Rougher 3rd. Trying to do to much and there's no spacing... He's only had 1 shot attempt I've seen where it was an attempted assist... everything he's had to create for himself or get rebounds to put back.
My biggest beef with Buzelis is that he was dumb enough to play with Ignite.. it's not the be-all end-all, but it is something..
You'd be hard-pressed to convince me the Ignite have a coach. Maybe some single father of three rolling in from the office saying "Go have fun out there, boys" and sitting down with a bag of chips. Except they're not having fun. This is dire. Imagine playing crap ball in front of twenty people instead of entering hardcore conference play against pounding arenas with systems that are teaching you how to play. Ignite is a disaster.
Yup... I've coached a few years on the high school level and my teams looked more structured than this... its like daycare for kids that didn't want to go to class in college..
16 pts 13 rebs
Yup, it's just a bad concept from the ground up, a bunch of overlapping talents, no structure, no coaching, no development, no pressure... I remember people arguing last year for Ignite over College, at this point it's ridiculous. I'd take US college, Australian NBL, any decent league in Europe, comfortably over the G-League Ignite. It's just wasting their time and instilling bad habits.
To me it doesn't look like there is going to be another NBA star in the draft anytime soon, but there might be a surprise or 2 if lucky. Wemby needs another star (not a borderline or roll player) with him and I'm just not seeing that need found in this draft.
Potentially, there are a few, but the problem is their floors are quite low too..
Did Holland play in this game? How did he/has he look/looked?
No, he sat out last noght and tonight. I'm not sure why
Trying to protect that draft status?
Yet the NBA is gonna push it down our throats. Just look at how they're bringing these sub-par Ignite talents into the All-Star weekend. Ridiculous.
How high would you take Buzelis? I can't stomach the thought of spending a pick on a G-League Ignite player if any of Risacher / Williams / Dillingham / Sheppard or even Topic is still on the board. Not after seeing Jalen Green and Scoot coming into the league so wholly unprepared.
I've got him in my 2nd tier.... 1st tier is Risacher, Sarr, and Topic... my 2nd tier is larger, encompassing about 6 guys... overall he's #6 on my board. Looking at similar players (6'8" + guys at the 3/4) he's behind Risacher, Salaun, and Williams but ahead of Holland and Dunn on my board...
Why Are You So High On Risacher? God Damn This Draft Is So Bad. Risacher Feels Like The Time When Spurs Fans Were All Over Vassell And Thought He Would Become Paul George Or Kawhi And I Was The Most Skeptic About His Upside And Pointed Out All His Flaws And Those Same Flaws Are Appearing Now Yet Spurs Fans Are Surprised.
It is a tough draft for sure. I've got Risacher at the top of my board and alot of it is weighing ceilings vs floors. There just aren't any high ceiling-high floor guys in this draft. Risacher is the closet we have there and really it's because his floor is high. At worst, i see him as a consistent outside threat that will be a plus defender in today's defensive schemes. In a normal year that doesn't put you at the top, but this year the floors are so low it kinda does. There are a few guys that are moving up that i still need to see more from. Topic, obviously, with the injury and Cody Williams as we get towards the end of the season. JaKobe is a guy I'm liking a little better than i thought earlier in the season, but he's not necessarily a position of need.
Going back to Buzelis for a minute, he does intrigue me, I'll admit. He's got a lot of tools and really reminds me of a very young Franz Wagner. I'm just not sold yet, though. The ignite things makes it so hard to tell because it almost isn't basketball that they're playing. His vision is excellent, good handles and can pass with either hand, and is a willing rebounder. So i like those things, but to fit next to Sochan he needs to be at least an average catch and shoot guy. Can he do that at this level? I have no idea because nobody drives and kicks out to him consistently. You can find some on his highlight reels, but when you watch the game, it's rare because he plays with a bunch of chuckers.
So where I'm at, there are a few guys I like, but nobody I love just yet.
