2020 NBA Draft Thread

[ddb]

There is a shortage at the top for sure. Bad draft to have a top 5 pick.

BUT the middle of the first round IMO is loaded. And it's all gonna be about scouting because there's such a shortened season.

A couple of players that I think are actually highly underrated:

Kira Lewis
Tyrell Terry

Terry could be a huge steal. Nice handle. Good passer. Crafty around the basket. LETHAL 3pt and FT shooter.

I'm 100% on board with packaging picks, couple other pieces and getting that vet. It's time. This team is VERY close. Warriors went and got Iggy and that pushed them over the top. Celts need to make that kind of move

We are not that close.

We are injury prone, have a front court that requires work, have lacking depth ay pg/sf/pf

Have little capspace no real middle valued assets to trade. (5-10 mill)

Warriors had steph, who trumps everyone on this team.

agree to disagree. We have Tatum who at 22 years old is miles ahead of Steph. Tatum is on his way to superstardom.

[GoCeltics123]

this draft stinks. Celtics are young, but also really good. They need to flip picks/assets and bring in a veteran that can help push them over the top. Tatum is ready to become our superstar. Walker is an awesome #2. Brown/Hayward are both strong. Smart is Smart. Theis has been good. I like some of their young pieces. They need a really solid veteran that fits the modern game.

There is a shortage at the top for sure. Bad draft to have a top 5 pick.

BUT the middle of the first round IMO is loaded. And it's all gonna be about scouting because there's such a shortened season.

A couple of players that I think are actually highly underrated:

Kira Lewis
Tyrell Terry

Terry could be a huge steal. Nice handle. Good passer. Crafty around the basket. LETHAL 3pt and FT shooter.

I'm 100% on board with packaging picks, couple other pieces and getting that vet. It's time. This team is VERY close. Warriors went and got Iggy and that pushed them over the top. Celts need to make that kind of move

Problem I see is what player would that be?? I can't see any stars being available this summer. Maybe Rudy or Mitchell?? I doubt it though.

[ddb]

There is a shortage at the top for sure. Bad draft to have a top 5 pick.

BUT the middle of the first round IMO is loaded. And it's all gonna be about scouting because there's such a shortened season.

A couple of players that I think are actually highly underrated:

Kira Lewis
Tyrell Terry

Terry could be a huge steal. Nice handle. Good passer. Crafty around the basket. LETHAL 3pt and FT shooter.

I'm 100% on board with packaging picks, couple other pieces and getting that vet. It's time. This team is VERY close. Warriors went and got Iggy and that pushed them over the top. Celts need to make that kind of move

Problem I see is what player would that be?? I can't see any stars being available this summer. Maybe Rudy or Mitchell?? I doubt it though.

Doesn't need to be, and probably wouldn't be a "star". Just a rock solid veteran that can willingly play a role very well.

[bucknersrevenge]

I'm 100% on board with packaging picks, couple other pieces and getting that vet. It's time. This team is VERY close. Warriors went and got Iggy and that pushed them over the top. Celts need to make that kind of move

We are not that close.

We are injury prone, have a front court that requires work, have lacking depth ay pg/sf/pf

Have little capspace no real middle valued assets to trade. (5-10 mill)

Warriors had steph, who trumps everyone on this team.

agree to disagree. We have Tatum who at 22 years old is miles ahead of Steph. Tatum is on his way to superstardom.

Agree 150%. No rookie from this draft is going to get us any closer that's for sure. We are really in a good place and the youth we've drafted in the last year actually FIT the system and complement the stars we have. Internal improvement, retaining the core so they can grow together is all this team needs. I don't even think the bench was that big a deal last year. We've done really well with our drafting and even better with developing what's in our pipeline.

[Parliament10]

We are not that close.

We are injury prone, have a front court that requires work, have lacking depth ay pg/sf/pf

Have little capspace no real middle valued assets to trade. (5-10 mill)

Warriors had steph, who trumps everyone on this team.

agree to disagree. We have Tatum who at 22 years old is miles ahead of Steph. Tatum is on his way to superstardom.

Agree 150%. No rookie from this draft is going to get us any closer that's for sure. We are really in a good place and the youth we've drafted in the last year actually FIT the system and complement the stars we have. Internal improvement, retaining the core so they can grow together is all this team needs. I don't even think the bench was that big a deal last year. We've done really well with our drafting and even better with developing what's in our pipeline.

