2018 NBA Draft

[doordoor123]

I'm excited to see Kostas Antetokounmpo next year. He was redshirted this past season at Dayton and I bet over the course of a year he got better. I think he's someone to keep an eye on as someone who could rise.

[Mirotic12]

I'm excited to see Kostas Antetokounmpo next year. He was redshirted this past season at Dayton and I bet over the course of a year he got better. I think he's someone to keep an eye on as someone who could rise.

He might play with Greece's under-20 team this summer. That should show whether he improved or not. Last year with Greece's under-20 team, he was very bad.

[Duke4life831]

Man Tony Bradley staying in really gonna affect UNC, how good are Brooks and Huffman? Manley?

On paper it looks like its going to be rough. Those guys are going to be tossed into the fire real quick.

[Kolkmania]

I think there's a real possibility of Michael Porter being the best prospect >6'9'' at shooting off the dribble since Kevin Durant. Not sold on his ability to penetrate the defense though, seems to lack some burst.

[No-Man]

Seems like Tugs Bowen is going to Louisville, probably will take on VJ King's role as a freshman

Snider-McMahon/Perry
King-Sutton
Adel-Bowen
Spalding-Nwoba/Thomas
Mahmoud-Williams

Loaded team with legit size, they lack a guy to create, but still

[damecurry]

So... how is this draft class looking right now? Seems pretty weak/thin, no? Like 2017 there's no clear top prospect atm, Fultz was moving in that direction this time last year but many still had Jackson or Smith or whoemever, but there's a good top 4 or so (Donicic/Porter/Ayton/Bamba) but then it seems to thin out. No disrespect to Robert Williams or Miles Bridges but if they're really in that next tier with Carter and co. than yeah, just not very exciting for the 5-8 range imo, esp. compared to 2017. Idk, still early obviously and if Donicic lives up to the hype and Ayton actually decides to care about basketball than it could be a really strong top considering Porter looks pretty legit, maybe opposite of 2017 where outside of Fultz the top is pretty sketchy but the 5-8 range seems exceptionally strong (I mean Smith might go 8 which is just crazy to me.) Kinda wanna get to Bagley and 2019, Cam Reddish, Romeo Langford, Moses Brown, even Zion who I don't necessarily buy the hype on that class looks a fair bit more exciting, who knows this far out though, that's what makes it fun I guess lol.

[No-Man]

So... how is this draft class looking right now? Seems pretty weak/thin, no? Like 2017 there's no clear top prospect atm, Fultz was moving in that direction this time last year but many still had Jackson or Smith or whoemever, but there's a good top 4 or so (Donicic/Porter/Ayton/Bamba) but then it seems to thin out. No disrespect to Robert Williams or Miles Bridges but if they're really in that next tier with Carter and co. than yeah, just not very exciting for the 5-8 range imo, esp. compared to 2017. Idk, still early obviously and if Donicic lives up to the hype and Ayton actually decides to care about basketball than it could be a really strong top considering Porter looks pretty legit, maybe opposite of 2017 where outside of Fultz the top is pretty sketchy but the 5-8 range seems exceptionally strong (I mean Smith might go 8 which is just crazy to me.) Kinda wanna get to Bagley and 2019, Cam Reddish, Romeo Langford, Moses Brown, even Zion who I don't necessarily buy the hype on that class looks a fair bit more exciting, who knows this far out though, that's what makes it fun I guess lol.

the top10 is nice but there are way too many bigs, the depth is just un-known but somebody will emerge.

The Guards look awful in general, I think my highest ranked guy would be Andrew Jones as of now.

[The-Power]

So... how is this draft class looking right now? Seems pretty weak/thin, no?

