2023 NBA Draft

[EMG518]

whitmore is an elite run/jump athlete. and taking into consideration how big he is, there aren't and haven't been a lot of dudes like him. can he tighten up his handle, be more consistent with his shooting, improve his first step, score from the mid-range, etc - those are some questions i have with him - but when you can run and jump like he does with a body like that, the sky really is the limit.

Same with Aaron Gordon

yup. there is a reason AG was taken 4th overall.

that said, i do feel a bit better about Whitmore's shooting potential. Gordon averaged 1 3pt attempt a game (36%). Whitmore takes 5 threes a game, most of the time unassisted with a hand in the face, and makes 37%.

Isaac Okoro went 4th as well, although Whitmore does have more touch.

[jman3134]

From a super loaded draft to an overrated draft? That escalated quickly.

You can't read. I said it was possibly overrated coming in, as some were touting this as an alltime draft. It is probably a decent year by normal standards. Still evaluating a lot.

I think the people saying it could be all-time. That was based on:

-Wemby being possibly the best prospect since LeBron (some are even saying he's a better prospect than LeBron)
-Scoot being a guy who'd go no. 1 in pretty much any other draft
-Thompson twins both being guys who would have gone no. 1 in last year's draft which gives you 4 guys at the top in 2023 who would have gone no.1 in 2022
-Whitmore being an absolute freak
-Nick Smith being an absolute freak
-Whitehead potentially being a slightly less athletic/explosive but WAY better shooting version on Ausar, which caused some people to have Whitehead ranked ahead of the twins because of the combination of ideal wing size + 3 level scoring with elite shooting + really good athleticism/explosiveness
-Ware and Lively as both freak 7-footers who could protect the rim, switch on perimeter, show good passing and shooting 3's (while also being 2 of the younger guys in class)

People were drooling over these 9 guys. Then they saw what George did at the U23 tourney and he started getting top 5 buzz.

So that gave us 10 absolute STUDS.

But then all of these guys (except for wemby and scoot) haven't quite lived up to the hype..at least not yet..

I agree with you, though many of these guys remain top prospects. I believe that the depth was overrated. The top 2 remain uber elite, but we were expecting massive breakouts internationally, as well as from a few more college guys. There remain some intriguing names that aren't being mentioned at the moment, but the depth isn't as incredible as I expected.

And it isn't that there aren't elite upside players off the radar. I have seen a bunch. Some of the guys will continue to develop, though, without applying for the NBA draft. They aren't ready yet.

[clyde21]

Whitmore is so much better than Okoro, not even close

Okoro was a product of a weak, wing-less class (same with Pat Williams in the same class). Okoro doesn't have Whitmore's athleticism and not even close in terms of handle and self-creation.

[babyjax13]

Man, I really like Jalen Wilson, I might like him late in the lottery (11-14) even, depending on how things shake out. Reminds me a lot of Tobias Harris and Saddiq Bey, but seems to do better on contested shots than they did in college.

dude can score, but he takes a lot of shots to get there. it's a good thing that he can create those shots, but unless he can figure out the efficiency side of things in the nba, i don't want him.

not a pure enough shooter - and he's had four years to get there - for me at this point. late first, early second guy for me.

I think people overcomplicate things sometimes. If you are 6-7 or taller, can shoot, and have some mobility, you should *probably* be a first-round pick. Wilson isn't some standout athlete, but I think he translates just fine as a power forward and will be a + shooter in the league, especially in a context where he doesn't have to be the center of gravity for a team. I think his rebounding also speaks to a level of effort that just isn't there with Bey, who also looked pretty slow on the court at times. Maybe he doesn't end up lottery, but if a Jr/Sr goes in the top 20, I think he's the guy.

[EMG518]

Whitmore is so much better than Okoro, not even close

Okoro was a product of a weak, wing-less class (same with Pat Williams in the same class). Okoro doesn't have Whitmore's athleticism and not even close in terms of handle and self-creation.

We will see. Looks like a guy relying on his physicality too much which will not work as well at the next level.

I dont see him particularly good at anything.

Like I said though, he has more touch than Okoro so maybe that is enough but I'm not touching him in the first half of the draft.

[The-Power]

Like I said though, he has more touch than Okoro so maybe that is enough but I'm not touching him in the first half of the draft.

Not in the first half of the draft as in you see him as a 2nd round pick? Or did you mean first half of the first round? Or first half of the lottery?

[EMG518]

Like I said though, he has more touch than Okoro so maybe that is enough but I'm not touching him in the first half of the draft.

Not in the first half of the draft as in you see him as a 2nd round pick? Or did you mean first half of the first round? Or first half of the lottery?

1st half of the 1st round I meant, so basically outside the lottery.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Like I said though, he has more touch than Okoro so maybe that is enough but I'm not touching him in the first half of the draft.

Not in the first half of the draft as in you see him as a 2nd round pick? Or did you mean first half of the first round? Or first half of the lottery?

1st half of the 1st round I meant, so basically outside the lottery.

please god let that happen.

[WargamesX]

Whitmore is so much better than Okoro, not even close

Okoro was a product of a weak, wing-less class (same with Pat Williams in the same class). Okoro doesn't have Whitmore's athleticism and not even close in terms of handle and self-creation.

