The Official 2023 Draft Thread

[Frichuela]

So Wizards…

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=GWeuz7j_sc5cBYZzdD92Tw

[NatP4]

I’m gonna pretend I did not just read that.

[doclinkin]

Right now I’m in favor of Podziemski or just an outright trade out of this draft altogether.

Cam Whitmore here we come

That's the thing. His poor measurements may have knocked him down and bumped Taylor Hendricks up (my guy at 8, though if Jarace Walker falls, I'm good with him too).

1. Wemby
2. Miller (they have Melo)
3. Scoot next to Dame? Bumping Simons? Sharpe? How does that work. Someone may make a juicy offer to jump into this spot.
4. Amen (Rockets are deep in forwards, a PG upgrade is a plus)
5. Jarace or Hendricks to Pistons who need PF depth/upgrade
6. Ausar? Played at 2 guard.
7. Jarace if he is on the board. Carlisle would love him. Hendricks otherwise.

That leaves us picking from Whitmore, Cason, Anthony Black, or trading down. I doubt we take Gradey to play him next to Kispert.

Cason it is I guess, for me. Though really I'd rather trade back and take Jordan Hawkins as an understudy/replacement for Beal.

Shoot, I'd take a look at Kobe Bufkin on a trade down and play him at PG.

But yeah I'm team trade down this year, since we don't have the assets to jump up.

My decision tree:

1. Hendricks/Jarace if either falls.
2. Trade down a few notches. Trade up in the 2nd.
3. Cason I suppose.

But if we end up with Black or Whitmore I'm sure I'll find the upside in either of them. Shrug.

[Dat2U]

Right now I’m in favor of Podziemski or just an outright trade out of this draft altogether.

At #8?

I think the way the lottery shook out leaves a good chance Cam falls to us.

2. Charlotte likely goes B. Miller
3. Portland either drafts Scoot or deals to a nother team that drafts Scoot.
4. Houston says Amen!
5. Jarace Walker seems born to be drafted to the Pistons. They could go Cam but do they really need another shot creator?
6. Orlando has their Fs and Cs. Adding defense on the wing in Ausur Thompson makes sense here.
7. Indy needs a PF in the worst way. They could also use a top notch wing. Hendricks & Dick strike me as guys the Pacers would view as good fits
8. I assume the Wiz lean heavily on 'consensus' with no real GM as of yet... Cam & Anthony Black are probably the favorites. Cason Wallace & Nick Smith Jr probably will get real hard looks.

My order assuming Wemby, Scoot, B. Miller, Thompson twins & Jarace Walker are gone.

1. Cam Whitmore ... top 3 athleticism in class, has solid shot creation with explosive first step & solid frame. Not a passer & needs to be more attentive on D.
2. Taylor Hendricks ... skilled versatile shooter & shot blocker who relies on excellent timing & verticality. Modern 3&D PF.
3. Gradey Dick ... best shooter in class who can attack closeouts. Decent pop at the rim. Excellent team defender. Not much of shof creator on the ball.
4. Brice Sensabaugh ... best 3 level scorer in class, solid frame. Gets to his spots with skill & strength. Mid-range killer. Not a defender or passer.
5. Cason Wallace ... best perimeter defender in class. Very Jrue-like on that end. Solid shooter & can play off the ball. Not a great shot creator at this stage.
6. Jett Howard ... very good shot creator for size. Has decent 'wiggle' off the bounce. Shot will translate. Needs to do more outside of scoring.
7. Anthony Black ... smart, aggressive slasher & passer with a shaky jumper & average finishing ability. Tends to fade in the background without the ball in hands. Has tools to defend but prone to getting blown by off the dribble.

[daSwami]

Whomever decided WJr. should represent us at the lottery should be fired!!! (or promoted, depending on where our pick lands.)

What assumes WUJ represents back luck for us at the lottery? Why would he be any worse or better than anyone else they could put out there? You'd rather see Johnny Davis, JT3 or Brad?

Don't know don't care, I just want someone fired.

[TGW]

If they were going to take a non defending, non-passing wing, I’d prefer Sensabaugh over Whitmore. Sensabaugh at least has an elite nba trait—shot creation.

I also wouldn’t mind Dick (pause). Actually nevermind, dude is disqualified just off his name alone lol.

Looks like either way, they are going to end up with a tier 3-4 guy IMO.

[trast66]

Right now I’m in favor of Podziemski or just an outright trade out of this draft altogether.

Cam Whitmore here we come

That's the thing. His poor measurements may have knocked him down and bumped Taylor Hendricks up (my guy at 8, though if Jarace Walker falls, I'm good with him too).

1. Wemby
2. Miller (they have Melo)
3. Scoot next to Dame? Bumping Simons? Sharpe? How does that work. Someone may make a juicy offer to jump into this spot.
4. Amen (Rockets are deep in forwards, a PG upgrade is a plus)
5. Jarace or Hendricks to Pistons who need PF depth/upgrade
6. Ausar? Played at 2 guard.
7. Jarace if he is on the board. Carlisle would love him. Hendricks otherwise.

