2023 NBA Draft – Thurs, 8PM, June 22

[Hal14]

I think pick 33/35 would be a reach, but a guy I like as a potential UDFA is Charles Bediako. He was teammates with JD Davison last season at Alabama.

He's 7'0", moves pretty well for a guy that size. He's a solid rim runner/lob threat/rim protector type of big with decent athleticism and good size at 7'0".

Just turned 21. So he's not too old, still some upside left.

Perhaps with our 2nd round pick, we grab a wing, combo-forward or pure PF type of guy...then snag Bediako for a center as an UDFA. Bediako could end up being a solid backup big man once he develops a bit.

Watch on YouTube

Posted a 7.5 BPM as a freshman and an 8.9 BPM this past season as a sophomore which are VERY good numbers. 8.9% blocks as a freshman, 7.9% blocks this year as a sophomore, which are also very good numbers.

Plays hard, high motor. Just doesn't shoot or really do much else on offense besides make shots at the rim off assists from his teammates or via put-backs. And he mostly has just been used as a drop big - not sure how switchable he is. But I don't see why he can't develop into a solid backup big man, which would be good value as an UDFA.

[Bill Lumbergh]

This means we get the 35th pick, I think. Since the rockets have 2nd worst record, their 2nd round pick will be 32. We would have gotten their 2nd rounder if it was 33 or worse.

Pretty sure this makes it official - we'll have the 35th pick.

Read on Twitter

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36192329/2023-nba-draft-complete-order-all-58-picks

Bummer that we're not getting the 33rd pick. Would have been nice to move up 2 spots. But This is a deep draft. We can still get a good player at 35.

I thought it was just the opposite, that if the Rockets got 2nd in the first round, then San Antonio would get 2nd in the second round meaning we'd get the 33rd pick. I guess we'll see soon enough.

[djFan71]

Forget the rules, I like the way tankathon has it now, lol. They have us with 33 AND 35 with 50 going to OKC for Muscala.
Done. Close it down. No takebacks!

[cl2117]

Unless they've changed the rules, which I haven't seen, then the tiebreakers flip in the 2nd round.

So Houston winning the tiebreaker is good for us. They have the "2nd" pick right now pre-lottery (obviously lottery odds are same for top 3), which leaves the Spurs with the "3rd" pick. That then flips in the 2nd round giving us 33 overall and Spurs having 32.

That's how it will play out unless the Spurs jump Houston as part of the lottery. In that scenario the Rockets will get 32 (going to Indy) and Spurs get 33, with the Celtics taking home 35 from Portland.

As 165bows pointed out the best example from recent years is OKC/CLE in 2021:

OKC won the tiebreaker coin flip so got better lottery odds and should have had later 2nd round pick as a result. Cleveland then jumps them in the lottery and therefore OKC retains the higher 2nd round pick despite having won the tiebreaker coin flip.

So at this stage we're rooting for the Rockets to get higher pick than Spurs and that will then cement us getting the 33rd pick. So we won't know for another month, but this is a positive result in the interim.

It seems like the rule has changed then.

This article was last updated on 4/17/23 at 5:30 pm:

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-lottery-explainer

The Draft selections for the remainder of the first round (No. 15-30) and the entire second round (No. 30-60), are determined by reverse order of regular season record.

So according to this, the 2nd round draft order is simply the reverse order of the standings, so worst team gets pick 31, rockets get pick 32 (to IND), etc. and we get pick 35..

I think that article might just not get into the true minutiae of the draft. I can't find anything on it being changed since 2021 and flipping the tiebreakers for the 2nd round was definitely the rule from that year backwards. Pacers fans also seem to think it's bad news from them, which isn't definitive proof but I'm assuming they've similarly tried to figure it out.

Not sure who's best placed to clear it up. Assume someone will shortly.

Think that two spot swing could surprisingly be significant in terms of grabbing 1st round talent that drops, so hopefully swings our way.

[djFan71]

Think that two spot swing could surprisingly be significant in terms of grabbing 1st round talent that drops, so hopefully swings our way.

