2023 Draft Discussion Part III

[ATLTimekeeper]

Also I'm tired of just thinking about BPA BPA BPA, we need to have a vision for the team and when team-building we need to make sure that the pieces fit together otherwise it's pointless. We need true guards who can cook, not more SF/PF players who think they're guards but who can't do what more agile and fundamentally skilled guards can.

Good players make it work, and then you flip talent for ideal fits/specialists. Just take a peak at draft history to find out how many 'true guards who can cook' come from each draft. You won't be excited by the results.

They are just as prevalent as drafting for any other kind of player that your team needs. The point is we need to stop with the vision 6'9 BS.

Good players make it work is such an ambiguous statement. There are countless examples of teams with "good players" that went nowhere because those players stylistically did not fit well alongside one another and weren't able to mask each others weaknesses.

So now you know how pointless it is to tailor your draft. BPA doesn't work when you do something critically stupid, like Sam Hinkie drafting 3 Cs in a row with high lotto picks. If the Raptors drafted a C even though it was BPA that would be a waste because they're likely bringing back Poeltl and Koloko established himself as a rotation player. You can't draft three players that can't be on the court at the same time. We can accept that. But there's nothing that indicates that Siakam-OG and Scottie can't exist on the floor together at the same time. Same goes for a prospect like Cissoko. He could easily co-exist with those players.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Good players make it work, and then you flip talent for ideal fits/specialists. Just take a peak at draft history to find out how many 'true guards who can cook' come from each draft. You won't be excited by the results.

They are just as prevalent as drafting for any other kind of player that your team needs. The point is we need to stop with the vision 6'9 BS.

Good players make it work is such an ambiguous statement. There are countless examples of teams with "good players" that went nowhere because those players stylistically did not fit well alongside one another and weren't able to mask each others weaknesses.

So now you know how pointless it is to tailor your draft. BPA doesn't work when you do something critically stupid, like Sam Hinkie drafting 3 Cs in a row with high lotto picks. If the Raptors drafted a C even though it was BPA that would be a waste because they're likely bringing back Poeltl and Koloko established himself as a rotation player. You can't draft three players that can't be on the court at the same time. We can accept that. But there's nothing that indicates that Siakam-OG and Scottie can't exist on the floor together at the same time. Same goes for a prospect like Cissoko. He could easily co-exist with those players.

Cissoko Siakam OG and Scottie in a starting lineup is not going to win you the Naismith. Who is the 5th? Poeltl? Is that a Scottie as small ball 5 lineup with a PG?

In either case it would be a disaster.

[niQ]

I hadn't seen much of Bilal Coulibaly earlier as he was always listed in the 2nd round. But now I'm starting to wonder why is he ranked so low? I feel like he's definitely going to be a riser in the draft. He's heavily underrated.

[ATLTimekeeper]

They are just as prevalent as drafting for any other kind of player that your team needs. The point is we need to stop with the vision 6'9 BS.

Good players make it work is such an ambiguous statement. There are countless examples of teams with "good players" that went nowhere because those players stylistically did not fit well alongside one another and weren't able to mask each others weaknesses.

So now you know how pointless it is to tailor your draft. BPA doesn't work when you do something critically stupid, like Sam Hinkie drafting 3 Cs in a row with high lotto picks. If the Raptors drafted a C even though it was BPA that would be a waste because they're likely bringing back Poeltl and Koloko established himself as a rotation player. You can't draft three players that can't be on the court at the same time. We can accept that. But there's nothing that indicates that Siakam-OG and Scottie can't exist on the floor together at the same time. Same goes for a prospect like Cissoko. He could easily co-exist with those players.

Cissoko Siakam OG and Scottie in a starting lineup is not going to win you the Naismith. Who is the 5th? Poeltl? Is that a Scottie as small ball 5 lineup with a PG?

In either case it would be a disaster.

He's 19. He shouldn't be starting. You're not thinking about the purpose of the draft. You just take the kinds of players you like to add talent to your team. If they're good enough maybe they bump someone out. By the time Cissoko is like 23 Siakam will be ring chasing somewhere. Judge the draft 5 years from now, not right now.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I hadn't seen much of Bilal Coulibaly earlier as he was always listed in the 2nd round. But now I'm starting to wonder why is he ranked so low? I feel like he's definitely going to be a riser in the draft. He's heavily underrated.

