2023 Draft Discussion Part III

[Spates]

Anyone have a read on Kobe Bufkin?

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Anyone have a read on Kobe Bufkin?

Watch on YouTube

[Dalek]

Anyone have a read on Kobe Bufkin?

He is climbing a lot of boards because of his play. I don't think anyone had him as a first until his recent hot stretch.

My read on him is he is a combo guard with nice shot creation and finishing skill. Being a lefty makes him a tougher cover.

He competes on defense and is an adequate playmaker but not enough to be a starting PG.

He is also a bit light weight being sub 200 lbs, so he is more of a 6 man type, IMO. On a bad team like Portland he could start and maybe score 20 PPG, but I am not sure he should be a starter. To me he is somewhere between a Jordan Clarkson and a Jordan Poole which is why a lot of people like him as a late lottery guy.

[Spates]

Anyone have a read on Kobe Bufkin?

Watch on YouTube

This is confirming exactly what I thought. This kid is really good.

[Yallbecrazy]

If we're trading Siakam it's for guys like Klay + Kuminga or Hield and picks. We are then probably using those picks to acquire other players via trade.

Siakam is a guy you trade to a contending team and most of those teams need shooting, not a primary/secondary creator.

Knicks may want him, but all their picks are heavily protected and I don't like their younger guys very much.
OKC has creators, they need shooting.
Maybe if the Nuggets get ousted quickly we could swap him for Porter Jr as I don't see them giving us Murray unless we throw more in there.

Problem is Porter and Murray allow Jokic to have more space and Siakam while better isn't as good of a fit and that will hold true for most teams we look to trade with.

If we're trading Siakam, it is for the best package available.

The definition of "best" will highly depend on the direction the front office wants to take. If we are moving Siakam, we don't need second tier stars like like Thompson back in return. We'd need picks and young guys and there are other teams in the league that can give us better packages.

As far as I'm personally concerned, I don't see a deal with the Nuggets. We don't need Murray back and I don't want Porter Jr. He's injured all the time and is owed a lot of money.

Cool, so give me a Siakam trade.

[Yallbecrazy]

Interesting write up on FTr in the G league this year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/12itq1l/free_throw_rate_for_gleague_prospects/

Basically Cissoko should go top 10.

[dozo]

Read on Twitter

It is a good article but I am not sure why they didn't mention Noah Clowney as a versatile defender. He can defend in the paint and switch out onto to shooters and has some good numbers to back it up: (3.8 DBPM; 3.4 BLK%).

Kevin McCullar (4.6 DBPM; 3.7 STL%) is a huge miss on the list as he is going to be a a Thybulle type of defender. Same with Jaylen Clark having special potential on that end (5.1 STL%).

I like the Thompsons but saying they such special defenders against high school aged competition is a bit of a stretch for any scout.

Not mentioning Clark and McCullar is a serious error. Not to take anything away from Clowney (who going to be a solid 2 way pro) but Bediako was Bama's defensive anchor. Your spot on about the Twins, not playing serious competition stunt their development by 2 years.

[Psubs]

Interesting write up on FTr in the G league this year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/12itq1l/free_throw_rate_for_gleague_prospects/

Basically Cissoko should go top 10.

Nice find. Cason, Hendricks, Cissoko, let's gooooooo!

[Thaddy]

Interesting write up on FTr in the G league this year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/12itq1l/free_throw_rate_for_gleague_prospects/

Basically Cissoko should go top 10.

Nice find. Cason, Hendricks, Cissoko, let's gooooooo!

Cissoko is easily the pick if he's there for us. He handled Champagnie's defense very well in their match up. Cissoko was a PG before getting his growth spurt 2 years ago. He had a 14% AST% on 2:1 AST/TO ratio. He wasn't even the primary ball handler either. Incredible player that we likely have in our top 5. I could see a team reaching for him. 6'8 with PG skills and defense, great shooting form.

[HumbleRen]

What pick do we get if we make the playoffs as the 8th seed ?

[OakleyDokely]

What pick do we get if we make the playoffs as the 8th seed ?

15.

16 if OKC somehow makes it to the playoffs.

[Thaddy]

Interesting write up on FTr in the G league this year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/12itq1l/free_throw_rate_for_gleague_prospects/

Basically Cissoko should go top 10.

What are the knocks on his game other than shooting? I've seen question marks posed around his burst but he is very good in the pick and roll and can just outsize opposing guards. A 14% AST% while playing off ball is insane. This is exactly what we need instead of FVV.

What pick do we get if we make the playoffs as the 8th seed ?

15.

16 if OKC somehow makes it to the playoffs.

I guess we'd be 13th if we lose? That's a fairly big difference.

[OakleyDokely]

Interesting write up on FTr in the G league this year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/12itq1l/free_throw_rate_for_gleague_prospects/

Basically Cissoko should go top 10.

What are the knocks on his game other than shooting? I've seen question marks posed around his burst but he is very good in the pick and roll and can just outsize opposing guards. A 14% AST% while playing off ball is insane. This is exactly what we need instead of FVV.

What pick do we get if we make the playoffs as the 8th seed ?

15.

16 if OKC somehow makes it to the playoffs.

I guess we'd be 13th if we lose? That's a fairly big difference.

I think the highest pick the Raps can get it is 11th, but it would require the Bulls beating the Heat and OKC making the playoffs.

If the Raps lose in the play-in, the most likely pick they will get is 13. If they make the playoffs the most likely pick is 15.

