With the 10th pick in the NBA Draft the Houston Rockets Select...

Imagine what Maluach would look like after his 1st two seasons. A monster.

 

Yes, lots of raw talent and his body has a long way to go. That is the thing about 18-year-olds. They aren't finished products. But he's impactful in professional games. People are worried about his shot, but Essengue's is almost as steady as Tari Eason's.

Last game a few days ago: 17 points (2–3 from 3) and 9 boards. He's earning trips to the free throw line and making them (about 5 FTs a game).

He's not doing this in the G-League or against NCAA amateurs. These are professionals who aim to win a championship. Their coach is putting Essengue in the middle of everything, which is super rare in European basketball. When Brooklyn picks, I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the conversation.

 

I just don't want to see them take CMB, someone that make no sense to me but has that dog in him that I'm sure Ime loves. His inability to shoot even at the combine was a huge red flag in terms of potential fit on this team. If the Rockets were picking 20th, he'd be fine as an upgraded Chuck Hayes type, but at #10 I need someone with more upside.

I'd be cool with all the other guys that have been mostly mocked to the Rockets: Bryant, Essengue, Jackucionis, Demin, Malauch are all good if they get to 10.

 

Every year or two a young swing/wing emerges and moves into the lottery - usually from overseas. Some pan out, and some do not. I would put Essengue in that group. He does have some physical skills that could translate into a high level player at the NBA level if he continues to develop. A lot of people get hung up on him not being on the radar a month or two ago, but the reality is that players his age can be very volatile in their development and physical growth and maturity. Watching him I can see why some are excited by his potential.

 

Reports are saying Jazz are actively shopping Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson - they collectively make $32M...we could package #10 pick, Cam, Jock, Holiday for them.
Sexton and Clarkson are expiring contracts that could be used in a trade deadline deal (package to move Jalen Green if he's not progressing)...

 

Spoiler

Sam Vecenie released his draft guide.

•Beyond those two (Flagg & Harper), I am a bit lower on this class of prospects than the consensus seems to be. I don't see this as a particularly star-laden draft outside of the top two. I like the depth of potential starters and role players that exists throughout the lottery and into the teens. But I don't quite have the same evaluations on many of the upside swings that others do. There is probably a bit more upside in the No. 18 to No. 25 range of this board than normal, but I think many of those players come with serious question marks that they're going to have to work hard over the next couple of years to answer.

Really, from No. 13 on down to the No. 25 or so range, it feels like the draft is flatter in terms of grades this year than normal. Then, once you get into even the early part of the second round, there is precious little depth as compared to a normal draft. Name, image and likeness rights being granted to college basketball players has cratered the depth of this group as the collegiate arms race has swung into full gear. Players across the country received multiple millions of dollars to stay in college basketball this year, which has cratered the second round and undrafted free agent group.

•What I value is finding players who can dribble, pass, shoot and defend, all while doing so with positional size. Those are the guys in the modern NBA who have value. Can you achieve the responsibilities of your role on defense? Can you hit shots and force defenses to stay in rotation when you play off the ball? Can you create your own shot and threaten defenses? And can you process the game at a high enough level to make quick decisions, space the court off the ball and make high-level passing reads when you have the ball? Precious few players are going to achieve all of these tasks. But finding those skills is the baseline goal.

So in that vein, this year there are certainly guys who I feel like l'm higher on than consensus, much like there are every year. Those players that l'm higher on are Kon Knueppel, Cedric Coward, Collin Murray-Boyles, Noah Penda and Ryan Kalkbrenner. The guys I'm probably a bit lower on than consensus? Jeremiah Fears, Egor Demin, Noa Essengue and Rasheer Fleming. If you notice a trend there, I hope it's that I value high-level processors of the game with size and skill, while downgrading players who I think are interesting on-ball upside swings but have a lower chance to hit any sort of threshold with the ball in their hands.

