Bleinburgh
2023 NBA Draft Megathread
- Thread starter Ferguson_Mellochill
- Start date
Hey, I appreciate what FM brings to the board. All of us have had our misses in player projection, God knows, but I really like how FM takes the effort to explain his reasoning, often in very detailed posts. I won't always agree, but at least with him I know where he's coming from and what he's prioritizing.
Yeah, a 6'10" guy with handles and shooting. He was a prospect starting in the late 30s of the 2nd round. He's been fine in Europe. He could have played in the NBA as well as most of those 2nd-rd prospects. That's not really a miss.
I also called out BJ Boston in the 2nd round of that draft as an alternative to Miye Oni. One is playing the league. The other isn't.
You really think he'll be gone by our 2nd pick? All the mock drafts I've seen have him going in the 20's, some in the late 20's.
Here are some of my hits though ---
2010: I thought Paul George had easy All Star potential and should have been our pick at #9.
2011: I didn't pay much attention to the draft and was fine with Kanter and Burks given the circumstances.
2012: We didn't have a pick.
2013: I thought Rudy Gobert would be better than Alex Len, who went #5. I supported trading up to #9 for Trey Burke, but otherwise liked Giannis at #14. I thought we'd draft Gobert at #21.
2014: I had doubts about Andrew Wiggins being an impact scorer because he could barely dribble. Thought Embiid would probably turn out to be the best player in the draft. I was okay with Exum for the Jazz. Exum could have been fine if he didn't get season-ending injuries like 3 years in a row.
2015: I said Kelly Oubre would be better than Justise Winslow and Stanley Johnson. That turned out to be true, but unfortunately I thought Hezonja should be better than all three of them. Didn't see Devin Booker coming, but I no longer doubt prospects who are productive in the NCAA at 18 years old.
2016: Bad draft. I would have taken a swing on Thon Maker or Skal Labissier at #12.
2017: Thought Bam Adebayo was a lottery prospect when DraftExpress had him in the mid-30s. I thought Donovan Mitchell would be able to create space and score off the dribble like CJ McCollum when a number of pundits were calling him an Avery Bradley-type defensive prospect. I didn't think Kyle Kuzma was all that special though, so that's one for Cy.
2018: I liked Anfernee Simons ahead of Grayson Allen. I also thought Gary Trent Jr. was the better guard prospect coming out of Duke. Both are $100 million players.
2019: I thought Darius Bazley was a good pick at #23 in that draft when others had him 10+ spots lower. Turned out he was picked at #23, but the pick went to OKC.
2020: I think half the board would have taken Jaden McDaniels in the late 1st instead of Udoka. I didn't see Bane coming.
2021: Jazz basically punted on this draft. I didn't believe in Ziaire Williams as a prospect out of Stanford. Lacked strength and athleticism. Now he's close to a bust.
2022: Thought Tari Eason and Jalen Duren were top-10 prospects. In a redraft a couple years from now, they probably will be. I liked Dalen Terry outside the top 15. Jury's out on him. Jazz never got a pick.
2023: I still like Victor, Scoot, Cam and at least one, if not both Thompsons ahead of Brandon Miller as NBA prospects because the Jazz need primary scoring options who can create off the dribble. I think Miller is fine as a complementary off-ball scorer. Another team that's risk-averse will take him early. I would still take GG in the top 10, and I think a team that has the time and resources to develop him will reach and grab him in the 10 - 15 range. If a team doesn't want to be bothered developing him, then he might fall to 20+ on their board. That's why he seems to be polarizing. However, I think the Jazz could make him a star. If the Jazz are drafting at like 10 and 15, I think they'd take Anthony Black and quite possibly GG with the Minny pick. Both GG and Taylor Hendricks are very likely on the Jazz's shortlist in the mid-1st. Cidy Cissoko might also be able to crash that party, but I'm not sure he's quite in that range. I could also see the Jazz go for Sensabaugh in the mid-1st.
2010: I thought Paul George had easy All Star potential and should have been our pick at #9.
2011: I didn't pay much attention to the draft and was fine with Kanter and Burks given the circumstances.
2012: We didn't have a pick.
2013: I thought Rudy Gobert would be better than Alex Len, who went #5. I supported trading up to #9 for Trey Burke, but otherwise liked Giannis at #14. I thought we'd draft Gobert at #21.
2014: I had doubts about Andrew Wiggins being an impact scorer because he could barely dribble. Thought Embiid would probably turn out to be the best player in the draft. I was okay with Exum for the Jazz. Exum could have been fine if he didn't get season-ending injuries like 3 years in a row.
2015: I said Kelly Oubre would be better than Justise Winslow and Stanley Johnson. That turned out to be true, but unfortunately I thought Hezonja should be better than all three of them. Didn't see Devin Booker coming, but I no longer doubt prospects who are productive in the NCAA at 18 years old.
2016: Bad draft. I would have taken a swing on Thon Maker or Skal Labissier at #12.
