The Official 2023 Draft Thread

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

What do you all think of Sir Jabari Rice as a second round prospect.

Probably can’t guard anyone, but seems like he could score with ease at the next level.

[Jay81]

Hawkins gonna be a nice nba weapon

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[dobrojim]

A friend asked me if Timme would be a 'good pro'? After going to at least one mock draft site
where he wasn't in the 1st OR 2nd round, I told him no.

I suspect the same is true of Nowell however much fun it has been to watch him play
the last couple games.

I'd be interested in the opinions of others on these 2 guys. Will they be drafted?

[Jay81]

Are we sure this is a great draft?

[NatP4]

Are we sure this is a great draft?

Really weak draft with one franchise level prospect at the top IMO.

Still, always a handful of good NBA players that will go way later in the draft than they probably should.

[gambitx777]

A friend asked me if Timme would be a 'good pro'? After going to at least one mock draft site
where he wasn't in the 1st OR 2nd round, I told him no.

I suspect the same is true of Nowell however much fun it has been to watch him play
the last couple games.

I'd be interested in the opinions of others on these 2 guys. Will they be drafted?

He will be an interesting undrafted pickup.

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[FAH1223]

A friend asked me if Timme would be a 'good pro'? After going to at least one mock draft site
where he wasn't in the 1st OR 2nd round, I told him no.

I suspect the same is true of Nowell however much fun it has been to watch him play
the last couple games.

I'd be interested in the opinions of others on these 2 guys. Will they be drafted?

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[dobrojim]

Moving up 2 spots is within reach.

There are only 2 more games for us (ORL and HOU) in which a win is likely.
A win for us at home vs HOU in the last game in what could be a decisive
possibly 3 way situation for a draft pick would be #sowizards.

The ORL game is pivotal. ORL has us and DET still on their schedule.
Their last game is @MIA so one question might be will MIA playing to win that game.
MIA is currently tied with BRK for 6th so they could be playing to stay out of the play-in.

POR is a half game 'ahead' of us and has only 1 game they 'should' win, @SAS

[payitforward]

Are we sure this is a great draft?

Really weak draft with one franchise level prospect at the top IMO.

Still, always a handful of good NBA players that will go way later in the draft than they probably should.

The truth is that it's impossible to know in advance whether a draft will be "good" -- i.e. produce an unusually large number of successful NBA players -- or not.

Which is really just another version of noting that the players taken in any draft are never picked in anything even vaguely resembling the order of how good they turned out to be.

2012 is an obvious example: picks 1, 3 & 6 were good, while 2, 4 & 5 were bad. No one in the rest of R1 was in a class with Crowder, Draymond or Middleton, all taken in R2.

Or 2018 -- almost half of the guys picked in R2 have been better than at least 6 of the first 16 guys picked.

How about 2014? -- Jabari Parker, Dante Exum, Nik Stauskas, noah Vonleh, Elfrid Payton, Doug McDermott, Dario Saric, Adreian Payne, James Young, Tyler Ennis, Bruno Caboclo, Mitch McGary, Jordan Adams, Rodney Hood, PJ Hairston, CJ Wilcox & Josh Huestis all went in R1.

Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jerami Grant, Glenn Robinson III, Nikola Jokic, Dwight Powell & Jordan Clarkson went in R2 - !!

The guys who went 38 & 58 that year were better than the guys who went 8, 18, & 28.

[Zonkerbl]

so... I was looking up the star players in the tournament so far (first time I've watched any large chunks of it in awhile). They're all apparently second rounders.

I guess that's a good thing, you can focus on the bball being played but I kinda enjoyed watching a big performer in the tournament go on to have a good nba career, guess that's not a thing anymore.

[Jay81]

Moving up 2 spots is within reach.

There are only 2 more games for us (ORL and HOU) in which a win is likely.
A win for us at home vs HOU in the last game in what could be a decisive
possibly 3 way situation for a draft pick would be #sowizards.

The ORL game is pivotal. ORL has us and DET still on their schedule.
Their last game is @MIA so one question might be will MIA playing to win that game.
MIA is currently tied with BRK for 6th so they could be playing to stay out of the play-in.