That leaves us picking from Whitmore, Cason, Anthony Black, or trading down. I doubt we take Gradey to play him next to Kispert.

Cason it is I guess, for me. Though really I'd rather trade back and take Jordan Hawkins as an understudy/replacement for Beal.

Shoot, I'd take a look at Kobe Bufkin on a trade down and play him at PG.

But yeah I'm team trade down this year, since we don't have the assets to jump up.

My decision tree:

1. Hendricks/Jarace if either falls.
2. Trade down a few notches. Trade up in the 2nd.
3. Cason I suppose.

But if we end up with Black or Whitmore I'm sure I'll find the upside in either of them. Shrug.

If he’s there Hendricks has to be the pick. I’d pick him at 3 before Scoot. I feel we are destined for Whitmore, which would be OK, but would trade down if reasonable offer.

[gambitx777]

I would take Wallace at 8. He's gonna be good.
Then trade Beal on a deal that includes a mid first and take Bilal.
And hope we can get pod in the second.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[NatP4]

I would take Wallace at 8. He's gonna be good.
Then trade Beal on a deal that includes a mid first and take Bilal.
And hope we can get pod in the second.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

Hoping for Ausar or Amen to drop, if not, I’m trading down for guys like Podziemski, Cissoko, Coulibaly.

Wallace and Walker are like the Johnny Davis pick for me If you stay in that 8 spot, I like them more than the others, but it’s just a bad decision to stay put and take one of those 3rd tier guys.

Whitmore is one of my least favorite players in the draft. Tunnel vision, no motor, no basketball IQ. He’s gonna be a bad player. Gradey Dick is a rotation guy at best, not much different than Christian Braun. Solid. Hendricks is just Rui with a 3pt shot. No motor, no defensive awareness. Just a floater/jumpshooter. Anthony Black is incredibly boring. Not very athletic, no perimeter game as a guard. Really limited upside.

I would much rather just roll the f’ing dice and reach on Coulibaly/Podziemski/Cissoko, but Walker will be a solid two way starting PF. I could totally see him becoming like a Myles Turner level player, and I think people are on to something with the Jrue Holiday comps with Wallace. It’s a bit of a reach because he’s almost a year older than Holiday was, but he’s a safe solid pick. Don’t see much upside, but he’ll play a team game and defend. Have like a Tyus Jones impact. Both of those are solid outcomes at 8, but somewhat uninspiring.

[NatP4]

If they go off the board and take Podziemski at 8, I won’t complain. I still think he’s the best guard in the draft and will have a better career than Scoot.

[doclinkin]

Lets talk about Pros and cons by position. Fit. Talent. Upside. Best Player available. I wanted to talk about position groupings like this:

1. Cam Whitmore ... top 3 athleticism in class, has solid shot creation with explosive first step & solid frame. Not a passer & needs to be more attentive on D.
2. Taylor Hendricks ... skilled versatile shooter & shot blocker who relies on excellent timing & verticality. Modern 3&D PF.

But I see the athletic info is out now:

Interesting.
Cam Whitmore posted a max vert of 40.5". Tied for 3rd best in the combine.

But Brandon Podziemski posted a max vert of 39"... Tied for 5th best, along with Anthony Black.

Cam and Podz actually tied in standing vert. And were separated by only .1 second in the 3/4 court run.

This:

3. Gradey Dick ... best shooter in class who can attack closeouts. Decent pop at the rim. Excellent team defender. Not much of shof creator on the ball.
4. Brice Sensabaugh ... best 3 level scorer in class, solid frame. Gets to his spots with skill & strength. Mid-range killer. Not a defender or passer.

Let's add Podziemski to this conversation too.

Gradey Dick had the 2nd fastest shuttle run in the combine. 2.97 seconds what the hell.
But Podziemski was tied for 5th fastest at 3.09 seconds
Cam Whitmore was 16th at 3.26 seconds.


And This:

5. Cason Wallace ... best perimeter defender in class. Very Jrue-like on that end. Solid shooter & can play off the ball. Not a great shot creator at this stage.

7. Anthony Black ... smart, aggressive slasher & passer with a shaky jumper & average finishing ability. Tends to fade in the background without the ball in hands. Has tools to defend but prone to getting blown by off the dribble.

Cason had the 8th fastest lane agility time in the combine. Tied with Cam Whitmore at 10.82 seconds.

Here Podziemski was further behind, as he and Gradey were 11.16 and 11.18

Looks to me like Podziemski jumped the highest though: jumping all the way up into the first round, even into the lottery conversation.

[Dat2U]

Hendricks is the safest pick I think. Most reliable bet to be a solid starter.

Whitmore has the highest upside as a shot creator with first step explosiveness and decenf handle though it can be tightened up.

You could talk to me into a trade down beyond those if there's good value.

