Re: 2023 Draft Prospect discussion Part II

[BoyzNTheHood]

I too don't like him, but this clip is hardly negative evidence. As he backs away the defender covering him gets further up court to which is helping spacing. If I could stand under my own basket on offense and bring the defender to half court I would.

That's not how basketball works, and this is just one of many examples of GG Jackson exhibiting poor character. On the other side Brandon Miller destroyed him with the weight of the world on his shoulders. There's levels to this.

I barely follow college basketball because it is just overall a tough watch so I have no idea about the character issues, but the defender literally sat with his back turned at the 3 point line. If you can pull a guy away and turn a game into legit 4 on 4 that is a win for the offense. Ever tried to defend playing 4 on 4, or 3 on 3? The less traffic the easier offense becomes.

If GG moves up to the 3 point line his defender takes 2 steps back and suddenly that in the lane jumper is heavily contested with help defense.

Then teams might as well sit a decoy at half court for offensive possessions more than once or twice a game. Him pouting had nothing to do with strategy. He needs to mature. People using his age as an excuse are lost. Just because you're 18 doesn't mean you can pout for every little thing. Red flags galore.

[ItsDanger]

Nick Smith has played 9 games, 2 of them 6 minutes or less. Overall hasn't lived up to the hype but hasn't been entirely disappointing either. He's a change of pace, half court scoring guard and those have value in the NBA.

Is Nick Smith the Micheal Porter Jr of this draft?
We could use an elite bucket getter from a teens picks. If our 1st this year is a ROY calibre combo guard aren't we all really happy with the roster construction going forward? Just need some role playing shooters.

Masai has put alot of faith in a players pre-college profile before (Barnes). Wouldn't shock me if he picked a guy that was rated higher before a disappointing college season. Although, wouldn't shock me if he goes off board either .

Like MPJ and falls in the draft due to injury risk? Maybe a little but MPJ injury was in another league in terms of severity. I'm not familiar with Smith's injury details but a knee injury shouldn't be viewed the same. Maybe it hurts his stock slightly. I think the 3-14 range is completely unpredictable this draft. So who knows if he falls to us.

[Rapsfan07]

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TH on our list for sure

I hope his stock doesn't rise too high.

My hope is to pick him up in the 20ish range with a pick from an OG trade.

Leaving the draft with Wallace, Black, Whitehead or Howard with our Top 15, Lewis or Hendricks with a pick in the early 20s and Sasser or Jones in the later first round would be phenomenal for our long term growth.

[alpngso]

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This French national team game against Czech shows how far Wemby has to go to contribute meaningfully in the NBA

[ArthurVandelay]

https://www.zagsblog.com/2023/02/22/how-will-nba-personnel-handle-alabama-star-brandon-miller-being-linked-to-a-fatal-shooting/

How does Miller’s association with the events of the murder impact his draft stock? In my opinion it doesn’t. This is similar to last year with Banchero involved with the DUI, of course with much more tragic circumstances.

Now if anything changes or he is charged, then things obviously change.

[ItsDanger]

From Miller's lawyer's press release, sounds like he was involved without knowledge. Now, his lawyer could just be protecting his client. But if its accurate, the accusations will have minimal impact on Miller's draft stock. Obviously teams will do their own due diligence in the matter and some will discount based on their own views on any potential risks.

[Dalek]

Nick Smith has played 9 games, 2 of them 6 minutes or less. Overall hasn't lived up to the hype but hasn't been entirely disappointing either. He's a change of pace, half court scoring guard and those have value in the NBA.

Is Nick Smith the Micheal Porter Jr of this draft?
We could use an elite bucket getter from a teens picks. If our 1st this year is a ROY calibre combo guard aren't we all really happy with the roster construction going forward? Just need some role playing shooters.

Masai has put alot of faith in a players pre-college profile before (Barnes). Wouldn't shock me if he picked a guy that was rated higher before a disappointing college season. Although, wouldn't shock me if he goes off board either .

Like MPJ and falls in the draft due to injury risk? Maybe a little but MPJ injury was in another league in terms of severity. I'm not familiar with Smith's injury details but a knee injury shouldn't be viewed the same. Maybe it hurts his stock slightly. I think the 3-14 range is completely unpredictable this draft. So who knows if he falls to us.

I think what people are missing is that Nick Smith came back, after more than a month off, dealing with a major issue hobbling his mobility. Some would say he is a 'competitor' for playing when most people would just shut it down.

