever seen him projected as a lottery pick with a great deal of movement around him.

[SelfishPlayer]

Josh Hart is the name that I think of most with Davis. Davis appears to be a little bigger than Hart and a little more on ball oriented than Hart. But Hart leaving Villanova was an 18ppg guy. Not an elite defender, but a solid versatile defender. Not a great athlete but a solid one. Not a consistent shooter (ya I know Hart had some good 3pt seasons at Vill, but his FT shooting was the better indicator of his shooting ability). Now I think Davis is better with the ball in his hands, but again Im just not sold on how effective he will be as an ISO scorer against NBA competition. But I think his floor is a solid energy guard. Just not sure what his ceiling is and how likely he will hit it.

Again Ill admit Im most likely in the minority on this one with me mostly just being meh on him. Also to be clear, this isnt me saying I wouldnt draft him. Just not seeing a lotto talent with him. Probably roughly 18 and on is where I can see taking a shot on him.

I don't see the Hart comparison. Davis is a lot more versatile offensively than Hart was. Hart's scoring was beefed up at Villanova because of that high level ball movement/motion offense that Jay Wright runs which gets open shots for a lot of guys. Davis has a much bigger offensive burden to bear at Wisconsin in a slower tempo offense and draws a lot of defensive attention because he is THE focal point which is probably a part of the reason why his efficiency tends to come and go.

If I'm thinking of an average athlete that can score at all levels and also has that "dog" mentality, Devin Booker is the name that comes to mind. Booker is a better long range shooter but I see similarities in their movements, with that herky jerky way of creating shot separation, and shot making from all areas of the floor. Not saying he'll be as good as Booker but that's the comparison I see with Davis.
I don't know, something about Davis screams of a guy that will be a big NBA scorer. Whether or not it's as a "chucker" or more in the flow of the offense as a more efficient scorer remains to be seen.

Johnny Davis plays like an old school 80s/90s type shooting guard. There used to be plenty of these guys. His father Mark Davis is a former 1980's NBA player out of the state of Virginia. I think Johnny Davis plays like a 90s NBA player from that same state named Bryant Stith who averaged 20.8 ppg and 6.9 rebounds as a 6'5" 19 year old sophomore shooting guard at The University of Virginia.

[CP War Hawks]

Davis reminds me of Bane from the eye test w/o the insane 3 point percentage, also with a higher defensive ceiling and floor.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Josh Hart is the name that I think of most with Davis. Davis appears to be a little bigger than Hart and a little more on ball oriented than Hart. But Hart leaving Villanova was an 18ppg guy. Not an elite defender, but a solid versatile defender. Not a great athlete but a solid one. Not a consistent shooter (ya I know Hart had some good 3pt seasons at Vill, but his FT shooting was the better indicator of his shooting ability). Now I think Davis is better with the ball in his hands, but again Im just not sold on how effective he will be as an ISO scorer against NBA competition. But I think his floor is a solid energy guard. Just not sure what his ceiling is and how likely he will hit it.

Again Ill admit Im most likely in the minority on this one with me mostly just being meh on him. Also to be clear, this isnt me saying I wouldnt draft him. Just not seeing a lotto talent with him. Probably roughly 18 and on is where I can see taking a shot on him.

I don't see the Hart comparison. Davis is a lot more versatile offensively than Hart was. Hart's scoring was beefed up at Villanova because of that high level ball movement/motion offense that Jay Wright runs which gets open shots for a lot of guys. Davis has a much bigger offensive burden to bear at Wisconsin in a slower tempo offense and draws a lot of defensive attention because he is THE focal point which is probably a part of the reason why his efficiency tends to come and go.

If I'm thinking of an average athlete that can score at all levels and also has that "dog" mentality, Devin Booker is the name that comes to mind. Booker is a better long range shooter but I see similarities in their movements, with that herky jerky way of creating shot separation, and shot making from all areas of the floor. Not saying he'll be as good as Booker but that's the comparison I see with Davis.
I don't know, something about Davis screams of a guy that will be a big NBA scorer. Whether or not it's as a "chucker" or more in the flow of the offense as a more efficient scorer remains to be seen.

Johnny Davis plays like an old school 80s/90s type shooting guard. There used to be plenty of these guys. His father Mark Davis is a former 1980's NBA player out of the state of Virginia. I think Johnny Davis plays like a 90s NBA player from that same state named Bryant Stith who averaged 20.8 ppg and 6.9 rebounds as a 6'5" 19 year old sophomore shooting guard at The University of Virginia.

ha. stith actually is a pretty great comparison for him. i'm bullish on Davis because i feel like he'll figure out the long range thing. besides the 3pt shooting, there is just so much to like about him.

[SelfishPlayer]

Chet Holmgren shoots 44% from 3, 75% from FT, 3.4 blocks and 2.0 assists. He has the best floor game in the entire draft. I searched for a college player that has shot 40% from 3, with 2 assists and 3 blocks per game and only three names came up. Tim Duncan was the first name and then 2 scrubs. One scrub played less than a handful of games that season and the other didn't average a whole three point attempt per game, neither did Tim Duncan...

[reanimator]

Chet Holmgren shoots 44% from 3, 75% from FT, 3.4 blocks and 2.0 assists. He has the best floor game in the entire draft. I searched for a college player that has shot 40% from 3, with 2 assists and 3 blocks per game and only three names came up. Tim Duncan was the first name and then 2 scrubs. One scrub played less than a handful of games that season and the other didn't average a whole three point attempt per game, neither did Tim Duncan...

3 pt % vs Kenpom top 30 teams (Duke, Texas Tech, Texas, UCLA, Alabama, St Marys, San Francisco) : 7/23 (30%)

Not an overly huge sample but interesting. His shooting from 3 took a jump in conference.

