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Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion/Index

Moderators: HomoSapien, AshyLarrysDiaper, coldfish, Payt10, Ice Man, dougthonus, Michael Jackson, Tommy Udo 6 , kulaz3000, fleet, DASMACKDOWN, GimmeDat, RedBulls23

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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#81 » by Chi town » Thu Apr 24, 2025 12:12 pm

DuckIII wrote:
Chi town wrote:I believe another Buz will fall to us.

Could be Tre Fears KJ Noa.

If Tre falls to 8-9 you have to be ready to trade Ayo to move up and get him.


I love Ayo with Giddey getting up and down the floor. When he returns healthy he will fit like a glove. It will be fun to watch.

But he is a role player. If you can add a role player to move up in the lotto to grab a guy you genuinely love, you do it. Tre or whomever. Doesn’t matter. If you as GM really love a guy you can’t let a role player stop you.


We have not seen heathy Ayo with Triple Double Giddey. You’d think they’d be a good fit due to fast breaks. Ayo does offer way more scoring and creating than Phillips or Dalen or even Tre or Zo. He is NOT a PG and we desperately need one when Giddey sits.

If we resign Tre and Zo is healthy there is a mins crunch.

We will always need shooting and high IQ players like Tre. Fears fits the scoring PG and doubles like Tre for Coby insurance.

I don’t see AK trading Ayo though. Hometown kid.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#82 » by sco » Thu Apr 24, 2025 12:45 pm

Chi town wrote:
DuckIII wrote:
Chi town wrote:I believe another Buz will fall to us.

Could be Tre Fears KJ Noa.

If Tre falls to 8-9 you have to be ready to trade Ayo to move up and get him.


I love Ayo with Giddey getting up and down the floor. When he returns healthy he will fit like a glove. It will be fun to watch.

But he is a role player. If you can add a role player to move up in the lotto to grab a guy you genuinely love, you do it. Tre or whomever. Doesn’t matter. If you as GM really love a guy you can’t let a role player stop you.


We have not seen heathy Ayo with Triple Double Giddey. You’d think they’d be a good fit due to fast breaks. Ayo does offer way more scoring and creating than Phillips or Dalen or even Tre or Zo. He is NOT a PG and we desperately need one when Giddey sits.

If we resign Tre and Zo is healthy there is a mins crunch.

We will always need shooting and high IQ players like Tre. Fears fits the scoring PG and doubles like Tre for Coby insurance.

I don’t see AK trading Ayo though. Hometown kid.

Good points. I think our decision to resign Tre will depend on who we draft. With White/Giddey/Matas we have 3 guys who we could look to as our core, but none of them have shown enough for us to not pick BPA regardless of position. I'll be optimistic we land the #1 pick and the decision will be easy for us.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#83 » by Guru » Thu Apr 24, 2025 1:49 pm

sco wrote:
Chi town wrote:
DuckIII wrote:
I love Ayo with Giddey getting up and down the floor. When he returns healthy he will fit like a glove. It will be fun to watch.

But he is a role player. If you can add a role player to move up in the lotto to grab a guy you genuinely love, you do it. Tre or whomever. Doesn’t matter. If you as GM really love a guy you can’t let a role player stop you.


We have not seen heathy Ayo with Triple Double Giddey. You’d think they’d be a good fit due to fast breaks. Ayo does offer way more scoring and creating than Phillips or Dalen or even Tre or Zo. He is NOT a PG and we desperately need one when Giddey sits.

If we resign Tre and Zo is healthy there is a mins crunch.

We will always need shooting and high IQ players like Tre. Fears fits the scoring PG and doubles like Tre for Coby insurance.

I don’t see AK trading Ayo though. Hometown kid.

Good points. I think our decision to resign Tre will depend on who we draft. With White/Giddey/Matas we have 3 guys who we could look to as our core, but none of them have shown enough for us to not pick BPA regardless of position. I'll be optimistic we land the #1 pick and the decision will be easy for us.


I'd be surprised if its our decision, I think someone else will value him more highly.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#84 » by Guru » Fri Apr 25, 2025 12:35 am

I was in on Maluach, and then now I am pretty out. Zero rebounds in the biggest game of your life seems pretty terrible. I like the idea of him, not sure I like the player.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#85 » by MGB8 » Fri Apr 25, 2025 2:12 am

Guru wrote:I was in on Maluach, and then now I am pretty out. Zero rebounds in the biggest game of your life seems pretty terrible. I like the idea of him, not sure I like the player.


That is fair, but there is just so much talent there. I wouldn’t be at all upset if the Bulls took him at 12. It’s a reasonable swing to take. But they better feel that he loves the game, as opposed to being an athletically gifted 7’2 guy who just plays basketball by default.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#86 » by Chi town » Fri Apr 25, 2025 2:14 am

MGB8 wrote:
Guru wrote:I was in on Maluach, and then now I am pretty out. Zero rebounds in the biggest game of your life seems pretty terrible. I like the idea of him, not sure I like the player.


