The Official 2023 Draft Thread

[Dat2U]

Yes. His upside is through the roof, IMO. 6'9, 7"0 wingspan, can shoot the basketball lights out. Small forward potential.

Walker, then Dick, and then Black for me (given that the twins are taken before our pick).

Hendricks is a 4 who will play some 5 and should likely never see more than spot minutes at the 3.

Why is he strictly a 4/5? He makes threes, and can put the ball on the floor. I even saw instances where he came off screens.

I don't think his skillset is relagated to a 4/5.

Just because a guy has some handle and can shoot doesn't mean you can put them all over the floor. His handle is a bit rough and its ok for a 4 but he's not going to be effective against quicker 3s. He's switchable and can guard multiple positions but he is a legit big and not a wing. With his verticality, you want him as a rim protector and a guy to deter shots near the basket.

[NatP4]

Hard to get excited about a big that averaged 7 rebounds per 36 minutes playing against AAC competition. That’s even worse than Rui in college. Just not gonna translate into a positive impact big man in the NBA.

And no way he plays the wing. He doesn’t have ball handling/playmaking or lateral quickness to be on the perimeter.

He’s a 4 that doesn’t rebound or understand team defense/weakside defense. His finishing is also a major red flag. To me, he’s just another Rui with more polish as a 3pt shooter as opposed to the mid range.

And there’s some overstating his scoring ability. The guy averaged 15 points per 36. He’s almost exclusively a spot up shooter.

[Dat2U]

Hard to get excited about a big that averaged 7 rebounds per 36 minutes playing against AAC competition. That’s even worse than Rui in college. Just not gonna translate into a positive impact big man in the NBA.

And no way he plays the wing. He doesn’t have ball handling/playmaking or lateral quickness to be on the perimeter.

He’s a 4 that doesn’t rebound or understand team defense/weakside defense. His finishing is also a major red flag. To me, he’s just another Rui with more polish as a 3pt shooter as opposed to the mid range.

And there’s some overstating his scoring ability. The guy averaged 15 points per 36. He’s almost exclusively a spot up shooter.

His reaction time and instincts in terms of his defensive rotations is a strength, not a weakness.

His rim protection is elite and his switchability and lateral quickness to shut down perimeter guys is impressive.

Then you say he's almost exclusively a spot up player when he's clearly displayed shot versatility. He's not just a stand in the corner guy on offense like your boy Noah Clowney.

It honestly does not sound like we are talking about the same player.

[pcbothwel]

Hard to get excited about a big that averaged 7 rebounds per 36 minutes playing against AAC competition. That’s even worse than Rui in college. Just not gonna translate into a positive impact big man in the NBA.

And no way he plays the wing. He doesn’t have ball handling/playmaking or lateral quickness to be on the perimeter.

He’s a 4 that doesn’t rebound or understand team defense/weakside defense. His finishing is also a major red flag. To me, he’s just another Rui with more polish as a 3pt shooter as opposed to the mid range.

And there’s some overstating his scoring ability. The guy averaged 15 points per 36. He’s almost exclusively a spot up shooter.

His reaction time and instincts in terms of his defensive rotations is a strength, not a weakness.

His rim protection is elite and his switchability and lateral quickness to shut down perimeter guys is impressive.

Then you say he's almost exclusively a spot up player when he's clearly displayed shot versatility. He's not just a stand in the corner guy on offense like your boy Noah Clowney.

It honestly does not sound like we are talking about the same player.

Dat, I'm leaning a bit towards Nat on this one.
I see a guy that doesnt see the floor, finish at the rim, or rebound very well. All the tape shows a guy that just doesnt process fast enough to have an immense ceiling. That doesnt mean he isnt a top 8 player in this draft though.

[Wiz99]

Anthony Black feels like another Johnny Davis. They’re both decent-sized guards who can’t shoot and aren’t elite in any other aspect of the game. Low ceiling that tops out at “dependable starter”. Low floor that bottoms out with… well… just look at Davis’s 22-23 season (6/2/1 points/boards/dimes). Ugh…

I’d rather have Hendricks to give us more size so we can trade high on Porzingas (before he’s crippled again by injuries). Or trade down to Whitmore or Lively who have better upside at lower price tag. Or Grady Dick… just cause of the name.

[gambitx777]

Hot take I think Bilal might have a better longer career than wemby. Those skinny 7 foot monster rarly last in the league and this kid looks like he could be a more stable Brandon Ingram. I would love to get him.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[gambitx777]

Hard to get excited about a big that averaged 7 rebounds per 36 minutes playing against AAC competition. That’s even worse than Rui in college. Just not gonna translate into a positive impact big man in the NBA.

And no way he plays the wing. He doesn’t have ball handling/playmaking or lateral quickness to be on the perimeter.

