2024 Draft Thread - Part III

[DCZards]

Just did the ESPN simulator.

Got

Sarr
Shannon
Ingram

I'd be happy with that

I like it! They are all on my preferred list. Ingram is a major sleeper, imo. A biggger, stronger Herb Jones.

[DCZards]

Sarr has to be excited by the possibility of playing with Bilal, also, DC has a decent size French community, more-so than ATL.

A decent size French community and a decent size west African community where Sarr’s father is from. Have to figure guys like Deni, Bilal, Vukcevic, and Sarr like DC’s international vibe.

[Rafael122]

Was listening to the Simmons pod with Russillo, and Ryen was hearing:

Hawks - Clingan
Wizards - ?
Rockets - Sheppard
Spurs - ?
Pistons - Buzelis

Basically said the Sarr to DC stuff isn't really based on anything concrete, rather just conjecture and teams/scouts putting two and two together. It's not as strong as Sheppard to Houston, that seems to be chalk?

So my question is if Clingan gets taken off the board, and the thinking is Sheppard is going at 3, do you call San Antonio and swap 2 for 4 and 8? If the Spurs pivot and take Sarr, you can still take Risacher at 4 anyway and pick up an extra lottery pick.

[NatP4]

Fully agree.

Atlanta goes Clingan, has been posturing to try and get SAS to give up 4&8 to get Risacher. SAS calling that bluff, but also hoping Sheppard falls to 4. Someone trades up to 3 for Castle I bet. Risacher could end up in DET.

Think Washington goes Sarr though. No one in the media really knows because the new FO is a steel trap. The connections are all over the place though. The leaked photos of Sarr coming to work out, the OKC connection, French connection. Sarr also knows Vukcevic.

Outside chance that SAS makes that dumb trade with us, if we believe Sarr falls to #4.

[Pitbull]

Was listening to the Simmons pod with Russillo, and Ryen was hearing:

Hawks - Clingan
Wizards - ?
Rockets - Sheppard
Spurs - ?

Basically said the Sarr to DC stuff isn't really based on anything concrete, rather just conjecture and teams/scouts putting two and two together. It's not as strong as Sheppard to Houston, that seems to be chalk?

So my question is if Clingan gets taken off the board, and the thinking is Sheppard is going at 3, do you call San Antonio and swap 2 for 4 and 8? If the Spurs pivot and take Sarr, you can still take Risacher at 4 anyway and pick up an extra lottery pick.

Unless the Wiz are smitten with any one prospect, you absolutely trade with the Spurs in that scenario. Landing the lesser between Sarr/Risacher/Sheppard/Clingan at 4 is a perfectly acceptable consolation prize for the opportunity to add more talent at 8.

This, of course, is predicated on the Spurs having a clearcut favorite. I don't see San Antonio willing to give up both picks to move up 2 spots in this year's draft.

I would gladly take their 2025 pick in lieu of 8.. and maaaaaaybe 4 but I would need to think long and hard about it.

[nate33]

Was listening to the Simmons pod with Russillo, and Ryen was hearing:

Hawks - Clingan
Wizards - ?
Rockets - Sheppard
Spurs - ?
Pistons - Buzelis

Basically said the Sarr to DC stuff isn't really based on anything concrete, rather just conjecture and teams/scouts putting two and two together. It's not as strong as Sheppard to Houston, that seems to be chalk?

So my question is if Clingan gets taken off the board, and the thinking is Sheppard is going at 3, do you call San Antonio and swap 2 for 4 and 8? If the Spurs pivot and take Sarr, you can still take Risacher at 4 anyway and pick up an extra lottery pick.

Slightly tangential, but I thought that was a horrible podcast. Their bit about assessing the value of the #1 pick was cringeworthy. Russilo was trying to keep it real, but Simmons was just saying crazy things, like that OKC wouldn't trade Cason Wallace for the #1 overall pick.

I don't think San Antonio sacrifices the #8 just to move up 2 spots. If we take Risacher, they'll just take Sarr and perhaps try and trade him elsewhere. Or maybe they just draft Castle.

Ultimately, I just don't see us playing those types of games - particularly if Sarr is there for us. I suppose if we really want a guy like Castle instead of Sarr, we might try and trade down, but I think we would work out the trade before we actually pick. We wouldn't pick the guy San Antonio wanted and then hope we can work out a deal afterward.

[Rafael122]

Was listening to the Simmons pod with Russillo, and Ryen was hearing:

Hawks - Clingan
Wizards - ?
Rockets - Sheppard
Spurs - ?
Pistons - Buzelis

Basically said the Sarr to DC stuff isn't really based on anything concrete, rather just conjecture and teams/scouts putting two and two together. It's not as strong as Sheppard to Houston, that seems to be chalk?

So my question is if Clingan gets taken off the board, and the thinking is Sheppard is going at 3, do you call San Antonio and swap 2 for 4 and 8? If the Spurs pivot and take Sarr, you can still take Risacher at 4 anyway and pick up an extra lottery pick.

