2023 NBA Draft Thread

[CP War Hawks]

If Hendrix is a guy one is willing to give up value to move up for, Clowney can be considered his counterpart to an extent. Been cool on him but I see him rising fast.

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[Jamaaliver]

Another Duke Freshman and a home run swing on a future star:

Dariq Whitehead, Duke

Plagued by injuries throughout his freshman season at Duke, Whitehead, even when healthy, failed to fully live up to lofty expectations as a five-star, top-five prospect in his class. The talent is glaringly obvious and a huge reason why I won't be selling off all my stock in him -- 6-7 wings who can make plays and slash with elite burst and athleticism are difficult to come by -- but he remains more of a project at this stage than expected and did not take advantage of the opportunity to solidify himself as a top-10 player in the class. If he can improve on his finishing skills around the hoop to go with his outside game I like his chances of outperforming whatever draft capital he gets if he slips out of the top 10. I'm not so sure he makes it out of the lottery.

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[CP War Hawks]

Cissoko or Cisco is what I call him. Tell me what this dude looks like, for me it's UNC Duck. Adding him to my shortlist at 15. Legit playmaking at the 3 spot with even better defense.

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[Jamaaliver]

If Hendrix is a guy one is willing to give up value to move up for, Clowney can be considered his counterpart to an extent. Been cool on him but I see him rising fast.

A nice breakdown on Clowney from The Ringer:

Noah Clowney | Alabama | Freshman

Plays with an edge and possesses the type of defensive versatility valued in the NBA.

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Height: 6'10"
Weight: 210
Age: 19
Year: Freshman

SHADES OF: Wendell Carter

PLUSES

• Super mobile defender with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and great energy. He constantly hustles, showing a willingness to step in front of drives to contest shots. He makes second and third efforts, and does it with great awareness and anticipation. Despite his youth, he also shows good discipline by not biting on fakes.
• Hard-nosed rebounder who boxes out and fights for boards.
• Projects as a versatile piece of a defense that asks its bigs to switch, hedge, and drop depending on the opponent. He had a play against Houston in which he hedged a ball screen, recovered to his original man, then rotated to a corner 3 shooter and elevated to block his shot. A combination of athleticism, effort, and intelligence was required to make the play.
• Versatile ball-screen threat since he could become a shooter, and he’s already skilled on the roll. He has soft hands to catch tough passes, and in the paint he has great patience going up for layups. If he can’t fly for a dunk off the catch, he will use multiple pump fakes if necessary to generate space. And if he catches the ball on the short roll, he handles it well enough to attack off the bounce and spray passes around the court.
• Looks the part as a 3-point shooter with comfortable mechanics on standstill tries from the corner or pick-and-pops from above the break. He’s making 31.4 percent from 3 on the season, including a long 38.5 percent stretch after starting 2 for 16.
• One of the youngest players in the class. He doesn’t turn 19 until July, yet already brings a mature, selfless attitude.

MINUSES

• Adding strength is a priority in order to handle post defense against stronger interior players.
• Despite his success behind the arc so far in his freshman season, he’s still an unproven shooter who shoots only 54.9 percent from the free throw line and has shot below 30 percent from 3 going back to high school.

PTS 9.8 .576 TS%
3P% 28.3 on 3.3 3PA/game
REB 7.9 16.4 REB%

[atlantabbq99]

I would trade Collins and 15 for a 2nd round pick straight up.

Hawks need to dump his contract and its a very weak draft which means there are alot of interesting prospects in the 2nd round.

[jayu70]

I would trade Collins and 15 for a 2nd round pick straight up.

Hawks need to dump his contract and its a very weak draft which means there are alot of interesting prospects in the 2nd round.

didn't we learn anything from the Huerter trade dumping salary to save money?
1. That's not good asset management and 2. It still leaves us without any capspace. 3. No matter how weak a draft is I'd rather take an interesting prospect at 15 than in the 2nd round.

[Jamaaliver]

Kris Murray could be playing a similar role on a top playoff team next season...

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[Jamaaliver]

A solid option for us in the 2nd round. This young man could develop into a Nic Claxton-esqe player.

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[Jamaaliver]

Not the Hawks. Dude doesn't yet know how to play team basketball.

Whoever drafts him is gonna have to be patient as h3ll.....

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[Jamaaliver]

[Jamaaliver]

[Jamaaliver]

I'm leaning towards this guy as my favorite draft prospect this summer.

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[Jamaaliver]

KM seriously seems like an obvious draft candidate for a team that needs to win sooner than later.

Could he start for a playoff team next season, like his brother just did?

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[Jamaaliver]

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NBA Draft targets for Hawks with No. 15 pick

Dariq Whitehead | SF | Freshman

Spoiler:

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Having shot just 35.2 percent from 3-point range in the 2022-23 regular season (ranking 21st in the NBA) on with 33.1 percent of their total shots coming from long-range (ranking 30th in the NBA), one can expect the Atlanta Hawks to address their shooting in the 2023 NBA Draft. However, with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray combining to play 5,234 total minutes in the 2022-23 regular season, there may not be much opportunity for the players behind either of them to make much impact next season.

