Jalen Williams - 2022 NBA Draft Prospect

[Chomag]

To think if we could of had this guy instead of Primo.
Yes I know different draft years but I'm wondering if the Spurs had something they could have packaged for the draft pick for him.

I guess those are just the risks that you take or don't take.

[Dejounte]

Drafting Jalen at #9 made sense to anyone who watched him pre-draft, and it makes even more sense now if Jalen continues his trajectory. The Thunder are justified for selecting him at #12, which very few people predicted, and would only be considered a reach if folks paid too much attention to mock draft positioning. If Jalen was the Spurs’ guy heading into the draft and had even the frame of mind most fans have about getting the most “bang for the buck”, then they probably would have risked trading their pick for a pick past the Thunder’s and would have missed out on Jalen all for the chance for marginal increase in value.

All in all, the Spurs appeared to have the upperhand again in their scouting as Sochan is blowing away anyone’s expectations so far and is proving to be a better pick than anyone would have guessed. Where majority was guessing they drafted Sochan because he was “Spursy”, in reality they saw that he had a higher upside than anyone could have foreseen.

[Vince Carter's ankle]

To think if we could of had this guy instead of Primo.
Yes I know different draft years but I'm wondering if the Spurs had something they could have packaged for the draft pick for him.

I guess those are just the risks that you take or don't take.

We can offer Oklahoma this year's pick for him.
Who knows, maybe they'll agree.

[Dejounte]

Personally, as high as I am on Sochan now, my view on him was that he had a high chance to be an elite role player with a slight chance to be an all star. If my view today was the same as it was pre-draft, I would select Jalen over Sochan. Knowing what I know today because of what Sochan has shown, that would be a mistake.

[Ariel]

Pre combine, ZERO people had Jalen Williams in the lottery. Including EVERYONE on this forum.
Post combine, LOTS of people had Jalen Williams in the late lottery - mid teens. Including lots of folk here.
Did many people want him at 9? No, I had Sochan, Mathurin and Daniels over him. That's pretty much the only difference. And I still don't.

[Ariel]

As for Sochan, on offense he's developing way faster than anyone anticipated, especially in terms of scoring. But it was clear he had promise as a playmaker and ballhandler, and could score close to the basket. His athleticism was underestimated, I remember posting some of the first clips of him here, excited about him, and the reception was generally underwhelming. He didn't look "explosive" enough, he wasn't a sexy pick. But he didn't come out of nowhere, he was probably the most popular pick around here by draft night. He's exceeding expectations, sure. But there was A LOT to like about him from the beginning.

[Dejounte]

Pre combine, ZERO people had Jalen Williams in the lottery. Including EVERYONE on this forum.
Post combine, LOTS of people had Jalen Williams in the late lottery - mid teens. Including lots of folk here.
Did many people want him at 9? No, I had Sochan, Mathurin and Daniels over him. That's pretty much the only difference. And I still don't.

Just want to point out the falsehoods in this post. If I’m motivated enough (it takes a lot to motivate me these days), I can dig them up.
-Had posts wanting Jalen in the lottery pre-combine.
-Plenty of folks posted about taking Jalen with the second first round pick, implying he’d still be available there.
Just chalk this up as a disagreement, not looking forward to an unpleasant back and forth on a Sunday…

[Mr. Body]

Drafting Jalen at #9 made sense to anyone who watched him pre-draft, and it makes even more sense now if Jalen continues his trajectory. The Thunder are justified for selecting him at #12, which very few people predicted, and would only be considered a reach if folks paid too much attention to mock draft positioning. If Jalen was the Spurs’ guy heading into the draft and had even the frame of mind most fans have about getting the most “bang for the buck”, then they probably would have risked trading their pick for a pick past the Thunder’s and would have missed out on Jalen all for the chance for marginal increase in value.

All in all, the Spurs appeared to have the upperhand again in their scouting as Sochan is blowing away anyone’s expectations so far and is proving to be a better pick than anyone would have guessed. Where majority was guessing they drafted Sochan because he was “Spursy”, in reality they saw that he had a higher upside than anyone could have foreseen.

Tbh not everyone missed on Sochan. I thought he should get consideration in the top five range. Not that I was pushing it, but did say he could easily wind up one of the best players in the draft.

[Dejounte]

Tbh not everyone missed on Sochan. I thought he should get consideration in the top five range. Not that I was pushing it, but did say he could easily wind up one of the best players in the draft.

Just want to clarify that my statements about Jalen is not to be confused with me saying anything about folks thinking or not thinking Sochan was the right pick at #9. He certainly was the favorite there but not to the point where he was the clear cut “above the rest” player over guys like Duren, Eason, etc which he is showing little by little now…

[scott]

As for Sochan, on offense he's developing way faster than anyone anticipated, especially in terms of scoring. But it was clear he had promise as a playmaker and ballhandler, and could score close to the basket. His athleticism was underestimated, I remember posting some of the first clips of him here, excited about him, and the reception was generally underwhelming. He didn't look "explosive" enough, he wasn't a sexy pick. But he didn't come out of nowhere, he was probably the most popular pick around here by draft night. He's exceeding expectations, sure. But there was A LOT to like about him from the beginning.

Let’s not give the entire board demerits for rascal’s terrible takes

[objective]

Jalen makes for interesting debate with Sochan, but even more interesting to me is the glaring trash fire that is Tommy Sheppard's reign with the Wizards where he was promoted to GM in April 2019. Even if Grunfeld gets the blame prior to that while Sheppard was an underling, ever since has been crap.