Slightly tangential, but I thought that was a horrible podcast. Their bit about assessing the value of the #1 pick was cringeworthy. Russilo was trying to keep it real, but Simmons was just saying crazy things, like that OKC wouldn't trade Cason Wallace for the #1 overall pick.

I don't think San Antonio sacrifices the #8 just to move up 2 spots. If we take Risacher, they'll just take Sarr and perhaps try and trade him elsewhere. Or maybe they just draft Castle.

Ultimately, I just don't see us playing those types of games - particularly if Sarr is there for us. I suppose if we really want a guy like Castle instead of Sarr, we might try and trade down, but I think we would work out the trade before we actually pick. We wouldn't pick the guy San Antonio wanted and then hope we can work out a deal afterward.

It doesn't help that Russillo puts in the work and watches tape of these dudes and Simmons is like "I'd trade the top pick for Trey Murphy." Huh?

[gesa2]

Where did you see that? From the tweet, it looks like they got the Knicks’ 2025 pick, not their own.

Follow-up Rockets trade. They traded some of the KD Suns picks for their 2025 pick back. We might not be the worst team in the nba. Ext year ugh.

What a brilliant move by Brooklyn!

Now they control their own destiny. They can tank these next two season at a time when very few teams are trying to tank, clear some old salary off the books, and then hit free agency in Summer 2026 with a boatload of cash and a bunch of young prospects.

The whole thing is fascinating. The Rockets make the deal because they still have swap rights to one bad Brooklyn season and the value of that goes way up, and they diversify their pick portfolio adding in some future Suns picks which could be juicy, especially if the Rockets are trying to trade for Booker or Durant in a year or two!
Brooklyn does a great reset, now have a bevy of picks going forward and incentives aligned to tank.

[nate33]

Was listening to the Simmons pod with Russillo, and Ryen was hearing:

Hawks - Clingan
Wizards - ?
Rockets - Sheppard
Spurs - ?
Pistons - Buzelis

Basically said the Sarr to DC stuff isn't really based on anything concrete, rather just conjecture and teams/scouts putting two and two together. It's not as strong as Sheppard to Houston, that seems to be chalk?

So my question is if Clingan gets taken off the board, and the thinking is Sheppard is going at 3, do you call San Antonio and swap 2 for 4 and 8? If the Spurs pivot and take Sarr, you can still take Risacher at 4 anyway and pick up an extra lottery pick.

Slightly tangential, but I thought that was a horrible podcast. Their bit about assessing the value of the #1 pick was cringeworthy. Russilo was trying to keep it real, but Simmons was just saying crazy things, like that OKC wouldn't trade Cason Wallace for the #1 overall pick.

I don't think San Antonio sacrifices the #8 just to move up 2 spots. If we take Risacher, they'll just take Sarr and perhaps try and trade him elsewhere. Or maybe they just draft Castle.

Ultimately, I just don't see us playing those types of games - particularly if Sarr is there for us. I suppose if we really want a guy like Castle instead of Sarr, we might try and trade down, but I think we would work out the trade before we actually pick. We wouldn't pick the guy San Antonio wanted and then hope we can work out a deal afterward.

It doesn't help that Russillo puts in the work and watches tape of these dudes and Simmons is like "I'd trade the top pick for Trey Murphy." Huh?

It's also distressing that Joe House apparently argued that we should trade the #2 overall pick for Giddey.

[tontoz]

If Kuz for 13 is a done deal i think that makes it less likely we trade down from 2.

[DCZards]

If Kuz for 13 is a done deal i think that makes it less likely we trade down from 2.

I wouldn’t get my hopes up about Kuz for 13 being a done deal. Yes, we Zards (and Kings) fans might like the idea but, as you know, that means little or nothing.

[NatP4]

Final Wasserman mock:

Read on Twitter

Final NC mock:

https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/final-2024-nba-mock-draft-v8?r=37trdd&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

[closg00]

If Kuz for 13 is a done deal i think that makes it less likely we trade down from 2.

I wouldn’t get my hopes up about Kuz for 13 being a done deal. Yes, we Zards (and Kings) fans might like the idea but, as you know, that means little or nothing.

I like our chances of 13 for Kuzma if the Kings are truly interested, its tough for them to acquire talent in FA, getting Kuzma would be big get for them.

[payitforward]

... Ingram is a major sleeper, imo. A biggger, stronger Herb Jones.

Hadn't thought of that comparison, but it's a really good one. I don't think he'll be there at 51, but if so, he'd be a great pick.

[Dark Faze]

If I'm San Antonio I might be tempted to go up a spot for Sarr. I know they want to get a strong guard in place, but Sarr/Wemby could be very problematic defensively for other teams and checks the box for Sarr to extend his range and work on his offense at the 4. There will be opportunities to get a guard through a variety of ways. Very difficult to get a switchable 7 footer with some shooting potential.

