Poll: Which of the consensus top 3 prospects is the best fit for us?

[Purple+Black]

With this being a tank year considering the injuries (whether real or exaggerated). I’m curious to see who from the consensus top 3 prospects would fit our team best (consensus is debatable and early, I know - but it seems to be more of a consensus than most years). I understand that best available is the rule, but this year’s #1 seems more open ended than previously advertised. Dylan has closed the gap on Cooper and Ace Bailey could arguably have a higher ceiling than both.

Hoping for a more targeted discussion centring more specifically on the top 3 candidates (Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey). Feel free to make a case for outlier prospects if you feel strongly that they should be in that top 3.

Changing your selection is allowed so hopefully we can see how this poll changes throughout the NCAA season.

[Raps in 4]

Doesn't matter. Always draft the BPA.

I think I like Ace the best from those three right now, and he also happens to be the best fit. But I trust Masai to find the best player, and if he doesn't fit, so be it. We'll figure that out later.

[ImaBeatDatAzz]

Harper all the way

[NinjaBro]

I'm staying far away from Bailey. PhilBlackson wants him and I don't trust his judgement.
That said I'm going with Harper.

Warned: Baiting

[Bank Shot]

Fit-wise probably Harper. Flagg reminds me a lot of Scottie. It would not be a seamless fit. However, the pick should be based off BPA. Figure out the fit later.

I would shocked if Bailey was in the running for the top pick at the end of the year given what we've seen so far. There are some major red flags there.

[Ell Curry]

They all fit nicely I think, assuming they are top 70 or so (that's around where there's a decent sized dropoff from being one of your 3 or 4 best players/guys you're really excited about having start for you, to guys with a major weakness).

Flagg + Barnes gives us a Wagner + Banchero big wing pairing that should be elite on defence. And we do now have some guards that can hit 3s but are likely to struggle on defence (Agbaji and Walter might be alright), so that's not a bad fit, really. Space for Flagg and Barnes to bully-ball, lots of stocks and rebounds from both, maybe one or both are genuinely good shooters in 2-3 years when a playoff run becomes really plausible. Probably helps the odds of Barrett sticking around for a while since Flagg and Barnes are both solid defenders and Barrett might do well as a 6th man type.

Harper would presumably run the offence with Scottie as the #2 getting close to or equal usage. Quickley/Dick/Agbaji/Walter hunting 3s, a center doing normal center stuff and probably a 3+D SF, presumably acquired in the 2026 draft or a Barrett trade, he seems like a bad fit with Harper.

Bailey seems like the shakiest pick of those 3 obviously. His BPM is straight bad, he makes Boucher look like Magic Johnson as a passer. But the fit is really clean at the 3 as a shooter. Barnes/Mogbo and Poeltl/2026 draftee at center hold down the fort defensively and tons of shooting on the perimeter. We could probably even draft a ball dominant meh-shooter in 2026 or keep giving Barrett time since we'd have 5 legit shooters in Bailey/Dick/Quickley/Agbaji/Walter on the perimeter.

[wegotthabeet]

Flagg all day. No question.

[RoteSchroder]

We’re sorely missing an on-ball perimeter scorer, so Tre Johnson or Kasparas. Harper’s good too, but not as good of an outside shooter

[Got Nuffin]

The idea of putting Dylan Harper and Scottie Barnes together in a long-term collaboration is mind-blowing. IMO they are perfect next to each other. Surround them with shooters like Dick, Quickley and Walter. Bring Barrett off the bench in a sixth man role.

That's a heck of a team, folks. Incredible that's it's actually not super far fetched.

[Brinbe]

Harper and Barnes would be incredible and probably my top choice right now. Harper is looking like a jumbo Brunson, which is a pretty good player. Flagg and Barnes would obviously be a tremendous defensive duo but there's a bit more overlap there in comparison to the former combo and not as much offensive upside but we'd still be happy adding a plus defender.

Also Bailey wouldn't be a bad third choice as he'll give you shooting/scoring at the very least. Just because he's not number one doesn't mean he'd be bad at 3 or 4. Not really too keen on Jakucionis as I don't think he'll pop as much against NBA defenses. What does he bring that we don't already have in Gradey? A bit more playmaking maybe? but meh. Same thing with Demin. Just meh. I'd rather draft a Jeremiah Fears or VJ Edgecombe or just go for Maluach.

Tre Johnson will give you buckets but Cam Thomas types aren't really all that valuable if they can't defend.

[LoveMyRaps]

Harper
Quickley
Barrett
Barnes
Poeltl

6th Man: Dick

[artsncrafts]

I dont think you have to draft for fit, you can just build around your top 3 guy if they are amazing. Harper seems like the BPA as of right now with the obviously small sample size. Drafting for fit ruins franchises.

[YogurtProducer]

Just go BPA.

[LoveMyRaps]

Just go BPA.

It's really that simple.

Any of those top 3 guys can fit into our starting lineup.
Just bring Gradey off the bench.

[Jerry Lucas]

Dylan Harper so far (still kind of early in the college season though, things can still change) is the only 1 of the 3 that is performing like a "Masai-type Lottery level prospect."

Ace Bailey is straight up looking like a future NBA bust so far. Massive red flags everywhere in his production.