Tier 1 (All-NBA players):
1. Cooper Flagg

Tier 2 (All-Star, High Level Starters):
2. Dylan Harper

Tier 3 (High Leverage Starters):
3. Kon Knueppel
4. VJ Edgecombe
5. Tre Johnson
6. Ace Bailey

Tier 4 (Starter/All-Star Tool Swings):
7. Kasparas Jakucionis
8. Collin Murray-Boyles
9. Carter Bryant
10. Cedric Coward
11. Derik Queen
12. Khaman Maluach

Tier 5 (Rotation Players & Upside Swings):
13. Danny Wolf
14. Thomas Sorber
15. Noah Penda
16. Noa Essengue
17. Jase Richardson
18. Jeremiah Fears
19. Joan Beringer
20. Walter Clayton Jr.
21. Liam McNeeley
22. Nolan Traore
23. Nique Clifford
24. Will Riley
25. Egor Demin
26. Ryan Kalkbrenner

Tier 6 (Second Round Guarantee Swings):
27. Adou Thiero
28. Ben Saraf
29. Hugo Gonzalez
30. Asa Newell
31. Maxime Raynaud
32. Kam Jones
33. Rasheer Fleming
34. Drake Powell
35. John Tonje
36. Tyrese Proctor

Tier 7 (Priority Two-Ways):
37. Alex Toohey
38. Sion James
39. Alijah Martin
40. Johni Broome
41. Yanic Konan Niederhauser
42. Bogoljub Markovic
43. Brice Williams
44. Chaz Lanier
45. Brooks Barnhizer
46. Micah Peavy
47. Max Shulga
48. Hansen Yang
49. Koby Brea
50. Rocco Zikarsky
51. Vladislav Goldin
52. Hunter Sallis
53. Kobe Sanders
54. Jamir Watkins

Tier 8 (Two-Ways, Stashes & Exhibit 10s):
Guys 55-100.

 

Spoiler

SUMMARY: Jakucionis is a tremendously skilled basketball player who fits into the kind of archetype that I love. I'm a big fan of players who can dribble, pass, shoot, process the game at a high level and have good positional size. The reason I love those players is that they just have so many outs. If Jakucionis ends up not being able to separate enough on the ball, I feel confident in his ability to play off the ball and hammer advantages that are created for him by high-level creative guards because he can shoot, drive and read what's going on around him to make excellent passing reads. Think of something in this respect like a better passing Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has averaged 14 points per game over eight years in the NBA and has also been sneaky awesome in the playoffs and big international events. Jakucionis is also a truly special passer who I hope continues to work on his craft as a ballhandler to get separation from his man consistently without turning the ball over and feeling rushed. There would be some really high-upside outcomes in his profile if that ever happened. My read is to bet on him being more of a great secondary ballhandler who can play with and help your starters while also running second units, but don't discount the potential for more.

SUMMARY: Given Murray-Boyles' profile, it shouldn't come as a surprise that he is quite polarizing for NBA teams. Some see a dynamic, multi-positional defender whom they can work with as a shooter to get true difference-making outcomes. In those cases, teams tend to think they could even play Murray-Boyles minutes at the five because of how strong he is through his chest, allowing him to play more as a screen-and-short-roll player on offense to mitigate some of the spacing concerns of playing him away from the center position. Other teams see him as more of a guy who's caught between positions and could struggle to make an impact unless the jumper ends up coming through, since he's not a downhill, athletic force.

I have Murray-Boyles ranked eighth, and I can assure you that if I were on the NBA team side, I would not have him here. In that case, l'd have a specific situation that l'd be drafting him into, and thus would know how likely it would be that my coaching staff could get the best out of him. If I were in that situation, there's a case that I would have Murray-Boyles as high as No. 5 - if I had the right players and a creative coach with him. But if I were in a situation in which I felt like my coaching staff wouldn't know how to best use him because of the roster fit around him, l'd probably have him outside the lottery. I have him slotted here as a nice middle ground between those two outcomes. More than anything, I am hopeful that Murray-Boyles can continue working on his shot, and that he gets selected by a coach who is creative defensively and lets him loose in ways that allow him to thrive.

SUMMARY: Bryant profiles extremely well as a 3-and-D player in the NBA. He has great positional size for a wing and already has defensive chops. He's aggressive and a high-level competitor who truly turns up the pressure on that end of the court, plus he has terrific playmaking instincts to get into passing lanes and find weak-side rim rotations. He profiles as being quite switchable on defense, and should be able to manage perimeter players. By the time he gets even stronger in his early 20s, he'll also have no issues managing even fours. The key is finding a role on offense. I'm a little bit skeptical of his overall game on that end, but I do think he is extremely likely to be a shooter. This could result in him being something of a low-usage player if the ballhandling and passing acumen never totally come along, but this kind of player would still be valuable if he has to be guarded as a shooter and is switchable on defense.

