2021 Draft thread. Woo! 15th pick here we come! Hoo. Ray.

[NatP4]

Cunningham exploded in the 2nd half. Gave OK state a fighting chance.

[NatP4]

Wagner went up against a future NBA wing in Aaron Henry and just torched him. 4-6 from 3. 19 points 6 rebounds on 12 shots. Michigan dominated.

He’s the 4th best prospect in the draft. Put me on record

[Dat2U]

Wagner went up against a future NBA wing in Aaron Henry and just torched him. 4-6 from 3. 19 points 6 rebounds on 12 shots. Michigan dominated.

He’s the 4th best prospect in the draft. Put me on record

I dunno, Jalen Green is electric. I see the Zach Lavine comparisons.

Also I've come around on Cade at #1. Too much skill and shot making ability at 6-8. Can do everything offensively even if he's not a true PG. Guys like him don't fail. Cade's polish reminds me alot of Carmelo's freshman year. The skill level & shot creation ability is just astonishing and Cunningham's creativity with a live handle will allow him to have an immediate impact. Mobley is still my #2 but he's a few years away from setting the world on fire, not on AD level but easily best big to come out in a few years. Suggs penciled in at #3. Gary Payton or George Hill on steroids vibes. Elite character guy. May be a higher ceiling version of Tyrese Haliburton.

Kuminga is a smooth, cat quick athlete more than explosive. Still learning how to play though and needs more time. I see flashes of Mashburn & Siakam in his game.

I'm not confident to really speak on Wagner yet but his statistical profile fits a high level role player that's acutely aware of their strengths and weaknesses.

[Ruzious]

Any thoughts on the Champagnie brothers? - both putting up quality numbers with Justin seeming to have the advantage over Julian - though Julian has the size advantage and seems to be the better 3 point shooter. Justin's a monster on the boards.

[Ruzious]

dble post

[NatP4]

I agree with all of that, and I think that is exactly how it will play out on draft night.

Cunningham: not sure if he will ever be an impactful defensive player or a primary playmaker. He’s more of a Jayson Tatum that isn’t super efficient as a scorer/finisher around the rim, and doesn’t really make plays for teamates. Kind of a ball stopping isolation scorer on mediocre efficiency.

Mobley: over the last month has struggled. Not super active on the glass, doesn’t rebound outside his area. Some questions about his physicality and frame. He’s come down from being far and away the top prospect to more of an up in the air situation. Myles Turner on the defensive end with way more offensive upside.

Suggs: less flashy than Cunningham, not as much upside as a shot creator and 3pt shooter. Impacts the game with everything else, playmaking, defense, rebounding. Has the “it” factor. Will impact the game like a prime Kyle Lowry (one of the most underrated players EVER)

Green: Zac Lavine clone (2021 version) microwave scorer, explosive athleticism. Will he impact the game defensively? Does he have true primary playmaking skills? He probably never guards NBA wings like Lebron or Kawhi, and probably never develops into a true primary ball handler, so how much does a microwave 2 guard impact Ws?

Wagner: Suggs in the SF/PF build. Does everything well, best defensive player in the country. Can legit guard 1-5. Will impact winning more than anyone not named Suggs&Mobley. Not flashy enough to get picked over top names. Gordon Hayward with more defensive upside.

Kuminga: afterthought right now. Can’t make a shot, feel for the game isn’t there. Might need 3-4 years of development to become a rotation piece. Might be a bust. You can’t be a 20% 3 pt shooting wing in today’s NBA.

I think the draft will go:
1. Cunningham
2. Mobley
3. Green
4. Suggs
5. Kuminga

Impact on winning:
1. Suggs
2. Mobley
3. Cunningham
4. Wagner
5. Green

[pcbothwel]

I’m really curious about what Queta would look like in a spaced out NBA setting. Right now he’s playing a ton of post up basketball, but his real strength as a prospect is his rim protection and rebounding. He might be the best rim protector in the country after Mobley. per 40 numbers for this season are getting pretty ridiculous. 20.8 points 13.7 rebounds 4 blocks 4 assists 1.6 steals. He’s been a pretty consistent >60% TS guy through his 3 seasons in college. He is 2nd in college basketball in DBPM behind Wagner. Has that insane 7’5 wingspan. Pretty solid sample size as a 67% free throw shooter. Going to be 22 years old on draft night though. The age and strength of competition is scaring teams off I’m sure, but he’s just as good of a prospect as the majority of the players mocked in the 6-12 range IMO.

