Some of it is out of his control. If Orlando takes PB, then he can’t draft their friend. If their friend is the top rated guy available at #3, then it’s just a coincidence. The bad look would be if 5 years down the road you had to explain that you drafted a bust because the guy you had rated highest is now an All-Star, but he was friends with someone on the team and you had a “no drafting friends” policy.
Benedict Mathurin just said he’s going to be the best player in the league in 5 years. I’m all about confidence, but man..
lol getting Jalen Green flashback of people already doubtin the potential new rookie (paolo) b4 he plays a single min. it's gonna b a fun offseason
I suppose we have a different interpretation of the role of muscle memory and the subconscious mind. He's 19 man... There is no way he's fully developed. It is very apparent how much work he's put into his game from such an early age. Forget the draft and forget about the Rockets and look at a 6'10 250 guy with that kind of fluid movement, footwork and skill. Look at his movement and feet and then look at Chet's movement and feet. I often times have to remind myself that he is 6'10. There is a reason he is still being considered for the #1 pick. People say that Sengun is a finished product because his athleticism and size for his position are limited. The thing that these two have in common is a great inherent feel and understanding for the game that will only improve over time.
If #1 and #2 are set in stone between Chet and Jabari, then stone had to be on the phone seeing if he can trade up with wood and the #17 pick.
https://www.si.com/nba/2022/05/20/n...t-questions-scrimmage-standouts-from-thursday What will the Thunder do? While the Magic actually won Tuesday’s lottery, the bulk of the early speculation around the league has been centered on Oklahoma City, which holds the No. 2 pick. This is partially because the general expectation around the combine has been that Orlando will go with Auburn forward Jabari Smith at No. 1, but also because the Thunder’s intentions are notoriously hard to peg. While nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen yet—it’s so early that it’s not worth obsessing—all we can do for now is consider the options. Operating under the loose assumption that the Magic take Smith, there’s a segment of rival executives that think Thunder boss Sam Presti will have a hard time passing on Gonzaga forward Chet Holmgren, as I initially projected in Tuesday’s mock draft. But I’ve also heard quite a few educated theories since draft night that Oklahoma City may favor Duke forward Paolo Banchero in this spot. It feels like the concern over Banchero’s defense (which, to some extent, I share) has been somewhat overblown on the public front: He’s not a rim protector, but he’s also not a stiff, and he’s a rare talent when it comes to ball skills and feel at his size. His jump shot can be shaky at times, but he’s ready to play in the NBA from an offensive standpoint. He’ll presumably be part of the discussion with Orlando at No. 1, but if he’s available at No. 2, it creates an interesting conundrum. When it comes to the Thunder, you can argue this both ways: OKC is operating under a very undefined contention timeline and has shown the willingness to be patient and develop prospects who weren’t necessarily physically ready for the league. Holmgren is a nice fit there in theory, as the Thunder will have a runway to experiment with how best to deploy him, and there’s an immediate need for improved interior defense on the roster. I have no idea if he could play alongside the similarly slender Aleksej Pokuševski, but that’s certainly interesting to think about. And if Oklahoma City believes in him long-term, the roster remains amorphous enough to pick him and put the right type of pieces next to him. On the other hand, if there’s been a pattern to the way Presti has built his team out over the past couple years, it’s that the Thunder clearly value size and skill on the perimeter. They also have invested very little at the center position at this point, mostly opting to fill out those spots with steady veterans. Banchero, capable of moonlighting at point guard and operating as both ballhandler and screener in pick-and-roll situations, offers inarguably more perimeter utility at his size than Holmgren. Given that he’s physically ready for the league, it’s also a safer assumption that Banchero will immediately enhance the rotation in some capacity. It may be some time before there’s clarity on this matter, if there ever is any, but it’s safe to say the intrigue in the lottery presently begins at No. 2. If we learned anything last year, when they grabbed Josh Giddey at No. 6, it’s that nobody should ever make any assumptions about what the Thunder are doing. How high can Shaedon Sharpe go? Sharpe has come up in a lot of my conversations this week as a prospect who both fascinates and frightens NBA executives. He’s almost certainly going to come off the board in the first five or six picks of this draft despite never playing a college minute at Kentucky, and there are two very stark sides of the coin here. Sharpe’s frame, balletic movements, ability to create space with his handle and potentially high-level jumper are tantalizing. Over the course of a Monday pro day that basically consisted of him dribbling around, launching jumpers and doing cool dunks, it was pretty evident why he’s going to get picked so high. The risk here is built into what we don’t know—how Sharpe will produce over the course of a full season—and heightened by what we do know: He has a quiet personality and sometimes came off as low-energy in AAU and high school action. That may mean nothing in the long run, but it would be hard to characterize him as an elite motor player. Most teams don’t have the strongest feel for what type of competitor he is yet as a result. It’s worth noting that he’s also taken a unique trajectory to his current status: He was under the radar in Canada and didn’t have a hot recruitment before he blew up as a prospect in late 2020. The 19-year-old Sharpe’s life has changed quite a bit since, and it’s happened very fast. Sometimes situations like that deserve the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes they also throw young people into circumstances they were never prepared for. Teams will make their own assessments, and how Sharpe handles individual on-site workouts and interviews will play the biggest role in this. There’s no shortage of interest here, regardless—I’d expect pretty much every team in the top 10, including Orlando and Oklahoma City, to at least try and bring him in. There’s quite a bit left to determine here, but safe to say the prospect of Sharpe’s unusual talent and athletic ability has successfully captured the attention of the entire NBA this week.
Presti is like the sphinx, he knows how to keep teams guessing in case he can leverage an opportunity to collect more assets by a less experienced or less confident GM.
He doesn’t ever look at commercial publications and he has said that he doesn’t have a “this is what the draft outcome will look like” board. He has his own list and doesn’t deviate from it. One of the former front office guys for the Thunder was saying that the rankings that Presti has are often quite different than everyone else.
He and Griffen both had 40+ inch verticals. I find verticals to be very overrated overall but Paolo is a good athlete.
My wife was right about Tatum & Green. she wanted to watch Ivey, Palo, Chet, Jabri draft videos this was her ranking…. 1. Smith - clear winner 2. Paolo - solid 5. Chet LOL - she just doesn’t see they hype 5. Ivey - no floater, no mid, she said we have Christopher for that and she doesn’t like his game lol
Banchero has a better vertical, but I don’t think it really matters that much. How fast a guy gets off the ground and the standing reach. Banchero isn’t Blake Griffin as an athlete but he is a good athlete, that isn’t going to be a problem for him.