I don't think that the depth of the group can be assessed properly at this point in time. At the top, however, I like the 2018 draft at least as much as this year. Perhaps I'm off but Bamba is the most intriguing propsect out of anyone in 2017 and 2018. Not sure about 2019 as I really like Bagley but his age and the question of how his defense translates makes it difficult to assess him relative to other top prospects. I love high-IQ players and not only because they are fun to watch but also because I believe in the impact along with it, so I like Doncic on the surface. I haven't watched him enough to properly rank him against other high-end talents though. Porter is a great prospect if he commits to playing defense - granted, a big 'if'. I'm not so high on Ayton but obviously he has a lot of potential if he can wrap his head around playing to his theoretical strengths, it's just that I'm skeptical that this will be the case.

On the other hand, I consider Jaren Jackson Jr. a top prospect with his talent, age and, most importantly, his skill-set which is taylor-made for today's game (long PF who can play some Center, good rim protection while being mobile enough to defend/contain perimeter players outside the paint, good rebounder, shooting range, solid interior finishing and a good head on his shoulders). I can also see Troy Brown developing in a Jimmy Butler-type (a bit less athletic but projects as a better shooter and is further ahead in his development (especially as a playmaker)). But despite me being pretty high on him (ranked him 5th among 2017 HS prospects recently), I understand that he shouldn't be considered a top prospect yet - he is, however, good for depth at least.

Generally speaking, I believe next year's freshman-class has less depth as far as high-end talent is concerned but I don't necessarily see an edge of the 2017 Draft class freshmen at the top - obviously 2018 is more big-heavy and doesn't have nearly the guard-talent 2017 features. As far as overall depth is concerned, a lot depends on how much the guys staying in College improve and how many decide to be one-and-done (will almost certainly be less than this year). If I had to guess I'd say 2018 will be have less talent from 6-12 but it's hard to project for the entire draft.

[nolang1]

So... how is this draft class looking right now? Seems pretty weak/thin, no? Like 2017 there's no clear top prospect atm, Fultz was moving in that direction this time last year but many still had Jackson or Smith or whoemever, but there's a good top 4 or so (Donicic/Porter/Ayton/Bamba) but then it seems to thin out. No disrespect to Robert Williams or Miles Bridges but if they're really in that next tier with Carter and co. than yeah, just not very exciting for the 5-8 range imo, esp. compared to 2017. Idk, still early obviously and if Donicic lives up to the hype and Ayton actually decides to care about basketball than it could be a really strong top considering Porter looks pretty legit, maybe opposite of 2017 where outside of Fultz the top is pretty sketchy but the 5-8 range seems exceptionally strong (I mean Smith might go 8 which is just crazy to me.) Kinda wanna get to Bagley and 2019, Cam Reddish, Romeo Langford, Moses Brown, even Zion who I don't necessarily buy the hype on that class looks a fair bit more exciting, who knows this far out though, that's what makes it fun I guess lol.

There are people who would have taken Williams or Bridges in the 5-8 range had they stayed in the draft this year (Williams in particular would be the consensus best big ahead of Markkanen), so that's not very good evidence on its own for 2018 being weaker than 2017. Those two are certainly two of the highest-regarded prospects in recent memory to go back to school (Marcus Smart would be the only other who even approaches that level in the past 5 years).

What makes 2017 stand out IMO is that almost all of the top recruits/projected one-and-dones going into the season backed up their status as top prospects with strong statistical production. Someone like Dennis Smith may have under-performed relative to expectations, but he still showed quite a bit of what he could do offensively. In past years, there have tended to be a handful of guys like Jaylen Brown or Aaron Gordon who are drafted more for physical tools and what they showed as high schoolers than for how they played as freshmen.

So in terms of 2018, we're missing half of the equation in terms of what makes a prospect 'exciting.' If someone like Sexton or Troy Brown has a really strong freshman season, a team picking in the 5-8 range would have just enough reason to get excited about the player they'll get as they do this year for someone like Monk or Tatum.

[doordoor123]

The Drew league in Seattle this summer is allowing college players to play. It's possible the Drew league could offer scouting opportunity.

