2024 Draft Thread - Part II

[tontoz]

Great move for OKC. Giddey was a liability all season and really got exposed in the playoffs.

[Dat2U]

I like Sheppard but to get to the next level, we will need stronger defenders. That's what helped win Boston their title. OKC is going to get better and better with long defenders. Is Saar a poor man's Chet? Maybe not, but if he can defend most positions and his offense will get better by 2026-27, it's fine. Risacher would be fine at a lower pick, but I think you can say that about almost everybody in this draft. "Yeah, he's ok, but I don't want him at 2."

There's no reason to commit to the Boston model just because Boston won a title. Denver won a title the year before with mediocre defense at the center position and bad defense at the PG and SF positions. I don't see why Sheppard can't be at least as good defensively as Jamaal Murray.

This feels like the draft cycle where everyone is turning against the idea of having a 6-3 PG... in favor of bigger defenders as if the league isn't still being dominated by skilled smaller guards.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Sarr to Wizards CBS Sports updated mock draft...

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Is Sarr to Wizards a LOCK ??

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[DCZards]

This feels like the draft cycle where everyone is turning against the idea of having a 6-3 PG... in favor of bigger defenders as if the league isn't still being dominated by skilled smaller guards.

I don’t see a league dominated by skilled smaller guards. I see one increasingly dominated by big guards and wings like Ant, SGA, Murray, Brown and Haliburton.

[closg00]

This feels like the draft cycle where everyone is turning against the idea of having a 6-3 PG... in favor of bigger defenders as if the league isn't still being dominated by skilled smaller guards.

I don’t see a league dominated by skilled smaller guards. I see one increasingly dominated by big guards and wings like Ant, SGA, Murray, Brown and Haliburton.

Do you think we should take Castle then?

[DCZards]

This feels like the draft cycle where everyone is turning against the idea of having a 6-3 PG... in favor of bigger defenders as if the league isn't still being dominated by skilled smaller guards.

I don’t see a league dominated by skilled smaller guards. I see one increasingly dominated by big guards and wings like Ant, SGA, Murray, Brown and Haliburton.

Do you think we should take Castle then?

Castle is on my shortlist. Along with Sarr (my top pick), Sheppard and Risacher.

[joshuacf]

Who do we all like at 26?

I'd strongly consider trading up for Collier and just betting on the HS pedigree and the fact that USC was disfunctional. If not, Kolek could end up being there at 26 and I could see him ending up as Grayson Allen with better passing ability.

[dckingsfan]

I like Sheppard but to get to the next level, we will need stronger defenders. That's what helped win Boston their title. OKC is going to get better and better with long defenders. Is Saar a poor man's Chet? Maybe not, but if he can defend most positions and his offense will get better by 2026-27, it's fine. Risacher would be fine at a lower pick, but I think you can say that about almost everybody in this draft. "Yeah, he's ok, but I don't want him at 2."

There's no reason to commit to the Boston model just because Boston won a title. Denver won a title the year before with mediocre defense at the center position and bad defense at the PG and SF positions. I don't see why Sheppard can't be at least as good defensively as Jamaal Murray.

This feels like the draft cycle where everyone is turning against the idea of having a 6-3 PG... in favor of bigger defenders as if the league isn't still being dominated by skilled smaller guards.

Yeah, plenty of great talent in smaller guards and bigger guards. I mean, you don't take Seth Curry? You don't take Magic Johnson?

But I think that was your point.

[J-Ves]

Who do we all like at 26?

I'd strongly consider trading up for Collier and just betting on the HS pedigree and the fact that USC was disfunctional. If not, Kolek could end up being there at 26 and I could see him ending up as Grayson Allen with better passing ability.

I'll be happy with Collier, Missi, or Dadiet. A lot depends on who our 2nd overall pick is. I'm not sure I'd consider Dadiet if Risacher is our first pick for example

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Who do we all like at 26?

I'd strongly consider trading up for Collier and just betting on the HS pedigree and the fact that USC was disfunctional. If not, Kolek could end up being there at 26 and I could see him ending up as Grayson Allen with better passing ability.

I'll be happy with Collier, Missi, or Dadiet. A lot depends on who our 2nd overall pick is. I'm not sure I'd consider Dadiet if Risacher is our first pick for example

Agree. If the pick at 2 is Sarr, I like Dadiet another French wing, could ultimately even be better than Risacher. I also like Cam Christie, has upside and fills a need at SG and adds needed shooting.

If we take Castle, I'd probably be looking at Missi. I also like Tyler Smith.

[gambitx777]

There's no reason to commit to the Boston model just because Boston won a title. Denver won a title the year before with mediocre defense at the center position and bad defense at the PG and SF positions. I don't see why Sheppard can't be at least as good defensively as Jamaal Murray.

Why are we acting like Sheppard can't play defence. His numbers are solid there it's not like he's a scrub you can't garud anyone.

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Sheppard got blown by a bit too often for my tastes. He has excellent defensive instincts off ball, and he has great hands and quick reaction time to challenge shots, but his defensive footwork is poor when on ball. He needs some work there.

I'm not saying he's perfect. But he's a much better defender than what alot of people are making him out to be. He's got that dog in him and if you're a willing defender you can absolutely improve.

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[closg00]

People are trying to solve this mystery, I guess we’ll find out.

