2023 NBA Draft Prelude

[Betrayer]

Good draft to use Bojan and "stuff" to get a another pick in the second half of the first round. Someone is going to slip out of the top half and if you want to improve from a bottom 5 defense you can't have him as a starting wing on this team. He won't be here when it's time to compete anyway, so get something for him while he's coming off of his best season as a pro.

[NYLion]

Looking like top 5 is locking in at this point so who is the 5 for you guys. I'm having a hard time after the top 3 (I still have Miller at 3 reluctantly after that abomination of a showing in the tournament).

4 and 5 I'm leaning towards Walker and one of the Thompsons (Ausar seems like a better fit) because of their plus plus athleticism and defensive ability. Same reason I like Walker, Pistons really need a lockdown defender on wing that can shoot ideally. Whitmore and Hendricks are in consideration. Not really interested in anybody else so it's one of those 8 for me.

[Deleterious]

Victor and Scoot are top two.  Amen Thompson, Taylor Hendricks, and Ausar Thompson round out my top 5.  Then Miller, Anthony Black, Cason Wallace, and Gradey Dick. No interest in Whitmore or Walker.

I stay if I land in the top 2.  Very tempted to stay at #3 and take Amen.  Anything else and I try like heck to move back.  Get some assets plus Wallace or Dick.  Wallace is a bit of a wild card to me.  You hope he is the next Kentucky guard to have a better pro career than college (Fox, Booker, Herro, Maxey, Quickley).  

Someone to watch out for as a last minute riser, Leonard Miller.  Watched a lot of him while watching Scoot and I wouldn't be shocked if he ends up in the 10-15 range.

[Deleterious]

Serious lack of prospects that played overseas this draft not named Victor.  

[Betrayer]

My super early take that I reserve the right to change before the draft:

My top 5 are:

1 - Victor - You have to take him, but I have Kristaps concerns.
2 - Miller - Character concerns, but hard to pass up the all around package.
3 - Hendricks - Athletic PF that can shoot? Yes please.
4 - Amen - He may never learn to shoot, but he'll be a plus defender, athlete, and wing slasher/creator.
5 - Ausar - On the fence here, but Ausar is a good placeholder until I do more research.

I left Scoot out because if Victor's gone and Scoot's still on the board, I'm trading back a couple of spots for more assets. The "highlight" film I've watched on Scoot doesn't impress me. Getting to the bucket in G-League isn't tough (just as G-League MVP Saben Lee), he's too small, and can't shoot. Also, his assist to turnover isn't great either. I don't draft for fit on a bad team, but if I don't see the guy as head and shoulders above the ones behind him, then I don't need another lead guard on this team. Move back, get assets, and get the wing you need. I'll roll the dice on missing out on Scoot the Superstar, because I just don't see it.

[Deleterious]

Can any Michigan fans tell me about Bufkin?

[Deleterious]

OK, I knew Brandon Miller sucked at creating for himself but now that there are numbers it is even worse than I thought.

FG% on layups in halfcourt - 38%

Total finishing at the rim in halfcourt he shot 33-84 for 39%.

Those are just brutal numbers for a guy expected to go top 5.

Scoot wasn't exactly good either.  His numbers:

FG% on  layups in halfcourt - 56%

Total finishing at the rim in  halfcourt he shot 59-104 for 56%.

[Deleterious]

Starting to seriously question why I have Miller over Dick.  Dick's numbers:

Halfcourt at the rim - 55%

Total finishing at the rim - 43-82 for 52%

So Dick attempted only 2 less layups than Miller but finished at a much higher percent.

 

[Deleterious]

The numbers for everyone.

 

[Deleterious]

Who the hell gets a putback dunk off of his own missed step back three?  

 

[Betrayer]

2 hours ago, Deleterious said:

The numbers for everyone.

 

Victor's numbers are really looking good 😄

[casimir]

1 hour ago, Deleterious said:

Who the hell gets a putback dunk off of his own missed step back three?  

 

That wasn’t against the Pistons?

[casimir]

Maybe the Pistons should draft Caitlin Clark in the 2nd round for her outside shooting?

[casimir]

17 minutes ago, casimir said:

Maybe the Pistons should draft Caitlin Clark in the 2nd round for her outside shooting?

If Clark isn’t available, maybe Jasmine Carson.

[Deleterious]

Pistons clinched the worst record in the league.

We're #30!  We're #30!  We're #30!

[casimir]

6 hours ago, Deleterious said:

Pistons clinched the worst record in the league.

We're #30!  We're #30!  We're #30!

Nice work everybody.  We should be proud of ourselves.

[Deleterious]

It required a lot of big men.  A lot of drafting guys who play zero defense, can't shoot, and generally do not belong on an NBA court.  But we did it.

[buddha]

if it get thems victor, its all been worth it.  if not, the misery will continue.

[RandyMarsh]

Speaking of Victor has there been any concerns about him from scouts or is he still seen as the best prospect since Lebron?

Just curious cause usually even the best prospects start to get prospect fatigue or whatever you want to call it, basically the longer you go as the number 1 guy the more people magnify your game or try to find holes in it. Wiggins, Simmons and to some extent Zion come to mind in regards to this. 

[Hongbit]

5 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

Speaking of Victor has there been any concerns about him from scouts or is he still seen as the best prospect since Lebron?

Just curious cause usually even the best prospects start to get prospect fatigue or whatever you want to call it, basically the longer you go as the number 1 guy the more people magnify your game or try to find holes in it. Wiggins, Simmons and to some extent Zion come to mind in regards to this. 

I think he’s a better prospect than LeBron. 

[buddha]

1 hour ago, RandyMarsh said:

Speaking of Victor has there been any concerns about him from scouts or is he still seen as the best prospect since Lebron?

Just curious cause usually even the best prospects start to get prospect fatigue or whatever you want to call it, basically the longer you go as the number 1 guy the more people magnify your game or try to find holes in it. Wiggins, Simmons and to some extent Zion come to mind in regards to this. 

long term health.  he's very tall and the wear and tear on those guys for a long nba season can be very high.

[Deleterious]

1 hour ago, RandyMarsh said:

Speaking of Victor has there been any concerns about him from scouts or is he still seen as the best prospect since Lebron?

Just curious cause usually even the best prospects start to get prospect fatigue or whatever you want to call it, basically the longer you go as the number 1 guy the more people magnify your game or try to find holes in it. Wiggins, Simmons and to some extent Zion come to mind in regards to this. 

It helps he isn't on ESPN twice a week.  But the doubters will come once the season is over and the lottery is set.  It will mostly be hacks just looking for clicks though.  

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, RandyMarsh said:

and to some extent Zion come to mind in regards to this. 

There were some folks that expressed injury concern about Zion because of his build and movement - good call in retrospect.

[Deleterious]

Fun fact.  Marvin Bagley was the #1 ranked high school player in Zion's class until he reclassified.  

[buddha]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

There were some folks that expressed injury concern about Zion because of his build and movement - good call in retrospect.

the injury concerns for zion were because his own personal chef is burger king.