Not saying Sarr would be my choice either, just Topic is not who I expected @Nook to say we should pick Risacher has been my guy if we win the lottery, but to be fair, he's dropped off somewhat lately. I'm still really not thrilled with this draft class. Feels like the top guys, the ones that kinda maybe-sorta have all-star potential, are almost at the level of developmental project as a guy like Bilal Coulibaly last season. There isn't any one guy who jumps out at me. I almost feel like the back half of the top 10 might be a better spot to be in some ways. Guys like Sheppard, Knecht, and Clingan I feel pretty good about being able to play NBA minutes but will probably never be stars.
Lately I really have been leaning towards Knecht if we're around 8. He doesn't have a super high ceiling, but his floor feels like an nba rotation player and man, we really need some shooting.
One of those jack-of-all-trades versatile roleplayer types. Can score on all three levels with moderate-to-good efficiency, not horrible defensively (but not great either), plays on or off the ball. If he maxes out I could see him becoming something like the SG version of Gordon Hayward. May not sound all that exciting, but teams need players like that.
I don't really disagree .... but my point is that he's really not exceptional at anything. Good athlete not great. Mediocre defender statistically. Isn't afraid to shoot but doesn't make them but isn't efficient. Sure, he can put the ball on the floor in a straight line to the rim. Having him @ #1 is like projecting him to turn into KD .... except KD shot 47/40/82 in college. Sure, he might develop into something special .... but he's going to have to add a whole lot to his game to get there.
Fair enough. I'm not sure there is a statistical frame of reference for him defensively. The NBL is notoriously bad at advanced stats (even basic stats). So I wonder what we can glean there. For me he is #1 - he is next man up in the Chet/ Wemby body type of Cs. Potential to be Chet level (he isn't less athletic), but we shall see
I feel that 8-10 would be too high for Knecht. He's 23 years old so much closer to a finished product than other prospects. He's a beast scorer and shooter, but could be too one sided as a player. Reminds me of Corey Kispert, another upperclassman who could shoot anywhere and in any manner. Kispert is a good athlete and was better on defense than Knecht, IMO. Unless a team is ready to feed Knecht a lot of shots in their offense I think he'll be underutilized with limited impact. I think well rounded players that can shoot a bit are more valuable than pure shooters. Even 3 and D role players tend to be more valuable than pure shooters. Shooting isn't that rare of a commodity anymore.
Well funnily enough I have since thought, "But maybe we should just draft Ron Holland and load our team with athletic freaks, shooting be damned!"
I'm not familiar with Holland's game. We'd need to address spacing holistically. Holland may not shoot well, but that's not necessarily an issue. Houston was dead last in 3P% last season and added Amen with the #4 pick. Looked like a rough fit on paper, but instead he's been amazing and we addressed shooting elsewhere. I don't think our pick has to be an instant contributor, which Knecht would be. Like Amen and Cam, they'd probably be out of the rotation for at least half a season. I'm okay with a project with higher potential, especially with this coaching staff which appears to be getting the best out of everyone. Plus, a younger prospect could have higher long-term trade value. I'm thinking someone like Kel'El Ware, a 19 year old 7' center that has good shot making ability, shot blocking ability, rebounding, and mobility. To me, someone like that could really be valuable if they pan out and we can afford to take a chance.
The draft strategy may just prioritise shooting and defense over potential if the pick is where it is forecasted.
I don't like Knecht because he is old and he is bad defensively. Sure he can shoot but he ain't beating any of the wing players because his ceiling is limited and he is bad athletically and can't defend. I know it's counterintuitive to pick a guy with high potential when the Rox clearly needs shooting but remember the wings we have now consist of JG, Cam, Tari and Dillon Brooks. Say the Rox get Dalton Knecht, you think Ime would rather play Dalton or Tari freaking Eason? Knecht is a trap pick, some dumb team like Wizards will take him expecting Jaime JJ and they just get unathletic Corey Kispert. Maybe in 2 years we can move Brooks and then there'd be space in the rotation but in that case we should just get the guy with potential since that dude would be better than Knecht in 2 yrs. This class has a lot of high potential wings Risacher, Cody Williams, Matas Buzelos, Ron Holland etc I think Rox should pick up one of those guys with the pick.
I feel like we will be hearing a lot of those names that one is not familiar with......not a draft full of stars but a draft rich with starters and 6th men.
The only downside to the Rockets beating the Jazz last night was that it dropped Utah into a tie with Brooklyn for the 8th worst record.
I would be okay with Williams as #9 even though I don't buy his shooting as being as good as the 3P% suggests (too low volume). He is one of the few prospects in this class with actual star upside though so I doubt he falls that far.
We are gonna need some help from the lotto Gods. Picking #9 is really not valuable to us. There aren’t great pathways for player development with 9-10 players locked into the rotation. A guy like Cody Williams is talented but certainly a long term project. Not opposed to taking that on, but there’s a good chance he never earns his way into the court. He honestly needs another year of college, but I’d draft him just to entice J-Dub to come here some day A guy like Kenecht is probably a mid-round prospect in a normal draft, but is one of the few difference makers in this draft so he’ll go top 10. He and other shooters like Shepard will probably go early. Some of the 2nd-rate bigs could be available; maybe a Filipowski. But I’m just not over the moon about the guys in this draft. Really hoping Stone can make a good move with our 1st and 2nd round picks if we’re picking #9. The value of that pick probably goes lower once we actually draft a player; there are so many conflicting opinions on these players.
