2024 Draft Thread - Part II

[nate33]

The mock are all over the place. I've seen dillingham at 5 and dillingham at 26

I've seen filposki at 12 and fliposki in the second round.

My only issue with trading back is that I think Sheppard is the dude. I don't know how far that guy's gonna realistically fall. He's the guy you look at after the big athletic upside guys who don't really have the numbers and go this is probably the guy with he best actual basketball resume and tangible talent.

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I don't think Sheppard gets past Detroit at #5. There's a good chance he'll go #3 to Houston or #4 to San Antonio, unless trades are made so that they aren't in those spots anymore.

[payitforward]

...which may mean that the seeming increase in interest in Clingan is a smoke screen.

My main concern is that I find it hard to see Risacher as an exceptionally strong NBA player. I could be completely wrong, of course.

Hence, if he goes first, & we take Sarr I'll find it hard to object.

If we take Sheppard instead of Sarr, or because Sarr went #1, I'll defer to the greater knowledge of our FO.

All the same, if the possibility is there, I'd much prefer to trade down. We need as many new faces as we can add via this draft. We have virtually no talent, & in a situation like ours what you need to do is try to get chance on your side.

[gambitx777]

The mock are all over the place. I've seen dillingham at 5 and dillingham at 26

I've seen filposki at 12 and fliposki in the second round.

My only issue with trading back is that I think Sheppard is the dude. I don't know how far that guy's gonna realistically fall. He's the guy you look at after the big athletic upside guys who don't really have the numbers and go this is probably the guy with he best actual basketball resume and tangible talent.

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So you would take Sheppard at 2 over Sarr (or anyone else)?
I like Sheppard a lot but would take Sarr first.

I would take Sheppard at #1! And not think twice about it. At the top of his range I think he's a better at defence Steph Curry. So you look at that and go damn. That's something. I like Sar, but I don't see him as more than another ayton which is fine, but he's not that good of a rebounder, he's not a shooter, he's skinny, I don't see it I think his hype is based off of that just hype from what's his bame in SA. I don't look at risacher, buzelis, castle, and topic and see those guys as the guys. I see up side who can't shoot and some of them aren't lock down defenders or good at defence, skinny tall passers that just like giddy won't be about to be on the floor in the play offs.

My top three Sheppard, clinggan and dillingham withb Sar close behind.

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[Dat2U]

If Portland offered 7 and 14 for the 2nd pick I would take it without hesitation regardless of what Atlanta does.

Who do you take at 7 and 14?

Holland & Edey.

[FarBeyondDriven]

This regime clearly believes in Poole and the only way to make it work with him is to protect him defensively and free him up so he has more off-ball opportunities off movement. Stephon Castle is the perfect player to do so. Let Coulibaly keep developing into a 3 and D Klay/Mikal at SF. Let Avdija have his sets as the offensive initiator and also playing off-ball as he's earned it and he starts at PF.

Now here's where the fun begins. You send Kuzma and #25 to CLE for Allen and #20. This addresses huge needs for both teams as they can't run it back with Allen and Mobley and Kuzma shouldn't be getting minutes on a rebuilding team over Avdija and Vukcevic. With the #20 pick you draft Dadiet to give Coulibaly a french buddy.

Seriously, is this not a potentially fun team to look forward to? And let's say none of these players develops. Well, now you've got a high pick in a loaded draft! But honestly, I think if the young guys get a little better and Castle is the real deal, you could be flirting with a play-in.

Castle
Poole-Kispert
Coulibaly-Dadiet
Avdija-Vukcevic
Allen-Bagley

You seem to have the mistaken impression that the Wizards are trying to win next year.

Next year is another tank year because next year's draft class has some actual star-caliber prospects. The last thing the Wizards need to do is trade for a center in his prime. The Wizards need to tank and accumulate a lot more young talent before making "win-now" trades and free agency acquisitions. They won 15 games last season.

yeah I know the allure of tanking for a high pick in a loaded draft might be too strong to try and compete. But small market teams often set their sights too high and swing for the fences trying to hit home runs instead of taking the available doubles and triples and that can prevent them from developing talent and together as a team.

