NBA Draft Thread: NO trades 4 to ATL (8/17/35)

[NYRaider]

1 hour ago, Ozzy said:

I agree, but honestly they were not matched up against each other that often I felt.  He went up against Salt a lot and others.  And to me Hunter I would not say is an elite level athlete or player, good but not really sure he is all that great down the road, will see.  And again to me the only player he will arguably go up against that is close to him athletically would be Nassir Little all season.  I would like to see him go up against Tennessee and Grant Williams and more importantly Admiral Schofield.  Schofield is a freaking house and maybe could give him some problems, will see if it can happen.  Wish when they played Gonzaga he was put against Clarke more often and not Hachimura but that happened and happens a lot.  He is guarded by a center depending on who else is on the court for Duke and yeah that is clearly going to be hell to deal with.  That will not be the case as easily in the NBA unless he goes to a great team which will clearly not happen.  

 

DeAndre Hunter is a much better player than Nas Little right now. He's taller, longer, and just as athletic as Little and is one of the elite on-ball defenders in college basketball. So far Zion has played against DeAndre Hunter, Jarrett Cullver, Rui Hachimura, Chuma Okeke, Austin Wiley, Romeo Langford, and Keldon Johnson this year. All 7 of those guys are 6'5"+ athletic wings/bigs that will be first round picks this year and none of them looked remotely close to Zion head to head. 

[Ozzy]

3 hours ago, NYRaider said:

DeAndre Hunter is a much better player than Nas Little right now. He's taller, longer, and just as athletic as Little and is one of the elite on-ball defenders in college basketball. So far Zion has played against DeAndre Hunter, Jarrett Cullver, Rui Hachimura, Chuma Okeke, Austin Wiley, Romeo Langford, and Keldon Johnson this year. All 7 of those guys are 6'5"+ athletic wings/bigs that will be first round picks this year and none of them looked remotely close to Zion head to head. 

I just do not feel a lot of these guys are that great of NBA prospects. One Cullver and Langford are fine prospects did not really defend Zion and did not go up against him much at all.  Hachimura did but yeah he is a center so of course and even then at times Norvell was on him but not that often.   As for Hunter being better than Little, not of late arguably, Little has played a lot better the last few games and is starting to round a little more into form.  Hunter being this great defender?   He plays for a great defensive coach and system and yes is a long lean athlete but I do not view him as this elite defender or prospect to be honest.  Solid sure but not elite, RJ Barrett one on one vs Zion would be more of a matchup worth watching if one wants another athletic wing to go against him.  As for Hachimura I feel he is more likely going to go over to Japan and play and make a ton of money there, sure might try it in the NBA but would be surprised if he stays for long.  Those other guys I just do not feel any are these awesome prospects but will see.  Your faith in the greatness of the current college basketball talent level is obviously a lot higher than mine.  

 

At least for Williamson he is a bigger thick guy, NBA all ready has enough athletic tall long skinny dudes, nice to see a change of pace at least.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, NYRaider said:

Zion will be one of the 5 or 10 most athletic players in the league from the first day he steps on the court. He's not an elite athlete by college standards, he's an elite athlete period. He's 270 with a 50 inch vertical leap, stop comparing him to mid-first round picks that were multi-year players in college. 

50"?  Where are you getting this, from what I have read and seen it is 40" not 50".  

 

 

 

 

And here is another picture of a college basketball player 6-6 270 or around that.  No Zion does not look like Peppers did back in the day but I assume you never watched him play in college.   Peppers in college was around 270+ no doubt, Zion I still have some big time doubt on that 285. 

[NYRaider]

32 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

As for Hunter being better than Little, not of late arguably, Little has played a lot better the last few games and is starting to round a little more into form.  Hunter being this great defender?   He plays for a great defensive coach and system and yes is a long lean athlete but I do not view him as this elite defender or prospect to be honest.  

 

DeAndre Hunter is one of the best on-ball defenders in college basketball. Hunter is averaging 16/6/2 on 53% FG and 40% 3FG while playing elite on ball defense. Nas Little has two 20+ point games and 9 games where he failed to score in double figures this year. The only reason he's still highly touted is because of the amount of hype that he had coming into the season. Hunter's defensive versatility is going to make him a very valuable player in the modern game because of his ability to defend on the perimeter and in the post. 