Everything about him reminds me of Clint Capela with some added playmaking and vision and a little bit better free throw shooting.

I definitely gotta watch more of him on youtube - seems to be under the radar. He even had 6 assists last game. He's feasted on Nevada (Steve Alford) and Boise State the last 4 games. Made a lot of foul shots lately and looks like he's improving his FT% - 32/41 in the last 5 games (78%). Love his defensive stats.

Just watched his game against Wyoming... Is anyone else seeing his awful landing patterns. The knee valgus or "Knock Knees" are the worst I've seen in a while (Myles Turner was bad too). It could be a structural issue or weak hips, but that is VERY concerning.
I mean, I've seen guys land like that, but his knees almost touch when he jogs... really bad.

[doclinkin]

Picking names for the 2nd round pick we don't have and the undrafted steals who will probably stay in school another year. As always these may be my G-League all-stars but still, I am looking for defenders.

To my earlier tabs on
Santi Aldama of Loyola, and
Charles Bassey of Western Kentucky,

add

Josh Mballa of Buffalo. French national, discarded by Texas Tech, at Buffalo he committed to their on-on-one defense scheme and has begun developing swiftly. averaging ~10 boards and ~ 2 steals a game from the forward position, defending all 5 spots on the floor. Some of his game logs are eye bulging: 22 pts, 16 boards, 5 steals, 1 block; or his 19/19/6ast/2 block game. Best of all his stats seem to be improving in all respects. Raw but developing fast.

Gaige Prim of Missouri State. No-neck torso-head wrecking ball type, he somehow steadily posts a couple steals a game while putting up a double double steady as clockwork. A 5th year senior, his leadership shows in games with 9 assists here and there.

Aldama (Spain), Bassey (Nigeria), and Mballa (France) all could be draft and stash possibilities for seasoning overseas. Though I expect Bassey would play immediately and Aldama is 6'11" with an outside stroke, which can earn a role on many teams.

[Ruzious]

One player on Ignite who's probably going to get talked about a lot more now is Isaiah Todd - a very athletic 6'10 210 lb 19 year old - raw but quickly improving. Has the makings of a pretty jump shot. If he keeps it up and adds some weight, he will be a lottery pick - even though most scouting reports call him a 2nd rounder.

Watch on YouTube

[nate33]

One player on Ignite who's probably going to get talked about a lot more now is Isaiah Todd - a very athletic 6'10 210 lb 19 year old - raw but quickly improving. Has the makings of a pretty jump shot. If he keeps it up and adds some weight, he will be a lottery pick - even though most scouting reports call him a 2nd rounder.

That is a sweet looking shooting stroke.

He is averaging 18.2 points, 7.2 boards, 1.2 assists, 1.1 blocks, 0.7 steals, 2.3 turnovers and 3.7 fouls per 36. So pretty strong on the scoring and rebounding, but a little low on the basketball-IQ metrics like assists, steals and turnovers.

He is shooting a respectable 36% from 3-point range, but his 2-point percentage is just .466 and he averages just 1.7 FTA's per 36. So there are some red flags.

He looks like the type of player Toronto might take - a great athlete who can fill a simple 3&D role relatively soon, and then build out his game from there.

[NatP4]

One player on Ignite who's probably going to get talked about a lot more now is Isaiah Todd - a very athletic 6'10 210 lb 19 year old - raw but quickly improving. Has the makings of a pretty jump shot. If he keeps it up and adds some weight, he will be a lottery pick - even though most scouting reports call him a 2nd rounder.

That is a sweet looking shooting stroke.

He is averaging 18.2 points, 7.2 boards, 1.2 assists, 1.1 blocks, 0.7 steals, 2.3 turnovers and 3.7 fouls per 36. So pretty strong on the scoring and rebounding, but a little low on the basketball-IQ metrics like assists, steals and turnovers.

