2023 NBA Draft – Thurs, 8PM, June 22

[BostonCouchGM]

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Early returns, I like Scoot better. I do wonder if he has some Shabazz style age stuff going on - if not, he looks like a beast.

If we are talking strictly about who is the best prospect setting aside any durability issues I don't agree at all.

that's the rub. You CAN'T set aside those issues that btw, have already reared their ugly head for Wembanyama. And it's not like he's lighting up the box scores either. He's a freak physically and extremely gifted. But guys like him, Chet, Sampson, etc will always be injury prone and if you desperately need to hit a home run and Scoot is also a home run I can see Ainge trading out of that pick if it means he still gets Scoot like he did with Tatum. The issue is Scoot will go #2 so it would have to be the #2 team willing to trade up meaning they'd need to be set at PG and love Victor so much that they're willing to meet Danny's demands while also not having a C in house that they love. That really narrows the field. HOU, ORL, SA and IND fit the description though so it could happen.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Yeah that's why I have no issue with people that prefer Henderson if they feel his body will hold up better (there's a very recent precedent with the 2019 draft where Zion has better potential but Morant will probably end up with the better career). I'm just saying in term of basketball ability there's a big gap. The boxscore don't tell how dominant Wembanyama is defensively and that's like half the game.

The way people talk about Henderson, you'd think he's like this perfect guard prospect. He has plenty of qualities but he is also a 6'2 and shot 11/51 from three last season. Now he's young enough that he might still grow a little and he certainly has a lot of time to fix his outside shot (and it might just be bad luck over a small sample size) but he has more questions to answer than Victor.

The exhibitions between their two teams in early october should be fun.

[Hal14]

Yeah that's why I have no issue with people that prefer Henderson if they feel his body will hold up better (there's a very recent precedent with the 2019 draft where Zion has better potential but Morant will probably end up with the better career). I'm just saying in term of basketball ability there's a big gap. The boxscore don't tell how dominant Wembanyama is defensively and that's like half the game.

The way people talk about Henderson, you'd think he's like this perfect guard prospect. He has plenty of qualities but he is also a 6'2 and shot 11/51 from three last season. Now he's young enough that he might still grow a little and he certainly has a lot of time to fix his outside shot (and it might just be bad luck over a small sample size) but he has more questions to answer than Victor.

The exhibitions between their two teams in early october should be fun.

Good box score numbers in this preseason game for Wemby:

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And in this preseason game..

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[Hal14]

damn..

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[Hal14]

hmm, potential Gallinari clone in 2nd round (or even UDFA) next year?

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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0ZFegh35Emo

[ConstableGeneva]

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[Smart2Nesmith43]

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Watching him as a roll man in the NBA is going to be a lot of fun.

[Hal14]

good lord

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[Smart2Nesmith43]

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Oh yeah by the way he can pass too.

[Hal14]

Ok, we can talk about more prospects than Wembanyama haha

[Hal14]

A guy to watch out for this season. Julian Phillips, who will be a freshman at Tennessee.

6'8", 6'11" wingspan so good size for a wing. Bouncy, with crazy hops! Here he touches the top of the backboard:

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He's got some skills too:

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1st round talent IMO. Early mock drafts have him going in the 2nd round though.

We know that Brad likes to take guys who are young and athletic in the 2nd round..

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[Hal14]

I know it's very early still. But nobody is talking about this guy. He could end up being the steal of the draft if we grab him in the 2nd round.

Keep in mind, he's only 17 yrs old in all of these clips so he could be really scary by the time he is 19, 20, 21, etc.

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6'9". Natural position is stretch 4 but can also play stretch 5 in small ball lineups which means he offers some good versatility. For a guy of that size, he can handle, pass, shoot well - we even see him operate effectively as the PnR ball handler.

We see him draining 3's, attacking closeouts, blocking shots, crashing the boards, jumping the passing lanes for steals, etc.

Looks like a really good all around player. Oh yeah and I'm watching one of his games right now (early season 2022-2023) where he picks up the opposing PG full court defensively. How many big, burly 6'9" dudes are doing that?! Let alone doing it as an 18 yr old in a pro league..

Doesn't turn 19 till september of 2023 so will be one of the youngest players in the 2023 draft class - and being an international player, that makes him a prime candidate to be a draft and stash. He's so good though, I figure he'd only get stashed for 1 year and then he'll probably be good enough to contribute..

