What type of player to target with 2024 Nets pick?

I don't think we should use this pick to draft for need and get a backup center. I think short term that's Steven Adams, maybe medium term too. I don't think you spend a mid/high lottery pick on a guy you think is going to be a bench player for years anyway.

Maybe you get a guy who can play both the 4 and the 5 if you think he's the best player available. Now, maybe that's a guy like Sarr or Filipowski, but I am little skeptical they can play the 4.

Now, if we get extremely lucky and land in a spot where we can get Zaccharie Risacher, I think that's a no-brainer. Guy who can play the 3 and the 4, can pass and handle the ball well enough that you could get away with Cam in the 2 spot should Jalen be traded or benched. Very long at 6'9" and possibly still growing, good defender, has some shotblocking ability, helps us in the "surround Alpi with length" mission. Great shooter, good touch both from distance and close to the basket. I think LNB Pro A has kind of proven itself this season as a high-level league, not so much because of Wemby but because Coulibaly has looked so ready to go at such a young age when he was just a relatively minor roleplayer there.

Whether Risacher would be better than Tari, I don't know--whether Tari is more of a 3 or a 4 long term, I also don't know. But I like the talent and love the fit in terms of adding tall, long shooters to the roster, which I think is what we need most in the long-term.

 

Zack Edey as a Boban replacement
But only in the 2nd rd

 

Prior to getting Adams, I thought the Rockets would get a good backup center. I've not seen many Duke games, but the footage of Sarr looks like the could play PF defensively and offensively (I'd say the offense is more the issue).

Risacher, Sarr, Topic, Sheppard, Cody Williams (I'd like a little more volume of 3PAs) are my top 5 for the Rockets. Probably need to win a Top 4 pick for one of those. Walter, Castle, and Holland have shooting issues and Dllingham has defensive concerns. It is going to be very risky picking at 8th or 9th as these guys could be good or unplayable which is why I was leaning going after a great backup center prior to Adams.

 

You have probably just named picks 1-5 in the NBA draft! There is still time, but Sarr will go first IMO, then the other 4 based on which team picks at 2 through 5.

Given our odds at a top 4 pick, don't dream it's over (yet)

 

https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/1757415580351525078?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet

https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/kyshawn-george-the-educated-guess

Kyshawn George
6'9 Wing. He used to PG before his growth spurt so he can handle the ball well. Shows signs of being a good 3PT catch-and-shooter

 

Really like this kid as a prospect. No shortage of tall French shooters in this draft:

Zaccharie Risacher
Tidjane Salaun
Kyshawn George
Melvin Ajinca

Risacher likely goes top 3-5. Ajinca seems like a late 1st-2nd.
Tidjane Salaun is consistently projected in the lotto, but I think the debate between him and Kyshawn George is pretty close.



Salaun feels like a home run swing. The shot making, handle, and athleticism pop off the screen. If he improves his feel, shot selection, and channels his motor, you have a 2-way athletic volume scorer.

George shows connective point-forward upside with good feel and consistent shooting. A safer pick perhaps. The combination of IQ/Feel + Shooting + Size has a long track record for success.

It's a tough call. I flip fop between the two day to day. No guarantee George declares this year, but a strong March Madness performance in a "weak" draft puts him comfortably in the lotto imo.

 

How bad is the 2024 draft really? Is all the negative talk accurate? Are there potential star players to be had at picks 8-10? To me that’s the biggest question. If you can find a Sengun, Tari, or Cam at 8-10 then you don’t trade the Brooklyn pick. But if we don’t see a player of that caliber being available in that range, I’d be gunning to trade this pick.

 

It's being labeled a bad draft due to the lack of obvious star tier talent. There's no NCAA star freshmen or sophomores for stateside viewers to latch onto, and the best international talent are currently role players/projects for their respective teams. A consensus top 3 is starting to form, but I don't think it would be a huge surprise if things end up totally different from the mocks.

I'm no expert, but I think the top 5 projected picks..lets say Risacher, Sarr, Topic, Ron Holland, and Cody Williams would all be picked 4-14 in most other drafts. And there isn't much of a dropoff from that top group to the rest of the lotto. All that to say there will be good prospects in the draft, but unsure if there are any perennial all-star type talents.

 

My 2c is that there is no obvious Wemby or Scoot or Banchero or Cunningham or Mobley or Green (etc)

Some of those guys mentioned may not kick on anyway? But there are a bunch of guys competing for the top 4 picks in 2024 who might last year have been get picked in the 8-14 range. And in that range (end of lotto) it is certainly possible to snag a star.

 

FWIW, I played the tankathon simulator a couple of times in the last two days and got the top pick with the Nets pick. That might help.

 

A shooter

 

Dalton Knecht. He'd go a ways toward helping the Rockets outside shooting woes. Move Jalen, start Cam and bring Knecht off the bench and now the shooting guards can actually shoot...

 

The Brooklyn pick might be too rich of a draft range, but Johnny Furphy from Kansas is likely going to rise to late lottery if he continues his play during the tournament. Almost a blend of a Christian Braun/Trey Murphy III: high motor, shoot-dribble-pass, athletic 6'9" 3, feel like a lot of playoff teams would love to trade up for him come draft time.

 

Was looking through some of the guys, we absolutely do not need another guard or wing that can't shoot and this draft has a few of them. I'd love to focus on a sharp shooter, Cody Williams and Reed Sheppard stick out. And not quite sharpshooters but Risaccher and Salaun stuck out as wings that'd fit.

Alex Sarr is good but I don't see his fit here. I want no part of Topic, I don't doubt he can be good but the archetype conflicts with Amen too much and a Sengun centered offense will probably be too slow to maximize him. Ja'Kobe Walter shooting stats are rough too.

If the pick falls closer to around 10, I don't hate getting the backup C of the future either though. Donovan Clingan sticks out

 

I’m not sure there’s one player on the current roster that would make me think the Rockets have the luxury of drafting for need. They need just about everything.

 

I want a shot blocking 5 who can shoot

 

I don't think there is anyone in this draft that is guaranteed enough of a superstar that you ignore the makeup of this team to draft them just for their potential, and I think there are guys that would be pretty bad fits on this team and hurt our development even further.

It's time to start assembling a real roster instead of just drafting guys who you hope work out. That's not a dig the guys we've drafted so far, but yeah I think throwing another non-shooter on this roster is going to either force some *real* bad lineups or force someone that should probably get minutes to not get minutes

 

Those are well stated thoughts. I certainly understand that perspective

 

Horry in the 1st, trade up for Cassell in the late 1st, Elie NDFA