2023 NBA Draft Discussion Thread

[BStanRamFan]

3 minutes ago, Texansfan713 said:

Rockets already said they werent trading him.   The vets will be added via free agency. 

 

https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2023/06/21/with-cap-space-at-premium-rockets-may-be-exploring-options-to-trade-away-veterans/

 

 

[Texansfan713]

Draft winners minus the Spurs since they clearly won the draft getting a generational prospect.

 

Houston Rockets

-Amen Thompson was a no brainer at pick 4.  Getting Cam Whitmore at 20 was a freaking steal.  You should have seen my reaction when the pick was made at the Rockets draft party.  

 

Portland Trailblazers

- Scoot was easily the 2nd best prospect to me.  He is the best PG prospect I have scouted since Derrek Rose.  I'm not the biggest Kris Murray fan, but he was a solid pick for them given where he was selected.  Rayan Rupert was a steal in round 2.  I had a first round grade on him.

 

Utah Jazz

- I am a Taylor Hendricks fan.  Even as a die hard University of Houston fan I prefer him over Jarace Walker.  He is going to be a legit 3 and D forward who will fit perfectly with their big men.  They turnaround and took Keyonte George, who around this time last year was projected to be a top 10 pick.  Despite his underwhelming freshman season, he still projects as a bucket getter.  Best case scenario is he becomes post injury Eric Gordon.  Thats a good comparison for him. Brice Sensabaugh was a steal at 28.  I personally thought he would be gone 10 spots before that.  His main issue is defense but he can shoot the ball really good.

 

Hornets

-  Quantity is everything for them.  I personally wouldnt have gone Brandon Miller at 2 but I'm still a fan of him as a prospect.  Earlier in this thread last year I made a post as Miller being a guy to watch shoot up draft boards. That was before he played a single minute in college.  Even though he had an underwhelming freshman year at Arkansas mostly due to injuries Nick Smith might be a steal late round 1.  I like the fit because he can play on and off the ball next to Lamelo.  Getting James Nnaji at the top of round 2 was nice value.  He is raw at the moment but he has potential to be a solid role player if everthing comes together for him. Amari Bailey was solid value at pick 41. In round 2, teams usually throw darts hoping they can hit on a selection.  I have a feeling Bailey will be one of the best players taken round 2 this year.  He probably wont be getting a decent amount of minutes for the Hornets as a rookie but later down the line I can see him contributing either on the Hornets or another team. 

 

 

Losers

 

Orlando Magic

-I dont know what the Magic were thinking.  Definitely didn't expect them to take Anthony Black at 6.  I wonder if it was a panic move by them when Ausar Thompson went a pick right before them.  They turned around and took Jett Howard at 11 which was a reach. 

 

Washington Wizards

-They reached for Coulibaly in the trade for the Pacers.  I know he had a lottery promise but I thought it was more in the 12-14th pick range.  Not pick 7.  

 

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by Texansfan713

[Texansfan713]

41 minutes ago, BStanRamFan said:

 

 

You are comparing a potential star to Jordan Poole? LOL

[BStanRamFan]

1 hour ago, Texansfan713 said:

You are comparing a potential star to Jordan Poole? LOL

No.

I'm saying don't believe everything you read or hear. 

[Kampfgeist]

4 hours ago, Texansfan713 said:

Hornets

-  Quantity is everything for them.  I personally wouldnt have gone Brandon Miller at 2 but I'm still a fan of him as a prospect.  Earlier in this thread last year I made a post as Miller being a guy to watch shoot up draft boards. That was before he played a single minute in college.  Even though he had an underwhelming freshman year at Arkansas mostly due to injuries Nick Smith might be a steal late round 1.  I like the fit because he can play on and off the ball next to Lamelo.  Getting James Nnaji at the top of round 2 was nice value.  He is raw at the moment but he has potential to be a solid role player if everthing comes together for him. Amari Bailey was solid value at pick 41. In round 2, teams usually throw darts hoping they can hit on a selection.  I have a feeling Bailey will be one of the best players taken round 2 this year.  He probably wont be getting a decent amount of minutes for the Hornets as a rookie but later down the line I can see him contributing either on the Hornets or another team. 

