2022 NBA Draft - Prospects Discussion

[emunney]

I'm still pissed we got the same punishment as the Heat even though we didn't get the player and they did it 2nd.

[benultimate]

That list is giving me Little Cleo vibes

[Dick Tate]

I'm still pissed we got the same punishment as the Heat even though we didn't get the player and they did it 2nd.

2 more years of Lowry for $58M seems like a fairly decent added punishment.

[Badgerlander]

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Wow, me likely this kid. The one legged leaner on the baseline looked Middleton-esq

[Badgerlander]

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[drone3]

I'm still pissed we got the same punishment as the Heat even though we didn't get the player and they did it 2nd.

2 more years of Lowry for $58M seems like a fairly decent added punishment.

Lol

[DJ_BOB]

.....

[M-C-G]

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Feels like this draft might be pretty deep for players that could be fill some needs for us. Seems like a good amount of SG talent, maybe even in to the second round, and lots of athletic SF. Would be nice to end up with a useful player at both those positions.

[Ron Swanson]

Hard disagree on lumping in Wesley and Braun as "do it all" wings with those guys (especially Mathurin and Jalen Williams). I guess you can see it with Wesley if you squint hard enough, but I'm not convinced at all that Braun has the off-the-dribble game to ever be more than a spot-up 3&D guy.

[Ron Swanson]

Oh, and Procida is Italian Will Barton (for better or worse). Change my mind.

[German Athens]

Hard disagree on lumping in Wesley and Braun as "do it all" wings with those guys (especially Mathurin and Jalen Williams). I guess you can see it with Wesley if you squint hard enough, but I'm not convinced at all that Braun has the off-the-dribble game to ever be more than a spot-up 3&D guy.

Yeah, I’m also not fully sure how good Braun’s shooting will be. His 3pt% and FT% are both worse than pat and Grayson’s in college. His 3pt attempts are also much lower than those two as well.

He has a nice looking stroke, but the indicators don’t actually point to elite shooter.

He’s also not a movement shooter, so like you said, it seems like he’ll likely be a spot-up guy.

He has two potential nba strengths to me, and that’s spot up shooting and on-ball defense. If he isn’t really good at both, then he’ll always be a guy you’ll be looking to upgrade.


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[emunney]

Oh, and Procida is Italian Will Barton (for better or worse). Change my mind.

If he's capable of being a playmaker like that on top of his size, athleticism, and shooting, then he should be at or near the top of our list and probably should go lotto in this draft. I haven't watched him so I don't know.

[machu46]

Hard disagree on lumping in Wesley and Braun as "do it all" wings with those guys (especially Mathurin and Jalen Williams). I guess you can see it with Wesley if you squint hard enough, but I'm not convinced at all that Braun has the off-the-dribble game to ever be more than a spot-up 3&D guy.

That's why Braun/Wesley are likely late 1sts/early 2nds and Mathurin/Jalen are likely lottery picks (IMO re: Jalen, obviously Mathurin is a lock).

I don't think the dribble/pass/shoot hybrid really means that, like, these guys should be primary creators by any means. I think he explained what it means in the case of Braun well; he has the athleticism and decision-making to be effective attacking closeouts and that's probably it in terms of the dribble/pass side of things.

Braun wouldn't be an exciting pick, but I tend to think he'd be a fairly solid option for us at 24. I'd prefer Beauchamp or Liddell (or someone else like Jalen Williams sliding to us), but if those guys aren't available, Braun makes sense to me and projects as a good role player IMO.

Even if he's ultimately just a spot up 3&D guy, we could definitely use that.

[German Athens]

I haven’t dug into him much, because he’s not projected to go around our pick, but does anyone know why sochan is slotted as a mid-late lottery pick, while Kendall brown is slotted as a late first?

I feel like brown is the better athlete, comparable defender, has better feel, and he shot the ball better. I guess I get why brown could be a mid-late first, but why is sochan projected to go so early?

Is it just his slight advantage in size?
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[machu46]

I haven’t dug into him much, because he’s not projected to go around our pick, but does anyone know why sochan is slotted as a mid-late lottery pick, while Kendall brown is slotted as a late first?

I feel like brown is the better athlete, comparable defender, has better feel, and he shot the ball better. I guess I get why brown could be a mid-late first, but why is sochan projected to go so early?

Is it just his slight advantage in size?
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I'd say it's consistency more than anything. Sochan looks like he may be a great defender on Day 1. Brown has the tools to be a great defender someday but it hasn't really been realized yet. That additional size also gives Sochan potential to play as a small ball C that can switch everything. If Brown realizes his potential defensively, he'll be switchable too, but not to the same extent.

