The 2022 NBA Draft Thread

[RookieStar]

Hammond was at the Iowa game when Murray had 26 and 18.

Soooo... is he really 6'8? Just remember last draft duing team measurements when Cade was flund to be 6'6. I mean sure... for a PG it wont mean that much but for a PF? I saw some comments that he is 6'7 in shoes...

Is he capable of playing as a stretch 4? Does he have the speed to take his man off the dribble? Does he have a 3pt shot?

If the answer to those are yes then he might be worthy of a top 10 pick.

I only watched a little of his highlights but he didn't look very quick. He reminded me of Tobias Harris.

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If im.not mistaken, i think i watched him lqst year already when i was watching Iowa games because of Garza who i wanted for our 2nd round pick lol

He was primarily the garbage guy dude. Glad to see he is now blossoming as the primary scorer. Howevwr most of his highlights show he scores by overpowering his opponents. Unless you are Embiid you cant really rely on that all the time in the league. What will he do when the PFs he will face will be taller longer amd faster than him?

[BCS]

Whole Sharpe thing... like how da hell you can know you like him when he hasn't played serious basketball at any level ? Main reason why nba had to stop straight from highschool drafts was because teams were just awful at drafting those highschool players.

Were they really that bad. For the most part they were fine. KG, Kobe, T-mac, Lebron, Dwight, etc...

I feel that there were more success stories than anything. It was the Kwame Brown draft that people went crazy with high school busts if I am not mistaking and it became a stigma.

Not pushing for Sharpe or anything but after the top 5 or so, if he shows capable during the workouts, then I wouldn't care much.

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[pepe1991]

Whole Sharpe thing... like how da hell you can know you like him when he hasn't played serious basketball at any level ? Main reason why nba had to stop straight from highschool drafts was because teams were just awful at drafting those highschool players.

Were they really that bad. For the most part they were fine. KG, Kobe, T-mac, Lebron, Dwight, etc...

I feel that there were more success stories than anything. It was the Kwame Brown draft that people went crazy with high school busts if I am not mistaking and it became a stigma.

Not pushing for Sharpe or anything but after the top 5 or so, if he shows capable during the workouts, then I wouldn't care much.

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Mixed bag.

Kwame sucked but it's not like Tyson Chandler ever lived up to 2# pick either, both on same draft.
3# Darius Miles
4# Eddie Curry
4# Livingston
5# Dawkings
5# Jonathan Bender
6# Webster
8# Diop

and dishonorable mentions like Gerald Green, JR Smith, Josh Smith, not for talent but for wasting talent.

Imo main issue was maturity. You put millions of bucks in hands of guy who turned 18. That more often than not, won't age well.


I'm not sure that Sharpe or anybody can show much during close practices. Allegedly, Wade had horrific prdraft workout with Heat. Rest is history.

[VFX]

Can someone realistically rank these guards-

Suggs
Ivey
Cole
Fultz

And then tell me who is getting minutes and who is traded IF Ivey is even in question for the Orlando pick.

As much as I think Ivey is talented I fail to see him as realistic choice if the Magic land in the top 4

Well Cole stinks, so I wouldn't even put him on the list candidly. It's not like the Magic have invested heavily into him (or Hampton for that matter). He was a non-lotto first rounder. IMO if Fultz wasn't coming off an injury and could handle 30+ MPG, Cole would be barely playing right now anyway. He can get traded for a bag of basketballs and it won't be a big deal.

So it would be a 3-guard rotation of Fultz/Suggs/Ivey. Start whichever two you want. There's plenty of minutes to split among three guys.

Is Ivey THAT much better than Fultz or Suggs AND picking over one of Jabari, Banchero, Griffin or Chet though?

Seems like those 3 guards all have somewhat similar games. There aren’t enough minutes with Cole in the mix and I don’t see the FO trading one of them to bring in more youth.

[zaymon]

Can someone realistically rank these guards-

Suggs
Ivey
Cole
Fultz

And then tell me who is getting minutes and who is traded IF Ivey is even in question for the Orlando pick.