 

Miller was my #3 prospect behind the obvious 2.   I absolutely preferred Scoot as at least on the offensive side he's a perfect fit with Melo and given Melo's injuries, he would have been great insurance.   And if we aren't making the Playoffs lets be super exciting not getting there.     However I truly saw Miller as 2b.  Those three were in a clear tier ahead of anyone else.   Miller is going to play the 2-4 over time and we desperately need dudes that can make buckets.   We have guys that can shoot but I only feel comfortable with Melo and now Miller actually making them.   Melo, Miller, Bridges and Mark Williams is a VERY solid core to build around

Nick Smith headlined my "please don't draft list" but at #27 he's worth the flyer.   I preferred others like Leonard Miller, Cidy Cissoko, Jordan Walsh but not banging the table for any of those dudes over Nick's potential either.   Nick just seems like a third swing at the Combo/SG like Malik Monk or James Bouknight but I thought more highly of those two coming out than Nick.

Nnaji is a tough one.   I see the potential and he's an obvious draft n stash.  He's not coming over to even our GLeague for a couple seasons.   Tough part is he's a C that can't play beyond 5' from the basket and made 44% of his FTs last year.  He attempted 2 jump shots last year!  We have Williams, Richards and Kai Jones already - not sure how many big, non-shooting C's we need --- they're not exactly the poster children for the NBA shooting bigs that are the trend these days.

Bailey's a good pick at #41.   He was everything in the NCAA Tourney that Miller was not.   Again would have preferred someone like Cissoko but he's got a lot of promise as a combo/3rd PG a couple years out.   

[showtime]

Mavs had a great night too.

[BetterCallSaul]

11 hours ago, Texansfan713 said:

Definitely didn't expect them to take Anthony Black at 6.

Really??? He was being mocked there consistently and is a great fit with what they already have in place. I liked that pick…hated Jett Howard. 

[Texansfan713]

1 hour ago, BetterCallSaul said:

Really??? He was being mocked there consistently and is a great fit with what they already have in place. I liked that pick…hated Jett Howard. 

I had him mocked mostly to Washington at pick 8 as his ceiling.  I thought Ausar Thompson or Taylor Hendricks for sure would have been the pick for them.

[11sanchez11]

 

[agarcia34]

I think offensively Podziemski is a natural fit. Maybe the best fit for him to succeed in the NBA. Just don’t know how he will defend. If they can mask his defensive liabilities he’s gonna be a knock down shooter that will get a lot of looks with the second unit 

Edited June 25, 2023 by agarcia34

[Kingram]

Im not going to lie, Whitmore falling is a huge red flag. How often do those guys actually work out?

[Kingram]

On 6/23/2023 at 8:25 AM, Texansfan713 said:

If anyone is up for the challenge it's Udoka.  It definitely will be interesting.  

 

 

There is a lot of loud whispers that Will Hardy was behind Bostons Xs and Os and that Ime was more of a "manager".

[Texansfan713]

23 hours ago, Kingram said:

Im not going to lie, Whitmore falling is a huge red flag. How often do those guys actually work out?

Only one I can remember recently is Michael Porter Jr.  Whitmore falling to 20 is a risk you take 10x out of 10.  Honestly he shouldnt even fallen to 20.  It's still amazing how he ended up a Rocket. It was a rumor the Pacers tried trading up to take him with their other 1st round pick. 

[Kingram]

1 hour ago, Texansfan713 said:

Only one I can remember recently is Michael Porter Jr.  Whitmore falling to 20 is a risk you take 10x out of 10.  Honestly he shouldnt even fallen to 20.  It's still amazing how he ended up a Rocket. It was a rumor the Pacers tried trading up to take him with their other 1st round pick. 

Perry Jones, Fab Melo, Royce White, Jared Sullinger, Harry Giles, Shabazz Muhammed.

Every year a lottery “lock” plummets and some team gets called geniuses and then the player sucks. 

[OkeyDoke21]

9 hours ago, Kingram said:

Perry Jones, Fab Melo, Royce White, Jared Sullinger, Harry Giles, Shabazz Muhammed.

Every year a lottery “lock” plummets and some team gets called geniuses and then the player sucks. 

I fall for those guys every time.  Skal Labissière.  I wouldn't say Sullinger was bad though.  He was decent value for where he went, just didn't last long.  Morris Peterson and Quentin Richardson are some older guys that fell like that and worked out, off the top of my head.  Jamaal Tinsley and Jameer Nelson put together some nice years.  Zach Randolph.  Paul Pierce and Caron Butler both had falls that received a lot of coverage at the time, that I can remember, albeit not a complete "free fall."  More in the Justise Winslow category.  It's definitely not as common as the majority (myself included) seem to feel, though.  Guys seem to fall like that for good reason, more often than not.