2024 NBA Draft Mega Thread

[HermanG]

I'm saying you gotta find out which is which. KOC comps are wild. I put almost zero stock in them personally. If the evaluation starts and ends with size you will miss opportunities. All I am saying here. If we had Donovan and passed on Maxey solely because of size well that would be a mistake.

I get that. I'm not nearly as invested in the draft as you all are so I dont know what comps are good and what arent. But as our top 3 most talented offensive players right now are probably Lauri, Sexton and Keyonte.... two of which are small guards who are bad defensively... I would rather not stack more of those guys.

Only situations where I would pick Dilly are:
1) He is CLEARLY the BPA when its our turn to pick
2) He falls and we trade up with our latter picks to get him on great value
3) We are pretty much 100% sure his ceiling is higher than that of Keyonte AND Sexton

Other than that.. draft a center, 3&D wing, frontcourt ballhandler, or a bigger guard/wing... literally anything else and we likely got a job opening for that guy as well as some complementary pieces.

 

[sip]

I get that. I'm not nearly as invested in the draft as you all are so I dont know what comps are good and what arent. But as our top 3 most talented offensive players right now are probably Lauri, Sexton and Keyonte.... two of which are small guards who are bad defensively... I would rather not stack more of those guys.

Only situations where I would pick Dilly are:
1) He is CLEARLY the BPA when its our turn to pick
2) He falls and we trade up with our latter picks to get him on great value
3) We are pretty much 100% sure his ceiling is higher than that of Keyonte AND Sexton

Other than that.. draft a center, 3&D wing, frontcourt ballhandler, or a bigger guard/wing... literally anything else and we likely got a job opening for that guy as well as some complementary pieces.

I think we are going around in a circle because I don't think anyone is suggesting that we draft Dilly if we don't think he is the clear best player available when we pick. If we view Dilly in the same group as some of these bigger wings then you definitely go with big wing over pg.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I get that. I'm not nearly as invested in the draft as you all are so I dont know what comps are good and what arent. But as our top 3 most talented offensive players right now are probably Lauri, Sexton and Keyonte.... two of which are small guards who are bad defensively... I would rather not stack more of those guys.

Only situations where I would pick Dilly are:
1) He is CLEARLY the BPA when its our turn to pick
2) He falls and we trade up with our latter picks to get him on great value
3) We are pretty much 100% sure his ceiling is higher than that of Keyonte AND Sexton

Other than that.. draft a center, 3&D wing, frontcourt ballhandler, or a bigger guard/wing... literally anything else and we likely got a job opening for that guy as well as some complementary pieces.

We are on the same page then. I'm just not really married to anything or anyone on this roster. Lauri obviously is deserving of being a foundational piece but if you don't have other obvious pieces then competing in the West in the near term is a tough proposition... so that makes him someone that could be moved depending on the direction we head.

I'm not clamoring for Dilly or Reed and honestly we should probably investigate a trade of some sort if one of them are the bpa at 8 (either trade up or move Sexton or Key or something) to simplify the choice a bit. I also wouldn't be above taking one of them and figuring it out if I didn't love the other options on the board.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Also my draft schtick is not taking weird cherry picked examples. My schtick is really bankable basketball stuff I think can make a player work. I also don't like multiple red flags. And all of this is dependent on where you are drafting the player. End of the first with multiple red flags... go ahead and draft that guy. No bankable skills at the end of the first but an upside case... go on ahead.

 

[sip]

We are on the same page then. I'm just not really married to anything or anyone on this roster. Lauri obviously is deserving of being a foundational piece but if you don't have other obvious pieces then competing in the West in the near term is a tough proposition... so that makes him someone that could be moved depending on the direction we head.

I'm not clamoring for Dilly or Reed and honestly we should probably investigate a trade of some sort if one of them are the bpa at 8 (either trade up or move Sexton or Key or something) to simplify the choice a bit. I also wouldn't be above taking one of them and figuring it out if I didn't love the other options on the board.

I'm in the exact same boat when it comes to not being married to anyone on the roster. I'm more married to Key than Lauri and Sexton since I really want to go full rebuild over the next few years. If we are going to move someone then Sexton makes the most sense since he clearly isn't a Hardy guy for some strange reason.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Man, listening to Andy Larsen on LockedonJazz, he is really the worst draft person I've ever heard.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

And the good news here is that if we land top 4 I think we might go Reed but doubt Dilly is on the table. Dilly should be gone by 8 or 9 so likely choosing one of the leftover wings. I think there are scenarios where Dilly falls past 8/9 if measurements come out really unfavorable.

 

[KqWIN]

If we are beholden to the guys we draft and can never ever make any moves besides drafting this “what do they do in the finals” might make sense. Well, it would make sense if that was true and it was also true that we were a contender.

We’re not putting the cherry on top of an NBA championship roster. We have like 1-2 guys that are for sure good players and it might be the best path forward to trade them anyways. This is the 8th pick in the draft. The guy who is the best asset is the guy who is going to make us closest to a championship. How a player matches up in theoretical NBA Finals =\= value as an asset.

