I don't watch a lot of college ball but what little I saw of Koloko was intriguing. Probably a reach at 17 but...
That elbow jumper is a nice wrinkle. Reminds me of old Nene or Scola, both were pretty money from the free throw circle. That said... If they can trade Wood+17 for 13 to select Williams, I'd be thrilled. Particularly if the first pick is Jabari. Porter-Green-Smith-Sengun-Williams can definitely work on both sides of the court.
I don't know much about Miller, he is another high school player. He seems intriguing with his long arms and 6'10 " height. I think he seems raw to me. He should go to college for a year.
exactly i'm not sure if EGo has more value than K.Mart jr. tho, depends on which team to trade with i think the top 12 picks are pretty much set, in no order: Jabari / Chet / Paolo / Ivey / Sharpe / Murray / Mathurin / Duren / Griffin / Daniels / Davis / Sochan next 6 picks could be any combination of: M.Williams, M.Branham, O.Dieng, O.Agbaji, T.Washington, T.Eason, K.Brown if things goes well for the Rockets #13. Cha.: M.Williams #14. Cle. M.Branham or O.Agbaji #15. Cha. O.Dieng #16. Atl. T.Washington #17. Hou. T.Eason i think the biggest threat will be Charlotte at #13/15 and Atlanta at #16, if the Hornets decided to take M.Williams first at #13 and go with O.Dieng at #15, and the Hawks take TyTy to give themself a backup to Trae, we might steal T.Eason at #17. or Hornets might be willing to trade down 2 spots from #15 for KM jr. and still get O.Dieng at #17. if the Hornets really like T.Eason then we'll have to give up more assets of course, probably need to add the Milwaukee pick on top of #17 and KM jr. for OKC's #12, like how we stole Sengun from OKC last year deja-vu
One positive as I was looking through the list of possibilities at 17: There's a ton of quality defenders in that 10-20 range. I know many of us are in love with the Eason pick or the idea of adding Mark Williams to protect the rim, but there's also Daniels, Sochan, Agbaji, Liddell, Branham, etc. If Houston wants to add a wing defender, there's going to be someone there at 17. They might just have to trade up if they have a particular player in mind.
I thought exact same when I saw that. But it's the wingspan difference that makes all the difference. Top wingspan measurements at 2022 NBA Draft Combine Player Wingspan Mark Williams 7-6.5 Christian Koloko 7-5.25 Kofi Cockburn 7-4.25 Walker Kessler 7-4.25 Orlando Robinson 7-4 Dominick Barlow 7-3 Trevion Williams 7-2.75 Moussa Diabate 7-2.5 Justin Lewis 7-2.5 John Butler Jr. 7-2.25 Jalen Williams 7-2.25 Tari Eason 7-2 Leonard Miller 7-2 Drew Timme 7-2 Patrick Baldwin Jr. 7-1.75
Let me start by saying absolutely loathe our draft position. Seems like there is a legit drop off after pick 15. These 16+ guys have bust written all over them. Looking at our depth chart, it would be hard for me to advocate for another PF. They would be behind Banchero, Sengun and Garuba...and I hate the idea of masquerading PFs as Centers. I think the Rockets really really really need to try and trade up and nab either a SF or C. Duren and Williams both seem like absolute monsters. Dieng would be a real nice fit. Griffin, I feel is a prime candidate to drop. Sochan...can he play SF in the NBA?
We don’t have to trade up. We’ll be able to Baltimore Ravens this pick—good Talent will fall to us. Just like with Zaire Williams and Josh Primo last year, teams will reach for tools and potential, leaving us some real quality options at 17. Just because there’s only 13-15 good players in this draft doesn’t mean teams will pick them all by 17. A lot of these teams are poorly run, and that’s how they’ve gotten to be perennial lottery pickers.
Add EJ Liddell and Ousmane Dieng to that group for me All very long, versatile, 2way, combo forwards that can shoot (except Brown) and are very athletic (except Dieng) 5 excellent options around #17 to land a possible starter
Trying to type this into existence: Houston out: Wood, Mathews, Tate and pick 17 Houston in: Plumlee, Walker, pick 13 and Dallas' 2023 frp Why?: Rockets get value in the form of picks (hopefully in Eason range at 13) and they add additional veteran voices to help the young guys. NY out: Kemba Walker, pick 11 and Dallas' 2023 frp NYK in: Tate, Washington and pick 17 Why?: They get rid of Walker's salary and they bolster their bench with Washington and Tate. This is especially appealing if they can swing a deal for Mitchell from Utah. Charlotte out: Mason Plumlee, PJ Washington and pick 13 Charlotte in: Wood, Mathews and pick 11 Why?: Wood would thrive next to Ball (especially in a Mike D offense). While PJ is good, he has been supplanted by Bridges at the 4. Plumlee is a JAG. Mathews provides a cheap sniper that every team has a roster spot for. AND they move up in the draft 2 spots.
Williams has great measurables but it is that pesky game film that does him in. Kessler who also has limited range shot does have great blocking instincts, at ~4.5 BPG. For teams who place great emphasis on game film, Kessler may very well be rated higher than Williams.
I would love Kessler to be ranked higher than Williams. But no NBA mock draft from legit NBA analysts that I've seen support this. And I've seen a ton of mocks. Kessler is just a limited athlete with little upside compared to Williams and Duren. Very likely the much less productive but higher upside Koloko goes before Kessler too.
Terry is the guy I hope is the fallback option if none of Jabari / Chet / Murray / Ivey / Sharpe / Paolo / Mathurin / Daniels / Sochan / Duren / Griffin / Eason drop.