As much as I think Ivey is talented I fail to see him as realistic choice if the Magic land in the top 4

Well Cole stinks, so I wouldn't even put him on the list candidly. It's not like the Magic have invested heavily into him (or Hampton for that matter). He was a non-lotto first rounder. IMO if Fultz wasn't coming off an injury and could handle 30+ MPG, Cole would be barely playing right now anyway. He can get traded for a bag of basketballs and it won't be a big deal.

So it would be a 3-guard rotation of Fultz/Suggs/Ivey. Start whichever two you want. There's plenty of minutes to split among three guys.

Is Ivey THAT much better than Fultz or Suggs AND picking over one of Jabari, Banchero, Griffin or Chet though?

Seems like those 3 guards all have somewhat similar games. There aren’t enough minutes with Cole in the mix and I don’t see the FO trading one of them to bring in more youth.

I dont think you can play any two of them together in the long run. Aside from major improvement its better to play them next to player who is not as good on ball but is bigger and can actually shoot.
I would rank them Suggs->Ivey->Fultz->Anthony.
Suggs is the only one who can act as a point of attack defender and switch 1-4. If your guard cant run a team he should be great defender and at least average shooter.

[Knightro]

Is Ivey THAT much better than Fultz or Suggs AND picking over one of Jabari, Banchero, Griffin or Chet though?

Seems like those 3 guards all have somewhat similar games. There aren’t enough minutes with Cole in the mix and I don’t see the FO trading one of them to bring in more youth.

I wouldn't pick Ivey over Holmgren or Jabari.

But I'd also throw it out there on top of Cole not being very good, that Fultz is also going into the last year of his contract next year and could easily be gone after next season anyway, so I wouldn't necessarily be factoring him into any sort of long-term planning anyway.

[MagicFan101]

Can someone realistically rank these guards-

Suggs
Ivey
Cole
Fultz

And then tell me who is getting minutes and who is traded IF Ivey is even in question for the Orlando pick.

As much as I think Ivey is talented I fail to see him as realistic choice if the Magic land in the top 4

Well Cole stinks, so I wouldn't even put him on the list candidly. It's not like the Magic have invested heavily into him (or Hampton for that matter). He was a non-lotto first rounder. IMO if Fultz wasn't coming off an injury and could handle 30+ MPG, Cole would be barely playing right now anyway. He can get traded for a bag of basketballs and it won't be a big deal.

So it would be a 3-guard rotation of Fultz/Suggs/Ivey. Start whichever two you want. There's plenty of minutes to split among three guys.

Is Ivey THAT much better than Fultz or Suggs AND picking over one of Jabari, Banchero, Griffin or Chet though?

Seems like those 3 guards all have somewhat similar games. There aren’t enough minutes with Cole in the mix and I don’t see the FO trading one of them to bring in more youth.

I disagree completely that this is any issue at all.

Suggs is the only guy I would keep in mind while making any draft decisions.

- Cole is not talented enough to think about when making long term roster decisions

- Fultz is a good story and has talent but the injuries can’t be ignored. You can’t plan around him.

So Suggs is the only name to I MIGHT keep in mind when making draft decisions but honestly, no one on this roster is worthy of that. No one has proven to be such a talent.


With that said, I haven’t cared about college basketball at all this year. Headlines say it’s a weak class with 3 good bigs + a solid guard at the top so I guess I’m hoping for a top 4 pick? After that I have no personal preference. I just don’t know enough yet.

[Def Swami]

You just have to pick the best player of the bunch regardless of fit. We can't worry about fit with the worst record in the league.

[yoyojw17]

You just have to pick the best player of the bunch regardless of fit. We can't worry about fit with the worst record in the league.

agreed. having too much talent ... regardless of position isn't a bad thing... as long as you handle them properly when you get them. It is a challenge ... as growth will have to be observed and enough time to determine the trajectory...and then be willing to make the right move when the time comes.

[VFX]

Well Cole stinks, so I wouldn't even put him on the list candidly. It's not like the Magic have invested heavily into him (or Hampton for that matter). He was a non-lotto first rounder. IMO if Fultz wasn't coming off an injury and could handle 30+ MPG, Cole would be barely playing right now anyway. He can get traded for a bag of basketballs and it won't be a big deal.

So it would be a 3-guard rotation of Fultz/Suggs/Ivey. Start whichever two you want. There's plenty of minutes to split among three guys.

