2022 NBA Draft Thread – (June 23rd, 8PM, ESPN)

[Scoonie]

He's got a body like Jared Sullinger, though. Hard to see that working for him as a wing player in the NBA.

[Hal14]

He's got a body like Jared Sullinger, though. Hard to see that working for him as a wing player in the NBA.

Yeah I mean, that's definitely the drawback with Harper and why he is going undrafted in many of the mocks you'll see.

But on film he is deceptively quick/athletic/explosive. Still, he's listed at 6'6", 245 lbs so might struggle with NBA spacing - if he can slim down a little it would help him quite a bit.. will be interesting to see his speed/agility numbers at the combine..

[playa-hater]

1) this might be our guy...

Watch on YouTube

2) Playa Hater, you'll probably like him. He's a pure PF who can play some small ball 5. So fits with what you were saying about wanting a 3/4 or a 4/5. Walker is also a really versatile defender. In the video, Spinella says he can "defend 2-4" yet he shows a clip of him locking down Kennedy Chandler (arguably the fastest, hardest to keep in front of you PG in college basketball) out on the perimeter and there's also clips showing him defend bigs in the post well, and make nice blocks from the weak side so i'm thinking no reason he can't potentially defend 1-5.

Plus he's a pretty good shooter.

6'9" with a 7'0" wingspan so good size. Still only 19 so bigger window for further development, while at the same time being a guy who could potentially come in and get mins off the bench right away.

3) Latest tankathon mock draft has him going with the very next pick AFTER our pick so pretty good chance he'll still be there, but he's a 1st round talent IMO:

https://www.tankathon.com/mock_draft

4) the next al horford? maybe. but more realistically, he could be a slightly worse version of horford, which would still be a very solid role player..

well we are down to 2 strikes with Jabaris.. Jabari Bord and Jabari Parker.. we are do to get one right...

[playa-hater]

Is this our guy?

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Playa-hater will like him, since he's a 3-4 guy. A true combo forward IMO, which I feel like is kind of rare these days. Most guys are much better suited to the 3 or the 4. Harper Jr really can play either the 3 or the 4. Gun to my head, I'd say he's better suited to the 3, but definitely can play the 4 too.

Kind of like Grant williams except faster, more athletic, more explosive, better shooter than grant was in college, better moves off the dribble - not sure Harper is as good a defender or rebounder as grant was in college though.

Yes, he's the son of 5-time NBA champion Ron Harper. Jr has same height as his dad and a similar looking face.

2 good choices..hoping at let one will slide.

[sam_I_am]

Imagine if we could get Paolo Bachero. At 6-10 250 lb with superior play making for his size he might be the next all around skilled C/PF like Jokic. I’d take him #1.

[Hal14]

Imagine if we could get Paolo Bachero. At 6-10 250 lb with superior play making for his size he might be the next all around skilled C/PF like Jokic. I’d take him #1.

Yup. best player in the draft IMO as well.

It would be pretty awesome if we got him. But just not gonna happen. He's going to either OKC, detroit, houston or orlando, more than likely.

[Hal14]

Sleeper special: Kevin McCullar

I've been watching more and more film of him and his Texas Tech squad lately. And I keep coming away more and more impressed.

-Strong frame. built like a safety in football, also plays with the aggressiveness of a football player which shouldn't be surprising since his dad played football at Texas Tech
-really good athleticism
-bouncy, high energy, plays fast and with high intensity, high motor on both ends
-good intangibles, smart player who hustles, plays hard, knows the game, makes winning plays
-elite defender (arguably the best wing defender in the draft)
-good passer (played a lot of PG for a team that went to the sweet 16)
-good size at 6'6", 210 lbs, I'm not seeing a listed wingspan but he's gotta be at least 6'10" wingspan, maybe even 7'0"
-Good toughness. He's a fighter, a warrior, he won't back down from anybody
-Really good cutter

He just turned 21 so IMO that's a solid balance where he's on the older side which means he's further along in his development so could come in and play right away for us, he's not like a long term development project while at the same time he's young enough that with the right coaching he still has some good upside (especially with his size and athleticism)

Not the best shooter in the world but shooting is one of the easiest things for a player to improve once they get to the NBA, with reps and with coaching. He has had quite a few games where he's hit multiple 3's in a game, even games where he's hit 4 threes in a game. And the very respectable FT% is a good indicator of future 3 pt shooting improvement. I think his 3 pt % is deceiving too. He's had some ankle injuries this season - there's probably been a few games where he was favoring the ankle and didn't shoot as well.