I Totally Agree with this. -- I think that our Bench is going to be so much Stronger next season.
Just with who we have in the pipeline. I like all the Draft picks that we've retained, this past year and going back to Smart, Brown, Tatum, R. Williams, etc.

[ddb]

We are not that close.

We are injury prone, have a front court that requires work, have lacking depth ay pg/sf/pf

Have little capspace no real middle valued assets to trade. (5-10 mill)

Warriors had steph, who trumps everyone on this team.

agree to disagree. We have Tatum who at 22 years old is miles ahead of Steph. Tatum is on his way to superstardom.

Agree 150%. No rookie from this draft is going to get us any closer that's for sure. We are really in a good place and the youth we've drafted in the last year actually FIT the system and complement the stars we have. Internal improvement, retaining the core so they can grow together is all this team needs. I don't even think the bench was that big a deal last year. We've done really well with our drafting and even better with developing what's in our pipeline.

I agree. I have a feeling that Romeo Langford & Grant Williams are going to come back in 20-21 much more prepared to contribute. Both of guys should be able to help in the rotation as soon as next year if not sooner.

[100proof]

We are not that close.

We are injury prone, have a front court that requires work, have lacking depth ay pg/sf/pf

Have little capspace no real middle valued assets to trade. (5-10 mill)

Warriors had steph, who trumps everyone on this team.

agree to disagree. We have Tatum who at 22 years old is miles ahead of Steph. Tatum is on his way to superstardom.

Agree 150%. No rookie from this draft is going to get us any closer that's for sure. We are really in a good place and the youth we've drafted in the last year actually FIT the system and complement the stars we have. Internal improvement, retaining the core so they can grow together is all this team needs. I don't even think the bench was that big a deal last year. We've done really well with our drafting and even better with developing what's in our pipeline.

Half last years picks hardly played and were brutal.

And team cannot afford depth financially, unless you are planning on keeping semi, brad, poirier as you primary bench.

Need to clear salary for a mle and use the draft picks to replace brad, semi and poirier at a smaller cast and for a longer duration

[Parliament10]

agree to disagree. We have Tatum who at 22 years old is miles ahead of Steph. Tatum is on his way to superstardom.

Agree 150%. No rookie from this draft is going to get us any closer that's for sure. We are really in a good place and the youth we've drafted in the last year actually FIT the system and complement the stars we have. Internal improvement, retaining the core so they can grow together is all this team needs. I don't even think the bench was that big a deal last year. We've done really well with our drafting and even better with developing what's in our pipeline.

Half last years picks hardly played and were brutal.

And team cannot afford depth financially, unless you are planning on keeping semi, brad, poirier as you primary bench.

Need to clear salary for a mle and use the draft picks to replace brad, semi and poirier at a smaller cast and for a longer duration

Who were the Half? -- We had 4 Draft picks.
G.Williams, was in the 2nd Unit. Langford, played in 27 out of our 64 games.

Edwards, was the only one that really didn't show as much promise.
Waters, was in the G-League and showed great ability. He's on the regular team next year.

I think that we have our Depth. -- I mean, we had 7 "Rookies" this year.
Green, Wanamaker and Ojeleye are the ones that we need to move on from.

Even Poirier impressed me in the G-League, with his 3-pt shot and other shots away from the basket.


Proposed Rotation, 2020-21:
Kemba - Brown - (Hayward) - Tatum - Theis
Waters - Smart - Langford - G.Williams - Kanter/R.Williams
(Rookie) - Edwards - Poirier - Fall

Maine Red Claws = (Rookie), (Rookie)

[bucknersrevenge]

agree to disagree. We have Tatum who at 22 years old is miles ahead of Steph. Tatum is on his way to superstardom.

Agree 150%. No rookie from this draft is going to get us any closer that's for sure. We are really in a good place and the youth we've drafted in the last year actually FIT the system and complement the stars we have. Internal improvement, retaining the core so they can grow together is all this team needs. I don't even think the bench was that big a deal last year. We've done really well with our drafting and even better with developing what's in our pipeline.

Half last years picks hardly played and were brutal.

And team cannot afford depth financially, unless you are planning on keeping semi, brad, poirier as you primary bench.

