You do what you're supposed to do with any draft pick. Make him earn it. Bring him along through G League until he can practice with the Rockets until he can compete for minutes as a net positive in his minutes. Really doesn't need a ton of NBA minutes in his first season. He'll also be mastering a new language and moving to a new country. Getting into non-18yrold shape. Lots of G League and off court work to do with him. You give him his first NBA minutes after the All Star break. Players this age tend to have shaky numbers. That's a solid year of development. Remember this is an 18 year old Euro. For players that young, development simply takes longer than people expect. He's roughly a HS player with a handful of pro games as experience. So you compare his development (not ceiling) with Kobe, T-Mac, KG. Lebron is really the only example of a player equally inexperienced showing up ready to be a great starter in the NBA. Even Kobe needed to come off the bench heavily his first season, his development was very slow and easy and with a great environment. Came off the bench his second season too. This is not wasted time as long as you're actually taking the time to develop a player properly. We can do that for Topic if he is BPA. We should always go BPA. We're not in any rush to do anything, we will be roughly the same seed with or without this pick. Raising the ceiling is highest priority to me right now.
I wonder how severe Topic's injuries were this year. The recent one in May sounds like a mild sprain, albeit on the same knee that he previously had injured. The one in January, however, is being called a ligament injury that took four months to heal, from what I've read. Not sure how serious it was, and whether it should make teams have second thoughts taking him.
The Spurs being right behind us in the draft is a very interesting because we definitely need to be thinking about what they want. They are a direct competitor to us being on the same exact timeline. Any guard they choose will be paired with Wemby for the next 10-15 years. This fit could make or break their future and we play a direct hand to play in this. Who is the scarier fit? Sheppard + Wemby or Topic + Wemby?
If Risacher and Sarr are off the board the pick should come down to Sheppard, Topic or Castle. I still think we need to take Sheppard, but it would be great if we could ransom Topic and swap with SA, and still get Sheppard. I believe Topic is who SA is after. I think Sheppard is the better fit for Houston. I see all 3 of those guys in the same tier as far as BPA.
They're both good fits for the Spurs, unfortunately. I feel that the Spurs are the one team that will get the most out of Sheppard while minimizing his possible weaknesses. But I don't want them to get Topic either, who can be a cross between Tony Parker and Ginobili. If given the choice, I think they'll be picking Topic.
He can't dribble and can't create his own shot. When he tries he looks like Jabari. He's a C&S player with minimal dip like Jabari but shoots it worse (38% to Jabari's 43% in college). His defense is also similar in that he can keep up laterally but thin framed and easy to move. I was fine with Jabari because he's so damn tall and his release is so high it doesn't matter. Risacher doesn't have this luxury. He literally can't put the ball on the floor against Euro competition. And he's not tall enough to shoot over the top of NBA competition. Again....worse Jabari. It's mind blowing this guy is being mocked #1.
Is it though? Once again for those in the back: "This is the weakest draft in years." Jabari was the #3 pick, he'd be CLEAR #1 in this draft without any competition.
Much better analysis than your other post. Some good points. He is skinny like Jabrari and shorter which is a concern. He shoots good threes and dribbles extremely well per the scouting reports I’ve read. Jabrari’s biggest weakness is his mental aspect where he typically chokes or disappears at crunch time. Not sure if this other guy has more of a “clutch” gene.
•Hawks are taking Risacher or Sarr •Wizards are taking Risacher or Sarr •Draft really starts with Houston; stay put, trade down(POR/MEM/CHI) or out for win-now player •Spurs reportedly like Castle (really, linked to any PG—Castle, Topic, Dillingham, Garland, Trae) •Portland, Memphis, Chicago may want to move up (Clingan) Spoiler https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/st...58-picks-ncaa-early-entry-withdrawal-deadline 1. Atlanta Hawks: Zaccharie Risacher, SF, Bourg (France) | Age: 19.1 The intel out of the Atlanta Hawks continues to indicate that their front office is at an early stage in its decision-making process and there likely won't be clarity on which way the team is leaning with this pick until closer to draft night. … Every team in the top five has significant interest in Risacher, and it is looking highly unlikely, barring a major surprise, that he'll drop out of the top two. 2. Washington Wizards: Alex Sarr, PF/C, Perth (Australia) | Age: 19.0 Expect the Wizards to look at all options on the trade front -- suffice to say that much of the league is open to moving back for additional value given the difficult nature of this draft -- with players such as Donovan Clingan and Matas Buzelis viewed as options further down their board. 