Alright, time for your big boards!

[NYPiston]

I'm not going to get in a heated debate over Chet/Smith/Paolo going over the other bigs. Its really close between them one of the closer 1 races I remember. None are perfect but their all solid prospects that would make me happy enough. I could even see Sharpe making a case with good workouts and thats fine to.

I would be very tilted if we took a safer guy like Murray/Math over the potential upside of Sharpe due to limited film. This could very likely be our last chance to draft a big time star to grow with Cade. Guys like Murray/Math look like solid long term starters but the odds they hit that homerun outcome are low. Its going to take us more big time talent then Cade to get where we want to go.

I really hate Edwards reasoning. You never EVER draft a player just because he might be more NBA ready. I see a lot of "ready to step in next season" talk with him in that piece and I hate that mentality. I don't think that's relevant when drafting 18-21 year old kids, it's all about long term projection.

If I was GM, my two top criteria when drafting would be first, who has the most long term upside and a distant second, who is the best fit. I do like Murray and I see him have a very high floor but I don't see him fitting either of those criteria at 4. The Pistons improvement next season won't be heavily contingent on who they draft this year so I don't see why they'd draft based on how much better the prospect makes them next season.

Also, and yes we have limited viewings of him against legit competition, but I don't see why it would take Sharpe 3-4 years to make any sort of impact. Not saying that he has the same ceiling but I don't see why he couldn't take the Jalen Green path and be a contributor within 2 years or maybe even next year if he's truly legit.

[buzzkilloton]

If I was GM, my two top criteria when drafting would be first, who has the most long term upside and a distant second, who is the best fit. I do like Murray and I see him have a very high floor but I don't see him fitting either of those criteria at 4. The Pistons improvement next season won't be heavily contingent on who they draft this year so I don't see why they'd draft based on how much better the prospect makes them next season.

Also, and yes we have limited viewings of him against legit competition, but I don't see why it would take Sharpe 3-4 years to make any sort of impact. Not saying that he has the same ceiling but I don't see why he couldn't take the Jalen Green path and be a contributor within 2 years or maybe even next year if he's truly legit.

I think Weaver is thinking along these lines as well. Lots of articles on how he pushed for Westbrook over more consensus picks at the time like Lopez,Love,Gordon,and a safer guy like Augustin at pg. As far as landing another real superstar to go with Cade this is gonna be it most likely draft wise. Sure we might be able to take a gamble on a Blake style vet star on huge contract trade later but to actually draft a guy its likely now or never on a star. Take your shot on the upside now we will be able to find starters 3-5 later if need be.

Sharpe might take a year longer then the other prospects due to not playing NCAA and being younger. That said when 2023 nba draft which was his original highschool class comes out he will actually be AHEAD of all of these prospects with a year of NBA and a year practicing at UK under his belt. No reason why he couldnt be a +player by year 2. Guys like Kobe/Mcgrady came out of highschool with no college practice and were making impact by year 3 and that was back when teams didnt trust young guy. Not to mention young players nowadays are way more ready to go in highschool with the travel games and playing on highschool teams that feature in some cases multiple future nba players.

[Rodman]

Good post buzzkill

[Kalamazoo317]

I think a big guy with guard skills who can stretch the floor and act as a secondary playmaker from the middle of the floor is the most valuable and most difficult to obtain asset in the modern NBA. To me that pushes Smith to third behind Holmgren and Banchero. After that you're weighing defensive value (edge to Holmgren), shooting (edge to Holmgren), and injury/longevity concerns (edge to Banchero).