 

[Elizah Huge]

And the good news here is that if we land top 4 I think we might go Reed but doubt Dilly is on the table. Dilly should be gone by 8 or 9 so likely choosing one of the leftover wings. I think there are scenarios where Dilly falls past 8/9 if measurements come out really unfavorable.

I think Dilly will end up being a top-5 pick after workouts. He has the best path to being a 25+ PPG scorer in the draft. That has to mean something.

 

[Elizah Huge]

Dilly isn’t making it to 8th and if he did we should run to the podium to take him.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I think Dilly will end up being a top-5 pick after workouts. He has the best path to being a 25+ PPG scorer in the draft. That has to mean something.

In this draft nothing will surprise me. I think in workouts guys that shine are guys that don't miss in open gym or that look good physically when up close and personal. I think Dilly and Reed both being small leaves them open to sliding on draft night and workouts might hurt more than they help. We already know they are great shooters. Personality also factors in and that seems like a plus for both guys.

Workouts could go either way for those guys. I want to see how the order plays out before I start guessing on who could fall. Its usually centers or pgs.

 

[sip]

Man, listening to Andy Larsen on LockedonJazz, he is really the worst draft person I've ever heard.

He already admitted that he didn't pay any attention to these prospects so not really surprising but definitely disappointing. If your job is about basketball you would think paying attention to the next group of nba players would be a priority. Unfortunately I think that is the case with the majority of these reporters.

 

[whatthe]

In a bad draft there are bad choices even for a good GM. Prepare yourselves. I want to trade out if we don't win the lottery and even if we win I would consider trading it for a reasonable 2025.

 

[sip]

I think Dilly will end up being a top-5 pick after workouts. He has the best path to being a 25+ PPG scorer in the draft. That has to mean something.

I have a hard time seeing him get past the spurs. He and Wemby could be one hell of a dynamic duo and if you are concerned about him defensively then Wemby is the exact type of guy you want covering his back.

 

[sip]

In a bad draft there are bad choices even for a good GM. Prepare yourselves. I want to trade out if we don't win the lottery and even if we win I would consider trading it for a reasonable 2025.

I love this draft. Not a star draft but high end role players everywhere.

 

[HermanG]

In a bad draft there are bad choices even for a good GM. Prepare yourselves. I want to trade out if we don't win the lottery and even if we win I would consider trading it for a reasonable 2025.

I think this is not a good option. Regardless of how bad the draft looks, developmental opportunities should not be overlooked. Last year we gave a lot of minutes to guys like Samanic and Yurt7. I would like to see better prospects using those minutes next year.

Or maybe big Kenny can just eat all of them.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

In a bad draft there are bad choices even for a good GM. Prepare yourselves. I want to trade out if we don't win the lottery and even if we win I would consider trading it for a reasonable 2025.

We are more likely to be on the other side of that equation if the price is right (it should be cheap to move around this draft... that doesn't happen often).

 

[KqWIN]

If Dilly/Shep fall to #8, I think there's a good chance fall into that territory of being much better prospects than everyone else available. I would have Holland is equalish prospects to them, but I know there are mixed thoughts about him. At #8, I'm taking the guy with best expected outcome period.

Also, as @Handlogten's Heros has been harping on....there are short kings everywhere in these playoffs. There's also a lot of guys who are not short kings who are not playing/played horribly. As simple as it is, the better players are finding their way on the court and making impact regardless of size. Shorter guys aren't unplayable, and taller guys aren't always playable. If a guy like Malik Monk was a free agent who magically be put on any team in the playoffs, he would find minutes and play a role.

I think it's fair to say that you ideally only want a maximum of one of these guys on the court at the same time, and that certainly has an effect on a player's value just as being a non-shooting big does. But unlike bigs, you can actually play two small guards in every situation that's not about competing for the championship. This may be bad news to some of yall, but we're not competing for a championship right now. You can play Keyonte and another small guard together and see if either actually becomes a stud. Can't really do the same for Kessler and Clingan.

I was the loudest one in the room saying that Conley-Mitchell was a problem, but at this current point it is not a problem you worry about. To this day, I will still say that the trade FOR Conley was a mistake despite how good Mike is/was....but we are not there anymore. If we found ourselves in a situation where we are worried about that, we have done a great job.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

I would be a bit surprised if Donovan Clingan actually gets drafted in the top 5 range. IMO, he's being elevated as *probably the safest 5 in the draft* and for his performance in the NCAA tournament. He's a fit for teams that want a traditional 5, but I'm not sure he's really versatile enough to be much more than a Jakob Poeltl in the NBA. Maybe that's good enough to get picked near the top this year, but I don't think NBA teams quite think that way. I wouldn't expect him to push someone else down to us. I might, however, think that Memphis could trade back with us if they think Clingan is their guy.

Jazz offer #8 + (?) to move up to #6. Jazz likely target a wing.

 

[underdog]

I think this is not a good option. Regardless of how bad the draft looks, developmental opportunities should not be overlooked. Last year we gave a lot of minutes to guys like Samanic and Yurt7. I would like to see better prospects using those minutes next year.

Or maybe big Kenny can just eat all of them.

This thought put a smile on my face. If Hungry Kenny learns to shoot 3s (even average), look out. I love this guy because he plays a team game, i.e. he is a willing passer and has a natural eye for playmaking.