2023 Draft Discussion Part III

[niQ]

Rupert is 6'6 with a 7'3 wingspan

What are we debating here guys? You think Masai will ever pass up this type of prospect? lmfao

(I actually do like him a lot)

All we can do is pray he gets drafted before us.

[mademan]

Rupert is 6'6 with a 7'3 wingspan

What are we debating here guys? You think Masai will ever pass up this type of prospect? lmfao

(I actually do like him a lot)

All we can do is pray he gets drafted before us.

There's 2 international wing prospects with 7'3 wing spans. There's no way we're not getting one of them

IBM Watson is just some random dude with a tape measure.

[niQ]

Rupert is 6'6 with a 7'3 wingspan

What are we debating here guys? You think Masai will ever pass up this type of prospect? lmfao

(I actually do like him a lot)

All we can do is pray he gets drafted before us.

There's 2 international wing prospects with 7'3 wing spans. There's no way we're not getting one of them

IBM Watson is just some random dude with a tape measure.

We have a lucky 1%. We're getting the one with 8' wingspan, right? ... Right?

[ItsDanger]

I don't see the offensive upside in Rupert, but I haven't seen enough, just impression off highlights. Give me BBIQ over wingspan

[DreamTeam09]

George or Nick Smith Jr are looking like the two most high upside players who would be available at 13. I'm high on George tho,

This Rupert fellow is in a tier after those guys imo.

[Thaddy]

New Zealand's owner says Rupert is the hardest working player they've ever had. They had Ousumane Dieng last year. Roberson's jumper was dead broken. He was a PF that had the mobility to switch to the wing. Rupert is going to be a guard in the NBA. Nice FT stroke. I would bet on him improving as a shooter over time or at least die trying. I like the Thabo comp, although Thabo was a better player heading into the NBA.

You do have to bet on character and work ethic, because those are enduring traits and we know the hours do contribute to shot efficiency. Sounds like Cissoko is all about the work, too, which bodes well for him. It seems like more and more going outside the NCAA is a better option this year based on where we're picking.

His shooting numbers are really bad and haven't improved in about 3 years. The form looks good but can't find the net consistently. At the very least Cissoko showed he can go hot/cold and played against NBA guys. The athleticism difference between the two also points to Cissoko having a higher potential.

Cissoko is playing against NBA tryouts in a non-competitive environment on a losing team. So the players are more athletic and bigger than what he was facing in Spain, but there's no stakes. If Rupert makes the same mistake twice in Australia, he's getting benched. Not the same for Cissoko, so that has to be factored in. I don't see much of a difference in athleticism, personally.

If we're going by functional athleticism Cissoko has a much higher FTr than Rupert, he's a worse shooter from the FT line but he's shown glimpses where he's been on fire from 3.

Rupert has a huge wingspan which gives him a lot of advantages on defense but Cissoko is still a very big guard and has an OG build. I would say although Cissoko has lesser tools and similar athleticism he's able to use it a lot better.

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Idk man this guy looks like a top ten pick

[ATLTimekeeper]

I haven't seen any questions about Rupert's bball IQ, but playing off the ball on a competitive team in a tough league would definitely give professional NBA scouts a good sample.

[ItsDanger]

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Walsh declares. Impact defender, not much on offense, just depends if you think he can develop a reliable 3 pt shot.

[Dalek]

I have been deep diving into Brandin Podziemski, and I had been thinking about an NBA comps like Austin Reaves or Donte DiVincenzo because those seem like realistic comps because of Podz size and athleticism. If you believe that Podz has more of combo PG potential, which I do, the high-end upside to me could be Tyrese Haliburton.

Haliburton and Podz are about 6'5 guards with average speed/athleticism, but were stars in Wisconsin where they grew up where probably Podz was a bigger star:

Hali HS senior year: 22.9 points, 6.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 steals
Podz HS senior year: 35.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 4.0 steals per game

Both players played two years of college and went to the draft:

Hali soph year:15 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 43 3P%, 82 FT% Advanced: 63 TS% 9.2 TRB% .184 FTr 35 AST 11.7 BPM 3.7 DPM
Podz soph year: 20 points, 3.7 assists, 9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals 44 3P%, 77 FT% Advanced: 60 TS% 13.7 TRB% .313 FTr 20.5 AST 10.6 BPM 2.7 DPM

They played in different college seasons and different conferences, but the numbers are not that far off from each other. Obviously the assists are quite different with Haliburton showing high level passing skills, but Podz was expected to be a one man wrecking crew given who he was working with. He outscored and outboarded Hali and was credible on all advanced stats.

Hali is more of a crafty driver who keeps defense at bay because he is a shooting threat and passing threat. I think Poziemski can show those elements. Both players are not overly bursty but find seams in the defense to make passes:

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Hali struggles on-ball ion defense in the NBA but he leads a high powered offense. Podz had unreal growth in his year two and I do wonder if he might not be the draft steal.

