2024 NBA Draft Thread

[sfernald]

Cason Wallace is Jrue Holiday in the making. He’s already stealing minutes from Giddey as a rookie, and that will only continue. If 50/41/78 are his “dropping percentages”, yes please.

like I said he’s good for what he is but he’s not a playmaker. He’s a connective piece with decent hands but short and limited in function. A sort of 3 and D guard. Look at his percentages the last 10 games or so. He’s not Jrue Holiday not even close.

[ambchang]

Giddey is basically Topic’s best case comp so if you don’t like Giddey don’t even think about drafting Topic and he might end up much worse. Giddey has had one bad season because he has been crowded out by rising stars of Okc but he would be the second best players on the spurs.

Giddey actually has one good season. If we are looking at shooting, his league adjusted shooting are ALL below 100, except his second year FG+, which was 101, and this year's FT+, which is at 105%. His FG and TS Add were negatives in all three years. His shooting from 16ft out is just bad (less than 35%). 91% of his 3s are assisted (96% this year). I love his passing, especially given his size, but his O/D Rtg difference has been negative all three years, despite playing on a pretty good OKC team. As shocking as it sounds, his shooting numbers and profile are pretty close to Sochan across the board, and we all agree Sochan sucks in shooting.

As for Topic, I haven't really watched him play outside of highlights, but so far, I am not sure of why people are fawning all over him. He looks good against bad comp, so his stint at Euroleague will really determine his potential, but he has quite a few red flags. Put Reed Sheppard in the Adriatic league and he'd look like Jimmer in the CBA.

[sfernald]

Giddey actually has one good season. If we are looking at shooting, his league adjusted shooting are ALL below 100, except his second year FG+, which was 101, and this year's FT+, which is at 105%. His FG and TS Add were negatives in all three years. His shooting from 16ft out is just bad (less than 35%). 91% of his 3s are assisted (96% this year). I love his passing, especially given his size, but his O/D Rtg difference has been negative all three years, despite playing on a pretty good OKC team. As shocking as it sounds, his shooting numbers and profile are pretty close to Sochan across the board, and we all agree Sochan sucks in shooting.

As for Topic, I haven't really watched him play outside of highlights, but so far, I am not sure of why people are fawning all over him. He looks good against bad comp, so his stint at Euroleague will really determine his potential, but he has quite a few red flags. Put Reed Sheppard in the Adriatic league and he'd look like Jimmer in the CBA.

Again he’s not a shooter, he’s a playmaker. You give him the ball and let him create things with his passing and such. He’s what I guess Pop was hoping Sochan could be best case in the PG experiment. He needs reps tho. It’s hard for him to get the reps to be consistent with Shai and now JDub in front him pounding the ball. He really is a bad fit on that team. This spurs team desperately needs his skill set though. They would look like a different team with him running the show and he would look like a different player. How many turnovers did they have in their last game? They need a maestro.

And what I’m saying is buy low on him. It’s not him or Topic. Its topic or him, #9 and #11. #9 could possibly even be Reed Shepherd cause no one knows where he’ll get drafted. Maybe #11 could be Dunn, perhaps the best defensive prospect to come along in years.

Also, since he’s so tall you could also use the Toronto pick on Dill and they would fit well in the back court and there you go you got your go to scorer.

[couchman]

Can someone take this Giddey trash out of our draft thread?

[Splits]

Giddey needs to start dropping the hammer on more than mid-teens for me to consider

[spurraider21]

[DesignatedT]

[spurraider21]

^yeah, he's still quite rough around the edges, and i think anybody who thinks he comes into the NBA able to play the 4, particularly offensively, will be pretty disappointed

but his defense is already quite good and the outline is there for a very good offensive player too, like a taller and more skilled Duren

he still just turns 19 in a couple of months, but if we think wemby looked out of place at the 4 to start the season, Sarr would be worse. though he might have some better directional change on defense

[Dejounte]

I’m glad this shows the lowlights. People will focus on the good and ignore the bad. What’s evident here is the poor defensive awareness he has in the paint, it’s almost Zach Collins-like… biting on fakes, not boxing out, not offering any rim protection… and then the trying-hard on offense that resulted in bad turnovers or bad misses. This is everyone’s projected top 2 pick that they are so enamored with because mock drafts are saying so. Not actually watching the games.

He would be the 9thish pick in a normal draft and nowhere near worthy what would be expected from a top pick.

[TD 21]

I don't know when people are going to comprehend that this team can't afford to sink any more significant assets/roles into questionable - non shooters.

They're literally the worst 3-point shooting team in the league (and would be the worst offense period if not for significant injuries to the Hornets, Grizzlies and Trail Blazers).

There's a grand total of one player who stresses defenses from beyond the arc (obviously Vassel) and only one other who even comes close, but is a fringe rotation player masquerading as a starter (obviously Champagnie).

Yes, players can and do improve upon it, but you can't have a team full of that or you get what we've seen for years here.

No, shooting mid 30s on low volume, unguarded spot ups doesn't cons ute being a threat.

[spurraider21]

I don't know when people are going to comprehend that this team can't afford to sink any more significant assets/roles into questionable - non shooters.

They're literally the worst 3-point shooting team in the league (and would be the worst offense period if not for significant injuries to the Hornets, Grizzlies and Trail Blazers).

There's a grand total of one player who stresses defenses from beyond the arc (obviously Vassel) and only one other who even comes close, but is a fringe rotation player masquerading as a starter (obviously Champagnie).

