Draft projects to watch besides Wembanyama & Henderson

[Ariel]

I don’t think trading down means they plan on getting a non star, if anything, they will pick the guy who has the most upside but is being overlooked. And I think Rupert is one of those guys.

I like Rupert, seems like a solid pick up. But nowhere near the upside you'd expect of a tanking season (first option on offense / franchise player), that's my point. Could end up being one of the better guys in a redraft, though.

[TD 21]

it was waaay too obvious, they have been trying everything to get to the playoffs, then all of a sudden they're one game away and bench their entire starting lineup without reason or even excuse (rest? for what?) and even their coach admits the organization pulled the plug. Way too shameless and stupid. They forced the league to intervene.

That, the league's negative history with Cuban and the fact that they already have a superstar as well as low odds, makes it beyond highly unlikely that they get rewarded.

[BackHome]

The Warriors and OK have done far worse they have just sent best players home and paid them not to play.

[Ariel]

The Warriors and OK have done far worse they have just sent best players home and paid them not to play.

Portland too. But these idiots pulled a 180 over night and had their coach scream it to the world.

[Mr. Body]

It's such a jokey kayfabe. Who cares if the coach says why they're resting players? Everyone knows what's going on. It's this cutesy pretend that's embarrassing. Either fine everyone or no one.

[baseline bum]

Ya- I mean we all know teams do it but you aren’t supposed to flaunt it. Mavs, despite others doing the same, were too reckless and blatant and it brought too much negative attention to the issue.

Pretty much this. Golden State blatantly tanked in the second half of the 2012 season to keep their top 7 protected pick but I guess they never said the quiet part out loud to the media so no one cared too much.

[duncan2150]

Any of our French friends here can fill us in Coulibaly? Looks interesting on paper and on the small sample of clips I watched.

I wrote about him a few weeks ago, solid potential, Athletic, long, he can do a little bit of everything. I really like him if we can have another pick. I don't think he'll be there with our secound round.

[Ariel]

(Bilal Coulibaly also plays for France U18, a projected late first/secound rounder for the 2023 draft).

Rob I know you been following your boy Wemb...just curious what your thoughts on his team mate Bilan Coulibaly SF? So far my two favorite early second round picks is him and PF Azuolas Tubelis..

For other pick would look at Bilal Coulibaly SG, Azuolas Tubelis PF, Leonard Miller SF, Jordan Hawkins SG

My favorite are:

Bilal Coulibaly SF - 6'6 - He plays with Wemb maybe a draft and stash?
Azuolas Tubelis PF/C - 6'11 - Just a very good basketball player gets you rebounds and gets you points always consistent
Jordan Hawkins SG - 6'5 - Never have enough shooters

Bilal Coulibaly
Sidy Cissoko
Nikola Djurisic

are heavy hitters for our second round pick, IMO

After the guards, i will talk about the fowards who could be available at the end of the first ( trading up) or with our secound rounders.

Bilal Coulibaly- SF – France – HT: 6-6 –Wingspan : 7'2/7'3 ( 18 yrs old)

I really like Bilal Coulibaly, watching him here in Paris. Long, athletic player with a good awareness. Big potential especially on D with a huge wingspan, offensively he plays more off the ball, cuts and still progressing.

He's climbing the boards after some good games with the Metropolitans( Victor's team).

Any of our French friends here can fill us in Coulibaly? Looks interesting on paper and on the small sample of clips I watched.

Ok, searched all references of Coulibaly and listed them above. Seems like a very interesting prospect, not likely to fall to the 2nd round, probably more like late teens / early 20s. Any interest in moving a pick (Charlotte's?) to get this guy?

[Dejounte]

Dark horse to jump into the top 10 tbh. If Patrick Williams can become 4th, this guy can.

