Wizards 2019 Draft thread. (Tank for Zion, or OTHER NAME HERE)

[Dat2U]

Thing is... Clarke looks like he can be a terrific NBA player, just as he was a terrific college player -- even given the difference between the levels.

For that reason, it's great news for us that his measurements aren't ideal. Helps us get him & another prospect if we trade down.

Great news for any team that gets him further down in the round, I mean -- I hope we are that team.

Honestly... you nailed this. I think you're 100% right.

4.5 blocks per 40 minutes this year. Not fretting over his wingspan, I can tell you that!

Brandon Clarke has some amazingly gaudy numbers this year. He's a steal somewhere mid-R1. No one is a guarantee, but... he's close!

The 9 for the 14 & 20 makes so much sense.

PFs: Clarke, Washington, G. Williams
Cs: Bol, Bitadze, Kabengele
Gs: Herro, Alexander-Walker

Alot of guys I'd be happy with.

Just stay away from Reddish, Little, Porter Jr & Hachimura. You could talk me into some others.

[queridiculo]

I have no idea how people expect Bol Bol being able to play on this level, 208 lbs?

Questionable durability and motor, absolutely terrible defensive instincts, shows no desire to engage physically, there's no way this kid is going to be able to give you any meaningful minutes on his rookie deal.

No faith here, I'd be absolutely devastated if the Wizards ended up making him their pick, he's going to be a colossal bust.

[truwizfan4evr]

Anyone think cameron be on the board at 9th? He would be a good pick For wizards.

[jangles86]

Hachimura could possibly still be on the board at 9

[PerkinsFor3]

Jaxson Hayes makes a lot of sense next to Bryant.

[nate33]

Yikes. A 6'8 wingspan? You can tank the standing reach but you can't tank the wingspan. Dude has alligator arms.

His stock just dropped precipitously.

I still like him, but now I'd be looking to trade down into the teens to get him.

He's also very skinny for a PF and older than the other top prospects. Even if he sets a record in the vertical leap (which I think he might), he might fall out of the lottery.

Thing is... Clarke looks like he can be a terrific NBA player, just as he was a terrific college player -- even given the difference between the levels.

For that reason, it's great news for us that his measurements aren't ideal. Helps us get him & another prospect if we trade down.

Great news for any team that gets him further down in the round, I mean -- I hope we are that team.

Agreed. I don't really care about his measurements all that much. He had the same measurements when he absolutely dominated college basketball, posting better advanced numbers than everyone save Zion.

[nate33]

Someone convince me he’s dissimilar to Tyrus Thomas. I liked Clarke this year, but loved Thomas as well. Similar build and game and motor in college. Thomas came out when younger. I figured he had upside to develop.

Has the game changed significantly since Thomas came out? Is Clarke more likely to improve than Thomas? I see how Clarke can defend against small ball sets. I also see where his stats come from freelancing all over the court. Not part of lockdown man defense but playing renegade all over. A guy like Hunter (probably gone by 9) is boring. Not sexy. In part because his D is based on fundamentally sound positioning, good wingspan, lateral movement and snuffing his opponent so they don’t shoot and can’t drive past him and he’s too big to bump. They pass instead.

Clarke plays the opposite. He plays the empty spaces between players. And gets his points by slipping between guys and being forgotten. He can jump. He can dunk. He can run. He will block a shot or jump into a passing lane. It all looks good. But a guy like Draymond can’t jump over a tictac and is a far better player than guys with aerial antics because of that grounded positional leverage and strength and keeping in front of his man. Not pogoing around him.

What high flying skinny guy with short arms is a winning defender. Now or historically? His numbers suggest he’s a hustling maniac. I want to like him. I just haven’t yet seen that style succeed. I’d like to cheer that kind of effort. But I’ve seen the style fail.

If he could shoot then okay. Stow him at SF and let him get loose when things get chaotic. But otherwise we would have to build the right kind of team to take advantage of what he does do well.

In general, I think a smart, hard-working team defender has more utility than a one-on-one shut down defender in today's game. We are no longer in the era of isolation ball (unless it's an iso after forcing a switch). Everybody switches and everyone plays help defense these days. I don't know if that means Clarke will be successful or not, but labeling him a great renegade defender rather than a great one-on-one defender doesn't discourage me at all.