I'd like to revisit his stock after the conference tournament and March Madness.

I would be shocked if he ends up in the teens, but if he falls to Toronto like OG did, it would be a steal.

[ATLTimekeeper]

The NBA is a lot more permissive with DUIs than they are murders. Teams will really go deep on background with him, because at best his friend thinks Miller knew where the gun was and would be willing to bring it to him at 1 in the morning. I always think if there's any kind of trouble in their draft year that's a worrisome sign. This is a year long job interview.

[BoyzNTheHood]

We’re not taking Miller. There’s no chance Masai puts his reputation on the line for him. It would suck, but even if he’s there when we pick we’d probably pass.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

1:28 mark is why I want this kid so badly. He is what this team needs and exactly the remedy for the woes Masai has identified and called out... selfishness, poor shooting. Sampson has trained him the right way and he would fit in perfectly as a guy who can ball handle for us then dump it off to Scottie past halfcourt so Scottie can be the primary facilitator of our offense and he won't complain about it, meanwhile parking himself all along the 3pt line draining volume 3s for us at a high rate and playing defense and providing real leadership and being a great teammate.

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[ArthurVandelay]

The NBA is a lot more permissive with DUIs than they are murders. Teams will really go deep on background with him, because at best his friend thinks Miller knew where the gun was and would be willing to bring it to him at 1 in the morning. I always think if there's any kind of trouble in their draft year that's a worrisome sign. This is a year long job interview.

Or maybe Miller said, “I’m a black man driving a Charger in Alabama and I have a gun in the backseat. I need to get rid of this. I don’t need this heat in my draft year.”

Banchero and Miller both did stupid things in their draft year but only Banchero did something criminal and was charged. If Miller had done anything illegal in a capital murder case, he’d be charged by now.

Teams will definitely be doing extra deep dive on Miller but unless something comes out that hasn’t already, this doesn’t impact his draft stock. I do hope Miller has learned something from this tragic experience.

[ATLTimekeeper]

The NBA is a lot more permissive with DUIs than they are murders. Teams will really go deep on background with him, because at best his friend thinks Miller knew where the gun was and would be willing to bring it to him at 1 in the morning. I always think if there's any kind of trouble in their draft year that's a worrisome sign. This is a year long job interview.

Or maybe Miller said, “I’m a black man driving a Charger in Alabama and I have a gun in the backseat. I need to get rid of this. I don’t need this heat in my draft year.”

Banchero and Miller both did stupid things in their draft year but only Banchero did something criminal and was charged. If Miller had done anything illegal in a capital murder case, he’d be charged by now.

Teams will definitely be doing extra deep dive on Miller but unless something comes out that hasn’t already, this doesn’t impact his draft stock. I do hope Miller has learned something from this tragic experience.

They don't have evidence to charge him, but just being around that is going to be serious enough to give some teams cause for concern. DUIs have always been hand-waved by the NBA, and Banchero wasn't even driving. Personally I treat them more seriously.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

And I'll add that I see Marcus as a highly upgraded version of Fred Van Vleet. Smaller overlooked recruit combo guard who has been a big part of his college team's success whose bread and butter is 3+D but we don't need him to play with the ball constantly in his hands like Fred demands being allowed to do which is what makes him inefficient. On top of that Marcus has really demonstrated better shot selection and finishing at the rim this year (Fred's is questionable as hell) and has better ISO ability than Fred should he be forced to engage in an iso play, due to his handle allowing him to create more space and being slightly more athletic.

[YogurtProducer]

That's not how basketball works, and this is just one of many examples of GG Jackson exhibiting poor character. On the other side Brandon Miller destroyed him with the weight of the world on his shoulders. There's levels to this.

I barely follow college basketball because it is just overall a tough watch so I have no idea about the character issues, but the defender literally sat with his back turned at the 3 point line. If you can pull a guy away and turn a game into legit 4 on 4 that is a win for the offense. Ever tried to defend playing 4 on 4, or 3 on 3? The less traffic the easier offense becomes.

If GG moves up to the 3 point line his defender takes 2 steps back and suddenly that in the lane jumper is heavily contested with help defense.

Then teams might as well sit a decoy at half court for offensive possessions more than once or twice a game. Him pouting had nothing to do with strategy. He needs to mature. People using his age as an excuse are lost. Just because you're 18 doesn't mean you can pout for every little thing. Red flags galore.

