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

[Curmudgeon]

Let me add that picking where they are the Celtics should be looking at another international player to stash. Failing that, they should pick someone young and very raw but with upside, who can be developed in Maine. There are some nice 4 year players-- Gabe Brown types-- but I don't see anyone who could clearly take a roster spot away from Malik Fitts or Juwan Morgan, so what's the point?

Why a raw upside guy when they can draft JV Chuck Barkley?

https://zonahoops.com/2022/03/08/david-roddy-nba-scouting-report/

Yannick Nzosa, 6-10, 185, 18 yrs old
Zach Edey 7-4, 295, 19 yrs old
Dominick Barlow 6-9, 214 18 yrs old
Khalifa Diop 6-11, 231 20 yrs old
Matteo Spagnolo 6-4, 185 19 yrs old
Gabrelle Procida 6-6 180 19 yrs old.

Everyone listed above except Edey and Barlow could also be a stash.

[165bows]

Let me add that picking where they are the Celtics should be looking at another international player to stash. Failing that, they should pick someone young and very raw but with upside, who can be developed in Maine. There are some nice 4 year players-- Gabe Brown types-- but I don't see anyone who could clearly take a roster spot away from Malik Fitts or Juwan Morgan, so what's the point?

Why a raw upside guy when they can draft JV Chuck Barkley?

https://zonahoops.com/2022/03/08/david-roddy-nba-scouting-report/

Yannick Nzosa, 6-10, 185, 18 yrs old
Zach Edey 7-4, 295, 19 yrs old
Dominick Barlow 6-9, 214 18 yrs old
Khalifa Diop 6-11, 231 20 yrs old
Matteo Spagnolo 6-4, 185 19 yrs old
Gabrelle Procida 6-6 180 19 yrs old.

Everyone listed above except Edey and Barlow could also be a stash.

I liked the idea of Edey a lot (mentioned him in another thread I believe), but I saw he's headed back to school. Same with Tshiebwe who I liked late in the draft too.

[djFan71]

I feel like you could get 30 or 35 from OKC to absorb Favors into the TPE. Frees up more salary for them to sign FAs. He's $10M so that pushes us basically that amount into the tax at 12 players (assuming Al full salary and keep Hauser). But it also provides some flexibiity for future trades. If you do it on draft night, you can aggregate him in a trade before training camp, or at the deadline as an expiring - both after the TPE expires. And as a 5th big he's got experience, wingspan and can be solid enough on D and bang a little. Hope for the OKC vet big season of rest reclamation project luck 2 years in a row, but on a much smaller scale.

Due to the tax considerations, you gotta make sure you love someone at 30 or 35, but the last few drafts you could have gotten Bane or Herb Jones there. Of course, you also could have ended up with any of the other guys I'm not mentioning....

Haha I had thought of this exact move too. After poking around on the trade board it sounded like they planned on starting him tho.

Ha, I think I originally GOT the idea from a trade board thread about dumping him.

[165bows]

I feel like you could get 30 or 35 from OKC to absorb Favors into the TPE. Frees up more salary for them to sign FAs. He's $10M so that pushes us basically that amount into the tax at 12 players (assuming Al full salary and keep Hauser). But it also provides some flexibiity for future trades. If you do it on draft night, you can aggregate him in a trade before training camp, or at the deadline as an expiring - both after the TPE expires. And as a 5th big he's got experience, wingspan and can be solid enough on D and bang a little. Hope for the OKC vet big season of rest reclamation project luck 2 years in a row, but on a much smaller scale.

Due to the tax considerations, you gotta make sure you love someone at 30 or 35, but the last few drafts you could have gotten Bane or Herb Jones there. Of course, you also could have ended up with any of the other guys I'm not mentioning....

Haha I had thought of this exact move too. After poking around on the trade board it sounded like they planned on starting him tho.

Ha, I think I originally GOT the idea from a trade board thread about dumping him.

