I haven't spent a lot of time looking at draft prospects, but there's one thing I really, really, really want to happen, which is for Denver to draft Nikola Jovic.
We made it back from Yellowstone and Glacier on Tuesday. Luckily, we got out of Yellowstone a couple of days in advance of the floods - we were staying in Gardiner, which is the town at the north entrance of the park that got hit hard. Feel so bad for the folks there after dealing with a couple of years of Covid and now this, which shuts down their season. The rivers were just roiling in the park, and we commented many times about how it looked like they might flood. We had lunch in Red Lodge, MT, on the way out of the park, crossing a bridge that was devastated a few days later. The rivers at Glacier are also at capacity as well, and it seemed like they might flood, too, especially the Flathead. We had an incredible time, and if you haven't been to that part of the country, it's phenomenally beautiful and worth the effort of getting there.
I did hear that the Ws had won in 6, but we didn't catch any of the Finals, so please indulge me the chance to post about the finals on this draft day thread. I spent some time the last couple of days catching up on the games. What a fantastic series.
After all the drama of the last year, the Warriors end up being championship. My favorite team of all time, since there were so many highs and lows. So excited to see this team evolve next year into something monstrous, with Poole, Kuminga, and Moody all +1 year, Wiseman hopefully coming on strong, Klay returning to form, and whatever ring chasers end up on the team.
So blown away by my guy Poole, who ended up with 50.8/39.1/91.5 for the playoffs, averaging 17 per game. Such awesome numbers for a 3rd year guy, so hard to believe this is the same player I saw a couple of years ago. I can't wait to see what he works on this off season.
per twitter buzz, some crazy movement happening tonight in the odds around the 1st pick (consensus shifting from Jabari Smith to Paolo Banchero, possibly due to a trade in the works)
but I guess we don't have to concern ourselves with the top of the draft (bottom of the league) this year
Looney is the top priority IMO. He's the reason why we can get away with the smaller lineup in the playoffs. He's big enough to where he can punish other teams for going small but he's also not too big to stay in front of faster guys. Playoff Loon is very real and GP2 is almost just as important. As much as I'd love to keep OPJ if I had to choose 2 out of 3 to keep he wouldn't make the cut
Givony now has Dubs taking super raw Payton Watson of UCLA at 28 (with LaRavia & Braun still on the board). 6-8 with 7-0 wingspan.
He writes: "With most of their roster intact from their championship run, and their young rookie scale contract players vying for minutes, it might make sense to take another homerun swing on a developmental prospect like Watson, who has more upside than the average player still available with a late first-round pick. Watson started the year projected as a top-10 pick, but saw his stock slide after a disappointing season in which he averaged just 3.3 points per game. Nevertheless, Watson plays with great energy and versatility defensively, and dropped intriguing flashes of passing and shot-making ability in small doses. A team comfortable with their player development infrastructure could be intrigued with Watson's physical tools, youth and upside.
Givony changed the Warrior pick from LaRavia very recently (who is now going to Memphis at 29, I'm sick lol). Have not seen this player mocked to the Warriors before:
> Peyton Watson
> The Warriors have some interesting young pieces in place waiting in the wings in Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman, along with 22-year-old budding star Jordan Poole. With most of their roster intact from their championship run, and their young rookie scale contract players vying for minutes, it might make sense to take another homerun swing on a developmental prospect like Watson, who has more upside than the average player still available with a late first-round pick. Watson started the year projected as a top-10 pick, but saw his stock slide after a disappointing season in which he averaged just 3.3 points per game. Nevertheless, Watson plays with great energy and versatility defensively, and dropped intriguing flashes of passing and shot-making ability in small doses. A team comfortable with their player development infrastructure could be intrigued with Watson's physical tools, youth and upside.
After watching a lot of Braun highlights, I'd be more than ok with him. Yes, he's a T-Rex (negative even if you count shoe height I think), but when you have a 40' vert and 3rd-highest standing leap in the combine, it helps a lot. I love the fact that he can force drivers into contested pull-ups. Can he do that to elite NBA forwards like Wiggins can? Probably not, but no one expects Wiggins at 28 anyway. If Braun had a 7+ ft wingspan, he'd be out of reach for the Dubs anyway. Also like that he played a role in one of the biggest comebacks in NCAA final history. His team did have a lottery pick, but it's not like he was playing with Embiid (or Wiggins). Of his flaws, I think most can be corrected (well, except for his wingspan). He's not going to be the main creator, even for the 2nd string, and lack of strength can mitigated somewhat by NBA weight training. It doesn't really matter to me that he's 21, he's been on a title team and learned the ropes at a blue-blood program.
Of course, now that I've settled on wanting him, he'll be gone. Sorry. Although I'll probably change my mind 10 times before 5:00 tomorrow, so there's that. Less than 24 hrs!