Well, the defender has to actually follow you, but if your defender is gonna sit outside the 3 point line and provide Steph Curry level gravity it probably best for the team to walk away lol

[Yallbecrazy]

And I'll add that I see Marcus as a highly upgraded version of Fred Van Vleet. Smaller overlooked recruit combo guard who has been a big part of his college team's success whose bread and butter is 3+D but we don't need him to play with the ball constantly in his hands like Fred demands being allowed to do which is what makes him inefficient. On top of that Marcus has really demonstrated better shot selection and finishing at the rim this year (Fred's is questionable as hell) and has better ISO ability than Fred should he be forced to engage in an iso play, due to his handle allowing him to create more space and being slightly more athletic.

He's less than 5% to have near the career of FVV, let alone a highly upgraded version of it.

[Reeko]

https://www.zagsblog.com/2023/02/22/how-will-nba-personnel-handle-alabama-star-brandon-miller-being-linked-to-a-fatal-shooting/

How does Miller’s association with the events of the murder impact his draft stock? In my opinion it doesn’t. This is similar to last year with Banchero involved with the DUI, of course with much more tragic circumstances.

Now if anything changes or he is charged, then things obviously change.

Driving under the influence and transporting weapons are on different levels of bad decision making.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

And I'll add that I see Marcus as a highly upgraded version of Fred Van Vleet. Smaller overlooked recruit combo guard who has been a big part of his college team's success whose bread and butter is 3+D but we don't need him to play with the ball constantly in his hands like Fred demands being allowed to do which is what makes him inefficient. On top of that Marcus has really demonstrated better shot selection and finishing at the rim this year (Fred's is questionable as hell) and has better ISO ability than Fred should he be forced to engage in an iso play, due to his handle allowing him to create more space and being slightly more athletic.

He's less than 5% to have near the career of FVV, let alone a highly upgraded version of it.

I hope he doesn't have the career of FVV as that would make him one of the least efficient scorers in NBA history

Also just accepting being more of an off-ball guy while bringing what he does to the table makes him a massive upgrade.

[Reeko]

From Miller's lawyer's press release, sounds like he was involved without knowledge. Now, his lawyer could just be protecting his client. But if its accurate, the accusations will have minimal impact on Miller's draft stock. Obviously teams will do their own due diligence in the matter and some will discount based on their own views on any potential risks.

He didn't know that he was transporting a gun? Lol. I really don't care about him not knowing that the firearm would be used to commit murder, the simple fact that he's transporting one is enough of a red flag.

[Dalek]

And I'll add that I see Marcus as a highly upgraded version of Fred Van Vleet. Smaller overlooked recruit combo guard who has been a big part of his college team's success whose bread and butter is 3+D but we don't need him to play with the ball constantly in his hands like Fred demands being allowed to do which is what makes him inefficient. On top of that Marcus has really demonstrated better shot selection and finishing at the rim this year (Fred's is questionable as hell) and has better ISO ability than Fred should he be forced to engage in an iso play, due to his handle allowing him to create more space and being slightly more athletic.

I was a big fan of drafting Sasser last year with our pick - but he held out because he wanted a first round promise. This year his numbers fell a bit with his PPG and 3P% getting worse. Last year he was shooting 44% from three, and now it is down to 38% which shows his high variance over his four year career.

Sasser is a dynamic scoring PG and can play defense. I love his 6'8 wingspan so he is bigger than Fred and brings that toughness and poise.

It might be considered a reach to take him in lottery range since he is already 22 and will be 23 at the start of camp. He also had a pretty major toe injury a couple years ago which is concerning because I think he had to get surgery.

I'd draft him in the mid-20s but higher seems like a reach given there are other bigger, more athletic, and younger guys you could draft over him. The only lottery guy I can really think of with a similar profile is Davion Mitchell - and he ended up more of a back-up PG, but he does play important minutes on an emerging playoff team - but many considered Mitchell to be a special defensive prospect.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

From Miller's lawyer's press release, sounds like he was involved without knowledge. Now, his lawyer could just be protecting his client. But if its accurate, the accusations will have minimal impact on Miller's draft stock. Obviously teams will do their own due diligence in the matter and some will discount based on their own views on any potential risks.

He didn't know that he was transporting a gun? Lol. I really don't care about him not knowing that the firearm would be used to commit murder, the simple fact that he's transporting one is enough of a red flag.

Transporting a gun in the US is as normal as transporting a hockey stick in Canada. If someone scores a goal with the hockey stick I brought them am I responsible for the goal? One of philosophy's greatest questions.