If Memphis acquires Dillingham.......it reads like this Guard rotation Ja - Bane - Dillingham - Smart - Luke Kennard - (D-Rose) Front Court GG Jackson - JJJ - Brandon Clarke - Santi Aldama - La Ravia
Posted this thread because of this question. https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/clingan-v-williams-kessler-lively.323288/
Honestly I'm starting to feel more and more like Devin Carter is my guy in this draft class. Would be too much of a reach to pick him at #3, so maybe we trade back? He is the most complete all-around guard prospect in my view. Great defender. Excellent athlete. Monster rebounder for a 6'3" dude, #3 in his conference at 8.7 rebounds per game. Took 11 three pointers per 100 possessions (higher volume than Sheppard) and knocked them down at a very solid 38% clip. Like Sheppard, his stock numbers are insane, and unlike Sheppard, he has a 6'9" wingspan (to go with a similar 42" vert) so those seem more translatable to the NBA. He's also strong as hell, great footwork and instincts, agility. He can score in a variety of ways off the ball, and is a decent playmaker on the ball. He's more of a 6'3" shooting guard than a point guard, so that's probably the biggest knock on him, as well as his age--he's already 22. But again, great athlete, 6'9" wingspan and good strength allows his size to play up. He can probably play a little bit of point guard, his ball skills and passing aren't bad, but definitely view him more as a 2 guard. Anyway, if we were to trade back and get two picks to grab Carter + the best big man that falls, I think that would actually be a really good decision in a pretty weak draft class. I like Reed Sheppard, I like Risacher, but I don't know that I see star potential for them. If we're basically drafting a bench player, why not get a pretty surefire bet like Carter and pick up another dude?
I'm right there with you on Carter. He had a hell of a season. With all of the positive things he does on the court it's hard to picture him failing in the NBA. Range out to the logo (including on pull ups and stepbacks), rebounding, elite man defense, extreme hustle, some ballhandling and ability to run the PNR. The guy is not afraid of the big moment. I think he's such a great fit next to Amen if the latter is truly the future at PG for us. At the very worst I see him as a Pat Beverley type, whereas the Marcus Smart/Alex Caruso tier would be a better outcome. I would have picked him at 9 if we had that pick. People seem to have him pegged as a bench guard, but I personally think he's got quite a bit more upside than that. He's actually pretty crafty on offense, with good footwork and finishing at the rim. If his ballhandling were more advanced he'd have as much potential as anyone else in this draft. And he could eventually develop those skills. He certainly improved a lot this year. I would be happy to trade back for him, there are no top tier prospects in this draft even at the #3 spot. I would much prefer a future pick over another pick in this draft though. I don't want two rookies in this class considering we have six draftees that already deserve time. A future pick would give us more trade flexibility than a rookie.
Hawks taking a 3&D wing with average athleticism and almost no play-making abilities over a versatile Defensive anchor like Sarr would be incredibly dumb. Don't see any way they do that tbh, especially with Capela's contract coming to an end next season. Sarr will almost certainly be an Atlanta Hawk. Think the Wizards end up taking Risacher at 2, which would make me happy cause I don't want us drafting him.
Oh dude no. Bridges defense has dipped because they've been experimenting with his shot creation which dips anyone's defense. When relieved of those duties he's DPOY calibre. BI has never sniffed DPOY votes. It's a canyon between them defensively and it has nothing to do with capability and everything to do with willingness. Not fair to call BI a two way player. I'm not buying it and I'm sure Ime wouldn't either. If he's your SF, you need a guy who's primarily defensive at the 2. You can't start a scorer at the 2 while BI shuts down the best wings. Bridges has actually achieved that before BKN.
I didnt see this until now but I posted one on Reddit as well if you want to read any of it. The top reply is pretty good.
Don't we need a guy who can create his own shot on the perimeter and hit them at high efficiency more than we need another defense-first guy? Because outside of March, Jalen really wasn't cutting it this season and that was clearly our biggest need as a team.
BI is just not an Udoka-style or Rockets FO-style player at all. No dog in him, no defensive intensity or execution, grades out consistently analytically worse than his reputation. Agree we don't need a defense-first guy, but we also don't need a mid-range ISO scorer who refuses to take threes at any volume even though New Orleans has been begging him to do it for years. We need players who raise the level of our offense by creating serious offensive threat away from the paint area. Right now we are a mediocre offensive team that turns into a terrible one when teams take the obvious step of aggressively overhelping into the paint. We need to have actions that force the defense to react on the perimeter... opening up space instead of compressing it. Without a big trade, drafting someone who turns into that, or a shocking developmental spurt from one of our core 6, I'm not sure where that comes from.
Lmao, Mitchell went on record to rave about the Heat and playing with his friend Bam Adebayo...... Mutual interest looks like this.
Fair enough--I've been ambivalent on BI in the first place due to his injury history and good-not-great offensive repertoire, and you make some good points.
I keep waiting to get really impressed by Rishacher and it doesn't happen. I see a young player, that has good but not super elite length.... that likely will be a really good outside shooter.... that can defend some on the inside. That is the template for a pretty good long term NBA player - and in fairness, at his age he could eventually learn to put the ball on the floor or create, but he isn't great at that - at this point. Whoever takes him will likely get a long term starter and maybe more - but I don't see all of this phenom talent that I hear about. If I were a rebuilding team sitting in the top 5, I would want him - but I see more upside with Topic, possibly Sarr and Sheppard.
I haven't seen enough of Sarr yet. From what I have seen, I see a guy that has some real upside but also real questions about how he will fit offensively and whether he will be a straight 5 or move to the 4. My guess is that if Sarr is there at 3, short of a slide, the Rockets take him. The Rockets need a real rim protector, and Sarr I believe can play next to Sengun (but I buy that he and/or Sengun will improve as shooters).
Iko •“Rockets officials also met with some of the players projected to go at the top of next month’s draft — including UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard and G League Ignite’s Matas Buzelis — during the combine. One team source cited Buzelis’ interview as excellent, which correlated with his group availability, showing confidence in his NBA readiness, commitment to defensive discipline and the simplifying of his offensive game to translate to the pros.” •“Here’s how I would rank the upcoming prospects from a Rockets point of view: 1. Zaccharie Risacher | 6-8 wing/forward | 19 years old | JL Bourg 2. Matas Buzelis | 6-9 wing/forward | 19 years old | G League Ignite 3. Stephon Castle | 6-6 wing | 19 years old | Connecticut 4. Dalton Knecht | 6-5 wing | 23 years old | Tennessee 5. Ron Holland | 6-7 wing | 18 years old | G League Ignite “In my next tier, I would have Alex Sarr, Sheppard, Nikola Topić, Rob Dillingham and Clingan. Again, this is just how I see it right now. It can change. But if I’m looking for the sweet spot between talent, versatility and fit, this is where I’m at.”