The Suns are in right old pickle, huh? Detroit has created max cap space for Ayton so they would need to find a trade for him before the Pistons can legally send Ayton an offer sheet. And I don't really see too many options out there for Pheonix considering they would (at least ostensibly) want win-now players in return for Ayton.
Jerami Grant was a highly touted trade target for them and now he's gone to Portland. I can perhaps see the Capela/Nurkic sign and trades happening, but those guys are substantial downgrades to Ayton (even though Ayton is a very flawed player).
Plus, I don't think their FO is any good to get out of the mess they have created. Why not just max him? Yes he doesn't deserve it, but they don't really have an option so they should have paid up by now. A Booker/Ayton/Bridges/Johnson core into the future really good.
Zach Harper draft gossip. I find his mock draft very weird but maybe his sourced stuff is better.
• Jake LaRavia: The Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks could find themselves in a chase for LaRavia out of Wake Forest. The Bucks will have the first shot at him between these two teams with them selecting at No. 24 and the Raptors having to wait until nine picks later. LaRavia can shoot, and we know the Bucks love role players who can be deadly from the outside. I’ve also heard they have some interest in Andrew Nembhard, but the point guard position isn’t a priority here. The Raptors don’t select until No. 33, but as long as someone like Caleb Houstan is still available, they’ll be happy with waiting until early in the second round.
• Golden State Warriors: The defending champs are apparently open to moving their 28th pick in the draft, and that could be tied to some guaranteed money causing them an even greater luxury-tax bill, although there isn’t a huge difference between a minimum deal and what the 28th pick would command. If they do decide to keep it, the Warriors are thought to be interested in Houstan or Christian Braun. E.J. Liddell would be the dream scenario, but it’s hard to imagine him falling to No. 28.
As always the NBA puts together a great recap with a good amount of slo mo footage, behind the scenes interviews and recordings of half time speeches etc. well worth a watch. I’m elated and exhausted all over again!
[Fischer] Atlanta and San Antonio have discussed a deal that would swap John Collins for Dejounte Murray, sources said. Spurs have told interests teams that moving Murray would require a "Jrue Holiday-like package."
New post with all the projected times of our draft picks, which you can also use a a fresh open thread.
https://dubnationhq.com/p/2022-dub-nation-hq-draft-viewing
I haven't spent a lot of time looking at draft prospects, but there's one thing I really, really, really want to happen, which is for Denver to draft Nikola Jovic.
We made it back from Yellowstone and Glacier on Tuesday. Luckily, we got out of Yellowstone a couple of days in advance of the floods - we were staying in Gardiner, which is the town at the north entrance of the park that got hit hard. Feel so bad for the folks there after dealing with a couple of years of Covid and now this, which shuts down their season. The rivers were just roiling in the park, and we commented many times about how it looked like they might flood. We had lunch in Red Lodge, MT, on the way out of the park, crossing a bridge that was devastated a few days later. The rivers at Glacier are also at capacity as well, and it seemed like they might flood, too, especially the Flathead. We had an incredible time, and if you haven't been to that part of the country, it's phenomenally beautiful and worth the effort of getting there.
I did hear that the Ws had won in 6, but we didn't catch any of the Finals, so please indulge me the chance to post about the finals on this draft day thread. I spent some time the last couple of days catching up on the games. What a fantastic series.
After all the drama of the last year, the Warriors end up being championship. My favorite team of all time, since there were so many highs and lows. So excited to see this team evolve next year into something monstrous, with Poole, Kuminga, and Moody all +1 year, Wiseman hopefully coming on strong, Klay returning to form, and whatever ring chasers end up on the team.
So blown away by my guy Poole, who ended up with 50.8/39.1/91.5 for the playoffs, averaging 17 per game. Such awesome numbers for a 3rd year guy, so hard to believe this is the same player I saw a couple of years ago. I can't wait to see what he works on this off season.
Is this the thread where Sabrina will be keeping us updated?
If Krysten Peek picks Hardy for us, so do I.
per twitter buzz, some crazy movement happening tonight in the odds around the 1st pick (consensus shifting from Jabari Smith to Paolo Banchero, possibly due to a trade in the works)
but I guess we don't have to concern ourselves with the top of the draft (bottom of the league) this year
Looney is the top priority IMO. He's the reason why we can get away with the smaller lineup in the playoffs. He's big enough to where he can punish other teams for going small but he's also not too big to stay in front of faster guys. Playoff Loon is very real and GP2 is almost just as important. As much as I'd love to keep OPJ if I had to choose 2 out of 3 to keep he wouldn't make the cut
Givony now has Dubs taking super raw Payton Watson of UCLA at 28 (with LaRavia & Braun still on the board). 6-8 with 7-0 wingspan.
