2023 NBA Draft Megathread

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Length does not make one a big. If you are trying to play him at the 5 it takes away his best attributes to a large extent. Maybe he can develop into that down the road once his body matures out, but I don't think that's going to be his role during his rookie contract.

If he can play as a stretchy 4/5 with defensive versatility, that's appealing. That would be a player like Bobby Portis, for example. If he's a floor-spacing wing with limited creation, like Jerami Grant or Robert Covington, that's still appealing, but probably not a top-8 guy, imo.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

If he can play as a stretchy 4/5 with defensive versatility, that's appealing. That would be a player like Bobby Portis, for example. If he's a floor-spacing wing with limited creation, like Jerami Grant or Robert Covington, that's still appealing, but probably not a top-8 guy.

He isnt much like Portis though. Portis was tough, hard nosed and a guy who liked to mix it up in the paint and rebound. He also weighed 240+ lbs. Flip is much more of a comp for Portis than Hendricks is.

I do think he's closer to Grant/Covington. He's going to be a perimeter based guy. Maybe if he gets on the right team that has a more open paint (playing alongside a stretch 5) a team will be able to take advantage of his vertical rim pressure upside, but he isnt going to be a great playing in the paint at the NBA level early on.

Also, Filipowski has a much better looking shot. Hendricks shot better, but they were equal in FT%. If you take out an 8 game stretch for Hendricks where he was on fire from 3 (61%) he only shot 32% from 3 on the year.

 

[KqWIN]

The only clear gap I see is between what you know and what you think you know.

In his role? Yes! I literally ****ing watched it. When he made plays out of the pick and roll. Do I want him running pg? nope. He does not always struggle off script my friend... and the fact that he doesn't freelance is not a knock at all.. in fact it will help him long term stay on the court.

He will make his living all over the court. His two-way potential is what will make his living. The defense may end up being ahead of the offense... but I could see him being a great offensive player in the super John Collins type of role.

Huh? Because in a broken play he didn't just take a long two but stepped back and had the awareness to keep his feet behind the line but not go out of bounds. That is an instincts/feel play.

It's very funny that you rant about this one play, and then try to roast me for forming a definitive opinion "on a few missed shots". Like this one shot really matters, but how dare you care about these other shots haha.

The hooper gene, to me at least, is the shotmaking/shotcreating ability. If you don't think that's what hooper gene, whatever. Hooper gene is not a real thing, it is more or less what I use to describe the ability to shot make/ shot create. But please do not make up a version of it to disagree with. If you believe Hendo has shotmaking/shotcreating ability I would disagree. The most stereotypical hooper gene guy I can think of is CJ McCollum. Not every player is like CJ McCollum, you don't need to be like him, but he does have a very distinct skill and it's valuable. Hendo does not have this skill in my eyes. I really hope no one wants Hendo bc he does the things that CJ does on offense.

For me, feel for the game is the playmaking/ball handling version of this. Offensively I do not see this higher level playmaking that goes beyond just moving the ball in a normal way or much ball handling at all. Guys who have a good feel for the game offensively are players like Slomo and Ingles. These are guys you can really depend on and lean on their playmaking abilities. I do not see those characteristics from Hendricks. Once again, I do not care if you disagree with the definition of feel for the game. It is not a real term, it is just giving a name to skills that I do not think Hendricks has. If you want to say Hendricks has good feel for the game because defense is what = feel for the game, who really cares. Feel for the game is a made up term and what really matters is the skill he offers.

At the end of the day, I just don't see Hendricks as the player who you want to create for himself and others. Forget hooper gene and feel for the game if it hurts your feelings so much. I do not care to argue the semantics of these terms, and I especially do not care to argue for made up definitions from these terms that did not come from me. The skills I described are the weak points of Henricks as a prospect. This does not mean I hate Hendricks, I am simply describing what I see as his weakpoints. I love Robert Covington, I would never describe him as a guy who has the hooper gene or someone who has a great feel for the game on offense. It is possible to describe a player, flaws and all, and still appreciate the things he does well.

 

[whatthe]

It's very funny that you rant about this one play, and then try to roast me for forming a definitive opinion "on a few missed shots". Like this one shot really matters, but how dare you care about these other shots haha.

