2019 NBA Draft Prep

[atlantabbq99]

Here are some second round prospects that the Hawks could be interested in, in 2019

Marial Shayok: Not super athletic but is a dynamic scorer, reminds me of Mike Miller.

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I wrote about this guy early on, he just put his name on the national stage with a great win over #4 Kansas. Shayok would be a great 2nd round pic or late first round. The more I watch him the more you can tell he has a high basketball IQ. He always plays in control, he is very unselfish but still he is able to get +20ppg. He looks like the typical player the Spurs would draft.

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[Spud2nique]

Zion Williamson is a **** FREAK OF NATURE!!! Holy moly what is he doing out there???? I can’t get my fingers to pull off what he’s doing on the court in a stupid ps4 game... wow.

[King Ken]

Zion is a 5 on defense. On offense, no matter what, he will operate on the perimeter but defensively, he is a 5

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I haven't watched much college ball outside of game highlights, so I ask this question from a place of ignorance: Why is he a 5 on defense and not a 4?

His ability of an undersized 5. Can defends in space extremely well, extremely hard to post up, extremely strong, extremely explosive to make up for his lack of height and length, extremely explosive on the glass, great off the ball hands and presence to make up for lack of size. Extremely fast for position to make up for lack of size.

He is really more of an undersized 5. He isn't really built to spend on all game on the perimeter defending which a lot of modern 4s live at. He needs to spend as much time as a hover. A position that Al Horford and Ben Wallace mastered. That's generally a job of a 5. Never been one I've seen of a 4.

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[King Ken]

^If so, he really is the solution to our problems. But I still wonder how he'll hold up against elite NBA bigs defensively.

Embiid, Giannis, A Davis. As a 6'7" chubby center, I suspect he'd have trouble stopping any of those guys.

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Those guys could struggle with Zion on the other end as well as Zion can handle both AD and Embiid. AD struggles with Harden in the post D, Zion is another monster but ten times more athletic. Embiid struggles with bigs with size. Joker is one player I can see giving Zion issues but like we saw with Big Ben, he wasn't flawless on defense v. Every center. Some centers will just be an issue for him. Jokic is one of them

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[Spud2nique]

^With the new rules, the Hawks just need to get into the top 4 in the lottery.

I have the ranking as...

1. Cam
2. Bol
3. Zion

but the gap between the three is not that much.

I'm not a fan of Barrett and think he is a future bust, but he still has a lot of hype on him and could be good trade bait if the Hawks end up with him with the 4th pick.

I’m sorry but how on earth did you have Bol over Zion in any universe? I can’t read any of your material moving forward I’m sorry. Seriously? Lol. Comon Diesel ur better than that.

[Spud2nique]

King Ken I was trying to see what you wrote about Keldon Johnson about 5 pages ago. You didn’t even mention him and he’s in my top 3 wings for us.

Keldon can be our wing stopper and a Draymond type of personality on and off the court for Schlenk who drools dub blue n yellow.

[King Ken]

King Ken I was trying to see what you wrote about Keldon Johnson about 5 pages ago. You didn’t even mention him and he’s in my top 3 wings for us.

Keldon can be our wing stopper and a Draymond type of personality on and off the court for Schlenk who drools dub blue n yellow.

I don't like him at all. I just mentioned it in the draft forum. I just see a struggling role player in the NBA when I project him

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[Spud2nique]

King Ken I was trying to see what you wrote about Keldon Johnson about 5 pages ago. You didn’t even mention him and he’s in my top 3 wings for us.

Keldon can be our wing stopper and a Draymond type of personality on and off the court for Schlenk who drools dub blue n yellow.

I don't like him at all. I just mentioned it in the draft forum. I just see a struggling role player in the NBA when I project him

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Wow! This might be a debate for a minute as I think he’s somebody who has an NBA body and mentality to become a force. Something screams Westbrook lite. I’m not sure we got our enforcer in Omari last year, I think this is a guy Schlenk might take a look at for us. I like Culver for the system fit better but this guy is right there for me.

[Vol4ever]

Looks like many teams have a shot at the #1 pick to me. We have screwed ourselves for sure.

[Ice Trae]

How do you guys feel about Kevin Porter Jr? If we strike out on the Duke boys, he's my pick right now.

[personanongrata]

Looks like many teams have a shot at the #1 pick to me. We have screwed ourselves for sure.

As I explained previously, having the worst record no longer gives you an advantage on getting the #1 pick. The NBA reformulated the draft lottery odds.

[King Ken]

How do you guys feel about Kevin Porter Jr? If we strike out on the Duke boys, he's my pick right now.

I don't think he's a good option for us. That said, I haven't seen much of him either. But from what I saw, not sure he would fit.

[Spud2nique]

How do you guys feel about Kevin Porter Jr? If we strike out on the Duke boys, he's my pick right now.

I also saw a guy that seems to need the ball in his hands to excel. We have Trae running an offense where everybody has to move well without the ball and play well in a hot potato situation. From what I’ve seen, the ball stops in Porter’s hands too much ala the Rockets offense. Of course you could always mold players. Not the best fit as KK said.

[Jamaaliver]

How do you guys feel about Kevin Porter Jr? If we strike out on the Duke boys, he's my pick right now.

