2024 NBA DRAFT THREAD 3

[ATLTimekeeper]

Considering his FTr was absurdly high, I think his low FG% was a significant flag.

[dohboy_24]

Smart was an incredible prospect who would be a solid #1 overall pick in any draft year. Unfortunately he never got any better, same player now that he was a rookie.

Players shorter than 6 feet 5 inches tall (Marcus Smart = 6'4") who were drafted as the #1 overall pick:

Allen Iverson (1996)
Derrick Rose (2008)
John Wall (2010)
Kyrie Irving (2011)
Markelle Fultz (2017)
Anthony Edwards (2020)

Of them, Marcus Smart is only better than Markelle Fultz so the likelihood he'd be selected #1 in any draft is unlikely, let alone ahead of forwards and centers like Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker, and Aaron Gordon in his own draft class (2014).

[alpngso]

Controversial take: Castle is more of Bruce Brown than Jimmy Butler at this point

[GP2]

So how many names are legitimately in the mix for #1?

[ArthurVandelay]

Topic returned to play

8 points
3/5 (1/3 2fg, 2/2 3pt)
2 rebs
1 ast
1 stl
+14
15 mins

[Yallbecrazy]

Smart was an incredible prospect who would be a solid #1 overall pick in any draft year. Unfortunately he never got any better, same player now that he was a rookie.

Players shorter than 6 feet 5 inches tall (Marcus Smart = 6'4") who were drafted as the #1 overall pick:

Allen Iverson (1996)
Derrick Rose (2008)
John Wall (2010)
Kyrie Irving (2011)
Markelle Fultz (2017)
Anthony Edwards (2020)

Of them, Marcus Smart is only better than Markelle Fultz so the likelihood he'd be selected #1 in any draft is unlikely, let alone ahead of forwards and centers like Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker, and Aaron Gordon in his own draft class (2014).

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/marcus-smart-1.html

Look at those stats, insane free throw rate, very solid rebounder for a guard, incredible steals and good blocks too for his size. Good free throw shooter too so there would be hope for his outside shot. He's clearly a superior prospect to Anthony Edwards, but Edwards improved a lot and Smart never got better as a player.

[Thaddy]

Quickley
Barrett
Buzelis
Barnes
Poeltl

='Ship

What about Buzelis' game makes him better than Kyshawn George or Kyle Filipowski? He doesn't have any defining skills or athletic attributes. Filipowski is a true 7 footer and he can shoot and see the floor pretty well. George has guard skills at 6'8 and worse case is a younger Trey Murphy. I would argue Buzelis is the biggest candidate other than Topic to fall in this draft.

There's no consensus #1 pick in this year's draft, is there?

It's likely Sarr because of the shift towards bigs like Wemby and Chet.

Filip cannot handle the ball like Matas, and George does have the handle, but he's not a 3/4 or 4/3 like Matas. His skill is his size to skill ratio.
I'm a George fan, but I see why Matas would be rated higher.
You're also downplaying Matas athletic ability, he has some power behind him when he moves & jumps

Matas doesn't have the athleticism or foot speed to be a perimeter player and neither does Filipowski. I look at their handles and vision from the perspective of a big man, since there isn't a need for Kyrie like handles at that position. Flip wins in those categories as a projected future 4/5.

George gets hated on for having 0 explosiveness but Buzelis isn't any better in that. George has great size, movement shooting, and he finds ways to move the ball and get assists. He brings immediate skills that he can build on at the NBA level unlike Buzelis.

In terms of being immediately playable Buzelis will provide next to nothing on a NBA team. Maybe he can develop into something better but that's awfully hard to do when you can't provide good minutes. He's looked pretty bad in the GLeague too. So leaving him there for another year doesn't really do anything for his development.

[Reeko]

There's no consensus #1 pick in this year's draft, is there?

Sarr is pretty clearly the consensus #1 pick IMO.

I like Sarr but the fact that he's the consensus #1 pick kind of shows how lackluster this draft is.

Consensus according to who? There's three guys at CBS who do mocks and 2 of the 3 have Risacher going 1st. Givony and Woo at ESPN have Risacher going 1st. Vecenie also has Risacher going 1st. Now, in your opinion Sarr might be the #1 pick but there's no consensus right now about who is going #1.

