Official 2021 NBA Draft Thread

[tiderulz]

That's where I'm at right now as well. If we don't get lucky, we're going to need to try to trade up to grab our scorer. I'm not sure about Suggs scoring abilities but that's another topic altogether. Not that I don't think he can score, more of 'can he be the walking bucket when needed?'

I think that's a legitimate question and one that I've asked myself a lot.

Did Jalen Suggs willingly set up shop as No. 3 in the Gonzaga pecking order because his team was so stacked? They went 31-2 without him last year and were going to be a 1 seed/title contender before COVID. Plus they clearly didn't need him to dominate their shot attempts and usage to still win.

Or did he blend in because that's just the kind of player he is and he'll struggle to adjust in the NBA when a team inevitably asks him to be the No. 1 focal point of their offense?

I've talked myself into thinking it's the former and Suggs won't have much of an issue taking on a bigger role in the NBA, but there's a little bit of wonder in the back of mind how he'll handle it.

but looking now at UCLA taking them to the wire and Baylor, was that Gonzaga team really stacked? or was it just a good team in a so-so conference? Suggs is obviously a great talent, with offers to play QB at Ohio State as well as the 30+ offers for basketball. I personally dont think he will have that much of a problem in the NBA. I think Cade is a more go-to scorer than Suggs, but Suggs is that PG you want that will put your team in the right place, defend great, push the pace and score when needed as well as get you easy baskets.

[Skin]

Anyone else super high on Alperen Sengun? He's one of my top realistic choices for the Chicago pick at the moment.

What he's doing at 18 years old in the third best league in the world outside of the NBA has been incredibly impressive.

Stats (rank in league):
19.3 PPG (2nd)
9.3 RPG (2nd)
1.6 BPG (2nd)
1.3 SPG (16th)
69% TS (1st)
64.5% EFG (1st)
80.6% FT on 6+ FTA/G
26.42 PER (1st / 2nd place coming in at 21.44)

A big knock on him has been his size. He measured in at 6'9 with a 7'1 wingspan at 17 y/o.. I think he comes in at 6'10+ at the combine and thats definitely enough size to play in the interior in the game today.

His athleticism has been questioned too, but watching tape its not really a concern right now. He's up to 240-lb already and carries the weight well. He's light on his feet, has a bit of bounce, more than guys like Hansborough and Kanter who I've seen him compared to.

Watching his tape vs Sweden in February you get a good glimpse of his overall game. You see the hustle on boards and on defense. He shows a few nice post moves. A few good passes, from out of the post and from the perimeter. There's a few good drives where he shows a solid handle and beats his guy to the rim. He even shows good form and hits a step back 3, which isnt in his consistent arsenal yet but if he expands his range out there it takes his game to the next level.

He's a guy i'd take a chance on, and outside of the consensus top 5 I think you can make the argument for him over anyone.

My eyes are so far away from Centers this year. WCj, Bamba, and a cheaply resigned Birch is good with me.

My main question for any Center though is... Can he be a dominant defender?

[KillMonger]

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His Jumpshot doesn't look broken but if you look at his percentages it would suggest that he's a non shooter/bad shooter.....Explosive slashing ability....reminds me of D. Rose a bit since Rose was more of a 2 foot jumper like Keon is.....Not as explosive as prime Rose but it's shades of that kind of explosiveness.....He has some dog in him as well and likes to play physical on both ends.....ball hawk defensively and not afraid to body up offensively....To me he's most definitely a top 10 talent

[tiderulz]

Why isn't efficiency not an important factor to a lot of big boards? Looking through who could be available with the bulls pick, I found Jaden Springer being available in the late teens... He's shooting 47/44/81 as a freshman on a good team. And then I go look at his highlights and I see this:

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So far, this is my guy with the bulls pick

If the pick is in the Top 10 then I just have other guys ahead of him. Springer loves to score in the key and I don't think he'll get away with it as much in the NBA. I love his handle, but he plays below the rim and doesn't seem to have much length. Can also get a little chaotic at times. I see some duplication between him and what we already have.

We have shooters though? His jumper is wet and the stats back it up. And I haven't really scouted him defensively but his comp on nbadraft is Marcus Smart and is rated a 9/10 defensively. I don't need a sure-fire star with the bulls pick if we have a top 5 pick of our own. Plus, I see a little bit of Booker in his play. I just love efficient players. Especially when they're freshmen.

is it? he didnt even take 2 FGA from 3 last year. I just think we have enough guard prospects, i would like an offensive SF to develop rather than another guard to compete with RJ, Cole, Fultz and our #1 pick (who i think will be a guard).

[thelead]

If the pick is in the Top 10 then I just have other guys ahead of him. Springer loves to score in the key and I don't think he'll get away with it as much in the NBA. I love his handle, but he plays below the rim and doesn't seem to have much length. Can also get a little chaotic at times. I see some duplication between him and what we already have.