I've got: tier 1: Sarr, tier 2: Dillingham, Topic, Cody Williams, Buzelis (I buy his talent, but his lack of speed and shooting are concerning)
Not as confident as other drafts since most guys I have watched only clips, Dillingham is the one I'm more confident on what he does and does not do, but other than that I might just consider trading out if none of those is available
Tier 1:
1. Zaccharie Risacher
2. Alex Sarr
3. Nikola Topic*
Tier 2:
4. Tidjane Salaun
5. Cody Williams
6. Matas Buzelis
7. JaKobe Walter
8. Robert Dillingham
Tier 3:
9. Stephen Castle
10. Reed Shephard
* Topic is still at #3 because that's where he was prior to the injury. He's a little more fluid, but I'm not moving him up or down until i see how he comes back. I don't feel rushed, just looking at the field.
My strategy... eh... One concern is how the rookie salary scales and whether we wind up paying a top 3 salary to a guy who doesn't deserve it.
Right now, I don't believe in Topic or Risacher that much. As for Sarr, I'm baffled how he's projected that high. Seems like a massive mistake where the lack of an alpha has shoved him there to his enormous benefit. Even if he's a good shotblocker, that's not worth top salary. Is he Evan Mobley? No, I don't think he's Evan Mobley.
So, I'd rather draft #4-6, really, or trade down, although that's unlikely. I go back and forth about wanting that Toronto pick. We have so many holes, but this class is overall hideous. If we get, say, #5 and #7, we're paying combined only about $1,000,000 more than the top pick gets himself.
My tactic at this point is taking a guard with the first pick and then clean up with the best SF available with the second. Not sure why. If Dillingham keeps pouring in points, I think he goes up the board. So it's Topic or Dillingham with the first pick. With the second pick, I have massive questions about all the wings, every single one. I can easily see Williams and Buzelis not ever being any good.
Topic I think will be a starter. One with deficiencies, but sure. Dillingham intrigues due to covering massive problems with scoring, but I'm increasingly less convinced in his size and defense, which is lousy.
At this point, it depends on Risacher. I haven't seen more than clips and I already have doubts. Can he keep shooting this way? Why doesn't he rebound? Is his defense actually that good?
Eh. I feel like this is a draft where later, better teams are going to get good pieces here or there but the bad teams will be stuck with expensive role-players at best.
Every draft has a star or many future all stars.
The Spurs will have a high enough pick and if they are good at drafting they will identify who will be the future star.
Topic struggles with shooting and defense, our two biggest needs. Why do you have him rated so high?
Because he looked great before he moved up to Euro. Court vision, change of pace, all look next level Doncic like. I don't think his shot is broken at all. I do agree that D is the main issue. I think that will be mitigated with a 3D SF, so a Topic, Devin, 3D, Sochan, Wemby unit should be fine on that end.
Also, this board isn't a BB for the Spurs, it's for overall talent, which is why you look at the tiers. For instance in Tier 2, you've got Cody Williams and Dillingham with Cody being higher. So if you're using it with a Spurs mindset, you decide if you need a PG or a big wing more. It doesn't matter who's higher in that particular tier because they're basically equal. So at that point, you draft for need within the tier.
He creates and gets to the rim easily in a Euro game that is more physical and provides less spacing than the NBA. IMO, our #1 need is a facilitator to create for Wemby without needing a high volume of shots.
topic will not help space the floor. Nor will he apply pressure on defenses with better athletes. Dillingham will do both.
we don’t need more guards that can’t shoot the three
......and Dilingham won't create for others.
You want an early career Kidd type of player with less defense or an early career Iverson with much better shooting for Wemby?
I don't have much doubt Topic will pressure the rim. He's fast. Maybe not Parker fast, but he's fast. He'll actually pressure the rim much more than Dillingham, who is too slight of build to be a threat there. Dillingham is pretty bad at the rim. Also Dillingham is more quick in movements than overall fast.
People keep making this mistake in saying Topic is unathletic or below the rim when speed is athleticism and most guards are below the rim.
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