This guy has a pretty intriguing profile for a second rounder:
Puff piece:
https://kulturehub.com/hyunjung-lee-asian-nba-player-south-korea/
BBref:
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/hyunjung-lee-1.html

[Hal14]

tell me this guy doesn't look like a potential Horford clone:

Watch on YouTube

You bring him in with that 2nd round pick, let him learn under Horford for a year but have him on a 2-way contract so most of his mins will be in g-league. Then by year 2 he'll be ready to start contributing off the bench.

The size, the shooting, the defense, the passing, the ability to lead the break, the ability to play the 4 or the 5..closest thing to Horford in this draft class.

Yes, he's Evan Mobley's older brother..

[playa-hater]

tell me this guy doesn't look like a potential Horford clone:

Watch on YouTube

You bring him in with that 2nd round pick, let him learn under Horford for a year but have him on a 2-way contract so most of his mins will be in g-league. Then by year 2 he'll be ready to start contributing off the bench.

The size, the shooting, the defense, the passing, the ability to lead the break, the ability to play the 4 or the 5..closest thing to Horford in this draft class.

Yes, he's Evan Mobley's older brother..

I don't know about this one. Took a good look at this video. While i see why you compared him to Al, I see too much AC Earl in this one. His switch-ability looks college good but Not sure about the Pros. He also doesn't look like he can finish well enough. He also has a old man body.. I may be way off on him, but at 53 I want a player with more upside if-possible.

keep them coming though Hal!!

[165bows]

tell me this guy doesn't look like a potential Horford clone:

Watch on YouTube

You bring him in with that 2nd round pick, let him learn under Horford for a year but have him on a 2-way contract so most of his mins will be in g-league. Then by year 2 he'll be ready to start contributing off the bench.

The size, the shooting, the defense, the passing, the ability to lead the break, the ability to play the 4 or the 5..closest thing to Horford in this draft class.

Yes, he's Evan Mobley's older brother..

Well that’s the type of skill set they need to bring in and develop. Nbadraft.net lists Taj Gibson as a comparable, which isn’t perfect for how this guy looks but is an interesting concept. It does make me think the ceiling of guy they are likely to find for that future big role is a Taj Gibson level-quality kind of guy.

Makes me think they are going to need to find a Jalen Brunson/Monte Morris/Alex Brogdon point guard in the late first/early second round to be the third banana in the next few years. Seems more likely that is what the team would look like in 4 years than two above average big men.

[Hal14]

A couple of names of players to keep in mind...

Harrison Ingram
Caleb Houstan

Both of them are freshmen who were 5 star recruits coming out of high school (Houstan was the #8 ranked player coming out of HS, Ingram was #22)

Both had up and down seasons this year as freshmen, which caused their draft stock to drop a bit.

At this point, it seems like both will go early-mid 2nd round, possibly sneaking into late 1st round. However, there's a chance that either:

a) they might withdraw their name from the draft (both declared for the draft, while maintaining college eligibility), especially if they aren't 100% sure they will go in the 1st round

or

b) there's a slight chance that 1 (or both) of them stay in the draft and they slip all the way to our pick at 53.

If 1 (or both) of these guys are still there, we absolutely need to consider them.

Ingram = 6'7", 230 lbs, 7'0" wingspan. Didn't shoot great this season but I buy his shooting form. He was a pretty good shooter in HS. And I think being on a bad stanford team w/ no PG who could get him the ball and no other real offensive weapons on the team to keep opposing defenses honest hurt his shooting efficiency numbers.

Big, strong dude - NBA ready body. Good, switchable defender. Really high basketball IQ guy, really good passer. Can run the PnR and make some good passes out of it. A dude who's only 19 so will keep getting better.

