Draft Thread Part 4

[sofargone]

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[tdotrep2]

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this kid has way too many tools for a team not to take a chance on him, no way he makes it to our 2nds. No shot.

[UnbelievablyRAW]

People are literally reacting to him saying he wants to get better in a pre-draft interview by a guy whose job is to hype up incoming NBA players for draft geeks.

As opposed to what??? Do you want a prospect to say that I have no room for improvement or something along those lines??

To me it shows that he wants to take his game to a next level, and knows the difference between a well rounded player and a Jordan clarkson. I don't get how you can knock a guy for saying and understanding the right things.

I'm not knocking him, I'm knocking anyone thinking what he says here is at all meaningful to him being a good prospect. He's coached by his agent to say all the right things, much like everyone going through this job interview.

I don’t think it matters whether he was told to say that or not. It’s whether he acknowledges the problems and areas of growth. Don’t think a guy like him is going to ruin his draft stock (more than which team picks you, he’d be losing money) by both saying and playing the wrong way.

He has a chance to be in the upper echelon of guards if he looks to improve the right way and the guys he wishes to model his game after are playmaking scorers (Booker only really getting better at that only 2-3 years ago, well into his career. Remember when he was labelled just a chucked and now he’s a premiere leading guard?)

[UnbelievablyRAW]

People are literally reacting to him saying he wants to get better in a pre-draft interview by a guy whose job is to hype up incoming NBA players for draft geeks.

As opposed to what??? Do you want a prospect to say that I have no room for improvement or something along those lines??

To me it shows that he wants to take his game to a next level, and knows the difference between a well rounded player and a Jordan clarkson. I don't get how you can knock a guy for saying and understanding the right things.

You don't have to knock him but you also don't have take it as gospel. Of course everyone is going to say the right things before the draft.

Then why does every organization bother to do them if it all should just be considered practiced pandering?

[Jadoogar]

As opposed to what??? Do you want a prospect to say that I have no room for improvement or something along those lines??

To me it shows that he wants to take his game to a next level, and knows the difference between a well rounded player and a Jordan clarkson. I don't get how you can knock a guy for saying and understanding the right things.

You don't have to knock him but you also don't have take it as gospel. Of course everyone is going to say the right things before the draft.

Then why does every organization bother to do them if it all should just be considered practiced pandering?

They likely do them in person and look something deeper than just the surface level practiced answers.
Remember when the Wolves gave Wiggins a max because he promised to be better?

[UnbelievablyRAW]

You don't have to knock him but you also don't have take it as gospel. Of course everyone is going to say the right things before the draft.

Then why does every organization bother to do them if it all should just be considered practiced pandering?

They likely do them in person and look something deeper than just the surface level practiced answers.
Remember when the Wolves gave Wiggins a max because he promised to be better?

The Wolves organization also sucks and gave him that contract after years of proof he wasn’t improving.

Pretty sure these interview are standard and agents already know how to prep these guys regardless.

I see it as only a red flag if they don’t say the right things or act unprofessionally. If he says stuff like this and in the workouts shows some of it, it says a lot

[WuTang_CMB]

At least we can really zero in on this draft with us being out of the playoffs. 7/8 is a good spot even if we dont get in top 4. It’s going to be a 2 way player in my mind. I just dont see how they give Nurse who cant play D.. terrence davis is the most recent example. We put a heavy emphasis on motor and defence. Barnes, Keon are for sure both in play. Sengun is a risky pick still - but curious to see his final measurements

[Dalek]

I do think Bouknight is a good kid, but for me to buy into drafting him, I have ignore some big issues and this is in what is supposed to be his bread and butter (scoring the ball):

In the biggest games of his season (two conference games and the NCAA tournament) he fell short shooting about 15 PPG and under 40% from the field.

► Max Abmas, Oral Roberts - 24.2
► Luka Garza, Iowa - 23.7
► Cameron Thomas, LSU - 22.3
► Ayo Dosunmu, llinois - 20.7
► Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State - 20.2
► Tre Mann, Florida - 20.0
► Nah'Shon Hyland, VCU - 19. 5

If I want a bucket getter I am going with Tre Mann, Cam Thomas, or Bones Hyland who may not be quite the athlete but they are superior scorers.

