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The 2021 NBA Draft Thread (NO SPOILERS!!!)


CWood21

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Jared Butler is the steal of the draft. My favorite player ever at Baylor.

He’s a plus shooter and defender and can attack. He’s clutch as hell and a big game player. Intangible wise I don’t know if there is a better person on this planet. Ask any Baylor fan. Utah got an absolute stud. To me he’s like George Hill.

Also saw Utah signed MaCio Teague. Another steal. He was in my opinion the best mid-range player in college last year and the best floater shot. Also a sharpshooter, an elite defender, and has a long wingspan as well. I think he’ll stick in this league.

 

on Davion, I get the uncertainty about fit, but that is the best defender in this draft and that will translate. Fox and Davion may have the two quickest first steps in the league. Davion is unbelievably quick on both ends of the floor. I don’t think he’s a 40% 3pt shooter right away but he can shoot. FTs is a big worry though.

I am actually very intrigued by Fox/Mitchell/Haliburton. My concern is Kings management. Can they be trusted to build a good team around them…

 

Vital was a solid get for Portland. I’m sure he’ll bounce around and if he makes it in the league could be a few years away. But that is an elite all-world defender like Davion. Position is obviously a huge question.

 

As a Mavs fan I also have to say I think the Rockets won the draft and that sucks.

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52 minutes ago, Tyronnosaurus said:

Jared Butler is the steal of the draft. My favorite player ever at Baylor.

He’s a plus shooter and defender and can attack. He’s clutch as hell and a big game player. Intangible wise I don’t know if there is a better person on this planet. Ask any Baylor fan. Utah got an absolute stud. To me he’s like George Hill.

Also saw Utah signed MaCio Teague. Another steal. He was in my opinion the best mid-range player in college last year and the best floater shot. Also a sharpshooter, an elite defender, and has a long wingspan as well. I think he’ll stick in this league.

Yessir

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Draft Winners

LA Clippers (A+): Keon Johnson (#21), Jason Preston (#34), Bradon Boston Jr (#51)

Jerry West, you crazy old bastard, you've somehow done it again. Keon at #21 is the steal of the draft and he's going to a great situation where he won't be asked to be a star early on, can be a defensive stopper, and work with some of the best players in the world as he develops his offensive game. Preston at #34 was quietly one of the best picks of the night, big PG that can shoot and pass, and as an older player projects as a player that can give you spot minutes as a rookie if needed. Adding him makes one of Rondo/Beverly expendable, so I'm sure one of them will be moved as the Clippers look to lower their tax bill and bring back Reggie Jackson. BBJ struggled at Kentucky but he was a projected top 5 pick for a reason, major boom/bust guy, but at #51 and an already deep roster there's no reason for them to not take a swing on him here. 

Charlotte Hornets (A): James Bouknight (#11), Kai Jones (#19), JT Thor (#37), Scottie Lewis (#57)

Has Michael Jordan finally woken up and taken a class on roster building? Bouknight has his flaws but he's a good value pick at #11 and I think his flaws will be covered up playing with a passer like LaMelo Ball. Trading back into the first to get Kai Jones was another great move, he's raw, but his athleticism is off the chart and he fits perfectly into their fast paced style of play. In the second round they took a swing on JT Thor who has one of the most intriguing profiles in the draft from a H/L/A perspective. Dude is 6'10" and moves like a guard, he has a long ways to go skill wise but projects as a versatile, athletic, 3&D type down the road if he can figure it out. They finished the night with Scottie Lewis another freaky athlete wing that's fairly raw offensively but at that point of the draft my philosophy is always to swing for the fences. 

Golden State Warriors (B+): Jonathan Kuminga (#7), Moses Moody (#14) 

The Warriors went BPA with both of their picks and landed Kuminga a raw combo forward with one of the highest ceilings in the draft and an excellent 3&D prospect in Moody who should be able to contribute from day one. Will either one of these guys ever play a game in Golden State? That remains to be seen. But drafting two of the youngest prospects in the class with the upside/skill-set that these two have keeps the door open for a potential block buster trade before the season begins. For a team looking to trade a disgruntled star I think a package of Wiggins, Wiseman, Kuminga, and Moody would definitely be very intriguing. 