Need to clear salary for a mle and use the draft picks to replace brad, semi and poirier at a smaller cast and for a longer duration

They were hardly brutal. It sounds like you had unrealistic expectations which is your fault. Our guys played well in the G. Their skillsets fit in well with the Brad's system. It may take them a couple of years but I suspect they'll be fine, especially the guards. Brad absolutely has a type and history has shown that guards that know how to score, move without the ball and how to get in the lane. I fully expect Waters (who IMO was good enough to contribute this year) to be an improvement over Wanamaker next year. Tacko showed a huge improvement from a year ago. Grant has been solid on defense and showed great intelligence. Langford who got off to slow start due to injury showed flashes of solid defense and an improved jumper. I thought even Semi started to figure something out by the end of the year. Considering that we start 4 guys capable of scoring 20 on any given night and Theis who is usually good for about 10 ppg, we really only need just one of our rookies to improve enough to give us maybe another 10ppg off the bench and that's it. And when the playoffs happen, our bench gets shorter anyway. We had our top 7 guys for just 8 games this year. We still don't know what this group's ceiling is. And by draft and development, you do realize that Tatum, Brown and Smart are included in that piece correct?

[100proof]

Agree 150%. No rookie from this draft is going to get us any closer that's for sure. We are really in a good place and the youth we've drafted in the last year actually FIT the system and complement the stars we have. Internal improvement, retaining the core so they can grow together is all this team needs. I don't even think the bench was that big a deal last year. We've done really well with our drafting and even better with developing what's in our pipeline.

Half last years picks hardly played and were brutal.

And team cannot afford depth financially, unless you are planning on keeping semi, brad, poirier as you primary bench.

Need to clear salary for a mle and use the draft picks to replace brad, semi and poirier at a smaller cast and for a longer duration

They were hardly brutal. It sounds like you had unrealistic expectations which is your fault. Our guys played well in the G. Their skillsets fit in well with the Brad's system. It may take them a couple of years but I suspect they'll be fine, especially the guards. Brad absolutely has a type and history has shown that guards that know how to score, move without the ball and how to get in the lane. I fully expect Waters (who IMO was good enough to contribute this year) to be an improvement over Wanamaker next year. Tacko showed a huge improvement from a year ago. Grant has been solid on defense and showed great intelligence. Langford who got off to slow start due to injury showed flashes of solid defense and an improved jumper. I thought even Semi started to figure something out by the end of the year. Considering that we start 4 guys capable of scoring 20 on any given night and Theis who is usually good for about 10 ppg, we really only need just one of our rookies to improve enough to give us maybe another 10ppg off the bench and that's it. And when the playoffs happen, our bench gets shorter anyway. We had our top 7 guys for just 8 games this year. We still don't know what this group's ceiling is. And by draft and development, you do realize that Tatum, Brown and Smart are included in that piece correct?

None of the bench past smart is championship calibre.

We havent the assets to make a trade for an upgrade there due to salary restrictions.

Does anyone really believe that brad, semi, grant, edwards, tinelord, poirier and romeo is a championship calibre bench?

Or that any of them are worthy to be bumped up in the rotation when 1 of smart, kemba, Timelord, brown, theis or hayward inevitably go down with an injury or goes on a game rest?

The picks are needed, then once signed they or any of the bench from last season can be packaged in a consolidation trade for a true upgrade to said bench, most likely with the picks being the new deeper bench and a cost controlled rate.

[bucknersrevenge]

Half last years picks hardly played and were brutal.

And team cannot afford depth financially, unless you are planning on keeping semi, brad, poirier as you primary bench.

Need to clear salary for a mle and use the draft picks to replace brad, semi and poirier at a smaller cast and for a longer duration

They were hardly brutal. It sounds like you had unrealistic expectations which is your fault. Our guys played well in the G. Their skillsets fit in well with the Brad's system. It may take them a couple of years but I suspect they'll be fine, especially the guards. Brad absolutely has a type and history has shown that guards that know how to score, move without the ball and how to get in the lane. I fully expect Waters (who IMO was good enough to contribute this year) to be an improvement over Wanamaker next year. Tacko showed a huge improvement from a year ago. Grant has been solid on defense and showed great intelligence. Langford who got off to slow start due to injury showed flashes of solid defense and an improved jumper. I thought even Semi started to figure something out by the end of the year. Considering that we start 4 guys capable of scoring 20 on any given night and Theis who is usually good for about 10 ppg, we really only need just one of our rookies to improve enough to give us maybe another 10ppg off the bench and that's it. And when the playoffs happen, our bench gets shorter anyway. We had our top 7 guys for just 8 games this year. We still don't know what this group's ceiling is. And by draft and development, you do realize that Tatum, Brown and Smart are included in that piece correct?

