Nook's 2022 Draft Big Board

More and more commercial scouts and journalists are digging in with the idea that there aren't any "tier one" talents in the 2022 draft. I some what find that to be arbitrary, because if you spend the time to go back and read what was said about prior draft classes, there were a number of stars and franchise players that were labeled as not "tier one". I am not saying that this draft will produce a lot of them, but really I was skeptical years ago when Zion was labeled as a tier one generational talent and Morant was viewed more as a tier 2 type talent. The idea that a big that lacked real length and couldn't defend even adequately and had conditioning issues was generational was odd to me.

Regardless, while there may not be a Shaq in this class, there is a pretty strong top half of the lottery depth wise, especially if Sharpe comes out.

While I think Cunningham and Mobley are better prospects than anyone in the 2022 draft, the top 8 or so of this draft is full of all star level potential players, and the top 6-7 is pretty damn deep.

Sharpe is the biggest wild card with him going anywhere from 1 to 8th depending on how he looks in private workouts. Don't be shocked if he has a real chance to go #1 if he really looks good in workouts. He is someone that could potentially be a franchise player..... good size, great length, frame is strong... big and soft hands, supposedly shoots well (I haven't seen enough to offer my opinion), very explosive (not Carter or Green level but close) and early reports are he is a very good passer. If that package proves to be accurate, he will go #1 because he would skill wise be close to perfect. Having said that, he may stay at Kentucky and we don't know how he will play in tryouts. He is very young as well - but physically he is the ideal shooting guard.

Banchero and Holmgren have basically been what I expected. Holmgren has deferred and the spacing with Gonzaga is bad, and the post is taken by a very good upper classman. If I have any criticism of Chet it has been that he has been hesitant at times defending the perimeter. Scouts have to decide if it is skill based or he is not sure of himself. Regardless he is a defensive monster and his mentality is elite as well, which is a nice surprise. Banchero has been just as advertised. He needs to work some on his outside shooting but he is going to score with ease in the NBA. Defensively I question if he will ever be even average in the NBA.

Ivey has been exceptional, and I am not basing that on his numbers but the limitations he is put under at Purdue and the current improvement of his shot and playmaking. Ivey is a very good athlete, and his skill set translates exceptionally well in the NBA. He is explosive, he is agile and very long. He knows how to create and score through contact as well. He also is a rapidly improving playmaker. He gets to the basket with ease. His overall numbers and efficiency are not better because Purdue is about as bad a spacing situation as there is in college basketball. They have bigs and it makes it hard for Ivey to get into the lane. I am very confident that Ivey will at least be a near all star but he has the potential to be a franchise player that runs an offense and defensively he is already good.

 

Holmgren isn't a KG/Durant hybrid and anyone that thinks he is will be upset.

What he is, is a true 5 that is an excellent defender in the modern NBA and will anchor a teams defense...... offensively he is a very good finisher at the rim that slips to the basket well and scores on offensive rebounds, he is also very good in transition, he can pass very well and moves well without the ball. He is a good three point shooter that rebounds well and is an awesome shot blocker. He isn't at this point someone that is going to isolate and break down people off the dribble. He doesn't have the first step that Mobley or KD have.

However, he doesn't really need to, to be a great player. He will fall into a dozen points a game and is certainly capable of scoring more.... if he gets 20 points a game in his prime, he can be a top 5 player in the league because of everything else he does.

I personally compare him to Bill Walton but in the modern game. He is going to make a huge impact without scoring 25-30 points a game.

 

Porzingas is a good comp as far as actual ability. I would give the nod to Chet on the defensive side because Chet is just a lot better.... Porzingas is the more talented offensive player (pre-injuries). I don't see Chet ever being a franchise scorer or playmaker, so yeah he will need a guard to do some of the offensive heavy lifting.... but defensively Chet is so good he can be a franchise player scoring 18-20 points a night... similar to how Mobley is.

 

Wembeyama had 22/8/8

I don't remember how many Chet had.

Holmgren came into the game with the USA losing and scored 5 straight points against Wembeyama and got him in foul trouble. The USA never trailed again.

Wembeyama is younger and I think he outplayed Holmgren in the first 3 quarters when they matched up, but it wasn't like he dominated him.

Also they are different players.... you figured Holmgren is 7'1" with a 7'5" wingspan and Wembeyama is 7'3" with a 7'10" wingspan so the size difference relatively speaking is large. Oddly, Holmgren handled big physical players well and Wembeyama struggled against strong physical players, but dominated tall and quick players.

Both of them have flaws. I think that Wembeyama is likely the better prospect because of age and his length.

 

The odd thing about Holmgren is that he seems to handle strong physical players well. He did it against Europeans and has in college so far. The area where he seems to sometimes struggle is with length. There have been a few times that really long players have beat him up. He is at least 7'1" with a 7'5" wingspan (I had someone that covers Gonzaga say his wingspan is now 7'6" which is believable.

With Holmgren I would actually guard him defensively with someone that is long and athletic, like a wing. Holmgren isn't going to physically overwhelm them but he also will have to be aware of their length.

As for Victor Wembanyama, he is just a massively long young man. He may end up being the longest player in NBA history when you account for wingspan. He had a 7'9" wingspan at barely 17 years old and and a former head of international scouting for the Rockets told me that he is projected to have a wingspan of over 8'0". He has agile feet too and has a good pump fake and is an excellent free throw shooter so he may become a very good outside shooter. He does struggle getting position inside and some smaller players, even guards can but him out of the middle and get their shot off or keep him from getting a clean look.

Two very unique prospects...... Wembanyama can possibly make a Rudy Gobbert type impact defensively with a better scoring arsenal and stroke, which would make him a monster. Holmgren has the better well rounded game and processes the game faster.