Houstan - shooting isn't really a problem for him. Sales pitch for him is pretty simple. Guys who are this young (Just turned 19 in January) who have this type of size (6'8") who shoot like this (was known as a really good shooter coming out of HS and shot 35.5% from 3 and 78% from FT line) don't grow on trees. The 35.5% from 3 might not sound amazing but there was only 3 freshman this year 6'8" or taller to shoot that high a % from 3: Houstan, Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith. Holmgren and Smith are both guys who might go no. 1 overall in the draft. Plus, Houstan ended the season shooting much better than he did early on.

In addition to shooting, Houstan is pretty good in terms of his handle, passing and defense.

Again, both are young guys who had an up and down freshman season. So if we draft one of them, we do it with the assumption that year 1 is a learning and development year - they'll be on a 2 way contract, most of their mins will be in the g-league. But with them being young, good talent, both former 5 star recruits out of HS, they're both guys with good upside for the future..

Obviously, with the 53rd pick a lot will depend on who is still on the board. Most of the good players will be off the board, but I figure there will be at least 4 or 5 good players left to choose from..

This is a deep draft. It really isn't that crazy to say that outside of the top 15 or so picks, that the prospects ranked 16-65 are all basically on the same tier. There will be a gem(s) that fall to us - you never know, that gem just might be Houstan or Ingram.

[165bows]

tell me this guy doesn't look like a potential Horford clone:

Watch on YouTube

You bring him in with that 2nd round pick, let him learn under Horford for a year but have him on a 2-way contract so most of his mins will be in g-league. Then by year 2 he'll be ready to start contributing off the bench.

The size, the shooting, the defense, the passing, the ability to lead the break, the ability to play the 4 or the 5..closest thing to Horford in this draft class.

Yes, he's Evan Mobley's older brother..

Finally watched through to the end of this. You can see his two point struggles in his early stat lines - deanondraft showed why two point FG percentage was a great indicator for a prospect. That game last night was a great example why. Strong 2PT FG% is a very good indicator of success and vice versa. People ignore it these days because they are three point happy but you want your prospects to show evidence they are strong finishers inside the arc at an early age as a good indicator of success.

[Kalela]

You can't get much with the 53rd pick but I would prefer an upper-class man who can contribute right away. Preferably a big mobile forward/center in the mold of Achuia/Adebayo/Reed if one is available. Celtics will deal with Giannis, Adebayo and other similar players for years to come. Celtics need someone who can guard those guys one-on-one and slow them down a bit. Having Tatum/Brown do that hurts your offense. Grant Williams is too small, Horford is old, Robert Williams a little lite weight (for now).

[1st banana]

tell me this guy doesn't look like a potential Horford clone:

Watch on YouTube

You bring him in with that 2nd round pick, let him learn under Horford for a year but have him on a 2-way contract so most of his mins will be in g-league. Then by year 2 he'll be ready to start contributing off the bench.

The size, the shooting, the defense, the passing, the ability to lead the break, the ability to play the 4 or the 5..closest thing to Horford in this draft class.

Yes, he's Evan Mobley's older brother..

Unsure about his switchabilty in the nba but his passing and handle for a big was very impressive. Loved his catch n shoot ability as well looks pretty skilled.

I’d take a flyer on him good size decent mobility which might improve and shoots it well. The passing jumped out to me tho seems to have good bbiq.

[Hal14]

Read on Twitter

1) Interesting that Champagnie is on this list. I'm pretty sure we also worked him out last year before the draft too. Then he withdrew his name right before the draft. Who knows, if he stayed in the draft, we may have picked him last year instead of Begarin.

The fact that we're bringing Champagnie back in for another workout this year speaks volumes. And it appears as though this is the first draft workout we're having this year - so Stevens and staff wasted no time bringing Champagnie back in..

2) Of the other guys on the list besides Champagnie, I've heard some good things about Lucas Williamson so decided to check out some film:

Watch on YouTube

Oh man, I'm only :32 into this video and already really impressed. He is absolutely locking up one of the best pure scorers in all of college basketball, Isaiah Mosley in some of these clips, nice. Seems to be playing hard, getting after it defensively and hits a smooth pull-up jumper. Gonna look into him some more but I'm intrigued so far..

