2023 Draft Discussion Part 4

[Bruin]

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6’3.25” (without shoes)
190.8 lbs
6’7” wingspan

SG Max Vertical Reach
5. Amari Bailey/Kobe Bufkin: 11’6.5”

SG Standing Vertical Reach
5. Amari Bailey/Brandin Podziemski: 11’0”

The guy has 500,000 followers on instagram but comes across as humble and hardworking. I'd put him right there with any of the other combos because once he figures out how to harness his athleticism and his jumper - he becomes interesting. HIs defense is already going to be solid coming in (2.5 STL% and a 1.4 BLK%)

Seems like a good kid.

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Looks like his 3's are mainly corner 3's or hugging the line. UCLA waas stacked so likely not the focus of the defense. He was like the SG and his A/T of just under 1 is like that of a SF/PF.

I would say that Terquavion Smith should be drafted before Bailey (who looks like Malachi Flynn out there). Mojave King might be a better choice in the early 2nd than Amari Bailey. I don't see Bailey being better than Tre Mann.

Amari is nothing like Flynn

If I had to compare Amari to someone I’d go with Avery Bradley

[Psubs]

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Hitting floaters over 7'1 Kalkbrenner. Finishing well with contact. Actually with his slight frame he's going to be on the ground a lot and force officials to call fouls.

@2:01

I think Terq will be like Terrence Davis with more playmaking (higher bball IQ). Tops out as 6th man of the year, since his frame is so slight (though more atheletic) like Jamal Crawford.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

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Hitting floaters over 7'1 Kalkbrenner. Finishing well with contact. Actually with his slight frame he's going to be on the ground a lot and force officials to call fouls.

@2:01

He's a Lou Williams type of player. That's not a compliment for the record

[Dalek]

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6’3.25” (without shoes)
190.8 lbs
6’7” wingspan

SG Max Vertical Reach
5. Amari Bailey/Kobe Bufkin: 11’6.5”

SG Standing Vertical Reach
5. Amari Bailey/Brandin Podziemski: 11’0”

The guy has 500,000 followers on instagram but comes across as humble and hardworking. I'd put him right there with any of the other combos because once he figures out how to harness his athleticism and his jumper - he becomes interesting. HIs defense is already going to be solid coming in (2.5 STL% and a 1.4 BLK%)

Seems like a good kid.

Watch on YouTube

Looks like his 3's are mainly corner 3's or hugging the line. UCLA waas stacked so likely not the focus of the defense. He was like the SG and his A/T of just under 1 is like that of a SF/PF.

I would say that Terquavion Smith should be drafted before Bailey (who looks like Malachi Flynn out there). Mojave King might be a better choice in the early 2nd than Amari Bailey. I don't see Bailey being better than Tre Mann.

Amari is nothing like Flynn

If I had to compare Amari to someone I’d go with Avery Bradley

That is a very good comp. I leaned towards Powell but Bradley seems accurate because of him being more of shooter than driver.

[Dalek]

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[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

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It's safe to say Miller's package will be too enticing for a team to pass on at a certain point. Earlier in the year people had Jett Howard going lottery with Miller in the 20's and now they have essentially switched positions. I'm not sure if he ends up going lottery still but I think there's 0 chance he goes in the 20s now. He has shown too much with that package of size and athleticism to go that late.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Marcus Sasser just casually shooting 80% in a 3 point drill, ranked 1st in yet another drill. 2nd place in spot up shooting drill, also shooting 80% - are you kidding me?



My adopted son is going to win a 3 point shooting contest at an all-star game.

[PhilBlackson]

Rooting for Portland to get a top 4 pick.

Unless you mean literally the 4th pick, I don't lol

I want them to trade their pick + (probably Simons?) to us. If they end up with Vic or Scoot, Dame will be sent packing.

I don't see them trading Dame because they landed Scoot.

They'll trade their pick if it isn't Vic.

Really?! Because I'd think ESPECIALLY if they draft Scoot because then it's dead easy to trade your franchise guard when you draft your next one lol and have his running mate in Sharpe to spearhead a whole new era of Blazers bball.

In fact, I'll truly be stunned if they hold onto Dame if they draft Scoot because it would be such a ridiculous waste that both him & Sharpe would be backing up Dame & Anf.

[Psubs]

It's safe to say Miller's package will be too enticing for a team to pass on at a certain point. Earlier in the year people had Jett Howard going lottery with Miller in the 20's and now they have essentially switched positions. I'm not sure if he ends up going lottery still but I think there's 0 chance he goes in the 20s now. He has shown too much with that package of size and athleticism to go that late.

I think Miami shouldn't pass him up at #18. Could Orlando draft him at #12 to pair with Banchero?

[ItsDanger]

I think you're seeing these SGs are being downgraded and the 3/4 with size are now being upgraded in the various rankings.

[PhilBlackson]

Marcus Sasser just casually shooting 80% in a 3 point drill, ranked 1st in yet another drill. 2nd place in spot up shooting drill, also shooting 80% - are you kidding me?



My adopted son is going to win a 3 point shooting contest at an all-star game.

I like Sasser a lot...just not with our lotto pick.

If for example, Gary opted in and we traded him to LAL for Beasley + 17th and took him with that pick, I wouldn't be opposed to it. Although personally my favorite "second pick" player would be Sidy Cissiko (I'd take Bilal at 13) and roll the dice on 2 upside players because depending on what trades do or don't happen (and right now I'm only convinced of Gary being gone)...our ceiling seems limited and while I fully believe Sasser will be a player in the league. Whether that's as one of the best backups or a guy who becomes a high level starter, I don't know but I do think he'll be a rotation player somewhere and I'd ofc love him as a massive upgrade over Flynn.

