2024 NBA DRAFT THREAD

[Psubs]

I feel like if the Spurs nab Reed Sheppard to run things with Wemby they will have a quick turnaround and be in the play-in range next year. That's probably the best scenario for him. The Wizards would be foolish to pass him up too. I can see the other teams go for bigger players. Reed's ceiling might be HOF PG, like a more athletic Stockton or Nash with better defense. Impossible but if Reed stayed for his sophomore year, he might be scoring 25ppg like JJ Reddick, with Antonio Reeves graduating.

[ArthurVandelay]

Tor - Reed Sheppard
Ind - Tidjane Salaun
OKC/LAC - Kel'el Ware, Johnny Furphy, Svonomir Ivisic, Tyler Kolek
#31 - Ulrich Chomche or any of those above still there at the top of the 2nd round.

Just let Temple and Otto walk to free up the roster spots.

Salaun won't be there at IND pick.

Dieng went 11 and Salaun doing much better than him.

[PhilBlackson]

Tor - Reed Sheppard
Ind - Tidjane Salaun
OKC/LAC - Kel'el Ware, Johnny Furphy, Svonomir Ivisic, Tyler Kolek
#31 - Ulrich Chomche or any of those above still there at the top of the 2nd round.

Just let Temple and Otto walk to free up the roster spots.

Salaun won't be there at IND pick.

Dieng went 11 and Salaun doing much better than him.

Nevermind Bilal last year…if he has a strong finish to his year & once they get him for workouts and media looking for narratives to sell the draft ie/ “French Giannis” or “Wemby’s fellow countrymen”…could France have back to back 1sts or top 3?!? Plus you have Zach…I think there’s going to be plenty of talk & attention around Tidj by the time the draft rolls around assuming he doesn’t regress at all and if his buzz grows (which it should) I can see us maybe even needing a top 3 pick. I legit don’t rule out that he could go 1st with no stand out right now (again assuming he continues to improve.

[BoyzNTheHood]

A guy like Brunson turning the Knicks fortunes around should elevate the stock of a guy like Reed Sheppard exponentially.

[PhilBlackson]

A guy like Brunson turning the Knicks fortunes around should elevate the stock of a guy like Reed Sheppard exponentially.

Genuine question because I haven’t watched much of Reed yet but what separates him from being any better than say Podz??

[Rapsfan07]

Sometimes you just have to look at the numbers and watch guys play and ignore the lack of desirable traits like height, length, burst, etc. We (and professional draft pundits) tend to over analyze.

Ignoring gameplay and numbers is why guys like FVV & Brunson in college eventually become FVV & Brunson in the NBA. I'm not comparing Reed's game to them, rather just saying if a guy is good and produces, who cares about how tall he is or how fast the first step is?

yup, some guys are just ballers. He's probably the safest player in the draft. Hard to imagine he won't have a long career as a solid rotation player or starter.

I think him and Cody Williams are the safest picks in the top 10. I could see Cody as being the SG version of Brandon Miller.

Catch and shoots, transition 3's, relocate, logo 3's, shooting over 50%. He's like a bigger athletic, Mark Price, John Stockton, Steve Nash PG. He gets steals like Stockton. I see his career going at least like a Jalen Brunson, but 2-3 years quicker.

Watch on YouTube

Agreed. I like him more than Topic tbh.

[bballsparkin]

I think him and Cody Williams are the safest picks in the top 10. I could see Cody as being the SG version of Brandon Miller.

Catch and shoots, transition 3's, relocate, logo 3's, shooting over 50%. He's like a bigger athletic, Mark Price, John Stockton, Steve Nash PG. He gets steals like Stockton. I see his career going at least like a Jalen Brunson, but 2-3 years quicker.

Watch on YouTube

Hoo man! He looks like the complete package for someone with his NBA size limitations. His shot looks automatic. Love his ability to hit the mid range shot too. With his passing and defence what's not to love. That's like 5 players I'd love to get with the top 6 pick now. Imagine if the Spurs wind up drafting two top 8 picks this draft. They could select Reed and one of the Euros. What a score that would be for them. Then they have the Hawks picks and Chicago's protected pick moving forward. They took their time pivoting to the rebuild but they sure have done it right.

