I see a lot the concensus laughing at the possible, albeit unlikely, prospect of DET trading the #1 pick for Wiseman plus 3 1st rounders from the Dubz. DET was and i would think still is interested in Wiseman, and they get a slew of good/great picks in this deal...
I dont think its absolutely out of the question that they like Wiseman as much or better than Cade
Okay, I am preparing for our annual Draft Pick Tournament, where we decide whom we want for the #7 pick, in a big bracket and pairwise showdowns.
The question is who should be in the running. I will show you my list, and I would like you to tell me if any other serious candidate for the #7 pick is missing.
This list which is constructed by looking at 15 mock drafts and listing all players that were selected from picks #7 to #13 inclusive.
Sengun only makes sense if we're trading Wiseman. Furthermore, his defensive limitations may just be too much. For example - if he develops pretty well and a has a pretty high-level outcome (say Domantas Sabonis level), is he still a guy that can play as a 5 for a championship team? The amount of defensive responsibility that is put upon bigs in the league is crazy high, and it is really hard to construct a winning defense with a bad defensive 5. That, combined with his lack of shooting (at least right now) makes it a no-go for me.
Here is one of my grab bag questions...can the warriors sign Marquess Chriss now or do they have to wait for the free agents signing period later this summer (which I think is after the draft)?
It seems to me that the whole draft analysis about players seems to ignore free agents filling a needed slot. (I am not saying Chriss fills the role of center, but I sort of got the impression that people thought the Warriors wanted him back and that he wanted to be back and I wondered why they did not sign him already.
Sengun probably has the higher upside... with his floor being maybe a slightly more skilled Kanter... but I can see Garuba making a lot of sense for us. Defense, rebounding, and passing at the 4... basically stuff we want EP to improve on. And with the emergence of JP, and especially if we get another scorer at #7, we would probably need less of EP's individual scoring.
So after all these previews, it seems like there's quite a lot of good defenders in the draft. Stay away from the centers at all costs. The Dubs need a veteran there and they still have Looney and Wiseman. Dray at the 5 will remain their best playoff lineups, as even Gobert gets played off the floor. Add a veteran big man, think about Chriss for the minimum and you have 4 full-time Cs at the 5. Any additional investment is too much. I still believe the 5 is the least important position in today's NBA. And that's without mentioning Paschall.
Which brings us to wings. With JTA, Looney, and Dray, shooting is at a premium to me. Give me two wings who can shoot with the two picks, assuming we keep them. The best shooter is likely Kispert. Hope he falls to 14, with Duarte as the fallback. At 7, I'm leaning Moody now. If Mitchell or Barnes are available at 7, I'm semi-interested, but their potential shooting woes scare me too much. Wagner could be another interesting pick. But the Johnsons, Sengun, Kuminga all are worse shooters. A lot of the others mentioned are just too short.
An underrated part of why the dynasty Dubs were so good was size. Steph, Klay, KD were all big for their positions. Then they had Liv and Iggy who also were quite long. The backcourt was full of these athletes with size. With Poole added, there's just less room for anyone who's not a wing in the backcourt. With Mitchell, I'm not positive he could play with Steph and we'd still be a top 5 defense. With Poole as well, I'm not sure they could even be league average when the backcourt is Poole/Mitchell. And Mitchell's better defensively than Bouknight for example. Perhaps Mitchell becomes Jrue-like defensively and can make up for his height. But I can't give that benefit of doubt until I see it for a young player.
Sengun seems like the star hiding in plain sight in this draft. Like when Kevin Love was at UCLA. Yes he was chubby, not that tall and not that long. Easy to pick apart the scouting report and wonder how it would translate. But he was also a dominant player, Pac 10 player of the year and the team went to the Final 4. Domantas Sabonis at Gonzaga. Not tall enough, not long enough. Just freakishly efficient and dominant.
Both guys have been tricky to build around as your team's best player or who to pair them with in the frontcourt. The Warriors would face the same issue with Wiseman. But Sengun could also just be treated like a luxury pick. He's very experienced for his age and could have a year focusing on his body really without the playing time that Wiseman needs. Basically taking the Smailagic roster spot. And if needed...he can probably play a little!
Then in a year or so you can find minutes at PF and C in the 15-20 range. If he's as good as he seems he should be really efficient in that time allottment and crucially would be maintaining asset value.
Garuba - Buy the defensive upside, but as an undersized C he seems to lack the offensive skill like a Bam has that makes that work. May work out, but tough fit for Dubs.
So apparently Cleveland is opening the Sexton sweepstakes. I swear, if we could get in on those, that would be amazing. A career 38.5 three-point shooter averaging 24.3 on a rookie deal. Would be worth opening our treasure chest for.
Watching both of these guys makes you appreciate just how good Wiseman could be if he could just stay on the court long enough to figure out how to play defense. He has the footwork of Segun, size that these 2 can only dream about, and unlike both of them, he can shoot away from the basket. If Kispert (or a Johnson or Moody) is still available at 14, I'm still for taking that guy assuming of course that Looney will still be with the team. There is always a Chriss, Bender, or, dare I say it, Cousins around that can be picked up relatively cheaply to be the 3rd center.
Although it's a lazy comparison, Sengun really does look like Kanter down low. But man, these scouting reports include laugh-out-loud defensive red flags:
"Good on-ball defensive potential *if his athleticism improves* in the pros"
I see a lot the concensus laughing at the possible, albeit unlikely, prospect of DET trading the #1 pick for Wiseman plus 3 1st rounders from the Dubz. DET was and i would think still is interested in Wiseman, and they get a slew of good/great picks in this deal...