[Big J]

Porzingis would have averaged those same numbers if he'd played college too, so what's your point?

[The Moose]

I think my current list would look something like this

Tier 1 - All-NBA potential
Jabari Smith
Chet Holmgren

Tier 2 - All-star Potential
Paolo Banchero
Shaedon Sharpe
Tari Eason
Jaden Ivey

Tier 3- Good starters
AJ Griffin
Keegan Murray
Dyson Daniels
Bennedict Mathurin

Tier 4 - rotation pieces/potential starters

Johnny Davis
Jalen Duren
Kendall Brown
Tyty Washington
Mark Williams
Nikola Jovic
Jeremy Sochan
Walker Kessler
Patrick Baldwin
Jaden Hardy

Second Round targets
Max Christie
David Roddy
Zach Edey
Oscar Tshiebwe
Caleb Houstan

Players are only ranked by tier , will decide exact rankings later on

[The-Power]

I have been – and to some extent continue to be – one of those who have some doubts about Chet but I can't deny that he has a really intriguing profile and a lot of upside if he hits.

I think my top 3 shape out to be Ivey, Smith and Holmgren – in that order.

Banchero I think will be a solid to good starter in the NBA but I'd be surprised if he became a lot more than that. Still worth a pick in the 4-7 range in this draft but I wouldn't seriously consider him as a top 2 pick this year. His best chance to raise his ceiling might actually be taking his passing upside to the next level so that you can actually run your offense consistently through him – but that's just a very high bar to reach when you can't break down defenses off the dribble at will.

[Big J]

I think one of the issues with Chet is that we’ve seen a lot of hyped white American big men who turn out being busts. Who is even the last one to hit? Bill Walton?

[kb02]

I'm a huge fan of Kendall Brown's potential. I'd like to see him be given a bigger role - don't know if it's because he lacks that alpha quality or if it's just because he's so young.

It's college...Zach Lavine sat the bench in college and was still a lottery pick.

Minnesota T'Wolves Coach Flip Saunders Blasts Hoosier Loser Steve Alford for Misusing #13-Overall Pick Zach LaVine
https://www.bruinsnation.com/ucla_basketball/2014/6/26/5848306/nba-minnesota-flip-saunders-blasts-hoosier-loser-steve-alford-zach-lavine

Then there are guys like Johnny Davis who are given huge roles in college, people during the season have him as a top 5 pick, but I don't see prodigious enough of an NBA talent to justify that projection... He generally isn't the sort of prospect that I view as lottery material. He may be the most lackluster highest projected SG prospect that I've ever seen. He has skills, but he's a below the rim player that doesn't have range on his jumpshot and isn't a passer. Does he develop in the NBA without having plays called specifically for him? He isn't tall/lengthy for the position, but he already has an NBA body, what happens to him when the defenders are stronger and his strength advantage over college defenders is eleminated? Jaden Springer his freshman season had the same shot distribution Davis has this season. He's averaging 15.4ppg in the G league at 19 years old.

In fairness to Alford, his kid was a heckuva player at UCLA - and more of a PG than Lavine. At the 2, didn't UCLA have a really good scorer named Adams? I remember Lavine's freshman year - he got off to a terrific start, but when the schedule got harder, he fell off quite a bit. UCLA always had a plethora of quality guards back then.

Things fell apart for Lavine at UCLA, because he told Alfraud that he was leaving for the NBA. Alfraud decided to prioritize developing Bryce over Lavine at that point. Hiring Alfraud set the program back years.

[The-Power]

I think one of the issues with Chet is that we’ve seen a lot of hyped white American big men who turn out being busts. Who is even the last one to hit? Bill Walton?

Which ones were hyped and turned out to be busts? And why is skin-color relevant?

[Big J]

I think one of the issues with Chet is that we’ve seen a lot of hyped white American big men who turn out being busts. Who is even the last one to hit? Bill Walton?

Which ones were hyped and turned out to be busts? And why is skin-color relevant?

Every single one drafted in the lotto has been booty, besides maaaybe Raef LaFrenz.

[The-Power]

I think one of the issues with Chet is that we’ve seen a lot of hyped white American big men who turn out being busts. Who is even the last one to hit? Bill Walton?

Which ones were hyped and turned out to be busts? And why is skin-color relevant?

Every single one drafted in the lotto has been booty, besides maaaybe Raef LaFrenz.

So how many were there over the past, say, 15 years, and how many of them were actually hyped? And of course this hasn't addressed the question why skin color matters.

[eminence]

I think one of the issues with Chet is that we’ve seen a lot of hyped white American big men who turn out being busts. Who is even the last one to hit? Bill Walton?

Brook Lopez (10th) and Kevin Love (5th) from the '08 draft both worked out fine.

Hasn't been many drafted since then, mostly later lotto guys - Meyers Leonard (11th), Cole Aldrich (11th), Tyler Hansbrough (13th), Frank Kaminsky (8th), Cody Zeller (4th). Olynyk (13th) probably counts as part of the North American school of basketball. Probably below average performance from that group, but not an absolutely terrible group either.

[Big J]

I think one of the issues with Chet is that we’ve seen a lot of hyped white American big men who turn out being busts. Who is even the last one to hit? Bill Walton?

Brook Lopez (10th) and Kevin Love (5th) from the '08 draft both worked out fine.

Hasn't been many drafted since then, mostly later lotto guys - Meyers Leonard (11th), Cole Aldrich (11th), Tyler Hansbrough (13th), Frank Kaminsky (8th), Cody Zeller (4th). Olynyk (13th) probably counts as part of the North American school of basketball. Probably below average performance from that group, but not an absolutely terrible group either.

Brook isn’t white and Love is a 4. Also a common theme on all those guys is that none of them can stay with guards on the perimeter. Playoff ball turns these guys into dinosaurs.