Look at Bouknight's scoring summary: great driving to the basket and at the rim, poor from midrange, terrible at catch shoot, high turnover frequency. At present, he has to be on-ball to have value.

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[vulture]

nbadraft.net extended mock draft #1

1.Houston - Cade
2.Det - Mobley
3.Orlando - Green
4.OKC - Suggs
5.Clv - Kuminga
6.GSW - Barnes
7. Toronto James Bouknight 6-5 190 SG UConn So.
Bouknight was one of the breakout stars of the season, coming off a promising freshman year at Storrs. While he doesn’t have elite length, he has sneaky athleticism and had numerous highlight plays at the rim. He shows a lot of grit and determination with a crafty skill set that has shown excellent improvement. He showed just how lethal a scorer he can be with his 40 point performance in an OT loss to Creighton in December. Comp - CJ Mccollum

8.Orlando - Moody (Comp - Glen Rice)
9. Sacramento -Keon Johnson (Comp - Lattrell Sprewell
10.NOP - D.Mitchell (Comp - Ty Lawson)
11.Charolette - Jalen Johnson (comp - S.Jack)
12. Spurs - Kai Jones (comp - Jaxson Hayes)
13.Indiana - Corey Krispet (Joe Harris)
14.GSW - Ziaire Williams (comp - Rashard Lewis)


They don't have Sengun in the 1st round - Giddy to Boston

I don't love bouknight because his highest upside is being a 6th man and a nice role player. I do love that they have us drafting herbert Jones in the second round. That kid is gonna be so good if his shot comes around.

[AbC?]

Bouknight sucks.

Weak/slender, doesn't have the frame to add muscle. Inefficient. Didn't show year over year improvement. Doesn't pass well. Not a good defender. Looks weird.

Just because we're in need of a primary scoring option (basically synonymous with allstar level player or better), doesn't mean you go for a guy that does a bad impression of that archetype.

[Federalies]

Ok, let’s say we get lucky and move up to the second overall pick. Who you taking and why.

I’ll start us off.

Case for Evan Mobley:
He fills an obvious need and is projected as the clear second or third best player in this draft with “generational” upside. He ticks off the all the defensive boxes and has some super intriguing upside on offence and facilitating by way of his passing. Could be a unicorn, an all star, a defensive fulcrum or just a decent starting Center. My concerns are with his slim build and offensive question marks.

Case for Jalen Green:
He projects as a automatic bucket getter, the creator we’ve never truly had since Vince (not sure one amazing year with Kawhi counts) and an alpha who has a chance at being a perennial all-star. There are some whispers that perhaps Green, not Cade, is the best pick in the draft. That said, he has some question marks on defence, not that he can’t be great but does he want to be on that end of the ball. Is he our ticket to the promised land or a Demar like chucker with a serviceable 3 point shot?

Final analysis:
While Mobley makes so much sense on paper, I can’t overlook his potential limitations at a position that can filled at much lower cost without a tremendous drop off in production (obviously my opinion only). While a legit shot creator/potential top 5 scorer who “can” play defence seems like a necessity in today’s guard dominated league. It’s for these reasons I’d buck the prevailing “wisdom “ and select Jalen Green with the second pick in this years draft!

Thoughts?

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[YelloC]

You don't have to knock him but you also don't have take it as gospel. Of course everyone is going to say the right things before the draft.

Then why does every organization bother to do them if it all should just be considered practiced pandering?

They likely do them in person and look something deeper than just the surface level practiced answers.
Remember when the Wolves gave Wiggins a max because he promised to be better?

I wonder how many prospects make themselves look dumber by trying to answer a simple question with a profound answer?
As much due diligence as front offices do with interviews/kaliper tests, you would think players would be just as prepared by their agents to answer them.

[UnbelievablyRAW]

Ok, let’s say we get lucky and move up to the second overall pick. Who you taking and why.

I’ll start us off.

Case for Even Mobley:
He fills an obvious need and is projected as the clear second or third best player in this draft with “generational” upside. He ticks off the all the defensive boxes and has some super intriguing upside on offence and facilitating by way of his passing. Could be a unicorn, an all star, a defensive fulcrum or just a decent starting Center. My concerns are with his slim build and offensive question marks.

