2022 NBA Draft - Prospects Discussion

[Licensed to Il]

Just want to add that I don't see it at all, with Kessler. I don't like how he moves. I don't like what an afterthought he is on his team's offense. I like his size, I guess, he is a legitimate big guy. I agree that his shot has potential. I don't think he is going to bring much to a NBA team on his first contract, other than a bench, rim running big.

[emunney]

I actually hate Kessler's shot. If it went in, or even if he was a decent FT shooter, I could get past the fact that it's directly over his right shoulder, but as it is I just want to slap all his coaches. It's baffling to me that they let him take it. Both his FT% and his 3PT% declined every year in high school. It seems like a really bad bet, I don't particularly care how many shots he's taking this summer.

[machu46]

Once again using the Hoops Hype Aggregate Mock to get a feel for who could be available where, I would say the guys I'm at least kinda interested in:

Trade up into late lottery: Sochan, Jalen Williams, Johnny Davis (though I tend to think he'll be out of our reach even in the late lottery)

Trade up into teens: TyTy Washington, Branham, Eason

At 24: Beauchamp, Liddell, Braun, Terry, Kessler

Trade Down into the 2nd: Any of the above, LaRavia, Procida, Chandler, Minott, McGowens

[machu46]

I actually hate Kessler's shot. If it went in, or even if he was a decent FT shooter, I could get past the fact that it's directly over his right shoulder, but as it is I just want to slap all his coaches. It's baffling to me that they let him take it. Both his FT% and his 3PT% declined every year in high school. It seems like a really bad bet, I don't particularly care how many shots he's taking this summer.

I would definitely be looking to change his shooting mechanics; hopefully he's already begun to do so.

[BuildingBucks]

Players we'd need to fall that I would be extremely happy with:
Jalen Williams
Jaden Hardy
Tari Eason

Players in our range I'd be very happy with:
Ryan Rollins
Gabriele Procida
Dalen Terry

Players in our range I'd think positively of:
Blake Wesley
Nikola Jovic

Players you would need to sell me on if taken:
Christian Braun
Jake Laravia
Walker Kessler

[Licensed to Il]

I actually hate Kessler's shot. If it went in, or even if he was a decent FT shooter, I could get past the fact that it's directly over his right shoulder, but as it is I just want to slap all his coaches. It's baffling to me that they let him take it. Both his FT% and his 3PT% declined every year in high school. It seems like a really bad bet, I don't particularly care how many shots he's taking this summer.

I would definitely be looking to change his shooting mechanics; hopefully he's already begun to do so.

Can you imagine this in any other profession?

"We are thinking of hiring this guy to write code for us, but first we have to completely change the way he writes code."

"We are thinking of hiring one of these individuals to tutor our son in French, but first we have to start from scratch teaching them French"

"She would be perfect to run our summer camp, but right away we are going to have to teach her how to swim, interact with children, and plan activities."

I guess it goes to show you can't teach size, and some of these clubs will do anything in order to find a big, athletic guy who can shoot. Even if they can't currently shoot.

I think the reason why some scouts have said he has potential as a shooter is in his touch (he has shown the ability to calibrate his release and arc beyond what many bigs have shown). I agree the form is bad.

[MVP2110]

I actually hate Kessler's shot. If it went in, or even if he was a decent FT shooter, I could get past the fact that it's directly over his right shoulder, but as it is I just want to slap all his coaches. It's baffling to me that they let him take it. Both his FT% and his 3PT% declined every year in high school. It seems like a really bad bet, I don't particularly care how many shots he's taking this summer.

I would definitely be looking to change his shooting mechanics; hopefully he's already begun to do so.

Can you imagine this in any other profession?

"We are thinking of hiring this guy to write code for us, but first we have to completely change the way he writes code."

"We are thinking of hiring one of these individuals to tutor our son in French, but first we have to start from scratch teaching them French"

"She would be perfect to run our summer camp, but right away we are going to have to teach her how to swim, interact with children, and plan activities."

I guess it goes to show you can't teach size, and some of these clubs will do anything in order to find a big, athletic guy who can shoot. Even if they can't currently shoot.