[ATLTimekeeper]

If we're going by functional athleticism Cissoko has a much higher FTr than Rupert, he's a worse shooter from the FT line but he's shown glimpses where he's been on fire from 3.

Rupert's FT/FTA is .34, which is decently high for the NBL. From what I've seen they're roughly the same level athlete, and neither look like good rebounders. That's a concern.

[Yallbecrazy]

George or Nick Smith Jr are looking like the two most high upside players who would be available at 13. I'm high on George tho,

This Rupert fellow is in a tier after those guys imo.

I'm not very high on Rupert, but wouldn't be abhorred if we traded down and grabbed him.

I would vomit all over the place taking Nick Smith...he's in my bottom tier.

[Yallbecrazy]

I have been deep diving into Brandin Podziemski, and I had been thinking about an NBA comps like Austin Reaves or Donte DiVincenzo because those seem like realistic comps because of Podz size and athleticism. If you believe that Podz has more of combo PG potential, which I do, the high-end upside to me could be Tyrese Haliburton.

Haliburton and Podz are about 6'5 guards with average speed/athleticism, but were stars in Wisconsin where they grew up where probably Podz was a bigger star:

Hali HS senior year: 22.9 points, 6.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 steals
Podz HS senior year: 35.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 4.0 steals per game

Both players played two years of college and went to the draft:

Hali soph year:15 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 43 3P%, 82 FT% Advanced: 63 TS% 9.2 TRB% .184 FTr 35 AST 11.7 BPM 3.7 DPM
Podz soph year: 20 points, 3.7 assists, 9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals 44 3P%, 77 FT% Advanced: 60 TS% 13.7 TRB% .313 FTr 20.5 AST 10.6 BPM 2.7 DPM

They played in different college seasons and different conferences, but the numbers are not that far off from each other. Obviously the assists are quite different with Haliburton showing high level passing skills, but Podz was expected to be a one man wrecking crew given who he was working with. He outscored and outboarded Hali and was credible on all advanced stats.

Hali is more of a crafty driver who keeps defense at bay because he is a shooting threat and passing threat. I think Poziemski can show those elements. Both players are not overly bursty but find seams in the defense to make passes:

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Hali struggles on-ball ion defense in the NBA but he leads a high powered offense. Podz had unreal growth in his year two and I do wonder if he might not be the draft steal.

I watched the one full game in the NIT where they played against one of the top defenses in the country apparently and easily the top in that tournament as per the commentators.
They were all over Podz in the 1st half and he struggled, but despite the defense being hyper focused on him in the 2nd he was able to get it going and finished with a decent stat line. Santa Clara really didn't have any other offensive weapons or shooters and down the stretch their offensive strategy was just give it to Podz and hope, while Sam Houston's defense was hyper focused on anyone except Podz beating them.

Sam Houston started running a bunch of screens to get their smaller pg iso'd on Podz late in the game and Podz got blown by the first time, but the 2nd time he was able to focus and get his hand in there to force a jump ball. He's not athletically gifted as a defender, but he does compete and has a good bbiq on the defensive end. Sam Houston may have been trying to iso him as well since I think he played the whole game and they wanted to tire him out.

It's not conceivable to me that Hawkins is a better prospect than Podziemski.

On the general realgm NBA draft board someone asked chatGPT where Podziemski should go in the draft and it said he's a top 14 pick.

edit:
The one thing where I'm a little worried is his ft% and that was brought up by GPT. Given his 3pt shooting his free throw shooting really should be 7-10 percent higher. So there is some likelihood he is running really hot from 3, really cold from the line, or some combination of the two. Considering he has a fairly high volume on both and was an excellent 3pt shooter in high school it is quite the outlier.

[mademan]

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Walsh declares. Impact defender, not much on offense, just depends if you think he can develop a reliable 3 pt shot.

Next Bruce Brown. With his touch around the rim, i have faith that his shooting will come around. His effort and defense will ensure he sticks around in this league if he can become a mediocre shooter

[ATLTimekeeper]

I have been deep diving into Brandin Podziemski, and I had been thinking about an NBA comps like Austin Reaves or Donte DiVincenzo because those seem like realistic comps because of Podz size and athleticism. If you believe that Podz has more of combo PG potential, which I do, the high-end upside to me could be Tyrese Haliburton.

Haliburton and Podz are about 6'5 guards with average speed/athleticism, but were stars in Wisconsin where they grew up where probably Podz was a bigger star:

Hali HS senior year: 22.9 points, 6.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 steals
Podz HS senior year: 35.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 4.0 steals per game

Both players played two years of college and went to the draft:

Hali soph year:15 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 43 3P%, 82 FT% Advanced: 63 TS% 9.2 TRB% .184 FTr 35 AST 11.7 BPM 3.7 DPM
Podz soph year: 20 points, 3.7 assists, 9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals 44 3P%, 77 FT% Advanced: 60 TS% 13.7 TRB% .313 FTr 20.5 AST 10.6 BPM 2.7 DPM

They played in different college seasons and different conferences, but the numbers are not that far off from each other. Obviously the assists are quite different with Haliburton showing high level passing skills, but Podz was expected to be a one man wrecking crew given who he was working with. He outscored and outboarded Hali and was credible on all advanced stats.