Yep. In 2019 it was the difference between Claxton and Carsen Edwards...

Tho, supposedly we were targeting Edwards, so it didn't matter.

[cl2117]

Forget the rules, I like the way tankathon has it now, lol. They have us with 33 AND 35 with 50 going to OKC for Muscala.
Done. Close it down. No takebacks!

They're just factoring in our inevitable Pritchard trade

[djFan71]

I'm liking these 4 now (in order):

Noah Clowney (iffy - so trade up!)
Jordan Walsh
Bilal Coulibaly
James Nnaji

Bigs or wings with stupid wingspan (Clowney the smallest of the 4 with 7'2" wingspan, lol).
I really like the idea of Walsh being a White/Draymond hybrid.
Last 2 conceivably stashes.

[cl2117]

I'm liking these 4 now (in order):

Noah Clowney (iffy - so trade up!)
Jordan Walsh
Bilal Coulibaly
James Nnaji

Bigs or wings with stupid wingspan (Clowney the smallest of the 4 with 7'2" wingspan, lol).
I really like the idea of Walsh being a White/Draymond hybrid.
Last 2 conceivably stashes.

Coulibaly is my guy at this stage in that range. I don't care that its inevitably gonna be my Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot infatuation 2.0, I'm sold.

[djFan71]

I'm liking these 4 now (in order):

Noah Clowney (iffy - so trade up!)
Jordan Walsh
Bilal Coulibaly
James Nnaji

Bigs or wings with stupid wingspan (Clowney the smallest of the 4 with 7'2" wingspan, lol).
I really like the idea of Walsh being a White/Draymond hybrid.
Last 2 conceivably stashes.

Coulibaly is my guy at this stage in that range. I don't care that its inevitably gonna be my Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot infatuation 2.0, I'm sold.

TLC don’t want no scrubs…. Between him, Hayes and others, there’s definitely a little concern, but it’s gotta pan out some time right?

[ConstableGeneva]

Read on Twitter

What a **** draft. And that includes Giannis.

[ConstableGeneva]

Read on Twitter

What a **** draft. And that includes Giannis.

[165bows]

I'm liking these 4 now (in order):

Noah Clowney (iffy - so trade up!)
Jordan Walsh
Bilal Coulibaly
James Nnaji

Bigs or wings with stupid wingspan (Clowney the smallest of the 4 with 7'2" wingspan, lol).
I really like the idea of Walsh being a White/Draymond hybrid.
Last 2 conceivably stashes.

Coulibaly is my guy at this stage in that range. I don't care that its inevitably gonna be my Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot infatuation 2.0, I'm sold.

Haha I was convinced that guy was going to be a steal lol. Not a bad young-upside guy list above.

Though if they think Bona is going to be in the Nic Claxton neighborhood that kind of pick is perfectly fine imo.

[Hal14]

Some of the top players who have not yet officially declared for the draft. Players have till 11:59pm on 4/23 to declare. Otherwise, they won't be draft eligible for this year..

Jordan Walsh
Bilal Coulibaly
Adem Bona
James Nnaji
Oso Ighodaro
Arthur Kaluma
Trey Alexander
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Tristan Vukcevic
Ousmane N'diaye
Emoni Bates

Clock is ticking on these guys..

[Hal14]

Jackson is declaring, but maintaining his college eligibility. So there's a chance he returns to UConn. But if he stays in the draft, there's a good chance he is still the in the 33-35 range.

If we decide to go for a wing, he's an intriguing option.

This video gives an idea of what be brings to the table. The biggest thing with Jackson is pace. He pushes the pace constantly. Run, run, run. Go, go, go. But under control - and constantly looking up the floor, seeing the whole floor and slinging passes FAST to the open man and getting the ball to a teammate in a position where they can score.

Kind of like how D-White does it, but taller than d-white (jackson is 6'6" white is 6'4"), and Jackson is more explosive/athletic too. Jackson is a very good defender, too.

