Darius Garland

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

If the Bulls don’t land in the top 2, would love to draft him. Kyrie is a comp I like, also a guy that didn’t play in college a ton but it didn’t matter. Release reminds me of Arenas.

Kyrie was the consensus #1 heading into his Duke season and was drafted #1.

Garland was projected #7-18 depending on the source and folks now think he should go as high as 3.

Kyrie held his value. Garland has somehow been promoted 4-14 spots.

I don’t see the situations as being all that similar.

imma need receipts for the draft sites that had Garland as low as #18 at any point in time. the lowest i've seen him ranked on any big board is late lottery personally.

Rivals had him as the 17th rated prospect. Not a mock draft site, clearly, but relevant.
https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2018

Nbadraft.net had him at 23. I don’t blame you if you want to disregard them, however.

A majority of sites had him in the low to mid-teens.

[bwgood77]

Kyrie was the consensus #1 heading into his Duke season and was drafted #1.

Garland was projected #7-18 defending on the source and folks now think he should go as high as 3.

Kyrie held his value. Garland has somehow been promoted 4-14 spots.

I don’t see the situations as being all that similar.

Weak draft at the top has helped him move up. Guys like Reddish and Little were top 4 coming in and now have tumbled out. That combined with few PGs available has helped him. And then injuries to guys like Bol and Porter.

It’s fine to move him up some. 3 is too far.

People are now comparing an idealized Garland to the reality of RJ, Culver, Hunter, etc.

It’s flawed process.

I seriously doubt he goes up that far. I know a lot of people don't like Barrett, and Culver stock might be in decline too...depends on what teams are looking for. I know BPA is usually what teams do but there are more teams in the lottery that might like PGs. Though I don't think he goes before Barrett or Culver. He probably goes like 7-10 unless both the Suns and Bulls like him AND Morant and they land at 2 and 3 or something. I think one team would try and trade back though.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

Weak draft at the top has helped him move up. Guys like Reddish and Little were top 4 coming in and now have tumbled out. That combined with few PGs available has helped him. And then injuries to guys like Bol and Porter.

It’s fine to move him up some. 3 is too far.

People are now comparing an idealized Garland to the reality of RJ, Culver, Hunter, etc.

It’s flawed process.

I seriously doubt he goes up that far. I know a lot of people don't like Barrett, and Culver stock might be in decline too...depends on what teams are looking for. I know BPA is usually what teams do but there are more teams in the lottery that might like PGs. Though I don't think he goes before Barrett or Culver. He probably goes like 7-10 unless both the Suns and Bulls like him AND Morant and they land at 2 and 3 or something. I think one team would try and trade back though.

That all sounds reasonable to me.

[Stillwater]

Garlands value is a little bit higher than I expected , but I think it's mostly due to the weak PG class. Some think he's the better prospect than several other non pg types in the 4 and out range, but coming off injury and being unproven on defense makes it difficult to gauge exactly where his stock actually is come draft day. I think the workouts and combine if participates will possibly solidify his spot in the top 10, whether its 4 to CHI or 8-10 for New Orleans or Memphis. White also showed enough this year at UNC to go ahead of him possibly to one of those later teams if he is not taken at 4. I don't see anyone else taking Garland in the top 5 besides Chicago unless Pho gets bumped down and Ja is gone.

[Funcrusher]

Kyrie was the consensus #1 heading into his Duke season and was drafted #1.

Garland was projected #7-18 depending on the source and folks now think he should go as high as 3.

Kyrie held his value. Garland has somehow been promoted 4-14 spots.

I don’t see the situations as being all that similar.

imma need receipts for the draft sites that had Garland as low as #18 at any point in time. the lowest i've seen him ranked on any big board is late lottery personally.

Rivals had him as the 17th rated prospect. Not a mock draft site, clearly, but relevant.
https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2018

Nbadraft.net had him at 23. I don’t blame you if you want to disregard them, however.