If you fail to draft a guy that fits your system and helps others get better you're wasting current resources. What if Coulibaly takes a major year 2 leap and becomes one of the best young two-way wings in the league next season? And Avdija improves even more and is now a bonafide core long-term piece? And Castle is exactly what you need as a starting guard and helps unlock Poole? Allen being a defensive anchor would help everyone. Sure, they may only ever be #2 or #3 at best players but if have a collection of them you suddenly have the makings of a fun to watch and competitive squad. Hard-capped at 45-50 wins? Sure, but way better than what you've experienced for most of the past five decades. Allen is still just 25 y/o

And there's no guarantee you even win the draft lottery to get one of those supposed star caliber prospects. Just look at the Pistons. I just think the Eastern Conference is weak and you could really improve dramatically with the right picks and a timely trade. It's exciting times at least! A year ago everyone was saying you guys had the worst situation in the NBA and now there's at least optimism.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Interesting analysis from a guy who watched every one of Buzelis 3-point attempts:

Matas Buzelis advanced 3 point shooting statistics and observations after watching all 121 attempts.

- Picture perfect mechanics, high release, soft ball.
- Frequently missed short, strength/fatigue a factor?
- Mostly spot ups or slips out of screening action.
- low volume movement shots off screens, promising.
- Very few bad misses, the makes are very pure .
- Comfortable shooting over closeouts, hard to block.
- Drew two 4-point plays, should have had four more.
- Settles for jump shots too often.

Overall, I buy the shot long term. I think it's a question of strength and fatigue rather than anything mechanical which could be why he shot it better in high school with the shorter line.

Doesn't project as a pull-up shooter, but can spot up and has the requisite ball skills to make defense pay for closing out hard. Shooting is the absolute swing skill for Buzelis, without it teams will sag off and he won't have the explosiveness to get to his spots.

Read on Twitter

If Sarr goes #1, I want Matas Buzelis. Either in a trade down, or I'd just take him at 2. Out of everyone in this draft, IMO he has the potential to be a star. He's got the size and athleticism and flashes of elite skill. That's the part either you have it or you don't. The other stuff he can work on and develop. And what I've seen, he appears to be someone who will come in and work and do what the coaches tell him to do, and won't back down until he gets it. He just has a charisma and confidence, the more stuff I watch on him the more I like.

Read on Twitter

Watch on YouTube

[prime1time]

The mock are all over the place. I've seen dillingham at 5 and dillingham at 26

I've seen filposki at 12 and fliposki in the second round.

My only issue with trading back is that I think Sheppard is the dude. I don't know how far that guy's gonna realistically fall. He's the guy you look at after the big athletic upside guys who don't really have the numbers and go this is probably the guy with he best actual basketball resume and tangible talent.

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So you would take Sheppard at 2 over Sarr (or anyone else)?
I like Sheppard a lot but would take Sarr first.

I would take Sheppard at #1! And not think twice about it. At the top of his range I think he's a better at defence Steph Curry. So you look at that and go damn. That's something. I like Sar, but I don't see him as more than another ayton which is fine, but he's not that good of a rebounder, he's not a shooter, he's skinny, I don't see it I think his hype is based off of that just hype from what's his bame in SA. I don't look at risacher, buzelis, castle, and topic and see those guys as the guys. I see up side who can't shoot and some of them aren't lock down defenders or good at defence, skinny tall passers that just like giddy won't be about to be on the floor in the play offs.

My top three Sheppard, clinggan and dillingham withb Sar close behind.

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Why are we casually invoking Steph to justify taking Sheppard? There’s is not one thing Sheppard does that’s better than Steph and that includes defense.

[gesa2]

Now here's where the fun begins. You send Kuzma and #25 to CLE for Allen and #20.

…

And there's no guarantee you even win the draft lottery to get one of those supposed star caliber prospects. Just look at the Pistons. I just think the Eastern Conference is weak and you could really improve dramatically with the right picks and a timely trade. It's exciting times at least! A year ago everyone was saying you guys had the worst situation in the NBA and now there's at least optimism.