You don't see Hunter as an elite defender but last season as a freshman he ranked in the 94th percentile of overall defense on a per-possesion basis according to Synergy Sports. He also graded out as "excellent" defending against, spot-up possessions, P&R ball-handlers, isolation, off-screen, and post-up. He's mocked at #12 by ESPN, #17 by NBA Draft, #14 by Sports Illustrated, #5 by The Athletic, and #19 by Bleacher Report. Should we trust your assessment of his defense or one of the best sports analytics firms in the worlds assessment? 

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50"?  Where are you getting this, from what I have read and seen it is 40" not 50".  

Duke never released the official number but they did say he broke the school record for maximum vertical leap and they had to stack the measurement tool on top of another piece to even measure his max vertical leap. 

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And here is another picture of a college basketball player 6-6 270 or around that.  No Zion does not look like Peppers did back in the day but I assume you never watched him play in college.   Peppers in college was around 270+ no doubt, Zion I still have some big time doubt on that 285. 

Julius Peppers was 6'5" 285 at the 2002 NFL combine. Zion Williamson was 6'7" 272 at the USA Basketball event in April when they took official measurements. 

[beekay414]

Quick Friday night mock...

1)  - Zion Williamson | PF | Duke
2)  - Ja Morant | PG | Murray State
3) - RJ Barrett | SF | Duke
4)  - Jarrett Culver | SG | Texas Tech
5)  - Cam Reddish | GF | Duke
6)  - Kevin Porter Jr | SG | Southern California
7)  - Darius Garland | PG | Vanderbilt
8)  - Bol Bol | C | Oregon
9)  - Keldon Johnson | GF | Kentucky
10)  - Jaxson Hayes | C | Texas
11)  (via DAL) - Jontay Porter | FC | Missouri
12)  - Nas Little | GF | North Carolina
13)  (via SAC) - De'Andre Hunter | SF | Virginia
14)  - Romeo Langford | SG | Indiana
15)  - Sekou Doumbouya | F | Limoges CSP
16)  - Daniel Gafford | C | Arkansas
17)  - Brandon Clarke | PF | Gonzaga
18)  (via LAC) - Rui Hachimura | PF | Gonzaga
19)  - Nickeil Alexander-Walker | G | Virginia Tech
20) - Killian Tillie | PF | Gonzaga
21) - Charles Bassey | C | Western Kentucky
22)  - Tre Jones | PG | Duke
23)  - Luguentz Dort | SG | Arizona State
24)  - Coby White | PG | North Carolina
25)  - Grant Williams | PF | Tennessee
26)  - Zach Norvell Jr | SG | Gonzaga
27)  (via TOR) - Luka Samanic | PF | Petrol Olimpija
28)  - KZ Okpala | SF | Stanford
29)  (via DEN) - Cameron Johnson | SF | North Carolina
30) - Markus Howard | PG | Marquette

[NYRaider]

9 hours ago, beekay414 said:

Quick Friday night mock...

1)  - Zion Williamson | PF | Duke
2)  - Ja Morant | PG | Murray State
3) - RJ Barrett | SF | Duke
4)  - Jarrett Culver | SG | Texas Tech
5)  - Cam Reddish | GF | Duke
6)  - Kevin Porter Jr | SG | Southern California
7)  - Darius Garland | PG | Vanderbilt
8)  - Bol Bol | C | Oregon
9)  - Keldon Johnson | GF | Kentucky
10)  - Jaxson Hayes | C | Texas
11)  (via DAL) - Jontay Porter | FC | Missouri
12)  - Nas Little | GF | North Carolina
13)  (via SAC) - De'Andre Hunter | SF | Virginia
14)  - Romeo Langford | SG | Indiana
15)  - Sekou Doumbouya | F | Limoges CSP
16)  - Daniel Gafford | C | Arkansas
17)  - Brandon Clarke | PF | Gonzaga
18)  (via LAC) - Rui Hachimura | PF | Gonzaga
19)  - Nickeil Alexander-Walker | G | Virginia Tech
20) - Killian Tillie | PF | Gonzaga
21) - Charles Bassey | C | Western Kentucky
22)  - Tre Jones | PG | Duke
23)  - Luguentz Dort | SG | Arizona State
24)  - Coby White | PG | North Carolina
25)  - Grant Williams | PF | Tennessee
26)  - Zach Norvell Jr | SG | Gonzaga
27)  (via TOR) - Luka Samanic | PF | Petrol Olimpija
28)  - KZ Okpala | SF | Stanford
29)  (via DEN) - Cameron Johnson | SF | North Carolina
30) - Markus Howard | PG | Marquette

1

Great work. Jaxson Hayes is a prospect that's really intriguing in the late lottery/mid first round, dude came out of nowhere but has a ton of upside. I also love the Grant Williams to OKC pick, he's arguably the most underrated prospect in the draft. I don't think he'll ever be a star but he's going to be a great role player.