He is shooting a respectable 36% from 3-point range, but his 2-point percentage is just .466 and he averages just 1.7 FTA's per 36. So there are some red flags.

He looks like the type of player Toronto might take - a great athlete who can fill a simple 3&D role relatively soon, and then build out his game from there.

95 offensive rating 112 defensive rating .001 WS/48

The hype is really building for Todd though. He’s been putting up some great performances.

[payitforward]

Picking names for the 2nd round pick we don't have and the undrafted steals who will probably stay in school another year. As always these may be my G-League all-stars but still, I am looking for defenders.

To my earlier tabs on
Santi Aldama of Loyola, and
Charles Bassey of Western Kentucky,

add

Josh Mballa of Buffalo. French national, discarded by Texas Tech, at Buffalo he committed to their on-on-one defense scheme and has begun developing swiftly. averaging ~10 boards and ~ 2 steals a game from the forward position, defending all 5 spots on the floor. Some of his game logs are eye bulging: 22 pts, 16 boards, 5 steals, 1 block; or his 19/19/6ast/2 block game. Best of all his stats seem to be improving in all respects. Raw but developing fast.

Gaige Prim of Missouri State. No-neck torso-head wrecking ball type, he somehow steadily posts a couple steals a game while putting up a double double steady as clockwork. A 5th year senior, his leadership shows in games with 9 assists here and there.

Aldama (Spain), Bassey (Nigeria), and Mballa (France) all could be draft and stash possibilities for seasoning overseas. Though I expect Bassey would play immediately and Aldama is 6'11" with an outside stroke, which can earn a role on many teams.

Bassey seems like a lock as a solid nba player. Mballa & Prim look great too.

Hand it to you, Doc -- you are doing a truly great job on this stuff!

[doclinkin]

Hand it to you, Doc -- you are doing a truly great job on this stuff!

I found a few from hunting particular markers at Kenpom.com. Also I found a backdoor into the B-ref play index from a search I had previously saved.

I think MBalla has the better upside. He's a converted guard who got big. Used to have a sweet jumper in France but lost it since he was out of practice and not asked to play outside. He is now rebuilding it. Late bloomer types are good bargains. Plus his name is the MBest.

Bassey is a fully developed man among boys type. He should be able to do what he does at the NBA, with a little taken off his game, but maybe his upside isn't as high. Still if he does what he does, then he will be a really solid player, especially on defense.

I think Prim is as good as he is going to be and is not an NBA level athlete. He is thick and savvy and tough at a lower D1 level.

Santiago Aldama will star in Europe if he doesn't stick with a team here. Developing talent. Smart play. His body may never develop more, but he is another of the lanky skilled ballers that Europe displays. Kevin Durant wannabe's, not trying to be Garnett.

[payitforward]

Yes, Mballa was the one who intrigued me as well. Big jump in FT% gives you some reason to think his shooting will improve. He adds a 3-pointer, watch out....

[payitforward]

As to Bassey -- he's only 20 years old. He might still grow a bit. In any case, he's described as having "freakish length."

[doclinkin]

As to Bassey -- he's only 20 years old. He might still grow a bit. In any case, he's described as having "freakish length."

Yeah. He will be a secret favorite for scouts hoping he will fall, especially for oldheads hearing he wants to pattern his face up game after Len Bias...

Watch on YouTube

[NatP4]

Butler with a gem of a performance against more NBA talent. 18 points 4 rebounds 5 assists on 7 shots. He’s shown over and over that he’s the best guard in college basketball.

Wagner 10 points 6 rebounds 5 assists 2 steals 2 blocks. Didn’t shoot it well though.

[NatP4]

Watch on YouTube

[NatP4]

Micah Potter will be a nice steal for some team in the 2nd round.

I’m leaning Jared Butler with our pick. I think he’s going to be one of the best guards in the NBA in the future. Has the best makeup/leadership of any player in the draft.

Been watching a lot of his interviews. Has all the intangibles you could ask for. Just gets “it”

The Grizzlies are going to pick him. Take it to the bank.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Watch on YouTube

Love Butler’s handle and his quick release.

Yep. He’ll be good at the next level.