I respect all these guys at the top of this draft... if the players that are being highly touted I couldn't see why the 2022 draft could not contend with the 2003 class. My rankings at the moment regardless of team draft order: 1. Chet Holmgren 2. Jabari Smith 3. Jaden Ivey 4. Paolo Banchero 5. AJ Griffin If Paolo turns it on when the tournament starts, I could see him reclaiming his place within the top 3, but as of right now he is barely keeping himself ahead of his teammate AJ. There's plenty of time for these guys to help or hurt their draft stock though.
I would be happy with any of those top 5. I have my preferences for sure. But if we ended up with Banchero I would hope he becomes elite offensively.
His defense gets attacked but his defensive win shares stack up. Paolo is shooting a respectable 33% from 3 even while being dubbed a bad outside shooter. He's a good free throw shooter so it should be a logical indicator of continued growth in his outside shot and even then Paolos 3PAr (3pt attempt rate) per game is only 25% which should tell you he's mindful of his limitations there and is not just out there chucking. He leads the scoring for Duke and is 2nd in assists. He's the best suited to be a #1 option among the big guys since he doesnt need to rely on anyone else to create his offense for him. He creates for others in fact and is grabbing 8 boards per game on top of it all. Add up his superior passing ability and advanced game within the arc and its sketchy when guys go out of their way to diminish what he can do. Paolo leads the other two big men in points produced for his team by a healthy margin and is even ahead of Jaden Ivey in that department. You're not banking on expectations - you're getting a ready made guy for sure.
I'd lean Sochan over Brown myself, but coming out of the draft with two guys 6'9/6'10 would be huge for our roster.
TBH if we remain at 3 and Jabra/Chet are already gone at 1/2... I would totally jump on the Ivey train and find a way to ship Scoot to a new team. I feel like we can never have a truly 'up to its potential' team with someone so erratic mentally and emotionally. I don't think Banchero is a mentally weak person, by any means, but I can't imagine what he would be walking into culture wise if he was drafted by us to become a key member of our rebuild. I just don't see KPJ as a true building block here for whomever we end up with our two picks in this year's draft. That's just me.
No rookie should be any team's #1 option IMO. NBA efficiency and adjusting to speed of game takes time. Unless that rook is truly generational like MJ or Olajuwon.
Just because you have A elite NBA talent does not make a great player, there are tons of guys who were supposed to have elite somethings that don't make it. With that said I think I am on the Ivey train if we are talking about the upside he has the most while already showing a lot of skill and not just projection. He is everything we were told Green was supposed to be and I have no freakin idea why anybody is saying last years draft is better than this year, Green would be lower lottery at best. Banchero is going to drop and everybody is going to say how the hell did that happen his playmaking has been a real eye-opener over the last couple of games.
I am not talking about him as a rookie I don't see him ever being that. I don't think he has to be to be, to be a great a great player I just think others have more potential to have a greater impact.
Wut? A lot of Griffins shots come from the attention paid to Banchero and Griffin has shown little of the bounce game, it's truly amazing the disrespect Banchero gets. I really have no idea why people love Griffin he has shown to be nothing but to be a great spot-up shooter.
Facts. It's amazing the Banchero slander I get liking other guys over Banchero but to not appreciate all the facets of his game is mind-boggling. He is the best passer on that team and the hub of everything they do on offense.
What is your issue with Banchero? This coming from the guy who idolized Arron Gordon and Ben Simmons. Interesting.
This is just not true. Moore, Roach and even Keels average more assists. Banchero is not a hub for offense for others. He’s ok for a big guy at finding open teammates off of his offense. But he’s not some playmaker like Lebron, like you’ve said before. It’s just not true. The dude is averaging 3 assists man. On high usage.
Its all preference. I dont think you can go wrong with any of the big guys if properly utilized. I just like having a 6'10 guy who can create for others and go get his shot whenever/wherever he wants vs a lockdown defender or 3 point specialist. https://www.thestepien.com/2022/02/15/jabari-vs-paolo-examining-their-biggest-difference/
Defense? So you would take the better defensive player over the better offensive player evry time? No matter if the offensive guy is a step above the defensive guy? And we are not talking about a terrible defensive player and his rim protection ability is not an issue because he should never be asked to play the 5 in the 1st place. This defense thing is just nitpicking, would you take the better rim protector over the much better playmaker?
The fact that you don't know that Banchero is the hub of that offense shows you have not watched him play, and he is averaging 6 assist over his last 5 games. Those 3 guys are guards and having higher assists does not mean you are a better passer, which again shows your rudimentary understanding of the intricacies of basketball.
