2023 NBA Draft Thread

[JDR720]

Miller with a terrible game as Alabama lose to SDSU. 3-19 and 1-10 on threes and 6 TO's.

This guy can't be the 2nd or 3rd best player in this class, can he?

[wilson115]

Nba draft net had us taking Taylor Hendricks at #4. is he moving g up into consensus top 10? What's his story?

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I like him quite a bit. Ive had him top 6 for a while. Hes a long versatile PF who defends the perimeter, offers decent rim protection, pretty good rebounding, and shoots 40% from 3pt on good volume. Hes skinny, but has a decent frame and pretty good athleticism. He can probably play some small ball 5. He has aspects that remind me of a bunch of different useful guys that have been drafted recently, but I'm not sure who the best one to one comparison is (theres probably a good one).

Taylor Hendricks ~ PF ~ 6'9" 210
Central Florida (AAC) ~ Fr ~ 11/22/2003 (19.6)
per75 poss: 19.8 pts ~ 9.2 reb ~ 1.8 ast ~ 1.2 stl ~ 2.3 blk ~ 1.9 tov ~ 2.6 pf
53.5% 2pt(8.9) ~ 39.4% 3pt(6.0) ~ 78.2% ft(4.2) ~ 58.9% ts
122.5 ORtg ~ 97.2 DRtg ~ +7.9 bpm (+5.4/+2.5) ~ 21.2% usg ~ 0.96 ast/tov

Dean has Hendricks at #4 now. Among other surprises as usual.

https://deanondraft.substack.com/p/sweet-16-big-board

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[yosemiteben]

Miller with a terrible game as Alabama lose to SDSU. 3-19 and 1-10 on threes and 6 TO's.

This guy can't be the 2nd or 3rd best player in this class, can he?

I still have never seen him play, but his tourney performance isn't giving me the warm and fuzzies

[JDR720]

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[Snidely FC]

Maybe take a look at Creighton's Baylor Scheierman for pick 34 (compare Austin Reaves)

It's hard to find many 6-for-7 guards with the type of passing vision and creativity Scheierman offers. He's a maestro operating out of pick-and-roll or zoom actions, always having his head up looking to dish off with timely bounce passes, touch passes and over-the-top lobs to his big man. Every NBA team is looking for big guards who can handle, pass, shoot and bring instincts, hustle and competitiveness - Givony

[wilson115]

Checking back on Cason Wallace. Clock still ticking on finding a Terry replacement/secondary handler next to LaMelo.

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[Braggins]

It looks like the Denver picks ceiling is going to be 27th.

[Snidely FC]

I'd still take Brandon Miller Top 4

[UNCNYC]

Some of my favorites made it to the final four

Jordan Miller VS Andre Jackson gonna be a war.

I also liked Nicholas Boyd for a stent during the season for florida atlantic a bit.

[UNCNYC]

A lot of guys we could take a look at in this game. Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard (Juan Howard's kid) with Michigan and Reece Beekman with Virginia.

I really like Beekman. He's strong, he can attack the basket, he has a good first step, he's a great defender, and he's a solid shooter and passer. Tony Bennett's guys have killed it as role players in the league. I think Beekman is going to be another one that sticks in the league for a while. He'd be a great pick at 34.

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I love Beekman. I have him in strong consideration for pick 3 and maybe even pick 2 for us. He is in my top 10 favorite players.

[UNCNYC]

Right now these are the top 2 players at each position I would be MOST happy with us drafting. This was extremely hard because for some reason like many others on this board this years draft has gotten us to like quite a few players for some reason.

These are my favorites as of right now from a fan perspective

CG - Reece Beekman, Augustin UBAL
PG - Ajay Mitchell, Craig Porter JR
SG - Gradey Dick, John Tonje,
CF - Brandon Miller, Nikola Durisic,
SF - Jalen Wilson, Jordan Miller,
PF - Roko Prkacin, Grant Nelson,
C -- Patrick Gardner, Azuolas Tubelis,

[JMAC3]

Miller def stunk it up in the tourney and I think he let an opportunity to lock in the 2nd pick slip away. It is hard to remove him from consideration on a 3 game sample though. He still shot over 38% from deep on 7.5 attempts. Still got to the line 4.6 times per game and shot 86%. Plus he has real NBA wing scorer size.

I still personally have him in the 2-4 range even after the tourney.

