2023 Draft Discussion Part III

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

My little turnover baby <3

[Mark_83]

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.

If only GG also focused on defense.

[C_Money]

I was bored tonight so I went over the last 10 drafts to see how they fared. I came to this conclusion:

There’s a ridiculous amount of busts in the lottery and there seems to always be somebody picked in the 20’s that should have gone in the top 5. The NBA Draft in general is mostly crap compared to other sports. I don’t know why its so hard to scout college basketball but even the best scouts in the league seem to get it wrong all the time.

My point is, don’t get too caught up on the mock drafts because they are probably way off in terms of how this draft will actually look 5 years from now.

[bballsparkin]

Cason Wallace with Doncic would be an interesting fit.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

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.

If only GG also focused on defense.

GG is immature and has way too much to overcome.

He's going to start in the g-league. I have a hard time seeing him having success there. Maybe he gets called up and given a spot on an NBA bench after a couple of years. Will he have gained a better feel for the game by then so that he can actually put his skills to use? I'm not betting on it. And then to make it from a bench to an NBA starting lineup? And expect him to have lost the tunnel vision and recklessness and pure selfish ISO basketball tendencies and improved his percentages by a considerable margin all across the board and improved as a defender sufficiently to keep him on the court? I don't think he has the desire to be great the way his brain appears to be wired. Bad body language, bad effort levels, chooses when he wants to turn it on and the contrast is striking. Seems to only be interested in doing what he wants on the court and has a lot to learn regarding how to win and play the game the right way.

This kid is total fool's gold but I'll admit I can see why people would fall for him. The athleticism, craftiness and ball handling skills at 6'9 is enticing. Those skills don't even come close to telling the whole story of G.G. Jackson as a player. If you want to look at those three things and base your projection of him off of that combined with his age you can get pulled into the hype, but regardless of his age he's old enough to not exhibit such horrible tunnel vision and bad teamwork and feel for the game. I haven't discounted prospects his age in the past nor will I in the future, but I am discounting GG. Hard pass as he has massive bust written all over him.

[Yallbecrazy]

If you're comparing a sophomore's freshman season to a freshman when the soph had a crazy outlier jump from year 1 to year 2 you're doing it wrong.

You can't expect outlier growth from a prospect.

JHS, Nick Smith, and GG Jackson could all be Nba quality players or even stars, but they have to hit their 90th-99th percentile outcome for that to happen. There are lots of other players who at 60th percentile growth become NBA players and stars at 75th+.

[Clutch0z24]

After watching more film my top 5 for 13th

Brice Sensabaugh
Keyonte George
Nick Smith Jr
Kobe Bufkin
Cason Wallace

We need a guard

[ATLTimekeeper]

If you're comparing a sophomore's freshman season to a freshman when the soph had a crazy outlier jump from year 1 to year 2 you're doing it wrong.

You can't expect outlier growth from a prospect.

JHS, Nick Smith, and GG Jackson could all be Nba quality players or even stars, but they have to hit their 90th-99th percentile outcome for that to happen. There are lots of other players who at 60th percentile growth become NBA players and stars at 75th+.

The proof of this is just to take evidence of success stories in the draft and you'll see that most later round successes are either from abroad or (productive) NCAA upper classmen. Very rarely is a bad European or college player a good NBA player.

[OakleyDokely]

I was bored tonight so I went over the last 10 drafts to see how they fared. I came to this conclusion:

There’s a ridiculous amount of busts in the lottery and there seems to always be somebody picked in the 20’s that should have gone in the top 5. The NBA Draft in general is mostly crap compared to other sports. I don’t know why its so hard to scout college basketball but even the best scouts in the league seem to get it wrong all the time.

My point is, don’t get too caught up on the mock drafts because they are probably way off in terms of how this draft will actually look 5 years from now.

reality hits you square in the face when you do look back.

1/2 of these guys will be either end of the bench guys or out of the league after their rookie deals, a 1/4 will be a solid rotation guys and the other 1/4 will be solid starters. If you're lucky, there will be 3 or 4 guys drafted that will be a multiple time allstar.

I think draft boards will vary widely in this draft. Some guy ranked #4 on some boards could be ranked #14 on others.

[ATLTimekeeper]

IF Nick Smith Jr. can become a similar type of player to a Jamal Crqwford - do you take him?