I think the reason why some scouts have said he has potential as a shooter is in his touch (he has shown the ability to calibrate his release and arc beyond what many bigs have shown). I agree the form is bad.

Pretty much any player taken at 24 will need to be developed or learn new skills. I think Kessler has one of the easier ones to fix in his shooting. This Bucks coaching staff has previously developed guys like John Henson & Robin Lopez into passable shooters from 3, they turned Pat Connaughton & Bobby Portis into sharp shooters. They know what they are doing when it comes to developing shooters

[emunney]

I would definitely be looking to change his shooting mechanics; hopefully he's already begun to do so.

Can you imagine this in any other profession?

"We are thinking of hiring this guy to write code for us, but first we have to completely change the way he writes code."

"We are thinking of hiring one of these individuals to tutor our son in French, but first we have to start from scratch teaching them French"

"She would be perfect to run our summer camp, but right away we are going to have to teach her how to swim, interact with children, and plan activities."

I guess it goes to show you can't teach size, and some of these clubs will do anything in order to find a big, athletic guy who can shoot. Even if they can't currently shoot.

I think the reason why some scouts have said he has potential as a shooter is in his touch (he has shown the ability to calibrate his release and arc beyond what many bigs have shown). I agree the form is bad.

Pretty much any player taken at 24 will need to be developed or learn new skills. I think Kessler has one of the easier ones to fix in his shooting. This Bucks coaching staff has previously developed guys like John Henson & Robin Lopez into passable shooters from 3, they turned Pat Connaughton & Bobby Portis into sharp shooters. They know what they are doing when it comes to developing shooters

I completely disagree on Kessler's shooting. He's shown no touch and has to start over. How could that possibly be one of the easier things to fix? An easy thing to fix is like teaching a guy to close out a little shorter and chop his feet. Developing a professional level skill starting from zero is about as hard as it gets. I'm not going to say that I feel good about it because Henson hit 11 3s that one year. I don't doubt that Kessler will *take* 3s if you tell him to.

[machu46]

I actually hate Kessler's shot. If it went in, or even if he was a decent FT shooter, I could get past the fact that it's directly over his right shoulder, but as it is I just want to slap all his coaches. It's baffling to me that they let him take it. Both his FT% and his 3PT% declined every year in high school. It seems like a really bad bet, I don't particularly care how many shots he's taking this summer.

I would definitely be looking to change his shooting mechanics; hopefully he's already begun to do so.

Can you imagine this in any other profession?

"We are thinking of hiring this guy to write code for us, but first we have to completely change the way he writes code."

"We are thinking of hiring one of these individuals to tutor our son in French, but first we have to start from scratch teaching them French"

"She would be perfect to run our summer camp, but right away we are going to have to teach her how to swim, interact with children, and plan activities."

I guess it goes to show you can't teach size, and some of these clubs will do anything in order to find a big, athletic guy who can shoot. Even if they can't currently shoot.

I think the reason why some scouts have said he has potential as a shooter is in his touch (he has shown the ability to calibrate his release and arc beyond what many bigs have shown). I agree the form is bad.

Actually yes. I’m a big believer in hiring the personality rather than the skills, at least in my field (finance/consulting). I also don’t think you’re drafting Kessler for his shooting ability but rather it’s a swing skill for him.


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[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

When's the last time the Bucks drafted a dude without even the projection of a jump shot?

Especially after how we lost to the Celtics. Playable shooting should be a requirement for any roster acquisition.

To make this board quiver, my list:
Jaden, Baldwin, Nikola*


* i watch zero basketball outside of NBA, did zero analysis and those are the names I recognize. I need someone to pretend to care about going into the draft lol

[emunney]

My field also typically hires based on how a person conceptualizes and works through a problem (tools!) rather than discrete skills. If you need a contractor for a specific task, that's one thing, but if you're trying to find a career fit, totally different set of requirements.

[SupremeHustle]

I think the Wes comp for Braun is pretty solid. Don't see any similarities outside of height between him and Huerter though. Huerter's a better shot creation guy, better pure shooter, but worse defender and much worse rebounder. Gerald Henderson is a guy he (Braun) reminds me a lot of. Great vertical athlete and passable distance shooter on spot-ups, but I'm just not seeing anything special beyond a journeyman wing with a solid but unspectacular 7-8 year career.

