2023 NBA Draft Thread

[LofJ]

I for one am shocked:

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The evil side of me wonders what everyone would say about the team if we land Wembanyama and Clifford brings him off the bench.

[JDR720]

I wonder how the media would cope. Would they actually pay attention? Or immediately start speculating about him forcing a trade or leaving?

[GiggitySmalls]

I gotta hope we take scoot if we can. We won't get wemby. Scoot is insurance for Melo and pairs better with Melo than rozier. Maybe we could trade rozier afterwards for assets. Somebody around the league would see rozier as a primary off the bench scorer.

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[SWedd523]

We draft Scoot and he's not leaving his G league team until at least the all star break

[luciano-davidwesley]

I wonder how the media would cope. Would they actually pay attention? Or immediately start speculating about him forcing a trade or leaving?

There's already meltdowns happening about what would happen if "third class" teams like us had the audacity to draft Wemby with the first overall pick.

Clowns like this moron who is constantly **** talking us, saying in other videos we have no talent at all (he obviously doesn't watch us play, another talking head).

It's going to be insufferable for a while what the national media will come up with if a "small market" team win the lottery and don't immediately trade Wemby to the Lakers or Warriors for a future protected first.

Lots of people already speculating Wemby might refuse to report, which to me is just ridiculous and almost impossible. Whoever picks him would call his bluff really quickly IMO if he kicks up a fuss

Watch on YouTube

[Bassman]

A dumb@$$ with a phone and a round light to shine on his sweaty ball cap. Yep, he knows a lot so he hosts a video channel.

Why do these clowns believe the NBA is better with stars all being herded into big markets? Cause they live in them. They think big city is big glam and big money (which I guess it is), BUT they influence these young kids into thinking that’s the only place to be. Agents are just as bad. BS chatter that Wemby could hold out reporting to us as #1 is just caca conjecture.But it’s that BIG market thought process.

Same thinking that has (I fear) Melo contemplating a departure. His statements related to staying here are weaker than I’d like. We know he loves the LA area, wants star power and star marketing.

We desperately need to win the lottery and bring Wemby here. Pairing him with Melo, possibly a rejuvenated and reset Miles, Williams and a quality guard could keep Melo on board.

[GoBobs]

Zach Edey is the most undervalued player in this draft. He is a big time talent that is being slept on.

Consider first just his size at 7'4'' and 300lb even compared to Mark Williams who is more like 7'0" and 240 he is an enormous person. He has the type of fram where he looks like he can add 20-30 pounds of muscle as he gets older without any issue.

So this is a player that is likely to be the biggest player in most of the games he ever plays in and might be the strongest player in most of those games if he adds a little bit of strength.

Now consider his numbers 22 pts, 13 reb, and 2 blk in 31 minutes on 64% true shooting with a PER of 40. He had a 24.5% total rebound percentage which if way better than Mark Williams, another great rebounder who recourded a 17.5% rebound percentage his last year at Duke. Over 40 minutes Edey grabs 16 rebounds compared to 12.5 for Williams. Also, Edey shots 73% at the free throw line already and hardly ever fouls.

In terms of scoring Edey catches the ball with his back to the basket and uses hook shots with either hand and has been very efficient. He sets amazingly good picks due to his huge body and is a good finisher in the pick and roll. When he gets to the NBA where there is more space he might actually be better than he is right now. Even if it takes him a bit to adjust to better defenders I expect him to continue to gain strength and his skill level to continue to improve as it has done rapidly over the last few years.

He can't defend the pick and roll so he would have to play drop coverage like Mark, but we still have Richards if we encounter a situation where we feel like we just have to switch.

I am guessing that he will start moving up some boards though and go off the board 15-17 range. Some team like OKC or the Jazz is going to the the posibilities with this kid.



'

[Diop]

Edey is a giant, so of course I love him, I can't see him getting much burn after Williams and Richards though.

[HornetJail]

Edey is a giant, so of course I love him, I can't see him getting much burn after Williams and Richards though.

if we think Edey can be anything, you don't let Nick Richards get in the way of that.

I know very little about Edey, but I'm firmly on board with taking 2nd round flyers on anyone with his general profile.