[LofJ]

Miller def stunk it up in the tourney and I think he let an opportunity to lock in the 2nd pick slip away. It is hard to remove him from consideration on a 3 game sample though. He still shot over 38% from deep on 7.5 attempts. Still got to the line 4.6 times per game and shot 86%. Plus he has real NBA wing scorer size.

I still personally have him in the 2-4 range even after the tourney.

His stock definitely took a hit, but supposedly he was playing through a groin injury since the SEC tournament. I'm not sure if that makes up for his poor performance, but it should at least be noted.

At the very worst he's a 6'9 wing that can really shoot the ball and won't be a liability on defense. He's going to have to get a lot better creating offense off the dribble in the half court to be a guy you can count on to carry your offense. He isn't that player right now.

[SWedd523]

The athleticism issues i have with Black also creep into the conversation with Miller. I love his skillset but is he twitchy enough to be that "1-on-1 bucket getter in a tight game" we so desperately need? Is he long enough to overcome that deficiency?

It feels odd spending a top 5 pick on a guy who doesn't at least have the potential to be an athletically dominant player.

Fit questions arise with Miles as well. I see all indications that they consider both Miles and PJ to be long term pieces so where does that put a guy like Miller? If he replaces Miles, do we really think Miller/PJ is a good fit?

If he replaces PJ, who plays the 4?

[SWedd523]

Stylistically I'm kind of out on Scoot. I don't think he distributes well enough to push Melo off ball and i don't trust him enough as a shooter/defender to take a secondary role.

Thompson kids can't shoot for ****


Pray for Wem-bae

[JMAC3]

Early season games for Thompson twins vs pro teams

Mega Mis (with Nikola Djurisic)
Amen had 18/10/9
Ausar had 18/11/5

Adelaide
Amen had 17/8/5
Ausar had 14/4/4

Giddey averaged 11/7/7 in the NBL

[JMAC3]

The athleticism issues i have with Black also creep into the conversation with Miller. I love his skillset but is he twitchy enough to be that "1-on-1 bucket getter in a tight game" we so desperately need? Is he long enough to overcome that deficiency?

It feels odd spending a top 5 pick on a guy who doesn't at least have the potential to be an athletically dominant player.

Fit questions arise with Miles as well. I see all indications that they consider both Miles and PJ to be long term pieces so where does that put a guy like Miller? If he replaces Miles, do we really think Miller/PJ is a good fit?

If he replaces PJ, who plays the 4?

Miller 2-3 inch height difference along with his elite outside shooting make him less reliant on his athleticism. Whereas Black still needs to be able to use his height and athleticism to get to the rim at least until he becomes a better shooter. He only makes 0.8 threes per game while Miller makes 2.9 threes.

In terms of the Miller/Miles/PJ Rotation. I would say eventually PJ gets pushed to the bench if everything works out with the others which wouldn't be the end of the world assuming Miller would be giving us a cheaper starter to balance payroll.

[SWedd523]

I go back to my previous statement that perimeter guys need to be high end athletes to be great players. being a great shooter is nice but we need a guy who can get buckets in tight games.

Melo hasn't shown the ability to get fouls or beat his man consistently to get buckets. Adding another complimentary guy with a top 5 doesn't fix the main problems

[Braggins]

The athleticism issues i have with Black

Black doesn't have athletic issues.

Stylistically I'm kind of out on Scoot. I don't think he distributes well enough... and i don't trust him enough as a shooter

He averaged nearly 8 assists per 75 possessions with a 2/1 assist/to ratio this season.

32.4% from the NBA 3pt line and 75% free throw as an 18/19 year old aren't terrible indicators. His shooting weakness is getting exaggerated by a lot of people.

[Braggins]

Heres my top 14 rankings as of now. The 3rd tier (4-9) is extremely close and I think you could make arguments to rank those guys in about any order.

~ All volume stats are per75 possession, except Wemby and the Thompson twins because I haven't seen their per possession stats.
~ The numbers in (#) in the shooting section are attempts per75 poss (or 36 min for Wemby/Thompsons). The number next to their birthday is their age on draft night.
~ Fyi, the two players on the list whose per possession stats may look a bit inflated based on their minutes/role on their team are Jarace Walker and Brice Sensabaugh.