Also not the greatest at breaking his man down off the dribble and creating offense from a stand still, but he does show flashes of it. And he's definitely a ball mover - not a guy who's going to bog the offense down with iso stuff

Very underrated player. Most mock drafts don't have him getting picked. But I think he could fit our system and our team really well. He fits the smart/white mold of guys who aren't exactly great shooters but are REALLY good defenders, tough, hard nosed players who do enough offensively (occasional 3-pointer, occasional scoring off the dribble, really good passing, good cutting) to still be a plus player on the offensive end. If he really pans out, he could be an all-NBA defender. I mean, if he's already this good defensively, he could end up being REALLY good on D if he really fits in well with Udoka's defensively scheme.

he literally wins the game for Texas Tech by stepping in defensively and ripping the ball away from the offensive player:

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Sick move off the dribble vs Duke:

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There's even a whole video just on his cutting:

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Career steal % of 3.2 and career blocks % of 2.0. That's a careers stocks % of 5.2 which is really good for a wing.

1 other video. The 3 point shooting form looks good here on the catch and shoot 3 from the corner at 2:15 and at 5:01. And check out the sick defensive play at 2:29, as he goes after that steal like a bat outta hell:

Watch on YouTube

Twitter thread with some other stuff about McCullar:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Semi-finalist for national defensive player of the year: https://www.everythinglubbock.com/sports/red-raider-nation/kevin-mccullar-named-naismith-defensive-player-of-the-year-semifinalist/

Edit: McCullar declares for the draft:

Read on Twitter

[Hal14]

my guy Gabe Brown officially declares for NBA Draft and hires an agent. Should definitely be one of the guys we are targeting with 2nd round pick:

Read on Twitter

We could do a lot worse than a 40% 3 pt shooter with a 7'0" wingspan who played 4 years for one of the best college coaches ever (tom izzo) at a winning program (Michigan st), has a strong, NBA ready frame, has good speed and plays tough D.

[darrendaye]

Admittedly I fall prey to ageism with the draft, so I tend to ignore juniors and seniors in my own "research." But BCGM introduced Pritchard well ahead of the draft 2 years ago and the range got me interested enough to add to my maybe list. Last year whether it was a tourney performance or just typecasting team need and expanding my curiosity, I did the same with Herb Jones due to his versatility but his frame worried me enough not to tout him but he was on maybe list. I haven't done much research on Gabe Brown, but have begun to thanks to Hal. Typecast curiosity for sure as I'm fighting to hold the line on the lengthy defense identity going forward.

[Hal14]

Admittedly I fall prey to ageism with the draft, so I tend to ignore juniors and seniors in my own "research." But BCGM introduced Pritchard well ahead of the draft 2 years ago and the range got me interested enough to add to my maybe list. Last year whether it was a tourney performance or just typecasting team need and expanding my curiosity, I did the same with Herb Jones due to his versatility but his frame worried me enough not to tout him but he was on maybe list. I haven't done much research on Gabe Brown, but have begun to thanks to Hal. Typecast curiosity for sure as I'm fighting to hold the line on the lengthy defense identity going forward.

Yeah there's been some good players get drafted who were on the older side these past couple years. You had Thybulle, Pritchard then last year Davion Mitchell, Chris Duarte and Herb Jones.

If we had a lottery pick or even a 1st rounder, you're probably looking at a younger guy. Or if we were a rebuilding team that is building for the long term so has the patience to wait for a guy to develop and has higher ceiling.

I kind of feel like in the spot the celtics are in right now (deep team, good team that could be a contender for the next 5 years), and our only pick this year is a late 2nd rounder, we could try for an older, more NBA-ready prospect who could actually come in and contribute right away.

Or you draft someone like Josh Minott, Dominick Barlow or Peyton Watson - guys with a good chance to still be there late 2nd round, you know they're not gonna play for us next year (probably not even the year after) but are younger guys with a higher ceiling..