None of the bench past smart is championship calibre.

We havent the assets to make a trade for an upgrade there due to salary restrictions.

Does anyone really believe that brad, semi, grant, edwards, tinelord, poirier and romeo is a championship calibre bench?

Or that any of them are worthy to be bumped up in the rotation when 1 of smart, kemba, Timelord, brown, theis or hayward inevitably go down with an injury or goes on a game rest?

The picks are needed, then once signed they or any of the bench from last season can be packaged in a consolidation trade for a true upgrade to said bench, most likely with the picks being the new deeper bench and a cost controlled rate.

Do I think they're worthy of it? Hate to break it to you but it's happened all season. In case I didn't say this before we haven't had our top 7 guys together but for 8 games all season. The best thing about this stoppage right now is that for us it gives everyone a chance to heal. We're gonna be fully loaded coming out of this stoppage. And despite all the injuries we're 3rd in the conference. We have one of the best defenses in the league after everyone and their mother swore we'd take a step back from last season's debacle. Despite being the least experienced team in the league, we are legitimately good. I expect for us to be healthy moving forward and kicking ass. Maybe that's the difference between us. You seem to be expecting a tragedy of some sort. I look at this team and despite all of the challenges you appear to be laboring over we're the 3rd best team in the conference and we haven't even come close to playing our best basketball yet. Nobody knows how good this team is yet. Not me. Not you. Not anyone. 8 games isn't a good enough sample size to tell.

Would it be nice to have maybe a sharpshooter off the bench next year like a Bertans or a Bjelica for spacing so we can play some 5 man out like Brad wants? Sure. I mean Brad hasn't even had the opportunity to experiment with his full roster like he wants to. You know Brad had plans to stick a Walker/Smart/Brown/Hayward/Tatum out there near the end of the season to see what it would look like with our best guys, right? You say our bench is not championship caliber like it's a fact despite not even defining what championship caliber means. Despite not taking into account that those top 7 guys will play the lion's share of minutes in the playoffs lessening the need for a deep bench. You are making judgements about this team with ZERO evidence at the moment.

My predicition is that we draft and stash our picks and/or trade out of this weak draft. Take a flyer on 1 or 2 2nd rounders. Maybe make a minimum signing for the bench but otherwise run most of this team back next year. There's not a lot of fat on this team. Mostly long term investments here. You might as well grab a chair and get comfortable.

[winsomme2]

one of this group is bound to be there at #17:

Saddiq Bey
Tyrese Maxey
Devin Vassell
Precious Achiuwa
Aaron Nesmith

I think they are all going to be solid pros and will play well in their first season. One problem this year is that our rookies didn't really establish themselves, but that wasn't true around the league. Many rookies came in a took on key roles right away.

Many of our picks were unfortunately undersized for their positions and we were a team that was lacking size overall which hurt the rooks ability to become impact players.

I think this group would be able to play from day one and each has a skill that would be an immediate impact.

[winsomme2]

Right now I'd love to come away from this draft with:

Aaron Nesmith
Tyrell Terry
Zeke Nnaji

[snowman]

I would love to come out of this draft with:

@17 - Aaron Nesmith - the shooter we need off the bench, and someone to push Langford. Taking Green's roster spot. He should be available @ 17.

@ 26 - Aleksej Pokusevski - draft and stash for a year. Someone to take Poirier's roster spot next season if he doesn't pan out. He may not be available though. If he's not available then:
Jalen Smith - Another Athletic big that has range to the 3. Insurance for Timelord. Taking Semi's spot.

@30 - Precious Achiuwa - another athletic big. Only taking if we take Pokusevski and stash, and not getting Smith. Again, insurance for Timelord, taking Semi's roster spot.
If we have taken Smith, then:
trade out of #30 for a couple 2nd round picks.

@46 - Best PG available to go to the Red Claws, simce Waters will be with the Celtics next season taking Wannamakers roster spot.