TIER 1

1 ~ Victor Wembanyama ~ PF/C ~ 7'2 230

Spoiler:

Metro92 (FR) ~ 1/4/2004 (19.5)
per36 min: 24.2 pts ~ 10.7 reb ~ 2.5 ast ~ 0.9 stl ~ 3.6 blk ~ 2.6 tov ~ 2.3 pf
54.9% 2pt(12.2) ~ 29.8% 3pt(5.9) ~ 83.1% ft(6.7) ~ 57.5% ts
0.95 ast/tov

TIER 2

2 ~ Scoot Henderson ~ PG ~ 6'2" 195

Spoiler:

GLeage Ignite ~ 2/3/2004 (19.4)
20.6 pts ~ 5.9 reb ~ 7.7 ast ~ 1.4 stl ~ 0.5 blk ~ 3.9 tov ~ 3.7 pf
47.2% 2pt(14.1) ~ 32.4% 3pt(3.2) ~ 75.0% ft(3.4*) ~ 55.0% ts
114.4 ORtg ~ 115.8 DRtg ~ -1.8 bpm ~ 27.7% usg ~ 1.98 ast/tov
* ~ GLeague shoot 1 ft worth 2 pts until last 2 minutes

3 ~ Brandon Miller ~ SF/PF ~ 6'9" 200

Spoiler:

Alabama (SEC) ~ Fr ~ 11/20/2002 (20.6)
23.8 pts ~ 10.4 reb ~ 2.6 ast ~ 1.1 stl ~ 1.1 blk ~ 2.8 tov ~ 3.0 pf
48.3% 2pt(8.2) ~ 38.4% 3pt(9.5) ~ 85.9% ft(5.9) ~ 58.3% ts
119.7 ORtg ~ 91.9 DRtg ~ +12.0 bpm (+7.8/+4.3) ~ 26.2% usg ~ 0.95 ast/tov

TIER 3

4 ~ Anthony Black ~ PG ~ 6'7" 198

Spoiler:

Arkansas (SEC) ~ Fr ~ 1/20/2004 (19.4)
15.7 pts ~ 6.2 reb ~ 4.8 ast ~ 2.6 stl ~ 0.8 blk ~ 3.7 tov ~ 3.2 pf
51.3% 2pt(8.0) ~ 30.1% 3pt(3.2) ~ 70.5% ft(6.5) ~ 54.9% ts
104.9 ORtg ~ 96.9 DRtg ~ +6.7 bpm (+2.8/+3.9) ~ 20.9% usg ~ 1.29 ast/tov

5 ~ Taylor Hendricks ~ PF ~ 6'9" 210

Spoiler:

Central Florida (AAC) ~ Fr ~ 11/22/2003 (19.6)
19.8 pts ~ 9.2 reb ~ 1.8 ast ~ 1.2 stl ~ 2.3 blk ~ 1.9 tov ~ 2.6 pf
53.5% 2pt(8.9) ~ 39.4% 3pt(6.0) ~ 78.2% ft(4.2) ~ 58.9% ts
122.5 ORtg ~ 97.2 DRtg ~ +7.9 bpm (+5.4/+2.5) ~ 21.2% usg ~ 0.96 ast/tov

6 ~ Gradey Dick ~ SF/SG ~ 6'8" 205

Spoiler:

Kansas (B12) ~ Fr ~ 11/20/2003 (19.6)
18.5 pts ~ 6.8 reb ~ 2.2 ast ~ 1.9 stl ~ 0.3 blk ~ 1.7 tov ~ 2.8 pf
48.4% 2pt(6.8) ~ 40.3% 3pt(7.5) ~ 85.4% ft(3.2) ~ 58.1% ts
117.2 ORtg ~ 98.5 DRtg ~ +7.8 bpm (+4.9/+2.9) ~ 20.5% usg ~ 1.33 ast/tov

7 ~ Jarace Walker ~ PF ~ 6'8" 240

Spoiler:

Houston (AAC) ~ Fr ~ 9/4/2003 (19.8)
18.8 pts ~ 11.4 reb ~ 3.0 ast ~ 1.7 stl ~ 2.2 blk ~ 2.5 tov ~ 3.5 pf
51.5% 2pt(11.2) ~ 34.7% 3pt(4.7) ~ 66.3% ft(3.8) ~ 53.4% ts
114.5 ORtg ~ 87.1 DRtg ~ +8.8 bpm (+4.5/+4.4) ~ 22.4% usg ~ 1.23 ast/tov