The reason everyone was saying we had the worst situation in the NBA a year ago was that we’d spent the last decade shooting for 45-50 wins!
You’re right that there’s no guarantee in a year down rebuild. But the most common way this path fails in the NBA is ownership insisting on “progress” and trading for win now vets too early. At least give us a chance at Flagg, Bailey or Saore!!!

[tontoz]

I like Sheppard but he isn't Steph. He has holes in his game like everyone projected to go top 10.

Prior to the season Buzelis was considered a top 2 prospect. His size and athleticism are intriguing but he just wasn't that good on the court.

I am also not sold on Sarr. He doesn't handle contact well at all and will get bullied routinely. He struggled to finish in traffic.

If we stay at 2 it is a bit of a crapshoot.

[nate33]

I've been gaming out the top 4 picks in my mind. For the most part, it's pretty straightforward. If Sarr is still on the board at #2, I think we'll just keep it simple and draft Sarr.

Where it gets interesting is if Sarr is taken first by Atlanta. I think we are likely to draft Risacher at #2 and San Antonio is likely to want to trade up from #4. I'm hoping we can get a 2025 pick from them. Ideally, their unprotected Atlanta pick, but maybe it'll be something like "the worst of their 4 potential first round picks". I think Atlanta is primed to have a terrible season if they are trying to develop a rookie center while also dealing with trading one or both of Trae/Murray, so I really want that unprotected pick and might even include our #26 to get it.

If Houston drafts anyone but Sheppard at #3, I'd take Sheppard at #4 and be happy. But I think Houston will draft Sheppard.

If Sheppard is gone, I'd take Clingan at #4 at put him on the trade block. A lot of teams are rumored to want to trade up for him because they perceive him as a guy who can contribute right away. Memphis, Portland and OKC have been in the rumors. I think we could extract another 2025 FRP from either Memphis or OKC for them to get Clingan us to move down to #9 or #12. If nothing materializes, I'm okay with landing Clingan and a 2025 FRP in this draft.

Assuming we trade down to the 9-12 range, I'd be looking at Holland, McCain and Collier, in that order.

[tontoz]

Hoop Intellect on Buzelis. Mixed bag

Watch on YouTube

[nate33]

Hoop Intellect on Buzelis. Mixed bag

Watch on YouTube

After watching this and other videos on Buzelis, I'm fairly optimistic about him. I love that he has very good help instincts on defense, which is one of the most important things for an NBA forward, and his on-ball defense will be good enough as he gets stronger. So he strikes me as a component of a high-quality defensive roster. He'll be good enough on ball that teams won't hunt him, and he is very good off ball to help out his teammates.

And I'm encouraged by a comment made in the video about Buzelis 3-point shooting. His form looks good but most of his shots were short. This is common for high-release shooters who don't have a very big wind-up. It takes them longer to increase their range because it's more than just a tweak of the form. They actually have to improve their wrist strength, which takes longer. I'm pretty confident that Buzelis will develop NBA range. That will make him a much more useful offensive player if he can spot up with a high release and make smart off-ball cuts. He won't be a star, but there aren't any obvious stars in this draft. I can see him panning out to be a 3rd or 4th option on offense and a modestly above-average defender. That puts him somewhere in the Franz Wagner/Jerami Grant echelon of player.

[The Consiglieri]

This regime clearly believes in Poole and the only way to make it work with him is to protect him defensively and free him up so he has more off-ball opportunities off movement. Stephon Castle is the perfect player to do so. Let Coulibaly keep developing into a 3 and D Klay/Mikal at SF. Let Avdija have his sets as the offensive initiator and also playing off-ball as he's earned it and he starts at PF.

Now here's where the fun begins. You send Kuzma and #25 to CLE for Allen and #20. This addresses huge needs for both teams as they can't run it back with Allen and Mobley and Kuzma shouldn't be getting minutes on a rebuilding team over Avdija and Vukcevic. With the #20 pick you draft Dadiet to give Coulibaly a french buddy.

Seriously, is this not a potentially fun team to look forward to? And let's say none of these players develops. Well, now you've got a high pick in a loaded draft! But honestly, I think if the young guys get a little better and Castle is the real deal, you could be flirting with a play-in.

Castle
Poole-Kispert
Coulibaly-Dadiet
Avdija-Vukcevic
Allen-Bagley

You seem to have the mistaken impression that the Wizards are trying to win next year.

