2020 NBA Draft

[clyde21]

How weak is this draft?

What's Edwards projection? is he like Oladipo with a better 3pt shot and slightly less burst?

It should be high on International talent, but nothing that I have seen so far suggests that. I have been watching Deni Avdija and he looks underwhelming offensively under Fiba rules. That is because he is best as a ball handler and he is mostly camped in the corners on offense. He is a pretty sneaky leaper and a good finisher from what I have seen. Also great defensively, at least against European/ local competition. Got good shot blocking instincts, can move his feet fairly well for his size and has good hands.

Though, his 3pt shot is currently broken and he can not be relied to hit an open 3 @ catch and shoot. He will need to become a Pick and Roll Ball handler in the NBA and a player that attacks close outs. That part of his game will not show in Europe, so yeah.

Maledon looks underwhelming. Poor man's Shai. Though, it's super early and he is young.

Oladipo does seem to be the most common comp for Edwards. I need to watch him play more to really comment on it though.

Maledon is the most interesting international guy for me, although i haven't really gotten to watch him that much since i think hes only played one game so far.

Ive mostly watch Killian Hayes and I don't think hes a lottery pick right now. Below average athleticism and inconsistent jumper is not a pairing i like, doesn't really defend that well either although he does pick up steals.

I was impressed by his passing for the most part but i don't know how valuable that will be if he cant pressure an NBA defense. He does have some upside if he can fix his shooting though.

But yeah overall not a really a fan of the European prospects this year. I guess if you count Ball and Hampton as international players the international class does look better. Its pretty early though so my opinion will be pretty fluid on these things.

Zagars might actually be my favorite out of the international guys outside Sylla (not counting LaMelo/RJ)...I honestly think he's better than Theo/Hayes skill wise, but man is he small

[HeadtopChunes]

How weak is this draft?

What's Edwards projection? is he like Oladipo with a better 3pt shot and slightly less burst?

It should be high on International talent, but nothing that I have seen so far suggests that. I have been watching Deni Avdija and he looks underwhelming offensively under Fiba rules. That is because he is best as a ball handler and he is mostly camped in the corners on offense. He is a pretty sneaky leaper and a good finisher from what I have seen. Also great defensively, at least against European/ local competition. Got good shot blocking instincts, can move his feet fairly well for his size and has good hands.

Though, his 3pt shot is currently broken and he can not be relied to hit an open 3 @ catch and shoot. He will need to become a Pick and Roll Ball handler in the NBA and a player that attacks close outs. That part of his game will not show in Europe, so yeah.

Maledon looks underwhelming. Poor man's Shai. Though, it's super early and he is young.

Oladipo does seem to be the most common comp for Edwards. I need to watch him play more to really comment on it though.

Maledon is the most interesting international guy for me, although i haven't really gotten to watch him that much since i think hes only played one game so far.

Ive mostly watch Killian Hayes and I don't think hes a lottery pick right now. Below average athleticism and inconsistent jumper is not a pairing i like, doesn't really defend that well either although he does pick up steals.

I was impressed by his passing for the most part but i don't know how valuable that will be if he cant pressure an NBA defense. He does have some upside if he can fix his shooting though.

But yeah overall not a really a fan of the European prospects this year. I guess if you count Ball and Hampton as international players the international class does look better. Its pretty early though so my opinion will be pretty fluid on these things.

Zagars might actually be my favorite out of the international guys outside Sylla (not counting LaMelo/RJ)...I honestly think he's better than Theo/Hayes skill wise, but man is he small

Zagars is definitely the most fun one at least. I need to watch more to get a feel for his upside but yeah he looks small and doesn’t seem that athletic either. That’s probably my biggest question mark with him.

But from what I’ve seen is that he’s got fantastic feel of the game. He can make difficult passes and I like his jumpshot too (hard to say without seeing the American guys but I’d wager he’s one of the better pull up shooters in the class)

If you told me 5 years from now he was the best one out of this group I really wouldn’t be that surprised.

[HeadtopChunes]

Speaking of guys like Hayes and Zagars I’ve always kinda struggled with the question of “is he athletic enough to play in the nba?”

I like to think of it now with the 4 S system
( Size , Strength, Skill and Speed)

It’s very rare for a player to have all of them, and the ones who do are usually elite prospects (ie Zion) but I feel like you need a min of 2 of translate. I can’t think of any players with only one of those attributes

So that’s what I’m kinda looking out for in this with these gaurds. If they lack burst(speed) can they make up for it elsewhere?

Zagars for example doesn’t really have size or speed but he does have skill in spades If he can develop strength I think he can translate.

How do you guys try to make that evaluation of “are they athletic enough to hang ?”