2019: Rui over Herro, Cam Johnson and Keldon
2020 Avdija over Halliburton and Vassell (and Bane)
2021 Kispert over Sengun and Trey Murphy
2022 Johnny Davis over Jalen Williams And a lot more

Even with the Primo disaster, Wright looks better (he officially took over as GM July 2019)

[rascal]

Just want to clarify that my statements about Jalen is not to be confused with me saying anything about folks thinking or not thinking Sochan was the right pick at #9. He certainly was the favorite there but not to the point where he was the clear cut “above the rest” player over guys like Duren, Eason, etc which he is showing little by little now…

Sochan was the clear favorite at 9 by this board. I think there was a poll about it and Sochan easily won.

[John B]

JDubs is outperforming his pick at 12. But Sochan is still the best pick at 9. The question would be is should the Spurs tried to trade 20th and 24th to get a chance at JDubs. I’m happy with Malaki, and what Blake could be. But yeah, I would be excited to have gotten JDubs. That would’ve been a perfect picks Sochan and JDub

[emanueldavidginobili]

Kid has been playing out of his mind lately, enjoy watching him play. Shout out to Dejounte though. He nailed it on the head from the get go.

[CGD]

Yea Sean Elliot is always going off on teams giving up way to early on a lot of kids.

I get that, but Johnny Davis was already a college Junior by the time he was drafted.

[Ariel]

Just want to point out the falsehoods in this post. If I’m motivated enough (it takes a lot to motivate me these days), I can dig them up.
-Had posts wanting Jalen in the lottery pre-combine.
-Plenty of folks posted about taking Jalen with the second first round pick, implying he’d still be available there.
Just chalk this up as a disagreement, not looking forward to an unpleasant back and forth on a Sunday…

I don't recall his name being discussed before the combine, but surely me missing a post about him is a possibility, so if you link those posts of yours I'd have no problem admitting my recollection of events was inaccurate. I hope you'll reciprocate if the reverse is true.

[Mr. Body]

JDubs is outperforming his pick at 12. But Sochan is still the best pick at 9. The question would be is should the Spurs tried to trade 20th and 24th to get a chance at JDubs. I’m happy with Malaki, and what Blake could be. But yeah, I would be excited to have gotten JDubs. That would’ve been a perfect picks Sochan and JDub

People are going a bit overboard about Jalen Williams. He looks terrific. His combination of strength and speed is excellent, and he is truly savvy and skilled, especially as a rookie. But... um, take a look at his stats and actual production. We're not talking Michael Jordan, here.

I'll be happy to eat crow down the line, but Williams feels like a near-finished product. He'll get better, of course, and good for him, but he's showing everything he has in terms of a skill set. It looks great, but -- he's going to be an effective SG or off-guard for a semi-playoff team. A great piece.

Sochan's platform of skills is much wider. Maybe he doesn't activate them, but at his best he's going to do more than Williams can. He's also two years younger than Willams is at this point.

[John B]

People are going a bit overboard about Jalen Williams. He looks terrific. His combination of strength and speed is excellent, and he is truly savvy and skilled, especially as a rookie. But... um, take a look at his stats and actual production. We're not talking Michael Jordan, here.

I'll be happy to eat crow down the line, but Williams feels like a near-finished product. He'll get better, of course, and good for him, but he's showing everything he has in terms of a skill set. It looks great, but -- he's going to be an effective SG or off-guard for a semi-playoff team. A great piece.

Sochan's platform of skills is much wider. Maybe he doesn't activate them, but at his best he's going to do more than Williams can. He's also two years younger than Willams is at this point.

I said Sochan is the best pick at 9 bruh .

[BacktoBasics]

Jalen makes for interesting debate with Sochan, but even more interesting to me is the glaring trash fire that is Tommy Sheppard's reign with the Wizards where he was promoted to GM in April 2019. Even if Grunfeld gets the blame prior to that while Sheppard was an underling, ever since has been crap.

2019: Rui over Herro, Cam Johnson and Keldon
2020 Avdija over Halliburton and Vassell (and Bane)
2021 Kispert over Sengun and Trey Murphy
2022 Johnny Davis over Jalen Williams And a lot more

Even with the Primo disaster, Wright looks better (he officially took over as GM July 2019)

Many on this board badly wanted Rui

[Mr. Body]

I said Sochan is the best pick at 9 bruh .

That wasn't meant to contradict you, but agreeing and expanding my thoughts.

[exstatic]

Many on this board badly wanted Rui

Avdija, too.

[rjv]

i'm perfectly content with sochan and have no regrets about passing on any other player that was left on the board.

[The Truth #6]

I think people are forgetting that we still had Primo and a basically a team full of 6'5" guys and so getting another player of that height would have been have been a weird choice. If they had kicked Primo off the team earlier then Jalen would have made more sense, but if anything the team was so in love with Primo it felt like drafting Jalen would have probably relegated him to the bench or at least slowed his development. Of course Jalen is playing well now but Sochan was a smart choice at the time because he was of a position of need (for years) and still looks like a great pick. But yeah, I would love to have Jalen on the team also. Can't get everybody.

[PhantomDashCam]

To be clear, when I bumped this thread, it was purely to acknowledge how well Jalen had been playing.
This was never meant to be about who the Spurs should’ve picked in the draft, although I acknowledge now that’s how it could easily be construed.

I love to see how young players develop especially ones heavily discussed on this board and personal favourites.
Absolutely thrilled with Sochan as a pick. He’s exceeded all expectations as far as I’m concerned.

[CGD]

Avdija, too.

I still want Avdija lol