Michael Porter is going to be there as well as Markelle Fultz

[Lalouie]

Frank Jackson will be the steal of the draft

[tsmith]

Frank Jackson will be the steal of the draft

Wrong place mate!

[Chi town]

2018 Draft is all about Luka. Kid is a generational talent. Plus skills at basically every category.

[Worm122]

Every great prospects had made their decisions?


Enviado do meu iPhone usando RealGM Forums

[MalonesElbows]

Looks extremely top heavy and completely falls apart after 3 or 4.

[clyde21]

Bamba is a game-changing defender. I'd take him #1 right now.

[Mulhollanddrive]

There always seems to be a hyped big that falls - Giles, Labissiere, Alexander, Austin, Sullinger etc

[damecurry]

So... how is this draft class looking right now? Seems pretty weak/thin, no? Like 2017 there's no clear top prospect atm, Fultz was moving in that direction this time last year but many still had Jackson or Smith or whoemever, but there's a good top 4 or so (Donicic/Porter/Ayton/Bamba) but then it seems to thin out. No disrespect to Robert Williams or Miles Bridges but if they're really in that next tier with Carter and co. than yeah, just not very exciting for the 5-8 range imo, esp. compared to 2017. Idk, still early obviously and if Donicic lives up to the hype and Ayton actually decides to care about basketball than it could be a really strong top considering Porter looks pretty legit, maybe opposite of 2017 where outside of Fultz the top is pretty sketchy but the 5-8 range seems exceptionally strong (I mean Smith might go 8 which is just crazy to me.) Kinda wanna get to Bagley and 2019, Cam Reddish, Romeo Langford, Moses Brown, even Zion who I don't necessarily buy the hype on that class looks a fair bit more exciting, who knows this far out though, that's what makes it fun I guess lol.

the top10 is nice but there are way too many bigs, the depth is just un-known but somebody will emerge.

The Guards look awful in general, I think my highest ranked guy would be Andrew Jones as of now.

not a fan of colin sexton or trevon duval?

[damecurry]

Looks extremely top heavy and completely falls apart after 3 or 4.

If this is the case that's pretty scary cause I question if the top 4 is really that amazing itself. Ayton has all the tools but serious questions if he can put them together. We'll see. Bamba projects as an elite defender sure but what's his upside then? Seems closer to Gobert than AD or something. Which is great but not really a franchise piece. Doncic people are really excited about but I'm concerned it may be more cause they haven't seen a ton of him than because he's that amazing. Not sure, Xpress just moved him from 1 back to 2. He could be great but seems to project more as a multi-all-star/fringe-all-nba guy than a fringe-mvp guy. Porter the same if not less imo. Not sure his game will translate to the nba as well as some believe. So I have serious questions about the top and if it's rough after that it could be like 2016 bad. Good thing 2019 seems pretty strong.

[The-Power]

Looks extremely top heavy and completely falls apart after 3 or 4.

Bamba, Doncic, Porter and Jackson plus Brown (half a step below) are players I really like, they should be good. Add Walker to that if his shooting translates. The first four should also all be one-and-done unless something goes wrong. Then you have intriguing prospects who have some question marks like Ayton, Sexton, Duval and Carter plus the rather unknown talent international prospects such as Bonga.

Add to this a couple of interesting sophomores (Bridges, Williams, Melton) and as always players whose stock is going to rise due to stark improvement, and I'm not sure how you could - at this moment - claim that it 'completely falls apart' after the first 3 or 4. It is, in my opinion, at least a top four at this point (Bamba, Jackson, Doncic, Porter) with at least six other incoming freshmen who are not unlikely to have a good season and thus to climb the rankings while the international players and sophomores also add something to the appeal.

How good this class is going to be in the middle and towards the will only be noticeable after we're a few months into the season. The top four, however, is really good in my eyes and I'm sure other posters have other players in their top four so there isn't even a consensus. Ask the knowledgeable posters on this board and I'm sure you're going to hear at least six or seven different names of supposed top-prospects.