Is Ivey THAT much better than Fultz or Suggs AND picking over one of Jabari, Banchero, Griffin or Chet though?

Seems like those 3 guards all have somewhat similar games. There aren’t enough minutes with Cole in the mix and I don’t see the FO trading one of them to bring in more youth.

I disagree completely that this is any issue at all.

Suggs is the only guy I would keep in mind while making any draft decisions.

- Cole is not talented enough to think about when making long term roster decisions

- Fultz is a good story and has talent but the injuries can’t be ignored. You can’t plan around him.

So Suggs is the only name to I MIGHT keep in mind when making draft decisions but honestly, no one on this roster is worthy of that. No one has proven to be such a talent.


With that said, I haven’t cared about college basketball at all this year. Headlines say it’s a weak class with 3 good bigs + a solid guard at the top so I guess I’m hoping for a top 4 pick? After that I have no personal preference. I just don’t know enough yet.

I’d agree with your assessment of Suggs and the other guards.

As most know I’m not as cut and dry with “pick bpa we suck” because nothing is that black and white and everything has further reaching implications when it’s not nba2k.

Teams rarely make multi-player trades of young players to make room for rookie draft picks. Minutes matter. Player roles matter. It’s the same reason you don’t draft Mo Bamba, with a top pick in an insanely deep draft, when your starting Center needs to be on the floor 38mpg to grind out wins for multiple years.

There are many guards I like in this draft. I don’t think Orlando will be walking away with a bad player drafting in the top 4-5. I don’t see Orlando moving Fultz, Cole, or Suggs regardless of if it makes sense or not.

[Skin]

I think there are interesting talents available this year, but also some potential busts.

Chet has talent and will look like a unicorn when healthy, but will he be able to pick up sufficient body mass/muscle? If not, this will leave him prone to injury inside, and he will be prone to injury as a wing too because there are too many sudden movements.

Jabari is stiff. He's mechanical and his movements are repeatable, which is good for his shooting, but he's limited as a North-South mover and looks uncomfortable. There was a time when these types of players were looked down on as "tweeners without a position". He's more Channing Frye than a poor man's Kevin Durant.

Banchero is Carmelo Anthony.... at best. Rather not even deal with him.

Ivey plays like his hair is on fire. I first saw him as another RJ Hampton. Did. Not. Want. Then he got his 3pt shooting above .420 and started playing clutch basketball leading a winning team and I was falling in love with him. As his shooting has faltered lately, and as a result so has my excitement for him.

The guy I'm heating up on now is Benn Mathurin. He's been a 1B to my hype for Ivey 1A. Seeing Fultz on the court again reminds me that we need reliable shooting. Fultz and Ivey are not an ideal pairing if Ivey is an attack the rim guy first and foremost. Mathurin has history behind him as far as proving his ability to shoot. I also love his size and athleticism.

- His shooting makes him perfect next to Fultz
- His size allows us to play him at SG/SF which is good for a Fultz/Suggs/Mathurin look or a Futlz/Mathurin/Wagner look.
- He plays above the rim, unlike AJ Griffin
- He's got the moxie that I like in Ivey. Ivey might have more upside, but I think Mathurin is safer and a better fit.

[Bensational]

It’s a 4 horse race for me. Chet, Jabari, Ivey and Murray, and Murray is right up there amongst all of them for me. Yeah he’s older, but he’s showing that he has used his time to develop. It’s similar to how I felt about Ayo, who’s doing well in Chicago.

I’d give our current young guards another season to settle in before adding another young competitor amongst them. I want to see how much Suggs can improve his shooting and work alongside Fultz. I think Cole could be a tremendous spark plug scorer.

I see more value in having Franz and Murray as big wings or small forwards who can take the ball off the perimeter to get us buckets/create for others, than I do in adding another ball dominant guard who’s biggest strength depends on how well his shots are falling.

Instead, I’d like to add a Gary Harris/Ross replacement as a veteran shooter and defender who can help stabilise a young backcourt.

[bigshawn]

Whole Sharpe thing... like how da hell you can know you like him when he hasn't played serious basketball at any level ? Main reason why nba had to stop straight from highschool drafts was because teams were just awful at drafting those highschool players.

Were they really that bad. For the most part they were fine. KG, Kobe, T-mac, Lebron, Dwight, etc...