8 ~ Cam Whitmore ~ SF/SG ~ 6'7" 232

Spoiler:

Villanova (BEast) ~ Fr ~ 7/8/2004 (18.9)
21.2 pts ~ 9.0 reb ~ 1.2 ast ~ 2.4 stl ~ 0.6 blk ~ 2.7 tov ~ 2.9 pf
57.8% 2pt(9.6) ~ 34.3% 3pt(7.1) ~ 70.3% ft(4.2) ~ 57.1% ts
105.4 ORtg ~ 100.0 DRtg ~ +6.1 bpm (+3.6/+2.5) ~ 25.6% usg ~ 0.45 ast/tov

9 ~ Cason Wallace ~ PG ~ 6'4" 193

Spoiler:

Kentucky (SEC) ~ Fr ~ 11/7/2003 (19.6)
16.4 pts ~ 5.2 reb ~ 5.9 ast ~ 2.8 stl ~ 0.7 blk ~ 2.9 tov ~ 3.4 pf
51.4% 2pt(8.1) ~ 34.6% 3pt(5.6) ~ 75.7% ft(3.1) ~ 54.3% ts
113.8 ORtg ~ 100.5 DRtg ~ +7.8 bpm (+3.6/+4.2) ~ 19.9% usg ~ 2.03 ast/tov

TIER 4

10 ~ Keyonte George ~ SG ~ 6'4" 185

Spoiler:

Baylor (B12) ~ Fr ~ 11/8/2003 (19.6)
23.7 pts ~ 6.5 reb ~ 4.3 ast ~ 1.7 stl ~ 0.3 blk ~ 4.4 tov ~ 3.3 pf
42.4% 2pt(8.6) ~ 33.8% 3pt(10.7) ~ 79.3% ft(7.1) ~ 52.4% ts
105.1 ORtg ~ 104.9 DRtg ~ +5.6 bpm (+4.5/+1.1) ~ 30.9% usg ~ 0.96 ast/tov

11 ~ Brice Sensabaugh ~ SF/SG ~ 6'6" 235

Spoiler:

Ohio St (B10) ~ Fr ~ 10/30/2003 (19.7)
30.2 pts ~ 10.0 reb ~ 2.1 ast ~ 1.0 stl ~ 0.8 blk ~ 3.8 tov ~ 4.6 pf
52.3% 2pt(14.7) ~ 40.5% 3pt(8.3) ~ 83.0% ft(5.6) ~ 58.7% ts
113.8 ORtg ~ 103.9 DRtg ~ +8.6 bpm (+7.8/+0.8) ~ 34.0% usg ~ 0.57 ast/tov

12 ~ Kyle Filipowski ~ PF/C ~ 7'0" 230

Spoiler:

Duke (ACC) ~ Fr ~ 11/7/2003 (19.6)
23.8 pts ~ 14.1 reb ~ 2.5 ast ~ 2.0 stl ~ 1.1 blk ~ 3.9 tov ~ 4.1 pf
50.5% 2pt(13.4) ~ 28.2% 3pt(5.4) ~ 76.5% ft(7.4) ~ 53.3% ts
107.5 ORtg ~ 91.7 DRtg ~ +7.4 bpm (+4.0/+3.4) ~ 29.6% usg ~ 0.62 ast/tov

13 ~ Ausar Thompson ~ G/F ~ 6'7" 207

Spoiler:

City Reapers (OTE) ~ 1/30/2003 (20.4)
per36 min: 20.9 pts ~ 8.1 reb ~ 7.1 ast ~ 3.1 stl ~ 1.4 blk ~ 4.0 tov
54.5% 2pt(11.0) ~ 33.3% 3pt(5.8) ~ 70.0% ft(5.3) - 54.7% ts
1.78 ast/tov

14 ~ Jett Howard ~ SF ~ 6'8" 215

Spoiler:

Michigan (B10) ~ Fr ~ 9/14/2003 (19.8)
19.9 pts ~ 4.0 reb ~ 2.9 ast ~ 0.6 stl ~ 0.9 blk ~ 1.8 tov ~ 3.1 pf
49.6% 2pt(5.8) ~ 36.8% 3pt(10.2) ~ 80.0% ft(3.6) ~ 56.2% ts
113.1 ORtg ~ 106.2 DRtg ~ +5.2 bpm (+4.2/+1.1) ~ 23.0% usg ~ 1.59 ast/tov