Nikola Topic

[babyjax13]

I'd love if he slips to the Jazz, it would be a good development environment for him. Do hate that he is injured, though.

[Norm2953]

One has to think a team which doesn't need any immediate help like the Thunder are in the perfect
spot to draft and sit him

[lambchop]

Partial tear is just a sprain, right? Based on his current condition it sounds like it would be a mid grade sprain at least, but is that necessarily that big of a deal?

It's not a sprain, because the injury doesn't heal by itself. If I'm not mistaken, Nate Robinson and Tony Wroten had this injury too. It's a tricky one because players can opt to just do physio / strengthening, however, the injury itself still remains.

Or they go for surgery, but the outcomes aren't necessarily good, since doctors consider it unethical to intentionally sever the ACL to then perform regular surgery. It's a weird situation. But whoever drafts him will probably take all of that into account.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them try the physiotherapy route first and then opt for surgery after 8 months or so. Therefore, he might really debut in 2026. All just hypothetical at this point, of course.

[Hal14]

One has to think a team which doesn't need any immediate help like the Thunder are in the perfect
spot to draft and sit him

They came up short of their goal of winning a championship.

#1 seed..but lost in the 2nd round.

I'm pretty sure they aren't satisfied..I doubt they have the mindset that they don't need any immediate help.

They probably want to draft someone with the 12th pick who can contribute and get them over the hump..help get them deeper in the playoffs. Or trade the pick for a vet who can contribute.

They're trying to win.

What's the upside of drafting Topic? Maybe 3 yrs from now he can be a backup PG to SGA?

[Rafael122]

The torn ACL plus the negative wingspan per DX and I'd be shocked if this kid is still a lottery pick. I'm looking at the mock draft now, I mean I could see the Pels picking him up and having him sit the year.

[babyjax13]

The torn ACL plus the negative wingspan per DX and I'd be shocked if this kid is still a lottery pick. I'm looking at the mock draft now, I mean I could see the Pels picking him up and having him sit the year.

I could see Utah, San Antonio, or OKC, as well. These are teams who have so many pucks in coming years and whose gms have great job security. There is a good chance if he is there in that 8-12 range one of those teams thinks he is the best available. Same for Miami at 15.

[_jin]

Rumors of that 7ft wingpsan were greatly exaggerated or most likely fabricated. His 6'5" WS measured at the global camp, coupled with his injuries are going to make him fall. But he still has great size for his position, I'm still high on him and could end up being a steal if he can get fully healthy.

[JMAC3]

Rumors of that 7ft wingpsan were greatly exaggerated or most likely fabricated. His 6'5" WS measured at the global camp, coupled with his injuries are going to make him fall. But he still has great size for his position, I'm still high on him and could end up being a steal if he can get fully healthy.

This is like saying I moved Clingan way down my board because he was supposed to have a 10'1 standing reach and it was only 9'7...

[GoBobs]

#12 to the Thunder

[NatP4]

Rumors of that 7ft wingpsan were greatly exaggerated or most likely fabricated. His 6'5" WS measured at the global camp, coupled with his injuries are going to make him fall. But he still has great size for his position, I'm still high on him and could end up being a steal if he can get fully healthy.

This is like saying I moved Clingan way down my board because he was supposed to have a 10'1 standing reach and it was only 9'7...

Measured with a longer wingspan than Dillingham, Collier, Sheppard, Kolek, Simpson, Sears, and Shead.

Givony getting those clicks though.

[shangrila]

Rumors of that 7ft wingpsan were greatly exaggerated or most likely fabricated. His 6'5" WS measured at the global camp, coupled with his injuries are going to make him fall. But he still has great size for his position, I'm still high on him and could end up being a steal if he can get fully healthy.

This is like saying I moved Clingan way down my board because he was supposed to have a 10'1 standing reach and it was only 9'7...

Except its not like that at all. Clingan's standing reach still has him at the top of the measurements board and won't impact his game in the NBA. Topic measuring with his wingspan could impact his finishing and his defensive presence.

For the record I'm not saying he sucks now or he's undraftable, but trying to handwave these measurements away is stupid. There's a very real chance he drops now with this combined with his injury, especially with the strength of this guard class.

[shangrila]

Rumors of that 7ft wingpsan were greatly exaggerated or most likely fabricated. His 6'5" WS measured at the global camp, coupled with his injuries are going to make him fall. But he still has great size for his position, I'm still high on him and could end up being a steal if he can get fully healthy.

This is like saying I moved Clingan way down my board because he was supposed to have a 10'1 standing reach and it was only 9'7...

Measured with a longer wingspan than Dillingham, Collier, Sheppard, Kolek, Simpson, Sears, and Shead.

Givony getting those clicks though.

All small PGs though, so not exactly impressive. Topic tied Cam Spencer in wingspan and would have been the 9th worst at the combine.

Guys in a similar height range generally measured better, like Jaylon Tyson, Cam Christie and Nique Clifford, who were all 6-5ish with 6-8ish wingspans.

[babyjax13]

Rumors of that 7ft wingpsan were greatly exaggerated or most likely fabricated. His 6'5" WS measured at the global camp, coupled with his injuries are going to make him fall. But he still has great size for his position, I'm still high on him and could end up being a steal if he can get fully healthy.

This is like saying I moved Clingan way down my board because he was supposed to have a 10'1 standing reach and it was only 9'7...

