2023 NBA Draft Megathread

[fishonjazz]

I think the way Luka plays it will be hard to win a title. He’s super duper high level… but he needs to embrace a more team oriented style and he’s yet to do it.

Doesn't he get like hella assists? Every time I watch dallas play he certainly has the ball a lot but he also makes lots of great passes to open teammates (due to him getting doubled all the time) who frequently miss the open shot. He seems to be a very very willing passer to me. I rarely see him force a shot when he is doubled and has an open teammate available. I think he is much more team oriented than say a player like jordan clarkson.

 

[default]

Another interesting question might be if we get a top 4 pick would we trade it for the 2 top 10 picks Orlando will have? Of course it will depend on what the actual pick number would be, but theoretically if ours was 3 or 4, we might be able to trade it for 5 AND 8.

 

[sip]

It would be really hard to pass up on a Luka for Wemby trade. I do have concerns with how ball dominant Luka is but the odds of Wemby being a better player than Luka are probably pretty low. Luka is already on his way to being an all time great from a production standpoint. You have to win though to get into that top 10 to 20 of all time but he is also still only 24 so he has plenty of time to get there.

 

[sip]

Doesn't he get like hella assists? Every time I watch dallas play he certainly has the ball a lot but he also makes lots of great passes to open teammates (due to him getting doubled all the time) who frequently miss the open shot. He seems to be a very very willing passer to me. I rarely see him force a shot when he is doubled and has an open teammate available. I think he is much more team oriented than say a player like jordan clarkson.

He is a very good passer but for a lot of players they need to have the opportunity to dribble and create for themselves and others to really get going and Luka can by so ball dominant at times that he takes most of the clock and his teammates never really get into a rhythm.

 

[Bawse Dawg]

Idk how the retaining part factors in because retaining Luka would be harder, but yeah a bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

That's a big ****ing ostrich in that bush though.

 

[fishonjazz]

He is a very good passer but for a lot of players they need to have the opportunity to dribble and create for themselves and others to really get going and Luka can by so ball dominant at times that he takes most of the clock and his teammates never really get into a rhythm.

Thats true but I also feel like its what most all star players do. Ja morant, giannis, durant, booker, kobe, lebron, donovan, lillard, embiid, tatum, etc. Seems like most teams put the ball in their best players hands a ton.
I think what you dont want is a ball dominant player who takes bad shots or is inefficient. A guy like trae young. Monta ellis.

To me luka is ball dominant but he is efficient and takes good shots and is a willing passer. Not a problem imo.

Luka is averaging 33 points per game on 50% shooting from the field. 8.6 rebounds and 8 assists. A 23 year old putting up those numbers is probably literally unprecedented (haven't looked to see if anyone that age has had those numbers but I doubt it) Seems like he rarely misses games too. Im sure his defense is bad though.

 

[Elizah Huge]

Wemby. and this question will sound so ****ing funny in five years that it’ll be unbelievable.

You realize how good Wemby would have to be to make it sound hilarious in five years?

 

[Elizah Huge]

As great as Luka is, I would definitely take Wemby. He's the best prospect since LeBron, and he has a chance to be one of the best players of all time.

He has a chance to be meanwhile Luka is already on track to be.

 

[fishonjazz]

You realize how good Wemby would have to be to make it sound hilarious in five years?

Also I was thinking about busts the other day........ Seems like the player who fits the profile most is a tall player from another country.
Anthony bennet, andrea bargnani, nikoloz tskitishvili, Jan Vessley, hasheem thabeet, enes kanter, darko millicic.
Then you have lots of other bigs from america next up. Olawakandi, oden, kwame brown, bradley etc.

I get the hype of Wemby and would love to draft him number 1 in this draft but he isn't a sure thing. Luka is a sure thing.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I don't agree with this at all. I think if you paired Luka with someone as good as Lauri, that would be a championship contender.