2017: Thought Bam Adebayo was a lottery prospect when DraftExpress had him in the mid-30s. I thought Donovan Mitchell would be able to create space and score off the dribble like CJ McCollum when a number of pundits were calling him an Avery Bradley-type defensive prospect. I didn't think Kyle Kuzma was all that special though, so that's one for Cy.
2018: I liked Anfernee Simons ahead of Grayson Allen. I also thought Gary Trent Jr. was the better guard prospect coming out of Duke. Both are $100 million players.
2019: I thought Darius Bazley was a good pick at #23 in that draft when others had him 10+ spots lower. Turned out he was picked at #23, but the pick went to OKC.
2020: I think half the board would have taken Jaden McDaniels in the late 1st instead of Udoka. I didn't see Bane coming.
2021: Jazz basically punted on this draft. I didn't believe in Ziaire Williams as a prospect out of Stanford. Lacked strength and athleticism. Now he's close to a bust.
2022: Thought Tari Eason and Jalen Duren were top-10 prospects. In a redraft a couple years from now, they probably will be. I liked Dalen Terry outside the top 15. Jury's out on him. Jazz never got a pick.
2023: I still like Victor, Scoot, Cam and at least one, if not both Thompsons ahead of Brandon Miller as NBA prospects because the Jazz need primary scoring options who can create off the dribble. I think Miller is fine as a complementary off-ball scorer. Another team that's risk-averse will take him early. I would still take GG in the top 10, and I think a team that has the time and resources to develop him will reach and grab him in the 10 - 15 range. If a team doesn't want to be bothered developing him, then he might fall to 20+ on their board. That's why he seems to be polarizing. However, I think the Jazz could make him a star. If the Jazz are drafting at like 10 and 15, I think they'd take Anthony Black and quite possibly GG with the Minny pick. Both GG and Taylor Hendricks are very likely on the Jazz's shortlist in the mid-1st. Cidy Cissoko might also be able to crash that party, but I'm not sure he's quite in that range. I could also see the Jazz go for Sensabaugh in the mid-1st.
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He's rising
Yeah I didn't think Grayson Allen would be good, he's since carved out a nice role for himself.
Ferg’s post made me go down a rabbit hole. I can’t believe how many people had a boner for Noah Vonleh in 2014.
Eddie Zero
Well-Known Member
He could go late first based on college production as could Tyler Kolek, but yeah probably slides to typical slept on upper classmen draft range in the late 30's.
We dont have a 2nd currently though. I might take Kolek late first though
I just cannot see us waiting until that late to get a playmaker either though unless you think we draft 2.
If it were me provided we address high upside starter hopeful prospects in the first,
I would lean towards trying to get a senior likely undrafted aka Kendrick Davis -Memphis or maybe if we picked up a late 2nd take a flier on somebody given bad advice to declare in this draft. I guess based on this seasons stat lines? but could go higher if they transferred to a bigger prog. , like Javon Small ECU. who has sneaky upside imo
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Eddie Zero
Well-Known Member
Bama going down today lol
Guilty
Going down on your mother maybe
Yeah….Jett Howard is listed at 6’8 215 lbs. ain’t no one comparing his physical attributes to Tatum and neither should anyone with Tatum. 3 wide open uncontested dunks aren’t really doing it.
And I’m sorry, it wasn’t Burks. It was actually a worse comparison in Jeremy Lamb lol. If you took the strengths and weaknesses of Lamb and Terry they are almost opposite.
For the record. Everyone has hits and misses. Draft is more random than we think. But I have no idea why you land on so many polar opposite comparisons haha. I liked Dalen Terry, but not because I thought his strengths are shooting/scoring which is the player that Jeremy Lamb is.
Eddie Zero
Well-Known Member
**** you smh. but yeah these are the moments when MIller can separate himself from the likes of Amen and maybe even Scoot as the 2nd best prospect in the draft. But will he I guess we shall see won't we
Eddie Zero
Well-Known Member
Jett is staying in school 9 out of 10. Needs to get stronger and with his father the coach in his corner, his odds of going top 10 in 24 are almost a given.
Eddie Zero
Well-Known Member
Eric Gaines UAB is interesting if he enters the draft and went from being a late 2nd to undrafted prospect to punching his combine ticket this week all based on one single monster slam doing his best JA Morant crushing it in the trees reaching well above the square at 6'1 -he must be an elite athlete or freakishly long, and his stats are not bad either . I bet he gets some looks mid 2nd as is, and can move up fast if his atheltic testing is Diallo level stuff
In terms of position, length, athleticism and defensive disruption, Jeremy Lamb was a fine comparison for Terry. Lamb was actually a flakey shooter coming out of UConn.
Here's a 2-minute reel of GG Jackson from this year. If you're still doubting his size/length, athleticism, body-control, ability to separate, ability to finish easily above the rim, etc., I'll just put you on ignore and save us both some time.
View: https://twitter.com/happypistonfan/status/1634965217477279748
Bawse Dawg
Well-Known Member
Uninformed take: I don’t like the way Jarace Walker moves on a basketball court.