Cooper Flagg is also performing very well. The production in general looks great. But Masai has a specific type, and there are some aspects of Cooper Flagg's production that suggest while he is worthy of being considered one of this draft's top prospects, so is Dylan Harper, and he's also producing like a no-doubter "Masai-type" lottery-level prospect, while Flagg isn't.

Masai has never drafted a prospect that isn't "his type" of FRP, over someone that is.

I posted in the draft thread recently outlining this in a bit more detail, and showed my track record on this so far:
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=115983163#p115983163

My track record so far (check the dates on these posts). I didn't know about Torvik until the 2023 draft cycle which is the site I use to filter for Masai-types:

Gradey:
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=105427438#p105427438
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=106576531#p106576531

Ja'Kobe (his 1st half of the season stood out big time, before his knee issues in the 2nd half caused a drop off in production):
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=110746921#p110746921
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=110829460#p110829460
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=110830588#p110830588

Mogbo (pick 31 I was tracking as a psuedo-FRP, considering it was a very early SRP):
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=112340825#p112340825

[M3tro]

We need a scorer. A go-to first option scorer.

I haven't followed the prospects enough to know which best matches that description; but that's what we need.

[DG88]

Always go BPA, but for me it's Harper easily.

[HumbleRen]

Harper. We need a guard who can create from a standstill and rim pressure. He fits those boxes.

[mtcan]

Dylan Harper so far (still kind of early in the college season though, things can still change) is the only 1 of the 3 that is performing like a "Masai-type Lottery level prospect."

Ace Bailey is straight up looking like a future NBA bust so far. Massive red flags everywhere in his production.

Cooper Flagg is also performing very well. The production in general looks great. But Masai has a specific type, and there are some aspects of Cooper Flagg's production that suggest while he is worthy of being considered one of this draft's top prospects, so is Dylan Harper, and he's also producing like a no-doubter "Masai-type" lottery-level prospect, while Flagg isn't.

Masai has never drafted a prospect that isn't "his type" of FRP, over someone that is.

I posted in the draft thread recently outlining this in a bit more detail, and showed my track record on this so far:
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=115983163#p115983163

My track record so far (check the dates on these posts). I didn't know about Torvik until the 2023 draft cycle which is the site I use to filter for Masai-types:

Gradey:
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=105427438#p105427438
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=106576531#p106576531

Ja'Kobe (his 1st half of the season stood out big time, before his knee issues in the 2nd half caused a drop off in production):
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=110746921#p110746921
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=110829460#p110829460
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=110830588#p110830588

Mogbo (pick 31 I was tracking as a psuedo-FRP, considering it was a very early SRP):
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=112340825#p112340825

Cooper being 6'9 with good defensive instincts and a shaky 3 pointer...sounds like a Masai kind of guy to me.

Big question is...assuming Flagg and Harper are 1 and 2 (in no particular order)...who is the next BPA? Is it really Ace? Demin? I have to say that I'm out on Edgecomb as a top 5 pick.

[Jerry Lucas]

Dylan Harper so far (still kind of early in the college season though, things can still change) is the only 1 of the 3 that is performing like a "Masai-type Lottery level prospect."

Ace Bailey is straight up looking like a future NBA bust so far. Massive red flags everywhere in his production.

Cooper Flagg is also performing very well. The production in general looks great. But Masai has a specific type, and there are some aspects of Cooper Flagg's production that suggest while he is worthy of being considered one of this draft's top prospects, so is Dylan Harper, and he's also producing like a no-doubter "Masai-type" lottery-level prospect, while Flagg isn't.

Masai has never drafted a prospect that isn't "his type" of FRP, over someone that is.

I posted in the draft thread recently outlining this in a bit more detail, and showed my track record on this so far:
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=115983163#p115983163

My track record so far (check the dates on these posts). I didn't know about Torvik until the 2023 draft cycle which is the site I use to filter for Masai-types:

Gradey:
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=105427438#p105427438
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=106576531#p106576531

Ja'Kobe (his 1st half of the season stood out big time, before his knee issues in the 2nd half caused a drop off in production):
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=110746921#p110746921
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=110829460#p110829460
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=110830588#p110830588

Mogbo (pick 31 I was tracking as a psuedo-FRP, considering it was a very early SRP):
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=112340825#p112340825

Cooper being 6'9 with good defensive instincts and a shaky 3 pointer...sounds like a Masai kind of guy to me.

Big question is...assuming Flagg and Harper are 1 and 2 (in no particular order)...who is the next BPA? Is it really Ace? Demin? I have to say that I'm out on Edgecomb as a top 5 pick.

I'm not going to outline every single production threshold that has to be met for a prospect to be a "Masai-type FRP", because it would be too long of a post and probably off topic for this thread.

But the main thing I'll say as it relates to Flagg is, Masai-types have to show two-way potential, but offense actually has to be their calling card over defense in terms of the way they impact winning (Higher oWS/40 than dWS/40, but neither can be a weakness). That, as of right now, is a major aspect of Flagg's production that makes him "not a Masai-type."

After Flagg and Harper, I'm out on Ace so far. Edgecombe isn't looking like a Masai-type yet, but in general his production is still showing how high his upside is, similar to Flagg. In terms of Masai-types, the 2 highest mocked guys after Harper that are producing like Masai-types are Demin and Kasparas. Also the way Queen is playing, it's only a matter of time before he ends up a big riser in mocks, and in the same range as Demin/Kasparas.