2021 Draft thread. Woo! 15th pick here we come! Hoo. Ray.

[Dark Faze]

The fact that we interviewed Zaire Williams worries me.

Like...eye test and physical attributes are fine and all, but my *god* he was absolutely atrocious statistically. I'd consider it malpractice to draft him with a lottery pick.

[Shoe]

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In the mold of Cam Payne, Reggie Jackson, Pat Bev, Terrance Mann - a rotation guard who defends a little and is not afraid to let it fly. I think Clippers, Nets, Sixers, Jazz could potentially jump on him late first.

Wiz need to upgrade the 3rd guard spot with someone who can play with Russ and Beal while being able to shoot. What's the plan there? Bouknight looks more like a wing, Duarte is old, Cooper and Russ lineup can't shoot. But Springer, Butler, Mitchell look like realistic options at 15 who could fill that role. The Baylor guys are high character and I wouldn't be shocked if Sheppard eschews his international favorite for one of them.

[mhd]

Hypothetically, if Houston offered 23+24 for 15, would you do it?

[Frichuela]

Hypothetically, if Houston offered 23+24 for 15, would you do it?

Yes. 100%

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Hypothetically, if Houston offered 23+24 for 15, would you do it?

Yes. 100%

Yes.

[wall_glizzy]

Hypothetically, if Houston offered 23+24 for 15, would you do it?

For sure, Duarte + Trey Murphy here we come

[SUPERBALLMAN]

The fact that we interviewed Zaire Williams worries me.

Like...eye test and physical attributes are fine and all, but my *god* he was absolutely atrocious statistically. I'd consider it malpractice to draft him with a lottery pick.

Could possibly indicate they're looking to trade down?

The 2 Houston picks 23 & 24 NBA DRAFT ROOM has Murphy & Thor going there. I would love it.

Also have Butler going next pick after at 25. Cooper going 28 & McBride 29. They have Zaire Williams going 1 pick earlier at 22 btw.

[likwitdesi]

Everything about that is just bad process. Drafting for fit, building around a 33 year old that relies on athleticism exclusively, trying to squeeze into the 8 seed.

Yikes

I'm not saying I like it but we need to live in reality and not fantasy

[thebigE]

The fact that we interviewed Zaire Williams worries me.

Like...eye test and physical attributes are fine and all, but my *god* he was absolutely atrocious statistically. I'd consider it malpractice to draft him with a lottery pick.

Could possibly indicate they're looking to trade down?

The 2 Houston picks 23 & 24 NBA DRAFT ROOM has Murphy & Thor going there. I would love it.

Also have Butler going next pick after at 25. Cooper going 28 & McBride 29. They have Zaire Williams going 1 pick earlier at 22 btw.

I’d be shocked if the Wiz make any moves, either trading up or down in round one that actually benefits the organization, in the draft. That would involve creativity which this organization has lacked. When in recent history has Wiz did anything but stay put in the first round and on occasion trade a second pick to either move down or trade a second for future considerations, players, or for cash?

[Ruzious]

Been saying it all year. Wieskamp is a NBA player. Big time pickup in round 2, same with Livers.

Reasons why Wiz should make getting Joe Wieskamp a high priority:
- 4.1% body fat - 3rd at the combine
- 6'7.25 in shoes, 6'11 wingspan
- 4th in lane agility at the combine
- 42" max vertical - also 4th at the combine
- All of the above scream that's he's physically gifted.
- 46.2% 3 point shooter on high volume
- 9.1 rebounds per 40 minutes
- 2.3 assists/1.9 to's ratio
- TS% .616
- though FT shooting was off last season, he was #1 in the Big Ten the season before
- If you believe the mocks, he's going far lower than he should.

[mhd]

The fact that we interviewed Zaire Williams worries me.

Like...eye test and physical attributes are fine and all, but my *god* he was absolutely atrocious statistically. I'd consider it malpractice to draft him with a lottery pick.

To be fair, KOC at the ringer has him going 17th to Memphis right now. He's in that draft range regardless.

[Ruzious]

Kessler Edwards looks like a very good 3 & D prospect that's got no attention. Very similar measurement to Wieskamp - though didn't do as well on any of the drills. Statistically, not quite as good a 3 point shooter and had more to's than assists, but he got a better combo of blocks and steals. 6'7 in shoes, so he's a bit taller than Wieskamp. Gotta like the 6'11.25 wingspan. He and Wieskamp were both born in August, 1999. I prefer Wieskamp, but Edwards is a nice prospect.

