2023-2024 College Basketball / NBA Draft

[Negrodamus]

Nae'qwon Tomlin and Bobi Klintman look like two of the more fluid stretch 4s in this draft. Tomlin actually looks like he has decent handles. Is a bit of a slasher like Siakam. The difference is he's 23 years old and still only 200lbs. If I felt confident he could put some lbs on him, then I'd give him a late first grade. His shooting numbers are impressive and the eye test is quite good. Wouldn't hate it if we got him in the second or UDFA

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[Negrodamus]

One thing I definitely know is that Harrison Ingram is going to figure out how to shoot free throws and become a stud role player in the NBA. He's a guy I've been perpetually intrigued by but also would be deathly afraid to draft due to his shooting. The fact that he got his 3pt shooting up to 38% this year is very encouraging. He's built like a truck, 6'7 with shoes on and has a 7' wingspan. Can guard 1-4. Showed flashes of distribution at Stanford, then fully committed to role player ball at UNC. Was a hell of a rebounder this year.

I would not hate grabbing him in the second round if he was available. Hedge the Ricky Council IV potential with another high motor role player.

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[Negrodamus]

I just watched a pretty damning video of Kel'el Ware from the channel I just posted above for Harrison Ingram. He's got insane basketball traits, but man does he play lazy. I think he could improve immensely on a team like the Heat who would bully him into playing tougher (or it could completely backfire), but he plays like injured Embiid, without any of the defensive intensity, all the time and he's not even in the NBA yet.

Conversely, I'm watching the video this channel did on Bobi Klintmann and I might be back on board. Very fluid, high effort, great ballhandler for his size... His only mark against him is being raw and not having super explosive vertical athleticism. He's kinda like Ben Simmons in that regard.

[Kobblehead]

Yeah, I wouldn't waste my time with Ware.

Guys that lack a motor and toughness are a waste of time. Especially when, even in the best case scenario, he plays 15 mpg in the regular season and 5-7 mpg in the playoffs as Embiid's backup.

[76ciology]

I see a lot of comparisons between Ware and Christian Wood, even their rebounding and block numbers are similar.

I think both players prioritize offense, conserving energy on defense. They try to do too much on offense when it would be better for them to focus more on defense and simplify their offensive game, similar to how Naz Reid plays his role with the Wolves.

Other options are Filipowski and Holmes. The difference seems to be that Filipowski is a much better offensive player and floor spacer, while Holmes is a better rim protector.

Between the two, im leaning more on Filipowski.

[76ciology]

Btw, why can’t Filipowski be a cheaper version of Lauri Markkanen?

Filipowski is a much better rebounder and better in deflections than Markkanen in college.

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His defense and rebounding are concerning if you expect him to anchor that end for your team. However, he seems suitable to play alongside Embiid or with a backup PF or C.

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[Negrodamus]

Even though it seems increasingly more likely that the pick will be traded, the more I look at the guys in this draft, I feel like Morey might consider Furphy. He seems to like to project freshman in the first round. Excellent height (6'9 with shoes on) but bad wingspan. Great athleticism. Has the shooting numbers, finishes at the rim, hits great defensive numbers. I think more so than anything, he's an off ball kind of guy who will get the mid level rebounds that we so desperately need.

Furphy misses quite a few marks I'm looking for from a prospect for me to get on board, but I don't think I'd be devastated by the pick. He kinda reminds me of a more raw Christian Braun (another Kansas guy) and what he's been doing for Denver.

[Mik317]

Going to quick fire some hot takes and thoughts on guys in this draft. This is a bad draft for teams looking for like obvious building blocks. Good FO should find some solid starters and in a bad year some fringe all star guys tho. Luckily thats what we desperately need.

Of the guy who should be available around our pick

Collier: He fits the mold of what Morey has taken; high recruit who falls to him. He in theory is exactly what we need next to Maxey. But guards who can't shoot and who aren't elite athletes is a bad mix imo.

McCain: He can shoot but another small ish guard doesn't move me either but he impressed me in the tourny with his gusto.

Walter: Seems like the next KCP. KCP was ass for a few years tho lol.

Bub: Guard with size who profiles as a good shooter; solid athlete. Hell yeah feels like the Fultz we were promised.

Flip: Duke Bigmen have not panned out at all. BUT he put in work to get his stiff hips fixed which helped him move better on defense.

Shannon: If he didn't have the case then he'd fit the potential Oubre spot nicely.

Devin Carter: Fits in nicely into Melton's spot

Got to do some looking into Tyson, George, Furphy (should go back no?). Any of the other bigs (Ware, Missi, Holmes) all work for me by virtue of all being good athletes and not tiny. Can't speak on any of the foreign guys yet.

As for the projected top 10-14 guys some takes

Sarr: very meh prospect imo. Feels like a lot of projection on offense AND defense.

Risacher: Dude has gone from being considered ass to a top 5 pick back to ass back to top 5 by many scouts all year so idk

Shepard: That Oakland game haunts me.... I liked him more as a 6-10 type pick not a top 5 guy. But shooting is shooting.

Dillingham: Love his game. Dude is mad small tho

Knecht: Might trade up for him if I was the GM lol. Fills alot of our needs but probably will go much higher. 24 year old rook tho

Clingan: Will be good. Maybe not great but a solid drop big who won't die in space is the most plug and play big you can get.

