2023 NBA Draft Thread

[Matches Malone]

Olivier-Maxence Prosper would be a really fun player to have off the bench. I didn't catch many Marquette games last season, but his defensive ability is really intriguing from the limited action I've seen. Long, switchable forward that Griff would love to utilize.

[machu46]

I wouldn't say this is concrete by any means, but I think my big board for this year's draft looks something like this. Listing consensus big board rankings in parentheses and some explanation on some of the outliers

1. Victor Wembanyama (1)
2. Scoot Henderson (3)
3. Brandon Miller (2)
4. Leonard Miller (20) - One of my simplest rules when it comes to the draft: take young dudes that are extremely productive, particularly when they're doing it while being fairly raw. Miller absolutely dominated his level of play in high school (which was admittedly hilariously low) and then disappointed at the Combine last year before going to G-League Ignite and turning in a dominant season. 18/11 on 64.5% TS% and Per 36 numbers of 21/13. Really intriguing combination of size, ball-handling, and motor. And one more potentially intriguing thing, his jumpshot mechanics are gross right now, but he did shoot a fairly promising 74% from the FT line the past two years.
5. Cam Whitmore (6)
6. Amen Thompson (4)
7. Jarace Walker (7)
8. Gradey Dick (10)
9. Anthony Black (8)
10. Cason Wallace (14)
11. Taylor Hendricks (9)
12. Ausar Thompson (5)
13. Kobe Bufkin (13)
14. Brandin Podziemski (24) - Was a borderline top 100 recruit (and Mr. Basketball in Wisconsin) before floundering as a freshman for Illinois. Transferred to Santa Clara and was flat out better than Jalen Williams was the year prior on essentially the same levels of scoring efficiency at all three levels. Like Williams, he shows flashes of really creative passing while being a great scorer against mid-major competition. Unlike Williams, he was a legitimately incredible rebounder for his size, averaging a shade under 10 rebounds per 40 minutes. There will definitely be questions about him defensively and some questions about level of competition, but at this point in the draft, I think his skillset and level of production make him a worthy choice.
15. Brice Sensabaugh (27) - Honestly don't love him, but this draft starts to get pretty rough once we get past Thompson at 12 IMO. Some major red flags with Sensabaugh, most notably his tunnel vision offensively, but his team kinda stunk and he was efficient scoring from all three levels so it's hard to say I totally blame him. At any rate, don't really love this mold of player, but he was efficient enough doing it that I'll take the chance with him.
16. Derrick Lively (11)
17. Jordan Hawkins (17)
18. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (25) - Feels Christian Braun-ish from the sense that he feels kinda ready to play right away but probably doesn't have a very high ceiling. Over 22 years old already, but he was pretty decent as a freshman and followed it up with three more productive seasons. Just a good all-around player. Pretty good scorer at the rim and mid-range and pretty good passer. Decent size but pretty mediocre athlete. Inconsistent shooter from 3 point land and between that and the athleticism, there's some risk he just won't be good enough to be a super helpful player, but I tend to think he'll develop into a passable 3 point shooter and end up sticking.
19. Sidy Cissoko (38) - Kinda similar feelings as Sensabaugh in that I don't really love him all that much, but very different skillset. Cissoko was good for G-League Ignite this season and shows flashes of everything, but is mostly a good defensive player that is pretty decent at getting to the rim and passing offensively. To me, he seems fairly similar to Bilal Coulibaly but further ahead in the development curve.
20. Jalen Hood-Schifino (16)
21. Bilal Coulibaly (12)
22. GG Jackson (32)
23. Julian Strawther (41) - Really grasping at straws at this point in the draft and just settling for Strawther's size and shooting. 6'6" with great touch and a quick release. If he can figure out how to survive defensively, he should have a lengthy career.
24. Seth Lundy (48) - Same deal as Strawther. A little less height, a little more length, at least gives a damn defensively. I trust Strawther's shooting a little more so I bumped him ahead, but I think you could make a decent case for Lundy instead.
25. O-Max Prosper (23)
26. Andre Jackson (35)
27. Marcus Sasser (34)
28. Kobe Brown (44) - Reminiscent of Wendell Moore a few years back from the sense that he took a monumental leap as a shooter his final year in college and left you wondering if it's real or not. If you believe in the jumper, you'll probably be high on Kobe like you probably were on Wendell Moore. Kobe comes in with great size and feel for the game and was a tremendous rebounder in college. Similar size and athleticism to Marquette's Justin Lewis (right down to being a pretty good leaper while being pretty slow laterally). Again, I don't necessarily love him as a prospect, but at this point in the draft, I'll take a chance that the shooting translates and you end up with a pretty good all-around player.
29. Maxwell Lewis (29)
30. Jett Howard (18)

Some guys I purposefully left off:
Dariq Whitehead (26)
Nick Smith (19)
Keyonte George (15)
Noah Clowney (21)
Kris Murray (22)

Particularly with Nick Smith and Keyonte George, I'm just kinda out on guys that don't bring much to the table outside of theoretical scoring and struggled to score efficiently in college. I'd just rather let other teams take those guys.

