Spoiler https://theathletic.com/3717627/2022/10/27/2023-nba-mock-draft-wembanyama-2/ 1. San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama | 7-4 center | 18 years old | Metropolitans 92 We haven’t had a prospect like Wembanyama in a while, a 7-foot-4 potential superstar who can create his own shot off the bounce in transition, out of isolation, out of mid-post sets and as a dynamic pick-and-roll threat. He’s also an elite shot blocker who led EuroLeague in blocked shots last year as an 18-year-old, a ridiculous accomplishment. Barring some sort of injury-concern-based question in the pre-draft process, this will be the No. 1 pick. Wembanyama is the best prospect to enter the draft since LeBron James. He was utterly dominant in front of over 200 NBA front office personnel in Las Vegas earlier this month in a head-to-head showing with the No. 2 prospect here, Scoot Henderson. I broke down the first of those games in detail, explaining what makes Wembanyama so special from a size and coordination perspective while intermixing elite level skill. His upside is becoming the best player in the NBA, and it’s hard to realistically say that about any draft prospect. 2. Indiana Pacers Scoot Henderson | 6-2 lead guard | 18 years old | G League Ignite Henderson is not just a consolation prize, as he showed in the first game of the Metropolitans-Ignite showcase. He led the Ignite to a victory by scoring 28 points and dishing out nine assists, completely dictating the game. He’s the most complete guard prospect to enter the draft process in a a few years. He’s an unbelievable athlete with all sorts of explosiveness, but he seems to have added to his pull-up game this summer as well as continued to develop as a passer and playmaker, skills of his that went underrated. In conversations, scouts consistently compare him to Derrick Rose and Ja Morant, with his powerful athleticism and grace standing out to me as being comparable to Rose’s prior to his injury issues. Any team that ends up with Henderson will be getting a player who likely develops down the road into an All-NBA-caliber point guard and leads his offense to terrific heights. 3. Oklahoma City Thunder Amen Thompson | 6-7 lead guard | 19 years old | Overtime Elite Thompson has emerged over the first couple of months of his season as who would seem to be the clear No. 3 prospect in this class. He is the best athlete in the class and will immediately enter the NBA as one of the five or so best in the entire league. His ability to cover ground with his explosive long strides but also slither through different angles and driving lanes with grace and balance is special. He’s twitchy in a way that few athletes are across the league but combines that power with fluid coordination. Because of that, he’s capable of putting immense pressure on defenders by living in the paint. He also is one of the best passers in the class, constantly hunting and probing for wrap-arounds and cross-corner kickouts. He has potential to be an All-Star level guard who scores 20-plus points and averages eight-plus assists per game while playing terrific defense at the point of attack. The only real issue here is that his jumper still has a long way to go. Given the importance of that skill set in the modern NBA, that clearly places him behind the top-two players at this point. 4. Utah Jazz Nick Smith Jr. | 6-4 combo guard | 18 years old | Arkansas The final choice among recruiting services for the No. 1 player in his class, Nick Smith Jr. is a very high-level playmaker with the ball in his hands. He’s crafty and creative and able to change direction and shift gears with ease. He’s a three-level scorer whose athleticism allows him to finish above the rim while also being a creative finisher who can change angles. He can knock down shots from distance as well, but he particularly excels at getting into the midrange area and finding clean looks or going up for a tough contested shot and making it. There might not be a better tough, contested shot maker in this class. Smith is going to have a monster year at Arkansas and seems like the surest bet in college to end up in the top 10. 5. Houston Rockets Cam Whitmore | 6-6 wing | 18 years old | Villanova Cam Whitmore is one of my favorites in this class due to his skill level and athleticism. He’s a tough 6-foot-6 wing with power, athleticism and grace who can create his own shot and knock them down off the catch, as he showed this past summer when he won MVP of the U18 Americas Championship while averaging 19 points per game and shooting 63 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3. Villanova had a tendency to not play freshmen under Jay Wright, but I don’t see how new coach Kyle Neptune is going to be able to keep Whitmore off the floor due to his explosiveness and skill. Whitmore is a stout defender who is switchable in the way that Villanova tends to play, and he physically has the kind of frame that will translate to playing against older players immediately. Whitmore recently had thumb surgery and is a bit of a question mark when it comes to the start of the season. Thumb injuries can linger in regard to shooting for longer stretches, so it could take some time for Whitmore to get his touch back. If everything gets cleared there, though, expect an enormous season from the Maryland product. 10. New Orleans Pelicans (via LAL) Ausar Thompson | 6-7 wing | 19 years old | Overtime Elite The Pelicans have pick-swap rights with the Lakers via the Anthony Davis trade, and that is something that could turn out to be pretty beneficial if something doesn’t turn around in L.A. For years, the Thompson twins have been attached at the hip, both personally and on mock drafts. But over the last few months, Amen has established himself as the player NBA scouts are a bit more excited about due to his twitchy athleticism and ability to make plays as a passer. Whereas Amen will enter the NBA as likely one of the five best overall athletes in the league, Ausar is merely a top-five percent of the league athlete — still an incredible testament to his explosiveness and power and why he’s ranked in the top 10 here. But it’s also a statement on him not quite having the twitchiness with the ball that his brother does. Because of that, scouts have begun to question how big of an issue it is that Ausar is struggling to shoot. Does he translate as well on the wing if he doesn’t make enough catch-and-shoot shots? That’s something Ausar will need to work toward answering pre-draft. The twins are both considered extremely high character and high-level workers, so scouts will want to buy into Ausar getting there. 28. Houston Rockets (via MIL) Chris Livingston | 6-6 wing | 19 years old | Kentucky This pick goes to Houston as part of the P.J. Tucker trade during the Bucks’ championship season. Livingston was seen throughout the first half of his high school career as a potential lottery pick but slid down the rankings as others in his class caught up to him a bit physically after he developed early in his teenage years. I’m still a fan, though, and think he ends up having a terrific season at Kentucky. He’s the kind of physical, 6-foot-6, 220-pound wing who can shoot that NBA teams like to have around. It also helps that he is active and aggressive as a defender and rebounder and should be a really nice fit at the three and four this season.