He’s a 4 that doesn’t rebound or understand team defense/weakside defense. His finishing is also a major red flag. To me, he’s just another Rui with more polish as a 3pt shooter as opposed to the mid range.

And there’s some overstating his scoring ability. The guy averaged 15 points per 36. He’s almost exclusively a spot up shooter.

His reaction time and instincts in terms of his defensive rotations is a strength, not a weakness.

His rim protection is elite and his switchability and lateral quickness to shut down perimeter guys is impressive.

Then you say he's almost exclusively a spot up player when he's clearly displayed shot versatility. He's not just a stand in the corner guy on offense like your boy Noah Clowney.

It honestly does not sound like we are talking about the same player.

Dat, I'm leaning a bit towards Nat on this one.
I see a guy that doesnt see the floor, finish at the rim, or rebound very well. All the tape shows a guy that just doesnt process fast enough to have an immense ceiling. That doesnt mean he isnt a top 8 player in this draft though.

Where as I like hendricks. I would rather trade back and target Bilal and pod then use 57 on my boy Grant Nelson. I really dig this kids game. He's bouncy and so agile for 6-11. He has a shot he just needs to work on it and he has a good mind defence and is willing to play it.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[NatP4]

Yeah I’d reach on Coulibaly before I took Hendricks or Black. He should be in the top 5 convo. Just put up 14-5-5 the other day on 7 shots, also had 2 steals and 2 blocks and was +15, as an 18 year old in a good pro league. Wemby had 19-9-4 on 15 shots for reference.

Just don’t see the motor/high basketball IQ/feel for the game with Hendricks. I see a run and jump athlete that will be average to negative on defense and relatively inefficient on O. Highlights show some nice athletic blocks, full games show a guy that is routinely lost on defense and fails to rotate in help defense.

I can’t think of another PF prospect that was such a poor rebounder that turned into a positive impact NBA PF. 7 rebounds in the AAC probably translates to a 6 rebound guy in the NBA, which is like isaiah Todd bad.

[NatP4]

Think the mocks are off on Coulibaly though. I bet he goes around 8. Hopefully the Wizards are ahead of the game on this one. Will Dawkins would be all over him

[Jay81]

Think the mocks are off on Coulibaly though. I bet he goes around 8. Hopefully the Wizards are ahead of the game on this one. Will Dawkins would be all over him

trade back to 11 or something for Bilal and get another first rounder if you want to take him at 8

[NatP4]

Think the mocks are off on Coulibaly though. I bet he goes around 8. Hopefully the Wizards are ahead of the game on this one. Will Dawkins would be all over him

trade back to 11 or something for Bilal and get another first rounder if you want to take him at 8

Of course, but the Wizards basically never trade back. If I’m forced to pick at 8, and the Thompson twins are gone, and I’m picking from Black, Hendricks, Walker, Whitmore, Dick, and Wallace, I’m taking Coulibaly.

In my perfect world, we trade back AND trade Beal and end up with 3 picks in the 10-20 range and get Coulibaly, Cissoko, and Podziemski. Been my stance from the beginning of the cycle, and all 3 have been consistently rising.

[80sballboy]

Latest mocks in the last few days
NBA.com has their consensus picks: Ausar and Whitmore are the most common picks for the Wiz with three apiece.
https://www.nba.com/news/2023-consensus-mock-draft
BR=Ausar

With Michael Winger now running the front office, the Wizards are expected to pursue "aggressive activity" this offseason, per Marc Stein.

Of course, that aggressiveness could include either loading up around Bradley Beal or shipping him out to start over, so it's hard to say exactly where Washington will head.

No matter with this pick, though, since Ausar Thompson could step in and supply athleticism, defense and complementary playmaking or become a long-term centerpiece if he tightens his handle and improves his outside shot.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10077564-2023-nba-mock-draft-how-3-blockbuster-trades-could-impact-top-10

Clutch Points -Jarace Walker

Whether he will play more on the wing or as a true power forward in the NBA is unknown, but Jarace Walker is a very strong forward who always seems to play aggressive on offense. The Washington Wizards are entering a new era with Michael Winger at the helm of their front office and will be looking to draft a guy who can be an instant X-factor for them. Walker has the potential to guard any position defensively. He’s a tough matchup for anyone who is not a true power forward or center in the league, and the perimeter shot is getting better. This is another spot in the draft that could wind up seeing a trade, as targeting backcourt depth is a scenario the Wizards could explore. With the amount of guards still on the board here, Washington may be very willing to trade down a few spots and gather more assets.