Next year is another tank year because next year's draft class has some actual star-caliber prospects. The last thing the Wizards need to do is trade for a center in his prime. The Wizards need to tank and accumulate a lot more young talent before making "win-now" trades and free agency acquisitions. They won 15 games last season.

yeah I know the allure of tanking for a high pick in a loaded draft might be too strong to try and compete. But small market teams often set their sights too high and swing for the fences trying to hit home runs instead of taking the available doubles and triples and that can prevent them from developing talent and together as a team.

If you fail to draft a guy that fits your system and helps others get better you're wasting current resources. What if Coulibaly takes a major year 2 leap and becomes one of the best young two-way wings in the league next season? And Avdija improves even more and is now a bonafide core long-term piece? And Castle is exactly what you need as a starting guard and helps unlock Poole? Allen being a defensive anchor would help everyone. Sure, they may only ever be #2 or #3 at best players but if have a collection of them you suddenly have the makings of a fun to watch and competitive squad. Hard-capped at 45-50 wins? Sure, but way better than what you've experienced for most of the past five decades. Allen is still just 25 y/o

And there's no guarantee you even win the draft lottery to get one of those supposed star caliber prospects. Just look at the Pistons. I just think the Eastern Conference is weak and you could really improve dramatically with the right picks and a timely trade. It's exciting times at least! A year ago everyone was saying you guys had the worst situation in the NBA and now there's at least optimism.

Hell no, x50,000. We've been watching shortcuts to 35-42 win seasons since before Empire Strikes Back came out. It's so beyond absurd I don't even know what to say. We are in year 2 of paying the tax for the stupidity of failing to tank the previous four years, and we'll eat that ---- sandwich until there's hope. The last thing we need to do is shake ourselves out of our stupor, and decide, "nah, let's do the 1979-2023 plan instead, because that worked so well for six decades of zero 50 win seasons ever".

[gambitx777]

So you would take Sheppard at 2 over Sarr (or anyone else)?
I like Sheppard a lot but would take Sarr first.

I would take Sheppard at #1! And not think twice about it. At the top of his range I think he's a better at defence Steph Curry. So you look at that and go damn. That's something. I like Sar, but I don't see him as more than another ayton which is fine, but he's not that good of a rebounder, he's not a shooter, he's skinny, I don't see it I think his hype is based off of that just hype from what's his bame in SA. I don't look at risacher, buzelis, castle, and topic and see those guys as the guys. I see up side who can't shoot and some of them aren't lock down defenders or good at defence, skinny tall passers that just like giddy won't be about to be on the floor in the play offs.

My top three Sheppard, clinggan and dillingham withb Sar close behind.

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Why are we casually invoking Steph to justify taking Sheppard? There’s is not one thing Sheppard does that’s better than Steph and that includes defense.

He doesn't have Steph volume or scoring, but if you compare the rookie numbers it's closer than you think. The per and dtrg are close. Some he's better like fg% and 3pt% ts% efg% and ortg are close and a little better than Steph. Again he doesn't have the volume or scoring but his percentages and abilities are close. Remember Steph spent ,3 years in school. This kids a freshman it's hard to tell where he would end up if he stayed in school 2 more years.

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[Dat2U]

Interesting analysis from a guy who watched every one of Buzelis 3-point attempts:

Matas Buzelis advanced 3 point shooting statistics and observations after watching all 121 attempts.

- Picture perfect mechanics, high release, soft ball.
- Frequently missed short, strength/fatigue a factor?
- Mostly spot ups or slips out of screening action.
- low volume movement shots off screens, promising.
- Very few bad misses, the makes are very pure .
- Comfortable shooting over closeouts, hard to block.
- Drew two 4-point plays, should have had four more.
- Settles for jump shots too often.

Overall, I buy the shot long term. I think it's a question of strength and fatigue rather than anything mechanical which could be why he shot it better in high school with the shorter line.

Doesn't project as a pull-up shooter, but can spot up and has the requisite ball skills to make defense pay for closing out hard. Shooting is the absolute swing skill for Buzelis, without it teams will sag off and he won't have the explosiveness to get to his spots.