Case for Jalen Green:
He projects as a automatic bucket getter, the creator we’ve never truly had since Vince (not sure one amazing year with Kawhi counts) and an alpha who has a chance at being a perennial all-star. There are some whispers that perhaps Green, not Cade, is the best pick in the draft. That said, he has some question marks on defence, not that he can’t be great but does he want to be on that end of the ball. Is he our ticket to the promised land or a Demar like chucker with a serviceable 3 point shot?

Final analysis:
While Mobley makes so much sense on paper, I can’t overlook his potential limitations at a position that can filled at much lower cost without a tremendous drop off in production (obviously my opinion only). While a legit shot creator/potential top 5 scorer who “can” play defence seems like a necessity in today’s guard dominated league. It’s for these reasons I’d buck the prevailing “wisdom “ and select Jalen Green with the second pick in this years draft!

Thoughts?

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Jalen Green. As much as Mobley can turn into some version of AD, you need an elite shot creator if you want to be a champion. We lucked into Kawhi, no one we have on the roster is even close to approximating that.

Like imagine how good we would be with the same roster but we had Tatum?

Demar didn't work for us because he was not only negative on defense, against almost every good defensive team he would get stopped. He relied too much on ball fakes and mistakes from defenders to get buckets. In the playoffs that doesn't work very long and you need someone that is better than good defense. If we can get a ROOKIE on that sort of contract who will be with us I would be estatic. Plus we could always trade some pieces to pick up a defensive minded rim running big later in the draft. THere are a couple options in the late first round

[UnbelievablyRAW]

Bouknight sucks.

Weak/slender, doesn't have the frame to add muscle. Inefficient. Didn't show year over year improvement. Doesn't pass well. Not a good defender. Looks weird.

Just because we're in need of a primary scoring option (basically synonymous with allstar level player or better), doesn't mean you go for a guy that does a bad impression of that archetype.

1. 19 years old without NBA strength coaches and training. Terrible take to say he can't fill out his frame or get any stronger. Guess Skinny Steph was also a lost cause coming into the league. No way he fills out and becomes stronger. Oh wait..

2. Got injured 2 games after dropping 40 in the 4th game of his second year and missed a month. His numbers fell because of that but who cares about context? Averaged 23/5/2/2 on 48/33/81 before he got injured. Had a 55TS% with a 32% USG rate. Why is that important? He had to play damn near like Harden/Kobe on that UConn team and still managed to be a 20+ ppg scorer on average efficiency while having to face constant doubles in college . For reference Cade ended his season with a statline of 20/6/4 on 44/40/85 with a 57TS% and a 29USG%. Sucks and inefficient too?

Imagine what it would be like playing bench minutes with good teammates and you don't have to carry your teams bad offense? Imagine what a couple years with the Raptors development staff would do? The kid ended his freshman year shooting 35% from 3 and is a 80% FT shooter. Not seeing the argument that his shooting and efficiency won't go up with a lower usage and easier shots playing alongside teammates where he isn't the first, second and third option by himself

3. Please point to evidence he's not a good defender, numbers and tape say the opposite. Literally don't know which hat you pulled that from

[Raptorfan2012]

lol seems like Bouknight is now the flavour of the week. Haven't followed from the beginning but in our range I've seen Keon, Moody, Barnes, Mitchell, Mann, and now Bouknight.

Masai is going to draft Jalen Johnson and everyone here is going to be mad.

Im fine with Jalen Johnson if the Raptors have truly investigated his supposed character issues. I feel like he doesnt have the mental fortitude to grind out NBA seasons, but Im also not a pro scout.

[Rodrickle]

Bouknight sucks.

Weak/slender, doesn't have the frame to add muscle. Inefficient. Didn't show year over year improvement. Doesn't pass well. Not a good defender. Looks weird.

Just because we're in need of a primary scoring option (basically synonymous with allstar level player or better), doesn't mean you go for a guy that does a bad impression of that archetype.

1. 19 years old without NBA strength coaches and training. Terrible take to say he can't fill out his frame or get any stronger. Guess Skinny Steph was also a lost cause coming into the league. No way he fills out and becomes stronger. Oh wait..