[Duke4life831]

It's a weak class with some depth, I am really out on Whitney, like Keion more, like Achiuwa better than both

I think Maxey is a top5-7 guy, Tre, Hurt and Moore top20, not sure if anybody else from UK is interesting

You need to spread some of that optimism for the Duke trio this way, cause I aint seeing it. Hurt can shoot it, but what else is he bringing to the table? Not athletic and physically very weak. A 6'8-6'9 shooter isn't too hard to find. I cant see Moore going top 20 with his jacked up jumper. He isn't athletic enough to take with the idea of him being a raw athlete. Tre needs to show he can score the ball. 48 TS% on only 9 ppg last year, that is pretty bad. Not a good finisher at the rim, average FT shooter and really bad jump shooter.

[Marcus]

Speaking of guys like Hayes and Zagars I’ve always kinda struggled with the question of “is he athletic enough to play in the nba?”

I like to think of it now with the 4 S system
( Size , Strength, Skill and Speed)

It’s very rare for a player to have all of them, and the ones who do are usually elite prospects (ie Zion) but I feel like you need a min of 2 of translate. I can’t think of any players with only one of those attributes

So that’s what I’m kinda looking out for in this with these gaurds. If they lack burst(speed) can they make up for it elsewhere?

Zagars for example doesn’t really have size or speed but he does have skill in spades If he can develop strength I think he can translate.

How do you guys try to make that evaluation of “are they athletic enough to hang ?”

Offensively, angles, craftiness, how well they use their bodies to gain that edge to get the look they want off. If they're physically dominant at a level that doesn't present the same type of athelete they'll see in the league, i'm buyer beware. If no matter who's in front of them they can mix up moves and make whatever adjustments needed to get off "their" look then i'm optimistic that they can do the same on any level.

Defensively, it's all about effort for me, give me some GAF and i'm good. Be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there and you can cover up a good number of physical defenciencies on that end. Effort means everything on defense for me.

[clyde21]

Speaking of guys like Hayes and Zagars I’ve always kinda struggled with the question of “is he athletic enough to play in the nba?”

I like to think of it now with the 4 S system
( Size , Strength, Skill and Speed)

It’s very rare for a player to have all of them, and the ones who do are usually elite prospects (ie Zion) but I feel like you need a min of 2 of translate. I can’t think of any players with only one of those attributes

So that’s what I’m kinda looking out for in this with these gaurds. If they lack burst(speed) can they make up for it elsewhere?

Zagars for example doesn’t really have size or speed but he does have skill in spades If he can develop strength I think he can translate.

How do you guys try to make that evaluation of “are they athletic enough to hang ?”

to me they need to have enough athletic profile to do the following -

1. be able to switch defensively, at least 2 positions

2. be able to get out and run/finish in transition

3. be able to get shot off under duress and/or from multiple platforms

4. be able to maneuver around through picks and screens

doesn't need to be Russ athletically, but if there's enough there to cover these 4 categories at least an average level, I'm okay with the athletic profile.

[HeadtopChunes]

Speaking of guys like Hayes and Zagars I’ve always kinda struggled with the question of “is he athletic enough to play in the nba?”

I like to think of it now with the 4 S system
( Size , Strength, Skill and Speed)

It’s very rare for a player to have all of them, and the ones who do are usually elite prospects (ie Zion) but I feel like you need a min of 2 of translate. I can’t think of any players with only one of those attributes

So that’s what I’m kinda looking out for in this with these gaurds. If they lack burst(speed) can they make up for it elsewhere?

Zagars for example doesn’t really have size or speed but he does have skill in spades If he can develop strength I think he can translate.

How do you guys try to make that evaluation of “are they athletic enough to hang ?”

to me they need to have enough athletic profile to do the following -

1. be able to switch defensively, at least 2 positions

2. be able to get out and run/finish in transition

3. be able to get shot off under duress and/or from multiple platforms

4. be able to maneuver around through picks and screens

doesn't need to be Russ athletically, but if there's enough there to cover these 4 categories at least an average level, I'm okay with the athletic profile.

i like that criteria, for example Fred Vanvleet fits all of 4 of those categories and hes someone who i thought was too small and slow for the league.

Casen Edwards also fits that profile and he looks like steal so far

[LSandersBong]

This draft is improving in my eyes I used to only really rate Wiseman, Edwards, Anthony and Hampton as can't miss. However Lamelo Ball has completely proved me wrong thought his game was all talk but has been very impressive in the NBL.

Deni Avdija after watching him at the under 20s, while i'm not sure if he could ever be an all star his game reminds me of Batum/Gallinari deffinitly a great complimentary piece. I'd say the international crop is alot better then last year , Theo maledon and Killian Hayes and Amar Sylla could all potentially be around the lottery. Zagars could go mid- to late first as well.