I wish we had assets for that Portland pick. Maybe they want Beal?

[doclinkin]

Hendricks is just Rui with a 3pt shot. No motor, no defensive awareness. Just a floater/jumpshooter.

That's a bad take. Hendricks posted 2.5 offensive boards a game. Five double doubles on the season. He added 1 steal per game, and close to 2 blocks a game. Lead his team in rebounding. Scored about 50/50 inside and outside, in his total points.

Nothing like Rui. The only similarity being neither passed much. That wasn't his role on the team. He scored efficiently, that was his job. Hendricks had 59 blocks this season, in only 34 games. Rui has had 50 total blocks in his career.

I suggest you re-watch. Here at the NIT for instance, a good game vs Florida. In the first few possessions you already see him rotating and defending every position, head on a swivel, racing to mark a shooter outside who is off the ball. To me he showed notable defensive awareness for a freshman.

Watch on YouTube

[Dat2U]

I like Podziemski. I'm not taking him at #8. I don't quite buy the lottery talk or athleticism. Some guys 'test' well but it doesn't translate on court. Podz doesn't really pass the eye test. Still I have him in the 20s, he gives me Jeff Hornacek vibes. I could understand mid-to-late teens. Lottery feels like a reach. This is not another Jalen Williams type deal.

[gambitx777]

I think the Wallace and Davis comparison is unfair. He's one of the best PG prospects in the draft. He's young he has the potential to develop passing wise you can see the making there he just needs the work. He's way more athletic than Johnny, fast and a really intelligent defender with good size he reminds me of John wall with a better shoting ability and more effort on defence.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[NatP4]

I think the Wallace and Davis comparison is unfair. He's one of the best PG prospects in the draft. He's young he has the potential to develop passing wise you can see the making there he just needs the work. He's way more athletic than Johnny, fast and a really intelligent defender with good size he reminds me of John wall with a better shoting ability and more effort on defence.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

I didn’t mean to compare him to Davis as a player. I meant that I liked Davis the most out of the mediocre 2nd/3rd tier group from last year. Still think Davis will be a good pro though.

I like Wallace and Walker out of that group from this year, but Podziemski, Cissoko, Coulibaly will be better than all of them IMO.

[deneem4]

Anthony black
Beal
Deni
Kuzma
KP

I like that

[doclinkin]

I like Podziemski. I'm not taking him at #8. I don't quite buy the lottery talk or athleticism. Some guys 'test' well but it doesn't translate on court. Podz doesn't really pass the eye test. Still I have him in the 20s, he gives me Jeff Hornacek vibes. I could understand mid-to-late teens. Lottery feels like a reach. This is not another Jalen Williams type deal.

NO way Hornacek LOL. Podziemski has way more razzle dazzle than that. Handle, adjustments in space. Floater, shooting off the dribble. Smart passing. Nearly 2 steals a game. Not a standstill catch and shoot guy. I get the impression he was conserving energy on defense all the time since he accounted for a quarter of his teams total possessions on offense. But it could just be the pace he plays at. He put up a late season string of double digit rebound games, if you can believe the stat sheet. And 5 games with 5 steals. But yeah he rebounds by tracking the bounce and getting there first, which means he loses his man at times.

I was waiting on combine measurements on him, and more so the 5-on-5 games. If he is smart enough to game the testing, that's a positive in my book. Game smarts are what I read on him. He comes across as the smartest guy on the floor most of the time, he looks like he plays slow because the game comes quickly for him, he's just not in a hurry. That said unless he becomes a fitness fanatic or takes the needle, I do think he will get shoved around by stronger players.

[gambitx777]

I think the Wallace and Davis comparison is unfair. He's one of the best PG prospects in the draft. He's young he has the potential to develop passing wise you can see the making there he just needs the work. He's way more athletic than Johnny, fast and a really intelligent defender with good size he reminds me of John wall with a better shoting ability and more effort on defence.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

I didn’t mean to compare him to Davis as a player. I meant that I liked Davis the most out of the mediocre 2nd/3rd tier group from last year. Still think Davis will be a good pro though.

I like Wallace and Walker out of that group from this year, but Podziemski, Cissoko, Coulibaly will be better than all of them IMO.

I agree with you I like pod a lot I would ideally like to focus on how to get Wallace and Pod I don't know how far pod will rise. Right now he's mid second round. I would like to make some trades. Like I said
My piff perfect draft
Wallace
Bilal
Pod
And a 4th rookie if we could swing it.

I just don't think Wallace is gonna make out out of the top ten.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[DCZards]

Anthony Black is incredibly boring. Not very athletic, no perimeter game as a guard. Really limited upside.

Hmmm…I remember similar things being said about Jalen Brunson.

There are a lot of athletic, exciting former college players working for Amazon while smart, skilled guys like Brunson are stars in the NBA.

Black has the smarts, skills and size to be a star. He’s also a better athlete than you give him credit for.