The guy Bryant reminds me of most is former No. 2 overall pick Marvin Williams. If that doesn't sound all that sexy, remember that Williams played for 15 years, started over 800 career games, and averaged 11 points and five rebounds over 13 years while making nine figures despite being drafted in 2005. That kind of career would return lottery value, and that's where I have Bryant ranked.

He's a back-half of the lottery player who has a chance to be a valuable piece of some really good teams if he finds the right situation.

SUMMARY: I'm a believer in the hype for Coward. I had him as a top-35 player entering the season, and he looked well on his way to being a first-round pick before his shoulder injury. He has everything it takes to turn into a useful, starting-quality NBA player.

He's extremely long and has a beautiful 3-point shot with a track record of success. He has defensive bona fides and shows a desire to be impactful on that end. He makes good decisions in the way he processes basketball and moves at a high level without the basketball. And he has an elite frame that he continues to grow into more and more every season. I'm a bit worried some of the on-ball stuff won't ever come to fruition, and the lack of a track record against elite competition gives me enough pause not to go overboard in how I rank him. Still, there's every reason to believe he can be an impact NBA player, and the lottery ranking here certainly reflects that.

SUMMARY: Essengue is a really tough prospect to evaluate. On one hand, he's productive in a professional league overseas and has some athletic traits that make him potentially valuable. On the other, the German league is not great (it's a level below the French and Adriatic Leagues) and he has some flaws that could cause him issues in the NBA. He struggles to shoot the ball and hasn't shown many moments as a high-level passer this season. His ballhandling needs to tighten up. Then on defense, he shows impressive flashes, but the possession-by-possession consistency isn't there and he often will get beat both on and off the ball.

Essengue is a project, and the willingness to go down the road with him will vary team to team. Some will love his athletic traits and think they can develop everything else to turn him into the exact kind of big forward who can cover an immense amount of ground on both ends. Others will not be as interested because he is not as far along as his production suggests. Essengue is one of the more polarizing players for scouts league-wide, and his wide potential draft range reflects that.

 

Spoiler

SUMMARY: Clifford is older, and his track record when he was younger doesn't inspire much excitement. However, his improvement over the past two years has been remarkable. He consistently proved he can play with anyone. He also possesses skills that NBA teams covet as he's a wing who can process the game, dribble, pass, shoot and defend all while having solid positional size. It's hard to find NBA players who can bring all of those things to the floor.

If Clifford ends up failing, it'll likely be because his jumper was too streaky and he couldn't quite settle in. If that happens, the rest of his offensive game could fall apart. But he's been a good enough shooter over the larger sample of the last two years that I'm willing to bet on it, and him. Clifford profiles as a solid rotational wing who could be a starter when surrounded by the right stars in the NBA.

SUMMARY: If you think Demin can turn the corner in the NBA with the increased driving lanes that he'll see, can improve his shot and can defend using his length more consistently, then you should have him as a top-10 player in the class. The tools here are outrageously interesting given his spectacular feel for the game as a passer and processor.

I just wish that I could get there. Unfortunately, Demin has no track record of shooting, which makes me wonder how he's supposed to score at the next level if that doesn't develop. And if he can't score, he likely won't be able to consistently force the help rotations that would help him get the best out of his passing ability in half-court settings. Then on defense, I haven't seen enough to believe that he can bring physicality and hold his line against physical drivers.

If the jumper comes along for Demin, there is a chance that he is extremely valuable. Being able to shoot off the bounce and get to his step-back would open up the world for him as a driver and scorer, and thus allow him to leverage his elite passing ability. There might not be a more important swing skill in this class than Demin's jumper. I'm ultimately not enough of a buyer on his touch to believe that it's going to come at a difference-making level. There's every chance that Demin ends up making this ranking look quite bad if the jumper works out. But if I don't buy into that, then I have to rank him quite lowly here, as the floor is that he ends up back in Europe within three years.

SUMMARY: I value skilled bigs who can shoot the ball about as much as anyone, so I have a fairly high grade on Raynaud. Every NBA team needs a five-out look now, and the hope is that most of those looks involve having enough positional size on the court to have a chance defensively. Raynaud would at least allow a team to stay big at center while hopefully being able to play at a legitimate level. But I'm skeptical that Raynaud can stick on defense given what we saw at Stanford. His lack of footspeed is real, and I think his instincts are often off in terms of finding angles and scrambling. The good news? If there's someone to buy into figuring out his problems in terms of angles and positioning, it's probably Raynaud given how intelligent he is and given his rapid rate of improvement over his collegiate career. I have Raynaud right on that first-/second-round cut line because it's just exceptionally hard to find perimeter big men and because I think there's a chance he's smart enough to figure out his defensive deficiencies. Still, the lack of footspeed might cause problems that his mind can't overcome on that end.