Mocks haven't moved much, is all.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

I hadn't seen much of Bilal Coulibaly earlier as he was always listed in the 2nd round. But now I'm starting to wonder why is he ranked so low? I feel like he's definitely going to be a riser in the draft. He's heavily underrated.

The thing with him is he's still a kid growing into a man's body and he is a player along the lines of a Trey Murphy in the sense of being a guy who has incredible potential but needing to be confident in himself and realize just how good of a player he can be.

If the switch turns on and he plays with another level of assertiveness and confidence on the court and realizes that he's "the guy" he could be a complete steal.

The footage of him playing against really bad young french players got people a little too hyped up but he's still a guy with potential who has a feel for the game and impacts it in many different ways.

Big thing for him is just working on his body and playing nonstop against grown men/better competition while honing his skills.

[nowayguy]

Drafting for need or to fill a specific role using a lottery pick is a bad NBA draft strategy, up there with throwing darts at a list of names on the wall. This isn't the NFL where half of the first round can end up as pro-bowlers or above-average starters. You *try* to fill NBA roster holes with free agency or trades for established players, not with draft picks.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

I hadn't seen much of Bilal Coulibaly earlier as he was always listed in the 2nd round. But now I'm starting to wonder why is he ranked so low? I feel like he's definitely going to be a riser in the draft. He's heavily underrated.

The thing with him is he's still a kid growing into a man's body and he is a player along the lines of a Trey Murphy in the sense of being a guy who has incredible potential but needing to be confident in himself and realize just how good of a player he can be.

If the switch turns on and he plays with another level of assertiveness and confidence on the court and realizes that he's "the guy" he could be a complete steal.

The footage of him playing against really bad young french players got people a little too hyped up but he's still a guy with potential who has a feel for the game and impacts it in many different ways.

Big thing for him is just working on his body and playing nonstop against grown men/better competition while honing his skills.

It's all relative and really not a bad strategy if two players one who fills a need and one who doesn't who you hold in similar regard as to pro potential are available. If there's a considerable dropoff in how you perceive their future success at the NBA level obviously you take the better player. If it's less pronounced then you go for need.

[grant101]

I hadn't seen much of Bilal Coulibaly earlier as he was always listed in the 2nd round. But now I'm starting to wonder why is he ranked so low? I feel like he's definitely going to be a riser in the draft. He's heavily underrated.

Mocks haven't moved much, is all.

I think this changes as the draft approaches. At this time last year Jalen Williams and Jake Laravia were both second rounders. Bilal just has too nice a combination of age, game, athleticism and frame to not move up draft boards. He's a surefire lotto pick next year if he stays, so a perfect "predraft" candidate.

[Psubs]

They are just as prevalent as drafting for any other kind of player that your team needs. The point is we need to stop with the vision 6'9 BS.

Good players make it work is such an ambiguous statement. There are countless examples of teams with "good players" that went nowhere because those players stylistically did not fit well alongside one another and weren't able to mask each others weaknesses.

So now you know how pointless it is to tailor your draft. BPA doesn't work when you do something critically stupid, like Sam Hinkie drafting 3 Cs in a row with high lotto picks. If the Raptors drafted a C even though it was BPA that would be a waste because they're likely bringing back Poeltl and Koloko established himself as a rotation player. You can't draft three players that can't be on the court at the same time. We can accept that. But there's nothing that indicates that Siakam-OG and Scottie can't exist on the floor together at the same time. Same goes for a prospect like Cissoko. He could easily co-exist with those players.

Cissoko Siakam OG and Scottie in a starting lineup is not going to win you the Naismith. Who is the 5th? Poeltl? Is that a Scottie as small ball 5 lineup with a PG?

In either case it would be a disaster.

PG Giddey
SG SGA
SF Jalen Williams
PF Chet
C Jaylin Williams

OG and Cissoko would be 6'7. Cissoko would come of the bench for a year or 2.

[dozo]

Read on Twitter

[Yallbecrazy]

Read on Twitter

Dude is 6'3, 23 years old, gets zero rebounds, doesn't get any blocks, and meh steals...I don't see any way he gets drafted. His absolute peak is an 8th man

[Mark_83]

I hope we can come out of this draft with two of:

Wallace
Hendricks
Bufkin
George
Cissoko
Coulibaly

I can't help but think if Cissoko's wingspan was just a tad longer (6'11-7'0" instead of 6'9) he'd be ranked higher. There's a Stanley Johnson downside there, but I can also see flashes of Butler/Artest if all goes right.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Read on Twitter

I watched Flagler a lot, really good 3 point shooter for Baylor, doesn't translate well to NBA.