I think the question is similar to 'do you draft Jordan Clarkson?" In hindsight, Crawford was the 2nd best player in what is an all-time terrible draft. Seems like a no brainer, but we know most drafts are better and that Crawford's trade value peaked at Al Harrington, and that he was Jamal "Crawful" until he was fully converted to the bench in his 30s. The reality is when you draft a Crawford-type, you aren't developing them as a 6th man and so the experience is losing basketball for the drafting team. So the question is really, are you likely to get good value from that type? To circle back to Jordan Clarkson, his peak trade value so far maxed at an end of first round pick (Mo Wagner).

So, I guess the answer is yes in an WOAT draft, but no in a normal draft.

[ATLTimekeeper]

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

Watch on YouTube

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.

I'm in on all three Frenchmen. This is a crap draft from the NCAA one and doners. IBM Watson needs to take the summer off.

[Rapsfan07]

Cissoko is a decent player but this Top 5 talk is really crazy yall.

I'd take a chance on him if we move down but outside of his flashy passing, size and physical tools, he really isn't that impressive. He is not a reliable shooter from anywhere on the floor and cannot create his own offense.

If we move back and Bufkin, Jones and Podz are unavailable, sure I'd give him a look. But not in the lottery, much less the Top 5.

[HumbleRen]

Cissoko is a decent player but this Top 5 talk is really crazy yall.

I'd take a chance on him if we move down but outside of his flashy passing, size and physical tools, he really isn't that impressive. He is not a reliable shooter from anywhere on the floor and cannot create his own offense.

If we move back and Bufkin, Jones and Podz are unavailable, sure I'd give him a look. But not in the lottery, much less the Top 5.

Yeah, I really like him too but he's not going top 10 lol.

[Spates]

Watch on YouTube

This kid is insane.

[Psubs]

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/

Jrue just lead the Bucks without Giannis for a 16 point win over Miami. This is like Jalen Brunson winning 2 playoff games without Doncic. I feel like Cason will be able lead like them. Cason with #13 and get another 1st pick for Cissoko.

[Psubs]

Watch on YouTube

This kid is insane.

I was posting about him earlier in the season when I thought the pick would be in the 20's. He'll like a Jordan Poole but not sure if he should be starting on a championship team, maybe more like a Jordan Clarkson.

[Thaddy]

Cissoko is a decent player but this Top 5 talk is really crazy yall.

I'd take a chance on him if we move down but outside of his flashy passing, size and physical tools, he really isn't that impressive. He is not a reliable shooter from anywhere on the floor and cannot create his own offense.

If we move back and Bufkin, Jones and Podz are unavailable, sure I'd give him a look. But not in the lottery, much less the Top 5.

Yeah, I really like him too but he's not going top 10 lol.

Getting to the line at the rate he did is a form of creating offense, he's a good ball handler so there's easily room to improve there. He shot 47% from 3 in March on about 5 attempts a game. He's not reliable but he's young and can become consistent. He's at the very least shown he can get very hot from 3 so we can't say he's not going to be a shooter at the next level.

[Psubs]

Cissoko is a decent player but this Top 5 talk is really crazy yall.

I'd take a chance on him if we move down but outside of his flashy passing, size and physical tools, he really isn't that impressive. He is not a reliable shooter from anywhere on the floor and cannot create his own offense.

If we move back and Bufkin, Jones and Podz are unavailable, sure I'd give him a look. But not in the lottery, much less the Top 5.

Yeah, I really like him too but he's not going top 10 lol.

To me he's like Kuminga with better handles and way better passing. Or maybe he's like a Franz Wagner type prospect with worse FT shooting.

[OakleyDokely]

Watch on YouTube

This kid is insane.

I was posting about him earlier in the season when I thought the pick would be in the 20's. He'll like a Jordan Poole but not sure if he should be starting on a championship team, maybe more like a Jordan Clarkson.

It's not a good sign that he shot under 40% in two consecutive seasons in the NCAA. That's a big red flag.

[HumbleRen]

Cissoko is a decent player but this Top 5 talk is really crazy yall.

I'd take a chance on him if we move down but outside of his flashy passing, size and physical tools, he really isn't that impressive. He is not a reliable shooter from anywhere on the floor and cannot create his own offense.

If we move back and Bufkin, Jones and Podz are unavailable, sure I'd give him a look. But not in the lottery, much less the Top 5.

Yeah, I really like him too but he's not going top 10 lol.

To me he's like Kuminga with better handles and way better passing. Or maybe he's like a Franz Wagner type prospect with worse FT shooting.

I think this is doing a disservice to Franz. Franz is a bonafide 3 level scorer lol, Sidy is the opposite of that.

Sidy honestly reminds me of a guard version of Scottie but with less talent.