The Official 2023 Draft Thread

[Frichuela]

Getting this guy would be a dream...even Turd can not refuse the allure of tanking...

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[Dat2U]

At the moment:

1. Wemby of course
2. Scoot is the no brainer
3. I lean Miller due to size & shooting ability
4. I lean Amen due to rare physical traits and size at the PG position but the shooting gives me pause
5-8. Is where it opens up and I consider Ausur Thompson, Gradey Dick, Cason Wallace & Brice Sensabaugh
9. I'll look hard at Anthony Black & Taylor Hendricks if all the above are gone.

Not a huge fan of Cam Whitmore or Nick Smith Jr. Keyonte George is ok but doesn't really fit or fill a need unless we move Beal.

Later in the 1st I like Kris Murray, Leonard Miller, Dereck Lively II & Jordan Hawkins.

In the 2nd round I like Julian Strawther, DaRon Holmes II & Brandin Podziemiski so far.

[Dat2U]

The best fits roster wise are Sensabaugh, Dick & Wallace. Sensabaugh got anywhere he wanted to on the court with his skill & frame and dominated in terms of offensive production & efficiency. He's also a knock down shooter and a true 3-level scorer. If there's anyone who will be a massive steal in the draft its Bryce.

Dick is a plug & play SF who is arguably the purest shooter in the class at 6-8. He gets picked on defensively but has enough athleticism, fight and pride not to get embarrased. He's flashed some on the ball skill but was not asked to do it extensively at Kansas. I think he's a better prosect than Tyler Herro was coming out.

Cason Wallace is a true two way player who should be an elite defender and a very good shooter. Good straight line speed, long arms and good size but not overly explosive nor does he show a ton of wiggle but plays within himself, makes the right reads and hits open shots. I see him as bigger Monte Morris on offense and Delon Wright on defense at least initally. Maybe he can grow into a Jrue type of offensive player in time.

Sensabaugh is the high upside play who could turn into an all-star caliber player but with some risk that he never improves defensively. Wallace & Dick are safe picks assured of long careers while also having starting potential.

[Frichuela]

The best fits roster wise are Sensabaugh, Dick & Wallace. Sensabaugh got anywhere he wanted to on the court with his skill & frame and dominated in terms of offensive production & efficiency. He's also a knock down shooter and a true 3-level scorer. If there's anyone who will be a massive steal in the draft its Bryce.

Dick is a plug & play SF who is arguably the purest shooter in the class at 6-8. He gets picked on defensively but has enough athleticism, fight and pride not to get embarrased. He's flashed some on the ball skill but was not asked to do it extensively at Kansas. I think he's a better prosect than Tyler Herro was coming out.

Cason Wallace is a true two way player who should be an elite defender and a very good shooter. Good straight line speed, long arms and good size but not overly explosive nor does he show a ton of wiggle but plays within himself, makes the right reads and hits open shots. I see him as bigger Monte Morris on offense and Delon Wright on defense at least initally. Maybe he can grow into a Jrue type of offensive player in time.

Sensabaugh is the high upside play who could turn into an all-star caliber player but with some risk that he never improves defensively. Wallace & Dick are safe picks assured of long careers while also having starting potential.

If Wallace is there and we pick 7-9th you have to take him. Agreed, he is likely to be a hybrid of Morris/Wright from the get go. 2-way player competent on both sides of the court.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Getting this guy would be a dream...even Turd can not refuse the allure of tanking...

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That might be the most ridiculous play I’ve ever seen. Wow!

[NatP4]

Sensabaugh doesn’t play defense at all, and has tunnel vision on O. 1.7 assists to 3.0 turnovers.

Wouldn’t surprise me if he turns into nothing more than another Malik Monk.

Gradey Dick has Tyler Herro written all over him. Pretty good prospect, not all that impactful in the NBA. More of an average rotation guy.

It be a terrible decision to stay put at 7-12 and not trade back.

[Dat2U]

Sensabaugh doesn’t play defense at all, and has tunnel vision on O. 1.7 assists to 3.0 turnovers.

Wouldn’t surprise me if he turns into nothing more than another Malik Monk.

Gradey Dick has Tyler Herro written all over him. Pretty good prospect, not all that impactful in the NBA. More of an average rotation guy.

It be a terrible decision to stay put at 7-12 and not trade back.

Just say you want a solid low usage role player who is a good character guy and try hard. Is there any high usage player in the draft you actually like?

[NatP4]

Sensabaugh doesn’t play defense at all, and has tunnel vision on O. 1.7 assists to 3.0 turnovers.

Wouldn’t surprise me if he turns into nothing more than another Malik Monk.

Gradey Dick has Tyler Herro written all over him. Pretty good prospect, not all that impactful in the NBA. More of an average rotation guy.

It be a terrible decision to stay put at 7-12 and not trade back.

Just say you want a solid low usage role player who is a good character guy and try hard. Is there any high usage player in the draft you actually like?

