2022 NBA Draft thread

[MillionDollarCam]

1 minute ago, Daddy_Uncle said:

So we dont want too many rookies so we trade a great pick for a bunch of seconds. Then we trade some of those seconds for the #40 pick. So instead of having a number #13 and #15 we have a #15 abd #40. Anyone wanna tell Kupcheck that it works out the same and he looks like a dumbass?

They are probably in the draft room giggling about how much money they saved giving away the 13th pick.

[Butterflyj30]

Are we keeping this pick

 

[Daddy_Uncle]

Just now, Butterflyj30 said:

Are we keeping this pick

 

No

[Butterflyj30]

2 minutes ago, Daddy_Uncle said:

No

What he's traded already

[Jackie Lee]

3 minutes ago, Daddy_Uncle said:

No

There goes one of those 2nd's already! 

[amcoolio]

Duren sucks. He has low BBIQ and will struggle to play winning basketball like James Wiseman. Mark Williams was the correct pick. He's a smart player with insane measurables who played on a stacked Duke team so he was underused.

 

The 13 trade was horrible though. We should have gotten a lot more, or just take Eason.

[amcoolio]

For the record I said all of this on RealGM weeks ago, before tonight, if you want to go look for it

Duren struggled against athletic teams and constantly got lost on screens. He's also a dreadful shooter. He's a poor man's Drummond, which doesn't fit in today's NBA.

I was very high on Williams and Tari Eason, and we had an opportunity to take both. Hopefully Denver struggles next season and they barely make the playoffs. The 2023 draft is a lot better according to draft experts, one of the best in a long time

[Daddy_Uncle]

3 minutes ago, amcoolio said:

Duren sucks. He has low BBIQ and will struggle to play winning basketball like James Wiseman. Mark Williams was the correct pick. He's a smart player with insane measurables who played on a stacked Duke team so he was underused.

 

The 13 trade was horrible though. We should have gotten a lot more, or just take Eason.

Yeah I'm not worried about losing Duren. Wasn't really a fan of him. I was mad at the reasoning for the trade and the return we got. Just a joke

[rippadonn]

37 minutes ago, TheMostInterestingMan said:

Still an awful trade. Draft the best shooter in the draft in Griffin or trade for multiple 1sts in the future or to dump Hayward’s contract. Like I said, I can understand preferring Williams but I can’t understand the trade at all.

Still trying to make sense of it all. It may be that someone in the front office got trade happy.

Why couldn't we just keep both and let three guys compete for the position.

I'm not mad about Williams though.

[TheMostInterestingMan]

Just now, rippadonn said:

Still trying to make sense of it all. It may be that someone in the front office got trade happy.

Why couldn't we just keep both and let three guys compete for the position.

I'm not mad about Williams though.

I agree. Williams is a 7’2 freak. If he can develop an offensive game then he has the tools to be an incredible player. Regarding the trade, I think Mitch tried to get cute and ended up laying an egg. Maybe we can at least package the two 1sts next year to get that missing piece. But as it stands right now, this trade was ugly. 
 

I am reasonably happy with Williams though. His size and length is incredible. He could be a great player if he can learn to score consistently.

[Jackie Lee]

17 minutes ago, rippadonn said:

Still trying to make sense of it all. It may be that someone in the front office got trade happy.

Why couldn't we just keep both and let three guys compete for the position.

I'm not mad about Williams though.

Could of had both guys we picked plus AJ Griffin with the other 1st, let em play in summer league and then work on a trade. I know it's different than the NFL 1st round but still seemed like they should have just taken Duren or Griffin and then held out for decent compensation. Kemba to the Pistons didn't do us any favors and was the only real desperation move involved in that whole trade, basically did 2 teams some favors for nothing. 

[SameDamnThing]

Duran can't make his own, which was probably the reason we didn't keep him. Williams has better hands in the post and if you're playing small ball he's going to hurt you at the rim offensively. Williams has a standing reach of 9 feet. You're just not going to be able to put a 6-8 wing on him and expect to win there. I think a lot of the hesitance regarding Bridges on a max type deal is that he's been our rim finisher and he's undersized for it despite having the vertical to make it work somewhat so they went and got a real big. That's no knock against Miles because he can play, but without Lamelo is he really a max guy or is he getting a lot of box score help from the attention Lamelo draws when he drives? Miles isn't the typical long and athletic wing who can drive the basket and create like a max player. He does a lot of things decent offensively. He's okay from 3. He's decent at the line. He has explosive hops and insane strength around the basket but he can't really get there by himself because he's not agile and explosive enough to make up for the length he gives up despite moving well for a bigger guy. So there's a little bit of an identity crisis there when you talk about what you need when assembling a team. I think he can start on a playoff team for sure, but people throwing out phrases like "budding star" and all that might need to pump the brakes. I don't think Miles gets a ton better from where he is today, and that's not embarrassing because he can ball. It's just that being able to play and being a max player aren't the same. 

Williams is going to make us better as a guarantee. I promise that much. Because the difference he's going to make as a shot disrupter and rim protector is going to tighten up this defense by a lot. He's got the lateral mobility, feet, length, and speed to be a Top 5 center defensively. Great anticipation. Great instincts. He can play up high around the free throw line and defend the pick and roll regardless of who gets free. He can take guards to the rim because he moves his feet and that wing span is going to make it tough to beat him to the basket. If the big pops free he has the size and athleticism to handle that, too. The question of his upside is going to be his ability/inability to face up and create offense and how effectively he can run the floor in a high pace offense. Lamelo has to love this pick because there's no such thing as overthrowing a lob anymore. Williams has sticky hands and ferocity around the rim. He's going to get 10 or 12 a game just on that. If he can make 3 or 4 buckets per game on his own you're talking about a 20-12 type guy who is disruptive defensively. Contesting without fouling is going to be important for him as a young player because he wants to get into every shot, but the upside to be elite defensively is there. 

[Louie]

Excellent write up SameDamnThing!!! I’m trying to love having Mark Williams. I got excited drafting Duren, only to immediately trade him. Hopefully, Williams will be the better player!!! Now we need another good defender!

[L-TownCat]

7 hours ago, Jackie Lee said:

I thought we fired JB because we wanted to get past the play-in series? Now we got no coach and 500 2nd round picks? I guess I'll be watching all NC sports for comedic value the next couple years

What you been doing the last few years?