Not sure if I have any other glaring omissions but I might.

[Ron Swanson]

As mediocre as the middle of this draft looks, I think there's quite a few end-of-2nd-round guys/priority UDFA's that I'd be happy with taking a flier on:

Big swing/boom-bust guys:

Tristan Vukcevic
Emoni Bates
Mouhamed Gueye
Amari Bailey
Ben Sheppard

High floor, potential immediate plug-and-play rotation guys

Seth Lundy
Mike Miles Jr.
Jordan Miller
Kobe Brown
Zvonimir Ivisic

Un-draftable/wouldn't even want them on a two-way

Drew Timme
Markquis Nowell
Mojave King
Azuolas Tubelis

[pilprin]

What are the chances we acquire a 1st round pick? Can they still be bought? Feels like we have ignored or wasted development under Bud...Hopefully that changes as we are seeing an older top end roster.

[jakecronus8]

Did North Dakota Potsie keep his name in the draft?

[ReasonablySober]

where is little cleo.

[The Wet Whistle]

Olivier-Maxence Prosper would be a really fun player to have off the bench. I didn't catch many Marquette games last season, but his defensive ability is really intriguing from the limited action I've seen. Long, switchable forward that Griff would love to utilize.

Insane rise since the end of the college season. Vecenie has him up 38 spots since then. Now sitting at 24

[machu46]

Did North Dakota Potsie keep his name in the draft?

Are you referring to Grant Nelson? He returned to school and transferred to Alabama.

[jakecronus8]

where is little cleo.

Don't you put that evil on us.

[Ron Swanson]

The steep drop-off after the top tier of guys can also sometimes be a really good thing for the mid-late 1st round teams in that it incentivizes a lot of these clubs in the 5-15 range to over-draft the more flawed upside prospects (I'm really not sold on any of the Thompson twins, Walker, Black, Hendricks, etc.). Which is why I think guys like Kris Murray, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Marcus Sasser, Kobe Brown, and Andre JAckson Jr. could be absolute steals in the range you get them.

[machu46]

Since Badger and I had been discussing Givony's recent mock drafts, which were 9-13 days old, he has posted a new one today: https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/37838983/2023-nba-mock-draft-why-scoot-henderson-play-no-2

Some notable differences:

- Jalen Hood-Schifino #9 --> #13
- Derrick Lively #14 --> #10
- Kobe Bufkin #16 --> #12
- Nick Smith #12 --> #17
- Keyonte George #15 --> #21
- Bilal Koulibaly #21 --> #14
- Jaime Jaquez #31 --> #23
- Leonard Miller #22 --> #26
- Ben Sheppard #36 --> #29
- Brice Sensabaugh #25 --> #32
- Colby Jones #29 --> #36
- Tristan Vukcevic #35 --> #44
- Jalen Pickett Undrafted --> #50

[SupremeHustle]

Did North Dakota Potsie keep his name in the draft?

[emunney]

<Paulie Walnuts voice> Freakin Michael Bjordan ova heah

Read on Twitter

[lightningrodman]

Which is why I think guys like Kris Murray, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Marcus Sasser, Kobe Brown, and Andre JAckson Jr. could be absolute steals in the range you get them.

Love this list, I'm a little lower on Murray but the rest of the guys seem like they could be decent contributors for the Bucks as early as next season. Seems like there are a lot of solid role players in the draft, hopefully Horst can finagle his way into the top 45 of the draft to snag a couple.

[Badgerlander]

<Paulie Walnuts voice> Freakin Michael Bjordan ova heah

Read on Twitter

[ReasonablySober]

KOC's latest mock today has the Bucks taking Bates.

[RogerMurdock]

Every other inebriated fan is gonna call him "Gray Dick", I would draft him purely based on that fact

"Grade-D" Dick

[Profound23]

If there is anyway to buy a 2nd and draft Vukcevic and/or Bates I am doing it.

[emunney]

Every other inebriated fan is gonna call him "Gray Dick", I would draft him purely based on that fact

"Grade-D" Dick

Typically reserved for pet food and/or chum

[emunney]

KOC's latest mock today has the Bucks taking Bates.

Makes sense since he's absolutely a Nwora.