Podziemski, outside the top 5 of course. Think he’s legit

[doclinkin]

At the moment:

1. Wemby of course

3. I lean Miller due to size & shooting ability
4. I consider Ausur Thompson,

Gradey Dick

9. I'll look hard at Taylor Hendricks i.


Later in the 1st I like Kris Murray,

DaRon Holmes II & Brandin Podziemiski so far.

Not high on Cason and Brice personally. When I look at their game logs they both came up small against their toughest competition.

Early on Brice reminded me of James Harden in AZ, a guy who scored efficiently no matter that he didn't look the part. I still like his outside shooting, but the rest of his game faltered against his bigger competition.

I think he may slide after the measurements at the combine, will probably not participate in the athletic portion. And if so then I'd agree he will be a steal when taken later on. So if he was a trade-down pick I'm game for Brice + later talent. But in that 6-9 slot I think we can get better value than taking him straight up.

I have questions about Scoot so I'd be willing to listen if someone wanted to overpay to move up to the spot.

I like the game of Ausur a little better than his brother, but can't really tell you why. Except that it seems to me outside shooting is critical for a PG, more than size. Besides Luka (who can shoot from outside) what big PG is winning?

I guess everyone is looking for the next Ja Morant. But Morant was winning in college against ranked schools, where with the OTE phenoms the competition looks so terrible that it's impossible for me to judge. With that level of opposition the fact that the twins only shoot 30% from outside is not a hopeful sign. Likewise the 60% from the FT line. So again I'd listen to offers here for either twin. Or trade up for Brandon Miller.

Kris Murray will be a steal. DaRon looks good. As does Podzi.

[dobrojim]

Winning big PG - Halliburton, wouldn't you say?
Okay, maybe not winning yet but probably not his fault.

[Jay81]

Winning big PG - Halliburton, wouldn't you say?
Okay, maybe not winning yet but probably not his fault.

i dont remember but what were the flaws in Halliburton game that made him slip so far. He had great size and very good BB IQ. I remember the entire board was begging for Tommy to take him.....

[The Consiglieri]

So I believe we are now locked to finish between what, 5 and 9 pre lottery now?.


In terms of Haliburton. I don't remember it being flaws, I just think teams saw him as a high floor player who had like a 90% chance of hitting, but it would also be like a "double" rather than a legit special quality player. I don't recall anyone thinking there was any chance (even though there always is) of him busting.

The board was unanimous if I can recall in taking him.

The saving grace to me is that we took the only guy ahead of him that you could even halfway justify as he was rated uniformly pretty much ahead of him on all the boards I saw. I was fine w/Deni or Halliburton. In retrospect it should've been Halliburton, but it wouldn''t have changed anything beyond us being able to offer sweeter trades w/him if we'd wanted too.

[payitforward]

...Halliburton... I remember the entire board was begging for Tommy to take him.....

...Haliburton....The board was unanimous if I can recall in taking him....

Certainly some people were clear in calling for us to take Halliburton -- Dat was, for example. But, it wasn't "the entire board... unanimous" -- not by any means.

There was a fair amount of sentiment to take Precious Achiuwa, because people felt he met a team need & had a huge upside.
There was also sentiment both for & against taking Devin Vassell.
& there was some preference to trade down for multiple picks.

Others -- & I was one of them -- were surprised to see Deni still on the board & thought taking him was the right move.

In the end, there have only been 5 guys taken from 10 to 30 who are -- at least so far -- pretty clearly better than Deni: Halliburton, Josh Green, Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley, & Desmond Bane.

Given that Maxey lasted until 21, & absolutely no one would have taken Green, Quickley, or Bane anywhere near #9, it's clear that Deni Avdija was a good pick at 9 that year.

Even better would have been to trade down & get one of the other guys I mentioned along with an additional pick. & best would have been to take Halliburton. But Deni was still a good pick.

[The Consiglieri]

...Halliburton... I remember the entire board was begging for Tommy to take him.....

...Haliburton....The board was unanimous if I can recall in taking him....

Certainly some people were clear in calling for us to take Halliburton -- Dat was, for example. But, it wasn't "the entire board... unanimous" -- not by any means.

There was a fair amount of sentiment to take Precious Achiuwa, because people felt he met a team need & had a huge upside.
There was also sentiment both for & against taking Devin Vassell.
& there was some preference to trade down for multiple picks.

Others -- & I was one of them -- were surprised to see Deni still on the board & thought taking him was the right move.

In the end, there have only been 5 guys taken from 10 to 30 who are -- at least so far -- pretty clearly better than Deni: Halliburton, Josh Green, Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley, & Desmond Bane.

Given that Maxey lasted until 21, & absolutely no one would have taken Green, Quickley, or Bane anywhere near #9, it's clear that Deni Avdija was a good pick at 9 that year.

Even better would have been to trade down & get one of the other guys I mentioned along with an additional pick. & best would have been to take Halliburton. But Deni was still a good pick.

Here are the guys I remember the board being into and let me say, there were some guys nobody talked about because there was no chance of us getting them:

Tier 1: Who all of the board seemed into getting or considered worth the pick:
Haliburton
Okongwu

My memory is pretty much those were the two guys people thought might make it to us and wanted above all else.