Had a heck of a game today for his pro team:

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Shot 42% from 3 on 2.7 attempts per game across 7 games representing Turkey at this summer's U18 FIBA tournament .

[zoyathedestroya]

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Miss the days when we could contend while still having a high lottery pick.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

I've been told I talk too much about Wembanyama in this thread, so this is a post about Scoot Henderson attempted rise to the n°1 prospect in the 2023 draft.

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[BillessuR6]

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Unbelievable prospects... Tanking race is going to be huge this season.. and two teams will be extremely happy...

Too bad we are not owed an unprotected pick from a terrible team in 2023...

[165bows]

Wemby is a super streaky shooter. He will probably be able to be a decent shooter but he's somewhere around 30% from 3 for his career, just about average from the FT line, his overall scoring efficiency is very mediocre. I just feel like people want to project him as elite there and don't think it's fair to put some Durant level shooting expectations on him because he's tall and skinny too.

He does seem to show up shooting well in big games.

[Larry_Russell]

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Miss the days when we could contend while still having a high lottery pick.

Trade Ime for a high lotto pick?

[sam_I_am]

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Unbelievable prospects... Tanking race is going to be huge this season.. and two teams will be extremely happy...

Too bad we are not owed an unprotected pick from a terrible team in 2023...

I really do like Wembanyama who seemingly gets better every time I see his highlights. That said, if I had the #1 pick I would take Scoot. That guy looks like Kyrie dribbling the ball (a lot sloppier but similar ability to separate himself in many directions), a little like Chris Paul running an offense, a little like JRue on defense and a lot like rookie Derrick Rose exploding through contact to finish at the rim.

I think this is shaping up to be an epic draft dilemma like Jordon/Akeem+ Bowie, Durant/Oden or Zion/Ja. Most likely Wembanyama goes first following precedent but I also think when all is said and done the little guy could be the better NBA player. I feel like Scoot could step on an NBA court right now and be physically dominant but he is going to have 2 years of pro development instead in G league. Kid graduated high school a year early with 3.5 gpa which means he is not only smart but has laser beam focus on what he wants. Of course the same can be said for Wembanyama too.

Definitely going to be a game changing draft for top 2 teams.

[Hal14]

Wemby is a super streaky shooter. He will probably be able to be a decent shooter but he's somewhere around 30% from 3 for his career, just about average from the FT line, his overall scoring efficiency is very mediocre. I just feel like people want to project him as elite there and don't think it's fair to put some Durant level shooting expectations on him because he's tall and skinny too.

He does seem to show up shooting well in big games.

Weird to be using "career" averages for an 18 yr old kid as the basis for your argument.

I mean, just look at how much his numbers (shooting splits, counting stats, etc.) have jumped from last season (1st ever season playing pro ball vs grown men at age 17) to this year. You look at his body, he looks like a completely different person than he was a year ago.

Victor is much more polished and skilled than he was last year.

[Hal14]

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Unbelievable prospects... Tanking race is going to be huge this season.. and two teams will be extremely happy...

Too bad we are not owed an unprotected pick from a terrible team in 2023...

I really do like Wembanyama who seemingly gets better every time I see his highlights. That said, if I had the #1 pick I would take Scoot. That guy looks like Kyrie dribbling the ball (a lot sloppier but similar ability to separate himself in many directions), a little like Chris Paul running an offense, a little like JRue on defense and a lot like rookie Derrick Rose exploding through contact to finish at the rim.

I think this is shaping up to be an epic draft dilemma like Jordon/Akeem+ Bowie, Durant/Oden or Zion/Ja. Most likely Wembanyama goes first following precedent but I also think when all is said and done the little guy could be the better NBA player. I feel like Scoot could step on an NBA court right now and be physically dominant but he is going to have 2 years of pro development instead in G league. Kid graduated high school a year early with 3.5 gpa which means he is not only smart but has laser beam focus on what he wants. Of course the same can be said for Wembanyama too.

Definitely going to be a game changing draft for top 2 teams.

Only reason I might take Scoot number 1 is the injury risk with a guy who's 7'5". I'd probably still take Victor if the draft was today but luckily it's not till next June.

These things usually work themselves out - I'm sure by June it'll be more clear who it should be.

Both of them are crazy talents and it'll be fun to watch them play and develop over the next several years!