If we're being maybe pessimistically realistic, I like Brown but could see him just turning into something like Derrick Jones Jr, where he could be a useful athlete every once in awhile but might just never develop the skill to play a meaningful role. I'll be kinda surprised if Sochan isn't at least a starting caliber player in the NBA, but in the very least he should play a decent role even if he doesn't totally pan out. The same cannot be said for Brown IMO.

[Ron Swanson]

Sochan is gonna be a defensive pest from Day 1, but I feel like just with Davion Mitchell last year, his all around game is getting terribly overrated. If his perimeter game doesn't develop, he's gonna be an offensive liability. I just personally wouldn't take him as high as he's getting mocked, and definitely not over a guy like Eason.

[machu46]

Sochan is gonna be a defensive pest from Day 1, but I feel like just with Davion Mitchell last year, his all around game is getting terribly overrated. If his perimeter game doesn't develop, he's gonna be an offensive liability. I just personally wouldn't take him as high as he's getting mocked, and definitely not over a guy like Eason.

I would be a lot more comfortable taking Sochan high than Eason personally, but I get it. I hated Mitchell as a prospect, mainly because his calling card was his defense but he's too short for it to matter that much. I also just didn't really buy into his offensive game. With Sochan, if the offense doesn't come around, he's at least just a smart player that'll find ways to contribute (though people will definitely cheat off him if he can't shoot). I also agree that for example, Sochan's off the dribble game is terribly overrated. He's comfortable dribbling the basketball but I don't really think it's something he'll be able to win with consistently in the NBA.

Eason's flashes and production are enough for me to buy in in the teens, but I'm not really comfortable taking him earlier than that personally. He probably has higher upside than Sochan if it all comes together, though he's also 2 years older.

[emunney]

Watson would be a good long term play in the 2nd.

[Badgerlander]

Oh, and Procida is Italian Will Barton (for better or worse). Change my mind.

Procida had a .668TS% and a .624eFg%, Barton is a career .534TS% .500eFg%. I think Procida’s creation and passing remains to be seen yet but his bbiq stands out immediately.

Procida’s blend of on and off-ball scoring make him a perfect fit in any rotation.

When it comes to shooting guards, the first thing that obviously gets dissected is the shooting. This season, Procida is proving to be a competent off-ball shooter by scoring 1.21 points per possession (PPP) shooting off the catch, but the true intrigue comes with his on-ball shooting. Procida isn’t a primary initiator or scorer, but he uses his off-ball movement and threat of scoring to generate on-ball shooting opportunities.

Here, Procida flashes for the back cut since his defender is top locking him, but quickly realizes it isn’t there, so he cuts back to the perimeter to use the screen. As Procida comes off the screen, his defender shoots the gap, so Procida settles on the wing instead of going to the ball, which forces his defender to scramble to recover. Now that his defender is out of position, Procida attacks the hole in the middle of the floor. The help defender makes a timely switch, but Procida’s step back propels him from near the hash marks to a few feet behind the free-throw line.

https://vimeo.com/679014710?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=103497901

At full speed, this is a stunning display of movement, relocation, and execution. We could leave it at that, but there are a few subtleties I want to point out that will be relevant later. Due to the proliferation of stepbacks, we’ve become numb to how difficult great ones are to execute. When you rewatch the above clip, take note of how aggressively Procida plants his right foot and how low he gets. This combination allows him to generate enough force to propel himself backward. As he is mid-stepback, Procida is already loading up to leap off his left leg and is beginning his shot in his upper body. The moment his right foot rejoins his body, Procida instantaneously springs up for the shot at an astonishing speed that doesn’t allow the defender to recover.

https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/gabriele-procidas-scoring-versatility?s=r

This next defensive play is an amalgamation of different defensive aspects. As the ball is swung to the weak-side, you can see just before that Procida — in the zone defense — is ready to step in front of the big-man in front of the rim and when the ball is hit to the corner, Procida gets to the corner, prevents the drive, kills the dribble and forces the pass. Next, this time as the help defender, Procida jumps in to help on the-ball when the dribble is ended and rips the ball away for the steal, completing a fantastic defensive possession as he serves both in zone, 1-on-1, and a help defender:

https://www.peachtreehoops.com/platform/amp/2022/5/29/23143089/2022-nba-draft-scouting-report-gabriele-procida-offense-defense-video-big-board-atlanta-hawks

[CharityStripe34]

Oh, and Procida is Italian Will Barton (for better or worse). Change my mind.

He would be great with Vildoza for some international flare off the bench in the regular season.