2023 NBA Draft Thread

[Diop]

Yeah, I’d only consider edey as a second round pick out of curiosity. Bigger, slower players are definitely harder to play nowadays. Vernon Carey was smaller but struggled to stay because of his slower foot speed

[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.

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

Watch on YouTube

;t=625s

i'm disappointed there was zero mention of his defense or anything aside from how he posts up and catches lobs.

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.

I don't think anybody believes it's a huge upside play. Guys that big are just there to exploit a match up for like 2-3 minutes at a time with a bench unit. sometimes you just need a couple buckets. If someone around pick #40 is capable of that, I'm happy.

[GoBobs]

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


i'm disappointed there was zero mention of his defense or anything aside from how he posts up and catches lobs.

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.

I don't think anybody believes it's a huge upside play. Guys that big are just there to exploit a match up for like 2-3 minutes at a time with a bench unit. sometimes you just need a couple buckets. If someone around pick #40 is capable of that, I'm happy.

On defense he is an elite rebounder and above average shot blocker. The way he plays in college he just refuses to leave the paint and I don't know if that is by design, but most of the real big guys don't move well laterally. When guarding the pick and roll he is pretty much limited to playing drop coverage.

The questions on defense are similar to Sengun who came out a couplue of years ago. Worst case is maybe just using a zone or something when he is in the game.

Here are a couple of games where you can see draft prospects Edey, Jackson-Davis, and Hood-Schifino

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[GoBobs]

Some thoughts on some of the options outside of number one.

Scoot Henderson - In general if you are a guard and you can not shoot I am passing. 16 ppg on below average efficiency in the G league including 27% from 3 is not what I expect to see from a guy that is ready to step in and play right away. The draft spot is to high for a guard that needs development time.

Thompson Twins - As a SG or SF sized wing you pretty much need to be able to shoot. It is hard to trust the level of competition they are playing with. This is kind of like picking someone straight out of high school, it is really rolling the dice. I would rather not hope somebody who had been training to play basketball thier whole life can suddenly become a good shooter with a pick this high.

Brandon Miller - Streaky shooter that doesn't do much else. The one thing that jumps out about his numbers in a positive way is the free throw percentage of 86%. He is going to have a place in the league as a shooting specialist who is below average to average at a bunch of other things.

Cam Whitmore - Average to above average at a lot of different things. Can play right away but will need a few years of improvement before he has a chance to become a difference maker at the next level. He averaged 12 ppg in college would you consider him a bust if he averaged 12 ppg in his rookie year at pick #4?

Jarace Walker - Big body, very think legs and ankles. Spends a lot of time on offense camping behind the 3 pt line, don't know if that is by design or not. Good energy and activty level on defense, makes some mistakes due to aggressiveness but good foundation of energy and talent on this end of the floor. Looks less comfortable on offense. Has some shooting to be a floor spreader but not a sniper. Again, averaged like 12 ppg his last year in NCAA.

Cason Wallace - Good defense without gambling, but I don't see much ball pressure when I watch his games. On offense he dosen't really do anything special besides being able to shoot a little bit for floor spacing. Like a lot of other guys on this list, good foundation but needs a few years of seasoning.

Anthony Black - Good defense with good ball pressure. Herky Jerky game on offense. Good handle but dribbles into bad situations. No follow through on his shot.

So out of all those guys if I was choosing for our team it would be Anthony Black because we need ball pressure and SG is a position of need. After that I would probably go Cam Witmore for the more all around SF replacement for Hayward. Brandon Miller if you perfer less all around ability but more shooting. Probably see if Utah wants to trade picks 4 for 9 and 16.

Jarace Walker is a PF and only makes sense if Bridges or PJ is not coming back. Cason Wallace doesn't give us anything we can't get from a healthy Cody Martin.

[LofJ]

Draft workouts have started, no first round prospects though.

Read on Twitter

[NCHeels2008]

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

How long till Nike releases his shoe in a Knicks colorway lol

[LofJ]

If we end up keeping the Denver pick Julian Phillips is a guy we should take a close look at. He's unselfish, he can defend, and he can shoot. Guys his size with his skill-set almost always find a place in the league.

Watch on YouTube

[Goodecharlotte]

If we lucked out and got Wemba with the 1st pick what do people think of Bilal Coulibaly with our early 2nd round pick

[bravor]

I doubt he remains in this draft if he has no guarantee to get picked in the 1st round. But we will see. Obviously rooting for him, knowing he is not a star in the making, but a potential great glue guy (some Grant Hill potential i would say)

[LofJ]

Draft lottery is one week from today.

If we get the number 2 pick who do we take? Scoot? Miller? Someone else?

[Diop]

I doubt he remains in this draft if he has no guarantee to get picked in the 1st round. But we will see. Obviously rooting for him, knowing he is not a star in the making, but a potential great glue guy (some Grant Hill potential i would say)

I’m excited to see Alex Sarr for Perth this year!!

