2023 NBA Draft Prelude

[Betrayer]

Scary numbers for Brandon Miller. Also for Ausar, who apparently couldn't score at the rim against high school kids even though he has "elite athleticism." I've heard of 1, 2, and 3 level scorers, but is "Zero Level Scorer" a new term?

Mediocre numbers for Hendricks, who does struggle to score on non-dunks at the rim.

Great numbers for Whitmore and (surprisingly) Walker.

[casimir]

If they stay at 5, I think I’d prefer Whitmore.

But I think I’d prefer moving down and taking D*ck.  Part of that equation of course is what else they were to receive (and send depending upon the entirety of the deal) in exchange.

I think we’ll see a center moved, hopefully Bagley.  I don’t mind the original acquisition of him at the time.  I think it was worth an up front look to see if he could be a worthwhile part of the rotation.  But obviously Duren is the future in the paint.  And I think I prefer Wiseman over Bagley as a backup.  Wiseman might be the better trade value, so if he gets moved, I understand that in a vacuum.  Obviously any moves are dependent upon the whole of the transactions at play.

This much we do know for certain: Weaver ain’t afraid to make moves.  I don’t think it’s going out on a limb too far to imagine that he’ll make a deal directly related to the draft.  I don’t think they’re simply picking 5th and 31th and then heading into free agency,

[buddha]

whitmore should be the pick.

[Betrayer]

Really hope it's more smokescreen (or James talking out of his butt again), but JEIII saying that he's "getting the feeling" it'll be one of the twins or Jarace at #5.

[RandyMarsh]

I'd be OK with one of the twins just cause of their massive upside but I wouldn't take Black over Whitmore or Hendricks. 

[buddha]

it'll be jarace.  he's "tough."  

just like isaiah stewart.  undersized, undertalented, but tough.

[Shinzaki]

I want nothing to do with Jarace..not at 5 anyway.  

[1984Echoes]

2 hours ago, Betrayer said:

Really hope it's more smokescreen (or James talking out of his butt again), but JEIII saying that he's "getting the feeling" it'll be one of the twins or Jarace at #5.

Garbage.

Or at least I hope it's garbage.

Because I think it's garbage to not put 3 & D over and above those 3 guys.

And that means Miller-Hendricks-Whitmore, in any order you want them.

It's just GOTTA be some heavy, heavy smokescreen.

Please.

[RandyMarsh]

I think the major factor in what the Pistons will do is if they are just taking who they feel is the number 1 prospect on their board regardless of fit or if they are factoring in fit and needs. You can make an argument for either, yes the record was horrible but they do seemingly have 3 potential pieces so it's not like a terrible team with starting from scratch so maybe you should try to draft for guys that fit around those pieces.

OTOH you could argue that due to that horrible record the last few years that even though you have 3 potential pieces you shouldn't worry about fit and just draft who you feel is the most talented player and worry about fit down the road. 

If you go with the former it really doesn't make any sense to me to draft Jarace or Amen cause they don't fit nearly as well as say a Whitmore, Hendricks or even Ausar. If the Pistons mindset is the latter and feel that both are just better prospects and that's all that matters then ultimately you have to go with 1 of them.

[Betrayer]

Unfortunately, Jarace Walker doesn't tick the box for best fit or for best player.

As for fit vs best available - it's all about draft tiers. You take the guy in the highest draft tier who is the best fit.

Same thing Sam Vecenie does. That's why he has Houston taking Amen even though Whitmore is #3 on his board. He sees them as the same tier with Amen being a better fit in Houston. The reverse is true for Amen vs Whitmore on the Pistons because Amen is useless without the ball in his hands.

A player in the wrong situation will never reach their potential, so are they still "Best Available"? That's why draft tiers are so important.

[NYLion]

20 minutes ago, Betrayer said:

Unfortunately, Jarace Walker doesn't tick the box for best fit or for best player.

As for fit vs best available - it's all about draft tiers. You take the guy in the highest draft tier who is the best fit.

Same thing Sam Vecenie does. That's why he has Houston taking Amen even though Whitmore is #3 on his board. He sees them as the same tier with Amen being a better fit in Houston. The reverse is true for Amen vs Whitmore on the Pistons because Amen is useless without the ball in his hands.

