2024 Draft Thread - Part II

[nate33]

According to hoops hype we are the only team to have had a known work out with Sarr so far. Is DC his preferred destination? Maybe he likes the idea of joining a blank slate team instead of going to a more win now, structured environment

Among the teams picking at the top of the draft, the Wizards are clearly the best fit for Sarr. We have an undeniable need at center, and we will have the patience and available minutes to develop him. And it presumably helps to have one of his fellow countrymen already on the roster.

[closg00]

We’re nearly a week away from the big night and I am pinning my hopes that the consensus mocks are correct and ATL will take Risacher, even if it’s for the Spurs. I will be crushed if ATL takes Sarr and we draft Risacher.

[NatP4]

According to hoops hype we are the only team to have had a known work out with Sarr so far. Is DC his preferred destination? Maybe he likes the idea of joining a blank slate team instead of going to a more win now, structured environment

Among the teams picking at the top of the draft, the Wizards are clearly the best fit for Sarr. We have an undeniable need at center, and we will have the patience and available minutes to develop him. And it presumably helps to have one of his fellow countrymen already on the roster.

Locked in on my draft plan:

Take Sarr at #2. Trade Kuzma for another pick in the 9-13 range and take Topic, redshirt him for a year. Take Dadiet at #26(might have to trade up a bit, well worth it).

If Sarr isn’t there, trade down with Portland for #7&#14, take Topic and Dadiet. Still Trade Kuzma and pick Daron Holmes. Take KJ Simpson with #26.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Feels like this draft is more about who fits the ideal archetype and who has the highest floor instead of finding the player with the most upside or highest ceiling.

That's why I hope we trade down. There are a few definitely high floor guys who will drop to 7-15.

I'd rather have Holland and Dillingham than Sarr or Risacher.

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[nate33]

We’re nearly a week away from the big night and I am pinning my hopes that the consensus mocks are correct and ATL will take Risacher, even if it’s for the Spurs. I will be crushed if ATL takes Sarr and we draft Risacher.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the rumors of San Antonio really wanting Risacher.

If Sarr goes #1, I think we will draft Risacher, and then San Antonio will give us a call to discuss a trade up from #4. Hopefully, we can extract a 2025 FRP. San Antonio wants to accelerate their timetable so I think they will be more motivated to move future draft capital rather than 2024 draft capital. I also think their desire to win immediately will push them to favor Risacher, who looks like he is NBA ready, at least as a role player.

I think one of the big questions is with Atlanta. I don't think they really want Sarr, but they will probably try to maximize the value of their pick. Rather than just drafting Clingan or Risacher at #1, I'm sure they'll at least test the waters to see what teams are willing to trade for the opportunity to draft Sarr at #1. So even though I'm reasonably confident that Atlanta doesn't want Sarr, I'm not confident Sarr will still be there at #2.

[DCZards]

^^^ Agree with this. The Zards would ideally draft Sarr, but ATL will shop the pick to see if there’s a team that will give them a sweet deal in order to draft him. If Sarr is gone the Zards will likely take Risacher.

On the other hand, I can see ATL being locked in on Risacher and drafting him at #1.

[AFM]

I've made this point previously, but if an organization like SAS wants Risacher that badly, shouldn't we just keep him?

[tontoz]

I've made this point previously, but if an organization like SAS wants Risacher that badly, shouldn't we just keep him?

No. There is good reason to believe this is a personal issue for Wemby. Are the Spurs just going to blow Wemby off if he is pressuring them to draft risacher?

[J-Ves]

We’re nearly a week away from the big night and I am pinning my hopes that the consensus mocks are correct and ATL will take Risacher, even if it’s for the Spurs. I will be crushed if ATL takes Sarr and we draft Risacher.

I’m seeing more Clingan to ATL rumors than Risacher. It’s clear ATL is in win now mode and don’t have much patience for long term development. I’m more concerned about a team trading for Sarr than ATL outright picking him at the current moment

[closg00]

We’re nearly a week away from the big night and I am pinning my hopes that the consensus mocks are correct and ATL will take Risacher, even if it’s for the Spurs. I will be crushed if ATL takes Sarr and we draft Risacher.

I’m seeing more Clingan to ATL rumors than Risacher. It’s clear ATL is in win now mode and don’t have much patience for long term development. I’m more concerned about a team trading for Sarr than ATL outright picking him at the current moment

What ATL’s off-season plans are anything but clear, they could blow it up, but I would wager that they try and move Murray (easier to trade) and then do an Ernie-style shuffling of vets around Trae.
I haven’t seen any indication that teams are hot to trade for Sarr, teams are actively trying to get Clingan.