[nate33]

If I'm San Antonio I might be tempted to go up a spot for Sarr. I know they want to get a strong guard in place, but Sarr/Wemby could be very problematic defensively for other teams and checks the box for Sarr to extend his range and work on his offense at the 4. There will be opportunities to get a guard through a variety of ways. Very difficult to get a switchable 7 footer with some shooting potential.

I don't see any way in the world that San Antonio would value Sarr more than we would. He is a luxury redundancy on a team that still needs scoring and guard play. So I just don't see the motivation necessary for them to move up.

[mhd]

I think the Nets, Detroit, and potentially Bulls are going to out-tank us this year. A healthy Deni and an actual coach will get us more wins than them. We still keep our pick since it is top 10 protected, but that 2026 top-8 protected first that the Knicks have is looking more problematic.

[The Consiglieri]

Slightly tangential, but I thought that was a horrible podcast. Their bit about assessing the value of the #1 pick was cringeworthy. Russilo was trying to keep it real, but Simmons was just saying crazy things, like that OKC wouldn't trade Cason Wallace for the #1 overall pick.

I don't think San Antonio sacrifices the #8 just to move up 2 spots. If we take Risacher, they'll just take Sarr and perhaps try and trade him elsewhere. Or maybe they just draft Castle.

Ultimately, I just don't see us playing those types of games - particularly if Sarr is there for us. I suppose if we really want a guy like Castle instead of Sarr, we might try and trade down, but I think we would work out the trade before we actually pick. We wouldn't pick the guy San Antonio wanted and then hope we can work out a deal afterward.

It doesn't help that Russillo puts in the work and watches tape of these dudes and Simmons is like "I'd trade the top pick for Trey Murphy." Huh?

It's also distressing that Joe House apparently argued that we should trade the #2 overall pick for Giddey.

House is a terrible representative for DC. Dude is a win now idiot who wants entertainment in his seat, rather than the pain and suffering that goes into a rebuild. Was anti-trading Beal and tanking FOR YEARS when it was patently obvious and necessary, and his trade ideas were perpetually short cut to tear down stupidity the guaranteed a moderate to low floor and a tornado torn off non-existent ceiling. Nothing worse than the biggest podcast on the planet, having a classic idiot fan of the broadcaster, being the rep for DC (or any sports city). I like House, but he's a total clown when it comes to team building, clueless with DC Sports, utterly clueless, and like Simmons, old, tired w/old and tired ideas (and in Bills case, because all his teams are perpetually contending, not remotely plugged in to scouting for future and present drafts).

It's a weird situation where there is no doubt at all that his podcast is probably the most entertaining generalized sports podcast around, but in terms of having plugged in, hyper intelligent, team building, cutting edge guys? Its pretty empty calories. Not as bad as drivetime sports radio, but not good either. Best way to look at his ---- is as entertainment rather than insight, and just appreciate the occasional moments when its actually both (House being the perfect example, always entertaining, rarely insightful but once in a blue moon, he is).

[nate33]

I think the Nets, Detroit, and potentially Bulls are going to out-tank us this year. A healthy Deni and an actual coach will get us more wins than them. We still keep our pick since it is top 10 protected, but that 2026 top-8 protected first that the Knicks have is looking more problematic.

I think our tank is fine. Don't forget we gave away Gafford and will probably give away Kuzma (and hopefully Tyus too).

Detroit, after multiple awful seasons, is really trying to win now. They will probably make a free agent acquisition or two to try and vault them into 28-30 win territory. I also think the Bulls are still substantially better than us, unless they dump Derozan.

Our tank potential in 2026 is still up in the air. It'll depend how well our young guys develop. If we land Sarr, I'm not too worried about him being a difference-maker in 2025-26. He is going to take a while.

[mhd]

I think the Nets, Detroit, and potentially Bulls are going to out-tank us this year. A healthy Deni and an actual coach will get us more wins than them. We still keep our pick since it is top 10 protected, but that 2026 top-8 protected first that the Knicks have is looking more problematic.

I think our tank is fine. Don't forget we gave away Gafford and will probably give away Kuzma (and hopefully Tyus too).

Detroit, after multiple awful seasons, is really trying to win now. They will probably make a free agent acquisition or two to try and vault them into 28-30 win territory. I also think the Bulls are still substantially better than us, unless they dump Derozan.

Our tank potential in 2026 is still up in the air. It'll depend how well our young guys develop. If we land Sarr, I'm not too worried about him being a difference-maker in 2025-26. He is going to take a while.

I read that Langdon is actually going to continue the dumping ground strategy to get future picks as Detroit doesn’t want to spend long term money right now. They’ll sign a productive vet, but it won’t be earth shattering.

If the Bulls dump LaVine and Danae bolts, we will be better than them IMO. I think Nets have zero intention of trying to win. We will easily be better than them. I’m worried about that 2026 pick. I’d offer what I can to increase the coverage so it never conveys.