[Mark_83]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39416203/victor-wembanyama-breaks-france-2024-nba-draft-prospects

Zaccharie Risacher | JL Bourg | SF | Age: 18.7

"I got to spend a little bit of time with him," Wembanyama said. "And we were both really young at the time, but back then even sometimes he practiced with us and he was just doing some crazy things in terms of talent. He's definitely up there in that draft class. I probably don't know anybody more talented than him in this draft class."

"And he's just all around," Wembanyama said. "He can do pretty much everything. He's very long, can block a lot of shots and offensively he can just let him do his thing. He's had the chance to have a professional start like very few do. I mean, in Europe, very few players can get from the youth programs to the professional, and he's one of them and he's actually dominating this year. He was an all-star in France. So yeah, I mean, it's all going well so far. I'm proud of what he's doing."

Melvin Ajinca | Saint Quentin | SG/SF | Age: 19.5

"He's always been [among] the best talents of our generation and at some point, I don't know what happened, but he just got absolutely jacked and he started jumping out of the building," Wembanyama said. "The one thing he did different than anyone at the time was making shots. He was making tough shots, and he had a reliable shot for a long time.

"I think he was a surprising prospect because he's now at the professional level when guys who were at first sight more talented than him have totally disappeared, and he's still there. And I'm glad to see a guy I spent so much time with and grew up playing against, I'm glad to see a guy like this being close to the league now."

[BoyzNTheHood]

A guy like Brunson turning the Knicks fortunes around should elevate the stock of a guy like Reed Sheppard exponentially.

Genuine question because I haven’t watched much of Reed yet but what separates him from being any better than say Podz??

That’s tough to say given Podz has performed at every level. Reed is doing it against better competition though and dropping a cool 50/50/80 with his percentages. That can’t be maintained, can it? He’s a freshman with a .717 ts% and a 12.7 BPM. To say his numbers are elite would be an understatement. If a guy like Collier was doing what Reed is doing he’d be the undeniable #1 pick at this point because of the pre-season hype he had.

[bballsparkin]

^^^France is going to be a problem internationally.

[Gavin_TDThree]

I think him and Cody Williams are the safest picks in the top 10. I could see Cody as being the SG version of Brandon Miller.

Catch and shoots, transition 3's, relocate, logo 3's, shooting over 50%. He's like a bigger athletic, Mark Price, John Stockton, Steve Nash PG. He gets steals like Stockton. I see his career going at least like a Jalen Brunson, but 2-3 years quicker.

Watch on YouTube

Hoo man! He looks like the complete package for someone with his NBA size limitations. His shot looks automatic. Love his ability to hit the mid range shot too. With his passing and defence what's not to love. That's like 5 players I'd love to get with the top 6 pick now. Imagine if the Spurs wind up drafting two top 8 picks this draft. They could select Reed and one of the Euros. What a score that would be for them. Then they have the Hawks picks and Chicago's protected pick moving forward. They took their time pivoting to the rebuild but they sure have done it right.

The way he moves on the court, it reminds me so much of Steph Curry. Not saying that he is Steph, but the way we dribbles, relocates, generally moves feels very Steph

[grant101]

I think him and Cody Williams are the safest picks in the top 10. I could see Cody as being the SG version of Brandon Miller.

Catch and shoots, transition 3's, relocate, logo 3's, shooting over 50%. He's like a bigger athletic, Mark Price, John Stockton, Steve Nash PG. He gets steals like Stockton. I see his career going at least like a Jalen Brunson, but 2-3 years quicker.

Watch on YouTube

Hoo man! He looks like the complete package for someone with his NBA size limitations. His shot looks automatic. Love his ability to hit the mid range shot too. With his passing and defence what's not to love. That's like 5 players I'd love to get with the top 6 pick now. Imagine if the Spurs wind up drafting two top 8 picks this draft. They could select Reed and one of the Euros. What a score that would be for them. Then they have the Hawks picks and Chicago's protected pick moving forward. They took their time pivoting to the rebuild but they sure have done it right.

The way he moves on the court, it reminds me so much of Steph Curry. Not saying that he is Steph, but the way we dribbles, relocates, generally moves feels very Steph

Didn't think he had much on-ball juice, but last night's game has me questioning things. He was getting to the rim with regularity. If that's an indication of where his game is at, then it speaks very highly of Reed that he's been willing to play a supporting role up till now. Topic, Williams, Rissacher and Reed are all super intriguing at the top of the draft, and Sarr is not a bad 'safe bet'.