[doclinkin]

Someone convince me he’s dissimilar to Tyrus Thomas. I liked Clarke this year, but loved Thomas as well. Similar build and game and motor in college. Thomas came out when younger. I figured he had upside to develop.

Has the game changed significantly since Thomas came out? Is Clarke more likely to improve than Thomas? I see how Clarke can defend against small ball sets. I also see where his stats come from freelancing all over the court. Not part of lockdown man defense but playing renegade all over. A guy like Hunter (probably gone by 9) is boring. Not sexy. In part because his D is based on fundamentally sound positioning, good wingspan, lateral movement and snuffing his opponent so they don’t shoot and can’t drive past him and he’s too big to bump. They pass instead.

Clarke plays the opposite. He plays the empty spaces between players. And gets his points by slipping between guys and being forgotten. He can jump. He can dunk. He can run. He will block a shot or jump into a passing lane. It all looks good. But a guy like Draymond can’t jump over a tictac and is a far better player than guys with aerial antics because of that grounded positional leverage and strength and keeping in front of his man. Not pogoing around him.

What high flying skinny guy with short arms is a winning defender. Now or historically? His numbers suggest he’s a hustling maniac. I want to like him. I just haven’t yet seen that style succeed. I’d like to cheer that kind of effort. But I’ve seen the style fail.

If he could shoot then okay. Stow him at SF and let him get loose when things get chaotic. But otherwise we would have to build the right kind of team to take advantage of what he does do well.

In general, I think a smart, hard-working team defender has more utility than a one-on-one shut down defender in today's game. We are no longer in the era of isolation ball (unless it's an iso after forcing a switch). Everybody switches and everyone plays help defense these days. I don't know if that means Clarke will be successful or not, but labeling him a great renegade defender rather than a great one-on-one defender doesn't discourage me at all.

Until someone switches on him and blows by. His defense is vertical and bouncy. Not lateral positioning and closing off lanes and opportunities. It’s a higher risk style. May not be as effective as it looks on paper. As far as undersized college defenders is concerned the Long armed low stance players seem to translate better in the NBA than the superball high energy types.

I don’t hate on him. I just haven’t seen anyone with Clarke’s body type or playing style succeed. If you walk back thru the top shot blockers in the NCAA year by year you get few who make it and stick in the league. Jarvis Varnado was a force in college. Never made it. Pick a name. Similarly If you look at undersized big numbers athletic rebounders from mid-majors, you get the same results.

I want to like him. I just see more athletic enthusiasm than team concept in his game. And have seen that fail before. He seems relatively bright though, and his year to year progression is hopeful. So if he adds range then that athletic competitive aspect means he can retool and improve at the next level too. I just wonder.

[TGW]

Hachimura could possibly still be on the board at 9

As he should. He might fall out of the lottery altogether.

[PerkinsFor3]

Hachimura could possibly still be on the board at 9

As he should. He might fall out of the lottery altogether.

16-20 range for me, so far.

[Mizerooskie]

I wouldn’t trade Beal...
We lucked out on Zion...
Package that 9th pick for a starting pf
Wall with be back from injury early (tanking excuse)
Make a push

This is the Ernie Grunfeld "hey, maybe we can sneak into the playoffs in the weak East and go on a run" method. No thanks.

We don't have a superstar centerpiece. Everything else is moot until we get that. When was the last time a team won a title without one? Detroit in 2004?

Wall isn't that, and his game will regress quickly without speed to rely on. Beal isn't that, and I don't think he becomes that. We can't get one in free agency with two supermax deals on the books.

The best way to get one is through the draft, or clearing out cap space for a free agency run in 3-4 years. Acquire high draft assets and clear the books of long-term contracts. That's the only reasonable way forward.

What free agents is available in the next 3 years you’ll give a max too before Beal???
Kwahi - wants la
Durant - dont want to come here
Ad - wants la
Lebron - lol

All the players better than Beal are locked within they’re teams or requesting trades to go to a big market.

Giannis, AD, Gobert

Who knows who emerges over the next couple years league-wide?

My question to you: Do you think Bradley Beal can be the best player on a championship team?

