2022 NBA Draft Thread – (June 23rd, 8PM, ESPN)

[Hal14]

Roko Prkacin. A guy many of us wanted last year. But he withdrew from the draft. This season started off up and down for him and then he missed 3 months with a leg injury.

Well, guess what?

He's back, baby!

I know it's just 1 game but in his most recent game the other day he posted 21 pts, 18 rebs, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 7/13 FG, 1/1 from 3. Oh and he led his team to a comeback win after they were down by like 15.

His draft stock is so low, there's a good chance he'll still be there when we pick..definitely a guy to keep an eye on.

He's number 8.. these are the highlights from the game the other day..

Watch on YouTube

I think Roko and Tatum might like playing together. They both like to hang on the rim and pull themselves up while hanging on the rim when they dunk

Keep in mind, Roko is still only 19 yrs old - won't turn 20 till late November so still plenty of room to develop his game and his body.

Everything he does in this video (except the FT shooting, yikes) looks so darn effortless, too which is impressive - especially for a kid who's only 19.

[batabatuta]

How many picks are we having in this draft? I feel like we should find a way to get more second-round picks. This is a deep draft.

[Scoonie]

How many picks are we having in this draft? I feel like we should find a way to get more second-round picks. This is a deep draft.

One, our own 2nd round pick. Currently in the 53-56 overall range.

[Hal14]

How many picks are we having in this draft? I feel like we should find a way to get more second-round picks. This is a deep draft.

One, our own 2nd round pick. Currently in the 53-56 overall range.

1 pick is enough. Keep in mind that:

1) we're entering into a window right now where we should be a legit title contending team for the next 3-4 years, at least. Most title contending teams aren't really playing 1st/2nd year players very much. For the most part, vets win titles. You look at the bucks last year when they won the title, the youngest guy they had who was getting regular mins was 26 yr old Giannis!

2) we've got Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin overseas. We've got Hauser, Nesmith, Pritchard, plus whoever we take with this 2nd round pick, plus we'll probably scoop up an UDFA. Malik Fitts is still pretty young too (same age as pritchard)

[Hal14]

sleeper special...

Watch on YouTube

Another guy who projects as a pure stretch 4 while being able to play some small ball 5. Big, strong, tough. Can shoot, put the ball on the floor and defend. Only downside? He's 23 yrs old now, will turn 24 in November so you might watch these highlights and think "well yeah he's beating up on younger dudes" and has less room for development being older. well yeah that's true, but it also means he's basically a finished product now - he won't need all kinds of time/resources for us to hold his hand and develop him.

He's ready NOW..

Shot 39% this season from 3. A rock solid 6'8", 235 lbs..

Oh and he's super underrated - I've yet to see him get picked in any mock draft so far so he's probably still gonna be there when we're up in 2nd round..

The fact that this guy is projected to go undrafted currently should tell you how deep this draft is.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

I'm not sure all those spin moves, floaters and jump hooks are going to translate at the next level (they are fun to watch though). He doesn't look like a good athlete by NBA standards. The shot looks good but it's his first year taking threes so the sample size from beyond the arc is still pretty small. He isn't an amazing FT shooter so teams are going to have to figure out if it was a hot streak or if he really is that kind of shooter. I wonder about his playmaking, theren't many passes in these highlights (but there rarely are any for big men not named Jokic and his low assists number might just be a product of scheme versus lack of vision). There a few instances where he forced the floater instead of going for the dump off to the other big.

Now the good news is that he plays hard, does the little things and he moves his feet very well guarding on the perimeter. I don't know why but at times I got a few Theis vibes watching him play. Still, I don't think he is getting drafted but I'd be all over bringing him to camp as an UDFA. At the very least he'll raise the competitiveness of the practices and if he can make the pick and poop three from the NBA line, I could see him secure one of the final spots of the roster.

[Hal14]

You never know, you can find hidden gold in the late 2nd round and even with UDFA players..

Read on Twitter

[playa-hater]

OKC has so many young guys already, barely any rosters spots. They need to start making some consolidated moves if they can. I really hope Boston can buy either the last pick in RD1 or the 34 pick in RD2.