[Dalek]

I thought I posted this earlier today, but I think I forgot to submit. These are pretty decent videos of Coulibaly showing his offense and the second one highlights the defense:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

I think his size, wiry frame and shooting ability remind me most of Mikal Bridges. He will be a guy who moves up because he has a good base to work from, is young and malleable.

Whether Toronto wants him is another story. He is a a very good prospect, but likely a couple years away from producing, and at pick 13 there might be a bit more pressure for immediate returns. To me, he could be better served as a draft and stash guy to get better reps where he is.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

So now you know how pointless it is to tailor your draft. BPA doesn't work when you do something critically stupid, like Sam Hinkie drafting 3 Cs in a row with high lotto picks. If the Raptors drafted a C even though it was BPA that would be a waste because they're likely bringing back Poeltl and Koloko established himself as a rotation player. You can't draft three players that can't be on the court at the same time. We can accept that. But there's nothing that indicates that Siakam-OG and Scottie can't exist on the floor together at the same time. Same goes for a prospect like Cissoko. He could easily co-exist with those players.

Cissoko Siakam OG and Scottie in a starting lineup is not going to win you the Naismith. Who is the 5th? Poeltl? Is that a Scottie as small ball 5 lineup with a PG?

In either case it would be a disaster.

PG Giddey
SG SGA
SF Jalen Williams
PF Chet
C Jaylin Williams

OG and Cissoko would be 6'7. Cissoko would come of the bench for a year or 2.

There is a ton more self-creation, passing, finishing at the rim and ball handling ability coming from the 1-3. I would trade our roster with Cissoko on it as well in a split second for OKC's even if Chet wasn't coming back our way. If you get me SGA who looks like he will end up in the hall of fame you can make a lot of things work which is what I said about Pascal working relative to Kawhi. OG belongs in the corners and on the baseline because he stinks when he puts the ball on the floor or operates anywhere else unlike Jalen Williams. Anyway

[youreachiteach]

Scottie for Giddey and Jaylen Williams...who says no? I'd love that trade. Evens out most of our issues and gives OKC some size on their frontline.

[Thaddy]

I thought I posted this earlier today, but I think I forgot to submit. These are pretty decent videos of Coulibaly showing his offense and the second one highlights the defense:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

I think his size, wiry frame and shooting ability remind me most of Mikal Bridges. He will be a guy who moves up because he has a good base to work from, is young and malleable.

Whether Toronto wants him is another story. He is a a very good prospect, but likely a couple years away from producing, and at pick 13 there might be a bit more pressure for immediate returns. To me, he could be better served as a draft and stash guy to get better reps where he is.

Looking at Coulibaly's stats he's had more TO's than assists. He doesn't look like a good shooter if we're going by the stats. The FT% is reassuring but I think Cissoko's ability to get to the line and the month by month improvement in that area shows he's gaining confidence in his physicality. Cissoko has double the FTr of Banton and better playmaking stats than him in the GLeague this season. Cissoko is 18 while Banton is 23 years old.

The reason I have faith in Cissoko is because he is easy to compare to NBA talent. I've seen him go against Champagnie and the 905 with borderline NBA players and out perform them. That's gives enough reasonable belief he can be a productive rotation player right away.

Cissoko's immediate skills are going to be his ability to get to the line, play POA defense, run an offense as the ball handler in a pick and roll, keep turnovers low, and play as a secondary ball handler. He's going to be a streaky shooter but I can see him improving on that. I guess his FT% is >65 next season but <75

[YogurtProducer]

Scottie for Giddey and Jaylen Williams...who says no? I'd love that trade. Evens out most of our issues and gives OKC some size on their frontline.

Why would OKC do this? lmao

[Dalek]

I hope we can come out of this draft with two of:

Wallace
Hendricks
Bufkin
George
Cissoko
Coulibaly

I can't help but think if Cissoko's wingspan was just a tad longer (6'11-7'0" instead of 6'9) he'd be ranked higher. There's a Stanley Johnson downside there, but I can also see flashes of Butler/Artest if all goes right.

I guess you are predicting a draft day trade to get a second pick. To me, OG would be the only option to get a lottery pick. In that case getting a defense playmaker like Wallace, Hendricks or Black make sense but to me Toronto is better off keeping OG.

If we get one of the Thompsons, I might suggest drafting Lively who I think will be a great defensive C who can pair well with a talented passing PG.