3. Houston Rockets (via Nets): Reed Sheppard, PG/SG, Kentucky | Age: 19.9 Most teams expect the Rockets to heavily pursue trade opportunities, either to move down the board (for example with teams such as the Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies or Chicago Bulls) or to get out altogether if a major building block of a player -- such as Mikal Bridges -- presents itself unexpectedly. Should Houston stand pat at No. 3, continuing to add shooting will likely be a priority after it finished toward the bottom of the league last season. With that in mind, adding a sharpshooter such as Sheppard, who converted over half of his 3-point attempts and proved capable of playing on or off the ball, could be attractive. Sheppard's unselfishness, feel for the game and sharp defensive instincts could make him a strong fit alongside the Rockets' core. -- Givony 4. San Antonio Spurs: Stephon Castle, PG/SG, UConn | Age: 19.5 The biggest roster need is at point guard, and rival teams have connected the Spurs to the Cleveland Cavaliers' Darius Garland as they work to revamp the team. San Antonio has reportedly demonstrated strong interest in Castle, who might well land here if the Spurs stay put. 5. Detroit Pistons: Matas Buzelis, SF/PF, G League Ignite | Age: 19.6 6. Charlotte Hornets: Rob Dillingham, PG, Kentucky | Age: 19.4 7. Portland Trail Blazers: Donovan Clingan, C, UConn | Age: 20.2 There's chatter around the league that teams such as Portland, Memphis and Chicago might look to move up to draft Clingan earlier than this 8. San Antonio Spurs: Tidjane Salaun, PF, Cholet (France) | Age: 18.8 The Spurs are considering a handful of prospects at this spot, including Dillingham, Nikola Topic, Cody Williams and Dalton Knecht. 9. Memphis Grizzlies: Dalton Knecht, SF, Tennessee | Age: 23.1 10. Utah Jazz: Nikola Topic, PG, Mega MIS (Adriatic League) | Age: 18.8 Utah is among the interested parties in Topic, with Dalton Knecht, Ron Holland and Ja'Kobe Walter among other prospects who are getting looks from the Jazz at No. 10. 11. Chicago Bulls: Ron Holland, SF, G League Ignite | Age: 18.8 Holland, who is ranked No. 11 in ESPN's Top 100, is in the conversation for teams that are drafting higher than this, including Detroit at No. 5. 12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Rockets): Devin Carter, PG/SG, Providence | Age: 22.2 Carter has earned himself looks in the top 10 from teams, including San Antonio and Memphis, who value his reliability, toughness and all-around readiness to step in and contribute immediately. 13. Sacramento Kings: Ja'Kobe Walter, SG/SF, Baylor | Age: 19.7 There's quite a bit of trade talk around this No. 13 pick, which makes sense considering the Kings' timeline and urgency for returning to the playoffs coming off their 2022-23 season. 14. Portland Trail Blazers (via Warriors): Cody Williams, SG/SF, Colorado | Age: 19.5 Williams has drawn strong interest from teams in the top 10, including Charlotte, San Antonio and Utah.
Risacher is pretty tall and gets off pretty easily. I think Risacher attacks closeouts pretty well. I don't really care that his self creation is near zero right now. I think he's a poor man's Jabari as a prospect, but he could easily be very similar to what Jabari has been in the NBA so far. Jabari has not been able to capitalize on his ability to rise up in traffic as much as I expected, but still has that upside. Being mocked # 1 this year is like being mocked number 7 in recent years. Sarr's offense is theorectical and doesn't rebound well. Sheppard is small. Dillingham is smaller and can't defend college players. Topic, Holland, Matas, and Castle have not shown the ability to shoot behind the arc the past year. Clingan, offense will likely be limited to pushing guys like Wemby around following that up with dunks or hooks or being used as a connective passing piece, but he could be a defensive force. It should not be mindblowin with whoever gets mocked number 1. I'm more surprised by most mocks that I've seen having Sarr number one. Not that Sarr is number one, but that there isn't much varialbility. Givony has had Risacher and Hollinger has Holland there, but most of the other ones seem to be stuck on Sarr as if it is just group think.
Most of the Top 3 do not change in the last month before the Draft. There are exceptions to the norm though from draft class to draft class. I was not high on Paolo initially but I became more and more intrigued by the playmaking and I guess the Magic did so too....and he has proven he has some sort of heart and tough mentality.
If I'm going to take an imperfect project, I'm going to take the one that's 7-1 or the one that projects to be Dollar Brand Luka. Not the one that looks like worse Jabari Smith Jr or Brandon Miller without the dribble DLC.
I think what you're seeing out of Jabari at times is what you saw out of Edwards in the WCF. He presses too much. He tries too hard to do the right thing and ends up doing the wrong thing. He has two game winners to his name because he just let his body take over in those moments. Both game winners (he has the other Summer League one too) I don't think he expected to get the ball. He just acted out of instinct. My only real concern is his reluctance to launch when he has space. Unless the defender is literally in his face he needs to put the shot up every time. More often than not he doesnt and we end up getting a FVV/Jalen Green contested 3.
I expect the Top 3 to be more homongenous when the players are better as better players tend not to be rated as closely together. Last year, Wemby number 1 is easy. Cade 1 in 2021 was easy. I think the Paolo v. Chet v. Jabari were pretty closely rated, though I prefered Chet and Jabari to Paolo. Paolo was easily a better prospect than anyone in this class. It just seems like Sarr rose up early as the number 1 in a few mocks and group think has kept him there. A lot of upside there, but I'd expect Clingan would eat his lunch and dinner if they went heads up right now.
He creates so many mismatches just with his height, he's really gotta take advantage more often. But to be fair, the team needs to give him more touches as well. He could easily average seven or eight 3PA and probably should.