2. Got injured 2 games after dropping 40 in the 4th game of his second year and missed a month. His numbers fell because of that but who cares about context? Averaged 23/5/2/2 on 48/33/81 before he got injured. Had a 55TS% with a 32% USG rate. Why is that important? He had to play damn near like Harden/Kobe on that UConn team and still managed to be a 20+ ppg scorer on average efficiency while having to face constant doubles in college . For reference Cade ended his season with a statline of 20/6/4 on 44/40/85 with a 57TS% and a 29USG%. Sucks and inefficient too?

Imagine what it would be like playing bench minutes with good teammates and you don't have to carry your teams bad offense? Imagine what a couple years with the Raptors development staff would do? The kid ended his freshman year shooting 35% from 3 and is a 80% FT shooter. Not seeing the argument that his shooting and efficiency won't go up with a lower usage and easier shots playing alongside teammates where he isn't the first, second and third option by himself

3. Please point to evidence he's not a good defender, numbers and tape say the opposite. Literally don't know which hat you pulled that from

I agree with your assessment, but he isn't 19, he's actually going to be 21 in a few months

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[720]

Would any of you guys take a sub top 5 projected guy over Kuminga or Suggs (The guys projected to go 4th and 5th in a lot of these mocks)?

[S.W.A.N]

Bouknight sucks.

Weak/slender, doesn't have the frame to add muscle. Inefficient. Didn't show year over year improvement. Doesn't pass well. Not a good defender. Looks weird.

Just because we're in need of a primary scoring option (basically synonymous with allstar level player or better), doesn't mean you go for a guy that does a bad impression of that archetype.

1. 19 years old without NBA strength coaches and training. Terrible take to say he can't fill out his frame or get any stronger. Guess Skinny Steph was also a lost cause coming into the league. No way he fills out and becomes stronger. Oh wait..

2. Got injured 2 games after dropping 40 in the 4th game of his second year and missed a month. His numbers fell because of that but who cares about context? Averaged 23/5/2/2 on 48/33/81 before he got injured. Had a 55TS% with a 32% USG rate. Why is that important? He had to play damn near like Harden/Kobe on that UConn team and still managed to be a 20+ ppg scorer on average efficiency while having to face constant doubles in college . For reference Cade ended his season with a statline of 20/6/4 on 44/40/85 with a 57TS% and a 29USG%. Sucks and inefficient too?

Imagine what it would be like playing bench minutes with good teammates and you don't have to carry your teams bad offense? Imagine what a couple years with the Raptors development staff would do? The kid ended his freshman year shooting 35% from 3 and is a 80% FT shooter. Not seeing the argument that his shooting and efficiency won't go up with a lower usage and easier shots playing alongside teammates where he isn't the first, second and third option by himself

3. Please point to evidence he's not a good defender, numbers and tape say the opposite. Literally don't know which hat you pulled that from

Bouknight is scary. He certainly has upside, but what's his defensive upside? How will his game translate when he not having an insane usg rate? Can he play offball?

He looks like he might be the most talented '3 level' scorer in this draft, but some of the other guys have higher defensive ratings, and equal or better shooting from 3 which is still the primary weapon most teams need.

If you tell me I have a choice between drafing a jamal crawford 20ppg scorer or an OG/Middleton/Covington 3 and D plus guy, I taking OG Middleton etc. all day everyday.

[tecumseh18]

Would any of you guys take a sub top 5 projected guy over Kuminga or Suggs (The guys projected to go 4th and 5th in a lot of these mocks)?

No.

It would depend on workouts, of course. Any of these guys - even Barnes - might have significantly progressed in the last 3 or 4 months. But Suggs has none of the question marks that come up with the guards after 5. And Kuminga plays the glamour position in the league - power SF. You see all these teams in the playoffs that don't have one and can't adequately defend Lebron/Kawhi/PG. Raptors would have two. Plus Pascal to defend KD.

I really wonder whether the Raps would take Kuminga over Suggs. Riskier, but Suggs doesn't exactly fill a need.

[Reeko]

Would any of you guys take a sub top 5 projected guy over Kuminga or Suggs (The guys projected to go 4th and 5th in a lot of these mocks)?

Not over Suggs, but there are guys I would consider over Kuminga.