The hooper gene, to me at least, is the shotmaking/shotcreating ability. If you don't think that's what hooper gene, whatever. Hooper gene is not a real thing, it is more or less what I use to describe the ability to shot make/ shot create. But please do not make up a version of it to disagree with. If you believe Hendo has shotmaking/shotcreating ability I would disagree. The most stereotypical hooper gene guy I can think of is CJ McCollum. Not every player is like CJ McCollum, you don't need to be like him, but he does have a very distinct skill and it's valuable. Hendo does not have this skill in my eyes. I really hope no one wants Hendo bc he does the things that CJ does on offense.

For me, feel for the game is the playmaking/ball handling version of this. Offensively I do not see this higher level playmaking that goes beyond just moving the ball in a normal way or much ball handling at all. Guys who have a good feel for the game offensively are players like Slomo and Ingles. These are guys you can really depend on and lean on their playmaking abilities. I do not see those characteristics from Hendricks. Once again, I do not care if you disagree with the definition of feel for the game. It is not a real term, it is just giving a name to skills that I do not think Hendricks has. If you want to say Hendricks has good feel for the game because defense is what = feel for the game, who really cares. Feel for the game is a made up term and what really matters is the skill he offers.

At the end of the day, I just don't see Hendricks as the player who you want to create for himself and others. Forget hooper gene and feel for the game if it hurts your feelings so much. I do not care to argue the semantics of these terms, and I especially do not care to argue for made up definitions from these terms that did not come from me. The skills I described are the weak points of Henricks as a prospect. This does not mean I hate Hendricks, I am simply describing what I see as his weakpoints. I love Robert Covington, I would never describe him as a guy who has the hooper gene or someone who has a great feel for the game on offense. It is possible to describe a player, flaws and all, and still appreciate the things he does well.

Private workouts will be interesting. I would want to see if there is more there and if he can pick it up. Hand pads, balance tests and other voodoo.

Personally a lot these guys are going to flounder. Only Brandon Miller as freshman stood out and that trend might continue. The foreign guys just might perform better/sooner this year and the group think in the draft is deluding themselves.

In short, with two of the picks I want high floor guys that will at the same time fundamentally address the weakness of the team. Bench/Defense/point guard play - that's Hendricks and Wallace. And with the third I would then swing for the fences. I think the players near our range that a good percentage will bust and blow up so playing it is safe maybe the better move for this draft.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Also, another big mark against Hendricks if you are trying to project him as some big man hybrid...

The man does not make contact on screens. Every screen is a ghost screen. He is soft.

 

[NUMBERICA]

On defense he can switch a little, protect the rim, and may allow you to play 5 out with him and Lauri at the 4/5.

Playing Lauri at the 5 is what swung any question for me (in a big way) between Hendricks and anyone else in that tier.

 

[default]

There isn’t a 2024 Megathread yet so I will post this here. Caleb Love is transferring from North Carolina to Michigan. I still like him, but know he is not a future top 10 type draft pick.

https://www.si.com/college/2023/04/07/caleb-love-former-unc-guard-announces-transfer-michigan?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab&mibextid=l066kq

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

It's very funny that you rant about this one play, and then try to roast me for forming a definitive opinion "on a few missed shots". Like this one shot really matters, but how dare you care about these other shots haha.

Huh... again wasn't trying to roast you on one play... would you like me to go back and count em all? Was one notable play because I was watching it real time and was like "woah". He also had a game where he made like 3-4 good reads as a roll guy.

The hooper gene, to me at least, is the shotmaking/shotcreating ability. If you don't think that's what hooper gene, whatever. Hooper gene is not a real thing, it is more or less what I use to describe the ability to shot make/ shot create. But please do not make up a version of it to disagree with. If you believe Hendo has shotmaking/shotcreating ability I would disagree. The most stereotypical hooper gene guy I can think of is CJ McCollum. Not every player is like CJ McCollum, you don't need to be like him, but he does have a very distinct skill and it's valuable. Hendo does not have this skill in my eyes. I really hope no one wants Hendo bc he does the things that CJ does on offense.

I'm worried about Taylor's "hooper gene" like I'm worried about Keyonte's ability to protect the rim.