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[AFM]

202 for DC area code, at 202 AM Terd will be dropping the new MCI Center urinal cake limited edition designs

[Dat2U]

This feels like the draft cycle where everyone is turning against the idea of having a 6-3 PG... in favor of bigger defenders as if the league isn't still being dominated by skilled smaller guards.

I don’t see a league dominated by skilled smaller guards. I see one increasingly dominated by big guards and wings like Ant, SGA, Murray, Brown and Haliburton.

I'll give you (10) 6-3 and under guys that any team would love to have. Skill still matters. Ja is 6-2 174. Trae 6-1 164. I'm not worried about a guy like Dilly. I'm worried about a guy like Castle who lacks the skills to play PG but is demanding to play it lol.

Jalen Brunson
Kyrie Irving
Stephen Curry
Donovan Mitchell
Tyrese Maxey
Trae Young
Damian Lillard
De'Aaron Fox
Ja Morant
Fred VanVleet

[DCZards]

This feels like the draft cycle where everyone is turning against the idea of having a 6-3 PG... in favor of bigger defenders as if the league isn't still being dominated by skilled smaller guards.

I don’t see a league dominated by skilled smaller guards. I see one increasingly dominated by big guards and wings like Ant, SGA, Murray, Brown and Haliburton.

I'll give you (10) 6-3 and under guys that any team would love to have. Skill still matters. Ja is 6-2 174. Trae 6-1 164. I'm not worried about a guy like Dilly. I'm worried about a guy like Castle who lacks the skills to play PG but is demanding to play it lol.

Jalen Brunson
Kyrie Irving
Stephen Curry
Donovan Mitchell
Tyrese Maxey
Trae Young
Damian Lillard
De'Aaron Fox
Ja Morant
Fred VanVleet

I have nothing against 6-3 and smaller players. And, yes, skill still matters. But there’s a reason why my list of 5 players has 3 All-NBA players and your list of 10 players has 2.

Three of the best players on your list (Curry, Lillard, Irving) are over 30. All of the players on my list are 27 or younger.

There will always be a place in the NBA for skilled small guards, but it's pretty obvious that the future is trending toward longer, taller, bigger guards and wings who can score AND defend.

[jangles86]

A few mocks have Nikola Topic falling as far as 20th!!

Could we move up from 26th to get him in early 20’s?

Take Sarr and Topic?!

[nate33]

Read on Twitter

He doesn't link to his source, but there is a clip from a Jake Fischer podcast where he discusses the Sarr camp not wanting to be drafted by Atlanta. The clip doesn't mention the power forward discussion, but perhaps the rest of the podcast does:

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I don't like this talk of playing power forward at all. Invariably, when a guy is in between two positions, it's better to play the bigger position. Being quicker and more skilled than average at the center position is better than being taller than average at the power forward position.

It's understandable to want to play the PF position in his first couple of seasons as he fills out, but he needs to WANT to move to center as soon as he is physically able.

[tontoz]

Sarr's game tells me he doesn't want to play C. He is undersized for C and seems contact averse.

[nate33]

I don’t see a league dominated by skilled smaller guards. I see one increasingly dominated by big guards and wings like Ant, SGA, Murray, Brown and Haliburton.

I'll give you (10) 6-3 and under guys that any team would love to have. Skill still matters. Ja is 6-2 174. Trae 6-1 164. I'm not worried about a guy like Dilly. I'm worried about a guy like Castle who lacks the skills to play PG but is demanding to play it lol.

Jalen Brunson
Kyrie Irving
Stephen Curry
Donovan Mitchell
Tyrese Maxey
Trae Young
Damian Lillard
De'Aaron Fox
Ja Morant
Fred VanVleet

I have nothing against 6-3 and smaller players. And, yes, skill still matters. But there’s a reason why my list of 5 players has 3 All-NBA players and your list of 10 players has 2.

Three of the best players on your list (Curry, Lillard, Irving) are over 30. All of the players on my list are 27 or younger.

There will always be a place in the NBA for skilled small guards, but it's pretty obvious that the future is trending toward longer, taller, bigger guards and wings who can score AND defend.

I think the issue with small guards has less to do with height and more to do with strength. You can be a fairly short PG and still play very good defense, like Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul or Fred VanVleet. All 3 of those guys are MUCH better defenders than Murray and Haliburton. Even Jalen Brunson holds his own defensively on a Knicks team that plays exceptional defense.

Where small guards are a problem is when they have a very slight build. Trae Young, Darius Garland and Tyrese Maxey are liabilities on defense. This is why I have real concerns about Dillingham as a high pick but I'm less worried about Sheppard. Dillingham weighs 164 and I don't see him filling out to anything much bigger than 175. Sheppard weighs 181 and I could see him playing at 195 or 200 pounds after filling out. A guy with a similar frame would be Payton Pritchard. Pritchard is now at 195. Sheppard is an inch taller and can probably get to 200.

[nate33]

Sarr's game tells me he doesn't want to play C. He is undersized for C and seems contact averse.

If he wants to play power forward, he has to become a MUCH better shooter.

Frankly, I'm pretty confident that Bilal will end up as a better power forward than Sarr will. If Sarr is worried about his fit in Atlanta because he wants to play PF, he needs to be just as worried about his fit here. We've got 3 guys who can play PF better than he can.