He writes: "With most of their roster intact from their championship run, and their young rookie scale contract players vying for minutes, it might make sense to take another homerun swing on a developmental prospect like Watson, who has more upside than the average player still available with a late first-round pick. Watson started the year projected as a top-10 pick, but saw his stock slide after a disappointing season in which he averaged just 3.3 points per game. Nevertheless, Watson plays with great energy and versatility defensively, and dropped intriguing flashes of passing and shot-making ability in small doses. A team comfortable with their player development infrastructure could be intrigued with Watson's physical tools, youth and upside.
Givony changed the Warrior pick from LaRavia very recently (who is now going to Memphis at 29, I'm sick lol). Have not seen this player mocked to the Warriors before:
> Peyton Watson
> The Warriors have some interesting young pieces in place waiting in the wings in Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman, along with 22-year-old budding star Jordan Poole. With most of their roster intact from their championship run, and their young rookie scale contract players vying for minutes, it might make sense to take another homerun swing on a developmental prospect like Watson, who has more upside than the average player still available with a late first-round pick. Watson started the year projected as a top-10 pick, but saw his stock slide after a disappointing season in which he averaged just 3.3 points per game. Nevertheless, Watson plays with great energy and versatility defensively, and dropped intriguing flashes of passing and shot-making ability in small doses. A team comfortable with their player development infrastructure could be intrigued with Watson's physical tools, youth and upside.
After watching a lot of Braun highlights, I'd be more than ok with him. Yes, he's a T-Rex (negative even if you count shoe height I think), but when you have a 40' vert and 3rd-highest standing leap in the combine, it helps a lot. I love the fact that he can force drivers into contested pull-ups. Can he do that to elite NBA forwards like Wiggins can? Probably not, but no one expects Wiggins at 28 anyway. If Braun had a 7+ ft wingspan, he'd be out of reach for the Dubs anyway. Also like that he played a role in one of the biggest comebacks in NCAA final history. His team did have a lottery pick, but it's not like he was playing with Embiid (or Wiggins). Of his flaws, I think most can be corrected (well, except for his wingspan). He's not going to be the main creator, even for the 2nd string, and lack of strength can mitigated somewhat by NBA weight training. It doesn't really matter to me that he's 21, he's been on a title team and learned the ropes at a blue-blood program.
Of course, now that I've settled on wanting him, he'll be gone. Sorry. Although I'll probably change my mind 10 times before 5:00 tomorrow, so there's that. Less than 24 hrs!
The Suns are in right old pickle, huh? Detroit has created max cap space for Ayton so they would need to find a trade for him before the Pistons can legally send Ayton an offer sheet. And I don't really see too many options out there for Pheonix considering they would (at least ostensibly) want win-now players in return for Ayton.
Jerami Grant was a highly touted trade target for them and now he's gone to Portland. I can perhaps see the Capela/Nurkic sign and trades happening, but those guys are substantial downgrades to Ayton (even though Ayton is a very flawed player).
Plus, I don't think their FO is any good to get out of the mess they have created. Why not just max him? Yes he doesn't deserve it, but they don't really have an option so they should have paid up by now. A Booker/Ayton/Bridges/Johnson core into the future really good.
"belilaugh
2 hr ago
> "I've actually heard that there's some interest in getting a bigger Point Guard" - Slater on the Warriors draft"
What if it's Murray? *thinking emoiji* (ok, I'll stop)
Zach Harper draft gossip. I find his mock draft very weird but maybe his sourced stuff is better.
• Jake LaRavia: The Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks could find themselves in a chase for LaRavia out of Wake Forest. The Bucks will have the first shot at him between these two teams with them selecting at No. 24 and the Raptors having to wait until nine picks later. LaRavia can shoot, and we know the Bucks love role players who can be deadly from the outside. I’ve also heard they have some interest in Andrew Nembhard, but the point guard position isn’t a priority here. The Raptors don’t select until No. 33, but as long as someone like Caleb Houstan is still available, they’ll be happy with waiting until early in the second round.
• Golden State Warriors: The defending champs are apparently open to moving their 28th pick in the draft, and that could be tied to some guaranteed money causing them an even greater luxury-tax bill, although there isn’t a huge difference between a minimum deal and what the 28th pick would command. If they do decide to keep it, the Warriors are thought to be interested in Houstan or Christian Braun. E.J. Liddell would be the dream scenario, but it’s hard to imagine him falling to No. 28.
https://theathletic.com/3373077/2022/06/22/nba-draft-questions-holmgren-banchero/
FYI every player mentioned has been covered in our Draft Tourney.
Relive the roller coaster of the NBA Finals all over again in a little under an hour: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V0gtkWhWXic
As always the NBA puts together a great recap with a good amount of slo mo footage, behind the scenes interviews and recordings of half time speeches etc. well worth a watch. I’m elated and exhausted all over again!
Man, Murray is one of the few players I would give up a lot for. Dubs could beat that offer.
[Fischer] Atlanta and San Antonio have discussed a deal that would swap John Collins for Dejounte Murray, sources said. Spurs have told interests teams that moving Murray would require a "Jrue Holiday-like package."