A majority of sites had him in the low to mid-teens.

fair enough. Garland is definitely benefiting somewhat from lack of exposure, but I think it has less to due with Garland getting the benefit of the doubt and more to due with a draft that is full of variability in projection even within the lottery. It's just natural that a guy who hasn't had his game dissected to the level of the majority of prospects is gonna garner intrigue as someone who is ranked higher than maybe he should, particularly in this draft. It's a risk i think teams should take (and perhaps the Bulls if Zion and Ja aren't available), if you think you can legitimately strike high upside outside of the top-2

[clyde21]

Garlands value is a little bit higher than I expected , but I think it's mostly due to the weak PG class. Some think he's the better prospect than several other non pg types in the 4 and out range, but coming off injury and being unproven on defense makes it difficult to gauge exactly where his stock actually is come draft day. I think the workouts and combine if participates will possibly solidify his spot in the top 10, whether its 4 to CHI or 8-10 for New Orleans or Memphis. White also showed enough this year at UNC to go ahead of him possibly to one of those later teams if he is not taken at 4. I don't see anyone else taking Garland in the top 5 besides Chicago unless Pho gets bumped down and Ja is gone.

weak PG class in terms of depth but the top 3 guys are strong (Ja, Garland, Coby).

[Coeur]

Garlands value is a little bit higher than I expected , but I think it's mostly due to the weak PG class. Some think he's the better prospect than several other non pg types in the 4 and out range, but coming off injury and being unproven on defense makes it difficult to gauge exactly where his stock actually is come draft day. I think the workouts and combine if participates will possibly solidify his spot in the top 10, whether its 4 to CHI or 8-10 for New Orleans or Memphis. White also showed enough this year at UNC to go ahead of him possibly to one of those later teams if he is not taken at 4. I don't see anyone else taking Garland in the top 5 besides Chicago unless Pho gets bumped down and Ja is gone.

weak PG class in terms of depth but the top 3 guys are strong (Ja, Garland, Coby).

It sure seems that way. I like Justin James from Wyoming and almost wonder about Mooney with Tex tech.

It’s bad at pg. it so thin that Dort will get more looks as a possible pg

[Ruzious]

I think it all depends on how he does in the draft process. If he shows he's 100% healthy, in great shape, shows his skills in the team workouts, and impresses in interviews, he could be the 4th or 5th player picked. And if the team picking 3rd does not like RJ's shooting, it's possible Garland goes 3rd. I already have him ahead of Culver.

[clyde21]

Garlands value is a little bit higher than I expected , but I think it's mostly due to the weak PG class. Some think he's the better prospect than several other non pg types in the 4 and out range, but coming off injury and being unproven on defense makes it difficult to gauge exactly where his stock actually is come draft day. I think the workouts and combine if participates will possibly solidify his spot in the top 10, whether its 4 to CHI or 8-10 for New Orleans or Memphis. White also showed enough this year at UNC to go ahead of him possibly to one of those later teams if he is not taken at 4. I don't see anyone else taking Garland in the top 5 besides Chicago unless Pho gets bumped down and Ja is gone.

weak PG class in terms of depth but the top 3 guys are strong (Ja, Garland, Coby).

It sure seems that way. I like Justin James from Wyoming and almost wonder about Mooney with Tex tech.

It’s bad at pg. it so thin that Dort will get more looks as a possible pg

it's thin for sure. Morant, Garland and White will probably be the only PGs drafted in the first.

but I think in the 2nd there's some good value there for guys that can come off the bench in a 6th man role type...like Edwards, Wigginton, and Ponds.

Joshua Obiesie is intriguing too if he decides to come over from overseas.

[doordoor123]

Kyrie was the consensus #1 heading into his Duke season and was drafted #1.

Garland was projected #7-18 defending on the source and folks now think he should go as high as 3.

Kyrie held his value. Garland has somehow been promoted 4-14 spots.

I don’t see the situations as being all that similar.

