2023 NBA Draft – Thurs, 8PM, June 22

[LewisnotMiller]

Impressive play by a 6'10" freshman. Defends in space vs a smaller, quick, skilled wing. Blocks the shot near the rim, gathers the rebound, pushes it up the floor himself, goes coast to coast (with a defender all over him yet is still able to keep control of the ball while pushing it quickly up the floor) and then goes up strong at the rim, draws the foul.

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?s=20

Will probably be off the board by our pick, but you never know..

You gotta figure he's staying in the draft because he has 1st round guarantee or at least something close to it.

Skipped combine, too.
Comes from a long line of Swedish superstars including Jonas Jerebko and...umm...
Jerebkos wife, maybe?

[Celts17Pride]

I personally think Tristan Vukcevic is a no brainer pick for the Celtics at #35 and eventually Al Horford replacement. Especially working with Big Al over the next few years.

[Hal14]

I personally think Tristan Vukcevic is a no brainer pick for the Celtics at #35 and eventually Al Horford replacement. Especially working with Big Al over the next few years.

That would be quite a reach. A lot of what makes Al as valuable as he is, is how good/versatile defensively he is. Vukcevic is a poor defender with questionable coordination/quickness when moving laterally - that's why he's projected to go lower in the draft.

The only thing they have in common is being bigs who can shoot it well. But Vukcevic has shot the 3 on low volume and has a funky looking form:

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[Celts17Pride]

I personally think Tristan Vukcevic is a no brainer pick for the Celtics at #35 and eventually Al Horford replacement. Especially working with Big Al over the next few years.

That would be quite a reach. A lot of what makes Al as valuable as he is, is how good/versatile defensively he is. Vukcevic is a poor defender with questionable coordination/quickness when moving laterally - that's why he's projected to go lower in the draft.

The only thing they have in common is being bigs who can shoot it well. But Vukcevic has shot the 3 on low volume and has a funky looking form:

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Slow release means very little when you are 6'10" to 6'11". Horford has a slow release. Defense can be learned. He has the quickness to defend.

[165bows]

I personally think Tristan Vukcevic is a no brainer pick for the Celtics at #35 and eventually Al Horford replacement. Especially working with Big Al over the next few years.

That would be quite a reach. A lot of what makes Al as valuable as he is, is how good/versatile defensively he is. Vukcevic is a poor defender with questionable coordination/quickness when moving laterally - that's why he's projected to go lower in the draft.

The only thing they have in common is being bigs who can shoot it well. But Vukcevic has shot the 3 on low volume and has a funky looking form:

Read on Twitter

Slow release means very little when you are 6'10" to 6'11". Horford has a slow release. Defense can be learned. He has the quickness to defend.

He's definitely on the list for me. I'm 100% no shot doctor but I like his shot, doesn't look that slow. Doesn't look slower than B. Lopez for example. Looks like a lot swishes whenever I've seen clips of him, not a lot of funky makes.
Edit: plus he's not 6'10-11", he's over 7' tall. 6'11.25" barefoot at the combine iirc correctly, playing height adds 1-1.5".

[Hal14]

That would be quite a reach. A lot of what makes Al as valuable as he is, is how good/versatile defensively he is. Vukcevic is a poor defender with questionable coordination/quickness when moving laterally - that's why he's projected to go lower in the draft.

The only thing they have in common is being bigs who can shoot it well. But Vukcevic has shot the 3 on low volume and has a funky looking form:

Read on Twitter

Slow release means very little when you are 6'10" to 6'11". Horford has a slow release. Defense can be learned. He has the quickness to defend.

He's definitely on the list for me. I'm 100% no shot doctor but I like his shot, doesn't look that slow. Doesn't look slower than B. Lopez for example. Looks like a lot swishes whenever I've seen clips of him, not a lot of funky makes.
Edit: plus he's not 6'10-11", he's over 7' tall. 6'11.25" barefoot at the combine iirc correctly, playing height adds 1-1.5".

It's not that it's a slow release - it's that it's a low release - he shoots it way out in front of his face, too (which is not only a low release point but makes it hard to see the basket if you shoot it from there, and also easier for the shot to be blocked. And the shooting motion is more of a flick than a shooting motion that is natural/fluid.