We will see. Looks like a guy relying on his physicality too much which will not work as well at the next level.

I dont see him particularly good at anything.

Like I said though, he has more touch than Okoro so maybe that is enough but I'm not touching him in the first half of the draft.

That's fair if you don't think he is a lottery pick but Okoro is a bad NBA player there are few draftee's this year that look as weak as he did on the offensive side of the ball, This year is a wing's draft and I assume he would be buried.

[clyde21]

Okoro went 5th in 2020

does anyone actually think that would happen in this class?

[CptCrunch]

Okoro went 5th in 2020

does anyone actually think that would happen in this class?

Tragic draft



Hali, Ant and LaMelo and 11 effectively busts

[clyde21]

wouldn't call Vassell a bust, but yea, terrible class and it was called that at the time so not hindsight.

[The-Power]

Hali, Ant and LaMelo and 11 effectively busts

I don't think you understand what the term ‘bust’ means.

[clyde21]

Read on Twitter

[Felixians4]

Man, I really like Jalen Wilson, I might like him late in the lottery (11-14) even, depending on how things shake out. Reminds me a lot of Tobias Harris and Saddiq Bey, but seems to do better on contested shots than they did in college.

dude can score, but he takes a lot of shots to get there. it's a good thing that he can create those shots, but unless he can figure out the efficiency side of things in the nba, i don't want him.

not a pure enough shooter - and he's had four years to get there - for me at this point. late first, early second guy for me.

I think people overcomplicate things sometimes. If you are 6-7 or taller, can shoot, and have some mobility, you should *probably* be a first-round pick. Wilson isn't some standout athlete, but I think he translates just fine as a power forward and will be a + shooter in the league, especially in a context where he doesn't have to be the center of gravity for a team. I think his rebounding also speaks to a level of effort that just isn't there with Bey, who also looked pretty slow on the court at times. Maybe he doesn't end up lottery, but if a Jr/Sr goes in the top 20, I think he's the guy.

Agreed. Glad that NBA Draft room make him biggest riser last couple of weeks on them Mock Draft

[WargamesX]

wouldn't call Vassell a bust, but yea, terrible class and it was called that at the time so not hindsight.

I don't remember that year's draft being called a bust prior. That might be true in hindsight. It was a miracle that it even happened due to covid raging unabated at the time. If I remember it right, the whole draft was extremely difficult to scout due to no tournament, and strict bubble regulations.

For example I had no doubt both Maxey and Quickly would have gone higher if there was a tournament that year. I say that to say if anything that draft was the definition of a crap shoot.

[clyde21]

wouldn't call Vassell a bust, but yea, terrible class and it was called that at the time so not hindsight.

I don't remember that year's draft being called a bust prior. That might be true in hindsight. It was a miracle that it even happened due to covid raging unabated at the time. If I remember it right, the whole draft was extremely difficult to scout due to no tournament, and strict bubble regulations.

For example I had no doubt both Maxey and Quickly would have gone higher if there was a tournament that year. I say that to say if anything that draft was the definition of a crap shoot.

half the people on this board, including myself, were calling it a terrible class. this isn't hindsight.

[WargamesX]

wouldn't call Vassell a bust, but yea, terrible class and it was called that at the time so not hindsight.

I don't remember that year's draft being called a bust prior. That might be true in hindsight. It was a miracle that it even happened due to covid raging unabated at the time. If I remember it right, the whole draft was extremely difficult to scout due to no tournament, and strict bubble regulations.

For example I had no doubt both Maxey and Quickly would have gone higher if there was a tournament that year. I say that to say if anything that draft was the definition of a crap shoot.

half the people on this board, including myself, were calling it a terrible class. this isn't hindsight.

I was here the debate was Hayes vs Haliburton, is the world coming to an end, and would the season start. You may have said it but it was not a common theme, unlike last year where yeah everybody said it sucked, or the year before when everyone said it was going to a great draft.

I remember people really picking certain players and the debate was if they were bad (Hayes being the number one target for me) but that the class sucked was not the common storyline because too much was going on. Plus without the tournament everybody had video from a few games.

I was so hardcore Haliburton that year I kept calling him old man Jason Kidd because of how he moved the ball on the perimeter and I was arguing he was going to great because while that skill helps with winning!

With that said I don't think this draft sucks. I think it's going to be put into focus come the tournament. A lot of guys are similar skill and position wise and we got to see how they are under real pressure, playing against other good team's. Either that or this draft is flat with a high floor. For example I think a lot of guys who went late lottery last year would be taken in the ’20s this year and the majority of the guys taken last year in the 20’s would be second rounders. Meanwhile, guys mostly mocked as second rounders this year like Jalen Wilson, Julian Strawther, and Leonard Miller would go first round last year easy.

[clyde21]

it was definitely a common theme, most people viewed it as a MASSIVE drop after the 'big 3' (Ant/Wise/Melo)...and even those 3 guys were highly questionable to a lot of posters (like me with Melo and Wise). Wise played 3 games in college, Melo was playing overseas, Ant had abysmal efficiency, etc.

it was a bad draft, again this isn't hindsight.

[Capn'O]

Quickley might be the 5th or 6th best player

But yeah, most knew that draft was weak. I did like Hayes. Oh well.