We are two days away from what could be one of the most eventful drafts in what promises to be the most eventful offseason ever.

Zion going to the new-look Pels and Ja to Memphis seem like locks. Will the Knicks or Pelicans trade back from 3/4? Who will clear cap space? What vets will be on the move?

*POPCORN GIFS*

draft

WTF is interesting about that

...a bunch of lateral moves...

?

>draft
>
>WTF is interesting about that
>
>...a bunch of lateral moves...
>
>?

If you don't think teams will be making deals in advance of July 1 then I don't know what to tell you.

The top 3 picks are locked in but good chance someone in the 3-5 range trades back. Also you've got a ton of toss-ups past three, and some guys who could move up or down the board more than usual.

I’ll be tuned in.

you look at guys like hayes, little and bol, for example, a lot of teams are eyeing them in the lotto, others are hoping they fall outside.

at four we dunno if it will be culver, garland, reddish, white, hunter ... and obviously the order after that gets even murkier.

plus a lot of teams will be straightening cap situations or looking to trade out for established players.

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8/10 is a helluva split and I don't see a glaring TAKE ME guy at 4. Maybe Culver but ehhh, I dunno, you could get two pretty nice players at 8/10 and that's what I think Culver is, a pretty nice player but not a franchise-alterer.

This is probably one of the most uninteresting drafts I can remember.

I’m interested in the Hornets pick since I heard they may try to move up. Probably trying to get another Tar Heel. Smh.

>This is probably one of the most uninteresting drafts I can
>remember.

the order is as up in the air as any i can remember (top 3 set, that's it) and yes there could be a lot of trade activity. if not with roster players, moving around and in/out of the draft.

So, who is actually going to be making the call for them? How do you not have a front office in place the day before the draft?

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Could it be any worse than what they have had for the past, oh, I dunno, my whole fucking lifetime?

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/goga-bitadze-zion-williamson-media-nba-draft-001041020.html

Seems like he's got the potential to be a Diet Coke Steven Adams type. Big body, elite PnR guy, strong instincts on both ends, even a bit of catch-and-shoot potential. Doesn't have the "weak/bad defense/inconsistent effort" concerns you usually hear from the Euro big busts.

He seems like the kind of guy who might be effective in certain matchups but struggle big time with others. He can move a little, enough to play PnR and PnP but lateral movement is an issue, so is his lower-body strength. Guys like that usually don't stick in the NBA. I think he's a stash pick, no? Maybe he'll get stronger and keep working on his range to be a stretch four with some ability to get to the basket off pick n rolls. I wouldn't be too excited about him though.

1) Culver
2) Hunter (I guess)
3) Garland
4) Reddish


if Cavs trade 5 for 8/10, then it's Reddish at the top, then Hunter, Coby White

Anti-gentrification, cheap alcohol & trying to look pretty in our twilight posting years (c) Big Reg
http://www.Tupreme.com

He's the youngest guy in the draft and only started playing basketball like six years ago, but it sounds like he has some legitimate skills. I know very little about him, is this a case of rising because people don't want to miss out on the next Pascal Siakam? Is he for real?

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Tremendous value either way considering the difference between 4 and 8 is fairly thin tbh.

Why not load up on more picks?

Granted, it's an expiring, but...that's a big fat W

Dario Saric to PHX.

Gonna be a point guard, I assume. Not sure how I feel about that, could be good. I think I'd rather go for a vet, but we'll see. Don't love losing Saric, either, but it's certainly not fatal or anything.

Or that it's Culver. Would take that over Cobi White tbh.

Scoring and defense and means hopefully not having to rely on Wiggins to show up.

He's owed $122 million through 2023.

>He's owed $122 million through 2023.

Damn ok nevermind lol

- Knicks gonna be low efficiency again and tank again. GOOD.
- Cleveland backcourt is short and devoid of creators.
- Bulls backcourt of White and LaVine is heavy on shooting, but no idea who the “PG” will be, if anyone. A lot of Lauri and Carter grabbing boards.

>but no idea who the “PG” will be

but I'm not sure how much this matters. there isn't really a selfish guy on the team so the ball should move. and zach surprisingly looked halfway decent distributing the ball when given a chance to run point (he's actually *not* a chucker). i like the idea of two playmakers and shooters in the backcourt. not too many "pure" pg's leading their teams to glory these days anyways.

Just saying that I heard a lot about Chicago needing a PG... and Coby is a PG like Lou Williams is a PG. Can still work, just isn’t the obvious fit here.

Dude has a lot of assets now with a lot more to come. Best haul for a superstar I can remember.

Career over

>Career over

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smh

No stable front office makes the optics look terrible.

But I can't say this is the worst place for him to be. There's always the Suns.

The only thing I can say positive is that he fills a huge need for them and will get plenty of minutes. But anyone going to DC now deserves our sympathy. I thought he might go to Chicago at 7 but I guess I get why they went with Coby.