They’d be a contender but I think there will always be issues with Lukas brand of extreme heliocentric offense at the highest levels. He will run out of gas… won’t have enough on defense when he’s targeted every time down the floor in the playoffs… he needs to be in shape and embrace more team centered basketball… he needs to have some value when others have the ball. When all the traffic runs through one highway what happens when someone figures out a way to gum up that highway?

I just think some folks would think the bird in hand is “we will win a title with Luka and Lauri”. We might… but we’d have like 2-3 cracks at it before he bails… and I think we’ve seen it with other guys… sometimes those extrem heliocentric offenses have their limits… and I’m not sure he can play another way… you also don’t know that Lauri can be what he is next to a guy doing that… give me 7-9 years of Wemby. I’ll take the bush.

 

[fishonjazz]

I also wonder if he had a better supporting cast if he would be running things a bit less. Maybe he is so ball dominant because who the **** else is going to be?

Im curious if his usage has went down since the kyrie trade.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I think the way Luka plays it will be hard to win a title. He’s super duper high level… but he needs to embrace a more team oriented style and he’s yet to do it.

He's had no one

 

[Elizah Huge]

Markkanen/Kessler/Agbaji is a tailored made supporting cast around Luka.

 

[jom2003]

He is a very good passer but for a lot of players they need to have the opportunity to dribble and create for themselves and others to really get going and Luka can by so ball dominant at times that he takes most of the clock and his teammates never really get into a rhythm.

Exactly. People think it'd be easy to be luka/jokic’s teammates cuz he always gets them open looks but the thing is his teammates rarely get enough touches while spending so much energy on the other end of the floor to cover his defensive lapses.

I mean elite 3D wings are the most coveted assets in the league for a reason. Most guys come into the league as the stars of their teams and would take years to adjust to the role of catch and shoot specialists. And most so-called shooters in college couldn't even get their shots off in the NBA.

For that reason, I'd build the team around Giannis/Kawhi/Tatum/Embiid/KD over Harden/Jokic/Luka/Westbrick/Trae all day cuz the latter needs the ball in his hand like 99% of the time and would be a burden/liability to his teammates otherwise.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I don't agree with this at all. I think if you paired Luka with someone as good as Lauri, that would be a championship contender.

And Walker

 

[Bawse Dawg]

The flip side of the bird in hand argument is that we have no idea what Wemby will be. All we know is he has the talent and size to be all time great, and essentially peerless. Imagine trading him and then having to watch him realize his full potential.

Yes, we know what Luka is, and he's incredible. But I'm less convinced we are guaranteed to win rings with him on this team. I also find his style of play to be boring, and his attitude, ref whining and such, to be annoying. My enjoyment watching the team isn't the main factor. But I definitely consider it. I wanna watch the 7'5" freak of nature on my team.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Markkanen/Kessler/Agbaji is a tailored made supporting cast around Luka.

Plus you could trade for another star

 

[NUMBERICA]

The flip side of the bird in hand argument is that we have no idea what Wemby will be. All we know is he has the talent and size to be all time great, and essentially peerless. Imagine trading him and then having to watch him realize his full potential.

Yes, we know what Luka is, and he's incredible. But I'm less convinced we are guaranteed to win rings with him on this team. I also find his style of play to be boring, and his attitude, ref whining and such, to be annoying. My enjoyment watching the team isn't the main factor. But I definitely consider it. I wanna watch the 7'5" freak of nature on my team.

And for all the ways that Luka is incredible, he’s a really, really bad on defense. Wemby at his floor will get every jumper he wants and crazy rim-deterrence.

And having Wemby on a rookie-scale deal means you can theoretically have him and another max player in addition (maybe even Luka if you plan it right).

 

[fishonjazz]

I mean elite 3D wings are the most coveted assets in the league for a reason

I disagree. I think most teams would rather have durant, giannis, luka, steph, than royce oneal.
I also think that the number 1 pick in this draft wont be a 3 and D player. In fact i doubt any of the top 5 will be a 3 and D player.

Primary scorers are the most coveted asset in the league.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Plus you could trade for another star

That actually applies less to the Luka argument than it does the Wemby argument because of the cap implications.