[GoBobs]

Edey is a giant, so of course I love him, I can't see him getting much burn after Williams and Richards though.

if we think Edey can be anything, you don't let Nick Richards get in the way of that.

I know very little about Edey, but I'm firmly on board with taking 2nd round flyers on anyone with his general profile.

this video is a good place to start if you want to learn more about him

Watch on YouTube

;t=625s

[Liver_Pooty]

Edey will go back to school in my opinion.

[JMAC3]

Edey is a fun college guy, but no team in the NBA is going to just post him up and let him take 15 shots a game.

His biggest strength is his size, which isn't going to be nearly the advantage it was in college. He isn't bullying Steven Adams, Jonas Valanciunas and Joel Embiid like he did the poor 6-8 centers he saw nightly in the big ten.

If you want to take a chance on him in the 50s go for it, but I will laugh at the team that takes him in the first round to be the new Boban, Tacko Fall or Thabet.

[LofJ]

I have a feeling the Blazers are going to win the lottery this year. I just hope we get a little bit lucky and move up to 2 or 3.

[GoBobs]

Edey is a fun college guy, but no team in the NBA is going to just post him up and let him take 15 shots a game.

His biggest strength is his size, which isn't going to be nearly the advantage it was in college. He isn't bullying Steven Adams, Jonas Valanciunas and Joel Embiid like he did the poor 6-8 centers he saw nightly in the big ten.

If you want to take a chance on him in the 50s go for it, but I will laugh at the team that takes him in the first round to be the new Boban, Tacko Fall or Thabet.

Boban is great on the offensive end of the floor. He is a great example of how hard it is to stop a player that tall because he is also 7'4'', but Boban's height is thought to be the result of a medical condition. So while these guys are comparable in height it is really apples and oranges form that standpoint.

Tacko averaged 11 pts 8 reb his last year in college and was shooting below 50% from the free throw line. He also committed 4.5 fouls per 40 min compared to Edey's 2 fouls per 40 min.

A better comparison is college Jr Shaq who averaged a monster 24 pts 14 reb and 5.2 blks in 32 min compared to Edey's 22 pts 13 reb and 2.1 blks also in 32 min.

So obviously Shaq is way better with the extra 3 blk per game which is huge, but the pts and reb is not that different and one thing Edey does have in his favor is he shotos above 70% from the free throw line.

People have speculated that Shaq would have a much harder time in the modern nba because he would have to guard the pick and roll and Edey is going to have to answer that same question. He might have problems with the strength of some NBA guys his first couple of years because he is still only 20 or whatever but he will eventually be bigger and stronger than most of the people he faces.

[JMAC3]

Edey is a fun college guy, but no team in the NBA is going to just post him up and let him take 15 shots a game.

His biggest strength is his size, which isn't going to be nearly the advantage it was in college. He isn't bullying Steven Adams, Jonas Valanciunas and Joel Embiid like he did the poor 6-8 centers he saw nightly in the big ten.

If you want to take a chance on him in the 50s go for it, but I will laugh at the team that takes him in the first round to be the new Boban, Tacko Fall or Thabet.

Boban is great on the offensive end of the floor. He is a great example of how hard it is to stop a player that tall because he is also 7'4'', but Boban's height is thought to be the result of a medical condition. So while these guys are comparable in height it is really apples and oranges form that standpoint.

Tacko averaged 11 pts 8 reb his last year in college and was shooting below 50% from the free throw line. He also committed 4.5 fouls per 40 min compared to Edey's 2 fouls per 40 min.

A better comparison is college Jr Shaq who averaged a monster 24 pts 14 reb and 5.2 blks in 32 min compared to Edey's 22 pts 13 reb and 2.1 blks also in 32 min.

So obviously Shaq is way better with the extra 3 blk per game which is huge, but the pts and reb is not that different and one thing Edey does have in his favor is he shotos above 70% from the free throw line.

People have speculated that Shaq would have a much harder time in the modern nba because he would have to guard the pick and roll and Edey is going to have to answer that same question. He might have problems with the strength of some NBA guys his first couple of years because he is still only 20 or whatever but he will eventually be bigger and stronger than most of the people he faces.

