2023 NBA Draft Megathread

[Handlogten's Heros]

100% Also, you can do a million drills and prep for becoming a scorer in a gym apart from an in-game environment. I think that's actually the easiest skill to develop relative to passing, defense, and rebounding that all-but require a full game environment to develop.

I think its easier to build out a 3 and D guy and put more on their plate than it is to say take a guy like GG and make him a good defender. Lots of guys started as great defenders and developed into great offensive players. I'm struggling to think of many that went the other way... Like a guy like Melo who was awesome on offense and then turned into a defender. Maybe like Klay? I don't remember if he was ever bad on that end.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

He does have a good rep from some people but there is some variance there. You don't need stocks to be a good defender....but his are really low. I feel like you need to watch a ton of games to really form an opinion on it.

Yeah I only know what others have said. Haven't watched him in games hardly at all.

 

[KqWIN]

Oh, another thing they mentioned about GG to the Jazz is that they thought the Jazz would be a great place for GG to become the player that GG wants to be....which is terrifying to me. If he's going to make it in the NBA, it's not going to be by honing his awful go to scorer guy mentality. He completely sucked at it in college. He needs to scale down and improve a ton in other areas to have any chance at being an NBA player.

 

[The Midnight]

Oh, another thing they mentioned about GG to the Jazz is that they thought the Jazz would be a great place for GG to become the player that GG wants to be....which is terrifying to me. If he's going to make it in the NBA, it's not going to be by honing his awful go to scorer guy mentality. He completely sucked at it in college. He needs to scale down and improve a ton in other areas to have any chance at being an NBA player.

That's interesting and I tend to agree. I think most of what GG lacks Hardy can instill in him (defense, passing, team first, mental).

But not everyday you get 3 level scoring walking through the door.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Oh, another thing they mentioned about GG to the Jazz is that they thought the Jazz would be a great place for GG to become the player that GG wants to be....which is terrifying to me. If he's going to make it in the NBA, it's not going to be by honing his awful go to scorer guy mentality. He completely sucked at it in college. He needs to scale down and improve a ton in other areas to have any chance at being an NBA player.

I'm more bullish on GG than you are but you are correct in the broad strokes. I think the Jazz are a great landing spot for him, there honestly probably isn't a better one, but no way do I use the Jazz's first pick on that gamble. We have to get better odds at at least a solid rotational piece there.

 

[NUMBERICA]

That's interesting and I tend to agree. I think most of what GG lacks Hardy can instill in him (defense, passing, team first, mental).

But not everyday you get 3 level scoring walking through the door.

It's not really the 3 level scoring, it's that he's as quick as he is at his size and with his bag of iso moves. Some jaw-dropping ability in there, but I think he needs to basically be reconstructed from the ground up. Like, boot camp level psychological deconstruction.

I think the farther he falls the easier it is for him to buy into all of that, too, because he needs a reality check and some humble pie. That doesn't happen if he still ends up going top-10.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I get the feeling DA is more risk taking than DL..

I just think length and scoring. Locke mentioned on his latest podcast that DA likes scoring.

And at #9 if say Hendricks is gone, who’s he next best pure scorer?

I think GG could be the guy.

I could see GG at 9, but who is going to take him out of Dallas/OKC/New Orleans/Toronto/Atlanta between Utah's two picks?

I say go Gradey/Wallace at 9 and then take the higher upside scorer at 16 with Brice or GG.

 

[The Midnight]

It's not really the 3 level scoring, it's that he's as quick as he is at his size and with his bag of iso moves. Some jaw-dropping ability in there, but I think he needs to basically be reconstructed from the ground up. Like, boot camp level psychological deconstruction. I think the farther he falls the easier it is for him to buy into all of that, too, because he needs a reality check and some humble pie.

Yeah so you've said it, he's quick for his size, iso moves, knack for scoring, scorers mentality, some of those are hard if not impossible to teach, especially the physical stuff.

Maybe it's just me but I can see Ainge (and Hardy?) looking at those and salivating.

 

[The Midnight]

I could see GG at 9, but who is going to take him out of Dallas/OKC/New Orleans/Toronto/Atlanta between Utah's two picks?

I say go Gradey/Wallace at 9 and then take the higher upside scorer at 16 with Brice or GG.

I can see Dallas grabbing him, imagine Luka linking up with him in pick and rolls?

OKC - they could use another athletic wing.

NO not so much.

I can see TOR taking him.

Not to mention another team jumping in with a trade.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

FWIW I would prefer we didn't take GG at all. If he somehow falls to 28 and we took him there, then I would be excited on the upside. If we took him with 16 I wouldn't be excited, but trust that the front office knows what they are doing. If we took him with 9 I would be very unhappy.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I think we should find a way to trade up for Whitmore. I think he ends up going 4th or 5th in the draft so its going to be hard (assuming we don't move up). If he somehow slides a little further maybe it gets easier to move up... Just think he is being slept on and should have a pretty smooth development path. Definitely has some rough edges to smooth out but he can play as a 3 and D guy who cuts and drives off of closeouts early in his career and take on more from there. Hes so athletic and powerful and there is some skill there.

Hopefully he continues to get slept on but I think as the draft approaches he will leap frog Amen and some others.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I can see Dallas grabbing him, imagine Luka linking up with him in pick and rolls?

OKC - they could use another athletic wing.

NO not so much.

I can see TOR taking him.

Not to mention another team jumping in with a trade.

GG would want Luka setting picks for him though.