If that's the case, would ascribe that label to Jalen Johnson, JT Thor and Vrenz Bleijenbergh as well.
I think the 23rd and 24th should be offered for the 10th pick to snatch Jalen Johnson. Adding Tate will be needed as well. The Knicks can counter with the 19th and the 21st, unless they want another player.
Some of the chatter about Cleveland wanting Mobley, maybe the plan should be to lure them into trading up to #2 (after we confirm that Cunningham is the pick for Detroit) where the Cavs take Mobley and we get Jalen Green plus other considerations. Problem is they don't have any other valuable picks this year. Maybe a third team gets involved?
I have heard that Ziarie Williams's stock is rising. He is working hard. If his shooting and strength has improved, he might be worth the 23rd or the 24th pick. I like Jalen Johnson more than him. @Nook. How do you compare the two of them?
Ziaire is not the playmaker or rebounder or defender (disruptor - blocked shots, steals, deflections, etc.) that Jalen Johnson is. But he is still very good in all 3 areas especially for his size. Both 6'8 with 6'11 wingspans but JJ is 220 lbs while Ziaire is 185 lbs, this lack of strength makes Ziaire shy of contact and it shows up in his poor shooting % and FTA. Williams has the higher offensive upside because he is so fluid and his shooting form is much tighter and repeatable.
Jalen Johnson and Tre Mann would be SWEET!!! JT Thor and Trey Murphy would be hard to pass up tho, even for Tre Mann.
Zaire Williams screams "2nd coming of Corey Brewer" to me. There is a technical issue with his elbow with his jumper that make me think he's never going to be a consistent, good shooter, but id be totally happy with him defending 2's & 3's on the perimeter. Johnson im getting Chandler Parsons (good, Rockets parson, not D-Bag Dallas Parsons, or trash Memphis Parsons) vibes. Jack of all trades, master of none. I can't imagine him as a a go-to lead scorer, but at the same time i have a difficult time imagining a player who isnt a rotation guy from day 1 I would be fine with Williams in the 20s for the Rockets, as he wold be a really tall guy with quickness to guard on the wing, which Rockets dont have, but i genuinely can't imagine anybody chosing Williams before Johnson. There are a ton of similar odd decisions, like Isaiah Jackson 10 picks before Usman Garruba that make no sense to me. Jackson is basically only a shot blocker at this point. Every thing else with him is projection of what he might do with those physical tools.
We need defense and shooting badly. We were 27th in defensive rating, 28th in 3P%. I think Trey Murphy would address both, but might be gone by #23. If he's gone I'd like one of the picks to be either Deuce McBride or Bones Hyland. McBride is a strong defensive combo guard with a 6'9" wingspan and shot 46% on catch and shoot jumpers. I don't think he'll need to create too many plays next to KPJ. Hyland is another combo guard with a 6'9" wingspan with outrageous range. He's got plenty of scoring potential as well. With the other pick I'd like to gamble on upside, but we need a sharpshooting role player. The offense was a total slog this season. Watching Wall attempt 6 threes per game on 31.7% shooting was horrid.