[Mark_83]

Jonathan Mogbo | 6-8 | PF/C | Age: 22.2 | San Francisco | Top 100: No. 81

Mogbo is one of the more unique stories in college basketball. He told ESPN he was a 5-9, 125-pound combo guard entering high school with zero Division I offers when he graduated, sending him to the junior college route at 6-foot-7, 180 pounds. He transferred from Independence Community College in Kansas to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M to Missouri State before eventually landing at the University of San Francisco in the WCC this summer, where he now stands 6-8 and 225 pounds.

Mogbo has been lighting up NBA teams' analytics models, filling up the stat sheet averaging 21.3 points, 15.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per 40 minutes. He is shooting 67.5% from the field (No. 2 in Div. I) with 47 dunks (No. 1 in Div. I) through 16 games. Mogbo's combination of mobility, explosiveness and intensity gives him a great framework to build off, but he's also had some impressive moments as a passer, thanks to the guard skills he has retained from high school.

USF runs a good amount of offense through him on the perimeter where he shows intriguing ability out of dribble handoffs and short rolls. Not blessed with elite size or bulk for a big man, and not showing much shooting range at this stage (but improving his free throw percentage from 43% last season to 72%), scouts will want to see how Mogbo looks against some of the better competition his team faces in the WCC, especially Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. While Mogbo plays with great energy, his technique and discipline defensively have looked questionable at times, especially on the perimeter. He has another year of eligibility at his disposal and a little more upside than your average 22-year-old.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

A guy like Brunson turning the Knicks fortunes around should elevate the stock of a guy like Reed Sheppard exponentially.

Genuine question because I haven’t watched much of Reed yet but what separates him from being any better than say Podz??

In terms of style Podz has more of a scorer's mentality and a much deeper bag of tricks like bank shots, up and under moves, deep floaters and even a hook shot. He's a rare prototype of being an advanced scorer + elite scrapper. Being on GSW he has deferred a ton but he is waiting to break out when he gets a chance to be "the guy" whereas Sheppard doesn't really want to be "the guy" but is just an incredibly efficient team player who plays a style focused on ball movement, ball protection, great shot selection and shot making. Definitely more of an off-ball player but makes his teammates better and elevates team ceiling. He's not going to make dumb plays or take dumb shots. How his defense is going to translate to the NBA I don't really know but he's disruptive and routinely makes hustle plays albeit not at the same frequency as Podz. They're both very intelligent players but Podz is a unicorn IMO. Ultimately Sheppard in order to justify a high pick will need to be a guy you envision jacking up volume 3's while finding a way to sustain his collegiate defensive play at the NBA level. His actual shooting efficiency is there to stay (I don't mean 50%+ from downtown but rather that he will simply be an efficient shooter) as is his great decision making.

[Ado05]

Cody Williams looks good as hell.

[grant101]

Jonathan Mogbo | 6-8 | PF/C | Age: 22.2 | San Francisco | Top 100: No. 81

Mogbo is one of the more unique stories in college basketball. He told ESPN he was a 5-9, 125-pound combo guard entering high school with zero Division I offers when he graduated, sending him to the junior college route at 6-foot-7, 180 pounds. He transferred from Independence Community College in Kansas to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M to Missouri State before eventually landing at the University of San Francisco in the WCC this summer, where he now stands 6-8 and 225 pounds.

Mogbo has been lighting up NBA teams' analytics models, filling up the stat sheet averaging 21.3 points, 15.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per 40 minutes. He is shooting 67.5% from the field (No. 2 in Div. I) with 47 dunks (No. 1 in Div. I) through 16 games. Mogbo's combination of mobility, explosiveness and intensity gives him a great framework to build off, but he's also had some impressive moments as a passer, thanks to the guard skills he has retained from high school.

USF runs a good amount of offense through him on the perimeter where he shows intriguing ability out of dribble handoffs and short rolls. Not blessed with elite size or bulk for a big man, and not showing much shooting range at this stage (but improving his free throw percentage from 43% last season to 72%), scouts will want to see how Mogbo looks against some of the better competition his team faces in the WCC, especially Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. While Mogbo plays with great energy, his technique and discipline defensively have looked questionable at times, especially on the perimeter. He has another year of eligibility at his disposal and a little more upside than your average 22-year-old.