Tier 2: These guys were mentioned, and I remember many considering them worth the pick or interesting anyway:
Precious
Okoro
Toppen
Vassell

I think people had some degree of interest in these guys, I can't remember if Precious belongs in Tier 1, I don't think so, I remember people prefering Okongwu for him but perhaps my memory is hazy. There was some interest in Okoro as well but concerns, same deal with Toppen and Vassell who held interest, but definitely were scarier to all posters in a way that Haliburton especially (very high floor) and Okongwu to a lesser extent (clearly had a reasonable floor) were not.

The funny thing is despite being in the big 4 on a lot of boards, I don't remember any talk at all about Deni because I think the vast majority of the board simply assumed he'd be drafted before our pick, somewhere in that 4-7 zone for sure. Whereas other guys might fall.

Perhaps what I say is hyperbole, but when Haliburton was still there at slot, I remember the board being "oh, easiest pick ever, haliburton, take him", and we didn't, but it was a rare instance where the board didnt melt down because Deni was generally seen as a top 5 pick. We didn't pick a guy expected to fall into the 20's we took a guy expected to be long gone, and I think the board was disappointed in no haliburton, but relatively okay considering we got a really interesting guy. That being said, I simply can't remember literally anyone disliking or being neutral on haliburton. Not anyone. I'm sure there were some that were less excited, but this wasn't a case like nearly any other draft picks, it wasn't Otto at 3, it wasn't whatshisface from New Orleans in the '14 or '15 class, it wasn't Rui, it was: Haliburton's great, at worst, he's a legit above average player, the floor is like, average player, seemingly everyone thought he had a legit career ahead of him. I hadn't felt generalized acceptance of a pick for us like that since probably Rip Hamilton (I guess Beal, but guys like Beal and Wall, while there was some argument, nobody was gonna view either pick as a blew it because it was so high and the floor and ceiling were high), a guy like Hamilton, it was almost impossible to believe he wouldn't be a legit pro. I felt like Hamilton the way I felt when I saw Caron Butler and Paul Pierce fall in other drafts decades ago, it was just, "oh, the NBA totally ----ed this up, it's obvious. Teams got way too cute in the details and forgot that Pierce and Butler and Hamilton are the type of players that can step right onto a top 4 conference playoff team and fit right in no problem." With Haliburton, it was very much of a piece with the Hamilton/Butler/Pierce level of "there's no way this guy isn't a top 3 player on a legit playoff team. I'm still stunned Sac traded him, although they hit pay dirt this year, and I can't remember what they got for him. It's too bad he went to Indiana. Its nearly impossible to build a good team there because nobody wants to live in Indiana.

[doclinkin]

There was a fair amount of sentiment to take Precious Achiuwa,

No there wasn't. I made a case for Achiuwa as one of 3 trade down possibilities, knowing one would be there if the other's weren't (Stewart and I forget who if it wasn't only Tillman) . I think there was one other who liked him but I am forgetting who.

I figured Hali would be gone so if we couldn't trade up for Okongwu (at any reasonable price) my 2nd pick was Vassell. Not Deni who couldn't shoot from outside and still can't. I was sour on draft night that we landed him instead of others who fit better and filled a need and play an actual role. Hali especially who could back up both Wall and Beal, even if Wall were healthy.

That said Deni's defense proved a revelation until he pissed off Refs somehow and started catching all the whistles. He has been one of my favorites on this squad. On draft night though I would happily have fleeced Dallas who were reportedly desperate to trade up for Hali offering multiple picks over multiple years, plus Seth Curry.

[payitforward]

This is not a matter of convicting anybody for having the "wrong" pick as a favorite. & I was among those who was happy to have taken Deni & left Halliburton on the board -- which was obviously wrong.

Anyway, draft picks overall are never all that accurate -- Halliburton (12) was the best that year -- better than 11 guys who were supposed to be better than he. Better by far than Anthony Edwards who went #1 & by a galaxy or two than Wiseman who went #2 (one of the most jinxed pick numbers for some reason...).

Not to mention that the 3d or 4th best player taken in '20 is Desmond Bane (#30). Nor is KMart Jr (the #52 pick) far behind him.

As for Precious, I wasn't suggesting that you were particularly interested in him, doc.

Main point: overall, as I'm sure you know, people will always "remember" having had more positive sentiment for the guy who turned out great than for the guy who fell short.

[jangles86]

1-Wemby
2-Scoot
3-Miller

If we can manage to get a top 3 pick then any of these 3 will change this franchise.

If it’s pick #1 then pop the bottles. Scoot would also be a dream. He’s a better prospect then what John wall was.

[Jay81]

1-Wemby
2-Scoot
3-Miller

If we can manage to get a top 3 pick then any of these 3 will change this franchise.

If it’s pick #1 then pop the bottles. Scoot would also be a dream. He’s a better prospect then what John wall was.

I thought Wall had hall of fame potential coming out

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[NatP4]

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