POR is a half game 'ahead' of us and has only 1 game they 'should' win, @SAS

we should honestly forfeit the Houston game

[doclinkin]

Ok. WIth things shaping up for us to be in the lotto, but in that 7-10 range, I like Taylor Hendricks if we stick at that spot. I don't see Tommy ever trading down out of the lotto. Seems like they tend to get tunnel vision on a guy once the order is set.

Hendricks is a 6'9" Freshman, springs for legs, smooth trustworthy 3-ball, active on defense. Shooting about 40% from 3, posting just shy of 1 steal and 2 blocks per game. He's got a bit of the high-flying athleticism that referees reward, so even if he is not as precocious a defender as Deni, he will likely get more benefit of the doubt. Refs dig scoring.

How's he look against big time players? Central Florida had a surprisingly solid schedule, though looks like Hendricks was the only guy they had. The thing that sold me on him though is that every team against which he played poorly earlier in the season, he played significantly better if he got a rematch. Most notably against defensive threshing machine Houston:

in the first game he went 4-11 (1-7 from outside) for 14 points, 5 boards, 2ast, 1 st, 1blk
in game #2 he shot 6-10 (2-5 from 3) for 17 points, 7 boards, 2 ast, 1 st, 4 blocks.

Ideally he replaces Kuzma as our stretch 3/4, though any S&T for Kuz would have to be executed after the draft. Hendricks adds to our switchability on defense, while providing the spacing Deni lacks, and that Kuz tries to provide but is notably streaky with. I am tired of the team landing non-shooters and hoping they grow into that skill set. Let's hire a kid who already can do that thing. Though the caveat is well okay he has shown streakiness as well. But at least he is young enough to learn good habits, and shoots better than Kuz did in college, as the focal point of all defenses, shooting about 5 a game.

I like Gradey Dick for a similar reason, though he impresses as less switchable on D, thus weakening our ability to stall penetration on the outside long enough for drop coverage defenders to get in position.

[payitforward]

Moving up 2 spots is within reach.

There are only 2 more games for us (ORL and HOU) in which a win is likely.
A win for us at home vs HOU in the last game in what could be a decisive
possibly 3 way situation for a draft pick would be #sowizards.

The ORL game is pivotal. ORL has us and DET still on their schedule.
Their last game is @MIA so one question might be will MIA playing to win that game.
MIA is currently tied with BRK for 6th so they could be playing to stay out of the play-in.

POR is a half game 'ahead' of us and has only 1 game they 'should' win, @SAS

we should honestly forfeit the Houston game

Absolutely -- I love it!

It's a home game: just, you know, don't show up!

[closg00]

No Nepo baby after all.

Watch on YouTube

[gambitx777]

I am all in on Emoni Bates in the second round. He looks like he could be a be a really good pick up with a second.

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[doclinkin]

NIT finals match of Tylor Perry vs Jelly Walker should be good. 2 shifty 5'11" (not really) scoring PGs.

[dobrojim]

Ok. WIth things shaping up for us to be in the lotto, but in that 7-10 range, I like Taylor Hendricks if we stick at that spot. I don't see Tommy ever trading down out of the lotto. Seems like they tend to get tunnel vision on a guy once the order is set.

Hendricks is a 6'9" Freshman, springs for legs, smooth trustworthy 3-ball, active on defense. Shooting about 40% from 3, posting just shy of 1 steal and 2 blocks per game. He's got a bit of the high-flying athleticism that referees reward, so even if he is not as precocious a defender as Deni, he will likely get more benefit of the doubt. Refs dig scoring.

How's he look against big time players? Central Florida had a surprisingly solid schedule, though looks like Hendricks was the only guy they had. The thing that sold me on him though is that every team against which he played poorly earlier in the season, he played significantly better if he got a rematch. Most notably against defensive threshing machine Houston:

in the first game he went 4-11 (1-7 from outside) for 14 points, 5 boards, 2ast, 1 st, 1blk
in game #2 he shot 6-10 (2-5 from 3) for 17 points, 7 boards, 2 ast, 1 st, 4 blocks.