BUT until I see an actual big trade of OG or Pascal, I think we're just going to continue to make feeble attempts to keep running it back each/broken record "evaluating" so I just would like to have a couple of players that IF you can get them to reach the heights of their potentials MAYBE they can be all-star level players....I see a NBA player in Sasser, I just not sold on him being amongst the best of them long term.

[WuTang_CMB]

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[God Squad]

See this is what I've been waiting for. It's been boring as F lately lol.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Marcus Sasser just casually shooting 80% in a 3 point drill, ranked 1st in yet another drill. 2nd place in spot up shooting drill, also shooting 80% - are you kidding me?



My adopted son is going to win a 3 point shooting contest at an all-star game.

I like Sasser a lot...just not with our lotto pick.

If for example, Gary opted in and we traded him to LAL for Beasley + 17th and took him with that pick, I wouldn't be opposed to it. Although personally my favorite "second pick" player would be Sidy Cissiko (I'd take Bilal at 13) and roll the dice on 2 upside players because depending on what trades do or don't happen (and right now I'm only convinced of Gary being gone)...our ceiling seems limited and while I fully believe Sasser will be a player in the league. Whether that's as one of the best backups or a guy who becomes a high level starter, I don't know but I do think he'll be a rotation player somewhere and I'd ofc love him as a massive upgrade over Flynn.

BUT until I see an actual big trade of OG or Pascal, I think we're just going to continue to make feeble attempts to keep running it back each/broken record "evaluating" so I just would like to have a couple of players that IF you can get them to reach the heights of their potentials MAYBE they can be all-star level players....I see a NBA player in Sasser, I just not sold on him being amongst the best of them long term.

Sasser is an elite 3+D guard. His shot is undeniably elite and he has very deep range, a shooter's mentality and can hit it from any spot beyond the arc. He stretches a floor and is a plus defender which guarantees he can stay in a game to take advantage of his shooting ability without providing the opponent with mismatch opportunities. For teams who are analytically minded having Marcus will be invaluable as he can significantly increase your team's 3PTFGA as a starter while maintaining a winning level of 3PTFG% efficiency.

Big narrative in the playoffs this year after teams losing is "we need to shoot more 3's". Having a guy who is an expert at getting them off and making them is huge. He can fit onto any team in the league seamlessly. Masai identified shooting as a problem, Marcus Sasser is the answer to Masai's problems. I don't care where or how we get him, we need him.

[WuTang_CMB]

Lol its not even fair. hope this guy stays healthy

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[Ell Curry]

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He's a Lou Williams type of player. That's not a compliment for the record

This team could really use a 6th man combo guard Lou-Will type player. We got killed in the 30% of minutes that Banton, Flynn and Barton were on the court.

[Indeed]

I think you're seeing these SGs are being downgraded and the 3/4 with size are now being upgraded in the various rankings.

Happens every year, guards are easy to be show cased in tournament, while bigs and forwards are more about physical and potential with measurements.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

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He's a Lou Williams type of player. That's not a compliment for the record

This team could really use a 6th man combo guard Lou-Will type player. We got killed in the 30% of minutes that Banton, Flynn and Barton were on the court.

Putting a Lou Williams type on our bench up against the Malcolm Brogdons of the NBA world will result in failure.

[ItsDanger]

Raps don't have a 2nd pick until 2026 at the earliest. They better not cheap out, buy them.

[Indeed]

Players aren't disruptive because they have long wingspans. FVV has one of the shortest wingspans in the league and he's disruptive. Being disruptive is a mentality with anticipatory skills and a willingness to have active hands. Having a long wingspan just allows you to be slightly more disruptive if you have that mentality when an extra few inches happens to make a difference in game situations, which isn't often.

I honestly could care less what a player's wingspan is. If they're a good defender or shot maker, it'll show up in the stats and tape, not in their listed wingspan.

Agreed.

Look at guys like Jimmy, who doesn't have a crazy wingspan. I think having too long arms can actually dis-incentivize a player from maxing out their athleticism and they might rely on reaching vs using their feet on defense because it worked before they got to the NBA.

When your arms are long you don't have to do as much jump training. Guys with shorter wingspans have to use their legs more and train harder for the edge.

In a perfect world if two prospects have the same drive, talent and athleticism, you choose the guy with better length, but I think more physical tools can promote taking a shorter path through training while getting similar results, thereby resulting in worse intangibles.

That's my main issue with the wingspan over everything approach. How a person uses their tools is more important than just having them.

https://craftednba.com/player-traits/length

Even if we assumed above average wingspan numbers relative to position alone had some kind of game-changing correlation with defensive impact (processing speed, effort and IQ is infinitely more important IMO) the last I checked basketball involves offensive gameplay as well. That list will show you tons of elite offensive players with below average to average wingspans for their position.

Nobody is denying having a good player who also happens to be long is a huge plus, but there are plenty of players who aren't so long who can carve up ones who are on the court.

Masai has just brainwashed a lot of our fanbase, it's unfortunate.

I don't think Ujiri is only interested in wingspan. Wingspan is just a requirement for being versatile. There isn't really a successful formula when it comes to drafting, and we tried with Caboco or Flynn. There are Kawhi Leonard and Giannis, there are Jimmy Butler and Sabonis in either case as well, but I do prefer they stick to one philosophy than none.