2021 NBA Draft Thread

[bondom34]

Know folks were just mentioning Stiles as a minor breaking news guy, and a bit of a homer (I don't really listen to Locked On tbh) but if it wasn't somewhat clear:

Read on Twitter

Seems "a few players" being off limits would imply Shai which I guess is somewhat obvious but we're in a weird rumor season.

[thedoppelganger]

Know folks were just mentioning Stiles as a minor breaking news guy, and a bit of a homer (I don't really listen to Locked On tbh) but if it wasn't somewhat clear:

Read on Twitter

Seems "a few players" being off limits would imply Shai which I guess is somewhat obvious but we're in a weird rumor season.

Not sure what the context here is but if we're trying to trade into the top 3, I don't see why anyone would be 'off limits' other than Shai. I guess maybe Poku if the team really believes he can reach his ceiling, but seems equally likely he'll be playing back in Europe in 4 years. Nobody else projects as more than maybe a role player on a good team at this point. There's people in those replies that think Jerome should be off the table

[bondom34]

Know folks were just mentioning Stiles as a minor breaking news guy, and a bit of a homer (I don't really listen to Locked On tbh) but if it wasn't somewhat clear:

Read on Twitter

Seems "a few players" being off limits would imply Shai which I guess is somewhat obvious but we're in a weird rumor season.

Not sure what the context here is but if we're trying to trade into the top 3, I don't see why anyone would be 'off limits' other than Shai. I guess maybe Poku if the team really believes he can reach his ceiling, but seems equally likely he'll be playing back in Europe in 4 years. Nobody else projects as more than maybe a role player on a good team at this point. There's people in those replies that think Jerome should be off the table

Read on Twitter

Was the first tweet, think its with regard to the ideas from national media of trying to move up, with the added part of saying it's picks on the table. SGA for 4/SGA + 6 for 1 type stuff (which seems pretty far in terms of being unrealistic in the bad direction for OKC) would be the alternative. Or at least that's the implication some are getting. Found it on reddit with that seeming to be the implication folks were taking, granted again homer goggles a bit.

And oh no I didn't dig into replies . Agree it should just be SGA really off the table right now. Just seeing the weird national media ideas of trades has been a strange one. Just need to get to draft day.

[Devilanche]

A few players sounds like more than 2. I would only put shai in the clearly off limits for moving up and I guess Poku is in there as well.

Not too sure which other players we are high on .

If Bazley or Jerome is the big piece that allows me to move up I’m all for it. Even if it’s Dort.

[ThunderBolt]

Not that it means much but Jalen Johnson was he I hand the heard about yet.

Read on Twitter

[Devilanche]

Where is JT Thor on that list ? We should at least attempt to draft him .

[Old Man Game]

Know folks were just mentioning Stiles as a minor breaking news guy, and a bit of a homer (I don't really listen to Locked On tbh) but if it wasn't somewhat clear:

Read on Twitter

Seems "a few players" being off limits would imply Shai which I guess is somewhat obvious but we're in a weird rumor season.

Not sure what the context here is but if we're trying to trade into the top 3, I don't see why anyone would be 'off limits' other than Shai. I guess maybe Poku if the team really believes he can reach his ceiling, but seems equally likely he'll be playing back in Europe in 4 years. Nobody else projects as more than maybe a role player on a good team at this point. There's people in those replies that think Jerome should be off the table

Lmao. One man's trash is another man's treasure I guess.

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[Old Man Game]

I'm already over there thunder trade up rumors and ideas. If we were picking third or fourth maybe. But sixth? Nope.

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[Devilanche]

I'm already over there thunder trade up rumors and ideas. If we were picking third or fourth maybe. But sixth? Nope.

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We really have all the rumours . Trade up , Trade SGA , kemba being moved imminently …

[Dadouv47]

Yup sick of those stupid trade rumors. Presti wants to move up obviously but we are in a terrible spot. Pick n°6 is bad and Orlando has 5+8 to offer so I have no idea how we could beat that offer. Only remote chance would be if a team like Cleveland is looking to trade for a star and need a lot of picks.

[ThunderBolt]

I watched the Mike Schmitz interview with Kuminga last night. The interview really doesn’t mean much of anything in the long run, whether good or bad. Kuminga seems like a nice kid but it was a pretty uninspiring 25 minutes.

[jake_swivel]

I watched the Mike Schmitz interview with Kuminga last night. The interview really doesn’t mean much of anything in the long run, whether good or bad. Kuminga seems like a nice kid but it was a pretty uninspiring 25 minutes.

I stopped taking much away from interviews after hearing Derrick Rose's pre-draft interviews and thinking he was mentally disabled then hearing Mo Bamba's pre-draft interview and thinking he was going to be all-world. Very smart, interesting dude.

[Dn4sty]

I watched the Mike Schmitz interview with Kuminga last night. The interview really doesn’t mean much of anything in the long run, whether good or bad. Kuminga seems like a nice kid but it was a pretty uninspiring 25 minutes.