[DreamTeam09]

What about Buzelis' game makes him better than Kyshawn George or Kyle Filipowski? He doesn't have any defining skills or athletic attributes. Filipowski is a true 7 footer and he can shoot and see the floor pretty well. George has guard skills at 6'8 and worse case is a younger Trey Murphy. I would argue Buzelis is the biggest candidate other than Topic to fall in this draft.


It's likely Sarr because of the shift towards bigs like Wemby and Chet.

Filip cannot handle the ball like Matas, and George does have the handle, but he's not a 3/4 or 4/3 like Matas. His skill is his size to skill ratio.
I'm a George fan, but I see why Matas would be rated higher.
You're also downplaying Matas athletic ability, he has some power behind him when he moves & jumps

Matas doesn't have the athleticism or foot speed to be a perimeter player and neither does Filipowski. I look at their handles and vision from the perspective of a big man, since there isn't a need for Kyrie like handles at that position. Flip wins in those categories as a projected future 4/5.

George gets hated on for having 0 explosiveness but Buzelis isn't any better in that. George has great size, movement shooting, and he finds ways to move the ball and get assists. He brings immediate skills that he can build on at the NBA level unlike Buzelis.

In terms of being immediately playable Buzelis will provide next to nothing on a NBA team. Maybe he can develop into something better but that's awfully hard to do when you can't provide good minutes. He's looked pretty bad in the GLeague too. So leaving him there for another year doesn't really do anything for his development.

I just think you're under selling a lot of what you see. He did look alright in the Gleague, the %s won't look good but that should be expected from any teen in the Gleague.
I do too look at Matas as a big, he's a 4, and he definitely can exist on the perimeter, alot more so than Filip will. Filip is a 5 in the NBA, Matas is a 4, and I see gerogre as a 2-3.
Matas shouldn't be compared to George, they're playing two different positions.
I agree Matas isn't a finished product, none of them are

[DreamTeam09]

There's no consensus #1 pick in this year's draft, is there?

Sarr is pretty clearly the consensus #1 pick IMO.

I like Sarr but the fact that he's the consensus #1 pick kind of shows how lackluster this draft is.

Consensus according to who? There's three guys at CBS who do mocks and 2 of the 3 have Risacher going 1st. Givony and Woo at ESPN have Risacher going 1st. Vecenie also has Risacher going 1st. Now, in your opinion Sarr might be the #1 pick but there's no consensus right now about who is going #1.

TBF, a lot of those mocks are because Det is going 1 and they feel they don't need another C/PF

Sarr is definitely the consensus #1 prospect in this draft

[Reeko]

Sarr is pretty clearly the consensus #1 pick IMO.

I like Sarr but the fact that he's the consensus #1 pick kind of shows how lackluster this draft is.

Consensus according to who? There's three guys at CBS who do mocks and 2 of the 3 have Risacher going 1st. Givony and Woo at ESPN have Risacher going 1st. Vecenie also has Risacher going 1st. Now, in your opinion Sarr might be the #1 pick but there's no consensus right now about who is going #1.

TBF, a lot of those mocks are because Det is going 1 and they feel they don't need another C/PF

Sarr is definitely the consensus #1 prospect in this draft

If he was the consensus #1 pick then team fit wouldn't matter. You think if Detroit was picking first last year the mocks have them passing on Wemby because they already have Duren?

[dohboy_24]

So how many names are legitimately in the mix for #1?

Two and the only reason Risacher is in the mix is if the Pistons get the #1 pick since they are already developing Jalen Duren at the 5 spot and might not want a Sarr-Duren-Stewart frontcourt rotation as opposed to starting Risacher-Stewart-Duren together.

Alex Sarr. 75% likely he's chosen with the first pick.
Zaccharie Risacher. 25% likely he's selected #1.

[DreamTeam09]

Consensus according to who? There's three guys at CBS who do mocks and 2 of the 3 have Risacher going 1st. Givony and Woo at ESPN have Risacher going 1st. Vecenie also has Risacher going 1st. Now, in your opinion Sarr might be the #1 pick but there's no consensus right now about who is going #1.

TBF, a lot of those mocks are because Det is going 1 and they feel they don't need another C/PF

Sarr is definitely the consensus #1 prospect in this draft

If he was the consensus #1 pick then team fit wouldn't matter. You think if Detroit was picking first last year the mocks have them passing on Wemby because they already have Duren?

Consensus #1 doesn't = generational talent. Just means he's perceived as the best prospect from the masses. Now if you don't feel he's a generational talent, then fit should come into play...

