S&T With New Orleans: The Devonte Graham Thread

[Liver_Pooty]

MJ picked him because he beat Duke. Hope he pans out, but I don't expect it since he's coming to a laughingstock. If he can play, let him play. Everything else in this draft was a spectacular waste of time, much like the upcoming few seasons.

When did he beat Duke?

Elite Eight.

Lol oh I thought I was on the Miles thread. Had me googling. Thought I missed something.

You going to be okay though?

[Robot Rock]

When did he beat Duke?

Elite Eight.

Lol oh I thought I was on the Miles thread. Had me googling. Thought I missed something.

You going to be okay though?

My hand hurts pretty bad from punching the wall so much.

[LofJ]

This kid is the real deal, I love this pick.

https://247sports.com/college/kansas/Article/A-story-KU-basketballs-Devonte-Graham-prepping-for-2018-NBA-Draft-by-being-himself-119227371/

[TheKingofSting]

This kid is the real deal, I love this pick.

https://247sports.com/college/kansas/Article/A-story-KU-basketballs-Devonte-Graham-prepping-for-2018-NBA-Draft-by-being-himself-119227371/

I love it also, this isn't some raw one-and-done rookie. I don't know there measurables comparison (it's a pain on the phone to look up) but he is Josh Hart NBA ready. Whatever Devonte lacks in size he will make up for with heart and hard work as we have heard that before (Kemba).


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[LofJ]

This kid is the real deal, I love this pick.

https://247sports.com/college/kansas/Article/A-story-KU-basketballs-Devonte-Graham-prepping-for-2018-NBA-Draft-by-being-himself-119227371/

I love it also, this isn't some raw one-and-done rookie. I don't know there measurables comparison (it's a pain on the phone to look up) but he is Josh Hart NBA ready. Whatever Devonte lacks in size he will make up for with heart and hard work as we have heard that before (Kemba).


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He's almost 6'2 with a 6'6.5 wingspan, so he's not a midget by any means. His steal rate is a good indication that he won't get picked on defensively.

He also seems like the type of person that has an army of friends, I'm sure a ton of people in Raleigh were celebrating last night. Mitch just converted all of them into Hornets fans.

[TheKingofSting]

Graham evolved into one of college basketball's biggest stars after taking over full time for Frank Mason III at Kansas. He'll be a 23-year-old rookie, but Graham should have a chance to earn a backup role early on thanks to his skill level at the point.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2782192-devonte-graham-nba-draft-2018-scouting-report-for-charlotte-hornets-pick.amp.html

TRADE: Charlotte made this pick after trading two second-round picks to Atlanta
PG Devonte' Graham, Kansas senior
This pick was made by the Hornets, who need help at backup point guard. Kemba Walker -- whose future is uncertain -- needs someone who can give him a breather. Graham is polished, can shoot and has played on and off ball. His upside is very low, though, for a team that might have wanted a home-run swing. Grade: B

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2018-nba-draft-grades-pick-by-pick-results-analysis-for-first-and-second-rounds/amp/

34. Hawks — Devonte’ Graham, PG

More shooting for the Hawks. Graham is a 23-year-old point guard with limited upside, but he’s a shot maker through and through.

The Kansas senior is comfortable shooting both off the catch and off the bounce. He’s not a high-level slasher, but he’ll be a quality decision-maker. Graham gives Atlanta a nice backup option.

GRADE: B

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sportingnews.com/us/amp/nba/news/nba-draft-picks-2018-grades-results-trade-rumors-deandre/dmq906xxb83810glpht5ogls3

*Last grade was obviously pre-trade but he's still the same player.


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[JMAC3]

Undersized so don’t see him a great fit with Kemba, however he did play a lot of minutes in 2 point guard lineups over his 4 years at Kansas.

Most of his shot attempts are from 3 and he profiles as a near 40% shooter from deep at nba level. Free throw and 3 point (42,44,39 and 40)percentages are both really good indicators.

Not much of a get all the way to rim guy but is a really good decision maker and can push ball and make high level plays in transition with ease. If we want to play fast he profiles as a good fit.

Started 3 of 4 years at a top 10 school in college so he knows how to run an offense and be a leader. Think his upside doesn’t ever reach that of a starting point guard.



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[CatgutStitches]

Yeah, he's probably a career backup PG, but I think he can definitely excel in that role. You can't really expect a guy who can play backup PG now and mature into a starter down the road to be had with a 2nd rounder. This is insurance if we cant get a backup with the MLE, and I'm all for it.

[Robot Rock]

I'd take him over the free agent garbage that is left.

[Chapelchilla]

I like the pick a lot and aggressive moves to go up and get him show there was a plan in place for a change.

[amcoolio]

Since we used the BRK picks from the Howard trade to get this guy, and this guy was projected to go late first, I wonder what people's reactions would be to to the trade if BRK traded us the 29 and Mozgov for Howard and we took Graham at 29. Probably a lot more favorably

[LofJ]

I like the pick a lot and aggressive moves to go up and get him show there was a plan in place for a change.

Ain't that the truth. The 2016 draft where Cho traded our 1st for one year of Marco Bellineli and then casually left the building to do a press conference while the draft was still happening was such a terrible look.