We have shooters though? His jumper is wet and the stats back it up. And I haven't really scouted him defensively but his comp on nbadraft is Marcus Smart and is rated a 9/10 defensively. I don't need a sure-fire star with the bulls pick if we have a top 5 pick of our own. Plus, I see a little bit of Booker in his play. I just love efficient players. Especially when they're freshmen.

Not really a shooter though. 1.8 3PA per game is what I would call an opportunistic shooter, but not a stone cold assassin.

Look at Quentin Grimes. 40% 3pt shooter who took 8.3 3PA per game. There's a player that I know if we brought in, he could be counted on to stretch the floor.

I'm not seeing the 'it' factor with Grimes off the bounce though. Not bad but I can see why he's more of a 2nd round talent.

[thelead]

If the pick is in the Top 10 then I just have other guys ahead of him. Springer loves to score in the key and I don't think he'll get away with it as much in the NBA. I love his handle, but he plays below the rim and doesn't seem to have much length. Can also get a little chaotic at times. I see some duplication between him and what we already have.

We have shooters though? His jumper is wet and the stats back it up. And I haven't really scouted him defensively but his comp on nbadraft is Marcus Smart and is rated a 9/10 defensively. I don't need a sure-fire star with the bulls pick if we have a top 5 pick of our own. Plus, I see a little bit of Booker in his play. I just love efficient players. Especially when they're freshmen.

is it? he didnt even take 2 FGA from 3 last year. I just think we have enough guard prospects, i would like an offensive SF to develop rather than another guard to compete with RJ, Cole, Fultz and our #1 pick (who i think will be a guard).

You take BPA always. There are not many SF available in the 10-25 range from what I'm seeing and the ones that are there, I'm not fond of besides maybe Jalen Johnson. But his FT % is a bit alarming for someone so efficient otherwise (52/44/63 splits).

No one on our team would preclude me from taking a talented freshman.

[MoMM]

Anyone else super high on Alperen Sengun? He's one of my top realistic choices for the Chicago pick at the moment.

What he's doing at 18 years old in the third best league in the world outside of the NBA has been incredibly impressive.

Stats (rank in league):
19.3 PPG (2nd)
9.3 RPG (2nd)
1.6 BPG (2nd)
1.3 SPG (16th)
69% TS (1st)
64.5% EFG (1st)
80.6% FT on 6+ FTA/G
26.42 PER (1st / 2nd place coming in at 21.44)

A big knock on him has been his size. He measured in at 6'9 with a 7'1 wingspan at 17 y/o.. I think he comes in at 6'10+ at the combine and thats definitely enough size to play in the interior in the game today.

His athleticism has been questioned too, but watching tape its not really a concern right now. He's up to 240-lb already and carries the weight well. He's light on his feet, has a bit of bounce, more than guys like Hansborough and Kanter who I've seen him compared to.

Watching his tape vs Sweden in February you get a good glimpse of his overall game. You see the hustle on boards and on defense. He shows a few nice post moves. A few good passes, from out of the post and from the perimeter. There's a few good drives where he shows a solid handle and beats his guy to the rim. He even shows good form and hits a step back 3, which isnt in his consistent arsenal yet but if he expands his range out there it takes his game to the next level.

He's a guy i'd take a chance on, and outside of the consensus top 5 I think you can make the argument for him over anyone.

My eyes are so far away from Centers this year. WCj, Bamba, and a cheaply resigned Birch is good with me.

My main question for any Center though is... Can he be a dominant defender?

I don't think we will re-sign Birch by any chance, he is gone and probably heading to a contender to be a backup there.

[MoMM]

Now if you think Sengun is going to better than WCJ and Bamba, then it's no real issue. You just pick him and trade those guys away or whatever.

But if you think he's comparable to WCJ, then how can you pick him? Because you can't play those guys together and everyone right now is understandably high on what WCJ has brought to the table thus far.

Glad someone else sees it with him! For playing time, I think Bamba's a wash at this point. Maybe he puts it together with someone else but I dont think its going to happen here. I think Alperen would sit behind WCJ for a year or two and then be an All Star big shortly after he takes over the starting job. Similar career projection to Sabonis if we're looking at recent examples.

Do you think he can play at 4? I'd envision to have a rotation with WCJ, JI and him.

[KillMonger]

Cade
Green
Suggs
Kuminga
Bouknight
K. Johnson
Moody
Kispert
Z.Williams

these are the players i'm zeroing in on....i know some may feel like there is a big time player missing from this list....well....not a typo

[pepe1991]

Well, if you want to f** up lottery pick, just draft another center.

Because Bamba, Maker, Bender, Ayton, Bagley, Chriss,Hayes, Hachimura all worked so damn well... Literally Mitchell Robinson is better than all of them.

