2020 NBA Draft Thread

[jambalaya]

No All-Star from 2017 yet but very likely in 2 days. There are recent drafts with 1-2 ALL-Stars to date. 0 is not that big a departure. We'll have some data on the 2020 class in 3-5 years. Maybe it will be 1-2. Maybe zero. Maybe more but I am guessing not.

[thor19]

LaMelo hardly plays any effective shot defense. He might try to steal and he will drift back to defensive rebound.

He avoids contact on both sides of the court.

I'd criticize a high draft projection for him whatever his last name was based on the tape I've watched and his horrendous shooting stats.

I dont think we can draft LaMelo, teams will pick him for the hype and if we draft Lamelo we need a player like cp3 to teach him

[jambalaya]

Assuming none of the Tankathon lottery picks slip and focusing on guys projected 15-25, I like Paul Reed, Jalen Smith, Tyler Bey, maybe Ayayi.

[ThunderBolt]

These were Vecenie’s comments on Paul Reed-

It’s not necessarily that Reed is playing better than he was in the early stages of the season. If anything, shooting regression has occurred and DePaul is sitting at 1-5 in the Big East. And yet, he continues to put up numbers and impact the game at a high level on both ends of the floor. Reed has been terrific defensively in all of the aspects you’re looking for a big to be good defensively. He can really move his feet away from the basket and is good positionally. Additionally, he’s a monster weak-side rim protector, despite his lack of bulk, posting a 10.2 percent block rate that is currently in the top-30 of all players nationally.

Offensively, he’s still been really useful, despite that he’s down to shooting 27 percent from 3 on about two attempts per game. He’s the hub of the offense for DePaul, and capable of really attacking from a variety of situations. I recently wrote about Pascal Siakam’s offensive profile in the NBA, how diverse it is for a player his size, and how it opens up so much more for coaching staffs if you can handle this many different tasks. Reed is similarly capable of taking on a variety of roles. So far this season, 20 percent of his offensive possessions come in transition, 17 percent in spot-ups, 15 percent as the roller in pick-and-roll, 14 percent off of cuts, 13 percent off of put-backs and 11 percent out of post-ups, according to Synergy.

Now, the difference between Reed and Siakam is that Siakam has tirelessly worked to develop his game off of the bounce, and takes up more possessions in isolation and in pick-and-roll as a ballhandler. Siakam is driving action whereas Reed is a capable driver who uses his motor to create buckets more often. The former is much more valuable than the latter. While Reed can drive in a straight line, he has a lot of work to do as a full-on offensive creator and I find it unlikely he reaches a high level there. Additionally, Siakam has become a legitimate shooter, and Reed still has some ways to go there. Still, he’s taken strides. For instance, examine this photo of a shot from last season’s Big East Tournament (top) versus a photo from December (bottom). It’s clear he took this summer to work on getting his elbow in and getting a cleaner release.



This is ultimately the swing skill I come back to. His mechanics in terms of lower body aren’t awesome, and the shot’s rhythm is still being worked through. If you buy the shot coming through because he has good touch, you might even rank Reed higher than this. I’m a bit skeptical. But still, high-motor athletes with great length, skill and defensive aptitude are worth taking shots on. I have Reed in my top 20 right now.

[jambalaya]

If they trade up, it probably should be for Halliburton or Hayes. Maybe Toppin.

[jambalaya]

Weak draft at very top but Thunder pick at 48? Might have some decent options. Presti probably will consider Simanic. 7 foot Serbian who dunks and hits 3s easily. Very little else... right now. 22 though, so have to think about it.

Lots of PGs projected for 40-50 including Payton Pritchard.

[jambalaya]

Based on who is currently projected to be available when Thunder pick, Jalen Smith should be a strong contender. But he might rise too high later.

[ThunderBolt]

Halliburton is obviously going to be out of our range but he’s a guy worth trading up to try to get. There was a nice article about him on the athletic with interviews from coaches and scouts. While there is no consensus on his ceiling, all believe that his floor is relatively high. He seems like a sure bet to be a guy that could fix our guard issues and fit alongside shai as a combo guard. Good passer, good shooter, unselfish and analytics love his game.

[getrichordie]

If Jaden McDaniels falls to the bottom half of the first round, I wouldn’t mind taking a flyer on him. He’s smooth and has a good feel and I think he could blossom given the right tutelage. I like his shot too.

[thedoppelganger]

From Vecenie’s latest mock today:

20. Oklahoma City Thunder

Jalen Smith | 6-10 forward/center | 20 years old, sophomore | Maryland

I’m not sure there is a player who has been better in the last month of college basketball than Stix. Smith is now averaging 15.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, while shooting at a 53.6/39.1/74.7 shooting split. If you limit it to just his last eight games, Smith is at 18.6 points and 11.8 rebounds. He’s been an absolute monster inside, has improved as a rim protector, throws down monstrously athletic dunks, and is genuinely starting to hit shots from 3. And in that latter vein, I fully buy him as a shooter now. The ball comes out of his hand cleanly.