SUMMARY: Right now, I see Fleming as more of a big than a wing, which makes sense because that's the position he played at Saint Joseph's. Largely, the issues here come down to his feel for the game and skill level not being there as a wing in the NBA. He doesn't process things quickly enough, which worries me when we're talking about him potentially moving to a new position. He's big enough to play as a four/five hybrid player. He'll be a bit undersized in that role, but he has the athleticism to be an energy guy who can hopefully continue to shoot consistently from distance. But it's probably more of a third big role as opposed to being a starter. The upside here is maybe something in the ballpark of a Bobby Portis-type player who can have some switchability on defense. That's more of a theoretical hope right now compared to what Portis was coming out of Arkansas, but Fleming has the tools to impact the game with his length, athleticism and shooting ability. But he's a pure play-finisher who needs to tighten up his defensive instincts. I see him more as a late first-, early second-round flier for a team to take in the hopes that he can be a third big.

 

It seems I was interpreting your post wrong. I read your post as being not to sure he can get on-ball reps on this team. And I feel if you have such a fear, it's overstated. He has as much potential as one on this team to be the team's long term answer at PG and will get the opportunity.

 

Well, one thing to remember is Amen was about the worst shooter I've seen coming into the draft and has rapidly improved his touch with the shooting staff. Now Amen is Amen, he's a special breed so the dude could be like Jalen and just never improve but I would be willing to bet they can get his shooting numbers up while he works as another defensive nightmare for teams to contend with.

 

Sam pretty high on Coward.

3 pt shooter? Check.
Enormous wingspan? Check
Can guard multiple positions? Check.
High game processor and motor? Check.
Plays shooting guard and works opposite Sengun and Amen? Check.

He won't be there if we trade back from 10. Genuinely wonder if he'll be there at 10 at all. Giving a little bit of Jalen Williams vibes.

 

Does Coward handle like Jwill though? Just asking. I like him a lot as well.

I would actually like to come away from this draft with one guy at number 10 and then maybe a player toward the back half of the first round that’s a little bit more of a project. Not saying Essengue will fall far enough, but him or Reynaud to just park in the G league for a year or maybe even parts of a second year interests me.

At #10 I like Jakucionis or Coward.

 

I will never understand the love CMB gets in this class. A wing/big tweeter with no outside shot and lesser athleticism but plays hard and defends well, we already have 2 of those. Why add to that position on our roster?

 

Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson, Khaman Maluach, Jeremiah Fears, Kon Knueppel, Kasparas Jakucionis, Egor Demin, Carter Bryant, Derik Queen and Asa Newell received the first batch of 13 invites sent out Tuesday.

Im surprised about Asa and Demin in the first wave of invites, but everyone else is chalk.

 

As much fun as watching CMB, Tari and Amen woukd be (Terror Triplets), I agree that we need more of a 2-way shooting archetype. But I do believe CMB is gonna be a good nba player. Not only can he defend multiple positions, he’s a fast processor, great rebounder, and good passer. If he could shoot he’d be in the top 3-4 conversation.

 

He doesnt have J-Dub's handle but his measurables are better, is a better connector and is a better shooter than J-Dub was. We dont need another ball handler just someone that can play off of Sengun and Amen (and Reed). That's Coward. His wingspan can swallow up a lot of players as well.

Reed - Coward - Amen - Jabari - Sengun is damn solid. Also wouldn't mind Kasparas but I do not think he falls to 10. I think he goes before Kon Knueppel actually.

 

I’m with you on Kon. I think he may drop to the Rockets. We would probably take him since he fits the slow footed, good shooter, high bbiq that we seem to be favoring these days.. Kon is going to be a career journeyman in my opinion. I am supremely suspect of this draft class outside of the top 3, which I think should be Flagg, Harper, and Edgecomb. In reality, I’ll be really surprised if we don’t trade the pick for future pick(s).

 

Gotcha thanks. I figured that but have only watched a few scouting vids.

 

looks like the rockers are debating between Carter Bryant and Khaman Maluach and
Collin Murray-Boyles