Not a great shooter but does show flashes of being able to hit open 3's.

Read on Twitter

The play in this video at 1:25 is so cool. It reminds me of that play long ago that Derek Jeter made where he saw the ball was not going to make it to home plate in time to throw out the runner so he went into an all-out sprint, fielded the ball and with his body turned in 2 different directions, flipped the ball to the catcher. Jackson does the basketball equivalent on this play, which shows insane basketball IQ and hustle.

[sam_I_am]

Unless they've changed the rules, which I haven't seen, then the tiebreakers flip in the 2nd round.

So Houston winning the tiebreaker is good for us. They have the "2nd" pick right now pre-lottery (obviously lottery odds are same for top 3), which leaves the Spurs with the "3rd" pick. That then flips in the 2nd round giving us 33 overall and Spurs having 32.

That's how it will play out unless the Spurs jump Houston as part of the lottery. In that scenario the Rockets will get 32 (going to Indy) and Spurs get 33, with the Celtics taking home 35 from Portland.

As 165bows pointed out the best example from recent years is OKC/CLE in 2021:

OKC won the tiebreaker coin flip so got better lottery odds and should have had later 2nd round pick as a result. Cleveland then jumps them in the lottery and therefore OKC retains the higher 2nd round pick despite having won the tiebreaker coin flip.

So at this stage we're rooting for the Rockets to get higher pick than Spurs and that will then cement us getting the 33rd pick. So we won't know for another month, but this is a positive result in the interim.

It seems like the rule has changed then.

This article was last updated on 4/17/23 at 5:30 pm:

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-lottery-explainer

The Draft selections for the remainder of the first round (No. 15-30) and the entire second round (No. 30-60), are determined by reverse order of regular season record.

So according to this, the 2nd round draft order is simply the reverse order of the standings, so worst team gets pick 31, rockets get pick 32 (to IND), etc. and we get pick 35..

I think that article might just not get into the true minutiae of the draft. I can't find anything on it being changed since 2021 and flipping the tiebreakers for the 2nd round was definitely the rule from that year backwards. Pacers fans also seem to think it's bad news from them, which isn't definitive proof but I'm assuming they've similarly tried to figure it out.

Not sure who's best placed to clear it up. Assume someone will shortly.

Think that two spot swing could surprisingly be significant in terms of grabbing 1st round talent that drops, so hopefully swings our way.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36192329/2023-nba-draft-complete-order-all-58-picks

[Patsfan1081]

It seems like the rule has changed then.

This article was last updated on 4/17/23 at 5:30 pm:

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-lottery-explainer



So according to this, the 2nd round draft order is simply the reverse order of the standings, so worst team gets pick 31, rockets get pick 32 (to IND), etc. and we get pick 35..

I think that article might just not get into the true minutiae of the draft. I can't find anything on it being changed since 2021 and flipping the tiebreakers for the 2nd round was definitely the rule from that year backwards. Pacers fans also seem to think it's bad news from them, which isn't definitive proof but I'm assuming they've similarly tried to figure it out.

Not sure who's best placed to clear it up. Assume someone will shortly.

Think that two spot swing could surprisingly be significant in terms of grabbing 1st round talent that drops, so hopefully swings our way.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36192329/2023-nba-draft-complete-order-all-58-picks

This is from the Indy Star and SI, which coincides with what Tankathon has curently. So we need to route for Houston getting a better pick.

“They will pick either 32nd or 50th depending on the lottery. The Rockets won a coin flip with the Spurs for better lottery position. If the Spurs get a better lottery pick than the Rockets, then the Pacers will get the No. 32 pick from the Rockets. If the Rockets get the better lottery pick, the Pacers will pick 50th, using a pick that was originally Miami's.”

“Both Houston and San Antonio finished tied for the second-worst record in the league at 22-60. Whichever team ends up with a better first-round pick will have a worse second-round selection between the two teams, so the Pacers are hoping that the Spurs own first-round pick ends up being better than the Rockets.”