[Ariel]

You probably mean it as a compliment, but I'd take it more as a warning. No way in should Patrick Williams have gone no. 4, with Haliburton, Bane, Maxey and Vassell still on the board, but that shows just how much the draft can be biased towards athleticism and length. In this case his wingspan may be great, he's got good size, he's known for defense, but if he struggles scoring and shooting specifically, then taking him too high is a risky proposition. He sounds like a good gamble in the 15-25 range, but I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole with our first pick. But if we land a second pick later on, sure.

[Ariel]

https://nbl.com.au/player/3684/1884975/rayan-rupert

Rupert is shooting 35% from the field, with 0.89 assists and 1.07 TO. That's not good for someone with supposed PG skills. For reference, Giddey was posting almost 8 assists a game when he played in the same league. Not the same player at all, but goes to show how low his assists numbers are.

[mo7888]

I like Rupert, I have him at 12 right now.

Tier 1:
1. Victor Wembanyama
Tier 2:
2. Scoot Henderson
Tier 3:
3. Brandon Miller
4. Cam Whitmore
5. Jarace Walker
6. Amen Thompson
7. Gradey
8. Ausar Thompson
9. Nick Smith Jr
Tier 4:
10. Taylor Hendricks
11. Jordan Hawkins
12. Rayan Rupert
13. Anthony Black
14. Jalen Hood-Schifino
15. Cason Wallace
16. Keyonte George
17. Gregory Jackson II
Tier: 5
18. Kris Murray
19. Jett Howard
10. Brian Sensabaugh
21. Dariq Whitehead
22. Kyle Filipowski
23. Bilal Coulibaly
Tier: 6
24. Noah Clowney
25. James Nnaji
26. Terquavion Smith
27. Kobe Bufkin
28. Maxwell Lewis
29. Dereck Lively II
30. Leonard Miller

[stnick2261]

I would love to see us get 1st pick.... and then Toronto get pick #2 (pushing Dallas to spot #11 and losing their pick)

[Mr. Body]

I like Rupert, I have him at 12 right now.

Tier 1:
1. Victor Wembanyama
Tier 2:
2. Scoot Henderson
Tier 3:
3. Brandon Miller
4. Cam Whitmore
5. Jarace Walker
6. Amen Thompson
7. Gradey
8. Ausar Thompson
9. Nick Smith Jr
Tier 4:
10. Taylor Hendricks
11. Jordan Hawkins
12. Rayan Rupert
13. Anthony Black
14. Jalen Hood-Schifino
15. Cason Wallace
16. Keyonte George
17. Gregory Jackson II
Tier: 5
18. Kris Murray
19. Jett Howard
10. Brian Sensabaugh
21. Dariq Whitehead
22. Kyle Filipowski
23. Bilal Coulibaly
Tier: 6
24. Noah Clowney
25. James Nnaji
26. Terquavion Smith
27. Kobe Bufkin
28. Maxwell Lewis
29. Dereck Lively II
30. Leonard Miller

Filipowski is going back to Duke.

[Mr. Body]

https://nbl.com.au/player/3684/1884975/rayan-rupert

Rupert is shooting 35% from the field, with 0.89 assists and 1.07 TO. That's not good for someone with supposed PG skills. For reference, Giddey was posting almost 8 assists a game when he played in the same league. Not the same player at all, but goes to show how low his assists numbers are.

I don't know if he plays into this, but Rupert is behind Ousmane Dieng in development and Dieng, showing flashes overall, wasn't ready to contribute in the NBA last year. We'll see going forward.

EDIT: He played 39 games. I feel like I watched parts of OKC games throughout the year and barely remember him.

[mo7888]

Filipowski is going back to Duke.

Thanks... I missed that...

[BacktoBasics]

I like Rupert, I have him at 12 right now.