But i kind of feel like all of the younger prospects who have legit talent - they're going in the 1st round - or early 2nd round. By the time we get to us at pick 53, anyone who's super young probably isn't that good. More than likely, it's an older guy who could be the diamond in the rough at that point - either that or a lesser known international player with some upside..

[Smart2Nesmith43]

my guy Gabe Brown officially declares for NBA Draft and hires an agent. Should definitely be one of the guys we are targeting with 2nd round pick:

Read on Twitter

We could do a lot worse than a 40% 3 pt shooter with a 7'0" wingspan who played 4 years for one of the best college coaches ever (tom izzo) at a winning program (Michigan st), has a strong, NBA ready frame, has good speed and plays tough D.

I want another Williams to expand the brotherhood but I can get behind creating another set of twins on the roster. Yup I base my preference on the prospect's last name. I haven't watched any US prospect this year so I have to decide who I like somehow

Speaking of winning programs, any Villanova player available this year ? It seems like those guys never bust.

[batabatuta]

Austin Ainge was watching an Australian game last week. I think he was scouting Kai Sotto maybe for the 53rd pick or getting him as an undrafted player.

[Hal14]

my guy Gabe Brown officially declares for NBA Draft and hires an agent. Should definitely be one of the guys we are targeting with 2nd round pick:

Read on Twitter

We could do a lot worse than a 40% 3 pt shooter with a 7'0" wingspan who played 4 years for one of the best college coaches ever (tom izzo) at a winning program (Michigan st), has a strong, NBA ready frame, has good speed and plays tough D.

I want another Williams to expand the brotherhood but I can get behind creating another set of twins on the roster. Yup I base my preference on the prospect's last name. I haven't watched any US prospect this year so I have to decide who I like somehow

Speaking of winning programs, any Villanova player available this year ? It seems like those guys never bust.

haha yeah we've got the williams brothers now we can have the Brown brothers too.

Villanova has 3 guys (Gillespie, Moore, Samuels) who are longshots to get drafted.

[darrendaye]

Read on Twitter

[Hal14]

Definitely a guy who should be on Brad's radar.

Worth noting that we DID work him out last year before the draft, but Champagnie decided to withdraw and go back to st. john's for another year.

Looks like he got better defensively this season..

Watch on YouTube

Good size at 6'8". NBA ready frame. Can shoot the ball, solid on D.Has some moves to create his own shot in mid range area. Good cutter. Could make a lot of sense to pick him if he still on the board..

[Hal14]

Austin Ainge was watching an Australian game last week. I think he was scouting Kai Sotto maybe for the 53rd pick or getting him as an undrafted player.

"Austin Ainge, the son of Boston Celtics royalty – championship winner turned former GM Danny Ainge, is in Australia evaluating the NBL’s draft hopefuls. Ainge junior, the director of player personnel at the Celtics, attended last Sunday’s Melbourne United versus Adelaide 36ers clash at John Cain Arena. United big man Ariel Hukporti was on show while Adelaide’s Filipino star Kai Sotto also played."

I don't know much about Sotto, other than he supposedly got some pretty good skill for a big man.

Hukporti I've seen quite a bit. 7-footer. Still only 19 yrs old. High motor, plays hard, plays tough, plays physical. Moves really well for a dude his size. I can see him having a long, productive career in the NBA as a solid backup center with potential to maybe even up as a starting center.

[Scoonie]

I think we need to draft a 4 or a 5 in this year's Draft. Not a lot of depth there, and TimeLord/Horford have a history of minor injuries.

[Gomes3PC]

Center and wing. Center and wing. IMO we have the backcourt settled with Smart/White/PP. Now is the time to find a developmental big to be patient with, or take a shot on an athletic wing.

[Larry_Russell]

https://nbadraftroom.com/p/armando-bacot/

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;ab_channel=MarchMadness

https://nbadraftroom.com/yannick-nzosa/

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;ab_channel=Prospects

https://nbadraftroom.com/p/makur-maker/

[playa-hater]

Normally you draft the best player available but the need for getting A45 is now so great with Robert Williams and horford that unless it's a really bad choice we really have to focus on that