Yes, players can and do improve upon it, but you can't have a team full of that or you get what we've seen for years here.

No, shooting mid 30s on low volume, unguarded spot ups doesn't cons ute being a threat.

ive always felt Sarr's 3 point shot was illusory, and have been adamant that we cant use both picks on non-shooters (i know rascal has long been touting Topic + Castle, for instance).

i dont study the nba draft nearly as much as i do for the NFL, so i usually end up deferring to other people's takes and scouting reports i find online. my only position on Sarr is that if they truly think he is the clear best prospect, i dont think the spurs have a good enough roster to prioritize fit if there is a clear talent gap

if there is no talent gap, or if its marginal, sure take the better positional fit and shooter

[sfernald]

Can someone take this Giddey trash out of our draft thread?

he’s provably the best inbound passer in the league. Need any more reason for the spurs to grab this trash?

[TD 21]

my only position on Sarr is that if they truly think he is the clear best prospect, i dont think the spurs have a good enough roster to prioritize fit if there is a clear talent gap

There's exceptions to every rule and this is one: A GOAT level C prospect, in an era where playing multiple together is untenable offensively, would not be optimized playing next to a virtual non shooting C.

The PF should be the one spacing for him. Not him attempting to do so for an inferior player.

If they land at 2 or 3 and Risacher is gone but Sarr is on the board, I'd shop the pick either for a young veteran or move back a few spots and select Sheppard.

[spurraider21]

There's exceptions to every rule and this is one: A GOAT level C prospect, in an era where playing multiple together is untenable offensively, would not be optimized playing next to a virtual non shooting C.

The PF should be the one spacing for him. Not him attempting to do so for an inferior player.

If they land at 2 or 3 and Risacher is gone but Sarr is on the board, I'd shop the pick either for a young veteran or move back a few spots and select Sheppard.

id probably shop the pick then as well unless im convinced that sarr is just a monster and its worth figuring out the fit later. unless Topic comes back like gangbusters in euroleague and becomes a must-take

[Mr. Body]

Dalton effin Knecht.

In the right situation he could vie for ROY next year. Down year, maybe, but he's going to come right out of the box.

[onechance87]

Dalton effin Knecht.

In the right situation he could vie for ROY next year. Down year, maybe, but he's going to come right out of the box.

man is instant offense...not sure who is better,knecht,matas,holland,furphy.

[spurraider21]

Dalton effin Knecht.

In the right situation he could vie for ROY next year. Down year, maybe, but he's going to come right out of the box.

Almost hung a 40 burger over a ranked team. Good stuff

[onechance87]

if knecht was 2 years younger,He would be top 3 pick.Think he is maybe top 10 rn.

[Mr. Body]

Almost hung a 40 burger over a ranked team. Good stuff

Auburn is the fifth ranked defense in the NCAA, too.

[mo7888]

if knecht was 2 years younger,He would be top 3 pick.Think he is maybe top 10 rn.

I don't think he's top 10 right now based on how much emphasis teams put on younger players with 'upside', but i think he should be. I've got him in the tier starting with #9 going through the mid teens . Top 10 isn't a stretch in my opinion...

[SpursBills]

Here's the thing about Sheppard - there's this misconception that he's not able to keep up his insane efficiency if he increases his usage. But if you dig into the numbers (I use Bart Torvik) and sort his games by USG%, what you see is that his AST% goes way up (expected) while his TO% actually goes down (unexpected) with high USG games (i.e. games where he's forced to assume a lot more ball-handling duties). The clips above show that he's still able to get some separation and is actually able to finish pretty well around the rim from a number of tough angles. This and the clips above suggest to me that he is capable of acting as a primary ball handler. To me as of right now he's a must-draft with the raptors pick. If Topic ends up showing out in Euroleague, you take them both and run rascal's 3 guard rotation where Reed can toggle between off-ball with Topic and on-ball with Vassell providing shooting and draft a wing next year with one of your 2-3 draft picks. If Topic sucks in Euroleague, take the best wing you can this year with your own pick.

[DAF86]

Interesting game with KY vs MSU tonight. I've been impressed by Josh Hubbard and wanted to see how he matches up with Shephard and Dilly.. at the half Hubbard has 12, Shephard 9, and Dilly 0.

Full transparency- I didn't see the 1st (just looking at stats). I wanted to see how they matchup size-wise. Hubbard is reportedly only 5'10", but he's a little tank.

Honestly, I would be fine with drafting any of these three guards (Dillingham, Sheppard, Hubbard) with the Raptors' pick.

[baseline bum]

Dalton effin Knecht.

In the right situation he could vie for ROY next year. Down year, maybe, but he's going to come right out of the box.

Good size and can shoot the three so should be a decently high floor. Might be pretty nice with the Toronto pick if it conveys.

[DAF86]

On second look, Hubbard's efficiency isn't all that. I wonder if he could be had at the second round.

[The Truth #6]

We should be happy to get Knecht with the TOR pick. Lots of holes to fill on the team, but scoring is one of them. Might be redundant with Devin but that's perhaps a good thing if we need to make moves. I've been preaching Knecht for a few weeks now. This is his first year in a real college program. He still has upside imo. But whatever. At least not someone with huge bust potential. Our pick will be the typical development pick. Now I just don't know if Wright can pivot away from 19 year old prospects.