Keeping our pick? This might be a Lottery year

Didn't realize ESPN made their draft stuff free. Thought they put Givony/Schmitz behind the paywall after buying Draftexpress.

This is an insane level of info/scouting.

https://www.espn.com/nba/draft/bestavailable

(They have my two guys Banchero/Davis at 3/9. If we end up with both, I'm gonna be absolutely elated. I'll then reluctantly open up a trade machine to figure out Dame trades the next week.)

 

Duren?

 

i want big men to either have high skill or good hands/feet (ideally both). he seems to have good hands and is super athletic. He's apparently a decent passer but I've yet to see it. Unlike other top 10 dudes, he seems super inconsistent.


I need to watch more of him tbh.

 

“He'll never be as dynamic a scorer or shot creator as Banchero, who looked like a 6-10, 250-pound Carmelo Anthony from my vantage point in T-Mobile Arena. But Holmgren is the type of prospect who can take five shots and completely dominate a game”

 

I don't think Chet is going to be Durant by any means, so even though both were seen as too skinny, I don't know why they're brought up in the same sentence so much. Chet can play the 4 on defense in the modern game. A weak side shot blocker who can get out on the perimeter and both stay in front of opponents and cause them problems but would need help on post ups. On offense Chet can easily play a Draymond type of role with his set of skills, he would just also be a knock down shooter.

It's hard to choose between Chet and Paolo for who is the second best big in the draft but Jabari is pretty obviously the best in my opinion. None of them look like sure fire hall of famers and they all do have some bust potential with Chet's being the biggest. Chet has a much lower floor than Paolo and he just might not have logically that much higher of a ceiling even though he does have a more intriguing/unique skill set. So if I was drafting and had a chance at the three bigs at the top of this draft I would take Jabari first, Paolo second and Chet third but if I did end up with Chet third I wouldn't be disappointed, I'd be excited for the potential upside and a little scared at the bust possibility but the upside excitement would by far outweigh the bust fears for me.

 

Lots of games today to watch the prospects

 

I think Agbaji has star potential.

One prospect I don’t understand the hype on is Max Christie, who is slated to go in the lottery. Every time I’ve watched him play he hasn’t stood out at all. He’s looked average.

 

Auburn is playing Tennessee right now.

 

Oscar Thshiiebwe might be playing himself into the lottery. Billups would love to have a hard nose defender and rebounder like that. Elite skill in rebounding

 

for it starts with the body and altheticism. sure there are unicorns like jokic, but the odds are stacked against weak frail players. play the odds.

 

Odds are stacked against 4 year players from Weber state too. Sports is all about defying the odds

 

Smith looks good, but I don’t think he’s a sure thing to be a star. He has the most superstar potential for sure. Has the size and skills to be dynamic, but a lot of his hype is based on upside.

 

His elite jumper, elite fluid athleticism which is also explosive and his feel for the game on both ends but especially on defense make him the number one prospect in the draft. I think both Paolo and Jabari are pretty safe picks as far as getting a big time PF who will likely be an all star and both have high upside. So I think the hype with Jabari is both his really high floor and high ceiling. I don't think there are any sure fire superstars in this draft.

 

Their guards aren't setting anything up and are fouling on every defensive play. Tennessee is a really hard team to play against at home... they pressure the whole game and we're seeing the results of that right now. Auburn is playing more mentally fatigued than anything.

 

I don’t think his jumper is quite elite yet. His percentages aren’t too great.

I’m watching Banchero right now. The more I watch him the more I like him.

I’m betting Chauncey and Joe are watching a lot of college ball today.

 

Yeah, Auburn even though they have Smith and Kessler struggle a lot offensively. Great defensive team though