Certainly 34 should be possible. Too many nice gems there that Boston can take a shot on.

[zoyathedestroya]

Read on Twitter

[Larry_Russell]

sleeper special...

Watch on YouTube

Another guy who projects as a pure stretch 4 while being able to play some small ball 5. Big, strong, tough. Can shoot, put the ball on the floor and defend. Only downside? He's 23 yrs old now, will turn 24 in November so you might watch these highlights and think "well yeah he's beating up on younger dudes" and has less room for development being older. well yeah that's true, but it also means he's basically a finished product now - he won't need all kinds of time/resources for us to hold his hand and develop him.

He's ready NOW..

Shot 39% this season from 3. A rock solid 6'8", 235 lbs..

Oh and he's super underrated - I've yet to see him get picked in any mock draft so far so he's probably still gonna be there when we're up in 2nd round..

The fact that this guy is projected to go undrafted currently should tell you how deep this draft is.

Watching that clip reminds me of Serge Ibaka the later years, but a young mans body and speed.

[Hal14]

This guy is a bucket. Reminds me of like a Ricky davis / Josh richardson type guy. Not sure how his defense is but man, can he score!

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Maybe he's the next iso Joe

[Drgaliza2]

I heard there are boston celtics scout (austin ainge i think) watching adelaide 36ers vs melbourne united game.. So its either they are checking out ariel hukporti or kai sotto for 2nd rnd draft pick

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[playa-hater]

I heard there are boston celtics scout (austin ainge i think) watching adelaide 36ers vs melbourne united game.. So its either they are checking out ariel hukporti or kai sotto for 2nd rnd draft pick

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Impressed with the "german" not so much about Kai. Feel Kai can not defend at all.

[playa-hater]

How many picks are we having in this draft? I feel like we should find a way to get more second-round picks. This is a deep draft.

One, our own 2nd round pick. Currently in the 53-56 overall range.

1 pick is enough. Keep in mind that:

1) we're entering into a window right now where we should be a legit title contending team for the next 3-4 years, at least. Most title contending teams aren't really playing 1st/2nd year players very much. For the most part, vets win titles. You look at the bucks last year when they won the title, the youngest guy they had who was getting regular mins was 26 yr old Giannis!

2) we've got Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin overseas. We've got Hauser, Nesmith, Pritchard, plus whoever we take with this 2nd round pick, plus we'll probably scoop up an UDFA. Malik Fitts is still pretty young too (same age as pritchard)

Big disagreement here. 2 picks double our chances of finding a gem. That and increase the Comp for the last 5 spots on the team and may the best man win.

[Hal14]

One, our own 2nd round pick. Currently in the 53-56 overall range.

1 pick is enough. Keep in mind that:

1) we're entering into a window right now where we should be a legit title contending team for the next 3-4 years, at least. Most title contending teams aren't really playing 1st/2nd year players very much. For the most part, vets win titles. You look at the bucks last year when they won the title, the youngest guy they had who was getting regular mins was 26 yr old Giannis!

2) we've got Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin overseas. We've got Hauser, Nesmith, Pritchard, plus whoever we take with this 2nd round pick, plus we'll probably scoop up an UDFA. Malik Fitts is still pretty young too (same age as pritchard)

Big disagreement here. 2 picks double our chances of finding a gem. That and increase the Comp for the last 5 spots on the team and may the best man win.

I hear ya. But I just don't think Brad puts a lot of value in draft picks. Look at how quick he has been to trade away 1st round picks - I doubt he's giving up assets to get another 2nd rounder.

Between the guys currently on the roster, Madar, Begarin, whoever we take with our 2nd round pick and plus we can sign an UDFA, there will be plenty of options/competition for those last few roster spots next year. Your top 9 or 10 players are the guys who have a much greater impact on the team's on court performance, though. We've been at our best this season when rolling with an 8-9 man rotation. The guys at the end of the bench barely ever play.