[Psubs]

TBF, a lot of those mocks are because Det is going 1 and they feel they don't need another C/PF

Sarr is definitely the consensus #1 prospect in this draft

If he was the consensus #1 pick then team fit wouldn't matter. You think if Detroit was picking first last year the mocks have them passing on Wemby because they already have Duren?

Consensus #1 doesn't = generational talent. Just means he's perceived as the best prospect from the masses. Now if you don't feel he's a generational talent, then fit should come into play...

Ya, it's like Kenyon Martin was the consensus #1. I think Banchero was consensus #1 when the it was draft day.

I think the Pistons should take Risacher or Reed since Ausur Thompson can't shoot.

[dohboy_24]

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/marcus-smart-1.html

Look at those stats, insane free throw rate, very solid rebounder for a guard, incredible steals and good blocks too for his size. Good free throw shooter too so there would be hope for his outside shot. He's clearly a superior prospect to Anthony Edwards, but Edwards improved a lot and Smart never got better as a player.

Marcus Smart was not going to be picked ahead of Joel Embiid (Kansas) in the 2014 draft. Same goes with Jabari Parker (Duke).

FT % = 75% (average)
FTA = 7 per game
FTM = 5 per game = 5 points

He averaged 17 points per game, so that's 30% of his point production coming from the FT line. I'm not sure if that's a good ratio or an elite one, but I'm not sure I'd describe his free throw rate as insane.

Kris Dunn averaged a rebound and steal less than Smart and was selected #5 in the 2016 draft behind Ben Simmons (3 x All-Star), Brandon Ingram (1 x All-Star), Jaylen Brown (2 x All-Star), and Dragan Bender (bust) to a team that .

Ant-Man played half as many games at Georgia (32) than Smart did at OSU (64).

He averaged just as many blocks, one less rebound, two fewer assists and half as many steals during his college career and was drafted #1 ahead of James Wiseman (bust), LaMelo Ball (solid starter), Patrick Williams (good rotation player), Isaac Okoro (good rotation player), Onyeka Okongwu (good rotation player), Killian Hayes (bust), Obi Toppin (good rotation player), Deni Avdija (good rotation player), and Jalen Smith (good rotation player).

If Smart were available to be drafted he would have been in consideration for the #1 pick along with Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, and LaMelo Ball, but the 2020 draft would still have been considered weak and without a consensus top pick the same as this 2024 draft.

All else aside, you have to be at the level of an Allen Iverson, Derrick Rose, or Kyrie Irving to earn the #1 spot ahead of anyone 6'6" or taller from one of the schools who constantly produce NBA-level talent (Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA), but especially when there's someone 6'8" or taller who GMs and front offices prefer to select #1 overall ahead of those 6'6" and shorter...

None the less, Marcus Smart is not a better player than Anthony Edwards and perhaps even LaMelo Ball but I'd still take him instead of Bruce Brown or Ochai Agbaji to play alongside Gradey Dick and Immanuel Quickley in the backcourt as our lead guards.

[GP2]

So how many names are legitimately in the mix for #1?

Two and the only reason Risacher is in the mix is if the Pistons get the #1 pick since they are already developing Jalen Duren at the 5 spot and might not want a Sarr-Duren-Stewart frontcourt rotation as opposed to starting Risacher-Stewart-Duren together.

Alex Sarr. 75% likely he's chosen with the first pick.
Zaccharie Risacher. 25% likely he's selected #1.

Thanks. Huh, they made it sound like it could be a half dozen guys in the mix.

[DG88]

Well the Indiana pick is officially 19th. Damn some players I liked are probably going to be gone by then sigh this season man. We're so losing the lottery pick this year I just feel it.

[LoveMyRaps]

Well the Indiana pick is officially 19th. Damn some players I liked are probably going to be gone by then sigh this season man. We're so losing the lottery pick this year I just feel it.

Yup. We're gonna be doing dumpster diving.

Unfortunate, because not even McCain will be available at #19.
Zach Edey is beginning to sound like a real possibility.

[JShuttlesworth]

I havent seen enough of Topic to really have an opinion about him

His 3-pointer is very flat though, he shoots it at such a low trajectory, it's no surprise he shoots a low percentage from deep

[DreamTeam09]

Well the Indiana pick is officially 19th. Damn some players I liked are probably going to be gone by then sigh this season man. We're so losing the lottery pick this year I just feel it.

I think we're now in the Carter/McCain Missi/Ware Murphy/De Silva range