https://clutchpoints.com/2023-nba-mock-draft-2-0-post-combine-edition

Yardbarker-Whitmore

In a perfect world, he develops into: A taller, more offensively-gifted Lu DortWhile I didn't love what I saw from Villanova's powerful small forward, Cam Whitmore, in college, his athletic testing was sublime - posting the highest vertical leap of the entire NBA Combine with 40.5 inches. He's clearly talented and possesses serious NBA athleticism, but his lack of production on a blah college team makes me skeptical that he could be the type of franchise player a team hopes to draft when it picks in the top 10. Then again, a player with his kind of athleticism could develop into the type of stud that could help the Wizards break out of their rut. Plus, Whitmore is from the DC-area recently said at the NBA Combine, "Just know that the Washington Wizards still have a special place in my heart." Maybe it could be a match-made-in-heaven.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/2023_nba_first_round_mock_draft/s1__38831542#slide_8

[doclinkin]

Hendricks seems to me to be the guy with the most upside that we might have a chance at. I kind of like most of the players we’ve been linked to, but I’m hoping Hendricks falls to us. Like the efficiency and defensive versatility.

Yes. His upside is through the roof, IMO. 6'9, 7"0 wingspan, can shoot the basketball lights out. Small forward potential.

Walker, then Dick, and then Black for me (given that the twins are taken before our pick).

Hendricks is a 4 who will play some 5 and should likely never see more than spot minutes at the 3.

Which is fine because as a ranged 4 he provides spacing to allow Deni to drive and kick and playmake inside the arc as a big 3.

[payitforward]

Wiz fans in a nutshell:

All season: 'We need a real star. Beal can't be your best player!'

Draft time: 'We should trade our lottery pick for a pick in the mid-teens so we can get a late 1st rounder and an additional 2nd!'

Right... I mean imagine if we'd had the #8 pick in 2011 -- the chance to pick Brandon Knight -- & we'd done something stupid like trade down for 15 & 30! We'd have been stuck with Kawhi Leonard & Jimmy Butler!

2012 would be even worse: that #8 would give us the chance to grab Terrence Ross, yet, b/c of our stupidity, we might have traded down for 15, 35 & 39 & stuck ourselves with Mo Harkless, Draymond Green & Khris Middleton.

But that's nothing! I mean, suppose it's 2013 & we've got 8, which gives us the chance to pick KC-P -- clearly a pretty good player. You'd just to hope we wouldn't be dumb enough to trade down for 15 & 27 -- & wind up with nothing more than Giannis Antetekounmpo & Rudy Gobert.

& it's even worse in 2014. After all, by then we'd be so bad that we'd have the #2 pick & have Jabari Parker drop in our laps! I mean would it not be typical foolish Wizards to trade down that year. Especially if for some stupid reason we really wanted a lot of rookies, we could be dumb enough to find a way to exchange that ultra-high, really rare #2 slot for 30, 33, 38, 41 & 46 -- how laughable that would be! We'd be stuck with Kyle Anderson, Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, Nikola Jokic & Jordan Clarkson.

& so on.

[gesa2]

All we need to do is trade the #8 pick for the 2 players who will be considered in 10 years to be the consensus best players in the rest of the draft. It’s so easy!

[payitforward]

All we need to do is trade the #8 pick for the 2 players who will be considered in 10 years to be the consensus best players in the rest of the draft. It’s so easy!

Finally, someone gets the point!

It's impossible, actually -- tho one does one's best -- & that is why, that is exactly why,
you want multiple picks, even if lower.

Now... you can't always get them, there has to be a trade partner.
But, it does happen, & overall it's a ton better than just staying at 8.

Unless you think it's better just to rely on the natural betterness of the guy one takes at 8. Say:
DeSagana Diop, Chris Wilcox, T.J. Ford, Rafael Araujo, Channing Frye, Rudy Gay...

whoa there, PIF; time for a brief interruption:
Rudy Gay has had an excellent career!
See how good a #8 guy can be. GMs must really be able to pick'em huh?
Better have a high pick if you want a good player! Don't you think?

Then again, here are 5 the 7 guys who went before Rudy in that draft:
Andrea Bargnani
Adam Morrison
Tyrus Thomas
Shelden Williams
Randy Foye.

You like?

OTOH, further down were
JJ Redick
Thabo Sefolosha
Ronnie Brewer
Rajon Rondo
Kyle Lowry
Sergio Rodriguez.
PJ Tucker
&, oh my, Paul Millsap at 47.

so, back to the list of greats at 8
Brandon Wright, Brandon Knight, Nik Stauskas, Stanley Johnson, Marquese Chriss,
Frank Ntilikina, Collin Sexton, Jaxson Hayes...

Hate to trade down & miss out on getting one of those guys, right?

[DCZards]

PIF, you've only listed the players drafted 8th. But if you’re drafting at 8 you don’t only have available to you the players drafted 8th but also any player that is drafted after 8.

