2024 NBA Draft Thread – (June 26 & 27)

[Patsfan1081]

They have to start using picks sometime, they’re running out of cheap talent and it doesnt seem like any of these second rounders outside this year are hitting. They especially need another young big and this draft though light at the top seems somewhat deep for big men. Watching the ignite/Perth game the kid Sarr has really stood out as the best player on the floor with maybe Holland. I like the idea of drafting a raw big.

I saw Sarr play a little during the U19 world cup this summer (where France upset the USA before losing in OT to Spain in the final) and he moves really well for a guy his size and he is pretty quick to rotate defensively. I'm curious how much growth he can show offensively.

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Sarr is legit. At this point looking like a top 5 pick, especially considering 2024 is a weaker class at the top of the draft.

I actually have him #1 on my big board right now.

No way we get him. A more realistic big man target for us in the 2024 draft would be someone like Oso Ighodaro, Adem Bona, Kel'El Ware or Isaiah Miranda.

This early though, it's hard to know where in the draft different guys will go with a whole lot of accuracy..

He’s risen pretty quickly, who knows though. Every year there seems to be more freshman and intl talent coming in making it harder to predict how these kids will pan out. Plus who knows where the Warriors will end up as they keep getting older. Yeah I don’t see a pick in the top half of the lottery coming but they might be able to get a pick in the low teens. All those guys look like fringe first rounders, hopefully they can do better.

[165bows]

They have to start using picks sometime, they’re running out of cheap talent and it doesnt seem like any of these second rounders outside this year are hitting. They especially need another young big and this draft though light at the top seems somewhat deep for big men. Watching the ignite/Perth game the kid Sarr has really stood out as the best player on the floor with maybe Holland. I like the idea of drafting a raw big.

Yam Madar was just the Euroleague’s Rising Star, what more is he supposed to do? Team just doesn’t have room for him.

Outside of Luca and Bogs I really don't believe winning the Rising star has rally meant so much, the past few years have been underwhelming guys with even Garaba returning to the league. They’ve had the open roster space, I just don’t believe they think he’s worth the gamble of buying out his contract and using up a spot at this point.

Idk, this is a yes and no for me - they’ve had roster spots but they’ve brought in only two PG types in White and Brogdon, they haven’t brought a single little guard in for some deep roster spot since then.

It’s not like they’ve e passed him up for some bunch of the Ish Smith/Corey Joseph types.

One could argue Banton breaks the trend but he’s a 6’9” guard, not at all the same type of player. They’ve had PP and haven’t had any space for him already let alone someone similar.

[165bows]

Cody Williams, Jalen’s brother, seems like a pretty good potential prospect. Good size, handles and passes, good defensive versatility.

https://www.tankathon.com/players/cody-williams

People generally indicate this could be a weak draft at the top but there are a few interesting guys to follow out there imo.

[Hal14]

Cody Williams, Jalen’s brother, seems like a pretty good potential prospect. Good size, handles and passes, good defensive versatility.

https://www.tankathon.com/players/cody-williams

People generally indicate this could be a weak draft at the top but there are a few interesting guys to follow out there imo.

Yeah and could potentially be there late 1st round if we pick there. He's 24th on my big board at the moment. Certainly worth keeping an eye on this season. Not sure we we draft another wing though, where we have Tatum, Brown, Hauser and just drafted Walsh too.

I like the idea of grabbing a young project big to develop (who may also be able to contribute in the short term). But Brad doesn't seem to like drafting bigs..

I really like Ighodaro. I think he could fit in well here on both ends with his passing ability on offense and versatility on defense. But he's a little bit older of a prospect and he's a big. Brad doesn't seem to like drafting bigs or older guys so I'm not getting my hopes up haha..

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[165bows]

Cody Williams, Jalen’s brother, seems like a pretty good potential prospect. Good size, handles and passes, good defensive versatility.

https://www.tankathon.com/players/cody-williams

People generally indicate this could be a weak draft at the top but there are a few interesting guys to follow out there imo.

Yeah and could potentially be there late 1st round if we pick there. He's 24th on my big board at the moment. Certainly worth keeping an eye on this season. Not sure we we draft another wing though, where we have Tatum, Brown, Hauser and just drafted Walsh too.

I like the idea of grabbing a young project big to develop (who may also be able to contribute in the short term). But Brad doesn't seem to like drafting bigs..

I really like Ighodaro. I think he could fit in well here on both ends with his passing ability on offense and versatility on defense. But he's a little bit older of a prospect and he's a big. Brad doesn't seem to like drafting bigs or older guys so I'm not getting my hopes up haha..

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Yup hear you on both of those. I expected a “Williams is out of their draft range” on that one though! Strikes me as a guy that could go maybe back half of the lottery - lot of upcoming results to speak on that obviously.

[Hal14]

Cody Williams, Jalen’s brother, seems like a pretty good potential prospect. Good size, handles and passes, good defensive versatility.

https://www.tankathon.com/players/cody-williams

People generally indicate this could be a weak draft at the top but there are a few interesting guys to follow out there imo.