And Wendell has been solid for Magic, nothing special, but fine, and that's pretty much enough for C position for next 4,5 years in my books.

[KillMonger]

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[JBSouthpaw]

Well, if you want to f** up lottery pick, just draft another center.

Because Bamba, Maker, Bender, Ayton, Bagley, Chriss,Hayes, Hachimura all worked so damn well... Literally Mitchell Robinson is better than all of them.

And Wendell has been solid for Magic, nothing special, but fine, and that's pretty much enough for C position for next 4,5 years in my books.

I agree here. STAY AWAY FROM CENTERS.

[Skin]

Watch on YouTube

We know how to use youtube. What do you like? Any comments? Fit? Player comparison? etc etc

[zaymon]

I really doubt any of the players can be a lead ball handler/ Secondary ball handler sure, but lead ball handler who can make advantage without a screen ? Dont see it much. I would look hard at trading those picks for some star if able.

[Skin]

We have shooters though? His jumper is wet and the stats back it up. And I haven't really scouted him defensively but his comp on nbadraft is Marcus Smart and is rated a 9/10 defensively. I don't need a sure-fire star with the bulls pick if we have a top 5 pick of our own. Plus, I see a little bit of Booker in his play. I just love efficient players. Especially when they're freshmen.

is it? he didnt even take 2 FGA from 3 last year. I just think we have enough guard prospects, i would like an offensive SF to develop rather than another guard to compete with RJ, Cole, Fultz and our #1 pick (who i think will be a guard).

You take BPA always. There are not many SF available in the 10-25 range from what I'm seeing and the ones that are there, I'm not fond of besides maybe Jalen Johnson. But his FT % is a bit alarming for someone so efficient otherwise (52/44/63 splits).

No one on our team would preclude me from taking a talented freshman.

BPA according to who though? BPA is an opinion. Every team has a different board, but then that board gets judged against who?

Do you think WeHam took BPA when they took Chuma? Cause it looks to be the right pick and they were bashed for reaching.

Henny took Hezonja over Booker because Booker wasn't universally judged to be in that range.

Taking BPA according to ESPN, CBS, nbadraft.net, Tankathon, etc is actually quite silly sounding.

Also, BPA is not often very clear cut due to different strengths and weaknesses and team needs. You could put players in Tiers. If one player fills a big hole and another plays the same position that you have a star at, I think "BPA that fits a need" starts to play into the bigger picture.

[pepe1991]

Can't wait for last month before draft when people get exited about center shooting 3s over broomsticks, on 10 second long video, that took 5 hours to film because that guy couldn't make 3 threes in a row

Mo Bamba - life story

[KillMonger]

Watch on YouTube

We know how to use youtube. What do you like? Any comments? Fit? Player comparison? etc etc

didn't know i had to scout for you....let's see....positional size and length.....shooting potential despite numbers....good looking shot, nice follow through on balance and hard to block...not broken so that can be worked with....like his ball-handling ability, he definitely has some shake to his game so there could be potential as a scorer....shows some dog at times defensively but might gamble a bit in passing lanes for my liking......moves surprisingly well laterally so much so he might be able to check guards and not get all the way cooked if switched......for me most importantly he has IQ based off some of his reads....has to work on filling out his frame....comp...maybe a diet Danny Granger?

[The Effect]

Can't wait for last month before draft when people get exited about center shooting 3s over broomsticks, on 10 second long video, that took 5 hours to film because that guy couldn't make 3 threes in a row

Mo Bamba - life story

I remember leading up to the draft i kept saying that i had no idea why Bamba was so highly rated, wasnt that good, was lazy (funny how thats still the argument), but i knew we were gonna take because of WeHam, so i tried to convince myself he was good, and couldnt do it til about a week before the draft, a short documentary\fluff piece came about him working out with KG, with KG teaching him post moves and shooting etc and KG saying how he could be great and all that stuff....

Watch on YouTube

That was the video that made me say "fine maybe im wrong about him"...........

[Skin]

Watch on YouTube

We know how to use youtube. What do you like? Any comments? Fit? Player comparison? etc etc

didn't know i had to scout for you....let's see....positional size and length.....shooting potential despite numbers....good looking shot, nice follow through on balance and hard to block...not broken so that can be worked with....like his ball-handling ability, he definitely has some shake to his game so there could be potential as a scorer....shows some dog at times defensively but might gamble a bit in passing lanes for my liking......moves surprisingly well laterally so much so he might be able to check guards and not get all the way cooked if switched......for me most importantly he has IQ based off some of his reads....has to work on filling out his frame....comp...maybe a diet Danny Granger?

You don't have to scout... but you should have a point to say instead of just posting a video.

[basketballRob]

Anything is better than the last 9 years of torture.

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