[TheKingofSting]

from Hornets letter to ticket holders

A 6-2 guard, Graham was the 2017-18 Big 12 Player of the Year and a consensus First Team All-American after averaging 17.3 points, 7.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 37.8 minutes in 39 games played as a senior at Kansas. The native of Raleigh, North Carolina, ranked second in the Big 12 in both assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6), third in scoring and fourth in three-point field goals per game (2.8) . . .

I really like this kid, he is polished and I think he will have every opportunity to win the backup PG role from day one, it's up to him to go get it but if we do bring in competition for the backup PG role then I won't be too fussed over it. Devonte will find a way to contribute. Thanks for posting, Snidely!


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[Snidely FC]

from Hornets letter to ticket holders

A 6-2 guard, Graham was the 2017-18 Big 12 Player of the Year and a consensus First Team All-American after averaging 17.3 points, 7.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 37.8 minutes in 39 games played as a senior at Kansas. The native of Raleigh, North Carolina, ranked second in the Big 12 in both assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6), third in scoring and fourth in three-point field goals per game (2.8) . . .

[Snidely FC]

Watch on YouTube

Trading up for Devonte Graham has me feeling less confused from a team building stand point about not grabbing PG at 11. Honestly, wrote Graham off couple yrs ago as a chucker, but upon further review I see he has turned himself into a complete PG, Devonte is going to be an NBA rotation player for a long time, a good trick to pull off in Rd 2. I'm happy any time we add a 40% 3 pt + 80% ft shooter & Kid loves his lob passes - Cody & Miles gonna like playing with him

[TheKingofSting]

Watch on YouTube

Trading up for Devonte Graham has me feeling less confused from a team building stand point about not grabbing PG at 11. Honestly, wrote Graham off couple yrs ago as a chucker, but upon further review I see he has turned himself into a complete PG, Devonte is going to be an NBA rotation player for a long time, a good trick to pull off in Rd 2. I'm happy any time we add a 40% 3 pt + 80% ft shooter & Kid loves his lob passes - Cody & Miles gonna like playing with him

This guy really may be a Top 5 pick since we've returned to Charlotte: (not that we've had many second rounders thus us having no chance at hitting on a steal):

1. Kemba - I'd say that fella turned out pretty well.
2. Miles Bridges - Just wait and see.
3. Cody Zeller or Okafor - Cody is our Iron Man that wasn't thought too well of on draft night. His win / loss record when healthy is incredible and can't be ignored. Okafor started well but fell out of the league until this past season.
4. Monk - Some will say the jury is still out on him but I've seen enough to not all of a sudden not be a believer.
5. Devonte or Frank, it's debatable. Even that it's a debate and you put D. Graham just outside the Top 5 at 6 or 7 is still a value win for a second rounder.

Kansas has won so many regular season Big 12 titles in a row (up in the teens now) and the thought this past season was if you don't get them this year then when will you? Well no team got them in conference play and they went all the way to the freakin' Final Four in a "down year" for them! No way that happens without Graham. He and Kemba's last college years are quite similar, they both carried their teams to a Final Four, the only difference is Kemba got the NCAA Championship and Devonte fell just short.

*FTW about MKG not being in the Top 5, he is what he always will be and we whiffed on that pick.

Jared Dudley was also a good pick but we sadly barely knew him before he was shipped off.


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[SWedd523]

I think Graham is going to be the best pick for us in this draft, especially relative to their draft position. I like that he can go both directions with the ball, and he's very twitchy with his handle. The jumper is very quick from start to finish also.

Hope he does well

[UNCNYC]

I have him finishing with a better career than just about all the top profiled pgs taken in this draft. I think overall we will love him here.

A - Josh Okogie
A - Anfernee Simons
A - Tony Carr
A - Jaylen Hands
A - Devonte Graham
A - Jalen Brunson
A - Trae Young
B - Collin Sexton
B - Aaron Holiday
B - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

[yosemiteben]

https://www.nba.com/hornets/wild-night-brooklyn-brings-bridges-graham-kulboka-charlotte

“The last couple of days, we have acquired a whole bunch of assets and it gave us the ability to be aggressive and get a player who we did not think would be there in the early 30s. We had [Graham] ranked higher,” stated Kupchak. “I think a guy who has spent four years in basketball at a program like Kansas, if anybody can contribute, it will be a player like that.”

So Kupchak had a first round grade on Graham. Interesting.

[TheKingofSting]

https://www.nba.com/hornets/wild-night-brooklyn-brings-bridges-graham-kulboka-charlotte

“The last couple of days, we have acquired a whole bunch of assets and it gave us the ability to be aggressive and get a player who we did not think would be there in the early 30s. We had [Graham] ranked higher,” stated Kupchak. “I think a guy who has spent four years in basketball at a program like Kansas, if anybody can contribute, it will be a player like that.”

So Kupchak had a first round grade on Graham. Interesting.

I'm not surprised the least bit. It may not be right away but he will contribute this season and then again he may straight up win the backup PG job. So many people are sleeping on him!


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