Gerald Henderson. Haven't heard that name in a minute. Injuries robbed a very solid role-player.

[Licensed to Il]

People love to pick apart my posts without really disagreeing with the main point. I mean, if you guys want to go on record that you think Kessler would be a good pick for us, nothing is holding you back.

He can’t shoot, his form needs fixing, his college team ignored him on offense, he moves adequately but is far from an nba elite athlete, and his value (a rebounding, defensive minded big) is something that is becoming less and leas valuable. But sure, crap on my premise (that he is a project and we don’t need a low ceiling project) all you want.

[DingusBojangles]

Can you imagine this in any other profession?

"We are thinking of hiring this guy to write code for us, but first we have to completely change the way he writes code."

Yes, I can imagine this. I work in this field an we make this type of hire quite frequently.

[emunney]

People love to pick apart my posts without really disagreeing with the main point. I mean, if you guys want to go on record that you think Kessler would be a good pick for us, nothing is holding you back.

He can’t shoot, his form needs fixing, his college team ignored him on offense, he moves adequately but is far from an nba elite athlete, and his value (a rebounding, defensive minded big) is something that is becoming less and leas valuable. But sure, crap on my premise (that he is a project and we don’t need a low ceiling project) all you want.

If it makes you feel better, I also disagree that he has touch.

[Licensed to Il]

Can you imagine this in any other profession?

"We are thinking of hiring this guy to write code for us, but first we have to completely change the way he writes code."

Yes, I can imagine this. I work in this field an we make this type of hire quite frequently.

OK, I take back my original post as three people have now crapped on it. Let me rephrase: in my humble opinion drafting a center who can’t shoot in 2022 and expecting him to contribute in meaningful ways on a title team is a poor gamble.

Great. Now everyone can go back to hiring unskilled candidates and playing yoda.

[machu46]

People love to pick apart my posts without really disagreeing with the main point. I mean, if you guys want to go on record that you think Kessler would be a good pick for us, nothing is holding you back.

He can’t shoot, his form needs fixing, his college team ignored him on offense, he moves adequately but is far from an nba elite athlete, and his value (a rebounding, defensive minded big) is something that is becoming less and leas valuable. But sure, crap on my premise (that he is a project and we don’t need a low ceiling project) all you want.

This was kinda the story with their guards in general; they thought they were better than Jabari Smith too. But it's not like he had no offensive role. He still put up 11.4 points a game and they involved him in the offense pretty regularly as a rim runner and lob threat.

I've mentioned it before, but he's probably around #5 to #8 on my list of realistic options at #24. I would prefer Kessler at 24 over trading up for Mark Williams. But again, my hope is that we end up getting a wing player at #24 instead.

[Licensed to Il]

I don’t want to trade up for Mark Williams, but I do think he will quickly become a better nba player than Kessler, and has a much higher potential.

I agree with you that we could really use a young, active, and not terrible wing in our rotation. Doesn’t even have to be great at anything.

[emunney]

Can you imagine this in any other profession?

"We are thinking of hiring this guy to write code for us, but first we have to completely change the way he writes code."

Yes, I can imagine this. I work in this field an we make this type of hire quite frequently.

OK, I take back my original post as three people have now crapped on it. Let me rephrase: in my humble opinion drafting a center who can’t shoot in 2022 and expecting him to contribute in meaningful ways on a title team is a poor gamble.

Great. Now everyone can go back to hiring unskilled candidates and playing yoda.

Lol, it's really just prioritizing cognitive skills and mindset/disposition over rote material skills. Like taking a super competitive guy with natural feel for the game over the guy with an array of post moves who doesn't feel he needs to ever run.

[DrWood]

OK, I take back my original post as three people have now crapped on it. Let me rephrase: in my humble opinion drafting a center who can’t shoot in 2022 and expecting him to contribute in meaningful ways on a title team is a poor gamble.

Not every player who has been a poor shooter is equal. Some can be fixed; some can't. I'm not a shooting guru, so I can't tell one from another (though I know if the guy shoots FTs ok, he has a good chance of becoming a decent shooter).