Williamson is a 2-time conference Defensive Player of the Year. Listed at 6'4" but looks more like 6'5". Strong frame. He can take his man off the dribble, he can shoot it. Slick passer as well. Definitely a good sleeper in this draft.

Might seem like a lazy comparison, but Williamson actually seems to me like a cross between Derrick White and Josh Richardson. I'm being totally serious, too.

[Half-Full]

Read on Twitter

1) Interesting that Champagnie is on this list. I'm pretty sure we also worked him out last year before the draft too. Then he withdrew his name right before the draft. Who knows, if he stayed in the draft, we may have picked him last year instead of Begarin.

The fact that we're bringing Champagnie back in for another workout this year speaks volumes. And it appears as though this is the first draft workout we're having this year - so Stevens and staff wasted no time bringing Champagnie back in..

2) Of the other guys on the list besides Champagnie, I've heard some good things about Lucas Williamson so decided to check out some film:

Watch on YouTube

Oh man, I'm only :32 into this video and already really impressed. He is absolutely locking up one of the best pure scorers in all of college basketball, Isaiah Mosley in some of these clips, nice. Seems to be playing hard, getting after it defensively and hits a smooth pull-up jumper. Gonna look into him some more but I'm intrigued so far..

Williamson is a 2-time conference Defensive Player of the Year. Listed at 6'4" but looks more like 6'5". Strong frame. He can take his man off the dribble, he can shoot it. Slick passer as well. Definitely a good sleeper in this draft.

Might seem like a lazy comparison, but Williamson actually seems to me like a cross between Derrick White and Josh Richardson. I'm being totally serious, too.

That defensive sequence early in the video is just amazing! The fact that Williamson is also 2-time conference Defensive Player of the Year indicates that the D he put on Mosley was not just him having a good night. Too, as you point out, his skills do not stop with his defense. Moving him to the top of my draft wish list.

[playa-hater]

Read on Twitter

1) Interesting that Champagnie is on this list. I'm pretty sure we also worked him out last year before the draft too. Then he withdrew his name right before the draft. Who knows, if he stayed in the draft, we may have picked him last year instead of Begarin.

The fact that we're bringing Champagnie back in for another workout this year speaks volumes. And it appears as though this is the first draft workout we're having this year - so Stevens and staff wasted no time bringing Champagnie back in..

2) Of the other guys on the list besides Champagnie, I've heard some good things about Lucas Williamson so decided to check out some film:

Watch on YouTube

Oh man, I'm only :32 into this video and already really impressed. He is absolutely locking up one of the best pure scorers in all of college basketball, Isaiah Mosley in some of these clips, nice. Seems to be playing hard, getting after it defensively and hits a smooth pull-up jumper. Gonna look into him some more but I'm intrigued so far..

Williamson is a 2-time conference Defensive Player of the Year. Listed at 6'4" but looks more like 6'5". Strong frame. He can take his man off the dribble, he can shoot it. Slick passer as well. Definitely a good sleeper in this draft.

Might seem like a lazy comparison, but Williamson actually seems to me like a cross between Derrick White and Josh Richardson. I'm being totally serious, too.

That defensive sequence early in the video is just amazing! The fact that Williamson is also 2-time conference Defensive Player of the Year indicates that the D he put on Mosley was not just him having a good night. Too, as you point out, his skills do not stop with his defense. Moving him to the top of my draft wish list.

OK, not my fav position (Big-wing or stretch 4-5.. But you guys are warming me up to his talent. Remember we still have J Bergarin coming though.

[Hal14]

Read on Twitter

1) Interesting that Champagnie is on this list. I'm pretty sure we also worked him out last year before the draft too. Then he withdrew his name right before the draft. Who knows, if he stayed in the draft, we may have picked him last year instead of Begarin.

The fact that we're bringing Champagnie back in for another workout this year speaks volumes. And it appears as though this is the first draft workout we're having this year - so Stevens and staff wasted no time bringing Champagnie back in..

