2023 NBA Draft Megathread

[Handlogten's Heros]

My assumption is that Ainge will know exactly who he wants out of this draft, have a very good idea where that player will be drafted, and will be aggressive to get them. If he needs to move up to get them, he may not be able to, but I'm sure he will try.

I don't picture Ainge with a list of prospects in order of preference and crossing names off his board until it's our turn. We really have to nail this pick, and I don't picture Ainge leaving it up to chance. I think this draft will be a little different than what we have been used to in previous years.

I agree. I do think he has a list/board... but I think he has clear targets... unlike us where we see players in a tier as replacements for each other there are likely specific things and players he wants. We might see Cam and Ausar as equal talents but Ainge likely has a preference.

I don't think he's ever had more ammo and if other teams aren't sure what they want he may have a real opportunity to get the guys he wants.

 

[The Midnight]

For me the lottery is just too solid to have GG in there. He's a talented shot creator and finisher, but I dont see much else.

Welp, I guess we’ll see..

 

[KqWIN]

My assumption is that Ainge will know exactly who he wants out of this draft, have a very good idea where that player will be drafted, and will be aggressive to get them. If he needs to move up to get them, he may not be able to, but I'm sure he will try.

I don't picture Ainge with a list of prospects in order of preference and crossing names off his board until it's our turn. We really have to nail this pick, and I don't picture Ainge leaving it up to chance. I think this draft will be a little different than what we have been used to in previous years.

I agree that Ainge will zero in on a prospect or two, that's right up his alley. It's just hard for me to figure out who that is. I think there are some guys with Ainge written all over them, but they aren't quite in our range. We've all been talking about the huge grouping of guys that could be around where we draft....but not many stick out as the type of guy Ainge would fall in love with.

If I had to guess right now, I would guess he's high on the Thompson twins, Whitmore, and maybe George/Black.

Lower in the draft I think he'd be higher on Whitehead, GG, JHS, Amari Bailey, Dillion Mitchell, Julian Phillips, Clowney. High rated guys out of HS guys that look the part essentially.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I agree that Ainge will zero in on a prospect or two, that's right up his alley. It's just hard for me to figure out who that is. I think there are some guys with Ainge written all over them, but they aren't quite in our range. We've all been talking about the huge grouping of guys that could be around where we draft....but not many stick out as the type of guy Ainge would fall in love with.

If I had to guess right now, I would guess he's high on the Thompson twins, Whitmore, and maybe George/Black.

Lower in the draft I think he'd be higher on Whitehead, GG, JHS, Amari Bailey, Dillion Mitchell, Julian Phillips, Clowney. High rated guys out of HS guys that look the part essentially.

I think Whitmore is the only dude I'd say for sure is an Ainge guy. I think he is the guy Ainge targets first. All the positional size talk from TJ makes me think Black is a guy he'd target... I could also see him seeing a lot of Marcus Smart in Wallace.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Want to hear something sad about Danny AIgne?

He traded the rights to Desmond Bane to the Grizzlies for two second rounders.

 

[KqWIN]

I think Whitmore is the only dude I'd say for sure is an Ainge guy. I think he is the guy Ainge targets first. All the positional size talk from TJ makes me think Black is a guy he'd target... I could also see him seeing a lot of Marcus Smart in Wallace.

Cam Whitmore is for sure an Ainge guy. Thompson twins are a unique situation, but they were highly rated recruits and obviously look the part. He doesn't seem particularly scared about questionable shooting and/or underwhelming performance. I really wonder what Ainge and other people think of their production in OTE. It definitely makes me question a lot of things.

I think Ainge loves Marcus Smart and he did take him, but at the time it felt like he was sort of a default pick. Maybe he could have gone Randle or Vonleh. Having said that, Ainge also loves a scrappy guard. Smart, Rozier, and Pritchard are all like that. It's hard to know if he would prefer Wallace or Black because both guys sort of fit into an archetype he's leaned towards in the past.

 

[Bawse Dawg]

Want to hear something sad about Danny AIgne?

He traded the rights to Desmond Bane to the Grizzlies for two second rounders.

His later picks were usually pretty bad. His trades, and Tatum and Brown made people forget a lot of his other moves. He usually hit on the big stuff though.

 

[seattlejazzfan]

Seattle liked him pretty early on as well. He had a lot of momentum coming into the season after looking dominant at the FIBA U18s last summer. He's such an obvious Danny Ainge pick, you'd have to think that's who the Jazz are going after--either him or one of the Thompsons.

my relationship with whitmore has been up and down. he was the best player in basically every off season exhibition and tournament they played in and the U18s sealed the deal where he was the best player by a country mile. i would have taken him at #2 if i didn't have anything else to go by. then he missed the first few games this season with the thumb injury and was so sloppy with the ball after coming back. then he didn't really get better. continued to make a ton of mistakes, mostly with the ball (still quite good defensively and showed the ability to make shots, though not at a great clip. lately, i've come back around a tad, but i still worry a lot about his ability to make plays with the ball and not look like an idiot. but he's good and his potential is off the charts. there haven't been many guys like him in terms of explosive athleticism and sheer power/size/strength. there have been other big, athletic wings, like miles bridges, jaylen brown, etc - but imo, he has a chance to be a level above from a power standpoint - almost like a mini lebron in a way. i'd take him as high as 4, but i'd feel more comfortable around 6-8 range.

 

[seattlejazzfan]

Wouldnt be shocked to see GG return to school or maybe go to the Ignite. He seemed pretty emotional after the loss yesterday, not something I would expect out of someone on a crappy team who expected to be one and done.


This was a quote from GG after the game. If he returned to school with a less selfish attitude and show he can elevate his team, he could really raise his stock and be a top 10 pick next year.

bottom line, college basketball will humble these guys really fast. it's really hard for wings to dominate as scorers in college basketball. good to see GG show some humility.

 

[KqWIN]

His later picks were usually pretty bad. His trades, and Tatum and Brown made people forget a lot of his other moves. He usually hit on the big stuff though.

Meh.....People need to lower their expectations for lower picks, well all picks really. He's hit on a lot of later picks. His last three late round firsts have been Pritchard, Grant Williams, and Timelord. That's a fantastic run of picks. Had some stinkers with Nesmith and Langford, but that's also just the reality of the draft.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Want to hear something sad about Danny AIgne?

He traded the rights to Desmond Bane to the Grizzlies for two second rounders.

It was a salary dump doe... he also sent out $5M of Kanter to get under the tax. Not saying it was a smart/good move but the context is important.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I'm just not super interested in a #1 scoring option type if they dont have an all-around game. We got Lauri. He's our bucket getter. We dont really need another pure bucket getter, especially ones who are more isolation based. That's what draws me away from dudes like Whitmore/Jackson. We really need guys who can make others better on both ends.