2023 Draft Discussion Part III

[BoyzNTheHood]

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has us taking JHS and Bufkin going 18th... i would hate that, ngl.

let's hope kobe is even on the organisation's radar.

He’s obsessed with JHS for some reason. It’s disappointing to say the least.

[HumbleRen]

Hypothetical:

Orlando wants to bring Florida boy Scottie Barnes home. They're offering picks 6 and 11 this year. Do you take it?

The only reason this is even a question being asked is because the presence of the Spiciest choker is stunting Barnes development. Otherwise guys like Wagner and Mobley aren’t in the same stratosphere as Scottie. Trade Siakam before his value drops any further and build around Scottie.

Wagner and Mobley are currently better though lol.

[HumbleRen]

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has us taking JHS and Bufkin going 18th... i would hate that, ngl.

let's hope kobe is even on the organisation's radar.

JHS is giving me flashbacks of everyone mocking Davion Mitchell to us in the 2021 draft lol.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Yeah this guy has been obsessed with mocking JHS to the Raptors for months, who knows why.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Bufkin would have looked even better with JHS's role at Indiana IMO.

Meanwhile you have JHS who is 3 months older, considerably lower and just outright bad TS%, lower 3pa rate & ft rate, lower ast/to ratio, higher usage and a disgusting BPM. Nobody cares that he's 2 inches taller and 30 lbs heavier. Fox on Sacramento isn't exactly a heavyweight and he's doing just fine right now.

Some guys said the other day that Bufkin has really long legs, not sure if there is truth to that but visually it looks like his legs allow him to cover ground more quickly and separate with his footwork.

[Yallbecrazy]

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.

Don't get wrong, I will NOT be very upset or anything if we were to draft Wallace but "go safe" to me is the exact reason why I wouldn't if it were my choice because imo playing it safe is exactly why this franchise is stuck in the middle of nowhere...

Let's say Cason does hit his potential & becomes another Marcus Smart type of player, does that level of player really do much to move the needle that much long term?!

If we replaced Gary with Smart, sure the team would probably be a BIT better. But they'd probably top out as a 2nd rd team which isn't that much higher than present, so why jump on the treadmill when you already know where it's going (nowhere)?! I don't see the point as much as I think he's going to be one of the best defenders in the league for his position. But for me I say use a LOTTERY pick as the name implies to take a bit of a gamble on higher returns. I'd draft all of George, Cissiko & Bilal (although I'm not as confident as a lot of ppl are because he does seem INCREDIBLY raw when you consider he's 6'6, not 6'9+) before him. Although don't mind JHS, his upside looks too limited for my liking too and is one player I could see us taking that I'd probably be bit disappointed if we drafted. If they take Dick, I'll stop watching the team either until they land a massive fluke trade for a superstar to make up for it or management is fired lol.

But this franchise has to find a way to infuse more TALENT into it somehow & this is a major opportunity, I would not play safe.

https://deanondraft.com/2023/02/01/the-downside-of-upside/

[Thaddy]

Cissoko is the easiest choice if he's there IMO. I can't find myself to like Bufkin, Hawkins, or even a guy like Dick over him. Unless we have Whitmore or a crazy high ceiling guy fall to us I'm going with Cissoko. Even if someone like Whitmore, Black, or Hendricks falls to us (I really doubt it) it would take a lot for me to not go with him.

Before you start beef with this post watch these highlights

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This is what happens when you get a ranked PG and add 8" of wingspan and height on him. He should be a top 5 pick, no idea why he's ranked so low. He would have dominated in the NCAA if he was in a position similar to GG's.

[Mark_83]

Yeah this guy has been obsessed with mocking JHS to the Raptors for months, who knows why.

I remember when baseball mock drafts kept connecting the Blue Jays to Logan Warmoth in the 1st round, and I kept hoping like hell they were wrong. But every mock draft kept saying it, and sure enough we took him. And sure enough, he sucked. I hope this isn't the same situation, although in baseball it's easier to connect teams to players because you see their higher management types come to watch them. NBA mocks in contrast are typically just guessing based on historical organizational preferences.