I dont think its absolutely out of the question that they like Wiseman as much or better than Cade
Bucks up by…. 39!? on Hawks at the end of the third.
Okay, I am preparing for our annual Draft Pick Tournament, where we decide whom we want for the #7 pick, in a big bracket and pairwise showdowns.
The question is who should be in the running. I will show you my list, and I would like you to tell me if any other serious candidate for the #7 pick is missing.
This list which is constructed by looking at 15 mock drafts and listing all players that were selected from picks #7 to #13 inclusive.
Alperen Sengun
Corey Kispert
Davion Mitchell
Franz Wagner
Isaiah Jackson
Jaden Springer
Jalen Johnson
James Bouknight
Josh Giddey
Kai Jones
Keon Johnson
Moses Moody
Tre Mann
Usman Garuba
Scottie Barnes
Jonathan Kuminga
Thanks!
Sengun only makes sense if we're trading Wiseman. Furthermore, his defensive limitations may just be too much. For example - if he develops pretty well and a has a pretty high-level outcome (say Domantas Sabonis level), is he still a guy that can play as a 5 for a championship team? The amount of defensive responsibility that is put upon bigs in the league is crazy high, and it is really hard to construct a winning defense with a bad defensive 5. That, combined with his lack of shooting (at least right now) makes it a no-go for me.
Here is one of my grab bag questions...can the warriors sign Marquess Chriss now or do they have to wait for the free agents signing period later this summer (which I think is after the draft)?
It seems to me that the whole draft analysis about players seems to ignore free agents filling a needed slot. (I am not saying Chriss fills the role of center, but I sort of got the impression that people thought the Warriors wanted him back and that he wanted to be back and I wondered why they did not sign him already.
Hard pass on both. Usman could be a better fit in Portland.
Sengun probably has the higher upside... with his floor being maybe a slightly more skilled Kanter... but I can see Garuba making a lot of sense for us. Defense, rebounding, and passing at the 4... basically stuff we want EP to improve on. And with the emergence of JP, and especially if we get another scorer at #7, we would probably need less of EP's individual scoring.
So after all these previews, it seems like there's quite a lot of good defenders in the draft. Stay away from the centers at all costs. The Dubs need a veteran there and they still have Looney and Wiseman. Dray at the 5 will remain their best playoff lineups, as even Gobert gets played off the floor. Add a veteran big man, think about Chriss for the minimum and you have 4 full-time Cs at the 5. Any additional investment is too much. I still believe the 5 is the least important position in today's NBA. And that's without mentioning Paschall.
Which brings us to wings. With JTA, Looney, and Dray, shooting is at a premium to me. Give me two wings who can shoot with the two picks, assuming we keep them. The best shooter is likely Kispert. Hope he falls to 14, with Duarte as the fallback. At 7, I'm leaning Moody now. If Mitchell or Barnes are available at 7, I'm semi-interested, but their potential shooting woes scare me too much. Wagner could be another interesting pick. But the Johnsons, Sengun, Kuminga all are worse shooters. A lot of the others mentioned are just too short.
An underrated part of why the dynasty Dubs were so good was size. Steph, Klay, KD were all big for their positions. Then they had Liv and Iggy who also were quite long. The backcourt was full of these athletes with size. With Poole added, there's just less room for anyone who's not a wing in the backcourt. With Mitchell, I'm not positive he could play with Steph and we'd still be a top 5 defense. With Poole as well, I'm not sure they could even be league average when the backcourt is Poole/Mitchell. And Mitchell's better defensively than Bouknight for example. Perhaps Mitchell becomes Jrue-like defensively and can make up for his height. But I can't give that benefit of doubt until I see it for a young player.
Sengun seems like the star hiding in plain sight in this draft. Like when Kevin Love was at UCLA. Yes he was chubby, not that tall and not that long. Easy to pick apart the scouting report and wonder how it would translate. But he was also a dominant player, Pac 10 player of the year and the team went to the Final 4. Domantas Sabonis at Gonzaga. Not tall enough, not long enough. Just freakishly efficient and dominant.
Both guys have been tricky to build around as your team's best player or who to pair them with in the frontcourt. The Warriors would face the same issue with Wiseman. But Sengun could also just be treated like a luxury pick. He's very experienced for his age and could have a year focusing on his body really without the playing time that Wiseman needs. Basically taking the Smailagic roster spot. And if needed...he can probably play a little!
Then in a year or so you can find minutes at PF and C in the 15-20 range. If he's as good as he seems he should be really efficient in that time allottment and crucially would be maintaining asset value.
Garuba - Buy the defensive upside, but as an undersized C he seems to lack the offensive skill like a Bam has that makes that work. May work out, but tough fit for Dubs.
Great pairing for this draft review. Obvious choice, do you want offense or defense with those guys.
So apparently Cleveland is opening the Sexton sweepstakes. I swear, if we could get in on those, that would be amazing. A career 38.5 three-point shooter averaging 24.3 on a rookie deal. Would be worth opening our treasure chest for.
Watching both of these guys makes you appreciate just how good Wiseman could be if he could just stay on the court long enough to figure out how to play defense. He has the footwork of Segun, size that these 2 can only dream about, and unlike both of them, he can shoot away from the basket. If Kispert (or a Johnson or Moody) is still available at 14, I'm still for taking that guy assuming of course that Looney will still be with the team. There is always a Chriss, Bender, or, dare I say it, Cousins around that can be picked up relatively cheaply to be the 3rd center.
Although it's a lazy comparison, Sengun really does look like Kanter down low. But man, these scouting reports include laugh-out-loud defensive red flags:
"Good on-ball defensive potential *if his athleticism improves* in the pros"
"His hustle and spirit are major positives"
Yikes.