More along the lines of untapped potential as Carter had a rough start. If you look at the tail end of the season he was a completely different player than what he was for the previous 2/3 of the season.
But I'm hearing guy can't put the ball on the floor. And what's the difference between a guy who really surged in the later half of the season and a guy who surged early and came back down to earth? Demin was a top 5 projected pick and then things changed.
Here's a snapshot of some of the top mock drafts - Outside of the top 7, the picks are all over the place. Maluach, Queen, Jakucionis, Demin, and Essengue seem to be the names coming up the most often in the 8-12 range. Only 23 more days until draft day!
Jaku with no workouts scheduled - rumored he received a promise at the combine. Charlotte or Utah IMO
Yep, Chicago does make more sense. The largest population of Lithuanians in the states........went to school nearby. For him, not to showcase himself for other teams, he would really need to want to go to that city.
I hope we can make an Ant to Orlando trade happen. If the board falls like I think it might, we could be picking at the top of a fairly large tier. I like Drake Powell at #25 much more than Carter Bryant at #11. I would take a really strong look at Joan Beringer if we pick up #16. I think he's the best defensive center in the class and has the mobility to offer some different looks schematically than Donovan. Ant+#11 Isaac + Anthony + #16 + #25 Think Orlando would probably want a future 1st tacked on to make this happen. They obviously still really like Isaac, for good reason.
*Of guys currently ranked inside ESPN's Top 35 My inner circle my guys in this draft.... (Sans everyone's my guy in Cooper Flagg) Kon Knueppel Drake Powell Jase Richardson Joan Beringer Cedric Coward Jeremiah Fears Thomas Sorber My inner circle not my guys..... Tre Johnson Egor Demin Asa Newell Liam McNeely Rasheer Fleming Ben Saraf Maxime Reynaud Guys I still need to watch more of.... Hansen Yang Yanic Konan Niederhauser Will Riley All other guys I'm roughly in line with consensus minus VJ Edgecombe who wasn't quite a not my guy. I have some really issues with him, but he's too athletic and projects to offer enough two-way ability to place him as low as I've wanted to at times during this cycle.
can you remind me of the pitch on drake powell? he's nice defensively and as an athlete but pretty underbaked elsewhere in his game. obviously if you're taking him in the 2nd round to be a 2way guy that's a bit different, though.
Athleticism, multifaceted defender, improving shooter. Really love his decision making on the both ends of the floor. I also think he pairs his shooting with some pretty good tools as a driver and kick out passer. Add that to what he showed at the EYBL/ HS level as a pull-up shooter and high usage scorer and I think the sell becomes pretty easy on a high floor guy with real upside as a two-way contributor, even if the off the dribble stuff doesn't develop to a high degree.
I don't buy anything being at a positive NBA level other than the versatile shooting. Physically he's pretty strictly two guard sized with in my opinion only one real positive athletic trait. Very solid 2-ft leaper from a standstill which helps him get to those tough pull-ups he likes to take. So I do think the shooting gives him a nice floor as a rotational guard, but that still comes with improving his decision making and playing more to his strengths while improving quite a bit as defender versus what he showed in college. Brings very little as a driver for a lot of reasons. Very upright, takes wide angles, contact averse, poor one foot leaper, Doesn't have the strength to effectively play off two feet traffic... Only really looks good as a ball handler when he's setting up his step packs or pull-ups versus one defender. Doesn't have the feel or reactivity with the ball to navigate tight spaces involving second or third defender. So yeah, he's talented in very important ways but he's a very incomplete player right now. And those strengths only help him if he improves his decision making.