[Mark_83]

Bufkin would have looked even better with JHS's role at Indiana IMO.

Meanwhile you have JHS who is 3 months older, considerably lower and just outright bad TS%, lower 3pa rate & ft rate, lower ast/to ratio, higher usage and a disgusting BPM. Nobody cares that he's 2 inches taller and 30 lbs heavier. Fox on Sacramento isn't exactly a heavyweight and he's doing just fine right now.

Some guys said the other day that Bufkin has really long legs, not sure if there is truth to that but visually it looks like his legs allow him to cover ground more quickly and separate with his footwork.

Bufkin basically looks like what Nick Smith Jr was supposed to be this year. A combo guard, microwave scorer. His finishing percentage at the rim is really impressive for his size. He could be like Jordan Poole with defense.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Bufkin would have looked even better with JHS's role at Indiana IMO.

Meanwhile you have JHS who is 3 months older, considerably lower and just outright bad TS%, lower 3pa rate & ft rate, lower ast/to ratio, higher usage and a disgusting BPM. Nobody cares that he's 2 inches taller and 30 lbs heavier. Fox on Sacramento isn't exactly a heavyweight and he's doing just fine right now.

Some guys said the other day that Bufkin has really long legs, not sure if there is truth to that but visually it looks like his legs allow him to cover ground more quickly and separate with his footwork.

Bufkin basically looks like what Nick Smith Jr was supposed to be this year. A combo guard, microwave scorer. His finishing percentage at the rim is really impressive for his size. He could be like Jordan Poole with defense.

To be fair, Bufkin has a year of NCAA experience on NSJ, and none of us would blink an eye at Freshman Kobe Bufkin

[DreamTeam09]

If Sidy OG Barnes Pascal Jakob can function as a unit, that would be cool.

[bboyskinnylegs]

If the draft actually played out like that I think I might take every player he has from 14-20 ahead of JHS.

[Mark_83]

Bufkin would have looked even better with JHS's role at Indiana IMO.

Meanwhile you have JHS who is 3 months older, considerably lower and just outright bad TS%, lower 3pa rate & ft rate, lower ast/to ratio, higher usage and a disgusting BPM. Nobody cares that he's 2 inches taller and 30 lbs heavier. Fox on Sacramento isn't exactly a heavyweight and he's doing just fine right now.

Some guys said the other day that Bufkin has really long legs, not sure if there is truth to that but visually it looks like his legs allow him to cover ground more quickly and separate with his footwork.

Bufkin basically looks like what Nick Smith Jr was supposed to be this year. A combo guard, microwave scorer. His finishing percentage at the rim is really impressive for his size. He could be like Jordan Poole with defense.

To be fair, Bufkin has a year of NCAA experience on NSJ, and none of us would blink an eye at Freshman Kobe Bufkin

Bufkin is a Sophomore but at 19 he's the same age range as a lot of Freshmen, including Smith (5 months older).

[BoyzNTheHood]

Bufkin basically looks like what Nick Smith Jr was supposed to be this year. A combo guard, microwave scorer. His finishing percentage at the rim is really impressive for his size. He could be like Jordan Poole with defense.

To be fair, Bufkin has a year of NCAA experience on NSJ, and none of us would blink an eye at Freshman Kobe Bufkin

Bufkin is a Sophomore but at 19 he's the same age range as a lot of Freshmen, including Smith (5 months older).

Age wasn’t my point, I know Bufkin is a young sophomore. My point is that Bufkin had a very underwhelming freshman year. Worse than NSJ has had.

A lot of Bufkin fans also hate GG Jackson, for many of the same things Bufkin did horribly as a freshman. Both were young freshmen, both struggled shooting. The difference is, GG has much better size but we won’t ever see him as a sophomore to compare success.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Can't have a worse year than NSJ had when you shoot 6-23 with 3 rebounds 1 assist and 1 steal over 69 minutes in the NCAA tournament.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Anyway I'd rather have Jaden Hardy than almost all these guys, would love to get him to Toronto via trade. He looks like he's gonna be an efficient and explosive scorer for years to come.