I’m back board taking Kuminga over Barnes. I had flipped the other direction.

How much stock can we put in 13 G league games in the bubble?

I’m not saying they don’t matter at all, but they seem to be leading people to a place where they hate Kuminga.

[Dn4sty]

Yup sick of those stupid trade rumors. Presti wants to move up obviously but we are in a terrible spot. Pick n°6 is bad and Orlando has 5+8 to offer so I have no idea how we could beat that offer. Only remote chance would be if a team like Cleveland is looking to trade for a star and need a lot of picks.

I have kinda reset my expectations to finding a Mikal Bridges like impact player in this draft while becoming more open to acquiring Simmons.

[ThunderBolt]

I watched the Mike Schmitz interview with Kuminga last night. The interview really doesn’t mean much of anything in the long run, whether good or bad. Kuminga seems like a nice kid but it was a pretty uninspiring 25 minutes.

I stopped taking much away from interviews after hearing Derrick Rose's pre-draft interviews and thinking he was mentally disabled then hearing Mo Bamba's pre-draft interview and thinking he was going to be all-world. Very smart, interesting dude.

Ya I’m not saying it means anything, just that it was 25 minutes of pretty boring video. He interviews similar to Durant in that he seems a bit introverted and doesn’t make much eye contact.

[ThunderBolt]

I watched the Mike Schmitz interview with Kuminga last night. The interview really doesn’t mean much of anything in the long run, whether good or bad. Kuminga seems like a nice kid but it was a pretty uninspiring 25 minutes.

I’m back board taking Kuminga over Barnes. I had flipped the other direction.

How much stock can we put in 13 G league games in the bubble?

I’m not saying they don’t matter at all, but they seem to be leading people to a place where they hate Kuminga.

I’ll go even further than that. How many of the people dropping Kuminga even watched all 13 games in the bubble? There are a few draft experts that really do keep up with everything. However a lot of the people talking and writing stuff watched maybe a few games of a particular guy and and form an opinion on that player alone, not the whole draft. Some of these “experts” give themselves away when they can’t even say the players name. One guy this week repeatedly said BO-knight.

[Devilanche]

I watched the Mike Schmitz interview with Kuminga last night. The interview really doesn’t mean much of anything in the long run, whether good or bad. Kuminga seems like a nice kid but it was a pretty uninspiring 25 minutes.

I’m back board taking Kuminga over Barnes. I had flipped the other direction.

How much stock can we put in 13 G league games in the bubble?

I’m not saying they don’t matter at all, but they seem to be leading people to a place where they hate Kuminga.

That’s the upside of picking 6th. It not really much of a choice for us . It’s one or the other and if both is gone that means Suggs fall down the board

[ThunderBolt]

I get that. But if they package those picks to move up to 9-12, my hope is that it’s for Moody, Giddey, or bondoms guy Wagner.

Moody's one of my guys too . I keep flipping between him, Bouknight, and Wagner. Not sure how I order them entirely.

I’m all in on Bouknight to the point where I’ve almost convinced myself OKC should take him at 6

I'm coming around on this idea. I feel like it's going to be between he and Kuminga for us at number six. I just wish Kuminga had shown a little bit more on the offensive end. Of course had he done so he likely be in the 3-4 range.

I'm also starting to open up to the idea of Keon Johnson with something besides our number 6 pick if he's still there. The comments from DA's article encouraged me. The flip side of that is if the Western Conference executive being quoted is Sam, then I'm a bit scared.

Spoiler:

Western Conference executive 3: At the beginning of the year, it could have been close (between Johnson and his Tennessee teammate, Jaden Springer). But Keon, No. 1, athletically, is a freak. Two, not saying that Jaden isn’t, but Keon could be the best competitor in this draft class. His compete level is, by far, maybe the best in the draft. You could possibly throw in Mitchell a little bit. But this kid, he goes at a different pace and speed in a game, both offensively and defensively, that separates him. I would say today, Jaden is a more skilled basketball player — meaning handle, passing, shooting. But in the long run, I think Keon, with his work ethic, that’s what you’re seeing.

If he’s a worker, which it seems like he is, he’s going to get better in those areas. And he already will have an athletic component and a motor. … he’s like an assassin. He has stuff that now, in our game, is so important. Guys don’t play hard every night. When I started in this business, we never discussed if a guy played hard. … Now, today, I’d say the last five, seven years, playing hard has become part of our scouting. Does he play hard enough? That’s ridiculous. This kid, he plays really, really hard all the time. And at Tennessee, you know they’ve been coached hard. Playing hard is an important staple in their program.

[Devilanche]

There’s only so many executive that been involved for that long . And it sounds like stuff that OKC are always high on.


So long as it’s not 6 I can buy the upside play . If it’s 6? Maybe if the selection at 6th is Kuminga .

[Dadouv47]

Barnes getting more hype lately and the fact that he has some connection with Orlando/Florida makes me think that we will likely end up with Kuminga.