Holland; Feels like Jaylen Brown. Which seems great..but people don't realize how much better Brown got over his career and how difficult that is to replicate. Feels like he might fall into the Stanley Johnson mold of guy who got by on being a man amongst boys and never developed.

Castle: Good prospect. Feels like he is going to Ben Simmons himself if he refuses to play anything but PG tho

Cody WIlliams: Meh. Got the tools but seems far away.

Buzelis: He impressed me ironically in the all star weekend game lol. Everyone else says he sucks tho.

Edey: At some point, you are just too big to not make it. Going to be a solid pro IF he goes to a spot where he doesn't have to be more than that right away. I think Portland should take him at 14, have him sit being Ayton until they move off of him.

[Negrodamus]

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I hate projecting overseas players because I have absolutely no context of the competition and usually the stats are all over the place, but watching this guy light up France for 38 points mostly off the dribble with an incredibly quick first step has got me intrigued. He's a 6'8 guard with an excellent shooting profile:

https://tankathon.com/players/mantas-rubstavicius

His stats on Tankathon are consistent with past overseas prospects where they don't get enough time nor are put in the position to be "the guy" and generate assists. So I don't know if he has that in him, but he passes the eye test on offense for sure.

[Negrodamus]

Bub: Guard with size who profiles as a good shooter; solid athlete. Hell yeah feels like the Fultz we were promised.

He really reminds me a lot of poor man Jamal Murray. Looks the same on difficult shots. Both didn't give an iota of a **** on defense in college too.

[Kobblehead]

When I look at Johnny Furphy, he doesn't look overly thin. How the hell did he only weigh 189?

His 60% 3pa rate is damn impressive. Dude seems like a more than willing spacer.

[Arsenal]

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I hate projecting overseas players because I have absolutely no context of the competition and usually the stats are all over the place, but watching this guy light up France for 38 points mostly off the dribble with an incredibly quick first step has got me intrigued. He's a 6'8 guard with an excellent shooting profile:

https://tankathon.com/players/mantas-rubstavicius

His stats on Tankathon are consistent with past overseas prospects where they don't get enough time nor are put in the position to be "the guy" and generate assists. So I don't know if he has that in him, but he passes the eye test on offense for sure.

Insane shooting numbers on this guy. If he passes the eye test then take him in the 2nd because YOLO. Seriously would like to get another 2nd rounder this draft. Which we had until we illegally signed PJ Tucker lol.

[Arsenal]

Kyle Filipowski has identical measurements to Lauri Markannen. Is he a better passing, better rebounding, better shotblocking, worse shooting version of Lauri?

To me the bottom line on Kyle is can he start at PF (eventually) next to Embiid, or not? If yes he could be very valuable to us.

[Monix]

Kyle Filipowski has identical measurements to Lauri Markannen. Is he a better passing, better rebounding, better shotblocking, worse shooting version of Lauri?

To me the bottom line on Kyle is can he start at PF (eventually) next to Embiid, or not? If yes he could be very valuable to us.

I think Furphy has more starter upside than Filipowski, I think he's a more fluid athlete with a better shooting pedigree

[76ciology]

Even though it seems increasingly more likely that the pick will be traded,

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but we have $60M in cap space. If we are reserving $49M for George, that leaves us with around $10-11M.

Considering we’re allocating a big chunk of cap space for George, and the 16th pick will cost us around $4.5M worth of cap space, this will leaves us with $6M in cap space.

Looking at the salaries of the players, it seems like those with $4-6M salaries are mostly players like Danuel House or rookies. Most of the guys at $11M appear to be as less talented as those projected to be at the 16th pick.

I expect George to delay his decision until the last possible minute. I also expect Morey to be prudent enough to allocate $49M of cap space for George.

Unless I am overlooking someone with a salary of $10-11M whom we can trade along with our pick, I expect us drafting a player at 16th who I believe would be as good or better than someone currently being paid $10-11M (Thybulle? Larry Nance? Dosunmu?), considering we would have to trade our pick.

[76ciology]

I think Furphy is gonna shrink against NBA size and physicality, similar to Gradey Dick.

[76ciology]

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If you guys want some good guard play at 16th, Djurisic should be considered. He’s just 20. He’s a 6’7” SG, he has all the skills to be atleast a 16ppg player in the league. Reminds me of Bogdanovic of the Hawks.

[76ciology]

Kyle Filipowski has identical measurements to Lauri Markannen. Is he a better passing, better rebounding, better shotblocking, worse shooting version of Lauri?

To me the bottom line on Kyle is can he start at PF (eventually) next to Embiid, or not? If yes he could be very valuable to us.

In the modern NBA, where size and versatility are crucial, a player who can start alongside Embiid at power forward needs to be mobile and not slow-footed. Ideally, someone like Ware, who can move quickly around the court, would be preferred. However, Filipowski appears to offer a better overall balance. He possesses the necessary physicality, IQ, and maturity to contribute immediately.

[76ciology]

With the 16th pick, Terrence Shannon, Filipowski and Zach Edey are three guys who can produce at a high level immediately for our team. Fit depends on who we can sign with the remaining $55+M cap space.

[Negrodamus]

I think the reason Markkannen works is because he's such a force as a shooter. You just figure out how to cover his flaws as a defender. The gap in shooting between Filipowski and Marrkannen (when he was coming out of Arizona) is pretty wide. He'll have to fill that gap a bit to be on Lauri's level, imo.