Hali is more of a crafty driver who keeps defense at bay because he is a shooting threat and passing threat. I think Poziemski can show those elements. Both players are not overly bursty but find seams in the defense to make passes:

Hali struggles on-ball ion defense in the NBA but he leads a high powered offense. Podz had unreal growth in his year two and I do wonder if he might not be the draft steal.

Three weeks ago you wouldn't even let me compare him to Jalen Williams and now you're breaking out Haliburton comps I wonder if mock drafters are freaked out by his Nico Mannion haircut and don't want to look foolish. He should be firmly in the first round by now.

[Clutch0z24]

At 13 you got
Nick Smith Jr.
Keyonte George
Brice Sensabaugh
Grady Dick

Think the other guys people are suggestion could be picked later in the draft if we could trade for a pick.

[God Squad]

Go safe with Cason Wallace, or swing for the homerun with Coulibaly. I also like Cissoko, but not as much as these two. If it's none of these 3, then it's whatever.

[UnbelievablyRAW]

If we can ship Boucher and Otto for seconds I would love to grab Strawher and Podzimski if he falls. Sasser is a good option too if he falls

Also, no one talk about it because we have Koloko, but Lively looks like a better version of him defensively and has more meat on his bones already. Imagine we just kept the pick and drafted Nembhard

[ATLTimekeeper]

If we can ship Boucher and Otto for seconds I would love to grab Strawher and Podzimski if he falls. Sasser is a good option too if he falls

Also, no one talk about it because we have Koloko, but Lively looks like a better version of him defensively and has more meat on his bones already. Imagine we just kept the pick and drafted Nembhard

We should be able to get a better player than Nembhard at 13.

[Rapsfan07]

His shooting numbers are really bad and haven't improved in about 3 years. The form looks good but can't find the net consistently. At the very least Cissoko showed he can go hot/cold and played against NBA guys. The athleticism difference between the two also points to Cissoko having a higher potential.

Cissoko is playing against NBA tryouts in a non-competitive environment on a losing team. So the players are more athletic and bigger than what he was facing in Spain, but there's no stakes. If Rupert makes the same mistake twice in Australia, he's getting benched. Not the same for Cissoko, so that has to be factored in. I don't see much of a difference in athleticism, personally.

If we're going by functional athleticism Cissoko has a much higher FTr than Rupert, he's a worse shooter from the FT line but he's shown glimpses where he's been on fire from 3.

Rupert has a huge wingspan which gives him a lot of advantages on defense but Cissoko is still a very big guard and has an OG build. I would say although Cissoko has lesser tools and similar athleticism he's able to use it a lot better.

Watch on YouTube

Idk man this guy looks like a top ten pick

Cissoko in the Top 10? Wowzers

[Rapsfan07]

I have been deep diving into Brandin Podziemski, and I had been thinking about an NBA comps like Austin Reaves or Donte DiVincenzo because those seem like realistic comps because of Podz size and athleticism. If you believe that Podz has more of combo PG potential, which I do, the high-end upside to me could be Tyrese Haliburton.

Haliburton and Podz are about 6'5 guards with average speed/athleticism, but were stars in Wisconsin where they grew up where probably Podz was a bigger star:

Hali HS senior year: 22.9 points, 6.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 steals
Podz HS senior year: 35.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 4.0 steals per game

Both players played two years of college and went to the draft:

Hali soph year:15 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 43 3P%, 82 FT% Advanced: 63 TS% 9.2 TRB% .184 FTr 35 AST 11.7 BPM 3.7 DPM
Podz soph year: 20 points, 3.7 assists, 9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals 44 3P%, 77 FT% Advanced: 60 TS% 13.7 TRB% .313 FTr 20.5 AST 10.6 BPM 2.7 DPM

They played in different college seasons and different conferences, but the numbers are not that far off from each other. Obviously the assists are quite different with Haliburton showing high level passing skills, but Podz was expected to be a one man wrecking crew given who he was working with. He outscored and outboarded Hali and was credible on all advanced stats.

Hali is more of a crafty driver who keeps defense at bay because he is a shooting threat and passing threat. I think Poziemski can show those elements. Both players are not overly bursty but find seams in the defense to make passes:

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Hali struggles on-ball ion defense in the NBA but he leads a high powered offense. Podz had unreal growth in his year two and I do wonder if he might not be the draft steal.

I've wondered the very same thing.

The one issue I have with Podz, and IMO it's a pretty big one, is he almost never goes downhill. But Podz has been on my radar for bit. I don't know if he becomes a star or not however if you are looking for a bench guard and are okay if he winds up just being that, with any other development being a bonus, he's a great pick.