[11sanchez11]

If Culver gets a shot he is going to awesome. His shot looks ugly tho. I don't know how he always gets past players but he does. Combines being physical and smooth really well. 

[NYRaider]

 

[11sanchez11]

supposedly Romeo Langford is lottery pick. I haven't seen a reason why tho (just from the games I have watched).

[beekay414]

10 minutes ago, 11sanchez11 said:

supposedly Romeo Langford is lottery pick. I haven't seen a reason why tho (just from the games I have watched).

Yeah, I have no idea how to project anything after the top 7. Really not a good year for the mid-to-late lottery teams. After Zion, Ja, RJB, Reddish, Culver, Bol and Porter, I don't love any of the lottery projected guys. Hayes and Keldon Johnson are the most intriguing of that bunch so I could see them filling out 8 and 9 but the 10th best prospect? Might just give it to Jontay Porter by default.

Edited February 3, 2019 by beekay414

[11sanchez11]

18 minutes ago, 11sanchez11 said:

supposedly Romeo Langford is lottery pick. I haven't seen a reason why tho (just from the games I have watched).

well he has played awesome right after I posted this for the last 5-6 minutes of the MSU game

[NYRaider]

1 hour ago, 11sanchez11 said:

supposedly Romeo Langford is lottery pick. I haven't seen a reason why tho (just from the games I have watched).

Romeo Langford reminds me of Gary Trent Jr who went like 36th last year. Langford can't shoot and isn't really that explosive or crafty off the bounce. He's an okay prospect but I'd take him in the 20's, not the lottery. 

Edited February 3, 2019 by NYRaider

[beekay414]

2 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

Romeo Langford reminds me of Gary Trent Jr who went like 36th last year. Langford can't shoot and isn't really that explosive or crafty off the bounce. He's an okay prospect but I'd take him in the 20's, not the lottery. 

GTJ is going to be late bloomer but he's got an NBA future. He's too good for the G League but not quite ready to contribute on an NBA team. Love his shooting ability though. Believe he's shooting damn near 50% from 3 in the G League on a ton of attempts too.

[NYRaider]

9 minutes ago, beekay414 said:

GTJ is going to be late bloomer but he's got an NBA future. He's too good for the G League but not quite ready to contribute on an NBA team. Love his shooting ability though. Believe he's shooting damn near 50% from 3 in the G League on a ton of attempts too.

Yeah GTJ will definitely stick around the league as a 3&D guy he just wasn't ready to play in the league yet. He should've stayed at least 1 more year at Duke and developed his overall offensive game. Romeo has a very similar physical profile to Trent, both are pretty filled out with long-arms but neither guy is very explosive. Langford is more creative with his dribble and getting into the lane but Trent is/was a much better shooter. How many non-explosive 2 guards have thrived in the league that can't shoot the 3 ball? I honestly can't really think of one and that's what concerns me with Romeo. 

[beekay414]

1 minute ago, NYRaider said:

Yeah GTJ will definitely stick around the league as a 3&D guy he just wasn't ready to play in the league yet. He should've stayed at least 1 more year at Duke and developed his overall offensive game. Romeo has a very similar physical profile to Trent, both are pretty filled out with long-arms but neither guy is very explosive. Langford is more creative with his dribble and getting into the lane but Trent is/was a much better shooter. How many non-explosive 2 guards have thrived in the league that can't shoot the 3 ball? I honestly can't really think of one and that's what concerns me with Romeo. 

Yeah, I'm not in love with Romeo at all. I dropped him down to 14th in my latest mock so he's at risk of completely falling out of the lottery for me.

[Utley]

9 minutes ago, beekay414 said:

Yeah, I'm not in love with Romeo at all. I dropped him down to 14th in my latest mock so he's at risk of completely falling out of the lottery for me.

If he can move his release point, he's going to be a vastly different player.