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8 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

Draft Winners

LA Clippers (A+): Keon Johnson (#21), Jason Preston (#34), Bradon Boston Jr (#51)

Jerry West, you crazy old bastard, you've somehow done it again. Keon at #21 is the steal of the draft and he's going to a great situation where he won't be asked to be a star early on, can be a defensive stopper, and work with some of the best players in the world as he develops his offensive game. Preston at #34 was quietly one of the best picks of the night, big PG that can shoot and pass, and as an older player projects as a player that can give you spot minutes as a rookie if needed. Adding him makes one of Rondo/Beverly expendable, so I'm sure one of them will be moved as the Clippers look to lower their tax bill and bring back Reggie Jackson. BBJ struggled at Kentucky but he was a projected top 5 pick for a reason, major boom/bust guy, but at #51 and an already deep roster there's no reason for them to not take a swing on him here. 

Charlotte Hornets (A): James Bouknight (#11), Kai Jones (#19), JT Thor (#37), Scottie Lewis (#57)

Has Michael Jordan finally woken up and taken a class on roster building? Bouknight has his flaws but he's a good value pick at #11 and I think his flaws will be covered up playing with a passer like LaMelo Ball. Trading back into the first to get Kai Jones was another great move, he's raw, but his athleticism is off the chart and he fits perfectly into their fast paced style of play. In the second round they took a swing on JT Thor who has one of the most intriguing profiles in the draft from a H/L/A perspective. Dude is 6'10" and moves like a guard, he has a long ways to go skill wise but projects as a versatile, athletic, 3&D type down the road if he can figure it out. They finished the night with Scottie Lewis another freaky athlete wing that's fairly raw offensively but at that point of the draft my philosophy is always to swing for the fences. 

Golden State Warriors (B+): Jonathan Kuminga (#7), Moses Moody (#14) 

The Warriors went BPA with both of their picks and landed Kuminga a raw combo forward with one of the highest ceilings in the draft and an excellent 3&D prospect in Moody who should be able to contribute from day one. Will either one of these guys ever play a game in Golden State? That remains to be seen. But drafting two of the youngest prospects in the class with the upside/skill-set that these two have keeps the door open for a potential block buster trade before the season begins. For a team looking to trade a disgruntled star I think a package of Wiggins, Wiseman, Kuminga, and Moody would definitely be very intriguing. 

Draft Losers:

Oklahoma City Thunder (D+): Josh Giddey (#6), Tre Mann (#18), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (#32), Aaron Wiggins (#55)

Tanking away an entire season to end up with Josh Giddey is legitimately a fireable offense. I like Giddey but he was a major reach at #6 especially with prospects like Kuminga and Moody still on the board.  

One 
;l

Lakers? :)

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Draft Losers:

Oklahoma City Thunder (D+): Josh Giddey (#6), Tre Mann (#18), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (#32), Aaron Wiggins (#55)

Tanking away an entire season to end up with Josh Giddey is legitimately a fireable offense. I like Giddey but he was a major reach at #6 especially with prospects like Kuminga and Moody still on the board. I think Giddey will be a solid rotational piece but he's just another "guy" added to their group of "guys," they needed to take a swing and find a player with star potential to compliment SGA going forward and failed to do so. I like Tre Mann but this was another questionable pick for me. Mann's another guard that's at his best with the ball in his hands, has questionable length/athleticism, and doesn't really fit with their current roster construction. They needed a player with star potential but came away with two guards with negative height/wingspan ratios, that need to be on ball, who are questionable athletes, and will likely be negative's defensively. Robinson-Earl projects as a decent hustle guy/defender on the wing but again how does he fit with their current roster with guys like Poku, Bazley, and Williams already there? Aaron Wiggins was a solid pick for where he was taken and projects as a solid 3&D guy so can't hate on it too much that late in the draft. But Presti proves once again that all that draft capital means nothing if you can't use to acquire great players with it either via trade or by moving up in the draft.