Read on Twitter

If Sarr goes #1, I want Matas Buzelis. Either in a trade down, or I'd just take him at 2. Out of everyone in this draft, IMO he has the potential to be a star. He's got the size and athleticism and flashes of elite skill. That's the part either you have it or you don't. The other stuff he can work on and develop. And what I've seen, he appears to be someone who will come in and work and do what the coaches tell him to do, and won't back down until he gets it. He just has a charisma and confidence, the more stuff I watch on him the more I like.

Read on Twitter

Watch on YouTube

He's weak, can't dribble in traffic, can't get past anyone, struggles making shots and doesn't see the floor well but boy he can jump, block the ocassional shot and looks great on the break.

Not saying he's like anyone we've drafted before (cough, Jan Vesely) but even if the floor is not as low as Jan, what gives Matas the potential for a star outcome when he's more of play finisher than a play maker?

[nate33]

This regime clearly believes in Poole and the only way to make it work with him is to protect him defensively and free him up so he has more off-ball opportunities off movement. Stephon Castle is the perfect player to do so. Let Coulibaly keep developing into a 3 and D Klay/Mikal at SF. Let Avdija have his sets as the offensive initiator and also playing off-ball as he's earned it and he starts at PF.

Now here's where the fun begins. You send Kuzma and #25 to CLE for Allen and #20. This addresses huge needs for both teams as they can't run it back with Allen and Mobley and Kuzma shouldn't be getting minutes on a rebuilding team over Avdija and Vukcevic. With the #20 pick you draft Dadiet to give Coulibaly a french buddy.

Seriously, is this not a potentially fun team to look forward to? And let's say none of these players develops. Well, now you've got a high pick in a loaded draft! But honestly, I think if the young guys get a little better and Castle is the real deal, you could be flirting with a play-in.

Castle
Poole-Kispert
Coulibaly-Dadiet
Avdija-Vukcevic
Allen-Bagley

You seem to have the mistaken impression that the Wizards are trying to win next year.

Next year is another tank year because next year's draft class has some actual star-caliber prospects. The last thing the Wizards need to do is trade for a center in his prime. The Wizards need to tank and accumulate a lot more young talent before making "win-now" trades and free agency acquisitions. They won 15 games last season.

yeah I know the allure of tanking for a high pick in a loaded draft might be too strong to try and compete. But small market teams often set their sights too high and swing for the fences trying to hit home runs instead of taking the available doubles and triples and that can prevent them from developing talent and together as a team.

If you fail to draft a guy that fits your system and helps others get better you're wasting current resources. What if Coulibaly takes a major year 2 leap and becomes one of the best young two-way wings in the league next season? And Avdija improves even more and is now a bonafide core long-term piece? And Castle is exactly what you need as a starting guard and helps unlock Poole? Allen being a defensive anchor would help everyone. Sure, they may only ever be #2 or #3 at best players but if have a collection of them you suddenly have the makings of a fun to watch and competitive squad. Hard-capped at 45-50 wins? Sure, but way better than what you've experienced for most of the past five decades. Allen is still just 25 y/o

And there's no guarantee you even win the draft lottery to get one of those supposed star caliber prospects. Just look at the Pistons. I just think the Eastern Conference is weak and you could really improve dramatically with the right picks and a timely trade. It's exciting times at least! A year ago everyone was saying you guys had the worst situation in the NBA and now there's at least optimism.

Dude, give it up. It’s not happening.

[Dat2U]

So you would take Sheppard at 2 over Sarr (or anyone else)?
I like Sheppard a lot but would take Sarr first.

I would take Sheppard at #1! And not think twice about it. At the top of his range I think he's a better at defence Steph Curry. So you look at that and go damn. That's something. I like Sar, but I don't see him as more than another ayton which is fine, but he's not that good of a rebounder, he's not a shooter, he's skinny, I don't see it I think his hype is based off of that just hype from what's his bame in SA. I don't look at risacher, buzelis, castle, and topic and see those guys as the guys. I see up side who can't shoot and some of them aren't lock down defenders or good at defence, skinny tall passers that just like giddy won't be about to be on the floor in the play offs.