Yeah and could potentially be there late 1st round if we pick there. He's 24th on my big board at the moment. Certainly worth keeping an eye on this season. Not sure we we draft another wing though, where we have Tatum, Brown, Hauser and just drafted Walsh too.

I like the idea of grabbing a young project big to develop (who may also be able to contribute in the short term). But Brad doesn't seem to like drafting bigs..

I really like Ighodaro. I think he could fit in well here on both ends with his passing ability on offense and versatility on defense. But he's a little bit older of a prospect and he's a big. Brad doesn't seem to like drafting bigs or older guys so I'm not getting my hopes up haha..

Watch on YouTube

Yup hear you on both of those. I expected a “Williams is out of their draft range” on that one though! Strikes me as a guy that could go maybe back half of the lottery - lot of upcoming results to speak on that obviously.

Yeah I'm not as high on Cody Williams as some. I see some early mocks have him as a top 10 pick - or at least a lottery pick. But I see him as a late 1st rounder.

Very early though, like you said so a lot could change..

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Cody Williams, Jalen’s brother, seems like a pretty good potential prospect. Good size, handles and passes, good defensive versatility.

https://www.tankathon.com/players/cody-williams

People generally indicate this could be a weak draft at the top but there are a few interesting guys to follow out there imo.

Yeah and could potentially be there late 1st round if we pick there. He's 24th on my big board at the moment. Certainly worth keeping an eye on this season. Not sure we we draft another wing though, where we have Tatum, Brown, Hauser and just drafted Walsh too.

I like the idea of grabbing a young project big to develop (who may also be able to contribute in the short term). But Brad doesn't seem to like drafting bigs..

I really like Ighodaro. I think he could fit in well here on both ends with his passing ability on offense and versatility on defense. But he's a little bit older of a prospect and he's a big. Brad doesn't seem to like drafting bigs or older guys so I'm not getting my hopes up haha..

Watch on YouTube

Yup hear you on both of those. I expected a “Williams is out of their draft range” on that one though! Strikes me as a guy that could go maybe back half of the lottery - lot of upcoming results to speak on that obviously.

It's far too early to say who is and isn't going to be in the Celtics draft range. My guy Bilal wasn't even in mock drafts this time last year and he ended up going 7th. In the opposite trend, Nick Smith was as high as #3 in mock drafts during the summer before nearly falling out of the first round on draft night. For most propsects it's their first year after high school and there's just too much uncertainty about how they will hold up against college/pro competition to rate them properly.

On top of that, there's also isn't a clear range where the Celtics will pick. Their own pick should be at the end of the round but the Warriors pick could easily be a mid first round pick and with the option to combine both to trade up, Boston could conceivably end up with something like the 10th selection. From there it doesn't take much of a slide on draft night for pretty much any prospect to be available. So at the moment everybody should be in the discussion (I'm on the Mara bandwagon personnally) and we can start crossing names off as the season gets going and we have a better idea of where the Warriors will finish (if the Celtics even keep the pick) and the draft range of each prospect.

[Parliament10]

They have to start using picks sometime, they’re running out of cheap talent and it doesnt seem like any of these second rounders outside this year are hitting. They especially need another young big and this draft though light at the top seems somewhat deep for big men. Watching the ignite/Perth game the kid Sarr has really stood out as the best player on the floor with maybe Holland. I like the idea of drafting a raw big.

I saw Sarr play a little during the U19 world cup this summer (where France upset the USA before losing in OT to Spain in the final) and he moves really well for a guy his size and he is pretty quick to rotate defensively. I'm curious how much growth he can show offensively.

Watch on YouTube

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Sarr is legit. At this point looking like a top 5 pick, especially considering 2024 is a weaker class at the top of the draft.

I actually have him #1 on my big board right now.

No way we get him. A more realistic big man target for us in the 2024 draft would be someone like Oso Ighodaro, Adem Bona, Kel'El Ware or Isaiah Miranda.

This early though, it's hard to know where in the draft different guys will go with a whole lot of accuracy..

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Alex Sarr looks very flexible and nimble, for someone who is 7'1".
He played 2 years with the OTE League (For 16+ yr olders).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Sarr

Sarr's father, Massar, is a former professional basketball player from Senegal, while his older brother, Olivier, currently plays in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder.[5]

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[Hal14]

Yeah Sarr is legit. This could be 2 years in a row where a French big man goes with the #1 pick.

[Hal14]

Massachusetts product. A freshman at Duke this season. 6'9" and can shoot the lights out. Shot 39% from deep last year in EYBL - which is a league he played in before his senior yr of HS.

I got a feeling the C's staff is already drooling...

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[165bows]

Still getting a bead on it but interesting to see someone put an early stake in the ground for #1 next year.

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[Hal14]

FWIW, my top 10 as of now..

1 Alexandre Sarr
2 Ron Holland
3 Matas Buzelis
4 Izan Almansa
5 Aday Mara
6 Justin Edwards
7 Xavier Booker
8 Riley Kugel
9 DJ Wagner
10 Isaiah Collier

[Hal14]

I'm sure Smart2Nesmith already knows about this guy. But for the rest of ya, there's a 2024 draft prospect who is a French wing.