A player in the wrong situation will never reach their potential, so are they still "Best Available"? That's why draft tiers are so important.

Who does outside of the top 3? The one argument can be for Amen but all the rankings (which are subjective anyway) vary wildly in the 2nd tier from 4-8 or 9 or so. It seems like a chunk of the Pistons fanbase think that Whitmore is BPA at 5 and that Walker is some reach but those two are pretty much in the same tier if you look at consensus rankings.

Also, is Whitmore a good fit? Do the Pistons need a ball dominant 3 who has arguably the lowest pass rate in the draft? He's not a catch and shoot guy either so it's not like he's a guy you can plant at the 3 point line and hit 3's right off of a Cade or Ivey pass.

I've said this before, Whitmore has the mentality of a star without the game to match currently. He has a lot of upside but he's a project right now and is the type of player that's going to drive the fanbase nuts with ball hogging and poor decisions with the ball. The moment they hired Monty Williams, I had a feeling that guys like Walker and Hendricks would be higher on their list and Whitmore lower because he preaches ball movement and quick decision making with the ball. I'd be surprised if Whitmore was their pick but...we'll see.

[buddha]

vecinie is only one guy, but he has whitmore in the tier above walker.

kevin pelton has whitmore at 3 and walker at 8.

Edited June 19, 2023 by buddha

[buddha]

espn (givony) has whitmore at 6 and walker at 7.

nba draft net has whitmore at 7 and walker at 13.

all over the map.  but i havent seen one map have walker over whitmore.  that said, i havent seen many, so there probably are some out there.

i think you swing for the fences at 5, and to me that's a player like whitmore and definitely NOT a player like walker.  

[NYLion]

Most of the rankings I've seen if you average it out have Whitmore, Ausar Thompson and Walker in that 5-7 range give or take a bit. There's a few that have those guys a bit higher or lower but that seems to be the range they're placed in for the most part.

I agree that Whitmore is a higher upside pick but I don't think he's the right fit and I think at this point in the Pistons development especially with the Monty Williams hire that they'll go for more of a plug and play player that fits more into their team concept. I don't see that as Whitmore.

[RandyMarsh]

IF Whitmore insists on dominating the ball like he did at Villanova than he wouldn't be the best fit but I think the hope is that playing with guys like Ivey and Cade who should be dominating the ball along with HOPEFULLY Monty and Co.'s coaching that he will realize that he doesn't have to do that. If that were to happen I think he would fit nicely with his explosiveness and shooting. 

[Deleterious]

 

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, RandyMarsh said:

IF Whitmore insists on dominating the ball like he did at Villanova than he wouldn't be the best fit but I think the hope is that playing with guys like Ivey and Cade who should be dominating the ball along with HOPEFULLY Monty and Co.'s coaching that he will realize that he doesn't have to do that. If that were to happen I think he would fit nicely with his explosiveness and shooting. 

yeah - if you could get them to play together, having mulitple good ball handlers on a team could be exhausting to play defense against. IF.

[Deleterious]

 

[casimir]

4 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

 

Ok, so trade back to get Whitmore and get another pick or some other fun thing for 5.

[Betrayer]

Welcome to the crazy week of smokescreens. 🙄

Thursday can't come soon enough.

[Deleterious]

Dodge the Whitmore bullet only to draft one of those guys?  

 

[buddha]

fwiw: hollinger has whitmore at 3 and walker at 12.  walker as a defender but doesnt see where his offense will come from; whitmore as an uber athletic wing who can shoot and defend which, according to hollinger is "the most valuable commodity in the sport right now."

i dont really trust hollinger, but that's where his head is at.

[buddha]

15 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

Dodge the Whitmore bullet only to draft one of those guys?  

 

hood schifino sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.  i'd rather have walker.

[Shinzaki]

I'd rather have the **** Man

 

If the Jazz want to move up...trade pick 5 for picks 9 and 28 (pick 16 is too rich, we'd have to add soemthing).  

Edited June 20, 2023 by Shinzaki

[Deleterious]

If I am trading back and taking a guard it would be Bufkin.  The only downside is Bufkin can't play PG while JHS can.