[I_Like_Dirt]

The fact that we interviewed Zaire Williams worries me.

Like...eye test and physical attributes are fine and all, but my *god* he was absolutely atrocious statistically. I'd consider it malpractice to draft him with a lottery pick.

Teams interview a lot of players. It would only be a concern if they only interviewed a few.

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[80sballboy]

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[80sballboy]

Zaire Williams was supposed to be one of the best players in this year's draft. He did have a horrible season statistically, but he also went through some unforeseen circumstances including playing on the road most of the season at Stanford. Williams is a dude who should stay in school and develop, but who does that nowadays? Not when you are 6-10 (w/shoes) with a 39.5 inch vertical but just 188 pounds. Do you take a freakishly athletic guy and wait for him to develop when you have a need for a player to step into the rotation right away.

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/wizards-interview-wings-jalen-johnson-and-ziaire-williams-nba-draft-combine

[I_Like_Dirt]

Zaire Williams was supposed to be one of the best players in this year's draft. He did have a horrible season statistically, but he also went through some unforeseen circumstances including playing on the road most of the season at Stanford. Williams is a dude who should stay in school and develop, but who does that nowadays? Not when you are 6-10 (w/shoes) with a 39.5 inch vertical but just 188 pounds. Do you take a freakishly athletic guy and wait for him to develop when you have a need for a player to step into the rotation right away.

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/wizards-interview-wings-jalen-johnson-and-ziaire-williams-nba-draft-combine

The Wizards don't have a need for a player to step into the rotation right away. Assuming Gafford is the backup C and they use the MLE on a guy worth a rotation spot, the top 8 is largely covered. They're looking to fill spots 9 through 15. And honestly, even if they weren't, fishing for an immediate impact guy in the draft is a fool's errand. Sometimes guys will play right away and sometimes they won't. It's a mistake to have that be a major factor in the decision. It's all about the quality and total of minutes they'll give teams over their careers. Most rookies aren't actually particularly good contributors in their rookie season anyway and that production could be replaced my minimum signings. It's all about development.

Sent from my SM-G970W using RealGM mobile app

[Ruzious]

Zaire Williams was supposed to be one of the best players in this year's draft. He did have a horrible season statistically, but he also went through some unforeseen circumstances including playing on the road most of the season at Stanford. Williams is a dude who should stay in school and develop, but who does that nowadays? Not when you are 6-10 (w/shoes) with a 39.5 inch vertical but just 188 pounds. Do you take a freakishly athletic guy and wait for him to develop when you have a need for a player to step into the rotation right away.

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/wizards-interview-wings-jalen-johnson-and-ziaire-williams-nba-draft-combine

The Wizards don't have a need for a player to step into the rotation right away. Assuming Gafford is the backup C and they use the MLE on a guy worth a rotation spot, the top 8 is largely covered. They're looking to fill spots 9 through 15. And honestly, even if they weren't, fishing for an immediate impact guy in the draft is a fool's errand. Sometimes guys will play right away and sometimes they won't. It's a mistake to have that be a major factor in the decision. It's all about the quality and total of minutes they'll give teams over their careers. Most rookies aren't actually particularly good contributors in their rookie season anyway and that production could be replaced my minimum signings. It's all about development.

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Otoh, getting a guy like Duarte - who will be 24 as a rookie - might be smart, because he's likely going to be more developed as a rookie. The 19 year olds in this draft might have more long-range potential but probably won't be useful as rookies. I don't really want a Zaire Williams till his 2nd contract, tbh.

[I_Like_Dirt]

Zaire Williams was supposed to be one of the best players in this year's draft. He did have a horrible season statistically, but he also went through some unforeseen circumstances including playing on the road most of the season at Stanford. Williams is a dude who should stay in school and develop, but who does that nowadays? Not when you are 6-10 (w/shoes) with a 39.5 inch vertical but just 188 pounds. Do you take a freakishly athletic guy and wait for him to develop when you have a need for a player to step into the rotation right away.

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/wizards-interview-wings-jalen-johnson-and-ziaire-williams-nba-draft-combine

The Wizards don't have a need for a player to step into the rotation right away. Assuming Gafford is the backup C and they use the MLE on a guy worth a rotation spot, the top 8 is largely covered. They're looking to fill spots 9 through 15. And honestly, even if they weren't, fishing for an immediate impact guy in the draft is a fool's errand. Sometimes guys will play right away and sometimes they won't. It's a mistake to have that be a major factor in the decision. It's all about the quality and total of minutes they'll give teams over their careers. Most rookies aren't actually particularly good contributors in their rookie season anyway and that production could be replaced my minimum signings. It's all about development.