[DreamTeam09]

Bufkin would have looked even better with JHS's role at Indiana IMO.

Meanwhile you have JHS who is 3 months older, considerably lower and just outright bad TS%, lower 3pa rate & ft rate, lower ast/to ratio, higher usage and a disgusting BPM. Nobody cares that he's 2 inches taller and 30 lbs heavier. Fox on Sacramento isn't exactly a heavyweight and he's doing just fine right now.

Some guys said the other day that Bufkin has really long legs, not sure if there is truth to that but visually it looks like his legs allow him to cover ground more quickly and separate with his footwork.

Bufkin basically looks like what Nick Smith Jr was supposed to be this year. A combo guard, microwave scorer. His finishing percentage at the rim is really impressive for his size. He could be like Jordan Poole with defense.

To be fair, Bufkin has a year of NCAA experience on NSJ, and none of us would blink an eye at Freshman Kobe Bufkin

That was the same knock someone used on George, and freshman George had the same %s as freshman Kobe

[Mark_83]

To be fair, Bufkin has a year of NCAA experience on NSJ, and none of us would blink an eye at Freshman Kobe Bufkin

Bufkin is a Sophomore but at 19 he's the same age range as a lot of Freshmen, including Smith (5 months older).

Age wasn’t my point, I know Bufkin is a young sophomore. My point is that Bufkin had a very underwhelming freshman year. Worse than NSJ has had.

A lot of Bufkin fans also hate GG Jackson, for many of the same things Bufkin did horribly as a freshman. Both were young freshmen, both struggled shooting. The difference is, GG has much better size but we won’t ever see him as a sophomore to compare success.

You're gonna have to show me a Venn diagram of who those fans are saying that. The problem with GG isn't talent. It's makeup and character. Also, I don't know how anyone can say that Bufkin and GG both struggled shooting as Freshman in the same way. Bufkin averaged only 10 minutes and 3 shots per game last year as a Freshman. GG was averaging almost 15 shots a game and playing over 30 minutes a night. Not even a fair sample size comparison.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Bufkin basically looks like what Nick Smith Jr was supposed to be this year. A combo guard, microwave scorer. His finishing percentage at the rim is really impressive for his size. He could be like Jordan Poole with defense.

To be fair, Bufkin has a year of NCAA experience on NSJ, and none of us would blink an eye at Freshman Kobe Bufkin

That was the same knock someone used on George, and freshman George had the same %s as freshman Kobe

You realize that Bufkin and George are basically the same age. On top of that, the difference is we have actually seen year 2 from Bufkin and even in his freshman season (he was younger than Smith was) his 2pt fg% was 11.5% higher than NSJ's. He wasn't jacking up ridiculous inefficient shots like NSJ was.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Bufkin is a Sophomore but at 19 he's the same age range as a lot of Freshmen, including Smith (5 months older).

Age wasn’t my point, I know Bufkin is a young sophomore. My point is that Bufkin had a very underwhelming freshman year. Worse than NSJ has had.

A lot of Bufkin fans also hate GG Jackson, for many of the same things Bufkin did horribly as a freshman. Both were young freshmen, both struggled shooting. The difference is, GG has much better size but we won’t ever see him as a sophomore to compare success.

You're gonna have to show me a Venn diagram of who those fans are saying that. The problem with GG isn't talent. It's makeup and character. Also, I don't know how anyone can say that Bufkin and GG both struggled shooting as Freshman in the same way. Bufkin averaged only 10 minutes and 3 shots per game last year as a Freshman. GG was averaging almost 15 shots a game and playing over 30 minutes a night. Not even a fair sample size comparison.

No Venn diagram is needed when the draft threads are here for us all to read equally. And you’re right, it’s unfair to GG. He was focused on by defenders and Kobe wasn’t.