[tontoz]

Is Zion going to force his way out of NO? He hasn't signed with an agent so technically he could go back to Duke next season.

[Mizerooskie]

Is Zion going to force his way out of NO? He hasn't signed with an agent so technically he could go back to Duke next season.

That's the scuttlebutt. I'd call his bluff if I were NO. He's not going to actually give up $30M+ and risk blowing out his knee just because he wants a different market. LeBron, KD, and Westbrook all emerged as marketable superstars in much, much worse markets.

[closg00]

Is Zion going to force his way out of NO? He hasn't signed with an agent so technically he could go back to Duke next season.

That's the scuttlebutt. I'd call his bluff if I were NO. He's not going to actually give up $30M+ and risk blowing out his knee just because he wants a different market. LeBron, KD, and Westbrook all emerged as marketable superstars in much, much work markets.

Does he really hate NO that much? The odds are that he would just end-up with another small market team again if he sits-out another year.

[Rafael122]

Is Zion going to force his way out of NO? He hasn't signed with an agent so technically he could go back to Duke next season.

That's the scuttlebutt. I'd call his bluff if I were NO. He's not going to actually give up $30M+ and risk blowing out his knee just because he wants a different market. LeBron, KD, and Westbrook all emerged as marketable superstars in much, much worse markets.

It's somewhat of a red flag for me b/c if he had an agent, this stuff wouldn't get leaked. I think his family is involved somehow and that never ends well.

[tontoz]

Is Zion going to force his way out of NO? He hasn't signed with an agent so technically he could go back to Duke next season.

That's the scuttlebutt. I'd call his bluff if I were NO. He's not going to actually give up $30M+ and risk blowing out his knee just because he wants a different market. LeBron, KD, and Westbrook all emerged as marketable superstars in much, much worse markets.

That is what I think. He might try and force a trade but I doubt he will actually follow through and sit out.

[Mizerooskie]

Is Zion going to force his way out of NO? He hasn't signed with an agent so technically he could go back to Duke next season.

That's the scuttlebutt. I'd call his bluff if I were NO. He's not going to actually give up $30M+ and risk blowing out his knee just because he wants a different market. LeBron, KD, and Westbrook all emerged as marketable superstars in much, much worse markets.

It's somewhat of a red flag for me b/c if he had an agent, this stuff wouldn't get leaked. I think his family is involved somehow and that never ends well.

I mean if you're Nike or Adidas, and want to get his shoe contract, it wouldn't be a bad leak to make. The kid didn't exactly look happy post-lottery. I blame the media for all the "What Zion would do for New York" talks.

[Rafael122]

That's the scuttlebutt. I'd call his bluff if I were NO. He's not going to actually give up $30M+ and risk blowing out his knee just because he wants a different market. LeBron, KD, and Westbrook all emerged as marketable superstars in much, much worse markets.

It's somewhat of a red flag for me b/c if he had an agent, this stuff wouldn't get leaked. I think his family is involved somehow and that never ends well.

I mean if you're Nike or Adidas, and want to get his shoe contract, it wouldn't be a bad leak to make. The kid didn't exactly look happy post-lottery. I blame the media for all the "What Zion would do for New York" talks.

But the whole thing is a crapshoot, he goes back to school, he could blow a knee. He goes back to school, everything is fine, and the Cavs win the lottery. Is he going to go back to school again?

[truwizfan4evr]

Honestly... you nailed this. I think you're 100% right.

4.5 blocks per 40 minutes this year. Not fretting over his wingspan, I can tell you that!

Brandon Clarke has some amazingly gaudy numbers this year. He's a steal somewhere mid-R1. No one is a guarantee, but... he's close!

The 9 for the 14 & 20 makes so much sense.

PFs: Clarke, Washington, G. Williams
Cs: Bol, Bitadze, Kabengele
Gs: Herro, Alexander-Walker

Alot of guys I'd be happy with.

Just stay away from Reddish, Little, Porter Jr & Hachimura. You could talk me into some others.

I agree! But what exactly about Reddish you don't like?

[Illuminaire]

I agree! But what exactly about Reddish you don't like?

Better question: What exactly about Reddish is worth liking?

He's one of those players who looks like he should be really good... but doesn't seem to get anything done on the court. That's a huge red flag.