I wanted Culver. Cavs took Garland, making me think "Bootleg Blazers". He and Sexton are similar players.

ATL gets Hunter and Reddish. I think they win this draft.

So basically, “thanks for not running me out of the program before I was ready like Coach K did to Trent and Duval.” That’s where we’re at now?

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Thybulle could help Philly.

And given that his kid will be the starting two guard the next 3 years, that ain’t happening until then.

I remember some early mocks having him go to the Wolves at 11 and thinking yikes, but he fell to a conference finals team that has no real need for a rookie to make immediate contributions. Great situation for him. He'll have time to learn.

sheesh.

he's like aminu but with a much higher ceiling.

But Summer League starts on July 5?

https://www.nba.com/article/2019/03/20/2019-nba-summer-league-teams-announced

If so, this means three top 10 picks (plus like half the first round) won't be able to play in Summer League. Or does it not matter?

- Hunter and Reddish is a slam dunk top ten for the Hawks.
- I reeeeeeally like Cam Johnson, more than most, because he's maybe the best spot-up shooter in the draft, but 11 is def a reach and the Suns could've gotten him at least 5-7 spots later.
- Romeo Langford is a pick that initially made me recoil, because the last thing the Celtics need is another wing who can't make 3s, but I confess there's upside there-- just definitely not short-term upside.
- Hayes was a weird pick for the Pels, a team that really needs shooting. Alexander-Walker, however, is very good value there.
- Thybulle is good, but trading up for Thybulle, especially when you have Zhaire Smith already, is... strange.
- Brandon Clarke and Grant Williams: great fucking value. I had Clarke in my Top 10 and Williams near my Top 15.
- Ty Jerome is a sneaky good pick for the Suns as a backup who can make 3s, play D, and actually facilitate.
- people were confused why Little kept falling, but... he can't shoot, he can't play defense. What's hard to understand about that?
- Jordan Poole is a guy I liked at Michigan, and he's an absolute headscratcher at 28, largely because he would've 100% been available in the 40s-- many places expected him to go undrafted. STILL, they got Eric Paschall at 41, whom I would've taken at 28! So all is right with the world.
- Kevin Porter has HUGE red flags (see my Justivity post), but John Beilein is as good a coach as you can give him. Seriously. He'll either shape up or he just won't fucking play. Interested to see how he comes along.
- Claxton at 31: stone cold steal. Fringe Top 20 talent.
- Carsen Edwards is like a Coke Zero Kyrie, so he's actually a really good fit the Celtics. Can help right away off the bench bare minimum-- and he's better than Rozier.
- Cody Martin should've gone undrafted.
- Bol Bol is sorry.

>- Hunter and Reddish is a slam dunk top ten for the Hawks.

Reddish nice value at 10, Hunter maybe not ideal value at 4 but wouldn't have been there at 8. Their pieces fit together well. We'll see what these guys do, Reddish could be a steal or a bust, Hunter could be the kind of guy you get in the middle of the first round but maybe he enriches their group enough to justify the high cost?

>- I reeeeeeally like Cam Johnson, more than most, because he's
>maybe the best spot-up shooter in the draft, but 11 is def a
>reach and the Suns could've gotten him at least 5-7 spots
>later.

Yeah especially with the trade down I thought they went from getting a potential impact guy to getting two good role guys. That's a good trade for some team, but not for their team. But I do like Johnson and figured he'd go in the mid-teens despite being projected later through most of the mock process. I would have liked to see him land with a more competitive team like Indiana or Boston.

>- Romeo Langford is a pick that initially made me recoil,
>because the last thing the Celtics need is another wing who
>can't make 3s, but I confess there's upside there-- just
>definitely not short-term upside.

They went BPA there and then proceeded to take guys who are high-character but not ideal physique, the kind of guys who typically excel in college and then languish in the pros. I wasn't a big fan of their draft but I trust Ainge so maybe guys like Williams and Edwards will see their games translate.

>- Hayes was a weird pick for the Pels, a team that really
>needs shooting. Alexander-Walker, however, is very good value
>there.

I liked what they did and I like Hayes. He will be a DeAndre Jordan type guy once he fills out and gets his footing as a big.

>- Thybulle is good, but trading up for Thybulle, especially
>when you have Zhaire Smith already, is... strange.

It's not strange, it's stupid. They could have added a lot of potential to their roster but instead went with an athletic, D-only wing and some bruisers. Zero scoring on their bench. Give me Little, Edwards and Bol with the three picks they had at 24/33/42.

>- Brandon Clarke and Grant Williams: great fucking value. I
>had Clarke in my Top 10 and Williams near my Top 15.

Clarke I like. Williams I get the appeal but have some concerns. Clarke I thought was a steal, definitely.

>- Ty Jerome is a sneaky good pick for the Suns as a backup who
>can make 3s, play D, and actually facilitate.

Meh, I am not that high on him but the slot was about right.