Memphis Grizzles (D-): Ziaire Williams (#10), Santi Aldama (#30)

Not sure why Memphis gave up Jonas and took on two bad contracts to move up 7 spots in the draft if this was their plan. I like Ziaire but he was a reach at #10 and is one of the biggest boom/bust prospects in the draft. He could be Brandon Ingram in a couple of years or he could be Cam Reddish. I don't think he has much of an impact as rookie though and they got significantly worse trading away Jonas to add Adams/Bledsoe. Santi at #30 was one of the biggest WTF moments I have ever had watching the draft. Maybe he becomes a good player in the future but I don't think they had to get up as high as #30 to land him. He's another guy that's a project that likely won't contribute much as a rookie. I can't imagine Ja Morant and his camp are too happy with the moves the team has made after they just made the playoffs last season. 

San Antonio Spurs (F): Josh Primo (#12), Joe Wieskamp (#41)

I honestly think the translator got it wrong when Pop was communicating who he wanted the Spurs to draft at #12. Primo is probably one of the biggest reaches in the lottery that we've seen in the last decade. Primo was the youngest player in the draft but he was a role player at Alabama with an average physical profile and didn't really do anything in college that made you say, "wow this kid is going to be a great pro." Wieskamp at #41 was a solid pick as he'll almost definitely at least be a pretty good role player because of his size and ability to shoot the 3. The only positive with this draft haul for the Spurs is that it probably makes them one of the worst teams in the league next year. They just have to pray that Emoni reclassifies into the 2022 class so the Becky era can begin with drafting him #1 overall.

 

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9 minutes ago, seminoles1 said:

So? 2nd round picks are not worthless. They are very unlikely to become contributors, but they are becoming more impactful as the talent pool grows.

sure, i just think the expectation should be so low for those picks, especially for about #40 and below, it should never be part of your team building plan

they got tucker and connaughton knowing exactly what kind of players they would be, and they obviously did a tremendous job developing middleton, but there are only 2(?) other active 2nd round guys playing at that level so those are clearly the outliers

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1 hour ago, Tyronnosaurus said:

Jared Butler is the steal of the draft. My favorite player ever at Baylor.

He’s a plus shooter and defender and can attack. He’s clutch as hell and a big game player. Intangible wise I don’t know if there is a better person on this planet. Ask any Baylor fan. Utah got an absolute stud. To me he’s like George Hill.

 

I think the scouts missed on this ranking at 96 and 97

 

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Just now, Leader said:

Oh there ya go. A+
I'll take it 👍

Realistically though, even when other Lakers fans were bashing a potential move for the Brodie, I was in support of it. You guys had minimal assets to offer and while Westbrook has his flaws I think he's probably the best player you could've landed. I view this as a Dennis Rodman to Chicago or Ron Artest to the Lakers type of move, both guys had their flaws but they had that "thing" that helped get the team over the top. Adding some shooters around your big 3 will be key but Westbrook shot the 3 ball at the same clip as Schroder last year and was literally better at everything else. I think adding him also takes a ton of pressure off of LeBron as he's a guy that will suit up all 82 game and can take over games when LeBron wants to coast. Another key will be keeping him in check and stopping him from going chucker mode in the playoffs. But I think at this point in his career he understands that this is his last chance to ever win and he'll have that chance playing with two of the top 6 players in the world, back home in Los Angeles, and have a chance to hang a banner with the Lakers. 

With how Westbrook's career arc has gone, if he's able to help the Lakers get over the top it would be probably the best case scenario for him. He gets to play for his hometown team, remove the stigma that he can't win, and likely will get to do it against former teammates Kevin Durant and James Harden. 

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