Dumb question, but if Brooklyn(who currently sits at 1-4 just like the Rockets) winds up in the lottery, their ping pong balls essentially count as ours too, right? If they land the higher pick, we just swap places with them?
No tanks. Seriously though, we have to get VW. Henderson poses a problem, is Porter willing to accept the 6th man role? And is that enough firepower to start making playoff runs? Does an Amen Thompson or Cam Whitmore do it? A 2, a 3 and a 1.
Who are the PG/ball handlers to watch outside of Scoot, Black and Thompson? If the Rockets get the 5th or 6th pick, who would be in the range? If we don't get the #1 pick I'll be praying for the #2 or #3 to just force the Rockets hand.
Dude who cares? It's time we stop treating him like he was our #1 pick and not in the Bill Worrell meaning but actual #1 overall. Scoot Hendy gets drafted, he starts. It's that simple. He's more NBA ready at his position than Green or Bari rookie years and more suited to his position than KPj. Wemby gets drafted, he's the franchise from that second on and all of Green, Bari and KP defer to him and run our offense through him. If Silas can't do that and continues this KPj project, you fire him immediately. It's like the Cavs choosing to give Ricky Davis the green light over 18 year old LeBron. It was only acceptable because if Green is anything like a young Kobe, you wanted to see if Eddie Jones can take that leap. If not you trade Eddie Jones....AND NO i'm not saying Green is the next Kobe, but using it as an example that Rockets fans would want KPj running the show over same age Kobe and calling KPj our best player without a clue on how to develop Kobe. Fortunately for the Lakers, they had Jerry West. Stone can make moves, but does he have the vision to make tough choices for the betterment of our future? "What would #30 overall nearly out of the league wihtout Silas - KPj think of it?" "What if lifetime assistant Stephen Silas gets upset?" WHO CARES? Walk it off and adapt or gtfo.
Yeah no doubt. Wemby and Scoot shifts a lot of the pecking order essentially the moment they're drafted.
Scoot Henderson - scoring point guard Nick Smith - shooting guard with handle Amen Thompson- shooting guard with handle in SF body Cason Wallace - scoring guard in PG's body Anthony Black - point guard in SF's body (huge growth spurt) And here let me introduce a hidden player who might shoot up Tyrese Proctor - mystery guard from Australia from the same coach as Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey. Not as natural a passer as Giddey and Daniels, but far better along in terms of his shot. Basically another combo guard. This year is pretty bad for a point guard. The highest rated point guard is Black at 15. All guards above him are basically combo or scoring guards. Very little guarantee that any of the guards aside from Scoot is better than KPJ. Probably need to draft a big if we miss out on Victor. Lively, Filipowski, Ware are all pretty decent.
Is there a reason for a true point guard anyway? Steph isn't one, nor was Harden or Luka or Trae or Ja. They all run the offense. It's sad to think that here I am 5 games into the season and doing this now. Obviously Victor and Scoot are the prizes this year. Seems like Amen is #3. Nick Smith seems like the consensus #4. Some of the mocks have the Rockets drafting another Wing...but we already have two. This year's draft lottery seems like it's going to be one of the most intriguing in recent memory. Orlando, Houston, Detroit and OKC are pretty much tanking again. Portland, Indy and Kings are also going to be bad. We only have a rights to a pick swap this year with the Nets as well right? And are also owed the Bucks pick?
I'm really curious to see what happens if Detroit lands #2. They have Cade and Ivey, but Scoot is an elite prospect. I love all 3 players' future in the NBA. If Rockets land #1 and Detroit lands #2 I wonder if there's a deal to be made where Rockets pick Wemby and then throw a ton of stuff for one of Cade/Ivey/Scoot. Of course, same goes for if Rockets land 3-6 what kind of deal could be made (for Cade/Ivey/Scoot). Would Detroit pick Amen and roll with their young core? I personally don't think a deal would be made, but it's interesting to think about