So I would like to see Green and Semi replaced with Nesmith and Achiuwa from the draft, and Pokusevski stashed over seas for a year.

[bucknersrevenge]

I would love to come out of this draft with:

@17 - Aaron Nesmith - the shooter we need off the bench, and someone to push Langford. Taking Green's roster spot. He should be available @ 17.

@ 26 - Aleksej Pokusevski - draft and stash for a year. Someone to take Poirier's roster spot next season if he doesn't pan out. He may not be available though. If he's not available then:
Jalen Smith - Another Athletic big that has range to the 3. Insurance for Timelord. Taking Semi's spot.

@30 - Precious Achiuwa - another athletic big. Only taking if we take Pokusevski and stash, and not getting Smith. Again, insurance for Timelord, taking Semi's roster spot.
If we have taken Smith, then:
trade out of #30 for a couple 2nd round picks.

@46 - Best PG available to go to the Red Claws, simce Waters will be with the Celtics next season taking Wannamakers roster spot.

So I would like to see Green and Semi replaced with Nesmith and Achiuwa from the draft, and Pokusevski stashed over seas for a year.

I go back and forth on Semi. I thought he started to find something late last year. He had that breakout game in Cleveland. He changed his shooting mechanics to include a wider base giving him more balance on his shots and he was starting to become more assertive driving closeouts. AND...he's cheap. He's still solid defensively for a bench player and super strong. I'd give him one more year. Brad isn't going to trust any rookie from this draft over him anyway so why bother?

[bucknersrevenge]

one of this group is bound to be there at #17:

Saddiq Bey
Tyrese Maxey
Devin Vassell
Precious Achiuwa
Aaron Nesmith

I think they are all going to be solid pros and will play well in their first season. One problem this year is that our rookies didn't really establish themselves, but that wasn't true around the league. Many rookies came in a took on key roles right away.

Many of our picks were unfortunately undersized for their positions and we were a team that was lacking size overall which hurt the rooks ability to become impact players.

I think this group would be able to play from day one and each has a skill that would be an immediate impact.

Many of the rookies that "established themselves" were on bad teams that had a lot of minutes available. The perception that development follows a clear linear path needs to end. Guys develop at different speeds under different conditions. Is it possible that not all of the rookies we have will eventually be major rotation players? Of course it is. Here's the fun part though. We don't have to look at them in terms of "well if 6 out of 6 don't make meaningful contributions after 2 years" then we're screwed. The draft is a crapshoot. The best you can do is look for talent, gauge whether you think if they can fit what you do and if even 2 of the 6 hit then it's a win. Right now we have 6 rotational players on the team. If over the next 2-3 years 2 more players become established cost-controlled players then we are in a great position.

[winsomme2]

one of this group is bound to be there at #17:

Saddiq Bey
Tyrese Maxey
Devin Vassell
Precious Achiuwa
Aaron Nesmith

I think they are all going to be solid pros and will play well in their first season. One problem this year is that our rookies didn't really establish themselves, but that wasn't true around the league. Many rookies came in a took on key roles right away.

Many of our picks were unfortunately undersized for their positions and we were a team that was lacking size overall which hurt the rooks ability to become impact players.

I think this group would be able to play from day one and each has a skill that would be an immediate impact.

Many of the rookies that "established themselves" were on bad teams that had a lot of minutes available. The perception that development follows a clear linear path needs to end. Guys develop at different speeds under different conditions. Is it possible that not all of the rookies we have will eventually be major rotation players? Of course it is. Here's the fun part though. We don't have to look at them in terms of "well if 6 out of 6 don't make meaningful contributions after 2 years" then we're screwed. The draft is a crapshoot. The best you can do is look for talent, gauge whether you think if they can fit what you do and if even 2 of the 6 hit then it's a win. Right now we have 6 rotational players on the team. If over the next 2-3 years 2 more players become established cost-controlled players then we are in a great position.

Certainly Grant WIlliams was given plenty of time given his rookie status. He has showed some abilities but he is definitely undersized to make a huge impact.

Some of the impact players from the last draft were on bad teams but others were not. Tyler Herro, Goga Bitadze, Brandon Clarke, Matisse Thybulle, among others were able to step in to bench roles and contribute to playoff teams.

I expect players in this upcoming draft to do the same.