Tier 1:
1. Victor Wembanyama
Tier 2:
2. Scoot Henderson
Tier 3:
3. Brandon Miller
4. Cam Whitmore
5. Jarace Walker
6. Amen Thompson
7. Gradey
8. Ausar Thompson
9. Nick Smith Jr
Tier 4:
10. Taylor Hendricks
11. Jordan Hawkins
12. Rayan Rupert
13. Anthony Black
14. Jalen Hood-Schifino
15. Cason Wallace
16. Keyonte George
17. Gregory Jackson II
Tier: 5
18. Kris Murray
19. Jett Howard
10. Brian Sensabaugh
21. Dariq Whitehead
22. Kyle Filipowski
23. Bilal Coulibaly
Tier: 6
24. Noah Clowney
25. James Nnaji
26. Terquavion Smith
27. Kobe Bufkin
28. Maxwell Lewis
29. Dereck Lively II
30. Leonard Miller

Black is light years ahead of Nick Smith Jr

[exstatic]

Black is light years ahead of Nick Smith Jr

I agree with you, but it's his list, and probably not subject to discussion.

[BackHome]

To be fair Black has been healthy all year and Nick has missed a lot of time due to injury

[TD 21]

The difference between Patrick Williams and Rupert is the former plays a more premium position.

Random thought: If the Spurs fall out of the top 4 and the Magic don't leapfrog them, I could see them trying to either consolidate their own pick plus the Bulls one or their own pick plus Suggs for the Spurs pick and maybe Wesley.

I wouldn't have interest in Suggs. Durability concerns, can't shoot or run an offense and relatively expensive, but by all accounts "Spurs material" and would somewhat fit a positional need.

[exstatic]

The difference between Patrick Williams and Rupert is the former plays a more premium position.

Random thought: If the Spurs fall out of the top 4 and the Magic don't leapfrog them, I could see them trying to either consolidate their own pick plus the Bulls one or their own pick plus Suggs for the Spurs pick and maybe Wesley.

I wouldn't have interest in Suggs. Durability concerns, can't shoot or run an offense and relatively expensive, but by all accounts "Spurs material" and would somewhat fit a positional need.

Doubt anyone trades up for anything except picks 2 or 3. Pick 1 is off limits, and anything 4 and below is genous from a talent standpoint. They're not all the same, but they have a like amount of warts and flaws down to probably picks 10 or 11.

[Mr. Body]

To be fair Black has been healthy all year and Nick has missed a lot of time due to injury

This is fair. It's what I'm sure Smith's camp is hoping people realize. (I'm not actually sure either has announced yet? Would it be wild if neither of them go this year??)

Smith looked really small and struggled to get separation, forcing him into bad shots. His handle isn't very good, either.

But he was a warrior and fought to help his team, if it ultimately didn't work. He wasn't a punk-ass loser like Shaeden Sharpe who could have played but didn't (and Kentucky sucked last year and could have used him). Smith might have affected his lottery stock, though, while Sharpe was drafted too high because of mystery box.

[Mr. Body]

Doubt anyone trades up for anything except picks 2 or 3. Pick 1 is off limits, and anything 4 and below is genous from a talent standpoint. They're not all the same, but they have a like amount of warts and flaws down to probably picks 10 or 11.

I'll continue to append that i think teams will want to trade up for a Thompson if they're available past 4. The league puts a premium on athleticism. Not like they'll trade up a huge amount, but I could see a team like Washington at 8 or whatever wanting to move up a few slots. It's not impossible.

[exstatic]

I'll continue to append that i think teams will want to trade up for a Thompson if they're available past 4. The league puts a premium on athleticism. Not like they'll trade up a huge amount, but I could see a team like Washington at 8 or whatever wanting to move up a few slots. It's not impossible.

They do get crazy for mystery boxes.

[TD 21]

Doubt anyone trades up for anything except picks 2 or 3. Pick 1 is off limits, and anything 4 and below is genous from a talent standpoint. They're not all the same, but they have a like amount of warts and flaws down to probably picks 10 or 11.

That's a consensus view, but obviously each team has their own board and all it takes is someone to be enamored with one particular name.

The Magic not only have the assets, but given that they seem poised to compete for a playoff spot next season, could have the impetus too.