That said, listed at 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, the Duke Blue Devils have a 3-and-D wing in Dariq Whitehead that could make an AJ Griffin-like impact for the Hawks next season.

A highly touted high school prospect, Whitehead shot 42.9 percent from 3-point range on 3.5 attempts per game as a true freshman last season. He was even better in the ACC Conference Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, where he knocked down 53.3 percent of his 3-point attempts while averaging 9.4 points and 1.4 steals per game.

Frankly, whether Griffin, Bogdan Bogdanovic, DeAndre Hunter, or Saddiq Bey starts, the Hawks need better shooting on the wings and better defense. Whitehead, capable of guarding all along the perimeter, helps with both.

Colby Jones | Wing | Junior

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Xavier Musketeers wing Colby Jones will be the first and only three-year college player on the list, with the 6-foot-6, 195-pound playmaker developing consistently over the course of his collegiate career to average 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game in his junior season.

Jones also shot a career-high 37.8 percent from 3-point range on 3.3 attempts per game. The 20-year-old has played in both the NCAA Tournament and NIT Tournament (of which he was MVP in 2022), helping to lead the Musketeers to the Sweet Sixteen in 2023, where they would eventually fall to the Texas Longhorns.

Not that Jones, who tallied 15 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two blocks against the Longhorns on 7-15 shooting from the field failed to play well in the loss.

Jones, a player couple of guarding up to four positions on the court, is more effective scoring inside the arc than out of it. Nonetheless, he’s a fundamentally sound scorer that knows how to play within the offense but isn’t scared to call his own number.

Clutch Sports

[CP War Hawks]

KM seriously seems like an obvious draft candidate for a team that needs to win sooner than later.

Could he start for a playoff team next season, like his brother just did?

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I'd rather go with the higher ceiling player. With these twins, the lesser one usually is a mid role player while the superior one is really good...

[Jamaaliver]

Jalen Hood-Schifino | Guard | 6'6" | 200 lbs

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At his best, Hood-Schifino looks like a potential top-10 recruit as the type of big, ballhandling guard with versatile shot-making prowess, live-dribble playmaking creativity and defensive toughness every NBA team is seeking, especially at 6-foot-5 with a strong frame and a 6-foot-10 wingspan. It's been a roller coaster of a season for him, though, with extremely impressive highs mixed with concerning bouts of poor shot selection, decision-making, interior finishing and defensive lapses that have led to a wide array of opinions for where he might ultimately be selected.

Hood-Schifino showed what intrigues NBA scouts with his terrific size, live-dribble passing and shot-making during the NCAA tournament, but had a poor showing overall in what's likely his last game for Indiana. Hood-Schifino was 8-for-22 from the field with three assists and three turnovers in a blowout loss to Miami. Hood-Schifino started off the game ice-cold from the perimeter, got beat repeatedly off the dribble and had sloppy turnovers, forcing the Hoosiers to play catch-up. He hit three difficult pull-up 3s at one key juncture to try and keep Indiana in the game, but couldn't get enough stops due to some off-ball lapses and turnovers at key moments.

This was still a successful season for Hood-Schifino, who stepped into a key role as Indiana's lone ball-handler outside of center Trayce Jackson-Davis due to starting point guard Xavier Johnson's broken foot, giving him plenty of freedom and confidence to show off his significant talent as a passer and off the dribble shooter. NBA teams are still getting a handle on how quickly the home run hitter will be able to contribute to winning in a more compact role and how long it might take to get him to play with better consistency, but there's little doubt that Hood-Schifino's upside is one of the highest of any guard in this year's draft.-

ESPN.com

[jayu70]

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[Jamaaliver]

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This report actually moves him up my board. Dude was pretty stellar as a HS Senior. And it now appears all his struggles as a Duke Freshman are undeniably linked to the injury and recovery.

I'd ask for medical reports and continue due diligence on his background, but a HR swing on this kid could reap huge benefits in 2025 when we won't have a 1st round draft pick of our own.

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[jayu70]

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This report actually moves him up my board. Dude was pretty stellar as a HS Senior. And it now appears all his struggles as a Duke Freshman are undeniably linked to the injury and recovery.

I'd ask for medical reports and continue due diligence on his background, but a HR swing on this kid could reap huge benefits in 2025 when we won't have a 1st round draft pick of our own.

Hawks keep up the tradition of draftting an 'injured' player from Duke :D
Reddish, Onyeka, Johnson, Griffin - 5th year in a row we don't have our 1st round pick playing in SL.

[CP War Hawks]

I'm leaning towards this guy as my favorite draft prospect this summer.

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Was waiting on a vid to show me something. Long vid but he plays defense like how DJM was suppose to get after it. I'm weary this works on NBA guards but he competes harder than most on this end which is needed alongside Trae.

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