I do agree that some players take a while to blossom but I think you can for the most part see pretty early on what you're gonna get from a player.

I just think the idea that we need to trade these picks because we're so close to a run at a Title isn't completely needed. I would have no problem trading picks for a top notch bench player but at the same time I think we could certainly pick someone that will contribute right away.

[Homerclease]

Half last years picks hardly played and were brutal.

And team cannot afford depth financially, unless you are planning on keeping semi, brad, poirier as you primary bench.

Need to clear salary for a mle and use the draft picks to replace brad, semi and poirier at a smaller cast and for a longer duration

They were hardly brutal. It sounds like you had unrealistic expectations which is your fault. Our guys played well in the G. Their skillsets fit in well with the Brad's system. It may take them a couple of years but I suspect they'll be fine, especially the guards. Brad absolutely has a type and history has shown that guards that know how to score, move without the ball and how to get in the lane. I fully expect Waters (who IMO was good enough to contribute this year) to be an improvement over Wanamaker next year. Tacko showed a huge improvement from a year ago. Grant has been solid on defense and showed great intelligence. Langford who got off to slow start due to injury showed flashes of solid defense and an improved jumper. I thought even Semi started to figure something out by the end of the year. Considering that we start 4 guys capable of scoring 20 on any given night and Theis who is usually good for about 10 ppg, we really only need just one of our rookies to improve enough to give us maybe another 10ppg off the bench and that's it. And when the playoffs happen, our bench gets shorter anyway. We had our top 7 guys for just 8 games this year. We still don't know what this group's ceiling is. And by draft and development, you do realize that Tatum, Brown and Smart are included in that piece correct?

None of the bench past smart is championship calibre.

We havent the assets to make a trade for an upgrade there due to salary restrictions.

Does anyone really believe that brad, semi, grant, edwards, tinelord, poirier and romeo is a championship calibre bench?

Or that any of them are worthy to be bumped up in the rotation when 1 of smart, kemba, Timelord, brown, theis or hayward inevitably go down with an injury or goes on a game rest?

The picks are needed, then once signed they or any of the bench from last season can be packaged in a consolidation trade for a true upgrade to said bench, most likely with the picks being the new deeper bench and a cost controlled rate.

You’ve come to that conclusion that our entire draft class from a season ago is a waste of time after 67 games?

How does Timelord replace himself in the rotation? You are all over the place with this post.

Agree that Semi, Wanamaker, Poirier and Kanter are a waste of time. Have no problem making all the picks and adding a MLE big like Harry Giles

[bucknersrevenge]

one of this group is bound to be there at #17:

Saddiq Bey
Tyrese Maxey
Devin Vassell
Precious Achiuwa
Aaron Nesmith

I think they are all going to be solid pros and will play well in their first season. One problem this year is that our rookies didn't really establish themselves, but that wasn't true around the league. Many rookies came in a took on key roles right away.

Many of our picks were unfortunately undersized for their positions and we were a team that was lacking size overall which hurt the rooks ability to become impact players.

I think this group would be able to play from day one and each has a skill that would be an immediate impact.

Many of the rookies that "established themselves" were on bad teams that had a lot of minutes available. The perception that development follows a clear linear path needs to end. Guys develop at different speeds under different conditions. Is it possible that not all of the rookies we have will eventually be major rotation players? Of course it is. Here's the fun part though. We don't have to look at them in terms of "well if 6 out of 6 don't make meaningful contributions after 2 years" then we're screwed. The draft is a crapshoot. The best you can do is look for talent, gauge whether you think if they can fit what you do and if even 2 of the 6 hit then it's a win. Right now we have 6 rotational players on the team. If over the next 2-3 years 2 more players become established cost-controlled players then we are in a great position.

Certainly Grant WIlliams was given plenty of time given his rookie status. He has showed some abilities but he is definitely undersized to make a huge impact.

Some of the impact players from the last draft were on bad teams but others were not. Tyler Herro, Goga Bitadze, Brandon Clarke, Matisse Thybulle, among others were able to step in to bench roles and contribute to playoff teams.

I expect players in this upcoming draft to do the same.

I do agree that some players take a while to blossom but I think you can for the most part see pretty early on what you're gonna get from a player.

I just think the idea that we need to trade these picks because we're so close to a run at a Title isn't completely needed. I would have no problem trading picks for a top notch bench player but at the same time I think we could certainly pick someone that will contribute right away.

