winsomme2 wrote:Potential Draft Result:
#17 - Patrick Williams - dynamic wing with good size and star potential.
#26 - Reggie Perry - Dependable modern day PF/C, FT% shows potential as shot-maker.
#30 - Malachi Flynn - High floor PG with starter potential. Tremendous in PnR.
Thoughts?
I'm a big fan of Patrick Williams for us. He's one of 2 guys I love for us at #17. I don't know that he's ever going to be able to create for himself at a high level but I think he's going to be a tough, rugged defender at the PF spot who can switch on the P&R and cover bigger SFs. The shot seems to have a solid enough foundation to be reliable and I think he shows a good ability to attack close outs and pass the ball within the offense. I don't think he's ever going to be your top scorer or a primary ball handler but as a 3&D PF he doesn't have to be.
I think he's still a bit raw so I don't think you're looking at a big time impact in year 1, but that's ok. We don't need huge year 1 impact necessarily, though obviously you'd love if we got that. It kind of depends on the Hayward situation and how many more years we have him, but down the line I think you're looking at a guy who would start at PF alongside Brown/Tatum. One potential fit issue is that I don't see him being a primary shot creator - more someone who scores off of plays created by others. I think Brown is the same type of player, even though he scores 20 a night. He gets his points off catch and shoot, off-ball cuts and then when he does iso/create for himself it's in favorable matchups. He's not a high level shot creator for himself or others right now. And then Tatum we all know has broken out in a big way this year, but playmaking for others is the one part of his game still lagging. Having Hayward as a point forward compensates for those weaknesses in Tatum/Brown. If in the long term we're going to move from that to a Patrick Williams type player alongside them, there will have to be improvement from Tatum/Brown as playmakers with the ball to compensate for that. That's not really an indictment on Williams but it's just a watch out on the long term fit.
My favorite player for us is Kira Lewis Jr because I think he'll be a star for us at PG down the line for us as a Kemba replacement and the offense-generating 2nd unit PG we need in the short term. But Patrick Williams as a bench forward now and eventual running mate alongside Tatum/Brown in Hayward's place is my second choice. I'd be very happy if one of them were there at #17.
Not as big a fan of the Reggie Perry pick. Stevens likes to switch on the P&R and I think he's a little heavy footed for that. It's not so much that I don't like Perry as it is I like some other bigs more. I think Zeke Nnaji could be a Kelly Olynyk type offensive player for us that switches on defense the way Theis does for example. I think he's a really good system fit for us. I think Paul Reed could be a big man version of Marcus Smart for us. Kind of like Grant Williams but with more length to help out in the bigger matchups. Another guy I like is Mamadi Diakite. I think he'd be a lot like Daniel Theis. Daniel Orturu I think is a bit of the same system misfit as Perry, but I think his strengths are stronger so it's more projectable and something worth altering for (the way we changed some things in how we play with Kanter, for example).
Those are just the big men. Two guys I also like for us potentially at #26 are the Arizona guards - Nico Mannion and Josh Green. Mannion is a P&R ball handler with a great shot IMO. I know he shot a bad % but he had a back injury that made it much worse. I think he's a good passer and creative finisher. He won't ever be a good defender but he tries which Stevens has shown is all he needs the PG to do to make it work. I think he's got some athleticism limitations that would prevent him from ever being an ideal starter in the way I said earlier I think Kira Lewis Jr could, but I think he addresses the 2nd unit PG we need now and for the future. Green right now is great in the open court but a bit undeveloped with his shot and handles but I think potential is there to be a good 2-way wing. Kind of a scaled back Jaylen Brown, if you will. He comes in and develops his catch and shoot game, defends multiple positions with size/athleticism/length. Over time he gets maybe a little more comfortable and can be a lower option to handle.
At #30, you're looking at kind of the same names. You mention Flynn who I think you can basically say the same things I did for Mannion earlier. That'd be a solid pick. There are a ton of PGs who fall into that, honestly. I think Xavier Tillman is an NBA ready big man who can play rotation minutes right away, though limited ceiling to ever be more than that IMO. Cassius Stanley would fit in a lot of the same ways as Green. Tyler Bey would fit in the way Patrick Williams would. I have those guys ranked lower so not the same upside but I'm talking schematic fit/role.