Look familiar?

Watch on YouTube

And unlike Begarin, Ajinca can shoot. In the 7 games at this summer's FIBA U19 tournament, he shot 49% from 3 on 6 attempts per game. Woah! And he was only 18 when he played in these games.

France just keeps pumping out the basketball talent.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

I'm sure Smart2Nesmith already knows about this guy. But for the rest of ya, there's a 2024 draft prospect who is a French wing.

Look familiar?

Watch on YouTube

And unlike Begarin, Ajinca can shoot. In the 7 games at this summer's FIBA U19 tournament, he shot 49% from 3 on 6 attempts per game. Woah! And he was only 18 when he played in these games.

France just keeps pumping out the basketball talent.

Some might remember his cousin Alexis Ajinça who played 7 years in the league. It's nice to finally have a french prospect that can shoot but I wouldn't fully buy that percentage from three. He turned down a lot of shots where he had plenty of time to fire and he seems to need a lot of room to get his shot off (talking about what I've seen in game). I'm not convinced that will fly against NBA length but I guess he has plenty of time to tweak/speed up his release.

[Patsfan1081]

Guess Ill do my extremely limited knowledge lottery mock.

1)Ron Holland
2)Justin Edwards
3) Aaron Bradshaw
4)Alexandre Sarr
5) Matas Buzalis
6)Isaiah Collier
7)Stephan Castle
8) Ja’Kobe Walter
9) DJ Wagner
10)Trevon Brazile
11) Cody Williams
12) Bobi Klingman
13) Elmarko Jackson
14) Kwane Evans

Most overrated prospect….Zach Risarcher
Best Soph…..Brazile(that was a loaded Arkansas team last year, should get all the touches he needs now)
Best option for C’s….Kwame Evans

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Most overrated prospect….Zach Risarcher
Best Soph…..Brazile(that was a loaded Arkansas team last year, should get all the touches he needs now)
Best option for C’s….Kwame Evans

Risacher has a lot of talent but watching him play he gives too cool for school vibes that are really concerning. He'll be a bust if he doesn't fix his attitude. His dad is was a really good pro for a really long time (including being one of the key members of the French team that took silver in Sydney) and Zaccharie has been training with the pros at ASVEL since he was like 16 so I'm sure that he's been told exactly that multiple times. The fact that it's still an issue and that he left ASVEL for a smaller club instead of staying and fighting for the minutes he says he should have, I don't know.

[Hal14]

I'm sure Smart2Nesmith already knows about this guy. But for the rest of ya, there's a 2024 draft prospect who is a French wing.

Look familiar?

Watch on YouTube

And unlike Begarin, Ajinca can shoot. In the 7 games at this summer's FIBA U19 tournament, he shot 49% from 3 on 6 attempts per game. Woah! And he was only 18 when he played in these games.

France just keeps pumping out the basketball talent.

Some might remember his cousin Alexis Ajinça who played 7 years in the league. It's nice to finally have a french prospect that can shoot but I wouldn't fully buy that percentage from three. He turned down a lot of shots where he had plenty of time to fire and he seems to need a lot of room to get his shot off (talking about what I've seen in game). I'm not convinced that will fly against NBA length but I guess he has plenty of time to tweak/speed up his release.

Of course - I'm not projecting Ajinca to be a 49% shooter from 3. And it would certainly help if he can speed up the release on his shot a little bit.

But I think he can definitely shoot. A lot of those 3's he made at U19 were off the dribble, too which are harder to make than catch and shoot. And a lot of them were tightly contested.

He plays hard too and seems to be locked in and focused out there.

Definitely a guy to watch this season and as we get closer to the draft.

And it's kind of funny that he has the same hairstyle, build, similar size, same position and is from the same country as Begarin and they're only like a year apart in age.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Yeah Sarr is legit. This could be 2 years in a row where a French big man goes with the #1 pick.

The 7-foot-1 French teenager is a skyscraping wing in a center’s body who stole the show in two exhibition games against the G League Ignite. Said one NBA GM of the draft next June: “Sarr could go first.”

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/9/20/23881605/2024-nba-draft-alex-sarr-breakout-prospect

Hal is a NBA GM confirmed

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

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[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

Via Wikipedia:

Nikola Topić is a Serbian professional basketball player for Mega Basket of the Serbian KLS and the Adriatic League, on loan from Crvena zvezda. Standing at 6 ft 5 in, he plays at the point guard position.
Born: 2005 (age 18 years), Novi Sad, Serbia
Height: 6′ 6″
Current team: KK Crvena zvezda (#44 / Guard)
Weight: 201 lbs
League: Basketball League of Serbia; ABA League
Listed height: 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)

Via Draft Room:

A tough, strong point guard/combo guard who has a low center of gravity and the size and strength to impose his will on the defense. Plays with his head up and has great passing vision and instincts.

Is more of a below the rim player who can absorb contact in the lane.

Has a good looking 3pt stroke.

Can go left or right and finish with either hand.

Comparisons
NA
Draft Projection
mid first to second round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft or 2025 NBA Draft