He struggled against Saint Mary but looked solid (though not spectacular) against Gonzaga. That said, even when playing poorly scoring-wise, he seems contributes in other ways, particularly rebounding. Still very much a fan as a bet on a late bloomer with room left to develop. The energy, athleticism and passing are really intriguing

Watch on YouTube

[ArthurVandelay]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39416203/victor-wembanyama-breaks-france-2024-nba-draft-prospects

Zaccharie Risacher | JL Bourg | SF | Age: 18.7

"I got to spend a little bit of time with him," Wembanyama said. "And we were both really young at the time, but back then even sometimes he practiced with us and he was just doing some crazy things in terms of talent. He's definitely up there in that draft class. I probably don't know anybody more talented than him in this draft class."

"And he's just all around," Wembanyama said. "He can do pretty much everything. He's very long, can block a lot of shots and offensively he can just let him do his thing. He's had the chance to have a professional start like very few do. I mean, in Europe, very few players can get from the youth programs to the professional, and he's one of them and he's actually dominating this year. He was an all-star in France. So yeah, I mean, it's all going well so far. I'm proud of what he's doing."

Melvin Ajinca | Saint Quentin | SG/SF | Age: 19.5

"He's always been [among] the best talents of our generation and at some point, I don't know what happened, but he just got absolutely jacked and he started jumping out of the building," Wembanyama said. "The one thing he did different than anyone at the time was making shots. He was making tough shots, and he had a reliable shot for a long time.

"I think he was a surprising prospect because he's now at the professional level when guys who were at first sight more talented than him have totally disappeared, and he's still there. And I'm glad to see a guy I spent so much time with and grew up playing against, I'm glad to see a guy like this being close to the league now."

Guys like Ajinca, the way Wictor described him, have that dog in them. I'd take Ajinca with one of the firsts or 31...doubt he makes it to 31 though.

[aroc23]

Since the Pascal trade I have been studying this draft in-depth and I see why people say it is a weak draft, but I also see a lot of positives. While this draft is unlikely to produce any superstars, I see a few players with star potential and a good amount of players I think will be excellent complementary pieces. I would bet that this draft produces just as many true NBA players as your average draft. It is actually not a bad draft to have multiple picks as the player picked at 18 might have comparable upside to the player picked at 5 (for example). The Raptors could easily come out of this draft with 2 young pieces to fit with Scottie.

All that being said, the Raptors really need either a long term 1A or 1B (unless Scottie takes another huge leap I think he is a 1B) and this is not the draft to find that player.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Tor - Reed Sheppard
Ind - Tidjane Salaun
OKC/LAC - Kel'el Ware, Johnny Furphy, Svonomir Ivisic, Tyler Kolek
#31 - Ulrich Chomche or any of those above still there at the top of the 2nd round.

Just let Temple and Otto walk to free up the roster spots.

Salaun won't be there at IND pick.

Dieng went 11 and Salaun doing much better than him.

Nevermind Bilal last year…if he has a strong finish to his year & once they get him for workouts and media looking for narratives to sell the draft ie/ “French Giannis” or “Wemby’s fellow countrymen”…could France have back to back 1sts or top 3?!? Plus you have Zach…I think there’s going to be plenty of talk & attention around Tidj by the time the draft rolls around assuming he doesn’t regress at all and if his buzz grows (which it should) I can see us maybe even needing a top 3 pick. I legit don’t rule out that he could go 1st with no stand out right now (again assuming he continues to improve.

I'd be very surprised if Salaun ends up going number 1. If you're looking for big wings or just wings, I think both Risacher and Williams are better prospects than he is at the moment.

People really need to stop buying into this "French Giannis" moniker (where did that come from anyway?). He's definitely flashed a bunch of interesting skills, but also has a lot of work to do, and isn't in the same class as a young Giannis in a number of areas. He's not nearly the athlete that Giannis is/was. Part of this can be seen from the fact that, while he has some nice looking dunks, he actually isn't a great finisher right now. A recent podcast I listened to quoted the stat as him shooting around .550 at the rim, which is a pretty low number given his size and supposed athletic profile.

He also is a very bad passer right now, and will need a lot of work to become even a decent connective passer, let alone a guy who can really create for others. Risacher and Williams aren't great passers yet right now either, but they're both a fair bit better than Salaun is.

He's still a prospect that I like. But I'm not sure he should be top 5 at this point.

[mademan]

Reed Sheppard/Dick gonna be the new splash bros. If his defense is legit, which it has been in college (dunno if it'll translate), then he'd be a an incredible fit beside Scottie long term.