Except its not like that at all. Clingan's standing reach still has him at the top of the measurements board and won't impact his game in the NBA. Topic measuring with his wingspan could impact his finishing and his defensive presence.

For the record I'm not saying he sucks now or he's undraftable, but trying to handwave these measurements away is stupid. There's a very real chance he drops now with this combined with his injury, especially with the strength of this guard class.

I assumed from watching him that his wingspan was probably even, which is likely fortunate considering that he will have the longest neck in the NBA.

[shangrila]

This is like saying I moved Clingan way down my board because he was supposed to have a 10'1 standing reach and it was only 9'7...

Except its not like that at all. Clingan's standing reach still has him at the top of the measurements board and won't impact his game in the NBA. Topic measuring with his wingspan could impact his finishing and his defensive presence.

For the record I'm not saying he sucks now or he's undraftable, but trying to handwave these measurements away is stupid. There's a very real chance he drops now with this combined with his injury, especially with the strength of this guard class.

I assumed from watching him that his wingspan was probably even, which is likely fortunate considering that he will have the longest neck in the NBA.

Yeah, I never bought the 7ft wingspan rumours. That kind of height-to-wingspan differential is Kawhi-esque and Topic clearly never had that body type.

I'm not sure how a long neck helps him . But it's something I guess. Maybe he can start a trend of blocking shots with his face.

He was always sort of a weird prospect to me. Elite finishing but absolutely nothing outside of that in terms of scoring. Elite passer but honestly a brutal defender and the measurements/injury don't help his case there longterm. If his career winds up like a better finishing, worse defending Ricky Rubio...how much value is there in that?

[babyjax13]

Except its not like that at all. Clingan's standing reach still has him at the top of the measurements board and won't impact his game in the NBA. Topic measuring with his wingspan could impact his finishing and his defensive presence.

For the record I'm not saying he sucks now or he's undraftable, but trying to handwave these measurements away is stupid. There's a very real chance he drops now with this combined with his injury, especially with the strength of this guard class.

I assumed from watching him that his wingspan was probably even, which is likely fortunate considering that he will have the longest neck in the NBA.

Yeah, I never bought the 7ft wingspan rumours. That kind of height-to-wingspan differential is Kawhi-esque and Topic clearly never had that body type.

I'm not sure how a long neck helps him . But it's something I guess. Maybe he can start a trend of blocking shots with his face.

He was always sort of a weird prospect to me. Elite finishing but absolutely nothing outside of that in terms of scoring. Elite passer but honestly a brutal defender and the measurements/injury don't help his case there longterm. If his career winds up like a better finishing, worse defending Ricky Rubio...how much value is there in that?

I think the neck at least helps with court vision! I do think you've essentially described rookie-contract Goran Dragic who was - at least - a rotation player.

[FarBeyondDriven]

kudos to this board, from jump pretty much nobody bought his wingspan and he's the height 6'5" most thought he looked. Just goes to show you how little you should trust from the draft "experts" since they all have agendas or are mouthpieces for those that do, if not just being outright inept. Not much has really changed as far as his evaluation since he played so little and we never got a chance to see sharing the floor with NBA talent.

I love his size, craftiness, and BBIQ. He looks like a guy that should be able to comfortably run an NBA offense. Similar to Giddey. But like Giddey, if his shooting never materializes teams will just drop and take away his drives making PnR ineffective. If that happens, with his defense, like with Giddey, he'll become unplayable. Absolute none of these concerns have been answered. We're evaluating him blindly at this point meaning more boom and bust.

Given his age and promise I wouldn't fault any team taking him anywhere. It comes down to risk tolerance. He is one of the handful of guys with all-star potential but he could also be a bust. I think with his knee and having not answered any of my concerns I'd be more comfortable taking him in the late lottery.

[NatP4]

To be clear, Topic is not 6’5, and he didn’t “tie Cam Spencer in wingspan” or have the “9th worst wingspan measurement at the combine”. We all have access to the actual numbers.

Topic measured 6’6 without shoes, with a 6’5.5” wingspan. Spencer measured with a 6’5 wingspan.

At the same age per36:

Giddey: 12.1 points on 50.6% TS 29.3% from 3 69.1% from FT.

Topic 18.8 points on 59.9% TS 30.6% from 3 87.8% from FT.

Absolutely no comparison between Giddey and Topic in terms of scoring ability.

[Braggins]

Partial tear is just a sprain, right? Based on his current condition it sounds like it would be a mid grade sprain at least, but is that necessarily that big of a deal?

It's not a sprain, because the injury doesn't heal by itself.

First definition I found for "knee sprain" on google.

"Knee sprains are injuries that happen when ligaments in your knee joint stretch too far or tear."

"There are four knee ligaments in your knee joint, including your:

- Medial collateral ligament (MCL) along the inside edge.
- Lateral collateral ligament (LCL) along the outside edge.
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at the front of your knee.
- Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) at the back of your knee."

"- Grade 1 sprain (mild): Very little or no tearing in your ligaments.
- Grade 2 sprain (moderate): Your ligaments are partially torn, but not all the way through.
- Grade 3 sprain (severe): Your ligaments are completely torn. Grade 3 sprains are usually called ligament tears."

edit: apparently he is getting surgery, so not sure about the grade

[NatP4]

Givony reported that surgery is needed.

[Braggins]

Givony reported that surgery is needed.

My mistake. I missed that reporting. I edited my post.