I don't think he's a good option for us. That said, I haven't seen much of him either. But from what I saw, not sure he would fit.

I also saw a guy that seems to need the ball in his hands to excel. From what I’ve seen, the ball stops in Porter’s hands too much ala the Rockets offense. Of course you could always mold players. Not the best fit as KK said.

+100

Dude is a ball stopper but provides little else in terms of play-making or defense.

Those guys fall out of the league quickly, a la Shabazz Muhammed or OJ Mayo.

Then again he could be Zach Lavine, stick around for years. And still never make an impact on a winning team.

[Jamaaliver]

With all that said, what do you guys think of Keldon Johnson. Word is his defense and outside shooting has been surprisingly effective. Particularly for a freshman.

With his size and skill set, seems his floor is that of an effective 3 & D SG. Is there any more offensive potential? Who's a good comparison in NBA terms?

Caris Levert, maybe?

Spoiler:

Keldon Johnson, G/F, Kentucky | Freshman

Height: 6'6" | Weight: 210 | Age: 19 | Last Rank: 7

Johnson has always been a player whose value lies in his floor more than his ceiling, and he’s been steady as Kentucky goes through some growing pains. His three-point shooting has been encouraging, his competitiveness runs high and there are no glaring holes in his skill set. Johnson is somewhat mature physically and is not extremely explosive or wiggly off the bounce, which points to a more limited ceiling than some of the players ahead of him on this list, but there’s a lot to like about his game, particularly given the demand for wings who play both ends of the floor. He should present bankable value in this range of the draft.

SI.com

[Jamaaliver]

If we miss out on Cam Reddish/J Culver and the Mavs pick falls out of the top-10, this is a kid I'd strongly consider in the late lottery:

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[Jamaaliver]

NBA mock draft: Five rising prospects, new lottery picks


3. ATL | Nassir Little | SF | UNC | Fr. | 6-6 | 18 years old

8. MEM | Jarrett Culver | SG | Texas Tech | So | 6-6 | 20 years old

10. ATL (via DAL) | Sekou Doumbouya | PF | Limoges | France | 6-9 | 18 years old

33. ATL | Quentin Grimes | SG | Kansas | Fr | 6-6 | 18 years old

ESPN Insider


I'd be very okay with a combo of Sekou, Nassir and Q Grimes. Those three guys together can play all 5 positions and each have pretty high ceilings.

[Jamaaliver]

Abridged Scouting Report From ESPN:

Jarrett Culver | So. | SG | Texas Tech

Forced to shoulder a heavy offensive load on a skill-deprived Texas Tech squad that ranks as the best defensive team in college basketball, Culver has upped his usage rate to a sky-high 30 percent (fifth among projected collegiate draft picks). Despite being his team's go-to guy, he has nevertheless been incredibly efficient with a true shooting percentage of 65 that trails only Zion Williamson and Rui Hachimura among heavy usage college prospects.

Culver's shooting percentages (61 percent from 2, 42 percent from 3) are bound to fall as Texas Tech's schedule stiffens, but it was difficult not to be impressed by what he showed in high-profile neutral-court matchups against Duke, Nebraska and USC, plus on the road this week vs. West Virginia.

Culver has grown to 6-foot-6 in shoes and added more than 20 pounds to his frame since arriving on campus, now weighing a solid 199 pounds and boasting a 6-9 wingspan.

His excellent pace, high basketball IQ, unselfish approach and ability to see over the top of defenses to find teammates creatively gives him nice potential as a playmaker at the NBA level.

[Spud2nique]

With all that said, what do you guys think of Keldon Johnson. Word is his defense and outside shooting has been surprisingly effective. Particularly for a freshman.

With his size and skill set, seems his floor is that of an effective 3 & D SG. Is there any more offensive potential? Who's a good comparison in NBA terms?

Caris Levert, maybe?

Spoiler:

Keldon Johnson, G/F, Kentucky | Freshman

Height: 6'6" | Weight: 210 | Age: 19 | Last Rank: 7

Johnson has always been a player whose value lies in his floor more than his ceiling, and he’s been steady as Kentucky goes through some growing pains. His three-point shooting has been encouraging, his competitiveness runs high and there are no glaring holes in his skill set. Johnson is somewhat mature physically and is not extremely explosive or wiggly off the bounce, which points to a more limited ceiling than some of the players ahead of him on this list, but there’s a lot to like about his game, particularly given the demand for wings who play both ends of the floor. He should present bankable value in this range of the draft.

SI.com

I’m starting to love Keldon. He’s in my top 3 wings but ageadnof him are Cam and Culver. He’s my 3rd he’s my note on him from before.

3. Keldon Johnson -Caron Butler, bigger Randy Foye and a potential Westbrook lite from the sf position..if Schlenk got his Nash in Trae and Klay in Huerter, this is his Draymond Green (from a wing perspective but nevertheless the enforcer).

[Spud2nique]

If we miss out on Cam Reddish/J Culver and the Mavs pick falls out of the top-10, this is a kid I'd strongly consider in the late lottery:

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Watching him vs Arizona on Wednesday live and up front. Let’s see this Giannis lite. Lol. Seriously every player is trying to imitate “the current hot player” in the league. I guess that’s in general life as well with fashion trends but it’s funny to me. That’s why I wear a cape around all the time, I’m me.