That is fair, but there is just so much talent there. I wouldn’t be at all upset if the Bulls took him at 12. It’s a reasonable swing to take. But they better feel that he loves the game, as opposed to being an athletically gifted 7’2 guy who just plays basketball by default.


Once he gets into workouts he will be taken higher.

Would love for KJ Fears or Noa to drop.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#87 » by wolffy » Fri Apr 25, 2025 3:08 am

MGB8 wrote:
Guru wrote:I was in on Maluach, and then now I am pretty out. Zero rebounds in the biggest game of your life seems pretty terrible. I like the idea of him, not sure I like the player.


That is fair, but there is just so much talent there. I wouldn’t be at all upset if the Bulls took him at 12. It’s a reasonable swing to take. But they better feel that he loves the game, as opposed to being an athletically gifted 7’2 guy who just plays basketball by default.


Tbh I don't see so much talent there. He's decent, hes huge, that's about it imo.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#88 » by WindyCityBorn » Fri Apr 25, 2025 3:33 am

Chi town wrote:
MGB8 wrote:
Guru wrote:I was in on Maluach, and then now I am pretty out. Zero rebounds in the biggest game of your life seems pretty terrible. I like the idea of him, not sure I like the player.


That is fair, but there is just so much talent there. I wouldn’t be at all upset if the Bulls took him at 12. It’s a reasonable swing to take. But they better feel that he loves the game, as opposed to being an athletically gifted 7’2 guy who just plays basketball by default.


Once he gets into workouts he will be taken higher.

Would love for KJ Fears or Noa to drop.


No way Fears drops to us.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#89 » by WindyCityBorn » Fri Apr 25, 2025 3:34 am

wolffy wrote:
MGB8 wrote:
Guru wrote:I was in on Maluach, and then now I am pretty out. Zero rebounds in the biggest game of your life seems pretty terrible. I like the idea of him, not sure I like the player.


That is fair, but there is just so much talent there. I wouldn’t be at all upset if the Bulls took him at 12. It’s a reasonable swing to take. But they better feel that he loves the game, as opposed to being an athletically gifted 7’2 guy who just plays basketball by default.


Tbh I don't see so much talent there. He's decent, hes huge, that's about it imo.


Pretty much.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#90 » by Chi town » Fri Apr 25, 2025 3:52 am

WindyCityBorn wrote:
Chi town wrote:
MGB8 wrote:
That is fair, but there is just so much talent there. I wouldn’t be at all upset if the Bulls took him at 12. It’s a reasonable swing to take. But they better feel that he loves the game, as opposed to being an athletically gifted 7’2 guy who just plays basketball by default.


Once he gets into workouts he will be taken higher.

Would love for KJ Fears or Noa to drop.


No way Fears drops to us.


I’ve seen mocks of him mid teens.

Think he goes top 6 though.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#91 » by Andi Obst » Fri Apr 25, 2025 7:50 am

MGB8 wrote:
Guru wrote:I was in on Maluach, and then now I am pretty out. Zero rebounds in the biggest game of your life seems pretty terrible. I like the idea of him, not sure I like the player.


That is fair, but there is just so much talent there. I wouldn’t be at all upset if the Bulls took him at 12. It’s a reasonable swing to take. But they better feel that he loves the game, as opposed to being an athletically gifted 7’2 guy who just plays basketball by default.


I kind of agree with both of you. Right now the idea of Maluach is much more intriguing than the actual player and I would generally prefer to stay away from prospects like that. At 12, though, the idea might be too intriguing to ignore it.

As a general note, I actually like the range the Bulls will (most likely) be drafting in. My top 3 is pretty much set (Flagg, Harper, VJ), but it's so open after that. I mean, the Ringer has Carter Bryant at 6 right now and the guy played 19 minutes a night and averaged 6 points. Nobody really seems to know what to do in the 4-14 range. This could easily be the type of draft where you look back in a couple years and you got a top 5 player at 12. Another Buzelis scenario seems possible here.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#92 » by sco » Fri Apr 25, 2025 12:12 pm

Andi Obst wrote:
MGB8 wrote:
Guru wrote:I was in on Maluach, and then now I am pretty out. Zero rebounds in the biggest game of your life seems pretty terrible. I like the idea of him, not sure I like the player.


That is fair, but there is just so much talent there. I wouldn’t be at all upset if the Bulls took him at 12. It’s a reasonable swing to take. But they better feel that he loves the game, as opposed to being an athletically gifted 7’2 guy who just plays basketball by default.


I kind of agree with both of you. Right now the idea of Maluach is much more intriguing than the actual player and I would generally prefer to stay away from prospects like that. At 12, though, the idea might be too intriguing to ignore it.

As a general note, I actually like the range the Bulls will (most likely) be drafting in. My top 3 is pretty much set (Flagg, Harper, VJ), but it's so open after that. I mean, the Ringer has Carter Bryant at 6 right now and the guy played 19 minutes a night and averaged 6 points. Nobody really seems to know what to do in the 4-14 range. This could easily be the type of draft where you look back in a couple years and you got a top 5 player at 12. Another Buzelis scenario seems possible here.