Weak draft at the top has helped him move up. Guys like Reddish and Little were top 4 coming in and now have tumbled out. That combined with few PGs available has helped him. And then injuries to guys like Bol and Porter.

It’s fine to move him up some. 3 is too far.

People are now comparing an idealized Garland to the reality of RJ, Culver, Hunter, etc.

It’s flawed process.

I don’t think 3 is too high for him. I said at the start of the year he reminds me of Curry with the way he shoots and handles the ball. I went to his game against USC and he outshined everyone. That’s when everyone was higher on Shittu and Porter and he looked like the most ready player. The next game he had a game where he scored over 30 points and then he got injured. He didn’t have time to get comfortable enough to showcase what he can really do, but he was just starting to get warmed up. And remember he was the number 1 point guard in high school, a lot of us have seen him play in high school. I’m still super high on him. It’s hard to put him ahead of Williamson or Morant for me because I think they’re both generational talents, but he’s right there with Barrett. Physically, he changes speeds as quick as any franchise point guard in the NBA and handles as well as any of them. And that’s how Damian Lillard was able to play well right away, but he’s younger than Lillard and a better shooter at a younger age. He also has the ability to finish really well and change his shot mid-air, but his IQ driving needs to be tweaked because he shows the ball too often at times laying it in and isn’t aware of the defenders around him at times. But he also already has a floater. I’m worried about him being healthy by the start of the NBA season and I worry about his defense, but he’s also guy that tries to run back in transition to get a transition block, which I love from a point guard. Nowadays there aren’t many guards who try to do that. Bledsoe is the only one coming to mind.

[Axolotl]

It's kind of depressing that Garland's stock is rising not because he is playing well but because of others playing badly.

[big-shot-ROB]

It's kind of depressing that Garland's stock is rising not because he is playing well but because of others playing badly.

I don't think his stock has risen. Quite a users here, including me, have had him in the top-5/7 since the begging of the season.

Right back when Little and Cam stock was of top-5 picks.

[Stillwater]

It's kind of depressing that Garland's stock is rising not because he is playing well but because of others playing badly.

His stock is if anything a big question mark because of his injury. His skillset was always going to be placing him in the lottery somewhere. He could be benefiting from others failures in the minds of a lot of people, but in truth his true draft stock might have always been higher in the first place. Elite shooters are hard to come by in this draft, and that has nothing to do with false stock elevation,but more the case of cream rising to the top.

[clyde21]

It's kind of depressing that Garland's stock is rising not because he is playing well but because of others playing badly.

his stock is rising now because people forgot he can do this



again, IMO best ball skills since Kyrie.

[EvanZ]

I've had Garland top 3-4 most of the season. I am debating moving him to 2.

[clyde21]

i'll say it again, he's the best combination of quick-twitch and ball control I've seen since Kyrie. He has a superstar potential offensively.

[Funcrusher]

i'll say it again, he's the best combination of quick-twitch and ball control I've seen since Kyrie. He has a superstar potential offensively.

yeah, and that's what separates him from Coby imo. Coby's handle isn't terrible, but not tight enough where he can string together multiple dribble moves like that to manipulate defenses and create separation for a shot or pass. Coby relies more on pure speed/burst and change of direction to create space off the dribble. It's still effective, but not the same level of maneuverability as a ball handler.

[King Ken]

Before the injury, he was #5, even while hurt, he still within the range. Crazy

[doordoor123]

I’ve loved Garland for a long time, but it would be stupid to take him over Ja Morant or value him more than Morant.

[Dan Z]

I think it all depends on how he does in the draft process. If he shows he's 100% healthy, in great shape, shows his skills in the team workouts, and impresses in interviews, he could be the 4th or 5th player picked. And if the team picking 3rd does not like RJ's shooting, it's possible Garland goes 3rd. I already have him ahead of Culver.

I agree. He only played 5 games in college, so he's a bit of an unknown at this point. Bol Bol is similar. If a teams decided to take a risk instead of going safe both players might go higher than expected.