I feel that there were more success stories than anything. It was the Kwame Brown draft that people went crazy with high school busts if I am not mistaking and it became a stigma.

Not pushing for Sharpe or anything but after the top 5 or so, if he shows capable during the workouts, then I wouldn't care much.

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Mixed bag.

Kwame sucked but it's not like Tyson Chandler ever lived up to 2# pick either, both on same draft.
3# Darius Miles
4# Eddie Curry
4# Livingston
5# Dawkings
5# Jonathan Bender
6# Webster
8# Diop

and dishonorable mentions like Gerald Green, JR Smith, Josh Smith, not for talent but for wasting talent.

Imo main issue was maturity. You put millions of bucks in hands of guy who turned 18. That more often than not, won't age well.


I'm not sure that Sharpe or anybody can show much during close practices. Allegedly, Wade had horrific prdraft workout with Heat. Rest is history.

It's called a draft or more or less a crapshoot. If it was up to you, we wouldn't draft anybody. I officially want Sharpe or Chet. I'm also intrigued by the Arizona guard. Chet for obvious reasons and Sharpe because I'm wouldn't be scared to draft the next Kobe or McGrady. I've seen enough to believe that with my eyes that's who Sharpe is. We have to draft not to be scared. I applaud the front office for Franz. They were not scared because he wan't the consensus 8th pick.

Also, I saw you comparing Cole's numbers to Fultz. Are you really suggesting that Cole is better than Kelle? In what universe is that?

[bigshawn]

Were they really that bad. For the most part they were fine. KG, Kobe, T-mac, Lebron, Dwight, etc...

I feel that there were more success stories than anything. It was the Kwame Brown draft that people went crazy with high school busts if I am not mistaking and it became a stigma.

Not pushing for Sharpe or anything but after the top 5 or so, if he shows capable during the workouts, then I wouldn't care much.

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Mixed bag.

Kwame sucked but it's not like Tyson Chandler ever lived up to 2# pick either, both on same draft.
3# Darius Miles
4# Eddie Curry
4# Livingston
5# Dawkings
5# Jonathan Bender
6# Webster
8# Diop

and dishonorable mentions like Gerald Green, JR Smith, Josh Smith, not for talent but for wasting talent.

Imo main issue was maturity. You put millions of bucks in hands of guy who turned 18. That more often than not, won't age well.


I'm not sure that Sharpe or anybody can show much during close practices. Allegedly, Wade had horrific prdraft workout with Heat. Rest is history.

It's called a draft or more or less a crapshoot. If it was up to you, we wouldn't draft anybody. I officially want Sharpe or Chet. I'm also intrigued by the Arizona guard. Chet for obvious reasons and Sharpe because I'm wouldn't be scared to draft the next Kobe or McGrady. I've seen enough to believe that with my eyes that's who Sharpe is. We have to draft not to be scared. I applaud the front office for Franz. They were not scared because he wan't the consensus 8th pick.

Also, I saw you comparing Cole's numbers to Fultz. Are you really suggesting that Cole is better than Kelle? In what universe is that?

[OrlChamps2030]

Ivey seems like a bit of a sketchy fit next to either Fultz/Suggs. Potentially not enough shooting next to Fultz, and not enough play making in a Suggs/Ivey backcourt. But if you think he has star potential you have to take him.

I agree with others, one of the front court guys seems to fit better while still offering similar upside.

Sharpe is hella risky, and I’m just an amateur message board scout, but his high school/EYBL film looks pretty good to me

[Knightro]

Auburn is just so miserable to watch sometimes. Their guard play is borderline criminal.

[Knightro]

Auburn is just so miserable to watch sometimes. Their guard play is borderline criminal.

Bruce Pearl should be fired for lack of control over Wendell Green

[thelead]

Auburn is just so miserable to watch sometimes. Their guard play is borderline criminal.

It makes what Jabari is doing even more incredible. He doesn't get many 'easy' assisted baskets.

[Knightro]

Another delightfully efficient game for Jabari Smith Jr.

27 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST on 9-13 FG, 3-5 3PT, 6-7 FT

[Rainwater]

You just have to pick the best player of the bunch regardless of fit. We can't worry about fit with the worst record in the league.

Preach