[Curmudgeon]

His jumper looks fine to me. But can he defend out on the perimeter? Does he have a post game?

[Kalela]

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[165bows]

His jumper looks fine to me. But can he defend out on the perimeter? Does he have a post game?

Not sure about his defense but I think he’s got a diverse enough offensive game. Can put it in the floor a bit, can shoot from the mid-range, looks like he has a similarly nicely stroked turnaround jumper from mid-post. I’m not sure he’s a huge post guy but don’t think he needs to be either.

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

Somewhere, Hal weeps...

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[Hal14]

Somewhere, Hal weeps...

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haha. Yeah, was bummed to see that. Still waiting to see it reported by a more legit source..

[Hal14]

Yup, looks like Miranda withdrew from the draft and will return to college. Bummer.

https://www.pawtuckettimes.com/sports/after-working-out-for-five-nba-franchises-pawtuckets-isaiah-miranda-decides-that-college-basketball-represents/article_20385e2a-ffee-11ed-9637-e77db325b5dd.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

As I mentioned in a previous post, the case for him withdrawing from the draft is because he played 0 games of college or pro ball. He's only played vs HS competition and while others have gone HS to the pros (Shaedon Sharpe, LeBron, Kobe, Garnett, etc.) those guys were 5 star recruits and the #1 (or very close to #1) ranked player in their HS class. Miranda however was a 4 star recruit with an average ranking of 43 coming out of HS.

So I see the case for him returning to college.

He could certainly be a 1st round pick in 2024 if he performs well enough next season in college.

[return2glory]

One guy many aren't talking about is Drew Peterson. He is my sleeper in this draft. He has a chance to be like Austin Reaves.
He would be one of my options at 35.

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[Curmudgeon]

Those Peterson highlights make him look pretty good. He throws some very nice passes. But he's nowhere to be found on any of the mock drafts I've seen, so why not try to sign him as a free agent? 5th year senior.

Max Strus was undrafted too.

[Hal14]

Those Peterson highlights make him look pretty good. He throws some very nice passes. But he's nowhere to be found on any of the mock drafts I've seen, so why not try to sign him as a free agent? 5th year senior.

Max Strus was undrafted too.

Agreed - taking him at pick 35 would be a reach but Peterson could definitely be worth a look as an UDFA.

[Hal14]

Trayce Jackson-Davis with pick 35, Justin Powell for an UDFA and call it a day.

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[Hal14]

DJfan, your guy Jordan Walsh is growing on me..

https://youtube.com/shorts/o6A15yA9-F0?feature=share

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He was a beast in HS:

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Watch on YouTube

7'2" wingspan. And he's only 19 yrs old, with good athleticism and a strong build. Good upside for sure.

If the shooting comes along, he could end up being a steal at 35.

High motor, tough competitor.

His shooting might not be *that* bad, too. 71% FT is respectable, for a freshman. And he got much better with his outside shooting as the season went on:

First 17 games: 9/40 (22.5%)
Last 19 games: 11/32 (34.4%)

Struggled more early in the season, probably just due to adjusting to the college game, and the deeper 3 pt line. Once he adjusted, he was at 34% from 3, which is certainly respectable for a 6'7" freshman playing in a tough conference like the SEC.

[CelticsPride18]

Andre Jackson it’s a perfect fit for this team. High IQ player

[djFan71]

DJfan, your guy Jordan Walsh is growing on me..

https://youtube.com/shorts/o6A15yA9-F0?feature=share

He was a beast in HS:

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

7'2" wingspan. And he's only 19 yrs old, with good athleticism and a strong build. Good upside for sure.

If the shooting comes along, he could end up being a steal at 35.

[djFan71]

DJfan, your guy Jordan Walsh is growing on me.

It’s funny cuz I saw your big board and was gonna snarkily ask you to extend it to 37 or 57 or whatever so he’d make it. . I’m just a sucker for high iq, long wingspan, high motor dudes -shooting be damned! If you can get that in the 2nd and he develops a shot, that’s gold.