[Patsfan1081]

Side note…We better hope that Rockets pick transfers or else the return for the pick that sent over Bane to Memphis will be just the 50th pick from Miami as the other second they got in return is gone. They do not have another second round pick after this season for five years! Also that Tristan Thompson trade is looking great now, the 35th pick for someone who isnt in the league anymore….

[165bows]

I think that article might just not get into the true minutiae of the draft. I can't find anything on it being changed since 2021 and flipping the tiebreakers for the 2nd round was definitely the rule from that year backwards. Pacers fans also seem to think it's bad news from them, which isn't definitive proof but I'm assuming they've similarly tried to figure it out.

Not sure who's best placed to clear it up. Assume someone will shortly.

Think that two spot swing could surprisingly be significant in terms of grabbing 1st round talent that drops, so hopefully swings our way.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36192329/2023-nba-draft-complete-order-all-58-picks

This is from the Indy Star and SI, which coincides with what Tankathon has curently. So we need to route for Houston getting a better pick.

“They will pick either 32nd or 50th depending on the lottery. The Rockets won a coin flip with the Spurs for better lottery position. If the Spurs get a better lottery pick than the Rockets, then the Pacers will get the No. 32 pick from the Rockets. If the Rockets get the better lottery pick, the Pacers will pick 50th, using a pick that was originally Miami's.”

“Both Houston and San Antonio finished tied for the second-worst record in the league at 22-60. Whichever team ends up with a better first-round pick will have a worse second-round selection between the two teams, so the Pacers are hoping that the Spurs own first-round pick ends up being better than the Rockets.”

ESPN is complete and total trash for those that still didn't know.

[Patsfan1081]

I'm liking these 4 now (in order):

Noah Clowney (iffy - so trade up!)
Jordan Walsh
Bilal Coulibaly
James Nnaji

Bigs or wings with stupid wingspan (Clowney the smallest of the 4 with 7'2" wingspan, lol).
I really like the idea of Walsh being a White/Draymond hybrid.
Last 2 conceivably stashes.

Coulibaly is my guy at this stage in that range. I don't care that its inevitably gonna be my Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot infatuation 2.0, I'm sold.

Seems like the hype in him is getting him into the first round though. I hope he declares this year as I dont like the depth compared with last year and if that Houston pick pans out Brad as the ammo to possibly move up if need be.

[Hal14]

I'm liking these 4 now (in order):

Noah Clowney (iffy - so trade up!)
Jordan Walsh
Bilal Coulibaly
James Nnaji

Bigs or wings with stupid wingspan (Clowney the smallest of the 4 with 7'2" wingspan, lol).
I really like the idea of Walsh being a White/Draymond hybrid.
Last 2 conceivably stashes.

Coulibaly is my guy at this stage in that range. I don't care that its inevitably gonna be my Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot infatuation 2.0, I'm sold.

Seems like the hype in him is getting him into the first round though. I hope he declares this year as I dont like the depth compared with last year and if that Houston pick pans out Brad as the ammo to possibly move up if need be.

Yeah. Coulibaly is legit. He's #18 on my big board right now.

The most fascinating thing about him is the trajectory he's on. Just last summer, he was coming off the bench for France's U18 team, playing behind a guy who barely got rotation mins for a Washington State team that didn't even make the NCAA tournament.

Coulibaly then started this season off with a team in France's 2nd division. Then as the season went on, he earned more and more playing time for Metro 92's team (with Wembanyama) that's in France's A division. Now, he's one of the best players on the team. He went from not even being mentioned at all as a draft prospect a few months ago, to a possible 2nd round draft and stash guy 2 months ago, to being maybe a 1st rounder this year to now some people are even calling him a lottery pick.

Read on Twitter

He's on this crazy trajectory over the past year. And with him being only 18 (and being a wing with a crazy wingspan, intriguing all around skill set, really smooth/fluid the way he moves out there and the way he looks with the ball in his hands) makes you think that a year or 2 from now, he could be scary good.