Now, there are a couple of concerns. First, is he something of a tweener — between the 4 and the 5? I buy him more as a rim protector than I did earlier this season, but I’m unclear if that’s going to hold up at the next level. Additionally, he’s also quite stiff, which could lead to him being a bit of a liability in space. He needs to get with a trainer and figure out how to get bend throughout his lower half and torso. But right now, I fully buy into him as a real prospect worth taking in the top-20. He’s turned the corner.

Had us taking Tre Jones at 26 as well. Feel like most people know about him already, so not going to post that whole section here.

[jambalaya]

Reggie Perry is interesting. He is a big boy but is very comfortable dribbling. Some passing eye. Posts up and has some outside shooting. Doesn't seem fond of running in general, though it might be partly tactic to be a trailer or late high or low post. Might be gone before pick but probably wouldn't be that hard to move up if desired. Listed as PF but looks like he could be a Center too.

[getrichordie]

I hope there is some scenario where we can package some picks and players and nab Haliburton.

[Thunder Up]

If OKC got both firsts and could not combine them to move up further, I wouldn't be mad at snagging two of the following

Nesmith
Vassell
Saddiq Bey
Nnaji
Azubuike

Really high on Bey as a high upside scorer off the bench for years to come and a small ball 4 to space things out with the starters like SGA
Also very high on Vassell, could be a stud 3nD wing

[getrichordie]

It feels like people are sleeping on Stanley. I wouldn’t mind grabbing him late in the first. If there’s a way we can get him and McDaniels, I’d be happy.

Other guys I’d be targeting:

Ayayi
Smith
Lewis
Pokusevski

[jambalaya]

I think McDaniels is somewhat over-rated. I don't see NBA stronger than average on any stat. I like other PFs better who are currently lower in the mock drafts. They aren't going to have a chance for McDaniels unless a lot of the scouts see it my way over the mocks.

[getrichordie]

I’m going to throw a sneaky name in here. Leaky Black. I think he could definitely develop into a rotation NBA player. Good frame and size to play the 2 or 3. Needs to add some weight, but defensively, he moves his feet well.

His last handful of games:

Steals:
3
3
2
2
2
0
3
0
4

He’s averaging 5 boards in 33 minutes.

He seems to make good decisions. I could see us getting him after he goes undrafted.

[jambalaya]

42% TS% this season.

[getrichordie]

42% TS% this season.

Yeah, not great percentages, but he doesn’t take a ton of shots. He’s more of a glue guy who can cut and make the right pass. If he can knock down a corner 3 with regularity, I think he will be fine.

[jambalaya]

As 15th or 17th man, whatever.

Thunder need better from about 8th man on and more focus on 8 -11th than accumulating more deep projects.

Of course the top 6 is most important but I don't have much hope for additions or elevations worthy of that rank without trades that focus on such return or very well targeted draft picks. But 1, 2 or more will join that top 6 group next season. And the next seasons...


In this season where Presti announced or vaguely warned or was interpreted as saying that things would be different and the future would be the priority, there are NO lineups with 4 or more players under 25 yrs old in them above 0.5 minutes per game and only a few with 3 and only barely above that ridiculously low level. (They were meh / ok.) This is a transition year and not anything close to a full test of the future by itself. Every lineup over 25 minutes for season has had 2 plus training wheel vets in them. Obviously they have been trying to win to please fans, owners, Paul, show Westbrook and George, make Presti and Donovan look good and instill confidence in the young guys. But I probably would have tried some more youth heavy lineup minutes for research purposes. For that future. Guess that is for next season or the one after that.

[getrichordie]

As 15th or 17th man, whatever.

Thunder need better from about 8th man on and more focus on 8 -11th than accumulating more deep projects.

Of course the top 6 is most important but I don't have much hope for additions or elevations worthy of that rank without trades that focus on such return or very well targeted draft picks. But 1, 2 or more will join that top 6 group next season. And the next seasons...


In this season where Presti announced or vaguely warned or was interpreted as saying that things would be different and the future would be the priority, there are NO lineups with 4 or more players under 25 yrs old in them above 0.5 minutes per game and only a few with 3 and only barely above that ridiculously low level. (They were meh / ok.) This is a transition year and not anything close to a full test of the future by itself. Every lineup over 25 minutes for season has had 2 plus training wheel vets in them. Obviously they have been trying to win to please fans, owners, Paul, show Westbrook and George, make Presti and Donovan look good and instill confidence in the young guys. But I probably would have tried some more youth heavy lineup minutes for research purposes. For that future. Guess that is for next season or the one after that.

We definitely need those training wheels. I consider Gallinari, Adams, and Paul those wheels, by the way. I don't want to pull an Atlanta or Phoenix. I'd rather slowly transition, and our young guys get mentored, and have a feel for what the NBA is supposed to be like, than play a bunch of young guys together. That just never seems to work out well for a lot of teams. We got lucky when we did it the first time, because we drafted 3 MVPs. We can't count on that luck again.

This. Is. Going. To. Take. Time.