[bravor]

He's a bit soft (or was in last fiba tournament) but he has some nice fundamentals as a 4/5. Badly needs to improve the dirty work stuff (boxing out, screening at the opposite, banging inside instead of throwing jumpers, learning to trigger the help defense and make the good pass etc).

I still have hopes in Batcho (who left Texas Tech for Louisiana tech of his former coach). He should be in 2024th draft

Speaking of our 'local' prospects, no words on Dent and Rocco on your side ?

[Rich4114]

Draft lottery is one week from today.

If we get the number 2 pick who do we take? Scoot? Miller? Someone else?

Not taking Scoot and his ready to go NBA frame is insanity. Instantly improves our conversion at the rim, comes with ball handling and if he can improve his long range shot he’ll have it all. Miller is a really good option at 3 if that happens. Seems also NBA ready and with some development has all star potential. The only other guy I’d be excited about in the top 8 is Cam Whitmore. But realistically, anyone we draft except Wemby will take a season or two to be major contributors on a playoff team. Wemby himself will also need time but I expect a Banchero-like rookie campaign for him with more upside.

[JMAC3]

Draft lottery is one week from today.

If we get the number 2 pick who do we take? Scoot? Miller? Someone else?

Not taking Scoot and his ready to go NBA frame is insanity. Instantly improves our conversion at the rim, comes with ball handling and if he can improve his long range shot he’ll have it all. Miller is a really good option at 3 if that happens. Seems also NBA ready and with some development has all star potential. The only other guy I’d be excited about in the top 8 is Cam Whitmore. But realistically, anyone we draft except Wemby will take a season or two to be major contributors on a playoff team. Wemby himself will also need time but I expect a Banchero-like rookie campaign for him with more upside.

His finishing in the Gleague this year was average.

If we didn't have Melo already I could get more on board, but having another 6-2 shoot first guard next to Melo feels like the last thing that improves this team.

[Diop]

He's a bit soft (or was in last fiba tournament) but he has some nice fundamentals as a 4/5. Badly needs to improve the dirty work stuff (boxing out, screening at the opposite, banging inside instead of throwing jumpers, learning to trigger the help defense and make the good pass etc).

I still have hopes in Batcho (who left Texas Tech for Louisiana tech of his former coach). He should be in 2024th draft

Speaking of our 'local' prospects, no words on Dent and Rocco on your side ?

Perths coach is more about scoring than anything else unfortunately. Our old coach would have been perfect for Sarr but he went to Toronto a couple of years ago.

Rocco is definitely an exciting prospect, he’s not afraid of hard work which is always helpful for a developing player. Dent is a strong competitor and scorer but I can’t see him making nba

[LofJ]

Draft lottery is one week from today.

If we get the number 2 pick who do we take? Scoot? Miller? Someone else?

Not taking Scoot and his ready to go NBA frame is insanity. Instantly improves our conversion at the rim, comes with ball handling and if he can improve his long range shot he’ll have it all. Miller is a really good option at 3 if that happens. Seems also NBA ready and with some development has all star potential. The only other guy I’d be excited about in the top 8 is Cam Whitmore. But realistically, anyone we draft except Wemby will take a season or two to be major contributors on a playoff team. Wemby himself will also need time but I expect a Banchero-like rookie campaign for him with more upside.

His finishing in the Gleague this year was average.

If we didn't have Melo already I could get more on board, but having another 6-2 shoot first guard next to Melo feels like the last thing that improves this team.

Unlike Rozier Scoot can actually play the point meaning LaMelo can play off ball. It will open up a lot more possibilities on offense if defenders have to account for him both on and off ball. He also shot 75% from the line, so there's no reason to think he won't at least be an adequate shooter. So he should be able to play off LaMelo without the ball.

On defense Scoot is a physical specimen, he can be a point of attack defender in the backcourt and allow LaMelo to play to his defensive strength and roam for steals. He's a good fit with LaMelo, if he was only a few inches taller I'd say he's almost ideal.

I was on team Miller for a while, but his inability to affect the game when his shot isn't falling has turned me off him. I think he will be a slightly better defending, less selfish Michael Porter. That's a really good player, so I won't be sad if we land him. But I think the upside with Scoot is just higher, even given the height difference.

[amcoolio]

I'm not even going to think about it til after the lottery.

We need a positive vibes/good luck thread going. We have a 12.5% random luck chance of getting the best player we've ever had in 30+ years

[LofJ]

I'm not even going to think about it til after the lottery.

We need a positive vibes/good luck thread going. We have a 12.5% random luck chance of getting the best player we've ever had in 30+ years

Less than a week away now. I fully expect us to pick 6th, but man if we win I won't even know how to feel. I'll probably be in disbelief and shocked senseless.

[Rich4114]

The one by one card reveals are going to be excruciating. I’m going to have to memorize the reverse lottery order so I have a chance to breathe each time I see a team that’s not missing from their spot until 4.

[SWedd523]

won't have to wait too long, you'll see the hornets logo at the #8 spot