Shot making is just shot making... its not some nebulous hooper gene thing. You can see Taylor's shot making ability... he makes shots. Not worried. He may not be a self creator... that's fine. Lauri isn't either.

For me, feel for the game is the playmaking/ball handling version of this. Offensively I do not see this higher level playmaking that goes beyond just moving the ball in a normal way or much ball handling at all. Guys who have a good feel for the game offensively are players like Slomo and Ingles. These are guys you can really depend on and lean on their playmaking abilities. I do not see those characteristics from Hendricks. Once again, I do not care if you disagree with the definition of feel for the game. It is not a real term, it is just giving a name to skills that I do not think Hendricks has. If you want to say Hendricks has good feel for the game because defense is what = feel for the game, who really cares. Feel for the game is a made up term and what really matters is the skill he offers.

Passing and playmaking are one element of feel for the game. Feel for the game is pretty close to BBIQ... very few great defensive players lack feel or BBIQ. Unless they are just massive humans.

Feel, Instincts, BBIQ all pretty similar. In his role I see nothing that tells me he lacks these things... have seen indicators that he is at least okay with this stuff.

At the end of the day, I just don't see Hendricks as the player who you want to create for himself and others. Forget hooper gene and feel for the game if it hurts your feelings so much. I do not care to argue the semantics of these terms, and I especially do not care to argue for made up definitions from these terms that did not come from me. The skills I described are the weak points of Henricks as a prospect. This does not mean I hate Hendricks, I am simply describing what I see as his weakpoints. I love Robert Covington, I would never describe him as a guy who has the hooper gene or someone who has a great feel for the game on offense. It is possible to describe a player, flaws and all, and still appreciate the things he does well.

Self creation is a real issue and its a real thing. Does not hurt my feelings when you say something weird like "he doesn't have a hooper gene". I will go ahead and say its weird though.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Also, another big mark against Hendricks if you are trying to project him as some big man hybrid...

The man does not make contact on screens. Every screen is a ghost screen. He is soft.

Got it... Taylor is soft, his shot is broken, and he can't help his team win. Flip is a baller, dead eye shooter, he's a winner, and he's got that dawg in him...

Bruh been living off Kyle Kuzma too long.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is the matter of a perimeter player that can get their own shot and ideally can play the 3.

GG is likely the only player in this draft that could maybe do that one day and is on the board when the Jazz draft. That’s important because dudes that can do that basically never go on the market or found at the end of the draft (Jimmy Butler is the only one that comes to mind).

No way in hell I draft him with the first pick due to his warts and the opportunity cost, but if Wallace/Dick/Black are off the board with the Wolves pick (and the Jazz can’t trade up), I would not be upset with the big swing on GG there.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

He isnt much like Portis though. Portis was tough, hard nosed and a guy who liked to mix it up in the paint and rebound. He also weighed 240+ lbs. Flip is much more of a comp for Portis than Hendricks is.

I do think he's closer to Grant/Covington. He's going to be a perimeter based guy. Maybe if he gets on the right team that has a more open paint (playing alongside a stretch 5) a team will be able to take advantage of his vertical rim pressure upside, but he isnt going to be a great playing in the paint at the NBA level early on.

Also, Filipowski has a much better looking shot. Hendricks shot better, but they were equal in FT%. If you take out an 8 game stretch for Hendricks where he was on fire from 3 (61%) he only shot 32% from 3 on the year.

Jebus man... even after taking away a guys hottest stretch and cherry picking which 1/3 of the season you want to remove... he still shot better on more attempts than Flip.

Reddish has a prettier shot than Haliburton but you forgot what our Lord and Savior Rasheed Wallace taught us... "Ball don't LIE!!!!"

 

[whatthe]

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is the matter of a perimeter player that can get their own shot and ideally can play the 3.

GG is likely the only player in this draft that could maybe do that one day and is on the board when the Jazz draft. That’s important because dudes that can do that basically never go on the market or found at the end of the draft (Jimmy Butler is the only one that comes to mind).

No way in hell I draft him with the first pick due to his warts and the opportunity cost, but if Wallace/Dick/Black are off the board with the Wolves pick (and the Jazz can’t trade up), I would not be upset with the big swing on GG there.

Ding ding ding! 100 Percent...go conservative with first two picks and still get a transcendent talent.