Yeah, this year it feels like there are a lot of imperfect prospects after 1, any one could be a bust or allstar. Maluach was a guy I was afraid to take at 8, but at 12, the risk/reward equation changes. I'm still against drafting C's with lotto picks because the hit/miss ratio just seems lower at that position. I did some more looking at Maluach and his ability to guard on the perimeter is better than I thought.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#93 » by Guru » Fri Apr 25, 2025 1:13 pm

13 F-Noa Essengue-Germany 4/25/2025

SCOUTING REPORT BY Danny Chau
Essengue will have his zealots. At 18 years old, he is one of the youngest prospects in the class, only three days older than Cooper Flagg. He has the straight-line speed and overall range of motion of a wing but the standing reach of an NBA center. He is about 80 percent limbs, long levered with a high center of gravity. Unlike many projects of his ilk, Essengue has been extremely productive at the professional level, playing on one of the great incubators in the global web of professional basketball. First impressions count for a lot, and there were plenty of folks who caught their first glimpse of Essengue back in October of last year, during an NBA preseason game between Ratiopharm Ulm and the Portland Trail Blazers. It was an ideal showcase for Essengue, who scored 20 points (and hit three 3-pointers) and logged eight rebounds. He showed he belonged, and he hadn’t even turned 18 yet.

But carving out a space in the NBA often requires finding a specialty. It’s not yet clear what that is for Essengue. He has a nose for the ball and a keen sense of when to flash into open space. He’s predictably excellent in transition. His length affords him uncommon angles as a defensive playmaker, and he can cover an immense distance just off two long strides, but he’s as prone to ball watching and zoning out as any teenager. He’s unselfish and often has the correct vision on his reads, but his passes sometimes lack touch or conviction. He shoots, just not very well at all. His rudimentary handle prevents him from being a more effective shot creator, and his frail figure and high center of gravity narrow his pathways to winning mismatches in the post.

Essengue’s most outlier skill at the professional level seems randomly assigned by the basketball gods. For a player lacking much in the way of functional play strength, Essengue invites contact and uses it to his advantage. He has proved to be a foul-drawing machine in the Bundesliga with his obscenely high free throw rate, roughly the same as Julius Randle’s in his lone season at Kentucky back in 2013-14. It made sense for Randle, who has always been a tank—even as a teenager, he was nearly 60 pounds heavier than the Frenchman. For Essengue, who weaponizes his speed in his collisions with the defense, getting to the line entails emulating the kind of rag doll physics popularized in PlayStation games of the early aughts.

None of this is particularly damning. Every concern about his game has a positive upshot in its range of outcomes. In the aggregate, Essengue’s profile could be seen as a huge green flag given his age. But his development will take a patient front office with a clear road map. Essengue certainly looks the part while also demonstrating enough of a framework of skills to leave teams daydreaming. For draftniks of a certain vintage, Essengue’s evaluation is its own kind of comfort food. He is an archetypal prototype.



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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#94 » by GuardianEnzo » Fri Apr 25, 2025 2:42 pm

That's the guy I hope we get the chance to take (and do) at 12.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#95 » by TheSuzerain » Fri Apr 25, 2025 2:53 pm

Guru wrote:13 F-Noa Essengue-Germany 4/25/2025

playing on one of the great incubators in the global web of professional basketball

From the incubator that brought you Killian Hayes!
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#96 » by Chi town » Fri Apr 25, 2025 3:40 pm

Noa is my #1 Target at 12.

Top 5 highest ceiling in the draft.

Don’t think he will be there at 12.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#97 » by Shill » Fri Apr 25, 2025 7:12 pm

TheSuzerain wrote:
Guru wrote:13 F-Noa Essengue-Germany 4/25/2025

playing on one of the great incubators in the global web of professional basketball

From the incubator that brought you Killian Hayes!



Didn't you like Hayes?
Scottie Pippen's response to whom he would pick for his running mate, Michael or LeBron: "That's a dumbass question. I've never done anything with LeBron. I wouldn't take LeBron to the movies."
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#98 » by TheSuzerain » Fri Apr 25, 2025 7:27 pm

Shill wrote:
TheSuzerain wrote:
Guru wrote:13 F-Noa Essengue-Germany 4/25/2025

playing on one of the great incubators in the global web of professional basketball

From the incubator that brought you Killian Hayes!



Didn't you like Hayes?

Yes.

Ulm is dead to me.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#99 » by Chi town » Fri Apr 25, 2025 8:03 pm

Shill wrote:
TheSuzerain wrote:
Guru wrote:13 F-Noa Essengue-Germany 4/25/2025

playing on one of the great incubators in the global web of professional basketball

From the incubator that brought you Killian Hayes!



Didn't you like Hayes?


Hahahahaha.

And THT too. Big THT fan. Haven’t seen a comment about him from Suz since he arrived.
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Re: Individual Daily Draft Prospect Discussion 

Post#100 » by TheSuzerain » Fri Apr 25, 2025 8:11 pm

THT was a good prospect. Didn't develop though.

And yet he's still a better basketball player than most of AK's draft picks.

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