So, if for example, the Zards trade the 8th pick for the Nets 21st & 22nd picks, you miss out on the opportunity to draft any players taken between and 8 and 20...not just the player drafted at 8.

Here are just some of the players drafted between 8 and 20 since 2012:
Devin Booker
Giannis A.
Donovan Mitchell
Bam Adebayo
Malik Bridges
John Collins
CJ McCollum
Zach Lavine
D. Sabonis
Michael Porter Jr.
Myles Turner
Tyler Herro
Cam Johnson
Devin Vassell
Terry Rozier
Trey Murphy
Andre Drummond
Donte DiVincenzo

[doclinkin]

Depends on the precision of your scouting vs ability to develop talent. PIF is hunting with a shotgun, others are arguing a sniper rifle has better range and accuracy for hitting a high value target.

That sounds kinda psychopathic though so perhaps I retract the comment.

But is any front office better at picking the best guy available than others? The Spurs have generally done well wherever they pick. Even lower down. Miami, it really doesn't matter where they pick because their culture finds and refines good players even in the recycling bin. I can see the argument that you want more picks because the majority of them are going to fail. Problem is you get diminishing returns with extra picks since a team can only play consequential minutes for a few guys at a time, young players need to learn to win. First you win then you get good.

You see all the time that losing teams like Houston can have all the best talent but not develop it because they can only teach a losing culture. OKC has collected all the picks in the world and are only just starting to turn the corner after a long period of losing.

Here, historically, it's tough to argue that we ought to trust our scouts to get the right guy with that high pick. So unless our new Basketball Ops guy has a line on some remarkable scouts who are able to jump ship late in the process, then we are unlikely to trade down in hopes our scouts outsmart consensus. Unless somehow Tommy was the sole guy responsible for our terrible track record with draft picks.

[payitforward]

PIF, you've only listed the players drafted 8th. But if you’re drafting at 8 you don’t only have available to you the players drafted 8th but also any player that is drafted after 8.

So, if for example, the Zards trade the 8th pick for the Nets 21st & 22nd picks, you miss out on the opportunity to draft any players taken between and 8 and 20...not just the player drafted at 8.

Here are just some of the players drafted between 8 and 20 since 2012:
Devin Booker
Giannis A.
Donovan Mitchell
Bam Adebayo
Malik Bridges
John Collins
CJ McCollum
Zach Lavine
D. Sabonis
Michael Porter Jr.
Myles Turner
Tyler Herro
Cam Johnson
Devin Vassell
Terry Rozier
Trey Murphy
Andre Drummond
Donte DiVincenzo

Zards... You just cherry picked 18 of the best out of 130 players taken from 8-20 in 10 drafts! & you didn't even include SGA. Oh, & of course you didn't include Jerome Robinson! Trading down, one would also have "miss out on the opportunity to draft" Jerome.

Here's the thing: if you know how to take the best, go for it! That's obvious!

The problem is that you don't; you simply don't. I.e. GMs don't -- & that's my premise. We have to deal with the reality as it actually went down, not the hindsight-driven knowledge of what would have been best.

Thus, in 2015, with "the opportunity to draft any players taken between and 8 and 20," Detroit's then GM picked Stanley Johnson not Devin Booker.
Whereupon, with the same opportunity minus only one choice, Charlotte's GM took Frank Kaminsky.
Then Miami's GM took Justise Winslow.
Whereupon Indy's GM took Myles Turner -- a better pick than the previous two, to be sure -- yet Turner's pick makes my point rather than contradicting it, because not only has Turner been better than Johnson, Kaminsky & Winslow, he's also been better than the guy taken at #2, the guy taken at #3, the guy taken at #4, the guy taken at #5, the guy taken at #6, & the guy taken at #7.

& yet, he's still not as good as Devin Booker, tho he went before him -- which proves my point again.

Oh, & then came the Jazz at 12. Utah's GM took not Devin Booker but Trey Lyles. Then, finally, Booker.

That's reality. As is the fact that of the guys taken in the 26 picks after Booker, only one of them has played as many NBA minutes as the guy taken #40.

In short, you want to make your argument based on Devin Booker. Try to make it based on Stanley Johnson; try to make it based on the guy who actually went #8. Can't be done.

Because, GMs simply can't reliably pick the best player on the board at 8 or any other pick, it is inherent that trading down gives a GM a hedge against failure. Doesn't mean it always gives a good result. But nothing Dat or anyone else says can change the facts.

[DCZards]

The problem is that you don't; you simply don't. I.e. GMs don't -- & that's my premise. We have to deal with the reality as it actually went down, not the hindsight-driven knowledge of what would have been best.

Whew… “Mr. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” talking about dealing with reality and not hindsight. I’m floored!