Have you seen college Edey run up and down the court? Then go look at Shaq run and down the court.

Guys like Gobert and Steven Adams get played off the court in the NBA, both of those guys run circles around Edey with foot speed and quickness.

Purdue lost their first game in the tournament with Edey being guarded by 6'6'' guys. Please never mention him and Shaq in the same sentence again.

[SWedd523]

Shaq would be probably the most dominant player in the entire league if he played right now. Zion Williamson puts up 26+ points on 60% from the floor whenever he leaves the all-you-can-eat buffet; Shaq is absolutely destroying dudes. Young Shaq was also significantly more athletic than Edey, as evidenced by more than doubling his blocks per game.

I feel dirty even comparing the two.

[GoBobs]

Edey is a fun college guy, but no team in the NBA is going to just post him up and let him take 15 shots a game.

His biggest strength is his size, which isn't going to be nearly the advantage it was in college. He isn't bullying Steven Adams, Jonas Valanciunas and Joel Embiid like he did the poor 6-8 centers he saw nightly in the big ten.

If you want to take a chance on him in the 50s go for it, but I will laugh at the team that takes him in the first round to be the new Boban, Tacko Fall or Thabet.

Boban is great on the offensive end of the floor. He is a great example of how hard it is to stop a player that tall because he is also 7'4'', but Boban's height is thought to be the result of a medical condition. So while these guys are comparable in height it is really apples and oranges form that standpoint.

Tacko averaged 11 pts 8 reb his last year in college and was shooting below 50% from the free throw line. He also committed 4.5 fouls per 40 min compared to Edey's 2 fouls per 40 min.

A better comparison is college Jr Shaq who averaged a monster 24 pts 14 reb and 5.2 blks in 32 min compared to Edey's 22 pts 13 reb and 2.1 blks also in 32 min.

So obviously Shaq is way better with the extra 3 blk per game which is huge, but the pts and reb is not that different and one thing Edey does have in his favor is he shotos above 70% from the free throw line.

People have speculated that Shaq would have a much harder time in the modern nba because he would have to guard the pick and roll and Edey is going to have to answer that same question. He might have problems with the strength of some NBA guys his first couple of years because he is still only 20 or whatever but he will eventually be bigger and stronger than most of the people he faces.

Have you seen college Edey run up and down the court? Then go look at Shaq run and down the court.

Guys like Gobert and Steven Adams get played off the court in the NBA, both of those guys run circles around Edey with foot speed and quickness.

Purdue lost their first game in the tournament with Edey being guarded by 6'6'' guys. Please never mention him and Shaq in the same sentence again.

That tournament loss was only one game and to be fair Edey had 21 pts 15 reb and 3 blks in that game. He went 7-11 from the floor and the rest of his team was a combined 28% from the floor and 19% from 3.

I don't know how to compare the footspeed and quickness of Gobert and Adams to Edey. Maybe when the combine numbers come out we will get a better idea of those things. When I watch him run in a game though he looks fine. He has a good energy level on both sides of the ball and plays 30 min per game without any endurance issues.

[LofJ]

Is Shaq the most athletic player in the history of the league when you factor in everything - i.e. size, strength, agility, speed, and jumping ability?

I'd argue yes, the only other players who come close were either smaller (Lebron, MJ) or played in the early days with subpar competition (Wilt).

Zion could be in the Lebron/MJ athletic tier if he wasn't a lazy excuse for a professional athlete. The natural talent he's wasting makes me angry. At least Shaq dominated the league for several years and won championships before he got lazy.

[JDR720]

One of Edey's +'s is he is a good FT shooter.

But if he makes the league is dependent on how he can defend. And injury risk, like all huge players.

[JMAC3]

One of Edey's +'s is he is a good FT shooter.

But if he makes the league is dependent on how he can defend. And injury risk, like all huge players.

Just watch Purdue play, they play super slow. Post him up and then he scores on smaller players. It is nothing like the NBA game at all.

No team is drafting him and acting like he is Joel Embiid and giving him 15 post touches a night. You have to be able to get in and out of screens quickly as an NBA center and play above the rim on the roll. He does neither of those things.