[J-Ves]

We’re nearly a week away from the big night and I am pinning my hopes that the consensus mocks are correct and ATL will take Risacher, even if it’s for the Spurs. I will be crushed if ATL takes Sarr and we draft Risacher.

I’m seeing more Clingan to ATL rumors than Risacher. It’s clear ATL is in win now mode and don’t have much patience for long term development. I’m more concerned about a team trading for Sarr than ATL outright picking him at the current moment

What ATL’s off-season plans are anything but clear, they could blow it up, but I would wager that they try and move Murray (easier to trade) and then do an Ernie-style shuffling of vets around Trae.
I haven’t seen any indication that teams are hot to trade for Sarr, teams are actively trying to get Clingan.

Atlanta isn’t in position to rebuild because the Spurs own all their picks through the 2027 draft

That was just speculation on my part about a trade up for Sarr

[nate33]

I’m seeing more Clingan to ATL rumors than Risacher. It’s clear ATL is in win now mode and don’t have much patience for long term development. I’m more concerned about a team trading for Sarr than ATL outright picking him at the current moment

What ATL’s off-season plans are anything but clear, they could blow it up, but I would wager that they try and move Murray (easier to trade) and then do an Ernie-style shuffling of vets around Trae.
I haven’t seen any indication that teams are hot to trade for Sarr, teams are actively trying to get Clingan.

Atlanta isn’t in position to rebuild because the Spurs own all their picks through the 2027 draft

That was just speculation on my part about a trade up for Sarr

What's nice is that if Atlanta wants Clingan, they can't trade down very far - no more than #5 or so. And I don't see Houston, San Antonio or Detroit being all that motivated to trade up for Sarr.

So if someone trades for the #1 pick to draft Sarr, it'll probably have to be a team willing to part with a good vet in order to jumpstart a rebuild. Maybe New Orleans trades Ingram for #1 or something like that. (I don't think that's really very likely, it's just the only example I can think of at the moment.)

[tontoz]

I just realized this is the first time I have followed the draft closely since we drafted Otto. That was 10 years ago .

[payitforward]

^^^ Agree with this. The Zards would ideally draft Sarr, but ATL will shop the pick to see if there’s a team that will give them a sweet deal in order to draft him. If Sarr is gone the Zards will likely take Risacher.

On the other hand, I can see ATL being locked in on Risacher and drafting him at #1.

Perfectly possible for SA to make two different deals -- one with Atlanta & one with us.

If Atlanta gets cold feet & decides just to take Sarr, then the deal with us is executed.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Jahidi likes Matas!

Watch on YouTube

And so does Locked on Wizards...

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And The Ringer...

https://player.fm/series/the-ringers-nba-draft-show/the-grade-a-mock-draft-and-the-our-guys-draft

[bsilver]

If Sarr is gone I think we should pick Clingan. He’s the closest to a sure thing on defense and rebounding. Tired of us getting beaten up around the basket. I miss Robin Lopez.
Second choice is Castle. Of course, living in Connecticut, partial to UConn’ers. Not much else to root for.

[Frichuela]

ATL fans moaning about no news on Sarr working out for them, while many other top prospects have…

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[nate33]

Unless all of this is a smokescreen, it seems pretty likely that Sarr will not be an Atlanta Hawk on draft day. The only question is, do they trade the pick to someone who wants Sarr? Or does Sarr slide to #2.

I wonder if Atlanta isn't getting much traction in trade talks for Sarr. As I mentioned earlier, their potential trade suitors are limited because they want to stay high enough to draft Clingan. Either that, or they want to trade Sarr for a win-now vet, but most teams with win-now vets to trade aren't looking to blow it up.

It wouldn't surprise me if Atlanta tries to bluff their way into getting us to trade #26 to them to move up to #1. I'd call that bluff. If they take Sarr, I'd just take Risacher (and trade him to San Antonio) or Sheppard. I wouldn't give up anything more than the #51 to move up to #1.

[payitforward]

Agree -- in fact, I'm not even sure I'd give #51. Just tell them, "go ahead; pick a guy you don't want."

edit:
Plus, if Clingan is the guy they want, they have a 100% chance of getting him.

If they trade w/ us or Houston, either of us can then proceed to take Clingan, since we know they want him. Whereupon, they have to give up something else in another trade to get the guy they want!

This problem is inherent at every pick position: if the guy you want is there, take him. Don't try to get cute.

[Frichuela]

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