Sent from my SM-G970W using RealGM mobile app

Otoh, getting a guy like Duarte - who will be 24 as a rookie - might be smart, because he's likely going to be more developed as a rookie. The 19 year olds in this draft might have more long-range potential but probably won't be useful as rookies. I don't really want a Zaire Williams till his 2nd contract, tbh.

I mean, it sort of depends on the player and that's why you do scouting and interviews and workouts and such. If you think a player is likely not going to stick on his first contract and you'll get a chance at them later, then great. Otherwise you might never actually get a chance at them short of paying full price in a trade somehow. One or two years to wait is fine - that's what the g league is for. Five or six years and things get tricky.

How much would Duarte improve the team next season over signing Garrett Temple for a season? If the answer to that is "a lot", then you're talking about a rotation level guy from the start and there really aren't that many of those in any given year - certainly not as many as fans think before the draft. At that point you take Duarte not because he helps next season but because he's going to help the next several seasons and anyone further away would need to surpass him sooner than later to achieve that end.

With a couple exceptions, the differences in value for the first year will be minimal, even relative the guys who don't play at all. Guys slowly filter in over time. Now is a bonus that you take if you can get. If Williams breaks out into a star in year 4 and Duarte is a 10th man, nobody will remember the rookie year production and all fingers will be pointed at Wiz management. This isn't an endorsement of either guy, necessarily. Getting it right is important.

Edit:

Jae'Sean Tate was great for Houston last season. There are also undrafted options to fill in the gaps if a person is so inclined. Worrying about a draft pick being more than a fringe player at best in year 1 is to focus on the wrong thing.

[Ruzious]

Honestly, Garrett Temple can barely play - at this point in his career. He might have more value as a coach. I'd bet the mortgage and the kids that Duarte has a better season than Temple - assuming good health and a reasonable coach.

[prime1time]

I had long take on Garuba, but I deleted it. The challenge that you're going to have when scouting a player like Garuba is something I've written about in past years. If you follow College Basketball and NBA basketball, you develop archtypes that you fit players into. Non-skilled bigs, athletic wings that lack skills, shooters that don't play defense etc. For the most part, if you stick to American players this analysis works. The challenge, however, is when you bring that same perspective o players from overseas. Garuba is a great example of this. Before I watched any tape I assumed he fit easily into the non-skilled big category. Perhaps a little undersized but he fit nevertheless. When I started watching him though something didn't add up. He was simply looked way too smooth and fluid to be an unskilled big.

People are going to look at Garuba's euroleague tape and conclude that he's an high energy unskilled big because that's the role Real Madrid put him in. This was an 18-year-old playing with grown men. And the Euroleague is notorious for limiting what young players can do. Now that I've watched some tape of Garuba, he is vastly more than an unskilled big. And if you look at what Tommy has said about previous draft picks - Rui, Deni - he is most certainly the type of player we'd draft. Don't get it wrong now, Garuba's a ball of clay. But put in the right environment and having the right coaching he can develop into one of the best players of this draft.

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=EUROLEAGUEBASKETBALL

Look at this clip. This is when Garuba was 17. He won MVP of the tournament over our own Deni Avdija. Look at the fluid play at 36 seconds. 2 dribbles reverse pivot and then comeback to the right hand hook. There are bigs that couldn't do that right now. Garuba was doing it at 17. I think to have a real perspective on Garuba you really have to watch stuff before his Euroleague. Euroleague so severely limited his game that it doesn't give an accurate depiction of what he's capable of. I'm going to watch more tape of Garuba and make a second post.

Needless to say, this kind of pick would be right in Sheppard's wheelhouse. For me, I'd be happy with the pick. He's way more offensively skilled than people realize and a end of games, he will give us a clear-cut advantage against teams with unskilled bigs. Not to mention his improving 3-point shot. Is it a risk? Yes. But players like this don't come along very often. Now I'm not saying that this is who Garuba will end up being, but to get some perspective on Garuba and how teams can miss on foreign players, look no further than Giannis. Now for every Giannis, there's a Bruno Caboclo, which is why it's important to do real scouting and dig deep into players.