Ideally he replaces Kuzma as our stretch 3/4, though any S&T for Kuz would have to be executed after the draft. Hendricks adds to our switchability on defense, while providing the spacing Deni lacks, and that Kuz tries to provide but is notably streaky with. I am tired of the team landing non-shooters and hoping they grow into that skill set. Let's hire a kid who already can do that thing. Though the caveat is well okay he has shown streakiness as well. But at least he is young enough to learn good habits, and shoots better than Kuz did in college, as the focal point of all defenses, shooting about 5 a game.

I like Gradey Dick for a similar reason, though he impresses as less switchable on D, thus weakening our ability to stall penetration on the outside long enough for drop coverage defenders to get in position.

Interesting.

It's early and mocks are just someone with an opinion but the one mock I just looked at
has Hendricks at 17 and Dick at 12. Maybe Tommy can executes PIFs strategy and get
a second pick in addition to Hendricks (or Dicks).

edit to add - I may have stumbled on a mock that has Hendricks lower than most others.
Tankathon has him at 11.

In their review of Hendricks https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/nba-mock-draft-2023-projections-predictions-march-madness
they point out he was the only high major freshman to get 30 made 3s and 30 dunks.

[doclinkin]

I guess this fits here:

I think the NIL and transfer portal era will be really good for both the NCAA game and ultimately the NBA. This final four has only one true non-redshirt freshman. And many of the teams I have been tracking have quality 5th year seniors.

Players who need a little extra cooking don't need to pop out to the NBA to earn anything. The College game has a chance to mature, and players who come out later will have had experience battling and playing next to seasoned veterans. Grown adults. In this way maybe more players choose to stay in school instead of teams being forced to burn the first contract of talented guys as developmental years. You get more instant production. Yes some young talents will bet on themselves and jump early. Others will switch schools to find a better showcase for their talents. Some will earn a f-ton of cash while getting a quality education and living the best years of their life in a more supportive environment than the dog-eat-dog world of the Association.

This plus the option of the G-League for players who are uninterested in the distractions of I dunno, grades and education, will tend to sift the sand for the sort of players that teams like Memphis hunt down: guys who truly understand the team game and know how to play their role. Players get an extended audition, teams get more footage.

Anyway. I appreciate the new landscape, especially watching my Huskies brutalize Miami. I've been watching Omier and Pack all year and have been surprised to see the more complete team game of Uconn overcome these transfer portal booster bought talents.

[payitforward]

Agree that these are positive developments, doc. Along with the development of the G League as a "real" minor league system. Should help make for a better NBA.

[nate33]

I guess this fits here:

I think the NIL and transfer portal era will be really good for both the NCAA game and ultimately the NBA. This final four has only one true non-redshirt freshman. And many of the teams I have been tracking have quality 5th year seniors.

Players who need a little extra cooking don't need to pop out to the NBA to earn anything. The College game has a chance to mature, and players who come out later will have had experience battling and playing next to seasoned veterans. Grown adults. In this way maybe more players choose to stay in school instead of teams being forced to burn the first contract of talented guys as developmental years. You get more instant production. Yes some young talents will bet on themselves and jump early. Others will switch schools to find a better showcase for their talents. Some will earn a f-ton of cash while getting a quality education and living the best years of their life in a more supportive environment than the dog-eat-dog world of the Association.

This plus the option of the G-League for players who are uninterested in the distractions of I dunno, grades and education, will tend to sift the sand for the sort of players that teams like Memphis hunt down: guys who truly understand the team game and know how to play their role. Players get an extended audition, teams get more footage.

Anyway. I appreciate the new landscape, especially watching my Huskies brutalize Miami. I've been watching Omier and Pack all year and have been surprised to see the more complete team game of Uconn overcome these transfer portal booster bought talents.

An important side-effect of this will be the likelihood of a couple of weak drafts as me make the transition from 1-and-done being the norm to players playing 2 or 3 years in college. Essentially, roughly 2 years of talent will get spread out through 3 drafts.