"championship calibre" "make a huge impact"

Again, no diss but still, I'm getting a lot of buzz words but not enough substance here. What does ",ake a huge impact" actually mean? Because I don't know what's in your head. What exactly were your expectations of Grant Williams when we drafted him? I know he surpassed mine, certainly on defense. Grant has absolutely contributed to a playoff team. What exactly is it you're looking for in a contribution?

Two issues with this draft, there's nobody we will draft at 17 or anywhere we're picking that Brad is going to trust more than the guys we already have. That's about as close to a fact as it gets without being 100%. I could buy the argument of maybe signing an MLE type like a Bertans, or Bjelica, or Harry Giles as was mentioned above. That said, since when is Danny the type to trade a drafted asset before he knows it's true value unless the deal is so obvious a no-brainer that he has to do it? If you're advocating maybe signing 1 veteran to a deal to add to the team, I won't argue; especially if Kanter decides to opt out. But we're the least experienced team in the league. Our window is on the precipice of being thrust open. Let's just sit back for a minute and really see how good we are first before doing anything else.

[winsomme2]

Many of the rookies that "established themselves" were on bad teams that had a lot of minutes available. The perception that development follows a clear linear path needs to end. Guys develop at different speeds under different conditions. Is it possible that not all of the rookies we have will eventually be major rotation players? Of course it is. Here's the fun part though. We don't have to look at them in terms of "well if 6 out of 6 don't make meaningful contributions after 2 years" then we're screwed. The draft is a crapshoot. The best you can do is look for talent, gauge whether you think if they can fit what you do and if even 2 of the 6 hit then it's a win. Right now we have 6 rotational players on the team. If over the next 2-3 years 2 more players become established cost-controlled players then we are in a great position.

Certainly Grant WIlliams was given plenty of time given his rookie status. He has showed some abilities but he is definitely undersized to make a huge impact.

Some of the impact players from the last draft were on bad teams but others were not. Tyler Herro, Goga Bitadze, Brandon Clarke, Matisse Thybulle, among others were able to step in to bench roles and contribute to playoff teams.

I expect players in this upcoming draft to do the same.

I do agree that some players take a while to blossom but I think you can for the most part see pretty early on what you're gonna get from a player.

I just think the idea that we need to trade these picks because we're so close to a run at a Title isn't completely needed. I would have no problem trading picks for a top notch bench player but at the same time I think we could certainly pick someone that will contribute right away.

"championship calibre" "make a huge impact"

Again, no diss but still, I'm getting a lot of buzz words but not enough substance here. What does ",ake a huge impact" actually mean? Because I don't know what's in your head. What exactly were your expectations of Grant Williams when we drafted him? I know he surpassed mine, certainly on defense. Grant has absolutely contributed to a playoff team. What exactly is it you're looking for in a contribution?

Two issues with this draft, there's nobody we will draft at 17 or anywhere we're picking that Brad is going to trust more than the guys we already have. That's about as close to a fact as it gets without being 100%. I could buy the argument of maybe signing an MLE type like a Bertans, or Bjelica, or Harry Giles as was mentioned above. That said, since when is Danny the type to trade a drafted asset before he knows it's true value unless the deal is so obvious a no-brainer that he has to do it? If you're advocating maybe signing 1 veteran to a deal to add to the team, I won't argue; especially if Kanter decides to opt out. But we're the least experienced team in the league. Our window is on the precipice of being thrust open. Let's just sit back for a minute and really see how good we are first before doing anything else.

I'm not a huge stats guy so I can't necessarily give you the specifics you might be looking for, but it's pretty clear that if we had drafted Brandon Clarke we wouldn't need to sign a guy like Harry Giles because Brandon Clarke would be locked up and cost controlled for years to come.

You can fall back on the draft being a crapshoot but that's only true to an extent. I think Brandon Clarke was a pretty sure bet especially where he went and considering we had such a hole in the middle it seems like a pick like that should have been a no brainer.

Danny has another shot this year with 3 first rounders. If he's able to swing a trade for a reliable vet, I'll be on board, but he has to use these picks better because there are going to be reliable players who will make an immediate impact where we are picking. Even if he hits on just one, that's a spot that will be cost controlled for a solid championship run in the next few years.