>- people were confused why Little kept falling, but... he
>can't shoot, he can't play defense. What's hard to understand
>about that?

All the way to 25? That was a big fall. I thought maybe just outside the lotto.

>- Jordan Poole is a guy I liked at Michigan, and he's an
>absolute headscratcher at 28, largely because he would've 100%
>been available in the 40s-- many places expected him to go
>undrafted. STILL, they got Eric Paschall at 41, whom I
>would've taken at 28! So all is right with the world.

My thoughts exactly. A reach and a steal balance each other out. Both guys fit very well with what they look for in a reserve. Nice draft for the Dubs overall.

>- Kevin Porter has HUGE red flags (see my Justivity post), but
>John Beilein is as good a coach as you can give him.
>Seriously. He'll either shape up or he just won't fucking
>play. Interested to see how he comes along.

There's only one James Harden, unfortunately. Great iso player, other areas of his game are sorely lacking.

>- Claxton at 31: stone cold steal. Fringe Top 20 talent.

Yeah that was a nice pick, I figured he'd definitely go in the 20s. Good fit for Brooklyn, too, gives them another hard worker on the inside.

>- Carsen Edwards is like a Coke Zero Kyrie, so he's actually a
>really good fit the Celtics. Can help right away off the bench
>bare minimum-- and he's better than Rozier.

They are going to shuffle around their mid-level guys, I think. Probably lose Horford and Kyrie, then make trades with the Roziers of the world.

>- Cody Martin should've gone undrafted.
That had to be the most WTF pick of the night for me. I expected him to go in the 50s maybe. It's the Hornets, so expect the unexpected, I guess.

>- Bol Bol is sorry.
I disagree. He is not sorry. There were a number of factors that all seemed to work against him with his drop. But there's a lot of talent there and the idea that a kid should be completely ready at 19 or worse yet 17 is crazy. How teams let him slip out of the first round is beyond me. That kind of size, mobility and potential in terms of both rim protection and scoring inside 25 feet is attractive. In years past he'd have been a top 10 guy. You can say teams have learned from past mistakes, OK, but to fall all the way to the mid 40s? That's wild.

>I disagree. He is not sorry. There were a number of factors
>that all seemed to work against him with his drop. But there's
>a lot of talent there and the idea that a kid should be
>completely ready at 19 or worse yet 17 is crazy. How teams let
>him slip out of the first round is beyond me. That kind of
>size, mobility and potential in terms of both rim protection
>and scoring inside 25 feet is attractive. In years past he'd
>have been a top 10 guy. You can say teams have learned from
>past mistakes, OK, but to fall all the way to the mid 40s?
>That's wild.

- the worst motor in the class
- the worst defender away from the rim in the class outside of Tacko Fall
- very good shooter, but an absolute black hole on offense and exceptionally turnover-prone
- insanely high center of gravity, which combined with his height creates very real injury concerns

I think in years past he'd be a top ten guy because people liked taking guys exclusively on the mirage of potential. I was still there after having these concerns in HS, but then those concerns were exacerbated big time in college. I'm not saying a player has to be ready going into the draft obviously, but you have to be able to see what the guy can do at the next level. And if he was so bad on defense in the godawful Pac-12 that Altman would have to bench him, I can't imagine what he can do in an NBA that is swiftly shifting toward switch-everything versatility.

with Garland and Windler, there's a lot of "fuck you" offense as the focus.

selling off 2nd rounders and such to get Kevin Porter Jr. at 30 wasn't a bad move.

I'm good.

because I don't normally watch the Draft coverage, but were Chauncey Billups' player comparisons always as bad as they were last night? My interest was waning as I was watching the Draft, but I had to promptly shut the TV off when I saw this dude compare one of the players to Jae Crowder, as if that's some kind of compliment in 2019. Even worse is that I think the dude that he compared Crowder to was picked 6th or 7th, but my memory could be off.

If memory serves me right, he compared RJ Barrett to the "Chicago Bulls Jalen Rose"? Uhh? Like I said, extreme late pass on my part if he's always been terrible at this, but yesterday was the first time in many moons for me watching the Draft coverage live, or at least attempting to.

The first year or two(when it was Jalen making them) it was kinda interesting. But the novelty has worn off for me.

Chicago Bulls Jalen? Putting up numbers for the worst team in the league? Who even remembers that? At least go with Indiana Pacers Jalen where he was probably the best player on that 2000 finals team.

>If memory serves me right, he compared RJ Barrett to the
>"Chicago Bulls Jalen Rose"? Uhh? Like I said, extreme late
>pass on my part if he's always been terrible at this, but
>yesterday was the first time in many moons for me watching the
>Draft coverage live, or at least attempting to.

Jalen Rose played for like 7 teams between 2003-06, how do you even keep these straight?

Kinda stunned that he went undrafted. Nice opportunity for him and a shrewd move by the Rox, who I don't think had any picks

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