I think his higher priority this offseason is adding a vet who would upgrade our top 10 guys rather than adding another 2nd round pick who will scratch and claw to try and snag the 15th roster spot.

Grab a couple good players, 1 with the 2nd round pick and 1 UDFA and I'll be happy.

We can agree to disagree

[Drgaliza2]

I heard there are boston celtics scout (austin ainge i think) watching adelaide 36ers vs melbourne united game.. So its either they are checking out ariel hukporti or kai sotto for 2nd rnd draft pick

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Impressed with the "german" not so much about Kai. Feel Kai can not defend at all.

Well in that video he is only 17 and is very raw.. he looks a bit better in nbl.. he has better lateral quickness now it seems when he got switched to guard a guard specifically against dellavedova.

Hukporti has a better overall nba body and more athletic. Kai on the other hand needs to bulk up more to be able to defend at NBA level. At the end of the day most of prospects in this batch are project players that needs few years to develop closer to their projected ceiling.

But I agree with you that hukporti is the better prospect as of now but skillwise kai has a lot more to offer in the long run.

With that in mind I wonder who the Celtics will pick this year.. badly need a center.. or a backup..but celtics are in a win now situation so I assume you pick a rookie just for backup and trade for somebody.. gobert or capella but it is gonna be a tricky trade..

Watch on YouTube

[playa-hater]

I heard there are boston celtics scout (austin ainge i think) watching adelaide 36ers vs melbourne united game.. So its either they are checking out ariel hukporti or kai sotto for 2nd rnd draft pick

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Impressed with the "german" not so much about Kai. Feel Kai can not defend at all.

Well in that video he is only 17 and is very raw.. he looks a bit better in nbl.. he has better lateral quickness now it seems when he got switched to guard a guard specifically against dellavedova.

Hukporti has a better overall nba body and more athletic. Kai on the other hand needs to bulk up more to be able to defend at NBA level. At the end of the day most of prospects in this batch are project players that needs few years to develop closer to their projected ceiling.

But I agree with you that hukporti is the better prospect as of now but skillwise kai has a lot more to offer in the long run.

With that in mind I wonder who the Celtics will pick this year.. badly need a center.. or a backup..but celtics are in a win now situation so I assume you pick a rookie just for backup and trade for somebody.. gobert or capella but it is gonna be a tricky trade..

Watch on YouTube

wow didn't realize he was 17..still though, like Poku, he may be 2 years away from being 2 years away.. then may turn out to be real good.

[Hal14]

McCullar and LaRavia. Both guys who should be on celtics radar for 2nd round pick..

Read on Twitter

[1st banana]

I heard there are boston celtics scout (austin ainge i think) watching adelaide 36ers vs melbourne united game.. So its either they are checking out ariel hukporti or kai sotto for 2nd rnd draft pick

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Impressed with the "german" not so much about Kai. Feel Kai can not defend at all.

Will hukporti even be around when we pick? He looks really good actually very raw but moves well for a guy that size. Also he’s only 18? Is he gonna enter the draft this year?

I am also not feelin kai doesn’t move well in anyway reminds me of tacko.
Edit: watched that nbl vid of Kai he does move significantly better now I could maybe get on board I can imagine he’d ever play here tho.

[Hal14]

I heard there are boston celtics scout (austin ainge i think) watching adelaide 36ers vs melbourne united game.. So its either they are checking out ariel hukporti or kai sotto for 2nd rnd draft pick

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Impressed with the "german" not so much about Kai. Feel Kai can not defend at all.

Will hukporti even be around when we pick? He looks really good actually very raw but moves well for a guy that size. Also he’s only 18? Is he gonna enter the draft this year?

I am also not feelin kai doesn’t move well in anyway reminds me of tacko.
Edit: watched that nbl vid of Kai he does move significantly better now I could maybe get on board I can imagine he’d ever play here tho.

Hukporti actually just turned 20 yrs old, 2 days ago.

There was an old video that was posted, where he was only like 17 or 18 in the video.

He's going late 2nd round or undrafted in most mocks I've seen. Decent chance he'll still be there when we pick, if we decide to go with a big man..