[clyde21]

Speaking of guys like Hayes and Zagars I’ve always kinda struggled with the question of “is he athletic enough to play in the nba?”

I like to think of it now with the 4 S system
( Size , Strength, Skill and Speed)

It’s very rare for a player to have all of them, and the ones who do are usually elite prospects (ie Zion) but I feel like you need a min of 2 of translate. I can’t think of any players with only one of those attributes

So that’s what I’m kinda looking out for in this with these gaurds. If they lack burst(speed) can they make up for it elsewhere?

Zagars for example doesn’t really have size or speed but he does have skill in spades If he can develop strength I think he can translate.

How do you guys try to make that evaluation of “are they athletic enough to hang ?”

to me they need to have enough athletic profile to do the following -

1. be able to switch defensively, at least 2 positions

2. be able to get out and run/finish in transition

3. be able to get shot off under duress and/or from multiple platforms

4. be able to maneuver around through picks and screens

doesn't need to be Russ athletically, but if there's enough there to cover these 4 categories at least an average level, I'm okay with the athletic profile.

i like that criteria, for example Fred Vanvleet fits all of 4 of those categories and hes someone who i thought was too small and slow for the league.

Casen Edwards also fits that profile and he looks like steal so far

same thing with Herro

[LSandersBong]

Not a huge fan but Quentin Grimes has received waiver to be eligible for this season, hope he gets it together

[clyde21]

Not a huge fan but Quentin Grimes has received waiver to be eligible for this season, hope he gets it together

BOOMIN.

Read on Twitter

let's get it. Grimes finna prove everyone wrong this year.

[EricAnderson]

I always find it weird when people make negative definitive statements about a draft 9 months before it happens acting like 18 year olds and euros most people haven’t seen can’t improve.

I agree that you can probably already tell there is no generational talent already which definitely hurts a draft. But to say it’s weak or anything definitive already is a little premature.

[LofJ]

I always find it weird when people make negative definitive statements about a draft 9 months before it happens acting like 18 year olds and euros most people haven’t seen can’t improve.

I agree that you can probably already tell there is no generational talent already which definitely hurts a draft. But to say it’s weak or anything definitive already is a little premature.

Zion wasn't considered a generational talent coming into college. His incredible play at Duke changed that, so you're right a lot can happen between now and next summer.

[HeadtopChunes]

Im not quite this high on Maxey but he makes a good case

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[clyde21]

i like Maxey, I like him better than LaMelo, i might like him better than Cole

[HeadtopChunes]

Non wiseman bigs look pretty underwhelming in this class right now.

Prime stage for a riser somewhere

[No-Man]

Carlos Alocén is really good, still only 18, he is signed with RMadrid and won't come over right away but a team in no rush to add depth will have a lotto-ish level talent available late in the 1st

[skiz2]

It's a weak class with some depth, I am really out on Whitney, like Keion more, like Achiuwa better than both

I think Maxey is a top5-7 guy, Tre, Hurt and Moore top20, not sure if anybody else from UK is interesting

Achiuwa will be a monster defender for years to come in the NBA. In this weak draft I would take Achiuwa top 10. In a normal draft he would be a great value at mid first. Agree on Maxey and think that seeing Coby White's game translate so far should only help him as I see them as similar players. Need to see more to Keion and Whitney to form an opinion. I will say that Keion appeared to be the best player on the court in each game I watched in the Geico Nationals. I do initially think he is a tad bit underrated.

I like Hurt the most out of the Duke guys. I like him late lotto to mid first. He has a lot of translatable skills. I think Moore should stay at Duke for 3 years, don't see him as ready at all for the draft. I like his upside for sure and he may sneak in the mid to late second round. I actually think Stanley will end up being higher on draft boards than Moore at the end of the season, due to being more ready to contribute, although I like Moore's upside better. I need to see more of Tre Jones without Barrett, Zion and Cam to form a final opinion. I can't decide if he is Sean Dockery or a worse shooting Patrick Beverly. Carey to me is a bigman version of Cam Reddish. I think he will slide to early 2nd and if a team can figure out how to consistently light a fire under him and keep him closer to the basket, he will be a steal.

[Marcus]

Non wiseman bigs look pretty underwhelming in this class right now.

Prime stage for a riser somewhere

Why Makur needs to go ahead and do that reclass.

[No-Man]

Makur isn't good man, neither is Wiseman by the way, Tshiebwe and Okongwu are the best bigs, maybe Jalen Smith, Stewart is safe-ish but not upsidey