My top three Sheppard, clinggan and dillingham withb Sar close behind.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

Why are we casually invoking Steph to justify taking Sheppard? There’s is not one thing Sheppard does that’s better than Steph and that includes defense.

Yep the Steph comparisons do Sheppard no favors. He's never going to be that type of shot creator. He's not going to be a heavy ISO guy nor have we seen much volume being fed off screens ... he's going to be best playing off other scoring options. He may as efficient in shooting 3s as Steph but he won't approach Steph's volume. He'll struggle if he's the one defenses have to key on ... but I can see an elite complimentary role player for the next decade plus in the right situation.

[prime1time]

I would take Sheppard at #1! And not think twice about it. At the top of his range I think he's a better at defence Steph Curry. So you look at that and go damn. That's something. I like Sar, but I don't see him as more than another ayton which is fine, but he's not that good of a rebounder, he's not a shooter, he's skinny, I don't see it I think his hype is based off of that just hype from what's his bame in SA. I don't look at risacher, buzelis, castle, and topic and see those guys as the guys. I see up side who can't shoot and some of them aren't lock down defenders or good at defence, skinny tall passers that just like giddy won't be about to be on the floor in the play offs.

My top three Sheppard, clinggan and dillingham withb Sar close behind.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

Why are we casually invoking Steph to justify taking Sheppard? There’s is not one thing Sheppard does that’s better than Steph and that includes defense.

Yep the Steph comparisons do Sheppard no favors. He's never going to be that type of shot creator. He's not going to be a heavy ISO guy nor have we seen much volume being fed off screens ... he's going to be best playing off other scoring options. He may as efficient in shooting 3s as Steph but he won't approach Steph's volume. He'll struggle if he's the one defenses have to key on ... but I can see an elite complimentary role player for the next decade plus in the right situation.

I love 3-point shooting, but he's 6'1.75 without shoes and a wingspan of 6'3.25. Physically he's similar to Payton Pritchard. Pritchard has a longer wingspan. I think it's tough to take someone at 1 who can only guard 1 position.

[prime1time]

I would take Sheppard at #1! And not think twice about it. At the top of his range I think he's a better at defence Steph Curry. So you look at that and go damn. That's something. I like Sar, but I don't see him as more than another ayton which is fine, but he's not that good of a rebounder, he's not a shooter, he's skinny, I don't see it I think his hype is based off of that just hype from what's his bame in SA. I don't look at risacher, buzelis, castle, and topic and see those guys as the guys. I see up side who can't shoot and some of them aren't lock down defenders or good at defence, skinny tall passers that just like giddy won't be about to be on the floor in the play offs.

My top three Sheppard, clinggan and dillingham withb Sar close behind.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

Why are we casually invoking Steph to justify taking Sheppard? There’s is not one thing Sheppard does that’s better than Steph and that includes defense.

He doesn't have Steph volume or scoring, but if you compare the rookie numbers it's closer than you think. The per and dtrg are close. Some he's better like fg% and 3pt% ts% efg% and ortg are close and a little better than Steph. Again he doesn't have the volume or scoring but his percentages and abilities are close. Remember Steph spent ,3 years in school. This kids a freshman it's hard to tell where he would end up if he stayed in school 2 more years.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

With Steph the volume is the point. The high volume of posessions Steph consumes at a high efficiency is what makes him so lethal. Without the volume Sheppard is just another really good 3-point shooter.

[Dat2U]

I'm convinced Zach Edey is a slightly better prospect than Donovan Clingan. While I generally err towards a stout defender at the C position, I view:

Clingan as massive but slow in space who could get played off the floor in high leverage situations as teams target in the P&R. I certainly believe he has a definite utility but in the Jakob Poeltl & Ivica Zubac space where he plays approx 25 minutes night as a low usage defender, shot blocker, screener & rebounder.

Edey is an complete outlier in terms of his offensive skill around the basket, size and stanima. He's going to present a matchup nightmare as a roller or sealing off smaller guys at the rim for easy looks. His mobility in short areas is impressive and he looks like he has the basic tools to be solid defensively (albeit he has the same concerns as Clingan defensively in high leverage situations ).

Both are lottery picks, firmly in the mid-to-late lottery range.