[WuTang_CMB]

If Raps lose play in and OKC lose ... we get 12th pick
If Raps lose play in and OKC win .. we get 11th pick

If Raps win play in and OKC lose ... we get 15th pick
If Raps win play in and OKC win .. we get 16th pick

then everything in between depending , so 11 - 16 range

Its probably 13 if we lose or 15 of we win

[OakleyDokely]

If Raps lose play in and OKC lose ... we get 12th pick
If Raps lose play in and OKC win .. we get 11th pick

I think these are the scenarios:

Raptors lose to the Bulls, Bulls lose in round 2, OKC loses in play-in: Get the 13th pick.
Raptors lose to the Bulls, Bulls beat Miami in round 2, OKC loses in play-in: Get the 12th pick.
Raptors lose to the Bulls, Bulls beat Atlanta in round 2, OKC loses in play-in: Get coin flip for 12th/13th with Atlanta.

Raptors lose to the Bulls, Bulls lose in round 2, OKC wins play-in: Get the 12th pick.
Raptors lose to the Bulls, Bulls beat Miami in round 2, OKC wins play-in: Get the 11th pick.
Raptors lose to the Bulls, Bulls beat Atlanta in round 2, OKC wins in play-in: Get coin flip for 11th/12th with Atlanta.

Raptors beat the Bulls, lose in round 2, OKC loses in play-in: Get the 13th pick.
Raptors beat the Bulls, lose in round 2, OKC wins play-in: Get the 12th pick.
Raptors beat the Bulls, and win in round 2, OKC loses in play-in: Get the 15th pick and out of the lottery.
Raptors beat the Bulls, and win in round 2, OKC wins play-in: Get the 16th pick and out of the lottery.

I remember someone posted it.

Most likely is 13 if we lose, 15 if we win.

[Yallbecrazy]

Interesting write up on FTr in the G league this year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/12itq1l/free_throw_rate_for_gleague_prospects/

Basically Cissoko should go top 10.

What are the knocks on his game other than shooting? I've seen question marks posed around his burst but he is very good in the pick and roll and can just outsize opposing guards. A 14% AST% while playing off ball is insane. This is exactly what we need instead of FVV.

What pick do we get if we make the playoffs as the 8th seed ?

15.

16 if OKC somehow makes it to the playoffs.

I guess we'd be 13th if we lose? That's a fairly big difference.

That's what really jumps out to me, he's got two outlier skills in addition to a good NBA frame. His assist rate and now his ftr after reading that reddit post. He also has decent stocks in a more competitive league than college, and 31% from the NBA 3 on low to mid volume from a guy who turned 19 last week. The negatives are his supposed athleticism, but he's still big, long, and has a good basketball IQ so he projects to be a good defender in the NBA.

Rebounding is also a bit of a red flag, but defensive rebounds can be a team concept and has a lot of noise.

Edit: To add to the assist rate, high assists for off ball players is much more predictable for future NBA success. For pgs there can be a lot of noise, system based assists that makes it hard to project them as NBA players. Think of Calderon dribbling the ball for 20 seconds of the shot clock then passing to a guy who has to shoot a poorish quality shot or face a shot clock violation. That inflates assist numbers, also the system itself can lead to a lot of assists that don't relate to bbiq and success as a NBA player. Assists for big men is an excellent indicator and it's still really good for wings.

[ATLTimekeeper]

What are the knocks on his game other than shooting? I've seen question marks posed around his burst but he is very good in the pick and roll and can just outsize opposing guards. A 14% AST% while playing off ball is insane. This is exactly what we need instead of FVV.

I can see a bunch of question marks. Super low rebounding number might indicate a weak motor. He's not really a specialist in anything, which makes him a generalist and so you'd worry that he can't actually replace high volume players (like that Fred replacement dig). 14% isn't really that remarkable off the ball. If he's closer to Gordan Hayward type you'd want that closer to 20%. He's been praised for his defense this year, but previously he was known as a weak defender. While sometimes it's the case of the light to going on, usually good defensive players have it in their DNA, so to speak. If he's not a consistent defender, then that lowers his outlook.

I think he's got a good chance to be a solid player. Not sure I see a hidden gem or anything, but the Gleague has produced no one of note in the NBA so far.

[WuTang_CMB]

Okc is good but dont think theyll win on road vs pely
Tor likely beats chi tonight but loses to miami so #13

Gota hit either way

[Thaddy]

1 Wembyama
2 Henderson
3 Miller
4 Thompson
5 Thompson
6 Walker
7 Hendricks
8 Whitmore
9 Black
10 Hawkins
11 Wallace
12 Dick
13 JHS
14 Rupert
15 Cissoko

I am going to guess this is how the first 15 picks go in any order. My least favorites here are Dick, JHS, Hawkins, and the Thompson twins. Whitmore also has reported character issues giving him a high bust potential. The most likely to succeed other than the obvious (Scoot and Wembyama) are Walker, Hendricks, Black, Wallace, and Cissoko.I think Rupert has the potential to fit in really well anywhere too. He can provide elite defense right out of the gate and he'll be able to space the floor a bit. The Bridges build and exp in the NBL is intriguing. I can see Cissoko impressing in workouts and becoming a top ten pick. I think he might end up being top 5 from this draft class when we reflect on this class. Wallace will have poor lane agility numbers which will hurt his stock after the combine but I wouldn't mind him falling to us. His instincts and IQ are NBA ready.

[will]

What would have been.

That Scoot Henderson...could be a problem when he joins the NBA.