2) Of the other guys on the list besides Champagnie, I've heard some good things about Lucas Williamson so decided to check out some film:

Watch on YouTube

Oh man, I'm only :32 into this video and already really impressed. He is absolutely locking up one of the best pure scorers in all of college basketball, Isaiah Mosley in some of these clips, nice. Seems to be playing hard, getting after it defensively and hits a smooth pull-up jumper. Gonna look into him some more but I'm intrigued so far..

Williamson is a 2-time conference Defensive Player of the Year. Listed at 6'4" but looks more like 6'5". Strong frame. He can take his man off the dribble, he can shoot it. Slick passer as well. Definitely a good sleeper in this draft.

Might seem like a lazy comparison, but Williamson actually seems to me like a cross between Derrick White and Josh Richardson. I'm being totally serious, too.

That defensive sequence early in the video is just amazing! The fact that Williamson is also 2-time conference Defensive Player of the Year indicates that the D he put on Mosley was not just him having a good night. Too, as you point out, his skills do not stop with his defense. Moving him to the top of my draft wish list.

OK, not my fav position (Big-wing or stretch 4-5.. But you guys are warming me up to his talent. Remember we still have J Bergarin coming though.

Yeah, I get it. With Begarin and Nesmith in the picture, the 2/3 wing type guy isn't the ideal position to go for here.

And since Williamson is such a deep sleeper (not much buzz, he's very underrated, not getting picked in any mock drafts) we could possibly scoop him up as an UDFA. Then with pick 53 we grab someone like Dominick Barlow. So that gives us a young 19 yr old guy with high upside and more size at 6'9" (Barlow) plus a guy who is less of a project, more ready to contribute now at age 23 who can play the wing (Williamson).

Here's some other footage of Williamson, he's #1 for Loyola Chicago:

vs Michigan St:

Watch on YouTube

vs Drake:

Watch on YouTube

vs Ohio st:

Watch on YouTube

[Smart2Nesmith43]

With Miami and Milwaukee having forfeited their picks, there are only 5 selections after us so it's fairly likely that any US player available at 53 would end up as a UDFA. That's why I think draft and stash makes the most sense with our pick. Turn it into an asset and then we can still pick up the guy we wanted as an UDFA.

That's how you turn the 45th pick into Begarin and Hauser, two legitimate shots at getting a rotation player down the road.

[Kalela]

I would be happy with Julian Champagnie if he was available. Good size, skilled, experienced and still fairly young at only 21 by the time the season starts next year.

[Hal14]

One other note on Lucas Williamson. His college coach is Drew Valentine, older brother of Denzel Valentine - a member of the 2021-2022 Maine Celtics..

Wouldn't surprise me if that played a factor in Williamson being brought in for the celtics first pre-draft workout of the year. Drew was probably telling his little brother "ayo, tell Brad to bring Lucas in for a workout - my guy Lucas can play"

[Hal14]

With Miami and Milwaukee having forfeited their picks, there are only 5 selections after us so it's fairly likely that any US player available at 53 would end up as a UDFA. That's why I think draft and stash makes the most sense with our pick. Turn it into an asset and then we can still pick up the guy we wanted as an UDFA.

That's how you turn the 45th pick into Begarin and Hauser, two legitimate shots at getting a rotation player down the road.

Potential draft and stash. 7-footer. Doesn't turn 19 until July.

Playing in Italian B division. Despite only averaging 21 mins a game, and he's only played in 21 games but he still has:

11 games scoring in double figures
7 games in double figure rebounds
4 games with 3+ blocks

Just a few days ago he put up 13 pts on 4/6 shooting, 1/2 from 3, 4/5 on free throws, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks...in only 21 mins.

Look at what he is doing at age 18 in a pro league vs grown men:

Watch on YouTube

Stash him overseas and in 2 yrs he could be a star.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[Kalela]

Read on Twitter